Recipe/Ricetta - Shopska Salata

Шопска салата: This delicious Bulgarian salad is a new discovery for me; it's similar to a Greek salad but in my opinion, is so much better. Apparently it is named for the Shopi people in the villages to the west of Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, and was popularised (some say, invented in 1960) by the state-run tourist organisation, Balkantourist. If this is true, I'd hazard a guess that it's actually an updated traditional recipe... I cannot imagine that something like this has only been around for 50 years!

Young man in shopp dress from Tran, Bulgaria. 1921 (sourced from Wikimedia Commons)

If you are unable to source any sirene (сирене...which simply translates as cheese, although I am told it's specifically white cheese), follow the advice of my lovely Bulgarian friend, Velin Bachev (do check out his work - he is a brilliant sculptor and musician!), who confirms that feta would be an acceptable substitute. He also says it's okay to crumble the feta/sirene instead of grating it... have you ever tried to grate feta? Just don't - it's not pretty! Make sure you rinse and dry the cheese really well (with kitchen roll), which makes it easier to crumble. If using feta, don't salt the salad because there's enough salt in the cheese. Unless unlike me, you are fond of overly salty food! I probably didn't use as much sirene as some of the Bulgarians do... but they probably don't need to watch what they eat like I do!

Recipe/Ricetta - Quinoa and Cheese Patties

This is another great recipe which I found on Pinterest. It's from Linda over at Eating Well, Living Thin According to her description, this recipe originally used rice, not quinoa. I've not tried it with rice but my lovely friend Chrissy has, and assures me it works very well. One to try then!

I discovered that Linda's recommended amount of salt was far too much for amato mio's and my tastes, so I've reduced the amount by 50% for the quinoa, and have completely omitted it from the patty mix itself. I also made the patties thinner than Linda recommends, for no other reason than that was just the way they came out! However, having the slimline versions meant that they got completely 'lost' inside a wholemeal burger bun, and overpowered by the tomatoes I'd put in too! The second time we had them, I served them on a bed of green leaves, with some sliced raw pepper, half an avocado each, and a little of my maple and mustard dressing, which worked perfectly.

Recipe/Ricetta - No-Bake Nutella and Oat Cookies

I love Nutella - I make no secret of this fact. In Venexia, some of the gelaterie (which also serve crepes) have jars so large, I could almost fit my head inside. Perhaps fortunately, I've never actually bought a jar that big!

I found this recipe through Pinterest; it's from a great blog called Megan's Cookin' (where she also has some really fun Hallowe'en recipes!). I've changed the quantity of sugar that Megan states in her original recipe - after making these cookies, I found that 300g was just too much...I am of course, the only person in this house who has this opinion! Other than that (the stirring, and the bit at the end), I make no claims upon this recipe!

These cookies are really filling, and probably better, healthwise, than shop-bought ones. And of course, they are great to make with children because aside from the actual melting of ingredients, the kids can pretty much do all of this themselves. If you are going to make these with children, I suggest that you put the oats into a large mixing bowl and add the molten choc mix to the oats, rather than adding the oats to the pan - it just makes things a bit safer!

One last thing - they may look at first glance to be less-than-diet-friendly but trust me, one is really all you need (unless you answer to the name, amato mio, and live in my house)!

Recipe/Ricetta - Prawn, Mango and Avocado Cous Cous Salad

This salad is simplicity itself, yet full of taste and nutritional goodness. It's also something you could get your children involved with - even very young children are capable of making the dressing, and then mixing the whole lot together.

You could actually eat this by itself and still have almost all the nutritional requirements for a meal, but I love to have it with something very decadent such as my baked figs. Try it for yourself and see what you think!

A word about cooking scampi (prawns/shrimp): I can't tell you how long to cook yours for because we all like them cooked differently; I like mine quite well-done but some like them almost raw. Some of the fish merchants in the pescheria di Rialto like to eat them raw - they claim that it's the best way to taste them. One or two even go so far as to say that the prawn is tough like a man, and the shrimp is sweet like a woman! I have never tasted raw scampi, so I just take their word for it!

Recipe/Ricetta - Panzanella (Tuscan Bread Salad)

This is one of my favourite salads - it's almost the epitome of summer for me. And not only is it super-easy to make (no cooking!), it's a great way to use up stale bread. It's said that Italians never throw anything away - certainly this tends to be true where food is concerned, especially bread. Bread is a spiritual food amongst some Italians (as in the body of Christ), so to throw it away, even when stale, is considered sacrilege. Italians are also frugal people, so really, it's just common sense to use up as much as you can. More food - less waste!

Which type of bread to use? Pane Toscano is the most authentic (of course!) but it defeats the purpose of this dish to buy bread especially to make it with! This is cucina povera - we use what we have! My panzanella more often than not, is made with granary bread because this is the type of bread we use the most here. In fact, if I'm honest, the only time I make and use Pane Toscano is when I want to make bruschetta (because you need a robust bread which isn't going to go soggy under all the veggies)!

Some people advocate toasting the bread first, or baking it in the oven, and sprayed with oil - I don't know any Italians who do this! Why make life complicated?! I'm with Carluccio - great food should be MOFMOF; Minimum Of Effort - Maximum Of Flavour. Keep this in mind, and you won't go wrong!

Recipe/Ricetta - Walnut and Lentil Burgers

In response to a request by my friend, Sandyfeet10, on MFP, here is the recipe - adapted from one I found online - for my delicious lentil burgers.

They really are incredibly simple to make, and open to all kinds of adaptations to suit you. Why not substitute other nuts, or leave them out altogether? Instead of lentils, you could use beans. Add some Parmigiano for an extra zing! Whatever you decide, don't forget to adjust the calorie and nutritional amounts.

And don't forget to get your galley-slaves children involved too - they will love mixing this big, gooey mess!