Last night wanted to cook something fast and simple, and it turned out to be one of the best things ever. The bad photos don't do this meal justice, but trust me, you will love it! So please try to make this!
Fish in tomato lemon sauce, creamy polenta and roasted tomatoes.
Here is how to make it:
Start with the polenta, as it takes the longest to cook:
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Mozzarella or other cheese of your choice.
Place a small pot or a medium sauce pan with 2 cups of water and pinch of salt on medium heat. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cornmeal on the water, this will help the water boil faster. Or you can use a an electric water kettle to have hot water fast. Now that the water is boiling, slowly add the cornmeal, whisking continuously with a wire whip, so you don't get any lumps. After adding all the cornmeal turn the heat to low, cover, and let it simmer for 20 minutes. In the meantime you can start cooking the fish.
When the polenta is done, warm the heavy cream in a sauce pan and add it to the polenta, mixing well. Let rest in the pot covered, until ready to serve. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top before serving.
For the fish :
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion , cut in half inch cubes
4-6 Campari tomatoes (or other tomatoes you like, I just prefer Campari), peeled and cut in quarters. To easy peel tomatoes drop them whole in boiling water for 10 seconds, then the peel will come off super easy.
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
15 oz (around 400 g) white fish fillet cut in 2-3 inch pieces (your choice of fish)
Salt and fresh ground peppercorns , to taste
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (spicy red peppers)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 bay leaf
3 slices of fresh lemon, seeded
In a deep pan on medium heat stove top, melt the butter and olive oil. When hot, add chopped onion, mix, and cook for 2-3 minutes, sprinkled with a little salt. Add the cut tomatoes, turn up the heat on medium-high, and cook for 2-3 minutes , stirring once or twice. Add the garlic, stir, and immediately add the fish pieces on top, sprinkle the seasoning and add the bay leaf, then stir carefully once, not to break the fish. Place the lemon slices on top of the fish, and let cook for 3 minutes. Gently turn the fish on the other side and cook for another 3 minutes. Turn of the stove. Give it another gentle stir and cover the pot to keep it warm until serving.
While the fish cooks is time to make the roasted tomatoes:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
4 Campari tomatoes, cut in half
1 small pinch of salt
The fastest way to get "roasted tomatoes" is actually searing them in a pan. In the oven it would take longer, so I prefer to do it this way. Grilled or roasted tomatoes are so delicious, they make a good side to any dish.
Heat the olive oil on medium high heat in a pan. Add the tomato halves , cut side up, sprinkle with salt, and cook for 2 minutes, then turn them over and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
You can also grill them if you have a grill.
Enjoy this hearty but easy to make dish!
On the plate you can see also some potato fries, just because my hubby asked for them. :)
Pan di Spagna (literally 'bread of Spain'), is a cake invented in the mid 1700's by Giobatta Cabona (a cook from Genoa at the service of the genoese ambassador in Spain, marquis Domenico Pallavicini) on the occasion of a banquet, where he presented a cake of incredible lightness, that took its name to honor the Spanish court. It is very similar to the American chiffon cake.
The high oil and egg content creates a very moist cake, and as oil is liquid even at cooler temperatures, it does not tend to harden or dry out as traditional butter cake might. This makes them better-suited to filling or frosting with ingredients that need to be refrigerated or frozen, such as pastry cream or ice cream. It also tends to be lower in saturated fat than butter cakes, making them healthier than their butter-heavy counterparts.
I love this cake for so many reasons: very few and unpretentious ingredients, easy and fast to make, and so many uses! I think of it as one of the basic recipes in baking, that you can use as a starting point for classic layered cakes, for cupcakes, pound cakes, cake rolls, trifle and many more. Back at home it is usually baked in a loaf pan, then served as slices with confectioner's sugar sprinkled on top.
I used this recipe the other day to make cupcakes, some frosted with chocolate ganache, and some with lemon icing.
