With the recent Easter holiday, many of us now have extra hard boiled eggs in the refrigerator, and making deviled eggs is a great way to use them up. I always think of deviled eggs as a “festive” food, as I associate them with parties, picnics, good times and good friends. My dear friend Stef (who is a good egg) makes a fabulous deviled egg for cocktail parties with pals. But who needs to wait for a party to make deviled eggs? They are fun to make and eat any time.

Food historians say that the deviled egg dates back to early Roman times, when boiled eggs were served with spices poured on top. Classic American deviled eggs are made with a little mayonnaise blended with spicy ingredients such as mustard, cayenne pepper or paprika. (That’s where the “devil” comes from.) However, the name has long been used to describe any sort of stuffed egg, which doesn’t necessarily have to be spicy.

As an alternative to the classic version, I’ve replaced the mayonnaise with Greek yogurt and silken tofu for Mediterranean and Asian inspired deviled eggs. Both ingredients work wonderfully to add moisture and texture to the egg filling, and are a nice change from the traditional recipe.

Greek Inspired Deviled Eggs

(Makes 6 servings)

Ingredients:

• 3 hard boiled eggs
• 2 tablespoons Greek style yogurt (I like Fage)
• 1 tablespoon crumbled feta cheese
• 1 tablespoon chopped black olives
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Directions:

Peel hard boiled eggs and slice lengthwise. Scoop out the yolks and place in a bowl. Using a fork, mash yolks with the yogurt and mix well. Mix in the feta cheese, chopped olives, and fresh thyme leaves. Spoon mixture into each egg cavity. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve—they taste even better after the flavors have set in the fridge for a while.

Japanese Inspired Deviled Eggs

(Makes 6 servings)

Ingredients:

• 3 hard boiled eggs
• 2 tablespoons silken tofu
• 1/4 teaspoon miso paste
• 1/4 teaspoon mirin
• 1 tablespoon chopped scallions
• 1 tablespoon shredded crabmeat
• 1 tablespoon chopped re-hydrated shiitake mushrooms
• A pinch of sea salt

Directions:

Peel hard boiled eggs and slice lengthwise. Scoop out the yolks and place in a bowl, then mash yolks with the tofu, miso paste and mirin. Mix in the chopped scallions, shredded crabmeat, and shiitake mushrooms. Season to taste with sea salt. Spoon mixture into each egg cavity. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

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I don’t know about you, but to me cooking has always had a social factor.

When I cook for people here in Italy I can spend hours in the kitchen doing things as complex as they can be. I can actually go through all the Italian courses — Primo piatto, secondo piatto, contorno, dolce, and I can bake my own bread to go along with it. But when I cook only for myself I tend to be more economic with the time I spend in kitchen. But, hey, I never meant to say I lower my food standards in any measure!

Since Anna is away and I’m by myself this week, in this post I’ll share a recipe that won’t take more than 10 minutes of your time and requires no skills at all, yet is the kind of food you find in fancy restaurants, and often at unjustified prices.

Got ten minutes to prepare today’s lunch? Let’s go then!

Penne Rigate alla Ricotta e Noci

The first thing to do, of course, is give the dish a fancy Italian name, like they do in restaurants. Penne Rigate alla Ricotta e Noci — so there you go. Penne are those small pipes of pasta and rigate means they are ridged on the surface.

This was my pasta of choice because I wanted the ricotta to be able to fill the penne and because of the rough surface it will adhere better on the outside as well, but you can use other varieties of penne, or fusili. Basically any short pasta.

Ingredients

• 200g (7 oz) of penne rigate, or your pasta of choice
• 150g (5 oz) of ricotta
• 30g (1 oz) of chopped walnuts
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Directions

• Cook the pasta in lightly salted water according to instructions on the package
• When the penne are done, drain, and immediately put them back in the same empty pan
• Add the ricotta and the olive oil and mix them gently
• Add the walnuts
• Optionally, if you like a stronger taste, you can add a some strong cheese, like a small piece of gorgonzola or ground pecorino or parmesan.

This recipe serves two, but another great thing is that just as simply you can cook for yourself alone or you can cook for a dozen — you will only need a bigger pan.

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Today I want to focus on a rather special vegetable — broccoli. This simple vegetable is used extensively in Asian cooking and also Mediterranean cooking. It’s a vegetable that used to make me gag when I ate it as a kid, but now I thoroughly enjoy eating (simply because I’ve learned how to cook it properly — more on that in a minute).

But what makes broccoli such a special food is that it’s a real nutrition powerhouse. It’s rich in vitamins and minerals, including potassium, folate, calcium and vitamin C (which also acts as a powerful cell-protecting antioxidant).

