Category: Chronomenu

Time managed wholesome recipes

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Traditional Tuscan Recipes – The Appetizers

The Restaurant at the Fattoria del Colle Estate, bears the name of its owner. Donatella Cinelli Colombini. Each dish is prepared with the freshest ingredients the Estate has to offer.

To achieve consistency in the look and taste, time management is essential from the kitchen to the table. And this is why I’ve carefully timed  each course.

Insalata di soppressata, rucola e salsa di aceto balsamico – Soppressata salad with arugula and balsamic vinegar

The term “soppressata” indicates several cold meats which have in common the procedure of being pressed plus they are made with pigskin, trotters, and other poor and fatty parts of the pig. In Toscana the most famous is the Sienese one which has a different cooking method. The soppressata in balsamic vinegar sauce is a starter created by Donatella Cinelli Colombini.

Preparation time: 20 min

Ingredients for 6-8 people:
500 g of soppressata, 250g of rucola; extra virgin olive oil; balsamic vinegar; pinch of salt and pepper. Dice the soppressata, and lightly chop the rucola . Put the two together and add oil, salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar. Mix carefully and serve at room temperature.

Picchio Pacchio

This recipe originates from Sicily. Brought to Trequanda and the Val d’Orcia half way through the 18th century by Lorena Asburgo, who, after having reigned in Sicily was knighted with the Grand duchy of Tuscany, where many farmers from the isle followed them as they were experts of arid land.
The original Sicilian recipe does not have bread in it, but… “when there is little bread on the table put plenty in the plate” so says a Tuscan proverb.

Preparation time: 30 min

Ingredients for 6 – 8 people:
20cl of extra virgin olive oil, an onion, a stick of celery, a carrot, one peperoncino, 800 g of thinned tomatoes, salt to taste, 4 fresh eggs and 6 – 8 slices of fresh bread.

Method: sauteé the chili pepper, the onion, the carrot and the roughly chopped celery. Pour the white wine in the pan, and leave it to evaporate, then add the tinned tomatoes and a pinch of salt. In each dish place a slice of fresh bread. When the sauce gets dense, sieve it and then put it back on the cooker. When the sauce is well dry, beat the eggs and add them to the sauce. Pour over the bread and serve hot.

Baccalà alla fratina – Codfish Monk Style

A long time ago there were nuns and monks who went begging. They came from far away, on foot and always in pairs. Their baskets were filled by the farmers with tomatoes and onions, flour and plaits of garlic, oil and wine. In the evenings they often stopped to sleep on farms. But, among the beggars unfortunately there were also pretending to be monks and nuns, dressed up as such to get into the kitchens and polish off the food. The use of this trick did not go unnoticed by the farmers, housewives and landowners: for this reason, at Fattoria del Colle the only room with railing at the windows is called “Monache-which means nuns.

Preparation time: (1 day) + 30 min

Ingredients for 6-8 people:
1 baccala/codfish with bones, 100g of flour, 20 cl of extra virgin olive oil, 3 onions, 1 glass of dry white wine, 750g of fresh tomatoes or tinned, salt.

Method: Keep a baccala/codfish soaking in water for a whole day, changing the water often so as to get rid of the saltiness. The second day clean it, cut it into rectangles of about 10 cm in length and cover in flour. In a wide pan heat the extra virgin olive oil and cook the codfish for a few minutes. Once golden remove from the pan and use the oil to fry the finely chopped onion, carrot and celery. When these are golden add the white wine, and when this has evaporated add the tomatoes. When the sauce is ready add the codfish and cook over a low flame for a few more minutes. Add salt and serve hot.

Click Here for The First courses…

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Traditional Tuscan Recipes – The First Courses

Pappardelle con sugo bugiardo –
Pappardelle in a deceitful  sauce

From medieval times until half way through the 20th century, game, poultry and pork were the only meats for the farmers and laborers of Trequanda and outskirts. “Pork must be one month old, the goose three and then you will eat just like a king” This is a local saying, but when talking about sauces in this area we mean made with beef.

But since everyone could not afford beef the housewives invented a substitute, where the beef was replaced with sausages and bacon.

Preparation time: 50 min.

Ingredients for 6-8 people:

For the pasta: 1kg of flour, 450 g of water, 4 eggs.

For the sauce: 3 carrots, 1 onion, 2 sticks of celery, a little parsley, 20 cl of extra virgin olive oil, 300 g of pork bacon, 4 sausages, 1 glass of red wine, 1kg of thinned tomatoes, peperoncino and salt.

