RECIPES FROM A TUSCAN TABLE

Please find below recipes used during Cooking Classes. Servings are for 4 people.

Fried Zucchini Flowers and Sage Leaves

Ingredients:
Plain flour
Sparkling water
Lemon juice
Salt
White wine vinegar

Put a large heap of plain flour in a large bowl, rougly 250g. Create a hole in the middle and pour in a little fizzy water. Stir with wooden spoon slowly bringing in the flour from the sides. Continue to add a little water at a time until you have a smooth batter. Add approx. 2 teaspoons of white wine vinegar and half a teaspoon of salt. Dunk the flowers, leaves or zucchini battons and coat well in the batter. Heat sunflower or ground nut oil in a large frying pan until very hot and fry the ingredients on both sides until crisp. Squeeze over a lemon juice and sprinkle over salt to taste.

Crostini with Sausage and Stracchino Cheese

Ingredients:
8-12 half slices of Tuscan bread or ciabatta
2 sausages, the best quality you can find
150g stracchino cheese
Parsely, roughly chopped
1 Lemon

Remove skin from sausages and combine with cheese in a bowl
Spread mixture onto bread slices
Bake for 15mins or until sausage is crispy
Remove from oven and sprinkle over parsely and generous squeeze of lemon

Involtini di Melanzane

Heat oven to 220c
Ingredients:
1 large aubergine
250g fresh ricotta
8 thin slices of pancetta or prosciutto

For the pesto
Generous bunch of basil (approx. 2 handfuls)
100g parmesan cheese
Handful of pine nuts, toasted
1 clove of garlic
Best quality olive oil approx 50-80ml
Splash of lemon juice

Thinly slice the aubergine lengthways to make 5mm slices
Grill each slice. Set aside to cool.
To make the pesto combine all ingredients in a mixer apart from the oil and basil
Add the basil and lemon juice and bliz
Slowly add the olive oil until the mixture is loose and spreadable
Spread a thin layer of pesto and ricotta onto each slice of aubergine. Wrap around the pancetta
Place on baking sheet or ovenware dish and cook for 20 mins or until panceta is crispy
Serve with extra basil leaves and shavings of parmesan cheese

Crostini with Pear and Gorgonzola

Ingredients:
4 slices of thick country bread
150g gorgonzola
½ pear peeled and finely diced
few stalks of fresh thyme
15g butter
honey
olive oil
handful of toasted hazelnuts

Pre cook the bread in an oven on greaseproof paper. Drizzle over olive oil and salt. Cook at 180 deg c for 10 mins
Allow bread to cool
Meanwhile cook the pear in the butter for 10mins. Add a little black pepper and the thyme. Allow to cool
Bash the hazelnuts or blitz in a mixer
Spread the gorgonzola onto the bread and bake in hot oven for 15mins until slightly golden
Remove from oven, sprinkle over the pear, hazelnuts and a drizzle of honey.

Pappa al Pomodoro

Ingredients:
350g tomatoes, quartered
2 handfuls of old bread torn into medium pieces
4 crushed garlic cloves
50ml olive oil plus extra to serve
large handful of fresh basil leaves lightly torn
Salt

Put the crushed garlic and olive oil into a medium pan and heat until garlic starts to sizzle
Add tomatoes, a little salt and leave to cook over low heat for approx 30 mins or until tomatoes have let out a lot of water
Add the bread continue to cook for a further 5 minutes. Add a little water if it seems to thick
Add basil leaves, stir
Serve at room temp with extra olive oil, salt and parmesan if desired

Fresh Tagliatelle Pasta

Ingredients:
250g plain flour
3 eggs
pinch of salt

Blitz in a food processor the flour and salt
With processor on continuous add eggs one at a time
Check for stickiness/dryness (adding a little flour or water)
Transfer to clean smooth work surface covered in a little flour and work the dough into a smooth round ball
Cover with cling film and rest for minimum 30 mins
When ready to roll cut dough into quarters, form a flat rectangular sharp and start with the widest setting on pasta machine (0?). Pass through several times, fold into an envelope then pass through 2 or 3 more times. Now go through all the settings, passing dough through twice each time until you reach desired thinness. This will usually be setting 6 or 7. Then pass through the tagliatelle attachement
Always make sure to keep the dough and the machine well floured to prevent sticking
Boil for 4-5 minutes
Serve with a fresh homemade sauce

Fresh Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
2 onions sliced thinly
2 carrots chopped into round about 0.5mm wide
lots of olive oil
Parsley with stems, large bunch roughly chopped
x2 Large tins of best quality plum tomatoes or 600g mixed fresh tomatoes roughly quatered
Salt and sugar
2 teaspoons of mascarpone or cream
Parmesan, about 60g

Cook the onions and carrots gently in a very generous amount of olive oil so the veg is swimming almost. When the onions start to caramelise add the parsley and when it starts to wilt add the tomates and lower the heat. Add a heaped teaspoon of sugar and salt and cook for at least one hour then cool slightly before blending. Return to heat and add the mascarpone or cream and parmesan. Taste and add salt if needed.

Vine Tomato and Zucchini Sauce

Ingredients:
250g vine tomatoes slice in half lengthways
5 small zucchini cut in half and sliced thinly across
2 garlic cloves finely diced
30g butter
Olive oil
Parmesan
Juice of 1 lemon
50ml single cream
handful of basil leaves

Gently fry the garlic in butter and a drizzle of olive oil. Add zucchini and cook on gentle heat for 15 mins. Add tomatoes, season and cook a further 15 mins. Turn off heat and cook for 10mins. Add lemon, cream and torn basil leaves. Reheat gently until cream starts to foam slightly. Serve with freshly grated parmesan.

Tiramisu

Ingredients:
3 large eggs
500g mascarpone
8 tablespoons caster sugar
Lady fingers or savoyard biscuits (about 30)
Strong coffee, cooled

Seperate eggs into 2 large bowls. Whisk the egg whites until peaks form. Whisk eggs yolks with sugar until light and fluffy. Mix the mascarpone into the egg yolks then gently add the egg whites being careful not to knock the air out. Either in individual glasses or into a dish dunk the sponge fingers into the coffee (not to much, you don't want soggy tiramisu!!) and form one layer. Add a layer or mascarpone then sponge and finish with the mascarpone mix. Sprinkle a generous amount of coco powder ontop. Chill for at least a couple of hours.

Strawberry and Lemon Tiramisu

Ingredients:
2 punnet of strawberries, quartered
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
200ml of water
200g sugar
3 large eggs
500g mascarpone
8 tablespoons caster sugar
Lady fingers or savoyard biscuits (about 30)

Boil the water with the lemon juice and sugar until the water thickens and becomes a thin syrup. Add more water if necessary. Allow to cool completely. Seperate eggs into 2 large bowls. Whisk the egg whites until peaks form. Whisk eggs yolks with sugar in separate bowl until light and fluffy. Add the grated lemon zest. Mix the mascarpone into the egg yolks then gently add the egg whites being careful not to knock the air out. Instead of the coffee, dunk the sponge fingers into the lemon syrup. First layer the sponge fingers, then the mascarpone, then the strawberries and repeat finishing with strawberries on top