Risotto Risotto…. Be seduced by Venice!

Risotto with Mussels

1.5kg of mussels

150ml of white wine – (dry like chardonnay,  as you are eliminating all the flavours to avoid any acidity)

6tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

1 litre of homemade stock

1 celery stalk including leaves, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 medium onion finely chopped

300g of carnaroli or vialone nano risotto rice

6 tbsp of chopped parsley

 

• Clean the mussels by washing them and rubbing and removing any of the beards.
• If any mussels are open discard it now.
• In a frying pan place the wine and add the mussels. Cook over high heat until mussels are open – about 3 to 4 minutes.
• Remove the mussels from the heat and discard the shells keeping the meat on the side. You can also leave some mussels with shells on for decoration.
• If any mussels remain closed, do discard it.
• Sieve the liquid of the mussels using a muslin or cloth so you are sure not to get any sand left from the mussels.
• In a large heavy bottom pot place the onion with the olive oil and bring it to the heat.
• Add now the garlic and the celery including the leaves. Sautee for a minute or so.
• Add the rice and toast well, turning the rice to coat properly until you see the colour of the rice getting translucent ( about 2 minutes )
• Add now the mussels liquid. Let the rice absorb it.
• Start now to add a ladleful of stock at a time. You may need to turn the heat down but remember the rice has to be kept with the boiling temperature. Check for salt and pepper. Keep stirring, from time to time and keep adding more and more stock until the rice is al dente – about 20 minutes.
• Once the rice is done remove the rice from the heat and add the mussels. Add a nice spoon of butter and the chopped parsley, some extra black pepper.
• Serve immediately.

Short Crust Pastry – the best 3 you need to know! Crumbling and wonderful!

Short Crust Pastry, The best 3 recipes from Sorelle Simili, my wonderful teachers…

Always with me, in my heart and in my soul.

1) CLASSIC MIX FOR BISCUITS AND CROSTATA 200 g flour 00 100 g butter 2 egg yolks 80 g of sieved icing sugar a pinch of salt

2) CRISPY MIX FOR BISCUITS AND CROSTATA 500 g flour 00 200 g caster sugar 200 g butter 2 whole eggs a pinch of salt

3) SOFT MIX FOR CAKES WITH CREAM AND FRUIT, CIAMBELLE AND BISCUITS 500 g flour 00 100 g potato starch 150 g butter 4 egg yolks 150 g sifted icing sugar a pinch of salt

 

PASTA FROLLA ( SHORT CRUST PASTRY )

 

it can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days while in the freezer

you can keep it for 2-3 months.

Remember that thawing should be gentle so take it out of the freezer the night before use,

leaving it in the fridge and never at room temperature!

 

WHEN PASTA FROLLA ( short crust pastry ) GOES OUT OF THE REFRIGERATOR

 

It has a very hard dough so it must be softened by beating it

with a rolling pin and at the same time rotating the dough until all the dough

is more malleable and easy to use.

Extract from the refrigerator only when used because otherwise the butter gets

too hot on the surface.

 

SHORT CRUST PASTRY CAN BE FLAVORED

 

With orange peel, lemon, grapefruit or mandarin but the classic taste is vanilla whose seeds

will be added to the sugar during the dough.

 

Eggplant Pesto, wonderful served with a grilled fish, or serve with pasta! Easy and healthy dinner.

 

Pesto di Melanzane

 

Ingredients

• 400g of trofie or any short pasta like farfalle
• 2 eggplants
• 1 garlic clove
• 100g of parmesan
• 1 hand full of basil
• 6 spoons of extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper

 

Instructions

 

To prepare the eggplants:

• Traditionally as they do in Sicily place them under salt and let it rest for 30 minutes
• Then wash it, dry it and deep fry it with approximately a glass of extra virgin olive oil.
• Another option is to wash the eggplants and prick them all over. Then brush them with extra virgin olive oil.
• Place them in a hot oven 230C for about 35 minutes turning them around.
• Place them on a colander and cut them in half (if they are reasonably small) otherwise in 3 halves. Sprinkle with salt and let it rest for 30 minutes

 

To make the pesto:

• Place the garlic inside of the food processor together with basil.
• Blend it.
• Add now the eggplants, the oil and once all blended stir the parmesan.
• Cook the trofie all dente and mix with the pesto sauce.
• Never forget you do not add any extra oil to toss the pasta but dilute the pesto with water when mixing with the pasta.
• We normally do about 1 spoon of pesto for about 4 spoons of water.

