T'is the Season !
Its the season here in Tuscany (September-October) for Porcini....
Living in Florence it's easy to locate these wonderful and sought-after mushrooms. Their correct name is Boletus Edulis, in latin meaning Superior Edible mushroom. Porcini are said to look the way a mushroom should with a white stalks topped by broad brown caps, they can be rather large (up to 6 inches across at the cap). Their size is important in determining what they ought to be destined for, the large ones are ideal for grilled dishes or fried and the smaller ones are ideal for wonderful sauces.
I have two variations of the porcini sauce, one with and one without tomatoes.
WITHOUT:
Serving size: 4
You will need:
-800 grams porcini (caps and stems) or one good size porcini/person
-4or5 table spoons extra virgin olive oil
-2 cloves of garlic (pressed)
-one spring of nipetella
-sale and pepper QB
Preparation:
Clean the mushrooms into bite-sized pieces and in a frying pan sauté in olive oil (extra virgin naturally)and garlic over low heat, be careful not to brown the garlic. Add the chopped mushrooms and stir. Add in salt,pepper and the nipetella and cover for about 10 minutes on low heat and stir until the porcini are soft.
This sauce is best served with fresh tagliatelle pasta and you will need about 300 grams for this serving size. After having cooked the pasta (3-4 minutes) in salted water, drain and add directly to the frying pan with the sauce. Stir gently and serve with a good Tuscan Red !
ENJOY
WITH TOMATOES:
Follow the above instructions, however the ripened tomatoes (four, diced) need to be blended into the garlic plus fresh parsley and oregano. Allow the mushrooms to cook slowly on low heat while your sauce gradually thickens.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
FRIED SARDINES A great simple dish !
Servings 6
You'll need the following:
- 2 pounds (about 1 kg) of sardines
The filling:
-3.5 oz bread crumbs
-1/2 cup milk
-2 eggs
-2 oz of parmigiano (grated) cheese
-1 oz fresh parsley
-a pinch of oregano
-salt & pepper QB
-Extra virgin olive oil
The Bread Coating:
-2 eggs
-breadcrumbs
-flour (all purpose or 00)
BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER:
(you'll need about 30 minutes to prepare and another 10 minutes cooking time)
Get out a good size bowl and mix together (for the filling) the bread, milk, eggs and grated parmigiano, parsley, oregano, oil and salt & pepper.
Wash and clean the sardines but remove the innards, heads, scales or just buy them cleaned, its easier! Then dry them by placing them on a paper towel.
Butterfly the fish and place them on a flat work surface. Spread your filling on each fish ensuring that it sticks well. Close the sardines and dust them in flour, then dip in a bowl of your beaten eggs and cover with breadcrumbs. Its important that you ensure that the breadcrumbs adhere well to the fish.
At this point, its time to fry the fish in oil. Its a good idea that the sardines are completely immersed in the oil when frying.
Serve when they are golden, but its best to place the cook sardines on a paper towel before serving to absorb the extra oil.
ENJOY!
You'll need the following:
- 2 pounds (about 1 kg) of sardines
The filling:
-3.5 oz bread crumbs
-1/2 cup milk
-2 eggs
-2 oz of parmigiano (grated) cheese
-1 oz fresh parsley
-a pinch of oregano
-salt & pepper QB
-Extra virgin olive oil
The Bread Coating:
-2 eggs
-breadcrumbs
-flour (all purpose or 00)
BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER:
(you'll need about 30 minutes to prepare and another 10 minutes cooking time)
Get out a good size bowl and mix together (for the filling) the bread, milk, eggs and grated parmigiano, parsley, oregano, oil and salt & pepper.
Wash and clean the sardines but remove the innards, heads, scales or just buy them cleaned, its easier! Then dry them by placing them on a paper towel.
Butterfly the fish and place them on a flat work surface. Spread your filling on each fish ensuring that it sticks well. Close the sardines and dust them in flour, then dip in a bowl of your beaten eggs and cover with breadcrumbs. Its important that you ensure that the breadcrumbs adhere well to the fish.
At this point, its time to fry the fish in oil. Its a good idea that the sardines are completely immersed in the oil when frying.
