saffron risotto

risotto allo zafferrano

30min
     8 DECILITRI BEEF BROTH

    50 GRAMMI GRANA

    2 DECILITRI VINO BIANCO

    1 CIPOLLA

    q.b. PEPE

    90 GRAMMI BURRO

    q.b. SALE

    1 CUCCHIAIO SAFFRON

    320 GRAMMI CARNAROLI RICE





1) Put the stock in a saucepan, bring it to a boil and turn off the heat; take a ladle, pour it into a cup, add the saffron pistils and leave them to brew.
2) Peel the onion and then fine tritala; melt 60 g of butter in a wide and low saucepan and, when it will be bubbling, add the onion; make it stew without taking color, stirring with a wooden spoon.

3) Add the rice and leave it to toast for a couple of minutes turning it with a spoon until it is translucent; pour it into the wine and allow it to evaporate over a high heat; wipe the rice with a ladle of broth and cook it (it will take about 18 minutes) incorporating, as it is absorbed, the remaining hot broth. Finally add the one placed in the cup with the saffron pistils.

4) Remove the risotto from the heat, add the salt (if needed) and a ground pepper, immediately incorporate the remaining butter into small pieces, 30 g of grated parmesan and mix vigorously to stir. Cover the pan and let the risotto rest for a couple of minutes so that the flavors blend together. Bring it to the table with the grana remained thinly sliced with a sliced truffle.

Omelette

Ingredients

Medium eggs: 8
Fine salt
Pecorino cheese to be grated 50 gr.
Black pepper
Parmigiano Reggiano to be grated 50 gr.
Extra virgin olive oil to grease the pan 5 gr.

preparation time: 5
cooking time: 15
portions: 4

Preparation

To prepare the omelette, shell the eggs and place them in a large bowl, then beat them lightly with a fork (or a hand whisk). At this point pour Parmesan and grated Pecorino, then add salt and pepper to taste.

Place a 30 cm diameter non-stick pan on the stove and heat the oil for a few seconds. Add the beaten eggs and cook over low heat for 8 minutes, covering the dish with a flat lid; move the pan from time to time to remove the omelette from the bottom.

After the necessary time, turn the omelette: put the serving dish on the pan and turn upside down, keep the pan and frying pan well together because the omelette does not slip away: now you will find the cooked part of the omelette facing upwards, slide the omelette inside the pan, in order to cook the other side for another 8 minutes this time without lid.

Once ready, serve the hot omelette.

Meatballs with Sauce

Polpette al sugo

preparation time: 30
cooking time: 20
portions: 3

Ingredients

Beef (minced meat) 220 gr.
Grated Parmesan cheese 25 gr.
Dried oregano 1 pinch
black pepper
Sausage 165 gr.
eggs 1
Grated nutmeg 1 pinch
Extra virgin olive oil
Stale bread crumb 30 g
Chopped parsley 1 tablespoon
Fine salt

Tomato sauce 350 g
Dried oregano
water 50 g
black pepper
Fine salt 5 g

Preparation

To prepare the meatballs with the sauce start with the dough: cut the breadcrumbs into pieces and pour into a mixer equipped with blades and chop everything until the crumb is reduced to crumbs.

Keep aside the breadcrumbs and remove the string from the sausages, delicately slice them lengthwise and then remove the gut. With the blade of a knife or fork, crush the meat, then pour it into a bowl with the minced meat.

Then add the oregano, a pinch of grated nutmeg and the minced parsley. Finally the grated Parmesan and the crumb that you have previously chopped with the egg and knead everything with your hands, adjusting salt and pepper and stirring until you have obtained a homogeneous mixture.

With the mixture obtained go to form balls weighing 20 grams each, taking a piece of dough and mixing it with both hands: with our doses you have to get 24 meatballs. As soon as all the meatballs are ready, heat the oil in a non-stick pan and, when the oil is hot, place the meatballs, leaving them to cook on both sides for a couple of minutes.

Pour the tomato pulp pour the water, add salt, season with pepper and continue cooking by lowering the heat for 15-20 minutes. Once ready, flavored with dried oregano and you can taste your meatballs with the sauce still steaming!

Potatoes soup

Minestra di patate




preparation time: 15
cooking time: 50
portions: 4


ingredients


Potatoes 700 g
Tomato concentrate 20 g
thyme 5 rametti
black pepper
Carnaroli rice 350 g
White onions 1
Rosemary 2 sprigs
Vegetable broth 1,5 l
Grana Padano DOP (to be grated) 40 g
Fine salt


preparation

To prepare the potato soup started by boiling the vegetable stock in a pot, then take care of the potatoes: peel and cut into slices and then reduce each slice into cubes of about 1 cm.

