If you're in a hurry to finalize your Italian Christmas menu, don't worry! Here are eight last-minute recipes that cover everything from appetizers to dessert. These dishes are quick to prepare, visually appealing, delicious, and perfect for the whole family, including kids. This menu includes options for Antipasti, Primi Piatti, Main Course, and Desserts. Choose your favorites and enjoy! Buon Appetito e Buon Natale! Grazie a Giallo Zafferano!
Antipasti
Baccalà in pastella - Battered Cod
Battered cod is a tasty and spicy variant of the classic fried cod, a traditional Italian home recipe, perfect to serve on many occasions, and as a quick recipe for Christmas, or simply to start a fish-based dinner.
Ingredients:
Desalted cod 1 fillet; Cold 00 flour 300 g; Iced beer 300 g
Sweet paprika 1 tsp; Fine salt ½ teaspoon; Black pepper to taste.
For the sauce: Mayonnaise 50 g; Ketchup 30 g; Mustard 1 tsp; Pickled gherkins 2; Tabasco® to taste.
Preparation:
Remove the skin from the cod, remove any remaining bones and cut it into rather large pieces.
Beat the egg in a large bowl with the flour for 1-2 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and mineral water and mix. Dip the fish in the batter obtained and leave it there for 3 minutes. Heat plenty of oil in a non-stick pan with high edges and fry the cod for 2-3 minutes on each side.
Drain it when it is golden brown on all sides, let it dry on absorbent paper and serve it hot with lemon wedges. Mix ingredients for the sauce and serve with the cod.
Insalata di seppie - Squid Salad
Christmas is also the time for seafood salads, fresh and tasty but also light and genuine, like squid salad! These tender molluscs with a delicate flavor and soft meat go well with everything - ideal for an appetizer !
Ingredients:
Cuttlefish (already cleaned) 1 kg; Celery 220 g; Radishes 200 g; Carrots 200 g; Lemon juice 40 g; Extra virgin olive oil 30 g; Salt to taste; White pepper to taste
Preparation:
To prepare the cuttlefish salad, bring water to the boil in a large saucepan. Then lower the heat and pour in the already cleaned cuttlefish/squid. Cook over medium-high heat for 15 minutes: cooking depends on the size of the cuttlefish. Drain the cuttlefish and leave them to cool in a bowl, cover with cling film or a plate. In the meantime, wash the vegetables. Peel the carrots and cut into strips approximately 5mm thick and 4-5cm long. Finely cut the celery with its leaves of more or less the same size and set aside. Cut the radishes into thin slices; also cut the cuttlefish into strips of about 1 cm. Pour everything into a bow. Squeeze the lemon juice, add it to the oil and mix to create a fluid and well-blended citronette. Pour the dressing over the cuttlefish salad, season to taste with salt and pepper, mix and serve immediately!
Primi Piatti - First Course
Pasta salmone e zucchine - Salmon Pasta
Pasta with salmon meets pasta with courgettes as a first course for your Christmas Menu. This option is prepared without cream, and with fresh salmon instead of smoked salmon and the fragrant note of lemon and mint.