Serve when they are golden, but its best to place the cook sardines on a paper towel before serving to absorb the extra oil.
ENJOY!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
FRUIT RISOTTO
Sorry that I havent added any new dishes in a while but to make up for it I have something "out of this world" for you:
Serves 4
You'll need the following:
-400 grams of Basmatic Brown Rice (Riso Integrale)
-1 ripe banana
-2 peaches
-2 pears
-8 large stawberries
-2 to 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
-2 tablespoons of Balsamic Cream or if you can't find that, balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup whole cream (panna da cucinare)
- salt / pepper
- grated parm. cheese
Wash and cut the fruit into small pieces and place in a deep frying pan on low heat. Add the olive oil and let simmer but do not allow to burn! Add a bit of warm water if necessary. When the fruit is well mixed together, add a teaspoon of salt and a dash of black pepper along with the balsamic cream, cover for 5-10 minutes). Add the cream, mix well and take off heat, add 100 grated parma cheese and mix together.
Prepare your rice and serve the fruit either on top or mixed with the rice and serve warm with a dry white wine!
ENJOY
Serves 4
You'll need the following:
-400 grams of Basmatic Brown Rice (Riso Integrale)
-1 ripe banana
-2 peaches
-2 pears
-8 large stawberries
-2 to 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
-2 tablespoons of Balsamic Cream or if you can't find that, balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup whole cream (panna da cucinare)
- salt / pepper
- grated parm. cheese
Wash and cut the fruit into small pieces and place in a deep frying pan on low heat. Add the olive oil and let simmer but do not allow to burn! Add a bit of warm water if necessary. When the fruit is well mixed together, add a teaspoon of salt and a dash of black pepper along with the balsamic cream, cover for 5-10 minutes). Add the cream, mix well and take off heat, add 100 grated parma cheese and mix together.
Prepare your rice and serve the fruit either on top or mixed with the rice and serve warm with a dry white wine!
ENJOY
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Polpettini / Meatballs Abruzzese
This recipe is from my paternal grandmother a native of Abruzzo. I don't know if she would be happy with me in publisizing her meatballs but they are sooo good that I want to share them with those appreciate authentic Italian cuisine.
The following recipe is for the meatballs/polpettini and in general are added to a ragu sauce. The sauce (a modified, short-cut verions of the classical Italian ragu) will follow:
Serving size: 6
- 1 kg (2 pounds approx) ground beef
- 2 large Tuscan (or spicey Italian) sausages
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 bunch of parsley
- 3 eggs
- 200 grams breadcrumbs
- 1 Tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
- 100 grams grated parma cheese
- dash of origano
- pepper
PREPARATION:
In a good size bowl add the ground beef, the sausages (take off the skin), the eggs, breadcrumbs, grated cheese, origano. Your parsely and garlic first need to but cut fine (I use a half-moon) and add to the beef with the olive oil and perhaps a bit of balsamic vinegar (optional).
Mix up well with your hands and let sit for a few minutes. Make golfball size balls and make sure that they are compact.
In a large sauce pan add extra virgin olive oil, heat and place your meatballs and carefully turn so that they are uniformly browned. Note that you don't want to cook them completely during this phase but merely brown them so that they remain intact.
These meatballs then should be removed from the saucepan and placed carefully on kitchen papertowels to absorb the extra oil. They will then be added to your ragu sauce and let cook with the sauce for approximately 1.5 to 2 hours.
ENJOY!
The following recipe is for the meatballs/polpettini and in general are added to a ragu sauce. The sauce (a modified, short-cut verions of the classical Italian ragu) will follow:
Serving size: 6
- 1 kg (2 pounds approx) ground beef
- 2 large Tuscan (or spicey Italian) sausages
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 bunch of parsley
- 3 eggs
- 200 grams breadcrumbs
- 1 Tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
- 100 grams grated parma cheese
- dash of origano
- pepper
PREPARATION:
In a good size bowl add the ground beef, the sausages (take off the skin), the eggs, breadcrumbs, grated cheese, origano. Your parsely and garlic first need to but cut fine (I use a half-moon) and add to the beef with the olive oil and perhaps a bit of balsamic vinegar (optional).
