Italian Kitchen Secrets: meat broth

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10/05/2009

Onion soup ( Zuppa di cipolle)

Maybe it's because the cold is slowly coming, maybe it's because I feel in need of comfort food but I'm here with a soup recipe again. :D

It' warm, creamy, tasty, cheap: anything better?

Don't worry about your breath, cooked onions don't make it smell!

For 4 serves you need:

2 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

15 small blonde onions

salt and pepper

4-5 cups meat (better) or canned broth

1 cup fontina cheese chopped in dices

1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan

8 big slices of rustic Italian bread, thick and stale

Heat in a big pan oil and butter, add finely sliced onions and let them stirfry mixing often.

Keep them on fire untill they're soft and golden.

Add salt and pepper.

In individual soup bowls put a dipper of meath broth, then a piece of stale bread, then cover with onions and add some fontina cubes.

Cover with another layer of bread and onions, add another little dipper of broth, spread a generous part of grated cheese.

Cover with an allumionion foil and put in preheated oven (around 375F°) and cook for about half an hour.

Check if the soup needs a little more broth, keep off the alluminium foil and cook 10 minutes more untill the grated cheese is brown, remove from the oven, let it rest for few minutes and serve hot or at least warm.

P.S.: You can use Pecorino cheese instead of Parmesan and another stringy cheese instead of Fontina if you can't find it.

9/28/2009

Porcini mushrooms soup ( Zuppa di funghi porcini)

Nice recipe to use one of the most delightful gift that come with the fall season.

I love mushrooms, any kind of mushrooms, porcini of course are favourite but not the only ones.

For 4 serves you need:

1 blonde onion

1 lb. cleaned porcini mushrooms

1 garlic clove

2 1/2 cups meat broth or canned broth

1 cup fresh milk cream

2 tablespoons butter

salt and pepper

fresh chopped parsley

rustic Italian style bread in slices

Mince onion and garlic, put them in a pan with butter and fry lightly.

Add porcini sliced in tiny slices, add them in the pan, let stew for a while.

Add broth and let it cook for about 10 minutes, add salt and pepper and parsley.

Remove 3 spoons of mushrooms from the pan, put what left in a mixer, add cream and mix.

Heat the soup you've obtained, puor in dishes, add the mushrooms you previously removed and serve with toasted bread slices seasoned with a little garlic and extravirgin olive oil.

9/02/2009

White veal stew (Spezzatino di vitello in bianco)

Back with a recipe today.
You could say it's good because for too long I missed my duty. ^^
This recipe is good to warm the first chilly autumn days, I love it so much!
Be sure to have bread enough to mop up the sauce from the plate!

For 4-6 serves:

3-4 pieces of veal for each serve

4 carrots

4 potadoes

1 glass white wine

flour

2-3 sage leaves

meath broth (canned one is ok)

2 oz. butter

salt and pepper as you like

Peel and chop carrots and potadoes in pieces big enough to avoid melting douring the cooking.
Pass the veal pieces in the flour, in a big pan melt the butter, add sage then meat.
Brown the pieces, add the wine glass, let it evaporate then add carrots and potadoes too.
Pour two dipper of meat broth, cook untill it's absorbed then add two more.
Continue untill the meat is ready and the vegetables are soft.
Pay attention: don't let the sauce too liquid, it must be thick; if needed let it condense on fire at the end of the cooking, taking off the meat and vegetables.
Serve hot with a plain salad or, even if it's not an Italian tradition at all, with steamed rice.
I prefer salad and bread of course! ;)

3/01/2009

Bolognese cutlet ( Cotoletta alla bolognese)

This recipe is really ancient and so important in our typical cooking that is deposed at Bologna's chamber of commerce by Italian Cooking Accademy (Accademia della Cucina Italiana) a national cultural istitution.

If you know Milanese cutlets or the Wiener Schnitzel you'll probably find in the Bolognese version a richer and luxury variation.

For 4 serves you need:

veal rump, about 8-9 oz. divided in 4 slices

2 oz. butter

3 1/2 oz. Parmesan in slivers

2 oz. Parma ham in slices

1 egg

breadcrumbs

a glass of meat broth

salt and pepper

frying oil

Thump meat slices to softner them, add salt and pepper (not too much salt, ham and cheese are salty enough).

Pass them in the breadcrumbs, then into beaten egg, then in breadcrumbs once again.

