BRUSCHETTA CON POMODORINI

Bruschetta (pronounced bru-sketta) is THE Italian antipasto found in all Italian restaurants, both in Italy and abroad. It is made of sliced bread rubbed with garlic and typically topped with tomatoes, olive oil, chopped garlic and salt as the essential ingredients and then toasted for a few minutes in the oven.
In this recipe,  I sprinkled some oregano. During the Summer, when fresh basil is in season, I add that too.
(Please, make sure your oregano is from countries like Italy, Greece, or Turkey. This means a trip to a specialty / ethnic shop).

There are many other variations: with mozzarella, olives, prosciutto, etc.

Try making your own version, but don't over do it using too many ingredients at once. Keeping it simple is always best in Italian cuisine.

Bread quality is of crucial importance for what may seem an inconsequential dish, just as a good quality of oil.
Use rustic artisan breads for absolute perfection of Bruschetta. 

Impress your guests and... your palate! It is easy!


INGREDIENTS:

Sliced artisan bread

Diced cherry tomatoes

Fresh garlic

Extra-virgin olive oil

Salt

Oregano

Fresh Basil

Toast the bread (in the oven ) then rub it with a garlic clove. Drizzle with some olive oil. In a separate dish, combine the diced tomatoes, salt to taste, oregano, fresh chopped basil and extra- virgin olive oil. Mix well and top the bread slices.

BROCCOLI DI RAPE SOFFRITTI

Broccoli di rape are known for their somewhat bitter taste. It is a taste that one either loves or detests but it is definitely an acquired taste. When sauteed, they accompany very well meat, especially pork (sausages, pork chops, pork roasts).

One way to remove some of the bitter taste is to boil them first for a few minutes.

Here is how I make them:

1 Bunch of Broccoli di Rape

Extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

Hot pepper flakes

Salt


Start by cleaning the broccoli (remove thick stems) and washing them well in water.

Using a pasta pot, bring some water to a boil, add some salt.

Cook the broccoli in boiling water for about 5 / 7 minutes. Remove from water with a straining spoon and place in a plate.

In a skillet, sauté garlic and hot pepper flakes until garlic becomes blonde - but not burned.

Carefully toss in the broccoli  and cover with a lid until oil splashing ends. Then, remove the lid and cook on medium - low heat, add salt to taste and stir the broccoli from time to time, until stems are tender. If you see that juices dry up, but more cooking is needed, add a bit of water.

How do you like the bitter flavor? 
If you do, you are more Italian than you think!

CALAMARATA SEPPIE E PISELLI

Calamarata is a special cut of pasta meant to evoke calamari rings and which is therefore, mainly accompanied by seafood sauces. For this dish, the pasta condiment is made with fresh cuttlefish and peas (which are traditionally a Roman dish, served alone as a second course ). It is not always easy to find fresh cuttlefish but when I do, I never miss the chance!

INGREDIENTS for five people:

2 large fresh cuttlefish
1 fresh medium size onion
1 16oz bag of frozen peas
About 1 cup of white cooking wine
Salt to taste
Extra virgin olive oil
Hot pepper flakes to taste
Fresh chopped parsley.
1 package of Calamarata pasta or other short cut pasta of your choice, preferably bronze cut.



Start by defrosting peas: remove them from bag and place them in hot water. Change water a couple of times.
Clean, wash and cut the cuttlefish in strips, including tentacles.
Dice the onion and let it sauté in a large skillet in extra-vergin olive oil  - enough to barely cover bottom of pan - with some hot pepper flakes. Add the cuttlefish, sauté for a few minutes, add the white wine and cover. Let simmer on medium - low heat until cuttlefish becomes tender. Depending on the thickness of the strips, this will take 30 to 40 minutes.  About ten minutes from reaching the desired fish consistency, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the peas to the fish, with salt to taste, continuing to simmer on low heat.
When the water boils, add salt and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain the pasta and add  it to peas and cuttlefish, still on low simmer.  Sprinkle with abundant fresh chopped parsley and serve promptly.

POLLO AI PEPERONI

This is a traditional dish from Rome.
In the real recipe you want to sautée the chicken with a couple of cloves of garlic. This time, as you can see from the photo, I tried substituting the garlic with onions, to give the dish an even sweeter taste. Try both ways and decide which you like best.


