Vitello Tonnato (Tuna Veal)

This is a traditional Italian dish that I can never seem to find out of Europe. I think it is because Veal is hard to come by in the USA.

Ingredients
2 kg of veal in one piece- i find that the fillet would be the best but choose a tender cut
1,5 l of white wine
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 celery sticks
2 carrots
1-2 leaves of thyme
Salt and Pepper





TUNA SAUCE:
1 7-oz. can imported tuna, packed in olive oil
5 flat anchovy filets
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tsp. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
3 tbsp. capers, soaked and rinsed
1 1⁄4 cups mayonnaise


Method

Tidy up the veal and remove any fat.
Fill a pot with wine and water, enough to cover the meat
Add the onion, chopped up, the carrots, grates, the garlic, the celery and the thyme.
Bring to the boil, then add the veal, season and bring to the boil.
Simmer for 1 1/2 hrs.
Take off the fire.
Let the veal cool in the pot and broth for about 2-3hrs

While the meat is cooling, drain tuna and put into a food processor with anchovies, olive oil, lemon juice, and capers.
Process until it becomes a creamy, beige-colored sauce.
Fold sauce gently, but thoroughly, into mayonnaise.
Keep the sauce in the fridge until ready to serve.
When the meat has cooled down, cut in very very thin slices - as thin as possible - this is the key.
Arrange on a serving dish and cover with the sauce. Add some capers on top for decoration

Stuffed Marrows - Qarabaghli mimli

Very common in the Maltese household, these stuffed marrows are just as good cold. Other recipes use rikotta for the filling but I prefer the traditional way.

Ingredients
800 grms large marrows - not "zucchini" type but if only those are available use the largest possible.
1 large onion finely chopped
1 clove of garlic minced
2 fresh bay leaves
3 large tomatoes, chopped
2 tbls tomato paste
600 grams minced beef (Traditionally, 300gms meat and 300gms corned beef - the type you get in a can- was used - frugal gourmet style!)
150 grams of bacon (vegetarians can use 700gms of ricotta mixed with some parsley and a bit of milk)
2 eggs beaten
4 tbls of grated parmesan cheese
Olive oil
Semolina
Sea salt & freshly ground pepper

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F
2. Cut the marrows lengthwise in half and scoop out the insides with a teaspoon. Reserve about half the pulp.
3. Fry the onion, garlic and bay in some olive oil until soft. Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste and cook for a further few minutes.
4. Place the bacon in a food processor and blend until finely minced.
5. Add the beef and bacon to the onion mix and cook until done. (vegetarians, add the ricotta mix)
6. Stir in the marrow pulp and then allow to cool.
7. Once cool add the eggs and cheese and season the mixture to taste.
8. Fill the marrow halves with the meat mixture and then lightly sprinkle with semolina. Place in a lightly oiled baking dish and then drizzle a little more olive oil over the filled marrows
9. Bake for about 45 minutes until the meat mixture is golden and crisp. Another alternative is to slice about 6 potatoes and an onion and place them on a dish, then add the stuffed marrows and cook the whole thing together. A great meal in one dish!

English Custard

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

2 cups (500ml) milk

6 egg yolks

1 cup (200g) sugar

1 vanilla pod

rind of one small lemon - thickly cut

PREPARATION

Heat milk in a saucepan with the vanilla and lemon rind

Bring to the boil.

Remove from heat and cool a little.

Beat egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl for about 10 minutes or until light and fluffy.

Little by little, stir in warm milk until well mixed.

Cook stirring constantly with a whisk untei mixture starts to thicken (Do not allow to boil). Remove from heat, place over a pan of ice and allow to cool completely, stirring from time to time.

You can serve this custard as a dessert or use it as garnish or filling of another dessert like the ENGLISH TRIFLE....which will be my next post!