Italialicious

I know you loved my doughnutella mini krapfen recipe. As I mentioned before, Krapfen are a sweet treat very common in Alto Adige, the German-speaking region of northern Italy. In fact, Krapfen are typical doughnuts of the whole German-speaking world. Whereas in Italy and Austria these doughnuts are known as Krapfen, in Germany they use the word Berliner. In Chile, where German migration influenced Chilean pastry-making, Krapfen are known as berlines. Berlines are usually filled with custard, jam or dulce de leche. In addition, Berlines are now the quintessential Chilean snack for breaks at school. So, if you like doughnuts you’ll love Berlines, filled with sweet dulce de leche. Krapfen and berlines share another common feature: Krapfen come from the region of the Dolomite Mountains in Italy, and berlines come from Chile, the country of Torres del Paine in Chilean Patagonia. Don’t you think that Torres del Paine could easily blend into the Italian Dolomite region?


Ingredients (30-40 mini berlines)
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup warm milk (+ 1 tsp sugar)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 stick of butter (softened)
1/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
pinch of salt

Peanut oil for frying
Dulce de leche for filling
Confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Just follow the directions for my doughnutellas, but fill them using dulce de leche.


Tips
In Canada, these doughnuts are called Bismarck doughnuts.

Today is Chile's National Day! Happy Chile Day!!!

After tasting this traditional antipasto, you’ll say: ‘who knew fresh anchovies were this good’!

Ingredients
1.5 lbs fresh anchovies
1 can San Marzano tomatoes (28 oz), drained and diced
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove
1 bunch Italian parsley, chopped
Salt, pepper

First, remove the scales of the anchovies with a knife under cold running water. Rinse the anchovies. Cut right above the heads and then remove the heads together with the insides. Cut the anchovies lengthwise and remove the spine. Pat the anchovies dry using paper towels.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Pour half of the canned tomatoes into a baking dish. Pour the anchovies over the tomatoes. Mix the garlic with half of the parsley and pour this mixture over the anchovies. Sprinkle with some salt and cover with the rest of the tomatoes. Bake for about 20 minutes, and serve warm with the rest of the parsley on top.

Tips
I know, cleaning anchovies sounds like a post-mortem, but it’s not really that hard and the flavor of fresh anchovies is totally worth it.

Sometimes just a couple of days back at work or at school are enough to make us dream of summer again! My organic tropical sorbet is perfect to recall those days at the beach! And it’s so simple you’ll want to do it even when you’re on vacation.

Ingredients
3 cups mixed tropical fruits
½ - 2/3 cup organic agave nectar

Just puree the fruit with the agave nectar using an electric blender. Pour the puree into your ice cream machine and let the machine do its work. After 20-25 minutes you’ll be tasting a tropical paradise, wherever you are!

Tips
I used Trader Joe’s tropical fruit trio: mango, papaya, pineapple

Some of the most traditional antipasti are based on very old rules proposed by Galen, the second century Greek physician. Following Galenic standards, to compensate for their imbalanced nature some foods needed to be eaten with some opposite food. According to Galen’s point of view, melons have a cooling effect on ham, a hot and dry ingredient. So, what we have here is prosciutto crudo and melon! The ultimate antipasto! In addition, cold and moist figs are heated by ham: prosciutto and figs!

Prosciutto e melone
1 cantaloupe, sliced
7 oz prosciutto crudo, thinly sliced


Prosciutto e fichi
8 figs, quartered
7 oz prosciutto crudo, thinly sliced
(Optional: olive oil, pepper)


Prosciutto, melone e fichi
4-6 figs, quartered
Slices of melon (cantaloupe and honeydew)
7 oz prosciutto, thinly sliced

Simply arrange fruit and prosciutto as your creativity tells you, and serve on a nice serving dish!