PESCE AL CARTOCCIO

To keep in line with our non-meat Christmas eve dinner, a great way to bake fish is “al cartaccio” (in individual paper wrappings).

INGREDIENTS

Place in a blender:

1 meat cube

1 clove garlic

a bunch of fresh parsley (rinsed and drained capers are good too).

Blend until you have a paste.

METHOD

Place each cleaned fish on a sheet of aluminum paper. Place a little bit of the paste inside and around each fish. Cover with 1 Tbs. olive oil, 1/2 c. white wine and the juice of 1/2 lemon and loosely close the foil around the fish, making sure it is well sealed.

Bake in a hot oven for 18-20 min. (depending on the size of the fish).

A typical meat dish for Christmas Day supper might be stuffed Capon or Pheasant. Here’s a great stuffing variation we love (which, by the way, goes well with Thanksgiving turkey as well!)

 

RIPIENO DI MELE E CASTAGNE (Apples and Chestnut Stuffing)

INGREDIENTS

about 8-10 fresh chestnuts

onion, finely chopped

celery, finely chopped

2-4 (mild) sausages

1-2 tart apples, chopped into small pieces

fresh parsley, chopped

fresh sage leaves, chopped

thyme

salt and pepper to taste

handful of raisins or dried cranberries

box of stuffing bread cubes or crust-less sandwich bread cut into cubes and toasted

broth (beef is best, chicken is ok)

METHOD

To peel the chestnuts: Cut “smiles” in the shell on the rounded sides of each of the chestnuts. Bring a small saucepan of water to a rolling boil and drop the chestnuts in for 4-5 minutes. Drain and while still hot, strip off the peels. Let the chestnuts dry on a paper towel and then break into little pieces.

Sauté the onion and celery. Add the sausage and cook until no longer red. Add the apples, chestnuts, parsley, sage, thyme and mix well. Taste for salt and pepper. Add raisins or dried cranberries at the last.

Right before you are ready to stuff the bird, add the bread cubes to the sausage mixture with just enough broth to soften all the ingredients.

FARAONA ALL’ARANCIO (Guinea fowl in orange sauce)

INGREDIENTS

Guinea fowl

olive oil

butter

raisins

pine nuts

1 c. white wine

meat cube

clove garlic

3 oranges

METHOD

Cut the bird into quarters, season lightly with salt and brown in olive oil. Then place in a baking dish with butter, wine, the juice of 2 oranges, meat cube, pressed garlic, raisins and pine nuts. Cut the 3rd orange in slices and place on top of the meat.

Bake, covered, in medium oven for approx. 45 min. Remove the meat and put the sauce in the blender to smooth before pouring over the meat.

Buon appetito!