It is my Son Stephen’s 24th Birthday and as is always the tradition he always comes home for a very special dinner and as usual because of Stephen’s Nonna being Italian I always try to stick to traditional Italian dishes and tonights dinner was no exception.
We started with gorgeous antipasti, which consisted of my home made focaccia, olive oil and balsamic to dip into, a selection of olives, salami’s and roasted peppers. When Stephen ever comes over for dinner he is always starving and can never wait until his dinner, he starts rummaging around for snacks, so this I thought would keep him busy until the main dish arrived, this and lots of red wine should certainly do the trick.
Then the main was my speciality dish, every one has a dish they love to cook for people, my Hubby’s is a roast and this very traditional, not over complicated ragu is mine. I have a few recipes for ragu on my blog, some a little more complicated, some that use more expensive ingredients, but this one is the closest I have found to Stephen’s Nonna’s recipe and we all love it. Normally Hubby and Olly would make the pasta but as it is a work night I brought a gorgeous Taste the Difference pappardelle to save time. The great thing about this dish, yes it does take 3 hours to cook, but you can make it in advance, even up to a day ahead and just heat it up when you are cooking the pasta, plus once it is simmering away you have 3 hours to get one with other things, in todays case I got on with this Limoncello tiramisu.
So finally onto the dessert, I know that tiramisu is classed as a traditional Italian dessert, but I hate anything with coffee in it, so I can not bear the stuff!! This zingy fresh Limoncello tiramisu is completely coffee free and a fantastic twist on the classic. Again a dish to make in advance and just leave in the fridge until required and served in individual pretty dessert glasses and decorated with the crystallised lemon, with a cheeky glass of Limoncello on the side it makes a truly fabulous and refreshing end to any meal.
The end of the meal of course was finished with an espresso, our traditional shot of Limoncello and I think Stephen had a truly great evening and I would just like to say a very happy birthday to a very special young man, who I am so extremely proud to call my Son.
Buon appetito
Tip : Make sure you save the left over lemon syrup into a bottle or jar, perfect for making cocktails, martini’s, add to champagne etc.
For the candied lemon peels
3 lemons
2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups sugar
Use a vegetable peeler to remove the peel from the lemon in long strips. You only want the yellow stuff, try not to get any of the pith.
In a small saucepan, pour two cups of cold water over the lemon peels and bring to a boil, cook for about 10 minutes. Remove the peels from the pan and set aside.
Pour two cups of the sugar into the water in the pan and add a cup of water, whisking until the sugar dissolves. Add the peels and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the peels are tender and translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the peels and let cool. Reserve the lemon simple syrup, you’ll want it for the tiramisu.
Measure the remaining sugar into a medium bowl and add the peels. Toss to coat. Remove the peels one at time, shaking each to remove excess sugar. Store in an airtight container.
Limoncello Tiramisu
For zabaglione
4 egg yolks
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup, less one tablespoon limoncello
1 tbsp Grand Marnier
In the top of a double broiler beat egg yolks and sugar until pale, about five minutes.
Place double broiler over barely simmering water. Slowly stir Grand Marnier and limoncello. Cook over low heat stirring almost constantly until the zabaglione is a thick, smooth and airy, about five minutes at most.
Remove from heat.
For mascarpone filling
3 tbsp powdered sugar
250g Mascarpone
1 egg white (optional)
1 tbsp Grand Marnier
Zest from one lemon
Beat egg white, mascarpone, powdered sugar, liquor, zest and cheese until blended and smooth. Set aside.
For the dessert
175g ladyfingers / sponge fingers
1/2 cup lemon simple syrup (left over from candied lemon peel)
1 ounce limoncello
To assemble:
Quickly dip ladyfingers in simple syrup and limoncello mix making sure to coat both sides
Line the bottom of chosen dish with ladyfingers.
Smooth a layer of the mascarpone filling over the top, then a layer of the zabaglione, top with ladyfingers and repeat until the dish is filled.
On the last layer, put the zabaglione first and the mascarpone last.
Refrigerate for four hours.
Before serving, sprinkle tiramisu with chopped candied lemon peels.
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