The flavour of Christmas: Cappelletti in meat stock

Food Tours, Primi piatti

If there is one recipe that is the symbol of our Christmas, it most certainly is the recipe for Cappelletti in meat stock because it accompanies not only Christmas Day, but also the preceding period of busy preparation and anticipation.

And the recipe for Cappelletti is part of the advent calendar of the Italian Food Bloggers Association which presents a typical family recipe for every box.

Making Cappelletti in meat stock: a family affair

The preparation of Cappelletti is a family affair: yes, because the whole family gets involved during Christmas holidays and everyone is assigned a task based on their culinary skills, an indispensable contribution to this almost sacred ritual.

There are two types of these beloved stuffed buttons: those stuffed with stew and those stuffed with cheese (called Anolini), each of which has its own convinced and adamant admirers.

Tradition has it that for the most important feast of the year, the stuffing with meat stew should be preferred, so Cappelletti are going to be prepared. Stracotto is prepared several days in advance also because, as its name implies, it takes so long to cook. Precisely for this reason, the cooking juices, with precious flavours and aromas, are used piping hot to moisten the breadcrumbs (unlike cheese stuffing where broth is used for this purpose).

Although the ingredients are few and the recipe is always the same, the stuffing (together with the meat stock) is the element that most determines the success of the Christmas lunch because the stracotto will never be perfectly the same as the previous year’s, nor will the Parmesan cheese and bread we use be identical, so the tasting committee has a task of great responsibility. One of the most vivid and amusing memories I keep of the “Cappelletti factory” is the ritual of tasting the filling by the men of the house who, excluded from all household chores, could not help but be involved in the approval of the filling: an additional pinch of aged Parmesan cheese, a bit less of nutmeg, in short, an invisible recipe hidden in the memory of tastes.

The traditional dough: 100g flour for 1 egg

My grandmother’s rule has always been this, a proportion that we cannot maintain in the preparation of gluten-free dough, which requires more hydration and therefore more eggs.

The dough must be bright yellow due to the careful selection of eggs with the yolk having an intense colour to ensure an even, golden dough. My grandmother’s powerful arms (now often replaced by my own) would push her wrists so that they would sink into the resistant mass of flour and eggs, which would eventually surrender, becoming docile and smooth, ready to receive the precious explosion of flavour of the filling.

My mother was (and still is) in charge of rolling out the pastry into thin, almost transparent strips and my aunt presided over the precision work of distributing the filling. And then, the workforce still available was given the task of cutting with round, smooth or ribbed stencils, and the patient arrangement, especially by the children of the house, in perfectly aligned rows; so that the precise number of Cappelletti prepared was readily known and flaunted with acquaintances and friends in fun competitions in search of Guinness records.

Capon stock

Last but not least, the stock. Again, for Christmas, the choice of ingredients is very accurate and detailed: a rich piece of beef, a large beef bone, a free-range capon and the essential vegetables for colour and fragrance, namely onion, celery, carrot, garlic and parsley. Slow cooking, careful skimming of the foam on the surface and an eye on the cooking of the meat that will be the second dish of the day: the boiled meats accompanied by homemade sauces, sweet and spicy.

Once the stock has been strained and the salt has been adjusted, the last effort before the pleasure and the feast: throw in the cappelletti and cook them, keeping them at a gentle simmer to prevent them from opening and releasing their filling. So here they are, the adored and legendary “floaters“, as Parma natives like to call them.

Cappelletti in meat stock

37.31g carbohydrates per 100g raw cappelletti, without stock

Ingredients for the egg pasta for 4 servings

300g flour for fresh pasta Molino Dallagiovanna** (for gluten-free version, see below)
4 eggs
salt

Ingredients for the Cappelletti filling

150g stew meat
75g breadcrumbs, brand Nutrifree**
40g Parmigiano Reggiano, 36 months, grated,
35g Parmigiano Reggiano, 24 months, grated,
1 egg + 1 yolk
meat stew liquid to wet the breadcrumbs, salt and nutmet

Ingredients to complete

2.5 litres approx. of meat stock, preferably prepared using capon
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

Prepare the dough: make a well with the 2 flours, crack the eggs in the centre, add a pinch of salt and start by beating the eggs with a fork; gradually incorporate the flour until you can knead the mixture using your hands. Continue mixing with a fork until the dough is stiff enough to be kneaded by hand. Continue working the pastry until it is smooth and compact.
Cover the pastry with foil and leave it to rest while the filling is prepared.
Bring the stock almost to the boil, then pour small amounts of it over the breadcrumbs, stirring so that the liquid is perfectly absorbed. When all the breadcrumbs have been soaked, mix well and leave to cool for about ten minutes. It is important that the breadcrumbs are wet, but still well separated and not creamy.
Add all the other ingredients and mix to obtain a filling with a rather hard consistency.
Cut the pastry into slices, flatten them with a rolling pin, then roll them out into thin strips, 30-40cm long and about 7cm wide with the pasta sheeter. Place mounds of filling of a suitable size for the ring you are using in the centre of the pasta sheet, spacing each 2cm apart.
Fold the pastry over lengthwise, press the pasta sheet around the perimeter of the filling with your fingers and cut out the cappelletti with the cutter.
Put a pot of stock on the stove and when it comes to the boil, lower the flame, remove from the heat for a moment (to prevent the broth from spilling out when pouring the cappelletti) and throw in the cappelletti. Let them cook until the pasta dough is of the desired consistency.
Serve the cappelletti with the stock piping hot and, if desired, sprinkle them with grated Parmesan cheese.

