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A SPLASH OF BALSAMIC VINEGAR ON…

Cheese Salad
(Insalata di Formaggi)
Ingredients:
1/2 pound Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, cut into slivers
1 roasted pepper, cut lengthwise into strips
2 ounces chopped green olives
1 cup diced celery hearts
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon aceto balsamico
salt and pepper

Preparation:
Combine all the ingredients, toss and serve.

Baked Asparagus with Parmigiano-Reggiano
(Asparagi brasati con Parmigiano-Reggiano)
Ingredients:
1 pound asparagus
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano slivers shaved from a 4-ounce chunk
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped parsley or fresh-snipped chives (optional)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Snap off the tough bottoms of the asparagus and discard. Wash spears and pat dry, then place in a 9x13-inch baking dish. Pour olive oil over asparagus and roll spears until evenly coated. Arrange spears in a single layer and season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Cover dish with foil and bake 12 to 15 minutes until asparagus is tender when pierced with the tip of a knife (dish can be prepared ahead to this point).
Pass a vegetable peeler across the surface of room-temperature Parmigiano-Reggiano to create 1/4 cup of thin slivers. Scatter the slivers over the asparagus and return the dish to the oven. Continue baking just until cheese softens, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Place asparagus onto warm plates and sprinkle with several drops of balsamic vinegar and the chopped parsley or snipped chives. Serve immediately.

Beef Patties with Balsamic Vinegar
(Straccetti all’Aceto Balsamico)
Ingredients:
1/4 onion sliced very thin
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup cream
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 pound chopped beef round
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 egg yolks

Preparation:
In a skillet sauté the sliced onion in the vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon butter. When the onion becomes a light gold color, add the cream, salt, pepper and the balsamic vinegar and stir thoroughly. Reduce the cream, then turn off the heat, allowing the sauce to cool for 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside.
Combine the chopped beef, the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and the egg yolks. Mix very thoroughly, correct for salt and pepper and shape into 6 patties. Brown them in a pan with 2 tablespoons butter. Transfer to a warm platter pouring the sauce over the patties and serve.

Strawberries Baskets with Aceto Balsamico
(Cestini di fragole con Aceto Balsamico)
Ingredients:
For the baskets:
5 oz. butter
5 oz. flour
3 egg whites
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
For the filling:
10 oz. vanilla ice cream
1/2 lb. strawberries (preferably wild)
16 drops Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Reggio Emilia

Preparation:
In a bowl whisk the butter with the sugar and the vanilla extract until frothy. Slowly add the egg whites and then the sifted flour. Put this cream in a pastry bag with a smooth nozzle and form four discs on a buttered cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes on a 425°F oven. Remove and, while still hot, place each disk over an upside down glass. The overlapping edges will turn down, thus creating a basket. Let cool and then remove from the glasses.

Clean and dry the strawberries and place them in the baskets.
On each dessert plate place a spoon of vanilla ice cream and let it melt for a couple of minutes until soft. Place a basket next to the vanilla ice cream.

Drizzle about four drops of balsamic vinegar over each basket. Garnish with strawberry leaves.

Buon appetito!

 

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