Spelt couscous with shrimps, scallops and vegetables

This is a super easy, super quick, super healthy recipe!

It’s delicious and it’s low GI too.

And if you add one serving, you’ll have your lunch ready for the office!

A perfectly healthy meal. Low GI couscous with shrimps, scallops and vegetables

Ingredients (for 2 people):

• 100 gr spelt couscous
• 200 gr shrimps (cleaned and without shell)
• 10 scallops (cleaned and without shell)
• 1 broccoli
• 3 carrots
• 1 yellow pepper
• 10 cherry tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves
• Extra virgin olive oil and chilli oil
• Couscous spice blend (you can it find ready-made at the supermarket or you can prepare your own mixing together white peppercorn, black peppercorn, turmeric, ginger powder, coriander, cardamom, nutmeg)

How to do list:

1. Cut the broccoli sprouts in small pieces and boil them for a few minutes. When they are ready remove them from water and set aside.
2. Cut the shrimps in small pieces.
3. In a large wok put 4 tablespoons of extra virgin oil and 2 of chilli oil. Add the couscous spice blend, the garlic cloves and heat until the garlic starts frying. Now you can remove it.
4. Add shrimps and scallops first and cook them for 3 or 4 minutes.
5. Then add carrots and yellow pepper cut in small pieces.
6. After about 10 minutes add the chopped cherry tomatoes and the broccoli sprouts too.
7. Prepare your couscous as indicated on the packet (usually boil a double amount of water than the couscous and pour it into a bowl. Add the couscous, cover the bowl for 5 minutes and that’s it).
8. Serve the couscous with the sauce, enjoy it!

Linguine and shrimps with broccoli and saffron sauce

Linguine and shrimps with broccoli and saffron sauce, a delicious creamy pasta

This recipe is a creation of my husband, Enea, and I definitely love it, and also love him!

Ingredients (for 3 people):

• 210 gr Linguine (we love Garofalo brand)
• 200 gr shrimps (cleaned and without shell)
• 300 gr broccoli sprouts
• 1 envelope of saffron powder
• 1 clove of garlic
• A bit of hot pepper powder, pepper and salt
• Extra virgin olive oil

Cooking instructions:

1. Cut the broccoli sprouts in small pieces and boil them for 5 to 7 minutes. When they are ready remove them from water and keep them aside.
2. Put a large pot of water to boil, you’ll need it to prepare the pasta.
3. When the water starts boiling, add salt and put the dry pasta in.
4. In a large wok heat 6 tablespoons of oil with the clove of garlic until it starts frying. Now you can remove it.
5. Add the shrimps first and cook them for 2 or 3 minutes.
6. Then add the boiled broccoli sprouts and mix them with the shrimps for 2 or 3 minutes.
7. Add the spices.
8. Now, after only 5 minutes, drain the pasta (conserving the water) and add it to the pan where you’ve prepared broccoli and shrimps.
9. Finish to cook the pasta in the wok adding the water where you boiled the pasta, one ladle per time and only when the water is almost completely dried. Don’t be scared because of the pasta is now not covered of water, it’ll cook well anyway if you stir it often gently and skip it in the wok, this is the secret of the creamy pasta!
10. When the pasta is ready, turn off the flame and add the saffron powder. Mix well and serve.

Linguine with a lime-scented asparagus, salmon & ricotta sauce

180gr Linguine
1 egg
250 gr ricotta
1 salmon fillet
1 bunch asparagus
1 clove of garlic (optional)
Peel and juice from 1 lime

Put a large pot of water to boil.
cut the asparagus into small pieces. Reserve the tips as this cooks fast, so you might want to add it at the last second
When the water starts boiling, add salt and put the dry pasta in. Never add salt to your pasta water until it’s about to boil – look out for the little bubbles coming up from the top, as the boiling starts from the bottom.
If you’re using garlic, chop it finely and fry it gently into a table spoon of olive oil.Tip: there’s not even half as much garlic as you are made to believe in Italian recipes, so I am skipping this step, but if you like your pasta to have a decisive garlic flavour do add it.
Add the chopped asparagus to the pan and stir fry gently for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the salmon fillet to the pan. Sear it on all sides by turning it every 10 seconds for about a minute and a half, then take a fork and flake it as it cooks. Season generously with salt & pepper.
Add the lime peel & juice and, when the liquid has reduced (about 1 minute should suffice) add the ricotta. Break it down with the help of a fork and mix well. Reduce heat to minimum.
When your pasta is cooked (see packet instructions) drain it and add it to the pan where you’ve made the sauce.
Add the raw egg to the pan (the heat from the pasta and sauce will cook it) and stir to ensure the pasta is coated all over with your sauce.
Divide the pasta among four bowls. Add one extra spoon of olive oil to the sauce pan, turn heat to high and fry your asparagus tip (previously set aside) for about a minute. Don’t overcook as they should still be crunchy to the bite.
Divide asparagus tips among pasta portions and serve.

