Conchiglie alla vodka

VODKA SHELLS

It serves 6 people:

• 3 spoons of extra vergin olive oil
• 6 rip tomatoes peeled and chopped
• 1 small onion thinly sliced
• 1 clove of garlic thinly sliced
• 1 stick of celery thinly sliced
• 1 carot thinly sliced
• a pinch of red chili powder
• salt
• 120 ml of Vodka
• 120 ml of thick cooking cream
• 600 gr of pasta shells
• 45 gr of grated chees

Heat the oil over low heat in a pan with high sides. Add chopped fresh tomatoes, the onion, the garlic, the carrot and the chili and cook everything for about 30 minutes, stirring often, until the liquid has evaporated. Add salt at your leisure.

Pour the Vodka and the cream in the sauce and continue cooking, always stirring, until the sauce will become thick, or else for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring abundant salted water to a boil in a soucepan and cook the pasta shells. Drain well and transfer them to the pan with the sauce.

Mix gently for dressing the pasta well, then put it in a preheated pot, sprinkle with a bit of grated cheese and serve.

Jacopo Orsini

PAPPA AL POMODORO !

The tomato soup is a poor dish of peasant origin. 

It is excellent in winter because it is a hot soup and in summer because you can eat it at room temperature too. 

The main ingredients are: Tuscan bread,

peeled tomatoes, garlic, basil and oil.

INGREDIENTS (four people) 

- 300 gr of bread 

-1 l of soup

-10 leaves of basil

-pepper 

-olive oil 

-garlic

-1 spoon of sugar

-salt 

-800 gr of tomatoes 

PREPARATION 

Cut the Tuscan bread in thin slices (1) than toast them in the oven at 200 degrees for some minutes.

Remove the bread from the oven and rub them with the garlic(2).

Boil the tomatoes in boiling water for around 1 minute (3). 

Then take the tomatoes out and peel them with a knife (4) .

Sieve the tomatoes and place them in a container. 

Place the bread in a pan (5) 

So pour the tomato sauce on the bread  (7) and the vegetable broth too (8).

Add some salt, pepper, and some sugar (9) and cook at low heat for 40-50 minutes, until the liquid has evaporated. 

Stir well for trasforming the bread into a "pappa" (10) . 

Add the basil leaves (11). Pour the pappa al pomodoro in a bowl (12) and add some extra virgin olive oil too. 

THE DISH IS READY!!! :) 

                                        Simona Cilino. 

Pappa al Pomodoro

Here's a first dish of the Florentine traditional peasant cooking.
Ingredients:
-Stale bread (Tuscan bread baked in a wood-fired oven would be perfect)
-Ripe tomatoes
-Basil
-Garlic
- Extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper
First, stir fry the garlic in the oil, then add the tomatoes cut in a large pieces. Mix well and add the chopped basil (or the whole leaves), some salt and lots of pepper. Let it cook for about ten minutes, and then add water or some vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and cook for another 5 minutes, then add the bread cut into pieces and boil for another 5 to 10 minutes. Add some more salt and pepper if necessary, then add some more basil and turn the fire off. Let the "pappa" rest in a covered pot for about an hour and serve with some olive oil. This is the traditional recipe which includes garlic, but there are different varations. Pagani Alice

Agnolini alla Parmigiana

Agnolini alla parmigiana!

I chose this dish because I come from Albany and when I came here for the first time this was the first dish I ate and it impressed me! It’s very tasty and light, that’s why I like it!

Ingredients for 4 people :

For the dough:

400 g of white flour                                                                                          

4 eggs

For the filling:

400 g of beef

50 g of grated Parmesan cheese

50 g of breadcrumbs

50 g butter

50 g of bacon

2 eggs

1/2 l of broth

1 glass of red wine

1 onion

1 carrot

1 stalk of celery

olive oil

garlic

tomato sauce

cloves

Preparation and cooking:

1 hour (plus the time for the dough).

The goodness of this recipe is all in the stew that once the housewives stewed for three whole days in a special clay dish placed in a corner of the kitchen. The cooks of today do not ask the impossible, but simply a good stew.

Put the meat, after you have garnished it with bacon and garlic to brown for ten minutes in a pan with butter and chopped onion. When it has taken a beautiful color, moisten it with the wine, allowing it to quickly evaporate and then cover with the warmed broth. Put the lid over the pan and start cooking it slowly (7-8 hours). When the broth is reduced to a quite thick sauce, remove the meat (which can be served as an accompanying dish). Stir in some tomato sauce, breadcrumbs and grated cheese stirring at a good pace to get a homogeneous mixture. The final consistency should be such that the preparation for the filling can be worked easily with your fingers. Adjust the density of the broth by increasing the quantity of breadcrumbs and cheese if necessary.

Knead the flour and eggs as usual and roll the dough to obtain a thin layer. Place on it the balls of filling. Cut with a special notched stencil the circles of dough around each mound of filling. Close them on themselves by squeezing the dough around the individual balls of filling. As agnolini are ready, order them on a floured surface and then cover them with a slightly moistened cloth.

Boil the agnolini in plenty of beef broth and serve with grated Parmesan. Well-drained, this type of stuffed pasta also lends itself to be served dry.

A variation of this recipe comes from the tradition of Piacenza. The suggestion is to add to the filling of the meat sauce, finely chopped, two whole eggs and a couple of handfuls of grated parmesan then let the dough rest for at least ten hours.  Agnolini, always cooked in beef broth, can also be served dry seasoned with the filling ingredients, mushrooms or meat sauce, for example.

Recommended wine

For a dish like this, all based on the taste of the stew, you need a full-bodied red wine like a great Barbera Colli Bolognesi Doc.

 

Balla Algerta.

