This recipe is an intricate and challenging one! It includes lots of ingredients: meats, various types of cheese, vegetables and sweet components. You need pretty much time and patience to cook it, but it is absolutely worth it! Your guests will surely appreciate it. Add several drops of Balsamic Vinegar when you serve it. It always makes the difference!
Cooking time: 4h + 2h the day before
Ingredients for 4 portions
This recipe is an intricate one. It requires lots of preparations that you have to make before you start to fry. So, arm yourself with patience and goodwill!
Custard:
- 250 Milk
- 50 g Caster Sugar
- 80 g All-Purpose Flour
- 2 Egg Yolks
- 1 Vanilla Pod (1/2 packet of vanillin)
- Organic Lemon Zest
Breading ingredients:
- Bread Crumbs
- 2/3 Eggs
Preparation:
- Prepare the custard the day before and leave it in the fridge, so it can become firmer.
- Pour the milk into a saucepan. Add the vanilla and a bit of lemon zest (yellow part only). Heat until it boils.
- Take a bowl. Add the egg yolks and sugar. Whisk the mixture. Add flour, one tbsp. at a time, mixing constantly in order to avoid lumps. In the end the mixture is going to be pretty dense. Add several tbsp. of hot milk.
- Add the rest of the milk, one spoon at a time. Remove the vanilla pod and the lemon zest. Use a sieve to place the mixture in a double bottom pan (in this way we remove all the possible lumps).
- Place the pan on a low heat and bring it to boil, whisking it constantly. Once it boils, let it cook for 7-8 min. The mixture has to become very dense.
- Important! Don’t stop whisking the mixture while it is being cooked. It is now that it can make lumps.
- Put the mixture in a tray in order to create a 3 cm layer. Cover it and let it cool in the fridge.
- Before you start to bread the custard, turn the tray upside down, cut the custard into cubes or sticks. Take a bowl and whisk the eggs. Dip the custard into the egg and then cover it with breadcrumbs. Repeat twice for every piece. Place the breaded custard into a container and leave it in the fridge.
Meat Ingredients
Stuffed Cutlets:
- 4 Slices of Pork Loin (1 cm wide)
- 4 Slices Parma Raw Ham
- 4 Slices Soft Cheese ( you can choose between Parmigiano Reggiano 12 months, fresh pecorino or processed cheese)
Preparation:
- Take a slice of loin and work it with a meat mallet. Pay attention not to break it open. Place the ham and the cheese and then close it up in order to create a sort of a cutlet.
- Make the four cutlets and leave them im the fridge.
Meat Roulades:
- 4 Slices of Parma Raw Ham
- 1 Mozzarella (cut into sticks)
Preparation:
- Take a slice of Parma Ham and roll it up with a mozzarella stick inside of it.
- Close up the roulade and leave it in the fridge.
Meat Skewers:
- 1 Slice of Pork Loin (1 cm wide)
- 1 Slice of Parma Ham (1 cm wide)
- 1 Mortadella Slice (2 cm wide)
Preparation:
- Dice all the ingredients into cubes.
- Take the skewers and fill them with the ingredients, alternating them.
- Leave the skewers in the fridge.
Breading ingredients:
- Breadcrumbs
- 3/4 Eggs
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Preparation:
- Whisk the eggs. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Dip the cutlets, the roulades and the skewers into the eggs and bread them. Repeat twice for every piece.
- Leave all the ingredients in the fridge.
Vegetables and Fruit
Ingredients:
- 8 Medium Zucchini
- 3 Potatoes
- 2 Artichokes
- 1 Apple
- 4/5 Cauliflowers
- 1 Large Red Onion
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil to taste
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1 Lemon
- 2 Eggs
- 4 tbsp. Parmigiano Reggiano 24/30 months
- Flour
- 1 tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP Green Label
- Balsamic Vinegar of Modena Gold Label to taste
Preparation:
Zucchini:
- Cut the zucchini into sticks. Place them in a sieve in layers. Add salt on each layer. Put a press on the zucchini (a container with water or something like that). Leave them drain excess water for at least 4-5 hours.
- Rinse the zucchini with cold water in order to remove excess salt. Dry the zucchini and put them a part.
Cauliflower:
Boil the cauliflowers, drain them and let them cool. Cut them with a knife and put them in a bowl with 1 egg, 2 tbsp. of grated Parmigiano Reggiano 24-30 months, salt and pepper to taste.
Artichokes:
- Clean the artichokes, remove the external leaves. Clean the core and cut it into pieces. Leave them in a bowl with cold water, acidulated with lemon juice.
- The artichokes will be drained and dried right before frying.
Onion:
- Cut the onion thinly. Cook it with a bit of extra virgin olive oil. Add a tsp. of the Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP Green Label.
- Once it is ready, place the onion in a bowl, add 1 egg, 2 tbsp. of grated Parmigiano Reggiano 24-30 months, salt and pepper to taste.
Apple:
- Peel the apple. Cut it open and remove the seeds. Cut it into slices (0,5 cm each).
- Place the apple slices into a bowl. Sprinkle them with lemon juice so they do not blacken.
Potatoes:
Peel the potatoes and cut them into sticks. Place them in a bowl. (You can also use frozen potato sticks).
Batter for cauliflowers and apple
The batter has to be prepared at least 4 hours before frying.
Ingredients:
- 200 ml Milk
- 150 g All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Egg
- Salt to taste
- 6 g yeast powder
Preparation:
- Whisk milk, egg and flour. Add a pinch of salt.
- Right before frying add the yeast.
- Dip the cauliflowers and the apple slices into the batter right before frying. Use cooking tongs.
Once all the ingredients are ready, prepare all the necessary kitchen utensils: 2 nonstick pans, 1 medium and 2 small saucepans. You are going to need approximately 3 liters of oil (sunflower or peanut oil).
- 1 nonstick pan (28 cm diameter) with a bit of oil for the cauliflower and onion patties.
- 1 nonstick pan (22 cm diameter) with a bit of oil for the custard.
- 1 medium saucepan with at least 1 lt. of oil for the meats, zucchini and potatoes (wok pan is fine too).
- 1 small saucepan with ½ lt. Of oil for the artichokes.
- 1 small tall saucepan with 700 ml. of oil for the apple slices.
- 2 large baking trays covered with absorbent paper where we are going to place all the ingredients when fried.
Deep Fry
Finally, we are ready to fry!
Boil the oil in the largest pan. Take the onions and cauliflowers. Form small patties (1 tbsp. of the mixture per each patty). Fry 8-10 patties at a time, turning them around only once. Once the patties are ready place them onto the tray covered with absorbent paper.
Use the smaller nonstick pan to fry the custard. Turn it around until it gets brown. Place it on the tray.
Boil the oil in the largest saucepan (wok). Deep-fry the cutlets, the roulades and the skewers. Turn them around until they get brown and place them on the tray. Use the same oil to fry the potatoes. Finally, fry the zucchini. Place the zucchini in a sieve and add flour. Remove excess flour. Fry the zucchini until they become crunchy.
Use the smaller saucepan to fry the artichokes. Dip the artichoke pieces into the batter and then use the kitchen tongs to place them into the oil. Use the skimmer to turn them around. Drain them and place on the tray.
In the second small saucepan deep-fry the apple slices. Dip them into the batter and then use the kitchen tongs to place them into the oil. Use the skimmer to turn them around. Drain them and place on the tray.
Finally, place all the ingredients in a large serving plate. Otherwise, take 4 plates and serve them separately.
Add a bit of powdered sugar on the apple slices and the custard. Serve the dish with several drops of the Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP Gold Label.
Buon Appetito!
