Tag Archives: Traditional Recipes

Whole Spelt Piadina (Italian flatbread)

The Piadina Romagnola is a flatbread traditionally made in Emilia-Romagna, an Italian region well known for its delicious food and wonderful recipes. Usually, this bread is made with simple ingredients like: white 00 flour (Italian plain flour), lard, water, milk and fine sea salt… However there are some variations in ingredients, thickness and consistency. This week we are going to prepare a whole grain piadina made with yogurt and extra virgin olive oil, instead of using lard and plain flour, for a lighter high-in-fibre version of the Piadina.

You can be very creative and fill this bread with lots of fresh seasonal ingredients.

Tips.

1. For the cooking method I suggest you use a heavy-based large and flat pan; a cast iron or a stone-derived pan is possibly the best thing you can use for this preparation.

2. Dust the pastry with some flour before placing it on the hot pan to cook. Then, when the piadina is cooked, wipe the surface of the pan with some paper. Repeat this operation before cooking each bread, otherwise the flour left on the pan will burn and change the flavour of the piadina.

3. I added a little bit of yogurt to replace the milk and lard, however you can replace the yogurt with more oil and water, if you want a dairy-free recipe.

Whole spelt Piadina (Italian flatbread)

for 5 large flatbreads

Ingredients

400 g wholemeal spelled flour

50 ml extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3 tablespoons of yogurt (I used full-fat, but you can use low-fat yogurt if you prefer)
200 ml of water

Method.

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, then cover with cling film and let sit for 30 minutes.

2. Heat a large non-stick frying pan (use a pan with 24 cm in diameter).

3. Cut the dough into five pieces. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until you get a round thin sheet of pastry, with a diameter a little ‘smaller than the diameter of the pan.

4. Dust the Piadina and place it on the hot pan, over a medium-high heat. Cook the flatbread on each side for a few minutes until crispy and golden.

5. Cook all the Piadinas, then fill them with all the fresh ingredients that you like.

The preparation of this recipe is so quick and easy that you won’t be buying flat bread anymore!!

Piadine di farro (senza strutto)

Per 5 piadine

Ingredienti

400 g di farina integrale di farro

50 ml di olio extra vergine d’oliva

1/2 cucchiaino di sale

1/2 cucchiaino di bicarbonato

3 cucchiai di yogurt intero

200 ml d’acqua

Preparazione.

1. Impastate tutti gli ingredienti in una terrina, poi ricoprite con la pellicola e lasciate riposare per 30 minuti.

2. Scaldate una padella antiaderente abbastanza grande (uso una padella con 24 cm di diametro).

3. Tagliate la pasta in cinque pezzi. Stendete la pasta con un matterello fino ad ottenere una sfoglia rotonda e sottile (del diametro un po’ più piccolo della padella).

4. Infarinate la sfoglia e mettetela sulla padella. Fate cuocere per qualche minuto e poi girate la piadina per cuocerla uniformemente. Quando la piadina è dorata su entrambi i lati è pronta.

5. Preparate tutte le piadine, poi farcitele con con il ripieno che desiderate.

Guardate anche la ricetta per la piadina alla caprese

Traditional Recipe: Easy Spinach Flan

This week we are going to prepare a light spinach flan, made with lots of spinach, fresh ricotta, eggs and parmesan cheese. It is an incredibly easy dish to make and so tasty, it can be served as a main vegetarian meal with some fresh salad on the side, but it is also a wonderful side dish.
My mother prepares this flan very often and we love it! I hope you enjoy the recipe!

Easy spinach flan

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

500 g of fresh spinach, washed and ready to cook

80 g of Parmigiano Reggiano

2 large eggs

250 g ricotta

3 tablespoons of polenta (or breadcrumbs)

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

a pinch of nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Method.

1. Soften the spinach in a large pan with two tablespoons of water, over a low heat for a few minutes.

2. Drain the spinach and let cool (as the spinach will release some water when they cook). Then vigorously squeeze the vegetables for a few minutes.

3. Coarsely chop the spinach using a knife.

4. In a large bowl, mix 250g ricotta with two large eggs, 80 g Parmesan cheese, then season with salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg and two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Mix well.

