GNOCCHI ALLE BIETOLE or GNUDI (Swiss Chard Gnocchi)

This is a dish that I first had while sitting at my favorite outdoor Cafe in the Piazza di Greve-in-Chianti (near Florence) and it was mouth-watering so I borrowed the recipe and modified it just a bit. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

YOU'LL NEED:

- 1 kg (2 lb) Swiss Chard or you can also use frozen spinach (10-12 oz)
- 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
- 1 t spoon nutmeg
- 2 T spoons unsalted softened butter
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 t spoon salt and a dash of freshly ground black pepper

PREPARATION:

- In your saucepan combine the Swiss Chard and 1/8 cup of water and let simmer for 3-4 minutes until tender.
- Drain the above and squeeze and liquid remaining as its important that the swiss chard or spinach is completely dry. Chop finely and place in a medium size bowl.
- Combine the ricotta, flour, nutmeg,garlic, chive, egg yolks, the parmigiano cheese and 2-3 T spoons of the flour and season with the salt, pepper.
- Flour your hands and shape the mixture into little spheres forms approximately 1 1/2 inches. On a floured plate, gently roll the sphere in the flour so that they are whitened then place them on a flour surface to set for approximately 15-20 minutes.
- Carefully place your newly born gnudi in salted bowling water until they float to the surface (for approximately 4-5 minutes). Using your slotted spoon, very carefully remove the gnudi and alow them to drain.
- Melt your butter in a saucepan and carefully place the gnocchi along with the rest of the parmigiano (grated). You can also get a great result by cooking diced tomatoes with a minced garlic clove, cut Italian parsely and extra virgin olive oil and about 6 artichoke hearts. Top your gnudi with this red sauce and sprinkly with parmesan cheese, its delicious!

EASY AS 1 - 2 - 3...... ENJOY !

DREAMY SMOOTH SQUASH DIP

I added the "dreamy smooth" prefix to the title to entice this dip somewhat because its orgasmic !

YOU'LL NEED:

- 1 lb of summer squash
- 1/2 lb of zucchini
- handful of flat parsley
- 2 garlic cloves (I prefer 3 because I love garlic)
- 4 to 6 oz grated parmigiano
- 2-4 oz grated mozzarella cheese (or ricotta)
- 3 T spoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 t salt
- 1 t black pepper
- 1 T spoon cooking cream or mayo if you prefer.

PREPARATION:

- Cut the squash and zucchini into pieces and place in salted boiling water for approximately 10 minutes or until somewhat soft.
- Remove and let cool then peel off the skin and clean if there are seeds remaining.
- Place the zucchini in a food processor and smooth. Then add all other ingredients with the exception of the cheeses (and mayo if you opted to use it). Whip until you have a creamy texture.

ENJOY !

CARCIOFI (artichoke) DIP or SAUCE FOR PASTA OR CHICKEN

My Artichoke Dip will surely get some great reviews for you and you can serve with my Italian home-made cracker recipe.

YOU'LL NEED:

- 24 oz frozen artichoke hearts (10 large artichokes if you get them at any outdoor market in Italy) I advise those not for sauces.
- 1 cup mayo (I prefer Hellmanns)DO NOT INCLUDE MAYO FOR SAUCE
- 2 T spoon fresh lemon juice
- 3 cloves crushed and chopped garlic
- 2 t spoons cayenne pepper
- 1 cup grated parmigiano cheese
- 2 T spoons ricotta cheese
- 2 T balsamic vinegar
- 2 T spoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup mushrooms (your choice depending amount of secondary flavor your prefer)

PREPARATION:

- Place your artichoke hearts in a small skillet with 2 T of olive oil and 1 garlic clove finely cut.
- When the garlic is lighly golden add your cleaned and cut artichokes on medium heat. When the artichokes are softened somewhat (after about 5 minutes) add the chopped mushrooms and the balsamic vinegar and cover for an additional 5 minutes on reduced heat. Salt & pepper to taste.
- Remove from the skillet and place in your food processor and add the ricotta and parmesan cheese and blend until smooth in texture.
- Place the artichokes a bowl and add the mayo, lemon juice, the additional garlic cloves, parmigiano cheese and pepper and hand mix until you have a smooth, creamer mixture.
- Pour the contents into a 9 inch baking dish and bake at 350 F for approximately 20 minutes.
- I sometimes will sprinkle the surface of the dip with breadcrumbs prior to placing in the oven.
- FOR A SAUCE, do not bake following the food processor step

ENJOY !

CRACKERS ALLA PARMIGIANA

Spring is just around the corner so that means outdoor parties for some of us. I have a great and really simple recipe for making Italian home-made crackers.