Version with gluten of Cappelletti in meat stock

Replace the Molino Dallagiovanna fresh pasta fix flour with an equal amount of wheat flour, kneading it with 3 whole eggs, while all other ingredients remain unchanged.

December 19, 2021/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Fregnacce Sabina style

Food Tours, Primi piatti

In Roman dialect, the term Fregnaccia means nonsense, lie, and nuisance, but in the tradition of Central Italy it also indicates a type of pasta, similar to a large, thick Maltagliato, so called to indicate the simplicity of a dish that wins you over with the flavour of its few, delicious ingredients. Here is the recipe for the second meeting with the Rieti-Viterbo Chamber of Commerce, Fregnacce alla sabinese.

And what are these extraordinary ingredients?

The Ovalone Rietino Tomato P.A.T. (i.e. traditional Italian agri-food product) of the Tenuta San Giovanni Farm of Gianfranco Gianni.

The Azienda Olearia’s Leccino Olives Bonifazi Oil

Petrucci’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil and the lively The Three Doors Sabino chilli pepper

In preparing the recipe from the book ‘La Cucina Sabina’ by Maria Giuseppina Truini Palomba, we were guided by chef Marco Bartolomei and the result was a feast for the whole family.

Enjoy the journey and bon appétit!

Fregnacce Sabina style

49.3 carbohydrates per 100g of unseasoned Fregnacce

Ingredients for Fregnacce

300g fresh pasta flour mix Molino Dallagiovanna** (for gluten-free version, see below)
180g water (or however much you need to have a consistent dough)
a pinch of salt

Ingredients for sauce

500g peeled Ovalone tomato
100g Leccino olives in brine
1 clove of garlic
parsley, chilli pepper, salt and extra virgin olive oil

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

Knead the flour with a pinch of salt and enough water to obtain a firm, homogeneous dough. Fate riposare la pasta in un sacchetto di plastica per circa 15 minuti.
Divide the dough in half and roll it out with a rolling pin to a not-too-thin thickness, forming a large disc that you will leave to air dry for about half an hour. Roll each disc to form a large cylinder and cut it with the knife blade at an angle with the tip pointing once to the right and once to the left so that the resulting pieces are diamond- shaped.
Prepare the sauce by putting the clove of garlic in oil with the chilli pepper. Brown the garlic well, then add the tomato after having mashed it well with a fork to make it homogeneous. Cook the sauce for about twenty minutes, seasoning with salt, then add the olives and chopped parsley and leave to season for another 10 minutes.

Boil the pasta in boiling salted water and when it rises to the surface, drain it, toss it in the pan with the sauce and leave it to season for a few minutes.
Serve your pasta immediately because the saying in Romanesco goes ‘Cook the Fregnacce and eat them right away’.

Le fregnacce alla sabinese pronte per essere gustate

Fregnacce Sabina style ready to be thoroughly enjoyed

Version with gluten of Fregnacce Sabina style

Replace the Molino Dallagiovanna fresh pasta flour mix with an equal amount of wheat flour, adjusting the amount of water needed for kneading.

December 13, 2021/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Stracotto for Christmas Cappelletti

Food Tours, Secondi piatti

Preparing the Stracotto stew for Christmas Cappelletti is a big responsibility because expectations for the most anticipated meal of the year are always very high. This is how I prepared it to bring my whole family to the table… definitely feeling everyone’s eyes on me!

First of all, the stew should be prepared with three types of meat: beef, veal and pork. It’s a bit like doing no wrong to any of these meats, which at different times of the year brighten up our tables with extraordinary dishes.

As the name stracotto implies, the meat is cooked for such a long time that it falls apart simply by piercing it with a fork.

Once ready, the stew is blended or finely minced and the boiling cooking juices are used to wet the breadcrumbs that will be used to prepare the legendary Christmas Cappelletti, the meat-filled version of Anolini in broth.

And believe me, the type of filling is by no means an irrelevant matter! The tradition of eating one type of stuffing instead of the other is so ingrained that restaurants are obliged to put one or the other version on the menu according to boundaries dictated by custom, or else the menu would flop completely!

Here then is how to prepare Stracotto for fans and supporters of the meat version of this stuffed pasta, namely Cappelletti.

