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ITALIAN RECIPES

Apple's Time

Risotto with Apples and Sausages Recipe

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups (350 g) grained rice such as Arborio or Carnaroli
4/5 pound (375 g) apples, peeled, cored, cut into shavings and sprinkled with lemon juice
The juice of a lemon for the above apples, and also a little grated zest
1/2 pound (225 g) fresh sausage, casings removed and crumbled
A medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
A bouillon cube, dissolved in 1 quart (1 liter) boiling water
4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano
2/5 cup (100 ml) heavy cream
Salt, pepper, and a pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

Preparation:

Heat the butter in a pot, and sauté the chopped onion and the sausage meat, stirring the mixture about to separate the grains of sausage.
Continue cooking until the sausage is browned, and then add the apple mixture and the grated zest. Mix well, add the rice, and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes. Next, stir in a first ladle of bouillon.

Check seasoning and continue to cook until the rice reaches the firm-but-chewy al dente stage, stirring gently and adding broth as the rice absorbs it. At this point turn off the heat, stir in the cream and the nutmeg (just a pinch), and cover the pot for 4-5 minutes.
Divvy the apple and sausage risotto into 4 bowls, sprinkle them with the grated cheese, and serve at once.

Pork Loin with Apples

Ingredients:

1 pound (1/2 k) boned pork loin
A scant half cup olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
1 3/4 pounds (750 g) moderately tart apples
1 tablespoon honey
A brimming cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon meat extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preparation:

Begin by trimming away any fat or gristle the meat may have, and then tie it with string so it will keep its shape.
Set it in a roasting pan, season it with salt and pepper, sprinkle it with the oil, and roast it in a moderate oven (185 C, 370 F) oven for about an hour, basting it occasionally with the pan drippings.

In the meantime, peel, core, and slice the apples. Heat the wine and the honey in a pot and cook the apple wedges for a few minutes, until they are fork-tender, then remove them to a serving platter and carefully spoon some of the syrup over them.

When the meat is done remove the string, slice it, and lay it over the apples, transferring all the pieces together so the loin maintains the shape it had when it was whole.
Return the roasting pan to the stove, stir in a little water and the meat extract into the pan juices, and heat through until they have thickened slightly.

Remove the pan from the fire, whisk in the butter, and pour the sauce over the meat.
This would go quite nicely with polenta.
As a wine, either a Rossese from Liguria, or a Sassella from Lombardia.

Chicken Legs with Apples and Onions

Ingredients:

4 chicken legs (thigh and drumstick), about 2 pounds (1 k) in all
A medium-sized onion
A fairly small, tart apple (about the same size as the onion)
1/3 cup plus a tablespoon (100 ml) dry white wine
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
The juice of half a lemon
Half a bullion cube
1/2 teaspoon powdered mustard

Preparation:

Begin by finely slicing the onion. Then peel the apple, core it, and dice it. Strip the skin and fat from the chicken. Melt the butter in a skillet or pot broad enough for the chicken pieces to lay flat, and brown them on all sides, salting them when you turn them.
Add the onion and apple and continue cooking for ten minutes more, then dust everything with the mustard and cook five minutes more. Crumble the bullion cube over the chicken, sprinkle it with the wine, cover it, and simmer it over a low flame for about an hour.

Transfer the chicken pieces to a platter, blend the drippings, combine them with the lemon juice, and pour the sauce over the chicken. Serve at once.
The wine? I'd use more of the white with which I cooked it -- For example a good Soave. If you want a red, something light and lively, along the lines of an unoaked Barbera.

Baked Stuffed Apples

Ingredients:

6 renette apples (sweet, grainy apples with slightly lemony overtones and wrinkled yellow skins)
1/4 cup unsalted butter
4 ounces (100 g) sultana raisins
1/2 cup white wine
1 ounce candied citron
1/2 cup sugar

Preparation:

Set the raisins to soak in some of the white wine. In the meantime, core the apples without peeling them and putt them in a lightly buttered oven-proof pan that's pretty enough to double as a serving dish.
Dill the holes in the apples with raisins, topping off each with a little candied citron and a dot of butter, dust the apples with the sugar, and sprinkle the remaining wine into the pan. Bake them in a moderate oven (370 F, 185 C) for a bout a half hour, or until the apples are done and the wine has evaporated. Serve.

Buon appetito!

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