xc and the risotto napoletana

Whenever I'd make "saing" some rice in our trusty old casserole, G would always complain saying I'm not cooking it right. He'd rather have those instant 5 minute rice in plastic bags dunked in boiling water that end up looking like little pasta pieces than for me to cook rice the traditional way.

And whenever I'd cook rice the traditional way he'd always put butter and pepper on it (the horror!!) or suggest I put some tomato sauce in it just so it would have some taste (more horror!!). I never liked and understood the appeal of Star rice, so these suggestions always come to me as a shock.

So I decided that risotto would be the perfect rice fix for me and I found the easiest risotto recipe ever...and I'm sharing it with you guys!

What you need:
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 finely chopped large onion
- 1 1/2 cups of arborio rice
- 425 g diced tomatoes
- 3 cups of water
- 100 g spicy salami or chopped chorizo
- 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
- 1/2 cup pitted black olives
- 1 tsp dried chili pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

What you'll do:
- Heat oil in a large pan and add onion, cooking until soft
- Add rice and stir until fully coated in oil
- Add canned tomatoes and water and bring to a boil. Simmer covered for 15 minutes. Stir once or twice
- Remove from heat and let stand, still covered, for 10 minutes
- Stir in remaining ingredients and serve immediately

I garnished mine with fresh basil leave.

Easy peasy. Ain't it pretty?

Now it's your turn.

ps. G loved it to bits and didn't complain about having rice for dinner...which was a first.



peace & luv,
xc

xc and the oven omelette

Inspired by airplane food! And I just wanted to use the cute oven pans that I got for 1 euro each.
And since G didn't eat at home, I was able to cook the knakis (sausages) with it. Originally I wanted to do a frittata but we didn't have a pan that could go in the oven.

XC's oven omelette

3 large eggs (the oven pans were small)
salt & pepper
parsley
potatoes (diced and cooked)
grated gruyere cheese
2 T fresh milk (I like adding milk to my omelettes)
knakis sausages

- In a small bowl, mix eggs, parsley, cheese, milk, salt & pepper. Line the bottom of a small pan that can go into the oven with the potatoes. Pour egg mixture over it.
- Bake at 180ºC for 10 minutes. Switch to grill for another 10 minutes.
- Take out of oven, add sliced knakis.
- Serve with a quick salad.

- Enjoy!



peace & luv,
xc

xc and the lemon-thym pork

A simple and easy quick dinner recipe. It's basically just marinating and grilling/searing.

Lemon and Thym Pork Chops

Marinade (would depend on how many chops you have):
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Thym
Freshly ground pepper
A pinch of salt
1 clove of garlic (add more for more chops)


- Marinate chops in the lemon and thym mixture for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat a saute pan (no oil) and sear pork chops 5 minutes each side (depending on the thickness) until brown.
- Serve on a bed of mashed potatoes and buttered veggies on the side.

I also like to serve this with a bit of Dijon mustard on the side for dipping.

Quick, simple and yummy!



peace, luv, and happy cooking,
xc