Proud Italian Cook

Flourless Chocolate and Hazelnut Cake

February 12, 2013 by Marie 23 Comments

I baked a cake for you, a flourless chocolate cake! I figured Valentines Day is right around the corner and we needed something sweet around here. It’s been a while since I made something chocolate and the fewer the ingredients for me, the better, so I decided to make this decadent but easy to make cake.

I’ve been waiting for just the right reason for me to showcase these beautiful hazelnuts that I recently received from my friend Cathy who lives in Oregon. Oregon state happens to be the single largest producer of hazelnuts in the U.S.

If you have a hard time finding hazelnut flour near you, you can always buy it online, it’s nice to have it for special occasions, I store mine in the freezer to keep it fresh.

Rich, decadent, fudgy and dense that’s how I would describe this cake, just make sure you buy a good quality dark chocolate it makes all the difference.

I’m not a chocoholic by any means, ( I’ve updated this and that opinion sure has changed! The smell of rich, dark melted chocolate is pretty irresistible, I need to be cooking and baking with it more often than I do. There’s something about dark chocolate, you don’t need much to completely satisfy your sweet tooth, just a little slice will do ya!

Plop a dollop of fresh whipped cream to balance the yummy richness, and shape a strawberry slice into a heart for garnish and this could be hands down your perfect Valentines Day dessert!

Flourless Chocolate and Hazelnut Cake

Ingredients

1 cup toasted hazelnut meal
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
5oz of dark chocolate, chopped
4 eggs, separated
¼ teaspoon salt
coco powder for dusting

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter an 8" springform pan. Set aside
In a large heatproof bowl over simmering water add chocolate, butter and sugar, melt and whisk until mixture is smooth and glossy. Set aside to cool down.
In smaller bowl beat the yolks until they break up. Pour into cooled chocolate mixture. Stir in all the ground hazelnuts.
Beat egg whites and salt into a soft peak then fold into the chocolate mixture ⅓ at a time until incorporated.
Place batter into your prepared pan and bake 35 minutes or until center is firm and springs back.
cool and then dust with good quality cocoa.

23 Comments Filed Under: Cakes Tagged: dark chocolate dessert, flourless cake, hazelnut meal, hazelnuts, Valentines Day dessert

Vegetable Paella, Italian Style

February 6, 2013 by Marie 49 Comments

I have a 14″ paella pan that I got from HSN many years ago, it was a Todd English pan, I think he makes a different one now but you can still get it. You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve used that pan, I’ve made so many things in it. I love it for frittatas, they come out perfect in it and you can feed a ton of people. You can use it on top of the stove, in the oven or under the broiler. When ever I need to bring a big side dish somewhere I often use my 14″ paella pan. I recently made a huge primavera pasta pie in it, which I’ll post about in the near future. I think I’ve only used it once to make an actual traditional paella, saffron and all, with chicken, seafood and sausage.

By now all my regular readers know the”veggie issues” that I have, and since I needed to bring a side dish to someones house recently I decided to make a vegetable paella with an Italian twist. I’m here to tell you it was a big hit!

I’ve always been attracted by the way paella looks, pinwheels of color all in one pan, it’s very impressive looking when it gets placed on the table!

With small amounts of veggies and a little bit of rice you could recreate this for your next party, serving it as a side or a main course.

There is no saffron here in my version, instead I infused the rice with roasted red pepper puree which gave it my little Italian twist.

Hope you like it!

Vegetable Paella, Italian Style

Ingredients

1½ cups of short grain arborio rice
4 cups of warmed chicken or veggie stock
1 cup of roasted red pepper puree made from 4 peppers, blistered, peeled and cored and placed into a food processor until pureed.
1 medium eggplant
1 zucchini
1 each, red, yellow and orange bell pepper cut in strips
8oz. crimini mushroom caps
1 bag frozen artichoke hearts
a handful of haricot vert beans
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion
olive oil
grated romano or parmesan cheese
chopped basil for garnish

