ART, CULTURE & PLEASURE: LET’S COOK!
‘Vocation’ is what brought Xtina forward since her early childhood towards the discovery of an infinite, exciting world: the Art of Cooking.
Our corporate Chef studied different approaches that go from pastries to haut cuisine on almost every field of it (sauces, fish, grill, vegetables and fruits, pasta, etc.).
Let’s learn how to process every step of our favorite meal from the very beginning to an outstanding plate full of sensations for the fortunate diner.
Elegant, Tasty, Cheap & Easy at the same time? That’s Xtina’s style! 😊
Welcome to her artistic, cultural & pleasant suggestions… Bon Appetit!
PIZZA ‘ALLA XTINA’ 🙂
THE TASTIEST & HEALTHIEST PIZZA IN THE WORLD ( B Sr Dixit : )
To be a good ‘Pizzaiolo’ (pizza-maker) is as difficult as to be a good anything in life: we usually need talent, vocation, persistence, curiosity, will of growth, creativity, a touch of magic …and the best possible ingredients 😊
Xtina presents here as section-opener one of her most celebrated creations: a pizza that B Sr has always considered ‘best of best’, comparing it to the top Roman trattorie ones and many other examples of true artisan pizza.
Let’s say that modernity is bringing as strange things as robot-made pizzas also, like the ones from ‘Pazzi’ in Paris, completely made from the dough by automatic procedures in an isolated room (visible from the public space) without humans, step-by-step until the finished product.
Well, coming back to ‘true’ pizza 😊, here it goes the recipe!
PIZZA ALLA XTINA
INGREDIENTS/ DOUGH:
400 grams of flour *; 25 g fresh yeast from the bakery; 1/2 glass of warm water (to dissolve the yeast); A pinch of sugar; Salt.
*Recommended flours: Caputo, Molino Dallagiovanna, De Cecco (‘grano tenero 00’ e.g., or choose from their 40 varieties :), La Molisana (semola di grano duro per pizza), etc.
INGREDIENTS/ SAUCE:
3 tomatoes; 3 garlic cloves; olive oil; salt; oregano; ‘Italia seasoning’ / Ducros (dried tomato, red pepper, oregano, dried onion, marjoram, black pepper, basil / optional).
INGREDIENTS/ TOPPING:
250 gr of Gouda cheese (or your favorite one) slices; 200 gr of cooked ham in slices; green olives (at discretion); ground oregano.
PREPARATION OF THE DOUGH:
In a bowl (ex: the mixer with the kneading blades or, if it is manual: with a wooden spoon) we place the flour with two teaspoons of salt.
In a cup we dissolve the yeast with warm water and a teaspoon of sugar, reserve in a warm place for 15 ‘until it ferments.
After this time we add it to the flour and it will be necessary to add more water until a dough is formed that comes off the hands.
It is convenient at the end of mixing to add two tablespoons of Extra Virgin olive oil.
Dump this preparation in the form of a bun on a baking tin (36x36cm approx.) And let it rise for 1 hour.
When it increases to double its size, we stretch with the hands (fingers and palms) and allow an additional time (15-20 min) for it to continue rising.
We turn on a soft oven and place a source of water underneath (to humidify the process) and the pizza tray at half height.
So, cook over low / moderate heat for 1/2 hour.
We remove the pizza from the oven to add the tomato sauce (explained soon) to the dough.
We return to the oven for about 5 ‘more, first removing the recipient with the water.
We raise the temperature to about 180º approx.
After these minutes we add cheese for pizza (mozzarella or the one of your preference), ham, olives and oregano.
5 more minutes and …
Ready!
PREPARATION OF THE SAUCE:
Boil three fresh tomatoes to be able to remove the peel off later 🙂
In a small saucepan put a glass of water to boil with the 3 garlic cloves for 10 ‘, add the tomatoes already crushed (by machine or by hand with a knife or other implement) and salt.
When it is thick we turn off the heat, season with oregano, salt to taste and 3 generous tablespoons of olive oil.
XTINA’S ADVICE:
Enough time for the dough raise at every phase will grant the best consistency, texture and taste. Please avoid any rush if you want the best dough!
And as the Chef is already busy with the next recipe, we leave you doing your art on this suggested ‘delicatessen’ for the palate, wishing you the best result that will surely come if following Xtina’s indications step by step (well, some room for your creativity is always there 😊).
‘Til the Next one!
Xtina & B (Sr)
LA CUISINE DE CHEF XTINA
AN EASY WAY TO COOK HEALTHY + TASTY DELICATESSEN …STEP BY STEP 🙂
Learning + following advice from the best Chefs (like Jordi Cruz or Carme Ruscalleda), Xtina brings to our site her original taste for meals that will be always as health-friendly as incredibly tasty.
Her section will show how to get best results in an easy-to-follow way, giving in addition advice for alternative ways to solve each plate, always adapted to the (usually exigent) diner.
This variety is extensible to the high range of types of meal that she’ll offer, with special focus on Italian and Argentinian sides + Catalan and International, always adding some context advice as i.e. best ingredients avaliable in the market, or ideal wines for pairing, etc.
Hmmmm …already wishing the magical moment to enjoy with the 5 senses her creations!
Coming Soon…
Xtina & B (Sr)
