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Website: www.casagiuditta.com
Tel: +39-328-2250788
Fax: +39-(0)2-700401920
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Palermo , Sicily 90133 , Italy Email: Click to send email to innkeeper Website: www.casagiuditta.com Tel: +39-328-2250788 Fax: +39-(0)2-700401920 |
This fava puree is a classic of southern Italian country cooking. Although it is prepared in many ways, along with dense tomato sauce (strattu), it is a pillar of Sicilian kitchens. When made with large Sicilian fava beans, such as those from Leonforte, for example, it has a very special flavor.
4 servings
- 1 1/2 pounds fava beans, soaked for 12 hours.
- 8 shrimp
- 1/2 cup ricotta
- 2 ounces speck or pancetta, cut into small cubes
- 1 onion
- 1 celery stalk
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tomato
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- pepper
- 3 tablespoons extravergine olive oil
- hot red pepper flakes
1. Place soaked, drained beans in a largesoup pot with warm water to cover. Add all the vegetables, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
2. Peel shrimp and cook over low heat with speck. Put aside and keep warm.
3. When fava beans are tender, place in blender with ricotta, 2 tablespoons olive oil and a pinch of hot red pepper flakes.
4. Divide fava puree among four soup plates. Top with two shrimps each, a spoonful of chopped speck, a drizzle of olive oil and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Put the ricotta through a strainer and mix it with the sugar (Ada Boni, in her recipe, suggests you beat the sugar and ricotta until the mixture is light and fluffy). Stir in the vanilla, candied fruit and chocolate, mixing well to distribute them evenly. Roll out your pasta frolla and line a 9-inch cake pan with it. Lay down a layer of crumbled pan di spagna over the dough, spoon the ricotta mixture over it, and cover everything with a second sheet of pasta frolla. Bake in a moderate (370 F, 185 C) oven until the pasta frolla is lightly browned (don't let it over brown or it will become quite hard). Remove it from the pan when it has cooled and dust it with the confectioner's sugar.
Ingredients for 10 persons:
1 1/4 pounds fresh ricotta
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 pound diced candied melon rind, finely diced
1/4 pound diced candied orange peel, finely diced
1/4 pound baking chocolate, finely shaved
A pinch vanilla (figure 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract)
Pasta frolla sufficient to line and cover a 9-inch pan (see below)
Confectioner's (powdered) sugar for dusting
Pan di Spagna
Preheat oven to 385º. Mince, in a food processor, the basil, garlic, cheeses, and a pinch of salt; you should aim for a uniform paste, rather than a liquid. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the oil in a slow stream, stirring so as to amalgamate it. If the lasagne are fresh, cut the sheets into four inch squares if need be. Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil, add a spoonful of oil to it, so the sheets won't stick, and add the pasta. Cook it till it's al dente, then remove the sheets with a slotted spoon and set them to drain on a clean cloth. Stir two tablespoons of the pasta water into the pesto. Melt a dab of butter in a hot serving dish, then lay down a layer of pasta and a thin layer of pesto, sprinkle the pesto with grated cheese, and lay down another layer of pasta. Continue alternating pasta and pesto till all is used up, heat through in the oven, and serve. Note: This pesto sauce will work equally well with spaghetti.
Ingredients
a packed cup of fresh basil (about 30 leaves)
1 clove of garlic
2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano
2 tablespoons grated Pecorino (use either Tuscan or Sardinian Pecorino - Romano is too sharp; if need be increase the Parmigiano)
1/2 cup excellent olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts (optional)
salt to taste
a pound of lasagne, either fresh or dried
grated Parmigiano.