Method:

For the pasta: mix the flour, water and eggs to obtain a dough, then roll it out until it is 2mm high, then cut into irregular diamond shapes of about 10 cm in length. For the sauce: fry in a large pan onion, celery and carrots finely chopped. Once they have a golden colour add the bacon and crumbled sausages. Add the red wine made of Sangiovese grapes, the tinned tomatoes and a little salt, leave to cook over a low flame. Cook the “pappardelle” in boiling salted water, and then dress them with the sauce adding a little chopped parsley.

Pinci al sugo di nana –
Hand made Pasta with Duck Sauce

Pinci is a long pasta (like a thick irregular speghetto) made with water and flour, made for centuries in the farming families in the countryside south of Siena. At Fattoria del Colle, on Mondays, Orietta Fabi teaches how to prepare them according to tradition. There are many sauces which can dress this pasta: the one which tradition prefers is made with duck meat, called “nana”, in this area. Again in the local slang “picio” or “pincio” means string and the name changes from area to area: in Montepulciano they are called pici, in Montalcino pinci and in Trequanda lunghetti.

Preparation time: 60 min.

Ingredients for 6-8 people:

For the pinci: 1kg of flour, 450 g of water, 1 egg, salt

For the sauce:

1 onion, 1 carrot, 2 sticks of celery, 20cl of farm extra virgin olive oil, some juniper berries, 3 bay leaves, 800g of duck meat with its entrails, 400g of minced beef, 1glass of red wine, 800 g of tinned tomatoes sieved, some parsley.

Method:

For the pinci: Make a dough of flour, water, one egg and a pinch of salt; leave the ball of dough after having kneaded it well, leave it for half an hour to rest. Roll out the pasta until it half a centimetre thick on a rolling-board and cut into strips about one cm wide. Roll each strip between your left hand and the board, pulling the other extremity with your left hand. Keep the pinci covered up with a napkin until it is time to cook them.

For the sauce: in a large pan fry onion, celery and carrot finely chopped; add some juniper berries, bay leaves and peperoncino. Clean and divide the duck meat, chop it and add it to the vegetables together with the minced beef. Cook the meats, adding the red wine and allow it to evaporate. Add the tomato puree and leave it to cook over a low flame for a while. Cook the pinci in boiling salted water and then dress with the sauce and a little chopped parsley.

Ravioli dei pastori sardi nelle Crete Senesi – Shepard’s Ravioli

Leaving Siena one can reach Trequanda across the Crete Senesi, a sea of bare hills which are the paradise of artists and photographers but infernal for the farmers. This land is preferred for advertisements for cars and it is easy to recognize it in the publicity for Porsche and Mercedes.

In the 1960’s many men from Sardinia settled in the Crete Senesi; here they found cheap pasture land and so they brought their flocks.

Preparation time: 60 min.

Ingredients for 6-8 people:

For the pasta: 1 kg of flour, 450 g of water, 4 eggs, and a pinch of salt.

For the filling: 400 g of sheep’s milk ricotta, 50 g of grated pecorino, parsley, 2 egg yolks.

For the sauce: 800 g of tomato salsa, a pinch of salt

Method:

For the ravioli: make dough with flour, water and eggs so as to obtain a smooth and soft ball. Roll the pasta out until it is a large oval 3-4 mm thick and cut into rectangles 8-10 cm long.

For the filling: mix in a bowl the “ricotta”, the grated “pecorino”, a lot of chopped parsley and the egg yolks. The ricotta must dry a little so as to give a dry and compact appearance to the mixture. Fill the pasta rectangles with the mixture, close them and cook in boiling salted water. Dress with tomato salsa and grated pecorino.

Zuppa di pane di Trequanda –
Trequanda’s Bread Soup

Vegetable soup with bread is common all over Tuscany, but it’s ingredients change from area to area. In Trequanda it is unique because of the presence of “prosciutto” among the ingredients. Today it is very difficult to find a real Sienese “prosciutto”, salty and fatty, but for the perfect result of this recipe it is essential. The only alternative is to use salty prosciutto and salty bacon together.

Preparation time: 50 min.

Ingredients for 6-8people:

1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, 200 g of tasty Sienese prosciutto, 30 cl of extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 l. of white wine, 1black cabbage, 1kg of beets, 400 g of tomato fillets, 1/2 kg ofwhole white beans, 1/2 kg of sieved white beans, 6-8 slice of bread.

Method: Fry in plenty of oil the onion carrots, celery and prosciutto diced. Cook for about 30 min and add occasionally some white wine: add the black cabbage cut into strips and the beet. Leave to coop for a further 10 minutes before finishing with the tomato fillets diced. Add the whole white beans and the ones that have been sieved. Prepare in the earthenware pot called “coccio”, the toasted bread broken up. When the soup is completed pour it into the pot adding a little extra virgin olive oil.

