Eat it alone, with farro or pasta or boost it with add-ons - Warm Cauliflower Salad With Olives and Grilled Peppers

 I love this dish for two reasons, the first is that I like cauliflower a lot and second is that if you add cooked farro or barley or why not pasta or something else along that line, you end up with an even better dish. Eat it warm or eat it like a salad, summer or winter or in between. And you can improvise with what you want to add, I think that the grilled peppers is a must but once you have added them, you can go haywire with add-ons!

By cooking the cauliflower in a skillet instead of steaming or boiling it, you get a richer flavour, the garlic and the chili pepper and the olive oil go so well with the nicer and sweeter cauliflower that  finally shows you its claws. If you get my drift. And in this recipe you also use the cauliflower leaves because they are quite good too.

And yes, I am a little obsessed by fonts right now, I have been spent far too much time looking and downloading new ones but what can a girl do when a whim sweeps her off her feet?

WARM CAULIFLOWER SALAD WITH OLIVES AND GRILLED PEPPERS
4 servings

1 cauliflower head
1/2 jar grilled bell peppers
large handful of small black olives, the saltier type
1-2 tbsp capers
1 clove of garlic
chili pepper
pinch of mixed dried herbs
finely chopped parsley
salt
extra-virgin olive oil

   Trim the cauliflower and divide the head into smaller florets. Keep all the leaves that look fresh and cut them into pieces.

   Heat up some olive oil with the whole clove of garlic and as much chili pepper you feel like, add the cauliflower and its leaves and cook on medium heat for a minute or two before you add salt, a little water and the dried herbs. Stir, put on a lid and let it cook gently for 5-7 minutes.

   Remove the lid and cook on until the cauliflower is cooked and the water has evaporated.

   Cut the grilled pepper into strips and if the olive are big, divide these as well. Add peppers, olives, capers and parsley to the cauliflower, season to taste and serve. Or add farro or pasta or something else to it and serve.

Links on Sunday

 During my absence from the world wide web one of my favourite photo sites/blogs/whatever it is called, Feature Shoot managed to post so many photos and photo series that I like and that I feel that I need to share with you that today's Links on Sunday will be dedicated to these, I hope you like them too.

Take a look at these photos and you will get a completely different view on dogs.

My parents had a long and happy marriage so I find this beautiful and moving and it makes me think of them.

Sometimes when I stay in apartment blocks, I imagine that the floors and the ceilings are made of glass so I can see how the whole house in a new dimension, it amuses me no end to think of how I am walking on top on people and that there are people doing the same with me. This is a bit the same thing.

Maybe you remember a link with abandoned cars a few weeks ago, this is even more beautiful!

OK, just one link that is not about photography, there are some really nice ideas here.

Force majeure

 I really didn't mean to be away all this time, you probably haven't even noticed that I have been gone but I have. And very much so because we have been without telephone and internet connection for more than a week and when you work like I do, you feel it on your bare skin!



Well, two of those days I was in Milan but for the rest I have been here, working a bit and fretting a lot although I think it is useful to be forced back into life the way it was before constant internet connection, you get a lot of things done really, I have been sawing and pruning in the garden for example, we are having lovely lovely days here and I even enjoyed the work. I could have done much more but I have been quite tired mentally after this intense month of work in Milan, I realize how much I actually put into what I do when I come back home and feel completely empty when I think of making and shooting for new blog posts. So I haven't but will now, I promise, I have a few nice ideas that I want to try out.

So I leave you with a few photos I took yesterday morning when I walked the dog-it is so good to be back among you again! 

Pasta With Roasted Winter Squash, Pioppini Mushrooms and Baby Spinach

 This morning I woke up to a frosty world, white grass and icy roads. It was beautiful, cold and beautiful but had it been say three weeks ago I wouldn't have appreciated the beauty at all, now I enjoy it because I can feel spring in the air. No Italians do but I am Swedish, or maybe I should say Nordic, and have this gene of survival, the spring detecting gene, because if we didn't have it, we would never be able to survive the long, cold months of winter. So every little sign, be it birds tweeting, the sun rays slanting in a certain fashion or a certain feeling in the air, we catch it and just know in the deep of our souls that there is hope and we cling to that. And so do I, nothing can change that.

