Festival of Grapes.

Golden bunch of grapes

Hi, my name is Susanna. I’m Ruslana’s friend and I want to talk about the festival “Golden bunch of grapes” that is celebrated in my town on September. This festival is a competition between districts.
Every district recite on decorated wagon a scene that are telling the story of our wine and the most beautiful float is rewarded with cockade. I like this festival because there are many people, there are stalls and there are a lot places where you can eat very good food inns.

Susanna Piermarini II F

Shuba!

The recipe Shuba

Ingredients:

1 box of beetroot.

3 potatoes 3 carrots and of medium size.

1 package of marinated anchovies.

½ onion

Salt

Mayonnaise.

Process:

This dish consists of a series of  layers of delights.

First you have to cook the potatoes with carrots, then drain by the oil anchovies, then cut it into small pieces, add onion and mix thoroughly.

After getting glass bowl ,on the bottom, create the first layer of anchovies and onions, sprinkle a pinch of salt and then spread a tablespoon of mayonnaise. The first layer is made.

Grate the potatoes over the first layer, so as to create the second, always add a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of mayonnaise spreads above.

Same process with carrots.

Finally, grate the beetroot on top of the third layer of carrots, add a pinch of salt and spread 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise.

Put the bowl in the fridge for about half a day.

Enjoy your meal!

CHAROSET PASSOVER

Charoset : a Passover recipe

This is a very easy, simple , tasty recipe  for Passover. It is called Charoset:  a mix of fruit, nut and wine  eaten during the seder. It is meant to remind people of the mortar used by the Jews to build during the period of slavery. It should have a coarse texture. The ingredient quantities  are just a rough estimate.   Other fruits or nuts can be used ( bananas, raisins....)

• 4 medium apples, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
• 1/4 cup sweet wine
• 1/4 cup dry wine
• 1 Tbs. cinnamon
• A little bit of sugar/honey

Shred the apples. Add all other ingredients. Let the mixture  sit for 3-6 hours, until the wine is absorbed by the other ingredients. You can also serve  it on matzah. Goes very well with horseradish.

KIBINAI

Hi,

your post on Karaims  reminded me of the nice day we spent in their little village and the warm welcome we received. At last I was able to find the recipes of Kibinai. They're delicious.  Follow the instruction and ...

buon appetito!

Pastry:
450 gr softened  butter
1 kg plain flour
1 egg white and 3 egg yolks
200 g  sour cream
a pinch of salt

Filling:
1 kg beef, finely chopped
3 onions, finely chopped
50 gr softened spreadable butter
of salt, ground black pepper - to your liking
a splash of cold water

To brush: 1 egg yolk and a splash of water-lightly beaten

Put the flour, salt and butter in a food processor and reduce to breadcrumbs. Rub the butter and flour together until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and sour cream and stir together. Squeeze the mixture together into a ball. Put the dough in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.

For the filling mix all ingredients together. You can  add a little bit of chopped cabbage or even to replace water by a generous splash of kefir.

Roll the pastry out. Cut out as many rounds (or ovals) as you can.

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Put a good spoonful of the filling mixture on one half of the pastry round and fold the empty half of pastry over the filling. Seal the edges. Repeat with all rounds.
Brush egg/water mixture all over kibinai. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes

Traditional Christmas Eve dinner in Lithuania

Christmas Eve is more important than Christmas day in Lithuania. For the Christmas Eve dinner, the table is prepared as follows: a handful of fine hay is spread evenly on the table. This is a reminder that Jesus was born in a stable and laid in a manger on hay. The table is then covered with a pure white tablecloth, set with plates and decorated with candles and fir boughs.

A small plate with as many Christmas wafers as there are persons present is placed in the center of the table. Supper on Christmas Eve is special and traditional. The whole family gathers together. All family members make an effort to come home for the Christmas Eve supper, even from a distance. Eating together and sharing with others is the most important thing.

Everyone gathers at the dinner table when the first star appears in the sky. When everyone is at the table, a prayer is said. The father then takes a wafer and offers it to the mother wishing her a Happy Christmas. "God grant that we are all together again next year", the mother responds and breaks off a piece of wafer. Then all the rest of the family offer their wafers to others with certain wishes and blessing from God.

Twelve different dishes are served on the table because Jesus had twelve apostles. All the dishes are strictly meatless: fish, herring, “kučiukai” with poppy seed milk, kisielius (cranberry pudding), a dried fruit soup or compote, a salad of winter and dried vegetables, mushrooms, boiled or baked potatoes, sauerkraut (cooked, of course, without meat) and bread. Everyone must try all the dishes and every dish symbolizes something: for example, fish symbolize apostles who were fishermen, but also it reminds of the miracle, when Jesus fed the crowd with two fish and five loafs of bread. Bread also means strength and wisdom, grain – kindness and charity, honey – light and health, apples – symbolize Heaven and kūčiukai is the symbol of returning sun and love.
As soon as we eat the main dishes, we pause to wait for the coming of Christmas Man (Santa Claus). If the children are small, he comes with a big sack full of gifts.

