Bonacini's Italian Christmas (2018) - full transcript

♪

BONACINI:
Christmas in Italy...

glowing trees in every piazza,

bustling streets adorned
with twinkling lights.

Like many Italians, I have my
feast on Christmas Eve,

and it features salt cod mousse

on crispy polenta crostini,

pasta stuffed with rustic
potato, fresh mint and cheese,

sweet, tender swordfish,

crispy fennel and
juicy blood orange salad,

pork shoulder braised in milk
with roasted vegetables,



and finally, espresso zabione.

This is my Italian Christmas.

♪

An Italian Christmas Eve feast
simply must have

at least one fish dish,

and this is Baccala...

salted cod.

And I'm going to magically
transform that

into a light, airy,
flavourful mousse

served on top of
polenta crostini.

But before I do that, step one
has to take place.

And this salt cod is so salty

and dry and leathery, you
could not eat it just like this.

So, what's important is to soak
it for at least a full day



in cold water and changing
that water several times

to reach the perfect saltiness.

Christmas in Italy

is as much about
the food that gets prepared,

family and friends
that come over,

and about all the
craziness that ensues.

♪

One of the best ways to cook
salt cod is in a small pot,

water and a little milk.

The milk actually
helps mellow down

the big flavours of the cod.

And by salting the cod,

it adds a wonderful firm
texture, which is perfect

for turning this mixture
into a light and airy mousse.

And the gloves of garlic
add their own unique

layer of flavour.

A couple of bay leaves

for a touch of earthiness
and a gentle simmer.

Ready for the next step.

My little twist
to the sharable antipasti

is to serve it
on polenta crostini.

See how easy that
came out of the pan?

Using a small cutter,

something that gives you
about a good bite-size

for these antipasto
to be shared.

Just simply cut
one disc at a time.

The perfect little foundation

to serve a salt cod mousse.

♪

♪ Go get the old
chimney sweeper ♪

♪ Make sure the
chimney is clear ♪

♪ Time to get humming ♪

♪ Santa is coming ♪

♪ I love this time of the year ♪

♪ I'll set the tree
by the mantle ♪

♪ You'll wrap
the presents, my dear ♪

♪ Let's make the dishes ♪

♪ Everyone wishes ♪

♪ I love this time of the year ♪

My salt cod is ready
for the next step.

It's fully cooked

and it's starting to become
really light and flaky.

So, a quick transport
into the food processor,

minus the bay leaves.

But I want to keep
those garlic cloves

'cause they are going to
continue to add great flavour.

♪

And this is where
the magic begins.

A really good
amount of olive oil.

♪

A good crack of pepper.

♪

[WHIRRING]

♪

That looks really good.

♪

You can make a quenelle,
which is a fancy culinary term

for shaping a little mound of
mousse between two spoons,

so you end up with
a little football shape.

♪

Simple little
garnish of parsley.

♪

Almost done.

♪

Such great flavours.

The texture is what
really hits you first.

It is so creamy and soft,

and served on top of warm
grilled polenta.

That little charring just adds a
wonderful, magical touch to it.

Really is a great
way to start off

and Italian Christmas Eve Feast.

Veneto gives us this humble yet
decadent antipasto dish

to start off
our Christmas feast.

And from Sardinia, a rustic
pasta with potatoes,

cheese and a little mint.

♪

Our Italian Christmas Eve feast
includes a classic

all the way from sunny Sardinia,

home to some of the most unique
dishes in all of Italy,

like these culurgiones...

pockets of pastas

stuffed with potatoes,
cheese and fresh mint.

This pasta dough is
really easy to make.

A few simple ingredients...

corn flour, egg, olive oil,
water, and a little salt

and, of course, some elbow
grease, to make a beautiful,

soft, supple dough.

Now, you can always
buy premade pasta dough

at any good grocery store.

Now, we just need to cut out my
little dumpling wrappers.

Culurgiones means
"little bundles",

which is odd because this pasta

is larger than
your average ravioli.

♪

Now, I've preboiled these
beautiful, big potatoes

until they are super
fork tender, light and fluffy,

and have a wonderful amount
of moisture to them.

And it really is
just a simple case

of mashing these potatoes down.

♪

Now, for a little flavouring.

I've gently heated

just a couple of smashed cloves
of garlic in some olive oil,

just to extract that
wonderful garlic flavour.

This garlic oil not only adds a
great dimension of flavour,

but adds a nice silkiness
to the mashed potatoes.

♪

Now, for a unique ingredient

as part of the filling... fresh,

fragrant chopped mint.

