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Spicy Provolone Valpadana DOP: Coconut cream with spicy red wine pears

My passion for cheese stems from my roots and is ignited whenever cheese is the protagonist of an initiative. For this reason, also this year I enthusiastically accepted to participate in the “Choose your taste, sweet or spicy, only from Europe” project in collaboration with the European Commission and the Italian Food Blogger Association to promote knowledge and consumption of Provolone Valpadana PDO.

Spicy Provolone Valpadana PDO in my Valentine’s Day dessert

I told you how Provolone Valpadana PDO is produced when I prepared my Savoury Muffinsbut this time I used the spicy version of this cheese to prepare a fantastic dessert that left all my guests literally speechless. For those who do not have time to read about the production process of Provolone Valpadana PDOit is really interesting to know that the sharpness of this cheese is only determined by the use of kidrennet instead of calf rennet: every tiny detail opens up a world of differences in cheese with Designations of Origin!

Why this recipe? Because I wanted to propose a perfect idea for Valentine’s Day, namely a spicy dessert, just like love! And also because I love cheese eaten with pears and walnuts, two very classic pairings that reconfirm time and again that sweet and savoury can give us great taste pleasures.

So I prepared a custard using coconut milk so that this dessert could be eaten not only by those who are gluten intolerant, but also by those who are lactose intolerant because Provolone Valpadana is naturally lactose-free! The other star is pears in red wine, a fragrant winter pampering, the ideal partner for cheese. Finally, I created crunchiness with toasted breadcrumbs and walnuts, which are the most neutral part of the recipe, essential to bind all the elements together in a warm and affectionate hug.

Have I convinced you? Run to buy the ingredients and surprise your loved ones… with just the right amount of sweet spiciness.

Coconut Cream with spicy red wine pears

21.23 g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for the coconut cream for 4 servings

225g coconut milk
3 egg yolks
40g sugar
vanilla from the pod

Ingredients for the spicy red wine pears

4 Kaiser pears of about 140g each
250g red wine
50g sugar
1/2 star anise berry
2 cardamom berries
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Ingredients to complete

40g breadcrumbs**
30g shelled walnuts
10g butter
spicy Provolone Valpadana PDO

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

Heat up the coconut milk on the stove and in the meantime whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and a dash of vanilla. When the milk is about to come to the boil, remove it from the heat and pour it over the beaten egg yolks, stirring with a whisk; put the cream back on the heat and let it thicken for a few minutes. Put it aside to cool, then store it in the refrigerator.
Prepare the pears: peel them, leaving the stalks, and place them in a saucepan large enough to hold the pears close together. Pour the wine, sugar and spices into the saucepan, then put the lid on, bring everything to the boil, then lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer for 30 minutes. Let the pears cool in their cooking liquid, then remove them and allow the liquid to reduce to a caramel-like thickness.
Put the knob of butter in a non-stick pan, melt it and add the breadcrumbs to toast them. When the bread is almost ready, add the walnuts after breaking them up lightly with your hands. Toast for a few minutes.
Assemble the cake at the time of serving. In a deep dish, pour a small ladle of custard and place one pear in the centre of the dish. Using a large hole grater, grate slivers of Provolone Valpadana cheese over the cream and pear; top with the toasted bread and walnuts and the reduced wine sauce. Serve the dessert cold, possibly paired with a small glass of Barolo Chinato or Port wine.

Version with gluten of Coconut cream with spicy red wine pears

With the exception of the breadcrumbs, the recipe contains only naturally gluten-free ingredients, so replace the gluten-free breadcrumbs with conventional breadcrumbs.

February 8, 2023/0 Comments/by admin

Discovering Italian PDOs: Savoury muffins with Provolone Valpadana PDO

Antipasti, Food Tours

While still loving the ‘old’ way of travelling, I decided to embark on a journey of discovery of the Provolone Valpadana PDO through the project “Choose your taste, sweet or spicy, only from Europe”in collaboration with the European Commission and theItalian Food Bloggers Association. The project aims to improve the manner in which European quality labelled products are recognised and promote their consumption, and I did it with my Savoury muffins with Provolone Valpadana PDO.

My encounter with this product dates back to my childhood when I accompanied my father to the International Dairy Cattle Fair in Cremona , where the food stands present at the social event for breeders from Northern Italy displayed huge cheese wheels, shiny, sometimes round and sometimes cylindrical. Their size fascinated and, at the same time, frightened me.

