Linssoppa för framgång
Lagom till 4 personer

Ingredienser
4 dl linser
3 msk olivolja
400 gram fläskkött gärna från karrén med ben skuren i bitar
1 gul lök fint hackad
2 vitlöksklyftor finhackade el pressade
1 torkad chilifrukt mortlad
2 morötter skalade och fint skurna i små kuber
2 selleristänglar fint skurna
1 liten potatis skalad och fint skuren i små kuber
3 dl torrt vitt vin
1 burk tomater
1 msk socker
1 lagerblad
Havssalt och nymalen svartpeppar
1-2 ordentliga nypor Oregano från Pantelleria (köp här!)

50 gram bladspenat

Till servering
Riven parmesan, bröd och god olivolja av hög kvalitet

Gör så här

Ta fram en gryta gärna gjutjärn
Hetta upp olivoljan
Bryn fläskkarrén tills den får ytfärg, salta och peppra
Tillsätt lök, vitlök och chili och rör om
När löken fått färg lägg ner morot, selleri och potatis i grytan
Rör runt och låt ingredienserna svettas ihop några minuter
Häll i vinet rör om och låt puttra någon minut.
Häll i tomaterna och sockret och rör om
Häll i 1.5 liter vatten och sänk värmen och på med locket
Låt koka i ca 1-1.5 timme tills köttet blivit mört
Höj temperaturen och lägg i linserna
När det stormkokar, sänk värmen och låt puttra i 25-35 min
Rör om då och då samt kontrollera under tiden grytan om du behöver tillsätta mer vatten
Smaka av med salt.
Rör i oreganon och bladspenaten
Servera med bröd, bra olivolja, parmesan och ett glas gott rött

Vintips till denna goda linsgryta, prova Valpolicella Superiore från Allegrini,finns på bolaget för 110 pix nummer 6010

The post Linssoppa för framgång på det nya året! appeared first on Under the Almond Tree.

Ciaki Ciuka

Ingredienser
4 medelstora skalade potatisar
3 vitlöksklyftor
Torkad mortlad chili efter smak
1 stor rödlök
2 paprikor
1 aubergine
1 zucchini
25 små cocktailtomater
1/2 dl kapris från Pantelleria (finns här)
1 dl olivolja att steka i
5 basilikablad
1 msk torkad oregano från Pantelleria (finns här)
Havssalt efter smak.
Till servering, lite extra god olivolja.

Gör så här
Skala potatisen och skär i tärningar.
Skala och hacka vitlök och lök.
Skölj paprikor, zucchini, aubergine och skär även dem i bitar.
Dela tomaterna på mitten.
Skölj av överflödigt salt på kapris och låt rinna av.

Ta fram en gryta eller en tjockbottnad sauteuse och hetta upp olivolja.
Börja med att bryna potatisen ca 8 minuter tillsammans med vitlök, chili och en nypa havssalt.
Sätt åt sidan.
Ta fram en stekpanna och bryn en ny omgång med rödlök och paprika tills det är mjukt.
Häll över till grytan/ sauteusen med potatis.
I nästa omgång bryn aubergine och zucchini tills de är gyllene och häll över i grytan.
Sätt grytan nu på låg värme och lägg i tomaterna och kaprisen.
Låt puttra i 20-25 min och se till att röra då och då så det inte bränner vid i botten på grytan.

Smaka av!

Om du vill ha mer hetta, så lägg i mer chili eller salta, om du tycker det behövs mer av detta.
Hacka ner basilikan och smula ner oreganon och rör om.

Låt ciaki ciukan svalna helt innan servering
Godast att serveras rumstempererad med lite extra god olivolja ringlat över.

The post Ciaki Ciuka appeared first on Under the Almond Tree.

Utan för saunan är berget format som ett tak som skyddade oss från regnet och utsikten är magnifik, med Monasterodalen och havet framför oss. Vi åt och pratade i timmar, Igor snarkade nöjt på sin bohuslänska fårfäll.

Det började skymma och vi insåg att vi måste börja gå tillbaka innan ljuset skulle försvinna helt, väl framme vid bilen öppnade himlen sig igen. Dunder och brak sedan kom hällregnet.

The post Picknick i Grotta di Benikula appeared first on Under the Almond Tree.

En sås för Fredrik
4 portioner
Den här såsen ska ha lite hetta, om du vill ha den medium stark så kärna ur chilin och ta inte med kärnorna. Om du vill ha den mer spicy så ta med en del av kärnorna. Citronskalet är jätteviktigt så uteslut inte det.