[WOMAN SINGING IN ITALIAN]

♪

[WOMAN SINGING IN ITALIAN]

A filling for
this kind of dumpling

would not be complete
without some cheese.

And this here is
a chunk of gruyere.

Not what you might expect
in an Italian dish.

♪

And this cheese has a mild,

slightly nutty,
but sweet finish to it.

[WOMAN SINGING IN ITALIAN]

Perfect time for a taste.

♪

Now, that's got really great
flavour... cheese, mint

and little, fluffy spuds.

[WOMAN SINGING IN ITALIAN]

So, this is where the fun
begins.

Just a little egg wash
around the outside

will help make sure
that these little parcels

are sealed up good and tight.

A little pinch...

and a fold.

This is where it gets really fun
with everyone involved...

kids and all.

And if they don't come out
all the same in shape and size

that doesn't matter.

It's about the fun behind it.

It's about getting in that
Christmas spirit.

♪

While my culurgiones are cooking
in the boiling, salted water,

I have a very simple but perfect
sauce to finish them off in.

A little garlic,
shallots, olive oil,

and passata...
strained tomatoes...

simmered and seasoned

to the right consistency
and taste.

See how the culurgiones have
started to rise to the top

of the boiling water?

That tells me they're ready.

And just ever so gently,

lay them into
the simmering sauce.

♪

Honestly, I could almost eat
them right out of the pot

and it wouldn't
be the first time.

♪

Have to grab a little cheese.

The finishing touch.

♪

Look at it, packed
full of that creamy,

cheesy, minty potato.

That is so good. Oh...

These kinds of dishes

that come out at Christmas time
are so special.

Mmm.

♪

Babbo Natale would
love these jolly,

fat potato stuffed
pasta parcels,

and pretty certain
he'd enjoy my next dish...

a swordfish with cherry
tomatoes,

briny capers and olives...
a Christmas secondo.

♪

Don't you just love the smell of
freshly brewed coffee?

I know I od.

It's an aroma I never seem
to get tired of.

And this heady,
aromatic brew of coffee

is perfect for my
up and coming dessert.

But first, it needs
to cool down a little,

whilst I get on with my
secondo...

pesce spada alla ghiotta,

which simply means "swordfish,
capers, tomatoes and olives."

Take a look at this gorgeous
swordfish steak.

That's cut right from the loin.

And what I love about this is
its texture, its density.

It has a sweetness to it.

In fact, I often think of this
as steak of the sea.

♪

And swordfish is a lean fish,

so you have to keep your eye on
it whilst you're cooking.

To get things going, I need to
sear off my swordfish.

Now, that needs to be
done in a good hot pan,

but still with
a little gentle care.

♪

Now, that's a lovely caramelized

and seared swordfish steak.

♪

Using the same pan,

garlic, and then,
these beautiful,

plump, sugary,
sweet pomodorini...

small tomatoes
or cherry tomatoes.

And what I love about these

is they blister, they shrivel,

they become super juicy,
and they burst in your mouth.

♪

Fiery heat from these chillies,
the sweetness of the tomatoes,

all balances out.

Add my capers for that
briny, salty little hit.

And these gorgeous, earthy,
aromatic olives...

green and black.

To bring it all together,
a good glug

of crisp pinot grigio.

♪

And any of the juices
don't go to waste.

Down to a gentle, gentle simmer.

Lid slightly ajar for
a couple of minutes.

Oh...

A little cold butter
and a quick stir around.

And this technique is called
monté au beurre...

classic French,

but also used in Italy.

And it just brings
that sauce together,

enrichens it and gives
it a nice little sheen.

You know, I'm tempted to serve
it just in the pan as it is.

Because it is Christmas,

we're going to
dress it up just a little.

♪

And just a little parsley.

This is a true taste

of a Calabrian and Sicilian
Christmas dinner.

See that just touch
of blushing pink?

That's pretty perfect
in my mind.

That is so tender, so succulent,

and full of flavour,

and it comes
together so quickly.

It is a quick, easy dish

that you can knock out
for a big family

at a Christmas dinner or a
Christmas Eve feast.

That was a great secondo.

How about we go
next deep into Sicily

for a palette cleansing salad
course between our two secondi?

♪

When Sicilians prepare
a Christmas feast,

it more often than not

will include a fennel
and orange salad.

And that cool, crunchy,

liquorice flavour from the
fennel

and the sweet juice
of those blood oranges

makes this a perfect side dish
for my Christmas feast.

