Menu Speciality Food Ltd (FKA) IB Food Ltd

Fine Italian ingredients for chefs

Menu Speciality Food Ltd

Suppliers & importers of high quality Italian and
Mediterranean ingredients for discerning chefs

Flavours for the Christmas Festivities

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 Here comes the long awaited Christmas festivities celebrated with lunches and dinners all pre organised to enjoy each other’s company.
The time to enjoy different recipes, flavours, aromas of various traditional cuisine’s that can all combine together with the Mediterranean theme: – diversifying from the usual
Roast Turkey….

Risotto alla Campagnola
(Risotto with Ceps and 5 Cheeses)

Ingredients for 6 portions:

– 400g Condimento Porcini Sauce
– 35g Buon Brodo (Vegetable Bouillon)
– 500g Vialone Nano Rice
– 1 Shallot Finely Chopped
– 50ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
– 28g Butter
– 50ml White Wine
– 60g 5 Cheese Sauce
Agnello ai Carciofi
(Lamb with Artichokes)

Ingredients for 6 portions:

– 6 Giudia Artichokes
– 6 Lamb Stincottos
– 100g Pancetta (Bacon)
– 1 Onion Finely Chopped
– 1 Clove Garlic Crushed
– 50ml White Wine
– Freshly Chopped Parsley
– 50ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
– Salt and Pepper

Fry the garlic, onion and diced pancetta (bacon) in the olive oil until golden then add the lamb until slightly browned. Add the white wine and allow to evaporate. Salt and pepper to taste.

Once the lamb is nearly done, (approximately 20 minutes), cut the giudia artichokes into quarters and add to the lamb with the parsley.
Heat throughout.

Serve at once.

Porcini del Boscaiolo II

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 The season for Wild Mushrooms has opened and here are some tasty recipes using the Porcini del Boscaiolo. These ceps are sliced and cooked in their own lovely juices with some herbs, making them ideal for all types of recipe preparations, from pasta to lasagne, to stuffings, and sauces for meat. An excellent vegetarian substitute.

Starter – Risotto with Porcini del Boscaiolo

Ingredients for 6 portions:

– 500g Carnaroli Risotto Rice
– 1/2 Tin Porcini del Boscaiolo (ceps)
-1 Glass Dry White Wine
– 1 Onion, finely chopped
– 1 Handful Flat Leaf Parsley, finely chopped
– 2 Lt Vegetable stock
– 100g Freshly Grated Parmigiano Reggiano
– 3 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
– Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
Gently fry the onion in the oil until golden. Add the carnaroli rice and stir until slightly transparent then add a little of the white wine. Keep the stock to one side simmering constantly over a low heat. Add a little stock to the rice and stir constantly. As it absorbs the liquid add more stock a little at a time. When nearly cooked add the rest of the wine, when absorbed add the porcini del boscaiolo wild mushrooms. Salt and pepper to taste.

Once ready, slightly al dente, which takes approx. 30 minutes, add the freshly chopped parsley and parmigiano. Stir and serve at once.

Main course – Quails with Porcini

Ingredients for 6 portions:

– 12 Boned Quails
– 1/2 Tin Porcini del Boscaiolo
– 100g Fresh Breadcrumbs
– 50ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
– Splash Dry White Wine
– Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
Mix the porcini with the breadcrumbs and stuff the boned quails. Seal with a tooth pick to keep in the stuffing. Place in a roasting dish with the extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, adding the splash of white wine. Roast in a preheated medium oven for approximately 20 minutes until golden and cooked.

 

Accompany with:

Pesto Mash

– 2kg Potatoes Cooked and Mashed
– 100ml Milk
– 100ml Cream
– 200g Pesto alla Genovese

Artichokes & Asparagus

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Just a few summer ideas using Artichokes and Asparagus.
The recipes of Summer are associated with the colours of artichokes and spinach, of peppers and asparagus, the aroma of fresh young herbs of the season, the flavours delicate and interesting.

Risotto with Artichokes & Speck

Ingredients for 6 portions:

– 300g Artichoke Heart Sauce
– 1Lt Beef Bouillon
– 60g Speck
– 1 Onion Finely Chopped
– 2Tbs Freshly Chopped Parsley
– 28g Butter
– 30ml Extra Virgin olive oil
– 200ml White Wine
– Salt and Pepper
– 100g Freshly Grated Parmesan
– 500g Vialone Nano rice

Gently fry the onion and speck in the oil and butter until golden. Add the rice and stir until it becomes slightly transparent. Add a little of the white wine.
Keep the stock (22g bouillon to 1 litre of water) in a saucepan constantly simmering over a low heat.
Add some stock to the rice and as it absorbs,
adding more a little at a time. When nearly cooked add the artichoke sauce and the rest of the wine. Salt and pepper to taste.
Once ready (slightly al dente which takes approximately 20 minutes) add the freshly grated parmesan and parsley.
Serve at once.

