This is the traditional Italian recipe for spatzle, a delicious first course diffuses in the northern part of Italy in particular in Val D’Aosta and Trentino Alto Adige. Spatzle are similar to gnocchetti with small dimension and irregular shape, they are easy to prepare and the recipe presented below is simple made with flour and milk in order to obtain a soften dough. To prepare this type of spatzle you should be use a sort of grater with big holes on the surface and a mobile container where the dough is poured; this container moves back and forth so when you pour on in the dough you can cut it.The type of seasoning that I use here its one of the most traditional used for spatzle, it is a white seasoning made with speck and cream but you can serve them also with tomato sauce or any type of seasoning that you like. Spatzle can be made also with flour, eggs and water or instead of water you can use beer. The dough of spatzle can be soften, like this shown here, or can also be firmer, in this case you might knead the dough with the hand and cut it in small pieces. Spatzle can be white like this but if you want with the addition of spinach in the dough you obtain green delicious spatzle.
INGREDIENTS (for 4 people): 380 g of Flour 2 Glasses of milk 200 ml of Cream 2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil 50 g of Speck cut in small cubes
PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes
COOKING TIME: 10 minutes
WINE: Alto Adige Lagrein Dunkel (Red Wine)
INSTRUMENTS: grater for spatzle
PREPARATION Let salted water boil for spatzle. Place the flour and the milk in a bowl
and mix all together in order to obtain a soften dough without lumps, like this shown in the picture below.
Then prepare the seasoning: place in a pan the extra virgin olive oil and the cubes of speck and let them brown; add the cream and let the sauce cook for about 5 – 10 minutes in order to reduce it. When the water boils place the grater on the surface of the pan,
pour slowly in its container the dough of spatzle and move the container back and forth in order to cut the dough in small irregular gnocchi with drops shape.
The spatzle are ready when they rise to the surface and this takes about 3 – 4 minutes.
Drain them and pour on them the sauce of speck and cream. Serve hot! This is the result: BUON APPETITO!
Canederli is a traditional Italian recipe of Trentino in the northern part of Italy. They are similar to gnocchi made with stale bread, they are usually prepared in the autumnal and winter period and their traditional recipe is of farmer origin. Exist many kinds of canederli: all they are made with stale bread with the addition of other ingredients like canederli with speck, canederli with cheese, canederli with spinach, canederli with mushrooms and many others. There are also sweet canederli that you can serve as dessert and these are usually made with stuffed of fruit. Here I show the recipes of canederli with speck: the best type of bread to use for make canederli is the michetta but if you don’t have it you can use also other type of stale bread; the best type of speck is the speck of Trentino, and for make broth of meat I use the rump of beef. This type of canederli can be served with broth as shown in the recipe below or also with butter and sage. In both way you can obtain a delicious Italian dish. Try it and let me know if you like it!
INGREDIENTS (for 6 – 8 people): 600 g of bread (michetta or stale bread) 2 Eggs 80 g of Flour 200 g of Speck 500 ml of Milk 1 Small Onion 3 Tablespoons of Extra virgin olive oil 4 Tablespoons of parsley chopped Nutmeg Salt Black pepper FOR THE BROTH: 500 g of Rump of beef 1 Potato 1 Carrot 1 Celery 1 onion 1 L and 500 ml of Water
PREPARATION TIME: 2 hours
COOKING TIME: 15 minutes
WINE: Alto Adige Santa Maddalena Doc (Red Wine)
PREPARATION Start with the preparation of broth of meat: peel and clean the carrot, the potato, the onion and the celery, place them in a pan with the meat and 1 liter and 500 ml of water and let them boil for about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Then prepare the canederli: cut the bread in small squared pieces.
Place them in a large bowl, add the egg, the milk, salt, and black pepper, mix all together and let the mixture stand for about 1 hour so the bread soak itself of milk. In the meantime you can start to prepare the speck. Cut it in small pieces,
chop the onion and place it in a pan with the extra virgin olive oil, let the onion brown and then add the speck and cook for about 5 minutes. Let the mixture of speck cool. When the mixture of speck is cool add it to the bread with the parsley, the flour and nutmeg. Mix all together and let the mixture stand for other 30 minutes.
Bring salted water boil for canederli. After 30 minutes make canederli: you have to do ball of mixture of medium size.
When canederli are ready, start add 1 of them in the water and pay attention that it remain entire; if the canederlo breaks add some flour. Add all the canederli to the water and cook them for about 15 minutes. Drain them one by one with the help of the skimmer. Place 4 canederli in a platter and add 2 ladles of broth. Serve hot. This is the result: BUON APPETITO!
