Orange omelette for pimps and harlots

[Baroque Mongoose]

That's the one! The recipes are in the back of the (hardback) CD notes.

It's a lovely CD, too. I finally got the chance to listen to it yesterday.

[sospiro]

I feel a 'one click' coming on

This is an extremely tenuous connection but I visited Mantua last September & had the most fabulous Mozzarella Salad in a little restaurant in Piazza Sordello.

[Baroque Mongoose]

Italy is a wonderful place for food. My sister and I went to Venice in February 2007 (hence my avatar - we went for the Carnival). My sister had at the time just acquired a shiny new boyfriend, and she was pretty much either talking to him on her mobile or talking about him to me for the entire holiday. She married him seven months later.

However, there was one particular meal in one particular restaurant which actually shut her up about Andrew for the duration of the meal and about an hour afterwards, because it was just so good. I can't even recall what it was now, but I do remember it was an exceptionally good restaurant and not at all expensive - a stone's throw from our hotel, too.

Sadly the music in Venice wasn't always as good as the food. We did go to a concert, but my sister informed me in no uncertain terms that if she had had a metronome about her person she would have walked up to the front and offered the loan of it to the performers. She would, too. My sister is a scary church choirmistress and you do not mess with her, especially not musically.

[Zeitblom]

I remember some years ago reading about a restaurant that had created Pollo Pavarotti as a tribute to the singer. Apparently the restauranteur was an innocent soul who couldn't see why some might regard a dish of stuffed boneless breast of chicken as a somewhat backhanded tribute to the master ...

[Baroque Mongoose]

Ah, innocence. I expect Pavarotti appreciated the thought, though. And the chicken!

[mamascarlatti]

I’ll contribute my old boss’s recipe for Maccheroni alla Trovatore. Make sure you live near a hospital for the ensuing heart attack.

In Italian:

Ingredienti (per 4/6 persone, dipende dall'appetito)

400 g di maccheroni (di grano duro, come si fanno in Italia, mi raccomando!)
200 g di formaggio (fontina, gruyère o simile)
200 g di panna liquida
100 g di burro
150 g di parmigiano grattuggiato
1 uovo
2 cucchiai farina
sale, pepe, noce moscata

Lesssare i maccheroni in abbondante acqua salata e toglierli dal fuoco a metà cottura. Scolarli e inserire nel loro foro una striscia di formaggio poi disporli affiancati in una pirofila (contenitore che può essere messo in forno) imburrata. Fare 2 o 3 file sovrapposte di maccheroni (dipende dalle dimensioni della pirofila). Mettere in un frullatore l'uovo, la panna, la farina, 100 g di parmigiano, sale, pepe e una grattuggiata di noce moscata e frullare fino ad ottenere una crema che va versata sui maccheroni che dovranno essere completamente ricoperti. Spolverare la superficie con il rimanente parmigiano, cospargere con dei pezzetti di burro e mettere in forno a gratinare per 10 minuti circa. Servirli ben caldi direttamente dalla pirofila. Buon appetito.

In English:

Ingredients (for 4 / 6 people, depending on how greedy they are)

400 g Italian durum wheat macaroni
200 g of cheese (fontina, gruyere or similar)
200 g cream
100 g of butter
150 g grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
2 tablespoons flour
salt, pepper, nutmeg

Boil the macaroni in salted water and remove from heat when half cooked. Drain and stuff a strip of cheese into each one, and lay them side by side in a buttered ovenproof dish. Make 2 or 3 overlapping rows of macaroni (depending on size of pan). In a blender place the egg, cream, flour, 100 g of Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and grated nutmeg and blend until creamy. Pour over the macaroni, taking care to cover completely. Sprinkle the surface with the remaining Parmesan cheese, dot with bits of butter and bake for 10 minutes until the cheese is browned. Serve hot directly from the dish. Enjoy your meal.

Incidentally my boss’s great grandfather was the 19th century equivalent of a taxi driver in Milan and often used to drive “Il Maestro” around the city, receiving a silver coin for his pains.

[Baroque Mongoose]

Great Scott! I see what you mean about the heart attack. It sounds delicious, but best eaten in very small quantities. Unless you're an opera singer, in which case you need all that fuel.