Seasonal delights

By on November 29, 2008

It’s holiday season. The candles are lit, a beautifully decorated table glittering with silver, glass and crackers awaits. Why not try some delicious alternatives to the traditional bird and pudding?

Meat loaf fit for kings
A traditional dish just like mum used to make; stuffed with meat, rice, grapes and spinach.

Ingredients (for 6 servings)
500 grams minced veal
300 grams minced pork
200 grams minced beef
100 grams spinach
200 grams sliced bacon
2 tablespoons of steamed rice
10 grapes
1 egg
1 egg white
1 lemon peel
1 onion
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
nut meg

Preparation
1. Boil the spinach, mince it and lightly fry with the minced onion in extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with nutmeg.
2. Put in a bowl the ground meat (veal, pork, beef) and amalgamate with the spinach, the previously steamed rice, the egg and the egg white. Add salt and pepper.
3. Preheat the oven to 200° C.
4. Put the sliced bacon on oven sheet, grate some lemon peel and put the meat loaf with the grapes in the middle of it.
5. Wrap the meat with the sliced bacon and then tie it up into the oven sheet.
6. Cook the meat loaf in the oven (200° C) for 30min, then lower to 180° C and keep cooking for 20 min.
7. Let the meat loaf settle for 10 more mins before serving.

Tip: Goes great with oven roasted bell peppers as side dish.

Ravioli di grano saraceno al taleggio
Little packets of festive flavour from Italy where the big family feast takes place on Christmas Eve. Try this nutty buckwheat flour ravioli with taleggio cheese.

Ingredients (for 8 servings)
To make the pasta:
200 grams white flour
60 grams buckwheat flour
2 eggs and 2 yolk
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
salt

To make the filling:
400 grams potatoes
200 grams  taleggio cheese
100 grams  walnut kernel
2 tbsp. of minced parsley
salt and small salt rocks
black whole pepper corn

Dressing:
100 grams grated
grana padano cheese
200 grams butter
orange peel
saffron
6 leaves of sage
white pepper

Preparation
1. Knead the white and the buckwheat flour, adding eggs, yolks, a tbsp. of oil, a pinch of salt and leave the dough rest for about 30 mins.
2. Meanwhile boil the potatoes with the peel and in a different pan, boil the walnuts and peel them. Blend with a pinch of rock salt and parsley using a mixer or pestle and mortar.
3. Peel the potatoes and mash them with a fork adding cubes of taleggio cheese, the previous walnut pesto, a pinch of salt, and some black pepper. This will be the stuffing of your ravioli.
4. Use the pasta machine to obtain thin leaves of pasta. Distribute the filling on the top of these leaves, wrap them flapping the pasta leaf and cut them using a cog. You will obtain around 50 ravioli cuts.
5. Fry the butter in a large pan, add the sage the orange peel and some saffron.
6.  Boil the ravioli slightly firm then sauté.
7. Serve them hot with grana padano and fresh ground pepper on top.

Hanukkah Treats
Hanukkah is a fun, child centered occasion beginning on the 25th of the Hebrew  month of “Kislev.”  This year it falls on December 21st. The kids will go crazy for  these Hanukkah treats; deep fried potato pancakes (latkes), chocolate cookies and fluffy Challah bread.

Chocolate Hanukkah Stars

Ingredients (for 35-40 pieces)
1/2 cup butter or margarine,softened
1 cup granule sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
confectioners’ sugar to decorate

Preparation
1. Beat butter, sugar and eggs altogether until light and fluffy.
2. Separately, stir together dry ingredients (except confectioners’
sugar), then beat until smooth and free of lumps.
Cover; chill until firm enough to handle.
3. Roll dough to 1/8-inch thick on a flat surface sprinkled with flour.
Cut with a star- shaped cookie cutter. Bake at 350° F for 5 to 7
minutes.  Cool for 1 minute before removing from pan.
4. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and serve.

Challah bread

Ingredients
1/2 cup lukewarm water
2 sachets of dry active yeast or 2 1/2 tsp instant yeast
2 cups warm milk
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 large eggs (set aside
about 2 tbsp for glazing)
6 cups bread flour

Preparation
1. In a deep mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in lukewarm (not hot) water and let stand for 10 minutes. Bubbles form.
2. Add warm milk, honey, salt, olive oil, and eggs and blend well. (Set aside 2 tablespoons of egg for glazing.)
3. Slowly add flour and blend well. Place dough onto a flat surface sprinkled with flour and begin kneading for 5 to 10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.
4. Place the dough in a large mixing bowl lightly oiled on the inside surface. Cover bowl with a damp cloth and set aside in a warm area for about 2 hours to rise or until twice its original size.
5. Place dough on a flat surface sprinkled with flour and massage; allow it to rest for several minutes. Gently knead for a further 2 to 3 minutes, return to bowl and allow to rise again in a warm area to double in size. Wait another hour.
6. Knead again for a few minutes. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts.
7. Divide each into 3 pieces to form a braid. Roll each piece into a rope-like cylinder approximately 15 inches long. Braid a long loaf of bread. Repeat the process for the second loaf.
8. Place the braided loaves on a non-stick or greased baking sheet, 4 to 6 inches apart. Cover them with a cloth, place the loaves and baking sheet in a warm area and allow it again to rise until it doubles in size.
9.  Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375°F. In a small mixing bowl, combine remaining 2 tbsp. of egg, mix together, and brush over the loaves. If desired, sprinkle poppy or sesame seeds on top and bake loaves for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and set aside to cool.

Latkes

Ingredients
8 cups grated potatoes
2 large chopped onions
4 eggs
4 tablespoons flour
4 teaspoons chopped chives
3 teaspoons salt
pepper to taste
cooking oil

Preparation
1. Peel and grate the potatoes after washing. Cut out liquid by squeezing until nothing drips.
2. Mix in chopped onions, salt, flour, chives and pepper.
3. Beat the eggs and stir into the mixture.
4. Heat oil in skillet and spoon in tbsp. of the mixture to make medium-sized patties. Brown on one side, turn and brown lightly on the other. Repeat and finish the rest of the mix.

Tip: Best served with yogurt, cottage cheese or sour cream

(Mums should have kids keep their distance while frying as oil can get
extremely hot!)

Buon Natale    Merry Christmas    Happy Hanukkah

 

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