Ingredienser
8 sardellfiléer
1 gul lök
2 vitlöksklyftor
1 chilifrukt eller 1/2-1 tsk torkade chiliflakes
5 dl passerade tomater
1 dl torrt vitt vin
12 cocktailtomater
4 msk råsocker
6 msk sköljd och avrunnen kapris från Pantelleria (finns här)
2 tsk oregano från Pantelleria (finns här)
Skalet av 1 ekologisk citron
400 gram tortiglioni rigatoni eller penne

Gör så här
Skär varje sardell i 4 bitar
Finhacka lök, vitlök och chili.
Skölj tomaterna och sätt ett litet stick i varje tomat med en vass skalkniv.
Ta fram en stekpanna och hetta upp olivolja, lägg i sardellerna och låt dem smälta ihop i pannan tillsammans med lök, vitlök och chili tills allt blir mjukt och gyllene.
Lägg i cocktailtomaterna, skaka pannan under tiden i någon minut.
Slå på vinet, sänk värmen och låt löken suga upp en del av vinet.
Häll i de passerade tomaterna, sockret och kaprisen.
Låt det puttra på svag värme medan du kokar upp pastavattnet.
Koka pastan al dente och smaka samtidigt av såsen om det behövs mer salt och mer socker.
Eftersom kaprisen och sardellerna ger hög sälta så är det viktigt att inte salta innan såsen har kokat ihop.
Stäng av värmen på såsen och rör i oreganon och det rivna citronskalet.
Pastan är klar ca 30-60 sek innan rekommenderad koktid på paketet.
Slå av i durkslag och blanda pasta och sås noggrant.
Servera direkt!

The post En sås för Fredrik appeared first on Under the Almond Tree.

Anyhow, after our day in the mountains I was craving a hot plate of chicken. With our own olives, bay leaves, celery, lemons from the garden and a splash of the local zibibbo wine this recipe came together.
I hope you like it!
Anna

Braised Chicken with wild oregano and olives
Serves 4
Note: You will need a oven ready pot with lid.

Ingredients
2 lb (1 kilo) Whole roasting chicken cut into quarters, then legs, thighs and wings separated at the joints (optional should you prefer boneless chicken you will need 1 pound (1/2 kilo) of chicken meat cut into eight pieces.) . If you so desire you can remove the skin of the chicken.
1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon white pepper (for seasoning the chicken prior to searing)
2 Tablespoons olive oil (for searing)
3 Garlic cloves (peeled and minced)
2 Lemons (washed)
1 Leek or 3 spring onions (washed, peeled cut into quarters, using leeks one inch pieces or (2.5 cm)
4 Stalks celery (washed, ribbed, cut into one inch pieces or 2.5 cm)
2 Bay leaves (whole)
3/4 Cup ( 1.8 dl) dry white wine
3/4 Cup ( 1.8 dl) water
20 Olives green or black, green olives will loose their color due to the heat turning brown so if you wish to use a combination for eye appeal cook with black half black olives then add the other half green olives prior to serving.
8-10 Sprigs fresh oregano, if not available high quality dried oregano can be substituted Oregano di Pantelleria
1/4 Cup ( 0.6 dl) olive oil

Method
Preheat the oven at 350 F degrees (180 C).
Gather and prepare all the ingredients as listed and instructed.
Place the chicken in a large bowl and sprinkle salt and pepper on it tossing as to make sure the chicken is evenly seasoned.
On the stove top place your oven ready pot in a medium sized burner which is placed on the highest setting and allow if a minute or two to become hot.
Add the two Tablespoons of olive oil. Next place the chicken pieces in the bottom of the pot covering the surface but not over crowding as to all the chicken to sear and caramelize. If you find you have more chicken then room in the pot, sear the meat in stages. Have a plate to remove and place seared pieces and repeat this process until all the pieces are seared.
When chicken is seared add the 1/4 cup of olive oil to the pot and minced garlic.  Allow the garlic 10 seconds to cook then add the lemons and rest of the vegetables stirring them as to coat with the garlic flavored oil. Add wine, water, lemons, bay leaves and olives. If you do not have fresh oregano add dried at this time. Place the chicken back into the pot and allow the liquid to come to boil. Turn off the heat on the burner, place the lid on top of the pot and place pot into the oven.

If you decided to use boneless chicken in about 30-40 minutes the dish should be complete. Remove the pot from the oven and carefully remove the lid as to check on the meat. If boneless it will be firm to the touch, if on the bone the meat should be firm and able to come off the bone easily. If you see any red or uncooked meat place the lid back on the pot and place the pot back in the oven to allow 15 more minutes of cooking time. After 15 minutes repeat the aforementioned process.