YOU'LL NEED:

- 1/4 lb unsalted butter (softened)
- 4 oz grated parmigiano cheese
- 1 1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 1/3 t salt
- 1/2 t black pepper
- 2 t finely chopped basil/dill/oregano....its your choice

Preparation:

- Put the softened butter in a medium size bowl along with the grated parmgiano cheese (alternatively grated pecorino romano) along with the flour, salt, pepper and basil.
- Mix well until you have a completely homogenous ball.
- Place the dough ball on a floured board and form a 12-14 inch long log (with an approx. 1 1/2 inch diameter).
- Wrap the log in a plactic wrap and roll it slightly so that you have a "tightly wrapped log".
- Place the above in the freezer for about 20 minutes or until its firmed up.
- Remove the log unwrap it, cut into 1/4 inch slices and place on a non-stick cookie sheet or a sheet pan with parchment paper and bake at 360 F for approximately 15 minutes.

ENJOY with my Artichoke (carciofi) dip and a good glass of Chianti Classico!

A CLASSIC - LASAGNA !

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm I'm lov'n it! or at least I will very soon

A great classic dish which is pretty darn practical because you can make it and freeze it for a rainy day.

Proper Lasagna should be served with a crispy top layer of lasagna pasta and when you cut into it... you find a dreamy moist and savory heaven.

There are some variations in this dish. Each region of Italy has its own lasagna but I'm preparing here a lasagna which one could probably put the Italian flag on it.

YOU'LL NEED:
(serves 6-8)

The Sauce:
- Herbs (bay leafs - 3, rosemary, garlic cloves, parsley, oregano)
- 1/2 large white onion chopped well
- 1 1/2 oz carrots chopped well
- 1 1/2 oz celery chopped well
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 8 oz lean ground beef
- 4 oz lean ground pork
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 16 oz diced tomatoes
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 4 oz butter
- 6 oz parmigiano grated
- salt and pepper to taste
- 6 oz ricotta cheese
- 4 cups bechamel

The Lasagna Pasta
- Either make it yourself as you would home-made pasta and cut into large squares (4 x 4"), let dry for about 20 minutes and boil in salted water for 3-4 minutes and place on a damp dishtowel.

or

- Go to your favorite supplier of Italian produce and purchase a box of ready to cook lasagna pasta (noodles).

PREPARATION:
You will need a good size pot, put on low heat with the 4 oz of butter. Cut up your celery, cleaned carrots, onion, garlic, parsely and rosemary and add to the melted butter, turn heat up some. When the herbs etc are golden, add your ground beef and pork and let brown. Introduce your red wine with the simmering meat and herbs and turn heat up to medium. When wine has evaporated add both the tomato sauce and paste, salt and pepper to taste, stir well all together and turn heat down to simmer and cover for approximately 1.5 hours or longer if you can stand it! (I personally let my sauce cook and get really happy which normally takes 2-3 hours minimum). You have already learned how to prepare the bechamel for lasagna earlier this week so prepare it now and I suggest not the classical French but the version for lasagna / tagliatelle.

Ok, now its time to put it all together:
I would suggest that you use a 8" x 14" oven dish (nothing smaller) and at least 2" deep.
Lasagna is all about layering the savory flavors so thats just what we are going to do.

1. Put a nice layer of your sauce on the bottom of the oven dish.
2. Place your first layer of boiled lasagna pasta in place on top of the layer of sauce.
3. Put a thin layer of your meat sauce
4. Add a layer of bechamel sauce
5. Add a generous layer of the grated parmigiano (or you can do what I like to do:combine the parmigiano with mozzarella) cheese and I like to add a thin layer of ricotta cheese (when preparing the ricotta, mix it with two eggs and a T spoon of nutmeg) here for additional support to the lasagna, remember its all about savory flavors.
6. Now start over again and repeat steps 2 - 5.
7. The top layer I like to just dribble olive oil on top but no meat sauce until it is half way cooked, this way you get a crispy sensation on the top layer of pasta but be careful not to burn it.
8. Bake for 350F for approximately 35 minutes. Remember, about 15 minutes into the cooking time, remove from oven and add a thin layer of meat sauce and grated cheese on the top layer, cover with foil and let cook for another 20 minutes at a reduced temp of about 320).

Simple as that and ENJOY !

BECHAMEL FOR LASAGNA AND TAGLIATELLE

Mi sento benessimo oggi ! God, I feel great today and on this beautifully sunny day just thought that I would put something pretty basic but extremely useful here so away we go!

Bechamel Sauce and Bechamel for Italian dishes (ie lasagna & tagliatelle pasta)

I was told at a culinary seminar that I participated in (in Paris) many moons ago that the bechamel sauce is one of the four mother sauces in the traditional kitchen, the others come from Germany, Spain and naturally France (where this sauce is said to have originated). Bechamel is simple and it is a milk based white sauce.

