Tag Archives: Genoese recipe

Almond And Raisin Genoese Pandolce (Sweet Bread)

Each Christmas, as you probably know by now, I make my own Pandolce recipe using different ingredients, depending on the flavour and texture I wish to achieve. This year, however, I’ve decided to stick to a more traditional version of this wonderful cake.

Preparation time: 15 minutes + the resting time (15 minutes)

Cooking time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

For 8-10 servings

220 g Manitoba flour (or spelt flour)

100 g unbleached all purpose flour (or Italian flour 00 )

100 g softened butter

1 egg

1 and a half tablespoons of honey

90 g sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

a few drops of vanilla essence

150 g shelled almonds (you could replace some almond with pine nuts, to make it even more traditional)

200 g of raisin

80 g of candied fruit cut into small pieces

milk to taste (a few tablespoons, just enough to make a soft dough)

Method.

1. Mix the butter with the sugar and the egg, then add the honey. Add two drops of vanilla essence, then stir until the mixture is soft and creamy.

2. Separately, mix the two flours with the baking soda and the baking powder; then add the almonds, the raisins and the candied fruit. Combine the ingredients with the creamy mixture, add a few tablespoons of milk and work the dough for a few minutes. If the dough is too sticky add some flour. Then place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

3. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and bake at 170 ºC /388º ,with the fan of the oven running, for 40-50 minutes. Keep the door open with a metal object until the cake is cooked, in order to let the steam out (I use a small padlock).

I Wish You A Merry Christmas!!! <3<3<3

Pandolce con uvetta e mandorle.

Tempo di preparazione: 15 minuti + tempo di riposo (15 minuti)

Tempo di cottura: 50 minuti

Ingredienti

Per 8-10 porzioni

220 g di farina di manitoba (o farina di farro)

100 g di farina 00

100 g di burro ammorbidito

1 uovo

1 cucchiaio e mezzo di miele

90 g di zucchero

1 cucchiaino di lievito per dolci

1 cucchiaino di bicarbonato di sodio

alcune gocce di essenza di vaniglia

150 g di mandorle sgusciate (potete sostituire un po’ di mandorle con i pinoli, per renderlo ancora più tradizionale)

200 g di uva passa

80 g di frutta candita tagliata a pezzettini

latte q. b. (pochi cucchiai, quel tanto che basta per fare un impasto morbido)

Metodo.

1. Mescolate il burro con lo zucchero e l’uovo, quindi aggiungete il miele. Aggiungete due gocce di essenza di vaniglia, poi mescolate fino ad ottenere un composto morbido e cremoso.

2. Separatamente, unite le due farine con il bicarbonato e il lievito; quindi aggiungete le mandorle, l’uvetta e i canditi. Unite gli ingredienti al composto cremoso, aggiungete qualche cucchiaio di latte e lavorate l’impasto per alcuni minuti. Se l’impasto risultasse troppo appiccicoso potete aggiungere un po’ di farina. Mettete l’impasto in frigorifero a riposare per 15 minuti.

3. Togliete l’impasto dal frigorifero e infornate a 170 ºC per 40-50 minuti, con la ventola in funzione. Tenete la porta aperta con un oggetto metallico (uso un lucchetto di un paio di centimetri di spessore) per tutta la durata della cottura, in modo da far uscire il vapore.

Coming soon…

A wonderful traditional recipe from Genoa with love! X

Stay tuned for more…

Traditional Recipe: Fried Sage Leaves

July 6, 2014Appetisers, Budget-friendly Recipes, Side Dishes, Traditional Recipes, VegetarianAromatic herb, Batter, Beer batter, Budget-friendly, Deep-fried, Genoese recipe, Sage, Salvia fritta, Side dish, Traditional recipe, Vegan, VegetarianSerena @ foodfulife

This is another lovely traditional recipe from Genoa; an extremely easy and cheap dish to prepare, especially if you have a sage plant in the garden! Sage is usually a very tough plant, in this cooking process the leaves become very tender and the aroma of this wonderful aromatic herb gets very delicate and pleasant to taste. It is a wonderful starter, but also a great side dish.
You need the kind of sage with big leaves, not all varieties are suitable for this method of preparation.

Fried Sage Leaves.

For 4 people

Ingredients

200 g (7.05 oz) large leaves of sage, washed and dried

100 g (3.5 oz) of plain flour

1 egg white (as a vegan option, make the batter without egg white)

100 ml (3.38 us fl oz) light beer

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

extra virgin olive oil (for frying)

salt

Method.

1. In a bowl, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt to the flour. Then slowly pour in the beer, stirring the mixture with a whisk. Cover with a kitchen towel, then let the batter rest for about 30 minutes.

