Tag: alternative

Alternative sprtiz – Italian Cuisine

The spritzer has become the emblem of the Italian aperitif, the statistics say that it is now the most drunk cocktail in our country. It has become a custom phenomenon, even abroad; but who said that the spritz is only based on Aperol? The version that we know today, the most famous and widespread, is really just one of the many variations that have made history, and that are the present, of this cocktail. Just sit at the counter of the best cocktail bars to find out how much a simple spritz can be a research ground. But they need the right ingredients.

Water, wine and …

When he was born, it was just a glass of white wine cut with sparkling water. Water and wine, here it is the classic spritz, now fallen into disuse in the big cities, but alive and well in the country bars, in Friuli with the proper name of spritzer, in Autria as spritzen up in Croatia, where it's called gemist. The wine can be still, sparkling or sparkling, but what is certain is that you need a dose of soda water, or very carbonated water. Bitters came into the glass at a later time, around the beginning of the twentieth century, when this herbal liqueur became fashionable and depopulated in cafes along with the new aperitif ritual. It is the 1920s, the same ones in which the Negroni is born, but the spritz knows its fortune and spreads in the Veneto and Northern Italy in the post-war period. But we have to wait until 2011 to see it enter the list of the IBA (International Bartenders Association) under the name of "Venetian Spritz".

Bitter and sage

Aperol Spritz was born in Padua in the fifties and wants a slice of orange. The typically Venetian spritz instead is based on the local bitter, the Select, and is served with a large green olive, just as it is still found today in the most typical venues of the Lagoon. The Campari spritz instead is typically Milanese and with the name of “pirlo” is drunk throughout the Brescia area.
The possibilities, however, are certainly not finished here: there are many, many, artisan bitters and small producers who make special products with a unique character. Finding them on supermarket shelves is not easy, but at Eataly the selection is very wide, with niche labels loved by connoisseurs (and by more experienced bartenders).
Dry, resolute, slightly sweet, the bitter of La Canellese, for example is produced between Langhe and Monferrato, gives off notes of orange, gentian, juniper and leaves in the mouth hints of rhubarb, cinchona, and licorice. Try it mixed with a Prosecco Bio Bianca Vigna and decorated with a sage twig.

Elderberry and champagne

In South Tyrol the spritz is called Hugo and at the bitter it replaces an elderflower syrup. It is a hymn to spring, when this white flower blossoms on trees, and in France it is then harvested for the processing of St. Germain, a not too alcoholic liqueur (20 degrees) with a fruity aroma with floral notes and hints of grapefruit and pear . To prepare a perfect elderberry spritz the recipe is simple: 5 cl of St Germain, 7 cl of Maximum Brut, 2 cl of soda, a slice of lime, mint leaves and ice. Obviously, in France, they do it with champagne.
With the precious champagne you can also prepare a gourmet version of the classic spritz, with a bitter at the height: the Bitter Rouge by Carlo Alberto, a historical brand from Turin, has a pleasant floral and fruity scent, a spicy aroma and pleasantly bitter notes of quinine . An elegant bitter, which marries a demi-sec champagne, with a good residual sugar, like that of Billecart Salmon.

At 6pm, with a natural wine

The aperitif time starts at 6pm, and just 6pm is the name of the Aperitivo Montanaro. Fresh and refreshing, created with extracts of apple, cherry, cinnamon, cloves, orange flowers and vanilla. The recipe is secret, kept in the headquarters of Gallo d'Alba, in the center of the Barolo hills, but to mix it the idea is simple: ice and sparkling white Bio Colfondo, a wine produced with natural fermentation in the bottle that follows the rhythm of the seasons and leaves the yeast in the bottle in contact with the wine.

Recipe

Whether the wine is still or rough and whatever bitters you choose to use, the proportions change little from these: lots of ice in the glass, 1/3 of wine, 1/3 of water and 1/3 of bitters.

