Tag: autumn

Autumn lasagna: appetizing recipes – Italian Cuisine

Among the dishes most loved by Italians, in addition to the classic filling with meat sauce and béchamel, you can indulge yourself in equally appetizing seasonal variations. Here are some recipes

Autumn is a very generous season. Even if the hour of hibernation is approaching for nature, the market is still a riot of colors and scents. From the pumpkin at chestnuts, from radish to the mushrooms, there are many first fruits with which you can indulge yourself in the kitchen. An alternative way to enhance these ingredients is to turn them into fillings for appetizing autumn lasagna. Here are some recipes to try.

Autumn lasagna with mushroom ragout and scamorza cheese

When gods are found mushrooms firm and fragrant, better take advantage of it. Browned in the pan become an excellent substitute for meat sauce. For the stuffed for six people it takes 400 grams of mushrooms mixed, including i porcini mushrooms, 300 grams of smoked scamorza cheese, 50 grams of parmesan, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, nutmeg, salt And pepper. First you need to prepare the fresh pasta: pour 400 grams of Flour, create a fountain, add four egg and slowly incorporate them. Work the dough vigorously for about ten minutes, let it rest for half an hour wrapped in cling film, then obtain the puff pastry. Then we move on to stuffing. In a pan pour theoil, sauté a clove of garlic and remove it before adding the mushrooms cleaned and cut in strips. Season with salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes. Take 2/3 of the mushrooms, chop them and set the remaining portion aside. Once the bechamel, pour a layer into a pan, place the puff pastry blanched in boiling salted water, pour another layer of bechamel, the mushrooms and cover with smoked scamorza cheese cut into thin slices. Proceed to the edge and garnish the last layer with the whole mushrooms and a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese. Cook at 180 ° C for about 30 minutes.

Radicchio, chestnuts and speck

Radish And chestnuts are two typically autumnal ingredients. Flavored with the speck become a perfect filling for lasagna. In this case the béchamel is replaced by one chestnut cream. The doses for the filling are 300 grams of speck, 50 grams of parmesan grated, 600 grams of chestnuts (cooked and peeled), 500 ml of milk entire, 700 grams of radish, one shallot, half a glass of White wine, walnuts muscat, extra virgin olive oil, salt And pepper. In a pan, after frying the chopped shallot, add the radicchio cut into strips, deglaze with the white wine, add salt and pepper and let it dry for about ten minutes. In the meantime, put a pan with the milk flavored with nutmeg. When it boils, add the chestnut pulp passed to the vegetable mill. Cook for about ten minutes, until the cream thickens. At this point, compose the lasagna in a pan, starting with a layer of chestnut cream, then one of puff pastry already blanched in boiling salted water, then again the cream, the radish and it speck. On the last layer also add the grated Parmesan cheese and bake at 220 ° C for 30 minutes.

Pumpkin and béchamel with gorgonzola

The undisputed queen of this season remains there pumpkin, which could not fail to end up in an autumn lasagna recipe. Six people need 600 grams of pumpkin already clean, 600 grams of bechamel, 100 grams of parmesan grated, 200 grams of gorgonzola, one onion, extra virgin olive oil, walnuts muscat And pepper. Cut the pumpkin into thin slices and sauté it in a frying pan in oil and onion. Prepare the bechamel and, when cooked add the gorgozola cut into small pieces, mixing everything together. At this point, compose the lasagna. In a pan create a first layer of béchamel with gorgonzola, lay the puff pastry blanched in boiling salted water, distribute over these evenly the pumpkin, sprinkle with the parmesan and pour two more ladles of bechamel. Continue like this up to the edge of the pan. Bake at 200 ° C for 35/40 minutes.

More autumn lasagna

Chestnuts, the autumn gift of the woods – Italian Cuisine

Gnocchi, soups and broths, but also desserts such as pancakes and castagnaccio: le chestnuts can be found in the traditional dishes of all our regional cuisines. This gift of the forest autumnalin fact, it represented for a long time and until the 1950s the survival food for the mountain people, who even made it a dark and compact bread, mixing the flour with that of wheat and rye.

