Tag: tricks

Fried artichokes: the tricks to make them perfect – Italian Cuisine

Find out with what little precautions to make fried artichokes even more special: from the right batter to the consistency to be obtained, passing through the pan and the oil to be used

THE artichokes they are delicious in all sauces, simply sautéed or in a risotto. The non plus ultra, however, is to make them fried and it does not matter if the judge, in batter or simply floured. Once you have established the recipe you prefer, follow ours tricks for howling fried artichokes.

The right batter

The recipes of the batter can be varied: with or without eggs, with wheat or rice flour, with beer or water or sparkling water. The best is that formed by proteins and starches (therefore eggs and flour, for example): this combination is the one that returns the most golden and inviting crust when fried. In any case, the foresight when you prepare it is to make sure that the compound is beautiful and dense that sticks good for artichoke slices.
Even the unpleasant passage of Sift the flour, in the end, will be rewarded, preventing lumps from forming in the batter.
Regardless of the ingredients, however, one of the tricks to obtain excellent fried artichokes is that of shake off the excess batter (or flour, if they are only floured), which could detach from the vegetables and burn in oil, giving an unpleasant aftertaste to all the other artichokes.

Fried artichokes: professional tricks

Still on the subject of batter, if you prepare it with eggs, there is a way to make it soft and very light. The trick is to beat the yolks with a pinch of salt and beat the egg whites until stiff. Incorporate the flour into the yolks and then, stirring gently from the bottom upwards, also add the egg whites.

The importance of tools

To get perfect fried artichokes one of the secrets is to use the right utensils. There most suitable pan to frying is that in iron, also loved by chefs, because it conducts heat evenly.

Oil for frying: there is plenty of choice

The oil lane in the supermarket is usually extremely rich and well-stocked, which then to choose for optimal results? We advise you to opt for the dear old man extra virgin olive oil or peanut oil, the oils most resistant to high temperatures.
Among the tricks for unrivaled fried artichokes, there would be to fry with a thermometer. The ideal temperature for frying is, in fact, between 160 and 180 degrees.
You don't need to remember that artichokes should be dipped inoil only when it is hot to prevent them getting soaked, isn't it?

The tricks for an excellent brown jam – Italian Cuisine

Brown jam is a delicious way to enjoy this autumn fruit, not just on toast. Discover how to prepare it at home with our recipe

Just hearing the words "brown jam"Makes your mouth water, then imagine spreading this sweet cream on a slice of good toasted bread, with a cup of steaming tea, coffee or cappuccino on the side … It would be patented as remedy for all ills. And if we give you tricks and secrets to prepare it at home? Panacea always ready to use.

How to prepare brown jam

The first fundamental ingredient for the preparation of brown jam is the patience, but it will be worth it. Wash 1.5 kg of chestnuts and engrave them with a sharp knife. Put the chestnuts in a large saucepan and cover them with water. Bring to a boil and do cook for 35-40 minutes. Cool the boiled chestnuts in their water for about 10 minutes, drain and peel them carefully.
Pass the chestnuts with the vegetable mill – for a more rustic and dense result – or blend them to obtain a smoother and more homogeneous jam. Weigh the chestnut cream obtained and pour into a saucepan sugar for 1/3 of the weight of the chestnut cream e water for 1/3 of the weight of the sugar (for example: for 1 kg of cream of chestnuts put in the pot about 330 g of sugar and about 110 ml of water). Let it caramelize over low heat water and sugar and when the water has evaporated add the chestnut cream. You do cook your jam for 30 minutes and at this point it is poured into sterilized glass jars, proceeding as for any jam.

Incurable greedy?

That is: how to make the brown jam even more irresistible. you can flavor it with a vanilla bean half open to long to add with chestnut cream in water and sugar syrup; a small glass of rum at the end of cooking it will make this jam a forbidden delight for minors; even chocolate lovers will find the right solution: some cocoa spoon at the end of cooking and chestnut jam will be an excellent competitor of the most well-known spreadable creams that you can buy ready-made.

