Light summer minestra: "Pasta with tenerumi"

Do you know what "tenerumi" are? And how do we cook them with pasta? Tenerumi which basically means 'tender' are the big leaves of the long green squash, a summer vegetable that is used a lot here in Sicily. Infact this recipe is similar to the one with squash, and they are both pasta a minestra. Do you remember my previous recipe: pasta with squash?

I know what you are thinking: a soup dish with pasta during summer? Isn't it too hot for that? Well... you just have to try them and you will answer to that question by yourself.
Now, to prepare the dish with such vegetable is always difficult to tell the exact amount of tenerumi you need, because here in Sicily you find them wrapped in bunches and their volume can change according to the greengrocer.

Ingredients & preparation for 4 people:
A bunch of tenerumi if big, two if medium size
350 gr. broken spaghetti (Ital. spaghetti spezzati)
4-5 ts of tomato sauce
80 gr. matured caciocavallo cheese cut in small pieces
salt (or a bio stock-cube if preferred)
extra virgin olive oil 
1 clove of garlic
a small piece of fresh ginger
a small piece of dried red pepper

1. Clean the tenerumi, removing the stems and wash the leaves under running water.

2. Put a pot half full of water on a medium heat.
3. Cut the tenerumi in pieces with a sharp knife and when the water boils add salt (or the stock cube) and drop the tenerumi adding the garlic, the red pepper and the ginger.
4. Let them cook for about 15 minutes.
Now at this point you can choose either to follow the traditional process or instead go with the healthier and faster method, but I can assure you the result is absolutely the same.
In the first case with a slotted or perforated spoon you should take the tenerumi out of the casserole and in another frying pan do the soffritto, putting a drizzle of oil, garlic and then the tenerumi, but what I suggest you do instead is simply: (taking from phase 4 in which everything is cooking together)

5. Drop the spaghetti spezzati inside the casserole and let the pasta cook, then add the table spoons of tomato sauce and stir to mix all together like in the pic on the left.
6. Cook until pasta is perfectly al dente and only when it's ready put the little pieces of matured caciocavallo cheese (pic on the right) and some more extra virgin oil of olive in the pot. Mix together again and serve while hot.

You won't find a simpler, warmer and more familiar dish than this one, especially when the first summer rains start to pour (usually at the end of august/beginning of september here). Enjoy!!! :-)

'Pasta con l'anciova', breadcrumb is the secret!

Do you know how to make one of our most renowned plate of pasta? It's what we call "pasta cu l'anciova" which means pasta with anchovy, plus tomato puree as the main ingredients. When you will prepare it you will smell the parfum of Sicily!!!

Ingredients & preparation for 4 people:

400 gr - pasta (better if Margherite) - 150 gr tomato puree or extract - 1 clove of garlic - 5-6 anchovies - 6 spoons of breadcrumb - extra virgin olive oil - *Perfect for vegeterians as well!

First of all, you probably know already that we have tons of different shapes of pasta. For this specific one we don't use normal spaghetti, but the so-called "Margherite" which are long, thick, half straight and half curly. They are cute and funny!

So, let's start with putting on the pot for the pasta as usual. For preparing the sauce, take a sauce pan, put it on a medium heat with a drizzle of oil of olive and a clove of garlic. After a minute put the anchovies and with a a wooden scoop or a spatula cut them into tiny pieces until they are completely melted. Now it's time to add the tomato puree, which is usually quite dense and thick. Use the same wooden tool.

In the meantime if the water is boiling, salt it and drop the pasta in (if you don't find the margherite just use spaghetti or penne). With a dipper pour some water pasta in the sauce to help the puree melt easier and quicker. You will see that it will look like a proper sauce in few moments.

The amount of water that you had depends on the rest of the ingredients, especially the tomato extract so be careful in balancing because we don't want the sauce neither too dense (remember that we have to add the breadcrumb) nor too watery.

Once the sauce is done put a frying pan on a high heat with 5 or 6 spoons of breadcrumbs, add some olive oil and start mixing the two with a spoon, stirring continuously as we don't want to burn the breadcrumb on a side.

This is very important because it will substitute the usual grated cheese that we normally put on pasta dishes. Little bit of story: The origin is obviously a poor one, infact people in ancient times couldn't afford to buy cheese to put on pasta, so they created this solution that was definetely cheaper!!!

