Christmas lunch preparation
Here it is almost time for Christmas lunch and at my house, we are getting ready. I renew my wishes to all of you. To whom is celebrating this day: how is it going? I hope very well, I hope you are having a smiling Christmas, full of joy. Well, today I am at home, so I have no travels to share or advice to give. I want just to give you a recipe. Well, I am not a good cook and this is not a food blog, but it is an opportunity for me to share a bit of tradition.
What we eat for Christmas lunch
In Piedmont, my region, we have a special tradition, different from the rest of Italy. We eat “Agnolotti”. That’s why I enclose the recipe for one of the versions. In each area of Piedmont, there are differences, but this one is surely appreciated by most of the people. Before letting you how we prepare them, I prefer to give some curiosities.
Agnolotti is the traditional recipe for Christmas lunch, but this food was invented for the Carnival. Women were preparing this dish while men were playing cuciòn, a game similar to bowling.
To taste real agnolotti it is better, according to the taste of some gourmets, don’t use any dress, but we have the habit to put some sauce or some broth. Old people eat them drinking Barbera wine. Some cooks roast them and some others eat Agnolotti as an appetizer. In my family, we have it as the first course.
The recipe for Christmas lunch
I go directly to post the recipe for Christmas lunch, just letting you know that the picture is coming from my house. They are completely made by us. As the tradition asks. The recipe was written and translated by Armando Gambera
Agnolotti al sugo d’arrosto
Ingredients
for the filling:
- 500 g veal meat
- 500 g pork meat
- 5 garlic yolks
- rosemary
- 3 eggs
- a ladle of stock
- 500 g Savoy cabbage
- one glass of olive oil
- 100 g grated parmesan
for the dough:
- one kilo 00 wheat flour
- 12 eggs
Procedure
First, they made the filling, called the empiora.
First of all roast both the veal and pork meat: after having fried it lightly on high fire for ten-fifteen minutes with three garlic yolks, a bit of rosemary, salt, and pepper, let it cook on a slow fire for an hour, adding some stock from time to time if necessary.
Let the meat cool down, take the garlic and rosemary away and mince the rest carefully.
In the meantime boil the cabbage and cook it in a pan for some minutes with oil and garlic; then mince it.
Now add the meat and put the mix in a bowl, add the parmesan, three whole eggs, and mix. The filling is now ready.
The dough
Put the flour on the pasteboard and give it the shape of a volcano.
In the hole put three whole eggs and nine yolks: knead carefully until the dough is ready, adding soma more flour if necessary.
Cut the dough into thick slices, then with a rolling pin or a machine make each slice into a very thin leaf.
Take little portions of the filling and put them on the dough, one cm. away from one another.
Then fold the dough over the filling and close it by pressing.
Now separate the agnolotti from one another.
They must e square, about one cm. long, well filled; the more the filling, the better; but the agnolotti must not be too big.
Let the agnolotti rest in a cool place for a couple of hours before cooking them in salted boiling water for some minutes. And then take them away and dress them with the sauce made by the meat you have roasted to make the filling; or with some melted butter and sage.
Enjoy the Christmas lunch Agnolotti!