Tag Archives: orange

Sicilianska apelsiner när de är som bäst

February 2, 2015

Det är citrussäsong och över hela ön dignar träden av ljuvliga apelsiner av varierande sort. Söta, bittra och rödspräckliga blodapelsiner. I varje kök syltas och saftas det. Carlo och hans mamma gör hyllmetrar med marmelad till sommarens frukostgäster. Vi pressar juice, gör sallader, desserter och använder dem i matlagningen. Jag försöker också pumpa i våran Igor så mycket jag får lov. Men principfast som han är äter han inte frukt om den ligger i hans matskål. Det gäller att sitta hos honom på golvet i dörrsmygen och skala apelsinen långsamt och samspråka, sedan äter jag först en klyfta, sedan han en och så delar vi en apelsin tillsammans och känner att vi hör ihop.

Sunny Aperol

May 24, 2013

This week we had days of stormy weather in Pantelleria, today it’s seems to have calm down and there is hope for a summer is coming. While we wait for the weather to get warmer my friends and I are going to sip on these Sunny Aperol this late afternoon in Almond Bar. Please join us in spirit if not in person!
Salute!

Ingredients
4-6 ice cubes
2 ounce (6 cl) Aperol
2 ounce (6 cl) orange juice (freshly squeezed is prefered)
Prosecco
Garnish: 1 slice of orange and a mint twig

Method
In a highball glass or similar add ice cubes, Aperol and orange juice, mix using a cocktail spoon
Fill up with Prosecco and garnish. Serve right away!

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.

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.

Spicy orange chicken

January 29, 2013

1 Reply

Since we enjoy an abundance of oranges in Pantelleria, and they are readily available year around worldwide, let’s make a spicy orange marinade for chicken. This marinade also works excellent with pork chops for the barbecue.

Orange and honey spiced chicken
Serves 4
Ingredients
2.5 lb (1kilo) of your favorite chicken parts
Olive oil for the skillet
Marinade:
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons orange zests
4 tablespoons Chinese soy sauce
3 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons honey
2 finely chopped chilies
6 drops Tabasco sauce
5 sprigs fresh rosemary

Method

Mix the the ingredients in a bowl and rub the chicken with the marinade. Then place chicken and the remainder of the marinade in a plastic bag and let sit in the fridge for at least 90 minutes before you start cooking.
Preheat the owen to 450F (225 C) degrees.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet on your stove top and sauté the chicken parts for a couple of minutes on each side until they get a nice golden surface. Remove from skillet and place in an casserole dish and roast the chicken in the oven for about 30 min at 450F (225 C) degrees.
To make sure the chicken is ready, stick a knife in thickest part close to the bone. If there is blood in the meat juice, let it cook for a little longer, if not, it’s ready.
This recipe is also published in January 2013 in Swedish Magazine Icakuriren
www.icakuriren.se

Under the Almond Tree

A Swede cooking in Pantelleria