by Simone Conti
Veal with Tuna and anchovy sauce
I hope you’re doing well as you get ready for the Christmas festivities! I love this time of year – everything feels magical with families coming together, children excited for Christmas, decorations going up and Christmas trees popping up in living rooms.
I hope you enjoy these recipes and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Ingredients:
600g pumpkin
800g veal – you can use beef or turkey
1 stalk celery
1 carrot
1 onion
1 garlic clove
1 glass white wine
1lt water
1 bay leaf
3 cloves
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp ground black pepper ½ tsp
2 pinches fine salt
For the sauce:
2 eggs
100g tuna in oil – drained
3 anchovies fillets in oil
5g salted capers
Caper berries to taste – for decoration
Preparation
1. Start by washing the vegetables. Peel and tip the carrot, then cut it into pieces. Tip the celery and cut it into pieces. Peel the onion and cut it in half. Place the ingredients in a bowl and add the whole peeled garlic.
2. Clean the meat, remove any cartilage and fat filaments. Place the meat, chopped vegetables, bay leaf, 2-3 cloves and black peppercorns in a large pan.
3. Add the white wine and water, which should cover all the ingredients. Add 2 pinches of salt and then the oil. Heat and bring to the boil, then remove the foam as soon as it forms on the surface. Put the lid on and lower the heat slightly before leaving to cook for around 40-45 minutes. Remember every 500g of meat requires a cooking time of around 30 minutes. The important thing is that the temperature in the middle of the meat cut never exceeds 150°F (65°C): use a cooking thermometer to check this.
4. Once the meat is cooked, drain it and leave to cool thoroughly. Then remove the bay leaf, pepper and cloves. Take 1/3 of the resulting broth, simmer and reduce it on a high heat for around 10 minutes. The leftover meat broth will be useful for other preparations, like risottos. Once cooked, drain the vegetables in a container.
5. Now prepare the boiled eggs. Place the eggs in a saucepan with plenty of cold water. Heat and as soon as the water comes to the boil, set the timer to 9 minutes.
6. When boiled, drain the eggs and rinse in cold water. Peel once cooled and cut into 4 pieces . Add the egg slices to the bowl with the vegetables . Add the drained tuna along with anchovies in oil and desalted capers (to desalt them, place them under fresh running water). Lastly, add a little broth. Use an immersion blender (a classic mixer will also do) and add a little more broth if needed.
7. Blend into a smooth cream to whatever consistency you prefer. By now the meat should have cooled down. Slice it thinly with a smooth bladed knife . Arrange the slices on a serving dish and pour the cream over them. Lastly, decorate with the caper, some whole and some sliced. Your tuna veal is ready. Enjoy it!
Suggested Wine – Sauvignon Blanc (France)
Roast guinea fowl with potatoes and pumpkin
A few years ago I stopped buying chicken in my house, and switched to guinea fowl and to be honest I’ve never looked back. Guinea fowl is half way between a chicken and a game, the meat is much firmer than chicken and packed with flavour.
Guinea fowl are raised in a much cleaner and healthier way than chickens and because they are still relatively new, you can find on special offer in stores. This is a very easy recipe for a nice winter meal to be served with seasonal vegetables, such as potatoes and pumpkin. Give it a try and you won’t regret it.
Ingredients(Serves 4)
1 guinea fowl (about 1.5 kg)
4 medium potatoes
300g Delica pumpkin
2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary
4 sprigs sage
4 garlic cloves
Extra virgin olive oil, as needed
Salt and pepper, to taste
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C), gas mark 4.
2. Place the cleaned, dried guinea fowl in a large baking dish, stuffed with two crushed garlic cloves, sage and rosemary. Tie well, then season generously with a mix of sage, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper. Massage the seasoning into the meat and roast for 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile peel the potatoes and cut into wedges. Clean the pumpkin, remove the seeds and cut into wedges, then into cubes about 1 inch (3 cm) in size. Toss the vegetables with fresh rosemary, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
4. Add the vegetables to the baking dish with the guinea fowl and cook for another 40 minutes, making sure the oven temperature doesn’t get too high. Occasionally, baste the guinea fowl with its cooking juices.
5. Once cooked, remove the guinea fowl from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes. Cut into eighths and serve with the roasted vegetables.
Suggested Wine – Ribeira del Duero (Spain)
Strawberry and Mascarpone French toast
In this recipe I’ve made an exception to one of my most fundamental rules – ONLY EAT SEASONAL FRUIT AND VEG! But sometimes we have to break a rule to make something really delicious. I define this one as the perfect brunch recipe and you can personalise it in any way you like. If you want to add some streaky bacon or change the strawberry to another type of berry, have fun and enjoy it.
Ingredients:(Serves 4 French toasts)
8 slices wholewheat sandwich bread
2 medium eggs
60g whole milk
For the filling:
200g strawberries
500g Mascarpone cheese
1 ½ tbsp honey
1 pinch cinnamon powder
For the cooking:
3 tbsp (40g) butter
Preparation
1. Start by making the filling. Put mascarpone in a small bowl, add honey and cinnamon and mix well with a whisk to obtain a homogeneous cream .
2. Then wash and dry the strawberries and remove the stalks. Then cut into slices lengthwise, (not too thin) and set aside.
3. Now spread the mascarpone cream on one side of all the slices of bread.
4. Arrange the strawberries neatly on 4 of the bread slices and place the bread slices with mascarpone on top. Keep other 4 for French toast aside.
5. Now, in a large bowl with low edges, beat the eggs, pour in the milk and mix with a fork. Then take first of 4 French toast set aside and dip it in the egg, first on one side and then on the other, so that it is uniformly soaked.
6. Melt the butter in a large non-stick pan. Then place the egged bread slice in the pan, being careful not to break it, and brown for 2-3 minutes. Turn over gently and brown for 2-3 minutes on the other side as well .
7. Remove the French toast from the pan, place it on a cutting board and cut it in half along the diagonal to obtain two triangles . Proceed in the same way with all French toast slices.
8. Finally enjoy the warm or hot strawberry and mascarpone French toast!
Suggested Drink Nice cup of coffee or if you want to make it a bit naughty, a nice glass of bubbles.