Last week I realized that I hadn't beed cooking anything with winter squash this year so I had no choice, winter squash it is. And Pioppini mushrooms too. I love these little cute, velvety mushrooms, they grow in such a beautiful way and they are a treat to photograph, I can't resist them as you can see! This pasta dish is made in a slightly different way than you usually make them, you roast the squash and the mushrooms in the oven while you cook the pasta and then toss it all in the oven form. I like it, I hope you do too!

PASTA WITH ROASTED WINTER SQUASH, PIOPPINI MUSHROOMS AND BABY SPINACH

serves 4

400-500 g/ 0,9-1,1 lb pasta

1 small winter squash

400 g/ 0,9 lb pioppini mushrooms or some other interesting mushroom you like

a bunch of fresh baby spinach

rosemary

black pepper

salt

juice of 0,5-1 lime

extra-virgin olive oil

   Peel and cut the winter squash into small cubes. Clean the mushrooms and put these together with the diced squash in an oven-proof form. Sprinkle rosemary over.

   Mix lime juice, you decide how much, salt, pepper and olive oil and then drizzle the mixture over squash and mushrooms, stir well and put in a pre-heated oven (200°C/390°F) for 15-20 minutes or as long as it takes for the squash to soften and get golden. Stir now and then.

   While the vegetables roast in the oven, cook the pasta, I suggest that you put in the vegetables in the oven a little before the water is about to boil. When you take out the form from of the oven, add the spinach leaves immediately and stir so the start wilting from the heat.  Drain the pasta and add it to the form, mix well and serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Always good to know a tangy tart - Polenta Tart With Lime, gluten-free and traditional versions

 Do you ever get a craving for a nice and tangy lemon cake? I do, there are a few flavours that have accompanied me through life and one of them is lemon. But sometimes I like to vary a little and I use lime instead. I have always liked the way lime looks, green is one of my favourite colours and yellow one of my least favourite but pale lemon yellow is nice, I could even think of using it as a colour on a wall. See how unfashionable I am but colours are far too important to me to be treated as fashion trends. Of course trends can inspire and make you discover new nuances or combinations but when I see all the homes on the interior decorating blogs I read for prop inspiration, I get a bit depressed really. So little of the personality of the people living there shines through not to talk about the order you see, it makes me feel uncomfortable and also a little inadequate because our home is no way close to these ideal homes. But you can be sure that I rather live in our chaos than in a place without personality although sometimes I long for and dream of huge empty spaces.

Rambling again, I was going to talk about lemon tarts or rather the Polenta Tart With Lime I have made for you. It is a tangy tart, exactly the kind my taste buds longed for. I have made both a gluten-free version and one traditional one too, well the only difference lies in the tart dough because the filling is the same, polenta and lime and a few other ingredients.

POLENTA TART WITH LIME, gluten-free and normal versions

gluten-free crust:
100 g / 3.5 oz salted butter
100 g / 0.42 cup sugar
1 egg+ 1 egg yolk
170 g/ 6 ounce fine polenta flour
100 g/ 3,5 ounce almond flour
1 tsp baking powder

traditional crust:
100 g / 3.5 oz salted butter
100 g / 0.42 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
400 ml /1.7 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder

filling:
3 big eggs
150 g/ 5,3 ounce sugar
4 tbsp fine polenta flour
1 tsp baking powder
3-4 tbsp lime juice, it is up to you how tangy you want it to be
grated zest of 3 lime

   Prepare the crust of your choice. First stir the butter and the sugar until smooth and then add 1 egg yolk or egg at a time. Add flour/flours and baking powder, work the dough until it keeps together. Press out the dough in a tart pan, I suggest one with a 25 cm/ 10 in diameter.

