Semifreddo al torrone (affogato al caffe')

‘Il Semifreddo al torrone’ is probably the most popular dessert on our menu card.
Once I tried and propose a different version but I had a few unhappy customers. I hadn’t realized that so many people are very loyal to their taste buds and to us restaurateurs.

In order to succeed in making your first Semifreddo, get organized and arrange all your ingredients in front of you, in the sequence you’ll need them.

• Put the dish (approx. size 25x15x5) that you’re going to use already in the freezer.
• The torrone has to be cold, so prepare it earlier in the day or the day before.
• Grind the torrone.
• Mix the ingredients for the topping.
  
  Ingredients for 500 gr. of torrone:
  250 gr. white sugar
  150 gr. of toasted almonds
  100 gr. of toasted pistachios nuts
  The juice of ¼ of a lemon or orange
  Method:
  Please be very cautious when making caramel as its temperature gets to almost 200°!
• In a wide frying-pan, place the sugar, and on a low heat allow it to slowly melt.
• When the sugar has completely melted and the colour is like that of dark honey, throw the nuts in and mix with two wooden spoons so that every nut is coated with caramel.
• Squeeze in the lemon and stir once more (This will make it easier to break up).
• Always with caution, tip now the hot torrone either on a silicon mat or onto a lightly oiled surface (ideally a marble table).
• Allow it the cool completely.
• Take 400 gr. of the torrone and with a kitchen robot grind it almost to a powder. A few coarser bits will add texture. (If you don’t have a robot, put the torrone in a thick plastic bag or tea towel and smash it up with the use of a rolling pin. Great way to release tension and stress!!!)
• What's left of it will keep in an air tight jar for a long time. If it lasts for a long time!
  
  Ingredients for Semifreddo:
  400 gr. of Torrone
  5 bio eggs, separated
  50 gr. of light brown sugar
  30 ml. of Marsala all’uovo (egg Marsala wine)
  30 ml. Amaretto liquor
  500 ml. whipping cream ( 40% fat)
  1 vanilla stick (or 2 tsp. of vanilla essence not extract)
  For the topping:
  50 gr. dark chocolate, broken up in small pieces
  20 gr. white chocolate, broken up in small pieces
  50 gr. pistachio nuts, finely ground
  
  Method:
• Separate the eggs and put the whites in a clean bowl and set aside.
• In another bowl place the egg yolks along with the sugar, the Marsala, the Amaretto and the seeds of the vanilla or essence.
• Put the bowl over a pan of simmering water and with an electric whisk make the zabaglione. It should take 15 to 20 minutes or until doubled in size.
• In another bowl beat the cream until dense and floppy but not hard.
• Now with a clean whisk beat the egg whites to hard peaks.
• Put the ground torrone in a big bowl, and add the zabaglione to it.
• With gentle movements fold-in the two. You want to retain some of the air so to make the semifreddo light.
• Add the cream and always gently, fold it into the zabaglione mix.
• With a spatula or a very big spoon fold in the egg whites a bit at the time. Here again I have to stress the importance of trying to keep as much of the air as possible in you mixture.
• Pour everything into the cold dish.
• Scatter the topping of the two chocolates and powdered pistachio nut.
• Cover it with a lid or some kitchen foil and freeze it for at least 4 to 5 hours before serving.
  At the restaurant we serve it with a cup of hot espresso coffee on top of it.
  Mmmmmmmmmdelicious.

Ps. Sometimes in the winter when there seems to be always dry figs and dates left over from Christmas, I soak for an hour or so in Marsala wine and then I add them to the mix.

Even more delicious!!!

Pasta alla Norma

When in Athens two weeks ago, I promised some of my Hector(see link on website http://ilmezzogiorno.be/) colleagues that I would publish some simple and easy to prepare meal solutions for them and their families.
What I found from our conversations was that a tooooo great number of people are not able to prepare the simplest of foods. I also realize that there seems to be a great fear and confusion when approaching the subject of food preparation.
So I hope that with the next few recipes I can help you clarify some misunderstandings and misconceptions there are about ingredients and methods.
If you've read the introduction to my blog you'll know that I'm no professional chef and I have no pretences to be one. A cook perhaps but there is nothing chefy about me. My food is home inspired and most my recipes don't require long and laborious preparations.
Being Italian (and working in a Sicilian restaurant) obviously my cooking will reflect that, but having lived the best part of 30 years in the north of Europe I've probably added a few different ingredients and flavours to my repertoire.

