From the moment the old tavern door opens, a roar of laughter echos out, spilling across the valley. As you step into the Trattoria, your senses are captivated. Here, owners dine together as family, on meals cooked over fire and served by candlelight. The Trattoria has become the epicenter, the gathering place where each day ends the way it began, enjoying good food with great company. For those of you who haven’t visited the Hamlet and experienced Dina’s casalinga cuisine in the trattoria I’ cche c’é c’é, below are photos and accompanying recipes of her top dishes for you to try at home.  Torta d’aglio Savoury Garlic Tart Ingredients:
Pastry:
• 250g sieved flour
• 120g butter or lard
• Water and salt as required
Filling:
• 5 cloves garlic
• 200g fresh pancetta, finely diced
• 300g fresh pecorino cheese, finley diced
• 3 eggs
• 80g sultanas
• 1 packet of dried saffron
• Pinch of salt
Spice mix; 1 teaspoon of the following:-
• Cloves
• Ground Nutmeg
• Ground Cinnamon
• Ground Ginger
• Pepper
Method:
- Prepare the pastry an hour before needed and rest. This can also be done the previous night, conserve in fridge until required.
- To make the pastry mix the flour and butter together, add salt to season and then slowly add water, mixing and needing together, until you achieve a smooth, elastic dough.
- Peel the cloves of garlic and place in cold water and bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes and then remove and place them in cold water.
- Drain the garlic and create a paste.
- Add the pecorino cheese, pancetta, spices, saffron, eggs and sultanas.
- Mix together until you have a smooth mixture.
- Roll and divide your pastry into two pieces.
- Line the baking tray with greaseproof paper and place half of the pastry inside.
- Pour the tart mixture into the tray and then cover with the second piece of pastry, sealing the edges well.
- Place in a pre heated oven and cook for approximately 45 to 60 minutes at gas mark 7 or 200oC
Torta della Dina Dina's Cake Ingredients:
- 3 whole eggs
- 13 dessert spoons of sugar
- 13 dessert spoons of flour
- 2 apples
- 25gr pinenuts
- 25gr mixed nuts
- 25 gr sultanas
- 2 dessert spoons of olive oil
- Half a glass of milk
- 1 packet of dried yeast, 7gr
- 1 packet of dried vanilla flavouring
Method:
1. In a bowel beat the eggs together with the sugar
2. Slowly add the flour, milk and oil and mix well.
3. Clean, peel and core the apples.
4 Dice the apples into 1/8 inch pieces and add to the mixture together
with the pinenuts, mixed nuts and sultanas.
5. Add the vanilla flavouring.
6. Add the yeast and then mix well.
7. Place the mixture into a cake tin/tray and bake in the oven for 45 minutes at gas mark 180oC.
This recipe can also be served for breakfast.
Porchetta: serves 6 people preparation and cooking time: 2 h ½
Ingredients:
- 3 kg of pork belly
- 2 ears
- 2 trotters
- 250 gr liver
- ½ kg salt
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 250 gr of pepper
- 200 gr wild fennel seeds
Method: - Lay the meat on a board and cover it with salt, pepper and fennel.
- Wash pork ears and trotters properly.
- Toast them over a flame and scratch them with a knife to remove all the hair.
- Boil them for about 1 h with salt, garlic and 50 gr of wild fennel seeds.
- Slice the liver (1-2 cm) and put it in the boiling water for couple of seconds.
- Bone the trotters and cut to pieces together with the ears.
- Dress it with olive oil, wild fennel, pepper, salt and place it in the pork belly
- Roll it and tie it tightly.
- Put in the oven at about 200°, placing the meat in the grill and a tray with some water underneath so that the meat doesn’t get too dry.
- Turn it when needed and cook it for about 2 h until the crust is brown and crispy.
Piccioni Ripieni Stuffed Roasted Pigeon
Serves: 6 adults
Ingredients:
• 6 plucked and cleaned pigeons.
• 18 strips of pancetta (bacon) 3 per pigeon.
For the filling:
• 3 pork sausages.
• A strip of pancetta (bacon).
• 3 cloves of garlic.
• Handful of sage leaves.
• Salt and pepper to season.
Method:
- Finely chop the sage and garlic together.
- Roughly chop a strip of pancetta.
- Remove the sausage skin and add to the sausage meat, garlic, sage and chopped pancetta, season with salt and pepper and mix in a bowl.
- Take the mixture and stuff the pigeons, being careful not to overstuff.
- Wrap each pigeon with 3 strips of pancetta.
- Enclose the stuffing in the pigeon with a cocktail stick.
