White Cauliflower Gazpacho

Aaaand action! After a well deserved summer break, I’m finally back for more delicious recipes. Prepare yourself for many new culinary experiments over the coming year. Starting today actually, with this new twist on an old classic.

My love for gazpacho started back when I used to spend my summers in Spain. Growing up, we would go down to my grandparents’ beachhouse with all of my cousins. Those were the best days, when we would lounge by the pool or the sea, and play all kinds of games together. I remember long meals where the eight of us would sit around the kids table, and have conversations that were (obviously) much more interesting than our parents’. Our staple meals always included my grandmother’s homemade gazpacho, which was a true house favorite. She’d start preparing it bright and early, giving the soup just enough time to chill in the fridge before lunch. I would watch and try to help her with an “essential” step or two, like soaking the bread in ice cold water.

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The Best Hummus You Will Ever Make

Ambitious title, I know. But I hope I’ve enticed your appetite, because you’re in for a treat!

Hummus is one of those small things in life that make me happy. I can’t say no to this dip. Luckily for me, there’s an amazing place to get delicious hummus in Philadelphia. It’s a hummusiya called Dizengoff, where they serve it with different toppings, changing daily. Some days you can get lamb, fava beans, or hard boiled eggs, and others you can expect avocado, chicken skin or beets for example. They come up with really creative flavors that pair so well with their hummus. They also make it extremely creamy, with lots of tahini just how I like it. Finally, they serve it with freshly baked homemade pitas that are like no other you’ve tasted before. It’s such a great combo I could eat it all day everyday.

Passion Project: Spaghetti Carbonara with Pancetta

I don’t care much for bacon… Never have, and probably never will. I didn’t grow up with it, and though I enjoy the occasional strips that come with my scrambled eggs at hotel breakfasts, I have never bought a single pack. It’s not like I have anything against it, but it simply never crosses my mind. What I do love, however, is “pancetta”. Think diced Italian bacon, a.k.a the perfect addition to any pasta sauce. The most famous of them all being “Carbonara”.

Creamy Ricotta and Caramelized Eggplant Rotini

Today, I went to a “Cheese Crawl” organized by DiBruno’s to celebrate their 75th anniversary. It involved walking across Philadelphia to stop at each of their location for free samples of cheese, chocolate, and drinks among others. Surprisingly, the pouring rain didn’t stop this event from being a huge success.

Warm Caprese Pasta with Pesto Rosso

It’s good to be back! Though I had a wonderful Spring Break, it’s time to get back to work, and start cooking again. It’s been a while since I last posted a (pasta) recipe, and I feel like it’s necessary for me to do so, since I eat so much of it! It’s also always good to have an extra recipe to switch things up a bit. So get ready, because this isn’t your typical Caprese salad… For starters, I should admit that I don’t really like pasta salads. Pasta is just so much better when it’s warm, that I never even think of eating it cold. Additionally, the pasta is too often mushy, or completely drowned in sauce. So this week, I decided I’d give a classic, the Caprese Pasta Salad, a little twist and make my delicious *warm* version of it. The star of this recipe is obviously the pesto rosso, or red pesto, which is basically pesto with a mix of fresh and sundried tomatoes. It adds a wonderful touch to the dish and make the flavors and textures of the fresh mozzarella and cherry tomatoes stand out in contrast. It’s also incredibly easy to make, with ingredients that you probably already have in your fridge or pantry! This recipe makes about two servings of pesto so you can keep the rest in the fridge and add it to scrambled eggs, or a bowl of quinoa the next day. Ti amo, Pesto Rosso… Bon appétit!

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Prep time: 15 minutes

Ingredients for the Pesto Rosso: Serves 2

• 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes
• 1/6 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 garlic clove
• 6 fresh basil leaves
• 1/8 cup chopped blanched almonds
• 1/8 cup olive oil
• 1/2-1 tbsp grated romano cheese
• balsamic vinegar
• salt, pepper

Ingredients for the Caprese Pasta:

• 80g medium shells pasta
• 1/2 pesto rosso preparation
• a handful of cherry tomatoes (chopped)
• 1/4 cup fresh mozzarella cheese (diced)
• chopped fresh basil (optional)

Directions:

1. Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot, and cook the pasta for the time written on the packaging (mine takes about 9 minutes).
2. Meanwhile, make the pesto rosso. In a food processor, add the sundried tomatoes, garlic, basil, and almonds. Pulse until everything is roughly chopped, and chunky. Next, add the cherry tomatoes, and a light splash of balsamic vinegar. Pulse again, until well combined. Then, add the olive oil with the cheese and keep pulsing. Finally, add 2 tablespoons of the pasta water and pulse until the sauce is creamy and homogeneous. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Drain the pasta and put it back in the pot, add the diced fresh mozzarella and cherry tomatoes, and toss with the pesto rosso. Top with parmesan cheese and chopped fresh basil. Mamma mia how delicious it is!