And these gorgeous
feathery fronds,

I'm going to hang onto those

'cause I have a plan for
them a little later on.

♪

Just a quick cutting out of the
core of my fennel

before slicing it on a mandolin,

which is a great kitchen gadget.

And this really ensures

that I have good, even,
thinly sliced fennel.

♪

Adding fennel to ice water
helps them crisp up.

Cutting the bulb super fine

makes it easy to twirl
onto your fork.

Plus, I think it looks lovely.

Now, every good salad

needs a little great dressing.

And take a look at
the colour of these oranges.

That is blood orange.

And it's that unique colour
that provides amazing taste

and makes a perfect dressing.

Little olive oil,

balance out the sweetness
and acidity.

And this, white balsamic,

has that great
intensity of flavour.

A little whisk up.

Now, I'm gonna let
my salad dressing sit,

so those flavours come together
and give it a final taste

before I actually
dress the salad.

Back to these beauties.

To prepare these
oranges for the salad,

simply top and tail

and then start
to remove the skin,

along with the pith.

♪

So, to put the salad together,
it's really easy

'cause all the prep is done.

A few oranges in the bottom.

My sliced fennel.

And a light,
fluffy amount in the bowl.

You remember these fronds?

This is where
they come to action.

Now, I love toasted pine nuts,

and toasting them really
brings them to life.

You get that nutty flavour,

but you also get that rich,
butteriness to the nuts.

Now, it's back to the dressing.

It's had a chance to sit

and flavours to mellow out.

And the colour looks beautiful.

Just a little more pepper.

A little of the dressing.

And then, just a gentle toss.

♪

♪

I'm really happy with the way
the salad turned out.

It looks amazing.

It just smells absolutely
delightful.

And that balance of the orange

and the liquorice
from the fennel,

I know is going to be a winner.

Just look at the colour.

Absolutely beautiful.

That wonderful sweet,

slightly acidic blood orange,

that cool fennel
liquorice background,

the little hit of
white balsamic vinegar,

and then this buttery,

nutty flavour that comes from
everywhere but nowhere,

it's those pine nuts...

all together, they are simply
delightful.

In Italy, this dish is often
served to bridge two courses,

such as meat and fish.

It's certainly readied my
palette for our final secondo...

braised pork in milk...

yes, I did say milk...

until it is fall-apart tender
on a bed of carrots,

chestnuts and apple.

♪

It's been tradition in Italy

not to eat meat
until Christmas Day.

But nowadays,
more and more families

seem to be preparing a roast
for Christmas Eve.

And I've chosen to do a long,

slow braised pork shoulder
and I'm serving it

with some coloured roasted
Christmas veggies.

It starts off with two things...

good seasoning,
followed by a good sear.

♪

And this is what we chefs like
to call highly seasoned.

♪

Over to the pot.

Now, for a good searing in olive
oil and a little butter.

[SIZZLING]

And the idea behind the searing
is it gives great caramelization

and colour, depth of flavour,

and I love those
little sticky bits

that end up on the bottom of
the pan that help the sauce

become really rich and dense.

♪

[SIZZLING LOUDLY]

Take a look at that.

Now, that is a good searing.

Now, for a little
more flavouring.

Crushed garlic.

Wonderful, fragrant rosemary.

And some earthy sage.

Just let those flavours come out

before we add...

a good hit of white wine.

[SIZZLING LOUDLY]

That sounds really good.

And just the colour
and the aroma

coming out of this pot
right now, it amazing.

Now...

milk and cream, like I promised.

In goes the milk

and that lovely rich cream.

[MAN SINGING IN ITALIAN]

The idea of using milk and cream

when cooking a
pork dish like this,

one... it adds richness of
flavour,

two... the lactic acids
within the milk and cream

help tenderize.

Time for the lid to go on.

Down to a gentle simmer.

And pretty much,
my work is done.

Time to grab a glass of wine

and prepare
a few Christmas veggies.

[MAN SINGING IN ITALIAN]

♪

This looks so good.

Gently take the pork

out of its milk bath.

Just let that relax...

under some tented foil,
whilst we get onto the sauce.

But before we do that,

I got to show you the curd

that has happened
within the pot.

Look at that.

And it's that curd
that I'm going to transform

into delicious,
silky-smooth sauce

to be served
with the pork roast.

Remove a few of
these stalks from the herbs.

Many families will
just serve that curd

right over
the sliced pork as it is.

I like to
pour it all into a blender

and buzz it up
into a really tasty,

smooth sauce.

