This should of course be veal, but turkey is cheaper!
First, I dip thin slices of turkey breast in beaten egg and then in breadcrumbs. Next, I sauté potato and red pepper in a little olive oil with plenty of salt and pepper. When the vegetables are cooked, I quickly fry the meat in another non-stick pan with a generous lug of olive oil. Along with the salt and pepper I add some sage leaves.
The nice thing about cutlets is that a little meat goes a long way.
We spent the weekend in London with Hannah, James and Betty. There was a little smoked cod in the fridge, so a quick trip to the supermarket and all was ready for kedgeree, a dish I’ve always loved for some unknown reason.
First I boiled some eggs. Then I poached some smoked cod and halibut in the same water for about 4 minutes, and finally some prawns for a minute. I sautéed some spring onion in a little oil, added curry powder, 2 cups of rice, and salt. I poured in 4 cups of water, brought the pan to the boil and simmered covered until the liquid was almost absorbed. I flaked the fish and halved the eggs and added them to the rice to warm through. A little chopped parsley on top. (Coriander would have been good too)
I use long grain rice for this. Basmati is too delicate for such a robust dish!
Small portions today because William came round unexpectedly!
I sauté a little finely sliced onion in a non-stick pan, add a can of tomatoes and cook gently. I add some capers and black olives. Then I place pieces of fresh cod fillet and cook through in the sauce. It takes 15 minutes start to finish.
This dish is good with new potatoes or plain rice. Today I grilled some polenta left over from yesterday.
The Venetian version of this classic combination uses calves’ liver. It’s always served with a soft polenta. If you’re not a fan of liver, this recipe could convert you!
While the polenta cooks, I finely slice two onions on the mandolin and cook them slowly in a non-stick pan with a little olive oil. This takes 10 to 15 minutes and some patience. I cut the liver into strips. When the onions are ready, I add the liver, season with salt and plenty of pepper, turn up the flame and stir until cooked through.
In a lazier moment, I would use instant polenta which only needs one or two minutes. Today I had time and made the real stuff. There is no comparison!
It seems an awful palaver to make fresh gnocchi but it actually takes under an hour.
First I steam a kilo of potatoes and put them through a ricer, add 300 gm of flour, an egg and salt to make a soft dough. I divide the dough into 8 and roll each piece out to a thick finger. Then, I cut off one centimetre pieces which I shape by dragging down the prongs of a fork. I lay the gnocchi out on a floured sheet.
The gnocchi are dropped into a pan of boiling salted water and removed with a slotted spoon when they rise to the surface. At this point I transfer them into a pan of melted butter and sage and ,when all are ready, I serve with plenty of grated parmesan. Today they went into a warmed serving dish with tomato sauce, melted butter and parmesan. The tomato sauce was the last of the batch Augusta made with fresh tomatoes in September and put in the deep freeze.
I made the gnocchi yesterday and kept them in the fridge until lunchtime today. They also freeze very well and can be cooked directly from frozen.
Enrico and Angela like chicken curry, so I usually make it when they come to dinner in Asiago. This is my everyday curry … I would do something more elaborate for my nephew and neice!
I put strips of chicken breast into a bowl with salt, 2-3 large spoons of curry powder and a spoon of flour. This marinates for 10-15 minutes. I stir fry the chicken until coloured and then add 2 spoons of plain yogurt diluted in the same amount of water. I continue stirring until almost all the liquid has been absorbed by the meat. A little chopped coriander goes on top. Today we had the dish with some plain basmati rice.
The quality of the curry powder is fundamental. Italian supermarket brands are not the real thing. I buy mine in the UK but you can get a good brand in Italian drogherie.
We have some leftovers for lunch today, so I’ve made a small flat omelette.
First I sauté a finely sliced onion in a little olive oil in a non-stick pan. I prepare the omelette mix in a bowl: I mix a spoon of flour and a dash of milk, add four eggs and a handful of chopped herbs (sage and rosemary today) and salt and pepper. I turn on the grill.
When the onions are cooked I add the egg mixture and when it’s cooked underneath I put the pan under the grill. I slide it onto a plate: today’s is my mum’s prized German plate that she served her apple tarts on.
Flat omelettes should be made in an iron pan. The pan should never be washed in water, only wiped clean with paper. To cook the other side of the omelette, it should be inverted on a large plate and returned to the pan. My way is the easy way: non-stick and grill.
This is a nice dish for the summer, and today is warm!
I halve aubergines, make criss-cross cuts on the flesh, brush with oil, season well and roast in the oven at 200°C for 45 minutes.
While they cook, I sauté 2 large onions cut into fine slices, season with salt, cumin and fresh chilli pepper for about 15 minutes. I crumble in some feta cheese and cook for another 2 or 3 minutes. I cut away the skin and pith of a lemon. Over a bowl, I remove the lemon segments and squeeze out the juice.
When the aubergines are cooked, I transfer them to a serving plate, pour over the lemon pieces and juice and put the onion cheese mixture on top of that. I leave everything to come to room temperature.
After breakfast this morning I prepared the roll. First I cut open a chicken breast, I put it between sheets of oven paper and bashed it with the meat pounder until I had a large, thin-ish rectangle. Then I made a flat two-egg omelette with herbs from the terrace (thyme and origano) and sliced some emmenthal cheese thinly. We often use cooked ham instead of cheese. I then seasoned the meat, lay the omelette on top and the cheese on top of that. With the aid of the paper, I rolled up the meat into a long sausage shape. Into the fridge for Augusta to cook while I went to work. This is called team work!
At lunchtime, Augusta put the roll into an oven tin, dribbled a little oil over it and and cooked it for 30-40 minutes at 180°C. She also sautéed some potatoes, which went very nicely indeed with the meat!
We had some roast beef left over from the weekend, so potato salad was today’s ideal accompaniment.
First I peel, cube and steam some potatoes and while they’re cooking I prepare the dressing in a bowl. The juice of half a lemon, a little finely chopped onion, a spoon of white wine vinegar, a spoon of plain yogurt (my Mama used mayonnaise), 3 spoons of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. The potatoes go into the dressing hot, then I leave the dish to cool.
Mama made th
is with great pride, and so do I. By the way, it’s a great dish to bring to a barbecue or outdoors picnic.
