Vesna, Author at vespresso

Baked Polenta with Butter, Sage and Walnut Sauce

These crispy polenta rectangles are a delicious side dish, a satisfying and healthy alternative to good old potato sides. These beauties have a crispy and fragrant crust and a creamy center. They are very easy to prepare and quite quick. The less simple parts (because I cannot define them as challenging) are the preparation of the polenta and the baking part. Between those two parts there is a waiting period, a part where the polenta is refrigerated to firm up. In order to save some time I prepare my creamy polenta, I pour it in a tray and I leave it aside to cool down. While my polenta is firming up, I always prepare my protein. After the polenta is nice and firm, I slice it, I place the rectangles on a parchment paper-lined tray and I broil them to get them nice and crispy. To get the crispy crust you can also fry them in a nonstick frying pan but I prefer the broiled version.

I like to pair my crispy polenta with a rich, nutty and tangy beurre noisette and sage sauce. For this sauce I melt some butter in a skillet. When the butter has melted, I get rid of the foam from the surface and I continue cooking the butter until it turns golden brown. I add some fresh sage leaves, lemon juice and walnuts. Super simple and de-li-cious! Continue reading Baked Polenta with Butter, Sage and Walnut Sauce

Homemade Naan

Naan is an oven baked flatbread made with yeast. These flatbreads are by far my favorite kind of flatbread. They are so easy to make, the ingredients are always in my pantry, they look so adorable, but also these beauties are extremely delicious. This flatbread is so elastic, soft and airy, with a lovely buttery and toasted sesame seed flavor. It is such a rustic bread and yet so sophisticated. The technique is quite simple and the active part takes no more than 20 minutes. The passive part, the part when the dough rests or rises is the most challenging part, if you will. It takes about 2 hours to rise, so this recipe isn’t the most suitable if you are in a hurry. But if you have some time to spare, trust me, the result is so rewarding and surely it is worth waiting every minute. Continue reading Homemade Naan

Baked Apples Stuffed with Dates and Oatmeal (Vegan)

I love baked apples. They taste like those chilly nights of fall. Like the rustle of those wet leaves on your way home from school. Like the smell of the hoarfrost on an early October morning. They taste like childhood. Baked apples are exquisite in their own simplicity, they are the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity. I can’t imagine an easier dessert, maybe some Nutella spread on a slice of bread (if Nutella even qualifies as a desert).

I woke up this morning with baked apples on my mind, so I took some local sweet and sour apples, I carved them using a melon baller (this step could be easily made using a vegetable knife) and I stuffed them with a date, oatmeal and brown sugar mixture, flavored with cinnamon and vanilla. I dressed them up with a tiny piece of coconut oil (butter would have worked just fine) and I baked them for about half an hour. The result was a stunning vegan dessert, extremely flavorful and so tasty! Continue reading Baked Apples Stuffed with Dates and Oatmeal (Vegan)

Trofie with Roasted Beetroot and Pumpkin Seed Pesto

Since fall is basically here and I’ve been shivering for days, I tend to incorporate more autumnal flavors in my dishes. And what would possibly be this glorious season without its vegetables? I simply love fall and its delightful veggies, little pieces of hearty and flavorful jewels. Today I stumbled across some tiny yet flavorful blood-red beetroot so I decided to befriend them with some lovely pumpkin seeds and some grated Grana Padano. The result was a vibrant autumnal pesto. While my beets were gentle roasting in the oven, I boiled al dente some dry pasta. I usually prepare my own pasta from scratch, but now I offered a chance to a box of trofie which was sitting on a shelf for quite some time. The dish was so hearty, and colorful with an extremely interesting taste, a bold, rich, astringent, quite citrusy taste. It tasted like October.

Since Pesto alla Genovese, the original version of this pasta sauce goes so well with trofie, I was so curious to find out if these funny looking pasta resonates with my roasted beetroot as well. They do resonate and every bite is such a rewarding experience! Continue reading Trofie with Roasted Beetroot and Pumpkin Seed Pesto

Melanzane alla Parmigiana – Parmesan Eggplants

I’ve always had mixed feelings about eggplants, I haven’t been able to figure out whether I like them or not. They are so big, and shiny and… weird. I try almost daily to find a way to include them in my diet, especially because I personally grew them in my own veggie garden. I find their taste at least interesting but I cannot stand their spongy texture. Yet, there is a delicious Italian dish, melanzane alla parmigiana or parmezan eggplants which is a cross between a lasangna and a moussaka. I don’t know what makes this dish exquisite, maybe the way the tomato sauce’s acidity amplifies the taste of the eggplants or the way the parmesan’s taste dances together with the earthiness of the eggplant. Maybe all the reasons combined, but the taste is simply amazing! Continue reading Melanzane alla Parmigiana – Parmesan Eggplants

Tomatoes à la Provençale

I have an almost irritating gastronomical curiosity, a curiosity that often leads to surprising (if not weird) culinary combinations. I love complex, technical and challenging things, but often I find myself yearning for simplicity. Throughout time I’ve learnt that those simple things tend to fascinate, they tend to mesmerize. You simply get them and they simply get you.

