What Ciro's making for Christmas Eve

I can't believe its nearly the end of the year and Christmas is around the corner. As a thank you to all my fans for another fantastic year, I thought I'd share my Christmas menu with you. Hope it inspires your own delicious feast - Ciro.

Christmas Eve Menu at Ciro's

Aperitif

Glass of chilled Bellini Prosecco with a splash of peach juice

Appetizer 

Toasted brioche topped with smoked river trout, topped with horseradish & crème fraiche

Starter 

Bruschetta topped with a mélange of wild mushrooms, sautéed with parsley, cognac with a dollop of mascarpone. Served with a fresh herb salad

Main 

Free range duck, slow baked with tarragon butter & glazed plums. Served with wilted baby cabbage & roast garlic potatoes

Dessert 

Fresh strawberries, dipped in vanilla sugar and served with crème brulee semifreddo 

Wine

Starter - Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc 

Main - Glen Carlou Pinot Noir

Dessert - Mullineux Straw Dessert Wine 

Mussels with spaghetti

Serves 4

250 g - 300g of spaghetti

1 tin whole tomatoes

1 clove fresh garlic

250g of frozen ½ shell New Zealand mussels (find these at your fishmonger) 

(you can freeze left overs for another day)

1 tsp dried oregano

½ tsp dry chilli (optional)

½ cup of good quality vegetable stock

For the sauce:

With good glug of extra virgin olive oil in a pan, add the crushed garlic, tomatos, vegetable stock, oregano, chili and salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste. Simmer until reduced to about half the liquid. Add the mussels and simmer for 5 or so minutes on a low heat. 

Boil the pasta and toss in with the sauce. 

Serve and enjoy. 

Smoked salmon salad

A celebration of spring! Smoked salmon salad . This is a nice quick, light dinner or lunch and the perfect celebration of the warming weather.

Potato salad:

1 potato per person
1 egg per person
A few leaks
2 or 3 cloves of garlic
Mayonaise
Olive oil
Oregano
Chives/spring onion

Boil your potatoes. I use 1 per person but you can gage this on the apetites of your audience. Let them cool. Hard boil your eggs - again I would use 1 per person, but its completely up to you. Cool, peel and slice. Lightly brown a couple of leaks and finely chopped cloves of garlic. Add all your ingredients into a bowl, together with your chives/spring onions and oregano. Add a good helping of mayonnaise, some olive oil, salt, pepper and freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste.

Serve your potato salad with some smoked salmon or trout and a bed of greens lightly dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Enjoy :)

Desserts at Ciro's

Having some friends around? Too busy to cook? What about dessert? Let us cater for you. Here are some desserts you could serve...

Yum! Call or mail us now to place your order - 011 442 5187, lacucina@iburst.co.za

Risotto with sausage and red wine

This risotto dish is delicious but very rich and so its a good idea to balance with  a salad of fresh herbs & radicchio.  
Serves 4

2 spicy Italian sausages (the operative word here is spicy :) ). Remove the skins and cut into slices
1 small onion finely chopped (we prefer red)
1 garlic finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
1 cup red wine
1.5 litres of vegetable stock (for a richer taste use a good quality meat stock)
parmesan shavings

 
In a frying pan throw together the olive oil, butter & sausage and fry together on a medium heat for about 3 or so minutes and put aside. Fry the onion and garlic for  a few minutes until transparent. Add the rice and stir around the pan making sure to cover all the rice with oil. This should take about 2-3 minutes. Add the wine and stir constantly until the wine has evaporated. Add the stock one ladleful at a time – stirring continually. Keep adding the stock until you've used everything. The risotto should take about 20 minutes to cook el dente. Stir the sausage into the rice. Garnish with salad greens, parmesan, a squeeze of lemon juice and some olive oil. Serve immediately.
 
(Remember the rice should not be stodgy but have a little broth)
 
Enjoy
 
  

Risotto with clams

The winter month are still upon us – and nothing nicer than staying at home and cooking a hearty meal for the family. 

Lets make risotto – not a difficult dish to make just needs some love and care

risotto with clams

serves 4

1 kg clams or vongole (from your fishmonger)

200ml white wine

in a saucepan heat the wine add the clams – cook approx. 3 mins

until calms open. Drain the wine and set aside

400g Arborio rice

2 Tsp olive oil

1 Tsp of unsalted butter

1 small onion finely chopped

1-2 cloves of garlic finely chopped

A handful of flat leaf parsley – chopped

150ml white wine

1.5 litre vegetable or chicken stock

zest from 2 lemons (keep the lemons to squeeze over the risotto)

In a frying pan add the butter, olive oil, onion and lastly the garlic. Fry slowly over a low heat for about 5 mins. Add the rice and stir making sure each grain is coated with oil. Add the wine and reduce until the wine has almost evaporated - about 2 mins. Add the stock a little at a time, reducing and allowing the rice to absorb the moisture before adding more. The whole process should take about 20 -25 mins and its best to keep stirring throughout. I like the rice el dante. 

Stir in the clams - garnish with the lemon zest, chopped parsley and generously drizzle with olive oil. You can also squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the risotto. Serve immediately.

Tip – the risotto should be thick, but not stodgy. Careful not to overcook the rice or leave in too much liquid. Remember to add small amounts of liquid at a time. 

Bon apetito – with a glass on white wine yum !

Penne with prawns

Its still freezing out there even though we've just past the winter solstice and on the downhill slope to spring! (Yippeeeee!)

250 g of penne
250 g of cooked prawns (freeze the rest for another day)
½ cup of light cream
¼  cup of plain yoghurt
juice and zest from ½ lemon
1 clove crushed fresh garlic
1 bulb fennel – thinly sliced
1 couple of thyme sprigs ( from your potted herb garden ) 

In a frying pan add a good glug of olive oil. (Always be careful not to burn the oil as it heats quickly.) Add the prawns and the fennel just long enough to heat through. Remove from the heat. Add the lemon juice, garlic, zest, cream & yoghurt. 

Cook the penne in a pot of salted boiling water till al dente (about 12 mins). Drain and leave in the pot – drizzle with a little olive oil so it doesn't get sticky. 



Toss in the sauce in the hot pasta. Garnish with fresh thyme and serve immediately.