If the budget is tight, what can we bring to the table for the holidays?
“Yes to seasonal and locally sourced fruits and vegetables, and you will already save a lot of money. With pieces of poor meat you can create a delicious and nutritious broth, to be accompanied by handmade cappelletti. A lot of yield, little expense! For the Lidl Christmas event I used the paté The illusion of a caviar, a fake caviar of black olives, with a crumble of dried tomatoes and oregano, enriched with fresh robiola and beaten with olives with anchovies and capers. As you can see, even simple and cheap ingredients can be transformed into delicious dishes ».
Can you explain step by step how to create a low cost Christmas menu, without sacrificing taste and quality?
«For a delicious appetizer, focus on finger foods, which are very practical as they can be prepared in advance. You can toast some bread in a pan with a knob of butter or truffle oil, placing a robiola mousse or homemade hummus on top of the golden slices. For the first, indulge yourself with the stuffed pasta: tortelli with capon broth or, if you are vegan, stuffed with a filling of smoked aubergines with a vegetable base. To make it, cut the vegetables you like best, toast them in the oven at 180 ° making sure they do not burn, pour them into a saucepan and brown them with butter, cover with cold water and cook for three hours, skimming ».
Let’s move on to the seconds.
«You will make a great impression with typically winter dishes of stewed or baked meat, to be regenerated at the time of dinner without stress. For example the stew: it’s cheap and everyone likes it. For a cruelty free option, delight your guests with a potato pie or opt for polenta, to be personalized with cheeses, mushrooms and vegetables ».
On the dessert side, how to customize panettone and pandoro and make them even more delicious desserts?
“This question is my favorite. Just last year I set myself a challenge: to deconstruct the panettone, inspired by the talented chef Davide Oldani. The truth is that you can use the panettone in a salty version, toasting it in the oven and using it as a crunchy element on a savory risotto, for example creamed with pecorino cheese, or as breadcrumbs to bread the classic Milanese cutlet. Thinking about dessert, here is a tip to make the panettone crunchy: pour two tablespoons of sugar into the pan and let it melt with very little water, forming a caramel. When it is ready, place slices or cubes of panettone in the pan, turn them in the caramel and let them dry for a few minutes. The outside will be very crunchy and the inside will be deliciously soft. If, on the other hand, you are more traditional, you can garnish the panettone or pandoro with pistachio sauce inside and with a “dripping cake” style icing on the surface covered with a shower of pistachio grains ».
Other stories of Vanity Fair that may interest you
The recipes of Benedetta Parodi’s Sunday lunch
Quince: how to make the perfect quince
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Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