Easy Cacciucco – an Italian fish stew

Cacciucco is an Italian fish stew come soup recipe popular in the regions of Liguria and Tuscany. Traditionally made with 5 different fish types and cooked with the addition of one stone from the sea inside the stock for deep flavour, soupy Cacciucco is also delicious when made with just one fish type – I’ve used seabass here, but you can swap this for monkfish if you find it fresh.

Ingredients
1 jar of tomato passata
2 large glasses of dry white wine (I used Greco di Tufo, which is an Italian dry white wine from the Campania region – but a young Chablis will also work well)
1 Spanish onion or rother white onion
1 clove of garlic
1 large dried chilli
1 pinch of fennel seeds
2 bay leaves
3 small fillets of sea bass
6 king prawns, heads-on
1 cup mixed shellfish
2.5 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Parsley leaves, to serve
Salt to taste

As you prepare to cook your Cacciucco fish stew, wash the shellfish under cool running water, then leave to rest in a bowl of cold, salted water. This will allow them to release any sand that’s trapped inside the shells.
Finely chop the onion and garlic. Heat the oil in a large pot, add onion, finely chopped chilli and garlic and fry until soft, taking extra care not to burn the garlic or else your tomato fish stew will only taste of garlic. Season with a sprinkle of sea salt. Be careful not to over season, as the shellfish and fish are quite salted already and you don’t want to end up with a stew that’s too salty
Pour in the wine, add the bay leaves and turn the heat to medium. Simmer for about three minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate.
Meanwhile rub the seabass fillets with a little extra virgin olive oil and slice into 3cm strips
Add the passata and the fish fillet strips, then turn heat to low and simmer for four minutes.
Add the shellfish, turn heat to high and cook until shellfish have opened completely.
Scatter Cacciucco with fresh parsley leaves and serve piping hot with a lug of olive oil and fragrant, crusty sourdough bread. Bring some extra dried chillies to the table for those who want to top up on the spiciness of the dish.

Tuna “empanada” Andalusian style

This is my recipe for emergencies. It is ready in a second and it uses only ingredients that I always keep in my cupboards such as tuna, tomato sauce, potatoes, onions. The empanada is a recipe of Galician origin, but I have learnt making it in Andalusia, so ingredients are a bit different from the original.

20 min. preparation | 30 min. baking time

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 2 puff pastry
• 4 cans of tuna
• 1 medium-sized potato, boiled
• 300gr tomato sauce
• 1/2 onion
• 1 green pepper
• 1 handful of frozen peas (optional)
• extra virgin olive oil

Cooking instructions

1. Boil the potato, peel it and cut it to cubes.
2. Dice the green pepper.
3. Dice the onion.
4. Drain the tuna from the oil of its can.
5. In a large pan fry the pepper and onion in 2 table spoons of extra virgin olive oil. Add the tomato sauce, the peas (if you are adding them) and the tuna to the frying pan, season to taste and cook for 10 minutes. You won’t need too much salt, since canned tuna tends to be pretty salty already.
6. Once the 10 minutes have passed, allow your cooked tuna mixture to cool for a few minutes. If you like your empanada filling to be quite firm, drain some juice out of it by running the whole thing through a colander.
7. Line a baking tray with baking paper, unroll a roll of puff pastry onto it and pour the tuna mixture in.
8. Lay another sheet of puff pastry on top, sealing the sides of the two pastry sheets together to keep the filling in.
9. Make a hole at the center of the top sheet for the steam to get out as the empanada bakes.
10. Pop the empanada in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

TIP: You can brush the pastry with a beaten egg yolk and bake it for a further 5 minutes if you like your empanada to have a golden, glowy finish.

Eggs baked in a pot (oeufs en cocotte) with asparagus and salmon roe

Have you ever tried to make oeufs en cocotte? So easy! I have discovered this dish recently and it has already become one of my favourite recipes 🙂 I love the combination of egg yolk and creme fraiche, it is heavenly! I like mine with asparagus, but you can use any other vegetable. Bon Appétit!

Ingredients:

• 4 large eggs
• 250 ml crème fraîche or sour cream
• a bundle of green asparagus
• salmon roe
• salt & pepper
• a pinch of nutmeg
• a knob of butter
• a handful grated parmesan

Note: you will need 4 little and oven-safe ramekins

Baking & serving instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees celsius 
2. In a bowl, mix the creme fraiche with the grated parmesan, season with salt & pepper and add a pinch of nutmeg. Set aside.
3. Place a spoonful of the seasoned creme fraiche in a ramekin, crack the egg on top, add another spoonful of creme fraiche. Repeat with the other 3 ramekins.
4. Put the filled ramekins into a casserole, pour warm water into the casserole so that it comes t halfway up the ramekins’ side.
5. Place casserole in the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the yolks are set to your liking. I like mines pretty runny, so I never bake the eggs for more than 11 minutes. 
6. Whilst the eggs are baking, boil or steam the asparagus. I prefer to steam cook them in the microwave using a Zip ‘n’ Steam bag – 5 minutes on full power – and to season them with a knob of salted butter which I put directly in the bag and shake it until the asparagus are coated in butter.
7. To serve, add a teaspoon of salmon roe onto the eggs, and lay the asparagus in the ramekins. Add a sprinkle of grated parmesan and serve. 