A bit of history
But the history of chestnuts hangs in the balance between food rustic And gastronomy refined, for their extraordinary versatility: whole, the largest and most pulpy fruits are glazed to become greedy marrons glacés or stuff roasts of red and white meats; boiled and reduced to puree, they become the basis for savory pies or for sweets delights like the classic Mont Blanc.

A record with ancient roots
The chestnut has lived in our woods since time immemorial. From the Venetian Pre-Alps, down along the entire Apennines to the slopes of the Sila, in Calabria, thebread tree, as it was defined by Pascoli, it has found an ideal habitat and thrives almost everywhere. Mostly in Campania, followed by Calabria, Lazio, Piedmont And Tuscany. Despite the drastic decrease in crops compared to the beginning of the century, still today Italy is the first chestnut producer in Europe and the third in the world. The primacy does not concern only the quantity: in our country hundreds of varieties of chestnuts survive, of which 12 are recognized excellences at European level. They received the mark Dop there Vallerano chestnut (grown in the Viterbo area, in Lazio), with white and crunchy pulp; the Caprese Michelangelo brown, Tuscan, with ivory-colored pulp and aroma of almond and vanilla; the Brown of San Zeno, harvested in Veneto, which due to its softness and sweet taste is used for the "marronata", jam with sugar or honey.

The Veneto it also counts two fruits Igp (the Marrone di Combai, with floury and sugary pasta, and the Marrone di Monfenera), tied with the Piedmont (which boasts the Chestnut of Cuneo and the Marrone of Val di Susa, ideal for making marrons glacés) and with Tuscany. A region that, in addition to the large chestnut of Monte Amiata and the crunchy Marrone del Mugello, also boasts two PDO chestnut flours, velvety and fragrant, produced in Lunigiana and in Garfagnana.

There Campania, which was also awarded two Igp (the Chestnut of Montella, round and with a thin skin, and the Marrone di Roccadaspide, sweet and crunchy) is among the areas with the highest chestnut vocation: alone, in fact, it represents 50 percent of the entire national chestnut production .

Extra-large sized browns
Commonly, large chestnuts are called 'marroni'. In many cases it is true: for the Marrone di Combai IGP, the production disciplinary establishes that the fruits for each hedgehog must not exceed three. However, the size they are a variable feature, even within the same variety. For example, the Chestnut of Monte Amiata is large in size (80 fruits are enough for one kg), while for the Marrone di San Zeno Dop the disciplinary ranges from 50 to 120 fruits per kg.

So, what are the criteria for distinguishing chestnuts from chestnuts?
In principle, but with several exceptions, i first courses they have oval shape, peel striated And subtle, with the film peeling off very easily. Features that make them ideal in preparations roast and in all recipes that require whole pulpy and perfect fruits. They are also required for industrial processing, which uses them to make marrons glacés, candied fruit and canned with rum or under grappa. The chestnutsinstead, they generally have form rounded, peel thick and the inner film that penetrates the seed, which makes the peeling operation more laborious. Once peeled and boiled (in water or milk, depending on the recipe), they are used for soups, creams, fillings, jams. In addition to fresh consumption, they are intended for the production of dried chestnuts and chestnut flour.

October 2021
Enza Dalessandri

The brands celebrate autumn with 10 limited edition pumpkin products – Italian Cuisine

With the arrival of autumn, a shower of delicious limited edition products has also arrived that have pumpkin as their protagonist: from the Philadelphia cream cheese to the pumpkin, up to the spiced pumpkin chai tea from Twinings

There pumpkin, ancient food as well symbol of autumn, in addition to surprising for its wide variety of colors, shapes and flavors, it is highly appreciated for its versatility in the kitchen. This vegetable, in fact, can be used to give life to many sweet and savory dishes, from the classic risotto to the Emilian tortelli, up to desserts of all kinds. Precisely to pay homage to this extraordinary ingredient and to celebrate the arrival of the autumn season, several brands have decided to make limited editions and special products of its already known products, choosing the pumpkin as the main ingredient. Let's go and discover ten of these appetizing novelties, bearing in mind that some are only available in certain countries or for a very limited period of time.

