Gourmet Sunday Italian Style

For our Sunday gourmet meal I planned this menu and these recipes to be light Italian with lots of flavor. It was a hit with everyone. The entire meal takes about 6 hour to prepare so you might want to break it up into a few days. This is how I did it; on Friday I made the Ladyfingers, berries, and Lime Curd. On Saturday I made the bread, mascarpone mixture and assembled the tiramisu. On Sunday I made the salad and salad dressing and the salmon.

Italian Salad

Mixed baby greens

6 oz kalamata olives

1 cucumber, scored, peeled and sliced

Artichoke hearts

Cherry tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise

Green onions, sliced

Salami, thinly sliced

Prosciutto, thinly sliced

Provolone cheese, very thinly sliced

Gorgonzola cheese

Toss greens, olives, cucumbers, artichoke hearts, tomatoes and green onions together and spread into a wide, shallow serving dish. On top of the bed of greens mixture arrange rolled pieces of salami, prosciutto and provolone cheese. Sprinkle lightly with Gorgonzola cheese. Serve with dressing on the side.

Fresh Italian Salad Dressing

1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1 tablespoon white sugar (or xylitol)

1 tablespoon fresh oregano

½ teaspoon fresh black pepper

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

1 tablespoon fresh basil

1 tablespoon fresh parsley

Salt to taste

½ cup white vinegar

1 ¼ cup olive oil

Mix all ingredients and blend until smooth.

Rosemary Bread

1 tablespoon yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup warm water

2 – 2 ½ cups white flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary (1 T dried)

1 tablespoon butter

Place yeast, sugar and water in a large bowl or food processor and allow mixture to become bubbly.

Mix in butter, salt, and 2 cups flour. Add half of the rosemary. Knead until smooth and elastic, add more flour if necessary.

Put dough in greased bowl and cover with a towel. Let dough rise in a warm place for an hour, or until doubled. Punch down dough and divide in half. Let dough rest for 5 minutes. Grease a cookie sheet. Shape the dough into two rounded oval loaves. Sprinkle with remaining rosemary and press into surface gently. Let loaves rise for 45 minutes or until doubled.

Bake at 375°F for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Brush with butter and serve with butter, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and herbs. This makes a great dipping bread.

Mediterranean Salmon

4 salmon fillets

1 cup fresh tomatoes, finely chopped

1 tablespoon capers

½ cup chopped artichokes

¼ cup sliced green olives

1 tablespoon chopped onion

1 teaspoon fresh minced garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

Fresh basil

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup chicken broth

Preheat oven to 475°F. Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper and place them on a greased pan (skin side down if fillets have skin). Put in oven until they are half cooked (about 10 minutes). Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a pan and sauté the garlic and onion. When they are soft, add the olives, artichokes, capers and chicken broth. Cook for 2 minutes and add the tomatoes and some chopped basil. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper and pour all but 1 cup over the half-cooked salmon. Return salmon to the oven until they are fully cooked, about 10 minutes. Serve salmon with remaining sauce on tip and garnish with fresh basil or parsley leaves.

Berry Tiramisu

This recipe is involved, but not difficult. Give yourself time as you need to start 2 days in advance. It is delicious and well worth the time.

You will need berries, lime syrup, lime curd, mascarpone cheese tipping and ladyfingers.

Berries:

3 cups fresh blueberries

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 cup fresh blackberries

1 cup powdered sugar

½ cup water

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 cup sliced fresh strawberries

Combine blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, powdered sugar and water in a large stainless steel pot. Bring to a simmer, stirring gently until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until berries are soft, but intact. Stir in lime juice and cool to room temperature. Stir in strawberries. Chill until cold.

Lime Syrup

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lime peel

1/3 cup water

Combine all ingredients together in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cool to room temperature and discard lime peel.

Mascarpone Topping

20 oz mascarpone cheese (if you can’t find mascarpone use cream cheese, however it is worth looking for mascarpone)

½ heavy whipping cream.

Mix cheese and cream together with an electric mixer until smooth and slightly thickened (do not overbeat!). Add Lime Curd (see recipe below) and beat just until blended.

Lime Curd

¼ cup butter

¾ cup sugar

½ cup fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon grated lime peel (fresh)

Pinch of salt

5 egg yolks

Place a fine strainer over a medium glass bowl. Melt butter in heavy saucepan. Remove from heat and add sugar, lime juice, lime peel and salt. Whisk to blend. Add yolks and wish until smooth. Return saucepan to medium heat and whish constantly until curd thickens slightly and reaches 165°F on an instant read thermometer (do not boil). Pour curd into prepared strainer. Discard solids. Cover liquid and chill overnight.

Ladyfingers

2/3 cup white flour

Pinch of salt

4 eggs – separated

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300°F. Grease and flour 2 cookie sheets. Beat egg yolks with half of the sugar until thick enough to leave a ribbon trail when the beaters are lifted.

In another bowl beat the egg whites until stiff. Beat in the remaining sugar until glossy.

Sift flour over the yolks and spoon a large dollop of egg whites over the flour.

Carefully fold. Add vanilla and gently fold in the remaining whites. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain nozzle and pipe 3 inch long lines on the baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes until crusty on the outside but soft in the center. Cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack.

Assembling the Tiramisu

Tiramisu can be assembled in a baking dish or in individual cups.

Lightly brush each ladyfinger with the lime syrup. Layer the ladyfingers, mascarpone cheese mixture, and berry mixture. In a baking dish do one layer of each. For individual servings do three layers. Chill overnight and top with a small dollop of whipped cream.