PAVLOVA WITH CHANTILLY CREAM AND BUTTER TOASTED ALMONDS

                I will go on record and say that this is a great recipe for pavlova. The best.  It has a meringue with a delicate, crunchy crust and a soft marshmallow-like centre. The cream topping is a flavourful Chantilly cream that goes great with the fruit, especially the strawberries. The almonds? Well, they are buttered and then toasted. That gives them an incredible flavour. The dessert melted in our mouths. Literally. It was sweet, creamy, fruity, smooth, soft, heavenly. And it's a great dessert for holiday time! 


Ingredients:

4 large egg whites at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons lemon juice at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons cornstarch

sliced fresh fruit of your choice for topping
some butter cut up in small pieces

whole blanched almonds for topping, notes on preparation bellow

Chantilly cream for topping, recipe below

Directions:

It's important to cook the pavlova at a low temperature for a long time. This and beating the egg whites extraordinarily well insures success.

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a pencil, draw an 8-inch diameter circle on the paper. Turn the paper over so that the pencil marking rests on the baking sheet side. The circle will still be visible.
• Add the granulated sugar into the bowl of a food processor.  Beat it until the granules become superfine and somewhat powder-like: this is superfine or caster sugar. If you can buy it ready-made, go ahead and get it, but this is an easy, convenient way to make your own. Caster sugar is best for meringues because its fine granules dissolve quickly.
• Preheat the oven to 225° F.
• Make sure that the bowl of your mixer is dry and very clean. Place the egg whites into it. They should be free of any presence of yolk.
• Begin beating on medium.  When the egg whites start to get frothy and form soft peaks, turn the speed up to high and add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. After all the sugar has been added, continue to beat until the egg whites are very stiff and shiny. If you think the meringue is done, beat it some more. I took a short, refreshing nap while the mixer was beating my egg whites. Recommended!  
• The meringue should be smooth, and the sugar should be fully dissolved so that the meringue doesn't feel gritty to the touch but is instead smooth and stiff; it should look shiny.
• At this point add the vanilla and beat to mix. 
• Remove the bowl from the mixer, add the lemon juice and fold well.  
• Sift the cornstarch over the meringue and fold that in as well. 
• Place the meringue on the prepared tray and smooth it into a round shape using the pencilled circle as a guide. An offset spatula will help with this job. 
• Form a small indentation in the middle for placing the cream into once the meringue finishes baking. 
• Place the meringue in the oven and bake it for one and a half to two hours, until the top of the meringue feels dry and somewhat hard.  
• Turn off the oven and let the pavlova shell stay in there until it has cooled. 
• Take out the shell. It will probably have one or two cracks, and that's fine.  The outside will feel firm, but looking through the cracks you will be able to see the marshmallow-like interior. 
• The shell can be stored on its parchment in a cool dry place until ready to use.  You can make the shell one day ahead of time.

To decorate:

Gently remove the parchment paper while sliding the shell onto a serving platter.  Place the Chantilly cream on top and gently spread it all over.  Top with the almonds and fruit, creating a decorative pattern.

TO PREPARE THE ALMONDS:

Spread whole blanched almonds on a baking sheet and top them with pieces of butter.  Stir them around with your hands so that the butter covers most of the surface of the almonds. Toast them in the oven until they begin to get golden.  Keep a close watch because once they start to get golden they are on their way to getting burned, so it's important that they are removed from the oven before that happens. Butter gives the almonds a wonderful and totally different flavour than plain toasted almonds. It also makes them appear shiny.

CHANTILLY CREAM:

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy whipping cream, really cold

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon Grand Marnier

2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

• The best-whipped cream is made with very cold ingredients.
• Refrigerate the bowl and the whisk attachment of your mixer until they are cold. Bring them out and reassemble the mixer.
• Add the cream and Grand Mariner. 
• Add the vanilla. Vanilla is the bacon of the baking world. It makes just about any baked good taste that much better. This is an analogy, no substituting bacon for vanilla ... unless ... If you've tried it, let me know of your experience, okay?  
• Beat on medium until frothy.
• Add the sugar one tablespoon at a time and beat on medium-high until soft peaks form, about 3 to 4 minutes.  
• Do not overbeat; you will know when it is done because it will look nice and thick. If you continue beating, the mixture will start to get grainy, and you will start to develop butter. Or so I have been told, and I should really try it one of these days just in case it's true. 
• This cream is absolutely delicious and it will remain thick; chantilly cream doesn't tend to get watery like regular whipped cream because it contains sugar.

