What’s better than a christmas dinner? Nothing, for a cook. And to you eating it, nothing as well. So here’s the avventuriera holiday menu for all of you. It’s got starters, first course with meat, second course with fish and dessert, and you’d better start cooking the day before like momma taught you.
Titiris pancakes (little fishes in batter)
250 g avanotti (little fishes)
2 limes
2 chives
1 piece of garlic
1 attilian pepper
1 sprig of thyme
salt
for the batter:
250 g flour
1 egg
20 cl lukewarm water
2 chives
1 piece of garlic
1 sprig of thyme
4 sprigs of parsley
1 attilian pepper
salt
frying oil
Rinse the little fishes under a lot of cold water. Drain them , add lemon, chives, crushed garlic, crushed pepper, thyme and salt, and macerate for half an hour.
Then prepare the batter, add the flour to the water, and add to this the yolk of the egg (save the white). Add to this the chive, the crushed garlic, thyme and parlsey, salt and pepper. Let this rest for an hour under a napkin, then after it’s done leavening add the egg white whisked “a neve”. Batter up the fishes and fry them in boiling oil. Serve hot, with juice of orange (or mandarin, for that christmas touch)
Sweet!
Brandy beef stew
Soffritto:
20 cl of olive oil
1 carrot
1 onion
1 sprig of celery
2 chives
1/2 pieces of garlic
150 ml red wine
5 spoons of vinegar
3 sprigs of thyme
1 laurel leaf
salt and pepper
700 g of braising beef
olive oil
1 onion
1 carrot
1 sprig of celery
3 sprigs of thyme
2 glasses of brandy
35 cl red wine
salt and pepper
mince together all the vegetables to fry (soffritto) in an oil pan, add the red wine, the vinegar, thyme and laurel, and put this aside.
Let the beef marinate in this juice all night long.
The day after, heat the oil in a casserole and braise for three minutes the beef (drained)
add the onions (chopped in four) the chopped carrot, the celery in pieces and the thyme. Add a half glass of hot water, salt and pepper.
Let stew for a half hour.
Add the brandy and heated red wine, cover well and let stew for three hours.
Take away the greasy patina which will form, cut and serve.
Blaff
1 kg firm-fleshed white fish
4 green lemons or limes
4 pieces of garlic
1 leaf of Jamaican pepper or laurel
1 attilian pepper
2 onions
3 chives
1 bunch of herbs
butter, parsley, salt and pepper
If the fishes are big ones, cut them into chunks, open’em, clean ’em and brush with a half-lemon; marinate all the fish together for a couple hours in the juice of the remaining lemons, adding the chives, minced onions, three pieces of garlic, the crushed attilian pepper, the laurel/jamaican pepper, and salt and pepper.
Heat 1,5 liters of water with a finely chopped onion, chives, herbs and a little more salt, pepper and attilian pepper, and bring to boil.
Drain the fish and add them to the broth, one after another.
When the fishes are well cooked, put them on a plate, saving the broth, to which you are to add creamed garlic and warm butter: also, minced parsley and lemon juice. Drown the fish in this savoury cream and serve with boiled rice.
Sweet potatoes
1 kg of sweet potatoes
100 gr of smoked lard
1 white onion
3 chives
1 piece o f garlic
1 sprig of thyme
1 pepper
1 lemon
salt, pepper
10 cl of coconut milk
cube the lard and heat it three minutes in a pan with crushed garlic, chives and chopped onion.
Add the sweet potatoes peeled and chopped. Salt, pepper, add the thyme and crushed pepper: wet with coconut milk, cover and stew for half an hour over a slow fire.
Sugar cake.
500 gr brown cane sugar
120 gr butter
2 eggs
3 spoons of fresh cream
420 gr flour
2 spoons of chemical yeast
180 gr of red grapes. (“strawberry grapes” are perfect)
1 spoon of nutmeg
1 spoon of cinnamon
work butter and sugar into a soft cream, add the eggs and the cream. Sift the flour and add the yeast, spices and grapes.
Join the two , and pour the mixture into a buttered cast. Cook for 40′ at 180°C
Serve warm.
And.. you’re done!
Now, i usually stand guard the whole night, when things marinate, to make sure Ortica does not damage the preparations, and eat all the sauces and batter, but if you don’t have a gluttonous scallywag in your house, there’s probably no need of that.
Happy eating and happy holidays.
Oreste