Mix up well with your hands and let sit for a few minutes. Make golfball size balls and make sure that they are compact.
In a large sauce pan add extra virgin olive oil, heat and place your meatballs and carefully turn so that they are uniformly browned. Note that you don't want to cook them completely during this phase but merely brown them so that they remain intact.
These meatballs then should be removed from the saucepan and placed carefully on kitchen papertowels to absorb the extra oil. They will then be added to your ragu sauce and let cook with the sauce for approximately 1.5 to 2 hours.
ENJOY!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
GET SAUCED WITH EGGPLANTS !
If you love eggplant and you arent offended by meat then you will love this, I made it on Sunday and was a hit!!!
This is a great sauce which is better the next day or as a left-over thus the serving for the below recipe is on the big end with a whapping TEN.
You will need about 2 1/2 hours to prepare and cook this.
YOU WILL NEED:
- 2 lb (800 kg approx) rigatoni
- 1 lb (600 gr) beef tenderloin
- 3.5 oz mushrooms (mixed)
- chicken giblets
- 3.5 oz butter
- 5 oz grated Parmgiano cheese
- 2 lb (800 gr) tomato pulp
- 1.5 oz ham (smoked)
- 1.5 cups dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 red onion
- 2 large eggplants
- salt & pepper QB
PREPARATION:
You will need a large sauce-pan, put in it your ham (chopped up rather small), your onion (sliced thin) and 2 tablespoons of oil. Let brown and add your meat over this and brown on high heat for a few minutes, then add your wine and when evaporated add the tomato and enough water as well to cover the meat and season with salt and pepper... maintain heat high until it comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cover, cook for about 1.5 hours. At this point, remove your tenderloin when its cook and cut it into small squares. The sauce (less the meat) need be sieved and put into another saucepan and add your meat squares to it, add the giblets and the thinly sliced mushrooms. Prepare the boiling water with a tablespoon of salt and a bit of olive oil, add the rigatoni. In good size frying pan add enough olive oil to cover the surface, cut your eggplants into thin slices (naturally after having been cleaned), add a bit of salt and a cut clove of garlic, cook til browned. When the rigatoni are al dente, drain and place in your serving plates and place a bit of butter and a sprinkly of parma cheese. Now dress the plated pasta with approx. half of the meat sauce and finally place a layer of your eggplants on top of the sauce, sprinkle another layer of parma cheese and serve !
A sure winner .... SALUTI
This is a great sauce which is better the next day or as a left-over thus the serving for the below recipe is on the big end with a whapping TEN.
You will need about 2 1/2 hours to prepare and cook this.
YOU WILL NEED:
- 2 lb (800 kg approx) rigatoni
- 1 lb (600 gr) beef tenderloin
- 3.5 oz mushrooms (mixed)
- chicken giblets
- 3.5 oz butter
- 5 oz grated Parmgiano cheese
- 2 lb (800 gr) tomato pulp
- 1.5 oz ham (smoked)
- 1.5 cups dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 red onion
- 2 large eggplants
- salt & pepper QB
PREPARATION:
You will need a large sauce-pan, put in it your ham (chopped up rather small), your onion (sliced thin) and 2 tablespoons of oil. Let brown and add your meat over this and brown on high heat for a few minutes, then add your wine and when evaporated add the tomato and enough water as well to cover the meat and season with salt and pepper... maintain heat high until it comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cover, cook for about 1.5 hours. At this point, remove your tenderloin when its cook and cut it into small squares. The sauce (less the meat) need be sieved and put into another saucepan and add your meat squares to it, add the giblets and the thinly sliced mushrooms. Prepare the boiling water with a tablespoon of salt and a bit of olive oil, add the rigatoni. In good size frying pan add enough olive oil to cover the surface, cut your eggplants into thin slices (naturally after having been cleaned), add a bit of salt and a cut clove of garlic, cook til browned. When the rigatoni are al dente, drain and place in your serving plates and place a bit of butter and a sprinkly of parma cheese. Now dress the plated pasta with approx. half of the meat sauce and finally place a layer of your eggplants on top of the sauce, sprinkle another layer of parma cheese and serve !
A sure winner .... SALUTI
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