Oeufs en cocotte are best accompanied with a Belgian Trappist beer. A Leffe will also do!

Spaghetti with fresh salmon and prawns

Ingredients (serves 2)

180 g spaghetti
1 raw salmon fillet
150 g prawns
3 spring onions
50 g grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
1/2 glass dry white wine
Single cream
Salt & pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Cooking instructions

Put a big pot of water on the hob and bring to boil
Remove the skin from the salmon fillet using a sharp knife. Try to cut just the skin off
Chop the spring onions into very small pieces and set aside
Cut the salmon into thin stripes
In a large frying pan, fry the spring onions in a little extra virgin olive oil until soft
Once the water in the big pot starts boiling, add some salt followed by the spaghetti
Whilst the pasta is cooking, add the salmon stripes to the frying pan, season with salt and pepper and stir fry until the salmon turns to a pale pink color
Add the prawns to the pan and stir well
Pour half a pot single cream and 1/2 glass dry white wine into the frying pan, stir, turn heat to low and cook for a further 4 minutes
When the spaghetti are cooked (generally they need to be boiled for 8 minutes, but it’s always good to double check cooking time reported on packaging) drain them and toss them into the salmon sauce, add the grated Parmesan and a good lug of olive oil and stir well
Serve piping hot with a sprinkle of freshly grounded black pepper.

Pan fried tuna steaks with prosecco and parsley – Livornese tuna

Delicious ‘Livornese’ tuna recipe from my friend Andrea. He made this for a Tuscany themed lunch we organized at his place and it came out just great. Adding cinnamon gives this recipe a kick and works wonders with the effervescence of the Prosecco. Definitely a must try!

Ingredients:

• 4 tuna steaks
• 1 red onion
• Prosecco or cava
• A handful white flour
• Fresh parsley
• Capers
• Cinnamon
• Thyme
• Salt and pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Slice of lemon (to serve)

Cooking instructions

1. Coat tuna steaks in flour
2. Finely chop onion and parsely and gently fry both in olive oil
3. Brown tuna steaks on both sides until golden
4. Add prosecco or cava, let the alcohol evaporate
5. Add capers and spices, season with salt and pepper
6. Cover with lid and cook for 15 to 20 minutes
7. Serve with a lug of olive oil and a slice of lemon.

Which wine? Try this pan-fried tuna recipe with a glass of Malvira Roero Arneis 2010, from the north-western Piedmont region of Italy. This elegant, crisp white whine features a very unique flavor that enhances the tuna’s.

Black barley and smoked salmon salad with dill and lemon vinaigrette

I love black barley – with quinoa, it is one of my favorite salad ingredients. For this recipe you can either use precooked black barley or cook it yourself – in this case, just add 1 cup of barley to 4 cups of boiling water and cook for 50 to 60 minutes or until it’s tender.

Ingredients:

• 200 gr cooked black barley (aka purple hull-less barley)
• 180 gr smoked salmon
• 1/2 cucumber
• 2 spring onions
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Fresh dill
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt & pepper

How to prepare the black barley and smoked salmon salad

1. Once cooked, let the barley cool.
2. Wash and dice the cucumber.
3. Cut the smoked salmon into thin stripes.
4. Finely chop the spring onions.
5. Roughly chop the dill.
6. In a salad bowl, mix the black barley, cucumber, spring onions and dill.
7. Arrange the smoked salmon stripes on top and dress with the lemon vinaigrette.

Whine marinated sea bass fillets with lemon and dill

(Filetti di branzino marinati al vino bianco con limone e aneto)

Sea-bass fillets can be boring or gorgeous, depending on how they’re cooked. I prefer to bake them, as this brings out their flavor a lot more. The sea-bass I got from my trusted fishmonger in Chapel market – I love this man as he always advises me on what to buy depending on what’s the freshest fish he has. You can skip the wine and marinate the sea-bass in lemon juice instead.

Ingredients:

• 2 sea-bass fillets, skin on
• 1 large glass of dry white whine
• 1 lemon
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 small bunch of fresh dill
• Butter

How to bake the sea-bass fillets

1. Marinate the sea-bass fillets by soaking them in white wine for 30 minutes to 1 hours
2. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F)
3. Cut the lemon horizontally into 5 slices, lay slices on a baking tray
4. Peel the garlic cloves and lay them in-between the lemon slices
5. Wash the dill, lay it on top of the lemon slices
6. Take the sea-bass fillets out of the marinade, lay on top of the lemon & dill layer.
7. Distribute flakes of butter all over the fish, put into the oven and bake for 20 minutes tops.
8. Once cooked, turn the sea-bass fillets over and serve skin side down.
9. Pour the lemon flavored melted butter sauce onto the sea-bass fillets for the ultimate in gourmand decadence.

Which wine? Pair this dish with the same wine you’ve used to marinate the sea-bass fillets. In my case, this was a Montpierre Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2010.