Junglefrog Cooking » mozarella

Bruschetta with arugulapesto – DHSPC #6

Simone (junglefrog) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:00:14 +0000

My version...

Let’s just do another easy one, I thought to myself when going through one of Donna Hay’s cookbooks. It should be a simple recipe but enough of a challenge in getting it right. Well… if only I had thought about that a little better.. I failed, I failed miserably in recreating the original that you will see below. It seemed fairly straightforward but the trick in this particular image is not so much the recipe as that is real simple, but the angle of the photo.. You’ll see what I mean soon! In the meantime we are already on the 6th version of the Donna Hay Styling and Photography Challenge and I loved all the entries from last month! I would say spread the word..

Photo; Con Poulos

Above you can find the challenge recipe photograph by Con Poulos. it’s from the cookbook Seasons and let’s face it; it doesn’t scare you just by looking at it, does it? But wait until you analyze this a little further. First of all there is the issue of the size of the props. If you compare the size of the bottle with the size of the bruschetta then it can’t be very big and they appear fairly close together. The tricky part for me however is that the bread in the foreground is big. There is a lot of focus on that plate of food so it is prominently featured in the frame. However I tried to place it and however I changed my lenses I could not – for the life of me – get it right. I’ve tried a wide angle and going in really close but that didn’t give me any blurred background. I tried placing the plate in front and the bottle in the back and using a telelens (which makes objects appear closer together) but then I only got a small piece of the bottle in the frame. I tried so many things I forgot to pay attention to the actual position of the bruschetta but ok…

Plate is too small in the frame here

My plate is probably bigger too or maybe the bread in the original is bigger. It’s shot on a round table and I didn’t have a round table obviously but still I just failed completely in getting it right. I know you are all eagerly awaiting the next challenge so postponing it until I got it right was not an option so you’ll have to do with my failed attempt. Can’t wait to see what you come up with! And please, please let me know how you did it.

Wrong again

I tried it with a smaller plate above (only had a little christmas plate at hand..lol) but again not good! The light in the original is coming from above right and is mildly strong. I had a beautiful clear day and so much light that it was a bit too much but I gave up and just did my own version, which you see as the first picture. Rather different but still with the same elements mostly.

I will try again but also curious what you come up with! Good luck on the challenge! You’re gonna need it (or maybe it is really simple and it is just me..lol)

Feel free to change the recipe to suit your needs and/or allergies/preferences. If you’re vegetarian you can use maybe some slices of eggplant or courgette and if you’re glutenfree, change the bread etc. All options are allowed! The rules are below the recipe.

Bruschetta with mozarella, prosciutto and rocketpesto

Print recipe

Serves:	4
Prep time:	None
Cook time:	None
Total time:	None
Meal type:	Appetizer, Bread
Region:	Worldwide
From book:	Seasons

Ingredients

8 slices bread
1 clove garlic (halved)
extra virgin olive oil (for sprinkling)
3-4 pieces bocconcini (in small slices or you can use regular mozarella)
8 slices prosciutto
black pepper (coarsely ground)

Arugulapesto

1 handful basil
2 handfuls arugula (rocket)
1 handful basil
40g pine nuts (roasted)
20g grated parmesan
1/4 garlic clove
60ml extra virgin olive oil

Directions


For making the arugula (rocket) pesto put arugula, basil, pine nuts, parmesan and garlic into a foodprocessor and puree roughly. While the motor is running add the olive oil and mix until it is a thick, rough substance. Don't make it too fine. Chunks are ok to have.

Heat a gridlepan and bake both sides of the bread golden brown and crispy. Rub this with half a clove of garlic and sprinkle with some olive oil.

Put some of the slices of mozarella on the toast and liberally cover with the pesto. Top this with a slice of prosciutto and finish with some salt and pepper.

Once a month (on the 3rd of the month) I will give you a recipe plus the accompanying photo out of the Donna Hay magazine. I will try to make it seasonal but can’t promise anything.
You have that same month to produce your post. You can post it any day you like just as long as you finish it before the end of that month at the latest.
You have to produce that recipe, alterations to the recipe are allowed to make sure any dietary restrictions are met. But only minor changes!
You have to cook and STYLE the recipe trying to replicate the photo as best as you can. If you think you can do a better job then the original photo, by all means feel free to make your own changes to the styling.
Shoot the dish and then write a blog post about it. It would be great to add notes on how you took the photo and how you styled the dish, so that other people can learn too.
Link back to this months blog post about the challenge and link back to the Donna Hay Challenge page here
Leave a message on the post that is up here for that month, saying that you completed the challenge and link to the post on your site so others can find it too.
If you want to use the original photo in your blog post as well as the recipe be sure to link back to the Donna Hay website plus the photographers website. They will both always be mentioned in the monthly challenge posts.

