Fritters with Apples - Dessert

Italian Food.

This is another traditional Italian recipe that is typical prepared in occasion of Carnival: it is easy to realize and as main ingredients you need only flour, sugar, eggs and the type of apples called Renetta or Stark that are sweet and floury. This fritters are delicious and prepared in all region of Italy in particular in Venezia where there are two different recipes of fritters of apple: one is this presented below, another one is that in which apples is cut as washers, covered with a liquid batter and fry. They are both delicious!

INGREDIENTS (for 4 – 6 people):
400 g of Flour
5 Tablespoons of Sugar
Spout
1 Grated lemon peel
16 g of Yeast for sweet
2 Eggs
300 ml of Water
5 Apples
Icing sugar
Extra virgin olive oil for fry

PREPARATION TIME: 1hour and 15 minutes

COOKING TIME: 20 minutes

WINE: Malvasia

PREPARATION
Mix in a bowl the flour, the sugar, the grated lemon peel, some spout and the yeast
Fritters with Apples
then add the eggs and the water
Fritters with Apples
and knead with a tablespoon in order to obtain a batter not much liquid now let the batter stand for 1 hour.
Fritters with Apples
After this time clean, peel and cut in cubes the apples, add them to the batter and mix.
Fritters with Apples
Preheat the extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan, place in it with a tablespoon some batter and fry it.
Fritters with Apples
When the fritters become golden remove them from the oil
Fritters with Apples
and place them over a sheet of kitchen paper to remove the excess of oil. Sprinkle the fritters with some icing sugar and serve them.
This is the result:
Fritters with Apples

BUON APPETITO!

Carrots with Cream - Antipasto

Italian Food.

The main ingredients used to prepare this delicious Italian appetizer are carrots, cream and speck that are ingredients with opposite taste: the sweet taste of carrots and the spicy taste of speck join by the cream. The best way to cook carrots with cream is on a low flame so the different flavours mix each other, this Italian appetizer can be accompanied with a dry white wine like Grechetto dell’Umbria that is ideal with the sweet taste of this appetizer.

INGREDIENTS (for 4 people):
500 g of Carrots
125 ml of Cream
40 g of Speck in cubes
40 g of Butter
Salt
Black pepper

PREPARATION TIME: 10 minutes

COOKING TIME: 25 – 30 minutes

WINE: Grechetto dell’ Umbria (White Wine)

PREPARATION
Clean, peel and cut the carrots in slices. Let the butter melt in a pan, add the carrots and let them brown on a low flame for about 10 minutes
Carrots with Cream
then add the speck, sprinkle with salt and black pepper,
Carrots with Cream
add the cream
Carrots with Cream
and continue to cook for other 10 – 15 minutes until the carrots become tender.
Carrots with Cream
Serve hot. This is the result:

Carrots with Cream

BUON APPETITO!

Tomato Risotto - Primo

Italian Food.

It is a simple risotto prepared with fresh tomatoes cut in cubes and seasoned with some dry or fresh basil. When you want to cook something with rice easy but delicious this is the ideal Italian recipe. The best result is obtain if you prepare this risotto using: a vegetables broth obtained boiling the vegetables in salted water, sweet cherry tomatoes or san marzano tomatoes typically used to prepare tomato sauce and the type of rice called Arborio that is ideal for excellent risotto.

INGREDIENTS (for 4 people):
320 g of Rice Arborio
1 Onion
1 Carrot
1 Celery
1 Potato
150 g of Tomatoes in cubes
Some basil
3 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Some Parmesan

PREPARATION TIME: 20 minutes

COOKING TIME: 20 minutes

WINE: Barbera Doc (Red Wine)

PREPARATION
Start with preparing the broth: place in a pan the water, the big pieces of half onion, the celery, the carrot, the potato, salt and let the water boils for about 10 minutes.
Tomato Risotto
Now prepare the risotto: cut in slices the other half of onion, place them in a pan with the extra virgin olive oil and let them golden for 5 minutes
Tomato Risotto
then add the tomato and cook for other 5 minutes.
Tomato Risotto
Place in the pan the rice and let it roast for 3 – 4 minutes,
Tomato Risotto
add the white wine and when it is evaporated begin to add one ladle of hot broth stirring until it is absorbed;
Tomato Risotto
continue in this way, adding ladles of hot broth, for about 15 - 18 minutes. During the preparation of risotto continue to let boil the broth. When the rice result slightly firm to the teeth means that it is ready, serve hot sprinkled with some Parmesan.
This is the result:
Tomato Risotto

BUON APPETITO!

Patty-cake of Zucchini - Secondo

Italian Food.

This patty-cake of zucchini is prepared according to the Tuscan cooking: the main ingredients used are eggs, zucchini, Parmesan and the Tuscan Pecorino that is a delicious cheese of medium seasoning with a spicy taste, for these characteristics the Tuscan Pecorino is ideal together with the sweet taste of zucchini. For a good preparation of this Italian recipes it is important the cooking of zucchini: the zucchini should be result a bit dry in order to obtain a more homogenous mixture when you add the eggs, the Italian cheese and the breadcrumbs. This Italian recipe can be served as a vegetarian second course or also in small pieces as a spicy appetizer.

