Tuscan Week Menu

An idea for a Tuscan menu from Toscana Mia cooking classes last week


Apetizer/Starter  Antipasto

Black Olives Crostini  
Crostini alle Olive Nere

http://toscanamiacooking.blogspot.it/2011/12/italian-black-olives-apetizer.html

First course Primo Pasta

Tuscan Spaghetti with  Garlic and Cherry Tomatoes  
                           Pici all' Aglione 

http://toscanamiacooking.blogspot.it/2011/12/how-to-make-pici.html

http://toscanamiacooking.blogspot.it/2011/12/cherry-tomatoes-garlic-sauce.html

Second Course  Secondo 
Balsamic Vinegar Scaloppine Scaloppine all' Aceto Balsamico

http://toscanamiacooking.blogspot.it/2012/03/scaloppine-balsamic-for-poultry-day.html

Contorno
Beans Tuscan Way   Fagioli al Fiasco

http://toscanamiacooking.blogspot.it/2009/01/cooking-cookery-typical-tuscan-cooking.html

Dessert  Dolce 
Panna Cotta with Chocolate and Safron Panna Cotta con Cioccolato e Zafferano

http://toscanamiacooking.blogspot.it/2009/10/panna-cotta-in-tuscany.html 

Black Olives crostini

Pici with Garlic and Cherry Tomatoes

Fagioli al Fiasco

Pici all' Aglione

balsamic Vinegar with Beans

Panna Cotta with chocolate

Panna Cotta with Safron and Chocolate

Tuscan Fresh Fennel with Olives

When out it’s hot this dish is so refreshing.Fennels are not so well known  even if they are very  fresh taste a and no calories

Insalata di Finocchi

4 fennels

1  handful green olives

1 clove garlic

parsley

origano

oil, 

vinegar, 

salt 

peperoncino 

Slice the fennels as finely as possible,mix them with the olives, then add a small chopped garlic clove ,a spoonful of parsley and some fresh origano.  Prepare  a  dressing  with oil , vinegar, salt a and a pinch of peperoncino. Season the fennels, stir and serve cold.

Lumaconi with Parmesan and Eggplants

The "lumaconi" are a main dish with Parmesan, unusual and very tasty. The main ingredients are eggplant and mozzarella that can be buffalo  or cow mozzarella.

Lumaconi  with Parmesan and Eggplants

For the pasta 

• Basil ,20 leaves
• Salt ,3 pinches
• Parmigiano Reggiano cheese ,120 gr
• Lumaconi Pasta 500 gr 
• Eggplant ,two medium 
• Mozzarella , 400 g
• Olive oil ,3-4 tablespoons

For the sauce

• Garlic ,2 cloves
• Salt ,3 pinches
• Tomatoes ,1200 g pulp
• Black Olives ,50 g 
• Olive oil ,4 tablespoons

Mince the garlic and slice the olives into rings . Fry garlic and olives in a pan .

Add the chopped tomatoes. Simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon .

Prepare the eggplant, cut them  rounds about 2 cm thick and then cut into cubes : fry in a pan . 
Once the cubes are fried, drain from the oil and put them  on a plate covered with absorbent paper .Dice mozzarella .

Cook the pasta in salted water, drain it  “al dente”. 

Fill  the lumaconi with some of the sauce and then  season with some . 

Sprinkle bottom of pan with oil and place a layer of pasta, continue with half of  the eggplant and  with the diced mozzarella ,   cut  the basil leaves in half with your fingers. 

Finish with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese . Continue with another layer of pasta to which you add all other ingredients and finish with the sauce .

Bake for 35-40 minutes at 160° C 

Grate  Parmesan cheese on the lumaconi  and serve immediately.

Italian Green Pistachio

For friends who requested a recipe not so typical Tuscan, but know we like to “go out of home” sometimes, we talk about  Pistachio.

In Italy pistachio coltivation has its  niche: the most famous pistachio are from Bronte and  Adrano ,on the slopes of Etna, protected by the DOP "Green Pistachio of Bronte." Pistachios  are used  peeled , often roasted and salted, but also in confectionery, ice cream, creams, drinks, for the production of cured meats (Mortadella  from Bologna, for example), or as a condiment for pasta and meat dishes.

Crostini di Pistacchio

50g peeled pistachio nuts
  walnuts  30 grams.
  4 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper q.b.(as much as you like)
fresh basil - a bunch
40 g parmesan cheese.
1 clove of garlic
-
 In a mortar grind  pistachios, nuts, basil leaves, garlic. Add the grated Parmesan, a sprinkling of pepper and salt, then blend in the oil,  and stir  to obtain a uniform and consistent sauce.

This sauce is at its best used on bread, or  as a dressing for pasta or gnocchi.

This pesto  can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days, frozen or kept in a glass container as long as you add oil enough to cover it.

Pistachio Crostini

How to Cook Eel

Cooking the Capitone or  Anguilla (the Capitone  is the female) is typical of the tradition of some Italian regions. We chose a recipe from Puglia, the  land of our father, assuming that those who are cooking the eel request the  fishmonger to prepare it.

The only tip:
If cooked with the skin: Rub the eel  with salt to remove the slimy skin.