I thought about starting with most probably the best known Sicilian pasta dish 'Pasta alla Norma'.
If you wonder who Norma was...the story says that Nino Martoglio a famous comedy writer from Catania after having eaten this dish he exclaimed:"Chi sta e' a Norma" "This is Norma" to indicate its incredible taste and comparing it to the great opera by Bellini 'Norma'.
This is a very basic garlicky tomato sauce with a few fried aubergines added to it at the end. What makes it so special is the ricotta salata (also called cacio in some areas).
Of course, if such delicacy is not found in the area where you live use whatever cheese you have available and if you don't like cheese or don't eat cheese, just don't use any. You'll just enjoy a great 'pasta al pomodoro'
A great French chef Roger Vergé once said:” A recipe is not to be followed exactly, it is a canvas on which you can embroider".
I said I will try and give you a few hints and short cuts so here is the first.

• When you cook pasta use 1 lt. of water for each 100 gr. of pasta.
• Use sea salt and not the so called table salt. Salt has its own distinctive flavour and does make a difference to your final dish.
• Use the best tin tomatoes you can find, preferably Italian and not Chinese
• Use the best Italian pasta avaialbe where you live. I use, when I find it, Faella or Latini. When I can't find any of these roll royces of pasta then I go forDe Cecco that is available in most supermarkets. And if you really have to, then use Barilla.

Ingredients for 4 hungry people
400 gr. of good quality pasta -whatever shape you like
1 aubergine medium size about 300 or 400 gr
1/2 kg whole tin tomatoes
1 or 2garlic cloves
20 basil leaves
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
salt, pepper or chilli if you like it hot
Ricotta salata or pecorino cheese or any cheese you have available where you live but preferably a sheep cheese

Put on the stove a big pot with at least 4 lt. of water and add 4 good pinches of sea salt, and
let’s deal with the aubergines.

• Wash them, dry them and peel them with a potato peeler in stripes
• Slice them in rings of 3/4 mm. thick and fry them in a bit of olive oil. To avoid them sucking up too much oil, sprinkle them with a bit of salt as you fry them.
• Do this in batches as not to over crowd the frying pan. Put them aside and absorb any excess oil with a bit of kitchen paper.

Let’s make the tomato sauce.

• In the same frying pan put 4 tbsp. of olive oil, 1 or 2 cloves of garlic (whole or crushed is up to you), the whole tomatoes (squashed them with a fork once in the pan) 10 of the basil leaves, salt pepper and chilli (if you like it a bit hot!!) and turn the fire on.
  
• Once it starts bubbling, turn the heat down to a low/medium flame and cook it for about 20min. Remember to stir it every now and then.
• Add now the remaing basil.
  
• At this point your pasta water will be happily bubbling away.Make sure you still have the required amount of water of 1lt for 100gr of pasta.
• Throw the pasta in and stir it for a few seconds to stop it sticking. Read the cooking time on the packet and whatever it says don't believe it. If you want your pasta al dente you should take it out of the water al least 3 min before. Please don't leave the pasta unattended and start doing other thing like the ironing or watch you favourite soap on TV (like I know some of you do!!!) or you'll end up with a stodgy substance.
• Keep tasting it to check if it is ready. When the outer layer is cooked but it still has a bite in the centre, it is ready.
• Now drain it but make sure you keep at least 1/2 cup of the cooking water.
• Put the pasta in the tomato sauce (which will be nice and hot)
• Turn the heat up, add the cooking water and stir to combine the sauce with the pasta.
• When the cooking water you've added has been absorbed and the pasta is coated with the sauce, and then is ready to serve.
• Plate it and put 2/3 of the aubergine slices on top of each portion.
• Grate the cheese on top
• And now go to the table and enjoy it, may be you'll also say 'Chi sta e a Norma'
  
  
  

Cannoli Siciliani

This one was a long time coming.
For millions of reasons I never tried to make this delight of the Sicilian repertoire of desserts.
There is so much history behind it that I've been almost afraid to try in case I'd get it wrong.
But one day I just braved myself and during a quite afternoon I finally did it and to my surprise the result was absolutely orgasmic!!!!
So if you feel ready to attempt it here is the recipe.

But just in case you find it too daunting (like I did!) or difficult or just you don't have the time we do sell them at the restaurant!!! (http://www.ilmezzogiorno.be/).

