Cod with Italian Salsiccia & tomatoes #176

Cod is an amazing fish, especially if you can get your hand on a big one, or at least a piece of a big one. This one is a small piece of the loin or back of the cod. The price is usually higher for the bigger ones but so is the quality so if you want the best you´ll need to spend a bit extra. 

I think cod is a great fish to serve with a bit more meatier sides like bacon, red wine sauces or like in this recipe a quick ragu with Italian Sasiccia and chopped tomatoes. It´s a bit rustic dish that suites the cod perfect.I pre-salted the cod a few hours before, this will make the fish a bit firmer. 

The ragu is simply diced raw Italian Salsiccia that is fried in a pan and then cooked with some fresh chopped tomatoes into a ragu. The Salsiccia was seasoned with fennel and garlic so if you can´t find a Salsiccia with that flavor you could add some crushed fennel seeds and a clove of garlic. 

The recipe can also be varied in many ways and of course served as a main course. Why not replace the fish for halibut, pork loin or maybe the Salsiccia for Spanish Chorizo.

Cod with Italian Salsiccia & tomatoes

fresh loin of cod

tomatoes

raw Italian Salsiccia

olive oil

parsley

salt, pepper

Cut the cod in serving size pieces, salt them and leave in the fridge for about two hours. Dice the Salsicca and tomatoes. Add the Salsiccia to a pan and add a little bit of olive oil and cook until they are done, about 5-10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and lower the heat to low and let it cook for about 15 minutes. Add a bit of water if it gets to dry, season with salt and pepper. Chop the parsley and add to the ragu.

Take the cod and pad dry with paper and then cook skin side first in olive oil. Once they have a golden colour on the skin remove and finish cooking in the oven on medium heat. Serve. Good luck.

Crostini with Parma ham, sun dried tomatoes and Parmesan cheese #168

Easy to do, easy to enjoy, making crostini is a good way of serving great snacks that everyone will appreciate without spending the entire day in the kitchen. This is simply what it looks like, roasted slices of bread with Parma ham, good Italian sun dried tomatoes and some Parmesan cheese.

Crostini with Parma ham, sun dried tomatoes and Parmesan cheese

baguette
Parma ham
Parmesan cheese
sun dried tomatoes
olive oil

Slice the baguette and roast the slices in olive oil until golden and crisp. Add Parma ham, a piece of tomato and grate some Parmesan on top. Serve!

Crayfish lasagna with asparagus & garlic #163

This is barely a lasagna but since I used lasagna pasta and it is served in layers I still chose to call it a lasagna. You can of course serve it with regular pasta and you can of course make it bigger and serve it as a main course. I prepared all ingredients before cooking the pasta since the pasta is a central ingredient in the dish it would be ruined if it were to get overcooked. 

Crayfish lasagna with asparagus & garlic

cooked crayfish tails

asparagus

garlic

cream

milk

salt, pepper

olive oil

spinach and or other leaf vegetables

Parmesan cheese

lasagna pasta

Peel and slice garlic and saute in olive oil for a few minutes, add milk and cream and season with salt and pepper. Blend into a creamy garlic sauce, set aside. Rinse the spinach and drain the crayfish tails (if they were sold in liquid). Slice the asparagus and parboil in salted water. Boil the pasta until almost done (it will get done once everything is plated). 

Add one layer of pasta and then add the asparagus, crayfish and then repeat for as many layers as you like. Whisk the sauce and pour on top and add a little bit of salt, pepper and grated Parmesan, serve.

Salsiccia with braised tomatoes & garlic #159

Great salsiccia is always a special treat, usually I try to keep it simple since the salsiccia has loads of flavor I think it goes best with simple things. Here I roasted the salsiccia on low heat until done then roasted some garlic and tomato paste in the fat that gets left in the pan, add a bit of white wine, a bay leaf and some fresh small tomatoes. If you get some small pieces of salsiccia left over you can leave it in the sauce as well. Then just slow cook for about one hour and you´re done.

I got my salsiccia imported from Italy, that´s great but if you have a local butcher or shop that happens to make their own sausages then they usually have their own, if so then get theirs since it´s always more fun to support your local shops then buying the imported stuff.

Salsiccia with braised tomatoes & garlic

Italian fresh salsiccia (or similar with the same flavor profile)
bay leaf
water
tomato paste
chives
garlic
white wine
chives
olive oil
small whole tomatoes
salt, pepper

On low heat fry the salsiccia until golden and cooked trough, then add chopped garlic, a little bit of olive oil, tomato paste and a few small pieces of salsiccia. Let it roast for a few minutes. Add white wine, a little bit of water and the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and then leave to simmer on low to medium heat for about one hour. Season if necessary, then reheat the salsiccia and slice, serve with a spoonful of sauce and some of the tomatoes and some sliced chives.

Carpaccio of beef with arugula and balsamic vinegar #149

Carpaccio is one of my favorite classics that I always tend to go back to in one way or the other. I´ve made a lot of different toppings but I always seems to be going back to the classics which in my case is plenty of good olive oil, arugula, Parmigginano-Reggiano and a little bit of balsamic vinegar. Carpaccio is said to have been invented in the fifties at Harrys Bar in Venice, Italy and according to Wikipedia it was usually served with lemon, olive oil, Parmesan and can be topped with arugula so I guess this is not to far from the original. Also if you´re not that into balsamic vinegar replace it with lemon as stated by Wikipedia since this is really good as well.

