Orecchiette And Home-Grown Sauce
The tomatoes are finally coming in. A lot of tomatoes are finally coming in!
Victor took care of a dozen or so of them today by making a great pasta sauce. Fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, herbs from the garden - and spare ribs! He simmered the ribs in the sauce until they were fall-off-the-bone-tender! Just wonderful!
I had fried peppers earlier in the day, so along with a plate of orrechiette in home-grown sauce, we had toasted Italian garlic bread with locatelli and a plate of fried peppers.
Gastronomic heaven.
And there's Ricotta Cake later.....
Braised Chicken
Fresh tomatoes from the garden, zucchini from our neighbor down the street, fried peppers in the fridge, a chicken just waiting to be braised... A dinner was born!
I knew last night that I was making a braised chicken today. I even had the recipe pretty much figured out. Basic, throw-in-the-pot stuff.
I chopped an onion and sauteed it in a bit of olive oil. I added the cut-up chicken, garlic, and red wine and let it cook down a bit. I then added about 4 fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes, chopped, chunks of zucchini, and about a cup of hot and sweet fried peppers. On went the lid and into the oven for about 45 minutes.
I added some basil and oregano form the garden, salt, and pepper. That was pretty much it.
I cooked up some mini rigatoni and called it dinner.
And there were plenty of leftovers for Victor's lunch.
The peppers were really spicy and added a nice amount of heat without being overpowering. And I baked off the last loaf of the Olive Oil Bread .
It was a bit unseasonal, but we're still living under air conditioning.
I think tomorrow might be stuffed zucchini.
Rigatoni and the Cold From Hell
Right in the middle of a fabulous visit with friends, I developed the Cold From Hell. Who knows where this one came from. It hit me like a freight train, knocking me right into the ground.
I sucked it up and put on a brave face, but I have to admit I felt pretty lousy. And while I think I hid the feeling lousy part fairly well, I couldn't hide the sounding lousy part. I've been barking like a seal since Saturday. Ugh. I did everything in my power to keep the germs contained around me, so I'm really hoping no one else comes down with it. I went right into that 'working in a hospital' mode and just constantly washed my hands, didn't touch my face, washed my hands, kept everything around me clean, washed my hands... Plus, no hugs and kisses when everyone left today - I stayed back and waved.
In the meantime, my taste buds have gone on a medical hiatus, as has most of (but certainly not all) of my appetite.
Victor came to the rescue tonight with leftovers from Saturday. Sausage and meatballs and sauce with rigatoni.
I know it was absolutely delicious from having it a couple of days ago. Alas, tonight I just sort of went through the motions and ate a few bites here and there.
Since I'm the only person I know who can get sick, not eat, and still manage to gain weight, I doubt this will help with the weight-loss plan
On the other hand... right now, I don't really care.
As soon as the sun begins to set a bit, I'm crawling into bed.
Wine, Women, and Food
What a fun weekend we have been having!
Friends are visiting from Boston and we're eating (and drinking) well! That's a bottle of Marilyn Merlot on the counter. Gotta love it!
Victor did the honors with this dinner - meat balls, sausage, ravioli, salad... I baked a loaf of bread.
Simple food perfect for sharing with friends. We're having a blast!
Today, we're adding a couple more folks to the mix and having a Chinese 4th of July Celebration! Since the Chinese invented fireworks, it seems only fitting that they should be included in the festivities!
We'll be making a few things, thawing a few things, and steaming a few things we bought.
Stay tuned!
Pork Chops with Italian Salsa
I've almost gotten into a rut with pork chops. If they're not braised with pears and red onions, they're topped with spicy fruit salsa of some sort. Really good, but been there, done that. A lot.
So as I'm planning which salsa I'm going to make (apricot or peach) I see two tomatoes that are getting riper as I look. And there's some endive in the fridge I didn't use last night. In my mind, dinner starts taking on a bit of an Italian theme... I had already baked some bread. Pork chops. Italy. Let's do it.
I marinated the pork chops in red wine, garlic, and dried Italian seasoning.
