All the articles by silviocicchi

SILVIO CICCHI:Male Age:54 A restaurant-trained Executive Pizza Chef, he is the author of upcoming book of pizza recepy: “PIZZA e FANTASIA“, you can download it for free registering on this site. He currently resides in Spinetoli (ITALY) with his cats and dogs. Specialized in Business start up – Pizza dove – Pizza courses – Art of pizza.

Wild Rocket in the Kitchen and On Pizza

Wild Rocket in the Kitchen and On Pizza. In recent years, the use of arugula it is particularly widespread and is finding wide use on our tables. There are two types of rocket, the success it is having the cultivated arugula, widespread, has meant that we began to know and appreciate the wild rocket flavor more pronounced and very much appreciated by connoisseurs, who are prepared to pay a higher price just to have it. In my morning walk through the fields fallow, I collected a bunch of wild rocket to prepare for lunch the sauce for pasta: Wild rocket pesto.

Wild Rocket in the Kitchen and On Pizza
Wild Rocket

Wild Rocket in the Kitchen and On Pizza

We learn to recognize.

Wild Rocket in the Kitchen and On Pizza
The flowers of wild rocket

E 'everywhere, you will be surprised to recognize it in every corner of the land fallow, even in the midst of the stones. And 'possible to find all year, darker sister cultivated, and the leaves have a more jagged, but what gives us the certainty that it is the right plan to collect, are its flowers, I would say only: Bright yellow and 4 petals and can even reach 50 inches tall.

Wild Rocket in the Kitchen and On Pizza
A plant of wild rocket without flowers

Do not cut the plant at the base, but only ripped the leaves that will serve you, respect nature.

Wild Rocket in the Kitchen and On Pizza
A plant of wild rocket flowered

The rocket is delicious in salads of mixed, great on pizza and excellent as a sauce for pasta if you are going to prepare by following our recipe wild rocket pesto, Original and fast alternative to the classic pesto sauce, but strong flavor and unique.

Wild Rocket in the Kitchen and On Pizza

Wild Rocket in the Kitchen and On Pizza
A seedling of wild rocket

Ingredients:

100 grams of wild rocket

50 grams of Parmesan or pecorino

20 grams of pine nuts

Some walnut kernel

Half a clove of garlic

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preparation of wild rocket pesto

Wash the rocket you have gathered and put in a blender with the other ingredients and blend it all gradually add the oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Wild Rocket in the Kitchen and On Pizza
Preparation of wild rocket pesto

Variants: To give more creaminess to your pesto, you can add in the mixer some type of fresh cheese, like cottage cheese or a cream cheese type Philadelphia.

Warnings on the consumption of cultivated and wild rocket: From its strong flavor and pungent one senses that this plant has some limitations in being consumed: Given the large amount of mineral salts and erucic acid in it, it is advisable not to overdo it with the doses, a punch for the kids and two fists for adults.

herbs
The guide to herbs Silvio Cicchi

If you love healthy cooking, download my free e-book "Guide to herbs in the kitchen", A well-made useful guide for those who like to take long walks outdoors and gather wild herbs.

If you want to know more on the rocket, you can consult wikipedia.

The Pizza Calabrese and Original Recipe

The Pizza Calabrese is known throughout the world as "pepperoni”. This beautiful region offers many specialties, anyone who has had the opportunity to spend a holiday in Calabria will certainly have tasted some of the products that this region offers. Canned in oil, chiles, the brawn Calabrian version sweet or spicy, nduja famous spicy salami spreads, sausage, bacon, capicollo, the esplanade. Who does not know the onions Tropea, nougat of Bagnara Calabria or the typical cheeses Calabrian. I could go on for hours, but I risk bore. With the large amount of local products that are offered by Calabria, inevitably when we speak of the Calabrese pizza there can be no standard recipe for this pizza. In the United States and in much of the South America, when talking about "pizza Calabresa" means the spicy pizza, one made with the brawn Calabria. In many Italian pizzerias, Calabrese pizza is made with canned tomatoes, chopped, tuna in oil, anchovy fillets, black and green olives, pitted, capers and garlic. Anyhow, are many pizza makers that imaginatively add to these ingredients of variants like the eggplant in olive oil or red onions, they also typical of this region.

pizza calabrese
The pizza calabrese

The Pizza Calabrese

We will prepare the classic pizza Calabrese, but I'll leave you the option of adding additional ingredients.

