Rosso 43:

April’s Cocktail of the Month at Fumo is the ‘Rosso 43’.

A refreshing long drink made with freshly squeezed red orange juice, Spanish vanilla liqueur and topped with Prosecco.

This beautiful aperitif will bring back memories of Summer holidays and sunsets by the sea.

Ingredients:

40 ml Stolichnaya Vodka
25 ml Liquor 43
50 ml Freshly squeezed red orange juice
Top with Prosecco

Method:

Shake and strain. Serve over ice.

This month’s recipe will leave you feeling warm and comforted. Pillow soft, delicious gnocchi are much easier to make than you think, served with rich and aromatic truffle oil and a decadent topping, if you’re looking for the perfect Valentines recipe, this is it. Enjoy!

If you make it, why not share it – we’d love to see your creations, send your photo with the name of the dish, your name and location to info@sancarlo.co.uk and you might see it featured in a future newsletter.

‘Gnocco al Tartufo Croccante’

Serves 8 people

For the Gnocchi:

• 2 kg potatoes
• 350g polenta flour
• 2 eggs
• 10g salt
• 90g grated parmesan cheese
• 5g nutmeg
• 150g flour
• 60ml truffle oil

For the Fondue:

• 1l Double Cream
• 600g Grated Parmesan
• 2 eggs yolks
• 25ml Worcester sauce
• 8g salt
• 5g nutmeg
• 5g white pepper
• 20 g fresh truffle on top (optional)

Method:

Wash potatoes and add to a pan of cold water, add 2 dessert spoons of rock salt, add to the heat and bring to the boil. Boil the potatoes until they’re cooked through and soft. Drain and remove from the pan while the potatoes are still warm, peel and mash until smooth.

Prepare a mixture of truffle oil, nutmeg, parmesan, salt and black pepper, eggs and polenta flour and add the mixture to the mashed potato, mix together well. Lastly, add the flour gradually in small quantities and mix together, creating a dough.

While the dough is still warm use a cold spoon and form each gnocchi,  toss in polenta flour so the flour covers fully.

Fondue
To make the fondue, pour the double cream in to a pan and add to the heat, as the cream heats through and comes to the boil add the parmesan, salt, black pepper, Worscester sauce and egg yolks, whisk all the ingredients together and leave to cool slightly. To finish, add the mixture to a blender, blend until smooth and transfer back into a pan to heat through before serving.

Finally, to cook the gnocchi, add vegetable oil to a pan and heat through, take each gnocchi and add to a hot pan, cook through turning frequency until they form a light brown colour

Serve the fondue warm with the gnocchi and finish with a drizzle of truffle oil
Tweet us a photograph of your dish to @SanCarlo_Group

Treat your loved one to the San Carlo experience at home this month with our ‘Paccheri Busera’ (available at Cicchetti and Fumo), an early Valentine’s Day recipe from Executive Chef Filippo Pagani’s.

Originating from Venice, one of the most romantic cities in the world, Filippo suggests this delicious seafood and pasta dish with a touch of chilli, could be the perfect recipe for love!

‘Paccheri Busera’

Ingredients for 2 People:

• 180g Paccheri pasta
• 300g Scampi or fresh tiger prawns
• 100g Cherry tomatoes
• 10g Garlic
• 5g Red chilli
• 10g Fresh basil
• 40g Extra Virgin olive oil
• 5g Worcester sauce
• 3g Tabasco sauce
• 4g Brown sugar
• 30g Unsalted butter
• 20ml Brandy
• Salt – season to taste

Method:

Start by peeling the fresh tiger prawns or scampi, loosen the head of each prawn to allow the flavour into each one.

Heat the olive oil in a large pan, add the prawns and fry them for 2/3 minutes. As the prawns cook they will change colour from grey to pink.

Crush the garlic and chilli, mix to a paste and add to the pan. When the garlic starts to brown add the brandy which will light as you pour. Add the ready chopped (in half) cherry tomatoes, basil, worcester sauce, tabasco sauce, brown sugar and season with salt.

