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Recipes

Orata Pantesca al forno

April 9, 2013

Orata in Italian means golden. In English this fish is called Gilt head (sea) bream. I’ve bought the same fish in markets in France where its name is Daurade (dorade royale), and many years ago I was vacationing in Calabria where it is known as it Pargo-Dorado… Here in Pantelleria this fish is referred to as Orata. By any name this is an absolutely lovely fish!

Put this fish on the barbecue or roast it in the oven. Orata blends well with any flavor. This week I was assigned to make a recipe with fish and olives so I filled it with sun dried black olives, Pantelleria capers, garlic and a lot of wild thyme that had I picked the day before. I cooked it in the oven for 30 min and it came out perfectly. Really, it was so good that we almost moaned as we ate.
This recipe can easily be used for other kinds of fish. When you cook the whole fish, don’t forget to eat that little part in the cheek on the side of the fish head. It may be little, but it’s the very best part.

I wish you all great week
AnnaOrata Pantesca al forno
Serves 2
Ingredients:
2 each Orata fish 1 kilo or more in weight per fish (other names of the Orato: Dutch- Goldbrassen, East Germany- Dentis, Great Britian- Gill head Sea Bream)
1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil
1 bay leaf
2 garlic cloves finely chopped or pressed
4 sprigs of thyme
4 sun dried olives pitts removed and cut into chunks
salt and pepper
2 Tablespoon capers from Pantelleria (soaked and drained)
10 olives of your choice
8-10 cherry tomatoes
1 medium sized fennel
1 spring onion
1/4 cup (60 ml) white wine

Method:
Remove the scales, innards and gills of the fish view this video for further instruction http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeXqdZYtF_A
Set and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200C)
In a small bowl mix:
Olive oil, garlic, 2 thyme sprigs crushed, the sun dried olives and one Tablespoon of the capers, salt and pepper (keep in mind that fish needs a little extra salt).

Make three cuts on the bias from the dorsal fin to the stomach starting from head to mid tail on both sides of the fish. (since fish has different thicknesses these slits will allow even heat distribution as well as area to add the flavorings) place the aforementioned flavorings inside the slits as well as into the body cavity of the fish. Pour the left over oil around and into the oven tray.Cut the fennel and onion into larger wedge uniform pieces as to withstand the high heat of the oven. Add them to the pan with the rest of the ingredients and finish off by pouring in the wine. Cover with Aluminum foil and place in the oven for about 30 minutes, the cooking time might vary depending on the size of your fish, after 30 minutes remove from the oven and uncover. At this time you want to use a fork or butter knife to check the fish to see if the meat has cooked to the bone. You check at the thickest part of the fish by sticking the fork or knife into the and look to see if the meat is light and a little flaky in the consistency, not translucent at the point where it meats the bone. If it’s not ready let it stay for another ten minutes uncovered. But be careful with the cooking time, in my opinion there is nothing sadder than overcooked fish.
Dinner plate http://indiska.com/
Capperi di Pantelleria http://shop.underthealmondtree.com/product/capers

Lemon Mousse

March 28, 2013

1 Reply

I asked what I could bring to the Easter buffet on Sunday. Dessert!
I thought about making a double chocolate cupcake. In Pantelleria cupcakes, as we know them don’t exist, so I thought it would be fun to contribute something that is not typical here. I started to bake.
I made up a recipe using really high quality chocolate. I must say they tasted divine … but to pipe the icing and make them look beautiful enough for the photo was another thing completely…holy cow!
In my mind I had Magnolia Bakery stylish art piece cupcakes decorated with these nice sugar daffodils (that I brought with me from NY). Not one came out as I had in mind, so we just ate them, Carlo, Igor and me. Carlo was euphorically happy about the fact that I would have to make them again to get them presentable for the blog! I will do them again and practice on my icing skills, in the future. I promise! An easier dessert is this Lemon Mousse. It will be perfect to bring to the table on Sunday.