For about 20 Cannoli skins you need:
200 gr. plain flour
20/30 gr. suet
30 gr. sugar
a pinch of salt
2 tsp cacao powder
2 tsp. coffee powder (optional)
3/4 tbsp. dry marsala wine
oil for deep frying
egg white for sealing
you also need 3/4 stainless steel tubes of approx. 2cm. of diameter and 15cm. in length or I find better and easier to use silicone cones

For the ricotta filling:
800 gr. of fresh ricotta preferably or religiously sheep ricotta they say in Sicily
150 gr. icing sugar (or to your taste)
30 gr. dark chocolate
30 gr. of good quality candid fruits

For the garnish:
a few orange candid peels
a handful of crushed pistachio nuts
icing sugar

Start by putting the ricotta in a clean cheese cloth and fold the sides on top of it. Place it in a sieve on a plate, put a pack of sugar on top of it to weigh it down and put in the fridge while you prepare the cannoli skins. You need to do this in order to remove excess liquid from the ricotta or it will be too soft and floppy at the end.
To make the skins I put the flour and suet in the food processor and mix the two then I add the sugar, salt, cacao powder and with the machine running add the Marsala wine a bit at the time until I get a crumbly mixture (you can also easily do this by hand).
Pour it onto a lightly floured surface and bring together into a tight ball. Cover it with cling film and let it rest in the fridge for 20 min. or so.
In the meantime prepare the ricotta mix by adding the sugar first and with an electric mixer or by hand work it for a few minutes. Add now the candid fruits and the broken-up chocolate and fold everything together.
If you have a sac a poche put in there (it will make it easier to fill the cannoli afterwards) and back in the fridge again.
Now the fun bit starts.
Flour the work surface and start rolling the pastry out to form a circle (or a square it's even better) to a thickness of approx. 2mm.. With a pastry cutter or a knife cut out 20 10x10 cm squares.
Now you can start the frying.
If you are going to use a fryer switch it on to 180°
Grease really well the tubes with some suet.
Take a square of pastry place one tube diagonally, fold half of it over and brush the other two sides to seal it. Roll it lightly onto itself and repeat it for the number of tubes you have.
Put no more then 3/4 tubes in the hot oil at the time and fry them until the colour browns a little and bubbles appear onto the surface.
Gently drip out any excess oil from the tubes and tip them onto some kitchen paper.
Allow a little time for the tubes to cool down and then with a towel in you hand gently release the cannoli skin from the tube. Repeat with all the remaining squares.
Remember to re-grease the tubes with each batch and please don't burn yourselves.
To finish off, fill the cannoli with the ricotta mix place the candid orange skin and the pistachio on each side of the openings and dust with a bit of icing sugar.
The empty skins will keep up to a week or more in an air tight container but I doubt it very much.
I know that is a long process but believe me is well worth the effort.

La Torta Caprese

I promised myself today that I would write about the 'Torta Caprese'
a speciality cake from Capri or Naples.
The are 1001 versions and 1001 variations.
The recipe here is my version
or to tell you the whole truth is my sister's Annamaria.
It's straightforward, no-fuss, foolproof.
It uses no flour so gluten-free and if you are really health conscious you could substitute the butter with a mild extra virgin olive oil or half and half
so you won't feel so guilty eating it!!!

So here it goes.
Pre-heat the oven 180°.
Line a shallow baking tin (30cm.) with baking paper and butter the sides.
Cut 150gr.of butter into cubes and place in the oven for 2 or 3 min.(not if you are going to use olive oil of course!)
In the meantime weigh out 250gr. of ground almonds or
150 gr. of ground almonds + 100gr. of crushed almonds (if you like a more crunchy texture)
add to this 200gr. of dark chocolate crushed into little little pieces
and a spoon of cacao powder, give it a little mix and put aside.
In an other bowl whisk together the melted butter with 150 gr. of sugar(light brown if you can)
and 4 lightly beaten whole eggs.
Now put the almond-chocolate mix into the butter-egg one.
Mix well, pour in the tin and bake for 20 min. in the low shelf of your oven.

And here are a few ideas for variations or re-visitation as I called them.
You can add flavours like lemon or orange zest, a few drops of Amaretto or a tbs. of ground coffee, the choice is yours.
I sometimes substitute 100 gr. of the chocolate with hazelnut chocolate and
100 gr. of the almonds for hazelnuts.
Serve it with a dollop of whipped cream and glass of cool Limoncello and you'd think you were somewhere on the Amalfitan coast.

