San Gimignano Risotto

San Gimignano Risotto

San Gimignano RisottoThis super light risotto combines 3 of my favorite things, artichokes, Mascapone Cheese and aromatic Vernaccia di San Gimignano, a dry white wine native to our base in Tuscany on our 3-night food and wine tour of Central Italy.

This pale straw yellow wine has a characteristic bitter aftertaste that complements the Mascapone Cheese beautifully, providing an edge to its light sweetness.It’s a wine that since Renaissance times has been considered an excellent aperitif, and served with risotto, shellfish and white meat dishes.

Instead of garnishing it with parsley, consider snipping some feathery fennel fonds to give it an authentic taste of central Italy!  In autumn in Tuscany, Umbria and Abruzzo, you will see that everyone has planted their rows of fennel ready for the winter and visible by their delicious wispy fronds, you can spot it growing wild too along the roadside by it’s cheery bright yellow flowers.

San Gimignano Risotto

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Serves: 6

A super light vegetarian risotto that if any is leftover, snip in some Speck and make arancini with!
Ingredients
  • 1 White Onion,
  • 100 g of Butter,
  • 200 ml Vernaccia of San Gimignano
  • 1 l of Vegetable Stock,
  • 10 Artichoke Hearts
  • 2 Garlic Cloves
  • A small bunch of Fennel Fronds
  • 150 g of Mascarpone Cheese
  • 1dl of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 4 Pistils of Saffron
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Chop the white onion finely and pan-fry with 50g of butter.
  2. Slice your artichoke hearts.
  3. Chop garlic and pan-fry with oil until golden-brown.
  4. Remove the onion from the pan, add the remaining butter and cook on a high flame. Add the rice, pour the Vernaccia wine in and let it evaporate. Add your hot stock covering the rice and proceed to cook,.
  5. Once the rice is almost ready, add saffron (diluted in some stock), artichokes and onion, add salt & pepper according to taste if needed, then gently fold in the Mascarpone Cheese.
  6. Serve with a light salad.

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Panzanella

Panzanella – A Salad To See in Autumn

How I have missed Italy over the summer, my pots of basil on the terrace, local ‘pera’ and cherry tomatoes whose cousins in Rhode Island never quite seem to meet those high soprano notes of the ones back in Abruzzo. In an effort to rekindle those flavours, as the heat subsides I’ve started making a chunky Panzanella for lunch, central Italy’s famous cucina povera tomato, red onion, bread and basil salad  that seems fitting as we begin to look ‘Autumn’ in the eye.

Panzanella - A Salad To See in Autumn

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Serves: 2

Ingredients
  • ½ Red Onion, thinly sliced
  • 8 Tomatoes (Ripe)
  • 200 g Crusty Rustic Bread (day old preferably)
  • 4 tbsp White Wine Vinegar
  • 1 tbsp Capers
  • 1 small clove of Garlic, crushed
  • 6 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Small bunch of fresh Basil
  • Salt & Pepper
Instructions
  1. Put the onion slices in a bowl of cold water with a pinch of salt, and leave to soak for an hour.
  2. Cut the tomatoes into large dice and place in a colander set over a bowl. Salt and leave to drain while you prepare the other ingredients.
  3. Tear the bread into chunks about the same size as the tomatoes, put into a salad bowl and moisten with vinegar. Drain the onion and add to the bowl, along with the capers.Gently press the tomatoes to squeeze out the last juice, then put the flesh in the bowl.
  4. Stir the crushed garlic into the tomato juice and then whisk in the olive oil. Season to taste.
  5. Pour on to the salad and toss thoroughly. Roughly tear the basil leaves and sprinkle on top. Allow to sit for between 15 minutes and an hour, then serve.

 

Arcangelo’s Reasons to Visit Sulmona

 

 

Sulmona is the jewel in the crown of the Valle Peligna, its rich mix of culinary, cultural, historical and artistic notes traverse time, making it a a wonderful base to explore Abruzzo.

