The Sardinian Kitchen

Orange zest candies - Aranzada

Today I want to share with you the recipe for Aranzada, a typical dessert from Sardinia, my region in Italy.

I come from a tiny village in the East coast of Sardinia that is famous for its oranges, generally the second week of April there is the famous “Oranges festival”. I took some images a long time ago during the event, if you love citrus fruits and you want to know more click Here.

Oranges are in season right now, so I thought to take this opportunity to make these zingy sweet bites made from orange peel, honey and almonds. For the orange zest to lose its bitterness, you need a bit of advance preparation. You must soak the skins one day before or to achieve best results, a few days in advance. 

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Makes 8 aranzadas

Preparation time: 10minutes + a few days soaking

Cooking time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

50g unwaxed orange peel
(around 6 oranges)

40g peeled almonds

15g caster sugar

60g honey

INSTRUCTIONS

First thing with a potato peeler peel the oranges making sure you will remove the white pith.

Thinly cut the peel into strips, mine were about 3mm wide and 5mm long.  Allow them to soak in warm water overnight or for a few days for best result.

Change the water at least twice a day. 

Drain the orange peel and pat dry them. 

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Roughly chops the almonds into even-sized pieces. Spread them on a baking tray and toast them in the oven for  5 minutes.

In a large pot heat up the sugar and honey. Keep stirring until it is brown and it coats the back of a spoon. When it reaches a slightly stringy and sticky consistency it is ready. Pour in the orange zest and cook for 1 minute.

Stir in the almonds as well and quickly spoon it into small cake cases. You’ve got to be as fast as you can to avoid the mixture from cooling down completely and becoming rock hard.

Healthy January 0.3

Sourdough wholemeal focaccia with onions and radicchio

Like many, I have been playing with sourdough since the beginning of the first lockdown in England. It kept me busy as it is like a pet to care for. Anthony Bourdain in his book Kitchen Confidential mentioned several chefs giving names to their starter. One of his colleagues used to call it the B****

Have you given a name to yours yet?  

This recipe is sort of an adaptation of a regional recipe from my area in Sardinia, Pratzira with onions (Onions focaccia). Pratzira comes in different flavours and shapes, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, mushrooms and so on. 

I absolutely love the onions version with its sweet taste and slippery texture. Add some tasty radicchio leaves and you are in for a treat!  

If you do not know how to make natural yeast, there are many resources online bit I will share the recipe with you in the near future.  Check this space.

A bit about nutrition…

When I consulted my blog partner Giulia about this recipe for our healthy January. She said “Ok, we are halfway through our detox month and, therefore, we can allow ourselves to cook something scrumptious and slightly higher in carbs than our previous recipes. “

The star of these focaccine, though, are the veggies — radicchio and onions. The purple-and-white type of leaf vegetable can be eaten raw, mixed in into salads and contorno, but it is AMAZING also if cooked. Radicchio, also known as Italian Chicory is packed with plant compounds —especially in its red part— which act as antioxidants on free-radicals and can improve circulation.
Onions have been seen in research to have anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties, to act as a prebiotic on our gut flora, and to be able to balance the immune system and improve heart health.”

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0924224407002282
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408398.2011.646364

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Prep Time: 45 minutes + 

leavening time about 14 hour 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 15 hours 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS

DOUGH

210g strong wholemeal flour 

150ml water

10ml olive oil

5g salt

70g sourdough starter 

360g white onion

170g radicchio

60ml olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

First thing you will need to activate your sourdough starter by feeding it on the night before using it. 

The second step is often called by the experts as “autolyse”. 

In a small bowl, mix the water, wholemeal flour, and oil. Cover the bowl with a cloth and set aside for 1 hour. This is to allow the enzymes in the flour to activate.

Then add in the natural yeast and knead for 5 minutes to form a smooth dough. Now add in the salt and knead for another 2 minutes. 

Let it rest for 8-12 hours or until it is doubled in size. This time can vary significantly depending on the temperature in your kitchen and of your ingredients, and how active is your starter. 

A generall tip is to check the consistency of the dough, it should be bouncy and light.

Slice your onions into thin rings. Then cook them in a pan with 30ml of olive oil for about 10 minutes or until translucent. 

Stir constantly to avoid burning them. 

Let the onions cool down. Keep some aside, you will need these to decorate your focaccine. Then gently incorporate the rest into your dough, folding the edges of the dough on top of it a couple of times.

