Polenta

To prepare the polenta, put a pot on the stove with about 2 quarts of salted water and bring to a boil.

Add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and slowly add 1/2 kg of yellow maize flour to avoid lumps; mix well with a wooden spoon or with a whisk.

Stir well from the bottom up; if you see the polenta starts to get too hard soften it with a ladle of hot water.

Continue stirring regularly for about 40 minutes, until it begins to peel away from the edge of the pot. When cooked, pour the polenta on the traditional wooden cutting board and serve hot.

If you want to make it even more delicious sautéed mushrooms and parsley mixed with olive oil and place them on top of the polenta. With a glass of red wine dish is served!

BAKED MEAT LOAF

BAKED MEAT LOAF

A dish easy to prepare and relatively low cost, the baked meatloaf is very much appreciated by both adults and children. Accompanied by fresh salad or baked potatoes, makes your lunches and dinners definitely tasty and flavorful.

Ingredients:

- 400 Grams of ground veal

- 1 egg

- 20 Grams of grated Parmesan cheese

- 1 Cup of bread crumbs

- 1/2 Cup of milk

- salt and pepper

- Parsley

- Breadcrumbs

- Bread crumbs or 4 slices of bread

Preparation:

Soften the bread (or white bread) with milk; mix all the ingredients together: meat, bread, parmesan, salt, egg and parsley. Add a little at a time until the breadcrumbs that the compound will not be compact and soft. Be careful not to overdo it too much with the addition of bread crumbs or the meatloaf will be too hard.

Give the loaf shape and size you want by placing it on a sheet of parchment paper. Once given the form place it in a baking dish and cover it with a little oil; you place around the potatoes peeled, washed and cut into pieces and seasoned with a little olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees until it becomes nice golden, being careful to turn halfway through cooking the meatloaf and the potatoes. Cut into thick slices more or less depending on your taste and serve hot.

Preparation time: 40 minutes approximately
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Servings: 4 people
Difficulty ': Easy
Cost: Medium / Low

BASIC RULES FOR COOKING IN VACUUM

BASIC RULES FOR COOKING IN VACUUM

In order to use the technique of vacuum cooking is necessary to respect some basic precautions in order to obtain the best possible results:

Use only a machine with a dome to condition in the pressure-vacuum products, ensuring with the pressure gauge that the product is always subject to 99.9% vacuum before going in cooking. Make sure the food you want to put the vacuum is clean.

Work with certified bags and non-firing condition never pushed a product in a vacuum if the core temperature is not close to 8 degrees Celsius

Not greasy, wet, bend, or leave residues in the envelope you intend to weld.

Always use the bags dimensioned to the quantity of product to be packaged. The bag can be considered as suitable when the product inside is straight and occupies about three / fourths of the envelope.

Cannot be reused nor wash the envelopes used for cooking. Do not leave the bag with food ready for cooking too long in the refrigerator or at room temperature before being cooked because this bag with the product inside might swell during cooking, with the consequent loss of the benefits resulting from the vacuum.

Always make sure to have a system to break down quickly cooked products (water and ice, or better a blast chiller).Cooling the food as fast as possible ensures a shelf-life of the product longer.

Once cooked and cut down the food must be maintained at a constant temperature and not higher than + 3 ° in the refrigerator or in cold storage.

HOME MADE POTATO DUMPLINGS

HOME MADE POTATO DUMPLINGS

The homemade dumplings are a real treat. They remind the dinners at grandma's house that prepared them with passion. So why not try to make them again as soon as you have a bit of time to spend in the kitchen? Your family will remain enthusiastic and certainly you too.

The secret is all in the potatoes to be mealy so will requires less liquid and will require a smaller amount of flour. This will ensure the great success of your dish.

Ingredients:

1 kg floury potatoes Red

300 grams of flour

1 egg

a pinch of salt

Preparation:

Take a pot and add salt water. When it boils, add the potatoes without peeling them and leave them well washed in water until they are cooked through.

Drain and started to peel while still hot and mash well. On a clean work surface to pour the flour to form a mound, make a hole with your hand and put us inside the egg, salt and mashed potatoes.

Knead and work the mixture for a few minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Take the strips of dough to the thickness of a little finger; now you are ready to cut small pieces of approximately 2 cm and with a fork make a slight pressure on each of the pieces in order to give the rounded shape and hollow gnocchi.

Let them rest for at least 15 minutes so that they become compact. The cooking is very fast. You have to take a large pot and fill it with salt water. When it boils, add little by little dumplings and drain them when they come to the surface. Serve with the sauce that you like best and enjoy!

Preparation time: 20 minutes and another 15 minutes of rest

Difficulty: Easy

Cost: Low

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Vacuum Cooking

Vacuum Cooking

The vacuum cooking is a cooking technique with short or low temperature which is possible to cook food put in previously vacuum in an envelope or in a container. It is cooked in moist at a temperature between 70 ° and 100 ° so not too high.

The foods are grouped in raw with any dressings or sauces inside the envelope or container for foods and emptied of air through a vacuum packing machine, and then be cooked in a steam oven. Once cooked, food can be unpacked and consumed, or can be put into the chiller and stored in the refrigerator or freezer.

With this technique, the food will be perfect, very light and soft, as the steam used to preserve the valuable nutrients and the natural moisture of the food. They keep intact all their flavor, color and aroma.

The technique of vacuum cooking helps extend the life of the product, since the absence of oxygen slows bacterial growth and oxidation of food; accentuates the flavors and aromas of food while preserving the organoleptic properties. It is ideal for everyone especially for those who loves to cook without fat.