Ingredients for the topping:

Peeled tomatoes, chopped

Tuna in oil

Anchovy fillets chopped

Black and green olives, pitted

Capers

1 clove of garlic

Sale, pepper and extra virgin olive oil.

pizza calabrese
Calabrese pizza with mozzarella

Prepare the dough for 4 Calabresi pizzas following the instructions by clicking this link. Divide the dough into 4 balls, cover with a cloth and let them rest for an hour leavening.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce: In a pan fry let the garlic chopped, just golden brown, add the chopped tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and let cook for 10 minutes.

pizza calabrese
Calabrese pizza with red onions

Roll out the 4 balls of dough to 4 diameter discs 30 centimeters.

Spread the tomato on the basics of pizza, add the chopped tuna, capers well washed, chopped anchovies finally olives. The original recipe of this pizza does not use mozzarella, as it is already rich and caloric, but if you want it ..... .

Heat very well your home oven to maximum temperature (200/250 degrees) then bake your pizzas. After 15 minutes check the doneness of pizzas, and when the board reaches the right gilding, you can crank out your pizzas. Serve hot.

pizza calabrese
Pizza Calabrese with addition of eggplant

How to prepare the Calabrese pizza at home? Give your recipe in the comments on this page.

If you want to learn more about Calabria can consult wikipedia

rosemary

Rosemary, Also good to Smoking

Rosemary, Also good to Smoking. From small, I have always believed that rosemary was a plant from smoking. Listening to the speeches of the smartest guys and bigger than me, I often say: I have a great rosemary, This lo fumiamo? It took me several years to understand that what they were smoking in secret from me, really was not rosemary, but something else!!!!

Rosmarino, Buono Anche da Fumare
Herbs: Rosemary

We know this plant

Rosemary is one of the oldest herbs, its properties were already known by the Greeks and Egyptians. Today you can find it anywhere, along the roads in the countryside, in gardens and in pots on balconies of our house.

The leaves of rosemary contains an essential oil prized, its main properties are to be referred to some composite content: Il pinene, borneol and cineol. In addition to these substances the leaves contain saponins, rosmarinic acid, flavonoids and tannins.

Rosemary, Also good to Smoking

Rosmarino, Buono Anche da Fumare
Rosemary officinale

According to recent research, regular use of rosemary keeps you young and improves through the blood. Thanks to its antioxidant plays a protective role of the liver.

The Romans used it to cure toothache, sprains and stiff neck, Today it is used to treat ulcerative, to fight rheumatic pains, the dense heart and is indicated for those with digestive problems.

Rosmarino, Buono Anche da Fumare
Rosemary plant

It is used in cosmetics for its deodorant properties, invigorating and purifying. It 'a very common ingredient in shampoos.

During the Egyptian, Rosemary was the symbol of eternity, and is found in some of the tombs of the pharaohs.

In the Middle Ages, this plant was used during exorcisms to drive away evil spirits from possessed people.

Rosemary, Also good to Smoking

Rosmarino, Buono Anche da Fumare
Rosemary plant flowered

Present Day, many people place in drawers and closets sprigs of rosemary, to keep moths away and to scent linen.

Due to its properties to strengthen memory, Rosemary is also called "the plant of remembrance"

In kitchen and pizzeria it makes extensive use of rosemary, inevitable in all the roasts and, does not exist cake which does not have the rosemary as an ingredient.

Are you interested in herbs? Download for free from our website my guide to herbs in the kitchen.