Wishing you all a happy Easter,
Anna
Lemon Mousse
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 gelatin sheet
1 small bowl of cold water
1/2 cup (1.2 dl) lemon juice
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup (1.2 dl) granulated sugar
1 Table spoon lemon zest
1 cup (2.4 dl) cold heavy cream

Method:
With scissors cut the gelatin into uniform pieces and place in the cold water to soak for about 5 minutes or until it has a jelly like consistency.
Fill a small pot halfway with water and place on a medium heat. Allow the water to reach a calm boil, then turn the burner down to low heat. This will be the bottom of your double boiler.
In a stainless steel bowl that can rest on top of the pot you used to boil water, place the egg yolks and sugar. Whisk as to combine the contents thoroughly.
Place this mixture on top of the water in the small pot and begin to whisk vigorously allowing them to become fluffy and cook but not to the point of scrambled eggs. Should the scramble occur, don’t panic. Add a teaspoon of cold water to the egg and sugar mixture and whisk again. The egg mixture will return to fluffy. Set aside.
Dump the water from the pot and add the gelatin, lemon juice, and zests over a low heat with a spoon stirring constantly melt the gelatin. When it has melted, remove from the heat and fold into the egg yolk and sugar mixture.
Whip with a hand mixer the heavy cream until it forms stiff peaks.
Fold lemon gelatin mixture and whipped heavy cream together.
Place the mixture into low rimmed glasses (see picture) as to allow ease of eating
Cover each glass with plastic wrap, then place them on a shelf in the refrigerator.
Allow to set for at least one hour.
Garnish and serve.

Lemon linguine

March 20, 2013

6 Replies

I’m happy it is still lemon season in Pantelleria. Here is a recipe for a simple and fast weekday pasta.
Buon appetito!Lemon linguine
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 four liter or quart sized pot with lid, filled with water
1 pinch of salt
1 pound (500 grams) Linguine
1 medium sized saute or sauce pan
1 Tablespoon olive oil
4 small spring leeks finely minced
1/2 chili finely minced (add in the sauce if everyone enjoys spice or serve on the side for guests to add as they wish)
3 Tablespoons white wine (or a shot glass full)
3/4 cup (1.8 dl) heavy cooking cream
2 medium size lemons juice them for 1/4 cup lemon juice
salt and white pepper to taste
1 small bowl
2 egg yolks (room temperature)
1 tablespoon lemon zest (use the 2 lemons before you juice them make sure there is no pith or white flesh attached)
1 cup (2.4 dl) grated Parmesan cheese
4 sprigs parsley, de-stemmed fine chiffonade
Method:
Fill the four quart or liter pot with water, add pinch of salt. Put the lid on top and place onto the largest burner on the stove top and turn the element onto the highest setting and allow the water to come to a rolling boil
Once water is boiling remove the lid and add the pasta to the water. Stir until all the pasta has descended into the water. Make a note of the amount of time suggested for cooking the pasta on the package and you will want to remove the pasta from the water anywhere from 30 to 60 seconds before the suggested cooking time. If you are tasting the pasta to decide if it has finished you want to remove it at a a slightly firmer texture then al dente.
Place a colander into the sink in preparation to drain the pasta when it is cooked.
Place your sauce pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, saute the spring leek and chili pepper. Once soft add white wine and lemon juice allowing to reduce by half. Next you add the room temperature heavy cream and lower the heat underneath the pan. Add half of a ladle of pasta water to the reducing sauce. Add some salt and white pepper keeping in mind that the grated Parmesan cheese will add salt to the dish as well.
In a separate bowl you will whisk the egg yolk with a fork and add a couple tablespoons of the warm cream sauce while whisking. This is to temper the egg yolks so they do not scramble.When the pasta is ready drain in the colander and then add to the cream sauce in the sauce pan. Next stir in the tempered egg yolks, zested lemon, Parmesan cheese and the parsley.
Serve immediately!

Black eyed pea cassoulet with salciccia and sage

March 14, 2013

5 Replies

These lovely local beans (yes, black eyed peas are actually a bean) was harvested last spring and dried. The farmer who grows the beans is called Centesimo. That is his nickname. All men have nicknames in Pantelleria. Centesimo’s means penny, or cent. His nickname makes reference to the fact that he is very thrifty and frugal. He harvests all his seeds from his own fruits and vegetables that he cultivates. Centesimo and his wife live and grow their produce in Scauri, a village in the south west part of Pantelleria. When my friend Ines and I visited them this summer we got a lot of lovely products. I still had these black eyed peas, and was happy to use them last night.

Yesterday we had rain and hailstorms all day. The three of us, Carlo (the boyfriend), Igor (the dog), and I were freezing. We spent all day inside, reading, watching a movie and just chilled out in front of the fire.For dinner I cooked this bean cassoulet with salsiccia and sage. It turned out to be a perfect meal for this cold day.

The black eyed peas need to soak for 6-8 hours before you start cooking.

