Spicy creamy carrot soup with carasau bread

If you follow my Instagram account @francesca_verrucci you'd probably noticed that I make soups, mainly of the creamy variety, very often.

But I have almost no soup recipe published on the blog so far (with the exception of this pappa al pomodoro). And the reason is that in most cases my soups are the result of improvised recipes, created on the basis of the vegetables I have on hand at the moment - usually seasonal - and, let's say, the mood of the day (simple vs complex, rich vs light, spicy vs mild, smooth vs crunchy).

The result of this modus operandi?

On average a good dinner, with several cases of unexpectedly delicious dishes.

Some iPhone pictures taken just before eating the soup, that means bad artificial light (I usually make soups for dinner), zero styling, impromptu food arrangement, and not much time to take photos (just imagine to have somebody with the spoon in his hand, waiting for you to finish and sit at the table to start eating - and I don't like to eat cold food either).

Few Instagram posts - of course only when pictures are at least decent.

And ... no written recipe.

Beetroot and purslane salad with orange dressing

Unfortunately at this time of the year it is quite difficult to find fresh beetroots to cook from scratch.
In fact they are harvested between the end of summer and the beginning of autumn and then kept for the rest of the year (somehow like potatoes). Yesterday for example I found some fresh beets at the supermarket, but they do not have the greens on and are not as juicy as the fresh ones.
And, in any case, if you are craving beetroots when the season is over, you can always use the pre-cooked ones (sold in vacuum-sealed packages): not the same taste and versatility of the fresh ones, but still palatable.

I can't deny that I love beetroots really much; in fact at the moment it is probably one of the vegetables with more recipes on the blog  (check this link for viewing them).

Hummus (basic recipe)

Having spent few years in the Middle East, I've had many occasions to eat hummus.

Hummus is in fact a staple in the Middle East, where it is widely and easily available: you can taste it in most restaurants and cafes (and not only those serving middle eastern cuisine) or buy it fresh from supermarkets or have it delivered by take away / home delivery joints. 

Not all of the available options are equally good though: they may vary from light, creamy and full of flavor, to decent, to heavy or too strong in taste  (too much garlic or oil or use of not high quality ingredients).  

Unfortunately I haven't had the opportunity to taste a hummus made by a middle eastern home-cook: I really would have liked to try a homemade "family recipe"!

But hummus is actually very popular all across the world now.
And the reason is pretty clear to me: it is absolutely delicious! Also it can be served and eaten in different ways and different occasions: it can be an appetizer served along with bread (preferably pita) or fresh vegetables like in any traditional mezze spread (the Middle Eastern set of appetizers), but it goes well on sandwiches, with roasted / steamed / boiled / sauteed vegetables, as a sauce for vegetarian (see falafel) and non vegetarian "meatballs" and more. And to be honest, I can't resist having plain spoonfuls of hummus directly from the bowl.

Pomodori gratinati (roasted crumbled tomatoes)

I have a special affection for this dish!

Because it is exactly what can be called a family recipe: in fact I learned how to make it from my mother,  my mother from hers and so back for generations. 

It is a classical in my mum's summer repertoire, as she makes it at least once a week when local tomatoes are in season - she is a fanatic of seasonal cooking and for no reason would buy a fresh tomato in winter.

Using the right products this dish actually has all the flavors and colors of summer: ripe tomatoes, herbs, garlic and not much more, just some olive oil, breadcrumbs and salt.

And it's one of those dishes that you can never be bored of, because it's simple but tasty like all the "peasant dishes" are, especially when born out of necessity (why throwing away a piece of stale bread, when you can make crumbs out of it?).

Roasted pepper dip - my take on Muhammara

It's incredible how time flies!
When I published my previous post, at the end of June, I was not feeling like on holiday yet, but on the contrary I had the intention of writing something else before heading to Italy for my summer vacation and, most important, saying a "see you soon" to all my readers and wishing a lovely vacation to those - as lucky as me - able to take a break for a while.
But - and to be honest I can't exactly explain how - I am here to say "hello" only on the 5th of September, more than two months later. And even today what I can do is just a short and quick post, because of several other things to do. Unfortunately no time to share something about my summer in Italy. And probably when I have the time and the right concentration, it will be too late to be of interest to anyone.
But if any of you is curious to know something more about the time I spent in my home country, you can check my Instagram account where I shared quite a few pictures from Italy. It was a period of rest, also from the kitchen. time spent with the family and many aperitivi - mainly Aperol spritz, as you can see from the pictures.

But before leaving my desk, I want to share a recipe that I had made and pictured before going on holiday, still waiting to be published.

Grilled pepper salad with capers, olives and lemon

When summer arrives and temperatures start to rise (even though, honestly, where I live temperatures are pretty high all over the year) we all prefer light and refreshing food, and also do not want to spend much time in the kitchen cooking and cleaning. Salads are a perfect solution for summer lunches and dinners: they can be served as a starter, as a side dish or even as a complete meal just by mixing up a balanced combination of tasty and nutritious ingredients.

