Sunday gravy

I usually give an Italian name to my posts. Today I want to dedicate this recipe to my family in Chicago.

Even If they have Irish origins, they have the big Italian attitude: to stay together, sharing feelings and good food. I hope to have another Sunday lunch with all of them very soon.

To Meghan, Bill, Teresa, Big Cat, Maureen, Sean, Mary Kate, Emmett and Tommy

This Sunday gravy, ragù napoletano, is a red sauce, made with tomato and meat, simmering for long time (4, 5 hours). The sauce is used for pasta (I suggest the short shapes as rigatoni, penne, tortiglioni or ziti broken into pieces) and the meat as secondo. Once cooked the ragù could be frozen.

 

400 gr beef thick flank, chopped into medium-sized pieces (serving 6/8)

200 gr pig flank, chopped into medium-sized pieces
2 pig ribs
1 1/2 lt tomato passata
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 glass red wine
2 Tablespoons evo oil
fresh basil
salt
black pepper
parmesan

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil, add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add the meat and continue to fry until all meat sides are browned. Pour  the red wine and when reduced, add the tomato paste and then the passata with some fresh basil. Season with salt, black pepper and stir well.

Bring to the boil, then lower the heat to a simmer, cover and cook gently for 4/5 hours. Stir from time to time, and if dry, add a little more water. The sauce must be reduced in volume: thick, silky and very dark. To understand if It is ready or not, use a piece of bread to mop up the rich sauce. Mhmhmhmhmh!

Remove from the heat and toss the pasta, serving with some parmigiano (parmesan).



Involtini di vitello

The sun is shining so let's give the go-ahead to the weekend!!!
 

You can prepare these rolls in advance and stuff them with the vegetables you more enjoy.

 

2 thin veal round steaks (for 4 rolls)

100 gr Swish chards

5 black olives

8 raisins

oil

salad

 

Boil the Swiss chards and drain well. Soak the raisins in warm water for 10 min.

 

In a bowl put the raisins, the pitted black olives in pieces and fold the Swiss chards in, mixing with 2 tbs of oil and salt.

 

Set the skillet over medium-high heat with the steaks, cook for 3 min per side (longer time depends on the thickness of the meat).

 

Cut each steak into two parts and roll with the Swiss chards mixture.

 

Serve on a mix salad plate. 

Pummaroò&Friends: Μουσακάς with Katerina!

When I met Katerina, I loved speaking about her wonderful country, its sea and beaches, its food and its smiling people.

Hello pummaroò friends!

Good quality, home cooked food is what we all need, so thank you Elvira for this recipe-sharing blog.

Today, I will share with you a dish that is a favourite for many in my home country, Cyprus. It's called mousaka. It is a dish that belongs to the Balkan-Mediterranean cuisine too. Here's my greek-cypriot version  of it!

It takes sometime to make, but it's delicious!

Ingredients for 4: 

1 big aubergine                                                                              

2 courgettes                                                                             

2-3 medium sized potatoes                                                     

1 medium sized onion
500 gr minced meat  (pork, beef or chicken)
2 tomatoes grated or tomato paste
oil
salt-pepper

For the béchamel sauce
oil                                                                                                                                                
3 tbs flour
2.5 cups of milk
1 egg yolk beaten
2 tbs grated cheese
salt-pepper

Wash and peel the aubergine and the potatoes. Wash the courgettes. Cut all the vegetables into slices (not very thick, nor very thin). Put a bit of salt on your sliced vegetables. Put a bit of oil in a big pan and start placing the vegetables on the surface of the pan. When they are cooked on one side turn then on the other. When fried on both sides put them in a plate, where you have placed two layers of absorbing kitchen paper,  so that it absorbs the oil. Do this until you have fried all the slices. Please note that, if you prefer,  you can cook the vegetables by putting them straight on the hot pan, without putting oil.

Once you have finished, preheat the oven to about 170-180°C.

Then, wash the minced meat and chop the onion. Put them in your pan with a bit of oil. When the meat gets a brown colour, add the grated tomatoes or the tomato paste. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and until there is no or little liquid.

In a small oven dish (19x20cm) put the ingredients in layers as follows: potatoes, aubergines, half amount of minced meat, courgettes, rest of the meat.

On top of that you put béchamel sauce. How to prepare the béchamel sauce:

Heat the oil, add the flour and once it changes colour, pour in the milk slowly slowly. You stir constantly until you get a thick sauce. Then you turn out the fire and you add the egg yolk, grated cheese, salt and pepper to taste.

Put it in the oven for 30-40 minutes.

Enjoy!

Katerina

Pummaroò&Friends: Bloemkoolschotel with Sabine!

Sabine comes from Bruges, a city in which I lived for a year. She will share a typical recipe from Flanders.

My big thanks to Sabine, a very lovely person. She works for the College of Europe, she is a wife and a mom of two sweet children, Elena and Milan. They are very cute, aren't they? 

                                      

Ingredients:

1kg potatoes
1kg mixed mince
1 large cauliflower

whole milk

30 gr flour

30 gr best butter

nutmeg

pepper

salt

Italian spices

Cook the potatoes in water with a sniff of salt and some Italian spices, until tender, then drain. Make puree with milk, nutmeg and pepper.

Cook the cauliflower florets in water with a sniff of salt and again some Italian spices, until tender (reserve the cooking liquid for later, for the béchamel sauce).

Bake your mixed mince in a skillet.

For the béchamel sauce, melt the butter and add little by little the flour, stir well.

Now take three deep tablespoons (like the one you use for making soup) of your cooking liquid from the cauliflower and stir, then add 2 deep tablespoons whole milk and bring to taste with one whole nutmeg. Stir until you have a liquid mass.

Preheat the oven to 200 ° C. Take a large heatproof casserole. Fill it first with your baked minced, then put the cauliflower florets on it, you cover with your béchamel sauce and then on top your mashed potatoes, you arrange it until everything is covered. You can use a fork to make some rows for a form. Then you put a few pieces of butter on top so you have a nice crispy crust.

Put the casserole in the oven at 180 ° C for 10 minutes and then another three minutes on the grill stand for that crispy crust.

Smakelijk

Sabine