Tag: christmas appetizers

4 recipes for a worry-free menu | The Italian kitchen – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

What to cook for Christmas it can be the question that changes tone depending on the answer. There are those who can’t wait to create a structured menu and dedicate themselves to cooking while also accepting gastronomic challenges in the kitchen. Or those who prefer to re-propose traditional recipes for a very classic Christmas dinner or lunch with numerous courses. Then there are those who would like a a carefree, tasty, convivial menu that doesn’t keep you too busy in the kitchen.

We had asked 4 special guests to tell us what they would bring for Christmas and they had shared their favorite recipes. Anna Scavuzzodeputy mayor of Milan, had chosen the panettone StuffedWhile Giovanni BrunoPresident of the Food Bank, had cooked the lentil meatballs. Linked to the family tradition, the Bolognese Francesca Ragazzihead of content at Vogue Italia, had brought i tortellini in broth of grandmother Arduina. Saturnino Celanimusician and composer, had challenged us with some Ascoli sea olives very interesting.

These 4 recipes put together form a simple, tasty and… affectionate menu. We thought we’d propose it again because good recipes that answer the question “what to cook for Christmas” so well deserve a future. Dedicated to those who prefer simplicity at the table.

What to cook for Christmas? 4 recipes

OLIVES ASCOLANA DI MARE

Commitment For experts
Time 2 hours plus 1 day of rest

INGREDIENTS FOR 1 KILO OF OLIVES
1 kg Ascoli DOP olives in brine
500 g boiled fish pulp (monkfish, cod, cod)
250 g 00 flour
250 g breadcrumbs
150 g breadcrumbs
150 g drained tuna in oil
50 g Parmigiano Reggiano
grated
3 eggs – anchovies in oil
1 clove of garlic
desalted capers
parsley – lemon
peanut oil
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

METHOD
Pitt the olives with the appropriate tool and let them soak in water overnight so that they lose the excess salt. Mix the boiled fish pulp with the chopped breadcrumbs and the tuna. Chop finely with a meat grinder. Add the grated zest of 1/2 lemon, the parsley, 1 anchovy, 1 clove of chopped garlic, a handful of chopped capers, the parmesan and plenty of extra virgin olive oil. Mix until you obtain a soft mixture. Leave to rest overnight in a cool place. Fill the inside of the olives with a quantity of mixture equal to the volume of the stone. Dip the olives first in the flour, then in the beaten eggs and finally in the breadcrumbs. Let them rest for a few hours in a cool place (otherwise they will fall apart during cooking). Fry them in plenty of peanut oil and serve hot.

Ever tried panettone meatballs? The pastry chefs’ recipe – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

Never tried them Panettone meatballs? Two young and talented pastry chefs thought of it, Marta Boccanera and Felice Venanzi, APEI pastry chefs followed by the legendary Iginio Massari as a mentor. You can find them in the laboratory Grué pastry shop in Rome, where in addition to producing a range of fantastic creations, they also have a light catering section. Here it occurred to them to think of panettone meatballs, an intelligent and tasty recipe for recycling leftover panettone, which you can easily replicate at home.

Pastry chefs by personal choice and not family tradition, Marta Boccanera and Felice Venanzi have fueled the love for sweet art since 2008. Dissatisfied with the course of study undertaken – Political Science and International Relations for Felice, Mechanical Engineering for Marta – they decide, one step away from graduation, to revolutionize their lives by taking a high quality pastry shop among the most popular in Italy. After having worked with some of the most renowned pastry chefs in the Bel Paese and having continued to train with specialist courses, they set their sights on Rome. In 2014 they opened Grué where, from the beginning, they prepared their desserts without using semi-finished products and with high quality ingredients starting from butter, in a cutting-edge laboratory. In November 2022, Gambero Rosso’s “Pasticceri & Pastry Shop Guide 2023” awarded him the Three Cakes, which they confirm again this year and add the Best Digital Communication award. Another important recognition for 2023 is the inclusion in the list of “Best Pastry Chefs in the World – Luxury Pastry in the World by Iginio Massari”. The great Master Pastry Chef from Brescia is their mentor, also present in the romantic moment when Felice asked Marta for her hand last May during the Dolce Amore event in Naples.

RICCARDO ROBERTI

Iginio Massari he could be the grandfather of these two courageous pastry chefs who decided to give up everything to dedicate themselves to their passion, pastry making. Following the path indicated by a legend like the Maestro from Brescia is the best choice they could make for their professional career, they have no doubts. They had already met the Maestro before at a pastry making course – Marta remembers very well the first day in which Massari entered the classroom, wrote a greeting phrase with chocolate and stated succinctly «if you don’t know how to write something like that, don’t can you ever be a good pastry chef, because this is the pastry chef’s pen” – then they called him as a consultant in 2015. They were 5 really intense days, they both remember, in which everyone was called into question, weighed and weighed, everything ‘operated thus taking the path of success we know today. The first recognition comes with their chocolate panettone Gianduiosowhich wins the prize Best artisanal chocolate panettone in Italy in 2018. From then on, the path takes the right turn thanks to experience, study and continuous testing.

Octopus salad and turmeric potato cream recipe – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

L’octopus salad with potatoes it is a classic appetizer which however it can be varied in many ways to always bring it to the table with a different touch.

For the Christmas menuthe manager of our editorial kitchen Sara Foschiniof Neapolitan origins, with his friend Paolo Bussolino, of Apulian and Campania origins, created this recipe which revisits a traditional holiday dish with a special ingredient. The octopus and potato salad is served placed on a turmeric potato cream which makes the dish more colorful and enveloping.

Also discover these recipes: Octopus, potatoes, olives and dried tomatoes, Octopus in salad, the modern version, Octopus, bean and pomegranate salad, Octopus, chickpea, fennel and orange salad.