Tordelli Lucchesi

The place you go....the tordelli you find ! Yes,it's just like that,from Garfagnana and up to the "hills" of Versilia every home has its own recipe. There are even some people who use Mortadella,but i think that there is no reason to go in Emilia Romagna looking for taste that are not part of our own place.In the past the Tordelli were prepared on monday (at least in my grandmother Ida's home) but you may be asking yourself...why on monday ?  it's simple...the leftovers of the roast meat of the holy sunday were being chopped,then you would add some pecorino from garfagnana,some bread crumbs soaked in milk,eggs and a pinch of pepolino (thyme).

For the pastry:

500g Flour
5 Eggs


For the stuffing :

350g of Beef
350g of Pork
150g of Veal
Extra virgin olive oil
3 Eggs
Salt,pepper,nutmeg
1 Glass of white wine
a pinch of pepolino (thyme)
2 cloves of chopped garlic
a pinch of parsley
100gr of grated parmesan cheese
Breadcrumbs soaked in milk and then squeezed.

Direction:

Let the meat brown in the olive oil and then add salt and pepper. Add the wine and let steam.
Finely chop the meat and put them inside a bowl,beat the eggs and add them to the other ingredients.
Knead some dough and prepare the Tordelli  by putting on each one some stuffing and then seal it with the edge of the pasty using your fingers. Cut the Tordelli with a glass and close them all around with a fork (today we often use the proper tool for it called "rotella").
Heat a large pot full of salted water,let it boil and then cook the tordelli.
When they are ready drain them and add the meat sauce prepared separately (You can find the recipe here )

Today Miss Italia "Miriam Leone" came to my restaurant

 

Today famous Miss Italia Miriam Leone came to my restaurant !

Thank you Miriam for coming.

Guest Post... Thank you !

I said THANK YOU  to Oriana Papadopoulos "Tuscanycious" & SC Parry "Italytutto" for nice guest post in their blog. 

Fresh Peas & Ham (Piselli Novelli al Prosciutto)

Ingredients:

For 3-4 people

1 Large Onion Finely Chopped
1 Cloves Garlic
2 Clove (Chiodo di Garofano)
1/4 Lemon Peel
70g Chopped Tomato
90g Tuscan Ham
500g Fresh peas
3 – 4 tbsps olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and then fry the ham, onion and garlic together gently in the pan until the onion is soft which will take approximately 15 minutes. Add the clove, tomato and lemon peel.

Add fresh peas to the cooked mix in the frying pan, add a full glass of water and cook for 20 minutes
over medium-low heat

Serve with some fresh crusty bread.

Gobbi in Umido "Stewed Cardoon with Sausage"

• Cardoons (see below for amounts)
• Garlic
• Rosemary
• Olive oil
• Red Hot Pepper
• Sausages
• Chopped Tomato

Wash the cardoons, strip away the fibers, and chop them into 2-inch lengths. Boil them until close to fork tender in lightly salted water (add in wather one table spoon of flour). In the meantime, mince two cloves of garlic and sausages. When the cardoons are done, drain them, and then finish cooking them in a skillet with the 1/4 cup olive oil,garlic, sausages,rosemary, and salt and red hot pepper to taste.