Broccoli also contains plenty of dietary fiber as well as two particularly health-giving phytochemicals — sulforaphane and indol-3-carbinol. Scientific research has found that sulforaphane guards against cancer by stimulating the production of protective enzymes that detoxify carcinogens (cancer causing compounds). Indol-3-carbinol has been found to reduce breast cancer risk by preventing estrogen overproduction. A Harvard study even found that a high intake of broccoli reduced bladder cancer risk in men. And broccoli is quite a good source of protein (one medium stalk contains around 5 grams) and it’s low in calories while being nice and filling, so it’s an ideal food to help you stay in shape.

Apart from its health-giving qualities, broccoli is a fantastic food because it’s so delicious and versatile. Trudy and I love adding broccoli florets to stir-fries and noodle dishes (such as Tofu and cashew chow mein), but broccoli is equally at home in a pasta dish or a Thai curry. Steamed broccoli drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil also makes a great accompaniment to grilled fish or chicken. Raw or lightly blanched broccoli can even be added to salads or served as part of a plate of vegetable crudités. Another tasty way to enjoy broccoli is blended into warming soups such as Spanish broccoli and almond soup.

Here are some more delicious recipes that include broccoli:

Tuna & broccoli pasta with tomato red pepper sauce
Honey-lemon chicken with almonds
Lemony tuna, olive & vegetable pasta
Braised Sesame Chicken Noodles

And if you need a primer on how to cut broccoli into florets, here’s a step-by-step guide.

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I like to spend a couple of hours on the weekend preparing a few food basics that, once made, take the hard work out of cooking meals for the week ahead — a strategy I refer to as ‘weekend cooking for weekday eating’. In addition to curries and soups I invariably make some kind of tomato-based Mediterranean sauce for its sheer versatility.

Apart from a classic bolognese sauce or a piquant puttanesca sauce, one of our favorites is this rich sauce made with a medley of vibrant red ingredients including tomatoes, roasted red peppers, red onions, red wine, and red chili. I really enjoy the process of making up batches of this sauce, it brings out the Italian mama in me, especially when I put on Italian opera while I’m cooking.

Producing my own homemade sauce rather than buying the store-bought stuff in jars gives me a feeling of self-sufficiency, and it’s healthier and cheaper as well. Just knowing that I’ve got a supply of this delicious and nutritious sauce on hand fills me with a real sense of satisfaction. Over the past week we’ve had this sauce drizzled over grilled fish on a simple couscous salad, and then a couple of nights later tossed with rigatoni, broccoli and canned tuna as a quick pasta meal.

The sauce can be stored in the fridge, covered for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Robust red sauce

Serves 4 (or enough to make the following 2 meals, each serving 2 people)

• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 red onions — diced
• 4 cloves garlic — finely chopped
• 28 oz (840g) canned tomatoes — chopped
• ½ cup red wine
• ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
• ½ teaspoon dried red chili flakes
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 4 red bell peppers — deseeded and quartered

HEAT the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook the onions for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring regularly. ADD the tomatoes, wine, rosemary, chili flakes, salt, pepper and sugar and bring to the boil. COVER, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes. WHILE the sauce simmers, place the peppers (skin side up) under a hot broiler (griller) until the skin blackens all over, about 10 minutes. REMOVE and cover the charred peppers with a clean dishcloth or plastic wrap for 5 minutes to allow the steam to loosen the skins from the pepper flesh. PEEL off the blackened skin from the peppers and roughly cut the flesh into pieces then add to the sauce. PLACE the sauce into a food processor or blender and process until smooth.

Grilled fish with robust red sauce and couscous salad

Serves 2

• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic — minced
• 2 x 6 oz (180g) firm white fish fillets
• 1 cup couscous
• 2 small zucchini — quartered lengthways and very thinly sliced into quarters
• 1¼ cups boiling chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 scallion (green part only) — thinly sliced on diagonal
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh mint
• 2 oz (60g) crumbled feta
• ½ portion of the Robust Red Sauce recipe — heated

MIX together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic in a bowl. POUR half the lemon/oil mixture over the fish fillets and marinate, covered, in the fridge for 1 hour. COMBINE the couscous and zucchini in a bowl, pour over the boiling stock, cover and allow to steam for 5 minutes. FLUFF the couscous with a fork and toss with the scallion, parsley and mint. DRIZZLE over the remaining lemon/oil mixture and the crumbled feta and toss well to combine. SET the couscous salad aside while the fish continues to marinate. HEAT a cast iron grill pan over a high heat until very hot. COOK the fish fillets in the pan for around 3 minutes each side until just cooked. SERVE each fillet on a bed of the couscous salad and spoon the heated robust red sauce over the top.

Variations: Grill chicken breast fillets instead of fish. Serve any leftover couscous salad tossed with strips of smoked salmon and cubed avocado (drizzled with lemon juice to prevent browning).

Rigatoni with robust red sauce, tuna and broccoli

Serves 2

• 8 oz (240g) dried rigatoni pasta
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• ½ portion of the Robust Red Sauce recipe — heated
• 6 oz (180g) canned tuna in olive oil — drained and broken into chunks
• Shaved or grated Parmesan cheese to serve

COOK the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water, adding the broccoli to the pot for the final 5 minutes of cooking. DRAIN the cooked pasta and broccoli, put the sauce in the bottom of the pot and top with the hot pasta, broccoli and tuna chunks. TOSS together gently to combine well and heat through. SERVE the pasta with a little shaved or grated Parmesan on top.

