Spaghetti with Artichoke Cream

The aftertaste of artichoke is so delicate and fresh that you won't even need to brush your teeth after your meal. I wish my toothpaste tasted like artichoke.
I got the inspiration for this dish after my last visit in Rome. I went to " Al Pompiere" http://www.alpompiereroma.com/, an awesome restaurant specialized in Roman-Jewish Cuisine and they served me this amazing plate of  Tonnarelli with Artichoke and Pecorino.
This is my own way of bastardizing the recipe.

For the sauce you will need:

• Artichoke heart ( if you have the fresh one then it is great, I have used the one in the can...)
• Garlic Cloves
• extra Virgin Olive Oil 
• Parmiggiano ( Pecordino Romano is better)
• Vegetable Stock-
• Salt and Pepper to taste

 Start by pan frying the garlic with some extra virgin olive oil. Add the chopped artichokes to the pan and saute them for 5 minutes. Add 1 or 2 ladles of Vegetables Stock, cover the pan and let it cook for 15 more minutes or until the artichoke are nice and tender. I have added 2 table spoon of double cream just to create a nice cream with the tender artichoke and the grated Parmiggiano ( be generous).

Cook the spaghetti " al dente" and add it to the pan with the sauce for few minutes so that the sauce can marry with the spaghetti. Drizzle with some Extra Virgin olive oil and freshly ground pepper.

Salmon, Pak-Choi and Cherry Tomatoes Tart

Quiche and Tart are normally my way of cleaning up the fridge. This doesn't mean it can't be super rewarding. It helps when you have awesome leftover like Pak-choi from a previous Chinese dinner feast and some Scottish salmon.  The trick to make a good quiche is to be generous with the eggs and with the double cream/ or Milk.

Here are the ingredients: 

4 eggs 
Smoked Scottish Salmon
Pak-Choi or Chard 
Cherry Tomatoes
400ml of Double cream
Puff Pastry

Preheat the oven at 180 and roll the puff pastry over a tart tin.  
Cook the Pak-Choi in a non stick pan with a crushed garlic clove and season it to taste.

Tuck the Pak-Choi into the tart case in between the salmon pieces and the cherry tomatoes. Gently whisk the eggs and cream, pour into the case and bake for 25 minutes, or until set. 

Paprika Vegan Sausage Soup Bomb with Orzo

I have always been a bit skeptical about those meat surrogate for vegetarian. It is just seemed wrong to use them until now. I must admit that it is otherwise very limiting to cook without them when it comes to preparing second courses or stews. 

Here is a delicious Soup Bomb with vegetarian Sausage, flavored in a lot of Paprika and Cajun Pepper with Orzo. I swear you will not miss the pork!

To make this you need: 

1 liter of Vegetable stock
1 Big Onion
1 Carrot
1 Celery
1 can of chopped tomatoes
6 Vegetarian Sausages
1 cup of Orzo
1 Glass of Wine

For seasoning:

A lot of Paprika, 
Cajun pepper 
Salt to taste
4 peppercorn 
1 bay leaf

 
Start by dicing the vegetable, oil a large pot and start gently cooking the vegetables. In the meantime seasoned the Sausage with a generous amount of paprika ( i like the smoked one), a little but of Cajun pepper to add a bit of heat. Dice the Sausage and add them to the pot. Pour the glass of Wine into the pot and higher the flames so that the alcohol can evaporate.

Once the alcohol has evaporate, add the stock, the can of tomato, french peppercorn and bayleaf into the pot. Once the soup reaches the boil, lower the flame, cover the pot and let it cook for at least 60 minutes. 

Season with salt, add the Orzo to the soup and let it cook according to the instruction in the package

Once the orzo is cooked, you can serve the Soup with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and and some Parmiggiano ( if you are not Vegan)

Morning Glory Muffin

If you are thinking about hosting a great veggie brunch or want to make something tasty for a pic-nic date, then here is the recipe you need: Zucchini Muffin with sun blushed tomatoes on top 

To make 6 of these babies you'll need: 

Wet ingredients: 

3 eggs
100ml of Milk 
50ml of Sunflower Oil
50g of Herb's Flavored Cream Cheese ( Ricotta is also good) 

Dried Ingredients: 

200 g of Flour
a teaspoon of Baking powder
Salt

 For the filling: 
 2 Zucchini diced and sauteed in a non-stick pan  with a little bit of oil and seasoned with salt,pepper and fresh thyme

sun blushed tomatoes ( cheery tomatoes are also good)

 Preparation: 

Mix all the wet ingredients in a bowl and then start to slowly add the dry ingredients using a sieve. Add the zucchini and pour the batter into the muffin shapes. Before putting them into the oven at 180°, don't forget to put the tomatoes on top. They should be ready in about 25 minutes depending on how big they are and how good your oven is. Better to start checking them after the first 20 min!