Ok, everything is ready now, drain the pasta and mix it well with the sauce.
If you are uncertain about the quantity of sauce I would say: better to be abundant in this specific case, because as I said before we don't want to eat something that is too dry. Now do the dishes adding a little bit of what we call "muddica atturrata", which is the toasted breadcrumb.

Tip: To avoid the sauce from being too dense and dry, better to leave aside (for example in a mug or cup) some water where the pasta has cooked that you can add on your need. To serve it properly place the breadcrumb into a boat that you normally use for gravy and enjoy!!!

Sicilian mandarine and orange jelly: light and refreshing!

Do you know how to make a lovely parfumed Sicilian mandarine and orange jelly? This is the easiest thing in the world, it's delicious and perfect to refresh your mouth especially after having eaten a big meal and it's the best way to give vitamin C to your kids when they are too lazy to peel an entire orange!

Ingredients and preparation for 4 people:

1/2 liter of fresh mandarine and orange juice (about 6 mandarines and 8 oranges, but really depends on how big and juicy they are)

2 spoons of sugar

25 gr. fish glue

First of all, you need to obtain 1/2 liter of fresh mandarines and oranges juice, so you have to squeeze them carefully removing the pulp afterwards. If the juice is already mixed to a large quantity of pulp you can use a small colander to strain the juice.
Once you have your half liter, leave it aside for few minutes and in a medium sauce pan put a glass of water at room temperature and the thin sheets of fish glue. This is an eatable substance that looks like a small transparent sheet of paper. When you buy it, is hard, then you leave it 10 minutes in the water and becomes like jelly.

Once it is so, on a medium heat put your sauce pan with the fish glue that has melted in the water and stir slowly, it will melt completely!

Now it's the time to add our lovely squeezed juice and keep stirring. When the juice is still liquid but hot (it doens't have to reach the boiling phase) we can remove it from the heat and pour it in our bowl and let it cool off, stirring from time to time.

As soon as it's cold let's put it into the fridge and leave it there for at least 3 hours. After one hour or so, go and check if the "thing" is actually becoming a real jelly. Normally it sure does and you can enjoy the freshness and lightness of our Mediterrenean fruits. Enjoy!

Ps - Don't forget that if your oranges are particularly sweet or you just try to avoid sugar as much as possible, you can eliminate it, I prepared it many times without it and the result is still excellent!

A delicious spring pasta: Bronte's pistaches pesto & speck

Do you know what the pesto of pistaches is? It is a sauce made of mashed pistaches from Bronte, a town near Catania, and it is mixed with some salt, pepper and oil of olive. It is a product that people normally buy in supermarkets but I don't think you find it anywhere else out of Sicily.

The recipe that I am going to put is something my mum and I created on a sunday morning, while we were thinking about an original nice way to dress our pasta. We like to try combining different ingredients so we decided to use not only a Sicilian pistaches pesto but also some speck, which is a smoked Parma ham typical of the region of Trentino Alto Adige, up in the north, added some creamy cheese as well and it was just fabulous! We couldn't have a better result! 

So with a little more imagination we can say that Italy is united in this dish also in our three colors of the flag :) 

Ingredients & preparation for four people:

380 gr. penne rigate (or any other type of pasta you like)
4-5 tablespoons of pesto

80 gr. speck thinly sliced and chopped in pieces

2-3 tablespoons of creamy cheese (like Philadelphia or similar)

3-4 leaves fresh mint

some grated lemon zest
black pepper

Cook the penne as usual, adding salt when the water boils. While they are cooking, in another sauce pan or frying pan, put the chopped speck on a medium heat, after a couple of minutes add the pesto of pistaches and some hot water taken from the pasta, add the creamy cheese as well, a bit of black pepper, the leaves of mint and some grated lemon if you like them all and... voilà the sauce is ready!
As soon as the penne are cooked, drain and sautè them in the sauce pan with the dressing, mixing well all together. Sprinkle with Parmisan cheese on top and the whole of Italy is served right on your table! Delicious!!!

Exquisite fava beans mash: the Sicilian "maccu"

Do you know what is the so-called "MACCO DI FAVE"? In Sicilian the word macco becomes maccu and is used to name an exquisite dish we prepare with dried and peeled fava beans. It is a mix between a thick soup and a puree, because when you cook fava beans they mash up and become an homogeneous soup. You can also have it with pasta, as one of our 'minestra'.