 

 

 

How to Cook Pasta Properly! Here are the strict rules to cook your perfect pasta! Live Italy, Enjoy!

 

 How to cook Pasta, as we do it in Italy!

* Always choose a good quality dried pasta or if working with fresh egg pasta make it “fresh”.

* Do never precook it or reheat it.

 

THE SAUCEPAN:

* Has to be big enough to contain abundant water.

* You will need a lid to cover the saucepan briefly after you have immersed the pasta in order to bring the water quickly to boiling point again.

* After the water has come back to a boil remove the lid for the remaining cooking time.

 

THE WATER AND THE SALT

* The water should be boiling when you add the salt. Taste for salt, then add the pasta.

* You really do need plenty of water eg. 1 liter of water per 100g of pasta and plenty of salt. (closer to the taste of the sea.) While the pasta is absorbing water is losing starch. So you don’t want to re-absorb the starch because the water is over-saturated with it. So make sure there is plenty of water.

 

THE AL DENTE TEST:

* Italians are careful about the way pasta is cooked.

* When pasta is cooked al dente it still has some bite to it, which is just how it should be.

* But al dente means different things to different people so you will find it best to taste a piece of pasta regularly as you are cooking it to get it just as you like it. But remember: al dente means literally ‘to the tooth’, which suggests not stiff, not soft, but pliable and cooked through with a bite!

 

DRAINING:

* You need a large colander for dried pasta and a mandolino for fresh pasta.

* Never drain the pasta under cold or hot water, you will take away the starch coating.

* Make sure you always save a little of the cooking water, it is often the best way to moisten the pasta or the sauce if either of them becomes to dense.

* Once the pasta is drained put it back into the saucepan or a bowl and add the sauce.

 

DRESSING PASTA:

* If you are cooking tagliatelle you should always add a touch of butter to it and use a mandolino if you have one.

* To moist other types of pasta add a little of the cooking water if needed.

* Then add some of the sauce and toss the pasta to coat each piece.

* Pour into the plates and add more sauce over the top.

* Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino (if not using seafood or fish sauce)

 

SAUCE:

* Combine the right sauce with the right type of pasta.

* The pasta should never swim in a sauce. The quantities of sauce in the pasta should be such that only an irrelevant amount of sauce remains on the plate after you have eaten the pasta.

* Always dress the pasta immediately after it has been cooked, by tossing it with the sauce just before serving and adding a little extra sauce over the top.

 

 

 

 

 

Beef Carpaccio

Beef Carpaccio… A classical Italian dish…

• 500g of carpaccio you can leave the fine slices or chopped finely
• ½ cup of celery with the leaves chopped finely
• ½ cup of parsley chopped finely
• ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp of lemon juice
• Lemon for garnish
• Mixed leaves salad or rocket

 

 

Instructions

• An hour before serving marinate the beef with lemon, half the celery and half the parsley, oil, salt pepper .
• Prepare the bed of leaves in each individual plate and serve the carpaccio on the top of it.
• Garnish with slices of lemon.

Quick and effective! Focaccia at anytime of the day is always a winner.

Focaccia Veloce

The potato is the secret of this great focaccia. This is one of the best recipes I have come across. Given that traditional focaccia recipes take a whole day to make, this is relatively quick and simple and you are guaranteed success.

10 g (1/4 oz) fresh yeast

500 g (1 lb 2 oz) type ‘00’ flour, plus 50 g (13/4 oz) extra (see glossary)

90 g (31/4 oz /about 1) desiree potato, peeled, cooked and mashed

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil,

plus extra for drizzling

1 small handful rosemary leaves, coarsely chopped

Place the yeast and 250 ml (9 fl oz /1 cup) of warm water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook and stir to dissolve the yeast. Add some of the flour, then add the potato and olive oil and keep mixing. Add 2 teaspoons salt and half the remaining flour and combine on low speed, then add the remaining flour and continue to knead with the mixer for another 5 minutes. Place dough on a work surface and knead by hand for 3 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. You may need to add a little of the extra flour if dough is sticky. Sprinkle with flour, cover with a bowl and rest for 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 210˚C (415ºF/Gas 6  – 7). Drizzle your hands with a little olive oil and place the dough on a greased baking tray, about 30 cm x 45 cm (12 in x 18 in), stretching to fit. With your fingers, make small indentations in the dough.

Sprinkle with sea salt and rosemary and drizzle generously with extra olive oil. Rest for 30 minutes, then bake for 15 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Serves 6