Schiacciata alla Fiorentina (Florentine orange cake)

For ➏
250 g flour
200 g sugar
4 tbs sunflower seed or corn oil
7 tbs warm milk
2 eggs
juice & zest of 1 orange
1 tbs baking powder
confectioner's sugar

Preheat your oven to 180°C.

Beat the eggs, and mix all the ingredients together except the confectioner's sugar. Sift in the baking powder and pour the batter into a baking pan (something like 20x24 cm).

Bake the schiacciata for 20 to 30 m, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out dry.

Let cool it, then remove it from the pan. Dust with the confectioner's sugar.

Serve or stuff it with a generous layer of lightly sweetened whipped cream, or with crema pasticcera. In either case, slice the cake open as if it were a book, spread a layer of filling over the bottom half, and replace the upper half.

This traditional Easter cake is an (even) sweeter variation on Tuscan flatbread which goes by the same name: schiacciata con l'uva. Adding to the confusion, a schiacciata can also be salted: see the recipe of pizza bianco.
Image shows the ancient Via degli Strozzi in Firenze.

Ballekes met krieken (Flemish meat patties with sour cherries)

For ➍
800 g minced meat*
1 slice white bread, crumbled
1 egg yolk
500 g sour cherries** with 30 cl juice, bottled or canned
40 cl meat stock
100 g butter
a small glass of jenever/gin***
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 200°C. Moisten the bread crumbs with a tbs of cherry juice. Drain and mix with meat and egg yolk. Avoid that the mix becomes too wet. Roll into 8 balls and flatten to patties.

Butter an oven dish, large enough to fit the patties. Put in oven and bake for 5 m. Pour in the stock and the cherry juice. Cook for about 45 m. Remove patties and keep warm. Pour cooking liquids in a pan and reduce until halved. Put in the cherries and heat for 5 m. Add the patties and reheat. (Add salt & pepper, if necessary).

Serve with mashed potatoes.

* A mix of pork and veal. (Add an exotic flavour by using spicy lamb's meat from merguez.)
**Tart cherries, canned or bottled
***Obviously, this should be good Belgian jenever, but a drop of good gin will do. Or you could omit it ;-).

Read tip on minced meat & salt Or a tip on replacing a part of the meat with mushrooms.

Lettuce soup

For ➍
1 onion, minced
1 tbs olive oil
1 l water
2 chicken stock cubes
1 bag of mixed lettuce, shredded
4 small tomatoes, peeled, seeded & cut
8 sprigs chives

Heat oil in soup pot. Add onion and fry for 4 m.

Add water. Bring to boil. Dissolve cubes. Cook for 4 m.

Add lettuce (spare a few leaves for decoration) and tomatoes.

Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 m.

Mix the soup. Reheat if necessary to reduce volume.

Decorate with sprigs of chives.

Serve with freshly toasted bread with creamy cheese.

*Can be served cold.

Black sorbet

For ➍
55 cl water
80 g unsweetened cocoa powder
200 g sugar
170 g bittersweet chocolate (70% cocoa solids), chopped finely
pinch of salt

Freeze the bowl of an ice cream maker.
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the water, cocoa powder, and sugar. Set the pan over medium heat and bring to a boil, whisking continually. Remove from heat, and add the chopped chocolate.
Let rest for 30 s as the chocolate begins to melt, add the vanilla and salt, then stir until the chocolate is completely melted. Let cool on the counter, then refrigerate until chilled.
Whisk the mixture again just before using, and freeze in the ice cream maker.

Fettuccine al burro e panna (fettuccine Alfredo)

For ➍
40 cl heavy cream*
80 g (6 tbs) unsalted butter
240 g Parmesan or Asagio cheese, grated
1 ts salt
fresh-ground black pepper
pinch of fresh-ground nutmeg
400 g very thin fettuccine pasta**

Combine the butter and 30 cl of the cream in a large pan. (It must fit the sauce and the pasta.) Heat over a low flame, stirring frequently, until the butter is melted and the cream comes to a bare simmer. Remove the pan from the heat once the butter is evenly incorporated into the cream. Avoid cooking.***

Cook the pasta, draining it before it reaches the al dente stage (3 m). (The pasta should be slightly undercooked because it will continue to cook while the sauce is being finished.)