Each month a winner will be picked who will be featured in the Hall of Fame page. If you like you can add a badge to your site saying that you are taking part in this competition. The badge is featured below and should link back to this page.

Above all this challenge is about having fun styling and photographing a dish by taking Donna Hay as our great example. You can join all months or whenever you feel like joining in. Using an example of the great photographers that Donna works with, I always find that it is a good learning experience to see how did they light the scene, where does the light come from and how did they manage to make it look so beautiful. Try and analyze all of that and then come up with your own version.

While taking food photos is all about finding your own style and certainly not copying anyone else, it does help to analyze how your hero’s do their job. It’s about learning to light and style a scene properly. In no way am I trying to suggest you copy another person style. Find your own unique style! This challenge is just a tool to help you along the way..

Bocconcini with prosciutto and tomatoes

Simone (junglefrog) — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 07:00:24 +0000

Christmas table

Ok, let’s start with confessing that the appetizer is really nothing special. I mean; everyone knows the combination of mozarella, tomatoes and prosciutto is a classic one, so I was really merely providing something to put on the plate. I wanted to practice with a christmas atmosphere while using my studiolights. And that is really harder then it sounds. Using candles and christmas lights gives a very warm light, which is fairly easy to show if you’re using daylight. Nothing else is interfering with those lights other then the daylight. However; when you use studiolights; it’s a very strong light overpowering all subtle other lights you might use. I wanted to show a christmas atmosphere but without the yellow colors that candles and christmas lights provide. Do you think it worked?

If you want to know how I made the appetizer. I quickly marinated the bocconcini in oliveoil and lemon, then wrapped each little ball with a piece of basil and prosciutto and put them on a small stick with half a cherry tomato on either side. I quickly put them in a frying pan to give it a little color and warmth and then put on a bed of rocket. Adding a few drops of balsamic vinegar and done! Nothing wrong with the taste. Just nothing exciting really.

Quick bite

Simone (junglefrog) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:30:22 +0000

Mozarella, pesto and prosciutto sandwich

It’s funny how autumn seems to have sneaked up on us without us being here. When we left the country only four weeks ago it was still middle of summer. Bright and hard light, but now that we’ve come back the light is all of a sudden so much softer and has that autumn quality to it. What is it really that makes you realize that autumn is upon us? What is it exactly in the light that changes? Yes, the sun is going lower in the sky, but I don’t think that is the only thing that really changes, is it? It feels different, it smells different too!

I love autumn; I truly do. I love autumn storms and rain and cold weather and snuggling up on the couch indoors… Ok, after a few weeks of bad weather I do long for sunshine again, don’t get me wrong, but I am truly an “all-weather” girl. And an “all seasons” girl too. Although, maybe they could make the seasons a little shorter. Three months is really too long for bad weather, so maybe we should have seasons that last – mmm – let’s say 1,5 to 2 months max. O, we could have a slightly longer summer, that’s no problem, but for the colder seasons 1,5 months would be sufficient. And while we’re on the subject; can I then also please have a real winter? The ones where you have ice and snow and not just boring rain and grey skies? (because that I do NOT like!)

O well, I guess so much for wistful thinking…

I have nothing fancy for you today, just a little snack to enjoy with delicious ingredients. A good piece of bread, some homemade pesto on top, add some chunks of buffalo mozarella and top with a slice of prosciutto ham and a bit of basil. Now that is a good lunch anytime of the year!

Caprese sandwich

Simone (junglefrog) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:13:17 +0000

Caprese sandwich

Why is that the last days before you leave on a trip are always so hectic? And I don’t mean with packing stuff or arranging those last minute things. I’ve travelled enough that I have gotten quite efficient in the packing area, but for some reason people always want to all of a sudden meet, customers decide that NOW is the time to do a photoshoot because well, the deadline was yesterday so can you please, pretty please, squeeze in a last minute photoshoot?

So while I initially had nothing whatsoever planned for this week, I’ve been working my butt of and in the meantime having to make sure that I also do the laundry. It would be nice to take clean clothes with us when we leave…

That also means that I really don’t get around to cooking a lot. It’s been hot and humid here for the past couple of days and the prediction is that tomorrow is going to be scorching hot. Ah well, at least we can get used to the temperatures at our final destination! It beats going to a tropical country in the winter. That is always HARD! (especially coming back to the freezing cold!)

Isn't he cute?

