for a minute or so, until the livers start to colour. Add the brandy and, standing well back, set it alight with a match to burn off the alcohol but leave the flavour. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
Drain the cooked pasta (reserving a little of the cooking water). Return the chicken livers to a medium heat and add the pasta, with about a tablespoon of the cooking water. Toss well and stir in the melted butter.
Transfer to a serving bowl and scatter the slices of black truffle on top, if you have them. If not, it doesn’t matter. Serve straight away.
Salt beef with carrots and mustard dumplings
Salt beef with carrots and mustard dumplings
To salt your own beef takes over a week, so it’s far easier and much more practical to buy a pre-salted piece from your butcher (silverside works well), soak it first and then cook it slowly in the oven. This is like all my best childhood memories served up on a plate. Tony
Serves 6
2.25kg/5lb joint of salt beef
25g/1 oz butter
500g/1lb 2 oz baby carrots, trimmed
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
chopped parsley
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the dumplings:
6 slices of white bread, crusts
removed 1 teaspoon English mustard
Soak the salt beef in cold water for 24 hours, changing the water twice.
Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas Mark 2. Drain the beef and place it in a close-fitting casserole with about 300ml/½ pint boiling water. Cover the casserole with 2 layers of greaseproof paper or foil so that the juices cannot evaporate, then cover with a lid. Place in the oven and cook for 3 hours, until the meat is so tender it is almost falling apart. Remove from the oven and leave in the casserole for about 20 minutes.
For the dumplings, break the bread into pieces and place in a bowl with the mustard and 150ml/¼ pint of the stock from cooking the beef. Season with salt and pepper and mix to a paste. Roll into small balls about the size of a walnut and set aside.
For the carrots, heat the butter in a saucepan, add the carrots, sugar and a ladleful of the beef stock and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, until the carrots are tender and all the juices in the pan have reduced down to a syrup.
Bring a small saucepan of the salt beef stock to the boil, add the dumplings and simmer for 4-5 minutes.
Heat 150ml/¼ pint of the remaining stock with the Worcestershire sauce. Serve each person 4 slices of the beef with some carrots, dumplings and a ladleful of stock, and a little parsley.
Coniglio al forno con prosciutto crudo e polenta
Rabbit with Parma ham and polenta
This was inspired by a dish my grandmother, Vicenzina Tamborini, used to make when I was a boy. Rabbit and polenta are natural companions, and they work even better with the saltiness of the ham and the bitterness of the radicchio. If you can’t find radicchio trevisano, use ordinary radicchio instead. Giorgio
Serves 6
6 rabbit legs, boned
12 thin slices of Parma ham
2 tablespoons groundnut oil
50g/2 oz butter 500g/1lb
2 oz lard, melted
125g/4 oz polenta
1.2 litres/2 pints milk
2 heads of radicchio trevisano
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 120°C/250°F/Gas Mark ½. Wrap each rabbit leg in 2 slices of Parma ham. Heat half the oil in a large shallow casserole and place the rabbit legs in it. Fry over a medium heat until they start to colour, then add the butter. Turn the legs over and cook for a further 2 minutes. Cover the legs completely with the melted lard, then cover with foil and cook very gently in the oven for 1 hour, until very tender.
Meanwhile, cook the polenta. Put it in a large jug so that it can be poured in a steady stream. Bring the milk to the boil in a large saucepan; it should half fill the pan. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and then slowly add the polenta in a continuous stream, stirring with a long-handled whisk all the time, until completely blended. The polenta will start to bubble volcanically. Reduce the heat as low as possible and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Cut each radicchio into 3 and season with salt and pepper. Brush with the remaining oil and cook on a medium-hot griddle pan, until wilted. Spoon the polenta on to 6 serving plates and put the rabbit legs on top. Add the radicchio to the side and serve straight away.
Spezzatino di pollo al limone con carciofi
Chicken stew with artichoke and lemon
This is a very old recipe that probably originated in Sardinia. What saves it from being just another nice, homely stew is the surprising tang of the lemon juice. Be sure to use unwaxed lemons. Giorgio
Serves 4
4 lemons 2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 globe artichokes
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
4 chicken legs
a little plain flour, for dusting
