Chutney of Chioggia radicchio, orange and dried fruits

 Chutney of Chioggia radicchio, orange and dried fruits

Chutney of Chioggia radicchio, orange and dried fruit is an original and spicy sweet and sour preparation, a perfect sauce to accompany cheese, cold cuts and cold foods. An easy recipe to prepare and to serve with appetizers or aperitifs. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 head of radicchio di Chioggia
• 2 Golden apples
• 3 cm of ginger root
• 90 ml of apple vinegar
• 90 g of brown sugar
• 1 clove
• 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
• grated rind of 1 orange
• 1 teaspoon of coriander seeds
• pink pepper to taste
• 3 black pepper berries
• 20 g shelled walnuts
• 20 g of sliced almonds
• salt

Chutney of Chioggia radicchio, orange and dried fruit is an easy and original recipe, inspired by Asian flavors but based on an ingredient that is an Italian excellence, perfect to tastefully accompany cheeses, cold cuts and boiled meats.

Chutneys are in fact a preparation of Indian origin, generally made of spices and fruits or vegetables, which accompany the main courses. Very common in the English cooking as well, they can remind our mustards, also because they are often slightly spicy. 

The bitter taste of radicchio di Chioggia goes particularly well with the sweetness of the other ingredients and makes for an original chutney. If you would like to try other recipes with radicchio in which this intriguing bitter-sweet combination can be found, we also suggest Radicchio and Forest Honey Salty Cake and Red Rice with Caramelized Pumpkin and Radicchio.

Another tasty idea to accompany cheeses, fresh or aged, are our jams such as Pepper jam or Green Tomato jam.

To prepare the Chioggia radicchio, orange and dried fruit chutney, start by peeling the radicchio and cutting it into strips. Peel and core the apples and dice them.

Pour the vinegar into a large, shallow pan and mix it with the sugar. Add the apples and cook for a few minutes.

Pound all the spices in a mortar and add them to the mixture along with the salt and grated peeled ginger, leaving them to gain flavor. Add the radicchio and orange zest, allow to soften and lower the heat.

Add the dried fruit and cook for about 30 minutes until you have a soft, jam-like mixture. Pour into a well-cleaned glass container with an airtight seal, turn upside down and let cool completely.

Kansas barbecue sauce

 Kansas barbecue sauce 

Kasas City Style BBQ sauce is the traditional accompaniment to American-style BBQ. It is a sweet and sour, lightly smoked sauce that is perfect for grilled meats, especially pork. It is very easy to make, and preparing it in a pressure cooker greatly reduces cooking time. A recipe absolutely to try for summer grilling.

INGREDIENTS

• 200 g ketchup
• 125 ml of tomato puree
• 220 g of dark molasses
• 1 medium onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 4 tablespoons of muscovado brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons of apple vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Worcester sauce
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt

To prepare the Kansas City Style Pressure Cooker BBQ Sauce, gather all the ingredients in the jar of a blender and blend until smooth and homogeneous. Transfer it to the pressure cooker and bring to a boil, then close the lid and place the pot over a medium-sized fire on high heat. From the hiss, reduce the power of the heat source and cook for 15 minutes.

Remove from the heat, allow to vent and open the lid. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and let it cool completely before serving.

Kansas City Style Pressure Cooker BBQ Sauce is the typical accompaniment to Ribs BBQ style, the queens of American grilling. It is also excellent with our Grilled Pork Ribs or Grilled Sausages. In the summer, try it with cold boiled meat: you will be amazed. If you are not able to find dark molasses, you can replace it with chestnut honey or fir honeydew.

