Zucchini and ricotta dumplings in spinach and blue cheese cream, with walnuts

For the dumplings:

Grate 4 zucchini, add 500g of ricotta, 2 tbsp of grated Parmigiano Reggiano, 2 eggs, salt and pepper to taste,  and enough breadcrumbs to make the mixture workable (about 2 tbsp) so that you can make about 25 golf ball-sized balls. Place the balls on an oven tray lined with baking paper and spray with a little oil. bake at 180C for about 20-25 minutes, or until they start to golden (turn over once if they seem to cook too much on the bottom). Cool down

For the sauce:

In a casserole place 4 frozen spinach portions with 250 ml of vegetables stock. Simmer until the spinach is defrosted, then add 300 ml of cream and 125 g of gorgonzola or blue cheese, cubed. Simmer and stir until the cheese has melted. 

Assemble:

Add the ricotta dumplings into the simmering sauce and stir gently, until the balls are well coated and simmer for 5 more minutes. Top with chopped parsley and walnut halves. Serve hot, with plenty of sauce.

  Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

 

Florence Fennel and avocado salad with walnuts

This is a lovely salad and also a light main, filling, nutritious and full of different textures and flavours!

For two serving use:
1 medium Florence fennel, sliced
1 avocado, sliced
1 small carrot, grated
A little red cabbage, finely chopped (this is mostly to add a dash of colour, red radicchio would work well too!)
8-10 walnut kernels, crushed
A few drops of lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil and salt to taste (optional)

Usually I just put the lemon juice on the avocado and the carrots only, and then assemble the salad, and it taste great even without salt or olive oil (avocado and walnuts are full of good fats anyway).

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Walnut and Nutella (optional) cupcakes, plus little cupcakes baked in walnut shells

Did you ever play with walnut shells as a child? I spent many hours making little boats, and recently I have been dreaming about baking inside them... not very practical, I admit it, and difficult to eat, but absolutely adorable to look at!!

Walnut and Nutella cupcakes

Ingredients

120 g butter

3 eggs

130 g sugar

1/2 tsp lemon zest

200 g self-rising flour

60 ml milk

15 walnuts

A little nutella (optional)

Topping (optional):

mini cupcakes baked inside walnut shells, and topped with royal icing

Makes 12 cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 175°C. Line a 12-muffin tray with cupcakes paper cups.

Melt the butter in a jug, either in the microwave or in the oven (while the oven is warming up for the cupcakes). Place the eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk, using an electric beater, until the mixture looks light and pale yellow in colour. Slowly add the melted butter and the lemon zest. Keep beating at a low speed now; add half of the flour followed by half of the milk. Add the rest of the flour and milk and keep beating making sure that there are no lumps. In the meantime crack the walnuts and break the kernels. Keep some halved walnut shells aside, if you can. Fold the kernels into  the mixture. Grease the inside of the walnut shells with butter and add a little cupcake mixture, place the shells onto a mini cupcake tray to keep them upright, then bake for about 10 minutes or until the top looks golden. Divide the rest of the mixture between the 12-cupcake cases, if you like add a little nutella to each one and mix it in lightly with a toothpick to make a spiral motif. Bake for about 18-20 minutes, until golden brown at the top. You can also check by inserting a toothpick into the cupcakes: if it comes out clean the cupcakes are ready. Remove the cupcakes from the tin and let them cool down. Place the walnut shell cupcakes on top, decorated with some frosting (I just used some royal icing) and a cupcake flag (they are little boats, after all).

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Walnuts in black and white

Photo by Alessandra Zecchini ©

We saw these big bags of walnuts in a supermarket in Feltre, walnuts are common here, there is even a noce feltrina (Feltre walnut). I don't think that these were the Feltre ones, but they were local, and we bough a few just to have after dinner.


And today's photo for Black and White Wednesday, organized by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook, is entitled: walnuts!

A Recipe Against Homophobia

A blogger from Italy is proposing this great initiative against homophobia, following some rude comments and jokes by our Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

To support the initiative bloggers are asked to provide a recipe with Florence Fennel (recycle OK), for more info click here.

Thank you Gaia for the initiative :-)

Salad with Red Radicchio, Florence Fennel

and Walnut

Photo by Alessandra Zecchini ©

A lovely and crisply salad made with fresh mixed leaves and red radicchio (the round type, which is crispy and lovely to eat raw). I find red radicchio a bit bitter, this is why I like to mix it with other green leaves. Then I added some finely cut Florence fennel, and some freshly shelled walnuts. For dressing I just used some good extra virgin olive oil, some lemon juice and some salt.

Non-vegan option: I had some salad left over and I made a mega panino using crusty ciabatta bread, this salad (without dressing) and some gorgonzola cheese. It was super!!!!

Red Walnut Pesto

In the last post I talked about my trip to Austria and Imogen and Günther's walnuts. Not only they gave me some red walnuts, but also some walnut oil. I decided to make a walnut pesto for pasta. Using a mortar and pestle I mushed the red walnuts with a peeled garlic clove, then slowly I added some walnut oil, and some freshly grated parmesan cheese (this is optional, you can just use a little salt instead).

The pesto was great! I cooked some pasta with rocket (I added the rocket leaves to the pot a few minutes before draining the pasta), and I used the pesto as a sauce. We really liked it and I'll definitely make it again!

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©