Wordless Wednesday: Oia, Santorini

"Skinny" eggplant Parmesan

First things first. I have an announcement: I HAVE FINALLY FOUND A JOB!!! And not any job. A kick-ass journalism job here in Switzerland. I couldn't be happier. After 18 months of forced "vacation" I'm back in business.

Back in May a friend asked me if I had seen the ad in the paper looking for journalists. I hadn't. So I bought the paper. Went home. Sent my resume along with a presentation email to a guy. And then of course got pissed because he didn't write me back the next day. I'm crazy like that. Anyways, he didn't write back for 5 weeks. Then, when I had practically forgotten about it, he sent me an e-mail asking me to go for an interview on June 30th. The interview went well. Then they asked me and the other candidates to write an article to see our abilities. And then they didn't say anything until last week, when they wrote me to inform me that they had picked ME!

I won't lie: I started dancing around the kitchen like a complete lunatic. But hey, finding a job in journalism these days it's not easy. It definitely called for a celebration. So I decided to make eggplant Parmesan, because ever since I've been to Greece I'm madly in love with eggplants. Only, I made a light version of it because deep fried eggplants are great, but they make your ass become the size of Brazil. And since it's still bathing suit season I decided to bake them in the oven instead. Also, I didn't have any mozzarella in the fridge, so I used ricotta. They turned out great, so great I wish I had made more!

SKINNY EGGPLANT PARMESAN

3 eggplants, sliced
16 ounces ricotta
2 pounds tomatoes
1/2 onion, sliced
Fresh basil
1 cup grated Parmesan
Extra virgin olive oil

To make tomato sauce: wash tomatoes, cut them into cubes and place them in a dutch oven with the sliced onion, 5 basil leaves and a little olive oil. Cook for about 20 minutes, then process them with an immersion blender, season with salt and cook for another 30 minutes on low heat.

Drizzle sliced eggplants with salt and olive oil, place on a baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes at 350F.

Lightly grease a baking dish with oil and distribute eggplants on the bottom. Follow with a layer of ricotta, sprinkle with Parmesan, then add a layer of tomato sauce. Repeat layers until you run out of ingredients. Bake for 30 minutes at 350F.

Fregola with clams

First things first, I'm sure you are all wondering..."what the heck is fregola?" Very simply put, it's a special kind of pasta hailing from Sardinia, made by mixing water and semolina in a large terracotta bowl and then by kneading the grains between the palm of your hands with a circular movement until tiny irregular balls are formed. 

Now, did I do all that? Absolutely not. I bought it a the grocery store for 2 Euros for a pound. Rumor has it they also sell it in specialty stores around the U.S., although I'm not sure how much it would cost over there. Regardless, I highly recommend it. Its rough and porous quality is ideal for absorbing the scents and flavors of the ingredients you cook it in because, unlike regular pasta, you don't cook it in water. You cook it in whatever sauce you are going to serve it with. 

Since it was my first time making fregola I went with the most traditional Sardinian recipe I could find: fregola with clams. Definitely worth a try.

FREGOLA WITH CLAMS

Serves 4

2 pounds littleneck clams, soaked in water and salt to remove sand

5 garlic cloves

A glass of dry white wine

32 ounces vegetable broth

Olive oil

1/2 pound fregola

1/2 pound chopped canned tomatoes 

Salt and crushed red pepper

Fresh basil

Rinse clams and soak in water and salt for about an hour to remove sand. Rinse again. 

In a large casserole pour a few tablespoons of olive oil, add two garlic cloves and saute for a few minutes. Add clams and wine and cook over medium high heat until clams open. Remove from heat. Throw away any clams that haven't opened and separate most clams from shells, discarding shells (leave a few for decoration if you wish). Reserve cooking liquid.

In the same casserole heat up olive oil, add remaining garlic and crushed red pepper and saute two minutes. Add chopped tomatoes, cook for a couple of minutes, then add broth, reserved cooking liquid and the fregola. While fregola cooks keep an eye on it, should it absorb all broth add a little water. Cook for about ten minutes. At the very end, add clams. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and fresh basil on top. 

