COOKING WITH UNICREDIT: SPRING-FRESH DELICACIES MENU

All ingredients are calculated for 4 people but you can try to craft the menu alone, with kids or with all your family, just remember to readjust the quantity. The indicated cooking times are guidelines and may vary, you can follow your chef instinct and never forget to have fun…always “try and taste”!

Green and white asparagus salad

• 250 g green asparagus,250 g white asparagus and 300 g cherry tomatoes
• 2 ½ tablespoons white wine vinegar
• salt / pepper / sugar
• 6 ½ tablespoons of olive oil
• 3 stems of basil
• 150 g Lollo Rosso and 150 g lamb’s lettuce
• Baguette

1. Peel 250 g white asparagus whole, and 250 g green asparagus only in the lower third. Cut off the ends. Halve the asparagus lengthwise and cut diagonally into 3 cm long pieces. Halve 300 g cherry tomatoes.

2. Mix 2 ½ tbsp. white wine vinegar with 2 ½ tbsp. water, salt and pepper and 1 tsp. sugar. Gradually stir in 5 tbsp. olive oil.

3. After cleaning the salads, heat 1 ½ tbsp. of olive oil in a large pan. Fry the asparagus for 3-4 minutes on medium heat, season with salt and pepper.

4. Mix asparagus and cherry tomatoes with the vinaigrette. Pluck the leaves of 3 stems of basil. Arrange asparagus salad on 4 plates. Sprinkle with basil, arrange the salads decoratively on the plates and sprinkle with vinaigrette. Place the sliced baguette on the side of the plate and serve.

Braised lamb slices with spring vegetables and potato gratin

Braised lamb:

• 4 slices of leg of lamb (á. 200 g)
• 12 small shallots
• 6 tablespoons oil, pinch of salt, black pepper, sugar
• 2 tablespoons tomato puree
• 1 tablespoon flour 250 ml veal stock
• 200 ml dry white wine salt / sugar / nutmeg

Potato gratin:

• 1 kg firmly cooked potatoes
• 150 g onions
• 1 clove of garlic
• 400 ml cream
• 200 ml white wine
• 30 g butter
• 2 bay leaves

Spring vegetables:

• 1 Romanesco
• 200 g sugar snap peas
• 1 bunch of spring onions
• 300 g baby carrots
• salt / sugar / pepper / nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tsp honey
• 80 ml poultry stock

1. Peel 12 small shallots, heat 6 tbsp. of oil in a roaster or large pot and season 4 slices of lamb legs (á 200g) with salt and pepper. Fry in hot oil on both sides.

2. Fry the shallots in the roasting set at medium heat. Add 1 tsp. sugar and 2 tbsp. tomato paste and fry briefly. Dust with 1 tbsp. flour and deglaze with 200 ml white wine. Add approx. 400 ml water and bring to boil. Put the meat in the stock and let it stew covered at medium heat until the meat starts to come off the bone.

3. Put peeled potatoes in cold water. Melt 30 g butter in a pot, fry peeled onions and chopped garlic in it at medium heat for about 2 min. Fill up with 200 ml white wine and boil down strongly.

4. Add potato slices, bay leaves, 400 ml cream and 250 ml veal stock to the pot and cook without lid at medium heat for about 35 minutes, seasoning strongly with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Put the potatoes in an ovenproof dish and bake in a preheated oven for 10 minutes.

5. Clean the Romanesco and divide into florets. Clean and peel the snap peas, the baby carrots, and the spring onions then cut them. Cook the Romanesco in boiled water for about 5 minutes, the add the baby carrots, the snap peas and spring onions. Pour the vegetables through a sieve, rinse with cold water and drain.

6. Just before serving (when the meat is tender and the potato gratin is ready) heat 1EL butter in a pan. Add the vegetables, honey and poultry stock and steam for about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, a little sugar and nutmeg and arrange directly on the plates decoratively with all components.

Strawberry-rhubarb compote with ginger and vanilla ice cream

• 300 g rhubarb and 1 walnut-sized piece of ginger
• 125 ml rhubarb juice, 75 g sugar, 1 level tbsp. corn flour
• 300 g strawberries
• 4 scoops of vanilla ice cream
• 100 g cream – whipped
• Mint / Mint leaves (for decoration)

1. Clean the rhubarb and cut it into small pieces, peel ginger and chop finely. Boil up the rhubarb juice, ginger and sugar. Boil the rhubarb pieces for about 2-3 minutes, then take rhubarb pieces out and let them cool down on a plate or baking tray.

2. Stir the starch and about 2 tbsp. water until smooth and mix with the liquid. Let it simmer for about 1 minute, then let it cool down while stirring occasionally.

3. Wash, clean and halve or quarter the strawberries. Add strawberries and rhubarb to the bound liquid and let the compote cool down together. Finally arrange the compote with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and mint.

Once the spring-fresh delicacies menu is ready… enjoy it and let us know your tasty comments!