Comfort Food... Soup!!!

It has been quite cold lately...

The kids and I have spent our afternoons at home, playing in the sitting-room or watching tv. Although the garden looks so nice and there are still some flowers bloom, it's chilly out there, brrrr....

So, I thought: "It's now time for a hot, tasty soup... a butternut squash soup!", one of my favourite! 

It's a very easy soup to make. I love genuine and simple food. Beside, I won't have much time for elaborate recipes, lately... 

My two little monkeys require my full attention all the time... so it's not unusual for Conor and me to have a take away for dinner...

... But not tonight!

Tonight, I'm making 'Buttenut Squash Soup' for dinner! 

INGREDIENTS:

• A butternut squash

• 2 big carrots

• 1 medium onion

• 3 celery ribs

• olive oil

• salt

• black pepper

• 1 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin

• 1/2 teaspoon of thyme

• 1/2 teaspoon of ground all spices

• 2 vegetable cubes

• 100ml double cream

PREPARATION:

Wash your butternut squash and then cut in half and clean from seeds and guts. Collect your seeds, if you want ... you can roast them later, as I did! 

Dice you butternut squash and the place on a tray. Before put it into a preheated oven, dust it with salt and half of a teaspoon of cumin. Roast the butternut squash for 15 minute at 180°C.

While your butternut squash is roasting, wash and peel your carrots, onion and celery ribs and cut them into pieces. Heat up a saucepan and add 3 full spoons of olive oil followed by cumin, all spices and a pinch of black pepper. Fry your spices for 10-15 seconds before adding the onion and then the carrots and celery pieces.

Stir your vegetables for 2-3 minutes and then add your roasted butternut squash. Let them cook together for 2-3 minutes on a medium heat and stir time to time. In the meantime, get some boiled water ready. Add the vegetable cubes to your vegetables before pouring hot boiled water. You need enough water to cover up all the vegetables. You can now add 1/2 teaspoon of thyme.

Cook the butternut squash, onion, carrot and celery for 30 minutes, or at least until your carrots are cooked through, on a low/medium heat. When all the vegetables are nice and cooked, let them rest for 5 to 10 minutes before blending your soup to a smooth and silky consistency. 

Reheat your saucepan on a very low heat and add the double cream. Stir your soup for a couple of minutes...

Your butternut squash soup is now ready!

I added a dust of paprika, a teaspoon of Parmigiano and a tear of olive oil... and of course, some roasted seeds!

DELICIOUS!

Pumpkin Lover

Halloween is one of my favorite Holidays!!!

When I was a child, it wasn't very popular in my town. 

In Italy we celebrate 'Il giorno dei morti', 'All Souls' Day'. On the 2nd of November, children usually get sweets and candies, and, in my place, we also get some biscuits called 'Le Ossa dei morti', 'Bones of the Deads'. It sounds creepy, but I actually loved these holidays, and I hope that I will continue both traditions in our Irish-Italian Family.

We definitely didn't have any pumpkin carving and decorations. This is all new for me, and it has been so much fun...

Nothing is wasted when you carve a pumpkin, right?... So, one more fun thing we did for Halloween was 'Roasted pumpkin seeds', Yummy!

I found an easy recipe online and I want to share it with you.

INGREDIENTS:

• Pumpkin(s) seeds... hahaha
• Coarse Salt
• Olive Oil
• Black Pepper

PREPARATION:

First of all you need to wash and clean your pumpkin seeds properly. Use a sieve to make your job easier. There shouldn't be any signs of pumpkins guts before you follow the next task...

Then you need to pour all your clean seeds in a saucepan with water and add a generous tablespoon on salt. Make sure your seeds are fully covered with water. Boil them with no top for at least 10-15 minutes over low-medium heat...

Then, drain the seeds and dry lightly with kitchen paper or a towel. Pumpkin seeds are quite sticky at this stage, so you might have to rub them off the towel before placing them on a baking sheet...

Spread the seeds and add a drizzle of olive oil and a generous pinch of coarse salt. I also added a tiny bit of black pepper. And now for the tricky part. Roast your seeds at 170C for... I would say for 15minutes, but they might need between 5 and 10 minutes more. It depends on the size of your seeds. Don't let them go too brown or they won't taste very nice.

When they are ready, or you think they are ready, take them out the oven and let the seeds cool for a couple of minutes before you taste them...

ENJOY!

Basil Basil Basil

Summer 2013 has been exceptionally sunny and warm here in Dublin...

It was so nice that we had so much fun spending our days in the garden. 

We had a few jobs done in our garden just at the beginning of July. 

New grass and two big flower/vegetable beds. I planted some Mediterranean herbs in the vegetable bed: mentha, rosemary, thyme, sage and of course peperocinis and basil.

... and now, that the 'glorious' Summer is over, it's time to harvest some of these beauties and make some tasty preserves for the Winter.

Well, on Saturday I cut some of my basil plants and decided to make a lovely and very tasty Italian sauce.

I made some real 'Pesto alla Genovese'. 

I washed the basil leaves in cold running water...

... and then I left them to dry overnight on a clean kitchen towel...

Now, for the Pesto sauce, I wanted to follow the traditional recipe.

And here it is:

INGREDIENTS:

• 50gr of fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 a glass of olive oil
• 6 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons of grated pecorino (Italian sheep cheese)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 table spoon of pine nuts
• a pinch of coarse sea salt

PREPARATION:

Traditionally the ingredients were combined and crushed together using a mortar and pestle. Nowadays, the easiest and quickest way to make this beautiful sauce is using a blender or a food processor.
I started with garlic and salt. Then I added my basil leaves to the paste, followed by pine nuts and grated cheeses. I poured the olive oil just at the end, little by little...

... and in no-time my beautiful Pesto alla Genovese was ready...

... the smell of basil, in my kitchen was amazing...

I put small portions of pesto in little food containers and saved them in the freezer. I will use them during the Winter to dress my pasta, or to warm up some tasty soups giving them a "touch of Summer"... Yummy!

Enjoy!!!