For the salsa, I basically made a chopped tomato salad:
Italian Tomato Salsa
- 2 ripe tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 small red onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- splash olive oil
- basil, oregano, and parsley, minced
- salt and pepper, to taste
Mix and chill.
I'm a west coast boy. If you chop stuff up and mix it together, you make salsa. But this really was just like a bruschetta or tomato salad. Really simple and no-brainer, but really flavorful.
I braised the endive in a hot skillet with just a splash of olive oil and pat of butter, salt and pepper. After it browned for a minute, I covered it and lowered the heat and let it cook about 6-7 minutes. I then topped it with just a tiny bit of shredded Locatelli.
The rice was lazy-man's Risotto. I cooked a cup of sticky rice (I picked up a 5-pound bag at the Asian grocery store on Sunday) and after it was cooked, stirred in some shredded Locatelli. Lazy. But good. And just different enough that we didn't have just plain ol' white rice with dinner.
A little later on, there's chocolate banana pie.
It's 74° outside, windows are open and a breeze is blowing through the house.
Life really is good!
Sausage and Peppers
You know the warning about wearing gloves when dealing with hot peppers? I do. Quite well, in fact.
Did I heed that warning when cleaning that pound-plus of long hot peppers today?!? Of course not. I don't have any gloves in the house! Several hours later, I can still feel a bit of burn in my hands. The only good thing about it is it's keeping me focused to keep from rubbing my eyes.
I would die.
I almost died cleaning them. I have never coughed and sneezed so much doing anything. Ever. They were totally overwhelming. Non-stop sneezing and coughing. Rivulets of water pouring from my eyes.
I loved every minute of it.
I usually get long Italian peppers to mix with the hots, but the produce store was out of them this morning. Plan B. Red and green bells, cut into strips.
Now... Victor usually does the peppers. He's the Italian. He knows his peppers. But he was working today and I wanted them with dinner. Time to do it, myself.
I mixed about 2 pounds each of red and green bell peppers with the pound and a quarter or so of the hots. Into a really large skillet with olive oil and eventually, some salt and pepper.
Just before they were done, I shredded 3 cloves of garlic into them. The garlic gets bitter if ya put it in too soon.
90 degrees outside and I opened windows and turned on the exhaust fan to fry them up. The breeze blowing through kept me from keeling over in the kitchen. Those peppers are wicked!
The peppers keep for a really long time in the 'fridge (not that we allow them to stay around long...) They go with just about anything, from sausages to sandwiches, steaks to salads.
And speaking of peppers... here's a recipe I used to make all of the time and haven't in a few years. Red Pepper Relish. This one really lasts forever in the 'fridge. It's from Chris Leishman's cook book Recipes From The Heart. It's one of those things you end up finding a million and one uses for. It's especially good on a cold flank steak sandwich on a crusty french roll. Find some red peppers on sale and go make a batch!
The fried peppers made the perfect accompaniment to dinner tonight. Grilled Italian sausages, grilled polenta, broccoli rabe, and a loaf of crusty Italian bread.
For the polenta, I used 2 cups of non fat milk, 3/4 cup of polenta, salt & pepper, and about 2 ounces of asaiago cheese. When it was cooked, I put it into a well-buttered 8"x8" pan and when it was relatively cool, cut it into quarters and each quarter diagonally. Onto the grill for a few minutes.
The broccoli rabe was sauteed with onions in olive oil and a splash of red wine vinegar.
It really was a simple dinner with some really awesome flavors.
For dessert, we have more Boston Cream Pie.
There's also fresh peach ice cream, but, really... One dessert at a time.
Burgers and Salads
This was one of those days where I felt like making stuff, but nothing seemed to go together - or, at least, what I had wasn't what I wanted. I made a black barley and corn salad earlier, Victor had made a huge fruit salad, and I had burger thawing. But I didn't want burgers. Or, I didn't want plain ol' burgers. For a brief moment I thought Salisbury Steak, but gravy didn't go with cold corn salad and fresh fruit.
I grabbed my new Lidia cook book for inspiration.
