Dear Ray and gang,
My wife
and I, back in our days when we were just boyfriend and girlfriend, regularly
used to go to an Italian restaurant called Bucci`s on Camden St in Dublin. It
was our place. The food was to die for and the atmosphere was brilliant, very
chilled out and relaxed.
Unfortunately it closed down on new years eve in 2005.
On that night though, the owner told us he was going to try and re-open the
restaurant in another location. So basically I'm wondering does anyone know if
the owner ever did open a new restaurant and if he did where is it? Because I'd
love to be able to surprise my wife by bringing her to it.
I have one
more request; if the restaurant hasn't re-opened could anyone connected to
Bucci's give me the recipe for Bucci's signature dish, Canneloni Bucci as I
would score unbelievable brownie points if I could make it
myself!
Thanking you in
advance
Derek
_____________________________
Unfortunately Bucci’s
didn’t re-open. But thanks to the help of our listeners we managed to track down
the man who owned it, Eoin Doyle. Eoin now runs a printing business, Ink Plus,
on Wexford
Street in Dublin. Eoin got in touch with his old chef and
together they have pieced together the old recipe for Cannelloni Bucci. Here it is….
Cannelloni Bucci (Serves 4-6)
Filling
16-18 cannelloni tubes (can be replaced by rolled up softened lasagne sheets)
450g fresh white crabmeat
225g fresh spinach
3 tbsp fresh chopped basil
Salt and pepper to season
Sauce
1 spanish onion
1 carrot
1 stick of celery
4 cloves garlic
Generous splash extra virgin olive oil
3 x 400g tins plum tomatoes
3 tbsp port
Pinch each fresh chopped thyme, parsley and basil
Salt and pepper
Garnish
75g fresh Parmesan
Fresh basil
1. To make sauce: Heat olive oil in saucepan. Peel and finely chop onion, carrot and celery. Crush garlic. Saute in olive oil until soft.
2. Add tomatoes, port and herbs to pan. Bring to the boil and then leave to simmer for 15 mins. Add salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cool 5 mins, then blend the mixture and put aside.
3. To make filling: Flake crab using a fork.
4. Blanch spinach in a saucepan. Drain and add to crab. Add basil and mix thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Divide filling equally between the cannelloni tubes and spoon in. Pour half the sauce into a large rectangular dish. Place the filled tubes on top and cover with remaining sauce.
6. Bake in preheated oven at 190 (Gas Mark 5) for 30 mins. Remove from oven and sprinkle grated Parmesan over the baked sauce. Return to oven and bake for a further 10 mins.
7. Garnish with fresh basil and Parmesan shavings to serve