No Bake Dessert: Poached Peaches with Rosemary in White Wine with Mascarpone Cream

A gorgeous oven-free, gluten-free, no-bake dessert perfect for those hot summer nights!  This dessert has become a classic in our kitchen and cooking classes throughout stone fruit season. It's light & fresh, and even after a long Italian meal, everyone has room for a little peaches & cream! 

It's not only easy to make, but the ingredients are flexible; use white, rosè or red wine (finish off that bottle of white that's been sitting in the fridge for the last 2 nights...) The same with aromatics - rosemary, thyme, lemon, lavender...whatever you've got on hand. (This is why its so important to have an herb garden!)

Poached Peaches in White Wine

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 firm peaches or nectarines (mature fruit will fall apart)
2-3 spoons of sugar
white or rosè wine
1 sprig of thyme
1 sprig of rosemary
zest of ½ lemon (use ANY aromatics you like)
homemade whipped cream or mascarpone cream if you like

With a paring knife cut the fruit in half and remove the stone. If the stone will not come away easily, make a shallow incision around the stone and it will fall away once cooked.

Place the fruit cut side down in a pan or pot that fits the fruit snugly. Add in the aromatics with the sugar and top with wine until halfway up the fruit. Cover with baking paper (parchment) and bring the pan up to a medium simmer for 8-12 minutes total depending on the size of the fruit. Give the peaches a turn on their backs after about 5 minutes and they are done when a knife slips easily into the thickest part of the fruit.

Once the peaches are cooked, remove from the pan and place on a plate to cool. Return the pan to a low flame and reduce the wine until it becomes a syrup. Give it a taste - if its a little tart, add a spoonful of sugar. Be careful not to let this burn. Strain the syrup into a bowl and allow to cool.

To serve: Quarter the peaches and carefully remove the skins. Arrange on the plate and drizzle atop the white wine syrup and a dollop of cream.

Radish & Strawberry Salad

This radish & strawberry salad certainly strays from the traditional dishes of Le Marche however is a perfect example of the philosophy "if it grows together, it goes together." The crunchy peppery radishes compliment the sweet juicy strawberries, add a bit of young spring onion (and if we were in the States, cilantro!) for a surprising and delicious spring salad. The recipe is inspired by our friends from Perennial Plate!

Radish & Strawberry Salad
equal parts of radish & strawberries, sliced as thin as possible (you can do this with a mandoline or knife)
a pinch of spring onions, sliced thinly
salt & crack of pepper to taste
olive oil
the best balsamic you’ve got: aceto balsamic tradizionale di modena

In a bowl combine radishes, strawberry & onion. Season with salt & pepper and a light drizzle of olive oil. Very gently (with your hands) toss the salad to incorporate all the ingredients.
To serve: plate and drizzle a few drops of balsamic over the top, serve immediately.

Note: Anything from spring will work in this dish, fresh fava beans or peas, chive, etc - if it grows together it goes together.

Fennel and Peach Salad

 On a hot night this is an ideal, super simple, light and refreshing summer salad. The crunch of the fennel & sweet peaches pair perfectly! There are only a handful of ingredients; shaved fennel, peaches, extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper. The key to keeping the fennel flavor from overpowering everything is to shave it very fine with a mandoline.

(Side note: It may not be proper Italian but when it's over 90 F / 30 C it's on the menu.)

Fennel and Peach Salad

1 bulb of fennel, core removed, sliced paper thin on a mandoline or meat slicer
2-3 of peaches, sliced
a few tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and gently toss. Let sit five minutes and serve!

Carpaccio of Zucchini

 
Carpaccio of Zucchini
Fine Fine Zucchini

zucchini
salt
pepper
olive oil
lemon
parmesan

handful of cherry tomatoes, radishes, zucchini flowers, arugula (optional)

Use mandolin or slicer, slice zucchini very very thinly - paper thin.

Lay out one layer on a plate or platter.

Crack of pepper, crack of salt, drizzle olive oil, squeeze of lemon. Let sit for 15 minutes.