This dish can be served over cooked rice or potatoes or in a bowl alone with crunchy bread and a nice glass of white wine.

Ceramic pot from Crate and Barrel
Dinner dinner plate from Pearl River Mart
To buy Origano di Pantelleria http://shop.underthealmondtree.com/product/origano-di-pantelleria
To order Origano di Pantelleria in America, contact Jim Dixon at www.realgoodfood.com

The post Braised chicken with wild oregano and olives appeared first on Under the Almond Tree.

Ingredients
makes about 60 bite sized nibbles
1 Cup (2.4 dl) all purpose flour
3.5 Oz (100 grams) grated parmesan
3.5 Oz (100 grams )soft butter
1 Egg yolk
1 teaspoon Origano di Pantelleria http://shop.underthealmondtree.com/product/origano-di-pantelleria (or other dried oregano)
1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
1 Egg
2 Tablespoon of pine nuts
Some extra oregano to sprinkle before baking

Method
Mix all ingredients together until the dough forms a clump and kneed.
Divide in 4 piece and roll out each piece into a cylinder.
Using plastic wrap roll the dough into a cylinder form and place in the fridge to rest for at least 30 min.
Heat the oven at 400 F (200 C )
Cut the cylinders into coin shapes thickness of about 1/2 inch (1 cm).
Arrange an oven tray lined with nonstick baking paper .
Beat the egg and brush on to the cookies, place one pine nut on each and sprinkle with some oregano.
Bake for about 12-15 min, they should be light golden.
Remove from the oven and let cool before serving.

The post Parmesan nibbles with oregano appeared first on Under the Almond Tree.

To celebrate Almond Tree’s first anniversary I opened a little web shop. As many of you already know, Pantelleria is famous for their capers Capperi di Pantelleria. They are considered the best capers in the world and are quality marked IGP, which stands for Indicazione Geografica Protetta, meaning Protected Geographical Indication. It’s a quality mark that is given to food and agricultural products for which a particular property, its reputation, or other characteristic is due to the geographical origin and whose production and processing takes place in a limited geographic area. Whoever does IGP products must follow strict rules of production, determined by the Disciplinary Board for production. I am totally addicted to the capers from Pantelleria, and as a result, so are many of my friends who have visited me and got introduced to them. If you are curious to try them and determine that they are the world’s greatest or you finished your stock, you don’t have to make the journey to Pantelleria anymore, just go to the shop and order http://shop.underthealmondtree.com/product/capers

These capers are organically grown and are handpicked one by one. They are cured and conserved in sea salt by the local farmers of Pantelleria. When you are cooking with this capers, you first rinse them in cold water to get rid of excessive salt using a colander, strainer or your hand. When cooking you will notice that this capers are incredibly rich in flavor. You will have a part of the essence of the island Pantelleria in your meal!

This year has been so much fun cooking, photographing, receiving responds and cheering from You readers. This really inspires me to go on. I’m very lucky to have great and talented people to back me up, without them I would probably just posted far too many photos with confusing text and nonsensical recipes.

I want to thank Amy Burke and Peter Lambert for contributing their knowledge and time helping me out and editing the text and the recipes.
Will Macdonald my technical savior, what would I do without you?!
Ines Lommatzsch for all our excursions and adventures out there on the field.
Mari Strenghielm Nord for always reading my mind and packaging everything beautifully.
Carlo and Igor for being who you are.

All of You readers out there who cooked the recipes, wrote to me and shared your enthusiasm and support, without you this would be meaningless.

A Big Hurray for You all!

/ Anna

Photographs taken summer 2013 during the caper harvest in Pantelleria Sicily.
Buy your Capperi di Pantelleria here  http://shop.underthealmondtree.com/product/capers

The post Under the Almond Tree celebrates it’s first year anniversary! appeared first on Under the Almond Tree.

Fennel with almond and cheese crust
8-10 bites

Ingredients
1 pound (450 grams) fennel bulb slices
1/2 cup (1,2 dl) raw almonds
9 (oz) 250 gram of cheese that melts and browns well, I used a 50/50 combination of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese
Olive oil to saute fennel
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon of Origano di Pantelleria (dried oregano)

Method
Set the oven at broil 530 F degrees (275 C).
Rinse and clean the fennel, cut slices about 0.3 inches (0.75 cm) thick.
In a saucepan saute the fennel in olive oil, salt and pepper.
They are cooked enough when the slices softens and produces a slightly golden.
Since the pieces will be different in size, they will have different cooking time, pay attention to remove the smaller pieces from the pan first.

