RECEPT: Italian Hamburger

A while ago I ordered a delicious italian hamburger in a little cafe in the center of Haarlem. It was so wonderful, that I decided to write down the recipe and to try it out at home. It's extremely easy to make and will do as a big lunch or as a petit dinner. Whatever you prefer. We had it as a dinner. Optional is the salad, which was made out of leftovers. You can even add some -french- fries if you like. Let me know if you tried it out and what you think of it!




It's really nice if you grill the hamburger. You can also use some minced meat and make the hamburgers yourself. We bought some plain hamburgers and grilled them. I baked the onions till they were soft and grilled the pepper really short not to loose the taste of it. Just slice the mozarella in nice thin pieces and do the same with the tomatoes. When the hamburgers are well done, put them onto the italian bread roll. Put the tomatoes and the mozarella on it and put the grilled veggies on top! Add some cocktail sauce for an extra taste.


Use some leftovers for your salad. We used mixed salad, white cheese, tomatoe, red pepper, olives and red onion (also leftovers from the veggies from the recipe above) and made the dressing out of olive oil and lemon juice. Add a little bit of italian herbs and seasalt and you've got a delicious salad!


:)

RECEPT: Penne Arrabiata

What do you need?
- Penne Rigate pasta
- 4 oz of pancetta cut into small dice (or bacon)
- Italian peeled and chopped tomatoes (I used 2 cans)
- 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoon of fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- Freshly grated Parmiggiano Reggiano
- Pinch of hot pepper flakes
- Salt and pepper to taste

I never ever liked cooking, being in the kitchen or anything that has something to do with food (except eating, ofcourse). But with the experience of living on my own, and not wanting to eat take-away food all the time, I was forced into the kitchen. What was my worst enemy, became a friend. I can honestly say that I enjoy cooking nowadays. I still don't do it very often (keep in mind I spend about 4 nights per week in a hotel...), but when I find a good recipe, I love to try it out. And this one turned out to be so good that I wanted to share it with you! I hope you like it!

Let's get started!

Fill a large pot with water, add some salt and bring to a boil. When it's boiling, add the penne rigate pasta. Mine took about 10 to 11 minutes to become 'all dente'. Cook yours according to the package.


In the mean time, you can put the panchetta in a large skillet and let it cook over medium heat till it gets nice crispy and a bit brown. After a couple of minutes, add the chopped garlic and let it cook for another minute.


Add the canned tomatoes and stir thoroughly! Reduce the heat to low and let it cook for another 10 - 15 minutes.


Pasta should be done now! Make sure to drain it and add a teaspoon of olive oil to the pasta.


Add the parsley to the sauce and stir. If you like, you can already add the parmiggano cheese and stir it again. But it would be nice to also put the cheese on the table for your guests so they can add as much as they like.


Put everything together! Enjoy your lovely penne arrabiata! Bon appetit!