Despite the winter cold, December is the month when family warmth is felt the most. The holidays are an occasion to gather around the table and bid farewell to the old year, enjoying good food in convivial moments.
And what better time than this to taste or give traditional products as gifts?
In the Caseificio San Simone online shop, Christmas baskets are available, a gift that is sure to be appreciated and will certainly offer inspiration for your Christmas or New Year's menu.
We have some delicious ideas in store for you to best enhance our products.
Appetizer: Parmesan baskets with mortadella foam
Let's start!
The perfect appetizer must be tasty but light, so as not to weigh down guests. Our first suggestion is a single serving that comes from the very flavorful combination of Parmigiano Reggiano and Mortadella.
Do you remember the recipe for Parmesan crisps? You can fill them with a mortadella foam. To prepare it, you will need 1 tablespoon of cream and 100g of ricotta for every 300g of cubed mortadella. Process the ingredients in a mixer at intervals of a few seconds, so as not to overheat the blades, until a smooth mixture is obtained. Fill the baskets with the foam and decorate the dish with a few thyme leaves or a drop of balsamic vinegar.
First course: Lambrusco risotto
Let's move on to the first course. Lambrusco is not only excellent to drink but also perfectly suited for preparing risotto.
The procedure is similar to the classic risotto preparation: toasted, deglazed with wine, and finally cooked with the addition of broth. The fundamental difference lies in the absence of a sauté, which would otherwise cover the characteristic aroma of Lambrusco. For the same reason, the broth must be very diluted.
Cotechino with lentils
A timeless dish, and moreover a good omen, which absolutely cannot be missing from your tables during the holidays. Pre-cooked cotechino is simple to prepare and is just as good as fresh. Simply immerse the bag in cold water and bring to a boil, so during the 30 minutes it cooks, you can dedicate yourself to preparing the lentils.
Boil them with a celery stalk and half a carrot until cooked, then sauté them in a pan with a soffritto of oil, butter, and onion. Slice the cotechino into not-too-thin pieces and place it on a bed of lentils, and you are ready to toast!
Almost all the ingredients for these recipes are in our Gold Christmas Basket.
You can find it in our shop!