We recently published interesting updates on the rosemary. 2 delicious recipes that will certainly help in the kitchen or pizzeria:

How to prepare rosemary oil

How to prepare the salt flavored with rosemary

If you want to know more about the rosemary, you can consult wikipedia.

pizza spring

Pizza Primavera a Perfect Mix of Ingredients

A delicious pizza, light, perfect for the spring season and beyond. The mix of its ingredients, mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, arugula, prosciutto and parmesan flakes, make this recipe, simple and quick to realize, a tasty pizza called pizza spring. For all those who want to try to prepare it at home, propose that this very simple recipe that involves cooking of a pizza with only mozzarella, then freshly baked, are added to all the other raw ingredients.

pizza spring
Pizza Primavera

The doses for 4 pizza spring

Flour type "0" 625 grams

Water 375 grams

Sale 15 grams

Yeast 1,2 grams

Sugar 10 grams

Oil 2-3 spoons

If you have no experience in the preparation of the dough for pizza, you will want to read my post dough for homemade pizza.

pizza spring
Spring pizza

Let rise the 4 balls made with the mixture for one hour.

Roll out the balls forming 4 discs of dough, add the mozzarella and bake in the oven which you have previously heated(okay) a 200 degrees. After about 15 minutes check the doneness of pizzas and only when the board will prove to be perfectly golden, baked your pizzas.

pizza spring
Delicious pizza spring

The pizzas are served hot, then quickly add the ham sliced, arugula, (making sure to break up the leaves with your fingers, this will make fragrant your pizza) the cherry tomatoes cut clove, season with salt and olive oil, Finally, add the Parmesan cheese flakes.

Tips: If you need to buy prosciutto, you'll need 4 whole slices per pizza dish, thinly sliced(600 grams).

pizza spring
Pizza Spring

Taste it accompanied with a good glass of red wine: Contrary to what many think, the beer is the best drink to accompany the pizza, have a different PH and this would make our digestion longer and more difficult. Try instead to enjoy a good glass of red, maybe the Rosso Piceno Superiore, pizza and wine itself PH, so easy digestion.

Recipe Pizza Philadelphia Cherry Tomatoes Tuna

Article updated on 4/10/2022

La pizza Philadelphia. In the 80 -90 on TV you often saw an advertisement for a Japanese girl, guest of an Italian family, "Kaori" was his name, it always wrong to pronounce the name of this delicious product: The cheese Philadelphia. Produced by multinational Kraft, soon became famous all over the world. Philadelphia was baptized in honor of the US city famous for the production of quality foods.

pizza philadelphia
Pizza philadelphia

The British used it to prepare the Cheesecake, the Spaniards adopted the name "queso Philadelphia" to mean any type of cream cheese, and as usual, the Italians have been using this cream cheese as an ingredient for pizza.

How good is this pizza

I remember with great pleasure of being one of the first pizza makers in those times to do experiments on the pizza with the Philadelphia, I added to the menu of the pizzeria I worked for there Philadelphia pizza which was made with this cheese spread with the addition of chopped tomatoes, crumbled tuna and fresh basil leaves.

pizza philadelphia
La pizza philadelphia

Soon the cream cheese has found a place in almost every menu of pizza, finding interesting combinations that vary from region to region

It is often found in the northeastern regions paired with chicory, in Emilia served with the ham, I ate an excellent pizza in Calabria with Philadelphia, eggplant and salami, in the Capital I have often found pizza Philadelphia e nutella. In Liguria I ordered a pizza with Philadelphia zucchini and pine nuts and in Campania I tasted pizza with Philadelphia, shrimp and parsley.

pizza philadelphia
Pizza philadelphia

Philadelphia pizza recipe tuna and tomatoes.

This pizza is prepared on the basis of a freshly baked focaccia. To prepare the cake, follow the instructions of our previous article: How to prepare a cake perfect.

pizza philadelphia
La pizza philadelphia

Freshly baked cake, spread on the surface a generous layer of spreadable cheese, add the cherry tomatoes cut into wedges, crumbled tuna to pieces, finally seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, salt and fresh basil leaves.

pizza philadelphia
Pizza philadelphia

Like pizza Philadelphia? .

