Tag: food

Italian Yellow Plum Summer Pie Recipes at My Table

Italian Yellow Plum Summer Pie

Italian Yellow Plum Summer Pie

Italian Yellow Plum Summer Pie is a nice summer treat.  It brings me back to nonno’s garden and the little yellow plums.  I found a bunch of them at a local market yesterday and I am making an Italian pie with them. Italian Yellow Plum Summer Pie isn’t made with a butter pastry flaky dough.

Italian Yellow Plum Summer Pie turns out more like a cake in a pie dish and the dough is a crostata dough. It is quite dense and my sister-in-law Kim says that it is like a stuffed cookie.   I serve it with frozen yogurt and it makes an awesome end to an easy meal.  This dough is pliable and easy to use; the canola oil makes it stretch without breaking.

Plums are easy to grow and adapt to a variety of climates and soils.  We had wonderful plum trees at my nonnis.  My eldest daughter and son savoured the fruit of these trees.  They walked the garden with old nonno and he would pick the plums off the trees for them.  Yellow plums are grown in Ontario: https://www.ontario.ca/foodland/food/plums

My favourite memories of nonno are when he would show up at my door on Albert Street with baskets of goodies from his garden.  I treasure every moment of those days.  At 83 years old he walked everywhere and was a pillar of generosity.  Today, I am feeling more than grateful for this man who helped us all in many ways.  This recipe is dedicated to you nonno!!

For a different version of a crostata see http: https://recipesatmytable.com/apple-almond-oatmeal-crostata/

The cranberries soak in peach schnapps.

The yellow Plums are fresh. 

Dice everything into 1/4 inch cubes.

Combine the filling in a bowl and set aside.

The eggs, sugar and oil are in the food processor.

Then the dough hits the counter. I knead it a few times.

It is a beautiful and pliable dough.

Cut it in half and put it between two pieces of parchment paper.  I put a little cold water on the counter to help the parchment stay in place and I flatten the dough with my pie plate.

Now I get the perfect circle.  I use the rolling pin to roll out to the edges and extend the circle to fit the pie plate.

I use the parchment pater to help me invert the dough onto the pie plate.

Spread  the jam on the bottom.

Spoon in your fruit and fold the edges over.  You can cut off this extra dough if you like, but my family like the extra crunch.

The second piece of dough goes over the pie and now I am ready to Twist the remainder of the dough.

Cut smaller pieces and twist them together.

Such a pretty pie.

Peeking in the oven.

Italian Yellow Plum Summer Pie Recipes at My Table
Print

Italian Yellow Plum Summer Pie

A delicious and easy summer pie.  

Course Dessert
Cuisine Home Cooking in Canada, Italian
Keyword Italian Yellow Plum Summer Pie
Prep Time 46 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 36 minutes
Servings 10
Author Renata Solski

Ingredients

The filling

  • 12 small yellow plums
  • 2 firm apples your choice
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/4 cup peach schnapps
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp corn starch
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 2 tbsp grape jelly or favourite jam

The Dough

  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 1/2 cups flour and more for dusting
  • 4 tsp baking powder

Instructions

  1. Soak the dried cranberries in the peach schnapps while you cut apples and plums. 

    Cut the plums and apples into small 1/4 inch cubes.

    Combine all the ingredients except the jam in a large bowl.

    Set aside.

    In a food processor blend eggs, sugar and oil on low.  

    Add 1/2 the flour and half the baking powder and pulse.

    Add the remaining flour and baking powder.

    Blend on high until dough comes away from the blades.

    Put onto counter dust with flour and knead a few times.  The dough should come together, but not be tough.  

    Divide in two.

    Put one piece of dough between two pieces of parchment paper.

    Secure the parchment with a brushing of water on the counter.

    Flatten the first piece with the pie dish. This will give you a circular disk.

    Roll out the edges with a rolling pin to fit pie dish.

    Invert onto pie dish with parchment paper.

    Peel away parchment and fit to plate.  

    Place jam in dough and spread evenly.

    Spoon in filling.

    Fold extra dough onto filling.

    Take second disc of dough and cut off 1/3.

    Use the 2/3 dough to make another round disk to fit on the pie.

    Use a fork to crimp edges.

    Use the remaining 1/3 dough and divide into 3 pieces.

    Divide each piece into two and make braids to decorate around the plate. 

    Place pie in 350F oven for 35 ro 40 minutes.

    Remove and cool. 

    May be served with ice cream hot or cold. 



Recipe Notes

This is a thicker and crunchier dough.  Cut into small pieces to serve.  

If you like a very thin dough you can divide in two and make two pies.  

Leave a comment
Italian Cauliflower Summer Pie Recipes at my Table

Italian Cauliflower Egg Pie

Italian Cauliflower Egg Pie

Italian Cauliflower Egg Pie is our version of quiche.  This combines the goodness of many vegetables and gives your family a wholesome, but enjoyable meal for even the pickiest eaters.  Everyone loves a crunchy crust and this one delivers.

Cauliflower is everywhere in cooking today.  Growing up we ate a lot of it, but mostly it was boiled and served with a simple dressing of oil and vinegar.  We used it in soups and of course my favourite was dipped in egg and flour and fried.  This was the best of Calabrese Cuisine.  Who doesn’t like fried foods?

As we get older, we seek comfort, but healthier versions of our favourite foods.  I have seen many versions of cauliflower crusts.  I use this one for pizza too.  With an abundant supply of antioxidants cauliflower has many health benefits: https://www.naturalfoodseries.com/13-benefits-cauliflower/

My Riced Cauliflower.  I buy it on sale, put it in a food processor and then freeze it.  My riced cauliflower recipes at my table

Adding potato flakes to the crust helps to bind the ingredients and soaks up any excess water from freezing the cauliflower.

