ANTIPASTI II - EGGPLANT MEAT (LESS) BALLS

A Great Antipasto or a mean in itself - Eggplant Meat-less Balls

Well they aren't actually balls but rather elongated in shape and just had them for lunch today! Results..... pretty good.

A great appetizer and really easy to prepare.
You will need about an hour and 10 minutes to prepare and cook
Servings 4-6

YOU WILL NEED:
- 2 medium size eggplants
- 3 eggs
- breadcrumbs - 250-300 grams
- a good size bunch of parsley
- 2 garlic cloves
- grated pecorino cheese 150 grams
- frying oil
- salt and pepper

PREPARATION:
Clean and wash the eggplants, cut them in quarters and boil for about 30 mintues. Drain then let cool.
In a medium size bowl, put the breadcrumbs, chopped parsley and garlic, grated cheese, eggs, salt and pepper.
When the eggplants are cooled (to touch), squeeze the remaining liquid and combine together with the breadcrumbs, mix well together.
Form elongated pieces about .5 inch high (1.5cm) x 2 inches long (6cm) and place in frying oil. It will take about 10 minutes to fry these babies, they should be golden in color.

ENJOY !

PASTA & PASTA I - Spaghetti al Cartoccio (baked in foil)

A simple dish that looks very very not so simple... a real WOW on your table!

This is a fun dish, made it tonight, simple and veramente buono:

Servings 4

YOU NEED:
- 1 lb and maybe a bit more (800 gr) of spaghetti
- extra virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves (dont you the stuff from a jar, please!)
- a bunch of parsley
- 8 good size prawns, peeled of course
- 1 lb of peeled clams (400 gr)
- 1 lb (400 gr) squid
- 1 cup of dry white wine
- a tin (7-8 oz or better 4 red tomatoes diced

PREPARATION:
You need about 20-30 minutes and about 15 minutes to cook
Take out a medium siZE casserole, add 2-3 tablespoons olive oil and the garlic.
When the garlic starts to golden, add all the cleaned fish. Simmer for approximately 10 minutes, when the fish begins to dry, add the white wine and let cook for another few minutes.
Add the diced or tinned tomatoes and the chopped parsley.
At this point, you'll need to boil the water for the pasta, add salt and a dab of olive oil to the water. When it boils, add the pasta.
When the pasta is very al dente (about half cooked), drain and dress with your sauce.
With your serving dishes, place a strip of aluminum foil in each, add the pasta and wrap and put in your oven at 400 F or 225 C for approximately 5 minutes.

ENJOY !

My Saturday Ravioli

First thing this morning, well not the first thing.... made ravioli with ricotta and spinach filling! Turned out pretty good so we had them for lunch with Salvia and Butter sauce. Not the lightest thing in the world but hey, its Saturday. They were just a bit weak with the nutmeg, next time need to add just a dash more.

Can't figure out how to add photos along with the post yet, give me time.

ANTIPASTI I - CHEESE BALLS

CHEESE BALLS

This is really easy to prepare and is perfect for munchies, antipasti or even for a main course.

You will need about 40 minutes to prepare and cook these appetizers and about 5 minutes to eat them!

Servings - 4

WHAT YOU NEED:
- 3/4 lb or approx. 1/2 kg of white bread (pugliese is the best... that is salted bread)
- 1.5 tablespoons parsley finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped (I'm a garlic monster so I normally go heavy on it)
- 5 eggs
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 8 oz grated Pecorino cheese (in kg.. well go heavy on it for more flavor, 200-300 gr

PREPARATION:
In a good size bowl mix the inside of a loaf of bread (no crust) along with the Pecorino and the eggs. Mix well together then add the chopped garlic and parsley, form balls (golf ball size) / polpettine. Frie them in hot olive oil and your done!

You can also eat these with a ragu sauce, in which case you will need to frie the polpettine first, then add to your ragu / tomatoe sauce during the last 10 minutes of cooking.

ENJOY !

Get Sauced - IV Ragu alla Bolognese

The Bolognese Sauce is considered one of the basics in Italian cuisine. Its fairly easy to prepare but don't think you can do it during a tv commercial. Get relaxed, no kids at home to start.

Servings - 6
You will need about 2 hours to prepare and cook this sauce.
- 1 3/4 oz ham (prosciuto)
- 1 big red onion
- 1 carrot
- 1 celery stalk
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoons of extra vergin olive oil
- 1/2 lb or 200 gr ground beef
- 1/2 oz or a small package of dried mixed mushrooms
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1 can tomato pulp
- 1/2 tablespoon flour
- a pince of parsley
- a pinch of nutmeg

THE PREPARATION (You'll need about 20 minutes plus about 1 1/2hr for cooking)
In a good size sauce pan put the chopped ham (prosciuto) along with the olive oil and saute until it becomes slightly browned then add the onions, carrot, celery and your garlic in addition to the ground been and your mushrooms. Cook this on moderate heat for about 10 minutes, then add the red wine and the finely chopped parsley in addition to the salt, pepper and the pinch of nutmeg.
When the wine has evaporated, add the flour but make sure you stir this off the heat. When the flour is mixed in well, return to heat, cover and let it cook for another 10 minutes or so (make sure your heat is reduced). At this point you will need to add the tomatoes and douse from time to time with water.
You will know the sauce is done when it all is well amalgamated and slightly thickened.

Serve with pasta and a good Chianti Vino!

ENJOY...