Vicenza's Codfish

This Italian main course is traditional of Vicenza, a city located in the northern part of Italy, 80 km far way from Venice. This Italian recipe has a long tradition that starts around 1400 when a Venetian expedition got lost in one of the Norwegian island. Here they discover how the Norwegian preserve the codfish in a dry way. So when they got back to Vicenza they brought with them some of this fish and they start to prepare it in a delicious main course that was called “Baccalla alla Vicentina” that means “ Vicenza’s Codfish”. This Italian recipe was prepared originally with the dry codfish (that in Italy we called stoccafisso) but you can prepare it also with the salted codfish. If you buy the salted codfish, you cannot use it immediately but you have to dip it in water for at least 2 days changing the water at least 2 – 3 times per day. After this preparation you can start with the preparation of this delicious Italian recipes. If you don’ have enough time you can buy also the codfish already de-salted. Beyond the codfish the other main ingredient of this recipe is onion and milk. This Italian main course is often prepared for Christmas lunch because it can be a all in one course that you can serve with Polenta. Here I described the recipe of Vicenza’s Codfish served with Potatoes as an alternative to Polenta but the one with Polenta is also very very delicious you should try both.

INGREDIENTS (for 6 – 8 people):
1200 g or 42 oz of Codfish
2 Big White Onion
80 g or 1 cup of Parmesan
50 g or 1 ,7 oz of Parsley
6 Anchovies
100 g or 1 cup of Flour
500 ml or 2 cups of Milk
300 ml or 1-1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Black pepper

PREPARATION TIME: 20 minutes

COOKING TIME: 3 – 4 hours

WINE: Chardonnay delle Venezia (White Wine)

PREPARATION
If you bought the salted codfish remember that you have to start 2 days before because you have to dip the codfish in water and change it 2 – 3 times per day in order to remove all the excess of salt.



Chop the onions and saute’ them in a lot of extra virgin olive oil together with the anchovies in pieces.



When the onions are cooked add the parsley.



If the codfish still has the skin remove it and then cut it big square pieces and flour them.



Now in a large pan put a little bit of the browned onion,



the pieces of codfish and the parmesan then start again with the rest of the onion, codfish and parmesan.



Sprinkle with black pepper and don’t add salt because the codfish is already enough salted. When the pan is full cover the codfish with the milk and the rest of extra virgin olive oil.



Now start the cooking on a low flame for 3 – 4 hours covered. Remove the lip at the end of the cooking. Serve the codfish with warm polenta or potatoes.
BUON APPETITO!

Bucatini all'Amatriciana

Bucatini all’amatriciana is a traditional Italian first course. The name amatriciana comes from a town, Amatrice, located at 955m on the sea level in the province of Rieti in the northern part of Lazio that is famous for Spaghetti all’amatriciana. Indeed when you enter in the town below the name Amatrice there is also the notice “citta’ degli spaghetti all’amatriciana” (“town of spaghetti all’amatriciana"). The original Italian recipe was made with spaghetti, Guanciale (lard from the pig’s cheek), extra virgin olive oil, Pecorino cheese and red chilli without tomatoes. The shepherds were used to prepare this simple and delicious recipe that was considered a recipe for poor people. During the 19thcentury the recipe becomes famous in Rome and for this reason now the recipe of "spaghetti all’amatriciana" is considered a traditional Italian recipe of the Roman cuisine. In Rome the recipe was subjected to some changes; firstable spaghetti were changed with bucatini, that are thick spaghetti with a hole running through the centre, and then there was the addition of tomatoes to the sauce, better if fresh tomatoes type Samarzano. There are several variants of the recipe, indeed instead of Guanciale sometimes people use pancetta (bacon) but in this case the taste it will be different and I would prefer to use Guanciale because its taste is more delicate and sweet. Another variant is the addition to the sauce of onion that is used at the beginning of the preparation when you add to the hot extra virgin olive oil guanciale and in this case also onion. The presence of onion will give to the sauce a more acidic taste. Sometimes you can find written "Bucatini all'amatriciana" or "Bucatini alla matriciana", this is two way to indicate the same Italian food. Here I will show the traditional preparation of Bucatini all’amatriciana with guanciale, extravirgin olive oil, red chilli, pecorino Romano cheese and tomatoes. Buon appetito!

