RISOTTO RECIPES
RISOTTO WITH PORCINI MUSHROOMS
Recipe for 4 persons
Ingredients
400 grams carnaroli rice
800 grams vegetable broth, (see recipe below)
200 grams porcini mushrooms. Fresh is always best, but off season use frozen
4/5 pieces dried porcini mushrooms chopped after soaked in warm water to soften.
1 piece of garlic finely chopped
1 glass white wine
2 tbs butter
100 grams parmesan
Method
- Heat a pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add mushrooms, garlic, salt, pepper and cook until browned. Add parsley at the end. Take the mushrooms out of the pan and put on the side.
- In the same pan, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and when it is hot add the rice. After the rice is coated with the oil, add the white wine and let it absorb.
- Add enough stock to completely cover rice, and let cook for about 10 minutes before you add the mushrooms. Let cook for another 10 minutes until you have the consistency that you like. (Ale’s method is to not stir while it is cooking, but if you prefer to, that works as well). It should be al dente, not too hard, not too soft. At the end add the butter and parmesan and stir vigorously until you have a creamy risotto.
RISOTTO WITH RADICCHIO AND TALEGGIO CHEESE AND WALNUTS
Ingredients
400 grams carnaroli rice
2 radicchio tardivo chopped
1 small onion chopped
1 pinch of sugar
1 cup red wine
800 grams vegetable stock
100 grams taleggio
50 grams parmesan
1 tablespoon butter
6-7 walnuts chopped
Method
- Start with home made vegetable broth, (see recipe below)
- In pan heat up 2 tablespoon olive oil. Cook radicchio and onion with a pinch of sugar. Take out of pan and leave on the side.
- In the same pan, add another tablespoon of olive oil. When hot, add risotto and let cook for a couple of minutes before adding red wine.
- Once the red wine is reduced add vegetable broth and let cook for 10 minutes. Ale’s method is to not constantly stir the risotto, but if you prefer to constantly stir, that is fine too. Add radicchio/onion mixture and let cook another 10 minutes. It should be al dente, not too hard, not too soft.
- At the end add butter and parmesan and stir vigorously until creamy.
- Garnish with chopped walnuts.
VEGETABLE BROTH
Ingredients
1 big pot of cold water
1 onion
1 carrot
1 celery
1 sage leaves
1 bay leaf
1 branch of rosemary
Method
- Bring to boil and let simmer for 1 hour. Add salt according to your taste.
- Drain liquid through a strainer so only the clear liquid remains.
BECHAMEL
Ingredients:
100 grams flour
100 grams butter
1 liter whole milk
Method:
- Melt the butter, add the flour and mix until it is smooth and starts to turn a dark yellow
- Add the hot milk and whisk.
- Adjust salt to taste and a pinch of nutmeg.
- Continue to whisk until you have a silky consistency.
PASTA RECIPES
PASTA DOUGH
Ingredients
100 grams 00 flour
100 grams semolina flour
2 eggs, (1 egg per 100 grams)
1 pinch of salt
A drizzle of olive oil
Method
- Mix all your ingredients and knead dough until you have a smooth silky texture.
- Cover with plastice and let it rest for at least 30 minutes before using.
HERB RICOTTO FILLING FOR RAVIOLI
Ingredients
300 grams of cow ricotta
Handfull of basil, thyme, and rosemary chopped
¼ cup grated parmisan
Zest of 1 lemon
Pinch of salt
Method
- Mix altogether and taste. I like a lot of basil and lemon zest, so you can add more if you like.
RICOTTA AND ASPARAGUS FILLING FOR RAVIOLI
Ingredients
300 grams ricotta
200 grams parmesan
500 grams asparagus
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon butter
Method
- Break off the end of the asparagus and cut off the tips to use as a garnish.
- Chop the rest of the asparagus in little pieces and cook in a pan with olive oil, salt and pepper, and a little water for 10 minutes, until soft.
- When asparagus has cooled, puree it in the pan and mix with ricotta, lemon zest and parmesan.
- Fill the ravioli with puree mixture
- Cook ravioli in salted boiling water for 5 minutes
- Transfer ravioli and asparagus tips to a pan with melted butter, and a cup of liquid left over from the pasta water. Cook until the liquid reduces and becomes creamy.
RAVIOLI WITH SQUASH, PINE NUT FILLING IN A BUTTER, SAGE SAUCE
Ingredients
400 grams of “violin” squash pealed and cubed
200 grams grated parmesan cheese
100 grams roasted pine nuts
big handful of sage leaves
100 grams butter
- Peel and dice squash
- Preheat oven to 200
- Put squash in bowl and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper
- Place squash on tray and bake in over 30-40 minutes until squash is soft
- Once cooked, add 1/2 of the sage leaves, 50 grams pine nuts, and parmesan
- Puree mixture until smooth and let cool.
- Fill ravioli with puree mixture
- Cook ravioli for 5 minutes in salted boiling water
- In the other pan, melt butter and cook remaining sage leaves
- Add ravioli and with some pasta water and finish cooking.
- Top with remaining pine nuts
TAGLIATELLE WITH SALSICCIA, ZUCCHINI AND CHERRY TOMOTOES
Ingredients
200 grams sausage
2 zucchini chopped in cubes
10 cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped onions
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
Method
- While you boil the tagliatelle, cook in a very hot pan the sausage, tomatoes, zucchini, salt and pepper
- When pasta is ready throw in in the pan with the sausage and add the rosemary.
TAGLIATELLE WITH ASPARAGUS AND PANCETTA PUREE AND STEAMED TIPS
1000 grams of asparagus
200 grams cubed pancetta
Handful of roasted pine nuts
Pasta dough (see recipe above)
Method:
- Prepare pasta dough and let rest for 30-40 minutes
- Cut tips off the asparagus and break the ends off.