Drain the pasta and add it to the pan, along with the remaining cream, the cheese, the salt, the nutmeg, and several grinds of the pepper mill.

Heat the pasta and sauce over a low flame, tossing continuously, until the cheese melts into the sauce and the sauce thickens slightly, about 1 to 2 m.

*There are several versions of this recipe, some with cream deleted, and with equal portions of butter and cheese (150 g). The cheese is melted in the soft butter until smooth.
**Fresh if possible. All thin pasta, like tagliatelle, will do.
***Try a quick & innovative way of cooking.

This recipe was created in Rome in 1914 by Alfredo Di Lelio for his pregnant wife. It refers to a traditional way of making butter sauces for pasta, but the cook doubled the quantity of butter. It become popular in the US after some Hollywood stars ate the dish in Rome and brought it back home, where it became known as Fettuccine Alfredo. The original restaurant is still a tourist restaurant in Rome. The family opened a new Alfredo's and franchised restaurants in the US, proudly bearing the image of the master, as seen in the picture.
Americans tend to add chicken or shrimps. This is really a primo piatto, a first course, to be followed by something substantially meaty or fishy.

An almost Sicilian salad

For ➋
2 large naval or blood oranges
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
10-12 black & green cured olives, halved
fresh mint leaves
sea salt
1 tbs olive oil

Peel oranges, and cut into pinwheels, or slice into blocks. Discard the white skin. Save the juice.
Arrange orange and fennel slices.
Drizzle with olive oil and juice. Add mint leaves and salt*.
Serve with a handful of cold or lukewarm pasta, like spirelli.

*If the orange peel is edible, discard white skin, clean and cut into small strips. Add to the salad, along with some nuts, like walnuts or almonds.

Read more Sicilian dishes: Sicilian swordfish, Sicilian olive sauce, tartar of shrimps & artichokes, Sicilian broccoli, spaghetti with tomatoes, capers & mint.

Kottbullar (Swedish meatballs)

For ➍ 250 g minced beef 250 g minced pork 1 egg 250 cl cream & water 2.5 tbs finely chopped onion 1 tbs unsweetened rusk crumbs (or crumbled dry bread/biscuits) 2 cold boiled potatoes 4 tbs butter, margarine or oil salt & pepper

Heat the onion till golden in a couple of tablespoons of lightly browned butter.

Mash the potatoes and moisten the flour in a little water. Mix all the ingredients until there is consistency and flavour generously with salt, white pepper and a little finely crushed allspice. Use a pair of spoons to shape the mixture into relatively large, round balls and transfer to a floured chopping board. Fry them slowly in plenty of butter.

Serve with the Swedish cream sauce, freshly boiled potatoes, lingonberry (or red berry) jam and salad.

The traditional recipe of köttbullar, Swedish meatballs, was made popular all over the world in the Ikea restaurants. And much easier to assemble.

Spaghetti alla puttanesca (Naples' hookers' spaghetti)

For ➋
200 g regular whole-wheat thin spaghetti, vermicelli or capellini
50 g grated Parmigiano cheese*
puttanesca sauce

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add pasta and cook according to the directions.

Meanwhile make the puttanesca sauce.

When the pasta is done, drain it well* and add it to the sauce skillet, tossing it with the sauce to combine.

Serve on warmed plates. Top with grated cheese. Pour a generous glass of red wine.

*Alternatively, when the pasta has been drained, sprinkle with grated Parmigiano to make it rougher, so it will make the sauce stick better to the pasta.

