Involtini di vitello (or stuffed veal bundles)

 Our local butcher refused to sell us any veal as he believes Italians eat too much veal so he does not stock it. It just forced us to buy meat from super market  instead, but we have also cooked this with very thinly cut lean pork. It is a bit fiddly to make as you have to roll up the bundles before cooking.(first time this year, we could not get any kitchen string so Sarah and I spent several minutes messing around tying up these bundles with cotton reels! Fortunately we found it after looking up the words for this in Italian)  

The result is worth the fuss. Best served with roast potatoes. 

These take longer to make so start them first!

The better quality the ingredients, the better these will be.

Recipe comes from Loukie Werle (an Australian writing about Italian country cooking)

Foodstuff you will need: 

4 veal scallops (very thin)

100g mozzarella

60-100g sliced prosciutto (preferred) or cubed pancetta

Large handful of flat parsley leaves

50g grated parmesan

2 tablespoons of olive oil

125ml white wine

Equipment:

Large frying pan

Chopping board & sharp knife

Large bowl

Grater

Plate for bundles to keep warm

How to throw it together

Combine the mozzarella, prosciutto (or pancetta) and parsley on a board and chop together

Combine in a bowl with the parmesan and combine with salt and pepper.

Lay the veal flat on a board. Pound to make more thin if necessary

Divide the mixture up between the veal

Roll the veal up enclosing the filling and tie securely with kitchen string

Heat the oil in a heavy based frying pan and cook the bundles over a moderate heat until golden brown on all sides

Season lightly, add the wine and cook gently for 10 minutes or until cooked through and the sauce thickens slightly.

Transfer the bundles to a plate and keep warm

Add a few spoons of water to the pan and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom; cook over a high heat and stir until the liquid is syrupy.

Transfer involtini to serving plates; remove string (or ask your guests to do so themselves if you are in a hurry!) and spoon over some sauce.

Italian sausage and beef kebabs

Love him or hate him, Jamie Oliver comes up with some cracking recipes – easy to follow and delicious. The key to this recipe is good Italian sausage, pancetta and lean beef. This can be barbq’d but we prefer to cook it in the oven – despite having just got the Aussie BBQ out of storage after 4 years in transit and cleaned it of its army of spiders.

We are lucky enough to have a garden full of fresh Rosemary and sage plants which is perfect for this recipe.

Foodstuff you will need: 

12 cubes of beef fillet (approx 1 inch) – Use one good steak

4 large Italian pork sausages (Jamie advises to use Cumberland if you cannot get the Italian version) -

4 thick slices of pancetta (each sliced into 4 pieces)

18 fresh sage leaves

2 cloves of garlic

1 lemon zested and halved

extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

4 long rosemary sticks (cut these from the plant to use as skewers

Equipment:

Oven or BBQ

Lemon zester

Large bowl

Pestle and mortar or bowl and rolling pin

Sharp knife and chopping board

Oiled tray

How to throw it together

Take the sausage meat out the skin and divide each into 3 parts

Put the pancetta, sausage and beef cubes into a large bowl

Add 12 sage leaves

Take 6 sage leaves, garlic and lemon zest and bash into a pulp using a pestle and mortar or equivalent.

Add olive oil and the juice of half a lemon.

Stir well and pour over the meat in the bowl.

Cover and leave to marinate ina fridge for 1-3 hours.

Heat the oven or BBQ to its highest setting

Take the rosemary sticks and remove all the leaves apart from the last 1 inch at the tip. Use a knife to make  point at the other end (to pierce the meat)

To make the kebabs

Starting with a piece of pancetta, then folded sage leaf, then piece of sausage and finally a cube of beef. Do this 3 times for each kebab and finish with a piece of pancetta.

Place on an oiled tray and place in oven or in BBQ

Turn oven down to 200C.

Roast for about 20minutes until sausages are brown.

Squeeze over remaining lemon juice and serve.

Slow cooked lamb and aubergines (with garlic and red wine)

The next challenge is what to do with a crop of aubergines from 5 plants.

We have both round and traditional type of aubergine and have started experimenting with frying and slow cooking them.  This recipe is adapted from Elizabeth David and is easy to make. .

Foodstuff you will need:  

2 aubergines

Olive oil

1 large onion

750g lamb – boned, cubed and fat trimmed off

fresh basil

250g tomatoes (skinned and chopped)

4 cloves of garlic (chopped)

Red wine (optional)

1 tablespoon of cumin seeds (crushed)

salt and pepper

Equipment:

Large bowl and plate to cover and rest on aubergines

Large deep frying with lid

Slow cooker

Ladle

Chopping board and sharp kitchen knife

How to throw it together

Slice aubergines into cubes and place into bowl; sprinkle over salt and mix with your hands. Put plate on top to cover and something weighty on top to press down on the aubergines. Leave for at least 1 hour.

