Travel Tips

A Stifado is a meaty stew with beef and baby shallot onions. The best part is the thick sauce which is made slightly sweet by the onions.
serves 4-6)

You will need

1Kg lean beef - cubed.
500g baby shallot onions - peeled.
1 large onions chopped.
1 large juicy tomatoes - chopped.
2 table-spoons of tomato paste.
1/2 nutmeg crushed (put it into a bag and hit it with a rolling pin!)
1 cinnamon stick and 3 cloves.
4 garlic cloves - finely chopped.
1 vegetable stock cube (optional)
Rosemary sprig or two.
1 small wineglass of extra-virgin olive oil.
1 glass of red or white wine.
2 table-spoons of vinegar.
Fresh coarsely ground black pepper and salt.

1. Add the beef to large frying pan or casserole dish. Place on a high heat, stirring occasionally until meat is sealed.

2. Add the olive oil, chopped onions and garlic. Continue cooking on a high heat, until the onions have turned soft. (About 5mins)

3. Add wine and vinegar, leave on heat but covered for another 5 mins.

4. Next nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves, rosemary, stock cube and a good pinch of black pepper. Keep stirring while the ingredients blend, on a moderate heat. Add salt to taste.

5. Keep heating while adding the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste.

6. Turn out into a casserole dish (Terracota), with lid. Add 1 litre of hot water so as to cover the meat. Cook in oven until the meat is nearly cooked - about one hour.

7. While waiting, peel the baby shallot onions, wash them and shallow fry them in a little olive oil, until soft, not letting them burn.

8. Add the shallots (but not the oil) to the simmering meat and leave in the oven until the meat is thoroughly cooked (soft and tender) - at least another hour - add water if needed (don't let it dry out), so that you end up with a rich thick sauce.

Ingredients:

Notice that this recipe is for 10 serves in order to have a best result, since it's a traditional dish commonly prepared for some festivities.

600-700g pasta for lasagna,
450g meat balls,
500g ricotta cheese,
450g well dry buffalo mozzarella or fior di latte cheese,
500g "cervellatine" (thin sausages),
abundant ragù,
250g parmesan and pecorino cheese,
ground black pepper (small quantity)

Method:

Boil pasta, drain and season it with some cheese, salt and pepper. Fry meatballs; frizzle sausages, cool and cut them into slices. Cut mozzarella in pieces and dissolve ricotta with part of ragù. Lay ragù on the bottom of a greased wide baking pan, superpose with a layer of lasagna in order to cover the bottom and borders (let pour out enough lasagna from the borders to cover at the end). Lay ragù and ricotta cheese, fior di late or mozzarella, meatballs and slices of sausage, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, a pinch of pepper and add some more ragù. Repeat lasagna layer and filling. At the end complete with the layer of lasagna (the one pouring out from borders), ragù and Parmesan cheese. Bake until a brown crust comes out and lasagna is compact. Cool down, pull out of the baking pan and serve with pecorino flakes and some more ragù.

Ingredients:

320g linguine,
300g small tomatoes,
60g black olives,
30g capers,
30g salty anchovies,
1 and 1/2 decilitre extra virgin olive oil,
2 cloves garlic,
chopped parsley, red hot pepper, salt

Method:

Frizzle garlic and ret hot pepper in oil, add anchovies (unsalted and filleted) melt at low heat. Add chopped tomatoes and cook rapidly at high heat, mix with pitted olives and capers. Boil linguine and drain slightly undercooked, pour into the sauce, mix and complete with chopped parsley

Ingredients:

500g buffalo mozzarella,
500g tomatoes,
extra virgin olive oil,
fresh basil,
oregano,
salt.

method:

Choose - (if possible) - mozzarella and tomatoes With equal dimensions, and slice at the same thickness. Season slices of tomatoes with a pinch of salt and alternate with slices of mozzarella. Add lots of fresh basil, a pinch oregano (optional) and pour on some extra virgin olive oil.

