ORANGE & CINNAMON SALAD
I particularly love this in deepest winter, when oranges are at their best. Whenever I’m stuck for a dessert, especially after a rich meal, I turn to this simple but aesthetically pleasing dish and the great thing is you can prepare it before dinner and let it sit until you’re ready to serve it.
SERVES 4
4 oranges (preferably blood oranges)
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
100g icing sugar
handful of mint leaves
1 Using a sharp knife, cut off the top and bottom of each orange so that you can stand them upright. Starting from the top, slice away the peel in strips, following the shape of the orange, and work all the way around.
2 Cut the oranges into neat, reasonably thick slices and arrange them in an attractive fashion on a platter. Liberally sprinkle them with cinnamon and icing sugar, using a sieve.
3 Before serving, decorate with a few mint leaves. We eat this dessert on its own, but it’s also fabulous with a drizzle of cream or dollop of vanilla ice cream.
TONNARELLI WITH ARTICHOKES & PROSCIUTTO
You’ll find this ingenious dish on the menu at Trattoria Cammillo in Florence on cold nights when artichokes are in season. I love this version with artichokes from a jar as it’s a quick store-cupboard route to a deliciously hearty meal.
SERVES 4
200g prosciutto, finely diced
olive oil
400g jar of artichoke hearts
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 glasses white wine or prosecco
500g tonnarelli, linguine or spaghetti alla chitarra
50g parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve
1 In a wide frying pan, large enough to hold all the pasta later, fry the prosciutto with a drizzle of olive oil until crispy. Transfer to a bowl, keeping the pan handy.
2 Thoroughly drain the artichokes of all their oil in a colander set over a bowl for 5 minutes, then pat dry using kitchen roll. Transfer to a chopping board and slice into rough chunks. If they still have their stems on, chop these into rounds.
3 Add another drizzle of olive oil to the prosciutto pan and fry the artichokes over a high heat with a pinch of salt and grind of black pepper for 5-8 minutes, turning occasionally, until they get a little colour and look charred. Pour in the wine, turn down the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, until the alcohol has evaporated.
4 Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of well-salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta, give it a good stir so that it doesn’t stick together, and cook until al dente (check the packet instructions). Halfway through the pasta cooking time, add a ladleful of the pasta water to the artichokes in the frying pan and leave to bubble away until the pasta is ready.
5 Keep a mugful of the pasta water. Using tongs, transfer the pasta to the frying pan and toss with the artichokes. Add a pinch of salt, some black pepper, the parmesan, a good glug of olive oil, plus a little of the reserved pasta cooking water if needed, and toss again. Add the prosciutto and more black pepper. Serve piping hot in shallow bowls with a drizzle of olive oil and lots of parmesan.
SAUSAGE, LENTIL & CHICKPEA STEW
Lentils are often paired with cotechino – an Emilian sausage that requires very long, gentle cooking. This is a quick version. Eaten piping hot and topped with a dusting of parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil, this is comfort food at its best.
SERVES 4
6 large organic pork sausages
olive oil
1 onion (red or white), finely diced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, grated
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
a few rosemary sprigs, leaves picked and finely chopped
1 glass red wine
1 tsp tomato concentrate
pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
200ml water or stock
400g tin peeled plum tomatoes
200g small black or green dried lentils
2 x 400g tin giant chickpeas
To serve
flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
parmesan, grated
olive oil
1 Remove the skins from the sausages. In a heavy-based frying pan, heat a few glugs of olive oil until sizzling. Add the sausages, breaking each up into four large chunks with the end of a wooden spoon, and brown over a medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes, until they have a little colour – don’t worry if they break into smaller pieces. If they release lots of liquid, wait for this to evaporate and then brown. Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon and set aside.
2 Turn down the heat and add the onion to the pan, along with a pinch of salt; there should be plenty of fat in the pan from the sausages. Leave to cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, carrot, celery and rosemary and gently cook for 5 minutes. If the sausage fat starts catching or browning the veg too much, stir in a splash of the wine to deglaze the pan and stop them burning.
3 Add the sausages back to the pan with the wine, tomato concentrate and chilli flakes, if using. With a wooden spoon, scrape up any bits sticking to the bottom of the pan, then leave the alcohol to evaporate for 5 minutes.
4 Stir in the water or stock, along with the tinned tomatoes. Fill the empty tomato tin with water, swirl it around and pour the tomatoey water into the pan, adding a generous pinch of salt. Break up the tomatoes with the end of a wooden spoon. Stir in the lentils and leave to cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5 Open the tins of chickpeas and empty the contents into the stew. Stir together, then leave to bubble gently over a low heat, uncovered, for another 20-25 minutes. If the pan looks like it is drying out, stir in a splash more wine or water. The stew is ready when it is thick and rich and the lentils are completely cooked. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Serve piping hot, with a sprinkling of parsley, a grating of parmesan and a drizzle more olive oil.