The dish originated in Naples, its name derived from 'puttanesca', the hookers' way, as it was quick for the girls to prepare between customers. Or it was used to entice possible clients with a cheap, heated and aromatic meal into a brothel, nobody is really sure. Except that it is a very quick dish to make with ingredients straight from the (Italian) cupboard, even for regular housewives.
Picture shows WWII American GI searching entertainment in Naples.
Spicier variant: Spaghetti alla puttanesca.
Read more spaghetti & linguine recipes: a quick spaghetti, spaghetti with scallops & tomatoes, scallops & rucola spaghetti, spaghetti alla carbonara, spaghetti with vegetables, shrimps fra diavolo, raw tomato spaghetti, spaghetti with clams, spaghetti with small clams, spaghetti with oil & garlic, Palermo spaghetti with tomatoes & mint, American-Italian spaghetti with meatballs, vermicelli with parsley sauce, shrimps & Brie linguine, butter & tomato pasta sauce, lemon pasta with sea spinach.

Sugo alla puttanesca (Naples' hookers' sauce)

For ➋
1 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs chopped flat-leaf parsley
6 pitted chopped black olives
2 tbs capers
1 ts anchovy paste (or 2 anchovy fillets)
1 tbs fresh oregano leaves or 1 ts dried
⅛ ts crushed red pepper flakes (or chili powder)*
1 can diced tomatoes (420 g)**
3 tbs chopped fresh rucola***

Heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium fire. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 m. Add the parsley, olives, capers, anchovy paste, oregano and crushed red pepper to the skillet, and sauté for 2 m more. Add the tomatoes and simmer for about 5 m. Stir in the rucola*** and simmer for 1 m more, until the greens wilt slightly.

Serve with spaghetti, rigatoni or a (non-stuffed) pasta of choice.

*Or chop a small chili pepper.
**Use ripe Italian flesh tomatoes instead.
***Replace with Belgian endives for a special taste. Make a quicker version by deleting rucola.

The sauce originated in Naples, its name derived from puttanesca, the hookers' way. Read the story. Picture shows Italian women offering entertainment in Naples after WWII.
Spicier variant: Spaghetti alla puttanesca.

Oven-baked egg

For ➊
1 egg
1 slice smoked salmon, chopped
chopped parsley & chives
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 220°C. Butter a small, shallow ovenproof dish and scatter the smoked salmon* over the bottom. Add the chopped parsley and chives. Break an egg over the top and season with salt and pepper.
Bake until the egg white is set but the yolk still runny, approximately 5 m. **
Serve with crusty bread.

*Replace by 1 slice of ham, chopped.
*Replace by a handful of mushrooms, sauteed. Or minced into a rough puree.
**Alternatively, put in microwave oven for 50 s.
***Alternatively, omit the filling, add a tbs of cream on top of the eggs, and cook for 10 m in a bain-marie in a moderately heated oven.

Bob Dylan's perfect meatballs

For ➍
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbs vegetable oil (for frying)
250 g ground meat (equal parts beef, pork, veal)
4 tbs Parmigiano cheese, grated
9 crackers, finely crushed*
½ ts salt
black pepper
oregano
dried basil
1 tbs chopped fresh parsley
4 tbs water
1 egg**
1 ts tomato paste

“Heat the oil over a low heat in a large Dutch oven***. In a big bowl, add the meat, garlic, cheese, crackers, and spices. Mix lightly with your fingers. Don’t be shy, get into it.

In a small bowl, whisk the water, the egg, and the tomato paste.

Add the egg mixture to the meat mixture. Mix it lightly with your fingers. Form it into drum shapes, or balls.****

Cook in batches, over medium high heat, until it is browned on both sides. That will be about five minutes total. Serve ‘em up with some potatoes, or some spaghetti, or just make a sandwich out of them. You're gonna love 'em.****" (Transcript from Dylan's Radio Hour show).

*Use old bread crumbs instead.
**Use only yolk to make firmer balls.
***When using a preheated oven, make an ersatz Dutch oven by folding aluminium foil under and around the balls. Bake for 25 m at 185°C for the spoon-sized balls, 20 m for the medium balls. Otherwise, use a deep frying pan.
****Use 2 overlapping tbs to make a ball, then roll it in your hands. This will make about 10 large-sized or, when cut in 2, 20 medium balls.