And also salads do not necessarily have to be made with greens and leaves: many vegetables, raw and/or cooked, make great salads, with just few additional matching ingredients and the right dressing.
Like in the case of this grilled peppers salad with capers, olives and lemon, a tribute to Mediterranean colors and flavors. Quick and easy to prepare, it will make a good impression in several occasions: it can be a tasty solution for a family lunch along with some mozzarella or another fresh cheese and some bread to soak up all its tasty juices, and will be perfect also as a side dish for grilled meat or fish; but it will also go well in a spread of appetizers in a more formal dinner. As it keeps well, you can bring it with you in your lunch-box as well as for a picnic or a lunch on the beach. And if you have some leftover, use to make a rustic sandwich with sourdough bread (or another firm and crusty bread) and a slice of cheese (like scamorza or a fresh pecorino cheese).

Panzanella (Tuscan bread and tomato salad)

I always love trying new dishes and recipes, making variations on familiar ones, experimenting with ingredients, spices and techniques. But there are some traditional recipes that I consider almost perfect in their original, classical version and that I therefore like to make without any particular innovation or personal addition. And panzanella belongs with honor to this group.

Panzanella is a recipe from the Italian region of Tuscany; even if it can be found with small local and/or family variations all across the region and even in other Italian areas, the main ingredient for this recipe is stale bread soaked in water or in a mix of water and vinegar.  In fact panzanella is one of those recipes born out of necessity as a way to use old bread and make it appetizing with the addition of fresh vegetables and extra virgin olive oil.

Like many other traditional recipes, panzanella's origins are not totally clear, but are for sure centuries old and probably date back to the Middle Ages.

Some legends say it's a dish of rural tradition created by peasants mixing old bread (at that time bread was baked only once a week or less) and the veggies available in the field; others believe that it comes from the custom of old mariners from Tuscany and Liguria to soak their bread (which was dried to keep during their long travels across the sea) in sea water before seasoning and eating with their meals.

Roasted aubergine with chili and herbs

Today I want to share a recipe that I made some time ago to cleanup the fridge from leftover aubergines, herbs and red chili and liked so much that I made it again several other times.
I literally hate wasting food, even a piece of stale bread, as I think it's a very bad habit, a sign of lack of respect for the environment, for the many people who have limited access to food, for the work of those people who produce our food and finally for our own money, because throwing food away is an indubitable waste of money. I know that the value of two slices of bread or an eggplant or a yogurt is very limited, but if we throw something every day at the end of the year we have probably wasted quite a good amount of food. And if every single family all around the world (at least the wealthier part) does the same, it's obvious that the wastage of food at a global level is a real and huge issue.

Beetroot and aubergine "fattoush" salad

This beetroot and aubergine "fattoush"is my favorite salad lately. 

Since the first time I prepared it, few weeks ago, I have been making again and again without getting bored of it. Actually each time I made it, I tried to refine the initial recipe with some variations until I finally found the "perfect" combination of ingredients, at least for my taste.

But, to be honest, this is not a recipe that I have developed totally by myself. In fact it was during a cooking demo - held at Bloomie's Kitchen by Troy Payne, head chef at Cle restaurant - that I had the chance to know and try for the first time the recipe, and actually loved it at the first taste.

Chef Troy described the recipe as his personal take on the fattoush salad, one of the most popular and prepared Middle Eastern dish; and also a way to make more appetizing two vegetables, aubergine and beetroot, that he personally doesn't rave about.

With this introduction, and considering the fact that, on the contrary, I love both aubergines and beets, as well as fattoush indeed, I couldn't not to like this salad!

Roasted aubergine with saffron yogurt

Something that I really enjoy when I cook is to try always new recipes, whether inspired by cookbooks, magazines, blogs or websites or developed by myself.
With the consequence that there are many recipes that I made only once, and not because they were not good or I didn't like, but just to try something different.

But despite this - good, bad, weird? - habit of mine, there are several recipes that I particularly love and regularly make. As is the case of this "roasted aubergine with saffron yoghurt", a recipe from the favorite of mine "Ottolenghi The Cookbook" (probably the most consulted cookbook in my bookshelf, from which I tried many recipes, some of them also posted on this blog - for more details check here).

Fennel, feta and pomegranate salad

Fennel is a vegetable that I like but don't buy and prepare very often because it's not much appreciated by the rest of the family: my son eats very few types of vegetables - excluding potato, or better fries, I would say he has only cucumbers, tomatoes (preferably on pasta as a sauce) and not much more - while my husband, who is a vegetables lover, prefers anyway other varieties.
In spite of this, especially when it's in season (by the way now at the Farmers Market it's still possible to find some good fennel), I buy it once in a while. Because, even if I know several persons who do not like fennel - I don't know, maybe it's a coincidence - I appreciate its aromatic, lightly sweet taste as well as the crunchy texture: to preserve both characteristics I like it steamed for few minutes, just until the color begins to change, and served just with extra virgin olive oil.
But it is also good raw in salads, finely sliced or chopped, in soups, or roasted, sauteed, baked as a side dish; and it is also delicious when combined with other ingredients to make more complex, rich and nutritious dishes, like savory pies and tarts, or baked gratin (in a popular Italian recipe boiled fennel are baked with bechamel, parmigiano or another grated cheese and, optionally, prosciutto or ham), or stuffed veggies with meat or cheese, or even battered and deep-fried.
The recipes I prefer are anyway those in which fennel is not cooked for a long time or overwhelmed by other ingredients or condiments; in particular I like the combination with ingredients able to enhance and complement to fennel peculiar flavor.

