Tozzetti

In Umbria they call them tozzetti and in Tuscany cantucci and they are always the same delicious almonds biscotti in transparent bags with a golden bow we use to give for Christmas to friends and relatives.
They are fantastic as it is traditional in Tuscany and Umbria dipped in vin santo and also in the morning in the cappuccino.
In all modesty, after having tasted many different ones, there is no doubt that our tozzetti recipe is the best one!!
In Umbria li chiamano “tozzetti” e in Toscana “cantucci” ma sono sempre gli stessi squisiti biscotti alle mandorle che, ogni anno, almeno a casa nostra, si regalano a Natale agli amici in sacchetti trasparenti chiusi da un fiocco dorato.
Sono buonissimi intinti nel vin santo come da tradizione ma anche a colazione la mattina nel cappuccino.
Modestia a parte e dopo averne assaggiati moltissimi tipi possiamo affermare senza ombra di dubbio che la ricetta dei “nostri” tozzetti è in assoluto la migliore di tutte!


Ingredients:
500 gr flour
100 gr butter
400 gr sugar
3 eggs
2 yolks
16 gr (a sachet) of vanilla baking powder
300 gr almonds (better if unpeeled)

Ingredienti:
500 gr farina
100 gr burro
400 gr zucchero
3 uova intere
2 tuorli
16 gr lievito vanigliato per dolci
300 gr di mandorle (meglio se con la buccia)


Beat the butter, cut in pieces, with the sugar.
Sbattere il burro, prima tagliato a pezzetti, con lo zucchero.

When the mixture is creamy add the eggs one at a time,
Quando la miscela è cremosa, aggiungere le uova, uno alla volta,


then add the flour and the baking powder.
e infine la farina e il lievito vanigliato.



You can use a food processor or beat the ingredients, in a bowl, with a fork until thoroughly blended.
Puoi usare un robot da cucina o sbattere gli ingredienti in un recipiente.


When the dough is ready, add the almonds.
Quando l’impasto è pronto, aggiungere le mandorle intere.


Put the dough in the fridge for at least half an hour.
Mettere l’impasto in frigo per almeno mezz’ora.
Using the hands, pick up a piece of the dough and shape it into a long sausage shape.
Con le mani, prendere un pezzo di impasto e formare un rotolo.


Arrange it on the prepared baking pan, don’t put the shaped dough next to each other as it is going to grow a little.
Metterlo su una teglia da forno, non metterli non troppo vicini l’uno all’altro perché cresceranno durante la cottura.
Place in the oven (170° C) and bake for 20-30 minutes. They have to be light gold and not too hard.
Mettere in forno a 170 e cuocere per 20-30 minuti. Devono essere dorati ma non duri.
Remove from the pan and let cool for 5 minutes.
Togliere dalla teglia e far freddare per 5 minuti.
Then cut them in slices and put them back in the baking pan for further 5 minutes.
Tagliarli a fettine e rimetterli in forno per altri 5 minuti.


Let them cool before storing.
Farli freddare prima di metterli in una scatola o in bustine.
They are perfect dipped in a glass of vin santo!
Sono perfetti intinti in un bicchiere di vinsanto!

Fave dei morti

Ingredients:
200 g peeled almonds (or almond flour)
100 g flour 00
250 g sugar
2 tbs cinnamon (in powder) or vanilla extract
grated zest of ½ lemon
2 egg whites

Grind the almonds with a tbs of sugar.
Add the remaining sugar and all the other ingredients.

You will obtain a kind of crumble.

Make little balls with the dough, and flatten them with the fingers to obtain the shape of a fava bean (broad bean).



Put the cookies on a baking pan (covered with greaseproof paper) being careful to leave some spaces among them as they will grow during the baking.



Cook (160°C) for around 20 minutes. They will not have to become golden or brown, they will have to keep a light colour.

Here we are back from London!!!

Our trip in London was characterized by food tasting ......




















At my syster’s ....... we prepared ravioli and maltagliati with our lovely nephews......




























We were fond of tasting dishes from all over the world……Here mamma and Cris are eating beef-bool-go-gi at a Korean restaurant,







spicy pork and chicken teriyaki at Wasabi (Japanese restaurant) and…..



…..best of all….our sister’s cheese cake.. the best we ever tasted!!!!!