Got to have a quick taste.

That is good.

Really rich, really intense,

and magically,
the seasoning is spot on.

Sauce is ready.
Let's plate this up.

Now, I know this pork
is super, super tender

just because of the long,
slow cooking it's had.

So, a little gentle
on the slicing.

♪

You can see how moist it is.

Fall apart tender.

♪

♪ Two, three, four ♪

There.
Onto a serving platter.

♪

All this needs now are my
roasted root vegetables.

Look at these.
Roasted carrots, chestnuts,

Cipollini onions,
and a few apples...

delicious things to go
with a roast pork.

And a drizzle of this
delicious creamy sauce.

And, of course, a little extra
always on the side.

♪

Just looking at that pork,
you can tell how tender it is.

Literally melts in my mouth.

And the sticky roasted chestnut.

Simple ingredients
prepared well,

it's the perfect way to
celebrate any Christmas.

This would definitely
please Babbo Natale.

But that being said,

no Christmas meal
would be complete

without a little dessert.

How about a warm
zabione with panettone?

♪

Panettone, it is a light,
fluffy, sweet bread,

studded with candied fruit.

And all across Italy,

you'll see Italians
carrying boxes of these

made at their local pasticceria,

and it is
a quintessential dessert

during the Christmas holidays.

I made this apricot
and pistachio panettone,

which I'm going to smother

in a light, creamy custard,
known as a sabayon...

or a zabione...
with espresso.

And that all begins

with beautiful egg yolks.

Zabione is traditionally
made with sweet wine

or a little fortified wine.

But I'm going
for a little espresso

because I think that coffee hit

and my cooling panettone,

they're going to work
so well together.

And the aromas coming from the
panettone are just amazing.

Little espresso.

♪

I drink it hot
and I love it cold.

Now, the trick with zabione

is really to incorporate as much
air as you possibly can,

whilst cooking the egg yolks
gently over a bagnomaria

or a bain-marie.

Here we go.

[MAN SINGING IN ITALIAN]

♪

You have to take a look at this.
See how much volume I've got?

That's all the air
being incorporated

over the slowly cooked
egg yolks.

Turn this off.

Look at that.

Now, just a little
vanilla to finish it off.

♪

Mmm...
That is going to be good.

Time to cut up the panettone.

Look at that.
Beautiful.

And the smell is
still incredible.

So, what I want to do is really
just cut it into one inch cubes.

And to make it easy, I'll just
take off those two ends.

See how light and fluffy it is?

All those air pockets in there,

pistachio, apricot...

all the good things.

♪

What I like to do
with my panettone

is just toast it up a touch.

Little non-stick pan
and just a touch of butter,

just to keep things loose.

♪

You know, I have to say,

it's really starting to smell
a lot like Christmas here.

The aromas from this panettone
are just beautiful

and my kitchen is full of that
kind of wonderful,

warm baked good aroma,

which I love during the
holidays.

It gets me pretty excited.

♪

My panettone's nicely
toasted up,

has a little crunch...
[SNIFFING]

...and it still
smells amazing. Mmm...

So, the fun part
is to build the dessert,

and it starts off
with a good layer

of my espresso zabione.

♪

That is smothering, toasty,

crispy-crunchy panettone.

But all the great flavours.

♪

And to finish off, a light
dusting of cocoa.

♪

I can't wait to
tuck into this dessert.

I love a nice glass of chilled

Asti Spumante...

when I have a little dessert,
especially at Christmas,

and this fits the bill.

[SNIFFING]
Oh, it smells so good.

Look at that panettone dessert
towering high.

[SNIFFING]

Oh, it smells
so very, very good.

Mmm...

The panettone still warm,

little crispy and crunchy on the
outside from the toasting,

and those little
sweet hits of apricot

and pistachio.

Christmas in Italy is all about
gathering with family

and enjoying a
luxuriously long meal.

I've taken you from
Christmas in Veneto

with sweet salt cod on crispy
polenta crostini.

Then, to the island of Sardinia

for pasta stuffed with potato,
cheese and mint.

On down the coast to
Calabria and Sicily

for swordfish with
sweet cherry tomato,

briny capers and olives.

We stayed in Sicily
for crispy fennel

and juicy blood orange salad.

Then, back up north
to Emilia-Romagna

for tender pork braised in milk.

And finally, to end our
Christmas Eve feast,

this creamy espresso zabione...

popular throughout Italy...

served with a famous panettone.

From my Italian
Christmas Eve table to yours,

a feast fit for Babbo Natale.

♪