Lucadea.com - Tag: beef

18 August 2026

A plate of minced meat with rice

Piatto di carne trita con riso, una semplice preparazione casalinga tra i miei piatti preferiti

A plate of minced meat with rice.
This is one of those simple dishes I enjoy eating and that eventually found its way into the photographs on my blog. Minced meat with rice is practically the same idea as another dish I had already shared, minced meat with mashed potatoes, but in this version rice takes the place of the potatoes.
The photograph shows a straightforward plate with minced meat served alongside rice. It is an everyday kind of meal, one that does not need to be elaborate to be appealing. It is also one of my favorite dishes, and I think its simplicity is part of what makes it so enjoyable.
I like photographing this kind of food because it adds a much more personal side to the blog. There are no monuments, landscapes or famous places to discover here. It is simply something I like to eat. The photograph becomes a small note about my everyday habits and personal tastes.
Minced meat and rice work naturally together. The meat has a stronger, more savory character, while the rice provides a simple and mild accompaniment. There is no need for a complicated combination of ingredients to make the plate satisfying.
What makes this version different from the one with mashed potatoes is precisely the accompaniment. The meat remains the main element, but rice changes the overall texture and gives the dish a slightly different character, even though the basic idea remains almost identical.
When I photographed this plate, I was not looking for a sophisticated composition or anything particularly elaborate. I simply wanted to keep an image of a meal I know and enjoy. It is a very different kind of photography from the pictures I take while traveling, but I still find it interesting because it is directly connected with everyday life.
I had previously published a photograph of minced meat with mashed potatoes, so this dish can almost be seen as another version of the same idea. The side dish changes, while the simple combination I personally enjoy remains.
I also like how immediately recognizable this kind of food is. The photograph does not need a long explanation to make sense. You can look at the plate and understand almost immediately what it contains. That directness is something I wanted to preserve in the story as well.
Everyday cooking is often made up of meals like this. There is not always the time or desire to prepare something elaborate, and in the end the simplest dishes are often the ones that return to the table most regularly. For me, minced meat with rice is one of those meals.
Photographing a familiar dish can also be a way of preserving a small moment. Just as I keep photographs of the places I visit, I like having images of things that belong to my everyday life, even when the subject is much more ordinary.
This photograph is therefore mainly a memory of a dish I enjoy, without needing to turn it into something more complicated. Minced meat with rice is simply one of the combinations I like most and one that occasionally returns to my table.
I think there is also something satisfying about seeing a familiar meal represented in a photograph. Food does not have to be sophisticated to become a good photographic subject. Sometimes its familiarity is exactly what makes the image personal.
This is another reason I like keeping these small food-related posts alongside the travel and landscape photographs on the blog. They create a more complete picture of the things I actually enjoy, both when I am away and when I am at home.

And you, do you prefer minced meat with rice or with mashed potatoes? Add a comment or go to the bottom of the site to read what other visitors have written.

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Adv

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26 June 2026

An excellent tomahawk steak enjoyed on board

Una ottima bistecca tomahawk gustata in nave

An excellent tomahawk steak enjoyed on board.
For a few years now, on Costa Crociere ships, you can find an excellent steakhouse with truly exceptional quality and variety of meat.
I also occasionally take advantage of this excellent restaurant!
This was a “huge” tomahawk steak I ate on the (now) former Costa Firenze!

Do you like this cut of meat? Add a comment or go to the bottom of the site to read what other visitors have written.

Photos taken with Honor 20.

When we talk about tomahawk steak, we’re talking about a large cut of beef. It’s a rib-eye steak, with the cut running from the loin toward the front of the animal, including the meat from the fifth to the first dorsal vertebra.
Continue and learn more at accademiamacelleriaitaliana.it

A great tomahawk steak enjoyed on the ship – Un excellent steak tomahawk dégusté à bord – Un excelente filete tomahawk que se disfruta a bordo – Um excelente bife tomahawk apreciado a bordo – An Bord genießen Sie ein ausgezeichnetes Tomahawk-Steak – Món bít tết tomahawk tuyệt vời được thưởng thức trên tàu

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9 May 2026

An excellent cut of meat

Una ottima tagliata di carne con aceto balsamico e grana

An excellent sliced beef with balsamic vinegar and parmesan.
A while ago, I shared this incredibly delicious plate of sliced beef seasoned with shaved parmesan and balsamic vinegar with some colleagues.
It was truly a treat!