Ingredients:

6 Lemons (unwaxed)
1 Litre of 95% Alcohol (you can use a strong Vodka or Grapa instead)
1 Litre of water
700g of Sugar

Wash the lemons and peel them taking care to cut only the yellow part of the rind and remove the white part.
Place the yellow rind into a large glass jar (must be able to hold over 2 litres) with the Alcohol and allow to stand for about 10 days.
After the 10 days boil the water with the sugar for about 5 minutes and allow to cool (it will be like a syrup) then add it to the jar with the Lemon peel and alcohol.
After 7 to 10 days pour the liquid through a strainer and put it into bottles.

It is best drank with lots of ice

225g plain flour
85g caster sugar
0.5 tsp mixed spice
0.5 tsp ½ tsp baking powder
50g butter , cut into small pieces
50g lard , cut into small pieces, plus etra for frying
50g currants
1 egg , beaten
splash milk

1. Tip the flour, sugar, mixed spice, baking powder and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Then, with your fingers, rub in the butter and lard until crumbly. Mix in the currants. Work the egg into the mixture until you have soft dough, adding a splash of milk if it seems a little dry - it should be the same consistency as shortcrust pastry.

2. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to the thickness of your little finger. Cut out rounds using a 6cm cutter, re-rolling any trimmings. Grease a flat griddle pan or heavy frying pan with lard, and place over a medium heat. Cook the Welsh cakes in batches, for about 3 mins each side, until golden brown, crisp and cooked through. Delicious served warm with butter and jam, or simply sprinkled with caster sugar. Cakes will stay fresh in a tin for 1 week

Ingredients:
Pastry:
2 cups flour, plus more for rolling
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks/5 oz./141g) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
5 to 7 tablespoons ice water
Custard:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup granulated sugar
6 egg yolks
Instructions:
Make The Pastry:
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse the flour, salt and sugar to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the flour resembles coarse, uneven cornmeal, about 10 (1-second) pulses.

Drizzle 5 tablespoons of the ice water over mixture. Pulse several times to work the water into the flour. Add the remaining water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and continue pulsing until the mixture develops small curds. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, shape it into a disc and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

On a lightly floured surface, roll half the dough to 1/16-inch thickness. Cut out 6 (4 1/2-inch) circles. (If you don't have a cookie cutter, a wide-mouth jar works well.) Ease the dough circles into a 12-cup (4-ounce capacity) nonstick muffin tin, pressing out any overlapping folds. Repeat with the remaining dough. Place the tin in the freezer for 5 minutes. Remove and trim any overhang with the back of a knife so that the pastry cups are flush with the top of the tins. Line dough cups with cupcake papers and fill with dried beans or pastry weights. Bake at 350°F/180°C for 10 minutes to set.
Make The Custard
Dissolve the cornstarch in 1/4 cup of the cream in a medium bowl. Add the remaining cream and sugar, and stir until the mixture is smooth and the sugar dissolves. Check for sugar granules with a spoon; none should remain.

In a small bowl, blend the yolks with a fork until smooth. Add the yolks to the cream mixture, stirring gently to combine.

Ladle the egg mixture into the partially baked pastry cups, filling to 2/3 capacity. Bake at 350°F/180°C until the edges of the custard are puffed and middle is still jiggly, about 20 to 25 minutes. (The custard will continue to cook.) Cool completely in the tin. The pastéis are best when eaten the same day.

Makes 12 tarts.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons grated fresh lemon rind
3 tablespoons lemon juice
10 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons hot pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 (1 kg) lbs chicken pieces

Directions
1 In large glass bowl, combine all ingredients except chicken; mix well.
2 Add chicken, turning to coat.
3 Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours, turning occasionally; can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours if you want to make it ahead.
4 Reserving marinade, place chicken, skin side down, on a greased grill over medium heat; close lid and cook for 10 minutes.
5 Turn and brush with marinade; cook for 30 to 40 minutes or until juices run clear when chicken is pierced.

Serve with chips and Salad