She had a recipe for a meatloaf - but I wasn't in the mood for meatloaf. But I did have all the ingredients. I decided to make the meatloaf into burgers! I mean... meatloaf is just a big hamburger with stuff in it, right?!?
So... dinner is burgers with stuff in them. Problem solved.
Needless to say, I cut the ingredients waaaaaay down - I pretty much quartered the recipe. And it came out real good! Here's her recipe. Try making the meatloaf. I'll bet it's good, too!
Polpettone di Manzo con Ricotta
Lidia Bastianich
Serves 8 or more
- 1 cup milk
- 3 cups day- old bread cubes, from a loaf of country bread
- 3 pounds ground beef (freshly ground preferred)
- 3 large eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt
- 1 pound drained fresh ricotta (about 2 cups), plus more for the sauce if you like
- 1 bunch scallions,finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- ½ cup grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano- Reggiano
- ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- ½ pound fresh mozzarella, cut in ½- inch cubes (about 2 cups)
- ¼ cup extra- virgin olive oil
- 4 to 5 cups tomato sauce
Recommended equipment: A sturdy roasting pan, 10 by 17 inches or larger
Preheat oven to 375º. Pour the milk over the bread cubes in a bowl, and let soak for a few minutes, until the bread is saturated.
Squeeze the soft bread a handful at a time, pressing out as much milk as you can (discard milk, or give it to a pet), then tear bread into small shreds and toss back into the bowl. Crumble the ground beef into the bowl, and add the eggs, ricotta, scallions, grated cheese, parsley, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Fold and toss everything together, and squeeze the mixture a few times between your fingers to distribute all the ingredients evenly. Scatter the mozzarella cubes on top, and fold and mush them throughout the loaf mix.
Brush the roasting pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Gather the meat mixture in the bowl, turn it into the pan, and shape it into a fat oval loaf. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Cover the pan with foil—tent it so it doesn’t touch the meat—and bake 45 minutes. Remove the foil, and continue to bake until the meatloaf is browned all over and completely cooked through, another 1 hour and 30 minutes or so. (If you check the loaf with a meat thermometer, it should reach a temperature of 160º.) Remove the roast from the oven, and let it rest for about 10 minutes.
Heat the tomato sauce to a simmer in a saucepan as the meat rests. Turn off the heat, and, if you like, stir ½ cup or so fresh ricotta into the sauce. Cut the loaf crosswise in the pan or on a cutting board, in slices as thick as you like. Serve on warm dinner plates, topped with a spoonful or two of sauce, and pass more sauce at the table (or, for family- style serving, arrange the slices on a warm platter, topped with some of the sauce). To accompany this meatloaf, I love braised broccoli rabe (broccoli di rape) or escarole, served on a separate plate or platter.
Note: If you love fresh ricotta, as I do, you can stir some into the tomato sauce, too, just before serving the meatloaf.
The Corn, Black Barley, and Bean Salad was a whim.
I had two ears of fresh corn I wanted to use for something other than corn on the cob. I opened the cabinet and the first thing I saw was the black barley. Hmmmmm... corn and black barley salad. Sounds good. I was thinking black beans would go well with it - but I didn't have any black beans in the cabinet! Pintos, great northern, and red kidney. The kidney won. They're better cold in a salad, anyway.
The dressing was a no-brainer. Ruth and I used to make a shrimp, corn, and pea salad with a lime and mayonnaise dressing. I had limes and I had mayonnaise. A salad was born.
Corn, Black Barley, and Bean Salad
- 2 ears fresh corn, cut from the cob and blanched (or about 1 1/2 cups frozen, thawed)
- 1/2 cup black barley, cooked, drained, and cooled (or grain of choice - rice, farro, wheat berries, wild rice, etc...)
- 1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained (or beans of choice)
- 2 tbsp assorted fresh herbs, minced
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 lime - zest and juice
- salt and pepper, to taste
Mix corn, beans, and barley. Add the mayonnaise, lime juice, and lime zest. Add minced herbs, salt and pepper.
Cover and chill.
