Cooking with roots

It's autumn, and in autumn the best part of the plant is the root. With Paola we collected some burdock roots, a long turnip pretty hard to dig up but it is absolutely worthwhile, it is one of the few plants that is able to thoroughly cleanse the body.

We washed it and brushed it and cut it into strips.
Then we stir-fried it with some carrots, which are roots, after all :)

Burdock and carrot sautéed .... great! Burdock has a bland flavor, it slightly reminds me of licorice and once cooked is slightly sweet.
The thin roots of dandelion are very bitter just like the leaves. We chopped them and stewed them in a pan with miso and sesame oil for an hour with a lid. We used this seasoning for the brown rice.

Brown rice with dandelion root. Tastes very much like red radicchio from Treviso.

Dried figs and walnut Bread

Have you ever made bread and ended up with a brick of sawdust as hard as a rock rather than soft bread? It happened to me lots of times, especially because I always wanted to make real wholewheat bread. If you use a lid it will bake without getting too dry and it will maintain a good consistency. I use the pan for pasta 100% stainless steel obviously. Temperature of 180 ° C.
I can store it for 2 or 3 days in a plastic bag recycled from the packaging of bread sticks or biscuits or pasta, these are perfect. I'm crazy for breads with whole nuts. This combination is excellent but it is also good with hazelnuts and dark chocolate.
Also add a teaspoon of cinnamon in the dough, it will give a good smell. Apart from this I do not put anything else, just flour, nuts, dried chopped figs, water, yeast and cinnamon.
I eat it for breakfast instead of biscuits with jam on it or with my rice milk.

Dried Soya Steaks with Artichokes and Potatoes

This dish is really tasty, ideal for first cool evenings and when the first artichokes appear in organic shops :) These soy steaks are an healthy and versatile alternative to meat!
Soya steaks with Potatoes and Artichokes
For three or four people:
150 gr. steak soy
4 potatoes
2 artichokes
1 onion
1 clove garlic
rosemary
extra virgin olive oil or other
salt
a dash of soy sauce
Saute the onion with the garlic in a little oil. Wash, peel and chop potatoes. Prepare the artichokes by removing the first leaves (the hardest), shorten the stem, leaving 10 cm. and cut the tip of the artichoke. Cut into 4, the stem can be sliced and added. When the garlic is well golden add the potatoes, artichokes, rosemary and a dash of water. Cover with lid.
Soya steaks are meanwhile rehydrated in warm water for about 20 minutes or until they are soft, then wring them one by one with your hands and pass into the pan. They may have a slightly spongy texture but this effect disappears after cooking. They are not full like seitan but tend to absorb the sauce in which they are immersed, and are more flavorful. You can then add the potatoes and artichokes, or you can switch to a better effect in a pan with a little oil and brown them lightly (as I did) and add them later.
Cook until the potatoes and artichokes are tender. Then add a little more oil, soy sauce and salt.
This tastes a lot better if prepared in advance. Buon Appetito!

Pumpkin Italian Soup

This soup is delightful because it is creamy, I love it.
Prepare the soffrittino with a chopped onion, a clove of minced garlic, rosemary and a pinch of salt. Start by cutting small pieces of half a pumpkin (700 gr.) Taking care to keep the seeds aside for the blue tit who are out in the cold! Do the same with two carrots and add everything to the mixture. Put a lid and cook over a low heat for half an hour. If necessary add a drop of water but not too much. When the carrot and the pumpkin can be mashed under the spoon you can turn off the heat and whisk with a blender. Serve hot garnished with some black sesame seeds.

They copied my tshirt!

I cannot be angry with these people...
Little bastards!
:)

"Do you need a bag?" "No, thank you!"

Ludovico is home

I love you little devil