INGREDENTS (for 4 people):
400 g (0,88 lb) Bucatini
2 Tablespoons of Extra virgin olive oil
150 g (5 oz) of Guanciale of pork (lard from the pig’s cheek) or Pancetta (bacon)
1 Red chilli
400 g (14 oz) (8-9 large tomatoes) Fresh tomatoes type Samarzano
100 g (4 oz) Pecorino Romano cheese of medium aged
Salt for seasoning
PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes

COOKING TIME: 40 minutes

WINE: Rosatello Cerveteri (Red Wine)

PREPARATION
Start with the preparation of the ingredients you need for the sauce. Cut in strips the guanciale and mince the red chilli. Prepare the fresh tomatoes type Samarzano, peel them and cut in little pieces.



When everything is ready start with the cooking: preheat the extra virgin olive oil, when the oil is hot add the strips of guanciale and the minced red chilli, cook them until the fat part of guanciale becomes transparent.



At this point add the white wine and let it evaporate. Now add the tomatoes, mix everything together and let cook for about 25-30 minutes.





When the sauce is almost ready let salted water boil for bucatini, let them cook for 8-9 minutes.



Grate the pecorino Romano cheese. Before to stop the cooking of bucatini, try them and drain them when they are still firm. Put bucatini in the pan with the sauce and let them sauté just few minutes.



Serve warm and sprinkle with pecorino Romano cheese grated.



BUON APPETITO!

Spatzle with Speck and Cream

This is the traditional Italian recipe for spatzle, a delicious first course diffuses in the northern part of Italy in particular in Val D’Aosta and Trentino Alto Adige. Spatzle are similar to gnocchetti with small dimension and irregular shape, they are easy to prepare and the recipe presented below is simple made with flour and milk in order to obtain a soften dough. To prepare this type of spatzle you should be use a sort of grater with big holes on the surface and a mobile container where the dough is poured; this container moves back and forth so when you pour on in the dough you can cut it.The type of seasoning that I use here its one of the most traditional used for spatzle, it is a white seasoning made with speck and cream but you can serve them also with tomato sauce or any type of seasoning that you like. Spatzle can be made also with flour, eggs and water or instead of water you can use beer. The dough of spatzle can be soften, like this shown here, or can also be firmer, in this case you might knead the dough with the hand and cut it in small pieces. Spatzle can be white like this but if you want with the addition of spinach in the dough you obtain green delicious spatzle.

INGREDIENTS (for 4 people):
380 g of Flour
2 Glasses of milk
200 ml of Cream
2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
50 g of Speck cut in small cubes

PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes

COOKING TIME: 10 minutes

WINE: Alto Adige Lagrein Dunkel (Red Wine)

INSTRUMENTS: grater for spatzle

PREPARATION
Let salted water boil for spatzle. Place the flour and the milk in a bowl


and mix all together in order to obtain a soften dough without lumps, like this shown in the picture below.


Then prepare the seasoning: place in a pan the extra virgin olive oil and the cubes of speck and let them brown;

add the cream and let the sauce cook for about 5 – 10 minutes in order to reduce it.

When the water boils place the grater on the surface of the pan,



pour slowly in its container the dough of spatzle and move the container back and forth in order to cut the dough in small irregular gnocchi with drops shape.



The spatzle are ready when they rise to the surface and this takes about 3 – 4 minutes.


Drain them and pour on them the sauce of speck and cream.

Serve hot!
This is the result:

BUON APPETITO!

Canederli with Speck

Canederli is a traditional Italian recipe of Trentino in the northern part of Italy. They are similar to gnocchi made with stale bread, they are usually prepared in the autumnal and winter period and their traditional recipe is of farmer origin. Exist many kinds of canederli: all they are made with stale bread with the addition of other ingredients like canederli with speck, canederli with cheese, canederli with spinach, canederli with mushrooms and many others. There are also sweet canederli that you can serve as dessert and these are usually made with stuffed of fruit. Here I show the recipes of canederli with speck: the best type of bread to use for make canederli is the michetta but if you don’t have it you can use also other type of stale bread; the best type of speck is the speck of Trentino, and for make broth of meat I use the rump of beef. This type of canederli can be served with broth as shown in the recipe below or also with butter and sage. In both way you can obtain a delicious Italian dish. Try it and let me know if you like it!


