Christmas menu

Day 1

Pate with blackberry jelly

Ravioli con porcini

Wild boar stew

oakleaf lettuce with pear, honey and balsamico

sage and thyme bruschetta

Vanilla cream pie with caramel

Day 2

Game broth with mushrooms

thyme-grissini

Ham with caramelized onions, roasted tomato and rucola

Capelletti

Hare in Chianti

chestnutpie

Chocolate souffle with cinnamoncream

The second day of Christmas - ravioli stuffing and more

On day 1 I am going to prepare the ravioli, but as I have planned a mushroom broth on day 2, we´ll be very efficient and prepare two things at a time. NB I won´t give you a recipe for pasta dough for there are millions to be found.

Base:

25 gr. of dried porcini

500 gr. of fresh, mixed mushrooms

Fresh thyme and sage

Soak the porcini in tepid water for half an hour and then squeeze them gently and dry them.

Don´t throw away the water, it will be used for the broth.

Clean the mushrooms with kitchen paper, remove the stems but don´t throw them away. Cut them into slices and pieces.

Divide the porcini and the mushrooms in two parts and put one part aside.

Ravioli-filling, day 1:

1 shallot, chopped into very small pieces

The first part of the mushrooms and porcini, chopped a little smaller

1 spoonfull of olive oil

salt, pepper

1 small glass of white wine

grated parmesan, ca. 2 spoons

Chop the thyme and sage really small.

Fry the shallot in the olive oil at moderate fire until it´s soft. Add the mushrooms and the herbs and fry them until they´re slightly brown. Add the wine, make it boil and then lower the fire. Let evaporate all liquids completely. Remove the pan from the fire. Then add salt and pepper and the grated parmesan, mix well and let it cool down.

Prepare the pasta dough (you can find recipes everywhere) and make the ravioli by putting a small spoon of the filling on it, cover it and cut it into regular pieces.

Mushroom broth, day 2:

1 carrot, chopped

1 onion or shallot, chopped

The second part of the mushrooms

2 shallots, chopped

1 garlic glove, pressed

Fresh twigs of rosemary, parsley, celery and the thyme and sage from the base

salt and pepper

olive oil

Use the stems you have put aside before. Make a bouquet garni from the other half of the thyme, sage, parsley, celery and rosemary. Put the stems, carrot, onion, the porcini water and the bouquet garni in a pan, add water (about 1 liter), salt and pepper. Make it boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer for at least half an hour. Pour the broth through a sieve.

Fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil at a moderate heat, until they´re light brown. Add the broth and make it boil again, the add the mushrooms. Lower the fire and let it cook for 10 more minutes.

You can add a broth cube, e.g. Porcini, but it´s not necessary.  

Paté - Monteolivo´s Christmas dinner

Before you start preparing this tasty paté, make sure you´re home alone. When ready, it looks and smells delicious, but during the process it may appear a bit messy and you don´t want to run the risk that nobody will eat it.

Ingredients:

300 gr. of pork slices

300 gr. of pork belly

300 gr. of pork liver

2 spoons of dried, mixed herbs (I use thyme, sage and oregano)

2 small eggs

3 spoons of grappa or brandy

3 spoons of flour

salt and pepper

8 slices of fat bacon

Heat the oven to 110° C .

Soak the herbs in the grappa.

Beat the eggs.

Chop the pork slices and the belly slices into very small pieces or use a foodprocessor.

Grind the liver with the salt.

Mix the meat and the liver very well.

Add the eggs, the herbs and the grappa and add some salt and pepper. Mix very well.

Add the flour and mix very well. Use your hands to mix everything, or, if you don´t like that, use the plastic blade in the foodprocessor.

Cover the bottom and sides of a paté mold with the bacon, leave 1/3 hanging from the mold. If you don´t owe a real paté mold, use a cakepan.

Put the mixture in the mold and press well. Cover with the bacon.

Bake the paté in the middle of the oven for three hours.

Then turn the mold on a plate. Be careful, because there will be very hot liquids running from it.

Let it cool down.

Serve slices of paté with cranberry or blackberry jelly.