All Posts By: NANCY DeLUCIA REAL

Prep time: 10 to 12 minutes
Serves: 4 (as an appetizer) or 2 (as a main dish)

Tuna tartare is one of my favorite appetizers to order at a restaurant. However, by preparing this delicacy at home, I can avoid paying $16.00+ for a mere 1-cup serving at each outing.

My recipe for tuna tartare is a perfect dish for Lent – bon appetit!

Ingredients:
One 8-ounce sushi grade tuna filet, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 Persian cucumber, peeled & cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons finely-chopped red onion
3 tablespoons finely-chopped fresh cilantro (coriander)
1/2 teaspoon black sesame seeds
Juice of 1 lemon or lime
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 to 1-1/4 teaspoons organic Tamari sauce
salt, to taste (add this after Tamari sauce, as it may be too salty)
4 to 8 corn tostada shells (flat)

Directions:
1. In a 2-quart mixing bowl, combine all ingredients together except for the tostada shells.

2. Using a large spoon, gently toss so that all ingredients are combined. Taste and adjust seasonings.

3. Divide tuna tartare among 2 to 4 plates. Ask guests to spoon some tuna tartare onto a tostada. Bon appetit!

White Wine Pairing: Chilled Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio are suggested.

Text and Photograph ©2017 Nancy DeLucia Real

I finally figured out how to make chewy, coconut oatmeal cookies. And yes – they’re deliciously vegan. Enjoy!

Active prep time: 25 minutes
Inactive prep time:30 minutes
Bake time:10 to 14 minutes
Makes:12 cookies

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (white, as opposed to wheat flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil (preferably safflower, sunflower or canola oil)
2 cups shredded, sweetened coconut (preferably Baker’s® brand)
2 cups raw, old-fashioned oatmeal (do not use instant oatmeal)
1 cup unbleached, granulated sugar
1/4 cup cold water
2 tablespoons dark or light molasses

Prepare Cookie Dough:
1. Line an 18 X 12-inch baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

3. In a 3 to 4-quart mixing bowl or in a stand mixer, combine the oil, coconut, oatmeal, sugar, water and molasses.

4. If using a mixing bowl, with a hand mixer, beat all ingredients until they are uniform. If using a stand mixer, set speed on medium-high and mix all ingredients until they are uniform. Do not overheat.

5. Gradually (a little at a time), add the flour-salt mixture until the ingredients amalgamate or hold together.

6. Turn out the cookie mixture onto a floured, 16 X 12-inch waxed paper sheet.

7. Press the mixture to form a circle that is 1/4-inch thick. The circle may extend to a 12 to 14-inch diameter.

8. Slide the waxed paper onto a flat platter or baking sheet.

9. Refrigerate the baking sheet with cookie dough for 30 minutes.

Shape & Bake Cookies:
1. After 30 minutes, transfer the baking sheet with refrigerated cookie dough to a counter or working table.

2. Preheat oven to 375°F.

3. Using a 2.5 or 3-inch round cookie cutter (or an inverted glass), cut out the cookies.

4. Using a wide spatula, carefully transfer the raw, cut cookies onto a parchment-lined 18 X 12-inch baking sheet.

5. Gather the leftover dough to form a round mass.

6. Lightly four a second waxed paper sheet and press the dough mass onto its surface so that it is 1/4-inch thick.

7. Repeat cutting the cookies and transfer them with the spatula to the baking sheet.

8. Repeat gathering the dough and cutting and transferring cookies until dough is finished.

9. Place baking sheet with cookies on a rack positioned in center of oven.

10. Bake cookies for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, check to see if cookies have turned light golden brown. If they look too light, bake cookies for an additional 3 to 4 minutes.
NOTE: Every oven is different, so temperature and bake times may vary.

11. When cookies are done, transfer the baking sheet to a counter or trivet. Let cookies cool so they can set.

12. After cookies have cooled to room temperature, using a spatula, transfer them to a serving platter.

13. When cookies are completely cool, place them in an airtight container and refrigerate up to 2 weeks.

TO FREEZE COOKIES: Gently place coconut oatmeal cookies in double, freezer food bags and freeze up to one month. To serve, transfer frozen cookies to a platter or plate. When cookies are at room temperature, they are ready for serving.
Text & Photograph ©2017 Nancy DeLucia Real

For the Italian cook, food ingredients from a working kitchen are never wasted or thrown out. While growing up, I watched my Nonna use whatever she found in her pantry – a pasta package that was partially used. She’d break up raw spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine into small pieces. After cooking the broken pasta, she combined it with chickpeas and tomato sauce. We called this comfort food pasta e ceci.

You can make this in minutes and call it Pasta with Chick Peas! If you want to feel like you’re standing on the Italian peninsula, then combine a few long pasta varieties (in leftover packages) and cook them all together in one pot.

