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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. Le tre finaliste alle prese con le preparazioni 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!

I tre piatti presentati

The three dishes presented

 

Impiattamento dei miei ravioli

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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

We like to cook with seasonal ingredients, we want to create preparations that can release enveloping aromas and flavours. That is why, this time, we chose asparagus for our recipe and the result is a mouth-watering first course: Ricotta cannelloni with asparagus.

This recipe is perfect to be prepared in advance or to be frozen, and it will be ready to be cooked in the oven whenever you need it.

And if you like asparagus, try also Gola Gola asparagus risotto .

Ricotta Cannelloni with asparagus

19.36g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 12 cannelloni

  • 500g asparagus (about 1 bunch)
  • 400g ricotta cheese
  • 350g cannelloni** (12 pieces branded Farabella)
  • 40g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
  • 25g leek
  • 1 egg
  • 10g extra virgin olive oil
  • extra virgin olive oil, salt and a few mint leaves

** Ingredients specific for celiacs

Preparation

  1. Wash the asparagus and remove the whitish woody part. Separate the tips (also leaving a green part) from the spears. Sauté them in a non-stick pan with a little oil and a pinch of salt until slightly cooked, but still crispy. Boil a saucepan of lightly salted water and cook the asparagus spears (not the tips). When they are cooked, drain but keep the cooking water.
  2. In a small pan, sweat the leek with a little oil and a bit of cooking water. When the leek is soft, put it in a blender with the asparagus spears and blend to a cream; add cooking water if necessary and adjust the salt.
    Put ricotta cheese in a bowl and mix it with the Parmesan cheese, egg and chopped asparagus tips.
    Boil a pot of salted water and cook Cannelloni: I cooked them for almost 9 minutes, then threw them in cold water and drained.
  3. Fill a pastry bag with the ricotta and asparagus mixture and stuff the Cannelloni well.
    On individual plates, form a layer of asparagus sauce, lay the ready cannelloni on top and garnish with a spoonful of asparagus sauce. Place the dishes in the microwave or conventional oven to warm the Cannelloni and the filling, then season with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and two mint leaves.

ricette-senza-glutine-Cannelloni-ricotta-e-asparagi-senza-glutine

Version of gluten of Ricotta Cannelloni with asparagus

Replace the gluten-free Cannelloni with standard Cannelloni.

On Women’s Day, we thought of offering you an alternative idea to the usual mimosas, a gift for the eyes and the palate: Ravioli with prawns and cherry tomatoes.

Yes, today we want to share a recipe to prepare for the woman you love, but also for a dinner with women friends. In short, for an evening dedicated to the world of women.

Curious?

Very well, then get ready to cook some delicious ravioli with that extra touch: a romantic heart shape.

Ravioli with prawns and cherry tomatoes 

18.48g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for egg pasta

  • 300g gluten free flour mix, brand Petra 3**
  • 5 eggs
  • 10g bitter cocoa*
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • water

Ingredients for the filling

  • 400g boiled and peeled prawns
  • 300g boiled and peeled potatoes
  • 100g Robiola cheese
  • salt and pepper

Ingredients for the dressing

  • 500g cherry tomatoes or diced tomatoes
  • 30g extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 basil leaves
  • salted ricotta cheese, salt, extra virgin olive oil

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

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

Preparation of Ravioli with prawns and cherry tomatoes

  1. On a cutting board, make a well with the flour and crack the eggs in the centre, add oil and salt.
    Start by beating the eggs with a fork and gradually incorporate the flour so that the liquids do not spill out, adding a few tablespoons of water if necessary.
    Continue stirring until the mixture is fairly compact.
  2. Now knead the dough with your hands until it becomes smooth and firm. Cover it with cling film and leave it to rest while you prepare the filling.
  3. Mash the potatoes and mix them with the chopped shrimps, robiola cheese, salt and pepper.
  4. Now assemble the ravioli.
  5. Roll out the dough, cut it with a heart-shaped cutter and place the filling in the centre. Finally, close the ravioli by placing another layer of pasta on top. To seal the two parts, you can help yourself with the tines of a fork.
  6. Put a pot of water on the stove and bring it to the boil. In the meantime, sauté the halved cherry tomatoes and basil leaves in a non-stick pan with a little oil, seasoning with salt.
  7. Cook the ravioli in salted water and, once cooked, drain them, dry them on a towel and serve on a plate with the sautéed cherry tomatoes, a generous grating of salted ricotta and a drizzle of mild extra virgin olive oil.

Ricetta_senza_glutine_ravioli_con_gamberi

Version with gluten of Ravioli with prawns and cherry tomatoes

Replace the 300g gluten-free flour with wheat flour and knead it with 3 whole eggs and a few tablespoons of water, if necessary.