Calabrese Vrascioli, easier to do than to say! – Italian Cuisine

Let's go to Calabria to discover a truly delicious traditional recipe: that of the vrascioli, or fried meatballs. Here's how to prepare them

Do you know those recipes that immediately make the house, that when you enter from the door, you recognize them from the smell? Here are the vrascioli they are one of these. These are easy to prepare comfort foods minced meatballs from Calabrian they are also called "Sleepy freckles", precisely because it was not difficult for grandmothers to prepare them on Sunday mornings, to serve them for lunch.
In our gallery, find some curiosity about the vrascioli, while below we give you the ingredients and the method to prepare the Calabrian brakes at home.

The recipe for Calabrian blushes

Ingredients

To prepare the Calabrian brakes you need: 500 gr of minced meat (according to tradition, half of beef, half of pork); soaked stale bread to taste; grated cheese (parmesan or pecorino) to taste; 2 eggs; chopped parsley; a clove of garlic; extra virgin olive oil and salt to taste.

Method

Add the minced meat, the squeezed stale bread, the eggs, the grated cheese, the parsley and the clove of garlic, both chopped and salt to taste. Mix everything together to obtain a homogeneous mixture. Remove the balls, forming elongated croquettes. Fry them in plenty of extra virgin olive oil until a golden crust appears. Dry them with absorbent paper and serve hot.

Mashed yes, but with a twist: prepare it this way – Italian Cuisine

Just a little imagination and a few extra ingredients to turn the classic mashed potatoes into an even more delicious side dish: here are so many ideas to vary

To do the mashed potato very few ingredients are enough – potatoes, butter, milk and parmesan – and here is a side dish suitable to accompany meat dishes, even if rather elaborate, such as the roast, the stew and the braised, but also of fish, like the steamed salmon or the grilled seabass. But with a bit of imagination we can however invent ourselves puree variants even more delicious and offer it even more than once a week without getting bored.

Mashed with a twist

Such as? Here are some ideas: which one makes you more passionate?

Puree with sage and speck

There sage it has a strong and particular aroma, which goes well with the simplicity of the puree. Sauté the sage with the butter and the bacon cubes and add them to the purée. Don't skimp on the quantities of seasoning!

Mashed with olives and artichokes

The Taggiasca olives make the purée more Mediterranean and tasty. You can cut them into small pieces and add them to the puree, or use the puree as a base and arrange them on the surface together with the artichokes.

Mashed with crunchy onion

Cut one onion white in strips and fry it, then add it to the puree. It will give a crunchy touch to the side!

Puree with vegetables

Cut mixed vegetables into cubes – such as carrots, courgettes, aubergines – and stew everything in a pan with extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, place them in a pan as a base and cover with mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake. The result? The effect will resemble a Nordic meat pie, but in a veg version.

Mashed with basil

Strips of basil – cut with a ceramic knife to prevent them from blackening – and an excellent extra virgin olive oil to season the purée: the scent will be irresistible!

Puree with cheese and ham

Children will love the puree with cubes of ham and stringy cheese, a simple dish with a winter flavor.

Puree with garlic and paprika

Lovers of strong flavors will appreciate the addition of garlic minced and a sprinkling of paprika with puree, which will thus obtain character.

Puree with gorgonzola and walnuts

The gorgonzola, dissolved in a pan with a little milk, is deliciously added to the puree. Crunchiness is given by walnuts, or hazelnuts, in grains or pieces.

Discover now in the tutorial some other ideas to "play" with mashed potatoes!

Rice flower bread – Italian Cuisine

Add the 3 flours in a bowl and mix.
Pour in the center the yeast dissolved in the lukewarm water together with the honey and begin to mix.
Finally add salt and oil and work until the dough is stringed.

Cover the bowl, place them in a warm place protected from currents and let rise for 2 hours or until doubled.

Once doubled, take the dough again, deflate it on the lightly floured surface and fold it.
At this point divide the dough into 7 parts, of which 1 is slightly smaller: with the smaller piece, form a ball, with the other 6 formed into ovals (they will be the petals of your flower).

Lightly wet the top surface of the various pieces of dough with a little water and pass them in the puffed rice, pressing lightly to make it adhere well.
As they are ready, place the various parts on the baking sheet covered with parchment paper: the smaller piece, round, in the center, the other pieces laterally forming the flower petals.

Let rise for another 30 minutes, then brush the flower with a little oil and bake at 180 ° C in a preheated ventilated oven, cooking for about 25-30 minutes.

The rice flower bread is ready: let it cool completely before serving.