With spring well under way in Italy; weekends offer a perfect opportunity to cook and invite friends or family for a special dinner or lunch. Here are some exciting menu ideas to impress your guests.
To start, consider serving a soft pea flan alongside a unique version of the classic veal with tuna sauce. For the main course, you could prepare traditional cannelloni filled with vegetables or a light Ligurian cod dish in agrodolce sauce. To conclude the meal, treat your guests to a fresh ricotta parfait with a hint of lemon. Grazie a Sale & Pepe and Giallo Zafferano for the recipes!
Vitello Tonnato with a twist
The traditional recipe of veal with tuna is served with an unusual dry mixture of anchovies and breadcrumbs.
Ingredients:
800 grams Veal rump; 1 1 Lemon; 2 Anchovy fillets or anchovies in oil; 1 Tablespoon Capers; 3 Garlic cloves; 2 Tablespoons Breadcrumbs; 1 Bunch Parsley; 2 Bay leaves
1 Glass White wine vinegar; to taste salt
Preparation:
To prepare the dry chopped meat to accompany the veal, finely chop the anchovies, capers, and half a clove of garlic (removing the central shoot). Place this mixture in a bowl and add the breadcrumbs and the juice of half a lemon. Use the back of a spoon to crush everything together. Next, clean the veal rump (a large piece weighing about 800 g) using a sharp knife. Remove any skin and excess fat from the edges. Pound the rump with a meat tenderizer, then place the zest of half a lemon on top in 5 to 6 pieces and generously season with salt. Roll and tie the rump like a salami using kitchen string. In a saucepan, combine the meat with 1 liter of cold water, vinegar, the remaining peeled garlic, bay leaf, and a couple of pieces of lemon zest. Cook it over low heat for two hours, then let it cool in the broth—this step is crucial for keeping the meat tender. Before serving the veal, add a bit of grated lemon zest and 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley to the anchovy mixture. Slice the meat and sprinkle it with the anchovy, caper, and breadcrumb mixture. Enjoy!
Flan di Piselli - Pea Flan
Pea flan is a delicate and delicious appetizer that highlights the unique flavors of spring vegetables. To complement these elegant single servings, we have paired them with a sweet Gorgonzola fondue. Don't forget the crunchy toasted bread wafers, which are perfect for enjoying the pea flan—no fork required!
Ingredients:
Peas (shelled) 1 kg; Fresh liquid cream 125 g; Medium eggs 2; Pecorino Romano DOP (grated) 80 g; Shallot 1
Extra virgin olive oil to taste; Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste; Mint 4 leaves. For the bread crunch:
Baguette 12 slices; Extra virgin olive oil to taste; Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste
For the Sauce: Sweet Gorgonzola 100 g Galbani; Fresh liquid cream 50 g.
Preparation:
To prepare the pea flan, start by shelling the pods; you should end up with approximately 350 g of shelled peas. Remove the mint leaves from their stems and set the stems aside. Clean and chop the shallot. In a saucepan, drizzle some oil, add the chopped shallot and the mint stalks. Sauté for a few minutes, then remove the stalks. Next, add the peas, moisten with a little water, and cook for about twenty minutes. Once cooked, drain the peas and let them cool before transferring them to a mixer. Add fresh liquid cream, lightly beaten eggs, and grated Pecorino Romano to the mixer. Season the mixture with mint leaves, salt, and pepper, then blend until smooth.
Brush the insides of six 100 g capacity molds with oil. Pour 90 g of the mixture into each mold, leaving about 1 cm of space from the edges. Place the molds on a baking tray and pour fresh water into the tray until it reaches a couple of centimeters high. Bake in a static oven at 180°C for 40 to 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, thinly slice a baguette to obtain 12 slices. Brush the slices with oil, season with salt and pepper, and toast them in a preheated oven at 200°C for 5 to 10 minutes, until golden brown.
Five minutes before the flans are done, prepare the fondue. Place pieces of Gorgonzola into a saucepan with cream and let it melt gently.
Once the flans are out of the oven, run a small knife along the edge of each mold to help with removal. Invert the molds onto serving plates, garnish with the Gorgonzola fondue, and serve with the toasted bread wafers. The pea flans are ready to enjoy! Grazie a Giallo Zafferano!
