Tirol Spaghetti

Another whatever's in the fridge recipe, perfect for a cold night:

DiCecco pasta

Pack of good quality ham (normal, not smoked)

Onion

Bay leaf

Rosemary

EVOO

S&P

Butter

Good quality beef broth

Cheddar cheese

Chives

Parsley

1. Cut onion in half, saute in olive oil with rosemary, bay leaf (or two), in big pan
2. When onion golden, add a few tblsp of broth and reduce by half
3. Cook spaghetti for 6-7 mins, add to pan, mix with ingredients
4. Chop up ham in to small pieces--the whole pack, about 5 slices, and mix into spaghetti
5. Add EVOO, lots of pepper!
6. Add herbs, butter last (leave onion, bay leaves, rosemary in pan for flavoring)
7. Serve and grate cheese

Herrings in Oatmeal with Bacon

Was watching an old Rick Stein show the other night, this sounded too good to forget:

4 herrings

100g oatmeal

veg oil

english bacon, cut into strips

S&P

Lemon

Parsley

1. Fillet the herrings
2. Season, press with oatmeal until covered
3. Heat oil in frying pan, with bacon until crisp
4. Remove from pan, keep warm
5. Fry herrings in same pan, flesh side first, until golden brown
6. Put fish on plate, sprinkle with bacon, served with lemon wedges, potatoes, chopped parsley

Prosciutto Bomb

Another recipe originating from the random contents of my parents' fridge.  Lots of cliche ingredients but hard to beat the classic outcome:

prosciutto

buffalo mozzarella

rehydrated sun-dried tomatoes (dressed with EVOO, S&P)

capers, rinsed well

rucola

lemon

old balsamic

EVOO

S&P

1. Dress mozarella with EVOO, S&P
2. Envelope mozarella with two slices of rehydrated tomatoes, with some capers squeezed in
3. Wrap the whole lot with prosciutto
4. Dress rucola with lemon juice and EVOO, S&P, a few capers
5. Put wrapped mozzarella on bed of rucola, splash 2-3 drops balsamic on the side, not on top

Panfried Scallop & Prosciutto with Rucola

This was just the result of what was in my parents' fridge:

scallops

prosciutto

rucola

capers

EVOO, lemon juice

s&p

balsamic vinegar

chives

1. drizzle EVOO, s&p on scallops
2. wrap the scallops in prosciutto and fry 1-2 mins each side depending on size
3. make sure capers are frying away on the side of scallops
4. drizzle rucola with EVOO and lemon, s&p
5. put a couple scallops on bed of rucola, drizzle a couple small drops of balsamic on side, scatter capers and sprinkle chives around
6. make sure oil hot, sprin

La Comptesse's Surprise

One of my favorite recipes from Ari:

Smoked magret de canard
1 pear
2 endives
3 lemons
Gorgonzola
Double cream
Salt & pepper

1. Cube pears and endive into inch long pieces combine and douse with enough lemon juice to make moist. Leave aside for at least 2 hrs.
2. Warm cheese in a pot until soft. Combine with cream and season.
3. Pour over individual portions of salad until your need for fat is satisfied.
4. Part cover salad with magret de canard fume or another smoked/ cured meat

German Salad Dressing

A list of ingredients--adjust for taste-- from my favorite restaurant Raisch in the next village from my parent's in Germany.

german white vinegar
stock--from organic bouillon cube fine
water
sunflower oil
S+P, Sugar
garlic mashed in mortar with salt
onion mashed in mortar with salt
fresh herbs ie parsley, dill, chives
a bit of tobasco

Blend everything except oil, add latter gradually until right consistency.

Rigatoni aux Nois, Fenouil, Romarin

An interesting recipe from my tata Gina

350 g de rigatonis-
2 bulbes de fenouil –
1 citron non traité
12 cerneaux de noix –
6 pétales de tomates séchées -
100 g de roquefort –
12 olives noires –
Romarin – 3 cuillères à soupe d’huile d’olive – sel/poivre

1. Râpez le zeste de citron - hachez grossièrement les cerneaux de noix – couper les tomates séchées en petits morceaux
2. Ecrasez le roquefort à la fourchette – ciseler quelques aiguilles de romarin –
   épluchez et émincez le fenouil , le faire revenir dans l’huile d’olive 5 minutes à feu doux – sel/poivre – arroser de jus de citron et poursuivre la cuisson 5 minutes
3. Cuire les pâtes – égouttez en réservant un peu d’eau de cuisson et verser sur les fenouils – ajouter le zeste de citron – noix – tomates – romarin et les pâtes
4. Tournez rapidement le tout pendant 1 minute à feu doux –
5. Arrosez filet d’huile d’olive et servir aussitôt garni de roquefort et olives noires –