After so many years, discovering how this cheese is made fills my heart with joy.

The sweet and spicy Provolone Valpadana PDO

Where does the name of this cheese come from? From the Italian word prova “try” (because in the past, when there were no technological means to verify that the curd was fermented to the right point to be spun, pieces of it were taken and spinning tests were made repeatedly (hence the name Provola and its augmentative Provolone) until the results were perfect to proceed.

The production area of Provolone Valpadana PDO includes part of Lombardy, part of Veneto, the province of Piacenza and part of the province of Trento, an area characterised by the presence of the Po Valley.

The production process in brief

Milk preparation in the boiler within 60 hours after milking.
Addition of fermented whey from the end of the previous day’s processing and, if necessary, of additional lactic acid bacteria always obtained from the whey of Provolone Valpadana PDO.
Rennet and curdling, the stage from which the differentiation between mild and piquant Provolone starts, thanks to the addition of calf rennet in the former and kid rennet in the latter, which cause the milk to curdle at a temperature of between 36 and 39°C.
Curdling (photo by Consorzio del Provolone Valpadana PDO)
Fermentation and cutting of the curd, when the curd is allowed to rest by fermenting on suitable surfaces and, once ready, cut and then stretched.
Stretching, a process that takes place in water at 85-95°C, consists of melting the curd by pulling it to form long threads.
Moulding, cooling and firming, when the curd is moulded either by hand or in special moulds and placed in ice-cold water to promote rapid cooling and subsequent firming.
Salting, which consists of immersing the cheeses in brine for a period of time depending on their size.
Salting (photo by Consorzio Provolone Valpadana PDO)
Tying, possibly smoking and maturing are the final stages of production since once the cheeses are tied, they can be smoked and matured or stored for a short time in the case of sweet Provolone Valpadana PDO.

Maturation (photo by Consorzio Provolone Valpadana PDO)

Many shapes for many flavours

As a great cheese enthusiast, I find the variety of shapes in which Provolone Valpadana PDO can be presented really unusual, because each size will have its own uniqueness in terms of flavour. So not only is there a difference between sweet and piquant, but within those, ranging from small 6kg wheels to huge 100kg cheeses, the sensory profile develops in a multiplicity of nuances.

For this reason, maturation periods can vary from a minimum of 10 days to over 240 days!

How to use Provolone Valpadana PDO

Given the variety of flavours, textures and maturations, Provolone Valpadana PDO can be used in an infinite number of recipes, which will then be characterised by our choices: a delicate version with a milky scent or a strong touch of flavour and spiciness, as if we had added a pinch of chilli pepper.

Provolone can be used directly raw or in preparations that are to be cooked in a pan or in the oven. Here is the recipe I have prepared to share with you and which I cooked using mild Provolone Valpadana PDO, but which you can easily modify using the piquant version of the same cheese to obtain a completely different result: have fun experimenting!

Savoury muffins with Provolone Valpadana PDO

33.43g carbohydrates per 100 g

Ingredients for 4 large muffins

90g wholemeal rice flour*
75g Provolone Valpadana PDO sweet or spicy (sweet in the photo)
2 eggs
35g tapioca starch*
30g milk
25 g extra virgin olive oil
20g dried tomatoes
5g baking powder for savoury pies*
salt and pepper

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

Preparation

Coarsely chop the Provolone cheese and dried cherry tomatoes and set them aside.
Place the rice flour and tapioca starch in a planetary mixer or bowl, then mix with eggs, milk and oil until smooth and creamy; finally add the yeast, Provolone cheese and cherry tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.
Pour the mixture into 4 rather large muffin tins, filling them 3/4 full.
Bake the muffins in a static oven preheated to 180°C for 10-20 minutes.
Take the muffins out of the oven and eat them warm – they are mouth-watering!

Version with gluten of Savoury muffins with Provolone Valpadana DOP

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

February 1, 2022/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

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

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

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

Talent For Food 2019: Lentil flour dumplings

News, Primi piatti

If the adventures of the Mystery Box received for the Talent for Food contest were surprising, even more surprising was the news that I was one of the three finalists, so I would like to tell you about my adventure from a slightly different perspective than a mere report: how to try to make the impossible possible.