Do you like meat? Add a comment or go to the bottom of the site to read what other visitors have written.

Photo taken with Honor 20.

An excellent cut of meat with balsamic vinegar and parmesan – Une excellente pièce de viande au vinaigre balsamique et parmesan – Un excelente corte de carne con vinagre balsámico y parmesano. – Um excelente corte de carne com vinagre balsâmico e parmesão – Ein ausgezeichnetes Stück Fleisch mit Balsamico-Essig und Parmesan – Miếng thịt tuyệt vời với giấm balsamic và parmesan

28 April 2026

An excellent grilled fillet

An excellent grilled fillet.
One of my favorite dishes at the restaurant: a grilled fillet steak: beautiful and succulent.
From the excellent restaurant, just a few meters from Juliet’s balcony, Greppia.

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Photo taken with Canon 600D and Canon 18-55 EFS lens.

The tenderloin is a type of cut of meat, mainly beef but also pork or other animals (e.g., game such as hare or deer), coming from the animal’s lumbar region. By analogy, the term “fillet” also refers to the more tender parts of chicken or other edible bird meat, namely those around the “keel” or sternal crest (protruding cartilage) of the breast or those of the boneless thigh (“thigh fillet”).
Continue on Wikipedia

An excellent grilled fillet – Un excellent filet grillé – Un excelente filete a la parrilla – Um excelente filete grelhado – Ein ausgezeichnetes gegrilltes Filet – Một miếng phi lê nướng tuyệt vời

23 April 2026

Uruguayan grilled meat in Montevideo

Uruguayan grilled meat in Montevideo.
Another beautiful photo of a nice piece of grilled meat enjoyed some time ago in Montevideo.
At the famous Mercado del Puerto, a building not far from where the cruise ships dock.
It must have been five hundred grams of meat… my mouth is watering again just looking at the photo.

Do you like grilled meat?
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Photo taken with Canon EOS M100 camera and Canon EF-M 22 lens.

The grill was first used by the Achaeans in Ancient Greece, around the 9th century BC, but some artifacts were found in the kingdom of Egypt. From the Achaeans onward, the grill rapidly expanded and developed, transforming itself to make cooking food faster and more efficient. Its first appearance in Italy is documented around the 10th century near Arminum (now Rimini).
Continue and learn more at Wikipedia

Uruguayan Grilled Meat in Montevideo – Viande uruguayenne grillée à Montevideo – Carne uruguaya a la parrilla en Montevideo – Carne uruguaia grelhada em Montevideu – Gegrilltes uruguayisches Fleisch in Montevideo – Thịt nướng Uruguay ở Montevideo

17 December 202516 June 2026

Vietnamese Cuisine: beef, pork and udon soup, the recipe

Ricetta Vietnamita zuppa di manzo e maiale con udon

Vietnamese Cuisine: Beef and Pork Soup with Udon, the Recipe.
Today I’m sharing a dish I made a few days ago that isn’t exactly typical of Vietnamese cuisine, but which I eat often at home in Vietnam: a meat soup (mainly beef, but also pork ribs, and I also add a little pork rind) with udon, the traditional Japanese soft wheat noodles.
Very simple and quick to prepare.

If you’re curious about this recipe or Vietnamese food in general, please leave me a comment or scroll down to the bottom of the site to read what other visitors have written.

Ingredients

– Pork ribs
– Pre-boiled pork rind (if you like)
– Beef tendon (boiled meat)
– Fish balls (purchased at a Chinese supermarket in Chiavari)
– Udon noodles (if you can’t find them, use regular udon noodles)
– Sweetcorn
– One purple onion (lightly fry part of it in a pan with garlic)
– One carrot
– One celery stick
– Cilantro
– Chili pepper and garlic
– Spices (sugar, salt, tablespoons of fish sauce, seasoning, and ground pepper)

