We travelled to Naples and its surroundings in March, for Marcel’s birthday. On Procida, an island I had wanted to explore for a long time, we were gifted many lemons. So, when we returned home, Marcel made limoncello.

What did he use?

8-10 organic lemons

1 litre of 96% alcohol

750g sugar

1 and a half litres of water

Carefully peel 10 medium organic lemons (as the Procida kind is large, we peeled 8), not to add the white part (which turns the drink bitter and cloudy). In a three-litre jar, pour the alcohol. Leave to set for at least 2 weeks (preferably 3) in a cool spot (but not the fridge); stir every 2-3 days.

After 2 or 3 weeks, melt the sugar in the water. Let it cool. Then, pour it over the mix in the jar (strained from the lemon skins). Leave another week to set fully.

One year ago, right before Christmas, I discovered a recipe for some Italian almond cookies by Nonna Fina. They turned out so great that they became a popular treat in our family. I adapted my ricciarelli recipe; you could try it out these Holidays!

You need:

225g almond flour

150g sugar

2 egg whites (room temperature)

*Vegan ricciarelli are possible, with 6 tbsp of water + 2 tbsp of psyllium or flaxseeds.

a dash of salt

the lemon zest from half a lemon

3 drops of almond extract (optional)

How to bake them?

Beat the egg whites with the salt. Add the almond extract if you decide to use it.

In a separate dish, mix the almond flour, sugar, and lemon zest.

Add the foam to the mix; stir easily. The dough will be slightly sticky.

Split the dough into two parts; shape them into two rolls. Cut the dough slices with a knife. Shape them into diamonds. Then, place them into a baking pan lined with baking parchment. You will get 13-14 ricciarelli from a roll.

Bake them for 15-20 minutes at 180°C. After 10 minutes, supervise them so you don’t burn them. ;-)

Enjoy them! ♥

I’ve tested ciabatta recipes before – mini-ciabatta recipes, to be more exact –, but this recipe seems the optimal version. I keep baking it because it is in demand. :D

For 2 ciabatte, you’ll need:

400ml water

5g dry yeast

2 teaspoons of sugar

500g flour (+ flour for the baking mat)

10g sea salt

1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil (+ 2 more tbsp for the baking mat)

It takes a bit more, but it is worth the work and wait!

Let the water-yeast-sugar mix sit for 5 minutes.

Then, pour it over the flour on the opposite side to where we added the salt in order not to deactivate the yeast.

Add the olive oil. Then, knead until you incorporate the entire flour amount. The dough will be sticky.

Let it sit for 10 minutes in a bowl.

* Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil onto the baking mat, knead the dough through it, pull it, and let it sit for 10 more minutes.

** Repeat this step twice more without adding more olive oil.

*** Add flour onto the baking mat, knead the dough through it and let it sit for 30 minutes.

**** Divide the dough. Spread one of the dough pieces into a rectangular shape. ’Stick’ the large sides. Then, turn your ciabatta onto the other side and place it in the baking pan lined with baking parchment. Do the same with the second ciabatta.

***** Bake in the preheated oven, at 220⁰C, for 10 minutes. Then, reduce the temperature to 180⁰C. Bake for 3 and a half minutes more.

Let them cool and... enjoy them! ♥

 

And I didn’t use all the classic ingredients; I adapted them—

30g basil

2 garlic cloves

20g walnuts

3 tbsp of olive oil

2g sea salt

a drop of lemon juice

Blend them. Then, store the pesto in a small jar in the fridge.

It’s not only great with pasta, but with some fresh or crunchy slices of bread, too! 

P.S. For this year’s pesto jar (I am trying to make one each year), I used

45g basil

2 garlic cloves

30g pine nuts (I still had some bought in Tunisia)

4 tbsp of olive oil

3g salt.

It turned out very creamy, with a rich, fresh flavour.

110g almonds

90g butter (at room temperature)

90g sugar

2 small eggs

What is frangipane? It is an almond cream resembling crème pâtissière, with an Italian twist.

On my birthday, I wanted to bake a special tart (in the end, it was a frangipane/pear/fig tart). How to make frangipane?

Chop the almonds – I used my blender – and mix the butter (at room temperature) with the sugar. Add the 2 small eggs, stirring slowly, and then mix in the chopped almonds. Cook on medium heat until it thickens.

And it’s ready! You can now use it to fill the tart and tartlet shells... you’ll love the added flavour.  

For 3 large pizzas, you will need:

420g flour

250ml water

1g fresh yeast

10g salt

+olive oil

+semolina

+tomato purée

+3 mozzarella balls

+fresh basil

To start, mix the water and 220g of flour for 2 minutes. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes, at room temperature. This will be the base of our pizza.

Half an hour later, add the yeast and knead well, by slowly adding the remaining flour. When the flour is absorbed (in order not to deactivate the yeast), add the salt. Continue to knead. When the dough feels elastic and fine, place it in a plastic film and let it sit for 2 hours at room temperature.

When the dough rises, take it out on a mat and then divide it into three equal pieces. Like shown in the picture, roll the dough, stick its ends and cover with the dough edges. You will get three dough balls. Place them in the fridge, in bowls with lids. This way, the yeast will work slowly but the taste obtained will be fantastic.

After at least 5-6 hours in the fridge, take out the dough and bake the pizza (the dough balls keep for 3 days, so there’s no need to bake all of them on the first day... and you’ll notice that the last dough ball will taste best).

Oil the pizza pan, sprinkle semolina (this makes the dough fluffier). Add olive oil onto the dough and spread the dough over the pizza pan; then, pour tomato purée on top of it and bake in the preheated oven, at 220°C, for 4 minutes and a half.

Take the pizza out, place the mozzarella slices on it and bake for 3 minutes more.

When it’s done, sprinkle fresh basil leaves over it. Let it cool for a minute and cut yourself a slice.

How does it taste? J

(dish: 15x22 cm)

300ml coffee

3 eggs

3 tbsp sugar (shaved)

a pinch of salt

250g mascarpone

7-8 ladyfingers

+cocoa powder

I’ve had tiramisù in many places. The best one, in my view, was however not in Sardinia, continental Italy, or even Sicily, but at home, made by Marcel. So I asked him to give me the recipe, to publish on my blog and let you enjoy it, too.

Make the coffee – about 300ml.

Separate the egg whites and the yolks. Beat the egg whites stiff with the sugar.

Mix the yolks with the salt and the mascarpone.

Add the yolk mixture to the egg white mixture, using a wooden spoon.

Take the dish, add a layer of cream. Soak the ladyfingers in coffee and place them on top of the cream layer and then cover them up with another layer of the cream.

Leave the dish in the fridge to rest overnight and sprinkle cocoa – as much as you’d like – over the tiramisù in the morning. And then, savour it.

In our opinion, tiramisù is one of the best breakfasts. We wake up with so much ease whenever we know we’d have it in the morning. Marcel divides the tiramisù into 4, powders half of it and... in the afternoon (it kept happening over last year), he comes into our living room, with the same line— ’I’m craving something sweet’... so this scrumptious dessert doesn’t last long. J