Tiramisu: alternative recipes – Italian Cuisine

Amaretti instead of ladyfingers, matcha tea instead of coffee and chocolate cups: some tips to make an already extraordinary dessert special

Would you like to give a little sprint to the usually tiramisu, but without upsetting it too much? Here are some ideas.
But first we want to clarify that the tiramisu is so good that it would not need any innovation, but in the kitchen it's nice try, experiment and change!

Tiramisù: Pavesini and Savoiardi, but not only

Are you more Pavesini team or Savoiardi team? Undecided on how to line up you could meanwhile opt for one third option. Have you ever tried the tiramisu with the Amaretti biscuits? Excellent in combination with white chocolate and berries. And if you prefer a softer base, a simple one sponge cake or even pandoro and panettone advanced they are a great alternative to cookies.

How to replace mascarpone in tiramisu

For a more delicate tiramisu you can replace the mascarpone with the ricotta cheese. Choose a fresh and light ricotta and remember to sift it well before adding it to the eggs. You can also mix the ricotta with the robiola and some whipped Cream avoiding the eggs because the cream will be very compact and thick anyway.
For a super light variant, instead, use the yogurt, but the greek one without fats, and mix it with little whipped cream. The ideal combination in this case is the fresh fruit.

Tiramisu in the glass

If you want to serve your tiramisu in single portions, use some glass jars, like those of jam, and alternate layers of cookies and cream with great care. Between one layer and another, tap the bottom of the jar to eliminate air bubbles. Always use in this case crumbled biscuits or sponge cake cubes or another breakfast cake for a more elegant presentation. True gourmands, however, can try their hand at preparing small ones chocolate bowls, to be filled with biscuits and mascarpone cream.

Coffee alternatives in tiramisu

If there are children at the table you can replace the coffee with l'barley or simply with a little bit of milk.
If the tiramisu has some fruit among the ingredients you can wet the biscuits with del juice.
But if you really want something different than usual, try the matcha tea that will not only give a very special green color to your dessert, but will make the taste very delicate and aromatic.
If instead you prefer to give color and also an alcoholic note, use thealchermes, but diluted with a little milk or water. For lovers of classic coffee, finally, a variant could be the addition of some rum or Amaretto, excellent in combination with cocoa and dark chocolate.

How to make baked rice, an alternative to pasta gratin – Italian Cuisine

It is prepared quickly, even exploiting a simple risotto surplus. And it is a unique dish really greedy

A homemade and rustic dish, perfect both for the Sunday lunch that for one dinner save leftovers: let's talk about the baked rice. Surely you have happened to cook the pasta gratinated and the concept is the same. Baked rice is based on one risotto, which can be the one prepared the day before and advanced, or even a risotto badly to be recovered, or a simple one boiled rice still to be seasoned. The possibilities are endless, but we start from the basic recipe, that of the baked rice with tomato and basil.

Ingredients for 4 people

300 grams of advanced or boiled rice (choose the one for risotto)
1 pack of 700 milliliter tomato puree
1 onion
2 mozzarella
Parmesan at will
extra virgin olive oil as needed
Salt to taste
basil leaves

Method

Prepare the tomato sauce, thinly cutting the onion and frying it with extra virgin olive oil. When it is golden, add the tomato sauce, arrange with salt and cook until it is firm.

If you have to cook the rice, put a pot on the stove with plenty of salted water. When it starts to boil, throw the rice and let it cook until ready. Keep it back from cooking, because it will soften again in the oven and may be overcooked.

Meanwhile, squeeze the mozzarella and cut into cubes.

Season the boiled rice (or the advanced one) with the tomato sauce and transfer it to a baking sheet. Spread the mozzarella, sprinkle with the parmesan and add the basil leaves. Put everything in a preheated oven at 180 ° C for about 20 minutes. If you want to get the crust on the surface you can activate the grill for the last 3 minutes.

Variants of baked rice

Baked rice is excellent even without tomato, for example starting with a risotto with pumpkin or to the Milanese, Which will be creamed in the oven with cubes of provolone or milk cream and of the Parmesan cheese. But in general the baked rice is perfect both in vegetarian version and with meat. Try it also with a risotto with sausage, greedy! We do not recommend it with fish instead, given the presence of cheese during the gratin.