Wordless Wednesday: Fira, Santorini

A Greek interlude

I'm in love with Greek food. This might come as a surprise for those who know me well, for I am famous for NOT liking Greek food at all. See, the thing is, I had always had Greek food in Greek restaurants abroad. That is until last week, when I took a last-minute trip to the island of Santorini. Of course I was excited to go on vacation and the picture of the cliffs and the Med looked amazing on Expedia, but I had very low expectations about food. I'm not particularly fond of feta and I can't eat cucumbers. I figured I would spend the week eating tomatoes.

Well, I was wrong. First of all, the feta they serve in Greece is completely different from the stuff you buy elsewhere. It has a nice, almost sharp flavor to it. Second, I shouldn't have worried about cucumbers. I didn't see half of one while I was there. But the tomatoes? Oh yes. They were everywhere. And they were delicious.

Spinach pie @ Mathios Hotel Village, Akrotiri

 Also very delicious was the spinach pie they served practically everywhere. As you know, I love savory pies, and this spinach and feta combination is really delightful. Especially since I've found out that feta, in Greece, tastes like cheese, not like cardboard. My favorite rendition of the dish was the one they served — lucky me! — at the hotel restaurant, a little affair pinched in between two gorgeous swimming pools. I promise I'll post some pictured of the trip... for now I'm going with the food, since I liked it almost more than the vacation itself ;)

Fried calamari @ Taverna Maria, Akrotiri

 Of course fish was plentiful too. And of course they served everywhere. But I don't know how you roll when you're on vacation... I usually find one or two places I fall in love with and then I become kind of a regular there, since I keep going back for more. Taverna Maria is one of those places. It's tiny, family-run and they barely speak any language that is not Greek, but boy, can Maria cook! She cooks. Her husband sets the tables. Her son and her daughter in law serve the food. Her other son... well, he just sits there really. And tries to pick up German girls with a very approximative English. Greatly entertaining, I tell you. Anyway... the calamari (and many other things) there were excellent. I kind of miss not being able to walk to Maria's at night.

Stuffed tomato and stuffed pepper @ The Boat House. Kamari Beach

Of course I didn't just eat the whole time. I mean, I also went to the beach and read books and occasionally I even ventured into the water. Then I was so exhausted I had to find a new restaurant and try some more Greek food. I'm glad I've discovered stuffed tomatoes and peppers pretty early in the vacation so that I could order them over and over again. They are stuffed with rice and cheese, so they are a great vegetarian option.

Mixed grilled fish @ Cave of Stolidas, Akrotiri

As I said already, fish was particularly good, especially at Cave of Stolidas, a small waterfront taverna owned by a man who can definitely cook some serious fish. The best part of it? Probably the fact that you can order whatever fish and shellfish you like and he just arranges it for you, grilled to perfection, on a big platter. Another perk: it cost 15 Euros per person. You just can't beat that, considering you are three feet away from the sea.

Fried Eggplants @ Taverna Perissa

And of course one cannot go to Greece without sampling some good eggplants. It's not my favorite vegetable, mind you, but I loved the way they deep fry them in a skillet and serve them with just a little salt to bring out the flavor of the eggplant. I found them pretty much on every menu at every restaurant, but — as it often happens with this traditional dishes — no rendition was alike. One thing they had in common: they were all delicious.

Gyros @ Taverna Perissa

Another Greek favorite is gyro — shaved meat on warm pita bred served with raw red onions and a yogurt and cucumber sauce. The meat is cooked slowly, so it's tender and juicy, and the onions and sauce compliment it perfectly. The only drawback is that you can't kiss anyone for a while after eating it. But, hey, it's worth it! I ordered mine with chicken once and with a pork and beef combination the next. Hard to tell which one was my favorite.

Tomato fritters @ Skala

One of Santorini's specialties is tomato fritters. They intrigued me from the get go when I saw them on a menu described as "a must-try". Then I saw them being served in the table next to mine and I knew I had to try them. Well, I wasn't disappointed. Crunchy on the outside, gooey with a mixture of tomatoes, feta and peppers on the inside, they are sold as an appetizer, but since all restaurants give you four of these giant fritters, they can easily be ordered as a main dish for only 4 Euros.