Stracotto for Christmas Cappelletti

negligible carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients

350g beef
350g pork
300g veal
300g red wine
50g onions
50g carrots
30g celery
30g tomato paste
30 g butter
1/3 clove of garlic
3 cloves
extra virgin olive oil
water
salt

Preparation

Put the butter in a pan or earthenware casserole and melt it; add chopped onion, carrot and celery and brown it.
Add the tomato paste and a third of a clove of chopped garlic, let the paste caramelise slightly, then place the three types of meat in the vegetable base, sealing the meat on all sides. Stick a clove into each piece of meat.
Add the wine and pour in enough water to cover the meat, season with a pinch of salt, put the lid on and leave to cook on a low heat for at least 4 hours.
After the time has elapsed, remove the cloves and add salt to taste. Remove the meat and put it in a food processor. Strain the cooking juices through a colander, add the remaining vegetable pieces in the colander to the meat in the processor and chop finely.
Heat the liquid from the stew well and use it to scald the breadcrumbs of the Cappelleti filling.

Version with gluten of Stracotto for Christmas Cappelletti

The recipe contains only naturally gluten free ingredients, so no adaptation is necessary for its version with gluten.

December 11, 2021/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

From the heart of Italy, Chestnut and grass pea soup

Food Tours, Primi piatti

A year later, I virtually set off again towards Rieti to meet with bloggers, journalists and cooking enthusiasts to discover other products of the Alta Valle del Velino area through the first recipe: Chestnut and grass pea soup.

This soup is naturally gluten-free and the presence of pulses helps to better control the carbohydrates provided by dried chestnuts and potatoes, foods that require some attention for proper blood sugar management.

The journey of flavours in the heart of Italy: Chestnut and grass pea soup

The local tourism and culture project was designed by the Rieti Viterbo Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the Azienda Speciale Centro Italia Rieti and is aimed at highlighting the area’s excellence. Also look at the recipes cooked last year: Amatriciana and Pulse pasta with Rascino lentils.

The main ingredients of Chestnut and grass pea soup are two types of chestnuts and dried grass peas.

The chestnuts of the Rieti area are Chestnuts from Antrodoco and Rossa del Cicolano, both valuable varieties that have always been linked to the economy of these areas and thus one of the main components of the diet of mountain populations along with the rich selection of pulses. In our soup, we used dried chestnuts from Atrodoco, left to soak in water for about half an hour, and partly sliced raw to add a delicious fresh scent and a crunchy touch to the preparation.

The grass pea or Indian pea (an expression that betrays its provenance from distant lands) is a pulse whose cultivation is valuable in areas prone to drought and famine, so it ensured subsistence for farmers even in years when other products failed to bear fruit, thus important despite the difficult harvest.

Grass peas have a sweet taste, similar to that of chickpeas, that easily conquers the palate, but since they grow on stony ground it is important to subject them to a careful visual inspection before putting them in the pot: restaurants in this part of Italy are often equipped with a good insurance policy to cover any expenses for a dentist’s surgery after a tasty stop at the table!

So are you ready to discover the heart of Italy with another recipe? Let’s arm ourselves with pots and ingredients and cook it together.

Chestnut and grass pea soup

16.04 g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 4 servings

1.2 litres of water
300g dried grass peas (soak for at least 8 hours)
100g dried chestnuts (soak for 1 hour)
100g potatoes
20g extra virgin olive oil, plus oil for serving
4 whole chestnuts
1 clove garlic
bay leaf
parsley
rosemary
salt and pepper

Preparation

Put extra virgin olive oil in a pan and season with chopped garlic and parsley. Add the soaked and well-drained grass peas and allow them to gain flavour for a few minutes, stirring them with a wooden spoon.
Add water and cook for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the soaked dried chestnuts for about 20 minutes in lightly salted water with a bay leaf. Drain and roughly chop them, then add them to the grass peas together with the diced potatoes and finish cooking.
Take 2 ladles of soup and put them in a blender, then pour the resulting cream back into the soup so that the mixture is nicely thick.
Peel the raw chestnuts, cut them into thin slices and serve the soup with the chestnut slices, chopped rosemary and parsley and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Complete with bread croutons to your taste.

Version with gluten of Chestnut and grass pea soup

The recipe contains only naturally gluten free ingredients, so no adaptation is necessary for its version with gluten.

November 29, 2021/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Autumn at the winery: Hunter’s style Gnocchetti with hare

Food Tours, Primi piatti

Also this year the Tuscan Wine Tourism Movement in collaboration with theItalian Food Blogger Association has launched the initiative involving 15 food bloggers to propose a pairing of a Tuscan wine with an autumn recipe, and my proposal is these Gnocchetti with hare. See also my pairing from last year for Christmas Bacchus .

