Mimmas Café 1307 East Brady Street Milwaukee, WI 53202 (414) 271-7337 http://www.mimmas.com/ Black Risotto with Cuttlefish: Risotto Nero con Seppie Prep Time: 15 min. Cook Time: 45 min. Serves: 4 servings INGREDIENTS ½ onion, roughly chopped, plus 1 onion, finely chopped ½ carrot, roughly chopped 1 bay leaf 1 pound cleaned cuttlefish, ink sac retained ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 packets squid ink 1 ½ cups Arborio rice (Vialone Nano brand preferred) 1 cup dry white wine 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 bunch Italian parsley, finely chopped to yield ¼ cup Bring 3 quarts water to a boil and add the roughly chopped onion, carrot and the bay leaf. Prepare and ice bath. Plunge the cuttlefish into the boiling water and cook for 30 seconds. Remove and submerge in the ice bath 1 minute. Drain and set aside. Keep the cooking liquid warm on stove. In a 12 to 14 inch frying pan with 3 inch sides, heat the olive oil and finely chopped onion and squid ink over medium heat until softened but not brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the rice and, stirring constantly, cook until opaque, about 2 minutes. Add the white wine, then the shellfish cooking liquid, ladle by ladle, until the rice is covered. Turn the heat to high and, stirring constantly, continue to cook, maintaining the level of liquid just above the level of rice, for 15 minutes. Chop the cuttlefish into 1 inch pieces and toss into the rice. Continue cooking until rice is soft but still al dente. Season with salt and pepper, remove dfrom heat and stir in butter and parsley. Serve immediately. Zucchini Frittata Prep Time: 15 min. Cook Time: 5 min. Serves 4 to 6 servings INGREDIENTS 2 small cloves garlic Olive oil, for sautéing 1 medium zucchini ½ bunch basil 8 eggs 2 tablespoons milk Salt and pepper ¼ cup grated Parmesan Preheat the broiler Start by crushing some garlic and heating it in some olive oil in a medium nonstick sauté pan on the stove. While that is heating up, very thinly slice the zucchini on a mandolin. When the oil and garlic are heated, tear some basil into the pan and add all the sliced zucchini. Cook until the zucchini is tender, but not cooked through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Blend eggs in a blender with a little bit of milk and some salt and pepper. Blend on the highest speed. Pour the egg mixture into a sauté pan and let it sit for 1 minute. When there isn’t much loose egg left in the pan, grate some Parmesan on top and place pan in the broiler for 1 minute. Take pan out of broiler, let it cool and set in pan for 5 minutes. When cool invert a plate on top of pan and turn over. Slice and serve. Pumpkin and Amaretti Ravioli With Sage Butter This delicious ravioli dish is best served with more grated parmesan, crushed amaretti and a good glug of quality olive oil. INGREDIENTS Filling: 1 pumpkin, about the size of a netball 150g grated parmesan 6 amaretti biscuits 1 tbsp mustard fruits 1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley Grated zest of 1 lemon Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 200 ml vegetable stock 24 sage leaves 50g unsalted butter, in pieces A glug of olive oil, to finish Ravioli dough: 4 whole eggs 400g flour 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tsp water (egg wash) Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees. Cut pumpkin in half and de-seed. Place both halves, cut side down, on a baking tray and bake up to 1 hour or until flesh is soft. When pumpkin is cool, remove skin and place into a bowl and crush with a potato masher. Add 100g of the parmesan, 4 crushed amaretti biscuits (reserving the rest for the end), the mustard fruits, parsley, grated lemon zest and salt and pepper to taste. Combine well and put aside. To make the ravioli dough, put the flour into a food processor and whiz, then with the motor running add the four eggs, one at a time, until the mixture comes together to form breadcrumbs. Empty the mixture onto a lightly floured bench top and knead well until dough is smooth and soft. Wrap in plastic food wrap and let stand for 20 minutes. Then, divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a neat square and roll on a pasta machine starting at grade 10 and working down to grade 1 until you end up with a sheet of pasta about 60-70cm long. Cover with a clean tea towel (to stop it drying) and repeat with rest of dough. Working with one shee at a time, place about 10 teaspoon-sized pieces of the pumpkin mixture down one half of the sheet. Brush around the filling with the egg wash, then carefully fold the sheet in half, to enclose the fillings. Press firmly but gently around each mound to seal then use a fluted pasta cutter or sharp knife and cut between the portions. Repeat with rest of the sheets. You should end up with 40 pieces of ravioli. Bring a large pan of salted water to boil, add the ravioli all at once and cook for 4 minutes. Drain. Add stock to the pan, and the drained ravioli and bring back to the boil. Add sage leaves and then the diced butter while continually tossing the ravioli. The butter an stock will emulsify with the starch of the ravioli pasta to create a lovely shiny sauce. Gorgonzola and Pine Nut Stuffed Pears INGREDIENTS 4 small firm ripe pears 1 lemon cut in half 2oz imported Gorgonzola (or other high quality Blue cheese) 2 tbls soft unsalted butter 2 tbls pine nuts or crushed walnuts or pistachio Cut pears in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds, along with a small tablespoon of pulp out of each half. Rub with lemon juice to prevent discoloration. Cream Gorgonzola (other cheeses may be used) and butter together in a small bowl until soft and fluffy. Fill hollows of pear halves with pine nuts, then add the cheese mixture and carefully stick the two halves back together. Optional – Peel the pears, and then after stuffing the pears, roll them in crushed nuts and chill for 2 hours, until cheese is firm.