Wednesday, 21 March 2012

Pasta Broccoli and Sausage

I have a slight obsession with vegetables, and while in London I feel like I truly miss my dear Roman vegetables. The other day I was in Waitrose and made a huge discovery: Romanesco Broccoli! This is one of my absolute favorite vegetables, it has a very bright, light green color and is almost cone-shaped. It has a very creamy and nutty taste compared to normal broccoli, and in Italy is used for a lot of different recipes. I decided to make pasta with broccoli and sausage.
Here is the recipe: (Didn't really follow one from a book)

- Pasta
- Garlic
- Sausage
- Romanesco Broccoli
- Olive oil
- Hot pepper
- Parmigiano (Pecorino Romano would be better, and they do sell it at Waitrose, I saw it!)

Cut the Broccoli in pieces, cutting off the tough parts
Cut the Sausage in small pieces

In a pan, let some oil, garlic and hot pepper heat.
When the Garlic starts to turn golden, toss in the sausage.

When sausage starts turning slightly brown, add the pieces of broccoli.
Put a lid ont he pan, and let cook. If it looks dry you can add some water, or I sometimes like to add some white wine.

In the meantime, let the pasta cook in boiling water.

When broccoli is cooked, toss pasta in the pan and mix all together, if needed you can add some more olive oil, and later grate some cheese.

Buon Appetito!



Tuesday, 13 March 2012

Kenwood House in Highgate Village

It's been about a year and a half now that I've been living in North London, and I've heard a lot of people mention "Highgate Village". Apparently, it's supposed to be one of the most beautiful neighbourhoods in London, and after taking a walk through it with a friend the other day, I can confirm that it is. It's called 'village', because  it actually used to be a small town a long long time ago, and today, even though it's ten minutes from Archway station, it actually still feels like one. Right next to Highgate Village is Kenwood House, a beautiful 17th century estate, surrounded by amazing land and garden. The rooms inside the house are beautifully decorated and there are quite a few impressive art pieces, including a self-portrait by Rembrandt, which was my personal favorite. The gardens around the house made it feel like I was out in the countryside and for an afternoon made me forget I was actually within the city of London. There is a gazebo in the house's gardens from which you can see a breathtaking view of London's skyline. We found a cute Italian bakery (there are so many cute shops and bakeries) on the high street and had a short apple cake stop. The whole day was beautiful and with a 10 minute bus ride I was able to have a breath of fresh air and forget about London's chaos.








Sunday, 4 March 2012

Helping Anissa cook dinner

A while ago I was lucky enough to help Anissa cook a meal for her Arab Supper club night, as part of my internship. She hosted this beautiful Emirati-inspired meal at her lovely home and I was so fortunate to be able to help. I had never really assisted anyone preparing and cooking food from this part of the world and was completely amazed by the amount, beauty and smell of al the spices. The menu started off with two different kinds of kofthas, one of fish and one of meat. The main was a baby goat that we let marinate in a mixture of spices and rose water, accompanied by a beautiful biryani rice. On the side, there was a simple green salad dressed with quite a lot of mint, wich really refreshed everything, delicious.
The dessert was a saffron milk pudding with some amazing pistachios (hand-peeled by me). It was truly amazing to be able to help Anissa prepare this meal, and really learnt a lot in just one meal, cant wait for the next one!
(Pictures of the baby goat may be disturbing to some)