Tomino scottato in padella con speck e scalogno (grilled Tomino with Speck, sage & shallots)

For ➍
4 Tomino cheeses
100 g Speck ham in slices
1 shallot sliced into thin rings
some leaves of sage
1 ts extra-virgin olive oil

Wrap the slices of Speck ham around the Tomino.
Heat a large pan and, over low heat, and grill the cheese over it until the Speck ham becomes golden-brown crunchy, 3 to 4 m per side.
Put the Tomino aside and in the same pan, fry the shallot and the sage leaves adding slowly the extra virgin olive oil. The shallot has to become crispy and golden-brown just like the bacon around the Tomino.
Garnish the Tomino with the shallot rings and sage leaves and serve warm.
Serve the grilled Tomino cheeses with stewed zucchini.

Tomino is an Italian cheese from Piedmont made from cow's milk. It is a Brie-like flat cheese with a soft and white rind and a fresh creamy interior. It has a slightly pungent, but sweet flavor, with nuances of mushrooms. When cooked in the pan, its exterior turns golden and crunchy while the interior begins to melt. It is excellent to be served along with braised vegetables or with meat.

Torta alle nocciole (Piedmontese hazelnut cake)

For ➑
200 g shelled hazelnuts, toasted*
150 g flour
3 eggs
200 g sugar
125 g butter
8.5 tbs strong coffee (12.5 cl)
8.5 tbs whole milk (12.5 cl)
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs rum or Marsala (optional)
1½ tbs baking powder

Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Pulverise the toasted hazelnuts until very fine. Combine with the flour and baking powder.
In a food processor or with beaters, beat the butter and sugar together until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one by one until well combined. Incorporate with the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the milk, coffee, olive oil and rum and mix until just combined.
Pour into a greased and floured  26 cm cake tin with a removable bottom.**
Bake for about 35 m or until golden brown and springy.
Allow to cool and serve as desired.
Serve with a simple drizzle of honey, a ganache of melted chocolate*** and cream or a simple espresso icing. Or dust with powder sugar.

*To toast hazelnuts, put them in a single layer on a baking sheet in a 180°C oven for about 10-15 m or until lightly browned and the skins look cracked. Watch them carefully as hazelnuts can turn bitter if toasted too long. Remove from the oven and wrap the hazelnuts in a kitchen towel to let steam for a couple of m. Then rub them together to loosen and remove as much of the skin as possible. Cool completely.
**The cake should be 2-2.5 cm thick. A good way is to wrap the mixture in oven aluminum foil completely, then gently press it with your hands into the mold to make it into a nice even round shape.
***To cover the cake in chocolate glaze: gently heat 15 cl heavy cream just to the boiling point and pour over finely chopped 150 g bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (or a combination of the two). Stir slowly until combined. Pour evenly over cake.

Agnello con salsa di rafano (Piedmontese roast lamb with horseradish sauce)

For ➏
1 kg rack from a young lamb
½ leek, finely sliced
1 rib of celery, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
4 leaves fresh sage
1 sprig of rosemary
75 g unsalted butter
3 tbs olive oil
450 g renette apples
50 g freshly grated horseradish
2 tbs sugar
3 dl good broth
15 cl red wine vinegar
salt & pepper

Begin by peeling and coring the apples.
Preheat your oven to 180° C. Dot a baking dish with the butter and drizzle the olive oil over it. Set the lamb into the dish and sprinkle the chopped vegetables and herbs around it. Season the lamb with salt and pepper, cover the dish, and roast the lamb for about 40 m. Baste it with pan juices every now and again.
In the meantime prepare the sauce. Blend the apples with the horseradish, sugar and vinegar, adding sufficient broth to make a liquid sauce.
When the meat is fork-tender, slice it.
Arrange the slices in a deep heatproof serving dish. Spoon the applesauce over it, heat the dish through in the oven, and serve it.

Nutella mousse

For ➍
250 g whipping cream
2 ts confectioner’s sugar, sifted
3 tbs Nutella, or more to taste, at room temperature

Whip the cream with the confectioner’s sugar until quite firm. Add the Nutella, blending it softly with a wooden spoon in round, loving motions. Now refrigerate the combined elements of your pseudo-mousse for 15 m.

Serve plain or garnished with sifted bitter Dutch cocoa, a cinnamon stick and a few mint leaves.

Risotto col vino (red wine risotto)

For ➏
500 g Carnaroli, Vialone Nano, or other short grained rice such as Arborio
150 g unsalted butter
½ onion, minced
90 cl simmering beef stock
60 cl dry red wine, warmed*
80 g Parmigiano or Grana Padano cheese, freshly grated
salt

Heat ½ the butter in a pot, add the rice, and cook over a very low flame, stirring.

In the meantime, sauté the onion separately, in 50 g of butter, until it is lightly browned. Keep warm.Publish Post

When the rice is translucent, begin adding the wine, a glass at a time, and letting it evaporate between additions. Then add broth, a ladle at a time, and stir in the onions. Once the rice reaches the al dente stage turn off the heat, stir in the remaining butter, the cheese, and serve.

Embellish the dish, serving it with roasted radicchio, slivered almonds and parsley.

A classic dish from Northern Italy where it is cooked with the local red wine. Use a dry variety, like Barbera, Barolo, Valpolicelle. Read the risotto tip.