#26 Think for tomorrow

I want to share this recipee which is very useful for a vegetarian dinner, and why not, also the day after's lunch! 

In Italy we call this "torta salata" which is "salty cake", or pie.

Ingredients:

olive oil

12 oz  mushrooms

4 cloves garlic (minced)

4 cups baby spinach

some cherry tomatoes

½ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

1 cup mozzarella or cheddar cheese (shredded)

1 puff pastry sheet

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425°/220 C°/ Gas Mark 7

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, then add some olive oil with the garlic. Add the mushrooms, sauté 7 minutes, then add the spinach and sprinkle the salt and pepper over the top.

Saute for an additional 3-4 minutes, then turn the heat off and set the skillet aside.

Roll the puff pastry sheet out on to a large baking tray. 

Place first the cheese on the pastry, then the cherry tomatoes halves, and place the sauteed mushrooms and spinach all over on the top. 

Add some other cheese if you fancy it. If you have some pastry which has not been used (in the case the pastry is larger than the baking tray) you can do as I did (see the pictures), i.e. using patry to make some diagonals on the top. I've created also a rose with a leaf in the middle! :-)

Place into the oven to bake for 25-30 minutes.

This recipee is very tasty and simple in my opinion. Plus, it's very good for when you have someone coming for dinner, in fact a pie is always a dish easy to share in slices. As a single I appreciate the fact that, once prepared, I have got also food left for the day after, which is easy to carry to work too.

Basically using a puff pastry, you can change the filling ingredients, and you'll have other tasty dishes!

Enjoy in creating your own "torta salata"!

The love lesson today is: 

Love is like a salty cake: the base is the important thing which should not miss, and the ingredients you add that make it special to your taste. 

So please choose well and think for tomorrow, because such a big dish is going to last!

#25 Sacrifice/Pleasure

I was told by the doctor to eat just fresh raw vegetable for a while. So I was wondering, what can I eat instead of the boring raw plates with some bread? Suddenly, I got it!!!
I decided to go for an exotic dish: a Tabbouleh salad made with couscous!

250g couscous
Some tomatoes (any type)
One red pepper
Edamame Beans
half a cucumber
1 bunch spring onions or red onion, sliced
fresh parsley, (or also basil, mint)
grated zest of a lemon
6 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 crushed garlic clove

Prepare the couscous: Put the couscous into a large bowl. Pour over the boiling water or stock and stir. Cover with a plate or cling film and leave to stand for 5 mins until all the liquid has been absorbed. Separate the grains by roughing them up with a fork.

Cook the edamame beans in an hob with hot oil and garlic, for 2 minutes.

Finely dice thetomatoes and the cucumber. Slice the onions and finely chop the parsley, then add everything to the couscous with the grated zest of a lemon (or other spices you like: I added a touch of nutmeg).

Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice and the garlic with plenty of seasoning and drizzle over the couscous. Toss well and serve!

Our lesson:

sometimes you are given to do a sacrifice, but if you are not passive it can turn into a pleasure.