So most of the afternoons I do a quick sandwich. Nothing fancy but the other day I wanted to use some of the honey cherry tomatoes I had left over. I also had a load of small mozarella (bocconcini… I never know how many cc’s to put where!! ) balls left over plus all the basil from the garden that was screaming to be used. So I toasted some old bread, smeared some good old pesto on top and layed all the little tomatoes and mozarella on top as well… Hmmm. How can something so simple be soooooo good!

And because I was having my camera nearby I did a little cutie stack of one sliced cherry tomato and some mozarella… Ridiculously small when you see it up close and not very stable at all, but just for fun. isn’t it cute? (and not to mention tasty too!)

I should have drizzled a little oil over that sandwich at the top while I look at it. Not because it needed more flavour but it would probably have looked even yummier…

I still have more mozarella left. I bought them for the BBQ and they only came in a ridiculously large can, so I keep eating mozarella but it doesn’t seem to grow any less! Tom hates mozarella so it’s just me… Don’t think I will be able to finish this before sunday!

Any good ideas for simple delicious mozarella sandwiches give me shout!

So on to finish more work. All should be done by the end of the day thursday which leaves friday to pack the backpacks, saturday to bring Gizmo to the cathotel (first time and I am scared to death!!). The other two are being taken care of by my parents in law, but because Gizmo needs to get her medicine every day she needs special attention.

And then sunday…. flying time!! Whooohooo!!

Prosciutto, pea & mozarella salad with mint vinaigrette

Simone (junglefrog) — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:04:51 +0000

Prosciutto, pea and mozarella salad

I really felt like eating something healthy today. After a weekend full of unhealthy stuff… it was about time! I had spend the weekend going through my (enormous) pile of cooking magazines and re-organized everything by title. You see; I have this magazine addiction which can take on very large proportions. I have to clean my ‘office’ once every so many months or it would be impossible to enter the room due to the piles and piles of magazines. Because; apart from having the addiction I also have a hard time letting go. Which means that there is stuff there that I really should be tossing out…

So yesterday I finally managed to do just that. I tossed out ALL magazines with the exception of all the cookings mags. I can always keep them with the excuse that they contain valuable information that I might one day need aka recipes… Considering the amount of cookbooks I also have, I really don’t need all the magazines but it’s just so much fun! I can spend days reading my cooking magazines and yes, I do re-read them. They are (for now) all neatly arranged by title; Delicious, Olive, GoodFood, Donna Hay and then there is the pile of things I buy at random. I have German magazines, but also Italian ones!! And really; I do not speak more then two words Italian (Ciao and the equivalent of goodmorning, which I don’t know how to write…)

But ok, they are all neatly arranged, so I decided that today I needed to cook something from the latest Good Food which had a stack of great recipes in there and for lunch I wanted to have a salad, so I chose the Crispy prosciutto, pea & mozarella salad with mint vinaigrette.

Now the supermarket was out of mint, so that didn’t help and there was no other store anywhere in sight. I also did not have the option to use fresh peas so these came out of a can as you can – unfortunately – tell by the color. O well, the taste was quite lovely, even though I did not use the dressing that it was supposed to have.

For dinner I made another recipe from the same magazine which featured green asparagus, also prosciutto, cherry tomatoes and pasta and was absolutely delicious. No pictures though, so I will have to eat it again which is absolutely no punishment!

Here is the recipe of the salad: (serves 2)

4 slices of prosciutto

100 gr peas, fresh or frozen

1 ball of buffalo mozarella (aprox. 125 gr, torn into large pieces)

For the vinaigrette:

Juice 1/2 orange

1 tbsp olive oil

small handfull of mint, leaves finely chopped, plus extra small leaves to serve.

1. Heat a fryingpan. Without adding any oil, fry the prosciutto slices untill wrinkled and crisp. Place on a sheet of kitchen roll, leave to cool, break into large shards then set aside.

2. Boil the peas in a pan of salted water for 2 minutes untill just tender. Meanwhile, mix all the vinaigrette ingredients together, season, then set aside. If making ahead, do not add the chopped mint until ready to serve, as it will discolour. When the peas are cooked, drain, then run them under cold water until completely cool. Pat dry with kitchen paper.

3. To serve, divide the mozarella between 2 plates, scatter the peas over and sit the prosciutto shards on top. Drizzle the dressing over and around and scatter with the mint leaves.

Junglefrog Cooking » mozarella

Bruschetta with arugulapesto – DHSPC #6

Bruschetta with mozarella, prosciutto and rocketpesto

Ingredients

Arugulapesto

Directions

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