The official website of the city of Philadelphia

chicory

Chicory Field Wild Natural Viagra

The Chicory.

After the lessons I've learned in the fields picking herbs with her mother, aunts and some old lady of the country in which I live, I felt almost a professional herbs this morning while I was doing my usual walk in the fields. Chicory everywhere, this plant seems to have no seasons. The ladies, My instructors, (320 years the sum of their age 4)did nothing to settle the properties of this plant, seems to be a natural remedy for many diseases. What most impressed me their stories is that during the war, in complete poverty, toasted the roots of this plant and there were a coffee substitute.

chicory
Chicory wild

Its Latin name "Chichorium intybus" composite family. There are different types, all more or less due to the bitter alkaloid substances contained.

chicory
Seedlings of chicory freshly harvested

Good for bowel, liver, gallbladder, Skin and hair. Stimulates concentration, helps combat drowsiness, has a laxative, stimulates the pancreas and liver, good for diabetics as it helps to regulate the amount of glucose and cholesterol in the blood. A lot of other things that I omit not to bore, if you are interested in learning more please see wikipedia, but a particular deserves to be quoted mandatorily: According to popular belief, chicory reawaken eros, In fact, it is actually a natural vasodilator, able to increase the blood supply to the male sex organs. A natural viagra.

chicory
Chicory cleaned and washed

Excellent as a side dish or as a main dish, there are many ways to cook the chicory. A recipe of all: Chicory garlic. Wash the chicory and put to boil in water for 10 minutes. In a large frying pan fry of garlic with olive oil and some red pepper, pour the vegetables after draining and toss in the pan. Delicious.

chicory
Wild chicory

If you are a nature lover and often go for walks in the fields, download my free guide to herbs in the kitchen, is called: "Herbs? Not only Coca and Marijuana, click here.

Chicory
Chicory

How to prepare this vegetable to your house? Leave your comment on this page.

chicory
Wild chicory
Sicilian pizza

The Pizza Siciliana Traditions and Recipe

The Pizza Siciliana. In my business trips and leisure in the beautiful Sicily, I could not help but observe the different cultural traditions and the many culinary that this region offers us. Only to want to talk about pizza, you perceive that in every province of the island there is a local variant of this product. Visiting Palermo, you can not taste the "sfinciuni", the classic local focaccia topped with onion, cheese, tomato and bread crumbs.  In the province of Messina, in addition to the local focaccia topped with vegetables, cheese, tomato and anchovy, is in great demand even the "piduni" classic fried calzone or baked with a filling of vegetables. In Ragusa everywhere you go, you can taste the "casts". In the province of Catania, you can enjoy typical Sicilian pizza, a fried calzone stuffed with cheese, anchovies, mushrooms and other ingredients. In the province of Syracuse, is very popular the "pizzòlu" a stuffed pizza rustica.

Sicilian pizza
The pizza alla Siciliana

In other regions of Italy, in each menu that respects, Sicilian pizza is offered with the typical ingredients of this region and its Mediterranean cuisine: Capers, black olives and anchovies, a mix of strong flavors but very tasty.

Sicilian pizza
Sicilian pizza with anchovies, capers and black olives

To prepare four delicious Sicilian pizza we will need:

Flour type "0" 625 grams

Water 375 grams

Sale 15 grams

Yeast 1,2 grams

Sugar 10 grams

Oil 2-3 spoons

Prepare the dough by mixing the ingredients well, if you are not experts can consult this my previous post that explains step by step how to prepare the pizza dough.

Once the mixing phase, dividetelo in 4 parts and put it in a container with a lid for leavening. The rising phase will take approximately one hour, or until the volume of the balls will be doubled.

The drafting of the balls of pizza. Roll the balls to get 4 discs of dough with your fingertips is not easy if you have no experience, then, rather than get a bad result paving the pizzas with your hands, I always recommend the use of a rolling pin to all those who attempt to prepare it at home.