2. Whip the egg whites until stiff, then stir them gently into the batter, just before frying.

3. Heat the extra virgin olive oil, meanwhile, dip the sage into the batter. Fry a few leaves at a time, in plenty of oil.

4. Drain the leaves and place them on a plate with plenty of paper towels, to absorb the excess oil. Season with salt and serve.

Salvia fritta in pastella.

per 4 persone

Ingredienti

200 g di foglie grosse di salvia, lavate e asciugate

100 g di farina

1 albume (per una dieta vegana, si può fare la pastella senza uovo)

100 ml di birra chiara

1 cucchiaio di olio extra vergine d’oliva (per la pastella)

olio extra vergine d’oliva (per friggere)

sale

Preparazione.

1. In una terrina, unite 1 cucchiaio d’olio, un pizzico di sale alla farina. Versate poi a filo la birra, mescolando con una frusta l’impasto. Ricoprite con un canovaccio e lasciate riposare l’impasto per 30 minuti.

2. Montate l’albume a neve e incorporate delicatamente nella pastella, poco prima di friggere.

3. Fate scaldare l’olio e immergete la salvia nella pastella. Friggete alcune foglie per volta in olio abbondante.

4. Scolate le foglie e appoggiatele su un piatto con abbondante carta assorbente. Salate e servite.

Traditional Recipe: Focaccia al Formaggio di Recco

June 5, 2014Bread & Buns, Pizza, Traditional Recipes, VegetarianBaking, Bread, Crescenza, Focaccia, Genoese recipe, Genova, Italian cooking, Italian cream cheese, Liguria, Pizza, Recco, StracchinoSerena @ foodfulife

This focaccia al formaggio di Recco (Cheese Focaccia from Recco), is one of the most appreciated dishes we have in Liguria. Many bakeries and pizza places make this amazing focaccia, but only a few really excel in this recipe.

This focaccia is basically made with two almost transparent sheets of pastry, made with flour, olive oil, salt and no yeast. The cheese is then arranged and sealed between the pastry layers. The result should’t be either too oily or dry, the pastry should be crunchy on top and the cheese should be very fresh and creamy in the middle. Sometimes I add milk to the cheese to make it a little extra creamy. But you really have to use only fresh crescenza or stracchino, because no other cheese will taste as good as these cheeses in this recipe!

The preparation method will requires some care, especially when you roll out the dough to make it thin. Yes, to make a thin layer might be tricky the first few times, however after some practice it will get easier and the pastry thinner.

Focaccia al formaggio di Recco.

Ingredients

For 6 servings

250 g (8.8 oz) plain flour

500 g (17.6 oz) of Italian soft cheese crescenza or stracchino (but you can double this amount, if you want more cheese inside the focaccia)

extra virgin olive oil

freshly ground sea salt

flour for dusting

water

Method.

1. On a work surface or a table, place the flour, then add the salt, 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and enough water to make a soft and smooth dough. Knead well.

2. Dust the work surface with some flour and roll out the pastry using a rolling pin. Stretch the pastry further with your hands, until you get two almost see-through sheets (careful not to break them).

3. Place a sheet of pastry on a large baking tray, greased with extra virgin olive oil. Arrange the cheese (cut into pieces) on top of the pastry, then cover everything with the other sheet of pastry.

4. Seal the edges of the pastry together, so that the cheese will stay inside when it melts.

5. Slightly pierce the pastry (only pierce the top layer, not the base). Bake at 200 ° C (392° F) until the pastry is golden and crispy. Salt and serve straight away.

Focaccia al formaggio di Recco.

Ingredienti

Per 6 persone

250 g di farina 00

500 g di crescenza o stracchino (potete raddoppiare la dose di formaggio, se volete più formaggio dentro la vostra focaccia)

olio extra vergine d’oliva

sale

farina per infarinare la spianatoia

acqua q. b.

Preparazione.

1. Su una spianatoia, disponete la farina a fontana e aggiungete il sale, 2 cucchiai d’olio e l’acqua necessaria per ottenere un impasto omogeneo. Impastate bene tutto.

2. Infarinate la spianatoia e stendete l’impasto con il matterello. Tendete ulteriormente l’impasto con le mani, per ottenere due sfoglie il più sottile possibile (senza romperle).

3. Stendete una sfoglia su una teglia grande, precedentemente unta con 2 cucchiai d’olio. Disponete il formaggio fresco (tagliato a pezzi) sulla sfoglia e ricoprite tutto con la seconda sfoglia.

4. Pressate insieme i bordi delle sfoglie, in modo da sigillare la pasta e non far uscire il formaggio.

5. Bucate leggermente la superficie della pasta, facendo attenzione a non bucare la base della focaccia. Infornate a 200°C, fino ad ottenere una focaccia croccante. Salate e servite subito.