In the wonderful radio show, Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour, the host not only explored the music he loves and was influenced by, but also dished up some basic recipes, like these tasty meatballs. The recipe seems to be influenced by local Minnesota cooking.
Read more Bob Dylan suggestions: Bob Dylan's finest mint julep,  his mother's fudge bars here.

Cuban bean soup

For ➏
500 g dry red kidney beans, soaked overnight, rinsed & drained
2 medium onions, cubed
1 whole medium garlic, crushed & peeled
2 tbs grape seed oil
2 l hot water
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 medium sweet red bell peppers, cubed
2 ts smoked paprika
3 large bay leaves
1 pinch Cayenne pepper or other chili powder
1 ts dried oregano
sea salt to taste
2 handfuls of freshly chopped coriander
lemon/lime wedges to serve
fresh bread to serve

Fry onions and garlic in oil until translucent on the bottom of large pot.

Add chopped peppers and fry some more.

Add water, then add beans, vinegar, hot water, smoked paprika, chili powder, bay leaves and oregano.

Bring the soup to boil over large fire, let it bubble for a while, then reduce the fire, cover and simmer for about 2,5 h.

Mash beans in the soup with potato masher, season with salt and cook 10 m longer.

Remove from fire, stir in coriander.

Serve with lemon/lime wedges on the side and some fresh, crunchy bread.

Boeuf à la gueuze (Brussels beef with gueuze)

For ➋
2 beef fillets, 150 g each
300 g chuck beef*
50 cl gueuze
15 g soft butter
1 onion
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
1 leek
½ tomato
1 clove of garlic
peanut oil
1 thyme stalk
1 bay leaf
15 cl veal stock (fond de veau) or chicken stock
salt & fresh black pepper

Peel, wash and cut vegetables.

Cut beef into 3x3 cm cubes*. Braise in a pan with oil until brown..

Add onion, carrot, celery, green of leek, tomato and garlic.

Braise for a few m. Add thyme and bay leaf.

Add gueuze. Reduce for 3 m.

Add broth and simmer for 20 m on low fire.

Peel potatoes, cut into small pieces, put in a large baking tray. Cover with water. Add salt and 30 g of butter. Cook for 10 m on medium fire.

Meanwhile prepare the stoemp à l'oseille, a sorrel potato mash.

Put the beef and vegetable braise through a sieve and collect the juice.* Put juice in a pan and reduce with ⅓.** Put aside.

Braise the fillets of beef in butter, or grill, according to taste. Add salt and pepper.

Serve the beef fillet on a warm plate. Add some stoemp, and decorate with some sauce. Serve remaining sauce and stoemp in preheated dishes.

*Use only vegetables and beef fillets for a lighter, modern dish.
**This is the classic way. Alternatively, thicken the mixture without sieving, and serve as a meaty sauce.

Stoemp à l'oseille (Brussels sorrel mash)

For ➋
100 g fresh sorrel*
300 g potatoes
30 g soft butter
salt & fresh black pepper

Peel potatoes, cut into small pieces, put in a large baking tray. Cover with water. Add salt and 30 g of butter. Cook for 10 m on medium fire.

Clean sorrel. Add to the potatoes. Crush the mixture with a fork. Add salt and pepper, mix well.

Serve with Brussels beef with gueuze, grilled chicken or meat.

*Use good quality sorel in glass bowl or tinned instead. Adjust seasoning.

A quick Alfredo pasta

For ➍
125 g butter at room temperature
4 tbs cream
50 g Parmigiano cheese, grated
250 g fettucini or any broad ribbon pasta

Mix 125 g of butter at room temperature with 4 tbs of cream. When creamy, add 50 g of grated cheese. Put in the refrigerator. Divide into small cubes. You can keep them for a few days, or even freeze them.

Cook 250 g of pasta. Drain and serve in a warm dish. Add the cubed mix and toss quickly.

Serve with a green salad.