Colourful sugar almoned confetti arrangements sit alongside side the town’s Roman aqueduct and all shades of  pretty rose custard and custard  baroque palazzos along the cobbled streets. This is Italy’s accepted home of sublime confetti and it is from here that Harry and Megan sourced their wedding favors.

A wealthy and opulent merchant city that had its own mint, its first gentrification came from the Romans who made it a ‘municipum’ and afterwards by Emperor Federick II in the Middle Ages who gave it the upgraded title of ‘giustizierato’, ‘the most important town of the region’.

Our local guide Arcangelo’s lists his favourite things to see, do and try if you’re visiting Sulmona and its neighbours over the year!  If you want an easy way to visit don’t forget to join one of our group or private tours over the summer

1. Confetti

For those with a sweet-tooth request a tour around any of Sulmona’s famous confetti factories. Enjoy tasting a sweet that is gluten free, these sugared almonds treats date back to the fifteeth century and were so popular that they even replaced flowers in local churches as a long lasting flower arrangements.

 

2. Sulmona Market

Take a visit on Wednesday and Saturday to Sulmona Market in airy Piazza Garabaldi at what is regarded as one of Abruzzo’s best markets. Local farming families continue to bring their delicious produce to sell alongside the best salami, cheeses, fishmongers and of course porchetta vans.

3. The Sulmona Red Garlic Fayre

Sulmona’s famous Red Garlic is considered by many chefs one of the best in Italy, and is so good that is has its own festival devoted to it. It is traditionally held the second weekend in July just outside the town in Campo de Fano. Each evening there is a heady mix of superb food stalls,street food, talks by cooks and some great local music. It continues to grow each year as one of the most important in the Valle Peligna area with about 1500 people attending each night!

4. The Running Madonna

After Easter Sunday Mass Sulmona’s most famous religious spectacle packs crowds into the Piazza Garibaldi. A statue of the Madonna is carried in full mourning clothes across the piazza, when at the fountains she sees a figure of the ‘risen’ Christ and throws off her cloak to reveal her green springtime clothes that denote new life. It’s very quick, beautiful with white doves that are released but explosive – at the end from the firecrackers are lit to celebrate. You can accompany the procession afterwards to S. Maria della Tomba.

 

 

5. Chains & Guarded Gates

Despite much of Sulmona being lost in 1706 through an earthquake and rebuilt, on street corners look out for the now token chains that were traditionally pulled across the streets at night to stop those on horseback attempting to leave after committing a crime. Imagine what riches these protected. Have a look at the 7 guarded gates whose cobbled arteries led off to Rome, Naples and other major cities. They were closed to protect the townsfollk from the threat of invaders whether criminal gangs or advancing armies.

 

6. San Gaetano Church

San Gaetano was built like many churches onto the sites of local tribes and Roman temples. Have a look at its mosaic floor that dates back to 1AD.

 

7. Christmas Eve – Stewed Eel

If you’re visiting Sulmona over Christmas do try the Sulmonese tradition of eating on Christmas Eve stewed eel in a rich tomato sauce as part of their Christmas Eve dinner. It’s regarded as a sign of good luck and utterly delicious if you get the chance do try it!

 

 

8. Abbazia di Santo Spirito Al Morrone

 

Just outside the town in Badia, the Abbazia was founded by Pope Celestine V when he was but a simple friar. It sits on the western slopes of the Morrone mountains and has an impressive monumental staircase, frescoes and an old pharmacy to look at. It frequently hosts art exhibitions so check what is on!

 

 

9. The Giostra

At the end of July head to Sulmona to watch the newly revived Giostra Cavalleresca of Sulmona. It has taken the city three centuries to perform once more the fabled jousts that took place, but this exciting historical event is unmissable. It combines a re-enactment parade through the city through to a horsemanship competition in Piazza Garibaldi.

 

10 Coffee Ovid

If you only have a brief stop in Sulmona, make sure you sit at the Grand Cafe for an espresso, in the shade of the statue of Ovid and contemplate history and what we have learnt!