Lithuanian (Kuciukai) Christmas Eve biscuits
450 g flour 180 – 200 ml warm water (not hot!)
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
6 tablespoons sugar
10 g fresh yeast
2 tablespoons oil pinch of salt
In a large bowl cream fresh yeast with sugar. Add warm water and a half of sifted flour. Dust the batter surface with some flour and let to rise until doubled in size in a warm place. Add salt, the rest of flour, oil, poppy seeds. Mix everything. Knead the dough until it stops sticking to your hands. Place the dough in bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and leave in a warm place until it has doubled in size. Roll the dough into 1 cm thick rolls and cut in small pieces. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place kuciukai on the baking sheets lined with baking paper and bake for 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown. We usually serve kuciukai soaked in special milk made from water, sugar and poppy seeds on Christmas Eve.

Aguonu pienas. Poppy seed milk

1 l water
200 g poppy seeds
100 g honey or sugar (more or less to taste)

Scald poppy seeds with boiling water and soak for a 3-4 hours.
Drain, process scalded poppy seeds in food
processor, food mill or grinder.
Pour 1 l of boiled water over the processed poppy seeds, add honey/sugar and stir until dissolves. Chill the milk. Can be served strained or unstrained. Serve with kūčiukai.
Merry Christmas!

A delicious cake

CHRISTMAS FOOD
Natale con I tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi / Christmas with yours, Easter with whoever you choose says a proverb which seems the same as “Carnoa do’ che te troi, Natà a casa tua se poli” it’s the Macerata dialect and it means: “Carnevale where you happen to be, Christmas at home if you can”.
This is to say that it is tradition for the family to reunite around the table and eat good food.
The Xmas festivities begin with the “cenone”, the dinner on Xmas Eve, consisting of fish , like eels and finishing with a lot of cakes.
Lunch on Xmas Day is richer than the cenone. It starts with a mixed antipasto of pork products, as a first course we usually have cappelletti in chicken broth and as a second course galantina , boiled chicken with gobbi (cardoons, ), parmigiana of gobbi ( aubergine casserole)and various kinds of meat. At the end of the meal the traditional cakes: torrone ( a kind of nougat), panettone ( Christmas yeast cake with raisins and candied fruit)) , pandoro ( Christmas yeast cake)) and the traditional cake from the Marche region: pizza de Natà a cake with ingredients such as walnuts, dried figs, cocoa and raisins. Why these ingredients? The walnut is one of the plant associated with the Great mother and so a symbol of regeneration; the fig is a plant linked to cult of Dionysius, the god who took care of the fertility of plants and animals. And it is not a chance that grapes preserved from the previous harvest are eaten on the first day of the year as an augury of prosperity and abundance.
Here is the recipe of the “Pizza de Natà”

INGREDIENTS
2 kilos of bread dough,
200 grams walnuts, 150 grams almond, 150 grams hazelnut, 100 grams raisins, some dried figs
500 grams of sugar,
half a glass of oil

PREPARATION
Buy the bread dough from a baker , add the sugar , then the oil, the walnuts cut into pieces and the other ingredients. Knead the dough well for about ten minutes . Then divide it into loaves , cover with a cloth and leave them to rise in a warm place. When the loaves have risen, bake in a hot oven a 180°C for about 40-50 minutes.
A good wine to drink with the cake is the vino di visciole, wine made from wild cherries. Delicious!

Fabio, Giulia and Sara

Fave dei Morti

The delicious Fave dei Morti are prepared in the Marche region around the end of October and beginning of November.

The origin of this recipe goes back to pre-Christian time when fava beans were used as ritual offering to the dead and the gods of the nether world.

In an airtight jar they keep for days and can be the perfect Halloween cookies.

Ingredients:

200 gr. of peeled almonds

250 gr. of sugar

200 gr. of flour

100 gr. of butter

2 eggs

lemon zest

a pinch of salt

Preparation

Dip the almonds in boiling water for few minutes to easily rid them of the brown inner skin, then lightly toast them in the oven. Crush the almonds with a food processor.

With a wooden spoon mix the almonds and the sugar then add the softened butter, the eggs and the remaining ingredients.

Knead the dough until is soft and elastic.

Divide in four pieces and with each make a kind of string as thick as a finger.

Cut in small pieces and give them the shape of a big fava bean.

Grease and sprinkle with flour a baking dish. Put the cookies on it and bake for half an hour at 150 centigrade. Let the cookies cool before removing them from the dish.

Enjoy with a sweet wine !