INGREDIENTS for 5 people

About 3 lbs of cut up chicken (I used just drumsticks this time)
4 fresh and ripe plum tomatoes
1 medium size onion or 2 cloves of garlic
about 4 sliced fresh peppers - yellow and red.
Salt
Hot pepper flakes
Parsley
Extra-virgin olive oil


Start by washing and cleaning the chicken.  Barely cover the bottom of a high skillet with olive oil and sautée the garlic (if you are making the "garlic version") with the chicken and some hot pepper flakes, until all sides become golden/ brown. Splash with white wine and let evaporate. Add the sliced peppers, onions, parsley, tomatoes and salt.

Cover and let cook on medium heat for about one hour, turning each piece of chicken to prevent sticking to the pan.

Accompany this dish with roasted potatoes and a fresh salad.

RAGÙ CON CARNE MACINATA

Ragù is the general word to indicate tomato sauce  made with meat. The type and cuts of meat may change according to the several recipes (beef, pork, and even lamb). For this recipe, I used ground beef, which could also easily be substituted by half beef and half pork.

INGREDIENTS (for a large pot of sauce that will allow to make pasta for about 15 people -I like to make it and freeze it).

3lbs of ground beef meat

3 peeled and washed carrots

3 washed celery stalks

3 medium size onions

2 cans of crushed San Marzano tomatoes

2 cans of tomato purée

One glass of white wine

Olive oil

Half a stick of butter

Salt


Start by chopping up the onions, celery and carrots in a food processor.

Sautée vegetables in melted butter + a splash of olive oil, for about 15 minutes on medium low heat.

Add the ground meat and tear it apart with a fork. Let it brown. Add salt to taste and the glass of wine. Let the wine evaporate on low heat.

Add the crushed tomatoes and stir well. Add the tomato purèe and stir well. Flavor with more salt.
(If, at this point, your sauce is too thick, you may want to add about half a glass of water to thin it out). Bring sauce to a boil on medium high heat and then reduce to low. Let simmer for about two hours.

Serve this sauce on your favorite short pasta, like penne or rigatoni, or on fettuccine all'uovo (egg fettucine) if you prefer long shaped pasta - but NEVER on spaghetti or linguine!!!

INVOLTINI DI MELANZANE

This summer we had the opportunity to take a cooking class as a family in Amalfi, in an almost magical setting: a lemon grove set right above the town. La famiglia Aceto taught us how to make these light and super easy to prepare eggplant "roll-ups".

This dish is now our new favorite! Hope you will like it too.

TIP: the quality of the eggplants is crucial for a successful outcome. If you live in the US, please avoid buying the standards eggplants you find at the supermarket. They have too many seeds. Look instead for either Chinese eggplants (long and thin) or the Holland or Italian eggplants, which are going to be not as thin but with no seeds.

INGREDIENTS (for five people)

6 long eggplants
2 pints of cherry tomatoes
1/4 lb of diced provola (smoked mozzarella) or regular fresh mozzarella
grated Parmigiano cheese
fresh basil
salt
vegetable frying oil

olive oil


Start by washing the eggplants. Dry and remove the stem. Slice them thin lengthwise, discarding the first and last slices which will be mostly skin.
Fry them in vegetable oil until they become golden and drain on absorbent paper.

Make a sauce with the cherry tomatoes: wash them and cut them in half or fourths, depending on how big they are. Sautée them in a pan with very little olive oil. Add salt to taste. Don't cook them too long or they will become watery. Five minutes should suffice.

Use a plate to assemble the rolls: take one eggplant and garnish with the tomatoes, provola, grated cheese and basil (in this order). Roll it up and place it in a baking dish, side up. Continue until you run out of eggplants.

Bake at 350 F for about 15 minutes or until the cheese melts. Serve warm.

Special Thanks to the Aceto Family!
http://www.amalfilemon.it/

ZUCCHINE ARROSTITE

Another easy side dish to accompany meat or fish. Also great to enrich your lunch sandwiches.

INGREDIENTS:

6 round zucchini (alternatively the traditional long ones will be just as fine - just beware of seeds if you live in the US)
Minced fresh garlic
Fresh mint
Salt
Olive oil
White vine vinegar


Wash the zucchini, remove top and bottom. Slice them thin (a little less than 1/4 of an inch)
and roast them, on both sides, making sure not to overdue it, as they will easily burn.
In a serving dish, make a layer of zucchini. Dress with salt, minced garlic and mint, olive oil and just some sprinkles of vinegar. Make several layers in the same fashion until you run out of zucchini.
You can keep this dish refrigerated for a few days.