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Cold recipes for hot summers: Cream of peppers and lentils with anchovy croutons

Since the heat does not leave us this summer, I am constantly looking for cold recipes that can satisfy the palate, be healthy and above all be pleasantly refreshing, which is why I propose the Cream of peppers and lentils with anchovy croutons, this time paired with a fantastic wine!

In fact, a dear friend who knows my passion for wines gave me a bottle of Viognier Linea Ars Magna by Omina Romana vintage 2017, for which I wanted to create an ad hoc recipe. So here is my pairing because its intense and complex bouquet of aromatic herbs goes perfectly with the sweet scent of peppers, enlivened by the savouriness of anchovies and slivers of 36-month Parmigiano Reggiano cheese that masterfully reflect the mineral note that the wine draws from the volcanic soils where the vines grow.

The recipe is rich in fibre thanks to the peppers and lentils, it is also an excellent source of vitamins, the anchovies provide us with Omega 3, and the 36-month Parmesan cheese not only allows us to get calcium, but also makes the recipe suitable for those who are intolerant to dairy proteins: in short, a “supplement recipe”  as my friend Alessandra Bosetti, clinical dietician at the Buzzi Hospital in Milan, would call it, just like the Venere rice towers with almond cream and tomatoes.

When staying in the city while others are on holiday, the best way to treat oneself to a few moments of pleasure and relaxation is to indulge in good food and a glass of wine of those that remain in the memory file like photos taken in summer.

Omina romanaViognier

Cream of peppers and lentils with anchovy croutons

12.74g carbohydrates per 100g of Cream of peppers and lentils without croutons

Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 1kg bell peppers (2 red and 2 yellow)
  • 100g hulled lentils
  • 2 slices of gluten-free wholemeal bread**
  • 30g Parmigiano Reggiano 36 months old
  • 4 anchovy fillets in oil
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • chili
  • salt and pepper
  • edible flowers for decoration

** Ingredients specific for celiacs

Preparation of Cream of peppers and lentils

  1. Clean the peppers, cut them in half, remove the stalk, seeds and white filaments, then cut them into quarters and place in the oven under the grill at 200°C until the skin is slightly dark. Seal the peppers in a paper bag and, when cold, peel and set them aside.
  2. Boil the lentils in lightly salted water until cooked: with hulled lentils it will take about 15 minutes. Drain and leave them to cool.
  3. Place a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a non-stick frying pan, melt the anchovies drained from oil and when melted, add the diced wholemeal bread and toast it well on all sides.
  4. Now prepare the cream by putting the peeled peppers and lentils in a blender and when you have obtained a smooth and even cream, add salt, pepper and chilli.
  5. Divide the cold cream into 4 bowls, sprinkle the surface with Parmesan shavings and the anchovy croutons, then top with edible flowers.

crema di peperoni e lenticchie

Version with gluten of Cream of peppers and lentils with anchovy croutons

For the gluten-free version of the recipe, replace the gluten-free wholemeal bread with standard bread.

 

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

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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

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. When the meat sauce is cooked, season with salt and pepper, a teaspoon of ground coriander grains and a pinch of chilli pepper.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

 

 

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Radimonio: Pinzimonio with Radicchio Variegato

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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

Il radicchio variegato di Castelfranco

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

  1. Cut the shallot into thin slices and sweat it slowly in a pan with a little extra virgin olive oil for about 10 minutes.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.

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