The recipe for the meringue is adapted from "The Joy of Baking.com" 

BORLOTTI BEANS IN A MEDITERRANEAN BEAN STEW (BARBOUNOPHASOULA)

Borlotti beans! Gentile's, my favourite grocer here in suburban Philadelphia, had them for sale. "Wow," I said to myself, "barbounophasoula!" I made a beeline for the display, got a  bag and filled it to the top. Since childhood, I've loved eating these beans! Cooked with olive oil and tomatoes, seasoned with parsley and bay leaf, they are so good, even children with finicky tastes will not refuse them. Or so I believe. The bean shells have a bright red colour, and I think it's the colourfulness of the crop that makes them attractive to children. That's how I learned to love them. I liked sitting in front of a table where the red borlotti beans had been scattered and helping to shell them.  

Cute!

Once the shells were opened, pearl-like beans spilled out, soft and fresh, their creamy flesh speckled with deep-pink markings. They were just beautiful!  

Of course, when cooked, the beans turned brown, but it seemed to me that the beautiful colours transformed themselves into tasty food notes that I just loved to gobble up. So I have always been excited about borlotti beans. The Greeks call them barbounophasoula, which I've noticed is quite a long word ... The word describes the appearance of the beans. "Barbouno" is taken from the word for red mullet, a fish that is very plentiful in Mediterranean waters and has the same red on white markings as the beans. "Phasoula" is the word for beans. Indeed, the common bean belongs to the genus Phaseolus vulgaris, and that is the genus that borlotti beans belong to. They are widely cultivated in the Mediterranean region. Italians love to cook them in "Pasta e Fagioli" and also include them in minestrone. We Greeks stew them with tomatoes in a sauce that turns luscious from the flavour of the bean liquor. I believe the best way to enjoy them is while they are fresh, so stock up when you can find them, shell them and freeze them for later use. Of course, they can be had dried, but the dried ones need to soak overnight before they're cooked. 

Borlotti beans are sometimes referred to as Roman beans, and they are related to cranberry beans but don't confuse them with pinto beans, which have a somewhat similar appearance but quite a different taste. Here is my recipe for borlotti beans cooked Greek style:

Ingredients:

About 2 pounds fresh, shelled borlotti beans
1 large red onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 bunch Italian parsley, chopped
1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes (it would be marvellous to use fresh tomatoes)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 celery ribs, diced
1 small pepper: use a hot pepper if you like, or use a sweet Italian frying pepper.
1 bay leaf
dash of oregano
salt and black pepper to taste
olive oil
2 cups vegetable broth
water

Directions:

• In a large pot heat the olive oil and sauté the onions and garlic. 
• Add the beans, mix, then add the celery and pepper and stir for a few minutes. 
• Add the tomatoes, the tomato paste, the parsley, the oregano, the bay leaf, the black pepper, and the vegetable broth. Mix well. 
• Add enough water so that the beans are covered by liquid. The amount of liquid should reach about 1/2 inch over the beans. How's that for scientific measurement?
• Bring to a boil, lower the heat to simmer and cover. Let cook for 45 minutes to an hour.  Check occasionally to make sure that not all of the liquid has evaporated. About 30 minutes into cooking, season with salt and drizzle some olive oil (3 or 4 tablespoons), over the beans.  
• When ready, the beans should be soft and most of the liquid should have cooked off. The stew is a stew and should not be soupy. You should have a  nice, slightly thickened sauce. 
• Remove the bay leaf, place the borlotti beans into a serving bowl, and bring them to the table.  They are ready to eat. I hope you enjoy them! 

Any leftovers? They'll make a great lunch! Mix them with fresh tomato and parsley and enjoy them on a slice of bread.

LOVE and a PINEAPPLE- ORANGE- COCONUT SMOOTHIE

In her novel “Love,” Toni Morrison explores the different facets of love, its proximity to hate, and its destructive effects on the psyche when it is missing from one’s life, especially the life of a child. She examines the different varieties of love: self-love, romantic love, parental love, platonic love, and love that is sadomasochistic or perverted; if it's sadomasochistic or perverted it's not actual love is it? But it can mistakenly be referred to as such.  

The novel, written with exceptional artistry both in style and content is a book one needs to read at least twice in order to fully understand its meaning.  

"Love" is set in the fictional town of Silk, located somewhere on the Southern East Coast. According to the plot, the town was once famous for Cosey’s Hotel and Resort, “the best and best-known vacation spot for coloured folk” on the Southern East Coast. The resort was built during the depression by the larger than life Bill Cosey, and it thrived because it offered prosperous black clients a place to vacation in style without fear of discrimination. Following integration, the resort began to lose business. Bill Cosey died, and eventually, the resort closed. 

