by Simone Conti
Hard-boiled eggs with three fillings
This first recipe is perfect if you have friends or family visiting, on a buffet or as canapes. It’s very simple to produce, with flavours to suit every taste.
Ingredients:
6 hard-boiled eggs
60g mayonnaise
60g canned tuna in oil, drained
40g feta cheese
40g cucumber (seedless pulp)
20g durum wheat bread
8 desalted capers
2 large green olives
1 anchovy fillet in oil
1 tomato
Baby spinach leaves
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Instructions:
1. Recipe for 3 fillings of hard-boiled eggs. Peel the hard-boiled eggs, cut in half, remove the yolk, and set aside. Divide about 40g of mayonnaise between 6 egg halves, then add a few spinach leaves to each and cover with 5 yolks, pressing them directly over the egg halves with a potato masher.
2. Blend drained tuna with the anchovy fillet, 2 capers, 20g of mayonnaise and 2 hard-boiled yolks to form a ‘cream’. Chill in refrigerator to firm up, for 1 hour. Fill 6 egg halves with the obtained cream, using a pastry bag. Garnish the stuffed eggs with a caper each.
3. Peel tomato, remove the seeds and finely dice it. Finely dice the feta cheese, cucumber pulp, pitted olives, and bread.
4. Mix everything with 2 mashed yolks, salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Fill the remaining 6 egg halves with this filling, using a teaspoon.
5. Now you are ready to serve, place the stuffed eggs on a large plate and garnish to taste.
Recommended Wine: Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand)
Lamb, cheese and eggs // Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 kg boneless leg of lamb
130ml dry white wine
50g grated seasoned pecorino cheese
2 eggs
2 garlic cloves
lemon
extra virgin olive oil
rosemary
salt
pepper
Preparation:
This recipe brings back lots of memories for me. It’s a typical Italian dish from a central area of Italy, called Abruzzo. It’s easy to make and absolutely delicious. It merges together some of the classic produce of the farms in that area – lamb, cheese and eggs. Believe me, once you’ve made it for the first time, it will become a classic in your recipe book too.
1. Start by trimming the fat off the leg of lamb and cut the meat into cubes.
2. Heat 3-4 tablespoons of oil in a pan and brown the lamb cubes over a high heat (split the meat into 2 halves for cooking, so it’s not crowded in the pan and avoid the “boiled” effect).
3. Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a saucepan, add the browned lamb, garlic and 1 sprig of rosemary, heat, add salt and pepper, then add the wine. Cover and cook over low heat for 30-35 minutes. Remove lid and continue cooking for another 5 minutes, until the lamb is soft.
4. Beat the eggs with the pecorino and the juice of 1/2 lemon and add the mixture to the lamb, with the heat turned off, stirring quickly. Serve immediately.
5. Serve it hot and Don’t forget those extra napkins!
Recommended Wine: Montepulciano d’ Abruzzo
Tiramisu Cheesecake // Serves 10-12
Ingredients :
THE BASE
125g dry biscuits
125g digestive biscuits
90g butter (plus a little)
25g hazelnuts
soluble coffee
caster sugar
THE FILLING
200g ricotta
170g sugar
100g fresh spreadable cheese
100g mascarpone
3 eggs yolks
2 eggs
1 lemon
1 vanilla pod
Salt
CREAM TOPPING
250g fresh cream
120g sugar
5g gelatine sheets
2 yolks
THE SAUCE
150g sugar
20g butter
20g instant coffee
30g cocoa
15g corn starch
Preparation:
The first 2 recipes are easy to produce, but this one requires more work and will take you beyond your comfort zone. Believe me, the hard work involved in preparing this dessert will pay off once you’ve tasted it. Who doesn’t love cheesecake or a good tiramisu? Suppose we put them together….pure heaven!!
Method:
THE BASE
1. Blend the hazelnuts with 1 tablespoon of sugar and 2 teaspoons of instant coffee. Add all the biscuits and blend, then mix with softened butter.
2. Line the base of a springform pan (ø20cm, height 7cm) with baking paper, then butter and flour the entire pan.
3. Line with blended biscuits, pressing well into a uniform layer 0.5 cm thick, bottom and edges.
THE FILLING
1. Mix the ricotta, spreadable cheese and mascarpone in a bowl. Add the seeds of 1/2 vanilla pod and the grated zest of 1/2 lemon. Mix with electric whisk at low speed.
2. Whip the yolks and eggs with the sugar in another bowl until you obtain a frothy mixture. Incorporate into the cheeses to form a creamy mixture.
3. Pour the creamy mixture into the cheesecake shell, smooth evenly and bake at 180°C for 1 hour 10 mins.
4. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
CREAM TOPPING AND THE SAUCE
1. Soak the gelatine in cold water. Squeeze and melt it quickly in a saucepan.
2. Whip the cream until it’s nice and creamy and set aside.
3. Break egg yolks into a bowl.
4. Heat sugar with a drop of water in a saucepan, bring to 112°C (measure with a thermometer, or calculate yourself by heating 2-3 minutes after boiling point).
5. Pour hot syrup slowly over egg yolks while whipping with a whisk. Also pour the gelatine into the mixture and allow to cool.
6. Incorporate the cream into this mixture.
7. Place the cream on top of the cake, (don’t worry if it deflates in the centre, that’s normal. The final result will be very creamy).
8. Place the cheesecake in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
Recommended Wine: Blanquette de Limoux (France)
