Recipes by Alain Ducasse - Trattoria Toscana

• Cuisine
• Cookery courses
• Recipes by Alain Ducasse
• News and events
• Contacts

Recipes by Alain Ducasse

Melt-in-the-mouth gnocchi with asparagus tips and purée

Serves 4

Wash the potatoes and cook in boiling salted water, then peel and mash them.
Add the flour, egg, salt and nutmeg, and mix to get a smooth paste. Cover with a cloth until needed.
Form small individual dumplings.
Press into an oval shape and score using the back of a fork.
Cook for 2 minutes in boiling salted water, then cool rapidly in iced water and drain.
Cut 10cm asparagus tips and chop the ends.
Sauté the asparagus tips in a saucepan with a little olive oil, adding a drop of vegetable stock to help them cook.
Cool the tips in iced water (to keep the colour) then reduce two thirds to a pulp in the blender.
When you are ready to serve, sauté the asparagus tips, heat the gnocchi in a saucepan with a knob of butter, the stock and sage leaf, and warm the purée.
Distribute the purée in 4 dishes, add the gnocchi, asparagus, gravy, tiny pieces of pecorino, freshly grated pepper and a sprinkling of olive oil.


Stuffed baby squids inzimino style

Serves 4

Clean and wash the squids, beet leaves, herbs and onions.
Separate the beet leaves and stalks. Place the stalks in water with some lemon juice.
Chop the herbs, grate the lemon zest and cut the onions into cubes.
Sauté ¾ of the beet leaves  in a saucepan with a drop of oil and the thyme, and cool rapidly.
Squeeze out all the water.
Chop the remaining beet leaves.
Brown the onions in another saucepan with the crushed peppercorns and allow to cool.
Mix the chopped beet leaves, onion, herbs, grated cheese, 2 chopped squids and lemon zest together in a large bowl.
Add olive oil, salt and freshly-ground pepper.
Stuff the remaining squids with the mixture and seal using wooden toothpicks.
Cut the beet stalks into 4cm pieces and cook in a saucepan with the lid on.
Fry the squids in a pan with the heads.
When they are done, add the beet leaves and stalks.
Toss with a little olive oil and freshly-grated pepper.



Chianti rabbit with fennel, white onion and olives

Serves 4

                    
Cut the rabbit up into 8 pieces (2 shoulders, 2 legs, 2 ribs and back in two parts).
Wash the fennels, cut into quarters and round off the edges.
Chop the rosemary leaves and the onion.
Brown the pieces of rabbit in a saucepan (preferably cast-iron) then remove.
Then do the same with the fennel and remove.  
In the same saucepan fry the onion, rosemary, olives and pepper.
Transfer to a casserole dish, add the stock, gravy, rabbit and fennel, and cover.
Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes at 150°C.
Just before serving, add the olive oil, grated pepper, fennel flowers and vinegar.




Zuppa inglese

Serves 10

For the biscuit

Sift the two types of flour together.
Whisk the egg yolks and icing sugar until they have tripled in volume.
Mix the flour into the yolk mixture.
Whip the egg whites with the granulated sugar, then fold into the yolk mixture very gently.
Spread out on a 40x60cm baking tray, dust with icing sugar and bake for 12-14 minutes at 160°C.
Turn out upside down onto a sheet of paper and allow to cool.

For the cream

Whisk the yolks, sugar and corn flour.
Boil the milk with the vanilla, then remove.
Add the milk to the mixture, return to the saucepan, bring to the boil and cook for 4 minutes, stirring.
Allow to cool slightly and add the butter.
When cold, mix in the rum using a whisk.  

For the sauce

Dissolve the sugar in the water, allow to cool and add the liqueur.

For the Italian meringue

    

Whip the egg whites and 35g sugar in a bowl.
Heat the remaining ingredients to a temperature of 121°C.
Pour the hot sugar onto the  egg whites as quickly as possible.
Then whip gently.
Allow to cool and place in the refrigerator.


Final stage:
Brush the biscuit with sauce, making sure it is evenly coloured.
Spread a spoonful of cream over the bottom of a large serving dish for the biscuit to adhere to.
Cut the biscuit into strips and arrange a layer in the bottom of the dish.
Alternate layers of biscuit and cream, finishing with cream. More than one dish may be necessary.
Cover with cling film and place in the fridge.
Just before serving, spread the meringue over the top using a spatula and burn with a cook’s blowtorch.