FERRAGOSTO PICNIC

SOME IDEAS FOR THE FERRAGOSTO PICNIC

RICE SALAD

INGREDIENTS

IT SERVES 4

250 g rice

125 g tuna , a jar of mixed vegetables in oil, drained, 50 g emmenthal cheese, ( a Swiss Cheese) diced,

some artichoke hearts , drained and quartered,

lemon juice,

salt

PREPARATION

Boil the rice, cool it down under running water and put it in a large mixing bowl. Flake in the tuna, then mix in the vegetables in oil, cheese, artichokes and olives, if you're using them.

Stir through the lemon juice and olive oil and season to taste. Cover the bowl with cling film or place in a large plastic container and chill thoroughly before serving.

Simple, quick, easy to make when you don’t feel like cooking and it’s very hot, especially on Ferragosto!

CROSTATA Italian jam tart

 

 

Crostata is the most classic rustic dessert in Italy, it is a jam filled pastry crust. You can find this on the table of almost every family. In our area the most popular jams are apples. This is the recipe

 

125 g butter

250g flour

50g icing sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3 yolks

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

drop of grappa, rum, brandy, anything you like

favorite marmalade/jam, about 250g depending on your taste

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in all the eggs and vanilla.

Sift together all the dry ingredients.

Incorporate the flour into the butter and egg mixture with a few strokes of a wooden spoon forming a dough. Leave it to cool in the fridge for at least half an hour. Take 1/3 of the dough and press into a pan.

Generously spread jam on the shell.

To make the lattice work top:

Pull off a pinch of dough and roll into a long snake. This is an easy dough to work with if it breaks just pinch it back together. This is a rustic tart. Continue until you have enough to make your lattice top.

Bake in a preheated 180 degree oven for about 40 minutes or until the top is nice and brown, the bottom is cooked and the dough should shrink away from the pan a bit.

Sciltiaz : a rice pudding

We were given this recipe by Alili’s mother. The pudding is called SCILTIAZ and Alili says it is delicious.

INGREDIENTS

·      1 litre whole milk

·      250g rice, such as basmati

·      250 g sugar (100 g. if you are on a diet)

·      To decorate:

vark (edible silver or gold leaf, available from specialist cake shops; optional)

some pistachios (optional)

PREPARATION

1.    Pour the milk into a heavy-based pan and heat gently.

2.    Add the  rice to the milk.

3.    Slowly bring to the boil then lower the heat and simmer rapidly, stirring from time to time  until the milk is reduced by about half; this may take about  1/2 hour

4.    Transfer the rice pudding to a bowl. Add the sugar and taste, adding more sugar if you want it sweeter.

5.     Leave to cool.

6.    Cover the bowl with cling film and cool in the fridge for at least four hours or overnight.

7.    When ready to serve, spoon into individual serving bowls. Decorate with vark, if using.

8.    Sprinkle a few chopped pistachios on top, if you like

9.    Serve.

UNITY OF ITALY: A RECIPE

PASSATELLI IN STOCK

THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST CLASSIC SOUP ORIGINATING IN THE REGION EMILIA ROMAGNA. NOT EVERYBODY HAD ACCESS TO THE INGREDIENTS NEEDED, SO IT WAS CONSIDERED A DISH TO BE EATEN ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS OR A DISH FOR THE WELL-OFF.

INGREDIENTS

IT SERVES 4

120g grated parmesan cheese

120g dry bread crumbs

3 eggs

Grated peel of one lemon

Salt , nutmeg, meat stock

Beef bone marrow

PREPARATION

Soften the bone marrow and mix it with all the other ingredients. Work them till you obtain a fairly firm dough. If it is too hard, add a little bit of stock. Then pass the dough, a little at a time, through a special machine for passatelli or a potato masher set to the largest diameter outlet.

As it emerges cut it into pieces of about 4 cm in length. Put them into the boiling stock. The passatelli are ready as soon as they come to the surface.

A DELICIOUS EASTER MENU

                                                 


Tomb, thou shalt not hold Him longer;
Death is strong, but Life is stronger;
Stronger than the dark, the light;
Stronger than the wrong, the right;
Faith and Hope triumphant say
Christ will rise on Easter Day."

Phillips Brooks, An Easter Carol

                                               Joyeuses Paques!   
Páscoa Feliz !

                     Su šventom velykom! Sveiki sulaukę šventų velykų!

     God Påske!

                                                    Frohe Ostern!

Wesolych Swiat Wielkanocnych!

                                        Buona Pasqua!

