All posts tagged: Italian cuisine

pumpkin tortellini

Pumpkin Leek Tortellini with Duck Ragu

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Finally comes the duck story… And I’m afraid yet delighted that you’ll hear more duck stories this winter. How come? Well, I’m spreading the duck spirits around me and so many people are eager to eat more of the delicacy. Leading up to the last day of my sejour at the winery, I was thinking hard everyday about the duck: how and when to cook it.  Sensing the accumulated anticipation of almost two months, I decided to get the task over and done with. Originally, it was destined for Duck a l’Orange, but I incorporated a Chinese Peking Duck method by adding more herbs and oriental spices such as star anise and cinnamon, and also by drying out the skin for crispiness. The warm aromas had the effect of stimulating a holiday mood as well. After resting in the fridge overnight, rubbed with salt and spices, it was ready for the oven the next morning. Despite some unexpected events, I managed to cook it for as long as 2.5 hours. The tough parts, the wings …

nettle ravioli

Foraging – Homemade Ravioli with Nettle Leaves

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These days I wish one day were 48 hours. I feel like chasing time all the time. What you want to do and what you have to do don’t always meet, but at least we’re all running, aiming for that dream, I hope. I’ve been a kind of nomad cook for a while, cooking out of a suitcase. I dream about having a big kitchen with good lighting and being able to cook at daylight. However, I am still a cook on the road, changing places, and that is why I equip my kitchen with minimal cookware, but I’ve managed to cook and blog all along the years of moving around. I’ve drawn to foraging food,  since I got here, which has been so enjoyable, I mean, it gives the feeling of ‘living’, walking through the forests picking plants, weeds, nuts, fruit, etc. I’ve been discovering many weeds and plants that I’d eaten but hadn’t seen fresh. I saw ladies picking this creeper vine leaves and wondered what they were doing with them and I …

Pasta with Roasted Capsicum and Kavurma (Beef Confit)

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There is a dish called Kavurma, a slow-cooked meat dish, which is also common in Balkan countries. But the kavurma I’m talking about is a charcuterie version, specifically called Rize (a name of a region famous for Turkish tea, butter and bread, etc.) Kavurma. As good jambon or ham is always missed here, I look out for an alternative when I’m not smuggling some from neighbouring countries. When I was at Beykoz for Mother’s day brunch, a small village less than a 30-min drive from where I live – 10 mins from my previous flat, I found a new delicacy called Kavurma, which is like beef confit. This natural greenery is a haven for me and I’m blessed to have it at an arm’s reach. It’s a breathing place for my soul enduring the honking cars and crowded streets throughout the week. While in a small butcher’s there, buying some meat for dinner, my eyes caught something that looked like the confit one would see in European delicatessens. I jumped at the opportunity to have …

Authentic Carbonara Sauce Tutorials / Friuli–Venezia Giulia Wine

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I came back from the lovely 3-week long holiday, though my mind is still wondering in Jura, and certainly my Jura report is still continuing as you can see. What welcomed my return was delicious surprises gifted from several like-mind people who loves cooking and appreciate good food. I see is as a perk for being a foodie and for having a blog to show to prove it. The generous guests from Italy and Canada each brought such precious gifts for me and Mr.O. The gifts include home-smoked Canadian red salmon, 5 huge pieces of Parmesan and Pecorino cheese, each about 1kg, and some other local cheeses, real Italian pasta, and a white wine from their hometown, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. There was also a bottle of Dhara wild olive oil, a gift from Larissa. I’m grinning ear to ear, looking at all these goodies. Even while in France, I was sent a packet by Pulltex, whose corkscrew I’d been using – I love the chic design. The corscrew is special to me because it was a …

Gourmet Pizza and Chili Olive Oil

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I just felt guilty about letting it roll into September half way into September without adding one more post. Caught up with work, I’ve been unable to cook interesting dishes, though I’ve been eating healthier than ever before. On my recent trip, I dropped by Dhara Oilve Farm and met the passionate person, Larissa, behind the high quality olive oil that I’ve been eating. Larissa took us through the process of making olive oil, and for the first time, I appreciated the considerable amount of work that goes into turning olives into healthy oil, which most of us take for granted without paying much attention to the different qualities of olive oil; many people think olive oil is all good!

Mini Blue Voyage and 3 min-One-Pot Pasta

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I was on a surprise holiday for the entire las week. I ate, swam, ate, swam, ate, swam at luxury resorts – of course, not at my own expenses. I am more of a rough-it type – and the last two days I was out in the most beautiful cove in Fethiye, which is on the route of Blue Voyage. I was privileged to be on a private boat of an amazingly honourable and hospitable man. Spending time in the sea surrounded by luxury yachts and millionaires was quite an experience that one could dream of. I’ve always fancied owning a boat and living on it, sailing all round the world – who haven’t? Sleeping on the boat was like sleeping on a rocking cradle, which I was comforting and help to sleep better. The meals cooked onboard were exquisite, too. Why is food cooked at the camp so delicious? Is it the simplicity or the surroundings giving a relish to the food? Is it simply that you have more appetite when outdoors, being active? …