Hunter’s style Gnocchetti with hare and Monterosola Winery

The winery I was lucky enough to be matched with is Monterosola in Volterra, a winery that has been active since 2013 to realise the dream of a Swedish family, the Thomaeus, to produce wine in a state-of-the-art, hi-tech, eco-sustainable winery in full harmony with the nature of the enchanting Tuscan countryside.

Crescendo IGT 2018 – Photo by Lorenzo Moreni

The wine that Monterosola decided to send me is Crescendo IGTa 100% pure Sangiovese from 2018. It is a full-bodied wine that matures 15 months in French oak barrels, preparing itself for an ageing process that certainly does not frighten it. Pouring Crescendo, one is struck by its garnet red colour that goes well with the fresh notes of red fruits and spices, expressed in the mouth by fine tannins, good acidity and a pleasant persistence: definitely a name that is a promise!

When thinking of a recipe, I wanted to find a meeting point between two iconic autumn ingredients, pumpkin and Porcini mushrooms, and a meat with a strong enough personality to stand up to Crescendo. A friend offered me the solution on a silver platter by giving me a hare ready to be cooked! And the perfect connection between the sweet Gnocchetti and the gamey hare is in the slivers of 40-month aged Parmigiano Reggiano, which immediately befriended the notes of toasted almonds and spices of the enveloping sips of this impressive red.

After trying this combination, all you need to do is book a visit to the winery!

Hunter’s style Gnocchetti with hare

10.77g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for Gnocchetti for 6 servings

630g ricotta
200g Parmigiano Reggiano, 24 months, grated,
200g mashed pumpkin, oven baked
200g gluten free pasta flour mix, brand Molino Dallagiovanna**
2 eggs
brown rice flour* for dusting
salt

Ingredients for hare sauce

1 litre milk
900g boneless hare
100g Crescendo IGT 2018
60g onions
60g carrots
30g celery
30g triple concentrated tomato paste
15g dried Porcini mushrooms
1 bay leaf
meat stock
aromatic herbs for marinating (rosemary, sage, thyme)
garlic
spices (coriander grains, chilli, pepper)
extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese 40 months to serve

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

Marinate the hare in a large bowl completely covered with milk and water with the herbs and garlic. Leave the hare in the fridge for 2 days, turning it once a day.
Remove the meat from the marinade and de-bone the hare so that you have about 900g of meat, which you cut into small pieces of about 1 cm per side.
Prepare the chopped vegetables typical of meat sauce, i.e. chopped onion, carrot and celery, and brown them in a saucepan with a little oil and half a clove of chopped garlic. When the vegetables are browned, add the triple concentrated tomato paste, possibly diluted with a few tablespoons of water, let it flavour for a few minutes, then add the chopped meat.
Seal the meat over a high heat for a few minutes, then douse with the Crescendo IGT and let it evaporate. Add a ladle of meat stock and the bay leaf, put the lid on and lower the flame to the minimum.
Soak the dried Porcini mushrooms, then cut them into small pieces and add them to the meat. Leave to cook for at least 2 hours, turning occasionally.

Preparation of Gnocchetti

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together to obtain an even and rather sticky mixture. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator to rest for at least 30 minutes.
With a little flour, start forming cylinders with a diameter of about 1.5cm and cut the dumplings; put them on trays dusted with flour.
When the meat sauce is cooked, season with salt and pepper, a teaspoon of ground coriander grains and a pinch of chilli pepper.
Put a pot of water on the stove, salt it and cook the dumplings until they rise to the surface. Drain them with a slotted spoon, toss them in a large frying pan to gain flavour with the hare sauce and serve.
Complete the dish with a few thin slivers of 40-month aged Parmigiano Reggiano.

gnocchetti con ragù di lepre e lamelle di Parmigiano Reggiano 40 mesi

Gnocchetti hare sauce and slivers of 40-month Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Version with gluten of Hunter’s style Gnocchetti with hare

Replace the 200g of gluten free flour with 220g of wheat flour; no other adaptation is needed.

October 24, 2021/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Non fried Sicilian Caponata

Antipasti, Food Tours

Sicily is undoubtedly one of the most popular destinations for art and cuisine, and one of its gastronomic symbols is undoubtedly Sicilian Caponata , of which I share the recipe of dear friends from Carini, near Palermo, whom we feel are part of our family. The only change I made is not frying aubergines… I hope you’ll forgive me!

Precisely because of its Italian character, I chose the Caponata recipe as the star of a fantastic project to make the international public aware of what the products of a virtuous cosmetics company contain, Davines which uses Slow Food Presidia to extract its active ingredients. So you can watch the video made in the Davines Scientific Garden to discover that the ingredients of Caponata are also the ingredients of solid shampoos that are as friendly to humans as they are to the environment.

So have a good trip to discover a recipe that makes us beautiful inside and out!