(take a break!)

Heat oil in frying pan with lid.

Chop and fry onion in large pan until it starts to colour.

Add lamb and basil and brown the lamb well on all sides.

Transfer all into a slow cooker – on high.

Drain aubergine  -wring out with hands. It might be very mushy and the liquid you throw away should be dark.

Add more oil to the pan and fry the aubergine for 10 minutes with the lid on.

The photo above is with added courgette 

Add the aubergine, cumin, garlic, tomatoes and  red wine (to add extra liquid) to the slow cooker.

Stir well.

Cook for 4 hours on high; or 8 hours on low.

Serve with potatoes or rice and green beans. add extra basil for garnish.

Other options

Elizabeth David cooks this on a stove top but we prefer it slow cooked.

We have also used mutton instead of lamb (essential to slow cook)  This gives it a deeper richer taste.

We have also tried this with chopped courgettes and adding them to the frying pan at the same time as the aubergine.

Courgette Soup

We have just 2 courgette plants but they keep producing huge courgettes at a rate we cannot possibly keep up with even though we try to eat at least one courgette a day. 

This recipe is adapted from Jamie Oilver (it is supposed to be a British recipe- but we have adapted it to what we can source in Italy) we have used good  parmesan, normal onions (instead of spring onions – try asking for these in an Italian summer!) and omitted the mint as fresh mint seems impossible to source in a hot Italian summer. We have found some mint growing wild in a ditch near our driveway and will try that if the shops continue to fail us. Ask for “menta fresca” and it is always “domani forse!” Until autumn….

Foodstuff you will need:  

1 large onions

1kg courgette

extra virgin olive oil

30g butter

1 lemon (rind – zested & squeeze rest for juice)

1.4 litres vegetable or chicken stock

5 table spoons of soured cream or natural yoghurt

200g Parmesan - grated

salt and pepper

Fresh mint  leaves (optional)

Equipment:

Large deep frying with lid

Food processor – for chopping

Liquidiser /soup blender

Ladle

Chopping board and sharp kitchen knife

Lemon zester & squeezer

How to throw it together

Slice onions and courgettes in a food processor

Melt the butter and a glug of oil in a large pan over a low heat.

Add the courgettes, onion, slat and pepper and zest of half the lemon. Add fresh mint  (if you have it)

Cook for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep heat low so you do not burn everything.

Pour in stock and bring mush to the boil.

Remove from heat and add soured cream, rest of lemon zest and parmesan cheese.

Pour into a blender / liquidizer (you will have to do this in batches) and blend until smooth

Add salt and pepper and lemon juice to taste. Add fresh mint  (if you have it) and a small amount of cream/yoghurt to give it a swirl on top

Serve immediately.

If you are saving it for a day or so, allow to cool before placing in fridge.

Delicious cold too. 

If you decide to reheat it do not let mixture boil as the cheese does not like it!

Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad

Whilst not a domestic goddess, I love Nigella’s recipes and they are mostly easy to make and tasty too.


This easy cucumber recipe is from Nigella Express. It goes perfectly with babrq meat and potato salad.




Whilst we have lots of cucumbers,

I am happy to make this on a regular basis. Feeds 4-6. Nigella thinks it should feed 10-12 (obviously she has a tiny appetite or does not like cucumber) Very refreshing dish.

Foodstuff you will need:  

2 medium cucumbers

2 teaspoons of caster sugar (this is hard to get in Italy so we just used ordinary granulated sugar and it worked fine)

2 x 15ml tablespoons of white wine vinegar (we used last year’s 1 euro happy box of white wine which is now safely categorised as vinegar)

1 teaspoon of salt

(Dill – optional as also hard to get in Italian summer)

Equipment:

Chopping board and sharp kitchen knife

Large bowl

Large serving platter

Tablespoon and teaspoon

Measuring jug and whisk /fork

How to throw it together

Peel, slice and de seed the cucumbers (Nigella omits the deseeding it, but it definitely helps with jumbo sized cucumbers)

Cut into thin small pieces.  Transfer in to the bowl

In a jug, whisk the sugar, vinegar and salt and pour over the cucumbers.

Mix well.

If you like dill and can find some, chop it and add it to the large bowl and mix. If not, just ignore this step (we did)

Transfer on to the serving platter. Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for up to 4 hours.

This will keep for a few days in an airtight container.