 

Scarponi – Valle Peligna Christmas Cookies

Scarponi are the extremely easy to make traditional Christmas cookies of Sulmona and the Peligna Valley.  Their name translates as little boots and are rich, and naturally sweetened using Mosto Cotto, this is slowly cooked unfiltered grape juice that includes the must (skin and seeds) which gives a flavorsome alternative to sugar.

Scarponi Christmas Cookies

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Serves: 40

Ingredients
  • 500 g Flour
  • 100 of Sugar
  • 200 ml Mosto Cotto,
  • 100 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 100 g Sugar
  • 100 g Dark Chocolate
  • 50 g Cocoa
  • 50 g Candied Peel
  • 100 g Sultanas,
  • 4 tsp Baking Powder
  • 160 g Walnuts
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
Instructions
  1. Soak the sultanas in hot water.
  2. Melt the chocolate in a bain marie.
  3. Remove from the heat and mix in the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder oil and yeast.
  4. If the mixture is too hard increase the amount of Mosto Cotto and a little more flour if it is too soft.
  5. Squeeze the water from the sultanas, add in with the chopped almonds, walnuts cinnamon.
  6. Divide the dough into small piles and spoon onto a greased baking sheet. Make sure they have enough space between each other as they will expand
  7. Bake at 160 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Leave them in the baking pan to firm up until they cool otherwise they will crumble.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sausage & Chestnut Stuffing

Sulmonese Sausage & Chestnut Stuffing

We asked our partner chef in Italy, Claudio at what his favourite stuffing is and he came back with this Sulmonese sausage and chestnut stuffing recipe.  It’s a rich combination that suits both poultry and even pork itself and adds a natural sweetness is given to the meat through the use of chestnuts.  We particularly love the texture of this stuffing, rather than minced together this relies on crumbling and cubing!

 

Sulmonese Sausage & Chestnut Stuffing

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Serves: 6

A rich Sulmonese stuffing recipe that suits both poultry and even pork. We particularly love the texture of this stuffing, rather than minced together this relies on crumbling and cubing!
Ingredients
  • 1 boned turkey leg of about 2 kg
  • 200 g of sausage
  • 120 g of diced pork belly
  • 200 g of already boiled chestnuts
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 onion
  • 1 celery stalk
  • ½ l of stock
  • 150 ml of white wine
  • pepper, (little)
  • 4 tbps extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 sprig of rosemary
Instructions
  1. Open the boned turkey leg, sprinkle the pepper, add the crumbled sausage, the pancetta and 100 g of chestnuts, also crumbled.
  2. Also put the two carrots, clean and whole, lengthwise. Roll the stuffed thigh, squeezing it very well, place the rosemary sprig and tie with the kitchen string.
  3. Put the oil in a saucepan, brown the onion and the celery into small pieces. Add the turkey roll and brown it on all sides for about 5 minutes.
  4. Soak with the white wine and keep on the heat for 5 minutes. Meanwhile turn on the oven and bring it to a temperature of 170 C.
  5. Put the turkey in an oven dish, add the broth and cook for about 2 hours, turning it every half hour. Times can increase if we have a conventional and non-ventilated oven, so check the cooking well !!
  6. At the end of cooking we remove the brown bottom that has been created in the pan and add it to the liquid and to the sauté that we had left aside in the first phase of cooking in the pan. We also add the remaining chestnuts (100 gr) remaining and boil for about 10 minutes to create a sauce to put on the turkey. If we want a thicker sauce we can add 1-2 teaspoons of potato starch or corn starch (dissolved separately with a little broth and then poured into the pot to thicken the sauce).
  7. Let the turkey cool, remove the string, cut it into slices at least 2 cm high and serve it on the plate with a nice spoonful of sauce with chestnuts accompanied by baked potatoes and sauteed vegetables.

 

 

 

 

 

Sulmona apple cake

Alice’s Sulmonese Apple & Cinnamon Cake

Alice’s moist apple cinnamon cake pays homage to Sulmona’s love affair with this delectable spice.  It has a long history with the town so famously known for its confetti, the Romans added cinnamon oil to their wines and baths and the monks of the city added it to their digestifs and preserving syrups.  Today it is more commonly known through the delicate cannellini, the long and skinny confetti filled with cinnamon that the poet Giacaomo Leopardi adored to his downfall.

