Farro, an ancient grain.

 

 Farro- An ancient Italian grain that is similar in taste to barley. In the United States, farro is known as a type of spelt or wheat.When cooked, the texture of farro is firm and chewy, while some American varieties (spelt) become softer.Farro is high in fiber and a good source of iron and protein and it's easy to digest, allowing your body to better absorb the nutrients.In European countries, farro is often used for polenta and bread recipes. Farro provides a nutty flavor to salads, soups, stews, side dishes.
Chefs prize it for its nutty flavor, delicate chew, and versatility, and I could say that anyone who first experiences it in a restaurant soon finds himself or herself on the lookout for it at the supermarket, natural foods store, or big-box store. 
So,yes I love farro!
I was looking for something to cook for dinner that was easy healthy and filling for a Summer evening in Boston, that could use a large amount of and different variety of my homegrown tomatoes,then an idea came to my mind:
Farro Caprese Salad

ingredients:
Serves 4- 6 

10 ounces farro (about 1 ½ cups)

2 cups water 

2 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock

2 garlic cloves minced

8 ounce tomatoes, halved/quartered or diced
8 ounces fresh mozzarella,diced or cut in half if using the small ones
1/4 cup fresh basil, julienne

2 teaspoon of basil pesto( used my homemade pesto)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and Pepper

How to make it:

In a medium saucepan, medium heat add a little bit of olive oil and the garlic. Cook until the garlic is translucent, be careful for not to burn it. Add the farro to the saucepot and toast the grain for a couple of minutes stirring with a wooden spoon. The french culinary term of toasting and coating the grain with the oil, it's called "necre" and it's my husband favorite culinary "Jeopardy" word when we have interns at work.( just had to add that for him, haha!)

Add water ,stock and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, and then reduce to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the farro is tender, about 30-40 minutes. Drain well and place in a large bowl. Wait until is completely cool down. You can do this earlier and store it in the fridge

Add the tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil pesto. Toss to combine.

For the vinaigrette, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper, and add to the farro mixture. add the julienne basil right before serving. It goes really well with salmon!

Enjoy

Pri

Homegrown tomatoes are the best 

This was the final product, the dinner all put together , salmon goes really well with the nutty farro flavor.   

Clams with Squid Ink Spaguetti (Spaghetti Nero di Seppia e Vongole)

inside Salumeria Italiana

Lately we are talking so much about clambakes at work. In one of the new venues we are working this year we are doing a bunch of clambakes, and because of that clams have been on my mind for a few days now. We all really love eating clams at home but rarely we cook with them.
It was Monday, my day off and my mind was set: I am cooking clams for dinner.
I decided to make a trip to The North End (the italian neighborhood in Boston). And yes I drove there! The North End is not an easy place to find park specially during daytime on weekdays. When all the of many small italian restaurants along Hanover St and side streets are receiving their orders.But there is something romantic and unique about going grocery shop in the North End that makes it well worth the risk driving there.
One of my favorite place to shop at the North End is the Salumeria Italiana, on Richmond St., this small shop is full of italian goodies from cheese and cold cuts to  awesome selection of olive oils and different types pasta. And they had "Spaguetti Nero di Seppia" on the shelf which sounds like a perfect combination to go with clams,and I got a few other things there as well.
All I needed now it was a trip to the small fish market at Salem Street, also located on the italian neighborhood. Oh, the seafood there is always so fresh! And I came back home happy as a clam with 3 dozens of Wellfleet 's little necks   in my bag.

Clams with Squid Ink Spaguetti ( serves 4-5 people)

Ingredients:
1/4 pound of panceta,cooked crispy in the oven and chopped
1 pound dried squid ink spaghetti(you can do it with regular spaghetti)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
5 to 7 cloves garlic, finely chopped
36 small size clams like little necks, scrubbed clean
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 cup dry white wine
2/3 cup italian canned tomatoes like San Marzano, chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
small handful of basil leaves rough chopped for garnish

How to make it:


In a large pot, bring to a boil 6 quarts of salted water. Add pasta, stirring constantly in the beginning to prevent it from sticking together. Cook until al dente, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan. When almost smoking, add onions and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic.

Add the crispy pancetta and tomatoes stir for a minute Add the clams and wine. Cover and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes or until clams have opened.

Add chopped parsley. Whisk in butter to thicken sauce slightly.

Drain pasta in a colander. Do not rinse pasta with water - this will remove the pasta's natural starches. Place pasta into the clam saute pan and mix thoroughly. Check seasoning.

Pour pasta into large serving bowl. Garnish with chopped basil 
and serve immediately.
My Husband said it was one of the best dinners he had in the last few months.Well, I guess we will be cooking more clams at home from now on.

Enjoy,

Pri=)

happy clams!

Everything came out so delicious , make sure to grab some bread , and a small Caprese salad also will go really well with it.

Ratatouille

Oh!I haven't come here in such a long time. And I should make time and to do this more often. That's what my husband said. After having a rare 3 days off in a row at work and it's raining for 3 days. I had enough time to caught up with lots of things. Went to have breakfast with best friend at Sofra, organize pantry and kitchen's cabinets, did some terrarium and other little craft projects and even the endless laundry is all done. So, I took my husband's advise and here I am in a Tuesday late morning.Husband off to work and daughter dropped off at school,I am back into blogging.
And after all this rain.. .I thought about hummm Ratatouille might be a great way to restart.

Ratatouille is a traditional French Provençal stewed vegetable dish, originating in Nice. The full name of the dish is ratatouille niçoise.
It's a pretty simple dish you can serve as a side dish or as meal own it's own! it goes really well with couscous or rice and for protein I would pick from lamb, duck to roast chicken. You can even do a take on the contemporary variation, confit byaldi,popularized by Thomas Keller in his "French Laundry" book and even more popular after the 2007 animated film Ratatouille.
But a secret to a truly traditional Ratatouille, you need to cook the vegetable separately.

