Chef Caprs's Christmas dinner of pasta in anchovy sauce, roasted capon and panettone with zabaglione sauce.
Like many of you, I look forward to the Christmas holidays with anticipation.
Sure, every year it feels like the season starts earlier and earlier, and we have to deal with the rush of people in the stores and the sometimes annoying music. But the reality is that, after having paid our spiritual dues, all we look forward to over the next nine days is spending quality time with friends and family - with food often being the largest part of the celebration.
And just like many of you, I have some anxiety about what to serve,
One of the most difficult things for me is to plan for the holiday season. I've worked in a restaurant since I was 15 years old and this has always been the busiest time of the year. For the last month, as my staff and I have been busy planning our guests' parties and celebrations, I've put my personal holiday planning on hold. (Of course, I'm grateful to have a busy restaurant.)
Many people have asked me for advice on what to make for dinner over the holidays and my answer is always different because I like to tailor a meal based on whom I am serving. For example, if I am entertaining more than a dozen guests, then I will go for the turkey or the rib roast. In my case, our immediate family is only nine and light eaters, so I will try to avoid large amounts of leftovers.
This is the dinner that has been a staple at our table for many years. It's a combination of two families' traditions - one from my hometown in Cremona, the other from my wife's family in Treviso.
Dinner always starts with a generous dose of affettati: charcuterie - prosciutto, salame, capocollo - accompanied by Parmigiano nuggets, pinzimonio (crudités), giardiniera (pickled vegetables) and warm, crusty bread.
Next comes the Venetian dish of Bigoli in Salsa di Acciughe, or hand-pressed spaghetti with anchovy sauce. Yummy, I can't wait for that.
Then we continue with a great stuffed capon, just like my mother would make, with a flavourful stuffing, accompanied perfectly by sweet and spicy mostarda di Cremona. A big salad would be served at this point, and after all that it is time to take a break and prepare the zabaglione served with the panettone. You can make this sweet holiday bread at home or you can also buy a good quality one from the store.
Should there be room left, we can always break out the nougat or, as it is known in Italy, Torrone. It's another specialty from Cremona - and the reason why we need New Year's resolutions!
Have a great holiday season.
ROASTED STUFFED CAPON WRAPPED IN BACON
Ingredients
butter
olive oil
1½ cups of minced vegetables (celery, onion, carrot, garlic)
½ cup parsley, coarsely chopped
2 Italian sausages
100 grams prosciutto cotto (good quality ham)
100 grams of mortadella
1½ cups of bread crumbs
½ cup of grated Parmigiano Reggiano
3 eggs
1 capon, fresh preferably
2 large onions, chopped
1 bunch sage
3 or 4 garlic cloves
2 sprigs rosemary
3 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups white wine
2 cups chicken stock
12 slices of pancetta
Method
In a preheated skillet, add oil and butter and sauté the vegetables until soft and translucent, set aside.
Skin the sausage and ground the mortadella and the prosciutto cotto.
Combine the bread crumbs, cheese and the eggs with the vegetables, parsley, sausage, prosciutto, mortadella and mix well to form a paste.
De-bone the capon if you are skilled enough without breaking it in half, otherwise start removing the bone from the back and work your way around it, this will make it easier to cook and carve later.
Fill the capon with the stuffing and reshape as if it was whole again. (If you cut the back, you might want to use the special ties available at William Sonoma and other kitchen stores.) Place the pancetta slices across the breast of the capon.
Tie the bird with twine and place in a baking pan; add the onions, the sage, garlic cloves, rosemary and bay leaves and season with salt and pepper and douse with oil and spread some butter over the breasts.
Preheat the oven to 450F, put in the pan and bake for about 15 minutes to sear the skin and to start the onions, sprinkle with wine and add the chicken stock.
Turn the heat down to 350F and cook the capon for about 1 hour, turning it if necessary on the other side.
BIGOLI IN SALSA DI ACCIUGHE
Ingredients
olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ cup anchovies, chopped
1 cup white wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups of chopped tomatoes, seeded
1 chili pepper
pepper
1 bunch basil
salt, if needed (be careful, anchovies are very salty)1 pound of bigoli or thick spaghetti
Method
In a sauce pan on medium heat add the oil and onions, sweat for one minute and then add garlic and chopped anchovies. Add the wine and cook until it evaporates.
