Zucchini Pasta & Panko-Parmesan Spinach Balls

London.

London, London, London.

Oh the history! Oh the tradition! Oh the wonderful Jude Law look-a-likes in every pub!

Oh the food!.........?

YES, THE FOOD.

I spent the past year of my collegiate career studying and just blissfully existing in what I biasedly refer to as 'The Best City in the World.' I find it so frustrating that I am constantly defending the culinary dignity of this city to endless American skeptics who have heard that London is merely 'tomatoes and beans for breakfast!'

No way. It simply isn't true.

These people are naive to the glorious dining options that exsist in my favorite city. Every day of the week a different area of the city transforms into a market full of the freshest produce, meats, cheeses, breads, baked desserts, and even hot foods for the money-conscious student. A trip to Borough Market feels like a tour of Wonka's Factory-- full of wonderous creations to taste, smell, and for us more tactile folk, even touch. The more adventurous Londoner might find him or herself in the Aldgate East/Brick Lane area, perusing Spitalfields or the Sunday Up Market... Or hello? How about an authentic curry?! Here countries from around the world assemble and peddle their native foods to the locals.

London has an impressive and centrally located China Town full of Peking Duck houses and endless bowls of medicinal soups. There is a plethora of Gastropubs that focus on gourmet and elegant traditional British meals which never disappoint. Wonderful French, Spanish, Thai, Indian, and even the rarer Mexican restaurant exsist in this metropolis.

Which leads me to my biggest concern before my study-abroad experience... Where would I get my Italian food fix?

Good News: London has that, too.

My family raised me on homemade marinara, mussels in white whine, frutti di mare, and endless other Italian comfort foods.

I was spoiled, I admit it! And when our family stayed in a Tuscan villa for 2 weeks one summer, my favorite meals were those cooked in our own kitchen. Pish Posh!

Carluccio's Restaurant is actually an Italian food chain in various locations of London, (shh!) but this recipe is the kind that you scribble into your recipe book and pretend you were clever enough to concoct it yourself. It is what their menu titles 'Giardienera' -- and all my Italian snobbery aside--it's fantastic! I can't tell you how many of us returning London students have braved injury by oil burn to recreate our favorite dish.

A warm, buttery zucchini sauce coats each piece of pasta. Scattered atop are golf-ball sized 'spinach clusters', rolled in Parmesan and bread crumbs before being fried in a shallow pan of olive oil. The result is something garlicky, salty, and hey, veg friendly.

Ciao Ciao spaghetti and meatballs.

Buon Appetito!

Recipe serves 4

(Courtesy of Carluccio's Restaurant--with some alterations)

Ingredients

Spinach balls
700 g of spinach (we used about a bag of baby spinach)

half a clove of garlic, minced (we added about 4...ooh garlic!)
1 egg, beaten
a tiny pinch of nutmeg (we didn't use any & it still tasted great)
45g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, freshly grated
70g dry panko crumbs
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
olive oil for shallow frying

Pasta
500g Carluccio’s Penne Regine (large artisan penne from Puglia)
80g butter
2-3 (or more!) cloves garlic, finely chopped
20g red chillies, finely chopped
2 medium courgettes (zucchini), coarsely grated
240g Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated

To make 28 spinach balls (7 per person)
In a bowl, mix together the spinach, garlic, egg, nutmeg and Parmesan. Add about half of the panko crumbs, to balance the moisture of the mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Roll one ball and fry it, to test for consistency and taste. (If the mixture is too wet, the ball will fall apart during cooking, but too much bread content will lessen the spinach flavour.) Add some more panko crumbs or seasoning if needed. Fry until golden. Set aside.
Pasta & Sauce

In abundant salted water, boil the pasta until it’s al dente, perhaps 10-15 minutes. Drain and keep warm. In a pan, melt the butter and heat the garlic and chillies. Add the grated courgettes and fry for a minute or two. Add the cooked pasta and toss in most of the grated cheese (leave some for serving). Season with salt and pepper.
Serve

In a deep plate or shallow bowl, serve the pasta sprinkled with spinach balls and the remaining Parmesan.

Sugary Sweet Strawberry Cake

I believe the old 'save the best for less' mantra is a tad overrated. So as a self-admitted newby to the world of blogging, I have decided it is best to dive in mouth first. Nancy Patterson's is a charming Southern bistro, nestled between the admittedly best/worst neighborhoods in downtown Montgomery, Alabama. Here you find both the manliest of men, and the softest of Southern women, dining during their lunch break or perhaps just catching up on the societal gossip. Creamy Caesar salads, steak filet sandwiches, and fresh quiches decorate the plates of the nearby white-clothed tables... but every Southerner knows the real 'star' of the restaurant -- a huge, cool slice of the strawberry cake.

Although I've never had the guts to ask for a tall glass of milk with my slice, it's the kind of cake that deserves nothing less. The cake itself is a shade of pink so light it resembles Bermuda sand. The frosting is a sugary buttercream that is so timidly pink, but in reality it is so sweet it hurts your teeth (perfectly, of course). Occasionally a piece of strawberry hidden beneath the fluffy inside catches your tooth providing a wonderful nugget of chewyness. I've always considered my palate more of a 'chocolatey, peanut-buttery' kind, but even I can't deny that this cake is hands-down the ultimate indulgence.

My mother is a former caterer, cooking instructor, and despite complaints from her four children that we eat 'the same thing allll the time'-- she really is the best cook I know (and a top notch mom to boot!). So needless to say, I daren't tackle this kind of culinary challenge on my own. We sorted through endless cookbooks, food blogs, and magazines in search of THE strawberry cake. 2 years and 5 attempts later ... I present to you... Our Sugary Sweet Strawberry Cake.

Go ahead. Pour yourself a glass of cold whole milk. You've earned it.

RECIPE:

For the Cake

4 1/2 cups cake flour

3 cups sugar

5 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 sticks (12 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups pureed frozen strawberries

8 egg whites

2/3 cup milk

1 to 2 drops red food dye (*optional: I prefer the cake to be a paler, almost white pink)

For the Frosting

**we used cream cheese, but if you prefer the traditional buttercream, please indulge!

3 (8 ounce) packages of softened cream cheese

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cake Instructions:

1. Preheart the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 9 inch round cake pans and line them with parchment or wax paper. Butter the paper as well. (we cooked 3 9-inch cakes, but only used two in the final cake. freeze your third cake and save it as a standy fabulous dessert!)

2. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixer bowl on low speed for about 30 seconds. Add the butter and strawberry puree until the ingredients appear blended. Raise to medium speed and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. The batter should resemble strawberry ice cream.

3. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the egg whites milk, and red food dye(*if used). Add the whites to the batter in two or three additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl and mixing only to incorporate after each addition. Divide the batter amongst the three pans.

4. Bake the cakes for 30 to 34 minutes (ours took longer.. more like 40-45) or until the cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the layers to cool in the pans for 10 to 15 minutes. Invert and turn out onto wire rakcs and peel off the paper liners. Let stand until completely cooled before assembling the cake, at least an hour.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

5. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigeratore after use.

Frosting & Assembling:

6. Place one cake layer on a cake board or platter. Note: tucking scraps of waxed paper under the edges of the cake will protect the board or plate from any mess from frosting! Spread about 2/3 cup frosting over the layer, spreading it to the edge. Repeat with the second layer. Frost the stop and sides of the cake with remaining frosting, reserving a small amount if you wish to tint and decorate the cake.