This risotto is one of the best “instant food” recipes ever. I always have some dried mushrooms – porcini secchi at home. It is very practical when you have unexpected visitors and want to offer them a delicious meal. It only takes 20 minutes to prepare and takes very few ingredients.

Preparation time: 5 minute

Cooking time: 20 minutes

difficulry: easy

Preparation:

Soak the mushroom in a cup of hot water.

Dice the onions and fry them in a pan with some olive oil until they take on some colour. Then add the washed rice and fry for a minute or two. Then add the chopped garlic and stir it under the rice. Simmer for a few minutes then add the wine.

Once most of the wine has evaporated add half of the soup. The soup should always be hot when you add it to the risotto. This makes it more creamy. Stir well and reduce the heat. Let it simmer on low heat. Stir occasionally. When the liquid is soaked up by the rice add the rest of the soup.

Take the mushrooms out of the water. Cut them up a bit. Keep the water. Add the mushrooms and the water to the risotto.

Once the risotto is readily cooked ad the grated cheese. Season with thyme, salt and pepper.

The Puttanesca sugo goes with all kinds of pasta. I had freshly made Tagliatelle at home so I tried this combination. I always make a classic Puttanesca sugo with anchovies, capers, olives and tomato sauce. A simple but delightful pasta dish. People are often afraid of using anchovies in cooking, but in this dish they fit perfectly.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation:

Bring pasta water to boil. Add some salt and boil the pasta until al dente.Time this process in a way that the pasta is ready when the sugo is.

Peel and dice the onion and fry it gently in some olive oil until it takes on some colour.

Remove the stones form half of the olives and chop them up. Also chop up the capers.
Add the anchovies to the onions. They will dissolve after stirring them a bit. Now add the garlic and fry for a minute.

Cut the Pelati tomatoes into pieces and add them to the pan. Also add the vinegar. When it is season for fresh tomatoes take those instead, when they are out of season don’t bother.

Add the capers, the Oregano and the remaining olives. Season with chilli and salt and let the Sugo cook for 10 minutes. Season to taste and serve with the pasta and some parmesan cheese.

This simple onion pie is easy to prepare. It is really tasty and you don’t have to wait much for the dough as it is made with baking powder. The onion pie serves as a great light lunch served with green salad.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

baking time: 20 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation:

Peel the onions and cut them into rings. Fry them in a pan on medium heat with some olive oil until they brown lightly. Wash the spring onions and cut them into rings as well. Add them to the pan. I am also using all the green part.

For the dough knead the curd cheese with the baking powder, the flour, salt, pepper, some oregano and a bit of water to a dough. Use as much water as you need in order to get a dough that it similar but a bit smoother than bread dough.

Grease a baking tray with some olive oil. Roll out the dough and lay it out in the tray. The edges of the dough should overlap with the edges of the tray. Spread out the Creme Fraiche onto the dough. Now add the onions. Season with the Ras el Hanut, Salt and Pepper. Drizzle some honey over it and bake it in the oven at 392 F for 20 minutes.

after all the rich dishes around Christmas and New Year I feel very much like having some light and easy food. I always wanted to combine Polenta with Zucchini. This warm Zucchini and Yogurt sauce seems to pair very well with the creamy Polenta containing Parmesan cheese.

Preperation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation:

First you make the Polenta. Bring the soup to boil and stir the Polenta flour into it. Stir occasionally and let it boil on minimum heat. The Polenta took me approximately 15 minutes to be done, this may vary though according to the type of Polenta you are using.

Once the Polenta is cooked you add the Parmesan and stir it well into the Polenta. Have little ceramic or plastic forms ready. Wash them with cold water and pour the Polenta into them to cool off a bit. Set them aside.

Now make the sauce. Dice the onion and fry it on medium heat in a large pan. after a few minutes add the finely chopped Zucchini. Fry those for a while as well then season with chopped up garlic, dill and chili.
add the yoghurt and let it simmer for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Place the polenta onto a plate upsde down. Remove the form and serve with the Zucchini sauce.

Für die Polenta die Gemüsebrühe zum Kochen bringen und die Polenta langsam in brodelnde Wasser einrühren. Die Polenta auf minimaler Hitze köcheln lassen und für etwa 15 Minuten blubbern lassen. Die Kochzeit kann bei unterschiedlichen Polenta Marken variieren. Wenn die Polenta fertig gekocht hat wird der geriebene Parmesan untergerührt und mit Salz und Pfeffer abgeschmeckt. Die Polenta wird in kleine, kalt ausgespülte Formen gegossen und kurz kalt gestellt.

Für die Sauce die die Zwiebel fein hacken und mit etwas Olivenöl anbraten. Die fein geschnittenen Zucchini dazu geben und mit Chilli und Dille würzen. Wenn die Zucchinis bißfest sind kann man das Joghurt dazu geben. Umrühren, kurz ziehen lassen und mit Salz und Pfeffer abschmecken.