Tagliolini with asparagus & Herbs

Ingredients for 4 portions:

– 250g Tagliolini
– 250g Asparagus Tip Sauce
– 250ml Double Cream
– 4 Garlic Cloves
– 60g Butter
– Salt and Pepper
– 4 Tbs Freshly Chopped Herbs
(Basil, Parsley, Oregano, thyme)
– 100g Freshly Grated Parmesan
In a pan bring the cream to boil with the whole garlic cloves and simmer until they are soft. Remove from heat and discard the garlic.
Add the herbs, butter, asparagus tip sauce and simmer until it thickens. Salt and pepper to taste.
Cook the tagliolini in salted boiling water for
approximately 30 seconds or until al dente. Drain and toss in the sauce. Add the parmesan cheese. Serve at once.

Flavours for the Christmas Festivities

by

 Here comes the long awaited Christmas festivities celebrated with lunches and dinners all pre organised to enjoy each other’s company.

The time to enjoy different recipes, flavours, aromas of various traditional cuisine’s that can all combine together with the Mediterranean theme: – diversifying from the usual

Roast Turkey….

Risotto alla Campagnola
(Risotto with Ceps and 5 Cheeses)

Ingredients for 6 portions:

– 400g Condimento Porcini Sauce
– 35g Buon Brodo (Vegetable Bouillon)
– 500g Vialone Nano Rice
– 1 Shallot Finely Chopped
– 50ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
– 28g Butter
– 50ml White Wine
– 60g 5 Cheese Sauce
Agnello ai Carciofi
(Lamb with Artichokes)

Ingredients for 6 portions:

– 6 Giudia Artichokes
– 6 Lamb Stincottos
– 100g Pancetta (Bacon)
– 1 Onion Finely Chopped
– 1 Clove Garlic Crushed
– 50ml White Wine
– Freshly Chopped Parsley
– 50ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
– Salt and Pepper

Fry the garlic, onion and diced pancetta (bacon) in the olive oil until golden then add the lamb until slightly browned. Add the white wine and allow to evaporate. Salt and pepper to taste.

Once the lamb is nearly done, (approximately 20 minutes), cut the giudia artichokes into quarters and add to the lamb with the parsley.
Heat throughout.

Serve at once.

Pumpkin Sauce

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  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.

Radicchio Sauce

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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

 

Artichoke Hearts Sauce 

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A wonderful sauce made with artichoke hearts chopped and cooked in sunflower oil and herbs making a delicious sauce for risottos, pasta, meat and fish dishes, bruschetta and savoury tartes. If one adds lemon juice to keep the colour it can be used on canapé’s. An all season product but especially nice in Spring and Summer.

Tagliatelle in an Artichoke Sauce

Ingredients for 6 portions:

– 500g Dallari Egg Tagliatelle
– 400g Artichoke Heart Sauce
– 50g Butter
– 250ml Cream
– 80g Grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese
– 3 Eggs
– Salt and Pepper
– 1tbs Freshly Chopped Parsley
– 1 Clove Garlic

Pan fry the garlic in the butter, then add theChef artichoke heart sauce. Add half the cream and heat slowly. In a bowl beat the eggs with the parmigiano, rest of the cream, salt, pepper and parsley.

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente.

Strain, toss in the frying pan and stir with the sauce, then add the mixture from the bowl. Amalgamate and serve at once nice and hot.

** Here one could add some panfried pancetta to give more flavour but it not longer is a vegetarian option.

Artichoke Risotto

Ingredients for 10 portions:

– 1kg Vialone Nano Rice
– 810g Artichoke Hearts 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 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 artichoke hearts 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 takes 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!

Carnaroli Rice 1kg

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This round medium grain rice is probably Italy`s finest. Carnaroli rice keeps its shape better than other forms of rice during the slow cooking required for making risotto due to higher quantities of amylose present within. It is often described as being a “superfino” rice o as “the king of rices”.

Ideal for the more delicate recipe.