One of those mesmerizing simple things are undoubtedly tomatoes à la Provençale, ripe tomatoes stuffed with flavorful bread crumbs. There are 2 tricky things about this recipe: the bread crumbs must be fresh, made from day old bread and the herbs should be fresh as well, not dried; dried bread crumbs and dried herbs aren’t quite a match made in heaven, at least not for this recipe. These being said, it’s impossible for me to describe how mouth-watering these stuffed tomatoes are. The contrast between the sweet and juicy tomato and the crispy bread crumbs is so delightful and you cannot limit yourself at just one serving! Continue reading Tomatoes à la Provençale

Tuscan Bean Soup

As soon as the first leaf turns brown, I immediately start preparing soups, creams, stews and other semi-liquid and preferably hot dishes. I simply love the idea of having a melting pot on a stove, a pot that simmers quietly and makes the entire kitchen smell like fall. On this chilly Saturday morning, I decided it’s suitable, if not perfect, to make a delicious Tuscan bean soup, a flavorful Italian cannellini bean and prosciutto soup. It is so easy to make, you just have to saute some prosciutto, onion, carrots and celery, you deglaze the pan with wine, you cover the ingredients with cubed tomatoes and broth and you let the soup simmer. Before serving you add the beans and some baby spinach and the soup is ready. Simple as one, two, thee! The most intriguing part of this dish, and the source of its complex flavor profile, if I may, it’s the addition of a parmesan rind. This element gives the soup an unbelievable flavor! Next time you’ll be tempted to throw away a parmesan rind, think again and let the rind elevate a Tuscan bean soup. You won’t regret it! Continue reading Tuscan Bean Soup

Ratatouille

I remember watching Ratatouille (the movie, not the dish) when I was a senior in high school and I instantly knew that this veggie stew would become my favorite dish. I was wrong, but only by a few years. The very next day I did the groceries and I made my first Ratatouille, a blend, boring, half-decent stew. So I forgot about Ratatouille and its humble existence. But last year I decided it was about time to rewatch that delightful movie and the dish simply enchanted me. Again. So I did some research, I made the dish and I simply felt in love. Ratatouille is a rustic, almost an austere dish, that kind of dish that makes you fall in love with it over and over again.

There are so many recipes for Ratatouille, you can saute it, you can bake it, you can serve the veggies firm, almost raw or you can simmer them slowly, until tender and incredibly flavorful. My favorite version is so simple but it’s quite time-consuming. After you chop the veggies, you saute them in olive oil, one veggie at a time, until you caramelize them nicely and this creates an amazing depth of flavor. Of course you can saute them all together in a large pot, but the result would be a nice stew, and not a decadent Ratatouille! Continue reading Ratatouille

Tomato Confit

Confit is a French cooking technique used for preserving poultry (duck, goose, rooster) which also involves roasting the meat in its own fat. The meat is seasoned to perfection and roasted slowly on low temperature in duck fat. The meat becomes incredibly tender, so tender that it simply melts in your mouth. This technique is also used for fruits and vegetables. The main difference is the fact that the cooking liquid is not an animal fat, but a vegetable fat for veggies or a sugar-based syrup for fruits.

Tomato confit is a wonderful way to cook these lovely veggies. The tomatoes are seasoned generously with olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs. After that, they are slowly roasted on low temperature until they are tender, juicy and slightly caramelized on the edges. This technique brings out their own sweetness and concentrates their own flavor. This simple and humble ingredient can elevate almost every dish, from pasta, polenta or risotto, to sandwiches or crostini or can even be served as a side dish. Even though the tomato confit can be time-consuming, the effort definitely pays off! Continue reading Tomato Confit

Melon and Prosciutto Crudo Salad

This salad is actually a different approach to the classic “Prosciutto e Melone”, a very popular Italian antipasto. The smoked ham and the juicy melon are a wonderful combination, as the sweetness of the melon balances the saltiness of the ham. This combination is so simple but so complex in its own simplicity. So I took these two elements and I’ve integrated them in a summery salad. I added some juicy cherry tomatoes, some crunchy cucumber ribbons and some fresh mozzarella cheese. The result was a juicy, delicious and very satisfying salad. Extremely tasty and incredibly easy to make! Continue reading Melon and Prosciutto Crudo Salad