- Place the stuffed pigeons on a roasting stick (spit).
- Slowly cook the pigeons for approximately 1 hour to one side of a barbeque so that the juices don’t fall directly on the hot charcoal.
- If you don’t have a rotisserie turn the pigeons regularly as not to burn them.
Panzanella Tuscan bread salad
Serves 6 Prep time: 40 mins
Ingredients:
* 450g Classic Tuscan sliced Pagnotta loaf, or similar
* 1 onion, diced
* 4 fresh tomatoes, diced
* 1 cucumber, peeled and diced
* 3 tbsp fresh basil
* 4 tbsp olive oil
* 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar Method: - Break the bread into a bowl and cover with cold water. Soak for approx 30 mins.
- After 30 mins, squeeze the bread, removing excess water, and break into the serving bowl.
- Add all the other ingredients and season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Mix together and check the seasoning before serving.
Tagliatelle al Sugo D’Oca Tagliatelle with a Goose Sauce
Serves: 6 adults
Ingredients:
For the pasta:
• 500g flour
• 5 eggs
For the sauce:
• 500g minced goose meat.
• 0.75l peeled and diced tomatoes.
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• Half glass white wine.
• 1 medium white onion.
• 1 medium sized carrott.
• 1 stick of celery.
• Salt and pepper to season.
Method:
Tagliatelle:
- Mix the flour and eggs together to make a dough.
- Evenly roll the dough to about 3 mm.
- Roll the pasta to form a long cylinder and then cut into strips roughly 1/8 inch wide.
For the sauce:
- Clean, peel and finely chop the carrot, celery and onion.
- In a sauce pan add the olive oil and vegetables and over a low heat, gently fry until the vegetable are soft (no colour).
- Then add the minced goose.
- Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.
- Simmer for approximately 1 hour.
- Add the white wine and cook until all the liquid has evaporated.
- Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 2.5 hours.
Ravioli con caprino Fresh Home-made Ravioli filled with goats’ cheese and served with a light courgette and pork cheek sauce.
Ingedients:
For the ravioli:
- 175 grams of fresh goats’ cheese
- ½ kg of potatoes
- 200 grams of sieved flour
- 2 egg yolks
For the sauce:
- 2 medium sized courgettes
- 150 gr of finely sliced pork cheek
- Pinch of grounded black pepper
Method:
- Wash and boil the potatoes in their jackets, skin them and mash them until you get to a smooth consistency (no lumps)!
- Once the potatoes are cold, add the flour, the egg yolk and mix until you achieve a dry dough.
- Roll the pasta out to approx. ½ cm and make little discs of roughly 5-6 cm of diameter. You can use a large tea cup or mug.
- With a tea spoon, place a small amount of goat cheese in the middle and fold them in half to create a half moon shape.
- Using the fork to seal the edges.
- Cook in unsalted simmering water for few minutes or until they float and drain them.
Sauce:
- Julienne the courgettes and slowly heat some olive oil in a pan, add the finely sliced pork cheek and courgettes.
- As soon as the cheek starts to colour lightly, add some warm water and wait until the courgettes are cooked, add the ravioli and sauté.
Add a pinch of black grounded pepper if you wish and serve immediately.
Tagliatelle di castagne Chestnuts Tagliatelle Serves 4 Ingredients: - For the pasta:
- 300g of regular flour
- 200 gr of chestnut flour
- 3 eggs
- 3 ½ of egg shells of milk
For the sauce: - A knob of butter
- 10 fine slices of pork cheek
- 100 gr of walnuts
- I table spoon of Vagli’s olive oil
Method: Tagliatelle - Mix the chestnut flour and regular plain and eggs together.
- Make a dry dough and roll the pasta to about 3 mm in height.
- Roll up the pasta and then cut into strips approx 1.5 cm wide.
For the sauce: - Heat the butter with a little bit of olive oil in a pan.
- Cut the pork cheek into pieces of about 4-5 cm and add to the oil and butter.
- Fry for approximately 2 minutes and add the walnuts.
- Leave it to simmer for about 10 min and add the pasta.
- Stir and serve.
 Pasticcio di Cacciagione Serves 6 Ingedients: - 1/2 medium chicken
- 1 medium pigeon
- 2-3 quails
- Olive oil
- 2 thin slices of lard
- 4-5 cloves of garlic
- 2 large bay leaves
- 20 juniper berries
- Salt and pepper
- ½ kilo of unsalted Tuscan bread (sliced)
Method: - Cut the meat in pieces and roast with the lard, bay leaves and the juniper berries until cooked.
- Remove from the roasting tray and leave to cool before de-boning.