These are some of the easiest and most basic salads one can make, and they're especially good and refreshing on a hot day. The lime brings a fresh taste that cannot be compared. And they're ready in the time it takes to cook the grain. If you have fresh herbs growing in the garden, just grab some and mince them up. It really doesn't matter which herbs you use. It's the freshness that comes through.
You can switch out the vegetable, the grain, the bean, add chicken, shrimp, tofu, or diced cooked pork tenderloin. The constant is the mayonnaise and the lime.
Yum.
The Italian Does Italian
We were sitting out in the back yard and Victor said "You didn't take anything out of the freezer this morning". I hadn't. There was a package of fresh tortellini in the 'fridge, and some veggies that needed using up. I told him I thought I'd cook the tortellini and do a bit of a veg sauce with it.
And it was at that point I heard those two words I just love to hear... "I'll cook".
There's just something about having dinner cooked for me now and again that just makes life grand.
I love to cook and would absolutely hate not being able to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, but it is also just so wonderful to have dinner prepared for me once in a while. And Victor does know how to prepare a meal!
Where I was going to make one dish, Victor made two - eggplant parmesan and the tortellini melange.
The eggplant was excellent! He took a baby eggplant and sliced it and breaded it with seasoned panko breadcrumbs. He overlapped the breaded slices on a sheet pan, added a bit of sauce I had made a few days ago, fresh mozzarella, and a bit more sauce. Into a hot oven for about 20 minutes.
In the meantime, into a hot skillet went some olive oil, garlic, pancetta, yellow zucchini, green zucchini, broccoli and tomatoes. He cooked it all together and then added the cooked tortellini, some grated cheese, fresh from the garden herbs, and a sprinkling of pepper.
It is funny how the same ingredients can be imagined so differently. It's one of the reasons why we seldom have the same meal twice. We do have our favorites that we make now and again, but for the most part, if we're not making a specific recipe, meals are put together on a whim.
And we have lots of whim in our house!
Italian-Style Chicken
Another day, another dinner. Another fun recipe from Lidia. Or, at least, based on a recipe by Lidia. I got it started, and then our Maytag Repairman showed up to fix the dishwasher. I hate people standing over me when I work, so I turned everything off and retired to the office while he did what he needed to do.
I liked the concept of her recipe and if I had been standing in the kitchen the entire time I may have made it more or less exactly how she made it, but after having it sit for 30 minutes unattended, I tweaked it a bit.
Her recipe is direct from her website:
Chicken with Olives & Pinenuts
Pollo con Olive e Pignoli
- 3½ to 4 pounds assorted cut- up chicken pieces
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons extra- virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 plump garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 bay leaves, preferably fresh
- 1 cup brine- cured green Italian olives or oil- cured black Italian olives
- ½ cup white wine
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
Recommended equipment: A 12- inch cast- iron or other heavy skillet or sauté pan, with a cover; an olive pitter
Rinse the chicken pieces, and pat dry with paper towels. Trim off excess skin and all visible fat. Cut drumsticks off the thighs; cut breast halves into two pieces each. Season the chicken all over with the salt.
Put the olive oil and butter in the pan, and set over medium- low heat. When the butter is melted and hot, lay in the chicken pieces, skin side down, in a single layer; drop the garlic cloves and bay leaves in the spaces between them.
Cover the pan, and let the chicken cook over gentle heat, browning slowly and releasing its fat and juices. After about 10 minutes, uncover the pan, turn the pieces, and move them around the pan to cook evenly, then replace the cover. Turn again in 10 minutes or so, and continue cooking covered.
While the chicken is browning, pit the olives (if they still have pits in them). If you’re using small olives like Castelvetrano, use a pitter and keep them whole. If you have larger olives (such as Ascolane or Cerignola), smash them with the blade of a chef’s knife to remove the pits, and break them into coarse chunks.
After the chicken has cooked for 30 minutes, scatter the olives onto the pan bottom, around the chicken, and pour in the wine. Raise the heat so the liquid is bubbling, cover, and cook, gradually concentrating the juices, for about 5 minutes.
