Wild asparagus canapés

March 8, 2013

I can feel the spring in Pantelleria approaching. One of the lovely things with spring is the wild asparagus. Yesterday we went looking for them and found plenty- enough to make a big tray of these asparagus parmesan cheese canapés. This recipe is original from a cookbook ” Snittar” which in English means “Canapés”. My dear companion and friend Hedvig von Mentzer and I created and published this book in Sweden in 2003. Today it’s International Women’s Day. What could be a better occasion to invite friends for some Prosecco and canapés?
Let’s toast and acknowledge women all over the globe.
Salute!

Asparagus and parmesan cream canapés
Makes about 30 canapés

Ingredients:
10 oz (275 grams) refrigerated puff pastry sheets
1 egg (to brush the puff pastry with)
1 Tablespoon water

6 oz (170 grams) grated Parmesan cheese
2 shallots
1 clove of garlic
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup (1.2 dl) white wine
3/4 cups (1.8 dl) heavy cream
2 sprigs of thyme crushed
Salt and grounded white pepper to taste

30 asparagus
Ice cubes

Method:
Preheat the oven to 400 F (200C) degrees.
Cut the sheet of puff pastry into 2 inch squares (bite sized).
Place the squares on a non stick baking sheet and on to the oven trays.
Whisk the egg and 2 Tablespoons of water together in a bowl, then, brush the top of each puff pastry square. Bake the squares in the oven for about 8-10 min. They should puff and be golden brown.
Remove from the oven and tray to a plate and allow them to cool to the touch.

Grate the Parmesan cheese. Finely chop the shallots and garlic.
Heat a saute pan, add olive oil then the chopped shallots and garlic saute until soft.
Add the wine, cook until the liquid is reduced to half.
Lower the fire and add heavy cream stir quickly, add the Parmesan cheese, make sure to stir the bottom on the pan to avoid burning. When the cheese has combined together with the cream it will thickened a bit. Make sure to taste the cream prior to seasoning, the Parmesan imparts some saltiness to the cream so taste the sauce as to adjust the salt amount. Season with crushed thyme, salt and white pepper, set a side.

In a separate pot boil water to cook the asparagus, add salt to the water as you would when cooking pasta. Fill a bowl with cold water and ice cubes, this you have prepared on the side to immediately put the asparagus in after boiled using a slotted spoon. Boil the asparagus between 2-4 minutes and place immediately in the ice water bowl using a slotted spoon.

The time for asparagus will vary according to the size and freshness of your asparagus,
I would say between 2-4 minutes. I would make a test by placing only two or three into the water and watch them as they are boiling. Remove them, cool and feel the texture, once you understand proceed with the rest. The asparagus should be bright green and not too cooked you would want it to remain a little “al dente” texture. After cooling down, cut the top buds off (use the left over for example a salad or omelet).

Prior to serving, build the canapes :
Spread on top of each puff pastry square , one full teaspoon Parmesan cream,
next place one asparagus bud on the top.

Clementine and fennel salad

March 5, 2013

In Pantelleria there are many varieties of citrus fruits.
Clementines were initially a grafting between tangerines and oranges. They are usually seedless, the peel is thin and comes off easily. I picked these the other day and made this salad with fennel and walnuts. I love fennel in every way, cooked or raw. I cut this fennel very thinly and let it soak up a vinaigrette dressing for an hour before serving. The clementines were sweet and delicious.

Clementine and fennel salad
Side dish for 2-3 or 1 main course salad

Ingredients
Salad:
4 1/2 oz (125 grams) fresh fennel bulb
3 clementines
1/4 cup walnuts
10 black olives
1 large mint sprig (about 12 leaves)

Dressing:
2 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
Sea salt and grounded black pepper to taste.

Method
Cut the fennel very thin using a sharp knife.
Whisk together the dressing ingredients taste with salt and black pepper.
Toss the fennel with the dressing and set a side for soaking for an hour.
Wash, peel the clementines and cut into slices.
Toast the walnuts in a dry pan (a suggestion, don’t leave the stove when doing this, nuts burn fast and easily).
On a plate layer the fennel, mandarins, mint, walnuts and finish with olives.
Dinner plate http://indiska.com/se

Lemon bars

March 1, 2013

1 Reply

This week has been bursting with healthiness! Salads, gym sessions, power walks and smoothies have all contributed to a super healthy week. As the weekend rapidly approaches, I think it’s high time for some sweets. I don’t want to get too healthy! I have a weakness for cakes with lemon. With a full lemon tree it would almost be a crime not to make these delicious lemon bars.
Wish you all a sweet weekend. / Anna

Lemon Bars

Ingredients
8.8 oz (250 grams) sweet butter
2 medium size lemons, use the lemon zest of 1 lemon
3 eggs (room temperature)
1 1/2 cup (3.5 dl) sugar
1 vanilla bean (seeded)
1 cup (2.4 dl) All purpose flour (sifted) make sure to measure after you have sifted the flour
1/2 Tablespoon confectioners sugar

Method :
Preheat the oven to 300 F degrees (150 C).
You will need a baking pan sized 9 x 13 inches (22 x 32) cm .
Line the bottom of the pan with non stick oven paper.

