Fior di latte pepperoncino
INGREDIENTS
- ¼ cup chilli-infused olive oil
- 100 g pancetta, diced
- 1 T oak-smoked chilli flakes
- 2 slices ciabatta, broken into small cubes
- 4 balls fior di latte
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
Heat the oil in a pan. Add the pancetta and fry for 1 minute. Add the chilli flakes and bread and cook for 1 minute until golden. Spoon over the fior di latte and serve.
Pasta alla gricia
INGREDIENTS
- 500 g penne
- 140 g Parma ham, roughly chopped
- 3 T olive oil
- 2 T butter
- 80 g pecorino, grated
- pepper, to taste
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
1. Cook the pasta in unsalted water until al dente, then remove the pasta using a slotted spoon and set aside. Reduce the pasta water for 15 minutes.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and fry the Parma ham until golden and crispy. Add the butter and melt.
3. Once melted, add the pasta to the pan, then add 5 T pasta water and combine until the sauce is thick and emulsified. Stir in the pecorino, then season with pepper.
Spezzatino
INGREDIENTS
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 kg beef chuck
- 1 T flour
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 100 g pancetta, finely chopped
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 6 leaves sage
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 1 T capers
- a handful Italian parsley, chopped
- 2 x 70 g cans tomato paste
- 1 x 400 g can peeled and diced tomatoes
- ½ cup white wine
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based saucepan. Toss the beef in the flour and seasoning. Fry until golden brown, then remove from the pan.
2. Add the pancetta onion, carrots, celery and garlic and fry until golden brown. Add the sage, rosemary, capers, parsley, tomato paste and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Deglaze the pan with the wine, then simmer for 5 minutes. Return the beef to the pan, season and cook over a low heat for 3–4 hours, or until soft and tender. Serve with sautéed cavolo nero or kale leaves.
Canederli
INGREDIENTS
- ¾ cup milk
- 200 g stale bread, cut into small dice
- 1 T butter
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 100 g pancetta, diced
- 2 free-range eggs
- 200 g Emmenthal, grated
- 150 g flour
- 20 g Italian parsley, finely chopped
- a pinch ground nutmeg
- salt, to taste
- 3 cups beef stock, for serving
- pecorino, grated, for serving
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
1. Pour the milk over the bread. Melt the butter in a pan and cook the onion and pancetta. Add the onion mixture to the bread.
2. Add the eggs, cheese, flour and parsley, nutmeg and salt and mix well. Chill for 30 minutes, then divide into about 24 dumplings.
3. Cook in boiling, salted water for 10–15 minutes. Heat the stock, then spoon the dumplings into the stock and serve.
4. Traditionally, leftover stale bread is used to make these dumplings, which are delicious in a simple broth or even in an arrabiata sauce.
Cassoeula
INGREDIENTS
- 3 T olive oil
- 1 free-range lamb rack, (or 6 chops)
- 4 halved shallots
- 6 baby red onions, peeled
- 4 cloves garlic. crushed
- 2 sticks celery, cut into chunks
- 6 sage leaves
- 2 star anise
- 4 juniper berries
- 1 t lemon zest
- 10 slices salami, roughly chopped
- a handful Italian parsley, chopped
- ½ cup white wine
- 2 cups beef stock
- 2 cups water
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ head cabbage, roughly chopped
- 500 g pork bangers
- For the gremolata mix:
- 70 g 1 x pack, pitted green olives with a hint of chilli, chopped
- 2 anchovies, choped
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 3 T Italian parsley, finely choppd
- 1 t lemon zest
- 1 T lemon juice
- 1 T extra virgin olive oil
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and fry the lamb over a medium heat until golden brown. Remove and set aside.
2. In the same pan, fry the shallots, onions, garlic and celery until browned. Add the sage, star anise, juniper berries, lemon zest, salami and parsley and fry for a further 5 minutes.
3. Deglaze the pan with the wine, then cook for 5 minutes. Add the stock and water, season, then place in an ovenproof baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for 1ó hours.
4. Remove the foil and add the cabbage and pork bangers, then bake uncovered for a further 45 minutes–1 hour, or until the lamb is soft and the bangers fully cooked. Season and serve with the gremolata.
Italian wedding soup
INGREDIENTS
- 2 T olive oil
- 1 T butter
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 4 sticks celery, roughly chopped
- 2 carrots, roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 200 g rosmarino pasta
- 600 g free-range chicken frikkadels
- 100 g baby spinach
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Parmesan, for serving
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat the olive oil and butter on the sauté setting. Once melted, add the onion, celery, carrots, garlic and rosemary and sauté until browned.
2. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Boil for 10 minutes, then add the pressure cooker lid and pressure cook for 15 minutes.
3. Remove the lid and add the pasta and frikkadels. Simmer for 15–20 minutes. Add the baby spinach and allow to wilt. Season and serve with Parmesan.
Bistecca alla Fiorentina
INGREDIENTS
- For the Marsala crema:
- 2 T olive oil
- 1 T butter
- 2 shallots, finely sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 thyme sprigs
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ cup Marsala wine
- 1 cup beef stock
- 1½ cups cream
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- For the potato al forno:
- 6 potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 4 thyme sprigs
- 140 g Parma ham
- 1½ cups cream cups
- 50 g Parmesan, grated truffle salt, to taste
- green peppercorns, to taste
- 2 matured thick-cut T-bone steaks, at room temperature
- 2 T butter
- 1 T canola oil
- salt, to taste
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
1. To make the Marsala crema, heat the olive oil and butter in a saucepan, then fry the shallots, garlic, thyme and bay leaves for 10 minutes, or until soft.
2. Deglaze the pan with the Marsala, then reduce until syrupy. Add the beef stock and reduce for 5 minutes over a high heat.
3. Add the cream and cook until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Season to taste.
4. To make the potato al forno, layer the potatoes, garlic, thyme and Parma ham in an ovenproof dish, seasoning between each layer and adding the cream as you go. Top with Parmesan and bake at 180°C for 35–45 minutes, or until golden and crispy.
5. Rub the steaks with the butter and heat the canola oil in a pan until smoking hot. Pan-fry the steaks for 2–3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Season and finish off in the oven for 10 minutes. Allow to rest for 15 minutes before serving with the Marsala crema and potato al forno.