Fry on both side for few minutes then put the slices in a oven pan, on each one put a slice of ham, enough Parmesan slivers, pour the broth glass and butter in small chunks.

Heat for about 7-8 minutes at 345 F° then serve with a light salad and or mashed potadoes.

This recipe with little variation of some black truffle slivers on top (put at the end of cooking) is called Cotoletta alla Petroniana ( Petroniana cutlet).

This name comes from Petronio (Petronius) who is the patron saint of Bologna city.

9/23/2008

Pot roast with porcini mushrooms ( Arrosto ai funghi porcini)

To celebrate Fall today I post the recipe of a great "sunday special": pot roast with porcini mushrooms.

You can use any other kind of mushrooms of course but porcini are definetely the most yummy according to me!

I often prepare this pot roast when I've friends for dinner: it's always loved.

Ingredients:

2 lb beef roast

2 garlic cloves

2 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil

1/5 oz dried porcini soaked in warm water

1/2 lb fresh porcini, chopped or frozen chopped porcini

1 tablespoon of finely chopped parsley

1/2 cup white dry whine

1/2 cup meat broth (or canned broth)

salt

pepper

Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper, in a saucepan put the butter, the oil and the garlic cloves turn the heat (medium) and when the fat starts foaming add the meat.

Brown the meat on each side add wine and let it evaporate.

Drain the soaked porcini and chop them, filter the brown water and add it to the roast with broth and mushrooms.

Add also fresh/ frozen porcini and turn the heat to moderate.

Turn the meat a couple of times during the cooking, let it cook covered until the meat is tender, near the end add parsley .

To slice the meat you must let it become cold or at least warm: then put it again in the pan with sauce and warm it, then serve.

So good with roasted potadoes or potadoes puree!

Have a nice fall!

9/08/2008

Meat broth ( Brodo di carne)

Meat broth is often used to cook risotto, to give flavour to roasts and dishes: I don't know if it is usually served as a soup abroad but it's how we mainly eat it in Italy.

If you use it for cooking no one will blame if you use canned broth (better the pownder one than the cubes, less chemical things in the first) but if you want to serve it with pasta (tortellini, angel hair or other tiny shapes) you have to prepare a good homemade meat broth.

It's easier than you can think: the longest part is the cooking but you don't need to take a lot of care of it while it's boiling...

You need ( I found the conversion in gallons and pounds, sooner or later I'll change even the meaures of the ingredients of past recipes):

a large stockpot

a gallon of water (more or less)

2 lb. of meat ( beef with a little fat, bones, hen) in big pieces

1 whole onion

2 whole carrots

2 celery sticks

1 whole tomato

1 tablespoon salt

You can add:

a little bunch of parsley

nutmeg freshly grated

2-3 cloves

To be honest I don't use these ingredients because they give broth a too spicy flavour that not always fits what I put in it.

Place the meat in the pot, add tomato, onion, carrots and celery then fill with water.

Add salt and bring the water to a boil.

Cook untill the meat is tender, for 2 lb. of meat you probably have to wait 2-2 1/2 hours, let it gently boil, not too strong or the water will evaporate too soon and too much.

When the meat is ready remove it from the pot (don't throw it, it can be eaten or used in other recipes: the meat from the broth boiling it's called "lesso").

Filter the broth through a fine strainer to clarify it and remove all the small particles. Let the broth cool at room temperature.

When the broth will be cold, the fat will solidify on the surface.

Remove most of the fat with a spoon, how much dipends on you: some people here love fat bubbles in the hot broth, my husband does, I don't (can you imagine the battle when I prepare it?^^ "Leave fat!", "No, it's too much!" and so on...).

Now the broth is ready: just cook in it what you prefer, if you don't use within two days you can preserve it in a bottle in your freezer on into ice forms if you need small portions.

Italian Kitchen Secrets

10/05/2009

Onion soup ( Zuppa di cipolle)

9/28/2009

Porcini mushrooms soup ( Zuppa di funghi porcini)

9/02/2009

White veal stew (Spezzatino di vitello in bianco)

3/01/2009

Bolognese cutlet ( Cotoletta alla bolognese)

9/23/2008

Pot roast with porcini mushrooms ( Arrosto ai funghi porcini)

9/08/2008

Meat broth ( Brodo di carne)

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