GREENS TOSSED ‘IN THE PAN’
Leafy greens, blanched and then finished in a frying pan with a whole clove of garlic, olive oil and chilli, is a very common side dish on any Tuscan menu.
SERVES 4
good-quality olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed with the side of a knife
pinch of chilli flakes, or 1 small dried chilli
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Choose your vegetables
About 400g of any of the following:
broccoli, cut into florets
cavolo nero, leaves removed from stalks
cabbage (white, sweetheart, savoy)
chard
spinach
brussels sprouts, bottoms trimmed
1 Prepare your chosen vegetable. If using broccoli, cavolo nero or particularly tough savoy cabbage, blanch these in a saucepan of boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Drain and set aside, then slice the cavolo nero or cabbage leaves into ribbons about 2cm wide. If using chard or spinach, slice into ribbons about 2cm wide. If using white or sweetheart cabbage (or a tender savoy cabbage), slice in half lengthways, then slice across into ribbons. If using brussels sprouts, either cut these in half or into ribbons. Set aside.
2 Put a wide frying pan, preferably one with a lid, over a medium heat. Add 3 glugs of olive oil, the garlic cloves and chilli. Leave to cook for a minute or so, then add the sliced greens – the oil should sizzle when you do this. Stir-fry for a couple of minutes, adding a generous pinch of salt and some black pepper. Add 4 tablespoons of water and another drizzle of olive oil, turn down the heat, then cover and cook for 3-5 minutes.
3 Remove the lid from the pan, give the vegetables a stir and allow the liquid to evaporate for a few minutes, stirring often. Once the liquid has completely reduced and the greens are cooked through, taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Some leave the garlic in the greens; I discard it at this point.
4 Transfer to a serving plate and serve hot or at room temperature, drizzled with a little more olive oil.
RADICCHIO, GORGONZOLA & WALNUT LASAGNE
I first had this dish at my friend Janet’s beautiful winery in Montalcino. I loved its combination of flavours, particularly when paired with a glass of the winery’s excellent Brunello. I serve it with nothing more than a peppery salad.
SERVES 4
1 large head of red radicchio
500ml double cream
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ whole nutmeg, grated
70g parmesan, finely grated
6 fresh lasagne sheets
3 handfuls of walnuts or hazelnuts, roughly chopped
200g gorgonzola
1 Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
2 Remove any sad outer leaves from the radicchio. Slice the head in half and place them cut side down on a chopping board. Cut the radicchio halves into wide ribbons, avoiding the woody stalk end.
3 In a bowl, mix the cream with a few pinches of salt, black pepper, the nutmeg and half the grated parmesan.
4 In an ovenproof dish, lay out two sheets of lasagne next to each other, overlapping them a little to come up the sides of the dish a bit. Spoon over a third of the seasoned cream and drape over half the radicchio leaves. Sprinkle with half the walnuts, then use a teaspoon to dot about a third of the gorgonzola evenly over the radicchio. Repeat with another layer of lasagne sheets, cream, radicchio, walnuts and gorgonzola. Top with the final two lasagne sheets, then the last third of the cream. Crumble the remaining gorgonzola over and sprinkle with the rest of the parmesan.
5 Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top is bubbling and golden. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
LEMONY ESCALOPES
In Tuscany, scaloppine is a classic and popular dish both at home and when dining out. My friend Carolina’s grandmother would often make it for us ‘al limone’ if I went to her place for lunch after school. It is tasty, very quick to throw together and the escalopes also reheat really nicely if you want to prepare them ahead of time.
SERVES 4
plain flour, for dusting
4 veal or lean beef escalopes
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 glass white wine
juice and zest of 1 lemon
4–6 thinly sliced discs of lemon
1 Cover a dinner plate in a thick layer of flour.
2 Tenderise each escalope by placing it on a clean chopping board and lightly bashing across it with a rolling pin, then flipping it over and repeating on the other side.
3 Season each escalope with salt and black pepper. Dip each one in the flour to lightly coat, shaking off any excess, and transfer to a separate plate. In a wide frying pan, heat the olive oil and butter and swirl around the pan to make sure the base is entirely covered in a little fat. Once hot, fry the lemon slices for 1 minute on each side so they get a little colour, then transfer to a plate. Add the escalopes to the pan and sear for 1 minute on each side, until lightly golden. (If searing in batches, add a teaspoon more butter and drizzle of olive oil in between.)