Vegetarian Ragout

 Vegetarian Ragout

The recipe for vegetarian meat sauce that we propose here is a very simple alternative to the classic meat sauce. Carrots, shallots, celery and tomatoes for a tasty vegetable sauce, very easy to make and suitable for the most traditional pasta dish as well as for other more elaborate recipes.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 shallots
• 3 carrots
• 3 celery stalks
• 90 g of tomato paste
• a few bay leaves
• rosemary
• cloves
• juniper berries
• salt
• pepper
• extra virgin olive oil

Shallots, carrots, diced celery and tomato paste are the ingredients of our simple vegetarian ragout, a tasty and perfect alternative recipe to the classic meat sauce. It is proposed in line with the healthiest and most correct dietary indications that recommend alternating (as often as possible) vegetable products with those of animal origin.

This vegetable ragout is excellent in this way, to season the most classic of pasta dishes, but lends itself to become the precious ingredient of many other preparations such as vegetarian or vegan lasagna. Prepare it and let it rest for some hours before using it, it will be even more tasty.

Ragout of lentils and Ragout of soybean and sunflower seeds are also two very good and tasty proposals if you want to prepare a vegetarian sauce for your first courses.

Preparing this vegetarian ragout is simple. First, cut the vegetables into cubes and obtain about 90 g of tomato paste. Then devote yourself to sautéing: pour a few tablespoons of oil in a saucepan and add the vegetables. Stir and cook over low heat for about 15-20 minutes. Add some water if you notice that it is too dry. 

At this point, add the concentrate, stir and pour in water until the vegetables are completely covered: they should cook for at least 2 hours. As the water is absorbed, add more water. Not too much, because it should not have the consistency of a broth. After an hour and a half, add the aromas: juniper, cloves, bay leaves and rosemary and season with salt. Let it cook for another 30 minutes. 

At this point the vegetarian ragout is ready and can be used as a condiment for an excellent pasta. 

Spicy Chutney

Spicy Chutney

Spicy chutney is a sauce originating from south east Asia. It is a sort of jam with an intense and aromatic flavor, with a sweet and sour taste, which is used to accompany meat and cheese main courses.

INGREDIENTS
400 g of apples peeled and cut into cubes
250 g pears, peeled and diced
200 g of onions cut into strips
100 g of raisins
230 g brown cane sugar
400 ml apple vinegar
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
10 g salt
A little bit jam, a little bit mustard, but different from both, chutney is a very common sauce in Asia, typically in India. There are many variations of chutney, with different ingredients, from coconut to mint, from chickpeas to peppers and mango.
Prepare the spicy chutney to season meat or cheese, if you want to give an ethnic touch to your dinner. If you are familiar with the preparation of jams and marmalades, you will have no difficulty in obtaining a delicious chutney.
In this recipe it is important to make sure that the sweet and sour taste is balanced, strictly following the doses of vinegar, which gives the sour note, and sugar, which adds sweetness to the fruit. The spicy mix of ginger, turmeric and cinnamon will fill the kitchen with fragrance.
Don't give in to the temptation to taste the chutney right away, it needs a few days in the jar to mature a rounded flavor.
To make the spicy chutney, gather the fruit, onion, raisins and vinegar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil until the pulp appears cooked, but not undone. Add the spices, salt and sugar.
Turn down the heat and stir for about 40 minutes until a teaspoon of chutney is placed on a flat slanted plate and the jam falls out. Pour the spiced chutney into sterilized glass jars with an airtight seal and let it rest for at least ten days before tasting to allow the flavors to blend and enhance each other.

Lentil Ragout

 Lentil Ragout

The lentil ragout is a totally vegan alternative to the classic meat sauce, great for dressing pasta, gnocchi and lasagna is also delicious served on hot croutons. An easy recipe, rich in vegetable proteins.

 

INGREDIENTS

• 250 g small lentils
• 25 g of dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 carrot
• 1 small golden onion
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
• 500 g of tomato puree
• 1/2 glass of dry white wine
• 3 spoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 500 ml of hot water or vegetable broth
• salt
• pepper

Lentil ragout is a tasty and very versatile recipe. Not only is it a delicious, totally vegan condiment, an alternative to the classic Ragù alla Bolognese, for tagliatelle, gnocchi and lasagna. Its rich flavor and dense, full-bodied consistency make it exquisite also simply served on warm bread croutons or as an accompaniment to polenta and for all the uses of traditional ragù.

