Italian Recipes: Traditional Roman Soup

Italian cuisine is perhaps the most widely recognized and famous globally - nearly every civilized country has assimilated pasta and pizza alongside their own national dishes, and one can always find an Italian restaurant. But I wonder how much of what is regarded as "Italian food" actually comes from authentic Italian recipes. Pizzas are the most obvious example, having undergone major changes to accommodate to the American palate.

However, when you go back to it's roots, Italian recipes are essentially about good, healthy food - olive oil, vegetables and bread being the most common ingredients.
Today, I'd like to introduce you to a traditional Roman soup, to be served with warm bread. A simple French bread will suffice.

Ingredients
1 lb potatoes
1 litre of water
Garlic
Chilli pepper
Salt
5 oz Pelati tomatoes (or sauce)
1 lb of chicory
Extra virgin olive oil
Bread

Preparation
Pour the water into a hot earthenware pot (a large sauce pan will suffice).
Cut the potatoes into thick slices, and crush two cloves of garlic. Add this to the water, along with the chilli pepper, 1 table spoon of salt and the tomatoes. Bring to a the boil, then reduce the flame and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Finally, add the chicory and simmer a little longer unless the soup thickens.
Drizzle the olive oil on the bread and serve.
This is a simple but delicious recipe, but it isn't so filling that no one will have room for dessert. May I suggest a little Tiramisu perhaps?

You can find more authentic, healthy Italian recipes at this website.

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Campfire Cooking Recipes/4 Great Camping Dishes Using Traditional Campfire Cooking Recipes

There is nothing like the fresh air and exercise that you get on a hiking or camping trip, to work up a really big appetite. But you don’t want to spend ages preparing and cooking complicated meals, which turns it into a chore.





The whole experience should be fun, so if you can plan out a few simple camping dishes, it can make it a lot more enjoyable. Well with some traditional campfire cooking recipes, this can be a lot easier than you think.





Try out a couple or even all of the easy recipes below and see how much more exciting and interesting you can make your camping meals.





BREAKFAST


Oat and nut pancakes.


Ingredients.


1 & 1/2 half cups of oats,


1 cup of flour,


2 tablespoons of brown sugar,


Pinch of salt, to taste,


3 teaspoons of baking powder,


½ a cup of mixed chopped nuts,


1 & ½ cups of milk,


2 eggs,


2 tablespoons of butter,





Mix together all the dry ingredients (oats, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, nuts,) and put to one side, while you whisk together the milk, eggs, and butter. Pour this onto the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Lightly grease a griddle or frying pan and pre heat on the fire. Pour about half a cup of the pancake mix into the pan and cook until bubbly and edges look dry, turn pancake over and cook until golden brown. Serve with maple syrup or similar.





LUNCH


Simple Spam snack.


Ingredients.


1 onion,


3 or 4 potatoes, (depending on size),


1 tin of Spam,


1 tablespoon of butter,


Salt & pepper to taste.





Peel and chop the onion and potatoes into roughly ¾ inch pieces, and cook in skillet or frying pan until tender. Chop spam into similar size cubes as onion and potatoes and add to skillet or pan add salt and pepper and continue cooking until all ingredients are, crispy and spam is well heated through. Allow to cool slightly and serve with some crusty bread and butter.





MAIN MEAL


Foil cooked Meatloaf.


Ingredients.


2 pounds of ground beef,


1 egg,


½ a cup of bread crumbs,


½ a can of tomato soup,


Salt & pepper to taste.





Mix all the ingredients together in a suitable container or bowl until it all binds together and can be moulded into a loaf shape of your choice. Place into a large piece of tin foil and wrap well, leaving an air pocket at the top for steam. Cook on small grill on top of fire embers for approximately ¾ of an hour, turning as necessary. Serve with potatoes and vegetables of your choice. Will serve 4 people.





SWEET


Baked Banana.


For a quick tasty desert, simply split a banana lengthwise leaving the skin on. Insert brown sugar and butter into split. Wrap in tin foil and bake in embers of fire until sugar and butter melt into the banana.

