Do you want to enjoy the culinary riches of Italy without burdening your stomach? Here are 9 ideas for easy and delicious Italian recipes!
We may mistakenly assume that Italian food heavy. This is not true. Its culinary delicacies are rich in flavors but not necessarily in fats. This is a cuisine that gives pride of place to seasonal vegetables, fish and seasonings. Each region has its own specialties and variations on traditional dishes such as pizza, bruschetta or even focaccia or risotto.
To enjoy the rich taste of Italian dishes:
- we stand for seasonal vegetablescooked at a low temperature (so as not to attack them and add fat) or cooked as raw vegetables with a light vinaigrette sauce;
- Replace fresh cream with ricottatraditional fresh cheese with a much lower calorie content, and the addition of parmesan is limited to 10 g per person;
- we do very finely chop the sausageto enjoy its taste without consuming too much fat;
- we limit portions of pasta raw from 60 to 80 g per person;
- we approve (if possible) olive oil qualitativebut limiting its portions to 1 – 2 tablespoons per day and per person (if necessary, add a little water to bind dishes);
- we enhance the taste of the recipes by using traditional balsamic vinegar, which is obviously used in vinaigrettes, as well as small touches to the pasta dish, marinatedwhen deglazing to prepare a sauce with seasonings (for example, sun-dried tomatoes or raisins) after cooking meat or fish or as a seasoning for fruit salads (1 drop is enough!);
- we use and abuse fresh herbs or dried (basil, thyme, oregano, sage, bay leaf) to add flavor to dishes.
To (re)discover some Italian delicacies, here are 9 easy recipes to enjoy in these weeks of transition between winter and spring.
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© Shutterstock / Marco Mayer
2/9 –
spring caponata
For 2 persons. Mix in a bowl 2 tbsp. spoons of powdered sugar, ½ small glass of wine vinegar and 1 tbsp. spoons of raisins. Wash 1 stalk of celery, cut into small pieces and blanch for 1 minute in boiling water. Peel the stems of 6 small artichokes, cut off the tops of their leaves (about 3 cm from the stem), then remove any tough ones. Then cut the vegetables into 4 pieces (by placing them in a salad bowl filled with water and lemon), then blanch them for 2 minutes in boiling water, and then brown them for 2 minutes in a saucepan. Then take them out, then put 4 tbsp. tomato puree, about twenty pitted olives, 1 tbsp. capers, sugar/vinegar/raisin mix, celery, artichokes, and 1 handful of pine nuts. Leave to cook for 10 min.
© Shutterstock / denio109
3/9 –
Cannelloni with spinach and ricotta
For 4 people. Boil 12 cannelloni in salted boiling water for 6 minutes before draining. Also boil 400 g of raw or frozen chopped spinach in boiling water and in the meantime fry 1 onion and 1 garlic clove in a pan. When the spinach is cooked, wring it out and squeeze to remove the water and add it to the garlic and onion. Put everything in a salad bowl, then when the mixture has cooled, add 250 g of ricotta. Fill the cannelloni with this product and place them in a baking dish. In a small bowl, mix 1 stick of tomato sauce with chopped basil leaves, salt and pepper. Pour this mixture over the pasta, then sprinkle with a little Parmesan and place in the oven for 15 minutes at 200°.
© Shutterstock / Brent Hofaker
4/9 –
lemon paste
For 4 people. Boil 400 g of pasta of your choice in salted boiling water, following the time indicated on their package. Take the zest of 2 untreated lemons, then squeeze them. Pour the zest into the pan with 200 g of ricotta. Heat all 2 minutes, before that add lemon juice, as well as 40 g of parmesan and pepper. Once cooked, drain the pasta, then toss it directly into the sauce to coat it. Serve immediately with a few parsley or basil leaves.
© Shutterstock / Julia Sudnitskaya
5/9 –
pear italian style
For 4 people. Wash and cut 2 pears in half. Combine 125 ml ricotta, zest of 1 lemon, 1 teaspoon vanilla (extract or seeds) and 2 tablespoons sugar in a bowl. Stuff the pears with this stuffing. Bake fruit for 15-20 minutes at 180°C. Then you can sprinkle the workpiece with cinnamon and walnut shavings.
© Shutterstock / Maria Kovaleva
6/9 –
Pizza with asparagus
Take ½ bunch of asparagus, remove the tail and save the heads before cutting the stem into pieces. In a saucepan, fry the pieces (except the heads) with 1 small clove of garlic for 2 minutes. Then cover the vegetables with water and cook for 10 minutes (until the pieces are soft). Then add 3 basil leaves, salt, pepper and mix everything to make a cream (if not, leave the vegetables as they are). Cut the heads in half and fry them for 3 minutes in a saucepan with a little olive oil. Spread cream of asparagus on 1 pizza crust, then sprinkle with tops. Bake for 8 minutes at 250°. Then add a few mozzarella cubes and continue cooking for another 2 minutes. Serve pizza with a few fresh basil leaves.
© Shutterstock
7/9 –
Fennel and orange salad
For 4 people. Wash and cut into strips 4 fennels, being careful to remove the tough part located at the base of the vegetable. Peel and remove the white part of 5 oranges to restore their tops. Squeeze also ½ of the orange and collect the rest of the second half. Mix 4 tablespoons of olive oil, orange juice, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add vegetables and mix everything. Refrigerate the salad for 20 minutes. It can be served with a few black olives, previously soaked in orange juice.
© Shutterstock / Robin McKenzie
8/9 –
Fennel and orange salad
For 4 people. Wash and cut into strips 4 fennels, being careful to remove the tough part located at the base of the vegetable. Peel and remove the white part of 5 oranges to restore their tops. Squeeze also ½ of the orange and collect the rest of the second half. Mix 4 tablespoons of olive oil, orange juice, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add vegetables and mix everything. Refrigerate the salad for 20 minutes. It can be served with a few black olives, previously soaked in orange juice.
© Shutterstock / Olepeshkina
9/9 –
Beetroot velouté with gorgonzola
For 4 people. Cut 2 boiled beets into pieces, add 5 ml of light cream, 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and 10 ml of water. Mix everything, season with salt and pepper before putting the velouté in the refrigerator. Heat 50 ml of light cream with 100 g of gorgonzola cheese over low heat in a saucepan until the cheese is melted. Serve the beetroot velouté in a bowl and add some gorgonzola cream to the center. Complement this dish with slices of toasted whole grain bread.