Click Here for The Main courses…

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Traditional Tuscan Recipes – The Main courses

Pollo in arrosto morto – Roasted Chicken

Roast meat is “morto” when it cooks slowly on the hob in a deep pan with a lid. This recipe, which is very tasty and with a long cooking time is symbolic of Tuscan cuisine.

To begin with the chicken is browned, and then it continues to cook slowly where the aroma will spread pleasantly and permanently all over the house.

Preparation time: 1 hour 30min

Ingredients for 6-8 people:
29 cl of extra virgin olive oil, 2 free range chicken, 2 garlic cloves, 2 cups of chicken stock, 5 leaves of sage, salt and pepper; 2 glasses of dry white wine, 2 cups of chicken stock, 1 twig of rosemary.

Method:
Put the chicken, well cleaned and without its entrails in a pan with a little oil. Stuff it with lard, garlic, sage, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brown the meat over a lively flame without a lid for a few minutes. Pour in the white wine, and leave to evaporate, adding the chicken stock. Add the rosemary and finish slowly cooking for 30 min with the lid on.

Carne avvolta – Rolled Beef

This recipe dates back to the times when the threshing of the wheat was a feast. The meat was food for the rich whereas eggs and omelets where for the farmers.
To produce and transform the wheat farmers’ families exchanged labour and so the housewives cooked for thirty or forty people. No family wished to cut a poor figure even though they were poor: “No meat means no feast” says an old Tuscan proverb. So to save on the quantity of meat used it was served wrapped around omelets.

Preparation time: 60 min.

Ingredients: 1kg beef pocket, some sage, 2 garlic cloves, 20 cl of extra virgin olive oil, salt, a glass of red wine.

Method: Open a beef pocket and stuff it with sage, garlic and lard. In a large frying pan fry the garlic with some of the sage. In another pan prepare the spinach quickly with some extra virgin olive oil and garlic. Beat the eggs together with the parmesan and make some omelettes with the spinach just prepared. Once the sage is golden add the beef pocket and leave to cook occasionally adding some red wine. When the meat is cooked, leave it to cool so that it does not break in filling it. Put the omelettes on the meat and ties it with some kitchen string. Warm in the oven before serving.

Salsicce con le pulezze –
Sausages with tender Turnip Leaves

There are more meals than days say a wise proverb, so as to underline that it is important not to go hungry but that variety was also necessary. The “pulezze” are the tenderest leaves from the turnips. At the table turnip evoked contrasting feelings. It is said that one of Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s ancestor from Montalcino had a pious wife who was fanatic about turnips, attributing to them detoxifying virtues. She often prepared them, but her husband dressed them with a blasphemous rhyme: “…said Jesus to his disciples: don’t eat turnips as they are for the ox and St. Peter said loudly: Damn the turnips and those who cook them!!!”.

Preparation time: 40 min.

Ingredients for 6-8 people: 2kg of tender turnips, 20cl of extra virgin olive oil, 12-12 sausages, 4 fresh tomatoes, salt

Method:
Clean the turnip leaves and boil in a small amount of salted water. Roast the sausages in a pan with extra virgin olive oil for 15 minutes. As soon as they are ready, remove them and put the turnip leaves in the pan. Add the tomato and salt. Cook for a few minutes, then put back in the sausages, and finish cooking.

Tagliata di bue chianino all’uso della Val di Chiana –Sliced Beef Steak Val di Chiana style

Those who ask for a “fiorentina” steak in Siena might get thumped, because here the steak is “chianina”. The “chianino” ox is unique because of the white coat and for it’s large size. Some sources say it was present in Tuscany during the Etruscan and Roman periods, and in triumphant occasions used as an offering to the Gods.

It’s use in the kitchen is pretty recent, since until a few decades past, the “chianino” ox, precious for it’s strength was used in the countryside, in place of a tractor. At Fattoria del Colle these strips of steak finish their cooking on the serving tray with boiling extra virgin olive oil over them, in the typical Val di Chiana way.

Preparation time: 20 min.

Ingredients for 6-8 people:
2,5 kg of chianino ox ribs; 50 cl of farm oil, some twigs of rosemary.

Method:
Grill a large beef steak for a few minutes. Cut it into strips of about 1/2 cm width and put them in the serving dish. Dress with salt and rosemary. Put the extra virgin olive oil to boil in a pan. When the oil is boiling pour it with a ladle over the meat in the dish.

Timballo di Cenerentola –
Cinderella’s Timbale

Helle Poulsen Tesio is the tutor at the cooking school at Fattoria del Colle. Her origins are Danish but she is Italian for love, and Tuscan for her cuisine. Helle has written, along with her husband Alfredo Tesio, nine books on the food and wines of Italy.

