Dear lifestyle readers,
Welcome back to your favourite (I hope) lifestyle column! With everyone returning from Christmas break many of us are organising little dinner parties with some friends (6 people maximum!) Here is a guide on how to impress them with a quick and easy to make three course meal!
Starter – Bruschetta
I believe it is now obvious that I am from Italy, the country where the starter or “aperitivo” is considered a crucial part of our culture and identity. Because of this, if you have some guests over, a little aperitivo is absolutely necessary to get the evening started. No discussion.
Ingredients:
- Bread
- Cherry tomatoes
- Lots of olive oil
Start by cutting the bread into slices and put it into a preheated pan with a little oil on it. Then add a bit of oil even on top of the bread and leave it to cook on both sides for about 5 minutes until it has a nice goldenish colour.
Tip: sometimes I even let it burn just a little bit to make it more crunchy.
Then just cut the cherry tomatoes in four and distribute them on the cooked bread and serve!
The thing I love about this recipe is that you can keep it basic or just use your imagination to find the best ingredients to garnish your cooked bread (eg. avocado, ham, philadelphia cheese,…).
Even if it is incredibly simple and takes very little time to make, everyone I made it try to was amazed by how good it is.
Main Course – Zucchini Risotto
This has probably been the most requested dish from everyone that comes to eat at my house. Therefore I hope you guys will all enjoy it and try to make it by yourself!
Ingredients:
- Two small handfuls of rice for every person
- 2 medium sized zucchini
- A handful of parmesan cheese
- A tip of butter
- One stock cube
As the first step, put one pot on filled with water and the stock cube on the stove and let it boil. While you’re waiting for the water to boil, cut the zucchini into little square pieces and put them into a pan with a sprinkle of oil and salt to cook. When the water is boiling, on a third pan, with the stove on high intensity, put the raw rice with a bit of olive oil and keep moving it on the pan for about 1.5/2 minutes. After the rice is toasted, add the boiling water into the pan with the rice until fully covered and DON’T TOUCH IT.
Yes, I know it is super hard but be strong, don’t touch it, or else the rice will start sticking to the pan. Make sure that the rice is fully submerged in the boiling water for the cooking time reported on the box, so you will have to add some more water every now and then.
Finally, when the cooking time has passed, add the zucchini, the parmesan and the butter to the rice and mix it until they are both melted. The result is absolutely amazing.
You can make risotto experimenting with different vegetables and cheeses, and the result will always be good!
Dessert – Apple Crumble
If you find a better match than apple and cinnamon, please tell me, because until now I really haven’t found anything this good.
Ingredients:
- Three apples
- 100 grams of brown sugar
- 100 grams of white sugar
- 200 grams of flour
- 120 grams of butter
- A sprinkle of cinnamon
First of all, cut the apples in fine slices and dispone them in a baking tray with a bit of cinnamon on top. Then just mix the remaining ingredients until obtaining a crumbly texture and put it on top of the apples with another sprinkle of cinnamon. Finally bake it for 45 minutes at 180 degrees until the crumble becomes golden. And this is it! In two minutes you will get an absolutely delicious cake!
Tip: I like to garnish it with a bit of icing sugar and raspberries!
P.s. It might not look the prettiest, but I assure you it does taste amazing!
Be sure to stay tuned on @ieusork for more articles from our Winter in Segovia series! AND be sure to tag us in the pictures of you all trying out these recipes!
It seems amazing ! Can’t wait to try !