If cooked without skin ,pass the eel  over a flame so that the skin is swollen and come off more easily. The best way to take the skin off,would be to do while it is  still alive, but the operation is not at all pleasant

1.2 kg of eel
250 gr.canned tomatoes
1 cup of vinegar

1 cup dry white wine
 2 bay leaves
 1 / 2 golden onion
 2 cloves of garlic
 1 bunch of parsley
 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
 1 peperoncino ( Italian  hot pepper)
 salt

Put the eel in water and vinegar for 1 hour. Wash it and cut it into pieces of 5 cm. Without removing the skin.
Put the oil in a pan and when hot cook the pieces  with the bay leaves.

Add half a glass of wine, let evaporate, remove the pieces of eel from the pan.
Chop onion, garlic, parsley and pepper and  cook them  in the pan
Add another half glass of wine and when it has evaporated add the tomatoes, then half of a liter of water and when it has  partly evaporated, add  the pieces of  the eel
Cook for 20 minutes. Take  them out of the sauce and let cool.
Remove  the central spine bone .

 Put the fillets in the sauce and heat before serving.

Italian Family Tomato Sauce

Tomatoe sauce is probably the most  used of our  sauces and for this reason we give a lot of attention in choosing the right tomatoes or the right  canned tomatoes to make it.

Salsa di Pomodoro

500 gr. ripe tomatoes

(or 400 gr. peeled  canned tomatoes)

50 gr. onion

50 gr. carrots

50 gr. celery

parsley

basil

2 spoonfuls oil

salt ,pepper, sugar

Cut all the vegetables in small pieces .Pour the oil in a casserole and cook the chopped vegetables for 10 minutes  on moderate heat .Add the tomatoes possibly cut in half by hand and let them cook for 30 /40 minutes. Put them through a vegetable mill and then  cook them with oil, a small  glass warm water, salt, pepper, basil, parsley and 2 pinches sugar and cook for approximately 20 minutes.

You can add:

* A little sugar will take out some of the Tomatoes' acidity..

* A little peperoncino (Italian hot Chili pepper)will give  a hot taste

* A little cream will create  a more delicate taste.

How to prepare Roasted Meat on the Stove

Searching for suggestions for an Italian Christmas meal , roasted meat cooked on the stove

Arrosto Farcito Alle Erbe  

900g best end of veal

6 slices  smoked pancetta

Sage , Rosemary,  Parsley 

1 onion

1 glass dry white wine

3 cloves of garlic

70g butter

Salt,pepper

    

Chop  sage,rosemary,parsley and garlic.

Place a slice of pancetta around the meat. Spread the slices with the very-finely chopped herbs and garlic. Brown the onion in the butter in a casserole. Bind the meat and place it in this. Brown the meat, season with salt and pepper and pour on the wine. Let the wine evaporate at a high temperature. Then cook the meat over a low flame for c. 1½ hours. As the meat is cooking, pour on a little warm water so that the sauce does not dry out. Once cooked, unbind the meat, slice it and serve.

Cherry Tomatoes & Garlic Sauce

AGLIO, AGLIO,AGLIO GARLIC ,GARLIC,GARLIC

When  preparing pici  the best sauce to serve them with 

Salsa all’ Aglione

garlic 6 big cloves

fresh tomatoes, gr 300

( preferably cherry tomatoes or Pachino)

wine vinegar, only  a few drops

1peperoncino ( red Italian  hot pepper)

extra vergin olive oil

Take a high-sided pan , large enough because you have to warm  then the pasta in it . Clean 6 garlic cloves, crush them and put them in the skillet where you’ve previously heated  extra virgin olive oil of excellent quality. 

Make them just “ take colour” and add the crushed dried peperoncino and vinegar .Finally add tomatoes cut in half.

. Add salt and cook for 10 minutes

Drain the pasta   and pour into the skillet . Serve with a generous grating of pecorino cheese .

Summer Pasta Salad

In summer we start getting in the mood for fresh and cool food.  We love cold pasta dishes!  One of our favorite go-to recipes is something our mom made often growing up, Italian Pasta Salad.  It's really simple, and can easily be customized.  Here's our version of it with fresh red tomatoes, celery, garlic , basil and a lots of Parmigiano Reggiano:

 Spaghetti in Insalata

300g spaghetti

2 fresh tomatoes              

80g celery

Basil, parsley

1 clove of garlic

Grated Parmigiano

100g olive oil                   

Salt, black pepper

Chop celery, parsley and basil and place them in a bowl. Add the oil, mixing well. Cut the garlic in half and add it to the sauce. Cut the tomatoes into small cubes and add them to the sauce, along with salt and pepper. Cover the recipient and leave in a cool place for at least 1½ hours. Meanwhile cook the spaghetti, pour it into the recipient and mix well, adding the Parmigiano.

Pesto Sauce Day

Pesto Genovese is the official dish of the  International Day of Italian Cuisines  on Monday January 17,2011 

We have chosen to remember our recipe for a tasteful  Pesto Sauce

Tuscan Summer Vegetables Recipe

This is a summer Tuscan  traditional recipe, which have different names all over Italy and  You can prepare and eat the same day, but it’s perfect also the day after It’s good also cold . Perfect recipe in the hot summer days  and when you have vegetarian or vegan friends.

GURGUGLIONE

300g  Aubergines (Egg-plants)
300g  Courgettes (Zucchini)
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
200g  Potatoes
150g  Peppers
300g  Peeled tomatoes
Oil
Salt and Pepper
Basil

Cut all the vegetables into small pieces Soften the chopped onion and garlic in the oil in a saucepan. Add the peppers, leave to cook for 5 minutes, then add the other vegetables, salt and pepper and leave to stew. Cook for 20 minutes in the last 5 minutes add  the basil and finish cooking.