Daniela Ingrosso
Daniela (Dani) grew up in Lecce, Italy where her grandmother shared traditional recipes and family culinary secrets passed down through the generations, instilling a passion in Dani for cooking. At the age of 18 she began studying Chinese in college and after completing her masters degree, moved to Beijing before ending up in Shanghai where she has been for over half a decade. She spends much of her time sharing her family’s culinary traditions through her blog “Expat Cucina†and hunting down the ingredients readers will need to cook her delicious recipes.
Figs and Ham Tart
Figs and Ham Tart
For making last-minute meals, I always try to have a few key ingredients at home. I keep a few rolls of frozen puff pastry in the freezer, and in the fridge I make sure there are fresh eggs, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, vegetables, good ham and milk in the fridge. With these ingredients, I can whip something up to eat in no time. I did this a few weekends ago. I left my house at 5:45 a.m. to go to my triathlon training session. When I got back at 9:30 a.m., I knew I needed something special for lunch. I took a roll of frozen puff pastry out of the freezer and let it defrost for a couple of hours on my kitchen counter. In the meantime, I showered and rested before preparing the rest of the ingredients to make this SUPER tasty tart. For ham, I recommend Mr. Meat’s Spanish Serrano ham. Here’s the recipe:
Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Edamame Pesto
Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Edamame Pesto
This is a super healthy, quick and tasty pasta dressed with edamame pesto that you can give a try.
Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Pesto and Garlic Shrimp
Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Pesto and Garlic Shrimp
Carrot Cake with Cinnamon Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting
Carrot Cake with Cinnamon Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting
The frosting is made with cream cheese, cinnamon and ginger–a combination that I found addictive.
Tiramisu
Tiramisu
I had friends over the other night and I decided to make Tiramisu. The origins of Tiramisu are widely debated, but it appears to have been invented in Treviso in the 1980s. One of the most popular Italian cakes, it is made of Savoiardi (also known as ladyfingers biscuits) dipped in espresso (with Marsala wine) and a whipped mixture of eggs, mascarpone and sugar. My recipe is a non-alcoholic version of the traditional one. I like it better this way because I find it is lighter. If you prefer the heavier version you just need to add some Marsala wine to the espresso used to soak the Savoiardi biscuits.
