Italian Grilled Cheese Sandwich

In the summer my parents have a basil plant, or rather a basil bush. I looked up various ways of preserving the leaves. I am aware that freezing them is a conventional method but I wanted to be able to take them with me to Morocco. I didn’t want to lose the texture (and pungency) so I opted not to dry them. I tried storing them with olive oil and salt in jars. I am happy to say that this method proved effective.

Ingredients:

2 slices of whole grain bread

Sliced turkey

Grated Romano

Basil (either fresh, frozen, or salt-stored. A bit of pesto would work too.)

Mozzarella

Garlic (generally fresh is better, but I used a pinch of garlic powder here)

Peperoncini

A bit of tomato paste

Olive oil

Fresh ground pepper

Salt (if not already added to basil)

Directions:

On one open face of the sandwich, put a few slices (thin) of turkey, chopped up basil, a chopped up peperocini or two and some grated Romano.

On the other open face, put a slice or two of turkey, some chunks of Mozzarella, pepper and garlic.

Smear on a bit of tomato paste on each face.

Place the open faced bread slices in a toaster over. Allow the cheese to melt, bubble and brown slightly. The underside of the slices of bread should toast as well.
Add salt to taste.

Close sandwich and enjoy with some olive oil.

Pollo alla Parmigiana

Chicken Parmesan with extra veggies. I made this for 8.

Ingredients:

5-6 chicken breasts

2 eggs

Italian Bread Crumbs

2-3 cloves of fresh garlic

Olive oil

3 small zucchinis

28 oz can of crushed tomatoes

10 oz package of frozen spinach

Herbs: Basil, Oregano

1 cup Malbec Red Wine

1 medium onion

Cheeses: Parmesan/ Pecorino Romano, and a mild cheese like Ricotta, or traditionally Mozzarella. (I used some Mexican Farmer Cheese because it was mild and crumbly, tasted a bit like Mozzarella, and I had some left over.)

Sour cream or full fat yogurt.

Kosher Salt & Pepper


Directions:

Begin by rinsing the chicken and removing excess fat. Cut chicken breasts into smaller pieces either in half or in thirds.

Put a quarter of an inch of olive oil in a large frying pan on high-medium heat.

Crack the two eggs into a food processor or a blender. Blend with the garlic cloves.

Prepare a breading assembly line, with the prepared chicken, a dish of the egg mixture, and a bowl of bread crumbs.
Dip the chicken in the egg and then the bread crumbs. Place breaded chicken pieces in the oil to brown, but not necessarily to cook all the way through.

Place browned chicken pieces in the base of a large casserole dish, which has been lightly dusted in fresh ground pepper.

Sprinkle on some Parmesan/Pecorino Romano.

Peel and slice the zucchinis width-wise. Distribute the zucchini rounds on and around the chicken. Add a layer of Mozzarella and a pinch of salt.

In a bowl, thaw the spinach in the microwave (if not already thawed). Drain out excess water. Mix the spinach with the crushed tomatoes and herbs, especially basil. Pour this mixture over what you have in the casserole dish.

In the blender or food processor (it’s ok if a little bit of residual garlic and egg remain, especially garlic) add the wine and onion. Blend until smooth. Add a few dollops of sour cream or full fat yogurt. Pour on top of the tomato/spinach sauce.

Sprinkle more Parmesan/Pecorino Romano on top.

Bake at 325 for about an hour, until the top browns and the sauce bubbles.

Serve with a mix of whole grain and squid ink Spaghetti (Spaghetti al Nero di Seppia) in olive oil.


Have some Pizzelle and espresso for dessert!

Enjoy!

Star Cakes

Listen Star of Wonder

I altered (and so doubled) a Zucchini bread recipe and had fun with presentation.

Ingredients:
6 eggs

2 cups oil
2 cups sugar

2-3 small zucchinis (peeled and grated), 2-3 apples (peeled, cored, and grated)

6 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1-2 teaspoons cinnamon

fresh grated ginger

Directions:

Beat the eggs lightly.

Add the oil, sugar, and zucchini* and apple*.
Then add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Cut a good chunk of fresh ginger, peel it and grate or blend (I use a food processor). Add to the mixure with cinnamon.

Raisons or dried cranberries might be nice to add. Butterscotch chips would make this more of a dessert. Mom wanted to make frosting. These are just some suggestions, but I kept it simple this time.

Make sure the batter is well whipped. Grease/flour your bake pans. I used two small star shaped bundts and one regular bundt.

Bake at 325F/ 163C for about an hour.

For the presentation of the star cakes, I put them on a blue plate (the sky) and used powdered sugar as a garnish (the stars). I placed 1 star anise in the center on the top.

Tajine du jour

Ingredients:

2-3 Chicken breasts

3 carrots

3-4 celery stalks

1 zucchini/corgette

a few small Peperoncini

Sundried-tomato-stuffed martini green olives

Raisins

Almond oil

Sea Salt & Pepper

Olive oil

Sauce:

4-5 sprigs fresh Cilantro

4-5 sprigs fresh Parsley

Garlic cloves

2 tangerines

Directions:

Line the bottom of the tajine with almond oil and add a bit of salt and pepper.

Peel carrots and cut in ½ length-wise Line the bottom of the tajine with the carrots.

Rest the chicken atop the carrots.

Peel and slice the zucchini/corgette lengthwise. Prepare celery.

Arrange the zucchini and celery conically around the chicken making a vegetable tent.

Take a few Peperoncini, olives and raisins and distribute around the vegetables.

Add some salt and pepper.

Peel and remove seeds from one tangerine. Place tangerine, cilantro, parsley and several garlic cloves in a food processor. Add juice from a 2^nd tangerine if necessary.

Pour the thick mixture over top your ingredients in the tajine. Drizzle on some olive oil.

Cook on low flame for about 2.5 hours.

If there is an excess of liquid in the tajine (from the vegetables), prop slightly the tajine top with a wooden spoon to allow for some controlled evaporation.

Serve with bread and Green Tea with Mint

Enjoy!