Prep time: 15 to 20 minutes
Serves: 4 to 6

Ingredients:
1 pound spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine, broken into 3/4 to 1-inch pieces
3/4 teaspoon salt
One 16-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzos), drained, rinsed & drained again
2 to 3 cups pre-made tomato sauce

Directions:
1. Bring a 4 to 6-quart saucepot of water to a boil.

2. Add the pasta and salt to the boiling water.

3. Cook the pasta according to package directions or until it is al dente (crunchy-tender), about 8 to 10 minutes.

4. When pasta is cooked, drain it in a colander.

5. Add the pasta back to the sauce pot; stir in 1-1/2 cups tomato sauce and the drained chickpeas.

6. Stir and heat through.

7. Serve in individual bowls. Ask guests to add grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese to their pasta with chickpeas.

Note: Enjoy this dish with a favorite Chardonnay (white) or Chianti (red) wine.
Text and Photograph ©2017 Nancy DeLucia Real

Many of you have asked which restaurant serves authentic Italian foods such as the ones I’ve taught in my culinary courses. My latest discovery is in Montreal – Du Boucher à la Table/La Grotte des Fromages (From Butcher to Table). It is a cheese and meat deli that has now become a trattoria. It lets you BYOB without charging a corkage fee. This eatery has cool people, great southern Italian foods and a staff that rocks!

To start with, the butcher shop next door supplies the restaurant with homemade sausages, salami and prosciutto.

Keep in mind that Montreal, Quebec is home to two waves of Southern Italian immigrants. Some arrived at the turn of the 20th-century – my grandfather of the region of Molise was part of this group. The second wave, including my Neapolitan father, arrived in the 1950’s.

The succeeding generations of Italians have cherished the foods they were raised with. One of these dishes is orecchiette with rapini and sausage. At Boucher, prime extra virgin olive oil, homemade sausage and rapini coat each bite of pasta. It doesn’t get more comforting than this on a cold February evening!

Even non-meat eaters can enjoy the feast here. The tuna tartare is melt-in-your-mouth fresh. No chewing is necessary.

For you carnivores, the stinco di agnello is lamb shank braised in a demi-glaze sauce. A gentle touch of the fork, and the meat falls right off the bone.

When I tasted the rack of lamb, I was astounded by the fact that it didn’t have that gamey odor. So I asked Boucher’s manager Dominic, “How do you manage to get that lamb odor out of this exquisite meat?” He responded, “Quebec sheep graze by the Atlantic Ocean. The ocean’s salt evaporation permeates the grass. In turn, the grass’s salt results in tender and odor-free meat.”

After our feast fit for a king, Johnny gave us a tour of the butcher shop next door. Notice the 45-day old aged beef that he’s pointing at!

Boucher also carries fine gourmet foods. The Sicilian sea salts are flavored with chili peppers, fennel and more.

Of all the honey varieties imported from Italy, my favorite was the eucalyptus honey.

Many thanks to All at Du Boucher a la Table and to Dominic who always ensures a fine dining experience!

We loved this place so much that we went back three times!

Du Boucher a la Table – La Grotte des Fromages
4919 Rue Jarry E, Saint-Léonard, QC H1R 1Y1
Tel. 514.321.3733
Text & Photographs ©2017 Nancy DeLucia Real

Red is the color of passion, don’t you agree? This pudding gets its rich color from natural, red raspberries. Enjoy this recipe as a Valentine’s Day dessert or treat. Have fun!

Prep time: 15 to 20 minutes
Serves: 6 to 8 (1/2-cup servings)

Ingredients:
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup rice flour
1/3 cup ground raw slivered almonds
2/3 cup granulated, unbleached white sugar
2-1/2 cups milk (2% milk fat) or almond milk (unsweetened)
1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons rosewater
12 ounces (2-1/2 to 3 cups) fresh raspberries – set 8 raspberries aside for garnish
8 fresh mint leaf sprigs

Directions:
1. Stir the cinnamon, rice flour, ground almonds and sugar together in a 4-quart saucepot.

2. Gradually pour the milk (a little at a time) and 1 teapoon rosewater into the saucepot, constantly stirring with a wooden spoon.

3. Bring milk mixture to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes or until it thickens slightly.

4. At this point, stir the fruit into the milk pudding. The fruit should partially disintegrate as it cooks.

5. Cook the pudding on low heat for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the fruit has added color to the mixture.

6. At this point, taste pudding and adjust rosewater level, if needed.

7. After 2 minutes, transfer the pudding to a glass or porcelain bowl and cover it with plastic wrap (this will prevent forming a skin).

8. Set pudding aside to cool on a counter for about one hour. After one hour, transfer the pudding to the refrigerator.

9. Chill the pudding until it is completely cold (about 4 hours or overnight).

10. Divide pudding among 6 to 8 individual bowls. Garnish the pudding with a raspberry and mint leaf sprig.
Text & Photograph ©2017 Nancy DeLucia Real