 

If you have cherry tomatoes and/or radishes toss a small handful ontop as well as zucchini flowers, arugula or celery hearts, etc to give it a little extra bite & color. Finish with shaved parmesan over the top. Serve

Cookies & Cream Homemade Icecream, Amaretti Semifreddo with Wild Berry Compote

Summer in Italy means gelato, and lots of it! However we don't have an icecream machine and in our house, homemade semifreddo is just as good - plus any dessert that doesn't need the oven on is an added bonus!  Semifreddo literally translates to semi-cold or in this case, semi-frozen and let me tell you, trying to take a few photos on a hot June day with temps in the 90's F/30's C was more than difficult!

This recipe couldn't be more simple and is a great base to expand upon - get fruity by adding mashed raspberries to the mix instead of amaretti cookies for example and top with a dark chocolate ganache!

Cookies & Cream Semifreddo with Wild Berry Compote
Semifreddo al Amaretti con Frutta di Bosco

Serves 6-8
6 eggs
1 1/4 cups superfine sugar
1 cup of amaretti (almond flavored cookies/macaroons), crushed
3 cups heavy cream

Whisk the eggs with the sugar in a heatproof, grease-free bowl, set over a pan of barely simmering water until thickened. Then remove from the heat and continue whisking the mixture until completely cool.

Stiffly whip the cream. Then fold in the egg mixture and crushed cookies.

Line a rectangular loaf pan with plastic wrap, pour in the mixture and smooth the surface. Place in the freezer overnight or for at least 4 hours before serving.

To serve: turn upside and remove the plastic wrap.  Serve with warm compote of mixed wild berries or chocolate atop!

Strawberries + Limoncello

 Fresh picked strawberries from the garden with homemade limoncello - a simple dessert that is sheer summer bliss!  This delicious dessert, perfect for a hot night, may have only two ingredients but if you want to make it from scratch you are going to need about 2 weeks.  You can always cheat and buy a fancy bottle of limoncello or limoncino but if you have a little patience you will be great rewarded! 

Strawberries macerated in limoncello - it couldn't get any easier than 1, 2, 3:

1. Clean and cut your strawberries
2. Drizzle atop limoncello, mix & let sit for about an hour
3. Serve with fresh whipped cream or mascarpone & mint and a glass of frozen homemade limoncello!

Grilled Peppers Stuffed with Tuna

Simply delicious. Ever since visiting a family-run seafood restaurant along the Adriatic we have been recreating this simple dish of roasted peppers and tuna.  Roasting gorgeous orange, yellow and red peppers over the grill and stuffing them with tuna, capers and herbs makes for a healthy flavorful appetizer/antipasti -the perfect way to start your summer dinner (especially if you already have the bbq fired up!)

Roasted Peppers Stuffed with Tuna
 Peperoni alla grilglia ripieni di tonno

Serves 6

4 Peppers (any color)
250 gram of highest quality of tuna you can find (in oil or water), drained
spoonful of capers, chopped
oregano, or any fresh herb of your choice (basil, marjoram, etc.)
salt & pepper (or red chili flakes)
red wine vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
clove of garlic

Start by charring the outside of your peppers - either on the stove or over the grill - until the outside is completely blackened. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic, allow to cool.

When you can handle the peppers, remove the skin (should come right off) and remove the seeds. Slice the peppers into 3 cm strips.

To prepare the tuna filling, combine the tuna, capers, salt & pepper, a few drops of olive oil and vinegar.

At one end of the peppers add a spoonful of the tuna mix and roll the pepper around the tuna. Place in the dish, once the dish is full season with salt & cracked pepper.  Now make the dressing.

Two spoonfuls of red wine vinegar with six spoonfuls of olive oil, 1/2-1 clove of finely chopped garlic and small handful of chopped herbs. Mix it up and pour over the peppers in the dish. Allow to sit for at least 20 minutes before serving to let the peppers soak up the dressing.

Note: You can add any thing you like to the tuna mix: spring onions, sun dried tomatoes, olives, etc.

Cherries in Limoncello

Fresh picked cherries macerated in homemade limoncello, it doesn't get much better than that! A perfect combination of sweet & tart and to top it off with a spoonful of whipped cream!

Serves 4

 Pound of pitted cherries
3-4 leaves of mint, plus more for garnish
2-4 tablespoons of limoncello (depending on how boozy you like it)
white sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Toss cherries with liquor in a bowl with a little sugar, if cherries are tart add more sugar, if cherries are already sweet you can omit the sugar. Refrigerate for an hour or two.

