Lasagne al Forno

My recipe for the Lasagna al Forno is based on super chef Gino D’Acampo Lasagne Della Nonna He is one of my favourite chefs and a super friendly guy and I photographed him quite a few years back…in fact, was 2010 in London!

Ingredients

12 fresh lasagne sheets, each about 10 x 18cm

50g freshly grated parmesan cheese

50g cold salted butter, cut into 1cm cubes

to taste salt and pepper

FOR THE BÉCHAMEL SAUCE

100g salted butter

100g plain flour

1 litre cold full-fat milk

40g freshly grated parmesan cheese

freshly grated nutmeg

FOR THE MEAT SAUCE

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 peeled and finely chopped onion

1 large peeled and grated carrot

1 finely chopped celery stick,

500g minced beef

1 glass dry red wine

1 x 700ml bottle passata sauce

1 tablespoon tomato purée

Some fresh basil leaves

Preparation

For the Meat Sauce

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and fry onion, carrot and celery for 7-8 minutes, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon.

Then add the minced beef and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until coloured all over. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 more minutes.

Pour in the wine, stir well and cook for 5 minutes until the alcohol has evaporated. Add the passata, tomato purée and basil, then lower the heat and cook, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until you get a beautiful rich sauce. Taste and season after about 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas mark 4.

For the béchamel sauce

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute until it becomes light brown in colour. Gradually whisk in the milk, lower the heat and cook for 10 minutes, whisking constantly. Once thickened, stir in the Parmesan and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to slightly cool.

Spread a quarter of the béchamel sauce in the bottom of a deep ovenproof dish measuring about 30 x 25cm. Lay 4 lasagne sheets on top and, if necessary, cut them to fit the dish.

Spread half the meat sauce over the pasta, then top with a third of the remaining béchamel sauce. Lay 4 more sheets of lasagne on top and cover with the remaining meat sauce. Spread half the remaining béchamel sauce on top. Arrange a final layer of lasagne sheets over the sauces, then gently spread the rest of the béchamel on top, making sure that you completely cover the pasta.

Sprinkle with the Parmesan and cubed butter. Finally, grind some black pepper over the top.

Cook in the bottom of the oven for 30 minutes, then place the dish in the middle of the oven, raise the temperature to 200ºC/gas mark 6 and cook for a further 15 minutes until golden and crispy all over. Set the dish aside to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Italian Gnocchi

Gnocchi con burro, limone e ricotta

Gnocchi with butter with store-bought gnocchi must be one of the easiest recipes around. Even when you give it a fresh, lemony twist.

This is a recipe pinched and adapted from the Italian version of La Cucina Italiana. They start by making the gnocchi from scratch, but we generally buy them ready-made, we like the Rana Brand as well ad the Mlino in Slovenia or the own brands of Lidl and Penny, this will mean you can make the dish in 5 minutes flat, provided of course you have some salted lemon.

Ingredients

1 lemon

2 tbsp salt

75 g butter

100 g ricotta

Fresh basil

salt, pepper

Preparation

Cook the lemon in boiling and heavily salted water for 15 minutes

Cook the gnocchi in boiling salted water until they pop to the surface

Meanwhile, fry the butter until it becomes brown with a slight taste of nuts

Cut the lemon in four wedges, remove the flesh of one wedge, cut the peel in strips and add it to the butter

Mix the cooked gnocchi with lemon, butter, ricotta and leaves of basil before serving

The remaining lemon wedges are really good with white meat or in grain salads.

Italian Style Recipes to Celebrate the New Year

first of all, In Italy, we say “Felice anno nuovo!” or “Buon anno!” to one another to wish a Happy New Year!

In Italy, particularly in the South, there is a tradition of getting rid of old possessions to make room for the new year. This involves throwing old clothes, pots and pans, and sometimes even furniture out of the window! It symbolises letting go of unhappiness from the past to prepare for a happier future. This particular tradition is not quite so popular these days, but if you’re on the streets of Italy on New Year’s Eve, just be careful there are no flying pots or pans.

