Tuesday 9 August 2016

Cheesy Mascarpone and Mozzarella meatball bake

IMG_0729 
I'm clearly in Italy mode still and have been whipping up some Tuscan dishes. The only dish we were quite glad to give a miss for a while were pizzas, but otherwise still enjoying a good pasta and bruschetta. This meatball bake ended up being so darn good, I finished almost half of it on my own. The sauce is really thick and dunking a good slice of bread into it and letting it soak for a while before savouring it, gosh, the thought is making me hungry again.

Serves 4 as a main dish
Ground beef- 500 gms
Onion-  1 small, finely chopped
Italian seasoning- 1 tbsp
Oregano- 1 tsp
Garlic powder- 1 1/2 tsp
Worcestershire sauce- 1 tsp
Pepper- to taste
Salt- to taste
Oil- 3 tbsp, or enough, to fry the meatballs

Onion- 1 large
Baby spinach- 3 cups
Chilli flakes- 1 tsp
Tomato based Pasta sauce- 1 cup
Mascarpone cheese- 100 + 100 to scatter
Garlic- 3 pods, grated
Salt- to taste
Mozzarella cheese- 100 gms, grated
IMG_0698
Mix together the ground beef, onion, Italian seasoning, oregano, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper together in a mixing bowl. Either using your hands or a wooden spoon, but over work it or the beef turns brown. Bring together until just mixed.
Make small balls out of the mix, around the size of a small lime, and keep ready. I got 25 meatballs out of the mix.
Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the meatballs in batched, till just done. If the oil temperature is right, it would take you around 2  minutes per side for a batch of meatballs. Of course this is dependent on how big the meatballs are.
Drain on paper towels and continue frying all the meatballs.

Into the same pan, add more oil if needed, add the onions and baby spinach and cook till the spinach is wilted and all the water has evaporated.
Stir in the chilli flakes and pasta sauce. 
Spoon 100gms of the mascarpone cheese into the sauce and mix well.
Add the grated garlic and salt to taste and bring the whole sauce to a gentle boil. If you feel the sauce is too thick, add water to loosen it a bit.
Add the meatballs into the sauce and simmer for a couple of minutes and take the pot off heat.
IMG_0737
Preheat oven to 180C and transfer the meatball mix into an oven safe casserole/baking dish.
Scatter around scoops of the remaining mascarpone cheese and grated mozzarella cheese. Try to spread it around evenly.
Place in the oven for about 20 minutes or till the cheese has melted and the sauce is bubbling.
Remove from the oven and keep aside for 10 minutes before dunking your crusty bread into it.

Notes: You can do the entire cooking and baking in a single pot if you use an oven safe container to do the frying, sauce and baking. I used my cast iron pan.
You can use any store bought pasta sauce or make your own and even omit the mascarpone if you dont want it to be creamy.
The bake freezes well.

Friday 5 August 2016

Italy in pictures

IMG_0358-HDR

We spent a week in Italy last week of July and i absolutely flipping loved it. Last year we joined friends of ours from the Netherlands on a Spain trip and ended up having so much fun, we decided to kind of make it a tradition and do our annual holidays together. Tuscany it was and we went about making our bookings beginning of the year.

IMG_20160722_163041 
We are not the big city, touristy traveller but since it was cheaper to travel into Rome, hire a car from there and then drive on to Tuscany, I convinced the husband that it was a MUST to spend 2 days in Rome and then drive on. He wasnt too enthusiastic, but still agreed to it. Booked an AirBnb right off Piazza Navona which was a brilliant location with restaurants, bars, and all major attractions close by and we started our 2 days in sweltering 36 degree Rome.
IMG_20160721_202531

IMG_20160720_191921 
I'd read reviews saying everything was 20 minutes walk from the Piazza Navona area we decided to hire a bicycle and bike around Rome, which i think was one of the best decisions we took. I was a bit worried about riding on main roads, but Rome is like India, no one really obeys traffic rules and people are used to honking and the like. We managed to cover all the main attractions on day one and with a small hiccup (bad planning Ro would insist), I booked The Vatican city tour and The Colosseum tour on the same day. They make a fuss on the website with a given time, but we took our chances and went ahead of time thinking we could try our luck only to realise no one really checks the time or anything on the ticket, you just have to stand in long queues (even after opting for the skip the line queues).

IMG_20160722_150419 

Colosseum was a let down for me, and Vatican a let down for Ro. Well he actually didnt want to do the Vatican tour at all but I insisted and we agreed to do it. Not ones for museums, we skipped almost all the rooms at the Vatican Museum and went straight to The Sistine Chapel which i must say was simply amazing. Spent a good 15 minutes taking in all the art and listening to what each of it meant (We did an audio tour). Just that room made my visit to the Vatican worth it. Hung around St Peters Square for a while (it is truly magnificent) and headed back home to get ready for an Italian Opera performance, which was our first, and i ended up enjoying it quite a bit.

PANO_20160725_160328 IMG_20160725_193411
Off we drove to spend the remaining 5 days in Tuscany, a part of the trip we were both absolutely looking forward to. Radicofani is a small picturesque (well, every little town in the Tuscan region was simply gorgeous) town about 2 1/2 hrs from Rome and we stayed in an Agritourismo called La Selvella run by the exuberant Marina.  IMG_20160720_194151

The stay there was lovely and most of the evenings were spent at the farm enjoying the amazing view, some house wine and Pecorino cheese (which Pienza is know for). Dinner on 2 days was at La Selvella, where we got to enjoy some amazing Tuscan food, all sourced from the farm and organic of course. We also checked out some local restaurants and i had the most tastiest lasagna in a small restaurant called La Grotto in Radicofani.


IMG_0400-HDR

PicMonkey Collage
Pienza was a day trip i loved. Small little cobbled streets all pretty with plants and flowers and coloured doors. I went a bit crazy with pictures here and also shopped for some Tuscan favourites like Truffle honey, Truffle salk and Italian seasoning (have been using this for almost every dish i make now).
IMG_20160724_123330

IMG_20160724_122302

IMG_20160724_145302
The highlight of Tuscany was the discovery of the hot springs in Tuscany. Ended up spending two lazy days in the warm springs of Bagni San Filippo, a 10 minute drive from La Selvella. Go in the afternoon if you want the best spots, as the crowd seem to thin out by then. If you get a place in the shade its the best. Use good footwear as you need to trek down a bit to the pools.
IMG_0501-HDR

IMG_20160724_153543