Black eyed pea cassoulet with salciccia and sage
Serves 4-6
To soak the black eyed peas:
2 cups (4.8 dl) of black eyed peas
6 cups (14.4 dl) of cold water
Put the black eyed peas in a bowl or a container.
Pour over the water and cover with a lid or a dinner plate.
Let soak for 6-8 hours in the fridge.
The cassoulet:
1 medium sized yellow onion
3 cloves of garlic
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 bay leaf
2 dried chili peppers crushed or 1 teaspoon dried chili flakes
2 medium sized carrots
1 stalk of celery
2 teaspoon salt
3 cups (7.2 dl) of white wine
2 cups (4.2 dl) of water
4 cups (9.6 dl) of soaked black eyed peas ( they will double in size after soaking)
17 oz (480 grams) salsiccia
1/2 cup (1.2 dl) of cooking cream
12 cherry tomatoes
18 black olives
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
12 large sage leaves

Method:
Wash, peel and both the onion and garlic finely, saute in olive oil until golden and soft, add the bay leaf and chili flakes.
Wash, peel and cut the carrots and celery stalk in medium sized chunks and add to the onions with the black eyed peas, 2 cups wine, 2 cups water and 1.5 teaspoon salt.
Cover with a lid and cook on medium to low temperature for about 45 minutes then add the last cup of wine, continue cooking.

Add tomato paste, cream, sugar, Dijon mustard, cherry tomatoes and olives.
Sauté the salsiccia lightly in a skillet on the side then add to the bean stew.
Cook for another 20 minutes. Try the beans, they should be soft but not mushy,
you want them to have some texture. Crush the sage leaves and stir. Taste the stew before serving to see if more salt is needed. Serve with bread and red wine.

Dinner plate http://indiska.com/se

Wild asparagus canapés

March 8, 2013

I can feel the spring in Pantelleria approaching. One of the lovely things with spring is the wild asparagus. Yesterday we went looking for them and found plenty- enough to make a big tray of these asparagus parmesan cheese canapés. This recipe is original from a cookbook ” Snittar” which in English means “Canapés”. My dear companion and friend Hedvig von Mentzer and I created and published this book in Sweden in 2003. Today it’s International Women’s Day. What could be a better occasion to invite friends for some Prosecco and canapés?
Let’s toast and acknowledge women all over the globe.
Salute!

Asparagus and parmesan cream canapés
Makes about 30 canapés

Ingredients:
10 oz (275 grams) refrigerated puff pastry sheets
1 egg (to brush the puff pastry with)
1 Tablespoon water

6 oz (170 grams) grated Parmesan cheese
2 shallots
1 clove of garlic
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup (1.2 dl) white wine
3/4 cups (1.8 dl) heavy cream
2 sprigs of thyme crushed
Salt and grounded white pepper to taste

30 asparagus
Ice cubes

Method:
Preheat the oven to 400 F (200C) degrees.
Cut the sheet of puff pastry into 2 inch squares (bite sized).
Place the squares on a non stick baking sheet and on to the oven trays.
Whisk the egg and 2 Tablespoons of water together in a bowl, then, brush the top of each puff pastry square. Bake the squares in the oven for about 8-10 min. They should puff and be golden brown.
Remove from the oven and tray to a plate and allow them to cool to the touch.

Grate the Parmesan cheese. Finely chop the shallots and garlic.
Heat a saute pan, add olive oil then the chopped shallots and garlic saute until soft.
Add the wine, cook until the liquid is reduced to half.
Lower the fire and add heavy cream stir quickly, add the Parmesan cheese, make sure to stir the bottom on the pan to avoid burning. When the cheese has combined together with the cream it will thickened a bit. Make sure to taste the cream prior to seasoning, the Parmesan imparts some saltiness to the cream so taste the sauce as to adjust the salt amount. Season with crushed thyme, salt and white pepper, set a side.

In a separate pot boil water to cook the asparagus, add salt to the water as you would when cooking pasta. Fill a bowl with cold water and ice cubes, this you have prepared on the side to immediately put the asparagus in after boiled using a slotted spoon. Boil the asparagus between 2-4 minutes and place immediately in the ice water bowl using a slotted spoon.

The time for asparagus will vary according to the size and freshness of your asparagus,
I would say between 2-4 minutes. I would make a test by placing only two or three into the water and watch them as they are boiling. Remove them, cool and feel the texture, once you understand proceed with the rest. The asparagus should be bright green and not too cooked you would want it to remain a little “al dente” texture. After cooling down, cut the top buds off (use the left over for example a salad or omelet).

Prior to serving, build the canapes :
Spread on top of each puff pastry square , one full teaspoon Parmesan cream,
next place one asparagus bud on the top.

