We have reached the seconds. Continuing our journey in Italy we go to Liguria, where the second traditional dish for Christmas lunch is the Ligurian roast turkey , a simple recipe but with a long cooking time. In Ligurian dialect it is called “Bibbin a rosto”.
INGREDIENTS for about 6 people: Whole turkey meat (better if already cleaned to save time), 100 g of flat bacon, 200 g of sausage, g of laurel to taste, EVO oil to taste, dry white wine to taste, salt to taste.
PROCEDURE: Once the turkey has been cleaned and the innards have been emptied, wash and dry it. Tie the thighs so that they don't fall apart, and place it in a tall ovenproof dish with a drizzle of EVO oil. Stuff the inside of the turkey with the sausage and a couple of bay leaves.
Cover the breast with a few slices of bacon and more bay leaves. Season with salt and put in the oven at a medium temperature, taking care to sprinkle the cooking juices at intervals; when it begins to color, pour a glass of white wine over it. When the color of the meat turns golden brown, the cooking is complete. Untie the turkey, remove the bay leaf and the herbs and serve sprinkled with the cooking sauce.
From the north we move to the south, in Sicily, to dive into the Sicilian Falsomagro , in the local dialect "farsumagru" or "bruciulune". It is a huge meat roll stuffed and cooked in abundant tomato sauce.
INGREDIENTS for 4 people: 1 slice of veal rump of about 700 grams, 400 g minced beef, 50 g breadcrumbs, 5 eggs (of which three hard-boiled), 100 g grated Sicilian pecorino, 50 g raisins, 50 g pine nuts , sea salt, black pepper, nutmeg, a sprig of parsley, 100 g soft caciocavallo, 100 g salami, 1 onion, EVO oil, 1 glass of red wine, 0.75 l tomato sauce, 150 g tomato paste, kitchen twine.
PROCEDURE : mix the minced meat with two eggs, the grated pecorino cheese, chopped parsley, salt, black pepper, a pinch of nutmeg and breadcrumbs. Work well until you get a soft textured dough.
Pour the veal rump onto a surface, beat it well to spread it out and place the previously prepared mixture on top, the salami and the caciocavallo cheese cut into strips, the hard-boiled eggs, the pine nuts and the raisins.
Roll up the meat to form a large salami and tie it with kitchen string so that the filling remains tightly closed inside. Fry the chopped onion in the extra virgin olive oil in a large saucepan and place the meat in it. Brown the fino magro, deglaze with the red wine over high heat and add the tomato concentrate diluted in warm water together with the tomato sauce, until the roll is covered. Add salt and pepper and cook for about an hour. Once cooked, leave to cool, remove the string, cut the “falsomagro” into slices and put it on a serving plate sprinkled with hot tomato sauce. Before serving, reheat in a hot oven for ten minutes. Serve as usual with baked potatoes and stewed peas.