Put the dough onto a floured surface and portion it into 8. Then shape each one into a small ball, tucking the sides in with your hands. Dust some flour all around and on the top of each ball rubbing it genlty with your hands. Cover them with a cloth and let them raise again for about one and a half hours.

Preheat the oven to 220 ºC

Now place each ball into a greased baking tray and flatten each one using your finger tips. Pressing genlty and avoiding knocking out all the air. 

Cut the radicchio into small wedges to fit into your focaccine. Place some of the radicchio leaves on the top of each focaccina. 

Bake for 10 minutes. Then drizzle the remaining olive oil on the top and cook for further 10 minutes or until is gold. 



Healthy January 0.2

Artichokes in olive oil and parsley dressing

My obsession with artichokes goes as far as trying to smuggle two small plants with pot and soil in my suitcase from Sardinia to grow them in London. They arrived safely but suffered a few injuries on the way. 

Sadly I also failed in my attempt to grow them in London, all of them died after one month of incessant rain.

The Sardinian variety is with spikes, which I found difficult to find in the UK. I have just recently seen that the brand Natoora sells them online. (This post is not sponsorised)

Some time ago I visited the Blue zone of Sardinia, an area with a high longevity rate among the inhabitants, and speaking with some of the oldest inhabitants it seems that many like to eat artichokes. So I consulted my blog partner Giulia, to know more about these delicious vegetables from the nutritional point of view. 

“Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus is without any doubt one of our favourite flowers from the Mediterranean region, the area where Italy is located and where Jennifer and I come from.
Artichoke is an edible thistle (a flowering plant) and it is absolutely delicious —you can’t blame us for loving it so much!

When cooked artichoke has a succulent meaty pulp and a sweet and nutty taste. You can also eat it raw —mainly the inner part known as the heart— but the consistency is definitely more fibrous and the taste is bitter.
This chubby green thistle is also packed with nutrients and health-promoting benefits. Artichokes are low in fat and rich in fibre which make them a great food for our digestive system and our heart health. They also contain a good amount of antioxidants, vitamin C, K and folate, and important minerals, such as magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and iron.

Medical research has found that this plant, which has been used for centuries for its benefits, may help balance cholesterol levels and blood pressure. Another great reason to consume artichoke as both a vegetable or an extract is the protective and stimulating effects it may have on our liver and gut health. The fact that this plant is also so high in fibre —especially a soluble fibre called inulin— makes it a prebiotic food, which can help improving the intestinal flora.

As we don’t waste anything in Jenny’s kitchen while we prepare our recipes, we used those inedible leaves we removed from the artichokes before cooking to make a tea. This tea has a bittersweet taste and it is a great drink to stimulate digestion and liver health. “

This recipe is great served as a starter to complement a cheese or cured meats board or even as a side dish.

This is the best season for Artichokes so make sure you don’t miss them!

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30308247/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22435514/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26310198/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29520889/

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Recipe

Serves 4

Preparation time: 20 minutes 

Cooking time: 35 minutes 

INGREDIENTS

8 artichokes

1 lemon

1 tsp salt 

50ml white wine vinegar

1l water

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

a handful of fresh parsley

INSTRUCTIONS

Artichokes oxidise when cut, therefore rub some lemon juice into your hands before touching them. 

To prepare the artichokes remove about some of the harder outer leaves until you are left with the softer ones. Cut most of the stalk, leaving about 1 cm. Trim the stalk into a point and chop about 2-3 cm off the tips of the leaves.

Slice them in a half and then cut the so called “beard“ just below the leaves. 

Place the artichokes in a large bowl with water and the juice of two lemons (this will prevent them from turning black).

In a large pan bring the vinegar and water and 1 tsp of salt to the boil. Add the artichokes and let them simmer for about 30 minutes. 

Leave to cool down into their own liquid.

Now we will prepare our dressing. Finely chop the parsley. In a small bowl pour in the olive oil and spoon in your parsley.

Pat-dry your artichokes with a table cloth and pour some of the parsley oil previously made on the top. 

You can add a squeeze of lemon juice for extra sharpness if you prefer.

Healthy January 0.1

Italian-style Zucchetti with lentil 'meatballs'

After a well deserved break I am back with a new series of images and recipes Giulia and I created for January.

I am aiming to post one recipe a week every Friday.

This months theme is Detox. As we know January is for many “Veganuary”, for others “Dry January”. I have never been a great fan of these trends, because it is like saying that you can feel at peace with yourself by being a good person only for 30 days, when you have been bad all year round.