How to use brown jam

In fact, chestnut jam reaches very high levels even on its own on toast. If you want to overdo it, try it with i mature cheeses – other than traditional honey and jams – or with the ricotta cheese. For a dolce express serve it in gods small glasses with whipped cream and hazelnuts.

The five tricks for preparing (and digesting) peppers – Italian Cuisine

We have learned to choose peppers, which in the summer season get into our culinary preparations – from grilled vegetables – and brighten up our meals. But a dinner based on peppers is never light-hearted. Exceptions, abstinences and propitiatory rites often turn out to be only good luck exercises. Whether green or red, square or ox horn, digest the peppers it's never child's play. And yet, why give up this delight that can be declined from appetizer to dessert? In reality, to survive after dinner just know the secrets of the pepper.

To find out what are the main tricks to prepare this seasonal product, we went to Carmagnola, in the province of Turin, where we celebrate a festival dedicated to the pepper. Chiara Tomenotti, of the artisan laboratory 'Once upon a time a recipe', has enriched the list of our suggestions.

1 – A camomile flower to calm the pepper.

To make the cooked pepper in a pan with the peel more digestible, as in the classic peperonata, it is sufficient to add a pinch of chamomile. "When the water has dried, the sauce is already thickened and the pepper starts to fry. Crumble a camomile flower in the pan to remove the fat that the pepper releases naturally. – explains Chiara – Chamomile is also able to absorb the residual oil or butter and can be added in all the preparations that include the unpeeled pepper, from meat sauce to simple cooking in casserole ".

2 – Oven and paper bag to remove the skin

To have a soft pepper, at the door of all metabolisms, we light the oven. "When it is heated it is easier to remove the skin which is the cause of the bad reputation due to its poor digestibility. – continues Chiara – The skin of the pepper contains an acid that the stomach assimilates with greater effort ". In order not to turn the cleaning of the red pepper into a crystal Hell scene, you can leave it to cool for 10 minutes in a food paper bag.

3 – On the flame spreader, embers effect

A valid alternative to the oven is the flame spreader grill. In this case the pepper sits directly on the grill resting on the living flame – and high! – of a stove. The cooking is quick (while in the oven it takes half an hour): the vegetable must be turned in all its sides until the skin becomes really carbon black. At this point you can remove it as above, and you get a still tenacious pepper of consistency but with an exquisite taste of embers and devoid of its indigestible skin.

4 – The 'bones' of the pepper

In addition to the skin, the white ribs are the enemies of digestion. Above all raw, it is good to eliminate them. Not only the internal ones, but also the whole callous part around the ends of the vegetable, picciuolo and 'butt'.

5 – White cane sugar for oil cans

A sacrifice today for a delight in a few months. Even peppers in oil may have edges for the stomach. But everything can be smoothed, softened. In this case, with the final addition of a secret ingredient. "Whether for stuffed peppers, for example with bagna càôda, or for appetizers, – says Chiara – before closing the jar towards always a shaved teaspoon of white cane sugar that makes the preparation then easier to digest. The proportion, in this case, is one teaspoon of sugar for a kilo of peppers ".

And then here are a couple of suggestions for their preparation.

A – With honey and caramel, American cheesecake

You have eaten it in all the sauces, but perhaps you have not yet tried the cheesecake as a last demonstration of loyalty to this fruit of the colored earth. “The original recipe is that of the pepper mustard, cooked with vinegar and honey, from which a light, sugar-free cream is made. – explains Chiara – The biscuit base of the cheesecake can be replaced by a mixture of crackers and butter that has the consistency of a thick and rigid wafer on which to spread the peppers cream. With the addition of caramel it can be served as a dessert, on the contrary as an appetizer or for the aperitif ".

B – Thyme and oregano to perfume it

Does the smell of peppers clear your saliva? Can't stand its strong taste that spreads throughout the house? Even peppers can be scented. Thyme and oregano are the two spices that go best with this vegetable, while curry can be added for more exotic but always very aromatic preparations.

Fabio Marzano
September 2018
updated July 2010
by Carola Traverso Saibante

DISCOVER THE COOKING COURSES OF SALT & PEPE