The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz » Lucullian Delights blog

Cold Bean and Tomato Soup with Parsley and Cucumber

Paz — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 22:28:29 +0000

Please help me welcome guest blogger Ilva of Lucullian Delights. Thanks, Ilva!

Paz

Paz was one of the first steady commenters on my blog, one day I started to get these nice and cheerful comments from her and since then she never fails to visit me several times a week. We have now known each other for almost three years and I hope we will remain friends for much much longer.

I think I can safely say that our secretive Paz is one of the nicest and most positive food bloggers you can find in our food blog community, not only does she leave sweet comments but now and then she even sends me emails to see how I am doing. Several times she has honoured me by posting about my recipes on her blog but this time I am posting myself here on The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz and what a treat this is! To be able to write a lot of things about her here on her own blog and knowing her, she is probably cringing like a worm on a hook in her chair right now! (Ha Paz, you should never have asked me you know!) When Paz asked me to be one of her guest bloggers, I was more than happy to yes, she is a very special person and she deserves all the help she can get when she asks for it so here I am.

I have decided on a simple recipe now when she needs to rest. Well she has to do (read: cook) something to keep going but she mustn’t overdo it, we don’t want her to slip into a non-cooking state of being again now when she has conquered her former kitchen demons so well do we? So here Paz, a simple tasty soup for you to cook that hopefully won’t tire you, I hope you’ll like it!

COLD BEAN AND TOMATO SOUP WITH PARSLEY AND CUCUMBER

Lucullian Delights

2-3 servings

250 ml/ 1 cup white beans, cooked

600 ml/ 2,5 cups tomato sauce

100 ml/ 0,43 cup water if needed, it depends on how thick the tomato sauce is

chili pepper

2-3 tblsp parsley, chopped

cucumber, finely chopped

salt

extra-virgin olive oil

- Put beans, tomato sauce, chili pepper, water (if needed) and olive oil in a pan and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.

- Add parsley and then run in a mixer until smooth. Add salt.

- Before serving, top with large tablespoon of chopped cucumber.

Oven-Roasted, Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus

Paz — Tue, 27 May 2008 04:06:01 +0000

"This is good!" my mom exclaimed after she took a bite of my oven-roasted, prosciutto wrapped asparagus, courtesy of Ilva’s recipe. She sounded and looked very surprised as she continued to eat it. She’s right: It WAS good.

I mentioned in a previous post that I never used to like eggplants — till I started cooking. Well, you can add asparagus to my list of ‘Foods I Never Liked Before Until I Started Cooking’. Back in the day, I’d purse my lips, scrunch my face and turn away from the offending green spear. I tried to keep asparagus far away from my plate. Today, I love asparagus — especially roasted. In this recipe, the prosciutto added an extra special delicious taste. Yup! It tasted good, indeed. Thanks, Ilva!

Paz

Oven-Roasted Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus

Lucullian Delights

Fresh green asparagus, not too thin stalks

Prosciutto crudo or Parma ham

Extra-virgin olive oil

- Clean the asparagus, snap off the lower part, you can peel it if it is to thick skinned.

- Wrap approximately half a slice of Parma ham around each asparagus stalk, you have to judge yourself as the size of the slices may vary.

- Grease an oven-proof form with a litle olive oil and put one layer of asparagus in it.

- Bake in a pre-heated oven (175°C/347°F) until the ham is crisp and the asparagus has softened. It takes about 10-15 minutes.

Chili Sauteed Eggplant with Beans, Parsley and Lemon

Paz — Wed, 14 May 2008 04:18:27 +0000

After some dental surgery the other day, I am finally able to eat something other than "soft" food. I still have to be careful about what I put into my mouth and decided to make Ilva’s Chili Sauteed Eggplant with Beans, Parsley and Lemon. Actually, I didn’t have any chili peppers and used crushed red pepper. It worked. I not only liked the taste of the food but the texture as well — the sauteed eggplant, the soft cannelini beans, and the fresh parsley.

In many of my older posts, I’ve mentioned several foods that I never liked until I started cooking. Eggplant is one of those foods. Now, I love it and enjoy all the recipes containing it. Ilva’s recipe was no different. As with many of her recipes, this was NOT time-consuming to make. Yes! Thanks, Ilva!

