Under the Almond Tree » fall

Pear and walnut salad with gorgonzola

Anna Huerta — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 11:29:28 +0000

I got these really sweet pears from Giovanni, a farmer from Rekhale. When he’s not working his land, on Saturdays you can find him selling his fruit and vegetables at the Farmer’s Market In Pantelleria. With these lovely Pantescan pears I made a yummy salad. The sweetness of the pears blend so very well with the toasted walnuts and the saltiness of the gorgonzola.

Pear and walnut salad with gorgonzola cheese
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 garlic clove
1 T balsamic vinegar
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T honey
24 walnuts
4 sweet pears
1 T olive oil for the pan
7 oz (200 grams) of gorgonzola
4 oz (110 gram) arugula or any other lettuce of your choice.

Method
Press and chop the garlic very finely
Mix with the other dressing ingredients
Dry toast walnuts in a dry pan
Slice the pears, add a splash of olive oil in the frying pan and fry them briefly to soften a little bit and sprinkle some sea salt on top.
Crumble the gorgonzola cheese in pieces.
Organize the plates with tossed salad and sprinkle some dressing over, add the gorgonzola pieces, toasted walnuts, pears and serve.

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Beautiful Borlotti!

Anna Huerta — Wed, 02 Oct 2013 19:43:02 +0000

The season has arrived for borlotti beans. I found theese colorful fresh borlotti beans at the market the other day. I’m a big fan of beans in general, often I just cook them with tomatoes, garlic, white wine and sage. Delicious.
This week I made a variation with couscous and vegetables in the oven. Super delicious. The weather is still summery hot in Pantelleria so this recipe proved to be a perfect light lunch in the shadow under the almond trees.

Borlotti bean couscous with vegetables
Ingredients:
3 lb (1.5 kilo) unpeeled fresh borlotti beans that will make about 22 oz ( 625 grams)
without the shell.(If you are using the dried beens you have to put them in water a day before using, see the instructions on the package).
1 Tablespoon olive oil
sea salt

For the oven baked vegetables
2 medium sized zucchinis
6 small red onions or shallots
1 lb (450 gram) cherry tomatoes
16 olives
6 sage leaves
1/4 cup (56 ml) olive oil
Sea salt and pepper

For the couscous
1 large sprig of garlic
1 fresh chili fruit
5 large sage leaves
1 Tablespoon olive oil for cooking
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup (1.2 dl) dry white wine
1 Tablespoon balsamic
2 Tablespoons honey
1 cup (2.4 dl) of canned tomato sauce
1 3/4 cups (4.2 dl) cous cous

Method:
Peel the borlotti beans.
Cook the beans for about 12 minutes, this time of cooking will leave an “al dente” feeling, if you want the beans more soft just ad a couple of minutes.
Use a colander to get rid of the water, set a side in a bowl, dash some olive oil and sea salt with the beens in the bowl.

Couscous:
Cut the garlic, chili and sage finely.
In a sauce pan, saute garlic, chili and sage in a dash of olive oil shortly, just until the garlic is golden.
Ad white wine, balsamic vinegar, honey, bayleaf and stir .
Ad the tomato sauce and let simmer together for 5-8minutes taste with salt and black pepper.

In a large bowl place the couscous and pour the sauce over to cook the couscous.
Let sit for 5 -10 minutes.

Oven baked vegetables
Set the oven at 400 F degrees (200 C)
Chop the garlic finely
Clean and cut the zucchini i large pieces
Clean the cherry tomatoes and onions
In a smal bowl, mix garlic olive oil, sage , salt and pepper
Rub the vegetables and olives with the oil mix
Place on an oven tray and let cook in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

Serving:
Mix the borlotti beans, couscous and vegetables

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Fall and the scent of Paris

Anna Huerta — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 11:08:43 +0000

The scent of roasted chestnuts always makes me think of the first winter I lived in Paris. I was 20 years old, a student, and it was the first time that I lived abroad.
Paris was in every way magnificent- the food, the people, the cafés and restaurants, the art museums, and, of course, the clubs where went dancing. At that time Le Bains was the number one place to go, and we didn´t miss many nights.

I also recall the joy of just walking the streets, taking in all of the Parisian atmosphere and that scent of roasted chestnuts that were sold on the street corners. That winter my two friends and I shared an apartment on Rue des Archives in the quartiere Le Marais. We were poor but thrilled by all the adventures that our new city had to offer.

Now when the chestnut season arrives I want to roast them and eat them with butter and salt as an appetizer or as a night snack in front of the fireplace with a glass of red wine.

Oven roasted chestnuts
Serves 4

Ingredients
50-60 chestnuts
1 lbl (450 grams) of coarse salt

Method
Preheat the oven at 425F ( 225 C).Cut a large cross about 1/8-inch deep through each chestnut shell, just into the flesh of the nut.Spread out an even layer with the coarse salt on an oven tray and place the chestnuts facing with the cross up. Bake the chestnut for about 25 minutes.Serve with butter and salt or make a thyme and lemon butter that will go excellent with your roasted chestnuts.

Lemon and thyme butter
Ingredients
2 shallots
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of white wine
7 ounces (200 grams) of butter (at room temperature or softened)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme sprigs or dried
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon peel
salt and pepper

Method
Chop the shallots finely and brush them in a small saucepan with the olive oil, until they are soft and golden. Add the wine and cook for another minute.
Pour the shallots in with the soft butter and beat the butter airy by using a hand whisk. Then add the remaining ingredients and season with salt and pepper as desired.