Put the paccheri pasta in a pan of salted boiling water to cook for 12 minutes. Drain the pasta and combine with the main dish, stir well. Add the butter and leave on a low heat to cook through.

Drizzle with a touch of olive oil and serve with fresh Italian bread and a green salad.

Tweet us a photograph of your dish to @SanCarlo_Group

It’s been a mild couple of months but we’ve still moved on from salads to enjoy warming, wholesome dishes of meat, vegetables and Italian gravy!

So we asked Executive Chef Filippo Pagani to share one of his hearty winter creations, full of goodness and perfect for the darker, colder nights.

Ossobuco con Gnocco Alla Romana – Veal Shin with Gnocchi

Ingredients (per person):

• 450g Lamb shin with bone
• 1 Lemon
• 130g Chopped onion
• 20g Flour
• 10g Olive oil
• 20g Cooking oil
• 50g Chopped celery
• 40g Chopped carrots
• 30g Red wine
• 1 Bay leaf
• 5g Garlic
• 6g Parsley
• 20g Tomato sauce
• Parmesan Cheese, grated

Method:

Cover the meat in the flour and sauté in the pan with some olive oil. Once the lamb is beginning to colour add the red wine and allow to cook through.
In another pan, gently heat some olive oil and then add the carrots, celery, onion and bay leaf. After a couple of minutes add the tomato sauce and simmer for at least 10 mins.
Pour the tomato sauce mixture over the lamb shin, cover with a lid and cook in the oven at 180 degrees for approximately 45 mins.
Mix some parsley with garlic and lemon zest.
Take the meat out of the oven and cover the bone marrow with this parsley, garlic and lemon mixture. Place back in the oven for few minutes.
Boil some water in a saucepan and add a pinch of salt and black pepper. Start to add the semolina flour slowly and allow to cook (making gnocchi).
Spread the cooked mixture on a metal surface and let it cool for few minutes. Cut the gnocchi with a ring that makes pieces of 50 gr. Cover them with some grated Parmesan and allow to crispen under the grill.
Serve the meat with its sauce along with the gnoccho Romano.

Tweet us a photograph of your dish to @SanCarlo_Group

Take a sip from the witch’s cauldron this Halloween with the ‘Death of a Samurai’; a deliciously original cocktail from the expert mixologists at San Carlo Fumo.

With Midori liqueur as a base, alongside a mix of tequila and fresh lime juice, the drink is given a final spooky flourish of red ‘blood’ around the glass – perfect for a party this All Hallows’ Eve.  So why not come down and try it?

Ingredients:

• Midori
• Excellia Reposado Tequila
• Pistachio sugar
• Fresh lime juice

Method:

Mix all ingredients, shake with ice and strain into a coupette glass.

Garnish:

To make the ‘blood’, combine 3:1 parts caster sugar to water, 100ml vanilla essence, 100ml red food colouring and 4 x drops of Tabasco sauce and bring to the boil.

Leave to simmer on a low heat for 5-10mins before allowing to cool naturally and then placing in the freezer to firm up before using it to rim the glass!

Step away from the traditional pumpkin this year and try something a little different; the devilishly delicious butternut squash risotto from the team at San Carlo.

Baked butternut squash is filled with a creamy risotto of onion, red pepper, white wine, Parmesan and saffron, before being topped with fresh truffle shavings, a Parmesan crust and a pink peppercorn to finish.

Available now at San Carlo Manchester, this dish is sure to give a real bite to your Halloween season – so why not come down and try it – or create at home by following Filippo’s recipe below.

Butternut Squash Risotto – Serves 2

Ingredients:

• Butternut Squash – medium size, one per person
• Two red peppers – sliced
• One large onion – finely chopped
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper – to season
• Fresh sage
• Vegetable Stock
• Risotto Rice – 180g (90g per person)
• White wine (60ml)
• Saffron 0.5g
• Butter 30g
• Parmesan 30g
• Fresh truffle (shaved) or truffle oil

Method:

Cut off the top half of the butternut squash and scoop out the seeds inside and make into a shape of bowl.

Put the top half squash in the oven for 1 hour at 160 degrees until the squash is soft but not too soft.