Prepared in this way, the vegan lentil ragout is ideal for family meals but also for a dinner with friends. It is also a perfect idea for those who follow an omnivorous diet but like to alternate the intake of vegetable proteins with those of animal origin. A choice that makes our diet more sustainable and healthy. With advantages for everyone. And recipes with legumes are, in this sense, very valuable.

The procedure for this vegetable ragout is very simple and fast: the cooking must be carried out over a gentle flame and for a period of at least 1 hour and a half, so that the lentils cook perfectly without flaking but enriching their taste. Choose preferably small green lentils, such as those from Castelluccio. If you like them, you can also opt for larger ones, while small hulled red lentils are to be excluded.

Tasty vegetable alternatives are also available for the soy and sunflower seed ragout or for a real vegetable ragout as in the Green Lasagna with vegetarian ragout. 

To prepare the lentil ragout, first place the dried mushrooms in a bowl with warm water and let them soak for at least 30 minutes. In the meantime, clean the vegetables and chop them finely with a knife. Fry them over low heat in a saucepan with a couple of tablespoons of oil.

When they become translucent, add the drained, squeezed and finely chopped dried mushrooms and the bay leaf. Leave to gain flavor for 2 minutes, then add the well rinsed lentils and fry for a few minutes over medium heat. Deglaze with the white wine and allow to evaporate.

Add the tomato paste, the passata and the hot water. Bring to a boil, add salt and pepper, cover and cook over low heat, as you would for a classic ragù, for at least 1 and a half or 2 hours, adding more hot water if necessary. When cooked, the lentil ragout should be creamy and thick.

Crepes with porcini mushrooms and provolone cheese

 Crepes with porcini mushrooms and provolone cheese

Porcini mushroom crepes with spicy DOP provolone cheese are a very satisfying vegetarian recipe. A creamy and flavorful holiday dish that can be prepared in advance and reheated in the oven at lunch or dinner time.

INGREDIENTS

3 eggs

500 ml milk

220 g of type 00 flour

butter

500 g of cow's ricotta cheese

40 g of dried porcini mushrooms

fresh parsley

Val di Mazara DOP extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove

salt

pepper

½ glass of dry white wine

2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese

PDO 30 months grated

300 ml of béchamel sauce

spicy provolone Valpadana DOP cheese

Vegetarian cuisine is full of surprises. A delicious first course for a vegetarian holiday menu is porcini mushroom crepes with spicy DOP provolone cheese. The ingredients of the recipe are calculated for 4 people equal to 8 crepes. The beauty of this dish is that you can prepare it in advance, so you can save time and avoid unnecessary stress.

HOW TO PREPARE: CREPES WITH PORCINI MUSHROOMS AND SPICY PROVOLONE DOP

Prepare the filling: soak the mushrooms in warm water for about 30 minutes. Drain and squeeze them gently and then chop with a knife. Set aside.

Brown the garlic in a non-stick frying pan with a little oil, add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and allow to take on flavour. Deglaze with white wine and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Turn off the heat and set aside.

Collect the well drained ricotta in a bowl and mix it with grated Parmesan cheese and a pinch of salt. Mix in the mushrooms and set aside.

aside.

At this point, prepare the crepes: collect the eggs in a large bowl, beat them adding salt and milk. Continue adding the sifted flour and mixing with a whisk. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap and let it rest 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Grease a non-stick frying pan with butter and put it on the stove. Pour in a ladleful of the mixture and spread it over the entire surface of the pan. Cook the crepe on both sides and continue in this way until all the batter is used up. As they are ready, stack the crêpes on top of each other to keep them warm and soft.

Then grease a baking sheet. Take one crêpe at a time and sprinkle half with a generous layer of ricotta and mushroom cream. Close each crêpe in half.