I think we should try to do be moderate most of the times, but I understand many of us have been naughty throughout Christmas and NYE and we are desperately trying to recover the damage done both to ourselves and the environment.

So for these reasons we created some fun recipes to give a break to your body, eat something nice and tackle climate change at the same time.

For this recipe we played on the concept of spaghetti meatballs but using lentils ‘meatballs’ and spiralised courgettes instead of spaghetti.

You will need a spiraliser for this recipe to make your courgettes look like spaghetti.

Giulia is an expert nutritionist and she gave me some insight about the ingredients used here.

“Some great plant-based foods that are rich in proteins are nuts & seeds (pumpkin seeds, hemp, linen seeds, etc… almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios…) and legumes such as beans and lentils, but also eating whole grains can help you reaching your daily protein intake which is 0.8g per kilogram of body weight.

We prepared these lentil polpette (balls) with tomato sauce and zucchetti (zucchini spaghetti) as we wanted to show how easy it is to cook vegan and still use some of those comforting flavours which remind us of home.
Lentils can be a great alternative to meat. They are definitely high in protein, containing about 9g of protein per 100g, and they are also rich in fibre which make them a good food for our digestion and blood-sugar balance.

Courgette spaghetti instead of regular wheat spaghetti for reducing refined carb consumption as well, on top of increase fibre intake.”

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Prep Time: 40 minutes 

Cook Time: 60 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes 

Serves 2 people

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INGREDIENTS

FOR THE LENTIL BALLS (32-35 balls)

1 garlic clove

1/2 tsp paprika

1 shallot

1 tsp oregano

80g potato

100g dry lentils

2g salt

one twist of black pepper

a handful of parsley

50g oat flour

TOMATO SAUCE

1 tbs olive oil

1/2 onion (45g)

1 garlic clove

1 red chilli

3g salt

400g tinned chopped tomatoes 

2 small courgettes spiralised

INSTRUCTIONS

Soak the lentils in water for about 1-2 hours.

Fill a pan with water and bring to a boil. Cook lentils for about 30minutes or until they are soft. 

For better results taste your lentils to check when they are ready.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into  small cubes. In a separate pan cook the potatoes previously cut in boiling water for about 25 minutes. 

Now in a food processor blend in the lentils to form a smooth cream, then mash your potatoes and incorporate them into the mix together with the rest of the ingredients. 

Using your hands shape the mix into balls of about 3cm diameter. Then roll the balls into the oat flour to form a coating.   

Arrange the lentil balls in a large tray previously covered with baking paper.  

Cook in the oven for about 15 minutes or until they fully cooked and crunchy on the outside.

To make the tomato sauce, finely chop the onion and the chili and slice the garlic in a half. 

Take a small pan to cook these ingredients together in olive oil for about 3-4 minutes. 

Then pour in the tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes. Season to taste. 

Then lightly blanch your spiralised zucchini in boiling water for 30-60 seconds.

Now you can assemble the plate with all your ingredients.

We hope you will enjoy it!

Gubana

Who doesn’t like cakes? Well, Giulia and I like them a lot! Cakes are obviously not the healthiest foods of all, but, “as a nutritionist, I believe a balanced diet should also include some cheat foods every now and then… and —let’s be honest— Christmas is all about cheat foods!” said Giulia

Our choice for this Christmas was Gubana cake from Friuli Venezia Giulia, a region in the North-East of Italy. Bordering with Slovenia and Croatia, it is not that surprising that this cake has a lot in common with cakes from these countries.

In order to make a dessert less “bad for you” from a nutritional perspective you can easily cut down on the amount of sugar you put into it — usually, if I’m baking for a party, I use 1/3 less sugar compare to original recipes; and 1/2 less sugar (I also use honey) if the cake/biscuits I’m making are for my household. This is a quick effective suggestion that can make a massive impact on your health if you eat sweet foods regularly.

Also, to slow down the absorption of sugars from your digestive tract, adding fibre to your cake is a very smart move!
Fresh or dried fruit and nuts such as almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts and pine nuts are a great source of fibre! And this is what we did, we researched and picked a traditional Italian dessert that would have a good amount of nuts and raisins in the recipe.

Nuts also contain a number of vitamin and minerals such as phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, vitamin E and K, so don’t be afraid of adding them to your Christmassy cake!



Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30-40 minutes

Total Time: 1.30 minutes 

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE DOUGH

350 g strong bread flour

150 ml  milk

80 g sugar

10g instant yeast

1 medium egg

70g butter, melted

Finely grated zest of one lemon

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped of seeds

FOR THE FILLING

150 grams raisins

70 ml marsala wine

20 ml honey

40 g peeled almonds

40 g walnuts

30 g hazelnuts

20 g pinenuts

10 g butter

1 lemon zest

2g ground cinnamon

1 egg yolk for brushing 

INSTRUCTIONS

To start soak the raisins in the marsala wine and set aside. 

For the dough bring the butter outside the fridge to soften. Then in a large bowl or a mixer, if you have one, combine all the dry ingredients together except the salt. Add the egg and the butter, and keep mixing with your hands until everything is well incorporated. Pour in the milk a little at the time and keep kneading until you reach the right consistency. The dough should be smooth, firm but soft and elastic. 

Cover the bowl with a cloth and set aside to rise in a warm place. 

For the filling preheat the oven to 150 ºC and roast the almonds for 10minutes or until they become lightly coloured.

Blend the raisins in a food processor with the marsala wine, lemon zest, honey, sugar and ground cinnamon. 

On a chopping board, crush the nuts lightly and add them to the filling mix.

Take a circular baking tray of about 18cm in diameter. Spread a little bit of butter all around the inside with your hands and lightly dust some flour with a fine sieve. This is to avoid the dough from sticking into the tin while cooking. A good trick I discovered some time ago is to use rice flour instead of wheat flour.

Now scatter some flour on a large flat surface where you will roll the dough with a rolling pin. The aim is to create a rectangular shape. Our rectangle was about a 48x25cm and about 4mm thick. With a knife or spatula spread the filling over the dough, leaving a small border all around. 

Roll the dough up along the longest edge, you will obtain a long cylinder. 

Then roll the cylinder around itself into a spiral shape and place in the baking tray. 

Let rise in a warm place for about 2-3 hours or until it is doubled in size.

Brush with an egg yolk over the top and bake at 180 ºC for 30-40 min.

To check if the cake is ready, I suggest using a long skewer to poke the cake. If it comes out clean then it means your cake is ready. 

The Sardinian Kitchen

Fregola with clams

I am really excited to post my second recipe from “The Sardinian Kitchen” series that I have recently created and tested for you.

When I think about food for celebration from home, I think about seafood. Now more than ever as it is not that easy to find good fresh seafood and also so expensive in London. So eating clams is really a treat reserved to special occasions.

Make sure you place the clams in a bowl with water as soon as you can. This will allow the clams to open and clean from any sand they might have.

Fregola is a special type of Sardinian pasta made with semolina flour and water. You can buy it online or if you have a deli near you then they might have it. If you want to prepare everything from scratch then follow my previous recipe for Fregola.

Feel free to write if you have any questions or to let me know how you get on!

INGREDIENTS

500g fresh clams

20ml olive oil

1 garlic clove

10g parsley

1 chilli

100ml white wine

400g plum peeled tomatoes

1 tsp salt

150g fregola

A bunch of fresh parsley to serve.

INSTRUCTIONS

The first thing to do as soon as you buy the clams, is to place them in water for a couple of hours. This is done to help the clams release all the sand. Also if there are any open clams, lightly tap them to the side of the sink. If they do not close, discard them.

Now peel the garlic clove and chop it really finely. Slice the parsley in a half along the long side. If you are not a big fan of spicy food, remove it from the recipe.

In a large pan heat up the oil with the garlic, parsley and chilli for 2 minutes. In the meantime, drain the clams and rinse them under the tap.

Add them into the pan. Bring the flames to a medium heat and place the lid on.

Shake the pan a few times to help the clams to open. Mine started to open after just 4 minutes and were all open within 6 minutes.

If you find any stubborn clams that do not want to open, then wait an extra minute for them to open. Avoid opening them with a knife but just discard them instead if they stay closed.

Now add in the white wine and wait for it to be completely evaporated.

Add in the fregola and 200ml of boiling water.

Cook for 5 minutes then add in the tomato sauce and season to taste.

My advice is to follow the instructions on the package to have a rough idea of the cooking times of your fregola. Although as timings on packages are not always accurate, by tasting it you will make sure that it is perfectly cooked. Mine was ready in about 20 minutes.

Sprinkle some fresh parsley on the top before serving.

Buon appetito!

