Stuffed Tomato & Tomato Risotto

Last Thursday there was a public holiday in Venice to celebrate the festival of the Salute. It is a religious occasion where many people travel to Venice to take part in mass in the Salute Church, although the religious side is important to many people, we went purely because we were promised doughnuts and candy floss. And we weren't disappointed. We all skipped breakfast so we would have enough room to eat when we were there, started off with a deep fried doughy thing covered in sugar and filled with Nutella. It. Was. AMAZING. Once we had finished making a mess and covering ourselves in Nutella, we tried Arancini which are balls of risotto stuffed with cheese and ham or spinach etc. then covered in breadcrumbs and deep fried. To top it off I had a massive blob of candyfloss and remained on a sugar high for pretty much the rest of the day and did none of my essay. Whoops. So worth it though.

I'm trying to use up all of the ingredients I have left in the cupboards before we leave next week, so I made a stuffed tomato risotto thing for dinner.

Serves 4
Ingredients:

Six Large Tomatoes (2 Diced, 4 with tops sliced off and the insides scooped out and saved in a bowl)
250g Risotto Rice
1 Onion (Diced)
1 Large Handful Grated Parmesan
1 tsp Oregano
2 Cloves Garlic (Finely chopped)
1 Veg Stock Cube
1 Litre Boiling Water

First heat the oven to 180 Degrees and add the stock cube to the boiling water.

Fry the onions and garlic in a little olive oil until softened. Add the risotto rice and a little of the stock to the pan. Keep adding the stock a little at a time until the rice has soaked it up. Add the chopped and the insides of the tomatoes and add a pinch of salt, pepper, oregano and the parmesan. Once the rice is nearly cooked spoon some of the risotto into each empty tomato before placing them in a baking tray and roasting in the oven for 10 minutes. Take the rest of the risotto off the heat otherwise it will become soft and mushy (no one wants that!).

Serve any remaining risotto in a bowl and place a stuffed tomato on top, garnish with parmesan!

Never too old for a balloon eh?

Thought I would share a few more pictures from the festival including a lovely montage of me devouring my candy floss thanks to Emily, and Holly with her new friend - the minion balloon, which is not deflating in our kitchen!

Sorry Mum 

Tomato & Mozzarella Tart With Pesto Dressing

The vegetable tart that I made before is a big hit in my flat, so I thought I'd come up with a different version to mix things up a little. The picture of this is not great, I apologise, but we were so hungry I couldn't mess around with the camera to try and get a good shot! We have been pretty busy over the last week or so, with our final essay deadline on Monday as well as organising ourselves before our big departure from Venice on the 7th, I'v had less time to come up with new meal ideas and we are all running out of money to buy exciting ingredients. This tart is not as boring as it seems however, it has roasted pepper and prosciutto underneath the tomatoes, plus anything covered in extreme amounts of mozzarella is a winner in our flat. I served this with a pesto dressing as well.

Serves 4
Ingredients:

1 Ready Rolled Puff Pastry
1 Packet Sliced Prosciutto
3 Large Tomatoes (Thinly Sliced)
2 Red Peppers (Sliced into 1 inch strips)
2 Balls Mozzarella (Sliced)

For the Dressing:
1 Tbsp Basil Pesto
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tsp White Wine Vinegar
1 Handful of Parmesan Shavings

Roast the sliced peppers and onions in the oven for 20 minutes with a little olive oil - this reduces the water content in them to stop the pastry getting too soggy. Leave the oven on 200 degrees - it is important to have the oven fully heated before cooking the pastry, don't want any soggy bottoms!!

Roll the pastry out onto a baking tray, use a fork to prick the pastry before layering the sliced prosciutto and the roasted peppers on top. Add the tomatoes in circles and top with the mozzarella. Bake in the oven on 200 Degrees for about 20 minutes until the pastry is crisp and the mozzarella is golden brown.

While the tart is cooking, combine the oil, vinegar and pesto in a bowl with the parmesan shavings. Mix together with a pinch of salt and pepper to make the dressing.

When I made this tart I didn't roast the tomatoes first, so the pastry was not as cooked through as I would have liked, but if you do roast them I think it would be easier.

Aubergine & Mozzarella Pasta

I had a similar dish when I was on holiday in Rome a few years ago and never attempted to make it until now. I'm really running out of ways to make pasta exciting, so I gave it a go. The picture doesn't really do it justice, there are two balls of mozzarella running through the tomato sauce which melt and make the sauce creamy and it does that stringy thing too. I also roasted the onions and the aubergines to give them a slightly more smoky taste before adding them to the sauce, I think it is better this way as the aubergine doesn't get too soft either and it does need a bit of texture.