What remains of the Coseys is the large house that Bill Cosey had built for his family. This family includes his daughter-in-law May, who dies deranged, his granddaughter Christine who was sent away and stayed away until she returned penniless, and his second wife Heed, whom Cossey married when she was eleven years old.  Looking over everyone is the spirit of L, the former cook of the Coseys, who provides the novel's commentary. L is the philosopher and moral centre of the novel. 

The action takes place in the 1990’s, but the characters reminisce of time spent in the presence of Bill Cosey, and we see how he influenced their lives and how he continues to be an influence even some 20 years after his death. We also see how close the distance between love and hate can be. Christine and Heed, who had been loving childhood friends, had a wedge driven between them by the adults around them when Bill Cosey decided to take Heed as his wife. Their relationship turns to one of hate, and it is not until a newcomer, a girl named Junior Viviane enters their lives, that events occur which melt their hate instantly, and they realize how strong the love each has for the other still is. This knowledge comes late, after their lives have been wasted from lack of nurturing and love.   

In contrast, Romen, a teenage character in the novel, has in his life the guidance and love of an intact family. The guidance he receives moulds his character in such a way that he acts heroically when a difficult opportunity presents itself.  

The character of Vida is Romen's grandmother. She likes pineapple and in her honour, I decided to make a pineapple smoothie. In this way, I am contributing to Novel Food, the literary/culinary event hosted by Simona from Briciole.  Read something, cook something inspired by the work, and then write a post about it. That’s Novel Food! HOW I MAKE A PINEAPPLE "LOVE" SMOOTHIE: Ingredients: 2 cups fresh pineapple cut into chunks 2 oranges, peeled, broken up into segments, seeds removed 1 banana, peeled, cut into chunks ½ cup Greek yoghurt 1 cup coconut milk 2 teaspoons shredded coconut Directions: Add all the ingredients except the shredded coconut into a blender.  Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and sprinkle the top with shredded coconut. IT'S REFRESHING!!!  And it's smooth as silk, which reminds me of Silk, the fictional town in which the novel "Love" is set.

PASTA PUTTANESCA with SHRIMP and FETA

I got the idea to make pasta puttanesca with shrimp and feta cheese when I was reading Andrea Camilleri's novel "The shape of water," featuring the character of Inspector Montalbano. I was reading the book for my participation in Cook The Books Club, and I had to think of something nice to make that reminded me of the book. The shrimp, the briny sauce, and the briny feta cheese bring to mind the seaside where inspector Montalbano likes to stroll. 

This is an enjoyable dish and very easy prepare. I love how Greek and Italian ingredients are combined here: strong Mediterranean roots! This dish depends on freshness, therefore, working quickly when preparing it is a must. I had the idea of garnishing the pasta with some fresh grape tomatoes which are very abundant at the market this time of year. They are imported all the way from Mexico and are very tasty. 

Linus happens to love pasta and today he is waiting patiently for his share.

Ingredients:

olive oil

1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 pound linguini

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese, plus a little more for garnish. 
two or three sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
3 Roma tomatoes cut into chunks (seeds and skin removed)
some grape tomatoes cut in half, to be used for garnish

4 anchovy fillets

2 tablespoons capers, rinsed

1 teaspoon red pepper seeds, or use more if you prefer

4 cloves of garlic, chopped
10 pitted Kalamata olives, sliced in half

¼ cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped

Directions:

• First, prepare the pasta and shrimp: 
• Fill a large pot with salted water and bring it to a boil. Add the linguini and cook according to package directions. 
• Drain the pasta and place it in a large bowl. Sprinkle some olive oil on the pasta, and mix.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat 3 tablespoons olive oil. 
• Add 2 cloves of garlic and sauté for one minute. 
• Add the shrimp and thyme and cook for about 3 minutes, until the shrimp have turned pink. 
• Remove from the heat, add the feta cheese and season with freshly ground black pepper. 
• Add the shrimp mixture to the pasta.
• Add some parsley and mix well. Cover and set aside.
• Now make the puttanesca sauce:
• In a pan heat some olive oil and add the rest of the garlic along with the anchovies, red pepper seeds, and capers. Cook for about one minute, stirring. 
• Add the olives, the oregano, the Roma tomatoes and the sun-dried tomatoes. 
• Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Add the sauce to the pasta and shrimp and mix. 
• Before serving garnish with the grape tomatoes and the rest of the parsley and feta cheese.

COOK THE BOOKS: THE SHAPE OF WATER

"The Shape of Water," written by Andrea Camilleri, featuring the dauntless inspector Montalbano. 

