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Lagane e Ceci (Pasta & Chickpea Soup)

  Lagane e Ceci is a well-known southern Italian dish whose roots stem from ancient times when legumes were the staple ingredients, easily accessible with a very long shelf life.  Chickpeas, beans or lentils were alternated and cooked with hand made pasta, feeding the whole family.  This soup is made with dried chickpeas and hand-made ribbons of eggless pasta, but can also be made with  canned chickpeas which are just as good,  and  a short store-bought pasta like ditaletti. Mamma would make it this way when she was time poor.   We however preferred this soup with home-made pasta, rendering it more creamy. Lagane are believed to be the ancestors of today’s lasagne and the oldest form of pasta. The word lagane , like lasagna , comes from ancient Greece where it was used to describe a pasta made of flour and water, cooked on a stone, and then cut into strips. The Roman statesman  Cicero wrote about his passion for the Laganum  or laganas  and the Roman poet Horace, whose writings a

Persimmon, Orange & Coconut Milk Ice-cream


We are finally beginning to see the end of the warmer months in the southern hemisphere, but many would agree that ice-cream can still be enjoyed any time of the year wherever you are.  I could not see the closure of the cachi (persimmon) season without a post on ice-cream. 



As mentioned in my previous post, my parents have a beautiful persimmon tree that yields the Fuyu variety which can be eaten like an apple.  Being the end of the season, they have all been picked and we now find ourselves with an over ripe quantity resorting to freezing some. These are destined to be used in smoothies, cakes or even eaten with yogurt for breakfast.

This fruit works really well turned into sorbets as well as ice-creams, so I took the time to recipe test an ice-cream with a few other ingredients that compliment each other really well. The persimmon is naturally very sweet and needs a few partners to add a little tang and creaminess without taking away the lime light from this exotic fruit. The beauty of this recipe is that it doesn't need an ice-cream churner and is therefore very quick and easy to make.

Persimmon, Orange & Coconut Milk Ice-cream

Ingredients:


6 large persimmons
1 orange (juiced)
1/2 lime (juiced)
1 400 ml can coconut milk

The persimmons should be frozen overnight and when ready to use, allowed to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before peeling them and removing any stones.  This allows for easy handling if the fruit is too ripe.  Chop into small pieces and place frozen pulp into the food processor.



Blend until smooth, ensuring you don't over process to avoid the fruit from defrosting too much.  Slowly add the juice of one orange and half a lime to the mixture and process briefly. Add the can of coconut milk and process further.


Pour the mixture into two containers and freeze.  The ice-cream will need to be taken out of the freezer 10-15 minutes or so before it is ready to be served.




Enjoy!

Comments

  1. Sounds delish. Hope I can find persimmons in my grocery store or Farmer's Market

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