In a sauce pan melt the butter
Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds.
Add the vanilla bean seeds, and the outer hull of the vanilla bean to the butter and set aside to allow the vanilla bean to infuse its flavor to the butter.
In a mixing bowl beat eggs and sugar .
Wash the lemons, zest one lemon’s skin. Make sure you don’t include the bitter pith (white flesh of the lemon) add to eggs and sugar.
Squeeze and strain the lemon juice from both lemons, should make about 1/2 cup (1.2 dl) .
Remove the outer hull of the vanilla bean from the butter.
Combine lemon juice with the zest, in the bowl with the eggs and sugar mixture.
Add vanilla butter, fold in the sifted flour to the bowl
Pour batter in to the cake pan place on the center rack in the oven.
Bake for 30-35 min at 300 F (150C) degrees .

Let the cake cool down for 45 minutes
Garnish the entire top of the cake with a sift or sprinkle of icing sugar
Cut cake into desired squares sizes using a sharp kitchen knife.

Post carnival mood

February 20, 2013

As most of you know there is a huge carnival in Venice every year. In Pantelleria the local carnival is also very important. The weeks (or months) of this event means hardcore partying. You eat together with friends and at midnight you go dancing to small clubs and listen to live music and drink a lot of local wine. Usually you come back to the house around 4-5 in the morning, and of course you’re starving! Then it’s time for pasta! When you finally end up in bed you sleep until noon.

The Pantescan loves to party. At the end of the carnival period it all escalates… the kids actually have a school vacation so they also can focus and participate in all party events. For me this period is rough. I like to get up in the morning and I have work to do, so for me 3 days in a row is more than enough. Now this period has just finished and people are catching up on their sleep, starting diets and recovering their strength.

So am I. This week I made a promise to myself to try the new gym that recently opened in Pantelleria center, I’m going to eat healthy and instead of my usual breakfast of coffee/cornetto/nutella, I’m going to start the start the morning with a smoothie.

I created five smoothie recipes for the Swedish magazine Icakuriren (feb 2013), it’s just been published and you can get the other recipes in the online at www.icakuriren.se

Here is the recipe for a orange and flax seed smoothie:
Orange and flaxseed smoothie
Makes 2 smoothies

Ingredients
2 peaches or 1 mango ( or if you are using frozen fruit you need 150 grams of fruit )
2 tablespoons whole flax seed (or ground flax seed meal)
1 1/2 tablespoons peeled and finely grated fresh ginger
1 cup (2.4 dl) unsweetened carrot juice
1 cup (2.4 dl) freshly squeezed orange juice

Method
Peel and pit the peaches or mango, cut large chunks.
Crush the flax seed using a mortar and pestle.
Place ingredients into a blender at medium speed (be sure to place the lid on top of the blender).
Pour into two 16 oz glasses and serve immediately.

My beautiful and sporty friend is Lorena.

Limoncello

February 17, 2013

2 Replies

Limoncello is an Italian digestif that is most famous in the area around the Amalfi Coast but also served in Sicily and Sardinia. Limoncello is made of lemon peel, alcohol, sugar and water. Our lemon tree is now full with bright yellow lemons, so it is a perfect time to make goodies like Limoncello. Italians use 90% alcohol to make Limoncello, but as a Swede, I’m going for Vodka. Also I like to include lemon juice in this recipe. When making Limoncello, make sure the lemon peel does not stay in the alcohol too long before straining. I did that once and it became bitter. I would give it a maximum of 10 days, but 7-8 days is the ideal.

Limoncello
Simple syrup
3.5 cups (8.3 dl) granulated sugar
2 cups (4.8 dl) water
12 lemons
1 bottle of vodka 25 oz (75cl)
A large jar
Method
Mix sugar and water in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat.
Wash the lemons and peel off the skin with a potato peeler making sure to exclude the white parts which give a bitter taste.
Squeeze the lemon juice and strain out seeds and pulp.
Mix syrup, lemon juice, zest and vodka in the jar with a lid and close.
Let it stay for 7-8 days in a dark place.
Strain the liquid, then pour it into glass bottles.

Limoncello is served ice cold as a digestif after a large meal.

Under the Almond Tree

A Swede cooking in Pantelleria

Wild asparagus canapés

Clementine and fennel salad

Lemon bars

Post carnival mood

Limoncello