We’re going to Cook the Books again, and this time the vehicle we are using is Andrea Camilleri’s novel “The Shape of Water.”  After reading the novel we are making something to eat. Something delicious.  Something inspired by the book. In my case, I’m choosing to make pasta puttanesca with shrimp! I know, I know, the novel is set in Sicily, and pasta puttanesca is a dish created in Naples. Nevermind. Have you read this book? There are so many ladies of the evening living in its pages that it would be a shame not to honour them with the very popular pasta puttanesca, a truly delicious dish that is purportedly named after these hardworking women.  
  

The fictionalized Sicilian town of Vigata is the setting for Camilleri’s novel “The Shape of Water.” The town comes complete with a “pasture,” which is the name for the al fresco red light district of Vigata. A dead body is discovered in the pasture by local trash collectors, and that sets in motion the action of the novel. That pasture is by no means a pastoral place! No sheep graze there. By the way, did you know that sheep herding is the second oldest profession in the world?   

Pasta  Puttanesca with Shrimp: This post is my contribution to the current edition of Cook the Books.  This round is hosted by Rachel of The Crispy Cook. 

I made this version of pasta puttanesca with linguine, which I mixed in a briny tomato sauce that was flavoured with anchovies, capers and olives. I also added shrimp, which is not traditional, but I wanted to combine the briny taste of the sauce with seafood, a combination which can serve as a reminder of the beautiful seas which surround the achingly beautiful island of Sicily. While dinner was being prepared, I snacked on a mouthful of some crunchy càlia e simenza that I had made the day before.   

Càlia e simenza: lovingly described by the author, here is how our hero, Inspector Montalbano, enjoys this snack:  

“taking the stroll he customarily allowed himself …  along the eastern jetty, out to the lighthouse.  Before he set out however, he always stopped at Anselmo Greco’s shop, a hovel that clashed with the clothing boutiques and shiny, mirrored cafés along the corso…  Greco also sold càlia e simenza, a mixture of roasted chickpeas and salted pumpkin seeds.  Montalbano would buy a paper cone full of these and then head out.”
  

I myself have eaten lots of  càlia e simenza, and it's a wonderful way to pass the time especially when taking a slow, scenic stroll.  Eat some chickpeas, crunch on some roasted pumpkin seeds, look at the scenery, contemplate your navel ... heaven! To make this snack, just open up a can of chickpeas, rinse and dry them really well and place them on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle some olive oil and salt over, add whatever other spices you really love, then bake in a 375  F oven for at least 30 minutes, or until they are crunchy. Roast the pumpkin seeds separately, mix with the chickpeas, and you're in business! Truthfully though, there is no way to make the perfect càlia e simenza at home. The real version is roasted and dried in an industrial setting, and it's something one buys from the street vendor or the corner shop. I spent many happy childhood summers snacking on bags of càlia e simenza. The Greeks (of which I am one) and the Sicilians have many things in common. Shared foods and recipes are one commonality. I was thrilled to read about inspector Montalbano's habit of eating càlia e simenza; it brought back memories.

  

Camilleri’s "The Shape of Water..." Following are some of my impressions of the novel, but first I include a type of prologue:

Once upon a time, there was a little boy who wanted a pony for Christmas. He started asking for it around September and didn’t stop asking ‘till Christmas Eve. That boy wanted a pony! Early on Christmas day he woke up, got dressed in a hurry, no breakfast, and he ran to the barn. He was sure there would be a pony waiting for him. However, all he saw was a large pile of manure. His father went to the barn and found the boy shovelling the manure. “What are you doing, son?” the father asked. “Looking for my pony,” said the boy. “With all this manure, there has to be a pony in here somewhere!”

Just like the boy in the anecdote, I did quite a bit of shovelling as I tried to find the pony in Andrea Camilleri’s novel “The Shape of Water.” Throughout the pages of the book, I met pimps, prostitutes, drug addicts, hoodlums, and corrupt politicians. I heard more than enough base and obscene language, and I failed to laugh at numerous crude jokes. I found out that the novel included inferences to incest, one of the most reprehensible types of human behaviour. As I shovelled along, guess what happened? My pony appeared!  It arrived on the scene in the persona of the dauntless Sicilian police inspector Salvo Montalbano, who ploughed through layers of corruption in order to solve the murder of a politically and socially prominent man who as it turned out was killed ... from natural causes. 

The action of the novel unfolds in Sicily, unrecognizable in Camilleri’s rendering. The scenery is mostly limited to trash-strewn vistas and dilapidated buildings, and there is a meagre supply of likeable people.  Montalbano is described as a man in love with his native island, but there’s not much that's described to love here. Except for the food. When the inspector takes a break from police work, he usually finds something very interesting to eat, and what he has to eat always gets a favourable description.