Italians traditionally wear red underwear on New Year’s Eve to bring good luck, so don’t forget to do yours if you’re planning on having an Italian New Year’s celebration! This applies to both men and women, and they are thrown away the next day.

But what about food?

Cotechino con lenticchie (sausages and green lentils)

This is a rich and hearty dish that symbolises wealth and abundance, and lentils are used as a symbol of wealth in many cultures as they resemble coins. The sausages used also symbolise abundance due to their high fat content, and they are sliced to resemble coins too.

Italians typically eat cotechino con lenticchie at the stroke of midnight, and it is actually really easy to prepare

Ingredients (this recipe serves 6)

For the Lentils:

1 large onion (diced)

1 carrot (diced)

1 stalk celery (diced)

1 clove garlic (chopped)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley (chopped)

3 cups lentils

6 cups chicken or beef broth (recommended) or water

For the Cotechino:

1 Cotechino – about 1 pound

1/2 onion, sliced

1/2 stalk of celery

2 bay leaves

Method

Prick the cotechino with a pin (a fork can sometimes make holes that are too big and allow the filling to seep out) and place it in a pot with cold water with the onion, celery and bay leaves and bring to the boil.

Lower to a simmer, and cook for 45 minutes. Once the cotechino is cooked, remove it from the water and let it cool.

In a pot, add olive oil and onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Cook until slightly browned. Add the lentils and stir. Cover with the broth, and then bring to the boil. Lowe to a simmer and cook until the lentils are tender.

Remove them from the heat and add the parsley, salt and pepper to taste.

Slice the cotechino and place on top of the lentils to serve!

Mozzarella alla Caprese

This is a classic appetizer from the region of Campania, and it can be enjoyed all year round. It is a dish that is often associated with Italy by many people, and it is super quick and easy to whip up, so what better dish to include in your New Year’s Eve spread?

Ingredients (to feed 6)

9 slices of Mozzarella

9 slices of ripe tomatoes

oregano

fresh basil

extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Method

Place the mozzarella and tomatoes on a serving dish, alternating them with each other. Chop some fresh basil and sprinkle basil, olive oil, oregano and salt over the top, and then serve at room temperature!

Champagne risotto



Grains of rice is another thing that represents coins in Italy, and the way that the rice grows in the pot during cooking signifies how people wish for their wealth to grow in the new year, so risotto is often included in a traditional New Year’s dinner. Our version includes champagne in place of the usual wine for that extra it of luxury

Ingredients (serves two as a main dish or 4 as a side)

2 large shallots, chopped

2 large cloves of garlic, chopped

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

4 tbsp butter, divided

1 cup of chopped mushrooms

250 ml Champagne

1 litre of stock (chicken or vegetable)

6 sprigs of fresh thyme, divided

1 cup Arborio rice

1 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated

Method

In a large heavy pan, heat the olive oil and add 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the shallot and garlic, and stir until the shallot is translucent (around 3 or 4 minutes).

Add the rice and stir until all of the rice is coated in the oil. Allow it to toast in the pan for around 3 minutes, and stir regularly so that it does not burn.

In another pan, use the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and allow to melt, season with salt, and add mushrooms. Cook them until they reduce down slightly and become lightly browned and set aside until later.

In a jug or a separate pot warm up the stock and half of the champagne together. Add four of the sprigs of thyme and allow them to infuse into the liquid.

Add the remaining champagne to the rice mixture and turn down the heat to medium. Add in the mushrooms and stir until the liquid has been absorbed.

Pour or ladle a little bit of the stock to the rice and stir until the rice has fully absorbed the liquid. Keep repeating until the rice is creamy but still has a bit of a bite to it.

Once your risotto has reached the desired creamy consistency (it may not need all of the stock adding) which should be no more than 25 minutes after you first added the rice, take it off the heat.

Remove the remaining thyme from the sprigs and stir it into the finished risotto along with the parmesan cheese, stirring until the cheese has melted completely.

Season with salt and pepper if desired, and serve in bowls!

GYÜMÖLCSLEVES - Cold Berries Soup

In Hungary, there are probably more types of soups than days in a year and you will get nicely used.