Alice uses dessert apples rather than cooking apples to cut down on the amount of cane sugar added to the cake which gives it a sweet but gentle spiced flavour instead, and recommend Russet apples just like they would see in the Autumn market at Sulmona. To see you you throughthe winter have a slice or two each week or you can hold out and enjoy it as part of the breakfast Alice prepares on our food, wine and cooking adventures.

Russet Apples

 

Alice's Sulmona Apple & Cinnamon Cake

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Serves: 8

Alice’s moist apple cinnamon cake pays homage to Sulmona’s love affair with this delectable spice
Ingredients
  • 4 Dessert Apples
  • 200 ml Milk
  • 300 g 00 Flour
  • 200 g Sugar
  • 2 Eggs
  • 100 g Butter
  • Grated zest from 1 Lemon
  • 2 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1.5 tsp Ground Cinnamon
  • Pinch of Salt
Instructions
  1. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 180C/ 350ºF. Meanwhile, coat an 8-inch round cake pan with butter, then line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.
  2. Peel,core and dice 3 apples. Arrange half on the paper.
  3. Melt butter and sugar together in a saucepan.
  4. Sieve flour, baking powder, fine salt and cinnamon together in a medium bowl.
  5. Whisk 2 eggs and milk in a large bowl. Add the melted butter and sugar and whisk to combine. Add the flour mixture into the egg mixture slowly and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until just combined. Add the remaining apples and fold in till combined.
  6. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before carefully removing from pan (loosen the sides by running a thin knife around the edge if needed first). Dust with icing sugar and serve.

 

Prezza Stuffed Artichokes

Stuffed Artichokes

My hometown in Prezza is famous for its artichokes.  They are smaller and sweeter than the traditional globe ones  and can be sampled in a trillions ways at the town’s annual artichoke festival.

Here is my favourite recipe to serve them stuffed as an antipasti or alongside roast lamb for a very special dinner

Stuffed Artichokes

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Serves: 3

A stuffed artichoke recipe from the balcony of Abruzzo
Ingredients
  • 6 Artichokes
  • 2 cups of plain bread crumbs
  • 1 cup Pecorino Cheese grated
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese grated
  • 8 oz Pancetta chopped small
  • 2 Garlic Cloves finely chopped
  • 1 handful of Italian Parsley
  • 4 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Remove all the outside leaves from the artichokes until you reach the lighter leaves.
  2. Cut the top off the artichokes to remove the hardest part of the leaves. Remove the external skin of the stems and save them.
  3. Place the cleaned artichokes and the stems in a bowl with water and lemon. The lemon juice will prevent the artichokes from darkening and will reduce their bitterness.
  4. Prepare the filling: Mix together the breadcrumbs, Parmesan and Pecorino cheese. Add the parsley, garlic, salt and pepper and mix well. Add a little olive oil to bind the mixture together.
  5. Rinse the artichokes and dry them.Open the artichokes by separating the leaves with your fingers. Stuff the filling into the artichokes by pressing the mixture in and between the leaves.
  6. Place a cup of white wine, then a cup of water, then 2 tblsp. of olive oil and a clove of garlic in a large saucepan. Place the artichokes and stems in the pan, filled side up, cover the pan and simmer for 45 mins. or until artichokes are tender. They will be tender when ready.
  7. Serve with a sprinkle of extra virgin olive oil.

 

Stuffed Leg of Lamb

Herb & Spinach Stuffed Roast Leg of Lamb

This succulent stuffed leg of lamb uses spinach, fontina cheese, pancetta and herbs to make a tasty healthy stuffing that is perfect for a Sunday lunch or to serve at Easter.