Preparation

First, cook the meat.
I always double-boil the meat. With the first, the most impure juices always come out and foam always forms, so when the water boils, I throw it away, rinse the meat lightly under the tap, and put it back on the heat with fresh water.
Add all the meat, corn, red onion (chopped roughly), carrot, celery, two or three teaspoons of sugar, and a teaspoon and a half of salt, and cook for 35-45 minutes.
After this time, the beef should be cooked enough to remove it from the water and slice it thinly once it has cooled.
Meanwhile, add some spices to the water (two tablespoons of fish sauce and a teaspoon of seasoning), mix well, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Then add the fish balls and cook them.
Add the udon noodles (directly into the soup) and cook until the noodles are soft and absorb the spices (about 5-7 minutes).
Transfer the udon noodles to a bowl and add the broth.
Add the thinly sliced beef, pork skin (if desired), and fish balls.
Garnish with a handful of cilantro, fried onions and garlic, ground pepper, and…

Here’s the finished dish:

Vietnamese recipe: beef and pork soup with udon – Recette vietnamienne : soupe de bœuf et de porc aux udon – Receta vietnamita: sopa de ternera y cerdo con udon – Receita vietnamita: sopa de carne bovina e suína com udon – Vietnamesisches Rezept: Rind- und Schweinefleischsuppe mit Udon – Công thức Việt Nam: súp thịt bò và thịt lợn với udon – 越南食谱：乌冬面牛肉猪肉汤 – ベトナムのレシピ：牛肉と豚肉のスープとうどん

11 December 202327 December 2025

Vietnamese Cuisine: Phở Bò, the Recipe

Vietnamese Cuisine: Phở Bò, the Recipe.
When you ask a foreigner what they know about Vietnam, they immediately think of conical hat or Vietnamese pho. I’ve tried to describe the preparation, which is time-consuming and not exactly easy. In Vietnam, it’s usually cheaper to buy it from a takeout shop (which produces tons of it) than to prepare it at home.

If you’re curious about this recipe of mine or Vietnamese food in general, leave me a comment or scroll to the bottom of the site to read what other visitors have written.

Pho has long been a traditional and typical dish of Vietnamese cuisine. The main ingredients are rice noodles and broth, along with thinly sliced beef or chicken. The most suitable meat for pho is the meat and bones of Vietnamese cattle.
The most important ingredient in this dish isn’t the beef or the noodles, but the broth. Pho broth is made with beef bones, delicious fish sauce, ginger, onions, and a variety of dried spices, and each place has its own secret for making the typical broth. However, the broth should be sweet, clear, rich, and slightly fatty.

Ingredients

– Beef shank bones: 3 kg, soaked in salted water for 2 hours, then washed and drained;
– Beef shank: 1.5 kg, used to make beef balls, tied tightly for cooking;
– Beef tenderloin: 1/2 kg, used for rare beef, washed and thinly sliced;
– 5 dried purple onions, 1 onion, 1 ginger: wash everything to remove the skin, then grill until fragrant, then remove the burnt skin;
– Dried sea worms: 3 (washed and pan-roasted until fragrant);
– 2 star anise flowers, 2 cardamom pods, 1 cinnamon stick, 6-8 cloves, 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, 1 teaspoon star anise: roast until fragrant;
– Vegetables served with: bean sprouts, basil, cilantro, onions and green onions (finely chopped), lemon, chili pepper;
– Pho noodles (fresh but usually dry);
– Black sauce and chili sauce, satay: served with pho (if you like);
– Other spices: salt, monosodium glutamate, fish sauce, pepper.

Preparation

Place the bones in a pot, cover with water, cook over high heat for 5 minutes, reduce the heat to medium and cook for another 7 minutes. Turn off the heat, drain the water, and wash the bones again. Then, bake the bones at 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit) for 30 minutes.
After baking, place them in the pot, add the shank and beef tenderloin, and cover with water. When the water boils, lower the heat and add the dried purple onions, onions, grated ginger, and 1 teaspoon of salt. The bones should simmer for about 4 hours, uncovered, skimming off any scum until the water runs clear.

After about 2 hours, you can remove the meat, place it in ice water, and then slice it as desired (to add to the pho later).

During the last 30 minutes of cooking, add the star anise, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander seeds, pepper, and sea worms; place everything in a cloth bag to enhance the flavor of the broth.