My Talent For Food 2019 adventure and my Lentil flour dumplings

Let’s start with the fact that in my day-to-day life I am a conference interpreter and CEO of a language service company, Interconsul srl – Benefit Company, based in Parma, so on Friday 11 October, duty called as it does every other day, and at 7.45 a.m., after the kids’ hectic school drop-off, I was expected to review the translations to be sent to customers before the weekend. Oh yes, because convinced that I would never be among the finalists of the Talent from the Veneto region, my schedule continued, ineluctable, so I had to switch to weekend mode at 3.30 p.m. that Friday by picking up my friend and food blogger Cristiana Curri at the station (https://blog.giallozafferano.it/chicchecris/) with whom I had organised a cooking class dedicated to the great pasta classics in Roman cuisine on Saturday 12 October in the afternoon. Also, because I like challenges (this is the conclusion I came to), at 9 a.m. on the same day I had a nice course dedicated to savoury recipes using alternative flours to wheat.

A message on WhatsApp: panic!

So what happens when you get a congratulatory message on WhatsApp on a Sunday afternoon as you are driving to Rimini (about 220 km from home) to work as an interpreter at a conference? You wonder what you are being congratulated for, you run through your head what has happened in the last few days, you give up and ask your interpreter colleague sitting in the car with you to answer: “For what?” Return message: “You are in the finals at Talent for Food. Panic. Yes, literally panic, but not because of the competition as cooking competitions always put me in a good mood, but because of the Rubik’s puzzle I managed to create. In my head it is a succession of thoughts to put the coloured boxes of the magic cube into place, and in the end it comes out like a risk-taking game plan: I calculate the Parma-Valdobbiadene journey time on Google Maps (3 hours), I beg Cristiana to change the train ticket so that I can get there before noon to accompany me to Valdobbiadene, and I ask AIFB if it is possible to give up (the most painful part) the discovery programme planned for Saturday morning. You know what? In the end it all seemed… almost simple!

A Friday afternoon in Valdobbiadene for Talent For Food

So I find myself on a Friday afternoon at the DIEFFE Academy of Professions in Valdobbiadene (Treviso) with 50 minutes to prepare, cook and serve a recipe using the ingredients provided by 29 companies from Treviso and Padua that have supplied ‘mystery boxes’ with products from the Veneto region. While cooking with Daniela Boscariolo (blog.giallozafferano.it/timoelenticchie the winner) and Daniela Pennisi (www.laboulangeriepatisserie.it), Angela Frenda – Editor-in-Chief of the monthly magazine ‘Cook’ (Corriere della Sera), writer and cooking teacher – gives the floor to Giovanni Taliana and Armando Serena, Presidents of the Food Group and the Wine and Spirits Group of Assindustria Venetocentro, to Anna Maria Pellegrino, President of AIFB, to Innocente Nardi, President of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Docg and to Alessandro Marzotto, Hospitality Wine Shop Manager of Santa Margherita Wine Group. The three finalists whilst cookingFaithful to one of the guiding principles of the contest, in my recipe I combine the culinary tradition of Emilia with products from the Veneto region, which is why I prepare the ever-present stuffed pasta, but this time with Vicenza-style salt cod and artichokes inside, saffron in the dough and sautéed mushrooms as a dressing. What was missing on my plate? A crispy part, but I don’t like fritters, so I couldn’t think of any alternative… I’ll be ready for next time!

The three dishes presented

My ravioli

After judgement, ritual photos, hugs and kisses between new friends and new acquaintances, we headed back to Parma, a stop at a gas station for a hot drink and a super, but brief sleep before a second day of challenges with two cooking classes and… this recipe prepared on the fly on Saturday evening for my super-helpful guest and dear friend Cristiana, naturally cooked with Talent for Food 2019 products!