Die Polenta auf einen Teller stürzen und mit der Sauce servieren.

I love to cook this dish when I want a healthy meal and have not much time to prepare it. This light and tasty risotto is cooked in roughly 20 minutes. It is great when I have guests surprising me because I always store some Antipasti Mushrooms in a jar at home.

Preparation time: 3 minutes

cooking time: 20 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation:

Dice the onion and fry it on low heat in a big pan for a couple of minutes. Then add the rice and fry that too.

Now add the soup stock and stir well. For the next 15 minutes or so you need to stir the rice only occasionally.

Grate the cheese and drain the mushrooms from the oil.

Once the risotto has absorbed the liquid and is cooked add the cheese and a bit of thyme and stir well. Then remove the pan from the heat, add the mushrooms and mix them with the risotto. Let the risotto sit for a few minutes, then serve.

These delicious Gnocchi are made form curd cheese which makes them lighter than the ones form potato. You can be creative with the pesto, the one I made went well with the Gnocchi but pumpkin seed oil is not available everywhere. The best about the dish is, that it is done in such little time.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

cooking time: 8 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation:

For the Gnocchi: Put all ingredients into a bowl and mix them well. Season with salt and pepper and let it rest for a while.

For the Pesto: Add all ingredients into a mixer and blend until you have a smooth Pesto. Slowly heat the pesto in a pan.

Meanwhile bring water to boil in a pot. Salt lightly.

Form the Gnocchi using a table spoon. Drop the Gnocchi into boiling water and let them boil for 5 minutes. When the Gnocchi rise up in the water, they are done.

Drain them and put them into the pan with the Pesto. make sure they are covered well with Pesto Sauce.
The Gnocchi are ready to be served.

I got the idea to these savory biscuits at 101 Cookbooks .I had no muffin baking tray at home but really wanted to try the recipe, so I decided to skip the muffin form. These savory biscuits are a great snack or finger food for parties. They are best served out of the oven, having cooled off just a bit.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Baking time: 30 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation:

Cube the squash, salt it and sprinkle some olive oil over it. Place on a baking tray and bake in the oven at 400 F for 10 minutes. Then remove from the oven and let the cubes cool off a bit.

Meanwhile mix the eggs and the milk. Cube the Feta cheese, chop the green onions and grate the Parmesan. Mix the cheese, onions, the mustard and the Parmesan in a bowl. Now add the milk mixture and the squash. Mix well while adding the flour to the ingredients. Season with chili, salt and pepper. When the dough turns out too liquid add some flour.

Use a table spoon to form little cookies and place them straight on the oiled baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes.

I am not a big fan of excessive use of cream with my pasta sauce. A little cream is okay though. Also vegetables in combination with cheese are one of my favorites. With the use of vegetables in this sauce you can be creative. I used what ever I had at home.

preparation time: 20 minutes

difficulty: easy

Preparation:

Bring salted water to boil. Cook the Tagliatelle until al dente.

Cut the carrot, zucchini and paprika into stripes. Cube the onion, cut the spring onion and the leek.

Add oil to a deep frying pan and fry the onion and the carrot for about 5 minutes. Then add the other vegetables and fry those for a few minutes.

Add the white wine and let it boil a bit. Then add the cream. Reduce the liquid a bit then add the cheese. This should result in a thick creamy sauce.

Season with chopped dill, parsley, salt and pepper. Serve with the Tagliatelle.

A classic dish of the Spanish cuisine is the Tortilla. It does not require much time an needs just very few ingredients.
I like the flavor of fried potatoes and onions in combination with eggs. The Spanish like using lots of oil to fry this dish, I personally prefer to use a non stick pan and less oil.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

difficulty easy

Preparation:

Peel and cube the potatoes. Fry the cubes in a pan with some oil until golden brown. This takes 10 to 15 minutes. Flip the cubes occasional in order to fry them form all sides. After 10 minutes add the chopped onions and fry them for another 5 minutes.

add the eggs to a bowl, season and beat them. Add the potato and onion and mix. Now pour the mix into the pan and let it fry on low heat for 5 minutes. Flip once, then serve.

This is a chicken dish that is done very fast. The fillet of chicken is stuffed with Feta cheese and it is served on a variation of Lecsó (or Letcho) which is a Hungarian dish with Peppers. This makes it pretty much European fusion food.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

difficulty easy

Preparation:

For the Lecsó: Dice the onion and fry it in some olive oil for a couple of minutes. Then add the diced peppers and tomato. Add the wine, a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper and let it cook.

Meanwhile cut the chicken breast pieces in half. Fry them on each side for 4 minutes so they get some color. Take them aside and let them cool down. Cut a pocket into them and fill the pocket with some Feta cheese.

Cut a 60 cm piece of aluminum foil. Spoon some of the vegetable into the middle. Place the chicken on top. Season with salt and pepper. Close the foil and bake for 20 minutes at 200 degrees centigrade.