Mike Legg is a seasoned backbacker and camping enthusiast with many years experience of camping dishesFor more information on this or any other tips on camping go to http://www.buytryreview.com/category/camping

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Traditional Homemade Sicilian Sausage

Throughout the busy years I’ve tried a variety of store bought Italian sausages that are okay but never match the quality of Italian sausage my Grandfather made when I was a child.  I’ve always had the recipe for this great tasting sausage but never had the time to make it.
Yes, making your own sausage takes plenty of time and you need plenty of help in the kitchen to prepare such a family recipe.  Anyone who has ever made Italian sausage before knows that you start out as the sausage holder not the mixer.  The mixer is the person who mixes all the ingredients for the stuffer to make the sausage with.  
If you are not experienced with grinding, mixing or stuffing then you get to hold the sausage in the front so the casing doesn’t break and to make sure all the air bubbles are out.  Not until you master this technique can you work your way up through the ranks of grinder, mixer and stuffer.
For generations Sicilians have been making sausages in there own special way.  Each town or each home would produce a different type of family sausage.  The type of meat varied as well as the spice mixture that was used.  Each home would at least have one thing in common and that would be the sausage grinder and stuffing machine.
So you can imagine how happy I was when my Aunt asked if I wanted my Grandfather’s sausage making equipment.  Yes I know I can buy attachments for my Kitchen Aid or food processor to do the job but we all know it won’t taste the same as putting the meat through fifty pounds of cold steel attached to side of your kitchen table.  There’s something about spending hours grinding, mixing and stuffing by hand that gives the sausage that extra love that’s needed to create perfection.
Now let me remind you that half way through this process you will definitely start to miss all of your modern day utensils.  That is why you use more people in the kitchen to pick up the slack when your arms get tired from cranking out the meat.
So if I have not scared you away just yet, lets continue on the  equipment you will need to create this miracle.  I’ll first give you the old equipment version and then the modern equipment version just in case you decide to take the easy way out.  
The version my Aunt gave me was the old heavy hand crank version with a grinder and sausage making attachments.  There was also a grating attachment which I remember my Grandmother using to grate cheese and to turn stale bread into breadcrumbs.

Phil has been cooking and creating Italian dishes ever since the age of ten. His passion and love for Italian food is never ending. Visit him at http://www.great-chicago-italian-recipes.com for more family favorites.

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Three Traditional Welsh Recipes

Welsh cuisine is, unfortunately, often overlooked in cookbooks and online recipe collections. Many Welsh dishes are quite simple in both ingredients and flavor, but should not be forgotten! On a cold day, a hardy Welsh soup or tasty cake can be just the ticket to perking up both one's attitude and energy. In this article I am including three of my favorite traditional Welsh recipes and I hope that your family enjoys them as much as mine does!

Welsh Cakes

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
6 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp all-spice
Pinch of salt
1 egg
4 tbsp lard
4 tbsp butter or margarine
4 tbsp currants (can substitute raisins)
Bit of milk

Directions:
Cut the lard into the flour, then massage it together until the lard is evenly distributed throughout the flour. Add in the baking powder, sugar, salt, and all-spice. When the mixture is well blended, add in the egg. Mix well, then add enough milk to turn the mixture into a stiff paste. Roll out the mixture and cut into round (I find an everyday drinking glass works well). Fry the rounds on a griddle or lightly greased skillet until golden brown.

Welsh Broth

Ingredients:
2lbs neck of lamb
1lb potatoes
2 leeks
1/2lb carrots
1 rutabaga
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp flour
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Put the lamb meat into a large sauce pan and cover with water. Season with salt and pepper and allow the water to come to a boil. Peel and cut the carrots in half. Peel and chop the rutabaga into chunks. Chop the "white" of the leeks, but save the green bits (about an inch from where the stalk divides) for later. Add all to the sauce pan, then cover and reduce to a low heat. Allow this to simmer for about 2 1/2 hours. Peel and cut the potatoes, then add them to the pot. Recover and simmer for another half hour. When the potatoes are nearly done, add the flour (and a bit of water if needed) to thicken the broth. Chop the green bits from the leeks and add them to the pot, along with the parsley, and simmer for 10 more minutes before serving.

Seed Loaf

Ingredients:
2 cups self-raising flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp caraway seeds
5 tbsp margarine or butter
1/4 pint milk
1 egg

Directions:
Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and mix well. Cut the margarine into the flour and massage until the texture takes on that of a coarse meal. Add the sugar and caraway seeds and mix well. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs and milk, then pour them into the flour mixture. Mix well until the dough becomes soft. Grease a bread pan, then add the dough to it. Try to even out the top as much as you can. Bake for about an hour at 375 degrees F.