Instructions

14" paella pan or a wide skillet, if smaller just adjust rice by 1 cup
Roast the eggplant, mushrooms, zucchini, artichokes and the peppers ahead of time, and set aside. 400F drizzled with olive oil.
Purchase or make your own red pepper puree, have that ready made also
Drizzle the bottom of the pan with olive oil, saute the garlic and onions until light golden, add rice and stir until coated then add in ½ cup of the roasted red pepper puree and stir until mixed through.
Smooth rice until it is flat all over the bottom of the pan, then gently pour in the heated broth being careful not to move the rice, sprinkle with a generous helping of grated cheese, a little salt and black pepper.
Arrange all your veggies on top of the rice and broth in the order that you would like, sprinkle with more grated cheese.
Let it cook med low until moisture starts to disappear then cover with foil until rice is tender, mine took about 40 minutes, you might have to add a little more broth just keep checking. Dot some of the remaining pepper puree all around for added flavor.
Garnish with fresh chopped basil and a drizzle of olive oil
Note: You might have a few extra veggies left over after you fill the pan

49 Comments Filed Under: Rice and Risotto, Side Dishes, Vegetables Tagged: Italian style paella, vegetable paella

Roasted Veggie Overload!

January 29, 2013 by Marie 29 Comments

Hi, My name is Marie and I’m a veggie-holic! Yes, when I’m in the produce isle I just can’t help myself, I have no control. Sometimes I get strange looks from people as I happily stroll by them with my grocery cart. I’ve even had people say to me, “My, you do buy a lot of vegetables!” It’s not until I get home and start unpacking my bags that I realize, they might have a point!

So when I feel like I have an overload of veggies hanging out in my fridge, I just roast them all, as in the photo above, and figure out what to do with them later.

I always roast my veggies at 400F, drizzled with a good quality extra virgin olive oil and lately, and actually more times than not I’ve been using this, the mellow roasted garlic flavor just enhances the veggies even more, I truly love that stuff!

The thing about having roasted veggies handy is that you can quickly whip up a meal in no time, toss them into frittatas, pastas, grains, all sorts of things. I had a package of farro that I quickly cooked up and made this for a nice lunch but you could easily use brown rice, barley, couscous, you get the idea. For this I added a fresh lemon and olive oil dressing to it, along with fresh herbs.

Want something a little more substantial? Stuff it all into a pre-roasted acorn squash and serve it with a salad on the side.

But I have to say one of my favorite ways to use up all my veggies is to stack them high layered into a springform pan all wrapped up in phyllo dough pie.

Every time I make this I get rave reviews, it’s great for a luncheon with the girls, a main course or even a side dish to bring to a party.

The wedges cut perfectly because the layers are slightly “glued together” with some grated cheese, I like to serve mine with a little roasted red pepper sauce on the side, so good!

Roasted Veggie Pie Wrapped in Phyllo

Ingredients

Assorted roasted vegetables of your choice
Grated parmesan or romano cheese
grated asiago, mozzarella, or fontina cheese
Phyllo sheets
Olive oil
9" springform pan

Instructions

Brush springform pan with olive oil or olive oil spray
Unwrap phyllo and cover with a dampened towel, keeping it covered as you work quickly
Add 3 sheets into the bottom of the pan,1 at a time, spraying or brushing with olive oil and a sprinkling of grated parmesan or romano
Fit one sheet partially on the bottom with the ends hanging well over the pan, spray or brush all over with olive oil
Continue with the phyllo all the way around the pan, then do it all around 2 more times( phyllo is very thin) rotating pan so the sheets cover the entire rim
Start layering your vegetables one layer at a time, in between the layers add a sprinkling of grated parmesan or romano and also your grated asiago, mozzarella or fontina, use enough to cover all around the vegetables,but not too much, pressing down lightly
When you get to the top fold in the overhang of phyllo, making sure its sprayed or brushed with olive oil
Add more phyllo sheets to the top to make sure all the veggies are covered
Finish off by spraying or brushing with olive oil on entire top and a final sprinkling of cheese
Place pan on a baking sheet lined with foil and bake in oven at 400 for around 20-25 minutes or until phyllo is crispy golden
Let it cool down then cut into wedges with a serrated knife
Note: No exact amounts here, just cover each layer with veggies and cheese, you could also use a smaller springform pan or a deep dish pie plate depending on how many veggies you have.