Shamandar: beetroot salad with yogurt tahini dressing

Beetroot is a vegetable I discovered (and loved) relatively late. In fact it doesn't belong to the culinary tradition of the Italian region I come from, the Marche region. At least until my twenties, when I moved to North of Italy (where instead beetroot are more common), I thought that beets were used just to make sugar (as farmers in my area, including my grandfather, used to grow only the sugar beets) but I had no idea of the existence of other edible varieties. And also, after discovering the table beetroot, it was not love at first sight. Because actually the first beets I tried were the pre-cooked ones sold in supermarkets in vacuum-sealed plastic packages: not that delicious, to be honest! But finally I had ash-roasted beetroot - some farmers use to make and sell, but I could also found them in some vegetable shops - and realized how good they can taste (even better than oven roasted as the flavor is more concentrated and with a light smoked taste). Since then my liking for beets has progressively increased. I have had, both at restaurants and at home, many different dishes made using beets, sometimes as main ingredient, other times mixed with different things: salads (one recipe I love here), risotto, soups, spreads (like this beetroot hummus), drinks, even cakes (beets and chocolate go particularly well together) . And I am always curious to try new ways of preparing and serving them. Middle Eastern cuisine - that I am enjoying much lately, also making some recipes at home - makes a quite extensive use of beets (and I am very glad of this), especially in salads, sides, and mezze, the Middle Eastern appetizer, in which a selection of different dishes are spread on the table for sharing among guests. One dish usually served as part of mezze is Shamandar, a sort of dip made of diced beets in a tahini (a paste made from ground, hulled sesame seeds) and yogurt dressing. 

Beetroot "hummus"

Hummus is an amazing Middle Eastern creation, a delicious spread never missing at any Levantine table but also popular - and rightly - across the world.
Hummus is an Arabic word meaning chickpeas, and in fact the main ingredient of this dip is boiled and mashed chickpeas, blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic. And this "original", classic version is really very good! But, starting from the most simple of the recipes for hummus, it is possible to create almost infinite possible versions, adding spices, herbs or other ingredients or modifying the proportions of the basic ingredients or also, in the most extreme variations, not even using chickpeas. At the moment, one of my favorite interpretations of hummus is exactly of one these alternative versions, where is used beetroot (boiled or baked) instead of chickpeas. Plus the same ingredients as the basic hummus recipe: tahini, a paste made of sesame seeds - a staple of the Middle Eastern cuisine- which adds a lovely nutty flavor; a bit of olive oil (better if extra-virgin) to make the spread moist; lemon juice for a sour balance and garlic which adds a pungent flavor.

Seafood, fennel and lime salad

I have previously said (see my post here) that "Ottolenghi The Cookbook" is my favorite cookbook at the moment. I have already tried several recipes and many others are in the pipeline.
Among the recipes I have already made- all very appreciated actually - this Seafood, fennel and lime salad is so far one of my favorite; I'll prepare it again and again, both for family meals and dinners with friends (future guests, be prepared to taste it sooner or later!).
When I first read this recipe in the book, I loved it immediately as it reminds me one of my favorite Italian seafood appetizers, insalata di mare (seafood salad), a simple dish of usually steamed or poached seafood (any type of fish can be used, but a seafood salad usually has prawns or shrimps and squids, and sometimes shellfish, scallops and/or other firm fish) that can come in several variants; the basic version is made dressing the seafood only with extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice, but it is possible to add many other ingredients in order to have different combinations of flavors and textures: capers, olives, citrus zests, raw or cooked vegetables (celery is commonly used in Italy, but also zucchini, carrots, cherry tomatoes, steamed potatoes, sun-dried tomatoes work well), herbs (parsley is the most popular) and spices ... the range of possible combinations is almost infinite.  Also it can be served warm or at room temperature.

Marinated eggplants with tahini and oregano

There is a book that is giving me great inspirations lately: "Ottolenghi The Cookbook" (not so original tough). Even if in my wishlist for a long time, this book is a relatively recent addition to my cookbook shelf. And since I bought it I'm trying one recipe after another.
When I get a new cookbook, I use to go through it in quite deep detail and place a sticker on the pages with the recipes I wish to try, so as to find them easily in future. Whit this book, after reading the first fifteen pages of recipes, I realized that I was placing a sticker on nearly all pages: the style of cooking, the ingredients used, the presentation, everything is so close to my taste that I really would like to make almost everything, from vegetables to meat and fish, to baked goods. And so I changed my approach and decided to give a sort of priority to the most inspiring recipes: I placed stickers just on those I want to make first, but even so the book is full of colored post-it jutting out from the pages. I have already prepared several dishes taken from the "to-do list" and I have to say that all of them came out very good, and sometimes even outstanding.