2/9 Recipes

Gnocchi con Cioccolato alla Sorrentina

Serves 6

Gnocchi dough:

500 kg golden potatoes

1 tsp cocoa powder

150 gr flour

1 egg yolk

1 tbsp of grated parmesan cheese 

salt, pepper, nutmeg 

Wash the potatoes and cook them with the skin in a big pot with a lot of water until soft. Peel and mush. Let them cold, then add flour, cocoa, salt, egg, grated parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and an "american" pinch of nutmeg. Mix a little, until all ingredients are together, but do not mix to much or the pasta will turn out to be gummy. Make rolls (like a hotdog; 2 cm diameter) and cut in to rectangles.

Sauce:

500 gr roma tomatoes (sliced in half)

1 eggplant

100 gr parmesan cheese

200 gr mozzarella 

3 bunches of basil

sugar

1 clove of garlic

oil, salt, pepper

Slice the eggplants thin, place in a colander with rock salt and leave for 30 minutes (this will get all of the water out of the eggplant and give it more taste) *Put weight on top of the eggplants to help the process work. After 30 minutes dry the eggplants, flour them, and deep fry in olive oil. Save for later

Peel the garlic and saute in oil. Add the tomatoes, and some basil. Salt, add a half of teaspoon of sugar. Cook the sauce for ten minutes. Cut the mozzarella cheese in cubes. Cook the gnocchi in salty boiling water until the gnocchis rise to the top (couple of minutes). Saute the gnocchi with the sauce. Take the gnocchi out from the pot and mix with the tomatoes in the pan. Add the mozzarella cubes (they should then melt). Serve the gnocchi with grated cheese, fresh basil and fried eggplants.

Disclaimer: The cocoa powder didn't make it into this dish but another groups. It gave it a really interesting flavor but if it scares you--- the dish is delightful with out it as well!

Torta Morbida con Cioccolato e Mandorle

Serves 6

200 gr bitter chocolate

1/2 cup of coffee

150 gr butter

150 gr sugar

120 gr white sliced almonds

50 gr starch

3 eggs

powder sugar

powder cocoa

Toast the almonds in the oven in a baking pan for 5 minutes

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler

In a large bowl, mix the butter with the sugar until you get a smooth and creamy mixture

Blend the toasted almonds in a blender.

Add the eggs, one at a time, (still stirring in the butter and sugar), the starch, and 2/3 of the toasted and blended almonds. Add the melted chocolate and continue to mix. Add the half of cup of coffee as well. 

Butter and flour a baking cake pan. Put the chocolate mixture inside the pan and bake at 140 degrees (Celsius) for 30 minutes. 

Sprinkle the powdered sugar and cocoa powder on top. 

Enjoy!

Risotto Bicolore

Serves 6

Spinach/Green:

150 gr Rice

80 gr Spinach

50 gr Grana Cheese 

30 gr Butter

Vegetable Stock

1 Onion

Chop 1/4 onion, wash well with the spinach and slice. Saute both with oil for 3 minutes. Take off half of them and blend with 1 ladle of stock. In the left over spinach and onion, add the rice, saute. Add 1 ladle of stock and once absorbed (sticky texture) add the blended spinach. Add more stock (1 ladle at a time-- each time your risotto looks sticky) until the rice is al dente. (About 15 minutes) Turn flame OFF and stir in cheese and butter. (Use can probably substitue any hard cheese like Parmesan for the Grana cheese!)

Pumpkin/Yellow:

300 gr Pumpkin

150 gr Rice

30 gr Taleggio Cheese

1 Shallot

Vegetable Stock

1 Bay leaf

Chop the shallot and cube (small) the pumpkin. Saute with oil and bay leaf for 5 minutes. Salt. Cover and cook for 10 minutes more to get the pumpkin soft, add stock if needed. (If you are preparing dishes yourself start spinach now) Add the rice and then like the spinach recipe add stock one ladle at a time (when risotto is looking sticky) until al dente. Turn flame off and stir with Taleggio cheese. Place with Spinach risotto. (You can replace the Taleggio cheese with mildly soft ones like Fontina or Gouda).

In the end, this was probably (if not the best) one of the best risotto dishes I have ever had. The spinach one was my favorite but with the bitter taste of the spinach and the sweet of the pumpkin they really tasted great served together!! Our professor showed her presentation skills once again and this was the final product! It was incredibly delicious; my mouth is watering just thinking about it. If I had to choose to make one-- I would probably choose the spinach, but both are worth trying! Also, everything is in grams so converting it to american measurements would probably be helpful to start out with. Enjoy!

And for dessert, because two kinds of risotto just wasn't enough....

Souffle' Di Cioccolato

Serves 6

100 gr Bitter Chocolate

100 gr Gianduiotto (substitute with milk chocolate if needed)

3 eggs

80 gr Sugar

1 tbs Flour

Aluminum Foil Cups

Vanilla Ice Cream

Melt the chocolate in Bagno Marie (double boiler). After, add the butter (that has been cut into smaller pieces and mix until creamy.

In a separarte bowl, beat the eggs with sugar and then add the flour. After, add the melted chocolate into the mixture.

Butter and flour individual aluminum cups, place half of mixture inside. Put a small block of "gianduiotto" (they should be cut into half) and then cover with more chocolate cream.

Cook in the oven for 6 minutes at 370 degrees Fahrenheit.

Serve with ice cream!