focaccia ligure

This is the recipe of the typical focaccia from Genova (it is a kind of bread, like pizza dough for example) that a friend of mine (Mauro!) gave me (he is from Genova, so I trust him!).

I have to admit I have never tried it yet, because it takes a lot of time to prepare it. You will need at least 30 minutes to prepare it, 4 hours for rising, 1h30 for cooking.

Ingredients (for 4 people):

500 gr of flour (for bread),

250 gr of water,

a spoon of olive oil,

salt,

sugar (a pinch),

a cube of brewer's yeast,

50 gr of lard (to make it more tasty if you want).

Dissolve the yeast in warm water with a pinch of salt. Mix the flour with the water and the yeast in a bowl (a big one! it will rise!). Add the olive oil, the salt and knead the dough until it is smooth and compact. If you want to add the lard you have to mix it with the other ingredients.

Leave the dough to rise for 4 hours. Here is a secret: if in your house is a bit cold, turn on the oven (60°C should be enough), when it reaches the temperature turn it off and leave the dough inside. Pay attention not to cook it!

After 4 hours oil a square baking-pan and roll out the dough on it. With a fork make some holes in the dough and with the fingers leave some prints on it! Mix well some olive oil with water and spread it on the dough (with a kind of paintbrush usually...). Let the dough rise in the pan 40 minutes more. Heat the oven to 200°C and cook the focaccia for 30 minutes.

You can use it as bread or for preparing very good hors d'oeuvre. It is served in square pieces.

coniglio alla cacciatora (rabbit the hunter style!)

This is a main dish. It is very easy, it takes 30 minutes to get ready if you find the right ingredients.

The recipe I give you is for 2 people, but it is not too much if you prepare only this dish: an italian or a greek man would not be satisfied! It is a delicate dish, but mind that not all the people like (and eat) rabbit meat.

Anyway, here are the ingredients:

1/2 rabbit already cut in pieces,

garlic (2 cloves),

rosemary (1-2 springs),

tomato puree,

olive oil,

1/2 glass of white dry wine,

salt, pepper.

Put some oil in a pan, so that you cover all the bottom of the pan. Peal the garlic and cut each clove in 2 pieces, put them in the pan with the washed rosemary springs. Put the pieces of rabbit in the pan. Put the pan on the stove in a middle position and cover the pan for 10 minutes. Uncover the pan and add the wine, then let it cook until the wine is soaked. Then add some tomato puree (don't exaggerate, because it will be sour then) and mix well with a wooden spoon; add the salt, the pepper (on both sides of the pieces of rabbit) and let it cook for other 5 minutes. Don't forget to turn the pieces of rabbit from time to time!

Now try it with a good red wine (like Chianti for example) or a dry white wine!

Tagliatelle with saffron and zucchini flowers

Here we are, first recipe... I will start with pasta (typically italian!)...

This is easy to make, and it doesn't take too much time to prepare (it usually depends on your ability...)... let's say you can start preparing the sauce one hour in advance (but 1/2 hour could be enough) BUT REMEMBER that pasta has always to be prepared at last!

This recipe is for 2 people, because I think it's very good for a tete-à-tete (meaning romantic dinner for 2!): it's very light, sweet, delicate.

Ok Ingredients for the sauce: 5-6 zucchini flowers (they are italian I guess, I'll add a picture), 2 zucchini, saffron (zafferano for the italian speaking...), 1/2 onion, olive oil, salt, 150 gr of cream;

Pasta: 250 gr tagliatelle (they are the best for this recipe, but you can also use some short pasta, like maccheroni or better fusilli or farfalle ---> see the pictures! in this case you just need 200 gr at most!)

How to proceed.

First of all you have to clean the zucchini flowers. Take out the corolla (the orange-yellow part) and put it in a bowl with water very delicately! You can leave the flowers there for 1 minute, then take them out and put them on a piece of blotting paper to dry.

Wash the zucchini and cut them in pieces (you can cut them following the length in four part and then proceed like you were doing rounds!), put them in a bowl.

Take a big pan, pour some olive oil in it (it has to cover the bottom of the pan), then cut the 1/2 onion in very small pieces and put the pan on the stove. Before the onion fries, put the zucchini in the pan. They have to stay on the fire 2-3 minutes.

In the meanwhile put the saffron in half glass of hot water (it has to melt... yellow color!), then pour the water on the zucchini while they're cooking and cover the pan. Before the water is completely absorbed put down the flowers cut following the petals. When the water is completely absorbed you can put some salt (at your taste) and finally the cream. Leave on fire for 2 minutes, then turn the gas off.

Now prepare the pasta. You need 300 gr of tagliatelle and a big pot. Put a lot of water (it has to be enough to cover all the tagliatelle, then you need more than half pot of water), put the pot in the stove and wait till it boils. Then pour some salt in the water and one minute after put the tagliatelle in the boiling water. They usually need not more than 2-3 minutes to be ready, but read the instruction on the box. In the meanwhile turn the fire on under the pan with the sauce. When they're ready strain the tagliatelle and put them on the pan with the sauce. Mix them well with the sauce (if you want you can add some grated parmesan cheese while mixing) and turn the fire off.

Here you are with your first dish! Your partner would be amazed ;)