Non fried Sicilian Caponata

9.34g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 6-8 servings

830g aubergines, preferably round or striped
550g tomato sauce and peeled tomatoes
300g onions
225g celery
150g pitted green olives*
60g raisins
40g pine nuts
30g salted capers
10g sugar
extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar and salt

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation of Non fried Sicilian Caponata

Wash and peel the aubergines, then dice them, sprinkle them with a pinch of fine salt and leave them to drain in a colander for a couple of hours. Blot the aubergines to remove the water they have released and fry them in a non-stick frying pan with a little oil (this is the step that makes the difference to the original Sicilian recipe in which the aubergines are deep fried).
Soak the raisins in water.
Meanwhile, cut the celery in pieces and cook it for about 5 minutes in boiling water, then drain it (without throwing away the cooking water) and set it aside.
Cut the pitted olives in half and set aside.
In a non-stick frying pan, pour a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and sauté the sliced onion, then add the celery, olives and well-desalted capers and leave to gain flavour for about ten minutes.
In the meantime, in another non-stick pan, cook the tomato sauce and peeled tomatoes for about 15 minutes so that they shrink, adding sugar and a pinch of salt. Finally, pour in the vegetable mixture, aubergines, wrung out raisins and pine nuts. Stir and cook for about a minute, then remove from the heat and add white wine vinegar to taste. Adjust salt if necessary and serve Caponata warm or cold.

Version with gluten of Non fried Sicilian Caponata

The recipe contains only naturally gluten free ingredients, so no adaptation is necessary for its version with gluten.

August 19, 2021/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Rosa di Parma: a rose-like roast

Food Tours, Secondi piatti, Video ricette

Rosa di Parma is not a flower, but a rose-like roast. Its name comes from the way the roast looks like: being fairly rare, the meat is similar to a rose and the origin is confirmed by the ingredients used to prepare it, namely Prosciutto di Parma and Parmigiano Reggiano.

Rosa di Parma only contains ingredients that are naturally gluten-free and is practically carb-free. Thanks to the presence of few, yet refined ingredients, its preparation is very simple, but challenging at the same time: the difficulty lies in finding the right cooking point. And what is the right cooking point? Even if the name reveals that it should be “rosy” internally, I have to admit that my children like meat when it is medium to well-done, therefore I always have to find a compromise to make everyone happy at home.

Something interesting to know: in Parma there is a deeply rooted tradition of eating horse meat, which is absolutely banned at our place because of Gaia’s great passion for horse riding. Well, in many families, Rosa di Parma is prepared replacing beef fillet with a cut of horse meat rigorously recommended by your trusted butcher.

To prepare this typical dish, you can watch the video on my Youtube channel (do you remember it? I shared it during the lockdown in 2020 for one of our daily appointments) where you can learn how to easily tie the roast with string: at this point, it’s time to try! And if you like roast meat, have a look at this Stuffed turkey.

Rosa di Parma

carbohydrates per 100g negligible

Ingredients

800g beef fillet, opened up to form a rectangle
100g Prosciutto di Parma, sliced
1 glass of Marsala wine
Parmigiano Reggiano in slivers
1 clove of garlic
aromatic herbs
salt and pepper

Preparation

Put the fillet reclangle on a cutting board, rub it well with the clove of garlic cut in half to flavour the meat.
Form a layer of slices of Prosciutto di Parma on the meat in order to cover its surface completely. Then, cover the layer of Prosciutto with thin slivers of Parmigiano Reggiano leaving out just a couple of centimetres of meat all around the perimeter.
Roll the fillet on the long side, then tie it with string (watch the video recipe to see how) to keep the fillet together well.

Rosa di Parma ready for being cooked

4. Rub the outer surface again with garlic, pour a good amount of olive oil in a frying pan, then when the oil is hot, add Rosa di Parma and roast it well on all sides to seal the meat. When the meat is perfectly sealed, add aromatic herbs to taste and continue cooking the meat for 15 minutes, then add red wine or, as I did, Marsala wine. Once alcohol has evaporated, complete cooking. The cooking point is very personal: my children like meat when medium or well-done as you can see in the video recipe, whereas in the picture below the fillet is rare.

5. Wrap Rosa di Parma in foil for about 10 minutes to allow the meat juice to level out and in the meantime reduce the cooking juice that will be used as a sauce for serving.

6. Slice Rosa di Parma and dress it with the reduced juice.

Rosa di Parma sliced

Version with gluten of Rosa di Parma

The recipe contains only naturally gluten-free ingredients, so no adaptation is needed for its version with gluten.

March 5, 2021/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Radimonio: Pinzimonio with Radicchio Variegato

Antipasti, Food Tours

How to prepare a Pinzimonio that no one can say no to? A cream of Radicchio Variegato di Castelfranco and grilled Parmigiano Reggiano rinds for a recipe that is also anti-waste.