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I’ve been seeing the telltale signs that winter is finally at an end…my fellow train commuters are swapping their heavy coats for raincoats, there are more hours of sunlight during the day, and the price of artichokes is (finally!) dropping at the grocer. Spring is definitely in the air!

My boyfriend Robert, who grew up in an Italian-American family, often reminisces about his late mother’s baked stuffed artichokes. Living in Rhode Island, we are fortunate to have access to good Italian markets, where we can find terrific pre-made artichokes at the deli counters. However, there is simply no comparison to a home cooked version made with love.

Since the artichokes at our local market have been so gorgeous (and finally affordable) recently, I had to pick up a few to experiment with. I decided to create my own recipe in tribute to this very Italian dish, but gave it an Asian twist—adding shiitake mushrooms and replacing the usual Italian bread crumbs with lighter Japanese panko.

Baked Stuffed Artichokes with Panko, Black Olives and Shiitake Mushrooms

Makes enough stuffing for 4 small artichokes or or 2 large artichokes (Artichokes can be comically huge these days.)

Ingredients:

• 4 small or 2 large artichokes
• 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 cup Japanese panko flakes
• 1-2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 8-10 black olives (diced)
• 2-3 tablespoons re-hydrated shiitake mushrooms (chopped)
• Additional olive oil for brushing the artichokes/baking dish
• Lemon wedges for serving

Directions:

First, prepare the artichokes for stuffing: Slice about an inch off the top of each artichoke and snip the sharp tips of each leaf with scissors. Pull out the woody inner leaves from the center until the fuzzy “choke” covering the heart is revealed. Remove the fuzz with a small sharp knife or spoon. (I use a strawberry/tomato huller gadget that works really well.) Remove the stems of the artichokes, cutting them flush against the base so the artichokes are able to sit upright in a baking dish. Peel the stems with a vegetable peeler, removing the tough outer layer. (Note: Artichokes will brown quickly once they are cut—to prevent this, put out a large bowl of water with some lemon juice squeezed into it and keep the cut artichokes in the bowl until you have finished prepping all of them.)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the artichokes and peeled stems along with the salt and two tablespoons of lemon juice. Boil for about 30 minutes, or until the leaves are tender. While the artichokes are cooking, re-hydrate the shiitake mushrooms in a cup of warm water.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Remove the artichokes and stems from the water and place upside down on a paper towel lined plate to drain. Chop the cooked artichoke stems and shiitake mushrooms into small pieces (reserving a few mushroom slices for garnish). Combine the olive oil, panko flakes, minced garlic, ground pepper, diced olives, chopped mushrooms, and chopped stems in a mixing bowl. Place artichokes upright in lightly oiled baking dish. Spoon mixture into each hollowed out artichoke and brush all over with olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, garnish with reserved mushroom, and serve with lemon wedges.

(Note: To make an Italian artichoke that is more like what Robert’s mother used to make…add a little extra oil to the stuffing, skip the shiitake mushrooms, and use seasoned Italian bread crumbs instead of the panko. And of course, don’t forget the love.)

Happy Spring!

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In Italian cuisine, the use of spinach and ricotta together is quite common, and this is a combination that I personally love. Unlike French cuisine, vegetables aren’t usually transformed into completely homogeneous creams in Italy, so a typical Italian dish with spinach and Ricotta will have the ricotta with tiny pieces of spinach.

I must confess that I do like some French-like creamy fillings, and when I found out I had spinach and ricotta on my refrigerator last week, I had to make this very versatile pâté.

Besides the rich flavor of this mix, an interesting thing is that ricotta cheese is relatively low in calories and fat, so it is a great creamy substitute for other cheeses and even mayonnaise, cream and other high fat ingredients.

Ingredients

• 1/2 Onion
• 300g (10 oz) of fresh spinach
• 4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 300g (10 oz) ricotta

Directions

• Wash the spinach leaves and dry well;
• Finely chop the onion and smash the garlic;
• Put the olive oil in a pan on low heat and add the onion and garlic;
• Cook until the garlic and onion are slightly golden, stirring occasionally;
• Add the spinach leaves, stir well, cover with a lid and cook in low heat until the leaves are tender, stirring occasionally;
• Remove from heat and wait until the spinach mix reaches room temperature, then pass it through a food processor until thoroughly mixed
• Still in the food processor, add the ricotta and mix until creamy

Serving suggestions

• Use it in pasta like you would use pesto. After the pasta is cooked mix it and serve;
• Use as a filling for crepes or pancakes;
• Use it as a topping for Bruschetta or simply spread it over toasts;
• Serve it as a pâté with appetizers;
• Use as mayonnaise substitute.

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