This is a traditional first course that my family usually cooked in the occasion of Christmas Eve and that is typical of Campania (in the southern part of Italy). It is a delicious dish that can be prepared with or without fresh tomatoes. This video describes the recipe with tomatoes that is what I prefer. You can prepare the sauce with tomatoes sauce or better with fresh tomatoes as shown in the video. The better type of clams to use are the genuine clams. Spaghetti are the ideal type of pasta for this Italian recipes and for cook them never use oil in the water. The use of parsley gives a spicy taste to the dish! Buon Appetito!
I've just presented the delicious recipe of Cotoletta alla Milanese and I think that this video is a good guide to follow if you want to prepare this traditional Italian second course. There is only a difference that is the mode to fry, one with extra virgin olive oil and the other with clarified butter, both are used to cook this dish. BUON APPETITO!
This is an interesting video in which it is well explain the traditional Genoese recipe to make pesto of basil. In this video the chef use the pestle and the mortar that are the traditional instruments that permit to make a better pesto sauce. If you have little time you can also use the mixer to prepare it. You can use the pesto sauce to season homemade bavette pasta or spaghetti. BUON APPETITO!
Chiacchiere, Carnival fried pastry, are typical dessert prepared in Italy in the occasion of Carnival. In each region of Italy they have different names: Cenci in Tuscany, Crostoli in Venice, Bugie in Genoa, Frappe in Emilia and Chiacchiere in Lombardy. You can prepare them following different kind of recipes, that presented below is very simple and delicious!
INGREDIENTS (for 6 people): 300 g of Flour 30 g of Butter 90 ml of Cream 50 g of Sugar 2 Eggs 60 ml of Dry white wine Icing sugar Extra virgin olive oil to fry (200 ml) Flour for worktop
PREPARATION TIME: 1 hour and 10 minutes
COOKING TIME: 30 minutes
WINE: Moscato d’Asti (White Wine)
PREPARATION Mix in a bowl the flour, the sugar, the butter and the eggs. Then add the cream and the wine. Mix all together in order to obtain homogeneous dough and let it stand for about 1 hour. Now place a bit of flour over a worktop and with the help of a rolling pin roll out the dough in a pastry very thin. Cut the pastry in rectangles and then make 2 incisions in the middle of them.
Preheat the extra virgin olive oil in a pan and fry in it the chiacchiere until they become golden. Place the chiacchiere on a blotting paper in order to remove the oil in excess. Then place them in a platter and sprinkle with the icing sugar. This is the result: BUON APPETITO!
This is a typical Italian dessert that it is prepared in the occasion of Carnival. Tortelli are little ball of sweet dough. You can prepare them without stuffing or with different types of stuffing like apple, strawberry, ricotta cheese, jam and many others. This is the recipe of tortelli without stuffing that is simple to realize!
INGREDIENTS (for 4 people): 150 g of Flour 3 Eggs 50 g of Sugar 1 / 2 Lemon 150 ml of Water 50 g of Butter Salt 250 ml of Extra virgin olive oil to fry Icing sugar
PREPARATION TIME: 2 hours
COOKING TIME: 20 minutes
WINE: Moscato D’Asti (White Wine)
PREPARATION Place in a pan the water and the butter and let them boil until the butter melts. Then add all the flour and start immediately to stir until you obtain an homogeneous dough as shown in the picture below. Now let the dough cool and stand for about 1 hours and 30 minutes. In the mean time beat one egg white till stiff. When the dough is cool add one by one the yolk.
Add the sugar and mix. At the end add the the egg white beaten and mix in order to have a dough as this. Heat extra virgin olive oil in a pan, when it is hot place small spoonfuls of the dough in it and let them brown. When they are ready place them on a kitchen paper in order to remove the oil in excess. Then sprinkle them with some icing sugar. In this is way you have tortelli of Carnival! This is the result: BUON APPETITO!
This is the typical main course of Cremona in the north part of Italy. This is also the traditional recipes that in Italy is prepared in the occasion of the 31th December. You can prepare this recipe with cotechino or with zampone (pig’s trotter stuffed with minced pork meat and spices). It’s very good! INGREDIENTS (for 4 people) 1 Cotechino (large boiled pork sausage) 600 g of Lentils 2 Carrots 2 Celeries 1 Onion 2 Stock-cubes 50 g of Tomato puree 3 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
PREPARATION TIME: 10 minutes
COOKING TIME: 40 minutes
WINE: Barbera D’Asti (Red Wine)
PREPARATION The day before place the lentils in a bowl with water. Preheat the extra virgin olive oil in a pan. Peel and clean the carrots, the celeries, the onion, chop them, place them in the pan and let them brown for about 5 minutes. Add 50 g of tomato puree and 2 stocks-cubes. Then add the lentils, some salt, cover with water and cook for about 30- 40 minutes. Place in a pan the cotechino with its wrapping, cover it with water and cook for 40 minutes. When cotechino is ready cut the wrapping and cut it in slices. Place in a platter 2 slices of cotechino with lentils and serve hot. This is the result: BUON APPETITO!
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