Ingredients:
Rigatoni 320 g; Salmon fillet 200 g; Courgettes 2; Fresh spring onion 2; Dry white wine 80 g; Lemon juice to filter 1
Mint to taste; Extra virgin olive oil to taste; Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Preparation:
To make the salmon and courgette pasta, first prepare all the ingredients: remove the skin from the salmon fillet and remove any fish bones with tweezers, then cut it into cubes. Trim the courgettes and cut them into julienne strips using a mandolin or a mixer. Peel the spring onions and slice them thinly. Chop the mint and the almonds, for these you can use a mixer. Finally, put a pot of salted water on the heat to boil for cooking the pasta. Heat a drizzle of oil in a pan and fry the spring onion, then add the courgettes and a pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, then flavor with fresh mint. At this point, add the salmon and brown briefly, then add the white wine. In the meantime, cook the pasta in boiling salted water. When the pasta is al dente, drain it into the pan with the seasoning, taking care to conserve the cooking water. Sauté everything over a high heat, then add pepper and add the filtered lemon juice. If necessary you can add a ladle of the cooking water. Turn off the heat and complete with the chopped almonds. Your salmon and courgette pasta is ready to be served
Spaghetti alle vongole e pomodorini
Ingredients:
Spaghettoni 320 g; Clams 1 kg; Cherry tomatoes 400 g
Extra virgin olive oil 20 g; Garlic 2 cloves; ½ long fresh chili pepper; Parsley to taste; Salt to taste
Preparation:
To prepare spaghetti with clams and cherry tomatoes, first of all make sure there are no broken or open shells, they will be discarded. Then bang the bivalves on a surface: if they open it is because they are empty or full of sand. Finally rinse the clams several times. Divide the cherry tomatoes in half. In a pan, fry 2 cloves of garlic without seeds and half a seeded chili pepper in a little oil; add two sprigs of parsley and leave to flavor for 5 minutes. Then pour in the cherry tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Add the clams, raise the temperature and immediately cover with the lid. In this way the clams will open; it will take a few minutes. Once the clams have opened, filter them and remove the garlic and the parsley. Shell the clams, keeping some of them whole for the final decoration. Heat some lightly salted water and at this point pour the filtered seasoning into a pan together with the cooked cherry tomatoes remaining in the colander. Heat before dipping the spaghetti. into the pan. Then cook them as if they were a risotto: just add water from time to time and mix. At the end of cooking, sprinkle with chopped parsley. Add the clams, both the whole ones and the shelled ones; a quick sauté and you can enjoy your plate of spaghetti with clams and cherry tomatoes. Buon Appetito!
Secondo Piatti - Main Course
Fettine panate - Crumbed Cutlets
When we talk about cutlets we know that there are many ways to prepare them. With the crumbed cutlets that we propose today, let's take a trip to the Center-South to discover this recipe! Unlike the classic Milanese cutlets, made with rather expensive veal chops, this version includes thin slices of meat (beef).
Ingredients:
Beef nut (4 slices of 150 g each) 600 g; 00 flour to taste
Breadcrumbs to taste; Eggs 2; Clarified butter 250 g;
Salt to taste
Preparation:
To prepare the breaded slices, first beat them if they are too thick. Then dip them first in the flour and then in the previously beaten eggs. Finally, coat them in breadcrumbs. Between one phase and the next, always take care to shake any excess off. Continue in this way until all slices are breaded and gradually transfer them to a plate. At this point pour the clarified butter into a large pan.When the butter is well melted and hot, dip the first slice. Leave to brown for 2-3 minutes, then turn it using tongs and wait another 2-3 minutes. Drain it and transfer it to a tray with absorbent paper to remove excess fat. Season with salt and serve your crumbed cutlets are still hot!
Gamberoni con stracciatella e pistacchio
Ingredients:
Argentine shrimp 12; Brandy 100ml; Stracciatella 120 g
Extra virgin olive oil to taste; for the pistachio pesto
Unsalted shelled and toasted pistachios 200 g; Black pepper to taste; Salt to taste; Extra virgin olive oil 100 g
for the marinade; Orange juice (2) 140 g; Lime juice (2) 60 g; for garnish; Chopped pistachios to taste; Lime zest to taste; Lemon thyme to taste
Preparation:
To prepare the prawns in brandy with stracciatella and pistachio, first of all clean the prawns. Remove head, legs and shell and leave the tail. Remove the intestinal thread by making an incision on the back and rinse under running water. Then place them in a bowl. Squeeze the juice from the oranges and the limes. Filter the juices through a strainer and pour them over the prawns. Cover with cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 40 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the pistachio pesto. Pour the pistachios into a blender.Chop them, adding the oil little by little. Then season with salt and pepper and mix. Heat a non-stick pan lightly greased with oil and place the prawns. Brown them for 20 seconds on one side and 20 seconds on the other and then pour in the brandy and let all the alcohol evaporate, 2 minutes, maximum 3, will be enough .The prawns are ready; you can plate them: pour a spoonful of pistachio pesto and place the prawns on top. Season with a spoonful of stracciatella, grated lime zest, the citrus juice from the marinade and the prawn cooking juices. Complete with thyme and chopped pistachios. The prawns in brandy with stracciatella and pistachios are ready for your Christmas Dinner.
Dolci - Desserts
Mousse di ricotta con mele e cannella
Apples and ricotta are two ingredients that go well together in Christmas recipes, and this delicious dessert is no exception. And very quickly prepared as a dessert for Christmas.