Tortellini in brodo

On Christmas Day many Italian families will start their lunch with a “light” primo piatto. Tortellini (cappelletti, agnolotti…) are a common example of festive primo. They essentially are fresh pasta ravioli stuffed with a meat-base filling and served in a beef or chicken broth. But tortellini aren’t ‘tortellini’ in all areas of the Boot, they rather have different names and slightly different ripieno (filling) according to the city where they are made.
For our “healthier” Christmas menu, Giulia and I used the traditional recipe from Bologna which has a filling of meat, Parma ham, Parmesan cheese, etc… We only made two small changes to this filling while keeping its traditional flavour pretty much intact — we basically reduced the amount of cured meat used, and added a hint of fibre by adding sautéed Belgian endive.
As you may know, cured meat such as ham and sausage contains a number of preservatives which are not beneficial to our body. On the other hand, the fibre found in fruit and vegetable improves our digestion and helps us feeling fuller.

The main variation to this recipe, was to use beef bone broth instead of regular broth. This slow cooked food has an ancient tradition in our cuisine. Bone broth has also gained more and more visibility in the health industry over the past years due to its numerous properties, so Jennifer and I agreed to serve our tortellini with bone broth.
Drinking bone broth regularly can have a positive impact on our digestive system, skin appearance and joints health — the long cooking process of the bones releases collagen and amino acids such as glycine or arginine into the liquid, making bone broth a cheap and nutritious anti-inflammatory food.

The procedure is quite long although it is not too difficult. It is one of those recipes that brings families together to share the arduous task of preparing a large quantity of small tortellini. 

The recipe can be easily converted into a vegetarian one, just by changing the filling to a ricotta and spinach and using a vegetable broth instead of a bone broth. 

They can  be stored for months in the freezer easily. 

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Prep Time: 3 hours

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 3h 20 minutes 

Serves 4 (about 120 tortellini)

INGREDIENTS

2L BONE BROTH

750g Beef bones

1 Onion

1tbs apple cider vinegar

2 celery sticks

2 Carrots 

a bunch of rosemary

1tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

3 liters water

FOR THE PASTA DOUGH

110g 00 flour

1 egg (50g)

2g salt

TORTELLINI FILLING

20g butter 

1/2 onion, finely chopped (70g)

50g minced beef

50g minced pork

40g Parma ham

40g Belgian endive, finely chopped

20g grated parmesan

a sprinkle of nutmeg

1tsp salt

2 twists ground pepper

1litre bone broth

INSTRUCTIONS

For the broth. Start by washing all the vegetables, then cut the onions in a half and peel the carrots.

Place all the ingredients in a large pot covered with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 3 hours. The broth can be stored in the fridge for 5 days or in the freezer for 3-4 months.For the pasta dough place the flour in a large bowl put the flour into a  mound. Make a hole in the middle and  into it put in the saffron, water and salt. Mix it all together vigorously with your hands for about 7-8 minutes and knead until it forms a dough. 

Put it into a container, cover with cling film and let it rest for about 30 minutes. 

For the filling, start by melting the butter in a pan, add in the finely chopped onion, then add in your minced beef and minced pork. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until it is fully cooked or lightly coloured. Spoon in the finely chopped chicory and cooked for 1 minute further. Sprinkle some nutmeg, black pepper and salt.

Now add in the grated parmesan and grind everything in a food processor until you obtain a smooth cream. Cut the Parma ham into really small pieces  and add in to the mix. Blend everything together one more time. 

Now start the preparation for the tortellini. 

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pasta dough with a pasta machine.

Split the dough into four equal parts. On a lightly floured surface, roll each one through a pasta machine, beginning on the thickest setting and working your way down to the thinnest.

If you don’t have a pasta machine, you can use a rolling pin to roll the dough as thin
as possible. 

With a pasta cutter, cut squares of approximately 5cm side. 

Place about half a tsp of filling in the centre of each square. 

Fold each square in a half to form a triangle. Press the edges firmly.

Mix the remaining egg yolk with some water. Brush each dough circle with this egg wash.

Fill each circle with a teaspoon of the ricotta filling.

Fold each circle into a semicircle, press the edges of the semicircle firmly. Refine the edges with a pasta cutter again to make the tortellini triangles all of the same size. 

Now, bring the pointed ends together and press firmly to close them into a ring.

Set aside on a plate previously dusted with flour. Avoid stacking them all one above the other cause they might stick together. 

In a pan bring the broth to a boil again and cook the tortellini in the broth. They are ready when they start to float. 

