Orange, carrot and almond cake (no flour, butter or oil!)

This post has been a long time coming. There was a quick family trip to the subpolar temperatures in NY (although there was plenty of sunshine and love to warm our hearts while there). Then came jet lag, work overload and, to be honest, also a reasonable degree of laziness.

Until a few days ago, when I finally decided to bake a cake that had piqued my curiosity a while ago when it kept turning up in one version or another on some favorite blogs, to finally see it pop up again here a few weeks ago.

 

 

 

 

Of course what originally caught my attention was the concept of boiling a whole citrus fruit and then blending it, skin and all, to become the base of the batter. Now I was further intrigued by the idea of baking with no flour/carbs. And of course, the leitmotif of this blog of mine, the idea of a one-bowl, five-ingredient cake (well six, because I threw in a large, knobbly carrot too at the last minute) appeals to me even more.

 

So we have oranges, carrots, almond meal, sugar (mostly refined), eggs and baking soda. No flour, no butter, no oil. Lactose and gluten free.

I tweeked the last recipe I linked back to by using mostly unrefined sugar (unfortunately I ran out while baking this or I would have used only unrefined sugar). I also added that carrot I mentioned above because my orange didn't weigh in at 350gr. Plus, hooray for the extra nutrients and vitamins, right?

 

 

What I pulled out of the oven was Bundt cake with a very grown up, heady aroma of Christmas Eve and Mediterranean nights and a pudding/flan-like consistency. Don't get me wrong, it has some crumb, but it is moist and dense at the same time, making it hard to decide whether to eat it with a fork or a spoon.

I liked it and was perfectly satisfied with the result, although I admit it wasn't love at first bite, and the kids were all "meh" about it (then again I never would have eaten anything even reminiscent of orange zest as a child).

But then it started working its magic. My husband and I just kept going back to it again and again, peeling back the aluminum foil, cutting off sliver after sliver of it (the round serving in the photos is purely for blogging purposes, the whole cake and slices just didn't photograph well).  Then, on the third day, even my daughter (who does not budge once she has made up her mind about not liking something) asked for another slice, quickly followed by another. Something about the lovely citrus fragrance, the nuttiness, and the texture of the almonds and grated carrot just becomes addictive.

 

 

 

Ingredients

1 large or two small oranges (about 325gr)

1 carrot, grated

6 eggs

250gr almond meal/flour

250gr sugar (preferably unrefined - I used a mix)

1 heaping tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt (optional)

butter and flour for tin

A few hours before baking the cake, bring a pot of water to a boil and slowly simmer the orange(s) for about an hour, or until it goes completely soft and you can easily pierce itwith a fork. Drain and let cool.

Blend 250gr of peeled almonds until you until reduced to flour, our buy it pre-packaged.
 

Grate the carrot, preheat the oven to 190°C and thoroughly grease a baking tin (I used a bund pan but any kind works -however, keep in mind that a loose base will make it much easier to extract it) with butter. Coat with flour and set aside. 

When the orange(s) has cooled off, cut into quarters and get rid of any seeds. Then reduce the citrus to a pulp by blending it in a food processor, blender or with an immersion blender.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs. Then, beating after every addition, mix in the orange pulp, carrot, sugar, almond meal and the baking powder (and salt, if using).

When your batter is ready, pour into the tin and bake in the oven for up to an hour. After about 45 minutes check it by inserting a toothpick, if it comes out clean it will be ready. Otherwise, cover it with some aluminum foil so it doesn't get too dark, and bake a little longer.

Let cool and unmold.

Lentils, lentils lentils (and a soup with Tuscan kale and pancetta turns into a warm winter salad with oranges)

 

 

Lentils are small, lentils are round,
lentils are red, yellow and brown.

I like them in soups and burgers for sure,
I love them as curry, vegan and more!

I like them warm, I like them cold,
I like them fried or a couple days old.

They make sense as a snack, they are perfect in salad,
I love them, adore them and wrote them this ballad.

There may be no scoop
on lentils in soup,
but they still make you want
to jump through a hoop!

And just in case you don't already know,
here are two things about them before you go:
Thing 1: protein, fiber and iron make them healthy,
Thing 2: Italians believe they make you wealthy.

