Italian Food
As we always do, Giulia and I cooked this main by making a few small changes in the list of ingredients, in order to offer a healthier alternative. However, the star of this dish was (typically) and still is seafood. Also following Giulia’s advice in terms of nutrition “Mollusks and crustaceans are a great source of proteins and minerals, especially if you compare them with the most popular protein-rich foods like chicken or beef. Prawns, for example, are high in an easily-absorbable form of selenium, an essential mineral that protects our body from free-radicals.
“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.
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.
Immune boosting
#5 Creamy broccoli soup
When I was a kid I absolutely hated broths or soups of any kind so much that I used to have nightmares about it. It was a thing that I always associated with being ill. It is not until I become an adult that I started to appreciate the health benefits and enjoy the nourishing side of soups.
Chicken broth has been considered a remedy for cold and viral symptoms for centuries, that’s why Giulia and I decided to create a soup that would contain this delicious ingredient.
When we get a cold, our body reacts to the virus by creating an inflammatory response. Chicken soup may have an anti-inflammatory action on our immune system which stops our white blood cells from migrating in the affected area. Another great bonus about eating soup when you are ill is that they help keep your body hydrated.
We chose broccoli as the main vegetable for this soup as it is high in vitamin C and antioxidant compounds such as lutein, zeaxanthin and carotenoids. Broccoli are also rich in vitamin K and vitamin A which are known to improve vitamin D metabolism. As we mentioned in the previous posts, vitamin D is an essential nutrient for our immune system health.
Creamy broccoli soup
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 30 min
Total Time: 40 min
Servings: 2
INGREDIENTS
CHICKEN STOCK
2 garlic cloves
3-4 chicken wings
1 carrots
2 celeries stalks
1 onion (100g)
bayleaves
2 tsp peppercorn
1 tsp salt
BROCCOLI SOUP
200g broccoli
200g potatoes
2 garlic cloves
1/2 onion (70g)
2 celery stalks
butter 10g
600ml chicken stock
a handful of rosemary
salt
pepper
GARNISH
thyme
extra virgin olive oil
black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
To make the chicken stock, chop the carrots, celery and onions in big chunks. In a big pot place all the ingredients and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 3-4 hours.
To make the creamy broccoli soup, finely chop the onion and crush the garlic cloves first. Then chop the celery into small cubes. Heat up the butter in a deep pot and fry the onions, celery, garlic and rosemary for 2 minutes.
Slice the potatoes and cut them into small cubes. Chop the broccoli of approximately the same size as the potatoes as well. Add it to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Filter the chicken stock through a fine sieve and place it a separate pot. Strip some of the chicken from the chicken bones. You will add this to your broccoli soup later on. Bring the chicken stock to a boil.
Pour the chicken stock into the broccoli’s pot and cook it for approximately 25 minutes at medium heat.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Save some of the broccoli in a small plate to use as a garnish later on. Blitz all the remaining content and bring the pot back to the stove to reduce further more.
Portion the soup into two small bowls. Add in some thyme, a drizzle of olive oil and pepper if you wish.
The soup is also great cooked served with croutons.
Buon appetito!
Immune boosting
#4 Buckwheat risotto with asparagus and spinach
Since I was a child we would walk across the landscapes with my family in Sardinia during spring and late summer foraging wild asparagus. You would have hoped that nobody went there before yourself to harvest them all. And whenever one found a few would shout ‘two, three’ and so on, and your foraging companion would reply back with their numbers — it was like a challenge to prove who had the sharpest eyes!
I recently went to Sardinia and I brought a friend from London with me. We found so many asparagus that we renamed the place “The Asparagus Paradise”.
But luckily it is all a paradise in London if you wish to say so, we don't need to forage asparagus anymore as the grocery shops stock them all year round.
This is another variation of a tradition Italian primo piatto: risotto.
Giulia and I cooked buckwheat by following the exact same step you would follow to cook a regular risotto. We used buckwheat instead of rice as the first grain is high in fibre, phytonutrients and minerals such as copper and zinc. Low levels of zinc are linked to a weak immune system, therefor it is extremely important to increase consumption of zinc during winter months.
We picked asparagus for its distinctive flavour and because this vegetable —together with onion that in Italy is the base for almost every primo piatto— is packed with quercetin. Quercetin is a plant-compound that can help protecting the body from free-radicals, inflammation and viruses, on top of modulating the immune system.
Another great vegetable we added to the risotto is spinach which contains high levels of vitamin C and beta-carotene, also essential to our immune system and general health.