Coarsely chop the almonds, in a bowl grate the cheeses and combine together with the almonds. Arrange fennel pieces on the baking sheet, give the portions enough space on the tray cover with cheese and almond mixture then into the oven fennel portions. Place baking pan in the oven 3/4 of the way not quite directly under the broiler in the oven for about 3-5 minutes. When golden brown remove tray from oven and sprinkle oregano on top allow to cool slightly to let the cheese set before serving.

The post Fennel bites with almond and cheese crust appeared first on Under the Almond Tree.

This year we are really lucky with our crop of tomatoes! We planted them into the soil this spring in two week intervals where during this gap, in May we experienced the last thunderstorms and the wind damaged some of them.  This event caused us to be afraid that we would  be without tomatoes this summer so we planted more. Beginning one month ago, we have been harvesting full boxes every week, different kinds. This small cherry tomatoes are my favorite,  kissed by the sun and sweet as strawberries. This time of year we have a lot off guests in the garden and  the favorite selection for antipasto in The Almond Bar is our Bruschetta Pantesca. The mix of the sweet tomatoes with the salty Capers are just divine, when served  with a glass of Prosecco you’ll  make someone happy!

Bruschetta Pantesca
The recipe is for approximately 20 to 25  bite sized bruschetta (you might want to double the recipe for they disappear as fast as you make them!)

Initial preparations; preheat oven to 400F (200C), then place one, or two bottles of prosecco on ice!

Ingredients:
20-25 small slices of Italian white bread
1 clove garlic (peeled)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 pound (400-500 g) cherry tomatoes
1 Tablespoon Capperi di Pantelleria, rinsed and soaked
3 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
5 filets of anchovies in oil (drained)
2-3 teaspoons of Origano di Pantelleria
pinch of sugar to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Sprinkle on top to finish:
1 teaspoon dried Origano di Pantelleria (dried oregano) which is harvested in June and use the teaspoon for the entire recipe not one Bruschetta

Method:
Rinse and divide the tomatoes, (core them if not using cherry tomatoes) and cut them into small dices.

Cut each anchovy in 5 parts mix together with tomatoes, oil, sugar, capers and basil .
Season with salt and pepper.Preheat the oven on 400 F (200 C) grades.

Slice bread into thin disks and brush a little olive oil on each bread slice place on a oven tray and toast until golden, about 5 min. When toasted remove from the oven and rub the toasted bread slices with the garlic clove just to provide the taste, then, set a side.

Just before serving, ad a spoon or two of the tomato mix on each bread slice,  sprinkle with some oregano. Next arrange on a platter. Set glasses and napkins out on the serving table along with the prosecco in a ice bucket pop the cork and start making people happy!

Capperi di Pantelleria http://shop.underthealmondtree.com/
Origano di Pantelleria http://shop.underthealmondtree.com/
Dinnerplate from http://newkamman.com/ 

The post Tomatoes everywhere! appeared first on Under the Almond Tree.

Caramelized red onion tart
Serves 6 as appetizers or make bite sized pieces as a cocktail snack for 6 people
Ingredients
5 large red onions about (500 grams)
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup (0.6 dl) olive oil
1 bay leaf
3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon Origano di Pantelleria (oregano)
Salt and pepper
9-10 oz (275 grams) of puff pastry
12 black olives (preferably oven or sun dried)
2 Tablespoons of Capers from Pantelleria ( rinsed and drained) http://shop.underthealmondtree.com/
6 anchovy filets
1 egg for brushing the pastry edges

Method
Cut the onion in thin rings or slices, chop the garlic finely and saute in a hot skillet with the olive oil. When the onions have softened, add the balsamic vinegar, sugar, bay leaf and half of the oregano.
Let the onions simmer on lower heat so that the sugar will caramelize.
Season with salt and pepper

Cut the anchovies into smaller pieces.

Place the puff pastry on nonstick oven paper, spread the caramelized red onion mix. Add olives, capers and the pieces of anchovies and fold up an edge of the pastry and brush with the beaten egg.

Bake at 400 F (200 C) for about 10 min.
Sprinkle some extra Origano di Pantelleria (oregano) just before serving

My dear and beautiful friend Lisa is visiting from Sweden, so this week we celebrated with many aperitivo gatherings- hors d’oeuvres in the garden.
This recipe is a perfect cocktail snack or can be served as an appetizer.

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