The dressing: Sprinkle the discs of pasta with tomato sauce, short sale, the anchovies are already tasty. Add the anchovy fillets / anchovies breaking them with your fingers into smaller pieces, Olive down, Capers and a generous layer of mozzarella. To give originality to this delicious pizza, recommend to all foodies to add a sprinkling of cheese Sicilian.

Sicilian pizza
Sicilian Pizza

Cooking: I never tire of repeating that to get a good result with your pizzas, you'll have to warm up well your home oven. Turn it up 15/20 minutes before, to the maximum temperature (200/250 degrees) before baking pizzas, and do not be curious, repeatedly opening the oven door to check the cooking, a heat loss during cooking will make you make a fool with your guests. In a hot oven pizza at the thin plate, employs about 15 minutes to cook, in any case, keep an eye on the edge of the pizza, and only when it turns out to be perfectly golden, baked pizzas Sicilian.

If you like this recipe, leave your comment on this page.

Sicilian pizza
The Sicilian

Read more about Sicily can consult wikipedia.

beets

For fields in search of wild beets

This morning I woke up early, seeing that it was a beautiful day I decided to do my usual walk in the fields in search of edible herbs. To my amazement, I noticed a large amount of beets that were just waiting for someone to gather. I'm talking about large beets to coast, no sugar beets or turnips. There are many varieties of spinach, the man cultivated for thousands of years, then they have developed many subspecies. A bit 'of clarity Beta vulgaris (this is its Latin name):

Beta vulgaris, vulgaris subspecies sub cycles variety cycles are the beet leaves, with green leaf and thin ribs.

(those that I found I) Beta vulgaris, subspecies vulgaris, sub-cycles, variety flaviscens are chards, with green leaf and white thick ribs, more or less fleshy.

Beta vulgaris, subspecies vulgaris, sub vulgaris are the beets grown for their roots:

– variety = high sugar beets, similar to large carrots white.

– variety vulgaris = red beet and turnip.

In addition to these sub and subspecies, There are several hybrids with longer roots, or larger or particular colors, and larger leaves, fuller, or ribs of colors bizarre.

beets
Swiss chard

In this period, if it happens to you to take a walk in nature in fallow fields, you will find many chards, white and fleshy, delicious to cook at home. Take care not to tear the roots, but to cut the leaves with a knife 2 inches from the base, so other leaves grow back later. Go blanched 10 minutes then sauté with garlic and other herbs to your taste. A great dish, the flavor of wild beets not treated with any pesticide or fertilizer, is far superior to those that we can find in any supermarket, and if that were not enough all this .... the you will find you and you will have breathed fresh air walking in the fields saving surely many euro.

Herbs, beets
The chard to coast wide

Always remember that when you go in search of edible wild herbs, it is always advisable to follow a few simple rules:

  1. Do not pick herbs on roadsides or in parks frequented by dogs or other animals
  2. Do not pick anything you do not know
  3. Do not let the grass collected in plastic bags and not keep it crowded: arrived home distributed grass that is not consumed immediately on sheets of newspaper or wood panels, better yet let it dry in the sun. In any case smuovetela frequently.
  4. Do not pick up diseased plants or moldy

If you are a nature lover and often go in search of wild herbs, subscribe to our site and download my free e-book: "HERBS? NOT ONLY COCA AND MARIJUANA " A complete guide to the collection of edible wild herbs to use in the kitchen.

If you want to learn more about the beets, you can consult the encyclopedia wikipedia.

beets
Swiss chard
pizza ham

Pizza Prosciutto Recipe Chef

Pizza ham and .... , may seem incredible, but on five pizzas that are produced in Italy, three of them have the ham in the ingredients that are used. When we speak of ham we must make a distinction between the raw and the cooked. Of ham on pizza we dealt this in my previous article, Today we'll talk about ham on pizza. Like equally to adults and children, and is often combined with other ingredients, very popular is pizza ham and mushrooms, is present on the four seasons, the capricious, in his pants, combined with artichokes and I could continue this list indefinitely. The pizza is placed sliced, and it is always better to divide the slices into smaller pieces for a cosmetic issue but mostly because the ingredients completely covered by slices of cooked ham whole would not even cooking, producing a floating effect of the ingredients on the pizza.

pizza ham
Pizza with ham

There are many types of cooked ham, from the one that costs a few euro per kilo to finish in quality hams that cost tens of euro per kilo. I remind you that the pizza was born as a poor dish, then, always use a few ingredients, but always choose quality ones.