For the stock: - Place the bones and skins in a litre of water and boil/reduce for an hour, add salt and pepper to taste.
- In a roasting tray, arrange the meat in layers with slices of toasted bread, similar to lasagne, allowing for the top to be a bread layer.
- Pour the reduced stock over the top and put back in the oven until the top layer of bread is crispy.
To serve
Add the meat and bread layers to small warm hollowed out bread rolls. Serve with roasted red onions which are an ideal accompaniment! | |
Timballo di Melanzane Aubergine and meatball Timballo
Ingredients: For the timballo: - 2 large aubergines
- 150g scamorza cheese or mature cheddar cheese
- Oil
- Salt
For the meatballs:
- 2 large aubergines
- 200g minced pork
- 200g minced veal
- Fresh parsley
- 1 egg
- 3 Garlic cloves
- Breadcrumbs
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
For the sauce:
- 300g passata
- 2 garlic cloves
- Fresh basil leaves
- 2 spoonfuls of extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Peperoncino
Method:
- Start by making the aubergine balls.
- Take the 2 aubergines and brush with a little oil and poke them with a fork.
- Place them on a lined baking tray and cook in a pre-heated oven of 200oC for about 30 minutes until they are soft to touch.
- Remove from the oven and let cool.
- Once cool, peel the aubergines, squeeze and remove most of the liquids.
- With a fork make a rough puree from the aubergine flesh and add the chopped fresh parsley, chopped garlic, egg and season with salt and pepper.
- In another bowl mix together the minced meat and add salt and pepper to season.
- To both mixtures, add breadcrumbs until a good consistency is achieved for shaping.
- Leave both mixtures to rest for 20 minutes and then form small ‘glass marbles’ sized balls from the mixture and fry in a little oil.
For the timballo: - Wash the aubergines and cut them into slices of approximately 5mm in thickness and fry. Drain the excess oil and add a little pepper to each slice.
- In a high sided moulding dish, add the aubergine slices, overlapping each slice and slightly in a crossed pattern.
For the sauce:
- Brown in a casserole dish the garlic cloves and with a little oil, add the passata and cook for 20 minutes.
- Flavour with fresh basil leaves and season with salt and a pinch of peperoncino.
For the aubergine timballo: - Add a mixed layer of aubergine and meat balls and then a layer of the sauce, a few spoonfuls at a time and then add a layer of grated scamorza cheese.
- Continue this process until all the ingredients are used but keeping in reserve a little of the sauce for serving.
- Cook the timballo in a pre-heated oven of 180oC for 25 minutes.
- Remove the timballo from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes
- Turn out the timballo from the moulded dish and serve with a little of the sauce.
Pollo alla cacciatora con peperonata Hunter Style Chicken with pan cooked peppers
Ingredients:
- 1 medium size freerange (km 00) chicken
- 4-5 gloves of garlic
- 4 -5 sage leaves
- Half a glass of white wine
- 300g of cooked finely sliced tomatoes (passata)
- 4 – 5 bell peppers
- Salt & pepper to season
- Oil
Method: - Prepare and cut the chicken into 8 even pieces and place into a pan with a little olive oil, garlic and sage leaves.
- Cook over heat and once browned add the white wine.
- Let the wine reduce and add the passata with 2 glasses of water.
- Bring to the boil and then simmer until most of the liquid has reduced.
- In the meantime, cut the peppers into large pieces and place in a large frying pan with chopped garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Cook over a medium heat for approximately 20 to 25 mins until the peppers are soft.
- Serve together.
 Panna Cotta with caramel and quince marmalade
Ingredients:
- 500 ml of single cream
500 ml of milk 140 gr of sugar 50 gr of vanilla 10 gr of gelatine 2 glasses of cold water
Method: Place the sheets of gelatine in a bowl of cold water, enough to cover them; once liquefied, squeeze them and place in a bowl. Put the single cream, milk and the sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove the pan from the heat, and add the gelatine previously squeezed. Add the vanilla and stir for few minutes. Let it cool down and place it in the desired container. Place in the fridge until set.
Remove from container when required and serve with quince marmalade and caramel.
Quince Marmalade
Ingredients: 1 kg of quinces 300 gr of sugar 180 ml of red wine
Method: Cut the quinces into slices/pieces. - Place them in a large pan, add the sugar and the wine.
- Start to cook them and leave them with a low heat for approximately 1hour.
- Stir regularly to avoid them to stick.
- Let the marmalade cool down and serve.
- You can keep the marmalade for future use but please remember to sterilize the jars/containers.
|