This is what you need for about 24 cupcakes (2 loafs if you use loaf pans instead, or 3, 8 inch cake layers if you want to make a cake):
For the cake:
7 eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
7 spoons water
7 spoons vegetable oil (canola, corn or sunflower oil)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose or cake four, sifted
1 pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder (the original recipe does not ask for backing powder, you can skip it, but I usually add some)
For chocolate ganache:
2 cups good quality chopped dark semi-sweet chocolate
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
For lemon icing:
2 cups confectioner's (powder) sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons lemon juice (I use Meyer lemons, because I love their taste and fragrance)
Method:
Preheat oven at 360 degrees F (180 C).
Prepare the pans you will bake the cake in, greasing them with butter and lining with parchment paper, or lining the muffin tins with cupcake liners.
In the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (of course you can use a hand mixer, or if you are in shape even a regular whisk), beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, for 2 minutes or so, then gradually add the sugar, and beat until very stiff, for 2-3 more minutes. Stop the mixer. Leave the bowl with the meringue in place.
In another bowl whisk together the egg yolk, vanilla extract, water, vegetable oil, then sift on top the flour, salt and baking powder together, and mix everything well.
Change the whisk attachment of the stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Start the mixer on low ( I put my KitchenAid on 2 or 3) and gradually add the egg yolk mixture, beating for 20 seconds, just until combined, not more. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
The best would be to carefully fold them in using a spatula, but it worked very well with the mixer too. It is important though to mix very lightly in order for the beaten egg whites to keep their volume, so the cake is light and fluffy as we want it to be. The dough should be very airy, soft, and light, like a beaten mousse.
To make cupcakes, carefully fill them to two thirds, with batter. The easiest way to do this is using a large ice cream scoop, of about 2.5 inches diameter. One full scoop takes the exact quantity of batter needed for a perfect cupcake.
Bake them for 17-20 minutes, until they puff up and are golden on top. Keep an eye on them, but do not open the oven before 15 minutes pass. Try to see if they are done by carefully pressing on top, (don't burn yourself though by touching the oven, be careful!) with your finger, and if it springs back, they are done. You can also use the toothpick method, inserting a toothpick in, and if it comes out clean, it means they are done. Every oven is different, so it is better to try them and see when they are done, for best results. It can take only 15 minutes in some, or even 20 in other ovens.
I also made mini cupcakes, and you have to bake them only 12-15 minutes.
Whenever I want to bake two different sizes of cupcakes, what I do is to fill out the big ones, place them in the oven, then start filling the small ones after that, and place them in the oven later, as it usually takes me 5 minutes to fill all the mini liners, so they are both ready in the same time.
When done, let them cool in the tins, then carefully remove them. While they cool you can prepare the frosting/ icing.
To make the chocolate ganache: heat the heavy cream in a sauce pan over medium heat, until small bubbles form on the pan sides, turn heat off, drop the chocolate on top, let it stand and melt for 5 minutes, then mix well until smooth and shinny. You can use this chocolate ganache in many desserts, as cakes like this or this, for profiteroles or frost various other things, like a cheesecake.
To make the lemon icing: juice one medium Mayer lemon (to get 3 tablespoons lemon juice). Set the juice aside, in a medium bowl. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan or butter warmer. Pour it over the lemon juice and mix, then add the confectioner's (powder) sugar, and mix well. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before using it. Mix once more just before frosting with it. You can control the thickness of the icing by adding more lemon juice or sugar, until you get the desired consistency. It will harden a little as it sets after you frost the cupcakes.
For easy frosting, just carefully take the cupcake keeping it by the liner, turn it upside down and dip in frosting gently, covering all the top, with circular motions, then slowly turn them upright, and place on a rack to set. Do the same with the chocolate ganache.
Because this cake is so moist, baking it in cupcake liners, and frosting them, ensures a longer freshness, as they don't dry out fast, so you can keep and enjoy them for a few days!