Arrange them in the baking dish, side by side. Cover with a generous amount of béchamel sauce and grated provolone, and bake in a static oven preheated to 200°C for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

Bell pepper sauce

 Bell pepper sauce

Bell pepper sauce is a quick and easy recipe for making a tasty condiment for pasta dishes and croutons. Make it in the summer, when peppers are in season for maximum flavor. 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 large red peppers
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• salt

Bell pepper sauce is a quick and easy passepartout condiment, ideal for spreading on croutons, canapés and bruschetta or for dressing pasta dishes.

Make it during the summer, when the peppers are fresh, so as to get the best taste: this sauce is rightfully included in our best of Jams, preserves, fruit in syrup and sauces: the best 38 recipes to prepare in summer.

Just a few steps are needed to obtain a tasty and velvety cream: first blanch the peppers, so that they can be peeled and easily blended with an immersion blender. Then add vinegar, garlic and oil and you're done! 

Preparing the bell pepper sauce is quick and easy. In a small saucepan, pour the vinegar, add the minced garlic and let it steep for a few minutes. Blanch the peppers in salted water, peel them and remove the seeds and filaments.

Blend the peppers to a smooth consistency. At this point add the white vinegar using a sieve, so that it retains the pieces of garlic. Emulsify the mixture with the oil. The bell pepper sauce is ready.

Peppers and basil pate

 Peppers and basil pate

Peppers and basil pate is a homemade sauce that packs the flavor of summer in a jar. An easy recipe to make in the summer time and then enjoy this fragrant cream on bread and croutons. 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 red peppers
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 30 g of pine nuts
• 1 tuft of fresh basil
• 2 slices of wholemeal bread
• salt

extra virgin olive oil

Peppers and basil pâté is a simple preparation, perfect to accompany tasty bread croutons or as a quick condiment for a tasty pasta dish. An ideal recipe to preserve the scents of summer for a long time and that can be packaged and given as a gift as a thought "home made" that will certainly be appreciated.

Peppers are a seasonal vegetable in the summer months: colorful and versatile, they are very loved and give many tasty preparations, for example discover our 30 easy and tasty recipes with peppers that you will love immediately.

If you like creamy textures do not miss our 10 sauces, mousses and creams to spread with summer ingredients: they are easy to make, to enrich canapés, croutons and bruschetta. But also for fillings and to flavor salads and cold dishes. 

To prepare the peppers and basil paté, wash, dry and cut the peppers in half. Remove seeds and inner filaments. Cut the flaps into cubes for even cooking. Transfer them to a non-stick skillet. Add the thinly sliced onion and chopped garlic clove. Cover and grill - without fat - over high heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

Season with salt and add a splash of oil. Continue cooking without the lid until the vegetables are soft but still al dente. When the cooking liquid is quite dry, turn off the heat and let cool. In the meantime, toast the pine nuts for a few minutes on another non-stick pan. Transfer everything to a kitchen mixer and blend. Correct for salt. Add a generous splash of oil, a sprig of basil and the bread slices. Blend again until thick.

Transfer the pate to a bowl and incorporate the toasted pine nuts. Spread the paté inside one or more perfectly clean and dry jars and cover the surface with oil. The bell pepper paté will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week. Serve the paté on slices of warm bread, freshly toasted.

Genoese Pesto

 Genoese Pesto

Pesto alla Genovese is the most famous sauce of Ligurian cooking. The original recipe calls for the use of seven ingredients, including Genovese basil DOP, garlic of Vessalico and taggiasco oil, the quantities should be established "by eye", according to the experience of the cook.

INGREDIENTS

• Vessalico garlic with the soul removed
• Pine nuts
• Small leaf Genovese DOP basil
• Taggiasco oil
• Salt
• Sardinian fiore pecorino cheese
• Parmesan cheese seasoned 24 months

There is no perfect recipe for Pesto alla Genovese. There is a rule about the type and quality of ingredients and there is good pesto, where good depends, as always, on the taste of the person who prepares and tastes it. We asked Roberto Panizza, a true Genoese and ambassador of pesto in the world, to reveal us some secrets, which we will show you. In the meantime, pay attention to the tools: the mortar is made of marble and the pestle is made of wood, a compact wood like pear wood. Pay attention to the sequence of ingredients and to the basic rule: prepare pesto by hand and not in a blender. 

