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Recipes From Our Kitchen

Spring Recipes

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Quiche Ai Carciofi ~ Artichoke Quiche

Serves 8

Ingredients for the Crust:

  • 2 egg yolks
  • 50 ml (3-4 tablespoons) water
  • 130 g (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) butter, softened
  • 250 g (2 cups) ‘00’ flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 300 g (10 oz) artichokes, cleaned, trimmed, steamed in a pot until soft, sliced in small pieces

Ingredients for the Filling

  • 2 eggs
  • 100 ml (4 fl oz) milk
  • 100 ml (4 fl oz) light whipping cream (about 34% fat)
  • 30 g (1 oz) Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
  • Salt & pepper, to taste

Preparation

For the crust, mix egg yolks, water, butter, flour and salt in an electric mixer then form into a ball. Cover and let rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Turn onto a floured surface and roll the ball out into a circle. Gently place each circle of dough into an 8-inch-round pie plate to cover the bottom and sides. Cover the bottom with the sliced artichokes.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, milk and cream together for the filling. Add the grated Parmigiano Reggiano, salt and pepper to taste. Pour egg mixture into the pie plates and bake in a preheated oven at 170°C (about 350°F) for about 30 minutes until lightly browned on top. Allow to rest a few minutes before serving.

Variations: Substitute the artichokes with zucchini, spinach or escarole.

Pair With
Greco di Tufo Di Meo
Made from 100% Greco di Tufo grapes and deep straw yellow in color, this white wine offers up soft citrus blossom, citron and lime, with just a hint of exotic fruit. It is rich and full bodied but with a freshness that makes it a good match for this early spring dish.

Pasta Alla Campagnola ~ Pasta With Fava Beans & Sausage

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 1 kg (2 lbs 4 oz) fava beans, shelled then boiled until tender (keep the water) and half puréed, half kept whole
  • 75 ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
  • 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) fresh onion, sliced
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 150g (5 oz) fresh sausage- out of casing
  • ½ cup white wine
  • 50 g (½ cup) Pecorino, grated
  • 100 g (1 cup) Parmigiano, grated
  • Handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • 500g tubettoni pasta- large short tubes

Preparation

In a large pan, heat olive oil and add chopped onion and garlic clove.  Sauté until blond, then add sausage and sauté together to brown.  Add the whole fava beans.  Be careful not to burn the onion. Add a little of the fava-water as needed.

Sauté together for a few minutes, then add the white wine and allow to evaporate.
Meanwhile cook the pasta in boiling salted water until just barely al dente (the pasta finishes cooking in the pan with the sauce, so it should be very al dente).

Add the puréed fava beans and stir together – adding a bit more of the fava-water if needed.  Drain the pasta and add to the pan with the sauce.  Toss together well and just before serving, add the pecorino and fresh parsley.  Serve with grated Parmigiano on top.

Pair with
Falanghina Del Sannio, il Poggio
Straw yellow with green undertones, this Falaghina is produced just north of Benevento. With intense perfumes of mature white fruits, you will also catch the scent of wild flowers. In the mouth it is soft and rich, but with good acidity. Slips down a treat!

Agnello al Forno ~ Baked Lamb

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 1 kg (2 lbs 2 oz) lamb, cut in pieces
  • Salt
  • Chopped herbs (parsley, sage, thyme, marjoram, rosemary)
  • Garlic, minced
  • 1 glass white wine
  • Extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

Place the pieces of lamb in a baking pan, add salt, chopped herbs, garlic, white wine, and a drizzling of olive oil. Allow to marinate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F) . Bake in the oven covered with aluminum foil and then remove foil and finish cooking until brown.

Pair with
Ischia Per’ e Palummo, Tommasone
This fabulous red hails from winemakers Tommasone on the Island of Ischia. Rich and intense, it offers up notes of fruit and spices, undergrowth as well as wild blackberries and raspberries. It is dry and full in the mouth, well-structured with a slightly bitter aftertaste. Great to accompany lamb and other meats, or, if slightly more chilled, rich fish dishes.

Tiramisù alle Fragole~ Strawberry Tiramisù

Serves 6

Ingredients For the Strawberries:

  • 400 g (1 lb) strawberries
  • 50 g (1/4 cup) sugar
  • 100 ml (4 fl oz) sweet wine (Vin Santo, Marsala, Asti, Recioto)

Ingredients for the Cream

  • 4 eggs
  • 100 g (½ cup) sugar
  • 250 g (8 oz) mascarpone cheese
  • 150 g (5 oz) Ladyfingers (preferably San Vicenzi brand)

Preparation

For the Strawberries:
Wash and slice the strawberries, allow them to dry well. Transfer the strawberries to a bowl and add the sugar and sweet wine and leave to macerate for at least 3 hours.

For the Cream:
Separate the eggs. First whip the yolks with half the sugar (50g/1/4 cup) until thick and frothy. Then scoop in the mascarpone and mix until combined.

Whip the egg whites with the rest of the sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the yolk-mascarpone mixture. Let it rest in the refrigerator.

Drain the strawberries and reserve the liquid for soaking the ladyfingers.

Prepare the tiramisu in individual cups. Begin with a dollop of the mascarpone cream then place a layer of the ladyfingers dipped in the strawberry syrup. Next add a layer of the sliced strawberries following a layer of cream. Repeat in this order until the glass is full, creating one, two, or even three layers. Top with the remaining mascarpone cream. Decorate the top with any remaining sliced strawberries.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Pair With
Gocce D’Ambra, D’Ambra, Ischia
We stay on Ischia for our dessert wine which is a passito made by Casa D’Ambra. After the grapes are left to become super-mature on the vines, they are placed on grills and left until they are suitably dried. The resulting wine is a beautiful deep gold color and offers up scents of apricot, dates and honey. It’s rich and sweet, but thanks to its acidity, not cloying.