4 Return all the veal to the pan, turn down the heat and pour in the wine and lemon juice. Sprinkle with the lemon zest, season with salt and black pepper and leave to bubble for about 5 minutes, until the sauce is reduced and a little thickened. Remove from the heat and serve.
EMERGENCY ROSEMARY & GARLIC SPAGHETTI
This is a Sienese recipe that’s perfect in an emergency, when you’ve just come home, want dinner in 10 minutes but don’t have any food aside from pasta, olive oil, garlic and a few rosemary sprigs, either knocking around the fridge or snipped from a bush on your windowsill.
SERVES 2
4 rosemary sprigs, leaves picked
4 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, finely crushed or chopped
pinch of chilli flakes, or to taste
sea salt
300g spaghetti
grated parmesan, to serve
1 Bring a large saucepan of well-salted water to a rolling boil.
2 Meanwhile, very finely chop the rosemary leaves. In a wide frying pan, large enough to hold all the spaghetti later, gently heat the olive oil with the rosemary for a few minutes, allowing the rosemary to infuse into the oil; it shouldn’t fry furiously or turn brown. Add the garlic, chilli and a generous pinch of sea salt and gently cook for a few more minutes.
3 Once the pan of water is at a galloping boil, add the spaghetti. Once it has fully wilted down into the water, stir the spaghetti around so that the strands don’t stick together. Cook until al dente.
4 Halfway through the pasta cooking time (check the packet instructions), add two ladlefuls of the pasta cooking water to the rosemary mixture in the frying pan and turn up the heat to bring it up to a rolling boil. After 2–3 minutes, once it has reduced into an amalgamated liquid, switch off the heat.
5 Use tongs to transfer the spaghetti to the frying pan and toss with the rosemary and garlic sauce. Serve immediately, with another drizzle of olive oil and lots of parmesan.
DADA’S BAKED LEEKS IN BECHAMEL
This is a really delicious thing to throw together on a cold winter’s night. Whenever my mum, the cook of our home, was away and my dad was in charge of feeding me and my sister, we ate a lot of what was known as ‘nursery food’: scrambled eggs on toast, sausages grilled on the fire in the kitchen, shepherd’s pie – and leeks baked in the oven in bechamel and topped with parmesan. I love this on those evenings when I’m not in the mood to make anything elaborate, and often make it as a side dish if I’m having friends over – or just enjoy it on its own with toast by the fire, as I used to with my dad and sister.
SERVES 4
6 leeks
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsp grated parmesan
pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
For the bechamel
300ml full-fat milk
25g butter
25g 00 flour
20g grated parmesan
¼ whole nutmeg, grated
½ tsp Dijon mustard
1 To make the bechamel, pour the milk into a saucepan with two pinches of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Set over a high heat, and as soon as the edge starts bubbling, remove from the heat.
2 In a separate saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat. When it starts bubbling, gradually add the flour, a tablespoon at a time, stirring as you go with a wooden spoon. You want the flour and butter to amalgamate and sizzle into a paste, known as a roux (the mixture of butter and flour used to thicken sauces). Once the paste starts coming away from the sides of the pan, add a ladleful of the hot milk.
3 Remove the roux from the heat and stir together until smooth, gradually adding more milk once the previous batch has been mixed through, stirring constantly. (To avoid a lumpy bechamel, make sure that the mixture is completely smooth before adding more milk.) Add the parmesan, nutmeg, more black pepper and a good pinch of salt.
4 Once you have added all the milk, place the pan back over a medium heat and use a whisk to stir while the bechamel thickens over the heat. After a few minutes, once you have a thick, creamy sauce, your bechamel is done. Stir the mustard through.(If you’re making the bechamel ahead of time, cover it with plastic wrap; before using, simply heat it with a splash more milk and it will loosen up again.)
5 Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 4.
6 Prepare the leeks by chopping off the tough dark green section of the leaves at the top and removing the tough outer layer. (Give them a good rinse and they’ll be great to use in a vegetable, chicken or meat broth.)
7 Slice the leeks into discs about 2cm thick, down to the root, placing them in an ovenproof dish large enough to hold all the leek slices in one layer as you go. Season well with salt and black pepper and cover in the bechamel. Finish by sprinkling with the parmesan and some chilli flakes if using.
8 Bake for 25 minutes, or until the bechamel is bubbling and the top is browned. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes or so before serving.
NOW BUY THE BOOK
Our recipes are from Winter In Tuscany by Amber Guinness, with photographs by Valentina Solfrini (Thames & Hudson, £29.99). To order a copy for £25.49 with free UK delivery until 15 February, go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937.
