The heat has set in and nearly everybody has decamped to their houses in the country or at the sea. [Having a second home out of town is common here; it is not just for the rich.] Most people will return to town in mid- September but some will not come back until November. Today in the country Irma served this cooling rice salad followed by pollo in tegame [chicken cooked in a pan on the hob] with a contorno of green peppers which had been grilled and peeled, then dressed in olive oil. I took along the amarena desserts I made yesterday and they went down very well!
Many Italians include tuna in their rice salads. As I don't eat fish, this is how I make mine: Peel and deseed some cucumber, chop into small pieces and sprinkle with seasalt. Leave a while then rinse and drain well. Peel and deseed some tomatoes and chop finely. Chop some spring onions and celery plus a small amount of red and orange peppers [finely]. Have some sliced black and green olives ready, plus a drained can of sweetcorn. Allowing about 2 oz rice per person, boil it in salted water till al dente. [I put a halved lemon in with it.] Drain and rinse with cold water and put it into a bowl. Add all the vegetables and mix well. Add some basil and parsley and chopped, fresh lavender if you have any. Dress with about 4 tablespoons olive oil [you'll have to just judge this, depending on the quantity of rice], a dessertspoon or so of white wine vinegar and season to taste [bearing in mind, if you wish, that Sicilians would use red, not black, pepper as a seasoning]. Mix well again. Chill until required. You can serve it at room temperature if you prefer, but be careful as rice should not be left out for long.
16 comments:
Looks delicious. A home by the sea. That would be nice.
Very picky eater here :(
Where's the steaks! :)
(also: with comment moderation on, shouldn't you take out the word verification? just asking)
Why don't we swap dinners?
I'll have this, you can have my microwave burger?
Fair?
I thought not :(
Hi, steve. Yes, I'd like one too! LN, I don't think you'd like an Italian "steak" - apart from the "fiorentina" cut, they are thin, thin, thin! Re comment moderation and word verif, I didn't know you could have one without the other! Dunno... Crushed, maybe another day!
there should be a place for word verification on/off and another place for comment verification on/off
steak.. I can handle thin steak(s) just have to stack em
My favorite is 11-13 oz marinated myself for 1-3 hours before cooking.
Been meaning to come by and congratulate you on well-deserved blog awards, WL. I am so sorry I've not been able to read every word lately, but I do scan through regularly...and look at the pictures.
Hi WCLC,
Well I think that's a satisfactory lunch from my point of view! You don't eat fish? This was the thing I loved about Sicily, the fresh fish every day. My "mother", the little old lady (even older than I) with whom I "homestayed" cooked fish every day since she knew I liked it. Especially pescespada. All very fresh although I did worry a bit about contamination as I read once the Mediterranean was very contaminated but it looked OK to me so I ate it all.
Now that lord nazh has brought it up, I join in the chorus. You definitely don't need both moderation and word verification and it's easy enough to get rid of. I hate it so much on other people's blogs (because somehow it never works the first time so you have to do it twice)that I left it out of mine. I've only had to remove two spam-like comments since I started and I deleted them.
Think about it, WCLC.
regards
jmb
And more food! This is a "foodies" paradise!
So true what you say about rice, Welsh...it can go "off" quickly and once it gets a "sweet" taste, it's time to toss it out. Rice, mayonnaise and tomato-based sauces can be some of the most dangerous for food poisoning.
What a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon; gli amici buoni il cibo buono.
What are you doing at 9 this evening (Monday) BST? I'm thinking of trying to get into this strange world and it'd be good to see some familiar faces there.
Otherwise I could be fumud to quote the verifier.
Thanks, LN. LN and jmb, I will think about it! I take the point. Shirl, thank you. You are always welcome and I know you're having a difficult time at the moment. Take care x Oh, LN, I meant to ask: what marinade do you use for your steaks? Jmb, I'm allergic to fish and always have been. Glad you survived eating it whilst in the Med! I don't think it's polluted. Thanks, Lee. Yes, we need to be careful with these foods, especially now the heat has arrived. Marymary, I am indeed fortunate in my friends here. Complimenti per l'italiano! Hi, Liz. That's in about 20 minutes over here. Not sure I can get over there tonight. I'll try! Been looking today and it scares me!
dale's steak sauce (a rather salty sauce), lemon juice (not much), sprinkle of vanilla (applied directly to the steak, it will soak in and help tenderize, but not enough to taste) and then if you have it; vodka.
Without vodka, marinate 2 hours and then grill up. With marinate 1 hour, then grill up, cook it to the style you like, then eat :)
(note: I use various spices in there also, usually some pepper, oregano, garlic and whatnot, whatever's on hand)
Oh, LN., that sounds delicious! I like salty sauces and can't wait to try the vanilla idea - and vodka, of course! Thank you for sharing the secret!
btw, I expect (soon) you will make some of 'my' steaks, and put pics/post about them :)
what about you, are you escaping to the sea?
Coming soon, LN! No, WW - I'm a townie!
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