Clementine and fennel salad

March 5, 2013

In Pantelleria there are many varieties of citrus fruits.
Clementines were initially a grafting between tangerines and oranges. They are usually seedless, the peel is thin and comes off easily. I picked these the other day and made this salad with fennel and walnuts. I love fennel in every way, cooked or raw. I cut this fennel very thinly and let it soak up a vinaigrette dressing for an hour before serving. The clementines were sweet and delicious.

Clementine and fennel salad
Side dish for 2-3 or 1 main course salad

Ingredients
Salad:
4 1/2 oz (125 grams) fresh fennel bulb
3 clementines
1/4 cup walnuts
10 black olives
1 large mint sprig (about 12 leaves)

Dressing:
2 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
Sea salt and grounded black pepper to taste.

Method
Cut the fennel very thin using a sharp knife.
Whisk together the dressing ingredients taste with salt and black pepper.
Toss the fennel with the dressing and set a side for soaking for an hour.
Wash, peel the clementines and cut into slices.
Toast the walnuts in a dry pan (a suggestion, don’t leave the stove when doing this, nuts burn fast and easily).
On a plate layer the fennel, mandarins, mint, walnuts and finish with olives.
Dinner plate http://indiska.com/se

Lemon bars

March 1, 2013

1 Reply

This week has been bursting with healthiness! Salads, gym sessions, power walks and smoothies have all contributed to a super healthy week. As the weekend rapidly approaches, I think it’s high time for some sweets. I don’t want to get too healthy! I have a weakness for cakes with lemon. With a full lemon tree it would almost be a crime not to make these delicious lemon bars.
Wish you all a sweet weekend. / Anna

Lemon Bars

Ingredients
8.8 oz (250 grams) sweet butter
2 medium size lemons, use the lemon zest of 1 lemon
3 eggs (room temperature)
1 1/2 cup (3.5 dl) sugar
1 vanilla bean (seeded)
1 cup (2.4 dl) All purpose flour (sifted) make sure to measure after you have sifted the flour
1/2 Tablespoon confectioners sugar

Method :
Preheat the oven to 300 F degrees (150 C).
You will need a baking pan sized 9 x 13 inches (22 x 32) cm .
Line the bottom of the pan with non stick oven paper.

In a sauce pan melt the butter
Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds.
Add the vanilla bean seeds, and the outer hull of the vanilla bean to the butter and set aside to allow the vanilla bean to infuse its flavor to the butter.
In a mixing bowl beat eggs and sugar .
Wash the lemons, zest one lemon’s skin. Make sure you don’t include the bitter pith (white flesh of the lemon) add to eggs and sugar.
Squeeze and strain the lemon juice from both lemons, should make about 1/2 cup (1.2 dl) .
Remove the outer hull of the vanilla bean from the butter.
Combine lemon juice with the zest, in the bowl with the eggs and sugar mixture.
Add vanilla butter, fold in the sifted flour to the bowl
Pour batter in to the cake pan place on the center rack in the oven.
Bake for 30-35 min at 300 F (150C) degrees .

Let the cake cool down for 45 minutes
Garnish the entire top of the cake with a sift or sprinkle of icing sugar
Cut cake into desired squares sizes using a sharp kitchen knife.

Post carnival mood

February 20, 2013

As most of you know there is a huge carnival in Venice every year. In Pantelleria the local carnival is also very important. The weeks (or months) of this event means hardcore partying. You eat together with friends and at midnight you go dancing to small clubs and listen to live music and drink a lot of local wine. Usually you come back to the house around 4-5 in the morning, and of course you’re starving! Then it’s time for pasta! When you finally end up in bed you sleep until noon.

The Pantescan loves to party. At the end of the carnival period it all escalates… the kids actually have a school vacation so they also can focus and participate in all party events. For me this period is rough. I like to get up in the morning and I have work to do, so for me 3 days in a row is more than enough. Now this period has just finished and people are catching up on their sleep, starting diets and recovering their strength.

So am I. This week I made a promise to myself to try the new gym that recently opened in Pantelleria center, I’m going to eat healthy and instead of my usual breakfast of coffee/cornetto/nutella, I’m going to start the start the morning with a smoothie.

I created five smoothie recipes for the Swedish magazine Icakuriren (feb 2013), it’s just been published and you can get the other recipes in the online at www.icakuriren.se

Here is the recipe for a orange and flax seed smoothie:
Orange and flaxseed smoothie
Makes 2 smoothies

Ingredients
2 peaches or 1 mango ( or if you are using frozen fruit you need 150 grams of fruit )
2 tablespoons whole flax seed (or ground flax seed meal)
1 1/2 tablespoons peeled and finely grated fresh ginger
1 cup (2.4 dl) unsweetened carrot juice
1 cup (2.4 dl) freshly squeezed orange juice

Method
Peel and pit the peaches or mango, cut large chunks.
Crush the flax seed using a mortar and pestle.
Place ingredients into a blender at medium speed (be sure to place the lid on top of the blender).
Pour into two 16 oz glasses and serve immediately.