In a separate bowl whip the cream, chopped mint & a spoonful of sugar of two. Whipped cream should have just a hint of sweetness to it - not sugary.

Spoon cherries with syrup into a pretty serving dish or cup (we use a martini glass) and top with a couple spoon full of fresh whipped cream.  Garnish with fresh mint. Enjoy!

Sauteed Green Beans with Toasted Almonds

Green beans, runner beans, french beans or fagiolini - whatever you call them they are in-season on our farm! If you read our last post you know we are eating them damn'near daily! Here we pick them while they are still young & tender - not the huge knobby tough beans I was used to before. And don't even get me started on the difference between fresh picked beans and the soggy, salty ones I was force-fed to eat as a kid...from a can!! (No wonder so many kids grow up hating vegetables). Now I eat them right off the vine!

This is a delicious, fast, simple and healthy way to devour these fantastic green veggies. The crunchy, toasty almonds pair so nicely with the al'dente green beans, just begging you to go back for seconds - guilt free!

Sauteed Green Beans with Toasted Almonds

serves 4

4 handfuls of green beans, trimmed and cut in half
2 cloves of garlic
pinch of chili flakes
100 gram toasted almonds, chopped
olive oil
salt & pepper
Blanch your beans in boiling salted water for 3-8 minutes depending on the size and thickness of beans or until half cooked.

Drain and rinse under cold water.

In a frying pan slowly heat 3-4 glugs of olive oil along with the garlic and chili flakes.

When the garlic is nicely browned turn the heat up and add in the green beans and saute for a minute or two.
Add quarter cup of water. Allow the water to evaporate fully cooking the beans for about 3 minutes.

Season with salt & pepper.

Toss in toasted almonds.
(If you like you can add in a squeeze of lemon.)

Serve.
(Leftovers: also delicious served cold.)

Green Bean Lover? Here's another great recipe:

Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes & Balsamic

Fennel & Blood Orange Salad

Fennel - what is it? A big onion? A bulb? Is it even edible? YES and how delicious it is!

The secret is to know how to use it & what to pair it with.
Fennel can be a bit tough & fibrous with an anise flavor. It is also light, crunchy & refreshing found in many Mediterranean recipes. We not only grow our own big bulbs of fennel but another variety of fennel grows wild along our road - the more leafy/flowery type to used as an aromatic.

Here is one of my favorite winter/early spring recipes from Jason below. Other ways to use/eat fennel: roasted, braised in white wine and the most simplistic - young fennel can be cut into chunks & dipped into olive oil & salt.

Fennel & Blood Orange Salad

1 bulb of fennel, cut in 1/2 and remove core
2-3 blood oranges
salt & pepper
3 glugs of extra virgin olive oil

Slice fennel as this as possible (use a food slicer or mandolin if available).
Peel & supreme the oranges. Save the extra pulp & squeeze the remaining juice into the bowl.
Mix sliced fennel, juice from the pulp & oranges - season with salt & pepper.
Drizzle with olive oil & toss.
Let stand for 10 minutes then serve.

Fried Anchovies with Sage

If you have not tried anchovies before - you must try them now! Get over any weird apprehensions or that its just bait or a punchline for a joke about pizza ("extra anchovies")! These little suckers are delicious & actually good for you! Baked, fried & grilled - they are ohh so good and worth a try. If your not up to it, then pass me your plate because I love'em!
Here is my favorite - Fried Anchovies - the recipe below adds a sage leave to each piece of fish as well for an extra burst of flavor & color.

Fried Anchovies with Sage
Acciughe fritte con Salvia

1lb of anchovies cleaned, spine removed
sage leaves (optional - if you are not a fan of sage just omit)

batter
1 cup of flour
1 egg
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
seltzer water

vegetable oil for frying

In a bowl combine flour, eggs, salt & baking powder. Slowly add in seltzer water & mix until forms a thin batter. Cover with plastic & set in the fridge for at least an hour.

Heat oil in a pot to 350 degree.

Remove batter from fridge and mix once or twice (batter will have separated).

Take a sage leaf & anchovy put them together & dip into the batter - allowing access batter to drip off.

Fry 20 seconds a side until golden brown.

Remove from oil & drain on a paper towel.

Sprinkle with salt & serve immediately.

Pairs great with prosecco or white wine.