Tag: tips

The cotechino, the tips to choose it and to match it – Italian Cuisine

Soft, succulent and very sweet: cotechino is the tradition of the New Year. Choose the best and combine it with mashed potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, lentils and vegetables such as string beans and spinach

The cotechino It is a sausage of Emilia origin, composed of a mixture of pork, rind and lard, as well as salt and spices. Unlike common salami, it must be cooked before being consumed. In 1999 the Cotechino Modena received the Igp recognition and it is produced, among others, in the provinces of Modena, Ferrara Ravenna, Rimini and Forlì. But how do you choose and how it matches a cotechino? Let's see it together.

How to choose it

If it is a craft product, pay attention to the percentage of fat compared to the leaner meat: better a cotechino slimmer compared to one with a lot of fat. The latter must then be a fine texture, well ground. The color must tend to pinkish and not to dark red and the scent remains delicate and sweetish.

The best cooking

The best way to preserve the organoleptic characteristics of the cotechino is to cook it steam powered. Naturally this technique requires more dilated times than immersion: for a piece of 500 g it is necessary to consider 3 hours instead of 2. For cooking a large pot is used, with a small amount of water, inside which a grid is placed where place the salami. Cook on a gentle flame for 3 hours, and in any case until the tines of a fork gently sink into the meat.

And if you do not have that craft …

As with many products, cured meats crafts are to be preferred over industrial ones. Also in this case one made with traditional methods, with super-selected meats, is preferable to a precooked, without doubt easier to cook and faster. But precooked cotechini are not all the same. there are also quality. Always choose a product made by a serious and known company. Leave the superscontati alone. If you want a chef's advice, there is nothing left to do but follow the directions of Davide Oldani.

Cotechino and ….

The most suitable combination, above all in times of veglioni it is with lentils, especially those of Castelluccio di Norcia. Excellent also served with a mashed potato, or Jerusalem artichokes, or even chickpeas. If you like spinach, boil them, toss them in a little oil with a clove of garlic and then serve them with the cotechino. Otherwise another vegetable that goes well with this salami are the beans. Also in this case passed in a pan with garlic and a little butter.

20 recipes with cotechino

Browse the gallery

In the tutorial, discover some tips to cook the cotechino

Saint Lucia, tradition and tips in the kitchen – Italian Cuisine

On December 13th, long awaited by the little ones, it is now coming: here's how to make the Saint Lucia party special in the kitchen

The one straddling the 12 and 13 December It is one of the most awaited nights for everyone children. It is the night indeed of the arrival of Saint Lucia, who on a donkey leaves gifts and sweets for the little ones. But not only: December 13, in popular culture, it is also the shortest day of the year. This is confirmed even by the famous proverb "Saint Lucia, the shortest day there is". For various reasons, therefore, it is a date strongly linked to the traditions and to folklore, with inevitable consequences also for the kitchen.

Between legend and cult

Born in Syracuse between 280 and 290 AD, legend has it that Saint Lucia, after the death of her father when she was only 5 years old, has devoted her life entirely to the cult of Jesus, vowing chastity and poverty and ignoring the attentions of many children. In 304 AD, the Roman Empire issued an edict of persecution of all Christians and so, behind the suggestion of one of the previously snubbed lovers, Lucia was handed over to the authorities for trial. On December 13 of that year the little Christian, publicly condemned and executed, falls so lifeless on the ground, but the legend still says that his soul, freed from earthly chains, flew happy to paradise. And so, from that moment in many Italian cities (but also abroad) December 13th has become a day of celebration for the little ones, who await the night during which Santa comes down from the sky with his donkey to leave, outside the door of the house of the more good children, a bag full of gifts and treats.

Focaccine di Santa Lucia

Being a party dedicated especially to children, the day of Saint Lucia is therefore the date to prepare for delicacies for children, if not even with them. For example, you can prepare delicious and nice focaccine allo saffron, a typical recipe from Scandinavia, where the cult of Saint Lucia is heard as much as our parts. The ingredients to be procured are: 600 grams of flour, 150 grams of butter, an egg, 2 grams of saffron, 4 dl of milk and 50 grams of brewer's yeast. After melting the butter in a saucepan, add milk and saffron and bring everything to a boil. The mixture is then placed on the fragmented yeast and all the other ingredients are added (with the exception of man), thus obtaining a soft dough to rest for 40 minutes covered with a cloth. At this point the dough is divided into about thirty pieces, to be worked with the hands up to obtain shapes similar to an eight. Leave the scones for half an hour, brush with the beaten egg and then bake at 200 degrees for about a quarter of an hour.

