Ingredients:
MENU baby artichokes hearts in Oil
MENU Grancrema Pecorino
Smoked bacon cut into cubes
TORNATORE Black Label Single Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil
6 eggs
Dash of White Wine
100g Parmesan
40g finely chopped Onion
Pepper
Salt
Balsamic vinegar
Long known and appreciated for its fine taste, it came to be referred to as ‘balsamic’ thanks to its medicinal qualities. The Estense dukes served it at court. Francesco IV (1779-1846), Duke of Modena, loved to keep a little casket of the precious liquor in his touring coach. Some of the local noble families have managed to pass down from generation to generation personal recipes for the preparation of Balsamic Vinegar, while continuing to feed and produce vinegar that was actually started by their ancestors years ago.
Balsamic Vinegar is a very important ingredient in today’s Mediterranean style of cuisine. It is not just a dressing but used in recipe preparation can make that extra difference to the final dish.
Try it in your recipes and see—Sweet yet Tangy !!!
Strozzapreti al Balsamico
Ingredients for 6 portions:
– 830g Pomodorina
– 300g Strozzapreti
– 30ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
– 2 Cloves Garlic Finely Chopped
– 2 Tbs Fresh Basil
– 20ml Aggazzotti Gold Balsamic Vinegar
– 75g Butter
– 100g Freshly Grated Parmesan
Fry the garlic in the oil until brown. Add the
pomodorina, season with salt and pepper and the
fresh basil leaves.
Cook the strozzapreti in salted boiling water until
al dente. Drain and return to the saucepan with the
butter. Once melted add the balsamic vinegar and toss over a low heat for a few seconds until the penne are brown in colour.
Add the parmesan and pomodorina sauce.
Stir well and serve at once.
Rabbit in Balsamic Vinegar Onions
Ingredients for 6 portions:
– 1 Rabbit cut in to Pieces
– 830g Baby Onions in Balsamic Vinegar
– 300g Mushrooms in Aseptic
– 40ml La Nonna Extra Virgin Olive Oil
– 4 Tbs Flour
– 4 Tbs Fresh Herbs (Rosemary & Thyme)
– Salt and Pepper
Toss the pieces of rabbit in the flour to lightly coat them. Heat the oil with the herbs and add the rabbit for approximately 10 minutes.
Add the baby onions in balsamic vinegar (including their dressing) and cook slowly for another 20 minutes.
Turn up the heat to reduce the sauce.
Add the mushrooms for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve at once.
Vincotto
Vincotto is an elixir, a sweet velvety cooked must from two variety of grapes, Negroamaro and malvasia near, with the subtle overtones of spices, grapes and plums. It is a aged for 4 years in oak barrels and is a completely natural product. It is used as a condiment, mere drops may be drizzled over meats, salads, vegetables, cheeses and even desserts giving them a delicious tang.
Tonnarelli with Ricotta & Orange Vincotto
Ingredients for 4 portions:
– 250g Dallari Tonnarelli
– 200g Fresh Ricotta Cheese
– Freshly Grated Parmigiano Reggiano
– Salt and Pepper
– 2tbs Sweet Orange Vincotto
Cook the Tonnarelli in salted boiling water until al dente. Combine in a large serving bowl the ricotta with a few tablespoons of the pasta cooking liquor, 2 tablespoons of the Sweet Orange Vincotto, plenty of parmigiano reggiano, salt and pepper. Mix well and toss though the Tonnarelli. A little extra virgin olive oil can be added to compliment the flavours and serve at once.
Panna Cotta with Orange Vincotto
Ingredients for 10 portions:
– 750ml Cream
– 750ml Milk
– 210g Panna Cotta
– 3 Oranges
– 3tbs Vincotto
– A little Orange Juice
– Dark Chocolate Shavings
Segment the oranges ( without their skin) and marinate in some juice with the vincotto.
In a saucepan bring to boil the milk and cream, rain in the panna cotta, whisk to dissolve. Bring to a gentle simmer and remove from heat once
boiled. Pour into individual moulds and refrigerate for a few hours till set. Turn out the panna cotta into plates, place some orange segments on
top, drizzle the juice around and top with some dark chocolate shavings.
Serve at once.
Porcini Del Boscaiolo
Rustic theme for the coming autumn with the distinctive flavours. Porcini mushrooms (edible boletus) adapt themselves wonderfully in the preparation of both traditional and innovative recipes.
The king of the wild mushrooms has its own exceptional flavours that combined with a variety of ingredients stands out and giving that extra special aroma making the dish unique.All is needed is a few days of rain and nature creates this wonderful funghi.