Paz

Chili Sauteed Eggplant with Beans, Parsley and Lemon

Lucullian Delights

Eggplant

Fresh chili pepper

Garlic

Cannelini or Borlotti beans, cooked

Parsley, chopped

Lemon Juice

Salt

Extra virgin olive oil

Clean and dice the eggplant.

Chop the chili pepper and the garlic, heat them up in olive oil and add the diced eggplant. Salt it.

Saute unitl the eggplant is golden, then take it out of the pan and let it drop of excess fat on kitchen towel paper.

Put the beans in a bowl, add plent of parsley and squeeze a good squeeze of lemon juice over it all.

Add the eggplant, mix well and serve.

Tepid Chickpea and Chicken Salad with Zucchini and Sundried Tomatoes

Paz — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:31:05 +0000

Ilva’s salads are always sure winners for me. And here’s another one that recently caught my eye — Tepid Chickpea and Chicken Salad with Zucchini and Sundried Tomatoes. I loved this one. I loved that the ingredients are simple and delicious. Everything went well together — the chicken, chickpeas, sundried tomatoes, parsley and garlic. Mixed with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, I had a lip-smacking time eating this salad. Oh! and it’s preparation time is fast, so that I didn’t have to spend a great deal of time in the kitchen. Grazie, Ilva!

TEPID CHICKPEA AND CHICKEN SALAD WITH ZUCCHINI AND SUNDRIED TOMATOES or INSALATA TIEPIDA DI CECI E POLLO CON ZUCCHINE E POMODORI SECCHI

Lucullian Delights

3-4 servings

1 chicken breast
400 ml/1,7 cup cooked chickpeas
2 medium zucchini
2 whole sundried tomatoes on the large side
1-2 tblsp chopped parsley
1 clove of garlic
Black pepper
Salt
Mild vinegar or lemon/lime juice
Extra-virgin olive oil

- Mix vinegar, salt, parsley and olive oil and pour it over the chickpeas. Leave them to marinate while you proceed with the recipe.

- Put the sundried tomatoes in some tepid water to soak.

- Chop the garlic, cut or slice the zucchini into pieces and start braising them in a pan with some olive oil.

- Cut the chicken breast into small pieces and then salt and pepper them well, especially the last. Chop the sundried tomatoes finely.

- When the zucchini begins to be golden, add chicken and the chopped tomatoes and sautè for 4-5 minutes, it depends on how big the chicken pieces are.

- Pour away the excess oil and mix with the chickpeas.

- Let it cool down a little before serving.

Weekend Herb Blogging #106: Very Cheap but Very Good Vegetable Soup

Paz — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 01:37:30 +0000

I love the name that Ilva of Lucullian Delights gives this healthy, simple and tasty soup. Love it. I made the soup for a sick family member in the hospital and myself. We loved it. Oh, yeah: And my brother had some. He liked it a lot , too. When I spilled some of the soup on the floor, one of my dogs licked it clean. It seems that she liked it as well. Thanks, Ilva!

One of the ingredients in this soup, fresh parsley, is such a popular herb. I buy it quite often and would love to be able to grow it on my kitchen window. That would be awesome! I love the fresh green earthy taste of this herb and the fact that it has a lot of health benefits — like it’s rich in vitamin C and A. I like how it can be used in a lot of dishes. Apart from being able to eat parsley, my favorite thing to do with it is to use it as a garnish. That touch of green in my plate makes a big difference to me.

I’m submitting this post for the Weekend Herb Blogging event, which Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen created. This week, Pille of Nami Nami acts as host. Check out her blog for the roundup of other Weekend Herb Blogging posts.

Paz

Very Cheap but Very Good Vegetable Soup

Lucullian Delights

The leaves and stem/trunk of 1 cauliflower
2 big tomatoes
Chopped parsley
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil

– Chop the leaves and the stem/trunk of the cauliflower and braise them for 3-4 minutes in a pot in some olive oil. Add salt.
– Chop the tomatoes, add these to the pot and sauté for another 3-4 minutes.
– Add water until the vegetables are well covered and simmer for about 15 minutes.
– Blend until it’s on the smooth side, if it’s too dense you add some more water and heat it up. Check if more salt is needed.
– Serve hot or cold.