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Olive oil cake

Anna Huerta — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 18:27:29 +0000

Since I got paid for my time picking with some of this beautiful extra virgin, cold pressed and fruity oil, I made what I have been wanting to try to make for a long time: an olive oil cake.
The first recipe I used was a disaster. It tasted too eggy and the olive oil flavor didn’t come through. Only Igor the dog was happy to eat it.
The second recipe has good flavor, but it came out too flat. This version was definitely not something you want to see in a photo. The third time is often the charm. It came out perfectly. It was moist and well balanced between the fine flavor of the olive oil and the lemon.

Olive oil cake
8 -10 pieces
For the baking pan:
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of flour

For the cake:
6 eggs
1 1/2 cup (3.5 dl) sugar
5 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup (2,4 dl) extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cup (3.5 dl) flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt (I prefer Maldon)
1 tablespoon of lemon zest
3 tablespoons of pine nuts

Topping
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) lemon juice
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) of water
1/2 cup (1.2 dl) sugar
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) lemon zest
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 large sprigs of fresh rosemary

Preheat the oven to 350F (175 C)
Butter and flour a 9 inch ( 24 cm) baking pan.
Beat the eggs and sugar until they are light and fluffy, pour in the lemon juice, olive oil and sprinkle the sea salt. Continue whisking for another minute.
In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, lemon zest, pine nuts.
Mix the ingredients from both bowls and pour into the baking tin.
Bake in the oven for 40-45 min in 350F ( 175C).

Topping
Use a small saucepan, cook the lemon juice with water and sugar until sugar is melted and fluid is reduced to half. Dry roast the pine nuts in a clean frying pan.
Add the lemon zest and the rosemary to the lemon syrup and set it aside to cool down.

Before serving the cake drizzle the syrup and spread the toasted pine nuts on the top.

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The rain brought back the arugula

Anna Huerta — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 09:27:56 +0000

This arugula in was planted just before the summer and came in beautifully by the beginning of June. But in August we were ready to give up on it. Although we had been watering and pampering the leaves continuously, it looked burnt, brown, dried and hopelessly dead. I was convinced that this was the end for this little salad. Then suddenly 3 weeks ago it started to rain in Pantelleria. Four days of rain and there is now new fresh strong arugula spreading. It’s the beginning of November, we now have more arugula than we can eat, and it looks and tastes better than ever. Usually I would just eat the arugula as a salad, mixed with tomatoes and some buffalo mozzarella seasoned with olive oil, basil and sea salt or just with other mixed greens and olive oil, but since we now have so much of it I decided to make a pesto. With this arugula I didn’t have to add any pepper because of its strong, naturally spiciness, but this you have to try for your own taste what suites you. This pesto is great as a bread spread or to make a pasta like this spaghetti below. Arugula pesto
Ingredients
5 oz (150 grams) arugula
2 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon peel
1 tablespoon of sea salt ( I used Maldon sea salt)
1 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup (40 gram) of pine nuts
1/2 tablespoon caster sugar
5 oz (150 grams) of parmesan cheese
Optional (if it’s needed, a little black pepper)
Method
Rinse the arugula and mix with all the other ingredients using a hand mixer or a food processor.
Taste to see if you want to add more sea salt.
The flavor of arugula differs a lot so if you thinks it’s a little pale in taste, just add some fresh grounded black pepper.

Spaghetti with arugula pesto
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 cup (2.4 dl) of arugula pesto
14 oz (400 grams) of spaghetti
Method
Boil pasta water with salt. Cook the spaghetti according to the time on the package.
In a large bowl on the side, put 1 cup or more of the arugula pesto.
When there is 1 minute left on the cooking time for the spaghetti, take 1/4 cup of the boiling pasta water and add with the pesto, stir the water in the pesto, this will heat up the temperature in the pesto sauce a little bit.
When the pasta is ready, mix it with the pesto and serve with some extra parmesan cheese.
Ceramic bowl and dinner plate from NEW KAM MAN

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Pomegranates in the garden

Anna Huerta — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 10:35:05 +0000

Just outside the house that I use as my office space here in Pantelleria, there is a beautiful pomegranate tree, and at the moment it is full of lovely fruits that need to be picked before the birds eat them all. When I’m in NY or in Stockholm I buy pomegranates for their beauty and their powerful antioxidant qualities. Here, I just reach out and pick them by hand. The feeling is simply luxurious. Here is a simple and fast recipe for a pomegranate and quinoa salad with feta cheese and nuts.

Pomegranate quinoa salad
Serves 4

Ingredients
2 cups (4.8 dl) of quinoa
1 table spoon liquid ( or 1/2 cube) vegetable stock
7 oz ( 200 gram) feta cheese
1 cup ( 2.4 dl) of pomegranate seeds
4 oz (120 gram) of arugula
20 fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup (1.2 dl) mixed nuts
1 small red onion
salt, pepper and olive oil

Method
Rinse and boil the quinoa according to the instruction on the package, adding a spoonful of vegetable stock.
Set aside and allow to cool, sprinkle some olive oil and stir.
Chop the red onion into small pieces and chop the nuts into larger chunks.
Mix all ingredients and serve.

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