Pesce in Cartoccio con Porcini
Baked Fish in Parcel with Porcini
Ingredients for 1 portion:
– 1 Whole Fillet of Sea Bream (or John Dory or SeaBass)
– 80g Porcini del Boscaiolo
– 40g Baby Artichokes in Oil & Herbs
– 20g Sundried Tomatoes
– 5g Fish Fumet
– 10ml La Nonna Extra Virgin Olive Oil
– Black Pepper to Taste
In a baking tray line with silver foil and baste with the extra virgin olive oil. Place the Porcini on the foil and the fillet on top. Sprinkle with a little of the fish fumet and freshly ground pepper.
Drizzle some olive oil on top. Place the artichokes and the sundried tomatoes to one side.
Close the foil around the fish so that it looks like a parcel and bake in a preheated hot oven (200’) for approximately 15 minutes until the fillet is cooked.
Remove from the foil and serve at once with the artichokes and sundried tomatoes as a garnish.
Gnocchi with Porcini Gratin
Ingredients for 8 portions:
– 1 Bag Gnocchi Powder
– 450g Porcini del Boscaiolo
– 100g 5 Cheese Sauce
– 50ml Milk
– Salt & Pepper to Taste
– 1 Clove Garlic
– Freshly Chopped Parsley
– 50g Freshly Grated Parmesan
– 20g Butter
Prepare the gnocchi as per the instructions on the bag (i.e. mix with 1 litre of cold water and knead to a dough, shape and cut to size one desires).
Heat the porcini with the garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Add some of the freshly chopped parsley.
In another saucepan melt down the 5 cheese sauce with the milk and butter. Cook the gnocchi in salted boiling water until they rise to the top and strain. In a baking dish, that has been buttered, place a layer of the gnocchi, add a few tablespoons of the mushrooms and a little of the 5 cheese sauce. Alternate another layer with the Gnocchi, porcini and cheese sauce. Sprinkle the freshly grated Parmesan on top and Bake in the oven until golden.
Serve at once.
Sugo all’Isolana
A long awaited, full of mediterranean ingredients, sauce made with fresh tomatoes,
sundried tomatoes, capers, anchovies and a touch of chilli. Rich in flavour and colour and can be used in a variety of recipes.
Coralli all’Isolana
Ingredients for 4 portions:
– 400g Sugo All’Isolana
– 250g Coralli Pasta
– 25g Pine Nuts
Cook the Coralli in salted boiling water until al dente. Toast the pine nuts lightly. Place the Isolana in a frying pan to heat, add 1 ladle of boiling water to dilute a little and the pine nuts.
Strain the pasta and toss in the sauce. Portion into plates and serve at once.
Tonno all’Isolana
Ingredients for 1 portion:
– 1 Fresh Tuna Steak
– 30g Sugo All’Isolana
– 20g Crème Fraiche
– 100g Wilted Baby Spinach Leaves
– 5ml Extra Pesto Oil
Sear and grill the tuna steak.
Heat the Isolana sauce with the crème fraiche and pour over the tuna steak. Serve at once on a bed of freshly wilted baby spinach leaves. Drizzle the extra pesto around the plate and serve at once.
Bruschette all’Isolana
Ingredients for 1 portion:
– 1 Bruschetta
– 2 Chargrilled Aubergine Slices
– 30g Isolana Sauce
– 2 Tbs Crème Fraiche
Grill the bruschetta bread on both sides, brushing with some extra virgin olive oil if liked. Place on a plate, add the chargrilled aubergine slices, top with the Isolana sauce, dot with the tablespoon of crème fraiche.
Place under a grill to heat through and slightly brown the crème fraiche. Serve at once.
Isolana Sauce
A new ingredient for a traditional flavour! New to iB Food’s range of traditional sauces is Isolana – a tomato based sauce which is richer in colour and taste than conventional tomato based sauces.
Ideal with all varieties of pasta,particularly Rigatoni and Coralli. The sauce is made from fresh tomatoes,Chef sundried tomatoes, capers, anchoviesand a touch of chilli. It also makes agreat accompaniment to strong flavoured fish such as seared tuna steaks or as an ingredient in a wide range of starters such as bruschetta. For a slightly milder sauce, particularly good when used in starters, Isolana can be mixed with creme fraiche. Isolana can also be mixed with mascarpone to create a mouth-watering dip. In future issues we plan to feature your recipe suggestions – so do send them in. Here we have a couple of simple, yet effective serving suggestions for you to try.
