Savory Mushrooms, Sausages and Potatoes Tart

Savory tart with mushrooms, sausages, potatoes, and cheese. 

A deliciously sinful combination

This savory tart has it all: a crispy and buttery crust, melted cheese, wholesome savory mushrooms, sinfully good sausages, and hearty potatoes that make it all look so elegant and yummy. Sounds perfect right? And it tastes even better than it sounds.
This dish is great for a hearty brunch or a fun dinner, next to a big green salad. Perfect for these cold winter days.
To make the recipe really quick, mistakes and mess free, I used frozen puff pastry. I like to always have a package of Pepperidge Farm dough in my freezer, just in case.
All you need to do is thaw the dough, turn on the oven, follow this recipe and soon you will enjoy a delicious aroma that will make your whole kitchen smell amazing.

Ingredients: to make an 11 inch pie

• 1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed (I use Pepperidge Farm)
• 2 medium potatoes ( 15 oz, 425 gr)
• 12 oz (340 gr) of ground sausage
• 1 garlic clove
• 8 oz (225 gr) of mushrooms
• I tablespoon of fresh Italian parsley, chopped
• 6 oz ((170 gr) provolone cheese (shredded or sliced)
• 2 oz (55 gr) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• flour to sprinkle on the counter
• salt

Preparation time: 1 hour
Directions:
1. Thaw the puff pastry for about 20 minutes, if you haven't done it yet. Peel the potatoes and cut in thin slices. Place in a pot, cover with salted water and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 6 minutes and drain.

2. In a large skillet, saute' the sausage broken in pieces with one garlic clove, crushed.

3. Add the mushrooms and chopped parsley and cook for another 5 minutes. Salt to taste (if necessary) and remove the garlic if you'd like.

4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease the tart pan with butter and flour (or spray). On a clean counter, sprinkled with flour stretch out the dough to fit into your pan. Cut the edges if necessary, and poke holes with a fork on the bottom of the crust.

5. Make a layer of the sausage and mushrooms. Top with provolone cheese, shredded or cut in pieces

6. Top with the sliced potatoes. Starting from the edges and moving in you can place the slices in circles. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.

Bake for about 30-35 minutes, until the crust is fully cooked, and cheese slightly golden on top.

Buon Appetito!

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

This butternut squash soup is creamy, rich and velvety. 

Perfect for a light dinner after a busy holiday weekend!

Have you been eating too much this past week, like I did? And you don't feel like cooking anything too complicated after a busy holiday weekend? Here is a great recipe for a light family dinner.
This simple and quick butternut squash soup is perfect after an holiday week of too much cooking and even more eating. It's thick, velvety and rich. Quick and easy. A serious crowd-pleaser especially for these cold winter nights. Enjoy!

Ingredients: serving 4

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• half onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 14 oz (400 gr) butternut squash, peeled and seeded
• 2 medium potatoes (10 oz, 300 gr)
• few leaves of basil, sage and parsley
• 2 cups of vegetable broth
• 4 tablespoons of heavy cream
• salt

Preparation time: 45 minutes
Directions:
1. In a large pan, saute the chopped onion and crushed garlic in the olive oil
2. Peel, clean and cut in small cubes the potatoes and the squash. Add to the pan.

3. Add the vegetable stock, and the herbs tided with a string. Add an extra cup of water. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes until the potatoes and the squash are tender.

4. Remove the herbs. Use a blender to puree the squash and potatoes. Add the cream and salt to taste if necessary.

Serve hot with bread crostini, toasted bread cubes.

Buon Appetito!

Veal Stew with Potatoes

Hearty, fork-tender veal stew with potatoes and other veggies.

Perfect one-dish dinner for these chilly and rainy fall days!

Here is an authentic Italian recipe for an unbelievably tender and savory veal stew with potatoes. It's a one-dish meal perfect for a cozy family dinner. You can serve it with a big green salad on the side, if you like. Or simply with a slice of your favorite bread.
This recipe is easy and approachable for everyone. It's made using few, simple, wholesome ingredients. No crazy ingredients or too many spices. Just the mouth-watering aroma of the rosemary makes this stew fragrant and delicious.