After braising the bones for 4 hours, add the seasoning: fish sauce, salt, and more to taste, and you’ve finished cooking the pot of pho broth.

The Dish

Place the pho noodles in a bowl, then the sliced beef, add the spices: green onions, onions, cilantro, bean sprouts, a little satay chili, and pepper powder, and pour in the hot broth.
Now you can finally enjoy the traditional Vietnamese pho.

Photos taken with Honor 20.

Vietnamese cuisine: phở bò, the recipe – Cuisine vietnamienne : phở bò, la recette – Cocina vietnamita: phở bò, la receta – Cozinha vietnamita: phở bò, a receita – Vietnamesische Küche: phở bò, das Rezept – Ẩm thực Việt Nam: phở bò, công thức – 越南菜：phở bò，食谱 – ベトナム料理：フォーボー、レシピ

13 July 202325 December 2025

Vietnamese cuisine: Bánh canh sườn bò, the recipe

Vietnamese Cuisine: Bánh canh sườn bò, Spaghetti Soup, the Recipe.
“Bánh canh” is a rustic dish, typical of Asia, consisting of thick noodles usually made from wheat flour, rice flour, and tapioca. I buy them at ethnic or Chinese shops in Genoa, or if I can’t find them, I can use udon noodles instead.
In this case, I used a typical Italian noodle: pici (typical Tuscan pasta), which had a similar consistency.

If you’re curious about this recipe or Vietnamese food in general, please leave me a comment or scroll to the bottom of the site to read what other visitors have written.

Ingredients

(serves two)

– One 220g package of Bánh canh (or udon noodles, in this case pici);
– 300g boiled beef;
– 100g dried shrimp powder;
– 1 carrot;
– 1 celery stalk,
– 1 white radish;
– 1 large purple onion;
– 3 garlic cloves;
– Ginger;
– Sliced shallots;
– A few coriander leaves;
– Lemon;
– Chili pepper;
– Olive oil;
– Cashews;
– Seasonings: fish sauce, salt, sugar, glutamate, and ground pepper.

Preparation

Boil the spaghetti in a pot of boiling water, and when it’s almost done, remove it and drain it under cold water.
In a pot, briefly boil the beef with the ginger. Once the sauce has foamed, remove the meat and rinse it under running water. This is always done in Vietnam, but my husband has told me several times that he’s never seen it done in Italy.
Now let’s prepare the broth.
Place the oil in a pot and add the cashews, toasting them lightly, then remove them.
Next, add the thinly sliced purple onion and the garlic. Then add all the dried shrimp and mix well.
I like to add dried shrimp to sweeten the water, but if you don’t like the taste of shrimp, you don’t need to add them.
Continue, adding about 1.5 liters of water and bringing to a boil. Add the beef and reduce the heat.
Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1 teaspoon MSG.
Skim regularly.
Cook the meat for about 7-10 minutes, then add the radish, carrot, celery, and red onion and cook for another 25-30 minutes.
Now I separate the broth from the meat and vegetables (which I’ll use for another meal), and so that the Bánh Cánh absorb the flavor of the broth, I cook them for another 7 minutes.
Then I put the broth with the Bánh Cánh in a bowl and add some coriander leaves, lemon juice, ground pepper, onions, garlic, and fried garlic (which I always prepare separately to add to my recipes).
Serve with a cup of chili sauce on hand.

And here’s the dish, ready to enjoy:

Vietnamese cuisine: Bánh canh sườn bò, soup with spaghetti, the recipe – Cuisine vietnamienne : Bánh canh sườn bò, soupe aux spaghettis, la recette – Cocina vietnamita: Bánh canh sườn bò, sopa con espaguetis, la receta – Cozinha vietnamita: Bánh canh sườn bò, sopa com esparguete, a receita – Vietnamesische Küche: Bánh canh sườn bò, Suppe mit Spaghetti, das Rezept – CẨm thực Việt Nam: Bánh canh sườn bò, súp mì spaghetti, công thức

10 November 202217 December 2025

Vietnamese Cuisine: beef noodle soup recipe

Ricetta vietnamita: zuppa di manzo con noodles

Vietnamese Cuisine: Beef Noodle Soup, the Recipe.
I haven’t had beef noodle soup in a long time, so today I bought a delicious piece of meat and wanted to make some beef noodle soup for my husband and I.

