Simple broccoli and courgette soup

Sometimes a simple soup turns out really delicious and it's worthy of taking along when invited for gnocchi.


I used my basic soup recipe again, with a sprig of broccoli, 1 courgette and 1 leek, and also 1 onion, 2 garlic cloves, a bay leaf and dried basil. At the last minute I decided not to mix the soup.

Gnocchi

Don't turn down an invitation when an Italian offers to prepare gnocchi. Especially when he has trained shaping them since he was a kid.

This load was ready when I arrived

and a new batch was being prepared

After serious deliberation we decided to serve them al burro salvia, so we picked fresh sage leaves on a city balcony.

The result looked like this

and then parmesan needed to be added of course


Pure heaven!

Before we had a simple soup and afterwards an equally simple and delicious salad, with Roman lettuce, carrot and fennel.

Italian birthday dinner

Some time ago, I was invited for a birthday celebration at another Brussels classic: Rugantino, an Italian family restaurant in a charming decor.

Some of us had mixed appetizers

whilst others chose ravioli ai carciofi - delicious.

After that linguine alle vongole e zucchini appeared

and I opted for good old-fashioned porcetta alla romana.

Seated at a long table, we had another enjoyable evening.

Rosa's

Another busy month without time for blogging.
Let me start to catch up by telling you about a favourite restaurant called Rosa's.
It's a tiny place with a very relaxing atmosphere. Delicious food is prepared in an open kitchen and served in a friendly manner. Prices are very reasonable.