Tag: missing

The 10 dishes that cannot be missing on the Christmas table – Italian Cuisine

Here is the ranking drawn up by a panel of 60 chefs and food bloggers: panettone, salami and tortellini are at the top

On the festive table there must be room for many courses: each region offers a series of rich recipes to satisfy all palates. But what are the dishes that Italians cannot do without at Christmas? Espresso Communication, for Vitavigor, the historic brand of breadsticks in Milan, asked a panel of 60 chefs and food bloggers, who drafted the top ten of the "must haves", the ranking of traditional delights to be brought absolutely to the table.

The ranking

The first place is reserved for panettone (83%); followed by cured meats (72%), from raw ham to salami; and, third, tortellini (64%). In fourth place is smoked salmon (50%), an appreciated ingredient for classic canapés, followed by breadsticks (47%). The top 10 is completed by dried fruit (41%), roast (36%), Russian salad (31%), various cheeses (29%) and lasagna (23%). Instead, the pandoro (21%), the cod (20%), the zampone (19%), the veal with tuna sauce (17%) and the capon (15%) remained surprisingly out of the 10 inevitable. At the bottom of the top 20, eel (12%), citrus fruits (10%), lentils (10%), struffoli (9%) and nougat (7%).

What do chefs think?

According to Andrea Valentinetti, chef of the Radici Restaurant in Padua, «the dishes that identify and represent are inevitable our history, our city and our roots and which are intertwined with traditional dishes. Like our Polverara hen, the guinea fowl broth tortelli, the capon, the kren, with a basket of homemade Christmas cakes. In addition, for our guests, we have created a burnt wheat breadstick, with amberjack marinated in red turnip, lemon gel, caper powder and potato mayonnaise .

For Rosanna Marziale, chef of Le Colonne di Caserta, on the Christmas table you can't miss "struffoli, fried eels, panettone and aexcellent reinforcement salad with boiled cauliflower, green olives, gherkins, spring onions, gardener, sweet or spicy peppers, all pickled and salted anchovies with curly escarole accompanied by breadsticks, perfect match given the acidity and flavor of the recipe ".

Gianni Ziccardi, executive chef and founder of GZ Consulting, adds that «they should never be missing zampone and lentils, pandoro, dried fruit, capon broth, eel and cappelletti, but also breadsticks paired with Colonnata lard, lamb speck, goose salami, wild boar ham, venison bresaola and accompanied with caramelized peppers and candied onion ".

Freezer: the must haves that must never be missing – Italian Cuisine

What are the foods that absolutely must not be missing in the freezer and that can save lunch and dinner? Let's find out together!

A well stocked freezer it is not a full freezer but the one that contains "essential" foods, or those products that, given the time of thawing, save us a lunch or a dinner when we have not done the shopping or we do not have time to cook. What are they? Here are the "must haves" according to us.

From fried to aromatic herbs

Frozen pieces of celery, carrot and onion washed and dried well, in simple frost sachets or in a small container (such as plastic coffee cups or ice bucket). You will have everything you need to prepare a perfect flight fried. Don't forget the herbs fresh to prepare your favorite dishes. You can chop them in a mixer to not take up too much space in the freezer and then defrost them directly in the pot when you need them.

From bread to piadine

The bread it is the food that cannot really be missing in your freezer. How many lunches and how many dinners saved, how many shoes enjoyed and how many cold cuts tasted, all thanks to frozen bread and pulled out at the right time. The council is to preserve small whole sandwiches or slice a vein or one baguettes faster to thaw, perhaps with a pass in oven to make them crunchy and even tastier. You can also do (or buy) some wraps and freeze them, they will be ready in a few minutes when you take them out of the freezer.

Sauces to keep in the freezer

A good pasta always fits everyone. Your freezer will have to find space for sauces to flavor it even in the last minute. In addition to simple pastas, we recommend the sauce of pepperoni, the one tomato and bacon, ai artichokes, with aubergines for a quick pasta alla normathe pesto, the pumpkin pulp to which add a little browned pancetta.