Dough for pizza with ham

pizza ham
Pizza with ham

In order to prepare 4 pizza ham prepared the following ingredients:

To do 4 balls of dough from 250 grams

Flour type "0" 625 grams

Water 375 grams

Sale 15 grams

Yeast 1,2 grams

Sugar 10 grams

Oil 2-3 spoons

In a bowl, pour the water and the yeast scioglieteci.

Add the extra virgin olive oil and sugar, then the flour. Begin to mix the ingredients and add salt. Knead the dough with your hands until a soft dough, elastic that comes off completely from your hands. After the mixing phase, dividetelo in 4 shares, formats 4 balls and place it in a container with a lid. Let stand for about an hour or until doubled in volume.

After the rising phase, roll out the balls with your fingertips, if you have no experience you can read our article that explains perfectly how to make the drafting of the balls of pizza.

After the drafting, add the tomatoes and slices of ham into small pieces. This is the time to add other ingredients to your liking, add the mozzarella.

Preheat your oven 200 degrees, bake your pizzas only when your oven is very hot. The cooking will take approximately 15 minutes, always depends on the type of oven you have at home. When the board will prove to be perfectly golden baked pizzas and serve hot.

pizza ham
Pizza with ham

If you like pizza with ham, let us know how to prepare, leave a comment on this page.

Do you know the difference between ham and cooked shoulder?Watch wikipedia.

pizza regina

Regina Pizza Recipe and Preparation

The pizza queen is the queen of all the pizzas. An exquisite variation of the classic Neapolitan pizza margherita, was christened with this name in the distant 1890 the famous Neapolitan pizza maker Raffaele Esposito that contrary to what some think, was not the inventor of pizza, but simply what he named the pizza margherita in honor of Queen Margherita of Savoy. If you want to learn more about the history of the daisy, you can read this my previous post. Over the years the pizza Queen has undergone changes as compared to the classic margherita, were added to the artichokes and ham. Searching the Internet, you will find that the pizza is very popular Queen, in addition to, are lots of pizzerias in Italy calls Regina Margherita scattered in all provinces, even large distribution companies still produce frozen pizzas pizza queen distributed worldwide.

pizza regina
The queen pizza with ham and artichokes

Regina Pizza Recipe and Preparation

To prepare 4 pizza regina:

Flour type "0" 625 grams

Water 375 grams

Sale 15 grams

Yeast 1,2 grams

Sugar 10 grams

Oil 2-3 spoons

In a large bowl pour water(20 degrees) and scioglieteci yeast, sugar and oil. Add the flour and started to mix the ingredients. Add the salt and work the dough vigorously for 10 minutes until they turn out to be soft and elastic.

pizza regina
Pizza regina

Divide the dough into 4 balls and let rest for leavening in a closed container with a lid or on the same level of work well covered with a damp cloth. After about an hour flattened balls to obtain 4 discs of dough by the diameter of 30 cm. Seasoned with tomato, artichokes into wedges and ham cubes. Add the mozzarella and bake in your oven preheated to 200 degrees. After 15 minutes check the doneness of pizzas, and baked only when the board will prove to be perfectly golden.

pizza regina
Preparation and cooking pizza queen

Add a few leaves of fresh basil and serve hot.

Advice: The success of the pizza at home is very dependent on cooking in the oven. And warm it very well before baking pizzas and never open the oven door to check for doneness.

How to prepare the pizza queen at home? Leave a comment on this page.

Want to know more about the queen Daisy? Click here and consultation wikipedia.

pizza regina
The exquisite pizza queen