Pugliese eyes

Also in Puglia the children's saint is celebrated every year through a typical recipe of this day: the eyes of Saint Lucia. Similar to taralli, to prepare these sweets you must first pour 800 grams of sifted flour, 150 ml of white wine, 150 ml of oil and a pinch of salt into a bowl. You work everything with your hands until the dough becomes soft and workable and then are created after the sticks to close in the shape of a circle, just like the taralli, to be baked at 180 degrees for 15 minutes. In the meantime, pour 350 grams of powdered sugar into a bowl, together with 5 tablespoons of water, and mix until the sugar is completely dissolved and without lumps. This way you will get it a delicious frosting in which to dip, once cooked and cooled, taralli: the result will be sweet and inviting eyes of Santa Lucia.

Sicilian tradition

Being originally from Syracuse, on the occasion of Santa Lucia you could also prepare the typical arancini or a nice caponata, but since it is a party long awaited by children, better to choose to stay on the subject of desserts. The one par excellence of the island tradition for this day is undoubtedly the Santa Lucia's bed, which is prepared by boiling the wheat soaked for 3 days in water and then mixing it with ricotta cheese is candied fruit. After having soaked and drained about 300 grams, you put the wheat in a pan, covering it with water and adding a pinch of salt; it is cooked over a very low flame even for six or seven hours and then the wheat is left to rest in the cooking water, covered for the whole night. At this point, you put 900 grams of sheep's milk ricotta in a large bowl with 300 grams of sugar and you work everything with a whisk whisk. Let it rest for about thirty minutes and then add 200 grams of candied fruit cut into cubes and 150 grams of dark chocolate drops. All that remains is to combine the wheat with the cream, mix well and finally serve in individual bowls, dusting them all with a lot ' grains of pistachios and the cinnamon powder. The little ones will be enthusiastic, but, to bet on, even the biggest ones will not be less.

5 tips directly from Brittany – Italian Cuisine

The chef at a Breton hotel restaurant explains how to distinguish varieties, recognize the best, taste and match them

Christmas parties are an opportunity to bring to the table refined foods that we do not eat every day e little vices that we usually do not allow ourselves. Like the oysters, for example. Perfect for an aperitif in which you can exchange greetings with a glass of bubbles and to inaugurate the Christmas Eve dinner. Not to mention the months that, in English, contain the letter "R", like December, they are ideal for consuming them.

Delicacies from the ocean

Casanova called the oysters "the nectar of the Gods", but they were already loved by the palates of the Ancient Romans. Always accompanied by the reputation of being aphrodisiac, their taste is unmistakable. They are a delicate and easily perishable food, not to mention that they can be grown only in some very circumscribed areas, in the presence of waters with particular characteristics, as the Britain, one of the places where some of the finest qualities of these molluscs come from.

Oysters: how to choose and taste them

Here then that, directly from Brittany, Anthony Hardy, young and promising chef of the restaurant ofLogis Chateau de Sable hotel in Porspoder, which boasts among its collaborations that with Gordon Ramsay in Bordeaux, gives us some council to choose and taste them.

How to distinguish the varieties of oysters?
The element that presents the greatest differences is the texture, the sensation perceived in the mouth. Another fundamental aspect is clearly the taste: according to the variety, in fact, it is possible to identify more or less intense notes of iodine, or of hazelnut or, again, of algae. La Belon, for example, among the most highly rated and original of the Breton bay of Morlaix, has just this nuance of flavor.

How to choose the best ones?
A useful trick is to tap lightly on the surface of the shell: it must not "sound" empty, and the valves must absolutely be closed. Once opened, the mollusc must withdraw, if touched. In addition, it is necessary to consider the time of year: from September to April, in fact, oysters smell and taste particularly pleasant.

How should they be consumed?
They should be consumed naturally, without any addition.

How can they be combined?
However, if you want to experiment with a combination, a very simple option is to accompany them to a slice of bread with semi-skinned butter: this is a way to enhance the authenticity of the product.

An original idea to serve them in a dish?
You can dare, consuming them in tandem with beef. At the hotel restaurant, I propose them with a base of kig ha farz, a traditional Breton dish similar to boiled, with onion and buckwheat.

On the way of the oysters

Now that you know more, if you are fascinated by this product, but also by oceans and cliffs, you can take advantage of the Christmas holidays for leave for Brittany: to admire the views and taste the local specialties you can choose between lHotel Le Château de Sable, but also thehotel Spa La Butte, with a high-level restaurant and spa in Plouider, a small town overlooking the ocean in the Finistère department, literally "where the land ends" or, again, the hotel overlooking the sea Les Mouettes, which already in the name, "the seagulls", expresses the poetry of these places. In this area there is also Fouesnant, a village overlooking the homonymous, beautiful bay, with theBelle Vue hotel where hospitality is a real family matter, the same since 1919.