In general one will need two tablespoons of butter and two tablespoons of flour to produce the "roux" which translates from French into the reddish-brown which comes from the flour and butter mixture and the more you cook this the darker it will become however in this context, we will want to keep the color as white as possible for the basic sauce.

When the roux is made (the flour and the butter) we want then to gradually add milk (not cold but room temp). Whisk the new born sauce gradually as you are adding the milk to it, go light other wise it will result in a watery mess!. Cook this mixture gently for a few minutes until it thickens.

If you wish a thin sauce, use only one tablespoon of butter and flour, and for a thicker sauce, use three tablespoons of the flour and butter and thats pretty much it!

VARIATIONS FOR AN ITALIAN TOUCH:

When you have the above sauce base to the consistency you want (smooth) you can add a pinch of salt, chopped parsley, pinch of nutmet and a couple oz of parmigiano. What I like to do for a nice sauce for the Lasagna or fresh pasta is to add about 6-10 oz of ricotta cheese to the sauce, oh make sure that any time you are adding something more "ethnic" to the base sauce you must keep the heat on low and stir.

Other variations are to add to the base sauce (flour, butter, milk, pinch of salt) is a bay leaf, garlic, celery, peeled carrot, nutmeg etc). Just be aware that you will need to strain out the added elements ie onion, garlic, carrot from the sauce prior to applying to your dish.

There you go.... so get to work and experiement and ENJOY!

Spinach Filling for Home-Made Ravioli

Ok, we've already made ravioli with a more "unusual" pumpkin filling, now we are going to do the "classical" approach with the ricotta cheese and spinach filling.

For the filling, its easy and is very simple:
Serves 4 (approx. enough to prepare medium size ravioli using 1lb (450g) flour)
YOU'LL NEED:

- 1.5 lb fresh baby spinach
- 30 oz ricotta cheese
- 2 T spoons unsalted butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 T spoon nutmeg
- 4 oz grated parmigiano cheese
- salt & pepper

PREPARATION:

Start off by cleaning the spinach (take the stems off) and boil in salted water until the leaves are soft (not more than 3-4 minutes). Remove, drain completely. In a skillet place the butter on low heat and add the spinach and add a dash of salt. Cook until the liquid has reduced nearly completely.

Remove from skillet and let cool. In a medium size bowl, add the ricotta cheese, the egg, nutmeg and parmigiano cheese and a dash of salt and a t-spoon black pepper and mix well.

When the spinach has cooled, cut well and add to the ricotta mixture and create a very uniform consistancy.

And that's it!

When your dough is prepared for the rivioli, place approximately a t-spoon ball shape of the ricotta/spinach mixture approximately 2 - 2.5 inches apart on your dough strip (just under the mid point). With egg white you will need to paint a thin strip along the upper and lower edges of your dough strip, then fold over the top end of the strip and attach to the lower end.

At this point you are ready to seal in your filling areas to eliminate the air pockets and use either an espresso cup or a ravioli cutter to form the shape of your ravioli, cut them apart and with a fork you will want to close around the sealed areas of the ravioli so that they will not open up when placed in boiling water.

ENJOY!

CROSTINI DI FEGATINI (liver pate toasts)

This anti-pasto is part of the Florentine culinary culture and do not let the word liver scare you away from tasting these wonders !

This pate' is served on toasted Tuscan (saltless) bread with a lite brush of extra virgin olive oil and garlic or sage flavor atop. You surely have heard of the bruscetta, well this is a variation.

Serving 6 people
YOU'LL NEED:
- 12-14 oz (400-450 gr) chicken livers
- 3 T spoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 4 canned flat anchovy fillets, drained
- 3 T spoons unsalted butter (do not use margerine or butter flavored substitutes.)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 18 slices (3 per person) country bread or the French type baguette toasted.

PREPARATION:
Remove any fat tissue from the livers.
Slice them into good sized pieces. Place in a hot skillet (high heat) olive oil and warm it and add the liver pieces. Season lightly with salt and pepper. I like to add a dash of balsamic vinegar for added flavor. Stir frequently and cook until the mixture begins to stick to your skillet (this will take approx. 7 minutes.
Add the white wine and cook until the wine evaporates. Add the chicken stock and lower the heat to medium and allow to cook for another 5 minutes.
Remove from heaat and eliminate the bay leaves. Put the liver, the rinsed anchovies, capers and garlic clove in your food processor or food mill until you have a creamy texture.
Return the combined liver,anchovies, capers back to your skillet and add 2 tablespoons of butter on low heat until you have a smooth pate'. Serve cooled on toasted oven bread. I like to add dash of olive oil on the surface of the toasted bread with a fast scape of a garlic clove before adding the pate'. Your choice !

