Stiacciatasweet focaccia from Florence

Recipe for breadmaker, dough cycle

250 gr bread flour
70 gr sugar
50 gr butter, softened
4 gr SAF yeast
2 egg yolks
50 gr candied peel
a pinch of cinnamon
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup lukewarm water
confectioners' sugar, for decorating

At the end of the dough cycle, deflate the dough and put it in the fridge, in an airtight container, overnight.
Deflate the dough again and fold it a coulpe of times.

Grease a baking pan (about 30 cm in diameter) and stretch the dough in the pan. Let dough rise, about 4 hours at 25 degrees Celsius. When the dough has doubled in volume, put it in the oven, 180 degrees Celsius, for 30 minutes approximately.
Serve with confectioners' sugar and jam or chocolate spread.

Pasta and beans, summer version

Serves 2
For the dough:

100 gr all- purpose flour
100 gr durum wheat semolina
2 eggs

Sieve the flour onto the working surface and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs and beat them with a fork until they loose resistance. Work in, inch by inch, the flour and knead to a smooth ball. Cover with a bowl and leave for 30 minutes.

Dust the working surface with a little durum wheat semolina and roll the dough out thin with the pasta maker; then, cut it like tagliatelle (noodles) and let them to dessicate two hours before cooking.

For the sauce:
50 gr beans, soaked the night before
a small carrot, cut thin
a small stick of celery, cut thin
60 gr onion, cut very thin
1/2 cup white wine
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
a rosemary branch
4 sage leafs
salt and pepper
generous parmesan cheese, grated

Cook the beans in the pressure-cook for 10 minutes, in a small amount of water.

In a pan, cook on very low heat onion, olive oil an wine; add celery and carrot, cover with a lid and let vegetables to smooth, about 20 minutes. Add beans with their cooking water, a pinch of salt and pepper, rosemary and sage. Cover again with the lid and let the liquid to evaporate almost completely.

Cook the fresh pasta for 6 minutes in a great quantity of salty water; toss together pasta and sauce, add the parmesan and serve.

Spaghetti and mackerel

Serves 2:
180 gr spaghetti
90 gr mackerel fillets in olive oil
60 gr onion
1 cup white wine
a pinch of chilli powder
origanum
fresh parsley

Cut onion into very thin slices and cook it in a pan with the wine until the onion gets transparent. Add mackerel with part of its olive oil, chilli powder and origanum. Pan-fry cooked spaghetti with mackerel sauce. At last add fresh parsley and serve.

Saffron and raisins ice cream

Ingredients:
3 egg yolks
70 gr sugar
a pinch of salt
1/3 cup Marsala wine
1 gr saffron powder

Whisk eggs and sugar very well, until the mixture is pale and light. Add wine, saffron and salt and cook on a low flame about 7-8 minutes. Let the cream get cold and place it in the ice-cream maker.
Add:
 200 ml cream
200 ml whole milk

 Prepare the ice-cream  following your ice-cream maker instructions.

Baked asparagus cream, with azelnuts crema di asparagi al forno, con le nocciole

Serves 4:

250 gr asparagus, boiled
250 ml milk
250 ml cream
salt
4 tbs parmesan cheese , grated
fresh basil, 6-7 leafs
5 egg's yolks

Cut the asparagus tips and set them aside.
Heat milk with cream and a pinch of salt; add the parmesan and stir well.
In the food processor, mix asparagus, a pinch of salt, parmesan cheese and yolks. Cover this cream with running milk and cream and pour it in four little oven dishes. Bake them  in a bain-marie at 170º about 30 minutes.
Add the asparagus tips and a few crushed hazelnuts before serving.

Summer sweet loafs for the bread machinepani dolci estivi nella macchina del pane

Milk and raisin bread

50 gr semolina flour

450 gr bread flour (11% proteins)

8 gr fresh yeast or 4 gr SAF yeast

300 gr whole milk, lukewarm

45 gr unsalted butter, very soft

3 tbs sugar

1 ts salt

125 gr raisin, softened in hot water

Basic or Sweet Loaf program.

Crust: medium

Melt the yeast in a little amount of the milk.

Mix semolina and bread flour and put them in the bread pan, after milk, salt, sugar and butter.

Add melted yeast and start the program.

Add raisin, drained and dried, at the acoustic signal.

Challah

500 gr bread flour

1 ts salt

1 ½ ts SAF yeast

50 gr butter, melted

2 beaten eggs

3 tbs honey

175 gr lukewarm water

Basic or Sweet Loaf program.

Crust: medium

Put in the bread pan water, eggs, butter, honey and salt. Add flour and, at the and, yeast.

(Recipe from Sara Lewsis, "Je fais mon pain", First Editions)