What's for Dinner? An Italian Feast!

One of my favorite things I did in Italy was attend a cooking class with my MIL, her students, and my SIL while the men took Ava out to dinner. The kitchen was kind enough to provide us with the recipes, so I thought I would extend that generosity on to you. Below are the recipes we learned (and feasted upon) during the class.

BECHAMEL SAUCE (SALSA di BESCIAMELLA)

60 g. butter
60 g. type 00 flour, sifted
1000 ml of milk
Nutmeg to taste
Salt to taste

Melt the butter, whisk in the sifted flour little by little. Add the nutmeg and continue cooking and stirring for one minute to thicken.
Put the milk in a separate saucepan and add a pinch of salt; bring to a boil.
Slowly, add the milk to the flour mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk.
Cook sauce for at least 5 minutes over low flame, stirring occasionally.

ARTICHOKE SOUFFLE (SFORMATO di CARCIOFI)
Yield: 6 servings

300 f. artichoke hearts, sliced
20 g. butter
3 eggs
25 g. grated Parmesan cheese
2 dl. thick bechamel sauce

Heat oven to 200 C (390 F)
Boil the sliced artichokes for 7 minutes; drain and toss with the butter.
Grind the buttered artichoke hearts in a mortar with a pestle then pass through a sieve (or puree in a blender).
Combine the artichoke paste, bechamel, cheese, and eggs.
Put the mixture into a greased and floured pan and cook in a bagnomaria (water bath) in the pre-heated oven until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, approximately 15-20 minutes.
Let stand a few minutes before transferring from pan to a plate (we debated whether to pour out onto the plate upside or leave upright as shown below; we went with the consensus) and serving.



FRESH EGG PASTA (PASTA FRESCA all' UOVO)

2 eggs
50 g. durum wheat flour
150 g. 00 flour
Salt, to taste

Put the flour in a mound on a large wooden pastry board, making a large well in the center of the mound. Break the egg into the hole and add a generous pinch of salt.



Beat the eggs, salt well, then slowly begin incorporating the flour from the inside perimeter of the well into the mixture with a fork. Knead well until smooth and elastic.
Gather the dough into a ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest for at least 30 minutes before using.

By Machine: Cut the ball of dough into 2 equal parts. Working with one half at a time, slightly flour, fold in 3 and roll with pin. Repeat two times. Run the dough through the machine at settings 1, 3, and 5, folding and repeating until the pasta is the desired consistency. For ravioli, finish on the setting 6, for other cuts, finish at desired thickness.



SPINACH & RICOTTA FILLED RAVIOLI (RAVIOLI di RICOTTA e SPINACI)
Yield: Approximately 4 servings

250 g. spinach
250 g. ricotta cheese
60 g. grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Ground nutmeg, to taste

Clean the spinach, boil, and let cool; squeeze well to remove the liquid and mince finely.
Strain the ricotta through a sieve then put into a bowl; add the spinach, cheese, egg, salt, pepper, and ground nutmeg. Roll out the pasta dough into one thin strip.



Place a teaspoon of the filling along the strip of pasta two to three fingers apart (we used a pastry bag) and close the pasta to form a triangle; press edges well to close.
Press the dull edge of the round utensil shown below (anyone have any idea what this is called?) around each ravioli.



Using a pronged pasta cutter, cut into rectangles about 5x3.5 cm.



Place the finished ravioli on a lightly floured cardboard tray, taking care not to overlap them or they will stick together.
Cook the ravioli and pour into this amazing butter and sage sauce after simmering for a few minutes.








PANNA COTTA

6 g. gelatin*
40 ml milk
200 ml whipping cream
40 g. sugar
1/2 vanilla bean

Whisk together the cream, vanilla, and sugar.
Put the gelatin in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes.
Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat until hot but do not boil.
Wring out the gelatin and put it into the warm milk; stir until gelatin melts.
In a saucepan, warm the cream cheese mixture over low heat stirring continuously until just boiling; remove from heat; add the milk/gelatin to the cream and stir to mix well.
Run individual-serving foil cups or ramekins under cold water. Shake out excess water but do not dry cups. Fill each cup with the panna cotta until full, being sure the tops are level; refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
Turn each panna cotta out onto dessert plates, top with chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, or fruit sauce as desired.

*Ours seemed a little heavy on the gelatin, so I might experiment using less if when I attempt this recipe on my own.

STRAWBERRY SAUCE

300 g. fresh strawberries
180 g. sugar

My MIL made us promise we would welcome her back home with a similar feast, so this is not the last you will be hearing about this incredible menu.

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