Serves 4-6
Ingredients
1 Large Aubergine (Diced)
1 Onion (Diced)
3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
1 Packet Penne Pasta
2 Balls Mozzarella (Chopped)
1 Jar Passata
2 Cloves Garlic (Finely Chopped)
1 Handful Basil Leaves (Chopped)
1 Tsp Oregano
Salt & Pepper

Roast the aubergine and onions in a glug of olive oil and the balsamic vinegar with a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast them in the over on 200 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Place a pan of salted water on to boil, when boiling add the pasta and leave for 10-15 minutes until cooked al dente.

Add the passata and garlic to a pan with the chopped mozzarella and oregano. Leave to cook until all the mozzarella has melted. Add the roasted vegetables and leave for a few minutes to soak up the sauce. While doing so, drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Serve with some chopped basil on top and lots of parmesan.

Not sure it quite lived up to the little restaurant near the Trevi Fountain where I had it first, but it makes a change from standard tomato pasta!

Sweet & Sour Chicken with Egg Fried Rice

My little Italian blog has had an Asian take over this evening - although maybe sweet and sour chicken is something the brits invented like tikka masala? Sorry, I haven't done my research...We have been really craving chinese food for ages, pretty much the whole flat with the exception of Emily (who is a good, hard working girl unlike the rest of us) has been hungover for the whole of the weekend and we needed something take away-esque. It was the last weekend we could really justify going out as we have essay deadlines again soon, so we took full advantage. I'm not going to tell you any stories because I will get in trouble for gossiping, all I'm going to say is that some of us will not be going near alcohol any time soon (cough, Holly, cough).

Serves 4
Ingredients:

3 Chicken Breasts (Diced)
2 Carrots (In Batons)
2 Red Peppers (Cut into Chunks)
1 Can Pineapple Chunks (Drained)
100g Cashew Nuts
1 Onion (Diced)
6 tbsp Tomato Ketchup
4 tbsp White Wine Vinegar
3 tbsp Sugar
1 Clove Garlic (Finely Chopped)
Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper
200-250g Rice
2 Eggs (Beaten)
150g Peas

Place a pan of water and leave to boil. Boil the rice until cooked, drain and leave to cool (or rise under a cold tap).

Fry the onions and garlic in a pan, add the chicken and leave to cook through for 5 minutes stirring constantly. Add the carrots and peppers. Mix the ketchup, vinegar and sugar in a bowl and add to the chicken and veg. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and add the cashew nuts and leave to simmer for 10 minutes. Add a few splashes of water if the sauce gets too thick.

While the chicken is simmering, heat a frying pan with some olive oil and leave to get really hot. Then add the cool rice to the frying pan. Push the rice to one side of the pan and add the eggs to the other side of the pan. Leave to cook through and then use a fork or a chopstick to break up the egg and mix it into the rice. Next add the peas and leave to cook for a few minutes. Serve the rice with the sweet and sour chicken for an easy and healthier version of a classic.

It was a welcome break from pasta and now we can have chips too because we invested in some ketchup!
We are expecting really high waters tomorrow, higher than my wellies apparently, according to our resident weather girl, Emily. Looks like I will get a chance to wear my bikini after all!

Oh I also forgot to mention that we had an apple strudel for pudding. I didn't make it but it was soooo good and now I feel really greedy - just like every other day I suppose.

Italian Cottage Pie

There is currently a strike happening across Venice meaning that this weekend there is a shortage of food here. The supermarkets are looking pretty bare at the moment and there is practically no meat left to buy. Nightmare for cooking blogs...We had a friend of ours over for dinner the other day and I had promised Sarah a cottage pie, although when I went to buy some mince there was none left so I took a leaf out of my Head Chef's book (Darren from work) and decided to use beef steak instead and I actually think I prefer it this way.

The cottage pie in the picture is different shades because Sarah doesn't eat cheese, so I left one section of it free for her. The cheese is optional but I reckon it makes the mashed potato taste soooo much better.

Serves 6
Ingredients:
6-8 Large Potatoes (Peeled and chopped into small chunks)
1 Large Onion (Diced)
1 Clove Garlic (Finely Chopped)
350g Beef Steak (Chopped into small chunks) or 500g Lean Mince
1 Pack Bacon Lardons
500ml Red Wine
1 Veg/Beef Stock Cube
500ml Boiling Water
Salt, Pepper, Oregano
1 tbsp Tomato Purée
5 Large Carrots (Diced)
Handful of Cheddar Cheese & Handful of Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 200 Degrees.

