Italian Food Recipes

In this delicious Italian dish I combine the bitter taste of Radicchio of Chioggia with the sweet taste of pear. This Italian recipe is ideal if you want to prepare a tasty and light first course in few times and in a simple way. If you want to obtain a good result you should prepare broth with fresh vegetables in particular carrot, celery, onion and potato. Then use fresh Radicchio of Chioggia and pear type Abate that is particularly juicy and sweet, and it produces a sort of caramel when you sauté it with some butter. In the end to finish the preparation of the dish sprinkle with some good Parmesan that join the taste of pear and Radicchio.

INGREDIENTS (for 4 people):
320 g of Rice
250 g of Radicchio
1 Pear
3 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
40 g of Butter
20 g of Parmesan
1 / 4 of Onion chopped
1 / 2 Glass of White wine
500 ml of water
1 / 2 of Onion cut in big pieces for broth
1 Carrot cut in big pieces for broth
1 Celery cut in big pieces for broth
1 Potato cut in big pieces for broth
Salt

PREPARATION TIME: 30 minutes

COOKING TIME: 30 minutes

WINE: Nebbiolo d’Alba (Red Wine)

PREPARATION
Start with preparing the broth: place in a pan the water, big pieces of onion, celery, carrot, potato and salt and let the water boil until the vegetable are cooked.

Then begin to prepare the risotto. Clean radicchio

and cut it in thin stripes. Place in a pan the extra virgin olive oil, the butter and the chopped onion and let it golden

then add radicchio and let it cook for about 5 minutes until it wilts.

Now add the rice and make it roast for some minute, add the wine and let it evaporate.

Start to add 1 ladle of hot broth stirring until it is absorbed; continue in this way, adding ladles of hot broth, for about 15 - 18 minutes.

In the meantime prepare the pear, peel and cut it in cubes, place the cubes of pear in a pan with 20 g of butter and let it golden for about 3 – 5 minutes.

When the rice is ready add the pear and the Parmesan and mix all together.

At the end of the cooking the rice must be slightly firm to the teeth. Serve hot. This is the result:

BUON APPETITO!

In this delicious recipe I use two traditional Italian foods as main ingredients, in particular: Radicchio of Chioggia that comes from Veneto and Taleggio cheese that comes from Veneto and Lombardy. Radicchio is a popular Italian vegetable, known as Italian Chicory, that has red leafs with a bitter taste ideal grilled, roasted or for preparation of salad dish and also risotto or crespelle. Instead Taleggio is a soft Italian cheese with a sweet taste ideal for preparation of bruschetta, risotto. Radicchio and Taleggio are traditionally used together for preparation of risotto or crespelle as described in the following recipe. These two Italian ingredients are good when used together because the bitter taste of radicchio is joined with the sweet taste of Taleggio allowing to obtain a spicy first course.

INGREDIENTS (for 4 – 6 people):
2Eggs
100 g of Flour
200 ml of Milk
20 g of Butter
800 g of Radicchio
400 g of Taleggio
30 g of Parmesan
3 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 / 2 Onion
Salt
FOR BECHAMEL
30 g of Butter
4 Tablespoons of flour
1 L of Milk
Salt
Nutmeg

PREPARATION TIME: 30 minutes

COOKING TIME: 40 minutes

WINE: Nebbiolo d’Alba DOC (Red Wine)

PREPARATION
Start with preparation of the stuffing of crespelle: wash the radicchio,

cut its leafs in stripes and cut the onion in slices. Preheat the extra virgin olive oil in pan, place in it the onion and let them golden

then add the radicchio,

sprinkle with salt and let it wilt for about 5 – 8 minutes.

In this step if you cook the radicchio in a pan with cover is better so it cooks faster and steamed. In the meantime prepare the mixture for crespelle: beat the eggs with the flour, paying attention to not make lumps,


then stirring add the milk in order to obtain a liquid mixture.


Butter a round pan of 16 cm of diameter and heat it.

Then pour in it a ladle of the mixture,

tilting the pan to evenly coat the pan. When the bottom becomes, turn the crespella and cook the second side about 30 seconds. In this way cook also the others crespelle.

Let them cool before to stuff it. Preheat the oven to 200° C. Now prepare the béchamel: melt the butter in a pan,


stirring sprinkle the flour in it in order to obtain a cream without lumps.


Then continuing to stir, add slowly the milk and some nutmeg



and let it cook for about 10 minutes until the béchamel becomes firm.


Finally stuff the crespella: put crespella on a dish, place some radicchio e some pieces of taleggio on it as shown in the picture below

and close the crespella
Now place on the bottom of a baking pan some béchamel and place on it the crespelle.


Cover the crespelle with other béchamel and sprinkle with Parmesan,


bake for about 30 – 40 minutes until the surface becomes golden. Serve hot.
This is the result:

BUON APPETITO!

This risotto is a typical Italian recipe of the winter period. It is made of Taleggio and Radicchio. Taleggio is an Italian kind of soft fatty cheese typical of Lombardia in particular of Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Cremona, Lodi, Milan, Pavia, Treviso and Novara. Radicchio is a red intense kind of salad typical of the geographic area between Treviso and Venezia. With this recipe I'll show you how to prepare a simple and delicious main course with this two ingredients!


INGREDIENTS (for 4 people)
320 g of Rice
2 Vegetable stocks-cube
1/2 of Onion
150 g of Taleggio
200 g of Radicchio
1 Glass of Red wine
3-4 Tablespoons of Extra virgin olive oil
10 g of Butter

PREPARATION TIME: 10 minutes

COOKING TIME: 20 minutes

WINE: Oltrepò Pavese Pinot Nero (Red Wine)

PREPARATION
Prepare broth with water and 2 stocks-cube vegetable in a pot.
Take the skin of 1/2 onion off and chop it. Heat the extra virgin olive oil with the butter in a pan, then put in it the onion and let it brown.

In the meantime clean, wash and dry the radicchio and cut it into pieces. Then add the radicchio in the pan and wait until it wilts.

Now add the rice and make it roast. Then add the wine and let it evaporate.

Start to add 1 ladle of hot broth and stir until it is absorbed, continue in this way, adding ladles of hot broth, for about 15-18 minutes.

When the rice is ready add the pieces of taleggio and stir in order to melt them.

At the end of the cooking the rice must be slightly firm to the teeth.
Serve hot and if you desire you can sprinkle with some parmesan.
This is the result:

BUON APPETITO!