Add the tomato paste and cook for two or three minutes. Add the tomatoes, chili pepper and some pepper. Simmer for about half an hour, stirring occasionally.
Boil the pasta in plenty of salted water, drain and dress with the salsa and lots of chopped basil. Many people will eat this pasta with a generous sprinkling of grated Parmiganio Reggiano.
PANETTONE WITH EGGNOG ZABAGLIONE
For a large 1 kg panettone
3½ cups or 800 grams of all-purpose flour
3 oz or 60 ml milk
½ oz or 15 grams baker yeast, preferably fresh
2 cups or 200 ml warm water
2 oz or 50 grams sultana raisins
5 oz or 150 grams butter
2 ¼ cups or 400 grams sugar
2 eggs, large
1 pinch salt
4 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 oz or 80 grams candied orange skin
confectioners sugar (for sprinkling the top)
Day 1
Mix ¼ of the flour and the yeast in a large bowl.
Warm the milk to 36C and pour over the flour, mix well and give it a round shape. Cover well with a double folded towel (or table cloth or clean bath towel) allow to rise all night in a warm draft-free area.
Day 2
Mix the dough with ¼ of the flour and just enough warm water to make it elastic then work it for a long time. Allow to rise for about two hours in a warm draft-free area.
Repeat the same operation one more time;
Mix the dough with ¼ of the flour and just enough warm water to make it elastic then work it for a long time, and this time let it rise for three hours warm draft-free area.
Soak the raisins in warm water and allow softening for at least 20 minutes
Melt the butter gently without frying it
Melt the sugar in a little warm water and add the eggs, egg whites, salt, vanilla and the melted butter.
Add the rest of the flour to the dough and add the mixture of sugar and eggs, mix well and for a long time, at this point add the raisins and the candied orange previously dried and rolled in flour.
Butter and flour a baking dish about 7" in diameter and about 6" deep, line it with parchment paper and place the dough in a nice round shape in the bottom, cover and let it rise for at least 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 380 and bake the panettone for 45 minutes or until golden brown, test with a bamboo skewer (insert in the middle and remove, if is dry, it is cooked) remove from the oven and cool upside down.
Remove from the mould and sprinkle with confectioners sugar
FOR THE EGGNOG ZABAGLIONE
(For 4 people)
5 egg yolks
4 tablespoons sugar
2 oz of Marsala wine
2 oz of Advocaat liqueurs (egg liqueur)
In a steel bowl, beat the yolks with the sugar until slightly whitened. Add the Marsala, Advocaat and mix well.
On a double boiler or bain-marie; whip until stiff, this process should take only 2 to 3 minutes.
The water in the boiler should be almost at the boiling point. Boiling hot water will make the eggs taste burnt.
Slice the panettone and place on a platter, pour some chocolate sauce over it and serve with a cup of zabaglione on the side.
Massimo Capra is co-owner and chef of Mistura Restaurant and Sopra Upper Lounge in Toronto and guest chef on the show Restaurant Makeover.
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Beppi's matches
This capon is the perfect stage for a red wine from northern Italy or southeastern France. Herbs and charcuterie used in the stuffing are your cues. Look for lots of acidity and spice in the wine. My first temptation would be the underappreciated barbera, a red wine that excels in the Piedmontese districts of Alba and Asti. (Good barbera d'Alba's start at about $15.) A sangiovese-based red, such as Chianti, too, would be splendid. From France, there's Côtes-du-Rhône (affordably starting at about $15 for a decent one), Côtes du Ventoux (such as the popular La Vieille Ferme), Minervois or Corbieres ($12 to $25).The bigoli pasta would be best with a crisp Italian white, such as Soave, pinot grigio, vernaccia di San Gimignano, Gavi or verdicchio. A dry rosé from southern France also should work splendidly.
For the panettone, consider a rich, sweet wine, such as muscat de Rivesaltes from France, or a passito di Pantelleria or Marsala, both from Sicily.
Beppi Crosariol