Green gnocchi in a gloomy day

It has been already a couple of weeks since my sunny Italy disappeared behind heavy clouds. One day I felt melancholy and I decided to cheer up a little bit with a good and easy to prepare dinner. It resulted greasy, caloric but so good! Below you will find a recipe for a successful marriage between spinach and gorgonzola cheese. And only these two ingredients with a touch of olive oil were sufficient to create tasty and aromatic sauce for Italian dumplings, called gnocchi. Continue reading “Green gnocchi in a gloomy day”

Pumpkin soup

Halloween has already passed and you have no idea what to do with a pumpkin or even the whole collection of pumpkins? Why not just cook it? There are many ways of using this nice vegetable, but my favorite one is a cream soup. Firstly because of its optimistic color, secondly it warms-up in an excellent way and finally I love its thick and silky texture. Continue reading “Pumpkin soup”

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Spaghetti alla Carbonara is a simple dish and also very cheap to prepare. It wasn’t born, after all, in high society, but… after all, its history is unclear. There are different theories about Carbonara’s origin. Some people say it was invented by charcoal makers (carbonaio = charcoal makers) that used to work in bushes around Rome, others claim that the idea was given by American soldiers arrived in Rome in 1944 after the city liberation. But which Italian will believe in that…? Continue reading “Spaghetti alla Carbonara”

Pasta with fresh tomatoes

Since I have been living In Italy I modified a bit my cooking habits. Before I preferred Asian tastes and my fridge was always full of ginger, lime, fish sauce, or such “inventions” like tamarind paste…The reason of this change is quite easy to explain. First of all the assortment of ethnic food is very limited in the nearest shops, and secondly now I have access to typical products that usually are difficult to get in Poland (like zucchini flowers, e.g.). So, I’ve taken the opportunity to cook Italian dishes using local ingredients.

The recipe below is a perfect solution in hot summer days and for everybody that can’t afford to spend too much time in the kitchen. Can’t get sheep cheese (pecorino)? No problem at all – simply use Parmesan! I recommend to buy it in one piece (not grated) and to restore it in the fridge into lid covered container with a small glass of salt inside (to capture humidity). Continue reading “Pasta with fresh tomatoes”