The timbale was created for a presentation of the wine Cenerentola DOC Orcia and was prepared to accompany powerful and modern wines. There are several phases to this recipe.

For each of these we will describe method and ingredients for 4-6 people.
Preparation time: 3 hours

1) For the timbale

Ingredients:
200g of freshly made “lasagne” pasta, 200g of “tagliolini”, 1 shallot, 100g of sausage, salt and pepper, fresh thyme, 10cl of white wine, 200g of béchamel, 50g of grated parmesan cheese, 50g of “mozzarella” diced, 50g of diced butter.

Method:
Boil freshly made lasagne pasta for about two minutes, drain and leave to cool in cold water. Then line with half the pasta a greased baking tin. Clean the mushrooms and cut them into small pieces; clean and chop the shallot, open the sausage and cut it into pieces. Cook mushrooms, shallot and sausage in a pan for 10 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and thyme, adding wine and leaving it to reduce. Cook the tagliolini in boiling water for minutes. Drain and dress with mushrooms, sausage, béchamel, parmesan and mozzarella, and at the end a little black pepper. Put the dressed tagliolini at the bottom of the baking tin on top of the lasagne. Cover with more strips of lasagne and then on top little pieces of butter and some grated parmesan.

2) The Pumpkin sauce

Ingredients: 1 onion, 500 g of yellow pumpkin, 1 garlic clove, thyme, salt and pepper.

Method:
Peel and chop the onion. Peel the pumpkin and cut it into pieces. Cook the onion and pumpkin in a pan, adding some water and letting them dry a little. Put the pumpkin in a blender so as to get a smooth mixture, then put it in a pan with some warm oil, garlic and thyme to add flavour; leave to cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

3) The Fried sage

Ingredients for 4-6 people:
Fresh sage leaves, 1 egg, 75g of potato starch, 75 g of flour,10cl of beer, 20 cl of extra virgin olive oil.

Method:
Beat the egg with the potato starch and the flour and add the beer to the mixture. Dip the sage leaves in the batter and fry in hot oil so that they become crisp, lay on sheets of kitchen roll.

4) The Basil flavored oil

Ingredients:
Basil, 10 cl of extra virgin olive oil, 1 garlic clove, 1 teaspoonful of salt

Method:
Soak in boiling hot water the basil leaves and peeled garlic for a few seconds. Drain the basil and put it straight into very cold water. Dry the leaves on a sheet of kitchen roll and chop in the mixer with oil and garlic so as to obtain an emerald green dressing.

5) The Preparation and decoration:

Cook the timbale in the oven at 200 °C for about 20 minutes and decorate with chopped pistachios.

Presentation:
Serve with the warm dressing and fried sage leaves and chopped pistachios. Finally pour over a little basil flavoured oil.

Terrina di cinghiale e bue chianino – Wild boar Tureen

Fattoria del Colle was once a hunting area and those who visit Fattoria Colle, which is open every day all year round, can see the objects used a century ago exhibited in the bakers room and in the traditional kitchen. On the estate today there are no longer any hunters but there is still a preference for dishes prepared with game and for walks through the woods. For these we have especially created two itineraries with explanations on signposts.

Preparation time: 2 hours 30 min

Ingredients for 6-8 people: 6-8 bowls, 500 g of boneless wild boar, 250 g of minced chianino beef; 500 g of porcini mushrooms, a garlic clove, some parsley; half a glass of brandy, 2 eggs, some juniper berries, salt and pepper. In winter lay the tureen on: 800 g of chicory, and 1 glass of red wine. In summer; 500 g of rocket, a little extra virgin olive oil.

Method:
Chop the wild boar, being careful to cut the leaner bits into slithers, add the wild boar to the minced beef, and to the porcini mushrooms which have previously cooked in a little oil, with garlic and parsley. Add a little brandy, the eggs, salt, pepper, and the juniper berries, and mix all together. Put into the tureens and cook in the oven in bain-marie for 1 and a half hours at 160°C. Leave to cool, and serve warm on a bed of chicory which has been cooked in a pan with oil and red wine and salt, or serve cold on a bed of rocket and dressed with extra virgin olive oil.

Pollo in gelatina di Vin Santo –
Chicken in Vin Santo Gelatin

This is a Tuscan interpretation by Helle Poulsen Tesio of the classic chicken in gelatine. It is a long recipe but quite easy in method.

Preparation time: 3 hours.

