Orecchiette improvvisate

Flight booked the day before the departure, luggage prepared few hours before landing…here we are, off to Villasimus. 

This is a magic place in which nature rocks: white beaches, light blue sea, blue sky, flamingos, fluo spider and good food in good company. 

Even in Paradise I can’t not cooking so I prepared this fragrant and quick recipe. 

100 gr broccoli (serving 4)
 70 gr Anchovies fillets preserved in evo oil 

150 gr goat ricotta

A clove of garlic

Fresh red chili

Wash the broccoli and cut them into big pieces. Put a saucepan over high heat with water. When It starts to boil, add the broccoli for 10 min then drain the broccoli and save the water to cook the pasta. 

In the meanwhile in a pan, heat up the oil with a clove of garlic, add the broccoli smashed into small pieces and the anchovies and some raisins you had rinsed before in warm water.

Pour 2,3 spoons of the pasta and broccoli water into ricotta to get a cream.

Once the pasta is cooked, mix with the ricotta cream and then toss with the broccoli sauce into the pan. 

Serve with some fresh red chili flakes.

Paccheri al coccio

Gurnard is a very popular fish in Italy since its firm flesh is well suited to soup and stew.  I wanted to prepare something more springy so I decided for this simple pasta recipe.

300 gr paccheri Gentile (serving 3)
800 gr gurnard (fillets 350/400 gr)
Cherry tomatoes
Fresh parsley
Evo oil
Salt
Red chili flakes


Put some evo oil over medium heat with the fish head after 10 min cover with water and some celery, cooking for 30 min. Then filter water and save it. Fillet the gurnard and set aside.

In a pan put some evo oil and a clove of garlic, add the tomatoes and cook for 8/10 min with some spoon of fishy water afterwards add the gurnard fillets (350/400 gr) and cook for 20/30 min .

Cook the pasta in boiling water adding the fishy water too and when the pasta is very al dente, finish for one minute the cooking into the pan with sauce.



Serve with some fresh parsley and red chili flakes.

Egg-free ravioli

I hate fresh egg pasta but I did not want to give up on ravioli so enjoy this egg free ravioli recipe.

For the dough

150 gr flour

150 gr hot water

2 sp. oil

Salt

Use a wooden spoon to combine the flour, oil, salt and the water. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 10 min.

For the stuffing

80gr ricotta

80 gr spicy caciotta or other soft cheese

Put into a blender the ricotta and the caciotta cheese and 1, 2 sp. of hot water to get a smooth cream (add other water if needed) ad set aside.

To form the ravioli, cut te dough into 4 pieces and each into 2. Lightly dust the surface and the rolling pin. Working one piece at time (even f the dough is sticky, try to add just a bit of flour otherwise a big quantity of it could make your ravioli very tough), rolling it into squares. Personally, I prefer a thick dough when the stuffing and the sauce are light and fresh.

Place a teaspoon of stuffing and fold the dough over the filling, press down around  the  edge of each of the ravioli withyour  fingertips to seal. Cut them with a mould, a wheel or a knife. Place the ravioli on a baking tray with some flour.

Cook the ravioli on a large pot of salted water and drain when they float.

Tagliatelle di kamut con melenzane

This fragrant, healthy and very rapid recipe is the best reward after a long work day.

160 gr kamut tagliatelle (serving 2)

1 big eggplant, diced

10 cherry tomatoes

fresh basil

parmesan

salt

evo oil

Chop the cherry tomatoes and dice the eggplants.

Cook the pasta in hot, salted boiling water whilst in a hot skillet put the eggplant dice and cook until brown and crispy (around 10/15 min).

Strain the pasta very al dente and toss in the skillet with the eggplant and the cherry tomatoes and 2 Tbs parmesan, evo oil and some pasta cooking water, if needed.

Garnish with some fresh basil.



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).



Mezze maniche autunnali

What says fall more than a pumpkin?

200 gr mezze maniche (for 2)

80 gr pumpkin

1 tbs greek yogurt

ginger

nutmeg

salt

evo oil

Boil the pumpkin with some ginger (to balance the sweetness). Using a hand blender or a food processor, blend the pumpkin with some pasta cooking water, nutmeg, salt, a tbs of greek yogurt and evo oil.

