EGGPLANT SALAD

This super easy to make salad is perfect to accompany grilled meats or can be a wonderful appetizer with a simple bruschetta / toasted bread.

INGREDIENTS:

4 large eggplants
1 big garlic clove
the juice of one lemon
EVOO
salt & pepper to taste
fresh chopped parsley
White wine vinegar

Start by washing well the eggplants. Dry them with a cloth or absorbent paper. Poke them with a fork all around, and place them on a baking sheet. Cook in a 400F oven for about 40 minutes or until the eggplants have become soft.

Remove them from the oven and let them cool down a bit.

Cut them open in two halves and carefully remove the strings of seeds that you may find inside. (It will be impossible to remove ALL seeds). Then, scoop out the pulp with a spoon into a bowl. Squeeze out excess water by placing them in a fine mesh strainer and pressing down with a spoon.

Place the pulp on a cutting board and finely slice with a knife, then transfer back to the serving bowl.
Dress the salad with salt and pepper to taste, freshly chopped parsley, EVOO, the juice of one lemon and a dash of white wine vinegar. Your salad is done!

POLPETTE DI CARNE

Meatballs are everyone's favorite, young and old!

Following is how I learned to make them form my wonderful grandmother Leonilde.

Coming home from school to her pasta and meatballs is without doubt my fondest childhood memory!



INGREDIENTS for about 20 /22 meatballs:

About 2.2lbs of meat (2/3 beef + 1/3 pork or 1/2 beef + 1/2 pork, depending on personal preference)
4 eggs
about 4 cups of soft - not crusty - bread, soaked in milk
about 2 cups of grated Parmigiano cheese (or 1/2 Parmigiano and 1/2 Pecorino, for added flavor)
about 1/2 cup of bread crumbs
about 1 tsp of sea salt
1 minced clove of garlic
some fresh chopped parsley
a pinch of nutmeg
a dash of pepper
vegetable oil for frying

Start by soaking the bread in milk for a few minutes. Then, squeeze the bread in your hands to get rid of excess milk.
In a bowl combine all the ingredients and mix well together. If the mix is too "lose", add more bread crumbs.
Make meatballs.
Heat up vegetable oil in a frying pan - enough oil so that half of each meatball is submerged.
Fry the meatballs on medium - high heat, about 6 minutes on each side. Drain them on absorbent paper.


INGREDIENTS for the sauce:

1 small onion thinly sliced
EVOO
3  28 oz cans of whole tomatoes
Salt

Start by crushing the tomatoes in a blender at the lowest speed for just a few seconds, until the tomatoes are barely crushed.
Sauté the onion in EVOO - enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan - for a few minutes until  it becomes translucent. (A tall pan works best).
Add the crushed tomatoes and salt to taste.
Bring to a gentle boil for about ten minutes. Add the meatballs and let simmer for about one hour.

Use the sauce to top your favorite pasta (not egg pasta, though), cooked al dente!

PASTA E FAGIOLI

Fall and Winter call for soups or more soupy pasta dishes, like Pasta e Fagioli (pasta with beans).
It is an example of what we call Cucina Povera or peasant dishes due to its low cost but good nutritional value.

INGREDIENTS FOR FOUR PEOPLE:

1 chopped celery stalk
1 medium size chopped carrot
1 clove of garlic
1 small diced onion
Some diced prosciutto for extra flavor - optional
EVOO
About 3 1/2 quarts of vegetable stock
Black pepper
Some fresh, minced rosemary
400 gr of pinto beans (you can substitute with canned beans)
250 gr of tomato puree


Sauté the garlic in some olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of a tall pasta pan). Once it becomes golden, remove it and add the chopped onion, carrot and celery. Add a ladle of stock and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the diced prosciutto and cook for a few more minutes. Add another ladle of stock and the tomato puree. Flavor with salt and pepper. Add the cooked beans with a bit of their cooking water (if using canned beans, drain them first). Now add the remaining stock and simmer for about ten minutes. With an immersion blender, partially blend 1/3 of the beans, to give the pasta a creamier consistency. Cook the pasta in the same pot according to pasta directions. Add salt to taste.
Add some hot water if you feel you are running out of liquid.
Once done, remove from heat and let rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Serve with freshly grated parmigiano cheese and some finely minced rosemary.

TORTA AL CACAO

Simple  Chocolate Cake

A quick and easy recipe for a cake that you can eat plain or decorate with frosting as you wish.

250 gr flour

3 eggs

200 gr sugar

50 gr of dutch processed cocoa

100 gr of melted butter

1/2 glass of  milk

19 gr of baking powder

Start by whipping the eggs with the sugar. Add the melted butter (after it has cooled down), then the flour, cocoa and milk. Mix for five minutes. Add the baking powder and mix for ten more minutes. Bake at 350 F  for about 40 minutes in a previously buttered and floured cake pan.

ZEPPOLE DI PATATE

Zeppole - a type of fried donuts, with a potato based dough -  are traditionally made and eaten during the Christmas Holidays in the region of Campania. It would not be Christmas without them!