Stuffed squid @ Taverna Perissa

And speaking about delicious and gooey stuffing, stuffed squid was probably THE revelation of my vacation in Santorini. Besides the size of the thing, they some how stuff it with fresh chopped tomatoes, feta and olives and then grill it. Simple, yet a work of art. One of those things that makes me miss the island almost as much as its quaint towns and black volcanic beaches.

Zucchini blossom savory pie

I love savory pies. They are so easy to make and so versatile, but most of all they are yummy both hot and cols, so they are also perfect as leftovers. Seriously, there's nothing I don't like about them. Plus, this summer I'm being kind of lazy in the kitchen, which means that I tend to gravitate towards quick and easy recipes that pack in a lot of flavors and fresh ingredients. 

Zucchini blossoms are easy to come by here in Switzerland and in Italy, both by themselves or still attached to baby zucchini. If you can't find them in your area you can make the pie with baby zucchini by themselves, it will still be good. Or you can make this other savory pie with spring vegetables.

ZUCCHINI BLOSSOM SAVORY PIE 

One pie crust, such as Pillsbury
2 eggs, beaten and seasoned with salt and pepper
1 pound ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 cups chopped baby zucchini
8 zucchini blossoms
Salt and pepper

Grease a round pie pan and unroll the pie crust on it.

In a bowl, mix eggs, cheeses and zucchini and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour mixture into pie crust. Decorate top of pie with zucchini blossoms cut in half.

Preheat oven to 400F. Cook pie in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Light and cool cream of tomato soup

A summer recipe. As if we needed them around here. Seriously, folks, it's raining and storming and haling pretty much every other day, if not every day. Whenever the weather is nice I practically run to the Lido (pool and lake access here in town) to catch some rays and read in the sun. Otherwise I'm home, doing laundry and the likes.

Maybe I shouldn't be complaining too much. The end of June and beginning of July have been really nice. I just don't get why we have had so much rain in the last ten days. I kid you not, yesterday the weather was so gloomy we went up to Lanzo d'Intelvi, right after the Swiss Italian border and we ate homemade tagliatelle with deer ragout. I mean, that's something you do in October, for crying out loud. Right now we should be frolicking in the water, drinking margaritas and eating fresh produce, right?

So whenever there's a gorgeous day out I do my best to cook up some summer fare because I know, I just know it, that come September I'll start moping around blaming myself for not having taken advantage of the bounty of summer produce enough. Last week I made this cold tomato soup, a recipe I've found in an Italian cooking magazine, Cucina Moderna. It turned out great. Next time I'll make more so I can have some leftovers to enjoy once the weather turns horrible again...

LIGHT AND COOL CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP

Serves 4

2 pounds of ripe tomatoes
2 onions
1 tablespoon paprika
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 pound yogurt
1 teaspoon sugar
Fresh thyme
Olive oil
Salt

Wash tomatoes, cut in half. Chop onions, place them in a Dutch oven with tomatoes, a tablespoon of olive oil, salt to taste, sugar and paprika. Cover and cook for 20 minutes on medium heat.

Add broth, stir and cover for 10 more minutes. Process with an immersion blender until smooth. Let it cool. Add yogurt, stir well and regulate salt.

Sprinkle with fresh thyme and serve.

A trip to Porto Ceresio, Italy

The weather so far has been kind of crappy this summer. Yet, I try to make the best of it, because really, there's enough people moaning and bitching and crying about it, I seriously believe we don't need one more whiner in town. Sure, it would be greatly appreciated if it didn't rain on the weekend every once in a while... but what can we do about it? Nothing. Other than move to Spain, maybe. Since that is kind of out of the question right now, I try to enjoy the sunny (and even the overcast) days when I can by traveling around Lake Lugano, exploring little towns I've never been to before and, of course, trying whatever specialties they offer in restaurants, osterie and grotti (grotto being the Swiss Italian word to describe an informal, family run restaurant).

Porto Ceresio is one of those cute little lake villages. It's located on lake Lugano, on the Italian side of the lake, which makes it an ideal destination if you are trying to save some money. Switzerland is a wonderful country, but eating out is extremely expensive, which is why many that live near the border like to take trips into Italy to dine. I know because I do it at least once a week and let me tell you: 15 minutes by boat or car are totally worth it.  

