Category: recipes of Italian cuisine

what to eat when you are in pieces. Expert advice – Italian Cuisine

Avocado, chocolate, salmon and many other foods are rich in super nutrients that recharge energy and help fight tiredness. The nutritionist explains it

Feeling weak and tired, who did not happen? There fatigue it is a malaise that can appear at different times of the day. For example, in the morning, you may find it hard to get out of bed or during the morning, afternoon or evening to run out of energy and feel suddenly sluggish and tired. To recover the necessary strength and feel motivated and super-snappy feeding can help. In fact, some foods, rich in minerals, vitamins and other precious nutrients, help to counteract the sense of fatigue and find the sprint again. Let's see what they are with the help of the Dr. Nicoletta Bocchino, nutritionist biologist.

To counteract exhaustion

In the most demanding times from the physical and mental point of view at the table, foods that are a good source of food should never be lacking magnesium and potassium, two precious minerals to combat tiredness. "Promote the proper functioning of the nervous system and psychophysical well-being and help you feel less tired. They are good sources, for example, whole grains, seasonal vegetables and fruit, nuts and oil seedsSuggests the nutritionist. To combat the sense of exhaustion it can be useful, then, to focus on foods rich in tryptophan. "This amino acid is used to form serotonin, the hormone that regulates mood and helps to feel more motivated and snappy. They are excellent sources legumes, green leafy vegetables, eggs for example, says the expert.

To regain strength and overcome fatigue

"To promote psychophysical recovery and counteract fatigue at the table, however, go avoided the gravies, sauces and overly processed foods. In addition to weighing on digestion and on the line, they promote a sense of tiredness, "warns the expert. The consumption of foods and beverages containing high amounts of food must then be reduced sugars, such as alcoholic drinks and cocktails, juices, sweets, snacks and pre-packaged snacks. "In addition to being harmful to the health of the organism, even if apparently they give energy, they actually promote a sense of physical and mental fatigue. In fact, the sugars are absorbed in large quantities, favoring blood glucose peaks and stimulating the production of insulin, the hormone that regulates appetite. The risk? Eat more quantities of food that fatigue the body and facilitate the sense of fatigue says the nutritionist Bocchino.

Would you like to know more? Find out in the gallery what to eat when you feel destroyed and lacking strength

Chestnuts, queens of the forest: 5 good reasons to eat them – Italian Cuisine

October: it's time to chestnuts (and castagnate!). Thanks to an unexpectedly sunny autumn and the desire to be outdoors, many have reached the woods armed with baskets, bags and bags, to conquer the most greedy spoils of the season. Protected by curly and hidden by a thick carpet of leaves, the chestnuts are divided into two groups: those of small size and color dark brown, crushed on one side, with very tasty pulp and i brown, larger and with a characteristic heart shape, with a light brown striped skin that encloses a sweet pulp.

Very appreciated in the kitchen for its versatility, which makes it perfect for sweet and savory preparations, the chestnut is a real concentrate of vitamins is minerals but the good reasons to choose this autumn fruit do not end here!

Energy and good mood
The chestnut has a high nutritive power and is an important one source of energy, so necessary in this season. The high caloric rate is due in part to the low amount of water – the chestnut is composed of 50% of water – and to the wealth of complex carbohydrates like starch. Furthermore, thanks to the magnesium which stimulates the nervous system, it also seems to favor good mood.

Toccasana for mind and body
Small fruit, but beneficial for the whole body! In fact, the chestnut is good for mind, muscles is bones thanks to the vitamins of the complex B and al phosphorus, of which it is particularly rich, which help to keep the concentration high. It also contains a large amount of potassium, Useful for strengthening muscles and reducing rheumatic pains, and of sulfur which strengthens the bones and at the same time purifies the body. It is recommended during pregnancy because it is rich in folic acid, vitamin B group important in the prevention of malformations of the fetus. Thanks to the content of ironIt also helps improve blood circulation.

360º goodness
Chestnut is a precious source of fibers, which is very rich, and thus helps fight constipation. Even if it is not a cereal it has a nutritional value similar to wholemeal bread and flour and being gluten-free, can also be consumed by those suffering from celiac disease. Has a low fat therefore it is also indicated for cardiac patients.

Beauty ally
Chestnut cooking water has an effect lightening on the hair to which it gives shine, while the infusion with the leaves of the chestnut tree is a facial tonic, especially suitable for those with oily skin.

Versatile and delicious
Very famous the castagnaccio, dolce of Tuscan origin made with chestnut flour, and equally delicious tarts, cakes, rolls and in general sweets based on chestnuts and / or chestnut flour. More unusual, but not less good, the savory preparations that see among the main ingredients the chestnut: gnocchi, pizzoccheri and maltagliati for lovers of the first, but also meatballs, sautéed with vegetables and chestnuts, creamy velvety. And the chestnuts also end up in the sumptuous stuffing of the famous turkey Thanksgiving!

