Crespelle con Asperagi [#246]

Or, asparagus pancakes to you and me. An adaptation of a Marcella Hazan recipe - hers was veggie, but I added a slice of Parma ham to each pancake before spreading it with cooked, diced asparagus in a rich Parmesan and nutmeg white sauce, rolling up, and baking with a little more of the sauce poured over. This is such a scrumptious recipe, and one that I have cooked every year, probably for the last 15 years or so. Sometimes, I use Gruyere cheese, sometimes Cheddar, but the Parmesan is a must, as is the nutmeg.

Potato and Rosemary Fritatta [#237]

So, we had a bit of a drama over Easter, with Hubby being proper poorly on Good Friday. BUT - it takes more than that to get in the way of our food! Before he fell ill, we had a lovely lunch of this simple and wholesome omelette from Marcella Hazan. Being Italian, she calls it a fritatta, but it was perhaps more like a Spanish tortilla. A thinly sliced potato and onion are sauteed gently in olive oil until soft and golden, and stirred into beaten eggs with a fair bit of finely chopped fresh rosemary - about a dessertspoonful. All is gently cooked in a non-stick omelette pan and browned under the grill. Simple and delicious. However, I shall never cook it again, as it is jinxed, as is 'The Sound of Music', but that's another story..............

Bergamo style Cabbage and Chickpea Soup [#216]

This sounds a bit worthy and heavy on paper, but is, in fact a lovely thick vegetable soup to warm the cockles. Dark green leaves from the outside of the cabbage are shredded and simmered with pancetta, carrot, potato, celery, onion and chickpeas in a light stock. I'm not sure whether Marcella Hazan's recommendation to peel the skins off the chickpeas is strictly necessary, though! It took us about 20 minutes to go through a tin of them, and there is no discernible difference to the eating quality, but it does show her fastidious approach to Italian food. Before eating, drizzle over good olive oil and plenty of grated Parmesan.

Torta di Arance all'Anconetana [#213]

Or, Orange Cake, Ancona-style, but it sounds so much better in Italian! The first in the challenge from the peerless Marcella Hazan, the doyenne of Italian cooking. This is an egg-rich butter sponge, flavoured with orange zest, Cointreau and Absinthe (in the absence of ouzo), and then drenched in a blood-orange syrup. This is a stunning cake, moist and tender, and it keeps for up to a week in the fridge, apparently (although it won't last long in our house!). Perfect for this time of year - get the really good, rich, blood oranges from Sicily, if possible. It has been an 'orangey' day in the flat today, but it brightens one's life to have such vibrant ingredients that make you think of the sun...........

The Kitchen Diaries Challenge 2010 - the books being used

Well, I loved last year's challenge so much. Cooking from Nigel Slater's 'Kitchen Diaries' was a marvellous experience, and one that forced me to look at new recipes, techniques and ingredients. It was the perfect book to chose, being seasonal and extremely varied. Finding another single book to match the experience in 2010 was impossible. So, this year, I have chosen 12 books instead. Every month, I will cook at least one recipe from each of these books - 12 a month, and 144 in total for the year - at least - I might cook more!

So which books have I chosen?

I focused on everyday cooking, but to stretch myself and increase my knowledge, I have also selected some books from other cuisines - Japanese, Indian, etc. Here they are! (with links to them at Amazon)

1. 'Tender' - Nigel Slater (well, I couldn't abandon Nigel altogether, could I!)
2. 'Harumi's Japanese Cooking' - Harumi Kurihara
3. 'China Modern' - Ching-He Huang
4. 'Home Cook' - Alastair Hendy
5. 'Everyday' - Bill Granger
6. 'Indian Everyday' -Anjum Anand
7. 'Favourite Food at Home' - Rachel Allen
8. 'Off the Shelf' - Donna Hay
9. 'Marcella Cucina' - Marcella Hazan
10. 'Fish' - Mitch Tonks
11. 'In the Mood for Food' - Jo Pratt
12. 'Top 200 Low Fat Recipes' - Judith Wills

This list is a blend of my favourite authors (Slater, Hendy, Granger, Allen, Pratt), the challenging (Tonks, Hazan), the exotic (Kurihara, Anand, Huang) and the healthy (Hay and Wills). Together, they will give me loads of choice for everyday cooking, and the more challenging stuff at the weekend, along with the realistic and healthy. Some are old friends and may even be out of print now, although Amazon seemed to have them all in stock one way or another, along with the new and relatively untested.

I hope you enjoy hearing about them as much as I know I will enjoy cooking from them!