Tagliatelle aglio, olio e peperoncino

Traditionally, spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino - spaghetti with garlic, olive oil and peperoncino.
I saw a recipe similar to this one in Ana Ugarković`s show and really liked the simplicity of ingredients and preparation so I decided to give it a go. Of course, I present you my version which has one extra ingredient to the 3 traditional ones: spring onions. I figured that the green part of the onion would be a great contrast to peperoncini and also, I think they added an extra flavor to the pasta.

Ingredients

200 g pasta (100 g per person; I used tagliatelle but you can absolutely go with the original - spaghetti)
peperoncini (you can go with 1 per person but decide that depending on how hot you`d like it to be)
2 cloves garlic (one per person)
extra-virgin olive oil (up to 100 ml)
3 small spring onions
fresh parsley
salt and pepper

Preparation

Boil 2 liters of water (1 liter per 100 g pasta) and 1/2 tbsp salt for the pasta. Add tagliatelle and cook according to package instructions. Meanwhile, in a pan heat olive oil and add peperoncini (flake it with your finger or even better in a pestle so you don`t burn your eyes later). After one minute of frying, add finely chopped garlic and spring onions and saute until garlic is golden and the onions are soft. Toss your drained pasta in the oil, add some of the water from the pasta and mix well with a wooden spoon. Add a pinch of salt, if necessary, and pepper. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley.

Enjoy in a quick, fresh and delicious summer meal! :)

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Strawberry Yoghurt Cake

Remember when I published a recipe for egg-free strawberry ice cream, I promised you some more strawberry recipes? A month flew by and now I bring you a recipe for a refreshing and light strawberry yoghurt cake. This year we have a rainy spring so we had to wait a little bit longer to get beautiful tasty strawberries. I bought some nice ones a couple of days ago and decided they were ideal for a cake. My sister made this cake last year and I really really liked it. She doesn`t like to cook and bake as much as I do, so when she finally decides to give it a go, it`s always something very special. Here`s the recipe...

Ingredients

For the cake layer (26 cm or a 10-inch springform pan)

4 eggs
8 tbsp sugar
100 g butter
120 g flour
40 g ground walnuts
10 g vanilin sugar
5 g baking powder

For the cream

3 x 180 g yoghurt
10 g powdered white gelatin (I used this one)
500 ml whipping cream (this or this)
200 g sugar (or you can adjust the amount of sugar to your taste, I liked it just the way it was - sweet but not too sweet)
500 g strawberries

Preparation

So, let`s mix up the cake layer. Cover the bottom and sides of a springform pan with a thin layer of butter and then dust it with flour. Separate egg yolks from egg whites. Beat egg whites until you get a stiff foam. Beat egg yolks with 8 tbsp sugar until pale and fluffy. Into the yolks, add flour, walnuts, vanilin sugar, baking powder and melted butter and slightly mix with your mixer on lowest speed. Use a wooden spoon to combine egg yolk mixture with egg white foam. The mixture should be smooth and fluffy. Pour it into the pan and bake on 180 Degrees C until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Then, remove it from the oven and leave it like that until it cools down. When the cake is cold, remove the pan sides and run your knife beneath the cake so you can easily transfer the whole cake onto a serving plate (you`ll transfer it later when you add the cream).Now, bring back the sides.
In the meantime, prepare your cream.
Slightly heat  over low heat 1 yoghurt, add gelatin and mix well. Heat the mixture even more but don`t let it boil. Pour sugar in the remaining 2 yoghurts. Whip cream until stiff. Remove the yoghurt from the heat and combine all 3 mixtures (1. one with the gelatin, 2. whipped cream, and 3. yoghurts with sugar). Use a whisker to get a nice and silky cream. Chop strawberries into quarters and mix them into the cream. Pour it into the pan over the cake layer. Let cool over night (essential!!!) and then remove the sides of the pan, transfer the cake onto a serving tray and enjoy! :)

Try not to eat the whole cake at once! ;) Most of you would probably go crazy for the cream but my favorite part is the walnuty cake layer. One would think that it`s dry but on the contrary, it`s moist and perfect for this type of dessert.