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Milanese Autumn recipes
The ‘Autumn Queens’: pumpkin and chestnuts in two traditional dishes
Every season has its veggie stars: which are the best ones for autumn?
Pumpkin is the queen of seasonal vegetables. Its vibrant orange colour makes it visually gorgeous but it is also deliciously tasty thanks to its sweet, velvety flavour, plus, it’s bursting with key nutritional properties that make it a real panacea for our bodies.
Chestnuts are also the autumn fruit par excellence: they are small and tasty but pack a punch of health benefits.
So, let's take a look at two traditional Milanese recipes with these great ingredients that need to be top of your shopping list for this autumn.
A traditional dessert based on dried chestnuts: simple and homemade but, as far as deliciousness goes, it can hold its own against the more elaborate recipes!
Ingredients
250 gr dried chestnuts
200 ml liquid cream
1 glass of sweet white wine (like Moscato)
Method
Peel and soak the chestnuts overnight. Then remove the fine inner skin before placing it in a pan of water to cook.
The chestnuts must be cooked gently until they are soft and have absorbed almost all the cooking liquid.
When cooked, pour them into a bowl and serve with their cooking liquid and liquid cream.
A typical dish of the Lombard tradition is Milanese pumpkin soup with pasta.
Like many typical dishes, this recipe has peasant origins. Few simple ingredients for a dish that satisfies the tastebuds of all ages.
Ingredients
600 g pumpkin
600 ml whole milk
125 ml water
200 g ditali rigati pasta
100 g Parmesan (grated)
salt to taste
Method
Cut the pumpkin into thin slices. Put in a pot, add the water and salt to taste.
Cover with a lid and let the pumpkin simmer for a few minutes, until cooked.
Reduce the veg to a homogeneous cream with a hand blender.
Bring the milk to the boil in a saucepan.
Add the milk to the pumpkin cream and mix until smooth.
Add the pasta and cook, stirring often so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
When the pasta is cooked, add most of the grated cheese (reserve some to decorate the finished dishes) and mix thoroughly. Serve piping hot.
