An article or a vegetarian menu?
What you are reading is not an article, but a real vegetarian menu.
The vegetarian dinner that we propose below follows the dictates of Italian cuisine, obviously without meat or fish, or derivatives, and is composed in a classic way: appetizer, first course, second course, dessert. It is simple, light and quick to prepare. It is a menu for a fun, colorful, tasty vegetarian dinner and can be accompanied by good fresh wine.
Menu for a vegetarian dinner
Starter
Zucchini marinated with Castelmagno
First
Spinach risotto with saffron cream
Second
Eggplant balls with sesame seeds on a bed of rocket and pomegranate
Sweet
Hazelnut mousse
Vegetarian dinner preparation
For the vegetarian dinner appetizer:
Vegetarian dinner starts with a great appetizer. Cut the courgettes into thin slices with a potato peeler, lay them on a plate, season with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and fresh black pepper. Do the same with flakes of Castelmagno cheese cut on top. This fresh appetizer goes very well with homemade bread with seeds and cereals.
For the first course of the vegetarian dinner:
Sauté a thinly sliced spring onion in a little oil, add the rice (Carnaroli or Arborio), the thinly sliced fresh spinach, let it flavor and then boil, gradually adding the vegetable broth previously prepared for the necessary time. Mix at the end of cooking with a knob of butter and grated Parmesan. Separately heat in a pan of fresh cream to add saffron. The risotto should be served in a deep dish, making a hole in the center, in which you put 3 tablespoons of the cream and saffron mixture.
For the second course of the vegetarian dinner:
Take the aubergines (3 or 4), cut them into cubes, sauté them in a pan with a little oil and, once cooked, place them in a bowl with some homemade bread soaked in a little milk, add half a clove finely chopped garlic, chopped parsley, grated Parmesan, salt and pepper and two whole eggs. Make small balls using some flour if the mixture is not very dense, take a baking sheet, put some non-stick paper, place the aubergine balls sprinkled with sesame seeds and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on top. Cook at 170 degrees for a quarter of an hour, about twenty minutes, turning the meatballs halfway through cooking.
The meatballs are served in individual dishes on a bed of coarsely chopped arugula, with a few pomegranate grains for decoration.
Hazelnut mousse, the vegetarian dinner dessert:
At the end of your vegetarian dinner, dessert. Melt 120 grams of chocolate (half dark, half hazelnut) in a bain-marie, remove from heat and leave to cool. Combine the cream (1.5 dl) previously whipped with a little icing sugar, take two nice cups in which to put the mousse and leave them in the fridge to rest for about a couple of hours before serving garnished with hazelnut granules.
The combination with wine can be made with white DOC, Arneis from Piedmont, thinking of the origin of Castelmagno, of chocolate and hazelnuts, of the flavors in play and the colors on the table!
Curiosity : the name of the Arneis wine derives from the Piedmontese dialect, " arnèis ", which means a fluffy character!