Also keep in mind that the dosage of ingredients has changed over time: in the past they used much more garlic, whereas today the quantity has been greatly reduced. Many people consume pesto without garlic, but for this preparation it is necessary: it represents the spicy part in a recipe which otherwise would be mainly sweet.

The most important rule of pesto is to never heat it! Pesto must be used cold, diluted with a little cooking water if needed. 

Pesto is good with everything, even on bread. If I had to suggest a pasta format, I would prefer trofie, which wins over everything, but gnocchi and testaroli also make their mark.

You can use pesto to make many tasty recipes. For example, Lasagna with pesto or Trofie with cuttlefish in basil pesto, and finally pasta salads, such as Cold Pasta with cherry tomatoes, pesto and mozzarella.

A final tip: remember to finish the pesto recipe by giving it another turn in a mortar, to better blend the parmesan and oil with the other ingredients. Once ready, you can store the pesto alla genovese in the refrigerator, in a hermetically sealed glass jar, for up to 5 days.

To prepare the pesto alla Genovese, start by crushing the pine nuts and the Vessalico garlic in a mortar. Pound them together to create a floury mixture. 

Add the basil, removing the leaves one by one from the stem and placing them in the mortar along with the garlic and pine nut mixture. Add a pinch of salt, taking care not to overdo it: the parmesan and pecorino, which you will add later, are already very tasty.

Begin to pound: when the leaves are bruised, continue to work them with the mortar using a rotary motion. Change direction of rotation every so often until a cream is formed. 

Add the Parmesan cheese aged 24 months and the pecorino fiore sardo. Add the taggiasco oil and mix with a spoon.

Pound the mixture with the pestle to obtain a homogeneous sauce, adding more oil. Your pesto alla genovese is ready to season pasta, lasagna and gnocchi, as you like.

 Bagna Cauda

Bagna cauda is a typical preparation of Piedmont based on anchovies and garlic. A "hot sauce" that is usually brought to the table accompanied by fresh and cooked vegetables. Try it for a dinner with friends.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 garlic heads
• 100 g of salted anchovies
• a glass of red wine
• 150 g of extra virgin olive oil

Bagna cauda is one of the most symbolic preparations of Piedmont. It is a very tasty sauce made of anchovies and garlic and it is also celebrated during the Bagna Cauda Day which takes place every year in Asti. The recipe we are presenting is the one deposited at the Italian Academy of Cuisine in September 2015 and considered "the most reliable and passable" by the judging commission of experts. 

Bagna cauda literally means "hot sauce" and is prepared by letting garlic cloves and anchovies (preferably of the red type from Spain) cook slowly in extra virgin olive oil until they are completely flaked.

It is traditionally served in the "fujot", the typical earthenware stoves that maintain the heat, accompanied by raw vegetables (such as the "hunchback" thistle of Nizza Monferrato or peppers) and cooked vegetables (from Jerusalem artichokes to boiled potatoes and savoy cabbage).

Start preparing the bagna cauda from the garlic: peel the garlic, remove the sprout and cut each clove in half lengthwise. Now dedicate yourselves to the anchovies. First, desalinate them and then remove the bones. 

Soak them for a few minutes in red wine and then pat them dry. Start cooking the garlic cloves in a crock with half of the oil and stir with a wooden spoon. 

Add the anchovy fillets and the remaining oil. Cook over low heat for about 60 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Be careful not to let the oil fry. Cooking must be very gentle: for better heat dispersion place a flame spreader under the crock. Towards the end you can help with a wooden spoon, breaking up the garlic cloves that have softened in the meantime. Once ready, bring the bagna cauda to the table inside the typical fujot, which will keep it warm.