Buckwheat risotto with asparagus and spinach
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 2 serves
INGREDIENTS
STOCK
600ml water
1 vegetable stock cube
RISOTTO
140g buckwheat
100ml white wine
1/2 onion finely chopped
130g asparagus
20g butter
40g baby spinach leaves
a handful of parsley
5 twists of black pepper
sea salt to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
Bring some water to the boil and then break 1 vegetable stock cube into 600ml of water.
Chop the asparagus into pieces of about 1 inch long.
Heat the butter in a shallow saucepan over a medium flame. Add 1 finely chopped onion, then fry for about 5 mins until is translucent.
Tip the buckwheat groats into the pan and cook for 1-2 min. Pour over the white wine and boil until the alcohol fully evaporates.
Keep the pan over a low heat and pour in half of the vegetable stock. After about 5 minutes stir in the previously chopped asparagus, season with salt and pepper and continue to cook.
Simmer the buckwheat, stirring often. When it has absorbed all the liquid, add another splash of stock again and continue to simmer and stir.
Continue stirring until the buckwheat is cooked and the water fully absorbed. If it is still undercooked, add more water.
Take the pan off the heat, add in a handful of chopped parsley leaves.
Cover and leave for a few mins to cool down so that the rice can take up any excess liquid as it cools a bit.
Immune boosting series
#2 Roasted Sardines with peppers salad
Do sardines come from Sardinia? I have been asked this question several times. I always thought it was hilarious, it is one of these question people often used to break the ice as soon as they find out I am from Sardinia.
The straight answer is: No! Although there is some speculation that the word sardines derives from the Greek “Sardò”, indicating the island of Sardinia, there is no proven link between the two.
Another recurring question I am asked is “do you miss Sardinia being in London?” Of course I miss my island sometimes! What I miss the most is the long days and months of sun and very warm springs. In London I have suffer from Vitamin D deficiency before.
Talking to my friend Giulia from Cromonutrition I found out that it is extremely common to see vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency amongst people. The reason for this is the reduced day-light from autumn to early spring, which impacts the skin’s ability to make vitamin D. Vitamin D is one of the most important nutrients for the immune system, according to Giulia.
What you could do to increase your vitamin D level is to eat more fish such as salmon, tuna, sole… and sardines!
Sardines are also packed with essential fatty acids, low in toxins —as they are a small fish with a short lifespan— and they take 15 mins to cook, so you now have plenty of reasons why you should include them into your diet.
So together with Giulia we decided to make a pepper salad to go with our roasted fish because “yellow and red peppers are the fruits with the highest vitamin C content —yes, peppers and not oranges!” I’ve learnt from Giulia. “Bell peppers are also rich in vitamin E, betacarotene and flavonoids, so they do contain a wide variety of antioxidants. We also added capers for their quercetin content and parsley as it is high in betacarotene. The cherry on top of the cake for this healthy meal is Apple Cider Vinegar. Being a fermented food, ACV contains healthy probiotics which can improve our gut flora and, therefore, support our immune system.”
“I still remember the first time I ate sardines… It was many years ago, in one of my summer holidays in Southern Italy with my dad. The restaurants where we were having dinner had some Sarde a Beccafico on the buffet and I got tempted by their inviting appearance. Wow! Nothing was ever quite the same after I tried them.”
You can find Giulia on Instagram under @Cromonutrition
Roasted Sardines with yellow & red peppers salad
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 2 serves
INGREDIENTS
6 fresh whole cleaned sardines
2tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp dried oregano
parsley
2 tsp salt
ground pepper
PEPPERS SALAD
1/2 red pepper
1/2 yellow pepper
10 black olives
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp capers
1/2 tsp salt
black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
For the salad, cut the peppers in very small cubes. Then cut the black olives in a half and slice them into small pieces. Put these in a large bowl, add in the capers and toss with the apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.
For your sardines, first thing when you purchase them make sure to ask your fishmonger to clean them for you, unless it is something you enjoy doing.
Preheat the oven to 200 ºC.
Pat dry the sardines and place them on a oven’s tray with some baking paper underneath. Rub the sardines on the inside and outside with olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano. Then chop the garlic cloves very thinly and do the same with the parsley. Place parley and garlic inside the sardines together with a small slice of lemon.
Cook the sardines in the oven for approximately 15 minutes, until well cooked and crispy.
Serve with the peppers salad and with a slice of bread if you wish.