ARTICLE

Italian Cooking: The 6 Secrets To Success

July 1, 2022 - 4 min read

Let’s all agree. If there are two things Italians know all about, it’s food and style. Enter the latest DeLonghi cooking appliances and rangehoods that marry stunning design with exciting pro-chef features to really step up your cooking capabilities. The new DeLonghi ovens and DeLonghi induction cooktops come with the latest kitchen tech, like steam cooking and bridge zones, making it that much easier for you to triumph at everything from a showstopper sformato (Italy’s answer to soufflé) to your mum's legendary lasagne.

“When it comes to mastering Italian cuisine, great ingredients will only take you so far,” says The Good Guys Buyer – Cooking and Kitchenware. “The real secret to incredible food, time after time, starts with the right appliances – and the right features.”

Ready to discover how the bravura new DeLonghi cooking range can make you a maestra (or maestro!) of the kitchen? To get you started, we’ve dished up some menu inspiration, too. Buon appetito!

A family cooking in their kitchen using DeLonghi kitchen products

Secret #1 Get Steamy

Enhanced flavours, locked-in nutrients and speedier cooking times… Steam cooking has been an open secret in Italian fine-dining kitchens for years. Jump aboard this healthy cooking trend at home with DeLonghi’s 60cm 11 Function Built In Premium Oven. The Easy Steam feature combines powerful steam with hot air to deliver sealed-in goodness, from deliciously moist cakes – wow them with a rum-soaked panettone or mouth-melting torta di mele (Italian apple cake) – to unbelievably succulent, restaurant-quality roasts.

“When it comes to mastering Italian cuisine, great ingredients will only take you so far. The real secret to incredible food, time after time, starts with the right appliances – and the right features.”

Secret #2 Go For The Crunch

Whether it’s a slice of crispy-crust margherita pizza while strolling the streets of Rome or tucking into fritto misto di pesce (fried seafood) by the seaside, Italians are as partial to fried treats as the rest of us. DeLonghi’s new 60cm 11 Function Built In Premium Oven has a genius in-built air fryer. That means you can cook your crispy, crunchy favourites with less oil and mess – and in bigger batches than a conventional benchtop air fryer. You’ll also love its chic black-glass finish.   

Shop DeLonghi’s 60cm 11 Function Built In Premium Oven 

DeLonghi 60cm Built In Life Oven Black Glass product image

Secret #3 Expand Your Operations

Entertaining in Italian mode means large joyous gatherings and lots of dishes (food is love, after all). With DeLonghi’s new 85L capacity ovens , you can ace your catering with multi-level cooking. Pop your primo, secondo and dolce courses in the oven at the same time with no flavour transfer! And check on their progress simply and safely with DeLonghi’s clever Telescopic Shelves, which can hold up to 15kg when extended. 

Shop DeLonghi’s 85L capacity ovens 

DeLonghi 60cm Built in Life Oven Stainless Steel product image

Secret #4 Embrace Induction Cooking

DeLonghi induction cooktops are seducing home chefs everywhere. It’s all down to their smooth, stylish looks and their knack for fast, precise and energy-efficient cooking, powered by magnetic field-based heating. DeLonghi’s new 90cm 5 Zone Black Glass Induction Cooktop has even more to love. Its Bridge Zone can merge two smaller cooking zones into one, empowering you to turn out fantastic feasts in a flash. Just like Nonna.

A mother and daughter making dinner on their DeLonghi induction cooktop

Secret #5 Slow And Steady Does It

Italians instinctively know that good things take time. That’s why DeLonghi’s new 90cm 5 Zone Black Glass Induction Cooktop comes with Melt mode: a handy feature that cuts heat down to around 2% for jobs that just can’t be rushed. Like simmering a hearty minestrone soup, or melting rich dark chocolate for all those heaven-sent torte.

Shop DeLonghi’s new 90cm 5 Zone Black Glass Induction Cooktop 

DeLonghi Cooktop

Secret #6 Make Clean-Up Easy

Why spend hours scrubbing a greasy oven when a DeLonghi oven can make it a thing of the past? DeLonghi’s 60cm 11 Function Built In Premium Oven, in black glass and stainless steel, sports the latest pyrolytic self-cleaning tech, Idro Clean, to reduce all that built-up gunk to easy-wipe ashes with a turbo blast of heat. Bench those nasty chemicals and go all-in on the sauciest, most splattery, Italian-inspired casseroles.

Recipe Ideas To Try

Torta di Rose - Rose Cake

Ingredients:

FOR THE BRIOCHE DOUGH

  • 200 g Manitoba flour
  • 250 g of flour 00
  • 12 g of dehydrated yeast (or a stick of fresh yeast)
  • 50 g of cane or granulated sugar
  • 1 orange or lemon zest
  • 3 eggs
  • 30 g of extra virgin olive oil
  • 100/120 g of slightly warm milk
  • A pinch of salt

FOR THE STUFFING

  • 100 g of soft butter
  • 100 g of cane or granulated sugar
  • to taste powdered sugar

1. Mix and sift the two flours, pour them into the bowl of the mixer together with the sugar, the yeast, the orange zest, the extra virgin olive oil and the three lightly beaten eggs. Operate the machine at a medium speed.

2. When the ingredients begin to blend, add 100 g of slightly warm milk, always leaving the machine running, and the salt. Slightly increase the speed and let the dough work for about 10 minutes, until the mixture is soft and compact.

NB: (If the dough is too dry during mixing, add a few more drops of milk a little at a time, always wait until it has absorbed the milk before adding more if necessary).

3. Pour it onto a lightly floured surface and make a round of folds. Place the dough in a lightly floured bowl, cover with cling film and let it rise in a warm place for about 1.30 hours or until doubled.