Ingredients for 4-6 people:
500 g of chicken breast, 100 g of ham (in one piece), 50 g of chicken breast diced, 100 g of beef mince, 1 egg, salt and pepper, nutmeg, 1 slice of white bread with no rind soaked in milk and wrung.

For the filling: 1 shallot, 50 g of black olives, 50 g of pepper, 1 tbs of extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp of Vin Santo, 1 l of vegetable stock (to cook the chicken)

For the Vin Santo gelatine:
10cl of Vin Santo, 1 tbs of brandy, 15 cl of vegetable stock, 3 sheets or 6g of fish glue.

For the decoration:
200 g of lettuce, 50 g of black olives, 50 g of pepper, mayonnaise, freshly ground black pepper.

Preparation of the meat:
Cut the chicken breast in thin pieces. Put them between two pieces of baking sheet and hit with a meat pounder. Leave them on the baking parchment so as to form a layer of chicken meat.

Filling:
Dice the ham into pieces 1x1cm. Mix the mince meat, salt, pepper, nutmeg, egg, and bread once it has been soaked. Add the diced ham and chicken. Clean and chop the shallot. Cut the olives into 4 after having removed the stone. Dice the pepper into 1x1cm pieces. Put the olives, shallot, pepper and pistachios in a pan with oil, cook for two minutes. Add the Vin Santo and mix together all of the filling. Spread the filling in the middle of the pounded chicken breasts and roll it all up using the baking parchment to help. Tie is up with kitchen string at the sides and extremities. Cook the rolled up meat in the stock for about 40 minutes.Let the meat to cool. Sieve the stock which is to be used for the gelatine. Put the fish glue to soak in cold water for 10 minutes. Heat the stock until it boils, wring out the fish glue and dissolve it in the stock. Add the Vin Santo and the brandy and put the gelatine in a cool place to solidify.

Presentation:
Wash the lettuce and put it on a serving dish. Dice the pepper and cut the olives into four. Add the pepper and olives to the lettuce. Cut the rolled up meat into slices and put them on the salad. Dice the gelatine and decorate the slices of chicken. Decorate with mayonnaise and some ground black pepper

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Traditional Tuscan Recipes – The Desserts

Torta Chianina – Chianina Style Cake

This is a chianina version of the Zuccotto from Florence signed by Orietta Fabi and Arianna Ranocchia.

Preparation time: 3 hours

Ingredients for the short crust pastry for 6-8 people:

300 g of icing sugar, 600 g of flour, 3 eggs, 300g of butter, a pinch of salt.

Method:

Make a well with the sugar and flour. Add the eggs and room temperature butter and knead until you get a smooth and compact dough. Leave in the fridge for 30 minutes. Roll out the short crust pastry and line two round cake tins.

The custard and chocolate custard:

Ingredients for the two types of custard for 6-8 people: 500 g of milk, 150 g of sugar, some vanilla beans, 4 egg yolks, 70g of flour. All the same ingredients plus 3 tbs of unsweetened cocoa for the chocolate custard.

Method:

Boil the milk in a pan together with 80 g of sugar and some of the vanilla beans. Mix the egg yolks with the remaining sugar and the flour. Add the hot milk. Boil the custard for 2 minutes while it all blends. Pour the custard into a stainless steel container and leave to cool. Repeat the process adding 3 tbs of cocoa to make the chocolate custard.

Sponge:

Ingredients for 6-8 people:6 eggs, 180g of sugar, 75 g of flour, 75 g of potato starch, a pinch of salt.

Method:

Put the eggs into a mixer and beat with sugar, for at least 15 minutes until the mixture has body, is frothy and is light yellow in colur.Remove whisks and add the flour, the starch slowly over the mixture using a sieve, and mix slowly using a wooden spoon, so that it does not undo the whipping. Pour the mixture in the center of the mold which has previously been greased and lightly dusted with flour and even it out, lightly hitting the tin on the table once it is full. Put in the preheated oven at 150°C for about 40 minutes. Once removed from the oven leave to cool on a rack.

Preparation:

Cook the two short crust pastries in the oven for 25 minutes set 180°C. Once the pastries are ready, spread the custard on top of one of them. In the meantime cut the sponge into thin slices, soaking with coffee and water and put them on top of the custard, leaving the edges empty. Put the chocolate custard on top. Cover with other slices of coffee soaked sponge, and more custard on top. With the second short crust pastry cover the cake. Glaze with a beaten egg yolk. Pull a fork along the surface. Bake for 20 minutes at 170°C.

Ciambellone con pere e mele – Ring Cake with Pears and Apples

The farmer’s cuisine had very few cakes. Dry biscuits in winter, and these ring shaped cakes in summer were the last to be cooked in the oven where the bread had just been baked. The fruit cakes reached the table along with tarts, meringues and almond biscuits when families celebrated with friends and relatives.