Drain the pasta and mix with the pumpkin sauce. Garnish with some parsley.

 

 



Linguine Genova 13

Friends are coming for dinner and your fridge is almost empty...do not worry you can always realize a delicious dish!

I lived in via Genova, 13 in Rome when my beloved flatmate Sergio and I prepared this pasta.

400 gr linguine (serving 4)
200 gr canned tuna in evo oil or in water
breadcrumbs
lemon zest
fresh chili
chives
1 garlic clove
evo oil

Set a skillet over medium high heat with a tbs of evo oil  and the breadcrumbs until golden brown and put aside.

In the same skillet, clean with a paper towel, add 2 tbs of oil, the garlic clove crushed and fresh chili, add the tuna (If in oil, drip well) and cook for 4/5 min.

Drain the pasta al dente and mix with the tuna sauce.

Serve with the breadcrumbs, the lemon zest and the chives.



Spaghetti alla carbonara

You think that you need double cream...NO!

You think that you need onions...NO!

You thinking that you need to cook eggs...NO!

The misinformation about this Roman dish is huge. I'll try to give you the authentich recipe.

320 gr spaghetti (serving 4)

130 gr cured pork cheek (guanciale) or bacon

3 egg yolks

black pepper to grind coarsley

pecorino romano cheese

oil

 

Set a skillet over medium heat when hot put the cured pork cheese or bacon in cubes to brown then lay on paper towel to absorbe the fat.

 

In a glass or ceramic bowl (not in metal otherwise th eggs would cook) put the yolks with the pepper and the pecorino romano cheese and mix grossly and quickly (You must not whip the eggs since they must remain creamy and not fluid).

Drain very well the pasta (no water at all) and fold it into the egg cream and mix powerfully, adding the bacon or guanciale. Do not add salt since the bacon or guanciale and the pecorino cheese are naturally salty.

Serve with other percorino cheese and black pepper.

 

 

 

Le mie casarecce

Sometimes you do not have time but in need of good food, sometimes you do not have time but some friends are coming to dinner,  here's the recipe you are looking for.

I tried the combination of these ingredients and I love the fresh, crunchy, sweet, bitter and creamy taste of this recipe that is also very express and easy to prepare. You can serve warm or cold.

180 gr casarecce (serving 2)

6 sundried tomatoes

80 gr ricotta

1 bunch of rocket

chopped almonds

lemon zest

black pepper (possibly the seichuan pepper)

oil
salt

Put the rocket with water and ice in a bowl for 15 min and dry. Let the sundried tomatoes soak in warm water for 15 min until soft and drain. Brown the chopped almonds in a skillet. Mix in a bowl the ricotta with 2,3 tbs of pasta water.

When the pasta is ready, set a skillet over medium-high heat with the sundried tomato in pieces and a tbs of oil (a pinch of salt, If needed), add the pasta and the rocket and fold the ricotta in.

Garnish with the black pepper, the almonds and the lemon zest.



Mezze maniche con frutti di mare

Never fish on Monday!!! Why? There is no fish market on Monday unless some friend have gathered mussels and clams!!! I know I am lucky to have such special friends!

I would like to dedicate this post to a wonderful mom, Margaret Pace. She loves cooking Italian food and I hope to meet her in Malta very soon.

200 gr mezze maniche rigate (serving two)

300 gr mussels, scrubbed and beards removed

300 gr clams

1 big garlic clove

lemon zest

white wine

olive oil

parsley

Rinse the mussels 3/4 times and put the clams in a bowl with water and rinse twice. Set two separate covered shallow saucepans (or I use the same pan  but cooking the clam and the mussel in two different moments, one after the other) on the stove over medium high heat with the shellfish for 6, 7 min till they have opened and turn the heat off (discard any that do not open after this time). Put the shellfish aside and filter their cooking water in a cup.

In a big skillet put 2 tbs of olive oil, the big garlic clove crushed unpeeled and the shellfish, when the garlic is brown, discard it, add some white wine until reduced and the cooking water you saved (do not add salt).

Drain your pasta and fold it into the skillet, tossing until well combined (adding pasta water, if necessary to stir better).

