La Torta Caprese

I promised myself today that I would write about the 'Torta Caprese'
a speciality cake from Capri or Naples.
The are 1001 versions and 1001 variations.
The recipe here is my version
or to tell you the whole truth is my sister's Annamaria.
It's straightforward, no-fuss, foolproof.
It uses no flour so gluten-free and if you are really health conscious you could substitute the butter with a mild extra virgin olive oil or half and half
so you won't feel so guilty eating it!!!

So here it goes.
Pre-heat the oven 180°.
Line a shallow baking tin (30cm.) with baking paper and butter the sides.
Cut 150gr.of butter into cubes and place in the oven for 2 or 3 min.(not if you are going to use olive oil of course!)
In the meantime weigh out 250gr. of ground almonds or
150 gr. of ground almonds + 100gr. of crushed almonds (if you like a more crunchy texture)
add to this 200gr. of dark chocolate crushed into little little pieces
and a spoon of cacao powder, give it a little mix and put aside.
In an other bowl whisk together the melted butter with 150 gr. of sugar(light brown if you can)
and 4 lightly beaten whole eggs.
Now put the almond-chocolate mix into the butter-egg one.
Mix well, pour in the tin and bake for 20 min. in the low shelf of your oven.

And here are a few ideas for variations or re-visitation as I called them.
You can add flavours like lemon or orange zest, a few drops of Amaretto or a tbs. of ground coffee, the choice is yours.
I sometimes substitute 100 gr. of the chocolate with hazelnut chocolate and
100 gr. of the almonds for hazelnuts.
Serve it with a dollop of whipped cream and glass of cool Limoncello and you'd think you were somewhere on the Amalfitan coast.

They are all deliciously sumptuous and voluptuous.
You may just have to try them all!
Well let me know if you do.

Prosciutto, formaggio e fichi di Sicilia

The first starter we served this morning probably sums up my idea of what food...
good fresh unadulterated food really is.
A slice or two of freshly sliced Parma ham....
a piece or two of cheese, in this case 'Pecorino Primosale' and 'Ragusano'
A few black figs soaked in a light Marsala marinade
A few nuts for crunchiness
And to top it all up a few pomegranate seeds bursting with sweetness and sharpness
A few drops of extra virgin olive oil
and Bob's your uncle!

( Barone dear did you ever find out where the expression comes from?)

Crostini con funghi trifolati

I didn't know with what recepie restart my posting on the Mezzogiorno blog
but this morning while preparing brunch(lucky some!!!)
the sun hit the pan with the mushrooms garlic and thyme...........
I could not resist taking a photo!

So to make the crostini cut a few slices of good wholesome bread and toast it.
In a fryng pan put a couple of generous spoons of extra vergin olive oil,
a whole garlic clove and a sprig of thyme or sage if you like.
Cut in two the mushrooms or if you are going to use wild ones keep them whole( they'll look sexier in the plate!) and add them to the pan.
Sauteé for a few minutes.....turn the mushrooms
and season with salt and pepper.

Rub the toasted bread(crostini) with the garlic........... put the mushroom on top and eat straight away.
I served this along with a poached egg some grilled bacon and Krissie's(the hub!) home made bread.