Since we still cannot travel to Italy right now, the chefs of Rome’s hospitality group Bettoja Hotels are sharing some of their authentic dishes for a delightful and flavorful Easter menu. The chefs have handpicked their favorites in the hopes to bring the Bettoja hospitality into your homes.
Lamb Chops
Chef Renzo Di Filippo, Massimo d’Azeglio Restaurant, Hotel Massimo d’Azeglio
Ingredients (four people)
*12 small ribs
*Two eggs
*1 cup of breadcrumbs
*1 ½ tablespoons of parsley
*3 tbsp of thyme
*3 tbsp of rosemary
*3 tbsp of oregano
For Caponata:
*1 cup onion
*1 1/7 cups courgette (zucchini)
* 1/3 cups of red peppers
*3 cups of eggplant
*4/5 cups of tomato
*2 ½ cups of olive oil
Take three lamb chops, tenderize the meat and then dip each slice into the beaten eggs. Prepare the breadcrumbs adding parsley, oregano, rosemary and thyme, and breading the chops before frying them in olive oil until golden brown. Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the lamb and cook until nicely browned on both sides and cooked to your liking.
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat and then prepare the caponata adding in the pan aubergines, zucchini, peppers, onions and cherry tomatoes. Transfer the lamb to plates with the caponata and serve.
Neapolitan Pastiera
Chef Antonio Vitale, Roof Garden Restaurant, Hotel Mediterraneo
Ingredients
Filling:
*3 cups sheep’s ricotta
*2 ¼ cups + 1 tbsp sugar
*6 eggs
*2 ½ cups cooked wheat
*4 lemon zest
*1 tsp orange blossom water
*1/4 tsp vanilla
*7/8 cups mixed candied fruit
*1teaspoon cinnamon powder
*3/8 cups butter
*1 ¾ cups milk
*2 tbsp of Limoncello
Pastry:
*4 ¾ cups of flour
*6 egg yolks
*1 ¼ cups + 2 tbsp of butter
*1 ½ cups of sugar
*1 pinch of salt
Instructions for the pastry:
Pour the flour onto the work surface and make a well in the middle and put in the center the sugar, butter flakes cold and a pinch of salt. Form a ball with the pastry and put it to rest for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator covered with transparent food wrap. Cook the wheat in milk over low heat, adding 30 grams of butter, the four peels of and a sugar teaspoon. When the mixture becomes creamy, turn off under the heat and leave to cool. Mix well the ricotta cheese, previously sieved, with the sugar. Add always stirring, the 6 egg yolks one at a time.
Continue adding all the wheat now cold (remember to remove the lemon peel before) and the egg whites whipped to snow. Stir until the dough is creamy and smooth. Take the pastry from the fridge and divide by putting aside a third.
Roll out the larger part with the rolling pin at a height of about half a centimeter trying to form a regular disc. To avoid using other flour while you lay it you can help yourself with two sheets of parchment paper and pass over the rolling pin to flatten it. Grease a 28 cm round baking tray and cover with the disc of pastry by removing the edges that exceed the pan. Add the pasta scraps to the one previously set aside and roll it out again. This time form a rectangle and cut many strips about 2 cm wide by cutting them with the toothed paste cutter wheel.
Pour the ricotta and wheat content into the pastry-coated pan and level with the blade of a knife. Do not fill it to the top, but leave 2/3 centimeters between the edge and the filling. Complete by crossing on the surface the strips of pasta just created maintaining a distance of 3 cm.
Cook the Neapolitan pasta in preheated oven to 160 º C for about 80 minutes.
Sprinkle the surface of the Neapolitan pastiera with icing sugar before serving.