Herb & Spinach Stuffed Roast Leg of Lamb

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Serves: 6

This succulent stuffed leg of lamb uses spinach, fontina cheese, pancetta and herbs to make a tasty healthy stuffing that is perfect for a Sunday lunch or to serve at Easter
Ingredients
  • 5 lb Leg of Lamb (boned)
  • 12 oz Fresh Spinach (1 bag)
  • 8 oz Fontina Cheese sliced
  • 8 oz Pancetta
  • 1 tbsp Black Pepper freshly ground
  • 1 tbsp Salt
  • 1 tbsp Thyme
  • 1 tbsp Rosemary
  • 2 Garlic Cloves chopped
  • You will need kitchen twine
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. (200 degrees C)
  2. Use a sharp knife to cut ½ inch deep slits in the meat about 2 inches apart, to help the meat lie flat.
  3. Lightly saute the spinach with olive oil and cloves of garlic.
  4. Sprinkle the meat with salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary. Add the chopped garlic.Spread out the spinach on the flattened meat, then layer with Pancetta and Fontina cheese. Roll the meat and tie with kitchen twine.
  5. Sprinkle more salt and pepper on top and sprinkle with olive oil.
  6. Put 1 cup of water in the bottom of the pan and cover with foil.
  7. Cook covered for 45 mins. Then cook uncovered for another 45 minutes to an hour. Let rest for 20 minutes before slicing.

 

Spaghetti aglio e olio

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

Simple, healthy and incredibly tasty, Chef Ezio’s favourite vegetarian pasta dish

1 lb. (454 gr) Spaghetti
Salt and Pepper To Taste
1/2 Cup A Casa Di Ezio Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Garlic Cloves  Thinly Sliced
A Casa Di Ezio Peperoncino Piccante Marinated in Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup Flat Leaf Parsley Chopped
Preparation:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and season generously with salt.  Cook the pasta for one minute less that the package instructions.
Meanwhile, in a large saute pan over medium-low heat, add about 1/3 cup of olive oil.  Add the garlic and some A Casa Di  Ezio Peperoncino Piccante .  Add a tablespoon o pasta water to ensure the garlic doesn’t brown. Cook gently until the garlic softens, about 8 minutes.
Remove the pasta from the water and transfer to the pan.  Toss to coat and add a ladle full of reserved pasta water.
Drizzle with a healthy amount of olive oil and toss in the chopped parsley.  Toss to coat and emulsify the sauce.

Navelli Saffron Chickpeas & Pasta

Rich, diverse, local ingredients that are simply prepared keeps ‘Italian’ as the world’s favourite cuisine and this Aquilana dish courtesy of our partner CantinArte is a wonderful example of this.

The recipe comes from the nearby small town of Navelli which is famous for being home to Italy’s best saffron as well as the town’s heritage chickpeas.  These tasty little legumes with a creamy texture and nuttiness not found in their more floury bigger cousins are frequently championed by Slow Food for their tenderness and are one of Italy’s protected products, a dop (protected designation of origin).

Join us on our  3 or 7-night food, wine and cooking tour of Abruzzo and you’ll able to buy all of the ingredients for this dish when we take you to Sulmona Market for the morning.  Depending on the season it may be one of the dishes that Francesca from CantinArte prepares she gives you an olive oil tasting and cookery demonstration in using saffron.

Saffron Chickpeas & Pasta

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Serves: 4

Ingredients
  • 300 g Chickpeas (soaked for 1 day)
  • 200 g Pasta (Sagnette or small penne or broken spaghetti or linguine
  • 2 sachets of Saffron
  • 1 Onion
  • 1 large sprig of Rosemary
Instructions
  1. Soak the chickpeas overnight.
  2. Drain the chickpeas and then cook them preferably in a pressure cooker with an onion and large stalk of rosemary and pinch of salt.
  3. Soak the saffron in a cup of lukewarm water for at least 20 minutes, do not stir!
  4. Cook the pasta, drain and then mix with the chickpeas.
  5. Stir the saffron water mix once and pour over your combined pasta and chickpeas and gently stir.
  6. Serve with extra virgin olive oil, grated parmesan and fresh peperoncini chili

 

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