INGREDIENTS (for 6 – 8 people):
600 g of bread (michetta or stale bread)
2 Eggs
80 g of Flour
200 g of Speck
500 ml of Milk
1 Small Onion
3 Tablespoons of Extra virgin olive oil
4 Tablespoons of parsley chopped
Nutmeg
Salt
Black pepper
FOR THE BROTH:
500 g of Rump of beef
1 Potato
1 Carrot
1 Celery
1 onion
1 L and 500 ml of Water

PREPARATION TIME: 2 hours

COOKING TIME: 15 minutes

WINE: Alto Adige Santa Maddalena Doc (Red Wine)

PREPARATION
Start with the preparation of broth of meat: peel and clean the carrot, the potato, the onion and the celery, place them in a pan with the meat and 1 liter and 500 ml of water and let them boil for about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Then prepare the canederli: cut the bread in small squared pieces.



Place them in a large bowl, add the egg, the milk, salt, and black pepper, mix all together and let the mixture stand for about 1 hour so the bread soak itself of milk.

In the meantime you can start to prepare the speck. Cut it in small pieces,


chop the onion and place it in a pan with the extra virgin olive oil, let the onion brown

and then add the speck and cook for about 5 minutes.

Let the mixture of speck cool. When the mixture of speck is cool add it to the bread with the parsley, the flour and nutmeg. Mix all together and let the mixture stand for other 30 minutes.



Bring salted water boil for canederli. After 30 minutes make canederli: you have to do ball of mixture of medium size.


When canederli are ready, start add 1 of them in the water and pay attention that it remain entire; if the canederlo breaks add some flour. Add all the canederli to the water and cook them for about 15 minutes.

Drain them one by one with the help of the skimmer. Place 4 canederli in a platter and add 2 ladles of broth. Serve hot.
This is the result:

BUON APPETITO!

How to Make Spaghetti alle Vongole

This is a traditional first course that my family usually cooked in the occasion of Christmas Eve and that is typical of Campania (in the southern part of Italy). It is a delicious dish that can be prepared with or without fresh tomatoes. This video describes the recipe with tomatoes that is what I prefer. You can prepare the sauce with tomatoes sauce or better with fresh tomatoes as shown in the video. The better type of clams to use are the genuine clams. Spaghetti are the ideal type of pasta for this Italian recipes and for cook them never use oil in the water. The use of parsley gives a spicy taste to the dish! Buon Appetito!

VideoJug: How To Make Spaghetti Vongole

Veal Cutlet Milanese

I've just presented the delicious recipe of Cotoletta alla Milanese and I think that this video is a good guide to follow if you want to prepare this traditional Italian second course. There is only a difference that is the mode to fry, one with extra virgin olive oil and the other with clarified butter, both are used to cook this dish. BUON APPETITO!

VideoJug: How To Make Veal Cutlet Milanese

Pesto Sauce

This is an interesting video in which it is well explain the traditional Genoese recipe to make pesto of basil. In this video the chef use the pestle and the mortar that are the traditional instruments that permit to make a better pesto sauce. If you have little time you can also use the mixer to prepare it. You can use the pesto sauce to season homemade bavette pasta or spaghetti. BUON APPETITO!

VideoJug: How To Make Pesto Sauce

Chiacchiere

Chiacchiere, Carnival fried pastry, are typical dessert prepared in Italy in the occasion of Carnival. In each region of Italy they have different names: Cenci in Tuscany, Crostoli in Venice, Bugie in Genoa, Frappe in Emilia and Chiacchiere in Lombardy. You can prepare them following different kind of recipes, that presented below is very simple and delicious!








INGREDIENTS (for 6 people):
300 g of Flour
30 g of Butter
90 ml of Cream
50 g of Sugar
2 Eggs
60 ml of Dry white wine
Icing sugar
Extra virgin olive oil to fry (200 ml)
Flour for worktop

PREPARATION TIME: 1 hour and 10 minutes

COOKING TIME: 30 minutes

WINE: Moscato d’Asti (White Wine)

PREPARATION
Mix in a bowl the flour, the sugar, the butter and the eggs.

Then add the cream and the wine.

Mix all together in order to obtain homogeneous dough and let it stand for about 1 hour.

Now place a bit of flour over a worktop and with the help of a rolling pin roll out the dough in a pastry very thin.

Cut the pastry in rectangles and then make 2 incisions in the middle of them.


Preheat the extra virgin olive oil in a pan and fry in it the chiacchiere until they become golden.

Place the chiacchiere on a blotting paper in order to remove the oil in excess. Then place them in a platter and sprinkle with the icing sugar.
This is the result:

BUON APPETITO!