   Pre-bake the crust in a pre-heated oven (175°C/350°F).

   It is easy to make the filling, just whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl. Whisk it well and then pour it into the crust and bake in a pre-heated oven (175°C/350°F) for about 15-20 minutes, you have to check it. Don't bake too long as it gets dry, better try with a tooth pick or by pressing on the filling with your finger.

After a short break they are back - Links on Sunday

Last Sunday I just felt to tired to post my usual links but this week I am back. Nothing serious really but always something to idle away your time with if you have any to idle away. If not, take some time for it. The idling I mean, not necessarily for clicking on these links.

It is sad that they cannot be there for ever, at least they remain in photos

It took me a little to understand what it was all about

I love this idea, writing in colour.

And by now you know that I can't resist this kind of stuff.

I would really enjoy having this as a summer house right in the middle of nature

Who is having most fun-the father or the daughters??

One of Winter's treats - Parma Ham Parcels Filled With Savoy Cabbage

 Savoy cabbage is one of the most beautiful vegetables there is, it is not for nothing it appears in so many photos and on so many book covers. But to reduce it's beauty to superficial considerations would be to ignore the other dimensions that this cabbage holds within its closely knitted leaves. I am not talking about all the health benefits it has, no I am talking about its flavour. Now there is a problem, a visual problem, and that is that the longer it cooks, the better it tastes but the longer it cooks, the uglier it gets. If you cook shredded savoy cabbage with some sliced leek, carrot and maybe with a little white wine (though that is absolutely not necessary) for about 45-60 minutes on low heat, you end up with a fantastic tasting dish that doesn't look promising at all. I have had more than one guest who approached the bowl with Savoy cabbage cooked this way with hesitation but after having tasted it, asked for more and more. 

Which just proves that sometimes beauty hides other dimensions that can be of interest to you, you just need to look beyond appearances be they beautiful or ugly. The same old twaddle that has been mashed into us since we were small but oh so true. Especially when it comes to Savoy cabbage....

PARMA HAM PARCELS FILLED SAVOY CABBAGE
8-10 parcels

1 small head of Savoy cabbage
1 small leek
1 medium carrot
1/2 glass of water or dry white wine
salt
extra-virgin olive oil
8-10 slices of Parma ham

   Trim and cut the cabbage and leek in thin slices, peel and slice the carrot. Heat up some olive oil in a pan with thick bottom and gently fry leek and carrot for 3-4 minutes.

   Add the cabbage, add a little salt and stir well. After 2-3 minutes, add the water on put the lid on. Keep on cooking on low heat, stirring now and then, for about 35-40 minutes. The cabbage should look greenish brown and be very soft, almost as if it has melted. You can do this the day before if you need it, just keep it cold until you need to use it.

   Take out a non-stick muffin pan, if you don't have one you can use normal paper muffins cups. Line 8-10 holes (it depends on how big they are) with a slice of Parma ham, spoon some of the cabbage mix into each hole and fold the ham over the filling.

   Bake in a pre-heated oven (225°C/440°F) for 10 minutes and then serve.

Food prop experiment part 2: Two for the work of one - Tea Scented Madeleines and Tea Scented Muffins With Pear Jam Filling

It's time for The Prop again, this time in the background and even with its true purpose as a sugar bowl, this time I decided to go for a double colour scheme as I am posting one recipe with two different outcomes. And yes, I know these are not orthodox Madeleines but I wanted to use that pan a bit more often so I called them so because of the form. Which puts me onto the question What makes a Madeleine a Madeleine? Is it the form or the recipe? The form is eternal while the recipe can vary from person to person, book to book...

Saturday we finished shooting the Easter booklet in Milan, feels great that we managed to do it all in such a short time but to be honest that was because the food stylists (Giulia Romanelli and Neva Murador) did such a fantastic job. And I had a visit from lovely Jasmine who runs the food blog Labna and who attended our Plate To page Weimar Workshop and to whom I had promised a glimpse of a food shooting ages ago. Anyway, the reason why I am blubbering about this is that we did work on a similar scheme as my experiment but our was based on colours, nine menues each with a different colour and every menue with around 6 images each and everyone had to be styled differently. We did have a hard time now and then to come up with something new and nice because even though you might be wading through them, props are never enough and your creative juices drain off after a couple of days of intense shooting. But we did it!