Montalbano dined on boiled shrimp and pasta, which can be easily transformed into pasta puttanesca with shrimp. Just add the puttanesca sauce on top of the shrimp and pasta, mix and enjoy!  

People like Montalbano, who are involved in solving crimes, have to contend with sordid circumstances and disreputable individuals.  The details of this unsavoury type of work are clearly narrated by the author. I came to develop a liking for Montalbano.  Underneath a tough exterior, he hides a heart of pure gold. He doesn’t always follow the letter of the law, but that’s because he prefers to protect the innocent from the claws of the corrupt kingpins, the latter of which can shape the law to fit their own needs. The law of the corrupt can take on any shape, just as a volume of water can take on any shape depending on its container. Hence, the title of the novel makes sense. Montalbano is a man of the people. Of the struggling,  sometimes fallible Sicilian people. Despite the pressure put upon him by his superiors, our inspector does not give up until he figures out the details which led to the victim’s death from nothing but ... natural causes. Yes, the fellow did die flagrante delicto, but as Montalbano discovers, the dead body was moved around a few times between the time of death and the time of discovery. In the end, the inspector is able to help and protect some people who would have otherwise gotten framed. However, nothing can be done about the kingpins. They go on. 

This novel was written in 1994, during a time of great unrest in Sicily. Mafia wars had caused a significant amount of bloodshed. The politicians were on the take, the average people were scared, and unemployment was high. In the novel, the island is occupied by soldiers from the mainland. This, in fact, was a reality. The Italian government had sent peacekeeping troops into Sicily following the murders of prominent anti-mafia judges. The troops remained in Sicily until 1998; the military operation was dubbed "The Sicilian Vespers" (I Vespri Siciliani, after Verdi’s opera). 

In “The Shape of Water,” Camilleri points his finger at the political and criminal upheaval of 1990’s Sicily. I suppose that was Camilleri’s way of pointing his finger at what was going on, and his way of prompting average Sicilians to keep fighting back in order to reclaim their island. It's not merely a murder mystery Camilleri wrote. Through a subtext of social criticism, he exposed the repulsive nature of a corrupt society. 

Finally, since I did mention Verdi’s “I Vespri Siciliani,” how about some Sicilian fun?  For our enjoyment, a clip of “Mercè, dilette amiche,” Elena's aria from Act V of "I Vespri Siciliani." I listened to every rendition available on YouTube, from the best to the not so good. I loved this version, recorded in 1955. Maria Callas sings, with Tullio Serafin conducting. Of course, I could also mention Sutherland, who is superb in it, but what makes this version different is that Callas feels each word she is singing!

Enjoy listening to Verdi and Maria, and I hope you smile when you hear that beautiful E at the very end. This difficult aria is rendered so, so beautifully! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH5QA1T5ToA&ab_channel=Mart%C3%ADn

A HEALTHY PITA PIZZA FOR BREAKFAST

Looks good, doesn't it?  Covered with fresh vegetables, low-fat feta cheese, low-fat turkey sausage, a low-calorie thin crust in the form of pita bread, all topped with a luscious egg to give us that extra supply of protein.  Some freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese, and a few shakes of freshly ground black pepper, and there it is:  A crunchy, irresistible and quick treat for breakfast.  This will make a wonderful breakfast, but I've had it twice now for dinner.  So it's my version of breakfast for dinner, and I love it!  Easy to prepare. Here is how:

Ingredients:

pita bread
low-fat breakfast sausage, casing removed
1 plum tomato, chopped
1 mushroom sliced
a handful of fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
a few fresh sage leaves, chopped
some freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
2 tablespoons feta cheese, crumbled
1 egg, taken out of the shell and left whole

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400 F.
• Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add the sausage. As it cooks, break it up in small pieces. Take it off the heat when it's no longer pink.  
• To the skillet add the tomatoes, sage, spinach and mushrooms. Mix and sauté for a minute.
• Place the pita bread on a baking pan and sprinkle the feta cheese over it.
• Layer the sausage mixture and vegetable mixture on top of the feta cheese.
• Place the egg in the middle of the pita pizza.
• Place the baking pan in the oven and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the egg white is set but the yolk is still runny.
• Take out of the oven, season with the black pepper and sprinkle the Pecorino cheese over the whole pita.
• Eat hot and enjoy! 

Variation: Cook the pizza for about 10 minutes without the egg, take it out of the oven, add the egg and then finish cooking it. This method will yield a very crispy crust.