The only negative note: the high content of tannin and sugar, the consumption of chestnuts it is not indicated to those suffering from diabetes and who is a diet, also because the high sodium presence favors the assimilation of foods. Of course the energy content of chestnuts varies according to the type of cooking: if boiled, 100 grams provide 120 calories, which become 193 in the case of roasted chestnuts and rise up to 343 for flour.

How to use them in the kitchen
Chestnuts go always consumed after cooking and at the time of purchase it is good to check that the skin is whole, smooth and shiny. Before cooking, they must be left to soak in water for about two hours; spent this time those that they surface they are not healthy and therefore they must be eliminated. If instead chestnuts are harvested in the wood, it is better to wait 4-5 days before consuming them, so as to allow a part of the starches contained inside to turn into sugars, making them sweeter.

After the purchase they are kept up to 15 days in cold and dry placeIf you put them in the fridge, make sure you put them in a paper bag. You can also keep them longer, up to a few months, but first put them in a container covered with water at room temperature. This procedure is called "novena"Because it lasts 9 days: half of the storage water must be replaced every 24 hours, except in the fifth and eighth days, when the water has to be completely changed; the ninth day the chestnuts are removed from the water and left to dry.
In freezer at home, on the other hand, they are stored for 6-12 months, better if peeled.

The roasted chestnuts they go first engraved with a knife from the most pot-bellied part, then they are cooked in the appropriate area iron pan from the perforated bottom positioned above the embers – and not over a live flame – in the fireplace. It is necessary to shake them often, so that they are well roasted on all sides. They can also be cooked in the oven traditional or even in the microwave at maximum power for a few minutes, cooking that makes them very soft and tasty, even if you lose the characteristic burn of the peel, typical of roast chestnuts.

To prepare the boiled chestnuts they are engraved on the flat part and then cooked in boiling salted water, with bay leaves, for 40-45 minutes depending on the size. Finally, if you buy chestnuts dry, remember to rinse them and let them come out in warm water for 8-10 hours. Then you can cook them in milk with sugar and Cognac or use them for soups with fresh pasta, ideal for maltagliati.

The chestnut … good, healthy and for everyone!

Monica Pilotto
October 13, 2015
updated in October 2018 by Claudia Minnella

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How to prepare risotto alla monzese – Italian Cuisine

In Monza the risotto is prepared differently than in Milan: white, it is enriched with the typical luganega, the exquisite local sausage. Here is the recipe and advice of a local chef

A handful of kilometers separate Monza from Milan. Yet the Monzesi have always made their own cultural identity a pride, and their differences from the metropolis a point of pride. Also in the kitchen. Thus the risotto in the city of Teodolinda is made white, without saffron and without marrow. Like all dishes of regional cuisine, the variants are not counted, and go from house to house: of course there are those who add saffron, but the hallmark is that the risotto monzese is the one with the luganega, typical sausage from Monza. Very soft, with a delicate and unmistakable taste: it is prepared with finely minced pork, parmesan and white wine. It is a generally lean sausage, since it contains only 25% of fat, but particularly lean is that which is prepared chef Fabio Silva to make his own "Rice with the lean luganega": "With my trusted butcher we managed to create a leaner pork mix, with less fat, while maintaining unaltered the typical taste of Monza's luganega," he explains.

The chef's rabbit

The chef of the Derby Grill, Hotel de la Ville restaurant in Monza who wants to prepare this risotto recommends «toast good rice before starting to wet it with the stock. In this way the sugars crystallize and, during cooking, less starch is released, keeping the grain more intact . His recipe includes the oil to brown, separately, the luganega, which in the traditional version is added to butter and onion in sautéed. Even the latter is replaced with shallots, while a touch of thyme gives a new Mediterranean scent to the dish.

Recipe for 4 people

280 g carnaroli rice "Riserva San Massimo"
30 g chopped shallot
80 g of malga butter
1 l vegetable stock
240 g luganega
60 g Parmigiano Reggiano Red Cows 24 months
white wine to fade
1 sprig of thyme
Extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Remove half of the sausage from the gut, shell it and brown it quickly with a little oil in a non-stick pan. Use the same procedure for the other half, leaving it whole.

Meanwhile, fry the shallot with a knob of butter, add the rice and toast it. Sprinkle with the white wine and, once evaporated, continue cooking with the vegetable stock, adding it gradually. Halfway through cooking, add the grainy luganega and thyme. Finish cooking and stir in the risotto with the butter and Parmesan, adding salt and pepper to taste. Cut the whole sausage into pieces and use it to garnish the risotto after having it cropped.

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