Here comes the recipe for 4 people:

250 gr dried peeled fava beans

3 ts tomato sauce
a small bunch of wild fennel (like 20% of the one in the pic)
3 ts extra virgin oil of olive
hot chili pepper (a little piece or half of it)
salt

Preparation:

First of all, wash the fennel under running water. In a pot on a medium heat put some water (about 1 litre) with the fava beans. As soon as the water starts to boil add salt, fennel cut in small pieces and half of a little chili pepper and reduce the heat at the minimum.

Let the beans cook slowly, stirring from time to time so that they don't get stuck at the bottom. To obtain the mash they have to cook about one hour all together, but it also depends on how water you put. If it's too much wait until the majority of it is absorbed by the fava beans. 
After the first 25 or 30 minutes, add the spoons of tomato sauce and olive oil. Finally, serve hot with grilled slices of rustic bread spread with a clove of garlic.
It's simple, it's healthy and delicious, everyone loves it and is also perfect for vegeterians. Can we ask for more? :-))

The stuffed rustic bread in Sicily is called "pane cunzato"

Do you know what "pane cunzato" is? And how can we make it? Pane cunzato in Sicilian dialect means literally stuffed bread. When we talk about this preparation which is easy and delicious, we have to find out which are the secrets to make a great pane cunzato.

The first is obviously the bread: we use the long-shaped rustic one that in Sicily is called "filone". It is perfect because is soft inside but crispy outside. The second secret is obviously the oil. It must be rigourously extra virgin olive oil, seasoned with some salt and black pepper. If you have fresh rustic bread and a really good olive oil your pane cunzatu will be absolutely amazing. But it's not just that!

We also add, traditionally, three more ingredients: anchovies that give a strong taste, some slices of tomato that give softness and freshness in the mouth and an abundant sprinkle of oregano, which makes the different! So, if you are hungry and fancy some genuine Mediterranean taste, don't have to wonder what to prepare anymore. You know the answer!  :-) 

Enjoy! 

Reviews: "Four Seasons", the brand new restaurant in Lascari

Yesterday I spent a lovely day in Lascari, a small village near the more famous Cefalù, where there is a new born restaurant called "Four Seasons" that opened last december. Nice colors on the walls, attention to details and a warm and pleasant atmosphere make the customers at ease, but obviously what people will appreciate the most, are the superb and innovative dishes prepared by the young and talented Chef Giuseppe Di Cristina.

"Tortino di cavolfiore e patate" (mini-pie with cauliflower and potatoes), "Ravioli alla crema di formaggio" (ravioli with cheese sauce) and an amazing fillet with fresh porcini served on a slice of rustic bread, just to name a few, but I would like to spend two more words on a delicious first dish created by the Chef himself some years ago: "Risotto with green apple and scamorza", which is a local smoked tasty cheese. Just perfect! 

The desserts were fresh made as well and really enjoyable. (Here on the left the fabulous semifreddo with pistaches and dark melted chocolate on top!)

Another thing that I liked was the menù. Infact being called 'Four Seasons' the place has not only a menù with things that may be found all year around but also a second menù according to the current season, created to use the fresh products of the four seasons. And prices are reasonable too!

What else can I say then? It's new, it's good, if you pass by, just go there, you will have a great time!

Four Seasons - Ristorante Pizzeria
Via Alcide De Gasperi 15/b,
Lascari (PA)
Italy

Delicious fried cardoons, aka "cardi in pastella"

Do you know what cardoons are? And how we eat them? Here we have some vegetables that are not easy to find in other part of the world and I guess that cardoons are just an example. They are long-shaped vegetables characterised by a little bitterness, reason why kids don't usually like them, but by contrast adults really do.

We normally boil them and prepare them in 2 versions: a dietetic one if it's a normal day of the week, which means only seasoned with olive oil, salt and lemon juice that reduce the bitterness, or in the fried version, usually as starter for one of the winter festivities. 

In this case we make what we call "pastella", a batter made of flour, water, salt, lemon juice and baking soda. Quantities as usual are difficult to define, normally an expert eye knows when it's enough :)

Preparation:

1. Wash the cardoons under running water, removing some external leaves and the superior part of the bunch.
2. Boil them in salted water where you can add the  half of a lemon.
3. Check them after 25 minutes or so with a fork, if it goes inside the cardoons and they are tender means they are ready, so you can drain and put them in a bowl to cool off.
4. In another recipient or bowl mix carefully flour with water, trying not to make any lumps. You can choose to have a more liquid batter or a ticker one, I prefer the second option.
5. Add salt and some baking soda and squeeze some lemon juice on the baking soda. It will look like it's frying. As soon as the chemical reaction is finished mix all together and there you have your batter ready! 
6. Put some olive oil on a frying pan on a high heat and in the meantime cut the cardoons in medium or small pieces (as you prefer).