Remove the lid, and cook uncovered, evaporating the pan juices, occasionally turning the chicken pieces and olives. If there is a lot of fat in the bottom of the pan, tilt the skillet and spoon off the fat from one side.Scatter the pine nuts around the chicken, and continue cooking uncovered, turning the chicken over gently until the pan juices thicken and coat the meat like a glaze.
Turn off the heat, and serve the chicken right from the skillet, or heap the pieces on a platter or in a shallow serving bowl. Spoon out any sauce and pine nuts left in the pan, and drizzle over the chicken.
What I didn't get was a browned chicken. It was more steamed. Not a bad thing, per se, but it looked a little pale. So... I had a few baby roma tomatoes that I tossed in, along with a shot of tomato paste. I used kalamata olives instead of the green Italian olives Lidia suggested and since the pine nuts on the shelf had seen better days, I tossed in some walnuts.
Worked great.
I added a bit of shredded cheese to the rice for just a bit of creaminess and a splash of balsamic vinegar on the green beans to pretend they were Italian.
Later on, I'll see about having a small scoop of ice cream.
Crespelle with Spinach
I have Lidia's book in hand again tonight. There are just so many great recipes in this book. I see a lot of fun in our future! I've mentioned before how much I like the simplicity of flavors she puts together.
Tonight's dinner is an Italian version of crepes. These are a bit thicker than their French counterparts, but extremely versatile. I can see any number of fillings with these - and some pretty fun desserts and other dishes. Extremely versatile. I think the recipe sounds a bit more complex than it really is. There are a mere three steps: make the crespelle, make the filling, and put it all together.
Crespelle with Spinach
scrippelle agli spinaci
Lidia Cooks From The Heart Of ItalyItalians have many local and regional names for crespelle (what the French, and most Americans, call crepes) and innumerable ways to enjoy them. In Abruzzo, these traditional thin pancakes are called scrippelle and are the versatile foundation for both savory and sweet dishes.
Here's a typically simple casserole of spinach-filled scrippelle, lightly dressed with tomato sauce and a shower of grated cheese. Serve bubbling hot from the oven as an appetizer or a fine vegetarian main dish (even meat-lovers will be satisfied).
The batter for these scrippelle is a bit thicker than the usual crespelle batter, but it is easy to work with and produces a pancake with fine texture. The Abruzzesi use them in all sorts of creative ways: layered with cheeses and sauce like a lasagna or a pasticiatta, rolled and stuffed and baked like manicotti. A popular technique is to stack and slice the scrippelle into thin, tagliatelle-like ribbons. These ribbons are often used as a soup garnish or in clever desserts.
For the Scrippelle
- 4 large eggs
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup plus 2 tbsp cold water
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 tbsp soft butter, or as needed
For filling and baking the scrippelle
- 1 1/2 pounds tender spinach leave, rinsed well, tough stems removed
- 5 tbsp butter plus more for the baking dish
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 cups Tomato Sauce or Marinara Sauce
- 1 1/4 cups freshly grated pecorino or more, as needed
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT: An electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment, or a sturdy wire whisk; a 9-inch crepe pan or a 1O-inch nonstick skillet (with a 9-inch bottom); a heavy-bottomed skillet or saute pan, 12-inch diameter or larger; a large baking dish or shallow casserole, 10 by 15 inches, or similar size .
To make the scrippelle batter with an electric mixer: Put the eggs and salt in the mixer bowl, and whisk on medium speed until foamy. Lower the speed, mix in the water, then stop and sift the flour on top. Whisk on low just until smooth. Follow the same mixing procedure if using a hand whisk.
You should have about 3 cups of batter.
Brush the crepe pan with a thin coating of butter. Set over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Ladle about 1/4 cup of batter into the pan, then quickly tilt and swirl the pan so the batter coats the bottom. Let cook about 30 seconds to I minute, until the bottom is lightly browned all over. Flip with a spatula, and cook another 30 seconds or so, until that side is lightly browned.
Flip the crespelle onto a dinner plate. Cook all the crespelle in the same way-a dozen or so total-stacking them on the plate when finished. Brush the pan with butter if it becomes dry or the scrippelle are sticking.