4. Work the soft butter with the sugar with an electric mixer until you get a cream.

5. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface, making a rectangle of about 50 x 40 cm, cover the surface with the butter and sugar cream and roll it up well.

6. Prepare 12 loaves of about 4 cm (if you prefer make fewer loaves, but taller) and place them on a dessert plate , leaving some space between the various loaves. You will not need parchment paper.

Cover and let rise for about 30 minutes in a warm place.

7. Preheat the DeLonghi built-in oven and bake at 180 ° C for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

8. Remove from the oven, cool for a few minutes on a wire rack, cover the surface with icing sugar and serve.

Lasagne alla Bolognese

Ingredients:

FOR THE PASTRY

  • 1 egg
  • 100 g of flour
  • A pinch of salt

FOR COOKING THE PASTRY

  • Salt
  • Oil
  • Hot water
  • Cold water

FOR THE RAGÙ

  • 50 g of stretched bacon
  • 250 g of minced beef
  • 150 g of minced pork
  • ½ glass of red wine (or dry white)
  • 250 g of tomato puree
  • 1 ½ tablespoons of tomato paste (optional)
  • 1 glass of milk (about 200/250 ml)
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 stalk of celery
  • 1 small carrot
  • Extra virgin olive oil to taste
  • Salt to taste
  • Pepper as needed
  • Vegetable broth about 250 ml

TO COMPLETE THE LASAGNA

  • 500 g of bechamel
  • 200 g of grated Parigiano

RAGÙ PREPARATION 

1. We recommend preparing the ragù the night before, given the very long cooking times.

2. Wash, clean and chop the onion, celery, and carrot into small pieces. Put a large, thick-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, pour in the finely chopped bacon and let it melt its fat. 

3. Add the chopped onion, celery and carrot and brown them in the bacon fat for a couple of minutes.

4. Add the chopped mix by shelling it well with a spoon and let it brown for a couple of minutes. 

5. When the meat is browned and part of the liquids it has released have evaporated (it will take about 10/15 minutes), increase the heat and blend with the wine.

6. When the wine has been absorbed by the meat, add the tomato puree, the concentrate and the milk and mix well. Lower the heat to low and cook for about 3 hours, mixing often.

7. NB halfway through cooking you can add salt and pepper to the sauce. And if necessary, add the hot vegetable broth to the meat sauce a little at a time to complete the cooking. The result must be a not too liquid sauce.

PREPARATION OF THE PASTRY

ADVICE:  Start preparing the lasagne sheet only when the sauce is ready.

1. Pour the sifted flour onto a wooden pastry board, make a hole in the centre and add the lightly beaten egg and a pinch of salt. With the help of a fork, begin to incorporate the egg into the flour.

2. When all the egg has been absorbed by the flour, start working the dough with your hands, for about 10 minutes or until you have obtained a very compact and firm dough. Cover with cling film and let it rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

3. After the 30 minutes, divide the lasagne dough into three equal parts. On a well-floured surface, start rolling out the first loaf with the help of a rolling pin. You will need to obtain a pastry of a few millimetres. With the help of a sharp knife, cut squares slightly smaller than the pan you will use.

4. Put on the fire a large pot with water, a little salt and a few drops of oil, when it comes to a boil, immerse the first sheet and cook it just a minute. Remove the pastry from the hot water and immerse it immediately in a bowl with cold water to stop cooking. Remove the pastry from the cold water and spread it out on a clean cotton cloth to drain. Continue like this for all the sheets.

LASAGNA PREPARATION 

1. Heat the béchamel, it will be easier for you to distribute it. Pour two tablespoons of béchamel at the base of the pan cover with a sheet of lasagne then another layer of béchamel, one abundant with meat sauce, and plenty of parmesan. 

2. Continue like this until all the layers are complete. Traditionally there must be three of puff pastry and three of ragù.
3. NB If the sauce is very dry, add two more tablespoons of béchamel over the sauce before the parmesan.
4. Cover with a sheet of aluminium foil and bake, preheated oven at 180 °, for about 30/40 minutes. To understand if the lasagne is ready, stick a fork in the centre. The lasagne should be soft.

5. Remove the aluminium foil, turn on the grill and brown the surface of the lasagne for about 6. 5 minutes, you will need to get a golden and crispy crust.

7. Remove from the oven and let the lasagne rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting it, to make it easier to cut and enjoy it to the fullest.

DeLonghi kitchen with oven and cootop

Hacks And Advice

Tempted to join the DeLonghi cooking club – or perhaps you already have? You might be wondering, are DeLonghi cooktops a good brand and are DeLonghi ovens any good? You bet they are! Or where are DeLonghi cooktops made? Italy, of course, just like their famous coffee machines! Our in-store experts can answer your most burning questions, from how to use a DeLonghi oven to get the most out of it, to how to turn on your DeLonghi oven.  Here are some other things you might want to know.

How To Install A Delonghi Cooktop Or Oven?

The Good Guys can help. Our Home Services team can install your new Italian cooking stallion (and remove your old appliance while they’re at it).

Does The Delonghi Cooktop Automatically Turn Off?

Yes. This is normal. The elements cycle to prevent the glass from overheating, or the controller cycles to maintain the selected setting.

How To Unlock A Delonghi Cooktop?

Along with automatic switch-off, DeLonghi induction cooktops have other safety features, such as hot surface and residual heat indicators and Child Lock mode. Consult the user manual to find how to unlock your cooktop safely.

How To Set The Clock On A Delonghi Oven?

When first connected, or after a power failure, three zeros will flash on the display. To set the time, press the button with the hand symbol, then the + or - buttons.

 

Ready to cook up la dolce vita with DeLonghi? Visit The Good Guys in-store or online for the latest models and the best advice on DeLonghi ovens, cooktops and rangehoods.

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