Now proceed to prepare the sauté: chop the onion then, in a large pot, pour the oil and add the chopped onion leaving it stew for about ten minutes and wetting it if necessary with a ladle of hot broth to prevent it from burning .

After 10 minutes, add the diced potatoes. Then add together the sprigs of thyme and rosemary (keeping aside one of thyme) with a kitchen string and add them to the pot. Cover everything with the hot broth and cook for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes remove the aromatic bouquet using a kitchen tongs and add the rice. You can use both Arborio and Carnaroli rice. Add the boiling broth again to cover all the rice and potatoes.

Then add the tomato paste and mix well to make it mix. Add salt and pepper and continue cooking for another 20 minutes, adding more broth when needed. When the rice and the potatoes are cooked, add the Grana Padano and add a last mixture of broth and, if necessary, add a little more pepper.

Add the thyme leaves of the sprig that you have previously kept aside and stir one last time before serving: your potato soup is ready to be tasted!

Bolognese meat sauce

salsa bolognese


preparation time: 0,
cooking time: 120,
portions: 0,


ingredients


Semi-lean beef and pork: gr. 800
carrots: 80 gr.
Celery: gr. 80
Onion: gr. 60
Seed oil: 1 dl.
Tomato concentrate: 40 gr.
Dried mushrooms: 5 gr.
Red wine: 0,7 lt
peeled tomatoes: 0,5 kg
Two cloves
nutmeg
Aromatic bunch
Two laurel leaves
stock cube powder
Pepper

preparation

Soak dried mushrooms. Chop the vegetables by hand. Chop the meat cut into pieces. In a saucepan heat the oil and brown the vegetables with two bay leaves. Add the minced meat and let it go for a few minutes.

Add the red wine and let it evaporate. Add the tomato paste, the peeled tomatoes and the finely chopped dried mushrooms. Then add all the aromas the nut and cover with plenty of hot water.

Let the sauce cook for about two hours.

Potato and green beans salad

Insalata di patate e fagiolini


preparation time: 15 min
cookin time: 35 min
portion: 4


ingredients

potatoes 400 gr
green beans 400 gr
olio extravergine di oliva: 40 gr
parsley 4 rametti
garlic 1/2 spicchio
vinagre: 20 ml
salt
pepper


preparation


Wash the potatoes well to remove the earthy residues present on the peel. Put the potatoes in a pot with cold water and a little salt and boil for 35-40 minutes (the time varies according to the size of the potatoes). Meanwhile, wash the string beans under running water. Drain, remove the tips and, if present, the thread. In another large pot bring salted water to a boil. When it starts to boil, dip the green beans and let them cook for 3-5 minutes (decide the cooking time according to your tastes but keeping in mind that the vegetable must remain crisp). Drain and stop cooking by cooling them under running cold water. In this way they remain green and crunchy.

Drain the potatoes, let them cool, peel them, cut them into large pieces and put them aside in a large bowl. Cut the string beans into small pieces and add them to the potatoes.

Prepare the vinaigrette by pouring oil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper into a glass jar. Add the finely chopped garlic and parsley. Close the jar and shake vigorously to emulsify everything. Pour the vinaigrette on potatoes and green beans, stir gently, add salt and then cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Refrigerate to rest until ready to serve.

Potatoes in green

preparation time: 10
cooking time: 40
portions: 6


ingredients


1 kg di potatoes
15 g di basil
15 g di parsley
extra virgin olive oil
vinegar
salt
pepper
oregano


preparation


To start preparing the potato salad in the green you have to start right from the potatoes, which will be put to cook in plenty of salted water for about 40 minutes.

Once ready, the potatoes should be left to cool, deprived of the outer peel and then reduced into slices or chunks depending on your taste. At this point you can devote yourself to the realization of the accompanying sauce for your potato salad to green.

First, devote yourself to parsley and basil, which will first be washed and then finely chopped with a knife. Add them in a bowl and sprinkle with extra virgin olive oil and vinegar. Emulsify everything and then pour it over your boiled potatoes prepared earlier.

Finish the preparation of the potato salad in green by adding salt and pepper and adding a handful of oregano. Mix everything and leave your potato salad to rest for at least half an hour before serving so that the potatoes have time to flavor well and absorb the scent and flavor of the sauce with which you sprinkled them.

Capricciosa Salad

Ingredients

Gruyere: 50 gr.
Carrot: 100 gr.
Celeriac: 100 gr.
White wine vinegar: 1 spoon
Mustard: 1 teaspoon
Fine salt: j.e.
Baked ham: (only one slice) 50 gr.
Mayonnaise: 300 ml.

prep 10 min
servings 4

Preparation

Wash and peel the celeriac and carrots, then cut them finely to the Julien;
put them in a bowl and add the vinegar, a pinch of salt and mix well.

Cut the cheese and cooked ham into thin strips, add them to the vegetables.