TEA SCENTED MADELEINES AND/OR TEA SCENTED MUFFINS WITH PEAR JAM FILLING

2 eggs

175 g sugar

100 g melted butter

50 ml very strong tea made with 2 tea bags

1 tea bag

200 g flour

1 tsp baking powder

nice quality pear jam

  Whisk eggs and sugar fluffy, then add the melted butter and mix well.

  Cut the teabag open and mix the tea leaves with the tea and then add that to the batter, stirring until it is smooth.

  Sift flour and baking powder into the batter and mix it quickly.

   Madeleines: Brush the madeleine pan with some of the melted butter and spoon batter into each whole, don't fille them too much to prevent they overflow during the baking. Bake in a pre-heated oven (175°C/350°F) for 8-10 minutes.

   Muffins: Spoon some batter into the paper cups, take a small spoon and make a little hole in the middle where you put the jam, then cover with more batter. Bake in a pre-heated oven (175°C/350°F) for around 10 minutes.

Food prop experiment part 1 - Peppery Peperonata With Leeks and Olives

When I and one of the creatives from the ad agency I work with went prop shopping for Easter props in Milan about two weeks ago I ran across this little strange alien of a prop and I just couldn't resist buying it.  As a prop, not for my home and how and why I would think it is a good prop is still a mystery to me. That little sphere with a tiny nose and wide mouth obviously stirred my feelings so here I am with a strange sugar bowl that you can use as a prop once every 12 months if even that often. But I got an idea last week, I will use it in a personal challenge that might be useful for you, I have decided to make a three part installment here on Lucullian, I will use my sugar bowl to show you how to create different moods and setting with the same prop and as this is a quite distinctive one, from now called The Prop, I will really need to work hard to make this work out. Wish me luck.

I will start with the most obvious choice, I'm going for reds and pinks. I wanted to create a mood that reflects the feeling I get from looking at The Prop. I have a vision of Russian shawls, you know those with vivid reds and pinks in them so I made a dive into the piles of fabric I have accumulated in my little studio (I really need to put some order there and very soon) and came out with a piece of pink velvet and then added the vibrant dark pink creped paper as a background. The rest of the props had to be red. Then over to the question of the food; I have lists with recipe ideas laying around so I took a look at these and found the perfect dish for this shoot, a peperonata! I had this idea of adding some of the Peppadews that we all got from one of our sponsors at the Plate To Page Tuscany Workshop last October (if you are interested in a high quality workshop in food photography and food writing to a very reasonable price, there is still a space left for you - register here.) to my usual peperonata recipe to give some heat to it all. I really like peperonata a lot, it is tasty and you can vary it quite a bit by adding potatoes and olives among many things but here I just used olives. In a traditional peperonata you use onions but I prefer to use leek as it gives such a nice flavour. Come to think of it, my peperonata version actually comes from different sources, the olives comes from a lady called Romana, the potatoes from Paola and the leek from yet another cook so it is a perfect example how cooking evolves through the years and the cooks you meet.

PEPPERY PEPERONATA WITH LEEK AND OLIVES

serves 4

1 leek, you can also take an onion 

2 yellow or red bell peppers cut into sticks

12-15 Peppadew peppers

20-25 black olives 

300 ml/ 1,2 cup thick tomato sauce

salt

extra-virgin olive oil

   Cut the leek into quite thick slices and cook gently in some olive oil in a pan or skillet until transparent, be careful not to burn them.

   Add the bell peppers and keep on cooking for another 8-10 minutes when you add the Peppedews and the olives, keep on cooking for a five minutes more.

   Add the tomato sauce, adjust salt to taste and cook for another 15 minutes. Serve hot or cold.