Tag: black peppercorns

Neapolitan Roccocò: Christmas desserts with the ancient medieval recipe with the secret of Neapolitan Pisto – Gordon Ramsay’s version

The Roccocos: The history of the Neapolitan Roccoco is nothing short of particular and has very ancient origins. Imagine having a time machine at your disposal and going back to the Middle Ages, precisely to the period in which Sancha of Aragon became the wife of King Robert of Anjou. Having become Duchess, she established a convent that could welcome and save prostitutes. The convent was located in Naples in the Maddalena area and therefore took the name of “Real Convento della Maddalena”. It was the nuns of the convent who invented the Roccocothe typical Christmas sweets with an ugly appearance but a surprising taste.

Round and made from almonds, their consistency is particularly hard. The name derives from the French “roccaille”, due to the shape that resembles a shell or the rocky consistency. It should not be forgotten that at the time relations between the Kingdom of Naples and France were excellent, which is why the nuns were influenced by a French term for the creation of the Rococo. But what characteristics must a Roccoco to be defined as a true Neapolitan rococo?

Very simple, it must be donut shaped, it must be hard and it must contain a special ingredient, the Neapolitan pisto. Don’t know what it is? No problem, I’ll explain it to you shortly. But first let’s dispel a myth. As already mentioned above, among the main characteristics of one of the Neapolitan desserts par excellence, there is the hard consistency.
There’s no point in clinging to recent news that offers a soft version. True Neapolitan rococo must be tough, or “tuost”. Precisely because of this characteristic they are also called “tooth breakers”, because a more risky bite could cause considerable damage to the teeth.

Once upon a time, in fact, Roccocos were soaked in a fortified wine to soften their consistency. Among the most used was, for example, Marsala. Today this custom has been lost and Rococo therefore remains hard and a little difficult to bite.

Roccocò: Here is the original recipe

Ingredients:

300 g of flour
150 g of toasted almonds
200 g of sugar
3 g of pisto
3 g of ammonia
peel of 1 orange
water to taste
1 pinch of salt
1 egg

Method:

Start by combining flour, sugar, orange peel and pisto (HERE IS THE RECIPE FOR THE ORIGINAL NEAPOLITAN PISTO) Dissolve a pinch of salt in warm water and add to the mixture until it becomes kneadable. Then add the coarsely crumbled almonds (if you want you can also use hazelnuts instead or in addition) and finally the ammonia. Divide the dough into pieces, first cut into cords using your hands and then into round donuts of more or less equal size.

If you want, you can use some whole almonds pto decorate its surface. Used the beaten egg to brush the top of the Roccoco and make them so shiny and of their typical brownish color. Then cook in a preheated oven at 180° for about 25 minutes. Let cool and serve.

Christmas Tree Chopping Board – Recipes on the fly – Gordon Ramsay’s version

The cutting board Christmas tree it’s delicious Christmas appetizer very tasty and scenic, although very easy and ready in 5 minutes. A clever and “no fuss” idea to bring an original and tasty appetizer to the table on festive days.

To accomplish this Christmas cutting board all you need to do is get a rectangular wooden cutting board, some cold cuts, some cheese cubes, some fruit, some olives and unleash your imagination.

You can use the most varied ingredients: pretzels, dried fruit, grapes, cheeses of various ages, salmon, or whatever you like best. The important thing is to focus on the quality of the products, which will make the difference.

The various ingredients will go positioned in a pyramid, starting from the wider base, which in this case is made up of sliced meat.

Then you continue to make several increasingly shorter strips until you reach the tip of the tree. This can be made by carving some pineapple or a slice of cheese, cut with a star-shaped cookie cutter.

Everything is then decorated with gods pomegranate seeds, herbs and that’s it. A simple and also economical idea that your guests will like.

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Pumpkin and Potatoes Gnocchi – Gordon Ramsay’s version

The pumpkin gnocchi they are a comfort and light first course, which I love very much, especially in autumn. An easy recipe with few ingredients, to be served like this, simply with butter, fresh thyme and grated cheese.

There pumpkin, the undisputed queen of the autumn season, is a vegetable rich in nutrients beneficial to health. It is low in calories, fat and sodium. Instead, it contains vitamins A and B, fiber and mineral salts, such as iron and potassium. Pumpkin is also a source of C vitamin which makes it a very precious ally for increasing the immune system, which begins to weaken at this time of year, and vitamin E with all its antioxidant properties.

There are so many pumpkin varietyand the most suitable one for making gnocchi is undoubtedly the Delicatebut it will be perfect too Mantua and the Butternut.

How to season pumpkin gnocchi

As I was telling you, I really love enhancing the flavor of pumpkin gnocchi with a seasoning neutral, made with butter, fresh thyme and grated Parmigiano Reggiano to taste. However, there are some unbeatable combos that I recommend:

bacon and zola
speck and hazelnuts
mushrooms and bacon

And if you are looking for other recipes with pumpkin, browse my new book “l’ensima pumpkin”, available on Amazon.

How to scratch gnocchi with a fork

You can leave your gnocchi smooth, more or less pot-bellied, or scratch them. With this operation they will retain more wrinkle, seasoning and cheese.

If you don’t have the rigagnocchi cutting board*, you can scratch the gnocchi using the tines of a fork. Just turn the fork and slide the gnocchi on the convex side, applying light pressure with your thumb on the other side of the dough.

Chef Gordon Ramsay Recipes