"The secret of a good ratatouille is to cook the vegetables separately so each will taste truly of itself."

—Joël Robuchon, The Complete Robuchon

Ingredients:

• 2 small sized zucchinis 
• 2 small eggplants 
• 2 small sized summer squash
• 1 Medium onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 4 tomatoes
• 1 red pepper
• 3 Tbsp chopped fresh herbs(I used parsley,oregano, thyme,tarragon, if use dry herbs cut amount by 1/2)
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 bay leaf
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper 

How to make it:

 Dice all the vegetable medium dice size.

In a thick bottom pot like Le Creuset style medium heat add olive oil and onions and sweat them until they are translucent then add the garlic and cook for 5 more minutes. Turn heat all the way down.

In a different pan sautee the tomatoes in a little oil plus salt and pepper to taste for 5-7 minute or until they are soft then add the tomato to the pot with onions and garlic.

Do this same steps with the red pepper, zucchini, squash and the eggplant adding them all to the pot once they are tender.

Add chopped herbs to the veggies and the balsamic vinegar. Put the lid on and let it cook in slow heat for 45 min to an hour. Make sure to stir and check at times to not let the ratatouille stick to the bottom and burn. You cn make this ahead of time and even a day before serving just need to bring up  the temperature slowing before serving.

Enjoy,

Pri =)

Willy Nelson, my dog, loves tomatoes and he can smell them on the stove cooking 

Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Irish soda bread is an easy to make quick bread that is traditional for St Patrick’s Day celebrations. It’s a great all-purpose bread to make because not only can you put an almost unlimited number of variations on the basic recipe, but it is so easy that anyone can bake it ,no matter how intimidated you are by the thought of baking bread. And since doesn't contain yeast you don't need to wait for it to rise.
Soda Bread Facts:

Although the Irish didn't invent Soda Bread it is most often identified with them.
The "soft wheat" is the only suitable flour that can grow in Ireland's climate, and when mixed like a traditional dough it doesn't form any gluten like a traditional yeast bread, it does work well with a soda bread recipe.

The Idea of using soda to leaven bread was done by the American Indians centuries ago, where they used pearl-ash or Potash( a natural soda in wood ashes) in their breads to make them rise.

The cross on the soda bread has several explanations, Legend has it that folks did it to "let the devil out" while it's baking for good luck, and others say that it made it easy to divide into 4 pieces. It was also a symbol for a cross during Christian holidays. 

On this recipe that I made I used  organic dried zante currants and Hunza golden raisins and I skipped the caraway seeds.

Irish Soda Bread with Golden Raisins and  Dried Currants 

Ingredients:

4 cups all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 cup butter softened

1 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

1/2 cup dried currants

1/2 cup chopped golden raisins

1 tablespoon of butter melted and 2 tablespoon of buttermilk to brush it

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F . Lightly grease an oven safe pan. You can use a cast iron pan a round pyrex dish , I used my Le Creuset dutch oven, and that worked really well.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, butter,after its mixed add the currants and raisins . Stir in 1 cup of buttermilk and egg. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Form dough into a round and place on prepared pan. In a small bowl, combine melted butter with 2 tablespoon of  buttermilk; brush loaf with this mixture. Use a sharp knife to cut an 'X' into the top of the loaf.

Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Check for doneness after 30 minutes. You may continue to brush the loaf with the butter mixture while it bakes.

Enjoy,

     Pri =)

Currants and Raisins

Mix the dry ingredients with butter

add the buttermilk and egg

Form into a round 

Ready for oven!

Yum!

Served it with butter or jam. Enjoy!

Mango Memories - Mango & Cardamom Muffins

I opened my refrigerator and grabbed the mango. As I looked at it and it made me think about my childhood back in Brazil. One of my dearest childhood memory was when I spent the Summer vacations with cousins at my uncle's farm house, playing with carefree abandon, climbing mango trees, dangling from branches trying to pluck out that delicious mango from the tree and throwing stones aiming at the higher mangoes or building and using some kind of rustic mango collector made with an old can tied with a string to a tall bamboo , all this when the elders were taking an afternoon nap or playing card games. As I take a moment to remember the Summer joys of laughter and innocence, the smell of mangoes ripening, sights of guava trees and chickens,  I hear in the distant sounds of cars going by and the school bell from across street going off.And I can’t help myself but be amazed at the simplicity of life. Wasn’t life so simple those days?

And bellow is a recipe that I try the other day using mangoes.

Mango & Cardamon Muffins
(it makes approximately 12 muffins)

Ingredients

• 1 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup Teff flour*
• 2/3 cup  dark brown sugar, plus 2 tablespoons to sprinkle on top of muffins
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 cup chopped peeled ripe mango 
• 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg 
• * If you don't have teff flour you can substitute with all-purpose flour.

How to make it:

Preheat the oven to 400°F and line the slots in your muffin pan with paper baking cups 

In your mixer  cream the butter and sugar well and add the egg and vanilla extract then beat well

Mix the salt, baking soda,baking powder and cardamon to the teff and all purpose flour.

Add the flour mix and the buttermilk to the mixer in 3 parts alternating.

Add the mango to the mix and stir until everything is well combined.

 Scoop into prepared muffin tray sprinkle with sugar evenly on top of each muffin  and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the tray for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Serve on its own or with honey or jam on the side.

What are your fondest childhood Summer vacation memories?

Pri =)

Ingredients measured

cream the brown sugar with the butter

Mix in the chopped mangoes 

Fill the muffin tin and sprinkle sugar on top

Just out of the oven. Ohhh... they smell so good!

Let them cool down and they are ready to be eaten!

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