- Roast pine nuts in a small pan and set aside
- In large pan, heat up olive oil and add the asparagus, (not the tips), pancetta, salt, pepper, and sauté until soft
- In the same pan puree the asparagus with hand wand until smooth
- Boil water and add asparagus tips. Make the tagliatelle pasta and add to salted water.
- When almost completely cooked drain pasta and keep 1 cup of pasta water
- Add the tagliatelle to the pan with asparagus puree, and add pasta water to make the sauce creamy
- Serve pasta and top with pine nuts
PESTO LASAGNA
Ingredients:
Pasta Dough, (see recipe above)
Pesto, (see recipe below)
Béchamel, (see recipe above)
Grated parmesan
2 boiled potatoes
Pre-boiled string beans
Method:
- Preheat oven to 200
- In baking pan, start with layer of béchamel and then layer of pasta dough
- Add layer of pesto, potatoes, and beans.
- Begin again with pasta, béchamel, pesto, potatoes and beans.
- Do as many layers as fits the pan.
- Finish with béchamel and grated parmesan.
- Cook for 30-35 minutes until the top is brown and crunchy.
BASIL PESTO
Ingredients
4 handfuls of basil
½ cup grated parmesan
½ cup grated pecorino Romano
¼ cup pine nuts
½ clove garlic
1 cup olive oil
Method
- In a food processor, start with basil, cheeses, garlic, and then drizzle in olive oil. At the end, add pine nuts.
- Chop until smooth. I like it chunky, so I chop it less. If you like it smoother and thinner, add some boiling pasta water.
The pesto can be frozen and used later.
POTATO GNOCCHI
Ingredients
1 1/2 kilos of the “red” pototoes. The older and dryer the better.
150 grams OO flour.
2 egg yolks
Method
- Bake potatoes at 200 celsius for 1 1/2 hours
- While the potatoes are still hot, remove the skin and mash in a “ricer”. Do NOT use a food processor.
- Mix the potatoes with egg yolks. Add flour a little at a time, but don’t overwork the dough like you do with pasta dough. The outside should be smooth and non-sticky, but the inside is somewhat moist
- Take portions of dough and roll to a thickness of a big stick.
- Cut in to individual gnocchi and roll over gnocchi paddle or the back of a fork to make grooves to hold the sauce.
- Put in boiling salted water. They are done when they float to the top.
If you want to freeze them for later, make a single layer on a floured tray and put in the freezer. Once they are frozen you can take them off the tray and put in zip lock bags.
DESERTS
TIRAMISU
Ingredients
6 eggs
1 cup espresso coffee cooled
400 grams of lady fingers
120 grams sugar
500 grams mascarpone
Cocoa powder
Method
- Separate all the egg yokes from egg whites
- Mix egg yokes with 1/2 the sugar with hand mixer until it is uniform and brighter
- In a different bowl whip egg whites until is becomes foamy and stiff, (5-6 minutes)
- Combine egg yokes with mascarpone.
- Fold in gently egg whites with the mascarpone
- Soak the lady fingers on just one side in the sugared coffee.
- To assemble start to layer with lady fingers, mascarpone and finish with a dusting of cocoa powder.
Since I am an American, I can help but add some of my American deserts!
AMY’S CHEESE CAKE
Ingredients
Crust:
2/3 of package of Digestivi cookies, (graham crackers), crushed.
100 grams melted butter. Could be more. There should be enough butter to make the crumbs stick together, but you don’t want it to be greasy.
Add melted butter to crushed cookies and spoon it in to pie shell.
Filling
2 containers of classic Philadelphia cream cheese, (250 grams each/8oz. each).
1 cup/226 grams sugar
1 container of sour cream, (pana acide), 200 grams/ ½ pint
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Method
- Mix the cream cheese with 1 cup sugar and spoon in to pie shell. Cook at 325F/162C for 20 minutes.
- Mix sour cream with 2 tablespoons sugar and vanilla. Take pie out of oven and put sour cream mixture on top. Increase temperture to 375F/190C and cook for another 10 minutes.
Refrigerate for 6 hours.
AMY’S BROWNIES
Ingredients
1 2/3 cups, (380 grams) soften unsalted butter
13 ounces,(370 grams) bittersweet chocolate
6 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour,(oo)
1 teaspoon salt
Pan the size of 13x9x2 1/2 inches, (35x25x7cm)
Method
- Preheat oven to 350F, (177C)
- Line the pan with parchment/wax paper
- Melt butter and chocolate together over low heat
- In a bowl beat the eggs, vanilla and sugar together
- Measure the flour and salt in another bowl
- When chocolate mixture has melted, let cool a bit before beating in the eggs, sugar, and then flour
- Combine until smooth and then add to lined pan
- Bake for 25 minutes. When it is ready, the top should be dried to a paler brown, but the middle should still be dark and dense.
- Let cool. I like a dusting of powdered sugar on top. Makes a maximum of 48
PANNA COTTA
Ingredients
500 ml fresh cream
100 grams powdered sugar
5 grams gelatin
1 vanilla bean, (optional)
Fruit of your choice. I usually use chopped strawberries and blueberries.
Juice of 1 lemon
Method
- Put the gelatin sheets in some cold water for a few minutes to soften.
- Gently heat the cream with sugar and gelatin and stop before boiling.
- In a separate pan, heat strawberries, blueberries, sprinkle of sugar and juice of 1 lemon. Cook for 5 minutes until soften and saucy.
- Refrigerate for 4-5 hours
- Cover with fruit sauce. You can use whatever topping you like from fruit to chocolate.