CIMA RIPIENA
[Stuffed breast of veal]
1 ½ lbs breast of veal, with pocket cut in it ready for stuffing
1 glove garlic
8 cups vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
For the stuffing:
¼ lb filet of veal, diced
1 tbsp butter
¼ lb ground veal
¼ lb pork
1 glass white wine
½ oz or ¾ loosely packed cup dried mushrooms
¾ cup fresh peas
1 tbsp marjoram, chopped
2 tbsp pistachios
About ½ cup freshly grated parmesan
3 eggs
Salt
Freshly milled pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
Wash the breast of veal, pat dry and rub the inside of the pocket with a glove of garlic.
For the stuffing, sauté meats in butter. Pour over the white wine. Soak the mushrooms in lukewarm water. Grind the meat and the mushrooms in a food processor and pour into a bowl. Add the peas, marjoram, pistachios, parmesan and the beaten eggs, mix well. Season with salt, pepper and grated nutmeg.
Fill the breast of veal two-thirds with the stuffing, sew up, wrap in a kitchen towel and tie. Place in a pan and cover completely with vegetable stock. Add the bay leaves and simmer in the hot stock for 1 hour without the lid, then for a further hour with the lid on. Pierce the meat wrapping several times with a toothpick, or a needle, to prevent it from bursting.
Remove the veal from the cloth, place between two plates with a weight on top and allow to cool. Slice and serve with a sauce of good olive oil and fresh herbs.
MINESTRONE ALLA GENOVESE
[Genoese vegetable soup]
¼ lb white cabbage
Small handful green beans
2 potatoes
2 carrots
2 leeks
2 tomatoes
2 zucchini
1 onion
1 glove garlic
1 bunch parsley
¼ cup chopped parsley
¼ lb fresh or pre-soaked red beans
½ cup olive oil
1 piece of parmesan rind
6 oz short noodles
1 tbsp pesto
Salt
Freshly grated parmesan
Clean all vegetables and herbs, chop in small pieces. In a large pan, bring a good 8 cups water to a boil. Add the beans and vegetables, with the exception of the onion, garlic and herbs, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for just under 2 hours, stirring occasionally. After 1 hour, add the olive oil and the cheese rind , salt the vegetables. Mash the potatoes and beans with a wooden spoon or a soup ladle to give the soup a velvety consistency, but do not puree the vegetables. When the vegetables are cooked to a pulp, add the noodles and cook until al dente.
PANSOTI
[Filled pasta pockets]
Serves 6
For the dough:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs
Salt
For the filling:
1 lb Swiss chard
1 lb spinach
½ lb curly endive
5 oz ricotta
2 eggs
Generous ½ cup freshly grated parmesan
Small bunch marjoram
1 glove garlic
Knead the flour, eggs and a little salt into a dough and add enough water to make it workable. Roll out and cut into triangles the size of the palm of the hand.
Wash the Swiss chard, spinach and endive, simmer in very little water until they begin to soften. Press out well, blend briefly in a food processor, mix with the ricotta, eggs and parmesan. Finely chop the marjoram leaves and garlic and stir in. Using a teaspoon, take walnut-sized portions of the mixture and place on the triangles. Fold the edges together over the filling to make fat pockets. Cook in salted water for about 10 minutes
al dente, then take them out. Serve with walnut sauce.
SALSA DI NOCI
[Walnut sauce]
18 walnut halves
1/3 cup pine nuts
½ minced clove garlic
1 bunch parsley
1 cup light cream
Salt and pepper
3 tbsp freshly grated parmesan
1 1/3 tbsp butter
Blanch the walnut halves and remove the skins. Chop the walnuts, pine nuts, garlic and parsley finely in a blender and pour into a bowl. Slowly add the cream, stirring constantly.
Season with salt and pepper.
Pour over the pasta, cooked until al dente with grated parmesan and melted butter.
SCIUMETTE
[Floating islands]
4 eggs
Scant ½ cup superfine sugar
4 cups milk
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
½ tbsp fresh pistachios, shelled
Powdered cinnamon
Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Beat the whites with 1 tbsp of the sugar until stiff. In a casserole, bring the milk to a boil and, using a spoon, very gently add the beaten egg whites, which should set immediately. Cook the resulting “snowballs” very briefly, then lift out with a draining spoon, leave to fully drain in a sieve.
Remove the milk from the heat, add the remaining sugar, stir in the flour and leave to cool.
Crush the pistachios, cook for a few minutes in a little milk and sieve. Beat the egg yolks and gradually add to the milk and flour mixture. Finally mix in the pistachio puree. Put the mixture back on the heat in a hot double boiler and allow to thicken a little over a low heat. Take care not to let the water boil. Pour the thickened mixture into a bowl, decorate with the “snowballs” and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Note: In Liguria, sciumette are traditionally made at carnival time.