Take the second half (bottom part) and split in 2 horizontally. Cut & peel the top half into cubes and saute in a pan with olive oil, sage, red peppers and a pinch of salt and pepper.

With the remaining bottom half, peel and cut into cubes and cook in a pan with a touch oil, sage, vegetable stock for about 20 minutes or until soft.

Take the mix and blend all together to make a sort of pumpkin stock (broth).

To make Risotto:

Place finely chopped onion in a pan with a touch of oil and after 3 minutes, add the risotto with half a gram of Saffron.

Add 30ml of white wine for every 90 grams of risotto (1 portion).

Heat all together and slowly gradually add the pumpkin broth made before continuously stirring until the risotto is cooked.

Remove from flame, add 30 grams of Butter, a touch of olive oil and  30 gr of Parmesan or to liking. Pour all of the mix inside the pumpkin bowl and place in the oven for 5 minutes at 180 degrees to make everything uniform.

Serve in a pumpkin bowl and add some black truffle shavings to finish  the dish.

As white truffles come in to season here’s a delicious, comforting, creamy and indulgent dish for you to cook at home.  Invite friends round one Saturday night and try this perfect pasta dish with a mixed salad and a bottle of Italian wine.

Ravioli stuffed with Pecorino & Truffle Cream Sauce – Serves 4

To make the pasta

• 500g strong flour (00)
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oi
• Pinch salt

Ravioli Filling

• 400g Mascarpone or Ricotta cheese
• 200g grated pecorino cheese
• Salt & pepper
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg

Truffle Cream Sauce

• 75g butter
• 1 medium onion thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
• 8 white mushrooms sliced
• 100ml white wine
• 220ml chicken broth
• 570ml double cream
• 2 teaspoon white truffle oil (or shaved white truffle)
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Basil leaves

Method for Pasta

Place the flour on work surface and make a well in the middle, add the whole eggs, yolks & olive oil to the well and then drag the flour over the eggs and pull together, knead the dough briskly for 1 minute (until it becomes stiff and hard to knead). Wrap in cling film and leave to rest in a cool place for 1 hour.
Flour the pasta machine with semolina and divide the pasta into 4 equal pieces. Starting at the lowest (thickest) setting, feed one piece of the dough through the machine, turning the handle with one hand and holding the dough as it comes through the machine with the other. Change the setting on the pasta machine to the next-thickest setting, flour it again and feed the pasta sheet through the machine again, as before.
Repeat this process 3-4 more times, flouring the machine and reducing the setting each time. The pasta should be thin, but still easy to handle without tearing. Repeat with the other pieces of dough.
Once the pasta sheets have reached the ideal thickness, dust with semolina and set aside.

Method for Filling

Mix together the mascarpone or ricotta and pecorino with the nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Creating the Ravioli

To make the ravioli, put a pasta sheet on A board and place a heaped teaspoon of the ricotta mixture at equal intervals along the pasta. Brush a little of the beaten egg around each filling then lay another pasta sheet on top and carefully press down around each filling ball to remove any air. Cut in squares with your ravioli cutter or knife, then dust with semolina flour and set aside.
To cook the ravioli bring some water to the boil and add a good pinch of salt.
Drop the ravioli in to the water in small batches and cook until they float to the surface,
Method for Truffle Cream Sauce
Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium-low heat, add the onion and garlic and cook until they begin to soften, add the mushrooms, cook until soft.
Add the chicken broth and wine. Simmer until the wine cooks off.
Add the cream and white truffle oil (or shaved truffle), then add the salt, pepper and torn basil
Cook for around 5 minutes until the sauce thickens.
Serve over the ravioli and top with freshly grated pecorino cheese, ground black pepper and fresh basil.

Tweet us a photograph of you enjoying your ravioli with your friends to @SanCarlo_Group

This month we bring you a tasty pizza recipe – one to try with the family during the last couple of weeks of the Summer holidays!  This colourful Italian creation is healthy and fresh – and sure to tempt  the children.