Serve with parsley and lemon zest.

Bucatini all'amatriciana

One of the most widely known Italian traditional dish!

Its origins date back to the late 18th century in central Italy, from the town of Amatrice, not far from Rome.

I lived in the Eternal city for a while and every Roman is sure to have the authentic recipe passed on through the generations. I hope that nobody will be unhappy with my list of ingredients for 2.

200 gr bucatini

80 gr cured pork cheek (guanciale)

250 gr peeled canned San Marzano tomatoes

pecorino romano cheese

chili

olive oil

salt

Pan fry the guanciale, cut into strips, over low heat till It renders the fat (if It is not enough, add a tbs of olive oil). It must not be crispy. Turn the heat off and put the strips aside.

 

In the same pan with the pork fat, cook the tomatoes (in advance crushed with a fork) for 10 min with some chili and salt.

 

Drain the pasta and mix with the sauce, adding the guanciale strips and some grated pecorino cheese.

Spaghetti al pomodoro fresco

Pasta al pomodoro, I do not know a dish more Italian and delicious than this!

Even if It is a very easy recipe, It is pretty hard to find a good pasta al pomodoro.

Why?

Easy does not mean shoddy. Each ingredient must be chosen in its top quality and balancing the tomato sweet/sour is also essential to have a tasty and aromatic sauce, so It means that you need to try the tomatoes before cooking.

Take not of this basic recipe for 2.

200 gr spaghetti
12/15 raw cherry tomatoes (I have used the Pachino cherry ones)
1 big garlic clove
fresh basil
extra virgin olive oil
salt
baking soda, if necessary

 

Heat extra virgin olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the clove garlic crushed and the cherry tomatoes sliced in 4 parts (throwing out their water and the seeds) and salt. Cook and stir for 10 min (if your tomatoes are more acidic, add a pinch of baking soda).

Drain your pasta very "al dente", saving a glass of the cooking water.

Put the pasta in the skillet with the tomatoes and mix, adding the quantity of the cooking water needed to have a more juicy and creamy sauce.

Remove the skillet from heat. Add fresh basil leaves and if you want, parmesan and red pepper flakes.



PASTA

I am Italian so I am naturally pasta addict.

I want to try with this first post to help you to tidy your messy pasta cupboard up.

PASTA, which kind?

There are several types of pasta according to the  wheat/raw products, the technology used and the shapes to manufacture pasta.

It can be dried, namely prepared with semolina or fresh, usually prepared with eggs. It is possible to find green pasta (with spinach), red pasta (with red pepper or tomato) and the black pasta (with the squid ink) or with the addition of different grain (one of the finest is with the wheat germ).

There are the long (spaghetti, spaghettoni, linguine, bucatini, vermicelli, etc. ), the short (penne, fusilli, tortiglioni, rigatoni, etc.), the soup shapes (tubetti, ditali, ditaloni, pasta mista, etc.) and the specialities (orecchiette, paccheri, spaghetti alla chitarra, etc.).

PASTA, how to cook it?

Cooking pasta is a ritual so there is no different way to cook it.

Put a pot with cold water on the stove. When the water starts boiling, add  coarse salt and pasta. Mix pasta immediately to avoid a bad sticky effect.

The cooking time is usually indicate on the pasta package. In any case pasta is ready when you cut it with a fork and the inner white part is no longer visible. Personally I prefer pasta very "al dente" so I drain it earlier. The thicker the white inner section, the more "al dente" pasta will be.

If you need to continue the cooking in a frying pan, your pasta must be drained "al dente".

PASTA, which brand?

Taste is something personal so I can say which brand I prefer.

I love De Cecco (www.dececco.it/EN) and Garofalo (www.pastagarofalo.it/us/) that  are very good Italian brands, supplied everywhere.

My big passion is for Vicidomini (www.pastificiovicidomini.com ),  Cocco (www.pastacocco.com) and Pastai Gragnanesi (www.pastaigragnanesi.it), top Italian brands, hard to find also in Italy unless fine deli shops  (they are also pretty expensive).

                                   ... Now you are ready to cook un piatto di pasta with me?...