Rigatoni All’ Isolana
A pasta starter blending the tantalising tomato sauce with toasted pine nuts.
Serves 4 as a starter
– 400 g Sugo All’Isolana – 250g Rigatoni Pasta – 25g Pine Nuts Prepare the Rigatoni in salted boiling water until al dente. Toast the pine nuts lightly. Place the Isolana sauce in a frying pan and heat through. Then add I ladle of boiling water to dilute the sauce a little and then simply add pine nuts. Strain the pasta and toss in the sauce.Then serve.
Tonno All’ Isolana
The sauce sets off seared tuna steak beautifully.
For one serving
– 1 Fresh Tuna Steak – 30g Sugo All’Isolana – 20g Creme Fraiche – 100g Steamed Spinach Take one fresh tuna steak, sear and grill. Heat the Isolana sauce with Serve on a bed of freshly steamed baby spinach leaves.
Black Truffle Paste
A new truffle paste made with truffle essence and trumpet di morts wild mushrooms. A delicate flavour and aroma that works very well in many recipe preparations looking for that extra little touch of truffle.
At this time of year it is especially versatile for the hundreds of canapé’s for Christmas and New Year festivities, adding to other ingredients , on its own, gives that extra special delicacy with hardly any time wasted (or costs involved).
Tagliatelle dello Spazzacamino
(Chimney Sweep’s Tagliatelle)
Ingredients for 4 portions:
– 150g Black Truffle Paste
– 250g Thin Tagliatelle
– 75g Speck Diced
– 1/2 Onion Finely Chopped
– 50g Butter
– 100ml Fresh Cream
– Fresh Marjoran
– Salt & Freshly Gound Pepper
– 50g Freshly Grated Pecorino Romano
Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the finely chopped onion and diced speck with a little fresh marjoram. Cook slowly until the onions are soft.
Add the black truffle paste, cream and a little water from the pasta to get the right consistency.
In the meantime drop the tagliatelle into salted boiling water. They will take approximately 2 minutes to cook al dente.
Strain and add to the sauce. Toss so that the pasta is well coated, sprinkle a little of the pecorino romano cheese and serve at once.
Tagliolini Mare e Monti
(Sea and Mountains Tagliolini)
Ingredients for 8 portions:
– 500g Tagliolini
– 100g Black Truffle Paste
– 100g Porcini del Boscaiolo
– 1 Tbs Freshly Chopped Parsleytru
– 100g Fresh Scampi Peeled
– 100ml Single Cream
– 1 Clove Garlic
– 1 Tbs Finely Chopped Onion
– 20g Butter
– 50ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
– 4 Tbs Freshly Grated Parmesan
– 2/3 Tbs Vegetable Stock
Fry the garlic ad onion in butter and extra virgin olive oil. Add the Scampi, cut into large pieces until golden.
Add the porcini mushrooms, cream, parsley, stock, the black truffle paste and cook until the desired consistency is reached.
Cook the tagliolini in salted boiling water for approximately 1 minute or less, until al dente.
Strain and toss in the sauce. Add the freshly grated parmesan and serve at once.
Pumpkin Sauce
Pumpkin, soft and sweet, warm and inviting in colour, is one of the most versatile vegetables that has never been used to its fullest due to the laborious task in preparing the flesh for use.
Menu’ has done all the hard work and has left us with a puree’ of pumpkin that can be used in numerous ways from savoury to sweet recipes. With a little imagination wonderful Mediterranean and International dishes can be created.
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Pumpkin Risotto
Ingredients for 10 portion:
– 430g Pumpkin Sauce
– 22g Buon Brodo (makes 1lt Veg. Stock)
– 1 kg Vialone Nano Rice
– 2 Onions Finely Chopped
– 60 ml La Nonna Extra Virgin Olive Oil
– Salt & Pepper
– 150g Walnut Sauce
– 100g 5 Cheese Sauce
– 2 Glasses Dry White Wine
– 100g Freshly Grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Gently fry the onions until golden, add the rice to toast slightly and got transparent. Add a little wine and then slowly add the vegetable stock, a little at a time as the rice absorbs the liquid.
Half way through cooking, when the rice is still slightly hard, add the pumpkin sauce, walnut sauce and the 5 cheese sauce. Salt and pepper to taste.
Add the remainder of the wine.
Slowly finish the cooking the risotto until well
amalgamated and al dente. Add the parmigiano reggiano stir and leave to rest for a few minutes then serve.
You can trickle a little extra virgin olive oil on the portion of risotto that you are serving.