Preparation time: 60 min.

Ingredients for 6-8 people:

3 apples, 3 pears, 3 eggs, 150 g of sugar, 200 g of flour, 120 g of butter, a hand full of pine nuts, a hand full of raisins, 1 sachet of baking powder.

Method:

Peel and dice pears and apples. Beat eggs with sugar in a bowl. Add the flour and warm butter. Mix until you get a smooth mixture. Add the pine nuts, raisins, and for last the powdered yeast and the chopped fruit. Grease a tin with butter; pour the mixture into it and bake for 50 minutes at 180°C

Latte in piedi – Upright Milk

At the beginning of the 20th century fish gelatin was imported into Toscana. This in fact helps give stiffness and body to soft desserts and so gives the possibility of creating new dishes of surprising appearance. For this reason this dessert has a curious name as it is a Bavarian pudding in a rural version which Arianna Ranocchia has brought back to its old splendor.

Preparation time: 60 min.

Ingredients for 6-8 people:

1 litre of whole milk, 1 vanilla bean, 6 eggs, 200g of sugar; 2 or 3 sheets of fish gelatin, 6-8 molds.

Method:

Put the milk in a pan with a vanilla bean making sure the milk does not boil. Beat the eggs together with the sugar in a bowl. Put sheets of gelatin in a bowl with some cold water. Pour the beaten eggs in the milk, cook for two minutes without boiling and then add the gelatin. Put in the molds and decorate as desired with icing sugar, cocoa or fruit syrups.

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Homemade “Baci Perugina” – delicious recipe

Vittoria Diamonds, lives in Rome. In her blog, Victoria shares her passion for cooking, especially baking. She’s in the kitchen daily testing new recipes.
“I like it, it relaxes me, I record everything on my little tiny notebook, so precious …”  – I went ahead and translated one of the recipes which is timeless, and even better for the infamous lover’s holiday in February.

Baci Perugina homemade recipe

Dear friends of Honey & Lemon today I leave you the recipe of my Baci Perugina homemade. You have understood correctly, I’m talking about the famous and tempting chocolates that you give for Valentine’s Day and more … at my house because every opportunity is good, I do not go crazy, how do you resist the temptation of a KISS ??? ;) The recipe, contrary to what you might think, it’s simple, it’s fun to prepare and the result really great !! The Baci Perugina homemade are so good and sweet tooth that will be snapped up just as the originals … one leads to another, I suggest you try it once, you will make a great impression and astonish friends, family, children, but especially your LOVE ❤ – Let’s read together as I share how to prepare the Baci …

baci-peruginaCopyright © all rights reserved.

Baci Perugina

INGREDIENTS: (for about 20 chocolates)

  • 100g milk chocolate
  • 20 g dark chocolate 70%
  • 100 gr Nutella
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 80g shelled hazelnuts (or grain)
  • 20 whole hazelnuts in shell

For the topping:

  • 150 g dark chocolate (preferably 70%)

NB to the real gluttons advice to double the dose ;)

PROCEDURE:

  1. With the help of a mixer coarsely chop the hazelnuts. If you prefer to use 80 grams of grain ready (found in all supermarkets) go to step 2.
  2. Melt in a double boiler (or microwave) milk chocolate along with 20 grams of 70% dark. baci-perugina-1
  3. When the chocolate is completely melted, add a spoonful of cocoa, the chocolate, chopped hazelnuts (or grain) and mix well with a spatula. Then put the mixture to rest in the freezer for about 30 minutes (NB cooling will have to reach the right consistency to be worked with the hands). baci-perugina-2
  4. Just composed will be ready, with your hands slightly moistened, form so many balls about 13-15 grams each and place them on a tray (or plate) covered with parchment paper.
  5. Above each ball put a whole hazelnut exerting light pressure, then put the chocolates in the fridge for half an hour.baci-perugina-3
  6. Meanwhile melt the chocolate in a double boiler (or microwave) and let cool slightly.
  7. At this point, to cover the kisses, first soak the base of the chocolates in melted chocolate, lay them back on the parchment paper and let them dry for a few minutes. baci-perugina-4
  8. Once the base is dry, gently lift the chocolates and with the help of two teaspoons roll them one by one in dark chocolate to coat them completely; rest then kisses on a wire rack and transfer them back in the fridge to dry for 10-15 minutes (instead of the wire rack will do even the tray (or flat) with parchment paper previously used). baci-perugina-5
  9. When the Baci Perugina homemade are dry, you can package them and serve them in paper cups or colored wrap in aluminum foil and maybe add a little message inside … will be like the original 100% :)