7. When the oil is hot, deepen one piece after the other in the batter and fry them all on both sides until they become golden brown.

8. Finally leave them few minutes on some kitchen paper to absorb the exceeding oil and serve them hot on a nice plate with some toothpicks on. In this way they easily become Sicilian finger food! It is also possible to add some more salt and lemon juice on top of them to reduce again the bitterness and, besides, lemon is great on fried food in general because it tents to eliminate the grease. Believe me, you will find them just amazing!

What do Sicilians eat for breakfast?

Do you know what Sicilians usually eat for breakfast? When I decided to create a food blog I loved the idea of posting not only mere recipes, but also stories, origins and any other information that can be interesting about our way of eating and our habits. So that is what this article is about: our breakfast!
 

As Sicily is a part of Italy (can't stand those who say the opposite only because it's an island!), Sicilian breakfast at home is like the Italian one: strong black coffee, with or without milk, with few biscuits or some sliced bread with butter and jam, possibly homemade. But if you do have breakfast out things change. It's still true we can't live without the black espresso from the bar or the lovely cappuccino, we also love fresh orange juice (squeesed in that moment!) and we usually have some delicacies with those things.

The most traditional ones in Palermo and its province are: treccine (twist shaped), millefoglie, ciambelle and brioche; (up above the picture of a ciambella and a treccina).

(You'll also find the international croissants and similar stuff such as Danish pastries with cream and apple, ecc... like in the rest of the world I suppose.)

 

The dough of this four things are similar one another, the first two treccine and millefoglie (here on the left a millefoglie) are baked and have sugar on top, they only have different shapes, plus the millefoglie has got raisins as well. Ciambelle (pic on top) are fried and very similar to donuts, at least in their shape, but are bigger, softer and with caster sugar. Needless to say they are the best and all the kids love them!

I remember when I was a child and I had to go to the doctor for blood exams with my empty stomach, after that horrible experience (as a kid) only a big soft rounded ciambella could make me smile again!!! :-)))

Finally there are the briosce or brioche, the word comes from the French. Careful when you use this word in other parts of Italy because in the north (like in Milan) they call briosce a normal croissant, while we don't because as I've just explained for us are to different things!

Our brioches are plain baked buns (oval or rounded like here on the right) and we eat them in many different ways: you can have an empty brioche with your cappucino in the morning, then a briosce with ham and tomato for lunch, and even a brioche with ice cream for dinner or during the afternoon! This is how Sicilians love to eat their ice cream in Summer!!! They are suitable for every need :)))

Talking about the hot season I have to add that there are many Sicilians who prefer to have a lemon granita (I think the correct translation should be shovel or ice shaved) with the brioche instead of the hot cappuccino in the Summer mornings, but this is up to everyone's taste and habit. I like my cappuccino even in the middle of July!

So now you can understand a little bit more about our first meal, and when you come to Sicily you will definetely know what to ask for breakfast!

Pasta with squash, our summer & fall "minestra"

Do you know how to cook "pasta con la zucchina a minestra"? I already told you about pasta a minestra in general, now we are preparing a specific minestra with squash. This is a great summer and autumn dish.

I know I know, everyone thinks that in summer you only have to eat cold or refreshing food, but Sicilian tradition do not agree with that. Infact in Summer we also prepare some types of pasta made with broth, like a soup, and this is exactly one of them. You may not have it too liquid (like it is in the pic above, but that depends only on your personal taste!) Even better is having it in this season, when the first rains arrive.

Ingredients & preparation for 4 people:
1 half of a squash (if very long)
1 small onion
400 gr. broken spaghetti (Ital. spaghetti spezzati)
4-5 ts of tomato sauce
80 gr. matured caciocavallo cheese in small pieces
salt (or a bio stock-cube if preferred)
olive oil
a small piece of dried red pepper

1. You peel the squash (pic on the left), cut it in half and then in thin slices. 2. On a medium heat put a large pan with half the water. 3. As soon as the water boils put salt (or a bio stock-cube if preferred), onion and the squash in pieces. 4. After about 12-14 minutes put the pasta and the tomato sauce. For this dish we use the "spaghetti spezzati" type of pasta, which are simply broken spaghetti.
5. When the pasta is almost cooked (usually after 10-12 minutes) put the little pieces of caciocavallo cheese inside the soup, so that they have the time to melt a bit (matured caciocavallo is very hard).This local cheese is very salty and tasty, so is the perfect contrast with the delicate taste of the squash.

