Italy's take on tapas, cicheti make perfect snacks for a drinks party or as a delicious and varied starter. VinCaffè's Mary Contini for Taste of Edinburgh shows us how. Cin cin!
1. Mix the beef or beef and pork, breadcrumbs, grated cheese, parsley, onion and raisins together in a large bowl. Add the egg yolk and mix with a fork or clean hands, along with plenty of salt and pepper. The seasoning will seep out of the polpette as they cook, flavouring the tomatoes, so make sure you season them well to start with. With clean hands, mould the mixture into six to eight small balls.
2. To make the sugo, soften the finely chopped onion in extra virgin olive oil and flavour it with the chilli pepper. Add a whole clove of garlic if you want. Add the sieved tomato and the rest of the ingredients. Gently transfer the polpette (meatballs) to the sauce. This sauce will take 90-120 minutes to cook. Use a heat diffuser under the pan, and leave the saucepan lid balanced on a wooden spoon to let some steam escape. Always taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning at the end.
1. Warm the oil and butter in an omelette pan and cook the grated courgette until soft. Add the diced potatoes, heat them through and turn the heat up a little to let them crisped up a little at the edges.
2. Beat the eggs and season them well. Reduce the heat to medium and add the eggs and peas, stirring gently so that the eggs coat the potatoes and courgette. Now let the frittata cook slowly in its own time. As it solidifies at the bottom, tip the frying pan to let the liquid egg seep underneath but other than that let it be.
3. When the omelette has almost completely solidified and is dry on top, put a large plate over the frying pan. Tip the frittata on to it and slide it, upside down, back into the pan. Let it cook for a further 5 minutes or so on the bottom just to finish the underside, and it's done. Serve warm or cold, but not piping hot.
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Recipe © courtesy of Mary Contini at VinCaffè
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