Italian menu – Il classico

 

Pollo (or vitello) tonnato

Caponata

*

Risotto (pumpkin)

*

Pollo alla cacciatore

Contorni – side dishes

*

Panna cotta with a raspberry coulis

Chocolate semifreddo

Marasche – almond cookie

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VItello tonnato

Ingredients

4 persons

  • 1 leek
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 0,5 dl white wine
  • 3 sticks parsley
  • 300 grams veal filet  
  • ½ can tuna
  • 1 piece of anchovy
  • 1 tbsp capers
  • 2 tbsp mayonnaise
  • ½ tbs lemon juice

Tools:

  • mixer
  • knife
  • cutting board
  • serving plate

Method:

Pollo

  1. Prepare a stock by cutting the vegetables.  Add water and the wine and bring to the boil. Add pepper and salt to taste. When boiling add the chicken breast and poach for 15 mins. (poaching is boiling at 80˚C). turn down the heat and let the chicken cool down in the stock.

Tonnato  

  1. Blend the tuna, capers, anchovies and mayonnaise. Add some lemon juice. Add pepper and salt to taste.
    3. Slice the cooled chicken and put on a serving plate. Cover with the tuna sauce.
  2. Garnish with a slice of Lemon and some capers.

Bruschetta

  1. Slice the ciabatta and toast it in the oven.

 

To serve: Cover the bruschette with the pollo tonnato. 

 

 

Caponata

Ingredients:

4 persons

  • ½  piece of aubergine
  • 1 stalk celeriac
  • 1 onion
  • ½ can tomatoes
  • 3 tbsp vinegar
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp capers
  • 4 olives
  • ½ piece of bread

Tools:

  • Baking tray – baking paper
  • brush
  • bowl with oil
  • frying pan

Method:

Caponata

  1. Dice the eggplants. Fry in some oil until cooked.
  2. Cut the celeriac in small pieces, 0,5 cm.
  3. Cut the onion into slices.
  4. Fry celeriac and onion in 10 minutes.
  5. Cut the olives in small pieces.
  6. Add tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, capers and olives.
  7. Add the aubergine
  8. Leave to simmer for 10 minutes.
  9. Bring to taste with pepper and salt.

Toast

  1. Cut the bread in small slices, 0,5 cm. Brush with oil.
  2. Roast them until golden brown.

 

To serve: spread the caponata on the toasts. put all the toast on a serving plate.

 

Risotto (pumpkin)

Ingredients:

4 persons (starter course)

  • 200 grams risotto
  • 1 onion
  • ¼ pumpkin
  • 1 cup of white wine
  • 3 liter stock
  • 50 grams butter
  • 50 grams parmesan cheese

Tools:

  • knife
  • cutting board
  • baking pan
  • ladle

Method:

Stock

  1. Prepare a home made stock with the fresh vegetables. Onion, carrot, celery, leek.

Risotto

  1. Chop the onion and garlic.
  2. Fry the onion 5 mins in oil. Add garlic and rice. Bake another 3 mins.
  3. Add the wine.
  4. Cut the pumpkin in halves and take out the seeds. Cut in small cubes.
  5. Add the stock until the rice is almost covered. Stir well and let the rice absorb the liquid. Then add again. Continue until the rice is cooked.
  6. Add a lump of butter and grated cheese and mix in. .

 

To serve: Put the risotto on the plate. Use parsley and fresh grounded black pepper as garnish.

Pollo alla cacciatore

Ingredients:

4 persons

  • 25 grams dried porcini
  • 1 pce chicken
  • 1 tbsp rosemary
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 0,5 can tomatoes

 

Tools:

  • knife
  • cutting board
  • baking pan with oil to fry

 

Method:

  1. Soak the dried mushrooms. After 20 mins, keep the liquid and rinse them well.
  2. Cut the chicken in pieces. Fry in the oil until golden brown.
  3. Add salt, pepper, rosemary and wine. Leave to evaporate.
  4. Add the mushrooms and tomatoes. Add the liquid but be careful not to add the sand at the bottom.