“The food of the Gods”

Polenta cakes with mushrooms sauce and kale

Once I read that the ancient Romans believed mushrooms were the “food of the Gods” and I think most of us (Italians) still see mushrooms in the same way.
The properties contained in mushrooms are slightly different depending on each variety. For this recipes we used chestnut mushrooms which are rich in vitamin K —an essential nutrient to ensure healthy blood and bones—B vitamins and minerals such as copper and selenium. These succulent vegetables are also an amazing source of antioxidants and immune-boosting compounds such as beta-glucans.

“What I have realised during over three decades of dinner parties and, particularly, Christmas parties is that we all often start binging on appetizers and starters—high-calorie foods, made with refined ingredients and almost zero fibre— to find ourselves feeling full before the main meal even arrives on the table. For this reason, I like to inspire my guests with low-calorie vegan or vegetarian starters, and to share with you the recipes I tried.” says Giulia

Polenta is a delicious food, typical from Italy. In my region, Sardinia, people used to eat polenta as a primo, often served with a tomato sauce. In Lombardia instead, Giulia said “there is no party without polenta, but this corn-flour pudding gets generally served as a side dish (contorno), together with roasted or stewed meat.” Since polenta is very light, gluten-free and has a delicate flavour that works well with pretty much everything Giulia and I decided to use it as a base for our Christmas starters.

The combination of vegetables we used as topping also has the traditional flavours of Italy. However you could potentially use other veggies if you don’t like mushrooms or cavolo nero.

Cavolo Nero, also known as Tuscan Kale, is just an Italian variety of kale, but with dark green-blue leaves —here the adjective “nero” which means black.
Kale belongs to the cruciferous vegetable family, known for its high amounts of phytonutrients which help promoting detoxification and protecting against cell-aging. Like most leafy green vegetable, kale is also high in beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin K and minerals, especially manganese.

These polenta cakes are perfect served as a starter either for Christmas or NYE. 

They are really easy to make, provided that you buy the instant polenta, or the task will become way longer. 

For a more luxurious version you can use Porcini mushroom which have a stronger taste. 

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Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes 

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

POLENTA

200g Instant polenta

800ml vegetable stock 

1 tsp salt 

MUSHROOM SAUCE

200G chestnut mushrooms

1-2 cloves garlic

15g butter

30ml red wine

100g tomato sauce

a few leaves of kale (Cavolo nero)

100ml water 

5g butter

1/2 lemon squeezed 

TO SERVE

a bunch of parsley

INSTRUCTIONS

For the polenta I recommend using Instant polenta unless you want to spend your day cooking. For best results follow the instructions on the package. I used De Cecco polenta for mine (This is not a sponsored post). It just needs about 8 minutes to be ready. 

The procedure is more or less the same for every polenta though, it consists in  boiling your vegetable stock in a large pot, add in some salt to your liking. 

Then remove the pot from the stove and pour in the polenta slowly into the water while stirring.

After you poured it all in, bring back the pot on the stove and cook at low heat stirring continuously for about 8 minutes or until the water is fully absorbed. 

Take a large flat tray and pour in your polenta. It should form a layer about 1 inch thick. Leave to cool down.

In the meantime we can work at our mushroom’s sauce.

First thing clean your mushrooms using the tip of the knife to scrape the stalk a tiny bit and use a kitchen towel to clean the top of the mushroom. 

Slice your mushroom into small pieces. 

In a small pan heat up the butter and when it is melted add in the garlic cloves. Cook for 2-5 minutes or until they have some colour. Add in your mushrooms previously cut, add half a glass of water and cook with the lid on for about 10-15 minutes at low heat. Your mushrooms are ready when they are soft. 

Spoon in your tomato sauce and cook at low heat for another 10minutes. Season to taste. Sprinkle some parsley on the top. 

Now we will quickly prep the kale that will form a base for our mushroom sauce to seat on top of the polenta. Wash the kale, then on a chopping board shred it into 1 inch wide strips.

Bring to the boil 100ml of water with salt, add in the butter and lemon juice and cook your kale for about 5 minutes or until tender. Drain it well and set aside.  

Cut the polenta into circles with a cookie cutter or squares if you prefer.

Heat up a pan and heat-up the polenta for about 2 minutes per side.

Place the circles on a serving tray. Then place some of the kale leaves on top of each one and spoon in some your mushroom sauce.

The polenta cakes are now ready, they are also delicious served at room temperature.