If you want to try this lovely pasta don't hesitate: it's simple, healthy and tasty. Perfect for vegeterians or even health food nut people :) Enjoy!

Fresh homemade tomato sauce: it's worth doing it!

Do you know how to make a fresh delicious homemade tomato sauce? Have you ever tried?

The making of tomato sauce (in Italian salsa di pomodoro) definetely reminds me of my childhood summers spent in our country-house along with my family and my maternal grandparents.

My mum and my grandma sometimes were doing the "salsa" (literally means sauce and when we say the word alone it only means tomato sauce). I used to watch the process, not the entire one though, as it was very long and after a while I inevitably got bored; so I was coming and going from the kitchen from time to time.

Last week after so many years I decided to prepare once again some fresh tomato sauce. Contrary to what I used to think when I was 10, it didn't seem to me neither long nor boring. That's good! 

It took me just an afternoon (cooking time included) and the result was great! I was so proud :-)

Ingredients:
1 kg ripen tomatoes
1 onion
1 full teaspoon of salt
1/2 spoon of caster sugar
black pepper
olive oil
fresh basil
cinnamon in powder
nutmeg
1. Wash the tomatoes under running water, then roughly cut them and put them in a sauce pan together with the sliced onion. Let cook the two together for about 30 minutes on a very low heat with a lit.
2. After that it's time to mash them up. To help you speed up the process you can first blend the mix; this will facilitate the squeezeing phase. 
3. To squeeze them put them in a strainer. I have an electric tomato strainer (or squeezer... I am not sure how you exactly call it) so it's very easy (See the pic here on the left). When you have finished the squeezing phase, the liquid that you have gathered in the sauce pan is very watery and needs to be reduced to the proper thickness of the tomato sauce, so it has to cook again on a very low heat for at least two hours and half or until it is not watery anymore.

4. As soon as the liquid is becoming more and more "sauce" than water add all the ingredients to make it tasty: salt, sugar, a pinch of black pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon and some fresh leaves of basil. Taste it and adjust with salt and sugar if needed.

In the end add also a drizzle of extravergin olive oil... and that's pretty much it, your fresh homemade tomato sauce is ready!!!
You can use it on your pasta, bruschettas, pizza or wherever you like. You will be proud too! ;-)


Enjoy!

"Anelletti al forno", our scrumptious baked Sicilian pasta

 

Do you know what "anelletti al forno" are? Here in Sicily we have a typical shape of pasta that is called "Sicilian anelletti" which means little rings. We normally use them when we want to prepare our traditional baked pasta! 
You may find this little timballo of pasta in bars and diners in Palermo that goes with the most classic Sicilian ragout made of minced meat, tomato sauce, onions and pieces of vegetables like carrots and peas.

As this recipe is usually very rich we normally eat it in winter, while for summer we have a different version, considered absolutely "lighter" :-)
It is made of tomato sauce, fried eggplants or aubergines and Sicilian primosale cheese.

My family and I love this version of baked anelletti a lot more than the one with meat and we also add another ingredient: thin slices of Napoli salami, while other people prefer to add ham. 

This preparation takes a while (about 3 hours plus baking time), but the result is a scrumptious mouthwatering baked pasta that we normally have for the most important summer festivity: August the 15th, which is called Ferragosto (mid August term) but it is also a Catholic festivity that celebrates the Assumption of Our Lady, the Virgin Mary.
Baked pasta is something you do in layers, so read and follow the recipe carefully.

Ingredients and preparation for about 6 people:
600 gr. anelletti
2 aubergines or eggplants
200 gr. Napoli salami
250 gr. Sicilian primosale cheese
100 gr. Grated Sicilian caciocavallo cheese
1 bottle tomato sauce (about 750 ml)
breadcrumb
olive oil

1. First turn on the heat and put on a big pot for cooking the pasta. In the meantime 2. cut the eggplants in slices, not too thin, place them on a colander with salt on and leave them aside for about 15 minutes. It will make them release the bitterness and taste sweeter. After the time has passed just wash them under running water and they are ready to be fried in olive oil.