Ingredients: serving 4

• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 4-5 sage leaves
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1.5 lb (680 gr) of veal (2 shoulder chops)
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• 1 qt (950 ml) vegetable broth (I used Trader Joe's organic, low sodium)
• 3 medium potatoes, about 1 lb (450 gr)
• salt

Preparation time: 10 minutes to prepare, about 90 minutes to cook
Directions:
1. In a large pan, saute' the chopped onion and carrot, with the olive oil over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Add the rosemary and the sage.

2. Add the meat cut in pieces to the pan and cook for a few minutes, turning the meat around until most of the pink is gone.

3. Stir in the flour, and add the broth. As soon as the broth starts to boil, reduce the flame to medium-low, cover the pan and cook for about one hour. Check and stir once in a while.

4. Peel and cut the potatoes in cubes and add to the pan. Cook for about 30 minutes covered, or until the potatoes are soft. Add more broth or water if necessary. Salt to taste.

5. Serve hot with a few slices of French or Italian bread, and a green salad if you'd like.

Buon appetito!

Ham, Cheese and Mashed Potatoes Rolls

Indulge yourself with these savory, hearty, scrumptious rolls filled with ham, mashed potatoes and mozzarella cheese.

These rolls are simply exquisite! Great for a light family dinner served with a big green salad on the side. Or cut in slices, and they are a perfect pick-up food for your next party.
I first ate these a long time ago at my in-laws' house. That's where I first learned how to prepare this dish. But I never wrote down the recipe, made it many many times, and probably changed the recipe along the way. So this might not be how my mother-in-law makes it anymore, but today, and all for you, I finally measured and written down all the ingredients.
As you will see, this recipe is quite simple and quick. Cook and mash the potatoes, add the cheese, roll in ham, dip in batter and fry. I know ... I said  FRY. I, too, always try to avoid giving fried food to my family, but unfortunately there is no way around with this recipe. Believe me. I tried! I did try to bake these rolls and failed miserably. The problem is the batter. Unless it's cooked right away, it will droop down and off the rolls. And honestly, batter is really meant to be fried. That's when its flavor comes alive and brings the aroma of all the ingredients together. You can make the frying a little "healthier" though, by using fresh olive oil, and just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. And always make sure to remove as much  oil as you can from the rolls with a paper towel at the end.
Not so bad... actually, as I said already, simply exquisite! Enjoy!


Ingredients: to make 8 rolls                                  Printable Recipe

• 2 medium (around 14 oz, 450 gr) potatoes (I used russet) 
• 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley
• 4 oz (100 gr) of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 8 slices (8 oz, 225 gr) of ham
• oil to fry (I used olive oil)
• salt

for the batter:

• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup (125 gr) of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 4 fl oz (120 ml) of milk

Preparation time: about 50 minutes
Directions:
1. Peel and wash the potatoes. Cut them in half and place them in a pot covered with cold salted water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for about 20-25 minutes until fully cooked. Test with fork for readiness.
2. While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the batter: in a bowl add the egg, flour, salt, olive oil and half of the milk. Whisk well together so that there are no lumps. Add the rest of the milk a little bit at a time, until smooth.

3. Press the potatoes through a ricer when still hot into a large bowl. Add the cheese and the parsley. Mix quickly with a spoon just to combine the ingredients. Make sure to keep the mashed potatoes soft.

4. On each slice of ham, place about 2 tablespoons of the potato and cheese mixture. Roll the ham as shown in my picture.

5. Heat the frying oil in a large skillet over medium-high flame. I used just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Carefully not to lose the filling, dip each roll in the batter, and place it right away in the pan. Fry all the rolls, turning them on each side. Remove most of the oil by placing the rolls on a plate lined with paper towel.

Serve hot! If you prepare the rolls ahead of time, warm them up in the oven until hot! Enjoy.