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.

Baby marrow pasta

Serves 4


100g dry pasta per person (fettuccine or spaghetti)
1 packet of baby marrows
2 or 3 cloves of garlic
150ml cream
1Tbs dijon mustard
1 egg yolk


This recipe is quite quick so the first thing to do is bring a large pan of water to the boil for your pasta. I usually make this recipe with fettuccine or spaghetti. 


Wash and finely slice the baby marrows. I like to cut them in eighths lengthways, but however you prefer is fine. Throw them into a hot pan with a good glug of olive oil. Toss them over every now and again until they're nicely browned. Add your finely chopped garlic and toss for a few minutes. Turn down the heat and add the mustard and cream. Simmar for a few minutes. 


Toss your sauce into a pot of cooked pasta (you may want to add a little more olive oil). While its still hot separate an egg and throw in the yolk. The heat will cook it just enough to leave you with a beautiful rich glaze to your sauce. 


Add plenty of black pepper and parmesan and enjoy. 

Vegetarian Pasta

This is a lightly cooked and pureed sauce. You can make this sauce all year round using vegetables in season.

Fine Green Beans with Potato

1 packet of fine green beans
2 potatoes – peeled and diced
garlic
good salt and fresh ground black pepper for seasoning 

Bring 500ml of water to the boil in a pot. Throw in diced potatoes and boil until almost soft. Add in the beans until both are soft. Drain and leave to stand for a minute or 2. 


In a frying pan with a good glug of olive oil fry the garlic until lightly browned.

Roughly blend the cooled potato & beans, add the olive oil and garlic and season with salt and pepper.


Tossed over the cooked pasta, topped with good quality parmesan shavings.
 

Winter Basics

Winter is most certainly upon us! I love the change in season.... Joburg's red skyline, cozy fireplaces, hot chocolate and hearty home cooked meals. So much to look forward to :)

Before we can cook, we need to shop! Here are some guidelines of basics that I must have in my cupboard at all times...

• Dry pasta (1 packet feeds between 4 – 6 people). I like to keep a good variety - penne; spagetti; farfalle (bow ties); fettuccine; rigatoni
• Anchovies
• Bottled basil pesto
• Olive tapenade
• Parmesan (I like to buy whole blocks)
• Tinned whole tomatoes
• Good quality olive oil
• Tinned artichokes
• Tinned tuna

Looking forward to getting into winter cooking with you :) Until then... happy shopping.