This appetizer just resembles the famous sushi but doesn't have anything to do with them... Rice is substituted for cheese and fish for ham... But the result will pleasantly surprise you!
The recipe is easy to prepare and gives you fantasy a great opportunity to choose from your favourite ingredients: spread cheeses and different cold cuts.... The ones I suggest are just an option.
INGREDIENTS:
Servings: 3
3 zucchini
1 Robiola cheese with truffle (90g)
50g Prosciutto Crudo
1. Wash zucchini and cut the ends of them.
2. Using a Mandolina grater slice zucchini into 4mm slices.
3. Heat a non-stick pan up till it's almost fuming. You may also use the grilling pan.
4. Grill zucchini slices on both sides and keep them aside on a plate.
5. Cut Prosciutto into smaller stripes to fit over zucchini: just a bit wider than zucchini stripes.
6. When zucchini slices get cooled, spread some Robiola cheese over zucchini slices and cover it with Prosciutto, one side of Prosciutto should be wider than zucchini.
Note: My Robiola cheese was flavoured with truffle, if you got plane Robiola, you may add some finely chopped fresh herbs, olive or sun-dried tomatoes spread...
7. Make a roll with the filling inside and zucchini outside and place it over a plate with the end of zucchini down.
8. Prepare all the rolls and refrigerate them for 15-20 minutes before serving: you will be able to serve them like the real sushi rolls as the cold filling will keep them rolled perfectly.
Enjoy your perfect Italian style appetizer!!!
ENJOY !!!
You may use different fish fillet for this recipe, as long as it's white fish and it's quite big: at least 15 cm long as you need to roll the fillet over the asparagus tips.
To fix the roll I used large Prosciutto crudo slices, but it is also possible to use Speck (smoked cold-cured ham) or Pancetta (cold-cures bacon) or even some fat ham. Make a try and tell me about the result.
As for the asparagus, it is better to use the thick ones but it's not prohibited to improvise and use the wild asparagus that is much thinner, the weight doesn't just the number will be different: use 5-6 asparagus spears to fill in your fish rolls.
INGREDIENTS:
Servings: 4
800g fish fillet (Perch, Cod, Pangasius...)
500g fresh green asparagus
large prosciutto crudo slices (same number as fish fillets)
2 garlic cloves
salt
chilli
EVO oil
Note: Fish fillets I had were 200g each, so I served them one per portion, if the fish fillet you have is too big cut it to have more long slices, about 200g each.
1. Wash fish fillets and dab them with paper towels.
2. Peel two thirds of the asparagus spear and cut the upper part.
Note: Asparagus points should be slightly longer than the width of the fish fillets.
3. Salt the fish fillets and put some asparagus points over the fish, the very points outside.
4. Roll the fish fillets and slightly salt the outer side.
5. Put the roll over a Prosciutto slice: the end of the fillet in the middle of the slice, wrap the rolls in Prosciutto slices.
6. Fix the ends of the Prosciutto slices with the toothpicks.
7. Heat 3-4tbs of EVO oil in a frying pan and add garlic cloves cleaned and cut into halves. Slightly fry the garlic.
8. Put the rolls in the pan and sprinkle with some chilli. Cover with a lid and cook at middle heat for 5-7 minutes each side, depending on the size of the rolls.
9. Remove the lid and brown the rolls a bit.
10. While the rolls are cooking, boil the peeled parts of asparagus in very little water for about 8-10 minutes till asparagus is soft.
11. Mash asparagus with some salt and EVO oil to produce a smooth and soft pure.
Note: You may add some of the asparagus water to delute the asparagus puree.
12. Serve some asparagus puree as a sauce base for the rolls: pour couple of tablespoons of puree on a plate and rotate the spoon to make a nice circle of the sauce.
ENJOY!!!
Super easy, extremely fast, absolutely delicious... this is how I can qualify this dish. And they don't exceed in calories! It is of Roman origin and can be found in most of the typical restaurants in Rome. The name comes from Italian: "Hop into my mouth" - Saltimbocca - but written in one word... You will see how these juice bits will literally jump into your mouth!!!
In Central Italy the use of oil is almost a must but in this recipe it is obligatory to use butter that is almost "unknown" in the regional cuisine....
INGREDIENTS:
Servings: 4 (12 ready cutlets)
6 large veal scallops (about 400g)
6 slices prosciutto crudo
100-150 ml white wine
12 leaves of fresh sage
100ml water
some flour (optional)
salt
pepper
50g butter
1. Beat the veal slices and cut them in two. You will have 12 slices.
2. Sprinkle some flour over the meat slices. It is an optional passage, some people do that and some don't...
3. Put a slice of Prosciutto Crudo that you cut into halves and a leaf of fresh sage over the meat, using a toothpick fix the three ingredients together.
Note: Prosciutto Crudo is an Italian type of raw aged ham. As the recipe is Roman, it's better to use Prosciutto, but you may try substituting it with slices of bacon.
4. Melt butter in a frying pan and cook the slices from the side of Prosciutto first, after a couple of minutes turn them over and cook for two minutes more to brown the meat. Try not to burn butter!!!
5. When the meat is slightly brown, add white wine and cover the pan with a lid. When the wine is evaporated take the slices out of the pan and keep them warm.
Note: I'd like to say couple of words about the wine you use for cooking: the wine should be the one you would willingly drink, not the one that has such an awful taste that you wanted to throw away. The taste of food will suffer from the bad wine...
6. Pour some water or chicken broth to the pan, rotate the pan in order to melt the sauce that became too dry. Cook it for a bit to thicken the sauce.
7. Serve Saltimbocca, 3 per serving, with their sauce, some salt and pepper to your liking and accompany with some sauteed vegetables.
Buon Appetito!!!
With this recipe I don't suggest the measures of the ingredients. When it comes to cooking I never use precise quantity, it's either common sense or experience, unless when it comes to pastry. There the measures are VERY important!!
INGREDIENTS:
chicken breast slices
prosciutto crudo slices
mushrooms
Philadelphia cheese
EVO oil
1-2 garlic cloves
chilli
salt
1. Slice your mushrooms and start cooking them with the oil, garlic cloves and chilli
2. In meanwhile wash the chicken breast slices and dry them with paper towel. Salt them just a bit.
3. Lay the chicken with Prosciutto slices and roll them up with the chicken inside and Prosciutto outside. One slice of prosciutto per each slice of chicken. Fix the roll with the use of a toothpick.
4. Sear the rolls with the mushrooms and add Philadelphia cheese with some water to dilute. For example, for 300g of chicken you may add half a bowl of Philadelphia (that is about 125g) but it depend on how much sauce you prefer.
5.Cook rolls with the sauce for 10 minutes, if the sauce becomes too thick, add some more water. In any case the sauce consistency should be creamy at the end.
