artichokes Tag

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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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.

 

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