Leave to simmer on low flame for at least 30 mins.

  1. To make a thick sauce either leave simmering for a long time or add something to thicken the sauce. (For example mix a few tablespoons of cooking liquid with the flower and then put back in the pan).

Contorni – side dishes

Zuchini

  • 1 pcs organic (small) zucchini
  • 0,5 dl balsamic vinegar
  • 30 grams rucola

Tools:

  • knife
  • cutting board
  • baking pan to fry

 

Method:

Cut the zucchinis in halves. Cut each half in diagonal slices about 0,5 cm. fry these in oil until golden brown.

Add balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and fry another minute. Put in a large scale to cool down the zucchinis.

 

Wild spinach with pine nuts and raisins

4 persons

Ingredients:

  • 1 kilo spinach
  • Spoon of pinenuts
  • Small cup raisins
  • Clove garlic

 

Tools:

  • baking pan
  • bowl
  • serving plate

 

Method:

1.Wash the spinach, drain and blanch with the remaining water. Drain again and add the raisins.

  1. Toast the pine nuts.
  2. Fry the garlic, add the spinach and pinenuts. Mix and serve.

Potatoes from the oven

4 persons

Ingredients:

  • 500 gram potatoes
  • rosemary
  • oil, salt

Tools:

  • baking tray
  • knife

Method:

  1. Peel the potatoes if you like. Or scrub them well.
  2. Cut in equal parts (wedges, cubes).
  3. Mix with oil and rosemary and bake 45 mins on 180 C. Add salt in the end.

 

Panna Cotta

Ingredients:

4 persons

  • 0,25 liter cream
  • 0,5 vanilla pod
  • 1,5 leave gelatin
  • 1  tbsp sugar

Tools:

  • bowl
  • saucepan
  • ladle
  • moulds

Method:

  1. Soak the gelatin in water.
  2. Warm the cream with the vanilla pod (cut lengthwise) and sugar.
  3. Take out the vanilla, pod and scoop out the seeds. Mix the seeds back in.
  4. Squeeze soft gelatin and stir in the warm cream.
  5. Pour the mixture in the moulds. Leave to cool to room temperature then put in the fridge for 2 hours.

Chocolate semifreddo

Ingredients:

4 persons

  • 75 grams chocolate
  • 1 pce egg
  • 35 grams sugar
  • 1 dl cream

Tools:

  • mixer
  • whisk
  • kitchen machine

Method:

  1. Melt the chocolate au bain marie or in the microwave. Separate the eggs. Whip the yolk with the sugar until white creamy and the sugar has dissolved. Whip the cream. Beat the egg-whites until fluffy.  
  2. Mix the lukewarm chocolate with the yolks. Mix with the cream until homogenous.
  3. Mix the egg-whites to mixture. Use a spatula, careful not to beat out the air which should be in the mixture.
  4. Fill containers with the mixture and put in the freezer for about 4 hours.

 

Raspberry (or blackberry or strawberry) sauce

Ingredients:

4 persons

  • 50 grams raspberries
  • 30 grams sugar

Tools:

  • saucepan
  • ladle
  • sieve

Method:

  1. Warm the blackberries together with the sugar (and optional wine) until the sugar has melted. (don’t boil it to keep the “raw fruit” taste)
  2.  Put the mixture in a sieve and press it with the back of a spoon

Marasche – almond cookies

 

Ingredients:

15 pieces

  • 100 grams white almonds
  • 85 grams sugar
  • 1 egg white
  • Amarena cherries
  • Crushed almonds
  • Additional egg white

Tools:

  • baking tray
  • bowl

Method:

  1. Mix the almonds, sugar and egg white. Form small balls with the cherry inside.
  2. Roll through the egg white and then the crushed almonds.
  3. Bake 12 mins. on 160˚C.