Gazpacho alla Maria

In this heat, who wants to heat things up in the kitchen! Today, I prepared a Gazpacho with my Maria twists …..

Ingredients:
3-4 Tomatoes, finely diced or 2 cups of grape tomatoes (cut in halves)
2 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
1 Large Red Onion, finely diced (use your favorite)
1 english cucumber, finely diced
1 Yellow Bell Pepper, seeded and finely diced (adds nice color)
1 lemon, juiced and rind lemon
a pinch of red hot chili flakes
1/2 cup Fresh Italian Flat Parsley, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup of olives (your favorite)
1 cup of fresh mozzorella balls (cut in halves)
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 tsp. dried oregano
2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
6-8 fresh basil leaves (rough chop)

Mix everything in a large bowl and ready to serve. A great antipasto or the perfect meal. I like the lemon zest and juice to the mix – gives it a fresh taste!

Serve with fresh crusty bread! Not to mention, a glass of chilled white wine or water with slices of cumumber!

I will be preparing this dish on CHCH TV 11 on August 18th! Stay tuned !

a presto,

Maria

Putanesca Sauce (well, almost!)

One of my favorite pasta sauces is Putanesca – very simple, spicy robust flavours!

I prepared it last weekend….. forgot the capers! On the other hand, how can you go wrong with garlic, anchovies, red chili flakes, black cured olives, Italian tuna and fresh Italian flat parsley = great sauce poured over spaghetti al dente!

That’s the great thing about Italian cooking – it’s a little of this and that right from your pantry. Don’t forget, a great glass of vino !

a presto,

maria

Romain Citrus Seafood Wraps

seafood+wraps1

Here’s an example of adding something new to a classic seafood salad. Believe it or not, I added some grapefruit wedges to the salad. It was so good – the sweetness of the fruit and the chili flakes were a perfect match made in heaven!

For plating, I scooped the salad on fresh romaine lettuce leaves. The lettuce wraps were also fun to eat! Everything was edible on this plate expect the plate!

Be creative and recreate your favorite dishes with your fragrant flavors!

maria!