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Three Traditional Dutch Recipes

Traditional Dutch food is rich in diversity. Savory fish and stew dishes, sweet treats and sauces, and hardy breads are just a few of the great foods that the Dutch culture has to offer. In this article, I am going to include some of my favourite traditional Dutch recipes. I hope you give them a try and enjoy them as much as I do!

Flemish Stew

Ingredients:
1 large onion
1.75 oz margarine
2 lbs cubed beef and pork
1 bay leaf
Thyme, salt, and pepper to taste
3/4 bottle of dark beer
1 beef bouillon cube
2 slices of whole wheat bread
4 oz whipping cream
Mustard

Directions:
Heat the margarine in a large pan over medium heat. Roughly chop the onion and add it to the skillet. Sauté the onion until soft, then add the meat. Be sure to brown it thoroughly. Crush the bay leaf and add it to the pan, along with the thyme, salt, pepper, bouillon cube, and beer. Thickly spread the mustard onto one side of each piece of bread, then put them face-down on top of the stew. Cover the pan and reduce to a low heat. Simmer for an hour. Before serving, warm the whipping cream (with a few tablespoons of the sauce from the stew), then pour it into the stew. Stir the stew well, then serve with boiled potatoes and stewed prunes.

Fish Cakes

Ingredients:
14 oz poached fish fillets
4 large potatoes
1 onion
1 1/2 tbsp margarine
Parsley, nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste
2 tbsp milk
1 egg
Fine bread crumbs
Oil for frying

Directions:
Allow the poached fish to cool, then cut it into small chunks. Peel and boil the potatoes for about half and hour, then allow them to cool. Chop the onion into fine pieces, then sauté in a skillet with the margarine. In a bowl, mash the potatoes using a fork, then add in the fish, onion, and a sprinkle of parsley. Season to taste with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Add a little milk if the mixture is too stiff. Form the fish and potato mixture into tight patties (should make about four). In a small bowl, whisk the egg and a tablespoon of milk. Dip each patty in the egg mixture and coat in bread crumbs. In a large skillet, heat the oil (enough to deep fry the patties) over a high heat. Fry the fish cakes until thoroughly cooked, then use paper towels to absorb the excess oil from the cakes. Serve with salad, pommes frites (French fries), mayo, or tartar sauce.

Currant Bread

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp fine berry sugar
1 cup lukewarm milk
1 oz yeast
1 1/3 oz butter
11 oz currants
1/2 egg

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and a teaspoon of sugar. In a separate bowl, pour a bit of the lukewarm milk in, then add the yeast and half a teaspoon of sugar. Let the yeast dissolve for a few minutes. In another bowl, mix together the remainder of the lukewarm milk and the butter. Pour the yeast, egg, and milk/butter mixture into the flour mixture. Mix well until the dough is smooth. Knead it by hand on a floured surface for about 15 minutes, then cover it with a damp cloth and let it rise until double in size. This should take at least an hour. Coat a bread loaf pan with butter. Wash the currants, dry them with paper towel, then dust them with a bit of flour. Knead the currants into the dough, then put the dough into the loaf pan. Spread the dough so that it fits into all corners of the pan. Cover the pan with a wet towel and allow the dough to rise again until it fills the whole pan. Bake at 395 degrees F for half an hour, or until golden brown.

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Traditional Mexican Recipes For Bread

Mexicans love their bread recipes and perhaps you have been lucky enough to try some authentic Mexican bread. Cornbread is perhaps the best known type of Mexican bread and this goes beautifully with a Mexican soup recipe or stew recipe. It is perfect for dunking in chili con carne and equally good served as a dessert with honey poured over it.

Bolillos are one of the most popular breads sold in Mexican bakeries. This bread is baked on the bottom of the oven, to give it a crunchy, thick crust. Puerquitos are fun, piglet-shaped breads made with a piglet-shaped cookie cutter. The main ingredients in this bread are milk, sugar, molasses, and wheat flour.

Sweet Mexican Breads and Pastries

Feite is a sugary bread, made by alternating butter and dough layers. When it is baked, the moisture trapped between the layers fluffs the feite up. Pan fino is always found in a Mexican bakery. This is a cinnamon-flavored, soft bread. It is shaped by hand so comes in all different shapes. It might be frosted or filled with fruit.

