Tag: Braised

CARCIOFI ALLA ROMANA

When cooking Carciofi alla romana , the globe artichokes are cooked upside down. Carciofi are arti

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Whereas globe artichokes, if stuffed, are cooked upright.

STUFFED ARTICHOKES

I enjoy globe artichokes and typically prepare them by stuffing, braising and serving them hot or cold. If peas or broad beans are in season, they are also added to the braise. A mixture of fresh breadcrumbs, parsley, garlic and grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese is my most frequent stuffing, but I have also used minced meat, black olives and anchovies, or ricotta and almond meal for a delicate variation. Each globe artichoke holds approximately half a cup of stuffing, with larger artichokes containing more.

Once stuffed, the globe artichokes are placed upright and packed tightly into a pan and braised in white wine and/or stock. Extra virgin olive oil is an essential ingredient and it is used liberally.

CARCIOFI ALLA ROMANA

Small artichokes are ideal to cook alla romana – as the Romans do.

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The artichokes (carciofi) currently in season in Melbourne are the small, purple, spiny varieties.

The globe artichokes that were in season previously have nearly finished, but some of the smaller, undeveloped ones remain.

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These baby artichokes are typically preserved in oil.
RECIPE FOR CARCIOFI ALLA ROMANA

For carciofi alla romana, use the smallest artichokes you can find, but the small, purple, spiny ones would be my preference. In this recipe, the artichokes are also stuffed, but lightly …about a teaspoon of stuffing for each.

Carciofi alla romana are braised, but they are placed upside down and I use greater amounts of oil in the braising liquid – a mixture of water and a little white wine, but  the  aim is to have very little, concentrated and flavourful liquid at the end of cooking, and this will be mostly oil.

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The stuffing:

For the stuffing for the number of artichokes I had (9) I used 1 large clove of garlic, ½ cup fresh parsley finely chopped, ½ cup fresh mint finely chopped, salt and pepper and all mixed with a little extra, virgin olive oil.

Clean and prepare the artichokes as you would globe artichokes. Use acidulated water (1 lemon). Peel off the tough outer leaves until you reach the softer paler leaves. The stems of my artichokes were not worth peeling, but if they are, peel the outer layer of the stem and, as is usual with this recipe, keep the stems attached to the base. Cut approximately one-third of the top of the artichoke to remove the spiny leaves. Using your fingers, gently separate the leaves in the centre of each artichoke to create a space for the stuffing.

Mix the garlic, parsley, seasoning and mint with 1 tablespoon of oil. Stuff the artichokes with this mixture.

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The stuffing of the artichokes process.

Place about 1 cm of olive oil in the bottom of a narrow pot and arrange the artichokes close together and side by side…. but upside down. Add a little white wine and enough water to reach about 1/3 from the top of the height of the artichoke. Add salt and pepper, cover and simmer over low heat until the artichokes are soft and can be easily pierced with a fork.

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The artichokes are cooked upside down.

Check them occasionally and if they are too dry add a little water if necessary in small amounts.

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The cooked Carciofi Alla Romana.

When the artichokes are cooked, remove the lid, turn up the heat and evaporate the liquid until you have mainly oil.  Remove the artichokes from the pot, drizzle the liquid over them and serve them at room temperature.

There are a number of recipes on my blog about artichokes and accompanying  photos. Artichokes are not difficult to prepare and cook, and they are delicious.

SBS Italian Radio; Stuffed artichokes; photos

CARCIOFI FARCITI (Stuffed artichokes: with meat and with olives and anchovies)

STUFFED ARTICHOKES WITH RICOTTA AND ALMOND MEAL

CARCIOFI (Artichokes)

To find other recipes, use the search button on my blog and key in Artichokes.

YEARNING FOR VITELLO TONNATO

Now and again I feel nostalgic for the “old” food from my childhood and I often hanker for Vitello Tonnato.

It is eaten cold, can be easily prepared beforehand and is a perfect dish as a starter or as a main meal. Left overs make a perfect panino.

There is an earlier post with the recipe for Vitello Tonnato,  but this time I will let the photos guide the cooking.

