With summer well under way in Italy (and not just in Italy), weekends offer a perfect opportunity to cook and invite friends or family for a special dinner or lunch.
Our proposed menu:
· Veal with light anchovy and caper dressing - Vitello ad uso pesce-tonno
· Pea Flan - Flan di Piselli
· Lemon Mint flavored Semifreddo - Semifreddo di Ricotta
Veal with dressing of anchovy & Capers
Ingredients:
800 grams Veal rump; 1 1 Lemon; 2 Anchovy fillets or anchovies in oil; 1 Tablespoon Capers; 3 Garlic cloves; 2 Tablespoons Breadcrumbs; 1 Bunch Parsley; 2 Bay leaves
1 Glass White wine vinegar; to taste salt
To prepare the dry chopped meat for the veal, finely chop the anchovies, capers, and half a clove of garlic. Mix these in a bowl with breadcrumbs and the juice of half a lemon, crushing everything together. Clean an 800g veal rump by removing the skin and fat, then pound it and season it well with salt. Place lemon zest on top, roll it up, and tie it with a string. In a saucepan, combine the meat with 1 litre of cold water, vinegar, peeled garlic, bay leaf, and lemon zest. Cook on low heat for two hours, then let cool in the broth. Before serving, mix grated lemon zest and parsley into the anchovy mixture. Slice the meat and sprinkle it with the mixture. Enjoy!
The Pea flan is a delicate and delicious appetiser that highlights the unique flavours of spring vegetables. To complement these elegant single servings, we have paired them with a sweet Gorgonzola fondue. Don't forget the crunchy toasted bread wafers, which are perfect for enjoying the pea flan—no fork required!
Ingredients:
Peas (shelled) 1 kg; Fresh liquid cream 125 g; Medium eggs 2; Pecorino Romano DOP (grated) 80 g; Shallot 1. Extra virgin olive oil to taste; Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste; Mint, 4 leaves. For the bread crunch: 12 slices of baguette; extra-virgin olive oil to taste; fine salt to taste; black pepper to taste. For the Sauce: Sweet Gorgonzola 100 g Galbani; Fresh liquid cream 50 g.
To prepare the pea flan, shell around 350 g of peas and set aside the mint leaves and stalks. Sauté chopped shallot with the mint stalks in a bit of oil, then remove the stalks. Add peas and a small amount of water, then cook for about 20 minutes before draining and cooling. Blend the peas with fresh cream, beaten eggs, grated Pecorino Romano, mint leaves, salt, and pepper until smooth. Brush six 100g capacity moulds with oil and pour in 90g of the mixture each, leaving a bit of space. Place the moulds on a tray with water and bake at 180°C for 40-45 minutes. While they bake, toast 12 slices of baguette brushed with oil, salt, and pepper in a preheated oven at 200°C for 5-10 minutes. For the fondue, gently melt the Gorgonzola in cream. Once the flans are done, run a knife around the edges to release them, invert onto plates, garnish with fondue, and serve with toasted bread. Enjoy!
Ricotta parfait with mint and lemon flavour
A light dessert, refreshing and light. The ricotta semifreddo with mint and lemon is a dessert with a refined taste, perfect for the most demanding palates.
Ingredients:
4 Lemons; 3 Eggs; 250 Grams Sugar; 3 Decilitres Fresh Cream; 10 Grams Gelatine in sheets; q.b. 1 Salt; 350 Grams Piedmontese Ricotta- seirass (or other cow milk-based ricotta); 12 Mint Leaves
Preparation:
Zest two lemons and blanch the zest three times in boiling water. Soak gelatine in cold water and separate egg yolks from whites. In a bowl, beat the yolks with 50g of sugar and the zest until light and frothy. Heat some cream, add drained gelatine, and stir until dissolved. Pass the ricotta through a sieve, then mix in the lemon juice, dissolved gelatine, and yolk mixture. Whip remaining cream and egg whites with a pinch of salt and 100g sugar until firm. Gently fold whipped cream and egg whites into the yolk mixture. Pour into three 6-dl moulds lined with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 8 hours.