Conchas, which literally translates to mean, "shells," are also very popular. These sugar-rich buns come in all colors including pink, yellow, white and brown and they contain eggs and butter. They are made by hand and then covered in a sweet paste. They look like shells because of the design on top. There are many more Mexican bread and pasty recipes too and if you have a Mexican bakery near you, it is a great idea to check out some of the delicious buns, rolls and baked goods on sale there.

Recipe for Authentic Mexican Bolillos

This easy bread recipe makes thirty six bolillos. These Mexican buns smell gorgeous while they cook and they are incredible when served warm from the oven. You do not need a bread machine or any special equipment for this simple Mexican bolillos recipe.

What you will need:

6 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups warm water
2 teaspoons white sugar
Oil or melted butter, for greasing
Extra flour, for sprinkling

How to make them:

Combine the sugar with the yeast and then stir in the warm water. Add the salt and then beat in four cups of the flour gradually. Add the rest if necessary, until the dough becomes too stiff for stirring.

Turn it on to a lightly floured cutting board and knead the dough for about ten minutes or until it is smooth. Put it in a lightly greased bowl and turn it so it is greased all over. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let it rise somewhere warm for an hour or until it doubles in size.

Punch the dough down and let it double in size again. Cut it into thirty six pieces and shape each one like a flattish ball with twisted ends. Arrange them a couple of inches from one another on a floured baking sheet and slash the tops using a sharp knife.

Cover them again with a towel and let them double in size again. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease the tops of the rolls, using a pastry brush, then bake them for twenty five minutes or until they are golden brown.

There are lots of delicious Mexican recipes you can make, to go with bolillos or any kind of tasty homemade Mexican bread. The best authentic Mexican recipes are those which are easy, nutritious and bursting with wonderful flavor. Luckily, that applies to most Mexican recipes.

MexicanFoodRecipes.org When it has to be Real Authentic Mexican Food

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Three Traditional Portuguese Recipes

Portuguese cuisine is well known for being comprised of simple, handy ingredients. However, the country's people have an uncanny way of preparing "simple" ingredients in the most delectable ways! Most Portuguese dishes have a particular emphasis on ingredients easily found in local markets, which includes fish, seafood, vegetables, and spices. This article has three great traditional Portuguese recipes that are easy to make and extremely tasty!

Sweet Bread

Ingredients:
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
1 egg
1 tbsp butter
2 1/4 tbsp sugar
1/3 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 tsp yeast

Pour the yeast into the milk and let it dissolve for a few minutes. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and sugar. Next, add the milk/yeast mixture, butter, and egg. Mix well. Knead the dough on a floured surface. Once the dough is smooth, place a wet towel over it and allow it to rise for at least an hour. You can place the dough in a greased bread pan, or shape it into a round loaf and bake it on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for until the bread is light brown. You can test its doneness by sticking a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean, it's done.

Portuguese Soup

Ingredients:
1 lb Chorizo
1 bunch of kale
1 small cabbage
1 can kidney beans
8 potatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
Beef bone (optional-for flavor)

Directions:
Bring a stock pot full of water to a boil. Add the beef bone and chorizo and let it boil for about half an hour. Add in the kale, beans, potatoes, cabbage, and salt and pepper. Continue to boil the soup until the potatoes are tender. After everything is thoroughly cooked, let the soup stand for an hour (covered) before serving.

Egg Pudding

Ingredients:
1 egg (white only)
12 egg yolks
1/2 tsp butter
1 cup white sugar + 1 1/3 additional cups
¼ cup hot water
Lemon peel
1/2 cup hot water
1 cinnamon stick

Directions:
In a bowl, beat together the egg yolks, egg white, and butter until smooth. Set this aside for later. Heat 1 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of water over low heat. Stir the mixture occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Pour it into a baking dish, taking care to coat the bottom and sides of the dish with the mixture. In a separate sauce pan, mix together 1 1/3 cups of sugar, lemon peel, 1/2 cup of water, and the cinnamon stick. Bring this mixture to a boil and continue boiling for two minutes, then remove it from the heat. Remove the lemon peel and cinnamon stick from the mixture. Beat this mixture into the egg mixture, then pour into the baking dish with the sugar/water mixture. Place a damp towel in the bottom of a roasting pan, then put the baking dish on top of the towel. Fill the roasting pan with water until it reaches half way up the side of the baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees F for about an hour. If the pudding begins to brown too early, cover it until it finishes baking. Cool the pudding completely before inverting it onto a serving dish.

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