If you won't be using the scrippelle right away, wrap them in plastic wrap when cool, so they don't dry out. Refrigerate, well wrapped, to use the next day (or freeze).
To make the spinach filling: Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add all the spinach at once, stir, and cover the pot. Blanch until tender, about 4 or 5 minutes, then drain in a colander. Let the spinach cool, firmly squeeze all the moisture from the leaves, and chop them coarsely. (This step can be done ahead of time: cool and refrigerate chopped spinach for use the next day.)
When you are ready to fill and bake the scrippelle, heat the oven to 425° and arrange a rack in the center.
Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in the large skillet over medium heat. Scatter the spinach in the pan, and season with 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, for a minute or so, just enough to heat the spinach through.
Heat the tomato sauce in a small pot until bubbling, then turn off the heat and whisk in 2 table¬spoons of butter until incorporated. Spread another 2 tablespoons of butter, or as needed, in the baking dish, coating the bottom and sides well.
To fill each scrippelle: Lay it flat, scatter about a tablespoon of chopped spinach in the center, and sprinkle Yz tablespoon or so grated cheese on top. Fold the scrippelle in half and then into quarter¬rounds. Repeat until all the scrippelle are filled and folded.
Spread 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of the buttered baking dish. Arrange the filled and folded scrippelle in the dish in overlapping rows, with the pointed ends covered and the pretty fanlike edges visible. Spoon the remaining sauce on top of the scrippelle, in streaks down the center of the rows-don't try to cover them completely. Sprinkle the remaining grated cheese (or a bit more if needed) lightly allover the top.
Cover the pan with aluminum foil, making sure the foil doesn't touch the cheese. Bake for about 15 minutes, remove the foil, and bake until the sauce is bubbling and the gratinato topping is golden and crispy, about IO minutes more.
Serve very hot, right from the dish.
They totally rocked. The crespelle were substantial without being overwhelming. Two was definitely an adequate dinner portion. Of course, we both went back for a third. And as full as I was, I could have gone back for a fourth. They really were good.
The beauty of these really is their simplicity. I can see a mushroom filling with a cream sauce. Fresh fruit with a caramel sauce. The possibilities are endless.
And once again, Lidia comes through.
Try it. You'll like it.
Cooking with Lidia
I got a new cook book the other day - Lidia Cooks From The Hearty Of Italy by Lidia Bastianich.
When we donated those hundreds of cook books a few years ago, I thought that I would finally break the habit of getting more and more. And more.
Let us just say that I have gotten better.
I no longer buy them just for the sake of buying then and I no longer subscribe to the yearly updates and annuals that I did for years and years. But when Lidia comes out with a new book... I eventually have to buy it.
I like her cooking. I like her recipes. I like the way she puts food together. She may just be my favorite cook. (Actually, James Beard is my all-time most-favorite favorite cook, but Lidia is my most favorite Italian cook.) But I digress...
So... armed with Lidia's latest, I went to work.
I started with two different recipes tonight - one for fish and one for rice.
The fish was wildly lemony and just a bit spicy. The rice and lentils were rich, creamy, and difficult to stop eating!
Both were extremely simple to put together and dinner was done in less than an hour.
Since I can't type for beans, this recipe is verbatim from The James Beard Foundation website.
Baked Fish with Savory Bread Crumbs
Lidia Matticchio Bastianich
Lidia Cooks From the Heart of Italy
“Landlocked Umbria does not have a seafood cuisine,” writes Lidia Matticchio Bastianich in Lidia Cooks From the Heart of Italy. “But its mountain lakes, rivers, and streams abound in freshwater fish, such as the tasty tench. This simple preparation is one I found in Umbria, and it is excellent for fillets of our sweet-water varieties, such as carp or whitefish, or even light ocean-fish fillets like sole.”
