parmesan – Mary's Kitchen

December 1, 2018December 1, 2018

LET’S MAKE ITALIAN BEAN & MINESTRONE SOUP

LET’S MAKE ITALIAN BEAN & MINESTRONE SOUP -( some things are just TOO GOOD TO THROW AWAY)

Italian Bean & Minestrone Soup – bursting with colour and flavour

There is no better time of year than SOUP TIME! The climate is getting cooler, flakes of snow are starting to fall and Christmas is just around the corner. So let’s get our jimjams (PJ’s) on, click on the Netflix and get a nice comforting bowl of soup with some fresh crusty bread.

Yesterday I was in Morrisons, a UK based supermarket and in the vegetable department I found this really neat idea. Morrisons had these boxes made up which were labelled – TOO GOOD TO THROW AWAY – and each box was full of great vegetables and fruit which they were selling for only £1. This got me thinking, how many times do you open the bottom drawer of your fridge and find an assortment of vegetables that are just about ready to put their best foot forward and take a hike right out of the vegetable drawer. So I decided to rescue the situation and turn these TOO GOOD TO THROW AWAY veggies and turn them into a wonderful pot of Italian Bean & Minestrone Soup. The result was amazing. I even found a half a bottle of Pinot Grigio and how that even made it into the fridge, only the wine fairy knows the answer to that.

An assortment of – TOO GOOD TO THROW AWAYS.

In my search I found 4 softish tomatoes which I chopped up. A bag of carrots that were crying out – USE ME. Some celery that was left over from adorning Bloody Mary’s. A bag of green beans. Several garlic bulbs. In the cupboard I found some Butter and Cannellini beans. Went to the garden and picked some fresh herbs, added 1000ml of chicken stock plus 3/4 cup of pasta and voila. There is no measuring required here and what you will produce is something quite delicious.

ITALIAN BEAN & MINESTRONE SOUP – made easy

4 chopped tomatoes (or 1 tin chopped toms), 4/5 stalks celery, 2/3/4 garlic cloves chopped, 2 chopped onions, 5/6 chopped carrots, some chopped green beans, 1 tin butter beans, 1 tin cannellini beans, 1000 ml chicken stock, 1/2 cup of Pinot Grigio if you have any left over (lol), 1/2 cup of a small sized pasta (macaroni or such like), some fresh herbs.

Add 2tbsp of olive oil to your soup pot – add onions, garlic, carrots, celery, green beans and saute gently. Add tomatoes, wine, beans, chicken stock and whatever else you would like to throw in. Mix well, bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer for 1 hour.

Get yourself some lovely crusty bread and some grated parmesan to top off and just ENJOY.

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Thank you for stopping by.

Mary Joan Calder

May 24, 2018May 24, 2018

SPICY TURKEY MEATBALLS with a CHILLI and RED PEPPER SAUCE – BELLISSIMO!

SPICY TURKEY MEATBALLS with a CHILLI and RED PEPPER SAUCE

I love nothing more than a lovely plate of pasta adorned with spicy Italian meatballs smothered in a rich marinara sauce. I say Italian meatballs because by tradition that is normally equal portions of pork and beef. So this spurred me on to create a slightly healthier option using Turkey Mince. The result was phenomenal if I do say so myself. They were so moist and tasty, I much preferred them to the usual beef meatball. I think the most important thing is to spice them up. Try them – you won’t be disappointed.

TURKEY MEATBALL INGREDIENTS – 1 LB lean turkey mince (organic if possible), 1/2 chopped red chilli, 1 beaten egg, 1-1/2 slices of gluten free bread made into bread crumbs (use your hand held blender to do this), 2 heaped tbsp chopped onion, 1 tsp thyme, 2 cloves of chopped garlic, 1 tsp of mixed herbs, 1 tbsp Worcester Sauce, 2 ozs grated Parmesan, season with sea salt and black pepper. Mix all ingredients together then divide into 12/16 balls. Heat a tbsp of olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and cook the meatballs 5-10 mins until brown all over. Remove and set aside resting on paper towel.

CHILLI AND RED PEPPER SAUCE INGREDIENTS – Add 1 more tbsp of olive oil to same pan – add 1 chopped onion, 2 chopped red peppers, 1/2 chopped red chilli and 1 clove chopped garlic. Cook 5 minutes until everything is soft. Add 1 tin of chopped tomatoes (14 ounces/400g) and 10 ounces water (300ml). Cook for a further 10/15 mins. Let sauce cool slightly, put in a blender and blend until smooth. Return sauce to pan and add meatballs then simmer for a further 30 minutes. Serve over spiralised courgettes or your favourite pasta. Top with some grated parmesan.

BELLISSIMO! – Serves 4.