Radimonio? A cream made with Radicchio Variegato to make Pinzimonio irresistible

The journey to discover the products protected by the Consorzio Tutela del Radicchio di Treviso PGI and Radicchio Variegato di Castelfranco PGI, true ‘winter flowers‘ because of their splendid shape. To represent my region of origin, Emilia Romagna, and my family tradition, that of Parmigiano Reggiano production, I thought of a custom of peasant cuisine that I have always loved because it is an expression of respect for food and the commitment behind its preparation: the use of grilled Parmigiano Reggiano rinds.

All the work behind Radicchio made me inevitably associate it with the product my family has always been dedicated to. Radicchio is marked by long waits in the countryside and Parmesan cheese has to wait years for nature to take its course to give us unique and unrepeatable flavours. That is why I believe it is a crime to waste even a small part of the product, and farming culture teaches us never to do so.

A modern interpretation thus inspired me to come up with a way to enjoy a truly unusual snack or aperitif because it sees Radicchio variegato, normally eaten raw, cooked for a few minutes in a pan and a ‘scrap’ of cheese turned into a very tasty crunchy stick to scoop up a cream that also carries the aromatic note of another great product of the Veneto region, Recioto wine. Furthermore, the blade-shaped leaves of late Radicchio are ideal to complete the tasting experience.

Trying is believing.

What Radicchio Variegato di Castelfranco PGI looks like

Radicchio Variegato di Castelfranco: a beautiful rose

Its beautiful rose shape and the play of colours of its leaves makes us associate it with a very special flower because it blooms when others are asleep, i.e. in winter. Its origin is a hybrid between radicchio and escarole from which Variegato takes a combination of characteristics.

The product bears the name of the town where the country culture of its cultivation is rooted in the history of a plain characterised by long, harsh winters during which families found shelter from the cold by gathering in the stables. It was in the stables, protected by straw, that chicories were stored to protect them from frost and, as often happens, an extraordinary method was discovered to make the plants even tastier: the forcing technique.

What is the forcing technique?

This is the technique whereby the plants are left in the dark (in ancient times under straw, today under special cloths) so that they lose their chlorophyll, the whitening process we also saw in Radicchio Tardivo. In addition to taking on their unmistakable colour, the bitter taste of the chicories fades and the leaves acquire an extraordinary crunchiness.

To enjoy Radicchio Tardivo in a slightly unusual way, try the Strozzapreti with Radicchio and pumpkin fondue.

Radimonio, my Pinzimonio with a Radicchio Variegato dip

2.2g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 4 servings

300g Radicchio variegato di Castelfranco PGI
150g Crescenza cheese (I used goat’s milk cheese)
100g shallot
50g Recioto wine
1 clove garlic
rinds of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
leaves of Radicchio di Treviso tardivo
extra virgin olive oil
pepper
salt

Preparation

Cut the shallot into thin slices and sweat it slowly in a pan with a little extra virgin olive oil for about 10 minutes.
Wash the radicchio, cut it into strips and add it to the shallots. Cook it for a few minutes over high heat while continuing to stir it with a wooden spoon. Douse Radicchio with the Recioto wine and end cooking without allowing the Radicchio to dry out too much: overall cook for about 6-7 minutes.
Transfer the Radicchio into a blender or food processor, blend it to a cream, add the Crescenza cheese and blend again to make the mixture smooth and even. Season with salt and pepper.
Take the Parmsan rinds remaining after eating up the cheese, scrape them with a knife to clean the outside. I like to leave them slightly thick, about 5mm, so that the inside is also slightly softer.
Place a grill on the stove and heat it up to a high temperature; lay the Parmesan rinds on it and grill them on both sides until they acquire a dark golden-brown colour.
Place the cream in a bowl and serve it with the warm rinds and the Radicchio tardivo leaves, both of which can be used as ‘spoons’ to scoop up the Radicchio cream.

Radimonio con croste di parmigiano grigliate e radicchio tardivo

Radimonio with grilled Parmesan rinds and Radicchio tardivo

Version with gluten of Radimonio

The recipe contains only naturally gluten-free ingredients, so no adaptation is necessary for its version with gluten.

February 18, 2021/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

The Winter Flower: Strozzapreti with Radicchio and pumpkin fondue

Food Tours, Primi piatti, Video ricette

Radicchio di Treviso PGI in gluten free cuisine: how to cook Strozzapreti with Radicchio and pumpkin fondue to colour your table and make the whole family happy.

The ‘Winter Flower’ contest

To publicise the work and attention that farmers in the typical area devote to radicchio, the Consorzio Tutela del Radicchio di Treviso PGI and Radicchio Variegato di Castelfranco PGI which gathers together the producers of these incredible vegetables (also known as‘winter flowers‘ for their shape that evokes that of a flower) decided to launch a contest throughout Italy where 10 bloggers from various regions were asked to marry Radicchio with their own culinary traditions and to propose a recipe to be enjoyed when seated and one to be eaten standing.