Place a pan of water on to boil and add the potatoes and leave until soft. Take the boiling water and add the stock cube, a pinch of salt, pepper and oregano. Stir in the tomato purée and leave to the side to make a stock.

Fry the onions and the garlic in a little olive oil in a large frying pan until soft. Add the beef and the lardons and fry until browned. Add the red wine and leave to simmer on a medium heat for 15 minutes. Add in the stock and the chopped carrots and leave to simmer for a further 20-25 minutes on a low heat. While that is cooking, mash the potatoes with a dash of milk until smooth (not that I can ever make mash without lumps in, I don't have the patience)

Then layer the meat sauce into the bottom of a baking dish and then top with the mash potato. Spread the potato evenly across the meat and then gently press a fork across the potato to create ridges (this will make it more crispy) then top with both the cheddar and the parmesan. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Serve with some green veg or salad, we had courgettes!

The bacon really adds to the flavour of the dish - as does the red wine, making it taste a lot better than a standard cottage pie. Also the beef steak gets really tender when cooked for a long time which makes quite the difference if you'd like to have a break from plain mince.

Cheese Fondue

Cheese fondue is my favourite thing about skiing, apart from the après ski of course (cannot go wrong with a glass of vin chaud). A big vat of wine and cheese, what is not to like?! We had a long week and a stressful weekend we really needed some comfort food. This meal is not the epitome of healthy eating - don't let the salad fool you, it was only there for show.

I searched for a few recipes but decided to make mine up with more Italian ingredients, as this dish is originally from Switzerland I think.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 Baguette (Can be a bit stale and roughly chopped up)
1 Bag New Potatoes

300g Emmental Cheese (Grated)
300g Gruyere Cheese (Grated)
1 Ball Mozzarella (Ripped up)
1 Large Handful of Parmesan (Grated)
400ml Dry White Wine
1 Tbsp Cornflour (Mixed with water into a paste)
I Clove Garlic

Slice the garlic in half and rub the bottom and the sides of a large pan. Pour the wine into the pan with the cornflour and leave to simmer for 5 minutes. Add all the cheese and a pinch of salt and pepper and leave to melt. Let the mixture thicken for 15-20 minutes. I don't have a fondue pot here, but if you do at home melt the cheese and the wine in there and then set it over the flame on the table to thicken.

Fondue is usually served with bread and potatoes, but sometimes it comes with pickles and salami so try that if you don't think masses of cheese is enough for you!!

Alternatively, you can buy a packet mix of fondue cheese (I know, cheating again) but it is easier and probably cheaper than buying the cheese separately.

Sorrryyyy

So sorry I have been away for so long, after a busy weekend last week with Ashleigh, I then had a travel week to Florence - so I really haven't been doing very much cooking! I will endeavour to start again on Monday and after plenty of eating out last week there is a ban on pasta in the flat. I thought I would blog a little about the Halloween party last weekend, the food seemed to go down well but as per usual I made far too much and we were snacking on Halloween treats for a few days.

This is what I made:
Mini Pizza Mummies
Twice Baked Potato Skins
Pesto & Parmesan Pasta
Chocolate & Cherry Pancakes
Chocolate Orange Pumpkin Cake (which I hacked with the meat cleaver and ruined...)
Blood Orange Punch (LOTS of Vodka involved here)
Limoncello & Prosecco Fizz

The Pumpkin Cake did not get eaten, my fault entirely as I really wanted to use our scary meat cleaver so I hacked it up a bit and made it look very unappetising - safe to say, I had drunk a few glasses of punch and probably should not have been allowed near the meat cleaver in the first place. Here is a picture of the cake before I destroyed it though.



The potato skins were not Halloween themed but they were the favourite by far. Bake the potatoes until cooked through, cut them in half and scoop out all the filling into a bowl. Add handfuls of cheese and cooked bacon with a knob of butter and mix together, then scoop the filling back into the empty skins, top with a slice of mozzarella and bake for another 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

The party was fun and we ended up at the one and only night club in Venice, which was tiny but I have missed clubbing sooo much!! Thanks to Ash for being on top form the whole weekend and to everyone that made the effort to come to the party and dress up!



And finally, thanks to my favourite flatmates who helped decorate and cook even with essay deadlines looming and let me loose with my make up on their faces. xxx