Just try them,
just eat them,
just have some already.
They are good, they are great,
it is never too late!

 

I admit my reading several Dr. Seuss books to my son last night contributed to this post, but lentils also just happen to be something I get childishly excited about.

 

Yesterday, like so many other times, I cleaned a big, bright orange carrot, I cut a couple of stalks of celery, peeled a clove or garlic and an onion and prepared a mirepoix which I sauteed in some olive oil until the little chunks turned shiny and translucent. I added a bay leaf, and a handful of diced pancetta and let it brown slightly before adding the rinsed lentils and water. I lowered the flame, covered the pot and let the magic begin.

 

 

 

A couple of hours and few more cups of water later, the lentils were soft yet still slightly toothsome, the water had turned into a dark, earthy, savory broth and the kitchen was warm and smelled delicious. I added a good pinch of salt and some chopped up Tuscan kale (but you can use spinach, Swiss chard or any other leafy green).

I seasoned it with plenty of freshly ground black pepper and a good glug of extra virgin olive oil. Sometimes I will add some grated Parmesan cheese, but this time it was perfect just the way it was, those little nuggets of smokey goodness from the pancetta satisfying me one hundred percent.

 

The left over soup turned into a delicious salad for lunch, so much so that I am still wondering why I never paired oranges and lentils before. Think slightly warm lentil quenelles,  the chew from the pancetta and the cool sweetness of the orange segments, highlighted by their zest. I think some crumbled feta cheese, small black olives or thinly sliced red onion - perhaps pickled? - would work great in this too.

Healthy.
Delicious.
Filling.

So before I go all Dr. Seuss on you again, just go and make some!

Buttery Greek Ravani with coconut and orange syrup

Friday is always the best day of the week, the whole week end stretching ahead of us with plenty of time to spend with family and friends, doing stuff you have been impatient to tackle all week long. No pre-dawn alarms going off, long leisurely breakfasts and cozy winter afternoons to spend at home reading, baking or watching the game.

Some Fridays, however, are better than others.

This is one of those: I cannot start telling you how excited I am to get this work week over with. It was pretty crappy, let me tell you, with part of our team calling in sick, tons of work and... the dreaded call from daycare on Tuesday to inform me that my son had a fever. I will spare you the long version of how my other colleague got the same call and how we struggled all week with the workload and organizing several babysitter so their schedules would fit perfectly, allowing us to stay in front of our computers to face the emergency.

To top it all off, it snowed. Don’t get me wrong, I love snow and get as excited as my kids when I see the first flakes. But trading in my bike for public transportation before dawn and trying to coordinate the arrival and departure of the aforementioned army of babysitters in the middle of a minor snow storm for several days in a row just made the week that much more stressful.

But now it is late afternoon and my week end is starting. I am savoring this moment, every minute of this Friday night.

I am looking forward to a relaxed evening with my husband and kids. No constant eyeing the clock, rushing dinner so the little ones get to bed on time. We’ll leave that to a school night, thank you very much. Maybe Mommy and Daddy will have a glass (or two) of wine and will listen to them chat away about their week and it won’t matter if it takes twenty minutes longer to finish those vegetables they always relegate to the side of their plate.

After dinner they will climb into Mommy and Daddy’s bed to all read a book together (even a long one tonight, who cares?) and then they will be allowed to fall asleep there, a special weekend treat. Mommy and Daddy will perhaps enjoy a movie and nibble on something sweet and then they will carry their babies into their room and tuck them in for the night.

I know I can get nice and cozy under my duvet and read until my eyes lids start drooping because I don’t have to worry about being at my desk at 7:00 the next morning. There is nothing better than that luxurious feeling of having all the time in the world (or until you can stay awake) to do something you love.

You want to hear about something else that is truly luxurious? A syrup soaked cake. The most dense yet fluffy, moist cake you have ever tasted, a Greek siropiasta (which literally means soaked in syrup) dessert called ravani. The recipe comes from Magda and I knew it would be special because I already made her saragli a while back and they were outstanding. I am usually more inclined towards chocolate and ice cream when I think dessert but as I get older grow up I feel more and more attracted to the sticky, crunchy desserts of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle Eastern tradition.

