Sunday, October 02, 2011

Back From Italy and Catching Up

I'm back from my amazing cycling trip in Puglia (southern region of Italy).  It was one of the best vacations I've been on!

The weather was hot: over 30 degrees and sunny pretty much everyday!  I love the heat so I was in my glory.  The routes we took were mostly flat - we did get to climb a few good hills though :)

The people there were so friendly and even gave us water and chatted with us for a while.  The food was so good!  Nothing like cycling for a few hours and then stopping at a cute little restaurant for a nice lunch and glass of wine and then back on the bike. 

It's a holiday that I would recommend to anyone and you can book yours here: https://ssl9.van.ca.securedata.net/randonneetours.com/onlineregistrationform.htm

We even got to have a cooking lesson!  The recipes were so simple yet so delicious.  I have to share one with you. 

This is the starter that we learned how to make - I would have been happy just eating this! 

Mincemeat of Bread & Mint
(makes 4 servings)

* 500g of stale bread soaked in a bit of water (you can also sub minced meat here by using 500g of meat and 100g of bread)
* 200g of Parmesan or pecorino cheese
* a pinch of salt
* garlic (1 clove is fine, or more if you prefer)
* 10 leaves of mint, minced
* 2 spoons of parsley
* 1 tsp of pepper
* 4 eggs
* oil to sizzle (I like to use coconut or grape seed oil for cooking)

1. Mince mint and garlic and add to bread.
2. Add a pinch of salt and 1 tsp pepper and cheese - mix.
3. Add 4 eggs and mix.
4. The consistency should be that of wet oatmeal or when you drag a spoon through it, the spoon should leave a trail - don't over work it.
5. Make balls using your hands.
6. In a skillet heat oil - you should have about 1 cm of oil to cook in.  The oil needs to be really hot - when you drop a ball in it it should sizzle.
7. Once you've dropped the balls in wait a couple of minutes (not too long) and turn them over - there should be a nice brown colour to them.
8. Let cool and eat!

If you have leftovers drop them into some tomato sauce and let sit for up to 24 hours.  Then you can add them to a pasta dish or just enjoy them as starters with a nice glass of red wine :)