| FRIULI-VENEZIA GIULIA | |
| This small region borders both Austria and Slovenia, a fact reflected in the area’s cooking, with dishes like goulash, cabbage soup, strudels and presnitz often to be found on local menus. Soups are popular in mountainous zones and make good use of local vegetables and pulses, and pork turns up here in the form of the delicious Prosciutto di San Daniele or various cuts that are simply boiled and served with vegetables. On the coast, expect to find excellent fish soups and risotto, and what better to enjoy them with than one of the area’s good white wines.
Traditional dishes: Goulash Ingredients for 4 800 g stewing beef, cubed Heat the olive oil in a large pan, and brown the chunks of beef. Add the sliced onion and continue to cook, stirring often, until the onions have softened. Sprinkle in the paprika and season with salt. Cook for another couple of minutes then add the tomatoes and a half a glass of boiling water. Cook covered over a low to medium heat for about half an hour. Meanwhile, peel and cut the potatoes into chunks and add them to meat. Continue cooking over a low to medium heat until the meat and potatoes are cooked. Adjust seasoning and serve immediately. Cialzons: spinach pasties Ingredients for 4 For the pastry For the filling 50 g dried ricotta, grated Clean spinach well and cook it with the parsley without adding any water. Once cooked, squeeze out any excess liquid and mix with the crumbled rye bread, the grated chocolate, the raisins, the citrus peel, the cinnamon, the sugar and the egg, stirring until ingredients are mixed well. Meanwhile, prepare the pasta by mixing the flour with the eggs to obtain a pliable dough. Roll dough out thinly and using a glass or tumbler, cut out a series of circles. Place a spoonful of filling to one side of each circle, then fold over to create a half moon shape. Roll the round edge a little towards the inside to create the typical cialzon shape. Cook the cialzons in abundant salted boiling water, and remove them as they float to the surface as this means they are cooked. Place in a large bowl, creating layers, and sprinkling each layer with a little grated ricotta. After the last layer, melt the butter and pour over the bowl of cialzons and any remaining grated cheese. Serve immediately. Strudel: apple strudel 1 pack frozen puff pastry1 kg apples 40 g sultanas, soaked in a little hot water 40 g pine nuts 50 g chopped walnuts 100 g sugar Grated zest of ½ lemon 1 tsp cinnamon 100 g breadcrumbs 1 egg, beaten Icing sugar for garnish Peel the apples, cut into small dice and place them in a bowl with the sultanas, pine nuts, chopped walnuts, sugar, grated lemon zest and the cinnamon. Roll out the puff pastry thinly into a large rectangle. Sprinkle the pastry all over with the breadcrumbs and spoon the apple mixture over the whole surface of the pastry. Brush the edges of the pastry with a little beaten egg. Next, starting with a longer edge, begin to roll the pastry into a log shape and once the log is formed, carefully press the last edge closed. Place the strudel on a greased cookie sheet and brush the top with the rest of the beaten egg. Bake in an oven preheated to 400ºF for thirty minutes. Before serving, dust with icing sugar. |
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