ROLLED MEAT

Ingredients for 6 persons:


800 gr meat slices (veal or chicken breast)
150 gr prosciutto crudo
150 gr cheese slices
½ glass white wine
1 small onion or garlic
3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon white flour
sage
salt
pepper
chive or toothpicks to tie the meat rolls up

Lay the meat slices on a board and place on them a slice of prosciutto and a slice of cheese and a leave of sage, salt and pepper.


Roll the meat slices up and tie them up with the chive or toothpicks and coat them with the flour.



Put the oil into a pan, then sauté the onion or garlic lightly, add the meat rolls and brown them on both sides.


Add the wine. When the meat is ready, put them onto a serving dish together with their sauce.
Serve hot.

Eggplants Pizza

As usual, in August our vegetable garden is full of eggplants. Pietro grew 3 different varieties: the elongated dark purple, the round dark purple and the white ones.
We are eating eggplants almost every day.. it’s ok, because we really love them and I like to prepare them with different recipes…

So, here you will find a very easy and tasteful recipe, that mamma loves because it’s like pizza!!


Ingredients for 4 persons
• 4 medium eggplants (the round ones of any colour!)
• 2 mozzarelle
• 8 tomatoes (fresh tomatoes not too watery, like san Marzano or Pachino). If you don’t have fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes will be ok (chose the peeled tomatoes and not the sauce)
• anchovies fillets (in oil or salt – in the second case, remember to rinse them well before using and don’t add too much salt to the tomatoes!)
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• basil or oregano - at your choice!


Preparation
• Cut the eggplants in slices (1/2 cm).
• Put them in a baking tin lightly basted with olive oil.
• Season with salt, ad the mozzarella cut in slices (if the mozzarella seems watery, cut it in dices and put in a colander to loose the water for 10 minutes before using).
• Cut the fresh tomatoes (or the canned ones) in dices (it the tomatoes – fresh or canned - seem watery, cut them in dices and put in a colander to loose the water for 10 minutes before using).


• Season with salt (don’t use too much salt!), add a fillet of anchovy and some oregano or 1 leaf of basil.
• Put the baking tin in the preheated oven (180°) till the mozzarella will be melted. You will need 20? Or more, depending on the quality of the eggplants (the white one , for example, get cooked in less time than the dark purple ones).
• Serve hot!! (they will be wonderful also cold….the next day… if any of them will be left over….

Now, taste them and let me know if they really taste almost as a pizza!!!!

P.S. if you use small eggplants or the long ones cut widthways (so that they can be eaten in one bite) they will be perfect for a buffet lunch/dinner!

Risotto con asparagi

Ingredients for 4 persons
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped or 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 300 risotto rice (eg carnaroli or arborio or vialone nano)
- half glass of white dry wine
- 600 ml hot vegetable or meat stock (more or less, depending from the quality of the rice)
- 400 g of asparagus
- 40 g butter
- 100 g parmigiano, grated
- salt and black pepper




Prepare the asparagus, washing and peeling them, cut away 3 cm (depending on the size of the asparagus) of the hard white stalk at the bottom. Cut off about 5 cm of the tips and set them aside for garnish - as they are very tender, they will need less cooking!, then chop the remaining asparagus as shown in the picture.

Boil the asparagus stalks with the trimmings in the water for 8-10 minutes, depending on the thickness. When they are half cooked, add the tips. When they are fully cooked, strain the stock and keep it simmering. Separate out the asparagus tips and stalks and trimmings. Set the tips aside for garnish, and chop the stalks finely. Discard the trimmings.

Heat the oil in a sauté pan or heavy-based casserole over a medium heat and add the chopped garlic or the onion and the chopped asparagus (except the tips) and gently cook them for 4-5 minutes, then add the tips, cook for further 3 minutes, until softened but not coloured. Take the vegetables apart.

In the same olive oil, add the rice and sautè for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until coated in the oil. The rice will be ready when it will become translucent.

Add half glass of hot white wine and simmer until absorbed by the rice. Remember not to add the stock before the wine has completely evaporated! Otherwise you will taste in your risotto an unpleasant flavour of alcohol.

Add the hot stock at little amounts at a time, stirring gently the rice until the stock is completely absorbed: after 10-14 minutes (depending n the quality of the rice) the risotto will be cooked. “ minutes before the rice will be cooked, add the asparagus and garlic or onion. Season it with salt.

When the rice will be ready , the rice must be tender but still firm (al dente) remove from the heat, add the butter and the parmesan, stir well, cover it and let it rest for 2-3 minutes till it will be “mantecato”.

To serve, divide the risotto in 4 dishes, garnish with fresh grounded black pepper and with the asparagus tips.