Yield:Serves 6Ingredients:
- 2 pounds whitefish fillets
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of a large lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 6 plump garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
- 1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
- Zest of a large lemon (about 2 teaspoons)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon peperoncino flakes, or to taste, chopped fine
- Fresh lemon slices, for serving
Method:
Lightly salt the fish on both sides, using about 1/4 teaspoon salt in all. Pour 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, the lemon juice, white wine, and another 1/4 teaspoon salt into the baking dish, and whisk together well. Drop in the garlic cloves, and stir with the dressing. Lay the fillets in the dish, turn and swish them in the dressing so both sides are thoroughly moistened, and arrange them, skin side down, in one layer.Toss the bread crumbs in a bowl with the lemon zest, parsley, oregano, chopped peperoncino, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Drizzle with the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, and toss the crumbs well until evenly moistened with oil.
Spoon the seasoned bread crumbs on top of the fillets in a light, even layer. Bake, uncovered, until the crumbs are crisp and golden and the fish is cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Lift the fish out with a spatula, and set on a warm platter to serve family-style, or on individual plates. Spoon it the juices left in the baking dish, and serve right away, with lemon slices on the side.
Recipe Notes:
Recommended equipment: a 4-quart shallow rectangular baking dish; a heavy-bottomed skillet or sauté pan, 12-inch diameter or larger, with a cover
And the rice and lentils... These were soooo creamy and good. I made half the recipe and it was still enough for six people.
Rice and Lentils
Lidia writes: "Lentils and rice are one of my favorite combinations. I fondly recall savoring a dish just like this often as a child; it was comforting and nurturing. It can be enjoyed in many ways: make it dense like risotto or add more liquid to make it soupy. Just rice and lentils are delicious and simple, but you couls easily add a few sausages or pork ribs to the pot to make quite a festive main dish."
- 2 ounces pancetta or bacon, cut in pieces
- 1 cup onion cut in 1-inch chunks
- 1 cup carrot cut in 1-inch chunks
- 1 cup celery cut in 1-inch chunks
- 6 fresh sage leaves
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 8 to 10 cups hot water
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups lentils, rinsed and picked over
- 1 1/2 cups Italian short-grained rice, such as Arborio, Carnaroli, or Vialone Nano
- 1 cup chopped scallions
- 1/2 cup grated granna padano or parmigiano-reggiano, plus more for passing
Recommended Equipment: A food processor; a heavy-bottomed saucepan or soup pot, 5-to-6 quart capacity, with cover.
Drop the pancetta or bacon in the food processor bowl and pulse sevral times, to chop the meat into small bits. Scrape all the pancetta right into the heavy saucepan. Put the onion, carrot, and celery chunks and the sage leaves into the empty food processor bowl and mince together into a fine-textured pestata.
Put the butter and olive oil into the saucepan with the minced pancetta, and set over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring, as the butter melts and the fat starts to render. When the pancetta is sizzling, scrape in the vegetable pestata, and stir it around until it has dried and begins to stick, 4 minutes or so. Clear a place on the pan bottom and drop in the tomato paste, toast it in the spot for a minute, then stir together with the pestata.
Raise the heat, pour in the white wine, and cook, stirring, until the wine has almost evaporated. Pour in 8 cups of hot water and the tablespoon of salt, stir well, and heat to the boil. (Add all 10 cups of water if you want to serve the rice and lentils as a thick soup rather than a denser riso.) Cover the pan, and reduce the heat slightly, to keep the water at a moderate boil, and let it bubble for 20 minutes or so, to develop the flavors.
Stir in the lentils, return to a gentle boil and cook, partially covered until the lentils just start to soften, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the rice, return to a bubbling simmer, and cook, cover ajar, until the rice is al dente, 13 minutes or so. If the dish is thickening more than you like, lower the heat and cover the pan completely. If it seems too thin and wet, remove the cover and cook at a faster boil.
When the rice and lentils are fully cooked, turn off the heat. Stir in the scallions and grated cheese. Serve in warm bowls, passing more cheese at the table.
It took me longer to type that than it did to cook it!
There are 175 recipes in the book. I have a feeling I'm going to be making lots of them.....
Mushroom Ravioli with Gorgonzola Sauce
Homemade ravioli. It doesn't get much better. Really.