Ingredients:
Cow's milk ricotta 400 g; Fresh liquid cream 200 g; Powdered sugar 70 g; Fuji apples (about 2) 350 g
Cane sugar 60 g; Water 2 tbsp; for dusting; Cinnamon powder to taste
Preparation:
To prepare the ricotta mousse with apples and cinnamon, first pour the ricotta into a strainer that you have placed over a bowl and let it drain for an hour. Peel and divide the apples into segments, then cut the segments into slices and cut them into cubes. Heat a pan and pour the diced apples inside together with the brown sugar and the water, mix and cook for 15 minutes over medium-high heat. In the meantime you can take care of the cream: transfer the well-drained ricotta into a bowl, add the icing sugar and mix everything together with a spatula. In a separate bowl, whip the cream until stiff using electric whisks, then add it to the ricotta cream and mix delicately with a spatula from bottom to top to incorporate it evenly. Transfer the mousse thus obtained into a piping bag. At this point the apples will be cooked, so you can move on to the composition of the dessert: take some transparent cups with a capacity of 200 ml and start with a layer of mousse at the base; then add a spoonful of diced apples and continue with a second layer of both mousse and apples. Finish with a layer of mousse on top, level it with a spatula and garnish with a sprinkling of cinnamon: your ricotta mousse with apples and cinnamon is ready to be served!
Torta Pan di Stelle
The Pan di stelle cake is a delicious cold dessert, quick and without cooking; composed of alternating layers of pan di stelle biscuits soaked in milk, whipped cream and Nutella! Finally decorated with a sprinkling of cocoa and stars in sugar paste or icing sugar which reflect the symbol of the Pan di Stelle biscuits, the famous cocoa and hazelnut biscuits which are the protagonists of the dessert and from which the cake takes its name!
Ingredients:
Pan di stelle biscuits 450 g; Liquid fresh cream 600 g; Dark chocolate 100 g; Powdered sugar 80 g; Whole milk 70 g
to soak; Whole milk to taste; for garnish: Powdered sugar to taste and Bitter cocoa powder to taste
Preparation:
To prepare the Pan di Stelle cake, first chop 100 g of dark chocolate and keep it aside. Crumble 200 g of Pan di Stelle biscuits in a bowl, moisten them with the 70 g of milk and mix to combine the mixture.Place a cake ring with a diameter of 22 cm on a tray lined with baking paper. Pour the biscuit crumbs and distribute them evenly inside the ring, pressing the mixture with the back of a spoon. Let the base firm up in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Pour the fresh liquid cream into a bowl, add 80 g of icing sugar; and whip it with an electric whisk until it is very firm. Once the resting time for the base has elapsed, pour a couple of spoonfuls of whipped cream on top; level the surface with the back of a spoon. At this point take the remaining Pan di Stelle biscuits, soak them lightly in the milk and then place them on the cake, arranging them in a radial pattern along the perimeter, you should be able to place 14 in total. Pour part of the chopped chocolate on top, so as to cover all the spaces between the biscuits. Continue with a second layer of whipped cream and level well with the back of the spoon, continue by distributing another layer of 14 biscuits, always soaked first in the milkand the remaining chopped chocolate; cover everything with the cream, until you reach the edge of the ring. Level well with the spatula to obtain a smooth surface. Leave the cake to compact in the freezer for at least 2 hours. Once the resting time has passed, take the cake again and distribute the bitter cocoa powder over the entire surface, sieving it with a sieve. The time has come to create the decoration by creating a stencil: draw some stars on a sheet, recreating the biscuit motif Star Loaf. Place a transparent sheet of paper on top of the shapes and use a cutter to cut the shape of the stars: by doing so you will create the shape of the stars on the transparent paper. Then remove the pastry ring and transfer the cake to a serving plate. Very delicately place the stencil on the cake. Sprinkle with icing sugar, then carefully lift the stencil, being careful not to spill the sugar deposited on sheet onto the cake. In this way you will have created the decoration of icing sugar stars. To avoid damaging the cocoa layer and make a more precise decoration, you can bring the stencil closer without placing it on the cake, in this case you will have to get help to distribute the sugar. The Pan di Stelle cake is ready to be enjoyed!
Write a comment