Use a flan pan because it gives a nice presentations.  Grease it with olive oil and shake on some breadcrumbs for a little crumb coating.

Spoon the crust into the pan.

You can use your hands to spread the crust.  I have this mini rolling pin by Pampered Chef and it one of my favourite tools in the kitchen.  It helps me get right into the edges.  Always use a piece of plastic wrap for spreading it helps to smooth anything out without sticking.

The filling comes together.

The crust comes out of the oven and it is ready for the filling.

Spoon the ricotta over the pie.  Tear the basil and put it on over the pie.

I like to peek into the oven.

Pie is done.

Ready for a slice of this pie?slice of pie recipes at my table

Italian Cauliflower Summer Pie Recipes at my Table
Print

Italian Cauliflower Egg Pie

Course Main Course
Cuisine Home Cooking in Canada, Italian
Keyword Italian Cauliflower Egg Pie
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Author Renata Solski

Ingredients

The Crust

  • 3 1/2 cups riced cauliflower
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 clove crushed garlic
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp Italian breadcrumbs

The filling

  • 6 eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan
  • 1 cup potato flakes
  • 1/4 cup onion flakes
  • 2 small zucchini
  • 1 cup ricotta
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • handful of fresh basil or parsley

Instructions

The Crust

  1. Set oven to 425 F.

    Mix cauliflower, parmesan cheese, garlic, eggs and Italian seasoning.

    Prepare a spring form pan by greasing it with the 1 tbsp olive oil and then cover as much of the pan as you can with the bread crumbs.  Shake off excess.

    Add a little olive oil to your hands and press in the cauliflower mixture.

    Press to cover bottom and sides of pan.

    Place in oven for 15 minutes.

    Remove from oven.

The filling

  1. Set oven to 375 F. 

    Grate zucchini on grater.

    Dice onion.  

    Combine eggs, milk, parmesan salt and pepper. 

    Whisk until all are blended.

    Add the grated zucchini and diced onion.

    Add fresh basil or parsley.

    Stir to blend all ingredients. 

    Pour egg mixture into shell. 

    Add dollops of ricotta over the pie.  

    Bake for 40 minutes.

    Remove and let cool 15 minutes before cutting.

    Serve with any fresh greens.  


Recipe Notes

I rice and freeze my own cauliflower.  Simply wash your cauliflower.  Put it through a food processor and freeze in Ziploc bags.

 

Leave a comment
Buttermilk Blueberry Sones recipes at my table

Buttermilk Blueberry Scones

Buttermilk Blueberry Scones

Buttermilk Blueberry Scones are a nice summer breakfast or anytime treat.  Introduced to scones for the first time in England, I instantly fell in love with these little breads.  I thought it was great the way they could be packed with any fruit.  Blueberries are in abundance and before these go to waste, they will adorn these scones. For a little light reading on scones visit: http://www.thequeenofscones.com/the-history-of-the-scone/

I like this butter dough because it is easy to handle and doesn’t split when you roll it out.  There is no patching, LOL.  I also like this recipe because it is a tiny bread infused with fruit.  You can use peaches, fresh cranberries, pears and apples.  I also make a savoury scone using this recipe, but that is another post.

Today it is all about making something fruity for a breakfast treat.  I have to confess, that I do eat these with my 4 PM glass of wine.  Something about dough, fruit and wine that goes well together.

The blueberries are fresh and i have a little over 2 cups today.

My food processor is my best friend.  The butter makes beautiful little pea size shapes.

Pulsing the dough recipes at my table

Add the buttermilk and pulse on high.  When the dough moves away from the blades it is time to turn it onto the counter.

the dough comes away from the sides recipes at my table

The dough goes onto a piece of floured parchment paper.

dough recipes at my table

A 15 X 15 rectangle ready for the blueberries. It doesn’t have to be perfect.

flatten dough out recipes at my table

Once the blueberries are on the dough roll it up.

rolling up the scones recipes at my table

All rolled-up.

all rolled up recipes at my table

Cut on the diagonal.

cut on the diagonal recipes at my table

Ready for the oven.

ready for the oven recipes at my table

Out of the oven.

out of the oven recipes at my table

Buttermilk Blueberry Sones recipes at my table
Print

Buttermilk Blueberry Scones

Buttermilk Blueberry Scones are a little breads from heaven.  

Course Breakfast
Cuisine Home Cooking in Canada, Italian
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Author Renata Solski

Ingredients

The scones

  • 3 cups flour I always use unbleached or pastry
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk 1 %
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 cups blueberry
  • 1 tbsp coconut sugar

Yogurt cream

  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt
  • 2 tbsp orange marmalade
  • 1/4 tsp balsamic vinegar

Instructions

The Scones

  1. Preheat oven to 425 F.

    Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda in a food processor. Blend on low for a few seconds.

    Cube the butter and add it to the food processor a little at a time. Pulse after each addition.  Mixture should form pea sized crumbs.

    Next add 1 1/4 cups buttermilk and set food processor to high until dough comes away from blade.

    Turn dough onto a large piece of parchment that is floured.

    Flatten dough out with hands.  

    Sprinkle with flour.

    Put a piece of clear plastic wrap over dough and use a rolling pin to make a 15 X 15 rectangle.

    Place blueberries on rectangle.

    Roll the rectangle into a long cylinder. 

    Cut the dough into rectangles along a diagonal.  I got 15 pieces.

    Brush with remaining 1/4 cup buttermilk and dust with coconut sugar.

    Bake for 18 minutes.

    Remove from oven and let cool.

    I like them plain, but you can serve with my yogurt cream. 


The Yogurt Cream

  1. Mix everything in a bowl and serve on the side with the scones.  

Leave a comment