Meat and fish

In addition to the classic sliced pieces of meat that can be chicken or beef, it is always useful to keep burgers and sausages in the freezer to suddenly organize an informal dinner, and then chicken thighs is meatballs ready to cook (or minced meat to prepare them) thinking of the tastes of the little ones. The fish it should be frozen after washing and cleaning it well, eliminating head and tail to occupy less space. In addition to whole fish and fillets, you can also freeze mussels, clams, i octopus, cuttlefish and i squid, to pull out a few hours before consuming them. Making a good supply and keeping them in the freezer is a great way to organize lunch and dinner without having to resort to makeshift solutions, quickly assembling what you find in fridge, giving rise to improbable dishes and very often calorie and little nutrients.

Ice (not taken for granted)

It may seem obvious but it is not at all. Remember to keep the freezer in the freezer ice! In cubes, ready to use, to prepare cocktail of improvised homemade aperitifs or to cool or keep cool drinks and wine.

Meal prep

The freezer is very useful for storing dishes prepared in advance, perhaps the ones we cooked on Sundays and which during the week we only have to take care of thawing and heating. How to organize yourself? Here are our tips for the so-called meal prep.

How to freeze food in the fridge

To finish a few council on how to freeze food, three rules simple that will improve food storage and help the freezer run better. Rule number one: do not overload the freezer trying to make a puzzle between foods. To work well – and to freeze well above all – the cold must be able to circulate. Rule number two: do not freeze food yet hot, it will take much longer to freeze and will raise the temperature inside the freezer, which will have to work harder (with an energy consumption) to bring the temperature back to the right level. Rule number three: write the date where you freeze food on frost sachets or on the containers you put in the freezer. They will help you remember how long they have been there and which, therefore, to consume before.

Lentil and cicerchie soup with "Quel modern twist that was missing from the recipe!" – Italian Cuisine

When you want to revisit one of the most popular comfort foods adding new flavors to the recipe.
Be inspired by the #storiedipomodoro with Salse Mutti

Even the most classic dish can be reinvented with a pinch of creativity and the desire to experiment with imaginative combinations. Because in the kitchen, boredom is fought by proposing new recipes, to amaze diners and to win the monotony of lunches and dinners always the same.
Here then is the lentil and cicerchie soup, a recipe of the Mediterranean culinary tradition, it again disguises itself and is enriched with taste thanks to the addition of Mutti Classic Sauce, with a simple and balanced flavor, and a pinch of "nduja.

How it was possible to transform this classic recipe into a modern and innovative dish? We will explain it to you step by step in today's recipe, easy to make but that will give a different "twist" to your palate!

Lentil, cicerchie, soup, ¿nduja and Salsa Classica Mutti soup

For 4 people

Ingredients

200 grams of small lentils
200 gr of hulled grass peas
a teaspoon of ‘nduja
1 bottle of Salsa Classica Mutti
a bunch of sage and rosemary
1 clove of garlic
2 bay leaves
homemade bread croutons
Salt and Pepper To Taste.
extra virgin olive oil q.b.

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Method

Boil the lentils and grass peas in abundant salted water scented with sage and rosemary for up to three quarters of cooking and then drain the vegetables.
In a steel pan put a dash of oil, a clove of garlic, two or three bay leaves and let it cook for a few minutes, then add the Mutti Classic Sauce.
At this point add the legumes and a teaspoon of ‘nduja and cook for about 15 minutes adding 500 ml of water.
Serve with crispy homemade bread croutons.

When tradition is enriched with new flavors!

Today's story brings to the table the modern reinterpretation of a dish of our tradition, lentil and cicerchie soup. To give a flicker of innovation we added to the soup a teaspoon of ‘nduja, firm and unusual note, which will not fail to amaze even the most reticent palates of change.
But it is not the only novelty. To enhance this original combination of flavors, we let the legumes, cooked previously with garlic and bay leaves, flavor in the pan with the Mutti Classic Sauce, from the simple but genuine taste because made with a few simple ingredients: Mutti tomato, a beaten end of onions and basil, extra virgin olive oil. We suggest you try it because it is a quality product, reliable and tasty, perfect for seasoning pasta but also ideal for personalizing your dishes and for adding practicality, modernity and novelty to your recipes. Just like in the case of lentil and grass pea soup, and success – our word – is guaranteed!