Risotto with Lemon and Pulp of Lobster
Ingredients (for 4 people):
Rice “carnaroli” – 350 gr.
Astice – 800 gr.
Lemons – nr.3
Leaves of lemon – nr.4
Lobster/fish stock – 2 litres
White wine – 50 centiltres
Parsley – oil – butter – salt , as it is enough
Scallion, garlic
Brandy

How to prepare it:
Cook the lobster in boiling water for 7 minutes and peel it. With its offals, prepare the stock for the risotto. Cut the pulp of lobster into cubes and fry it in a frying pan with garlic and oil. Pour a little of brandy

In the meantime, put the oil and the scallion in a saucepan, fry them lightly, then add rice and make it roast.
Once it is roasted, pour white wine. Continue the cooking of the rice by adding gradually the stock.
Just before finishing the cooking, add the tossed lobster, the chopped fresh parsley, the grated lemon and a little of lemon juice; thicken with a nut of butter and serve in a plate decorated with a leaf of lemon and a few lemon peels.

Sorrento culinary tradition has very ancient origins, in some cases going back to the time of the Greeks, and its success is undoubtely due to its strategic geographic position, as lying between land and sea, to the fertility of its land and its wonderful climate which allows the cultivation of a lot of products, of unique and incomparable genuineness, such as citrus fruits, oranges and lemons, walnuts, tomatoes, vineyards and olive-trees, which all together make up one of the main characteristics of the landscape. The natural characteristics of these products are then combined with the mastery of great chefs who try to guarantee, to all visitors, a cooking of great variety and deliciousness, made with passion and fantasy. Just because used to accommodate thousands of visitors, famous artists, noble families ad vips, Sorrento Coast has developed a kind of restoration ready to satisfy any kind of taste, going from the delicacies of the typical local cooking to those of the nouvelle cousine, and from those of the Mediterranean cooking to international wine-gastronomy. All this, yet, not neglecting the rules of healthy eating, so much recommended by doctors and nutritionists, through the choice of genuine ingredients, which are also tasty and inviting.
Among the most famous and delicious first courses we can remember the well-known gnocchi alla sorrentina, tasty potato gnocchi flavoured with tomato, basil and local mozzarella cheese, which in Sorrento has the shape of a plait. The same flavouring is also used for the inviting ravioli alla caprese, prepared with fresh pasta filled wth ricotta. A scented local basil, combined with Sorrento tomatoes and vaccine mozzarella cheese produced in the Peninsula, are the simple but delicious ingredients of the famous caprese salad, known and appreciated all over the world. Most of the typical local products are seasoned with extra vergine olive oil D.O.P. produced in the Coast and having a sweet and light flavour.
The richness of the land allows the presence of a lot of arboreus cultivations which, besides being one of the main picturesque characteristics of the landscape, allow the production of fruits which are real icons of Sorrento Coast, like the well-known lemons of Sorrento. This fruit, which has achieved the acknowledgement of the Igp in November 2000 for its excellent qualities, is at the basis of economy and allows the making of various products and recipes such as that of the famous Sorrento Limoncello. It is a lemon of medium-large sizes, of elliptic shape, with a beautiful yellow peel, which is very perfumed, and has a particularly juicy and acid pulp. Moreover, this cultivation has also a biological importance, because lemon groves offer these places remarkable advantages, like that of the environmental protection: in occupying also the steepest sides, sometimes with slopes making their cultivation very difficult, in fact, they contribute to preventing soil from geological instability. Very important is also the production of oranges and the one of the famous walnuts of Sorrento which have ancient origins, too, and they are told to have been thrown, in the past, to married couples on the day of their wedding as a sign of good luck and prosperity. There are two main kinds of nuts of Sorrento, one with a long, regular shell which is lightly pointed on top and bevelled on its base, and the other which is roundish and smaller. Also for nuts, which are appreciated by anyone and by confectionery industries, for the peculiarity of their kernel, which even when taken out, remains undamaged, it is possible to prepare various gastronomical recipes and a particular digestive liqueur, the so-called Nocillo. Also the sea lapping Amalfi Coast and Sorrento Coast is particularly generous: fish and crustaceans are, in fact, important protagonists of gastronomy, used by local chefs to prepare delicious recipes like lobster, simply boiled or cooked in tomato sauce, octopus casserole, crayfish that is fried with or without a light breading, and crab soup. The vineyards located in Sorrento territory produce white wines which are much appreciated, like the Aglianico and the Falanghina, going well with first and second courses based on fish, the red of Sorrento and the Gragnano, instead, go well with dishes based on meat and delicious local dairy products and sausages. Along the coastline of Sorrento, finally, it is possible to taste the fantastic Neapolitan cakes, in particular the delicious rum babà with or without cream, the lemon delizia, the famous Neapolitan pastiera and the inimitable caprese pie, both with almonds and with lemon.

Prawns 14
Oranges 3
Mixed wild salad leaves

Clean the prawns, remove the head and shell leaving only the tail intact. Blanche in salted water for 2 – 3 minutes with some orange peel.
Squeeze 2 oranges and put the juice into a pan and over a low heat and allow to reduce for about 30 minutes.
Peel another orange and cut into slices.
Place on a plate with a small heap of mixed wild salad leaves, 3 pieces of orange and 7 prawns. Dress the salad and prawns lightly with salt and olive oil and the prawns must also be dressed with some of the reduced orange sauce.

Ingredients for 2 people

Dried salted cod Gr. 400
Olives Gr.100
Capers without salt Gr. 60
Vesuvius small tomatoes Gr. 160
Curly endive Gr. 400
Oil, salt, pepper the right amount

In a pan fry some oil with a clove of garlic, to be taken away after its frying.
Add the dried salted cod with all the remaining ingredients in the oil and let them cook for 7/8 minutes.

Put the raw curly endive in a pan with hot oil and garlic and let it cook for approx. 2 Mins. and then form a pie to put the dried salted cod on.

Ingredients for the Struffoli:

Flour Gr. 200

Eggs No. 2

Olive Oil Ml. 20

Sugar Gr. 30

Anise Ml. 20

Water 1 spoon

Ingredients for the Honey:

Honey Gr. 300

Water Ml. 200

Sugar Gr. 100

Anise Ml. 20

Citrus Fruits peels, to taste

Put the flour and the sugar arranging them as a volcano on board, add eggs, oil, anise and water and knead until you get a homogeneous pastry.

Let the pastry achieved stand for almost 15 minutes, then take some pieces of pastry and roll them with the help of a little flour until you get some stripes of pastry.

Cut the stripes of pastry into small pieces, sieve them and fry them in boiling oil.

Boil the water, the sugar and the honey until you get the desired density and finally add the anise, after which pour the struffoli into the hot honey, previously fried, the peels of the citrus fruits cut in small slices and serve.

Ingredients:

short pastry 500 gr.

Confetioners Cream 300gr.

Ricotta (cottage cheese) 500 gr.

Sugar 500 gr.

Cooked grain 500 gr.

Butter 50 gr.

5 Eggs

Milk 200gr.

Candied fruit 50 gr.

½ Orange blossom phial

½ Cinnamon sachet

Boil together the butterm the milk, the grain and 250 gr. of sugar. Let it cool down.

Put the ricotta, the eggs, 250 gr. of sugar, the flavourings, the candied fruit and the cream in another container and add the ingredients you have already boiled.

After mixing, put the short pastry in a mould and fill it with the ingredients. Leave a little short pastry to do some strips to decorate the cake.

Cook the cake in oven (180°) for 45 minutes. Let it cool down and cover it with icing sugar.