Incorporate the mayonnaise and mustard in the end;
mix the ingredients very well and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Serve the cold capricciosa salad.

Storage

Keep the capricious salad in the fridge in a bowl with the lid, at most for one day.

Pesto Sauce

Di Ɱ - Opera propria, CC BY-SA 3.0, Collegamento

Ingredients

• Basil leaves 25 gr.
• Extra virgin olive oil 50 ml.
• Parmesan cheese to be grated 35 gr.
• Pecorino to grate 15 gr.
• Pine nuts (Pinoli) 8 gr.
• Garlic ½ clove
• Coarse salt 1 pinch

Preparation

To prepare the Genoese pesto it is first necessary to specify that the basil leaves are not washed, but cleaned with a soft cloth; in addition you must make sure that it is Ligurian or Genovese basil, with narrow leaves (and not the thick-leaved southern one, which often has a mint flavor). Start preparing the pesto by placing the peeled garlic in the mortar along with some grain of coarse salt. Begin to pound and, when the garlic is reduced to cream, add the basil leaves together with a pinch of coarse salt, which will serve to better break the fibers and keep a nice bright green color.

Then crush the basil against the mortar walls by rotating the pestle from left to right and at the same time rotate the mortar in the opposite direction (from right to left), taking it for the "ears", or the 4 rounded protrusions that characterize the mortar itself . Continue like this until a bright green liquid comes out from the basil leaves; at this point add the pine nuts (9) and start pounding again to reduce to cream.

Add the cheeses a little at a time, stirring constantly, to make the sauce even more creamy, and lastly the extra virgin olive oil that will be poured in flush, always mixing with the pestle. Mix the ingredients well until a smooth sauce is obtained. Your authentic Genoese pesto is ready to be used!

Storage

Keep the freshly prepared pesto in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for 2-3 days, taking care to cover the sauce with a layer of oil.

It is possible to freeze the pesto in small jars and then thaw it in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

Curiosity

To obtain an excellent Genoese pesto, the basil leaves must necessarily be dry, and must not be wrinkled in any way, since the rupture of the vesicles containing the essential oils placed on the upper part of the leaves, would cause oxidation of the color and the aromas, making the dark green pesto with a herbaceous aroma.

For the preparation of Genoese pesto, use sweet and ripe oil because the latter, in addition to acting as a solvent for the aromatic substances, ensures the perfect amalgam, enhancing the aroma of basil and attenuating the spicy garlic.

Advice

Like apples and aubergines, basil is also oxidized, alas. If you do not want to find in your hands a pesto that, although good, looks like squid ink, you have to use two measures: 1. work it at the speed of light (exposure to oxygen is one of the causes of oxidation); 2. avoid overheating (high temperatures are the other). And here we have to talk about the blender. If you do not even want to see the mortar and pestle, you can use the blender (if possible, with plastic blades, the metal makes the leaves bitter): you will get a creamy pesto, but still very good. To avoid overheating, you can blend at the lowest possible speed and in jerks, ie blend a few seconds, stop and start again. Another trick: leave the cup and the blades in the fridge an hour before use, the coldest of it :)

Meliga Pastries

Di F Ceragioli - Opera propria, CC BY-SA 3.0, Collegamento

Ingredients

• 250 gr of cold butter
• 250 gr of flour 00
• 130 gr of flour corn floret
• 110 gr of caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 yolk
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• the rind of 1 grated lemon
• 1 pinch of salt

Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 15 min
Servings: 40 cookies

Preparation

To prepare the corn pastes (meliga cookies), start by pouring in a bowl the 00 flour, the corn flour, the granulated sugar and the vanilla seeds. Stir with a spoon to mix.

Add the diced butter and the grated lemon peel. Start to knead, if you use the planetary, knead at low speed with the whisk K, until you obtain a crumbly mixture. Add the egg, the yolk and the salt and knead until a soft dough is obtained.

In this phase it is essential to pay attention to the consistency of the dough which should not be too tender (or the biscuits will melt during cooking), but not too hard (otherwise it will be impossible to squeeze it with a pastry bag). Transfer it to a sac à poche with a 15 mm star nozzle and form some 5-6 cm diameter crowns directly on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. They will have to be well spaced.

Cook the meliga paste in the oven at 180 ° for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely before serving.

Paradise Pie

Ingredients

• Soft butter 170 gr.
• Powdered sugar 170 gr.
• Sugar 40 gr.
• Fine salt 2,5 gr.
• Potato starch 70 gr.
• Baking powder for desserts 3 gr.
• Flour 00 100 gr.
• Vanilla pod Bourbon ½
• Yolks 80 gr.
• Whole eggs 100 gr.
• Lemon peel ½
• Orange peel ½

to sprinkle the cake Powdered sugar j.e.