One of my favourite ones is GYÜMÖLCSLEVES (gyümölcs=fruit, leves=soup). It's served chilled as a starter but if you wish you can have it as desserts. or Cold Berry Soup

it’s very popular, easy to make even thou the recipe changes pretty much in every household. I don`t think I ever had one with the exact same ingredients, so here I`ll just give you a general guide and ideas to how to prepare the soup.

Yes we are talking about a sweet dish, but it’s not a dessert, well it can be, it’s up to you really, ones with the sweet tooth going to fall in love with that`s for sure.

Ingredients 4 people

0,5kg of fresh or frozen fruits, sour cherries, berries..

4 spoons of sugar

pinch of salt

2-3 cinnamon sticks

5 cloves

1 liter of fruit juice from canned fruits – especially from sour cherries

2-2 lemons and oranges cut in half

0,5 liter of dry red wine

0,5 liter of water

For thickening: 3 spoons of white flour, 2 dl of sour creme, of creme fraiche

Put the water, the juices, wine cinnamon, cloves, lemons, oranges, sugar, salt into a pot and bring it to boil. Taste, if you find it a bit tasteless or not sweet enough add some more sugar, or wine or juices. Mix the flour with the sour creme in a separate bowl, mix in a couple of spoons of the hot soup base, and whisk it in the boiling soup to thicken it. Bring it to boil again. Transfer trough a colander into a serving bowl, getting rod of the cinnamon, etc, add the fruits, and let it cool. Keep in fridge until serving!

Gostilna Mlin in Kamna Gorica , Slovenia

Gostilna Mlin in Kamna Gorica is an old converted mill and is set in a great location in an idyllic village close to Radovljica and Bled.

Staff is fast, helpful, attentive and kind

The menu offers Slovenian dishes, traditional and Pizzas.

Food is excellent with a good variety and a great value for money .

Odprta kuhna in Ljubljana

Odprta kuhna is a unique and the most popular food market in Slovenia that has been bringing freshness and innovation to the Slovenian culinary scene since 2013.

It has become a regular Ljubljana event and every sunny Friday from early spring to late fall its stands attract thousands of foodies and fans of relaxed hanging-out.

Every (sunny) Friday between 10 AM and 9 PM, and until 10 PM in the summer, Pogačarjev trg square comes to life in various colours, flavours and aromas. The stands of Odprta kuhna have presented over a 100 restaurants from all over Slovenia and the visitors have tried close to a thousand different Slovenian and international dishes.

Imagine a walk in the Ljubljana streets that takes you around the world. When you walk between the stands of the colourful food market, you smell homemade Kaiserschmarrn from one side and on the other some flames jump up into the air from a Asian wok; bograč from Prekmurje is inviting you to one stand and juicy burgers are on the grill at the next. It simply doesn’t get tastier than that!

S Daniele Prosciutto

In the pre-Roman era, San Daniele del Friuli was an important Celtic settlement, thanks to its special position en route to Northeast Europe. The surrounding area contains the remains of various “castellieri”, the typical Celtic constructions used as watchtowers.

The Celts, a relatively non-migratory people, devoted to agriculture and with minimal warlike tendencies, were the first to use salt to preserve pork, of which they were major consumers. They built the foundations of the extraordinary rural culture which the Romans put to expert use later on.

In the era following that of the Celts, the oldest San Daniele settlement is Roman, from the 1st century AC: a villa positioned right on the summit of the hill.

The Romans were very familiar with ham: evidence of this can be found in the ancient merchants’ road to Rome, the present Via Panisperna, named after “panis” (bread) and “perna” (“perna sicca”: ham), and in a butcher’s memorial stone found in Aquileia (UD), which boasts a Prosciutto di San Daniele complete with trotter.

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Fast forwards to the 1920 the first ham factories were established: the domestic cellar was transformed into the centre of a true autonomous production activity. At the end of the 40s, the ham factory had become an industry, and from the 60s its development resulted in some of the production companies contributing to the formation of the national and international prosciutto crudo market.