Are you ready to see my ideas? Let’s start with the “seated recipe”: Strozzapreti with radicchio and pumpkin fondue.

The term Radicchio does not indicate a single vegetable. Depending on personal gastronomic habits and one’s area of origin, certainly the word Radicchio brings to mind different types of vegetables.

In Italy, the place in the front row is certainly taken by Radicchio from Treviso, a radicchio that holds many surprises, not only in terms of taste and versatility in cooking, but also for the way in which it is producedrarely known to consumers.

Radicchio Rosso di Treviso PGI: early and late

The acronym PGI stands for Protected Geographical Indication, but what does this designation imply? It implies that the Radicchio referred to is grown in a very specific geographical area where the soil, climate and production method make it unique and inimitable.

The characteristics of Radicchio di Treviso are therefore different from any other product, to the point that if a seedling were grown in another part of the planet, the end result would be profoundly different: this is one of nature’s many miracles.

Early Radicchio, called “precoce”

As the name implies, this is the Radicchio whose harvest begins in September (which is why you will not see it used in these recipes as it is not available) after the plants are tied with a rubber band so that light cannot penetrate them for 15-20 days. Consequently, when the large tufts are harvested, the outer leaves are removed directly in the field, while the precious dark red central part is washed and destined for our tables.

Late radicchio, called “tardivo”

Radicchio Tardivo for sale on the shelves of a greengrocer

This is the Radicchio we most often associate with the name Treviso and is also the type I used in my recipe for Strozzapreti.

Unlike what one might imagine for a vegetable, its colour and flavour are highly dependent on the process. It is called Tardivo because it is after four months in the field, in November, that a turning point occurs: the first cold weather ‘burns’ the outer leaves, giving them their typical ‘blade’ shape. At this point, Radicchio heads are extracted from the soil with their roots, transported to the growers’ farms and placed in tanks filled with 10-12 degree water from local springs.

The process is called “forced whitening‘: water and the absence of light cause new leaves without chlorophyll to develop inside, with a typical white and purplish-red colour.

Careful trimming and a final wash prepare Radicchio for its final destination on a long and fascinating journey: the most varied and extraordinary dishes.

I hope you are now looking forward to using Radicchio in the kitchen and preparing this fresh homemade pasta, for which I recommend involving even the youngest members of the family: it will be much more fun to forge these tasty little cylinders than to play with any toy modelling dough! Watch the video to find out how to cook this recipe. And if you want another idea for using Radicchio, try my Ricotta dumplings with radicchio.

Strozzapreti with Radicchio and pumpkin fondue

22.8g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for Strozzapreti for 4 servings

100g Radicchio di Treviso PGI Tardivo
100g water (taken from the water used to blanch Radicchio)
100g gluten free breadcrumbs, brand Nutrifree**
100g gluten free pasta flour mix, brand Molino Dallagiovanna**
1 egg
salt

Ingredients for the pumpkin fondue

200g pumpkin already peeled and seeded
120g milk
120g fresh cream
50g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
Radicchio di Treviso PGI Tardivo
salt and pepper

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparing the dough for Strozzapreti and fondue

Put a pot of water on the stove and bring it to the boil; throw in the washed Radicchio tardivo and blanch it for about 1 minute in the boiling water. Remove the Radicchio with the help of a skimmer and throw it into cold water immediately, but keep the scalding water. Drain the Radicchio and leave it in a colander so that it loses as much water as possible.
Put the breadcrumbs in a bowl and, to wet them, use 100g of the boiling water used for the Radicchio: pour it in gradually while stirring the breadcrumbs with a wooden spoon. Let everything cool down.
Slightly wring the blanched Radicchio with your hands to remove excess water and chop it finely on a cutting board using a knife or a half-moon. Add the chopped Radicchio to the breadcrumbs, then complete by adding flour, egg and salt.
Knead all the ingredients to obtain an even mixture that will be rather moist. Wrap it in cling film and let it rest for about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the fondue. Place milk and cream in a thick-bottomed saucepan, bring to a gentle boil and allow the liquid to reduce to half. Remove from the heat and add the grated Parmesan cheese, stirring until it melts perfectly.
Cut the pumpkin into cubes and cook it in the microwave for 4 minutes at maximum power in a closed container, or in a static oven at 200g for the time needed to make the pumpkin soft (the time will depend on the size of the cubes). Mash the pumpkin with a fork to obtain a purée, then add it to the fondue, mix well and season with salt and pepper.