Please note, that if you are preparing the risotto in advance, after you have added the ingredients and the rice is still slightly hard, remove from heat and cool down quickly. Place in the refrigerator until
required. When ready to use, take the portion
required and finish off with the remainder of the stock and serve at once. This procedure allows you to serve a risotto in 5 minutes rather than keeping the customer waiting with excellent
results.
Pumpkin and Potato Gnocchi in a Tomato Sauce
Ingredients for 10 portions:
– 700g Gnocchi Powder
– 430g Pumpkin Sauce
– 1 Lt Water
– Salt & Pepper
– 600g Pomodorina
– 100g 5 Cheese Sauce
Mix the powdered Gnocchi with the pumpkin sauce and water. Knead well into a dough making sure there are no lumps. (Add a little flour if the dough is slightly wet). Roll out into long sausages and cut into 1/2 inch cubes.
Prepare the pomodorina with the 5 Cheese sauce and leave to one side. Add the salt and pepper to taste. Drop the gnocchi into salted boiling water. As soon as they rise to the top, remove with a strainer and toss in the sauce. Serve at once.
Walnut Sauce
As Christmas is coming closer what better than to put on your menus delicious recipes using the Walnut Sauce! This will not only make your menus interesting to your clientele but also offer superb dishes for the ever increasing vegetarians. ( Please note that you must mention that this sauce is not suitable for nut allergy suffers).
Coralli in a Walnut & Rosemary Pesto
Ingredients for 4 portions:
– 250g Coralli
– 3 tbs Fresh Rosemary
– 120g Walnut Sauce
– 60g 5 Cheese Sauce
– 100 ml Milk
In a blender add the fresh rosemary to the walnut sauce. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water till al dente. Just before straining the pasta add a little of the cooking liquor to the walnut sauce, 5 cheese sauce and milk that has been slowly heating through for a creamy consistency.
Drain the pasta and toss in the sauce.
Serve at once.
Maccheroni al Pettine with Walnut & Mushrooms Sauce
Ingredients for 4 portions:
– 250g Maccheroni al Pettine
– 200g Cocktail of Wild Mushrooms
– 1 Clove Garlic
– Freshly Chopped Flat Leaf Parsley
– 100 Walnut Sauce
– 50g 5 Cheese Sauce ( an option)
– 100g Milk
– Salt and Pepper to taste
Cook the pasta in salted boiling water till al dente.
In the meantime panfry the clove of garlic and the cocktail of wild mushrooms.
Remove the garlic and add the 5 cheese sauce, walnut sauce, milk, salt and pepper to taste. Drain the pasta and toss in this delicious sauce, add the flat leaf parsley and serve at once.
Radicchio Sauce
A wonderful delicate ingredient made with Italian Radicchio Trevigiano cooked in olive oil, white wine, onion, butter, salt and a touch of balsamic vinegar. The latest trend/ flavour served in a risotto or pasta dish sweeping the restaurants in Italy.
Risotto al Radicchio
Ingredients for 10 portions:
– 1kg Vialone Nano Rice
– 800g Radicchio Sauce
– 150g 5 Cheese Sauce
– 50g Butter
– 60g Freshly Grated Parmigiano Reggiano
– 150ml White Wine
– 1 Finely Chopped Onion
– 44g Buon Brodo (Vegetable Bouillon)
(making 2 litres of vegetable stock)
Fry the onion in butter until golden, add the vialone nano rice and stir for a few minutes. Add the white wine and let it evaporate over a low heat, then pour the stock a little at a time allowing the rice to slowly absorb the liquid until cooked “Al Dente”.
The stock must always be kept on the stove so that it remains constantly hot.
After 20 minutes, add the radicchio sauce, 5 cheese sauce, freshly grated parmigiano reggiano, and continue to cook adding the stock when
required , stirring constantly. (The secret in
achieving a wonderful risotto is never to saturate the rice with stock to the point of boiling in the
liquid, it must slowly absorb a little at a time).
With this special rice, it take approximately 30
minutes to have the risotto nearly cooked as the vialone nano remains “al dente”. Once the risotto has reached this stage, remove from heat and place in a large baking tray so that it can cool down very quickly.
Once cool place in a refrigerator until required.
To reheat the risotto, place the portion required in a saucepan adding a little boiling vegetable stock and stirring constantly until ready, approximately 5
minutes.
Et Voila’!
Gnocchi al Radicchio
Ingredients for 2 portions:
– 500g Gnocchi
– 200g Radicchio Sauce
– 50g 5 Cheese Sauce
– 80g Walnut Sauce
– 100ml Milk