They are all deliciously sumptuous and voluptuous.
You may just have to try them all!
Well let me know if you do.

Prosciutto, formaggio e fichi di Sicilia

The first starter we served this morning probably sums up my idea of what food...
good fresh unadulterated food really is.
A slice or two of freshly sliced Parma ham....
a piece or two of cheese, in this case 'Pecorino Primosale' and 'Ragusano'
A few black figs soaked in a light Marsala marinade
A few nuts for crunchiness
And to top it all up a few pomegranate seeds bursting with sweetness and sharpness
A few drops of extra virgin olive oil
and Bob's your uncle!

( Barone dear did you ever find out where the expression comes from?)

Crostini con funghi trifolati

I didn't know with what recepie restart my posting on the Mezzogiorno blog
but this morning while preparing brunch(lucky some!!!)
the sun hit the pan with the mushrooms garlic and thyme...........
I could not resist taking a photo!

So to make the crostini cut a few slices of good wholesome bread and toast it.
In a fryng pan put a couple of generous spoons of extra vergin olive oil,
a whole garlic clove and a sprig of thyme or sage if you like.
Cut in two the mushrooms or if you are going to use wild ones keep them whole( they'll look sexier in the plate!) and add them to the pan.
Sauteé for a few minutes.....turn the mushrooms
and season with salt and pepper.

Rub the toasted bread(crostini) with the garlic........... put the mushroom on top and eat straight away.
I served this along with a poached egg some grilled bacon and Krissie's(the hub!) home made bread.

Torta al Limoncello di Dario

Because I still don't have a picture of the Torta al Limoncello for now and until then I will post this photo of me titled 'Sonia, Roma summer 1960, age 1 and a bit'.

So here goes the cake:
The best compliment a cook can receive
is in the primitive sounds of hooos, haaaas and mmms of the people eating his food.
Make this cake and you'll know what I'm talking about!
It looks more complicated than actually is and once you've mastered it you can play around with other combinations of flavours to suit your taste and tickle your imagination.

You will need a spring cake-tin 20 cm. (if you'd like to bake a bigger size, just do your maths or better let the kids do them for you. I bet numbers have never been so much fun!!!!!!

For the base:
100 gr. Savoiardi (boudoirs or other plain cookies).
A handful of amaretti biscuits or crushed nuts like almonds or pistachio(optional)
60gr. melted butter

For the filling:
40 gr. butter, soft
100 gr. light brown sugar
2 eggs
400 gr. fresh sheep ricotta, if available, if not use the cow version
150 ml. double cream (40% fat)
150ml. Limoncello liquor
A bit of honey
50gr. or so of almond’s slivers
100 gr. of white chocolate

Pre-heat the oven at 180°/gas mark 4
Line the base of the cake tin with oven paper and butter its sides.
Crush the Savoiardi and Amaretti (if using) and add the 60gr. of melted butter and mix.
Put it in the tin and with the palm of your hand and fingers press it down gently but firmly to form the base of the cake.
Bake it for 10 min.
To make the filling:
In a bowl blend together 40 gr. of butter with the sugar for 2 or 3 min.
Separate the eggs and add the yolks to the butter mix ( the whites in a separate clean bowl).
Mix it, then add the ricotta the Limoncello and the cream and continue mixing until it becomes smooth and thick.
Beat now the egg whites to hard peaks (remember to always use a clean whisk when doing this) and gently fold them into the ricotta mix trying to keep most of the air in.
Pour the whole mixture onto the prepared base, cover the top with some oven paper (to stop it over browning) and bake on the middle shelf of your oven for 40/45 min.
Wait at least 10/15 min before opening the spring and don’t panic if it looks a bit wobbly, as it cools it will set.
Transfer the cake onto a serving plate.
While the oven is still warm put in the white chocolate to melt, it should take only a few minutes
To decorate, spread a little of the honey on the side and stick, to it, the almond slivers (it's a bit of a sticky job but a sweet one!! )
Take the chocolate from the oven give it a stir and now with the help of a spoon drizzle it on top of the cake in a abstract fashion (maybe the kids would love to do that so then they can have the bowl to lick)

I forget to say that the cake needs to be cold before you can play around with the chocolate or it will just melt and spread...unless that's the result you want of course!
This is not an exact science just play and have fun with it.

An other interesting bit of information is that it freezes extremely well.
Just bake it for an extra 10 to 15/20 min. according to the size.