POLPETTE DI CARNE Giulia Campinotti

The meatballs are a classic recipe and simple to make.   The meatballs are a second dish really delicious and enjoyed by all, especially by children.

INGREDIENTS FOR 35 DUMPLINGS

Meat : 500 g

Garlic : a clove

Parmesan cheese : 50 g

Eggs : 2

Bread : 100 g

Oil, salt , ginger , parsley

Provola cheese: 50 g

 PREPARATION

To make the meatballs start preparing the ingredients. First you take the bread, remove the crust (1), cut into small cubes and chop finely with the help of a mixer (2). Wash and clean the parsley, then chop it with a knife or a crescent (3).

Chop up a clove of garlic (4) and cut the Provola cheese into cubes (5). In a large bowl place the minced meat and then add the chopped parsley (6),

chopped garlic, Provola cheese (7), beaten eggs (8) and parmesan (9).

Stir the mixture well with a wooden spoon until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed (10). Finally incorporate the breadcrumbs too (11), then add salt and pepper. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap, place in the refrigerator and let it rest for about half an hour (12).

Form the meatballs by hand (13). Fry the meatballs in hot oil, until golden brown (14). At this point, drain well on paper towels (15). Serve the meatballs together with a fresh salad or mashed potatoes.

Panzanella

 PANZANELLA

Panzanella is the name of a Tuscan summer dish; a poor dish that was eaten by the farmers, who were working in the fields all day long.The main ingredients are: stale bread, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, basil, salt, pepper, vinegar and oil.

Ingredients

- 15  leaves of basil
- salt
- black pepper

- 400g of bread

-1 cucumber

- 3 spoon of white wine vinegar

- 1 big red onion

- extra virgin olive oil

-2 tomatoes

To prepare Panzanella you should peel and cut the red onions into thin slices(1) and put them soaking in a small bowl with some water and 1 tbsp of white wine vinegar (2), for at least two hours. Peel a cucumber too (3).




Cut it into thin washers and put them aside (4). At the end wash and cut the tomatoes into small pieces (5). Take four slices of Tuscan bread and remove the crust with a knife (6).




Wet them in a solution of water and vinegar without drenching it too much (7). When the bread is soft, squeeze it and break it with the hands and put it in a salad bowl (8). Drain the red onions (9).




Mix them with the bread (10) add tomatoes (11)  and cucumbers (12), 




and some hand chopped basil (13). Mix gently all the ingredients with a spoon.  Flavor the panzanella with some extravergin olive oil, and some salt and pepper too (14). Let the Panzanella rest in the fridge for at least one hour. The Panzanella is ready! (15)

                                                                                        Beatrice Landi

Pasta with aubergines

Ingredients for 6 people:

- 2 aubergines

- 3 cloves of garlic

- basil

- hot chili pepper

- oil to fry

- olive oil

- peeled tomatoes (1 box)

- tomato puree (1 bottle)

- cream (1 box)

- 1 stock cube

- 500 grams of pasta

- salt

Peel the aubergines and slice them. Place them on a chopping board, cover them with salt and let them rest for at least 30 minutes .

Wash them very well and fry in a frying pan with the oil to fry. After that put the fried aubergines on an absorbing paper. Chop them with a mincing-knife. Chop the cloves of garlic as well.

Put the chopped cloves of garlic, the basil and oil in a pot. When it starts frying, add the chopped aubergines, the peeled tomatoes and the tomato puree, and the hot chili pepper as much as you want. Add the stock cube.

Boil for at least 20 minutes. Add salt. At the end add the cream.

While it is boiling, put plenty of water in an other pot, add salt, and when it starts boiling add the pasta.

When the pasta is ready, drain it, add the aubergine sauce and enjoy your meal !

Giulia Cortopassi

Spaghetti allo Scoglio

SPAGHETTI AND SEAFOOD

To prepare the Spaghetti with seafood we need many ingredients and different kinds of shellfish. This dish is rich in seafood and it's really tasty. 

4 servings

Ingredients:

250grams squid cut into pieces

350grams prawns

300grams octopus, cut into cubes

300grams mussels

250grams cherry tomatoes

300grams clams

1 glass white wine

extra virgin olive oil

hot pepper

chopped parsley

garlic

Take a large frying pan and stir fry the garlic and the hot chili pepper with some olive oil on a slow fire.

Drain the clams you have left ​​at least one night in a bowl filled with water and salt to remove any grit, and add them into the pan. 

Cook for a few minutes adding a glass of white wine.

As soon as the clams are open, add the mussels and cook for a few minutes before adding the squid and prawns too.

Keep over a low heat and stir occasionally. In a pressure cooker filled with water, boil the octopus for 40 minutes and then cut it into small cubes and add it to the rest of the fish in the pan.

Now cut the tomatoes in half and place them into the pan and mix everything thoroughly in order to cook everything well.

Meanwhile cook the spaghetti and when they are cooked, drain them and add them to the prepared fish, sauté for a few seconds and sprinkle with some parsley. Serve hot. 

Samanta Recce

Cacciucco

My favourite Tuscan food is "Cacciucco". This dish is typical of Livorno but is cooked everywhere in Tuscany. It is prepared with different kinds of fishes, in fact we use cuttlefish, shellfish and crustaceans. Other ingredients for the sauce are: garlic, chilli, olive oil, tomatoes, onions and parsley. This is a sort of broth that we eat with toasted bread. For the preparation, first wash and slice the fish in two or three pieces, then put them in a pot with oil on the fire. Then, add chopped garlic and chilli and cook for about 20 minutes. After that add the tomatoes, the onions and some salt and continue to cook for another 15 minutes. Finally, toast some slices of bread and rub them with another clove of garlic. Put the slices of toastes bread into the dish and cover it with the fish sauce. Add a pinch of parsley before serving. This food is very good and tasty and I recommend it to people who love fish.