Casatiello Napoletano (for Easter)

Grace Kagni's Easter Casatiello recipe

600 g of flour
300 g of warm water
10 g of beer yeast
40 g lard
Salt and pepper
FOR FILLING
150 g of salami napoletano
150 g of provolone cheese
150 g of grated pecorino cheese
3 eggs

Melt yeast in a little warm water then place the flour on a board and make a hole. Add warm water with yeast, salt and pepper. Then add half of the lard and mix well, kneading the dough until firm. If dough is too hard, add a little water. When the dough is ready, it should be be like an elastic, bounce back when you pull it. Place a clean dish towel over it and let rise for two hours.

Cut the salami and cheese into small cubes and set aside.

When dough has risen, keep aside a small ball the size of an orange for later and flatten the rest into a rectangular shape of approximately one centimetre in height. Spread lard over the top and sprinkle grated pecorino cheese then fold the dough over and flatten again into a rectangle. Spread lard again and sprinkle grated pecorino cheese and then fold the dough over again. Then spread lard, sprinkle with pecorino cheese and place provolone and salami cubes over dough. Lastly, roll from the long edge of the rectangle into a log and place it in a bundt tin lined with baking paper. Place a clean dish towel over it and let rise for three hours.

Wash eggs and dry, then place flat on dough. Take remaining dough set aside earlier and divide into six pieces. Roll six long sausages, lying two flat crossing over each egg. Then beat an egg yolk and glaze the top of the casatiello before placing in oven at 180 degrees for 50 minutes.

Buona Pasqua and enjoy

Keep on writing

Dear friends,

Sorry I haven't posted anything new these past couple of weeks but I've been hard at work finishing my upcoming novel Dalton's Embrace - The Miller Family Book 2.

It has been taking up a lot of my free time but I'll be back soon with new recipes and posts to keep you reading.

My novel Dalton's Embrace is scheduled for release in April 2018 so as soon as it is published, I will return to my weekly book with exciting new Italian recipes.

In he meantime, here is a little information about my upcoming novel.

           

I am excited to be writing to you about my upcoming book Dalton's Embrace, the  second novel in the Italian romance series The Miller Family, which is nearly ready for release. It is going through its final editing process and will be ready in April.

This novel explains, much like the other novels in the Italian romance series, the lives of its main characters as they battle the hardships of Italian life. As per tradition, this novel brings its characters in conflict with an Italian organized crime ring while they learn to survive and protect the people they love.

When the beautiful town of Vernazza in Cinque Terre, Italy was destroyed by flooding inLiam's Best, Book 1 of The Miller Family Series, the Miller family stepped in to help the townspeople rebuild the town. (*FREE on most platforms with the exception of Amazon's Kindle.)

Now in book two, the Miller's find out the hard way that Italy's organized crime rings will stop at nothing to protect areas where they receive income so when the Miller family take on the Italian organized crime ring, are they prepared to go to war with Italy's most notorious crime ring leaders?

Read this exciting sequel to the Miller Family Series and find out what happens to the characters who were introduced in the first book in the series.

All the best,

Grace

Grace Kagni

http://gracekagni.weebly.com

http://theitalianwriter.blogspot.it

Risotto with saffron and sausage

Grace Kagni’s Risotto with saffron and sausage

350g of Carnaroli rice

300 g of prosciutto sausage

1 large white onion
1 carrot

1 lt of broth

1 envelope of saffron powder

Half glass of white wine

50 g grana padano grated cheese

2 tablespoons of olive oil 

1 tablespoon of butter

Heat broth in saucepan. Pull skin off sausages. Chop onion and carrot fine and place in large skillet with olive oil. Cook until golden then add sausage. Stir for five minutes then add rice. Stir for a couple of minutes then add the wine and a little broth. When broth evaporates, add more a little at a time until rice is cooked. Add saffron and stir until saffron has blended with risotto. After adding grated cheese and butter, mix well before serving. Top with a sprinkle of cheese. 

Buon appetito!