My beautiful and sporty friend is Lorena.

Limoncello

February 17, 2013

2 Replies

Limoncello is an Italian digestif that is most famous in the area around the Amalfi Coast but also served in Sicily and Sardinia. Limoncello is made of lemon peel, alcohol, sugar and water. Our lemon tree is now full with bright yellow lemons, so it is a perfect time to make goodies like Limoncello. Italians use 90% alcohol to make Limoncello, but as a Swede, I’m going for Vodka. Also I like to include lemon juice in this recipe. When making Limoncello, make sure the lemon peel does not stay in the alcohol too long before straining. I did that once and it became bitter. I would give it a maximum of 10 days, but 7-8 days is the ideal.

Limoncello
Simple syrup
3.5 cups (8.3 dl) granulated sugar
2 cups (4.8 dl) water
12 lemons
1 bottle of vodka 25 oz (75cl)
A large jar
Method
Mix sugar and water in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat.
Wash the lemons and peel off the skin with a potato peeler making sure to exclude the white parts which give a bitter taste.
Squeeze the lemon juice and strain out seeds and pulp.
Mix syrup, lemon juice, zest and vodka in the jar with a lid and close.
Let it stay for 7-8 days in a dark place.
Strain the liquid, then pour it into glass bottles.

Limoncello is served ice cold as a digestif after a large meal.

Almond panna cotta with uva passa and orange compote

February 15, 2013

4 Replies

Panna cotta literally means cooked heavy cream.
The main ingredients are cream sugar and gelatin, some recipes also include egg whites.
This dessert is originally from Northern Italy in the region of Piedmont (Piemonte), were back in the days people boiled the fish bones and getting collagen out of this process that was used as the first gelatin. Since I’m still fell inspired from the almondtree in flowering I’m making more almond milk and flavor the panna cotta that I want to serve for my dinner guest this evening. To accompany this panna cotta I’m making a fruit compote made with oranges from the tree and uva passa from this summers grape harvest. Uva passa is the sun dried Zibbio grape, that you make the Passito di Pantelleria sweet wine of. This beautiful dried grape is a regular sweet here in Pantelleria and is used as a raisin in cooking and baking . To be honest it’s actually the best bloody raisin I ever tasted… sun kissed sweet…. perfumed with a taste of nature from the volcanic soil of Pantelleria.

If you can’t get hold of these uva passa you can exchange the uva passa to other raisins or for example use dried plums or just ad more orange or other sweet citrus fruits.

Here comes a recipe for almond panna cotta with uva passa and orange compote

Wish you all a great weekend.
/ Anna

Almond panna cotta with uva passa and orange compote
Panna cotta
Serves 6

Ingredients:
2 gelatin sheets (bowl large enough to cover sheets with water)
1 cup (2.4 dl) almond milk
1.1/2 cup (3.6 dl) heavy cream
1/2 cup (64 grams) sugar
1 vanilla bean ( split lengthwise and seeded)

6 each ceramic ramekins or small coffee cups
1 table spoon of sunflower oil (for the ramekins)

Place gelatin sheets in a bowl and cover complete with cold water for 5-10 min minutes. Over medium size flame, in a sauce pan combine the cream, almond milk and sugar and heat until the sugar is dissolved. Lift the gelatin sheets from the water and stir into the hot cream until dissolved as well. Oil 6 ramekins or small coffee cups. Divide the panna cotta mixture evenly among each ramekin, set on a level shelf in the fridge,cover with plastic and let set for at least 3 hours.

Uva passa and orange compote
4 oranges
24 uva passa
1 cup (2.4 dl ) Passito di Pantelleria
1/2 cup (1.2 dl) sugar

Peel the oranges by cutting the skin off using a sharp kitchen knife.
Cut the oranges into medium sized chunks. Deseed the uva passa.

In a small but heavy sauce pan, pour the Passito di Pantelleria wine and sugar to boil. The sugar should dissolve and the liquid must reduce to half (on my gas stow this takes about 5 min). Stir constantly all the way to the bottom of the pan when it is boiling, so as to avoid burning the sugar. Add the fruit and set a side until serving.

When serving:
Run a sharp knife around the edges and flip on to serving plates.
Spoon up the compote cooled to room temperature around the panna cotta.

Under the Almond Tree

A Swede cooking in Pantelleria