Ingredients for Vitello Tonnato.

I used a girello – the eye round steak. The vegetables are onion, celery, carrots, garlic and herbs. I have tied the herbs (bay, rosemary, thyme) with string so that they can be easily removed at the end of cooking. Usually I like to include sage, but I have none growing at the moment.

I insert slices of garlic into the meat.

Inserting garlic into meat.

Some recipes indicate that the vegetables and meat can be boiled. I do not always repeat what my mother did but like her I lightly brown the vegetables and meat and this does add to the taste.  I used a fish kettle for the cooking.

There is a bottle of white wine and some chicken stock ready to add. I added about 1 cup of wine and 2 cups of stock.

Lightly browned meat and ingredients.

The liquid will add flavour and keep the meat moist. I always evaporate the juices at the end to concentrate the flavours of the sauce. Add seasoning.

Cook the meat to your liking. My mother always cooked it till it was very well done – that is how the older generation cooked meat in those times. My meat is lightly pink, but could have been rarer –  on this occasion I had guests who prefer their meat well done.

Cool the meat and slice thinly.

Still pink when cut.

Now for the sauce: egg mayonnaise, drained tuna (packed in oil), capers, anchovies and some of the vegetables that were used in the cooking of the meat. If the reduced sauce has cooled and jellied, add a little of the sauce.

Ingredients for the sauce.

Blend  the ingredients. before adding the mayonnaise.

Add the mayonnaise and this is the sauce.

Build the layers – slices of meat, topped with the sauce. I made it the day before I served it. The sauce penetrates and softens the meat.

Layering meat and sauce.

I have had modern versions of this dish in a number of places, both in Australia and Italy and the preference seems to be to place the sauce on top of some slices without covering each layer of meat.

I  like the meat to be smothered with the tuna sauce.

Decorate it as you wish. This time was not my best, I used the left over carrots, topped them with strips of anchovies, stuffed olives cut in half and pink peppercorns. My mother probably would not have approved.

Decoration: carrot strips with anchovy, olives and ground pink peppercorns.

SEE:
VITELLO TONNATO

CHICKEN LAYERED WITH A TUNA AND EGG MAYONNAISE,  A cold Chicken dish

INSALATA RUSSA (Party time – Russian salad)

PESCE IN BIANCO (Plain fish). MAIONESE (Mayonnaise)

POLLO ALLA MESSINESE (A cold chicken dish similar to Vitello Tonnato from Messina)

 

CALAMARI CON MELANZANE (Sautéed squid with eggplants)

A common recipe throughout Italy is braised calamari (usually called calamari in tegame – a tegame is a shallow sauté pan with a lid). The squid are sautéed and then simmered with some liquid – usually wine and/or tomatoes. In Italy small sized squid or cuttlefish is the norm: Australian regulations ensure that our squid grow to a more mature size (a good thing), but generally the larger they are, the tougher they can be.

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For a main course for six people you will need 3 kg of calamari – because they shrink. Potatoes and peas are often included in this dish, but this time I added summer eggplants.

INGREDIENTS
small squid, 3 kg
white wine,1 cup
flat leaf parsley, chopped, 1 cup
extra virgin olive oil,  ½  cup
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
onions, 2 chopped
eggplants, 2 medium sized, peeled and cut into small cubes
tomato salsa, 1 cup
PROCESSES
TOMATO SALSA: fresh, peeled, ripe, chopped tomatoes or a can (with the liquid), a little extra virgin olive oil, garlic cloves left whole, fresh basil or oregano and a little seasoning. Place all of the ingredients into a pan together and evaporate until thickened.
Prepare the squid by removing the head with a sharp knife. Open the body and remove the internal organs. Retain the ink sacs and freeze them if you wish to use them at another time for pasta with black ink sauce.
Wipe clean or wash the squid and cut into strips.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the peeled chopped onions lightly.
Add the squid; stir-fry it for about 5 minutes.
Pour in the white wine, salsa and eggplants, season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Cover and cook gently for 15-20 minutes until the eggplants are cooked.