RED TREVISO CHICORY WITH POLENTA AND SOPPRESSA
Ingredients (Serves 4):
4 heads of red Treviso chicory - 4 slices of Soppressa (This is a speciality of the Veneto region, particularly from Treviso. IT is made with lean pieces of meat such as the shoulder or leg and the meat around the throat, following the same method as coppa) - puff pastry - Extra virgin olive oil - ½ glass of dry white wine - A drop of vinegar - Salt and pepper - Freshly cooked, hot, white polenta
Preparation:
Clean, trim, wash and halve the chicory heads. Warm a small amount of oil in the frying pan and carefully add the chicory. Add salt and pepper to season together with the wine and cook, keeping them moist. While they are cooking, put the slices of 'soppressa'on the grill or in another frying pan. Add a few drops of vinegar as they cook and take them off the heat before they become tough. Take four plates that have been previously warmed and put 2 spoonfuls of steaming hot white polenta on them. On one side, place a slice of 'soppressa' and on lay on top of it the Treviso chicory.
SKEWERED ROULADE OF VEGETABLESIngredients (Serves 4):
1 aubergine - 2 courgettes - 1 red pepper - 1 green pepper - 300 grams goat's milk cheese - 1 spoonful of chopped basil - 1 spoonful of chopped chives - 1 clove garlic - Salt and pepper - To accompany the dish, 100 grams of green sauce (salsa Verde)
Preparation:
Slice the aubergines, cover the slices with some sea salt and allow them to drain off the bitter liquid for half an hour. Cut the courgettes into slices lengthways. Cut the peppers into quarters. Grill the vegetables and put aside. Mix the goat's milk cheese with the herbs, chopped garlic and salt and pepper. Put the stuffing on the vegetables and roll them up, creating roulades. Spear them onto wooden skewers, alternating vegetables. First the aubergine, then the courgette and finally the pepper. Put them in an ovenproof dish and heat them in a warm oven at 200°. Alternatively, put them back on the grill. Serve accompanied by a salsa verde (green sauce).
POT COOKED ARTICHOKES AND FENNELIngredients:
4 artichokes - 2 fennels - 30 grams of soft salami or sausage meat - 1 small onion - 1 clove of garlic - 2 spoonfuls of lemon juice - ½ glass of vegetable stock - 1 spoonful olive oil - Salt
Preparation:
Clean the artichokes, eliminating the tougher leaves. Cut them in half, remove the spiky tips and remove the 'beard' of the artichoke. Now cut them into segments and put them into water and lemon juice, to stop them turning black. Clean the fennel and cut them into pieces. Finely slice the onion and cook them on a low heat with the olive oil, a few spoonfuls of stock and the garlic clove. Remove the garlic and add the salami or crumbled sausage meat. Cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the artichokes and fennel to the pan with a little salt and then cover it and cook for approximately 20 minutes. Add a little hot stock when necessary. The vegetables should appear crunchy and hot on serving.