Summer Pasta & Restyling

summer time, when all you need is some pasta salad with fresh fruit. any time, any mood, any weather...
just boil 300gr of pasta (farfalle and orecchiette work best) but make it very, very al dente. let it cool in cold water and season with a mixture of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and orange juice. then add one small melon and one avocado cut in small dice, and 250gr of smoked salmon. makes 4 servings!
next time, i'll add roasted pine nuts.
(source: sale&pepe august 2008)

Patatine al Salmone

un'altra ricetta al salmone dallo scorso capodanno. mamma mia, ma quanto ho cucinato?
ormai ho imparato che, per fare le patate al forno, mi conviene bollirle prima e passarle in forno giusto qualche minuto per renderle croccanti. stessa cosa per le patate in padella. anche la cottura risulta piu' omogenea, senza il rischio di beccarsi il pezzo di patata crudo vicino a quello bruciacchiato.
the cool thing about baking potatoes is that you can shorten the times by boiling them first and then bake them in oven just to make them golden, right before serving.

Salmon Potatoes

put potatoes (count two medium size per person) in cold water and boil them for 20 minutes. to check if they're ready, just try to stick them with a fork. peel your boiled potatoes and cut them in small pieces. season with olive oil, salt and rosmarin.
now bake in oven until golden. when ready, take them out of the oven and cover with a jummy sauce of greek yogurt, smoked salmon, salt and pepper. let the flavors melt together in the oven for another minute. serve immediately.

Patate al Salmone

quindi, insomma, basta far bollire le patate per poi spelarle e tagliarle, condirle con olio, rosmarino e sale e passarle in forno per una ventina di minuti. quando belle dorate, toglierle dal forno e coprirle con una salsa di yogurt greco, salmone affumicato a fettine, sale e pepe. ripassare in forno un ultimo minuto per amalgamare bene i sapori.

More Salmon... Lasagne!

... and even more coming next days! i got 500gr of smoked salmon as much appreciated christmas present :) uh, and sorry for the picture... dark ambiances and orange dishes don't go too well together. and btw, my new orange and green dishes are stunningly cool, as well as my new blender in silver :))

Smoked Salmon Lasagne
(small lasagna for two)

melt 250gr of cheese (the kind you use to make grilled cheese, but take the crust away. i used robiola, but i'm sure caprice de dieux which is a quite commercial brand can still do well) with 250ml of milk and 30gr of butter. you will end up having a quite too liquid cream, but do not worry about it. add chives and pepper. and salt if necessary. now, if you use already made lasagne, you're almost done: just make the layers, starting from the cheese cream, then lasagna, then salmon, then cheese etc. finish with a layer of cheese and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes at 200degrees.

Lasagne al Salmone Affumicato
(per due)

preparare la crema di formaggio sciogliendo 250gr di formaggio-tomino (senza la crosta) in 250ml di robiolalatte e una noce di burro. aggiungere erba cipollina, pepe e sale (se necessario). la crema risulterà molto liquida, ma niente paura :) fare gli strati della lasagna iniziando dalla crema di formaggio, uno strato di lasagna e uno di salmone. finire con la crema di formaggio e cuocere in forno a 200gradi per 30 minuti.

Salmon Mousse

Mousse al Salmone

tritare nel frullatore 200gr di salmone affumicato. aggiungere 100gr di formaggio fresco (philadelphia), 15ml di panna e del prezzemolo fresco. aggiungere sale se necessario. ricoprire delle formine di pellicola trasparente e versare la mousse. far riposare in frigo per almeno quattro ore.

Salmon Mousse

blend 200gr of smoked salmon in a food mixer. add 100gr of fresh cheese (philadelphia), 15ml of cream and persil. add salt if needed. put the mousse in little tins covered of plastic foil and let it cool in the fridge for at least for hours.