Another issue of La Cucina Italiana has arrived - and more things are jumping out at me to make. This particular recipe is actually a combination of several ideas I've seen recently - from wildly different places. The over-sized ravioli idea came from the magazine. The sauce and filling... well... you know how it is...
The ravioli pasta was actually fresh lasagna sheets. I thought they would be a bit easier to work with but they're not as thin as I would have liked them. They worked, but barely. And I had to par-cook them.
The original concept is a cheese filling with an egg yolk sitting on top. They barely simmer, the egg yolk barely cooks, life is beautiful. Alas, working with thick pasta tends to make egg yolks break and cook hard because of lengthened cooking time. (Regardless, they tasted awesome!)
Instead of plain cheese, I very finely chopped an assortment of mushrooms, and sauteed them in a bit of butter. When they were dry, I added a splash of Marsala and a pinch of salt and pepper.
I then added some fresh French goat cheese that was covered in fresh herbs. It made it nice and creany.
I cut the lasagna sheets in half and par-cooked them for about 5 minutes. I then added the mushroom filling and made an indentation and added the egg yolk. I brushed the sides with egg and topped them with another half-sheet of pasta.
I broke three of the four yolks trying to seal the ravioli. The picture in the magazine shows a much thinner pasta. Oh well... live and learn.
I then simmered them in a really large skillet with water for another 7 or 8 minutes.
For the sauce, I used a cup of heavy cream, about 4 ounces of an outrageously good Italian gorgonzola, and a pinch of parsley, salt and pepper.
OMG it was good!
The spelt side dish was very interesting. I was reading a food blog and came across it... here it is verbatim from Becks & Posh:
Autumnal Farro Salad with Smokey Roasted Grapes, Walnuts & Mushrooms
Last weekend I threw a casual buffet supper for a few 'dead-celebrity' impersonators before we all headed to a Hallowe'en party where being an expired famous person was the raison d'etre. As you all know, celebrities can be a needy bunch and consequently I had to juggle several dietary preferences in a meal where I hoped I could include things that everyone might like. I wanted to make a seasonal salad that would be wholesome and comforting without screaming out "Hey I am a *vegan* salad".
The inspiration came from a fabulous feast we were invited to last Christmas day at the home of some restaurant-owning friends who had built a wood-fired oven in their back yard. One of the the appetizers they sent out was a wonderful smokey dish of roasted grapes and walnuts. So simple, but delicious, it had been playing on my mind ever since a more recent roasted grape salad at Incanto had reminded me of it. Now that grape season is upon us, I wondered if I could riff on that idea a little and create something inspired by the grape and walnut combination in my far-less-glamorous-than-a-wood-fired-oven electric stove.
Turns out that my gut instinct served me well and I knocked up a dish that I was congratulated on from several quarters. It couldn't be much simpler to make, here's how:
Cook up half a pound (or more if you are feeding a larger group), of farro in salted boiling water. I find that using the farro I purchase from Boulette's larder, it only takes about 10 to 15 minutes before the grain is perfectly al dente. Use your own taste buds to make that judgment. Drain the farro.
In the meantime, heat the oven to 400F and pop a handful, or two of walnuts into a roasting pan. Toast them in the heated oven until you start to smell their nutty aroma, but before they become too deeply browned. Remove the pan from the oven (using gloves of course) and throw in some seedless grapes (I like the green/blush ones), and small whole mushrooms. I favour a mix of shiitake, tree oysters and maitake (which I tear into smaller pieces). Sprinkle with a scant teaspoon of smoked Spanish paprika and a couple of bold pinches of Maldon salt before dousing in a decent glug of olive oil. Using a spatula, fold all the ingredients together until everything is evenly coated and well mixed. Pop back into the oven to roast, for 20 about minutes, stirring once half way through.
Once you can smell the mushrooms, the grapes are just on the verge of starting to shrivel and everything else looks golden brown you can remove the pan from the oven and stir in the strained farro grains. Taste and add more salt as necessary (but be careful doing that whilst those grapes and nuts are still piping hot).
I like to serve this salad warm or at room temperature. I am hoping you might like to too...
We did.