Cannelloni di Crespelle con verdure - Vegetarian Crepes Canneloni
This first course features crepes filled with vegetables and seasoned with béchamel sauce and parmesan cheese. When rolled up, they transform into delicious cannelloni that are best served hot, fresh out of the oven, or warm for a brunch. The crepes are made from a classic batter consisting of eggs, flour, milk, and butter. Additionally, you can add a touch of parmesan or pecorino to the béchamel for extra flavor.
Ingredients:
150 g Flour; 3 dl Whole Milk; 2 Eggs; 300 g Zucchini; Parmesan; Nutmeg; Butter; Salt; Pepper
Preparation:
In a bowl, sift the flour and gradually mix in 2/3 of the milk. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Once combined, add the remaining milk, 15 g of melted butter, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Mix thoroughly and let the batter rest for 30 minutes.
Heat a well-buttered 15 cm diameter pan until hot. 2. Pour a ladleful of batter into the pan, spreading it evenly across the bottom. Once the bottom is slightly set, carefully turn the crepe over with a spatula and cook the other side. Continue to cook the remaining crepes until all the batter is used. In a separate pan, fry the diced courgettes in butter until tender. Mix in about 300 g of béchamel sauce, grated Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Fill each crepe with the vegetable mixture, roll them up, and place them in a baking dish brushed with melted butter. Bake the crepe cannelloni at 200°C (approximately 392°F) for 15-20 minutes, and serve hot. Grazie a Sale&Peppe.
Baccalà in agrodolce alla ligure - Ligurian Cod sweet sour
Cod Ligurian style is a dish of the culinary tradition of a region where sea and mountains meet. It can be served as a second course or as an appetizer in smaller portions.
Ingredients:
800 g cod; 20 g dried mushrooms; 30 g raisins; 2 tablespoons pine nuts; 1 tablespoon sugar; 2 cloves
garlic; 1 sprig rosemary; 2 tablespoons; white wine vinegar; to taste water; 20 g tomato paste; to taste
extra virgin olive oil; to taste salt.
Preparation:
Beforehand: Soak the dried mushrooms and raisins in warm water in two separate cups. Mix the garlic, rosemary and soaked and squeezed dried mushrooms.
Clean, skin and remove the bones from the cod with tweezers. Cut it into pieces. Add the cod to the chopped mixture and simmer, lowering the heat, first covered and then uncovered, for about 10/15 minutes. Now add the tomato paste, vinegar, sugar, pine nuts and squeezed raisins. Moisten with a little water and cook for about ten minutes. Season with salt and serve the Ligurian sweet and sour cod on plates.
Semifreddo di ricotta al profumo di mente e limone - Ricotta parfait with mint and lemon flavour
A light dessert, refreshing and and light. The ricotta semifreddo with mint and lemon is a dessert with a refined taste, perfect for the most demanding palates.
Ingredients:
4 Lemons; 3 Eggs; 250 Grams Sugar; 3 Decilitres Fresh Cream; 10 Grams Gelatin in sheets; q.b. 1 Salt; 350 Grams Piedmontese Ricotta- seirass (or other cow milk based ricotta); 12 Mint Leaves
Preparation:
Use a special zester to remove the zest from two lemons. Blanch the zest three times in a saucepan of boiling water, changing the water each time. Soak the gelatine in cold water. Separate the egg yolks from the whites. In a bowl, combine the yolks with 50g of sugar and the grated zest of the remaining lemons. Whip the yolk mixture for the ricotta semifreddo using an electric whisk until it becomes light and frothy. In a saucepan, heat a spoonful of cream over low heat and add the drained and squeezed gelatin. Stir until the gelatin dissolves completely, then remove it from the heat. Pass the ricotta for the semifreddo through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any lumps. Combine the filtered juice of 2 lemons, the dissolved gelatin, and the yolk-sugar mixture. Mix the ingredients well. Whip the remaining cream until stiff. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt and 100g of sugar until they form a firm meringue. Gently fold the whipped cream into the yolk mixture, followed by the whipped egg whites. Pour the resulting mixture into three rectangular 6dl molds lined with plastic wrap. Freeze for at least 8 hours.
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