Philadelphia spreadable cheese (Kraft) with spiced pumpkin

This greedy spreadable cheese, designed to add creaminess and flavor to both sweet and savory dishes, it is made with concentrate of pumpkin, brown sugar and a hint of autumn spices including cinnamon. It can be spread on toast and other baked goods or added to savory first courses and desserts such as cakes and biscuits.

Pumpkin macaroni and cheese (Kraft)

Although Macaroni and cheese are a rather bizarre gastronomic gimmick for Italians, in many countries including Australia, the United States and England they love it. Kraft knows that well with brands Kraft Dinner, Kraft Macaroni and Macaroni Cheese, successfully markets several variations of Mac & Cheese, some of which you (even) think about for breakfast. With the arrival of autumn, Kraft decided to launch, through an unconventional marketing campaign, a limited edition of a particular recipe made with pumpkin and various spices, including cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice. In fact, only 1000 lucky Canadian consumers who were the first to subscribe to a waiting list were awarded the product. However, Kraft has announced that it is ready to relaunch Kraft Pumpkin Spice Macaroni & Cheese in the United States as well.

McDonald's pumpkin and cream pie

Among the iconic desserts of the most famous fast food chain in the world is the Apple Pie, that is the apple pie baked in the oven. In the various menus McDonald's scattered around the world there are different recipes of this cake, from the Thai one based on purple taro to the Egyptian date and cream. Only for this fall and for its stores in the United States, the fast food is offering a special vPumpkin-based version and covered with custard.

Spiced Pumpkin Cheerios Cereal

There Cheerios has decided to put "autumn in a box" and to present the limited edition of its famous cereals, which have as their main ingredient pumpkin flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

Kellogg's Special K pumpkin cereal

From the wholemeal oat rings of Cheerios we pass to the crunchy sheets of wholemeal flour and bran from Kellogg's, which for this season are enriched with a delicate addition of pumpkin and spices, for a truly unique breakfast.

Quaker® Instant Pumpkin Oat Soup

Another limited-time offer for a breakfast or snack full of autumn flavors comes from Quaker®. It is an instant soup, ready in just two minutes and to be enjoyed hot or cold, with whole Canadian oats, pumpkin and a pinch of cinnamon.

Kit Kat pumpkin pie bars

Fans and collectors of Kit Kat bars they know well how many seasonal flavors and limited edition proposals exist in the world, just as they know well that years ago an original variant of the "pumpkin pie" flavor (Pumpkin pie). Kit Kat has decided to celebrate autumn by re-proposing this bar, also in a special edition and available only in some countries.

Instant coffee to make pumpkin latte, from Starbucks

The most famous American coffee chain in the world has always ridden the wave of news and food trends. In its menus, for example, the so-called "milk”(Or our latte), available in many flavors and colors. No wonder, therefore, that this fall too Starbucks has decided to bet on pumpkin flavor, launching a sweet, creamy and delicate product on the market autumn instant latte to be prepared comfortably at home. The coffee, of course, is Starbucks 100% arabica, and is naturally flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

Twinings Pumpkin Spiced Chai Tea

If you prefer tea to coffee, you can opt for the new limited edition flavor of Twinings. It is a black chai tea which combines the sweetness of the taste of pumpkin and a rich assortment of spices, including cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice.

Baileys spiced pumpkin liqueur

The latest special autumn novelty on the market is the one created by Baileys, which for this season has decided to add a pleasant addition to the classic recipe of its famous liqueur spiced pumpkin. This special Baileys recipe can be enjoyed at the end of a meal, used as a base for cocktails or added in some creative preparation.

Unfortunately, most of these products are not available in Italy, but it is possible to order them online or wait for some other greedy seasonal commercial gimmick to arrive on the shelves of our supermarkets.

Photo: pumpkin special products_Cheerios_Flickr Mike Mozart.jpg.
Photo: Quaker Pumpkin Specialty Products Instant Oats_Flickr Mike Mozart.jpg.