If you are enjoying my blogs and following me on my Facebook Page – “Mary’s Kitchen” , please subscribe after reading this blog by entering your email address in the subscription area at the end or side of this blog. You will then receive notification when I have posted again. You can also follow my instructional videos on You Tube – Mary PremierCru (again, please subscribe if you enjoy them).

Thank you for stopping by.

Mary Joan Calder

May 12, 2018March 11, 2024

MELANZANE PARMIGIANA

MELANZANE PARMIGIANA

No food cries out Italy more than a tasty dish of Melanzane Parmigiana. You may not be familiar with the name Melanzane, more commonly known in the UK as Aubergine. The “eggplant”, as it is also known, was originally native to Pakistan and India. In India it is known as Brinjal.

Melanzane from the Latin “mala insana” or “bad egg” but there is nothing bad about this world respected fruit. The Greeks use it in Moussaka, the Indian culture in vegetarian curries, and throughout the world this dish favours in many a vegetarian diet.

I would like to share my recipe with you so you to can enjoy this easy to prepare tasty dish.

MELANZANE PARMIGIANA – Serves 2

1 Aubergine (The first thing you must do is prepare your aubergine. Slice it thinly lengthwise. Brush lightly on both sides with olive oil.)

I like to prepare mine on my outdoor barbeque as it gives a lot of space to lay the aubergine. However, if you are not able to do this grill it in the oven until it colours and turn over. This will not take too long so keep your eye on them.

INGREDIENTS – 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 red onion (chopped), 3 garlic cloves (sliced), 4 oz chestnut mushrooms (or any other type), 3 fresh thyme sprigs or 1 tsp dried thyme, 8 sage leaves (chopped) or 2 tsp dried sage, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 can chopped tomatoes 400g/15oz, 1/4 cup red wine, 2 to 3 oz grated parmesan, 1 slice of gluten free multi seeded bread made into bread crumbs (use a hand blender for this task and also excellent for grating parmesan), 2 oz pine nuts, 1 mozzarella ball, handful of fresh basil.

METHOD – Put your olive oil into a heavy based frying pan. Add onions and mushrooms, allow to cook for 5 minutes. Add your herbs (dried or fresh). Add tomatoes and red wine. Allow this to cook for 20 minutes allowing the herbs to infuse. Get an ovenproof casserole dish. Now we are going to layer this like lasagne. Put a little sauce in the bottom of your dish, add a layer of aubergine, add more sauce, then aubergine until everything is incorporated. Mix your bread crumbs, parmesan and pine nuts and add a little olive oil and mix together. Slice your mozzarella ball thinly and place on top of dish. Sprinkle bread crumb mixture. Bake at 375F/190C/Gas Mark 5. Serve as a main course with a side salad or as a vegetable dish.

Bellissimo!

Thank you for stopping by.

Mary Joan Calder

March 16, 2017

LET’S MAKE PESTO

LET’S MAKE HOMEMADE PESTO

There is nothing easier to make than pesto providing you get all your ingredients together before you start. I have made a short video on You Tube (Mary PremierCru) for you so you can see just how easy it is to prepare. There are a number of variations to my recipe which I will also share with you.

Pesto did not become popular in the North Americas until the 1980’s. It was traditionally made with a Pestal & Mortar – the Italian verb Pestare means to pound or crush. But nowadays, we have it easy in that we have all sorts of different styles of blenders to do the hard work for us. I prefer a hand blender to make my Pesto but you can use a large food processor as well.

LET’S GET STARTED

2 cups of of fresh Basil Leaves (you can use 1/2 basil and 1/2 spinach as well)

1/3 cup of Pine Nuts (or you can use walnuts)

1/2 cup Parmesan Reggiano (or you can use Pecorino or Romano) basically any hard Italian Cheese

3 garlic cloves

1/2 cup olive oil or more to get consistency correct

1 lemon (optional) Italians love using lemons and if you enjoy the taste of lemon – go on and give your pesto a squeeze.

METHOD

Tear the basil into pieces including stems and place in blender along with pine nuts. Give it a whirl to break up the basil and pine nuts. Scrape down the sides of blender then add garlic, parmesan and olive oil. If necessary add more olive oil until you get the right consistency to mix through your cooked pasta.

VARIATIONS

Use walnuts instead of pine nuts and also you can run some whole pine nuts or crushed walnuts through your pasta to give some extra nuttiness.

Use Parmesan Reggiano, Pecorino or Romano cheese

Instead of using all Basil – do 1/2 spinach and 1/2 basil.

There you have it. Your pesto will keep for one week in a sealed container in the fridge. Or you can freeze it in ice cube trays and once frozen put it into freezer bags and this will keep for six months.

TIPSTER

What a great hostess gift this would make. Put it in a lovely jar, decorate the lid with some fabric and ribbon and give the gift of love.

I hope you enjoy this true Italian flavour. If you would like to receive more clean and healthy eating recipes, please fill out your email address just to the right – subscribe to my blog.

Thank you and come back soon.