3. By the time you have finished frying, water in the pot will be boiling, so cook the anelletti as normal pasta, putting some salt in the water. They need about 20 minutes of cooking. 4. Stir the anelletti from time to time and prepare the tomato sauce in an appropriate sauce pan. 5. Cut the primosale cheese in slices or thin pieces and also the salami (you can either leave it in slices or cut it into pieces as well).


6. When the pasta is cooked (but careful not to overcooked it because it has to go in the oven as well!), drain it and add the tomato sauce plus the grated caciocavallo cheese.

Now it's time to start building the layers:
7. Take a large oven dish or tray with high rims and cover the space with some olive oil first, and breadcrumbs after, then put half the amount of anelletti mixed with tomato sauce and grated caciocavallo cheese on the bottom of the tin, then cover with a layer of fried eggplants, then primosale cheese and finally the third one with salami, just as shown in the picture below.

8. Put the rest of anelletti on top and finally cover with some more spoons of tomato sauce to avoid the pasta becoming too dry in the oven, then a drizzle of olive oil and a bit of breadcrumbs again to make the crust in the oven.
9. Bake for about 35 minutes or a little more, until it is golden and crusty.

10. Serve hot! On the right the final picture of how the whole thing should look before the baking phase. This is one of the best first dishes of all times... enjoy it!!!

Have a rest with a "Sicilian granita"

Hi everyone, do you know what the "granita di pistacchi" is? Granita is something very typical from Sicily and is basically what you probably call a shaved ice or similar. Nice, cool, refreshing, perfect when the sun is hot and you want to have a rest.

In the southern part of Sicily the granita is particularly good and they prepare it with so many different flavors: pistaches, figs, coffee, watermelon, mint, ecc... besides the most classic one that is made with lemon.

Thanks to the picture that my two friends Laura e Carlo sent me while they were visiting the town of Ragusa. If you are in that part of Sicily, or near Siracusa as well, don't forget to try one of this excellent granite!!!

Everyone is on holiday right now so I want to wish Happy Ferragosto (ferragosto is our Summer festivity: August 15th) and enjoy your Summer vacation wherever you are!

Gelo di mellone: our summer watermelon pudding

Do you know what the "gelo di mellone" is? It's the name of a very traditional summer pudding that is made ONLY in Palermo and its province. Mellone in Italian is a generic word to mean melon, but this dessert is actually made only with watermelon and has a delicate and delicious fresh taste. 

We like to eat it plain, just as a pudding but we also use it as filling in the pie, to have a more important dessert! You find it in all the patisseries of the Sicilian capital in summertime and you can also see the single-portions (mini-pies) as well as the big pie.

Ingredients & preparation for 8-10 people:
1 lt fresh watermelon juice
100 gr. starch
200 gr. sugar
50-60 gr. dark chocolate chips
a glass of jasmine water
*pistaches and cookies to serve (but not essential)

Before starting to prepare the "gelo" you need a couple of jasmine flowers. Wash them and leave them in water for 24 hours. 
Now you are ready to start:
1. Cut the watermelon and put the pieces in a blender, having removed the green hard parts and the seeds. Blend until it becomes all liquid.
2. To strain the juice and remove the solid little parts we usually use a kitchen tool similar to the one we use to press the tomatoes for the sauce, it's also similar to a colander, but bigger, like the one in the pic below. When you have finished to strain the juice you can measure how much of that you've got. Usually a quarter of a big watermelon should be around 1 liter.

3. In a sauce pan mix the starch and the sugar, then, when you have obtained the proper amount of juice pour it little by little, stirring constantly with a spoon or a whip. When the ingredients are all melted together place the sauce pan under a low heat. 
4. Add the jasmine water and gently keep stirring until the liquid starts to boil and become as consistent as a pudding. As soon as it is quite solid (few minutes) turn off the heat and place it in little bowls for single portions or in a large mold or tin instead.

5. Let it cool down and after at least 40-45 minutes, if it is not warm anymore, put the chocolate chips on top and if you like also some pistaches as the one shown in the big picture above.
6. Place in the fridge at least two hours before serving it. Then, to finish up the decoration in the best possible way just stick two wonderful cookies or other kind of biscuits to accompany the pudding and you will enjoy it so much that you are definetely going to make it every single season! Happy & sweet Summer :-)))