SERVE WITH A GLASS OF COLD DRY WHITE WINE !
ENJOY..

Pumpkin or Butternut Squash Ravioli (Cappellacci Ferraresi)

Some fun and VERY good !

Ok, so I feel creative today and am making cappellacci (which means in Italian, nasta or bad hats) but are basically inverted ravioli and am going to prepare a pumpkin or butternut squash filling and a simple garlic and butter sauce or alternatively a sage and butter sauce.

I have a great video posted just below this wonderful recipe.

YOU'LL NEED:

- 2 lbs (about 1 kilo) yellow pumpkins
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3 oz. butter
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 t spoon curry
- 2 T ricotta cheese
- salt QB

The Preparation:
PASTRY
Mix 4 eggs with approx. 1/2 lb of all purpose flour, three eggs, a pinch of salt. Prepare the daugh and roll it out thin (number six on the manual pasta making machines) and then cut into squares of approx. 2 1/2 inches per side.

THE FILLING
Mix the pumpking pulp that you have skinned and cut into small pieces and baked for about 20 minutes at 350F into a medium size bowl. Add approx. 1 cup of grated parmigiano padano, the nutmet 9 (I like a light negmeg taste but you can add more if you want a stronger more dominate nutmegy flavour).
Then with a t-spoon, place the filling into the middle of the pasta squares. Make sure your hands are clean and damp with water, close the square into a triangle form and now follow the video clip to see how the form of the cappellacci is formed.

Cook in boiling salted water.

Melt about 1/2 stick of butter, add the minced sage (get the real sage not the store bought dry stuff), a minced garli clove and then grate fresh parmigiano cheese on top of the "Ravioli" prior to serving.

ENJOY !

FERRARAS (PUMPKIN TORTELLINI). PASTA CLASS.

A great dip (artichoke or carciofi) and home-made cheese crackers

Ok, its sunday and getting ready for the super-bowl (the big game) and made something pretty good for the pre-game munchies.

ARTICHOKE or Carciofi Dip:

You'll need
- 10-12 artichoke hearts, cleaned and cut.
- small bunch of flat parsley
- 3 garlic cloves
- extra virgin olive oil
- balsamic vinegar
- mozzarella cheese
- ricotta cheese

In a small pan, add about 2 T spoons of olive oil on medium heat and add two cut garlic cloves, when golden add the finely cut parsley.
Add the artichoke hearts, stir and cover for 10 minutes but be careful not to let burn.
Add approx. 2 T spoons of a good balsamic vinegar, I say good because there is a huge difference between a good and a poor vinegar. Add about 1/8 cup of warm water and cover again until those wonderful carciofi (artichokes) are well broken and tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Take of the heat and let cool slightly then place them into your food processor or blender.
Add to this the third garlic clove (good size) as well as 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/8 cup ricotta as well as a small amount of olive oil (2 T spoons). I like to add (optional) a small amount of cooking cream or panna da cucina but you can also use a low fat or light cream such as half and half coffee cream if you need to cut down on the calories...)
Blend until the dip is creamy and smooth and eccolo...

THE DIP NEEDS SOMETHING TO BE DIPPED INTO IT SO now comes the cheese crakers:

Sure you can buy something at the grocer but whats better than warm, home-made Italian cheese crackers?

You'll need:
- 1 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 cup crated parmigiano
- 1/2 stick of butter
- 2 T spoons olive oil
- Rosemary or tyme
- 1 T spoon salt and 1 t spoon black pepper.
- Seranwrap (that clear plastic that drives me bonkers)

Start off by adding the parmigiano cheese and the butter together in a small bowl and mix together. Then in another medium size bowl, add the flour, rosemary or tyme, salt & pepper together along with the olive oil and mix together. When you have a good homogenous consistency, add the cheese and butter to this and form a dough ball.
On a wooden surface form a log shape form with this dough about 1.5 - 2 inches in diameter and roll this log so that it is compact onto the seranwrap and close the wrap so that it is rather tight. Place in your freezer for about 20-25 minutes and will explain why the freezer part below.

Heat your over to about 375F. Remove the log you made above and place on a wooden cutting board and with a clean and very thin cutting knife make about 1/4 inch slices from the log. Place the slices (or your soon to be Italian crackers on parchment paper (on a good size cookie sheet). Cook in heated over for approximately 25-30 minutes or until golden. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes and place these wonders on a big plate for a super antipasto or pre-game special with your artichoke dip.

ENJOY!