If you’re curious about this recipe or Vietnamese food in general, please leave me a comment or scroll down to the bottom of the site to read what other visitors have written.

In Sestri, I couldn’t find fresh noodles (made with tapioca flour), so I used dried rice noodles, which are now available in every supermarket. This dish can therefore be called “beef noodle soup.”
The vermicelli are soft and made with rice flour, whereas the original recipe would use fresh ones, which are a bit firmer because they’re made with tapioca flour.
Place the piece of meat and water in a pot. The secret to making a good broth is to change the water as soon as it boils, rinse the meat under running water, and then bring it back to a boil with fresh water. This will make the broth clearer and more transparent. For the final cooking, add an onion, a pineapple chunk, a stalk of crushed lemongrass (which I can only find in a Chinese shop in Chiavari), and two anise flowers to make the broth more delicious.
Since my husband doesn’t really like the flavor of lemongrass in broth, I only used one crushed stalk.
Then I add some annatto oil (if you don’t know what it is, click here) to give the soup some color: heat some vegetable oil in a pan, add a few annatti beans, and fry until browned. Then add this oil to the pot with the broth to turn it red.

After boiling the broth for about 10 minutes, I lowered the heat and simmered for another 8-10 minutes, adding two tablespoons of fish sauce, a tablespoon of seasoning, a teaspoon of MSG (glutamate), and a teaspoon of sugar. Then, taste again and add more salt if needed.

At this point, when the meat has released most of its juices into the water, you can remove it to cool and, after a few minutes, slice it thinly.
Prepare some cilantro for the final garnish.

At this point, I added about 120 grams of noodles (for my husband and me) to the broth and cooked them until the vermicelli were tender (about 7 minutes). Then, I placed the vermicelli in a bowl, added the meat, cilantro, a sprinkle of pepper, and the broth, and the dish was ready to enjoy.
I add more chili pepper at the end just to give it that typical Vietnamese flavor.

Photos taken with Honor 20.

Vietnamese recipe: beef soup with noodles – Recette vietnamienne : soupe de boeuf aux nouilles – Receta vietnamita: sopa de ternera con fideos – Receita vietnamita: sopa de carne com macarrão – Vietnamesisches Rezept: Rindfleischsuppe mit Nudeln – Công thức Việt Nam: bún bò – 越南菜谱：牛肉汤面 – ベトナムのレシピ：麺入りビーフスープ

4 November 202230 November 2025

Vietnamese Cuisine: boiled Beef, the recipe

Ricetta vietnamita: carne bollita con salsa di pesce e cetriolo

Vietnamese Cuisine: Boiled Beef with Fish Sauce and Cucumber, the Recipe.
Today I’m making a simple dinner: white rice served with boiled beef with fish sauce and cucumber.
Here’s the recipe:

Cook the rice (as I already mentioned, I use jasmine rice for Asian-style rice) in a rice cooker.
For the meat, buy a piece of bacon and boil it for 20-25 minutes. Then remove it from the water and let it cool; when it’s cool, cut it into thin slices.
In Europe, it’s very difficult to buy pork belly with the skin (the rind). I usually go to my trusted butcher (mine is Paolo in Sestri Levante) to order it in advance and have it prepared.
While I wait for the meat to cook, I slice the cucumber into small discs and prepare the fish sauce.
The fish sauce recipe includes:
2 garlic cloves;
2 red chili peppers;
1 green chili pepper;
1/3 teaspoon MSG (seasoning agent or glutamate);
1 teaspoon sugar.

Crush this mixture (I use my husband’s mortar and pestle, the one we normally use in Liguria for Genoese pesto, which he never uses) until smooth. Then pour it into a cup and add 2.5 tablespoons of fish sauce, half a tablespoon of water, and 1 lemon slice.
Then mix well to make a cup of sauce for dipping the meat. Depending on the flavor of the fish sauce you purchase, you can increase or decrease the seasoning to taste.

And there you have it, my dinner is ready! Everything was made very quickly, simple but delicious, and it helps me remember the taste of home and ease the nostalgia.