Shaping Strozzapreti and completing

Take small pieces of dough and, with the help of a dusting of brown rice flour, roll them out with a rolling pin to a thickness of about 2mm; cut small strips about 4cm long and 1.5cm wide, place them between the palms of your hands and slide your hands in the opposite direction so that the strip becomes a sort of twist.
Lay the Strozzapreti on a tray lightly dusted with brown rice flour and continue until all the dough is used up.
Heat up the Radicchio blanching water; pour the pumpkin fondue into a large non-stick pan and heat it up slightly. When the water in the pot comes to the boil, throw in the Strozzapreti, cook them for a few minutes until they rise to the surface and with a slotted spoon remove them and throw them into the pan with the fondue.
Allow the Strozzapreti with the fondue to take on flavour for a few minutes, then serve hot, topped with a few pieces of fresh Radicchio.

Strozzapreti with Radicchio ready to be enjoyed

Version with gluten of Strozzapreti with radicchio and pumpkin fondue

Replace the gluten-free flour with standard flour and adjust the amount of water used to scald the breadcrumbs so that all the breadcrumbs are moistened, but not creamy.

February 5, 2021/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Scarpette di Sant’Ilario biscuits

Dolci, Food Tours

On 13 January, Parma celebrates its patron saint, Saint Ilario, and, as in all Italian cities, there is a recipe inextricably linked to the city’s patron saint: in the case of Parma, the recipe is Scarpette di Sant’Ilario biscuits, which you can also easily prepare in a gluten free version.

Why a biscuit with this unusual shape?

History has it that Bishop Ilario from Poitiers (circa 315-369 A.D.) found himself passing through the city of Parma on a cold, snowy winter day wearing only a pair of old, worn-out shoes. Pitifully, a cobbler gave him a pair of new shoes and the next day, in his workshop, Ilario’s old shoes had turned into golden shoes. So it is that the shoe-shaped biscuits richly decorated with coloured icing want to celebrate the Saint on the anniversary of his death, and the generosity of the people from the Emilia region.

Images of the saint can be found in several monuments in the city, including a fresco in the pendentives of the cathedral dome by Correggio and a fresco inside the Church of San Giovanni by Parmigianinoboth of which you cannot miss if you visit my city.

Decorating these biscuit shoes is therefore a tradition, especially to the delight of children who do not go to school on the holiday and thus have time to engage in such a creative activity together with their parents on a somewhat unconventional festive day. To hear the story of St. Ilario in detail, I tell it to you in this episode of Santi comuni.

The only difficulty you might encounter? Finding the mould to cut the biscuits for which you will probably have to resort to some specialised shops in Parma, such as Dalla A allo Zuccheroin the heart of the city to tempt us with everything you need to have fun with sweets.

Naturally, given the abundant use of sugar for decoration, the Scarpette di Sant’Ilario are not very suitable for habitual consumption, especially for those with diabetes: so be careful not to get carried away either by the decorations (which is why I have not been able to tell you the carbohydrate value of the decorated biscuits because it can vary very significantly depending on the decoration made), or by the consumption of these little gems which are a real temptation!

Scarpette di Sant’Ilario biscuits

carbohydrates of the shortbread 67g per 100 g of baked biscuits

Ingredients

250g gluten free flour mix for bread, brand BiAglut**
250g brown rice flour*
200g softened butter
170g sugar
3 eggs
8g baking powder*
grated lemon rind
1 pinch of salt

Ingredients for the hard icing

150g icing sugar*
25g pasteurised egg white
food colours*

Ingredients for the soft icing

140g icing sugar*
25g pasteurised egg white
food colours*

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

Put the flour, butter, sugar, salt and eggs in a mixing bowl. Mix well, then add baking powder and grated lemon zest. Cover with a piece of cling film and leave to rest for the time needed to prepare the icing, about 10-15 minutes.
Take bowls with rounded bottoms, one for each colour you wish to prepare (you can also follow my YouTube video to help you with the preparation of the icings). For the hard white icing, place 25g of pasteurised egg white in a bowl and gradually add 150g of icing sugar, stirring with a spoon so that the mixture is smooth and even. For the soft icing, repeat exactly the same procedure, adding 140g sugar.
Starting with the white bases, add the necessary colours and sugar to obtain the various colours, both hard and soft.
The hard icing will be used with a pastry bag fitted with a nozzle with a hole of about 1mm, while the soft icing will be dispensed using a teaspoon and the rounded tip of a knife.
Cover all icings with cling film in contact with the surface until use.
Roll out the short pastry with a rolling pin to a thickness of about 5mm, cut the biscuits into the shoe shape, place them on a baking tin covered with parchment paper and bake them in a convection oven preheated to 160°C for 10 minutes.
When the biscuits are completely cooled, form the outline with one of the hard icings, white or coloured, placed in the pastry bag; cover the surface of the biscuit inside the outline using the soft icing to be spread with the help of a rounded tip of a knife so that no gaps are left. Let the icing dry for at least 15 minutes before making other decorations with a pastry bag on the soft icing to avoid colour smudging. To enjoy making other similar biscuits, also check out this recipe.

Version with gluten

Replace the gluten-free flour with wheat flour and mix with 2 whole eggs and 1 yolk.

January 10, 2021/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli