Tag: Fennel

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PASTA AL SALMONE AFFUMICATO – PASTA WITH SMOKED SALMON

Recipe n.33

I’m very happy  to share this recipe with you, as it is the result of pure improvisation from an evening a few years ago. I was trying to decide what to make for dinner for my family. I started to put together several ingredients to try to please everybody’s palate and it turned out to be a hit!  Since then I have been making this dish quite often and I always get the same positive feedback.

 

© 2016 Iose’ Cocuzza All Rights ReservedIMG_6791

 

 

© 2016 Iose’ Cocuzza All Rights ReservedIMG_6796

 

Ingredients for 4 people

  • 500g pasta (any short type of your choice – I prefer to use wholewheat pasta)

  • 1 medium yellow onion

  • 1 fennel bulb+stalk thinly sliced

  • 4 to 5 ounces of smoked salmon

  • 12 mushrooms ( I like to use either crimini or shiitake mushrooms)

  • Lemon zest (from 1 lemon)

  • Fresh dill

  • Olive oil

  • 1/4 cup of white wine

  • Salt and Pepper

 

Bring a medium size pot with water to boil for the pasta.  In a large pan sautee the onions and  fennel in olive oil for  a couple of minutes, then add the mushrooms, lemon zest,  and some dill.  Season with salt and pepper. Add the smoked salmon and the white wine keeping  on a medium-hight heat until the wine has evaporated. Add some lemon juice and the reamining dill. Drain and transfer the pasta to a large bowl.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.  Adjust with salt and pepper and enjoy!

Recipe n.4

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INSALATA DI ARANCE E FINOCCHI – FENNEL and ORANGE SALAD

Often times we take things for granted in our lives and we only appreciate them when we don’t have them anymore, or when we realize that what we thought was part of  everyday life is not. I grew up in ‘una villetta con giardino’, a small house in Sicily with a beautiful garden full of olive, lemon, mandarin and orange trees. Back then I didn’t think of it as a special gift, I thought it was normal. My mom used to make us fresh squeezed oranges juice all the time and a delicious salad with orange and fennel, which is a typical dish in Sicily. The mix of these two ingredients together might sound unusual but the taste of it is very unique and refreshing. There are different versions of this salad but I personally like the original and simple one. It’s raw, fresh and quite easy to make.

IMG_2424

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 large fennel bulb (reserve some fronds for later for decoration)
  • 2 oranges (Sicilian blood oranges or navel)
  • ½ an orange juiced
  • 2 Tbsp quality extra virgin olive oil
  • 10 to 15 Black olives (optional)
  • ¼ cup Red onion very thinly sliced (optional)

Cut the fennel bulb in quarters and slice it thinly crosswise.  Peel each orange, slice in rounds or chop small. Whisk together the oil and juice in a small bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss all the ingredients together in a large bowl and season the salad to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 3 people

Tip: If you’re not a vegetarian this salad is a perfect match for sweet fennel Italian sausages but even on its own it makes a perfect salad!