5. Line a small baking pan with a sheet of baking paper (I used a 22 cm x 6 cm round pan), then grease the base with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.

6. Pour the spinach mixture into the pan, sprinkle with lots of polenta (or breadcrumbs) and bake at 180 ° C (356 °F) until the flan is golden brown around the edges. Serve warm or cold, as you prefer.

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Sformato di spinaci (facile)

Ingredienti

per 4-6 persone

500 g di spinaci freschi in busta

80 g di Parmigiano Reggiano

2 uova medio-grandi

250 g di ricotta

polenta (o pangrattato)

4 cucchiai di olio extra vergine d’oliva

Noce moscata

sale e pepe q. b.

Preparazione.

1. Fate ammorbidire gli spinaci in una pentola con due cucchiai d’acqua, a fuoco molto basso per qualche minuto.

2. Scolate e lasciate raffreddare gli spinaci, poi strizzateli energicamente.

3. Tritate grossolanamente gli spinaci usando un coltello.

4. Unite 250 g di ricotta a due uova con 80 g di Parmigiano Reggiano grattugiato, poi condite con sale, pepe, un pizzico di noce moscata e due cucchiai d’olio extra vergine d’oliva. Mescolate bene.

5. Ricoprite una teglia con carta da forno (uso una casseruola di 22 cm x 6 cm) e ungete la base con due cucchiai di olio extra vergine d’oliva.

6. Versate il contenuto nella teglia, cospargete la superficie con abbondante polenta e infornate a 180° C, fino a quando lo sformato sarà dorato sulla parte superiore.

Traditional Recipe: Salsa Verde (Fresh Parsley Sauce)

May 6, 2014Condiment, Traditional RecipesExtra virgin olive oil, Fresh parsley sauce, Garlic, Italian traditional cooking, Parsley, Piemonte, Raw, Salsa verde, Sauce, Traditional Recipes, VegetarianSerena @ foodfulife

Salsa Verde is a great condiment which enriches dishes with a fresh and distinctive garlic-parsley flavour. It is excellent served with boiled meat, steamed fish or vegetables dishes. Salsa Verde is prepared with a few ingredients and is very fast and simple to make.

This sauce is widely used and appreciated in Italy, in fact, there are several versions of it. As usually happens with most traditional Italian dishes, the ingredients and flavours vary depending on the region or town in which they have been prepared.
It is a very tasty sauce, however, to further enrich the flavour of this wonderful sauce you can also add pine nuts, capers and olives.

Salsa Verde.

Preparation: 5 minutes (+ the time to boil the eggs)

Difficulty: very easy

1 big bunch of parsley.

1 clove of garlic

1 anchovy (preserved in oil)

A little bit of soft bread (with no crust), soaked in white wine vinegar

2 hard-boiled egg yolks

100 ml of extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons of very cold water

Method

1. Mix the parsley leaves, the garlic, the egg yolks and the anchovy in a food processor, with 2 tablespoons of cold water but without the extra virgin olive oil.

2. Pour the mixture into a bowl. Add the extra virgin olive oil, season with a little salt and pepper and mix well.

3. Serve in a small bowl with fish, vegetables or meat dishes (boiled or steamed).

Salsa verde.

Tempo di preparazione: 5 minuti (+ il tempo di bollire le uova)

Facilissima

1 mazzetto di prezzemolo.

1 spicchio d’aglio (senza l’anima)

1 acciuga sott’olio

la mollica di un panino medio-piccolo, inzuppata nell’aceto bianco

2 tuorli d’uova sode

100 ml d’olio extra vergine d’oliva

sale e pepe macinato fresco q. b.

2 cucchiai d’acqua molto fredda

Metodo.

1. Tritate (utilizzando un tritatutto) le foglie di prezzemolo, i tuorli d’uova, l’acciuga e l’aglio con due cucchiai d’acqua fredda, senza aggiungere l’olio.

2. Versate il composto ottenuto in una ciotola, aggiungete l’olio extra vergine d’oliva, condite con poco sale e pepe e mescolate bene.

3. Servite la salsa in una piccola ciotola accompagnando piatti di pesce, carni o verdure bollite (o cotte a vapore).