As for the meat I always use beef tenderloin, you can use other cuts as well but I prefer the tenderloin. If you like you can also sear the meat before slicing and serving to give it a bit of grilled flavor. There are two ways of slicing the meat, one you can do as I did and simply just slice it as thin as you can and lightly press it using the blade of the knife to get it a bit thinner.

In restaurants you usually prepare the meat and then freeze it and slice it frozen or semi-frozen on an electric slicer. This will give you the opportunity to serve it thinner sliced but since most people don´t have an good electric slicer at home you´ll have to settle for the hand cut version. Another technique is to cut a bit thicker piece and then place it between to sheets of plastic film and pound it with a flat meat tenderizer. This is quite time consuming and you have to have a very stable surface to pound on to get a good result.

Although my recipe is quite classic the term Carpaccio has during the last ten to twenty years transformed into meaning more the technique of serving something very thinly sliced than the actual dish of sliced meat. So when you read Carpaccio on a menu next time it´s not a wild guess that it might be followed by something other than beef tenderloin. If you have been following my blog you might have seen that I do like this technique for other stuff just as everybody else, if not check out my other Carpaccios using the links below.

Cod carpaccio with capers and red onion
Tuna carpaccio with capers and cress
Beet carpaccio with deep fried capers and arugula

Alright, lots of talk on carpaccio, on with the recipe!

Carpaccio of beef with arugula and balsamic vinegar

fresh beef tenderloin
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
Parmesan cheese (Parmiggiano-Reggiano)
arugula
salt
pepper

Trim off any excess meat of the tenderloin and slice it as thin as you can using a sharp knife, you can make the slices a bit thinner if you use the blade of the knife and press each slice a little bit extra. Put the slices directly on the plate you´re serving on and add olive oil and the vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and then add the arugula and grate an generous amount of Parmesan on top. Good luck!

Linguine with truffles, cream and Parmesan #145

Classic, super rich and great tasting is all the description this pasta dish needs. It´s super simple to make and since it´s so rich I prefer so serve it as a small tapas or appetizer because otherwise you won´t be able to eat much else. Buy the kind of truffles that your wallet can afford, I used summer truffles that are sliced and marinated in black truffle oil that I think taste great. If you´re rich then go for fresh black or white truffles and if you´re on a budget then go for just the oil.

However try not to switch from real Italian Parmiggiano-Reggiano to something cheaper because that will take loads of flavor out of the dish.

Linguine with truffles, cream and Parmesan

dried linguine pasta

cream

olive oil

Parmesan cheese (Parmiggiano-Reggiano)

garlic

truffles in truffle oil (or whatever truffles you choose)

salt, pepper

Boil the pasta in salted water, meanwhile peel and slice the garlic thin and cook on medium heat in olive oil without getting brown, add salt, pepper and cream and bring to a boil and let reduce for a few minutes. I usually do this in a frying pan that you can add the cooked pasta to. Add grated Parmesan to the sauce and let it melt. 

Remove the pasta from it´s  water when it´s a few minutes away from being done and add the pasta to the sauce. Add truffles and combine the pasta with the sauce, check the taste and add salt, pepper and truffles if necessary. The pasta will get done from being hot in the truffle sauce within a few minutes. Serve immediately with some extra Parmesan on top.

Bresaola with Parmesan cheese, arugula & pumpkin seeds #134

Bresaola is such a good product that there is no need to complicate things, thin slices served with fresh arugula, shaved Italian Parmigggiano Reggiano, some olive oil and a few roasted pumpkin seeds for a bit of crunch and you are good to go.

Bresaola with Parmesan cheese, arugula & pumpkin seeds

Bresaola
Parmiggiano Reggiano
arugula
pumpkin seeds
salt, black pepper
olive oil
lemon or vinegar (optional)

Roast the pumpkin seeds in a dry pan or the oven until they are getting a bit brown on each side. Arrange the Bresaola on a plate, combine the arugula with a little bit of olive oil and a little bit of vinegar or lemon juice if you like a little bit of acidity. Shave the Parmesan cheese and then put the salad, cheese and pumpkin seeds on top of the Bresaola. Serve.

Tomato, arugula, parmesan cheese, red onions # 6

A great tomato salad always come down to chosing great tomatoes, if that is taken care of you can add almost anything and you´ll know it will taste great. These are actually my home grown tomatoes so they are all in different shapes and sizes that actually makes the dish better. The good thing is that all the tomatoes doesn´t need to be perfectly ripened, if you add a few green ones they will have a totally different taste and texture that will create a fun contrast when you are eating.

Tomato, arugula, parmesan cheese, red onions

Tomatoes
Arugula
Parmesan cheese
Red onions
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Salt, pepper

Cut tomatoes, shave the parmesan, slice the onion. Arrange tomatoes, cheese, onions. Garnish with arugula, vinegar, olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.