Chow Down to Eurovision 2015 - San Marino

Ciao tutti, oggi siamo in San Marino! There was no doubt with my love of Italian I would also find a place in my heart for the smallest principality to participate in Eurovision.

In 2008 San Marino first joined Eurovision with the song Complice from Miodio, they came last, so did not qualify for the final and sadly San Marino didn't return to the contest till 2011.

To be presented with this for lunch with a glass of vino or un caffe is one way to make me very very happy.

Piadina
Ingredient

• 400g plain flour
• 80g lard (or butter)
• 150ml warm water
• 7g salt

 Method

• Combine all ingredients and knead into a smooth dough
• Let dough rest for 30mins (wrapped in plastic)
• Divide into 8 pieces
• Roll each piece to about 1cm thick and 18cm wide (depends on the size of your frypan)
• Fry in a medium to high frypan for 1-2 minutes each side till cooked through (adjust the temp to avoid burning)
• Fill with your filling of choice, I can't go past rocket, prosciutto or capocollo, fresh pecorino and cherry tomatoes

Anita Simoncini and Michele Perniola are delightful as they spread their message of peace.

Composer Ralph Siegel urges the world's politicians to watch eurovision and listen to the messages of peace to create change in the world.

With Junior Eurovision participations under their belts Anita Simoncini and Michele Perniola have the experience to light up the Eurovision stage and possibly gain San Marino their second trip to the final. 

Past San Marino Chow Down to Eurovision:

2014 Chicken and Spinach Swallows Nests

2013 Pork and Beans

Chow Down to Eurovision 2014 - San Marino

Buona sera, come state?

Sono molto bene, grazie ma fame adesso. ah scusami, parliate L'Inglese?

Ok...OK... sorry about that, just the mention of pasta and off I go.

The two dishes I found to represent San Marino were a lasagne verde (beef with spinach pasta) or Nidi di Rondine as rolled pasta with ham in a béchamel.

Well everyone loves a mashup up, don't they? So today we have spinach rolled pasta with a chicken and ricotta filling.

I'd like to give a shout out to the wonderful Joanne from What's on The List? Who is a great supporter of the Chow Down to Eurovision. I think she is almost a converted Eurovision fan now!

Interestingly a bit of Googling alerted me that Joanne also has a delicious recipe for swallows nest with prosciutto and basil, so why not invite friends over and make both versions.

San Marino also has a tradition of doing different versions of the same thing as this year will be the third connective year they will be represented by Valentina Monetta.

San Marino has, as yet failed to qualify for the final, but the songs are getting better and better with each attempt.

2012 The Social Network Song placed 14th out of 18.

2013 Crisalide (vola) placed 11th out of 17 (an improvement of 2 places)

Hold onto your hats Saucers, this recipe seems long but it's more the number of steps than the time it takes.
There is time for a vino while the pasta chills

Chicken and Spinach Swallows Nest (Nidi di Rondine con pollo e spinaci)
Ingredients

• 1 large bunch spinach
• 500g 00 flour
• 3 eggs
• 700g minced chicken
• 3 small red onions
• 600g ricotta
• 40g butter
• 60g plain flour
• 750ml milk (50:50 chicken stock if you prefer)
• 100ml cream
• 1/2 nutmeg grated (I like a lot)
• 100g parmesan or pecorino grated

Method

• Boil the spinach for about 3-4 minutes in a pot of salted water
• Drain
• Squeeze the spinach to remove most of the water (don't burn your hands)
• Put into a jug and blend till very smooth
• Pass through a fine sieve (there should be about 150g of spinach puree)
• Add flour, eggs and spinach puree to bowl of a food processor with dough attachment
• Process until pasta has come together as a ball
• Check for smooth feel, knead further if required or cover in plastic wrap to rest in fridge for 30minutes
• Finely chop the onions
• Add a splash of oil to a fry pan and fry off onions and chicken together till cooked
• Transfer to a bowl and place in the fridge to cool
• Make the sauce
• In a medium saucepan melt the butter on high heat
• Add the flour and combine to make a paste
• Cook the flour for about 1 minute
• Slowly add some milk while whisking to avoid lumps
• Reduce the heat and continue to stir
• As the sauce thickens add more milk and continue to stir
• Repeat till all milk is used and sauce is at a consistency you are happy, not too thick as it will thicken more as it bakes
• Season with salt and pepper and grate in 1/2 nutmeg
• Pour sauce into baking dish (mine is 32cm x 22cm), leaving about 1/2 cup to add to the chicken and onions

• Roll the pasta out to about 40cm wide and 120cm long
• You want the pasta to be thin, but not so thin that it will have holes
• Mix ricotta and 1/2 cup of sauce with chicken and onions
• Spread thinly over the sheet of pasta as evenly as possible (the old pallet knife came in handy)
• Roll the pasta up lengthways firmly, it will end up looking a bit like a door snake (draught excluder)
• To make it manageable cut into 4 equal lengths
• Put the tubes into freezer for 20 minutes to firm up
• Slice the tubes into 4cm slices
• Put the slices into the baking dish (it should work out to be 4 rows)
• Add 2-3 tablespoons of water, just to add some extra moisture to help cook the pasta
• Lightly sprinkle the parmesan over the top
• Bake in 170°C oven for 40-50 minutes till golden and pasta is cooked
• Serve with a salad or just eat it as is....remember the spinach so it practically is a salad

Will Valentina strike it lucky and make it to the final with this 3rd attempt?

Maybe?

Buona Fortuna

Chow Down to Eurovision 2013 - San Marino

Let us shimmy all the way to San Marino one of our newest members of the Eurovision family. The only positive thing I can think of about not living in a Eurovision nation is come May the weather is perfect for Eurovision lounging and comfort food comas. As you may know I hate the heat so there is nothing better than watching Eurovision with a blanket (better known as blankie) tucked up on the lounge with AB and a big bowl of heart warming comfort food. While I love soup sometimes you just need a dish with more chunky, hearty richness and San Marino's pork and beans scores a massive douze points from me.
This will be San Marino's fourth time in the contest and they are yet to reach the finals. I think their first entry was the best so far but it placed the worst so what would I know?!?!

Miodio with Complice in 2008

This recipe was inspired by a recipe for pork rind and beans.

Pork and Beans
Ingredients

• 200g of dried barlotti beans
• 6 pork rashers
• 2 onions quartered
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tbsp. lard
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 onions chopped
• 3 stalks of celery chopped
• 3 carrots chopped
• 1 clove garlic chopped
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• salt and pepper

Method

• Soak beans over night in cold water
• Cook the beans in fresh salted water for about 1 hour till tender (use double the amount of canned beans to skip this step)
• In a large pot of cold water bring the pork rashers, quartered onion and garlic to the boil
• Reduce the heat and simmer for 1-1.5 hours till rashers are tender
• Slice rashers into 2 cm pieces
• Melt the lard with the oil in a large pot on high heat
• Add the chopped onions, carrots, celery, garlic and coat with lard/oil
• Reduce heat and add the drained beans and rashers
• Add the stock and tomatoes and simmer for about 30 mins till tender and reduced slightly.
• Season to taste
• Garnish with parsley and a splash of olive oil
• Hot buttery ciabatta would make the perfect mate for this dish

Valentina Monetta placed the highest of all San Marino past contests with the Social Network song in 2011, so they are packing her off to Malmö to try her luck again this year. Can her song Crisalide (Vola) place San Marino even higher this year?

 Buona fortuna!