This weekend I really got into the pasta thing with my Tuna, Tomato and Black Olive sauce, which made me dream of Italy. Once you start dreaming of such a place, it’s not easy to get it out of your head. I feel like eating pasta everyday now, or anything Italian. I want to watch La Dolce Vita and indulge on tons of Gelato. I feel like drinking a nice big glass of Chianti and sing like Pavarotti!!
I can’t get any of these great things from my kitchen. Sadly. But I can try to make the most of it by cooking something Italian and simple. I’ve said it before, I’m a big mushroom fan and I so happen to have some really nice wild mushrooms in my fridge. Why not make something simple like the Italians do so well and put a lot of taste into it? Who needs to try to make something complicated when simplicity usually pays off in the kitchen?
I won’t go to Italy any time soon, so I’ll have to get over the dreaming. But cooking a few Italian things in the last few days has made me feel like I was elsewhere, far from the last bits of Canadian winter and its melting snow. Very soon, La Dolve Vita will be right here in my own back yard.
Porcini Crostini
Makes 4 small crostinis - Level: BIG KID
INGREDIENTS
4 slices of sour dough baguette
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 small shallot
2 garlic cloves
1 cup porcini or wild mushrooms
½ tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
3 tbsp heavy cream
1 tbsp black truffle oil (optional)
Salt & pepper
PREPARATION
Preheat your oven at 450˚F. Cut 4 slices of your bread and generously spread olive oil on top. Bake in the oven for 5-7 minutes, until lightly roasted.
In a large skillet over high heat, heat 1 tbsp of oil and the butter. Add the shallots and the garlic and cook for about 1 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and add the oregano, mint and cream. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, until the cream thickens. Finalise with salt and pepper to taste and truffle oil, if you like.
Serve hot on the crostini bread. You can serve with a nice arugula salad or, as I did, with tomato and Mozzarella Di Buffala.