TIPS:

  • you can overlay your Baci Perugina with white chocolate or milk and prepare well assorted chocolates for all tastes.
  • Baci Perugina homemade can be kept out of the refrigerator in a cool, dry place or in the refrigerator, but must take them out at least 30 minutes before serving … .. well! if they were to ever advance course ;)

..and voila! now that you know how to prepare them, the Valentine’s Day instead of buy them prepared Baci Perugina with your hands … you will see will be a small or l d c c occola that your loved ones will appreciate a lot … the next recipe! HELLO ❤︎

Vittoria Diamonds: “If you liked my recipe” FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK

baci-perugina00-1

Copyright © all rights reserved.

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COPYRIGHT:
The images and texts published on this site are the exclusive property of Vittoria Diamonds author of the blog honey & lemon and are protected by copyright law n. 633/1941 and subsequent amendments.
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The Pope’s Noodles – a divine inspiration

The Pope’s Noodles or Fettuccine alla Papalina – an upscale reinterpretation of the earthy spaghetti carbonara.
Franco-Cirioni-CNA-Viterbo

This family recipe was shared by Carla owner of the Cantine Colli di Catone in Monteporzio Catone, Rome. The Pulcini family established Colli di Catone in 1974 and began producing wines with the same passion and tradition handed down from six generations.
The vineyards are located South of Rome in “Castelli Romani”. The optimal hillside vineyards were specifically chosen in the Frascati area, because this is where Frascati and Malvasia del Lazio achieve the best quality. If it was good enough for Pope Pius the XII then it must be divinely inspired.

FETTUCCINE alla PAPALINA (The Pope’s Noodles)

Ingredients:
• 1 lb. Fresh fettuccine (egg noodles)
• 1/4 lb. Cooked prosciutto* diced
• 1/2 Onion or 1 Scallion, sliced
• 5 oz.Fresh peas, shelled
• 1.5 oz. Butter
• 2 eggs
• 3 tbs. grated parmigiano cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Sautée the onion in the butter, add the peas. Once cooked, add the diced prosciutto and salt and pepper taste.

Meanwhile in a tureen beat the eggs with a fork and mix in two heaping tablespoons of parmigiano cheese. Cook the fettuccine till al dente in salted boiling water, drain and add to the eggs in the tureen.

*The original recipe requires guanciale (smoked hog’s jowl) instead of prosciutto.

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How to break down a Pumpkin to make your pie filling

by George Kringas

The toughest part of the pumpkin pie filling by far is breaking down the pumpkin (especially if its a big pumpkin, which of course was the one I was working with ).

Once I chopped the pieces down small enough to peel I started moving along a little faster, but still had trouble with the hard skin. Peeled and deseeded, I chopped the pumpkin into 1inch X 1inch cubes, spread them out onto a lightly oiled sheet pan and threw them into the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until the pieces were cooked all the way through.I let the pumpkin cool down a little and threw them into the food processor until I had a smooth pumpkin purée, this took about 2-3 minutes. Pretty shocking how much you get out of one big pumpkin! Looks like we’ll be eating a lot of pumpkin pies.

LOL…after writing this I googled breaking down a pumpkin and came across an article which advised to bake the pumpkin wedges skin on which allows the skin to peel off very easily. It was a good article anyway, here’s the link http://bit.ly/3tes4. Oh well at least I got some good practice in with the pairing knife.

George enrolled in The French Culinary Institute in NYC and he’s also the co-owner with his family of NIKO’S Greek Restaurant in White Plains. An Artist at heart and by training who decided to blend his skills and tap into his creativity to create a whole new cuisine blending French, Greek and his Mothers original family recipes. Visit his website http://greekculinary.com/ and learn a thing or two about Greek Cuisine and keep an eye on this upcoming Chef, already cooking at NIKOS and now refining his skills at The French Culinary Institute in NYC.

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Secret Pumpkin Pie Recipe

This recipe was submitted by Pietro Siciliano of Tombolino Italian Restaurant, located in Yonkers, NY. The recipe is as unique as its taste and its sure to make a big hit for Thanksgiving or any other time you may be in the mood to enjoy a fine seasonal dessert. I thank Pietro, because most of the times its difficult for a Chef to disclose a secret.

Tombolino’s Pumpkin Pie

1 & 1/2 Cup of Pumpkin

1 & 1/2 Cup of milk

2 Eggs

3/4 Cup of sugar

1 Teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon of salt

2 Teaspoon of melted butter

*******

The Crust

1 & 1/2 Cup of flour

6 Tablespoons of cold butter

3 Tablespoons of Crisco

3–4 Tablespoons of ice water

1/2 Tablespoons salt

*******

Step 1: Beat together the pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt and butter.