Preparation

To prepare the paradise cake, start by sifting flour, starch and baking powder into a bowl; then mix with a spoon to mix them best. In another bowl put the soft butter into pieces, pour the pulp of half a vanilla bean and grate half untreated lemon peel. Grate also half an orange peel, always untreated. 

Start working with the electric whisk the vanilla flavored butter, adding the icing sugar. When the mixture has assumed a soft and airy consistency, add also the 80 g of egg yolks (about 4 egg yolks medium) then pour the salt and continue to work the mixture with electric whips until you get a soft and creamy consistency.

Keep aside and in another bowl add the two whole eggs and add the granulated sugar; work everything with electric whips and as soon as this mixture of eggs and sugar will be light and smooth.

You can add it to the one with butter, sugar and egg yolks, alternating with the pour of the powders. Then pour a little egg and sugar mixture, mix well with a marisa. Then add a part of the powders and keep stirring.

Continue with the liquid part again and finish with the powders until they are finished. This alternation of poured and processing will serve to make the dough of the typical crumbly consistency of the paradise cake.

Take a mold of 24 cm in diameter and butter it with the help of a brush, flour it and pour the dough of the paradise cake. Level it with a spatula until the surface is homogeneous. 

Cook the paradise cake in a preheated oven at 170 ° for about 45-50 minutes (adjust according to the strength of your oven, cover the cake with aluminum foil after 30 minutes of cooking if you see that it darkens excessively and continue cooking).

Once ready (always test the toothpick), take it out and wait about 20 minutes before turning it over a serving dish.

Remove the mold very gently and let it cool completely for about 1 hour. Only once cold sprinkle with powdered sugar to create a homogeneous layer on the surface. Your paradise cake is ready to be tasted.

Storage

You can keep the paradise cake under a glass jar for a couple of days.

You can freeze without covering icing sugar.

Vegetable Soup

Minestrone di verdure

Ingredients

• 500 gr. tomatoes for sauce
• 500 gr. fresh peas
• 200 gr. rice
• 150 gr. dried beans (borlotti) soaked
• 100 gr. bacon
• 50 gr. lard
• 3 floury potatoes
• 2 zucchini
• 2 stalks celery
• 2 carrots
• a small onion
• parsley
• basil
• sage
• garlic
• parmesan
• salt

Time: 3 h 30 min
Servings: 6 persone

Preparation

For the recipe of vegetable minestrone, wash and clean celery, carrots, zucchini and reduce them into cubes. Free the tomatoes from peel and seeds and cut into small pieces too. Peel the potatoes, wash them but leave them whole.

Peel and wash the parsley, chop it finely with lard and a clove of garlic; put the mixture in a pot, add the chopped onion, 2 sage leaves and the pancetta into strips.

Let it fry and when the onion is dried, add all the vegetables, the popped beans, washed and cut into small pieces, the beans soaked for at least 8 hours and 8 basil leaves. Sprinkle with 3 liters of water, salt a little, then let it boil and cook in a covered pot for about 3 hours.

Half an hour before the end of cooking, add the peas and crush the potatoes; a quarter of an hour later add the rice. Serve the minestrone with parmesan.

Pasta with Asparagus

Pasta agli asparagi

Ingredients

• Penne Rigate 320 gr.
• Fresh Asparagus700 gr.
• Black Pepper j.e.
• Fine Salt j.e.
• Parmesan cheese to be grated 20 gr.
• Shallot (Scalogno) 80 gr.
• Thyme (Timo) 3 gr.

Preparation

To prepare the pasta with asparagus started by placing a pot on the stove with plenty of hot water; when it boils salatela: it will serve to cook the pasta. Continue with the asparagus cleaning. Wash them under running water and dry with a cloth. So, remove them from the hardest and light-colored ends by drawing them. Then remove the outer part of the stem, the most coriaceous, with a potato peel.

Take the asparagus and align them in a bunch, then cut the stems into small washers,
taking care to leave the tips intact (you can split them in half lengthwise if you prefer). At this point clean and finely chop the shallot. Proceed with a non-stick pan: pour in a little oil and fry the shallots gently. Mix from time to time and add a ladle of cooking water to make it soften more gently without the risk of burning.

Add the cut asparagus and the tips. Add salt and pepper, mix and pour one or two ladles of hot water and then cook with a lid for 10-15 minutes over a moderate heat.

While the asparagus cook, boil the pasta in the pot of boiling water. When it is al dente transfer it to the pan where you cooked the asparagus with a slotted spoon and stir.

Finally, flavored with the leaves of thyme and grated Parmesan, if necessary wet with very little cooking water, stir and then extinguish the fire. Finally serve your pasta with asparagus and ... enjoy your meal!

Storage

It is preferable to consume pasta with freshly cooked asparagus. If you go a little further, you can keep it in the fridge in a tightly closed container for a maximum of 2 days.