INGREDIENTS for about 60 zeppole:

1 Kg of yukon gold potatoes
about 1kg of all purpose flour
4  large eggs + 1 egg yolk
250 ml of warm milk
200 gr sugar
5 tsp dry yeast
the lemon zest of one organic lemon
1 tsp of vanilla
120 gr butter
a pinch of salt
about 6 cups of Wesson vegetable oil
a mix of about 3 cups of sugar and 2 TBS of cinnamon (or more according to your preferences)



Rinse well the potatoes and boil them - skin on. Once they are boiled, mash them using a potato ricer.
Allow the yeast to dissolve in the warm milk for a few minutes.
Create the dough by mixing all the ingredients together by hand, adding the flour a little at the time.
You may need more or less than 1kg of flour, depending on the consistency of your potatoes. The dough should be soft and not sticky on the outside.

Cover the dough with a cloth. Flour a few baking sheets.
Remove a chunk of the dough from the original piece. Dust your working surface with flour, roll out the dough in strips about 18cm long (about 7 inches). Cross the two ends on top of each other to form a donut, so that you have two "tails" on each side. Place on floured baking sheets. Cover each baking sheet with a clean cloth and let the zeppole rest and rise for about 45 minutes to one hour in a non drafty warm room (not in the oven).

Pour vegetable oil in a tall pan. Heat up on medium high heatzeppole that you can fry at the same time will depend on the size of your pan. However, be careful not to overcrowd it. I can fry about 4 at the time. After frying the first ones, you will realize if you need to adjust the temperature. They need to be golden - not dark brown or they will burn - and will need to be turned on both sides while frying.
. When hot, start frying. The number of
Drain them on paper towel and while still warm, dip them in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. Place on a serving platter.

Zeppole are best when still warm or eaten within the same day. Their consistency will change with time, and they will become harder and stale as time goes by.

PASTA CON CREMA DI PEPERONI

One of our family's favorite, quick, inexpensive and tasty pasta dish.

INGREDIENTS for five people 

1 chopped onion

1 chopped fresh red pepper 

Salt 

Fresh basil

EVO oil

Heavy Cream

Grated Parmigiano 

1 package of penne or rigatoni 

Sautée onion and pepper in some olive oil (enough to barely cover the bottom of pan), for about ten minutes on medium heat, until onion becomes translucent and pepper is tender.

Meanwhile, put your pasta pot on and bring water to a boil.

Transfer pepper and onion to a blender, add heavy cream, fresh basil and salt to taste and blend together into a smooth mixture.

Transfer back to pan and cook on low heat for a couple of minutes. 

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and toss in with cream. Stir in low heat for a minute and serve right away sprinkled with freshly grated Parmigiano cheese.

AMALFI LEMON CAKE

The Amalfi Coast is known, among other things, for its Yellow Gold, aka Lemons. Hard to imagine but absolutely true!
To people there, lemons are more than just fruit: they represent one of the key elements in the local economy, second maybe only to tourism. Throughout the centuries, the abundance of lemons has had a significant impact on culinary traditions and flavors and even on medicinal remedies.

Lemons that grow in the Amalfi microclimate are called Sfusato Amalfitano, due to their elongated shape. They are characterized by a sweeter taste and a thick skin which allow the fruit to be eaten or used in its entirety, peel and all.

Many local dishes feature lemons in their preparation, ranging from a simple lemon salad to delicious pastries like Delizia al limone, lemon profiteroles and Torta Caprese al limone (Lemon Caprese Cake).

Lemons and Limoncello are also the main ingredients of the traditional Amalfi Lemon Cake, featured here.
As you will not find Amalfi lemons in the US, please, always use organic lemons for this recipe.
The best Limoncello can be shipped right to your doorstep by ordering from my friend Salvatore Aceto, right in Amalfi!! And if you happen to go to Amalfi, visit his lemon grove located right in the heart of the village!

INGREDIENTS

200 gr of butter
200 gr of sugar
100 gr of bread flour
100gr of all purpose flour
3 eggs
lemon zest from 3 organic lemons
1.75 oz of Limoncello
a splash of cold milk
16 gr of baking powder

For the syrup:

the juice of three lemons
250 gr of sugar

In a mixer, whip together the butter and sugar. Add one egg at the time, while mixing. Sift the flour and add it one spoonful at the time. Add the limoncello, a splash of cold milk, and the lemon zest. Continue to mix and scrape off the sides, if needed. Add the baking powder. Mix well for a few seconds and transfer to a  previously buttered and floured bundt cake pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for about 30 minutes.

In the meanwhile, make the syrup by bringing to a boil the filtered juice of three lemons and 250gr of sugar. Stir frequently. Let boil for about one minute on medium/low heat and remove from heat. Let cool down a bit.

When the cake has finished baking, let it cool down for 15/20 minutes. Then,  with a spoon, wet it with half of the syrup, while still in the baking pan. At this point, turn it upside down on a serving
plate, and evenly wet the top with the remaining syrup.

Serve at room temperature. Do not refrigerate (not even left overs).