Step 2: Pour into the shell of the crust

Step 3: Bake at 375 for about 40 minutes or until golden in color

I went a step further and found an instructional pie crust video on You Tube by Howdini and a Pumpkin Pie recipe demonstration by Martha Stewart and her niece Sophie from a Family Recipe.

The University of Illinois, has a wealth of information on Pumpkins. For example, did you know that References to pumpkins date back many centuries. The name pumpkin originated from the Greek word for “large melon” which is “pepon.” “Pepon” was nasalized by the French into “pompon.” The English changed “pompon” to “Pumpion.” Shakespeare referred to the “pumpion” in his Merry Wives of Windsor. American colonists changed “pumpion” into “pumpkin.” The “pumpkin” is referred to in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater and Cinderella.

Native Americans dried strips of pumpkin and wove them into mats. They also roasted long strips of pumpkin on the open fire and ate them. The origin of pumpkin pie occurred when the colonists sliced off the pumpkin top, removed the seeds, and filled the insides with milk, spices and honey. The pumpkin was then baked in hot ashes.

You can read more at the University of Illinois Extension, where they cover all about “Pumpkins and More” like, Pumpkin History, Varieties, Nutrition, Recipes, Education, Pumpkin Farms, Halloween Links, Pumpkin Facts, Growing Pumpkins, Selection & Use, Pumpkin Fun and Festivals.

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Are all winter squashes pumpkins?

Pumpkins are winter squashes,
but not all winter squashes are pumpkins!

 

Pumpkin-ID-lr

In the fall many wonderful varieties are available. Squash is native to the New World, and some species have been cultivated for more than 9,000 years.

Roasting is one of the best cooking methods for winter squash, it concentrates the sweetness of the flesh more than any other technique.

Steaming is another option which adds moisture to the drier-fleshed varieties such as Kabocha. Avoid boiling, it tends to yield waterlogged, bland, or tasteless flesh. As a general rule, it ‘s better to slightly overcook squash rather than undercook it, with the exception of spaghetti or Orange squash; overcooking those varieties makes their signature noodle-like strands gummy and mushy.

Visit Earthbound Farm Ingredient Archive to find interesting new ways to prepare winter squash and pumpkins. Or to download the above poster, actually they have lots of useful posters and recipes.

Reference: Earthbound Farm Organic

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A heavenly Pairing

Herbed Beef Tenderloin and TERRE di San Leonardo

Terre di San Leonardo

 

Herbed Beef Tenderloin and Field Greens paired with Terre di San Leonardo.  Located in the Vallagarina, San Leonardo benefits from a temperate climate  thanks to the Ora del Garda wind.  San Leonardo, conceived under the supervision of the acclaimed enologist Giacomo Tachis is crafted today by the renowned enologist Carlo Ferrini.

The ingredients:

  • 2 to 2.5 lb of beef
  • 1/2 lb bacon, cut into thin slices
  • 6 oz dry white wine
  • sage, rosemary, thyme
  • salt and pepper
  • pink peppercorns

Procedure:

  • Chop sage, rosemary and thyme. Salt and pepper the tenderloin, then turn it over in the chopped herbs so that it is completely covered.
  • Lay the slices of bacon a little bunched on a sheet of parchment paper. Lay the fillet on the bacon and with the help of the parchment paper, wrap it and tie it with string on the parchment paper.
  • Put the rapped meat in a saucepan with just a dash of olive oil and bake in the oven at 230 degrees for 20 min. Then add the white wine and cook for another 5 min.
  • Remove the meat from the oven and before you discard the parchment paper, let stand a few minutes.

As a side, prepare a salad of field greens and seasonal edible flowers.

About the wine:

Terre di San Leonardo is a youthful interpretation of the unique San Leonardo conceived by Giacomo Tachis and crafted today by renowned enologist Carlo Ferrini. Classic Bordeaux style blend, Terre retraces the terroir path of its sibling San Leonardo, matching its intensity and refined elegance. Great when paired with rice and pasta in tomato or meat sauces, with filled pasta, as well as grilled meats, poultry, white meats and soft cheeses. The wine is Imported in the USA by Vias Imports Ltd., and available in most States and now in the Hudson Valley.

About me: My name is Raffaele De Gennaro and I work as a wine consultant for Vias Imports, in the Hudson Valley area and sell Tenuta San Leonardo’s wines to Restaurants and Liquor stores. If you can’t find Tenuta San Leonardo in your wine shop, just have the Restaurateur or Liquor Store contact me via email: rdegennaro@viaswine.com