I made this using up things in my pantry (dessicated coconut included!). Besides the coconut perhaps, you will probably have everything you need in the house already. What is not to love?

Magda made some variations to the original recipe and I made some more. I used orange instead of lemon because I wanted a really subtle citrus flavor. The next time I will try the lemon to see how it contrasts with the sweetness. The texture is reminiscent of a Bounty bar but the flavors are delicate so don’t let words like orange, syrup or coconut scare you away if you are more of a brownie or custard kind of person. Trust me, because I am. Make this.

I wish you all a fabulous Friday!

Carnival and orata al cartoccio - Sea bream wrapped and baked in foil

Yesterday was Martedì Grasso, better known as Mardi Gras or Fat/Shrove Tuesday in English. Cities dressed up and partied all over the world and people feasted, drank and danced to their heart's delight.

Having grown up in Venice, Carnival triggers a lot of memories of childhood pranks, costumes, dancing in the squares of the floating city, fingers sticky from fried, sugary delights throwing confetti up into the air.

In Milan, Carnival starts later than the rest of the world because the city follows the Ambrosian rite (named after Saint Ambrose, the fourth Century bishop of Milan who is also the city's patron saint) instead of the Roman rite. There are several differences in the liturgical year, one of them being that Lent starts four days later than in the Roman rite so that there is no Ash Wednesday, and Carnival continues until sabato grasso (literally Fat Saturday in Italian). In the past, much of Northern Italy celebrated Carnival following the Ambrosian rite, but nowadays only Milan and a few nearby towns and cities follow this tradition.

That is why my daughter's carnival party in kindergarden is today. Her class' theme is wild animals and she chose to be a lion. Teachers insist on not buying costumes (we are only allowed to recycle material) and taking the time to work on a family project together. A terrific idea, except I am the world's worst sewer. My fingers are crossed that the mane does not fall of the mask we painted together (I actually only helped with some of the black outlines) and that the tail I made with fabric and yarn does not unravel on her walk to school.

She painted it all by herself.

As many of you already know, I go to the office at the crack of dawn, so my husband F has morning duty with the kids taking them to school whilst I have afternoon duty picking them up. It ensues that a mask was a must, it was inconceivable that my husband paint my daughter's face at 8:00am. We thought it would at least be nice - and easy - to draw a little nose and some whiskers on her cheeks as she will not be wearing her mask the whole day.

So last night we had dress rehearsals and I showed my husband again how to snap on the very basic fur tunic I made (a crooked rectangle of fabric with no hems and one lone snap), how to tie on the tail (a strip of fabric that is supposed to be a belt with another long strip of fabric stiched onto it). Believe me when I say it is rustic. I then proceeded to draw a nose and whiskers on my daughter and told him where the eyepencil was in case I forgot to leave it out in my sleepy 6:00am mode.

Surely enough, this morning I got a phone call in the office. It was my husband hollering in my ear that he couldn't find the brown pencil, that he hates doing this stuff, that he knows nothing about make up etc. 

My mistake, I said I would leave it out for him. I used it and put it back into the glass where I keep such things. (I would love to mention that there are only 2 glasses in the bathroom, not 10. In them are eye pencils, scissors, mascara, an eyelash curler that I haven't used since 1987 and an eyebrow brush. Nothing more and nothing less. I also would be tempted to tell you that I remembered a whole other bunch of things at 6:15am like preparing the boy's clean bibs for daycare and his change of clothes. And last but not least I wish I could point out that my DH rolled his eyes when I told him where the pencil was last night. But I won't because I am a loving wife).

So as my daughter runs around roaring at her friends and my husband relaxes in front of his computer after another crazy morning of parenting (he is a wonderful dad and I am eternally grateful that he is not the stereotypical Italian man) I give you the simplest of ideas. A different way to cook fish now that Lent has started if you want to be traditional, or a healthy alternative to your usual recipes.

For those of you who do not know what pesce (fish) al cartoccio means, it is the process of cooking a whole small to medium-sized fish or individual filets wrapped in parchment paper or aluminum foil with seasoning and some form of liquid, allowing it to cook in the aromatic steam.