Lentil flour dumplings with artichoke cream and stracchino cheese

13.32g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for the dumplings

270g milk
90g potato starch*
60g lentil flour*
40g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
35g organic sunflower oil
4 eggs
nutmeg, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for the Gnocchi sauce

250g cream of artichoke*
100g Stracchino cheese or another cream cheese
pepper

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

Preparation

Put 270g of milk in a saucepan together with oil, a grinding of nutmeg and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, remove from the heat and add starch and lentil flour in one go, stirring well so that no lumps form. Let cool, then add the grated cheese and one egg at a time, mixing well. Transfer the mixture into a pastry bag with a round tip, approximately 1.5-2 cm in diameter.
Put a pot of water on the stove, bring it to the boil and salt it. With a pastry bag, drop small cylinders 2-3 cm long with the help of a knife (although the dough is very soft, so the knife is only needed to interrupt the flow of mixture) into boiling water and when they rise to the surface, let them cook 1-2 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and place them in a bowl with the stracchino cheese and artichoke cream. Stir well to melt the cheese.
Serve the Gnocchi hot with a grinding of black pepper.

I miei gnocchetti alla farina di lenticchie con crema di carciofi e stracchino

My lentil flour gnocchi with artichoke cream and stracchino cheese

November 13, 2019/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Gluten-free and ‘sugar light’ Spongata

Dolci

Spongata is a typical Christmas cake whose preparation evokes sweet memories of family gatherings around the kitchen table and that is part of the Advent calendar of the Italian Food Blogger Association, which gives us a typical family recipe in every box.

For years, ever since diabetes and celiac disease have joined our family, I haven’t prepared it because of the challenge the traditional recipe poses in terms of sugar: so here is my gluten free and ‘sugar light’ Spongata.

Spongata: a sugary challenge

This year, for the first time, my daughter Gaia asked me: “Mum, what does Spongata taste like?” I was speechless, not because I couldn’t describe the taste of this sort of tart filled with nuts and spices, but because I had never thought of preparing it in a gluten free and, above all, low-sugar version… probably too busy trying to make a Panettone and Pandoro worthy of the name!

Well, since we can finally find gluten free Panettone and Pandoro on the market today that are much better than a few years ago, the focus has shifted to this humble, but fantastic Christmas preparation (as an alternative idea for the holiday season, try my Celebration Sacher).

My family tradition

When I was a child, the preparation of Spongata was a kind of ritual because these cakes were cooked in large quantities to enrich the baskets of food products to give as gifts to employees, collaborators, relatives and friends.

Spongatas were prepared long before Christmas. Once cooked and perfectly cooled, they were first wrapped in a sheet of parchment paper to protect them, then in an airtight bag (and maybe even in gift wrap to give them prestige) to allow all the flavours to mix well and achieve the perfect dough texture for consumption.

The preparation of the filling started a few days before the planned date of the big bake because ‘the longer the filling is left to macerate, the better the taste’. However, this filling is generally very rich in simple carbohydrates due to the presence of plenty of honey and sugar, even icing sugar to cover the surface once cooked.

So here is my ‘sugar light’ version, which remains however very high in calories!

My ‘sugar light’ recipe

The pastry I used is a gluten free adaptation of my friend and course assistant Lucia’s family recipe because in her version the sugar was really already reduced to a minimum. The filling, on the other hand, is an adaptation of my family’s recipe where 150g of honey and 2 heaped tablespoons of brown sugar in the filling have been replaced by 150g of jam: in this way, the filling manages to stay together a little despite the absence of the definitely stickier honey.

Another small note concerns breadcrumbs: in many recipes from the province of Parma they are added in the filling, but this ingredient has never appeared in my home version, so you won’t find it in this Spongata!

Finally, the surface. It is traditional to sprinkle the baked cake with a lot of icing sugar because the surface is hardly homogeneous: the name Spongata derives from the Latin word ‘spongia’, meaning sponge, precisely because of the irregular appearance reminiscent of a sponge. In keeping with tradition, I wanted to top one of my Spongatas with icing sugar to take the photo, but I kept the second one ‘au naturel’ and, I confess, I like it even better.

Spongata

38.11g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for the crust for 2 Spongatas of 18cm in diameter

250g flour mix for bread, brand BiAglut**
125g butter
50g sugar
40g white wine
1 tsp baking powder*
a pinch of salt
water as needed
Ingredients for the filling
150g fruit Mostarda*
150g coarsely chopped walnuts
150g jam without added sugar (your favourite flavour)*
100g coarsely chopped almonds
25g pine nuts
25g raisins
a small glass of liqueur*
cinnamon powder*, cloves and nutmeg

