How to prepare Tuscan Stew Chicken

Today we want to suggest you a traditional peasant way of making chicken in Tuscany A very tasteful recipe ,and you may find yourself dipping bread in the gravy until you've finished every drop. In Italy we call it “fare scarpetta”

Pollo alla Toscana

1 chicken

30g dried mushrooms

500 ml tomatoe purèe

3 ladlefuls of stock

½ glass of white wine

4 spoonfuls olive oil

Salt, pepper

Soak the mushrooms in some lukewarm water for about 10 minutes. Peel the tomatoes and cut them into small pieces. Cut the chicken into pieces and place it in a  pan with oil, salt and pepper. Brown over a medium heat. As  soon as the chicken is golden, cover it with the wine, letting it evaporate over a high flame. Add the mushrooms and the purèe. Continue cooking  for about 50 minutes, adding the stock a little at a time.

Suggestion: the  mushrooms  can be substituted with 400g of green, red and yellow peppers.

A Passion for Mushroom..

How many different ways to prepare them, today we have  a little bit more time so we can cook a  longer recipe    but so tasty   and fancy to serve !

Sformatini di Funghi

100g grated Parmigiano

200g mushrooms

oil

garlic                                                                                                                                                                                                        parsley

 5-6 eggs (400g)

Salt, pepper

For the bechamel sauce:

50g butter

40g flour,

½ l milk

salt.

• Prepare the bechamel sauce, blend in the cheese and the pepper and leave to cool. 
• Chop the mushrooms and cook them in oil with garlic and parsley. 

• Remove the cooking liquid and add the mushrooms to the bechamel. 

• Add the 5 egg yolks, one at a time, and the salt. 
• Gradually add the stiffly-whisked egg whites.

• Pour the mixture into small moulds and place in the oven at 180°C for 15 minutes

• Then increase the temperature to 210°C and cook for another 10 minutes
• Serve while still hot

How to prepare Lasagne

Lasagne are both a form of pasta in sheets and also a dish, sometimes named lasagne al forno (meaning "oven-cooked lasagne") made with alternate layers of pasta, cheese, and often ragù (a meat sauce) or tomato sauce.

It’s not commonly known that lasagne is an ancient dish ,back to Ancient Roman time, called lagana .In Apulia lagana is the word used for the dough prepared with the rolling pin.

Till recently ,it was common to have lasagne as a family Sunday dish. They represented family warmth and family feeling. Grandma started on Saturday preparing the ragù and its perfume slowly invaded the home and then ,on early Sunday morning, she went on preparing the dough and dish .Nowadays preparation is sometimes much faster using already prepared lasagne pasta and sauces. It can be much faster to use ready-prepared lasha sheets, we would not suggest yiu the ready prepared ragù!

Each Regional cooking has diversified and developed its own type of lasagna , with variations in comparison to the original recipe. Some recipes call for more than one cheese, most often ricotta and mozzarella. Mozzarella is made in the south of Italy, so the use of these two cheeses is typical of lasagne made in Naples or further south. Lasagne al Ragù uses only Parmigiano Reggiano, ragù sauce and nutmeg flavoured béchamel sauce (besciamella). In Liguria pesto is typically used , and probably this gave the main idea for the modern creation of vegetarian lasagne.

Lasagne

for Bolognese sauce

200 g lean ground beef

50 g onion50 gr. Celery

3 spoonfuls of tomato

concentrate sauce

15 gr. butter

1 spoonful of oil

salt,pepper

15 gr. dried mushrooms(optional)

white or red wine

For the béchamel

40 g Butter

40 g Flour

1 l. milk

nutmeg

salt and pepper

for pasta

500 gr Fresh or dry lasagne

Parmigiano reggiano

Chop the onion and the celery ,saute with butter and oil. Add the beef, salt and pepper.

Stir often, until cooked. Add the wine and allow to evaporate. Add the tomato sauce (which has been diluted with two glass of hot water and the mushrooms. Cook for one hour on low heat, slowly adding a little water. taste for correct amount of salt and pepper.

Prepare the béchamel: in a pot melt the butter, add the flour and then pour the milk stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Season with salt and a little nutmeg then bring to boil. Let cook for 10 minutes.

Prepere the fresh homemade lasagna .

Grease a baking pan with a little butter and pour on the bottom a first layer of Bolognese sauce and béchamel, after that put a layer of lasagne and then again Bolognese and béchamel.

Continue to alternate layer after layer until the lasagne are finished on top a layer of sauce. Sprinkle with parmigiano cheese and cook in the oven 200 °C for about 20 minutes .Let it rest for another ten minutes before serving.

You might also like:

Sunday Lunch in Italy