INGREDIENTS (for 6 – 8 people):
1 Kg of Zucchini
3 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Some basil
Some parsley
1 Clove of garlic
4 Eggs
40 g of Tuscan Pecorino
40 g of Parmesan
4 Tablespoons of breadcrumbs
20 g of Butter
Salt
Black pepper

PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes

COOKING TIME: 30 – 40 minutes

WINE: Colli di Conegliano Bianco Doc (White Wine)

PREPARATION
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Preheat the extra virgin olive oil in a pan, clean the zucchini, cut them in slices and add them to the pan together with the chopped parsley, the clove of garlic and the chopped basil;
Pie of Zucchini
cook for about 5 minutes then sprinkle with salt and black pepper and continue to cook on a low flame covered for other 5 – 10 minutes.
Pie of Zucchini
When the zucchini are ready place them in a bowl and let them cold in the mean time place a sheet of baking paper on the bottom of a baking pan of 20 – 24 cm of diameter. When the zucchini are cold add the Parmesan, the Tuscan Pecorino,

Pie of Zucchini
the eggs and the breadcrumbs,
Pie of Zucchini
mix all together and pour the mixture in the pan.

Pie of Zucchini
Sprinkle with some other breadcrumbs and small pieces of butter.

Pie of Zucchini
Bake until the surface becomes golden.
This is the result:
Pie of Zucchini

BUON APPETITO!

Lamb in Fricassee - Secondo

Italian Food.

The lamb is the main ingredient of the Italian recipes of the Easter lunch indeed each region in Italy has its own traditional recipe: here I show you the traditional Italian recipe with which lamb is prepared in Liguria, in this delicious recipe the lamb is accompanied with the artichokes and the eggs. It is an easy recipe to prepare: the lamb is firstly brown in a pan with extra virgin olive oil then you add the artichokes and cook for about 30 minutes, when the cooking is end pour on the lamb and the artichokes a mixture of eggs and juice lemon with some parsley and marjoram, the result is excellent and in this way the meat lamb remains tender!

INGREDIENTS (for 4 – 6 people):
1 Kg of Lamb cut in pieces
6 Artichokes
3 Lemons
2 Eggs
1 / 2 Glass of White Wine
1 Clove of garlic
5 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Black Pepper
Parsley
Marjoram

PREPARATION TIME: 30 minutes

COOKING TIME: 30 – 40 minutes

WINE: Rossese di Dolceacqua (Red Wine)

PREPARATION
Clean the artichokes, remove the hardest external leafs, the stalk and the head. Cut them in half remove the internal spiny part and cut each half in three parts and place them in a bowl with water and some lemon juice in order to not blacken the artichokes. Preheat the extra virgin olive oil in a pan, place in it the garlic,

Lamb in Fricassee
let them brown and then remove them. Place in the oil the pieces of lamb and let them brown,
Lamb in Fricassee
sprinkle with salt and black pepper, add the white wine and let it evaporated. Now drain the artichokes, add them to the lamb and cook for about 30 minutes
Lamb in Fricassee
adding some water if necessary during the cooking. At the end of the cooking place in a bowl the juice of 2 lemons with their grated peel; add the eggs, some parsley and salt
Lamb in Fricassee
and mix all together. When the lamb is cooked remove the pan from the flame and add the mixture of egg and lemon, mix and serve hot.
Lamb in Fricassee
This is the result:
Lamb in Fricassee

BUON APPETITO!

Lamb with Potatoes - Secondo

Italian Food.

Lamb is the main ingredient of the Easter lunch, as I said in a previous recipe, so here I describe the typical recipe that is prepared in occasion of Easter in Tuscany. This recipe is simple and fast to prepare: you need the leg of lamb, better if it is boned, some rosemary and garlic that give a spicy taste to this delicious Italian second course and potatoes. It is sufficient that you place the entire ingredient in a baking pan then bake it for about 50 minutes and the lamb is ready. In this way you can also prepare another main ingredient of the Easter lunch that is kid.

INGREDIENTS (for 6 – 8 people):
2 Leg of Lamb (boned)
2 Cloves of Garlic
Rosemary
30 g of Pork underbelly cut in pieces
6 – 7 Potatoes
Salt
Black Pepper

PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes

COOKING TIME: 1 hour

WINE: Colli Berici Tocai Rosso Doc (Red Wine)

PREPARATION
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Clean and peel the potatoes, cut them in squared pieces, then prepare the legs of lamb: cut in slices and in pieces the pork underbelly, the garlic and the rosemary, place the leg of lamb on a cutting board, make some incisions on its surface and put in them the pieces of porn underbelly, garlic and rosemary.
Lamb with Potatoes
Sprinkle the lamb with salt and black pepper, then place it in a baking pan and place around it the potatoes, sprinkle also them with salt and pepper and bake for about 50 minutes.
Lamb with Potatoes
Serve hot. This is the result:
Lamb with Potatoes

BUON APPETITO!

Artichokes and Parmesan - Secondo

Italian Food.

INGREDIENTS (for 4 people):
4 Artichokes
40 g of Parsley chopped
40 g of Parmesan in flakes
20 g of Breadcrumbs
1 Clove of garlic
1 Lemon
4 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Black Pepper

PREPARATION TIME: 10 minutes

COOKING TIME: 20 – 30 minutes

WINE: Garda Chardonnay (White Wine)

PREPARATION
Start cleaning the artichokes, remove the spines and the hard external leafs, remove from the stalks the hard part and cut the stalks and the artichokes in slices and place them in a bowl with water and lemon in order to not blacken them. When all the artichokes are ready, preheat the extra virgin olive oil in a pan, add the garlic and let it brown then remove it and add the artichokes.
Artichokes and Parmesan
Sprinkle with salt and black pepper, let them cook for about 5 minutes and add the chopped parsley.
Artichokes and Parmesan
Continue to cook for about 15 – 20 minutes and some minutes before the end of the cooking sprinkle over them some breadcrumbs and the Parmesan in flakes,
Artichokes and Parmesan
let them melt and serve hot.
This is the result:
Artichokes and Parmesan

BUON APPETITO!