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation

Soak the raisins in liqueur.
In a bowl, place the chopped fruit Mostarda with the aid of a rocking chopper or knife, then add all the other ingredients, including the soaked raisins and liqueur. Adjust the flavouring to your liking, cover the bowl with cling film and let the filling rest for at least a day.
The next day, prepare the crust. Combine all the ingredients for the crust and knead adding the necessary water to obtain a smooth, homogeneous and rather soft dough. Cover the dough with cling film and place it in the refrigerator to rest for about 15 minutes.
Divide the dough into 4 parts and roll them out with a rolling pin. Line a mould with one part and fill it with half of the filling, distributing it evenly. Then close with a second disc. Prick the surface with a fork and bake in a convection oven preheated to 200°C for about 30 minutes. Bake and allow to cool completely, then dust with icing sugar if desired.
At this point, seal your Spongatas tightly with a sheet of parchment paper and place them in a closed bag or cake tin until ready to use… which could be several days later!

My sugar-light Spongata

Version with gluten of Spongata

Replace the gluten-free flour with equal amounts of wheat flour, adjusting the amount of water.

December 20, 2018/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli

Risotto or salt cod? Salt cod risotto

Primi piatti

Risotto or salt cod?

The anser for me is Salt cod Risotto! A few weeks ago I went to Vairano Scalo in the province of Caserta. Before the trip, I had imagined that I would taste wonderful buffalo mozzarella, fantastic artichokes, a long-awaited saffron, but never did I think I would eat salt cod in all its possible preparations!

Yet it is in this very village in Campania that you will find the Osteria del Baccalà where Antonio Ruggiero enchants everyone with the magic he can create with this extraordinary ingredient. And you know what? The experience with his salt cod is so good for the health and good mood that Antonio calls the dinner in his osteria a ‘therapeutic salt cod dinner‘! And I

Well, on those very same days, I read on the page of the Italian Food Bloggers Association that some colleagues from Veneto had organised a contest dedicated to Veneto and risotto entitled: “How do you cream it?” The connection was straight! The recent experience of salt cod and my beloved Veneto could only make me prepare a risotto that combines two of my favourite dishes: so here is my Salt cod risotto.

Any other pleasant coincidences? The fact that I had gone to Vairano to prepare a risotto for the students of the ISISS Marconi hospitality school and that this is the season of asparagus, of which Veneto is a famous producer. I thought it was a bit daring, but since everyone at home liked this risotto, here is the recipe for you to try it too!

Salt cod risotto

23g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 4 servings

approx. 1.5 litres of previously prepared vegetable stock
360g Carnaroli rice
200g desalted cod
200g milk
16green asparagus
60g Prosecco from a winery of your choice
40g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
60g extra virgin olive oil
30g spring onion
30g fresh cream
4 g parsley
1 clove garlic
salt

Preparation

Cook the cod covered in water and milk with the garlic clove for about 20 minutes.
Remove the skin, garlic and any bones, then place the cod in a blender with the washed parsley leaves. Start blending by adding 50g of oil in a trickle, as if you were whipping mayonnaise. Also add the cream while continuing to whip and finally add salt to taste.
Prepare the asparagus. Wash them, remove the woody ends, then separate the tips from the rest. Place the tips in a non-stick pan with a little oil and let them soften, then season with salt and set aside. In a saucepan, pour 10g of oil and the chopped spring onion, allow it to soften, then add the asparagus spears, allow them to take on flavour for a few minutes, then cover with water and cook. Once cooked, blend the asparagus to a perfectly smooth, stringless cream. Set it aside.
Now let’s prepare the rice. Dry-toast the rice in a large pan (it took me 3 minutes to get the grains nice and transparent with a white kernel in the centre). Add Prosecco and allow to evaporate stirring until you can no longer smell the wine alcohol. Start adding the boiling stock. Continue stirring and only add stock when the rice has absorbed almost all the liquid. When the rice is still al dente, remove from the heat and start adding the creamed salt cod, continuing to stir the rice well so that the starch is released to form a nice creamy mixture, add the grated Parmesan cheese and continue stirring until it is completely incorporated. Taste and adjust salt if necessary.
Plate the risotto: with the help of a piping bottle or pastry bag, place little tufts of asparagus cream on the surface and 4 asparagus tips on each plate.
Serve the risotto and enjoy!

Version with gluten of Salt cod risotto

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

May 8, 2018/0 Comments/by Ilaria Bertinelli