                                                                       EASTER MENU

APPETIZERS

ITALIAN STYLE APPETIZERS CIABUSCOLO, HAM, SALAMI

HARD BOILED EGGS

PIZZA SALATA

FIRST COURSE

NETTLE SOUP

Dilgëliø sriuba

SECOND COURSE

AGNELLO A SCOTTADITO

“Roman grilled lamb chops

Roated potatoes

DESSERTS

CIAMBELLA PASQUALE

LITHUANIAN EASTER BREAD

MILK AND PURE CHOCOLATE EGGS



THE RECIPES

Pizza di formaggio

(we were given this recipe by our Italian teacher)

INGREDIENTS

6 eggs

1hg yeast

½ glass of oil

1 glass of milk

1 tablespoon salt

3 or 4 hg cheese (diced pecorino, ewe’s cheese; parmesan; fontina, soft cheese from

AostaValley; gruyere cheese)

flour( just enough to make a dough a little bit stickybut that can still be kneaded)

PREPARATION

Dissolve the yeast in the milk and add eggs, cheese, salt and flour. Mix all the ingredients in a

bowl and let rise. Put the dough in a tin and let it rise again. Heat the oven to 180°, put the

dough in the oven and turn up the temperature to 200°. Bake for about 30 minutes.

Nettle Soup

( Dilgelio sriuba )

INGREDIENTS

1/2 k (1 lb) smoked ham or slab bacon

2 cups tightly packed, young nettle leaves

2 onions, finely chopped

1 carrot, sliced

1 tablespoon flour

50 g (4 tablespoons) butter

200 g (3/4 cup) sour cream

salt to taste

2 l (8 cups) water

PREPARATION

Prepare stock for soup base with meat and vegetables. Blanch nettle leave, refresh under cold water

and chop. Fry onion, add flour, mix and fry for 5 minutes. Add nettle leaves, 1 cup soup stock and

simmer 5 minutes. Add simmered nettles and cooked meat, cut into small pieces to strained soup

base and simmer for 5 minutes, to blend flavours.

Serve soup in individual bowls, with dollops of sour cream, potatoes and black bread.

AGNELLO A SCOTTADITO

A recipe that originated in Rome but it is now a favourite throughout Italy. It means” Roasted lamb

burning your finger”, so you must taste this delicious chops when they are still very, very hot .

INGREDIENTS

• 8 to 12 lamb chops

• 3 fresh bay leaves, finely ground

• 3 sage leaves

• 1 sprig fresh rosemary

• A few juniper berries

• Salt

• Black peppercorns

• 1/2 glass dry white wine

• 6 tablespoons extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 2 lemons, cut into wedges

PREPARATION

Layer the lamb chops in a large container.

With a mortar, a knife or an electric grinder, finely grind all of the herbs and spices—including the

salt and pepper. Place them in a bowl, then mix with the wine and the olive oil, stirring with a fork. Pour this marinade into the container with the layered lamb chops. Marinate overnight.

Lamb chops are best grilled on an open coal fire or barbecue, but you can also cook them on

the stove in a cast-iron grill or a heavy pan. They will be ready very quickly—lamb chops can be

served rare or medium-rare, according to your preference. Serve them hot with a couple of lemon

wedges.

CIAMBELLA DI PASQUA

A homemade ciambella

INGREDIENTS

2eggs, 2 tablespoons of oil, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of anisette,grated peel of

lemon, flour as required, egg white abnd icing sugar for the icing.

PREPARATION

Break the eggs into a bowl, add sugar oil lemon and then a little at a time the flour until the

mixture has areasonable consinstency, neither too loose nor too stiff.

Add the anisette when you have already started to mix the flour, otherwise it can cook the eggs.

Knead well and divide it into two pieces and give them the shape of a ring(ciambella)then boil

them inwater for about 8 minutes and turn them while in the water. Remove them from the

water, lay them to dry and when they are dry make a cut all round the circumference. Then bake

them for 40 minutes at 180°C.

The ciambella can be left plain or covered withicing made by adding the icing sugar to the egg

white until the mixture become dense. When theciambelle have cooled, ice them on top and

leave to dry.

LITHUANIAN EASTER BREAD

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups scalded milk

• 2packages active dry yeast

• 1/4 cup + 1/2 cup sugar

• 3 cups + 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 3 large beaten eggs

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup white raisins

• 1/2 cup melted butter

• 1 large egg yolk

• 1 1/2 tablespoons water

PREPARATION:

1. Cool scalded milk. Place in a largebowl. Add yeast, 1/4 cup sugar and 3 cups flour. Mix

well. Cover and let rise  ( an hour or more)

2. Add eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, salt, raisins and butter to yeast mixture, mixing well. Add

remaining 3 1/2 cups flour and knead until the dough is smooth. Put into a greased bowl. Cover

and let rise until doubled (an hour or more)

3. Punch down dough. Shape into 2 loaves and place in large loaf pans. Cover with greased

plastic wrap and let rise until doubled. Heat oven to 200 degrees. Brush with 1 egg yolk mixed

with 1 1/2 tablespoons water. Bake for about 50 minute. Let it to cool.