Makes: 5 x 20cm/8in Pizza Bases

• 250-350ml/8¾-12¾fl oz lukewarm water
• 1 tbsp active dried yeast
• 550g/1lb 3½oz strong white flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tsp salt;  ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing

Tomato Sauce Base (Makes 500ml)

• 50ml Olive oil
• 1 white onion finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
• 3 x 400 good-quality tinned plum tomatoes
• 2 tbsp. tomato puree
• 1 tbsp. caster sugar
• Splash of quality balsamic vinegar
• 1 bunch fresh basil leaves, torn
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Toppings

• 400g Goat’s cheese
• 250g mozzarella
• Jar of caramelised red onion chutney
• 300g baby spinach washed
• 1 thinly sliced red onion
• One orange and one yellow pepper – sliced lengthways

Method for Tomato Sauce

Finely dice the onion and place in a saucepan with 2 tbsp. of olive oil, cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the garlic and turn the heat up for a few minutes.
Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, sugar, balsamic vinegar & a pinch of salt & pepper.
Allow to simmer on a medium heat for 20 minutes.
Five minutes before the end of cooking tear the basil leaves and add to the sauce.
Tip: Tomato sauce always tastes richer and deeper if made a day in advance.

Method for Pizza Dough

Pour 150ml of the water into a bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Mix well to dissolve & leave to rest in a warm place for 10 minutes.
Sift the flour, salt and pepper into a large bowl.
Add the olive oil to the yeast mixture, mix until well combined then make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients & slowly pour in the yeast mixture, mixing quickly and gently to form soft and slightly sticky dough.
Add enough of the remaining water, little by little, until you have achieved the correct consistency.
Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Knead for 10 minutes until it is soft and pliable, flour hands if they become sticky.
Use a bowl large enough to fit the dough once doubled in size and lightly oil it, place the dough inside the bowl cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for 1-2 hours.
Preheat an oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
Remove the cling film once the dough has doubled in size & punch it down to knock out the air.
Remove from the bowl and knead until smooth. Divide into five round balls and rest for 20 minutes before shaping.
Lightly flour the work surface. Flatten the dough with your fingers, pick up and smack down again. Repeat this a few times. Now shape the dough over your clenched fist and stretch it gently from the outside rim to form a circular shape.
Place the dough on a well-floured pizza tin or baking sheet, repeat the process with all of the dough balls.

Creating the Pizza

Using a ladle, spoon over the tomato sauce working from the inside out to form a thin base of tomato sauce, sprinkle over the cheeses, sliced onion, peppers and spinach leaves, spoon on some caramelised onion chutney and bake in an oven for 20 minutes until the dough is cooked through and the crust is crispy
Drizzle with flavoured oil (garlic or chilli) and serve with a mixed salad

Tweet us a photograph of your pizza to @SanCarlo_Group

San Carlo Group’s Fumo bar and restaurant in Birmingham offers a range of more than 50 cocktails – including ‘quirky creations’ and ‘twists on classics’.

The cicchetti restaurant in Waterloo Street has a stunning, sweeping marble bar with a team of professional mixologists who have developed the extensive list using leading brands of spirits, liqueurs, Champagne and sparkling wines.

Experienced bar-staff are also able to make bespoke drinks based on preferred personal taste.

We asked Fumo’s General Manager and mixologist Anthony Trueman to create some sweet and dessert inspired cocktails …

Eton Mess

This traditional ‘old school’ dessert has inspired a sumptuous cocktail full of strawberries, cream and crushed meringue.  A delicious and luxurious taste of Summer.

Ingredients

• 30ml Raspberry vodka
• Strawberry liqueur
• 1 teaspoon strawberry jam
• 1 x egg white
• Double cream
• 1 teaspoon Demerara sugar
• Mix and serve over ice.  Garnish with cream, crushed meringue and sliced strawberry.

Apple Crumble

Based on the quintessentially classic British pudding this light, crisp, refreshing cocktail has a sweet, spicy cinnamon edge – simple nostalgia.

Ingredients

• 10ml Cinnamon syrup
• 20ml Vanilla schnapps
• 50ml Gala apple vodka
• Garnish with an apple fan dipped in cinnamon