briciole

melanzana arrosto / roasted eggplant

I love melanzane and I liked them also as a child (when most vegetables were on my black list), maybe because my mother did not cook melanzane, so they had an aura of mystery around them. Such love was not affected by the worst kitchen disaster that ever happened to me the first time I tried to roast a whole eggplant (una melanzana intera). One day, I decided to make baba ganoush, first tasted some years before in a Lebanese restaurant in Tangier, Morocco. I bought a big eggplant and put it in the hot oven. The recipe made it clear... Read more →

insalata di fragole, fave e finocchi / strawberry, fava bean and fennel salad

I have recently written about strawberries, since I used them in a cobbler, and in a Danish braid. I also wrote about fragola a while ago. Today, I will describe a way of using the beloved berry in a savory setting. A typical savory use for strawberries is as an ingredient of risotto. However, since I have developed a recipe for risotto with another berry, I am putting off elaboration of this topic until a later date. A few nights ago, I concocted an alliterative salad. However, the alliteration works only in Italian: insalata di fragole, fave e finocchi (strawberry, fava... Read more →

ciambella all'arancia / orange ring cake

A little while ago, as I was perusing the vast bulk section of the Co-op in Eureka, CA, I decided to buy half a small paper bag of mixed tropical dried fruit, without having the slightest idea about what to do with it. The other day, as I was trying to make sense of my cupboard organizing rationale (I have none and therefore I have difficulty finding what I need when I need it), I found the paper bag with my impulsive purchase and decided I had to use it. I also decided it was time to use the ring bottom... Read more →