 When I was in Porto Ceresio last weekend I ate at Trattoria del Tempo Perso, right across the street from the Lake. Tempo perso means "wasted time", although in Italy it doesn't necessarily have a negative connotation. Wasting time leisurely, slowly enjoying food and wine, is considered a rather positive thing there and, if you happen to taste the food the owner makes there, you'll understand why. She literally makes everything from scratch, including the olive ascolane (picture below), a specialty of the Marche region in Central Italy. Large green olives are pitted, then filled with a meat filling, breaded and deep fried. Seriously, what's not to love about them? Mind you, they can be horrible and soggy and greasy. But not at this little Trattoria. There they are crunchy and delicious and perfect. 

 Also amazingly good where the fried zucchini blossoms (photo below), something yours truly just cannot resist. I was practically in heaven, with the Trattoria's menu proposing pretty much all my favorite dishes. Besides the two appetizers, the main course I chose — stuffed veggies — was also very good. A zucchini and a red bell pepper filled with a meat and cheese filling was just what I had in mind for my Sunday lunch. The tagliatelle with meatsauce my friend ordered also scored high.

Too bad we had to leave in a hurry because the weather — surprise, surprise — was getting ugly and we had arrived there by boat. My consolation is that Porto Ceresio, and the trattoria, are only 15 minutes away from Bissone where I live, so I can already see my self going back there to try more of their homemade specialties.

Trattoria del Tempo Perso
Piazza Bossi, 17
21050 Porto Ceresio (Varese)
0332 917136

Thai dinner in Switzerland

Who said you can't have delicious Thai food in Switzerland? With a view of the lake? Under the stars? Let me tell you, the Thai dinner we had at the Lido di Bissone, the bar/pool/lake access/beach in the little town of Bissone where I live, was simply amazing. The two chefs came from Chiasso, on the Italian/Swiss border, where they have a little take-away restaurant that I must try asap. So they came here and they cooked in a tiny ass kitchen (I know because I work there, so I realize how difficult it is to produce food for the masses in that kitchen) for five hours, always smiling, never raising their voice, being efficient and quick and precise all at the same time. Let's just say that they should be an example to many others who do less and get pissed about everything. Just sayin'.

Anyhow, the food was amazing. The menu offered spring rolls — crunchy and not at all greasy, made to perfection — followed by pork red curry (picture above), Thai shrimp (first picture), chicken with cashews (picture below), fried rice, rice noodles with vegetables, beef in oyster sauce, tuna with five spices. It was served buffet style, so you could go back as many times as you wanted to get more. And many times we went. I have a thing for noodles with vegetables, so I'm not ashamed to say that I ate three portions. I know, I know. But what can I say? I love the stuff. I love it so much that I didn't even have time to take a picture of it. 

So the Thai dinner was a great success. Many had never had Thai food before and it was great to see how curious and interested they were in a cuisine that is very foreign to them. For those of us who had had Thai many times before was a welcome change. There aren't many Thai restaurants in the area. Hell, there aren't many ethnic restaurants in general. To have all this great food brought practically at our doorstep was a real treat. And eating it at sunset overlooking the lake was just the icing on the cake. What can I say? On Saturdays they usually have BBQs at the Lido, but I hope they will repeat the Thai dinner at least once before summer is over. If they do I'll starve myself all day, so I can eat a fourth serving of noodles!

An update

 I'm still alive. There's reasons why I haven't posted anything in a long time. The first one being that I've been on a diet, so there wasn't anything exciting going on in my kitchen for a while. But I promise I will start cooking and posting again soon. In the mean time, I have been enjoying the end of spring and the beginning of summer. I love this time of the year here on Lake Lugano. I mean, look at that mama swan carrying her baby on her back... I had never seen anything like that before.

 I've also been writing some articles for a local newspaper, which is nice because I really missed writing. For a job, I mean. And because of that I got to attend some pretty cool concerts in the area. I've also been going to Lugano a lot because in the summer there's a free outdoors concert pretty much every night. Lugano in the summer rocks.

And last but not least, I've started bartending at the local pool bar, the Lido di Bissone. Pretty, isn't it? Summer is off to a great start, I can tell.