We all have days when we don't know the answer to the question, "What's for dinner?" Busy papa, busy Mama, busy Nonna... stuff happens and we forget to plan ahead. But even if you are a newcomer to the Cucina Italiana, there are always simple, quick meals that you can throw together without any pre-planning, as long as your Italian Pantry is stocked with essentials. Spaghetti Aglio e Olio (Spaghetti with Garlic and Oil) is one of the simplest, yet fulfilling meals any Italian can make. The cooking time is little more than the time it takes to boil your dried spaghetti and can be a base recipe for adding ingredients from leftovers. Even the most basic Italian pantries should have a box of spaghetti, extra virgin olive oil and garlic... Ingredients
Directions
Serve with slices of crusty bread and some Chianti for a simple and tasteful meal. This recipe is certainly a classic from Naples, but you can think of it as a base recipe for adding other ingredients: halved cherry tomatoes, diced prosciutto, capers, olives, etc. Don't ever hesitate to be creative with Italian recipes! Buon appetito! --Jerry Finzi Outfit made from dried pasta seen in a kitchen supply shop in Florence, Italy
(The hair gives new meaning to Angel Hair Pasta!)
Map courtesy of TasteAtlas.com, a great website that is map-driven. Zoom in on a part of Italy that interests you, and click on links to various food specialties and recipes from that region.
Beef Ragu over Cheesy Polenta A rustic, belly-filling recipe from simple ingredients. The cook time from pan to table is under an hour, so it's great for a quick family meal during the workweek... Ingredients Polenta
Directions
--Jerry Finzi I remember one of the first times I had potato gnocchi (pronounced "NYO-kee"), was at a New Jersey, Italian-American restaurant when I was a teen. I wasn't impressed. They were gluey and heavy. Perhaps they were frozen, but more than likely they had lost something in the translation from the old country. Still today, people in New Jersey might still pronounce them, "Nocky". In our family, we didn't have gnocchi until I was older. I remember one of my sisters making them on occasion. We nicknamed them, "sinkers" because they were so heavy. Well into my 30s, and after I had learned how to cook pretty well, I asked my mother to teach me to make gnocchi--especially after learning that her mother, Nonna Mariantonia, had taught her. When I asked why she never made them when I was a kid, she just shrugged and said, "Sure, with all the free time I had raising five kids plus working all day?" She's right. She worked in a factory as a supervisor her whole adult life, yet somehow still managed to put dinner on the table for us after she got home. Better late than never, and I was eager to learn...
Ingredients (for two batches: one for eating fresh, the other for freezing) 4 pounds of Yukon Gold or similar yellow potato--stored 1 week in a dark place before using 1 egg yolk 2 whole eggs, beaten 2 tablespoons sea salt "00" Italian style flour - 1/4 cup per pound of potatoes (or more, depending on humidity) ("00" makes a more tender gnocchi.) Equipment needed a Gnocchi board, or fork, fingers, or the back side of a cheese grater (each makes a different shape/texture) 2 half sheet pans (For drying and for freezing half the batch) Potato ricer (Do not use a masher) cotton kitchen towels or parchment paper My Mom didn't use a gnocchi paddle, or rigagnocchi. She used her fingers and the back of a fork. She actually taught me two methods for two different shapes--the back of a fork and her first two fingers. The fork makes ridges on the back side---good for holding a thick ragu. The two fingers made a sort of cavetelli shape, by taking a small cylinder of dough and pressing into it while dragging toward herself on the work surface. This made one smooth side and a little cave in the other--good for cream and thinner sauces. I can still remember Mom's bent, arthritic fingers rapidly producing them one by one. In this recipe, I'll be shaping with a fork and gnocchi board. Instructions
Shaping Gnocchi As you shape your gnocchi, place them (not touching) on a cotton kitchen towel spread on top of a half sheet pan. Let them dry for 15 for about 1 hour before cooking. Then place them into a large pot of well-salted, rapidly boiling water, give a couple of gentle stirs, then cook until they all float to the top. After all are floating, cook for another minute, then drain in batches using a spider, placing them into either a saucepan containing your preferred sauce, cooking and turning gently for a minute or two until the gnocchi have absorbed the sauce's flavors. Turn out into a pasta bowl, and top with your favorite cheese--Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino, cacciocavallo, etc. Freezing the Second Half of The Gnocchi
After the first half of your dough is finished, repeat and fill a second sheet pan, then let dry as with the first batch. The second pan can then be placed immediately into a freezer for a future meal. (If a half sheet pan won't fit, place the gnocchi on smaller trays that will fit). After they are frozen rock solid (at least 10 hours), immediately place them into a large zip-lock plastic bag, squeeze to remove all the air and zip it closed. To prevent against freezer burn, place it into a second bag. Once you hone your gnocchi-making skills, you can experiment with all sorts of different types--pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot, ricotta and more. Gnocchi are great with both simple sauces (like butter & sage or olive oil, garlic and pepperoncino) or complex sauces like bechamel, pestos or even ragu Bolognese. Enjoy, and don't forget to let me know how yours turned out! --Jerry Finzi Well... Almost. Canederli are bread dumplings found in the north-east of Italy (Trentino-Alto Adige, Friuli, and part of the Veneto), typically served in beef broth, dry or with a sauce. They are made using stale bread, milk, onions, parsley, eggs and a little flour. Often they are stuffed with speck (a smoked prosciutto), cheese, mushrooms or pancetta. You can also serve them as a side with sausages. Canederli with Speck
Ingredients 1/2 pound of stale bread 2 eggs, beaten 6 ounces diced Speck 1 medium onion, diced 6 cups milk fresh parsley 4 tablespoons butter, softened 1 tablespoon flour pinch nutmeg Pinch salt Instructions
Black wormy spaghetti, green monster eyeballs with bloody roadkill sauce... Yummy. Perfect for the little ghouls in your family. Ingredients 1/2 tsp black paste type food coloring (they come in small jars). 1 16 oz box of thick spaghetti or bucatini (if it's too thin, it won't have that wormy look) 4 quarts of water 3 tablespoons sea salt or Kosher salt Large green olives stuffed with pimentos (Buy the fresh large ones, not bottled), or as an alternative, use buccatini (mozzarella balls) for use as eyeballs. Spaghetti sauce, preferably a textured, meaty sauce, like a Bolognese.
You might even try using meatballs topped with halves of buccatini with sliced, pitted olives as the eyeballs on a bloody plate of spaghetti. Enjoy... and keep an EYE OUT for monsters! --Jerry Finzi
The Ligurian region of Italy lies along the border of France and is home to a very special fresh pasta called Corzetti. In this article, we will only discuss corzetti stampae, coin-like fresh pasta cut and embossed with various decorative patterns, one-by-one, using a special wooden stamping tool, itself specially hand-made by artisan wood craftsmen using both wood-turning chip carving techniques. They are typically made out of maple, or fruit woods like pear or apple. In the Genovese dialect these coin pastas are called curzetti. Making corzetti is very laborious and time consuming, and as such are typically made only during the holidays or for special occasions.
There are also a different type of Corzetti from the Val Polcevera, one of the principal valleys of the area of Genoa, that are made in "figure eight" shape and look nothing like coins.
In Latin, the word for cross is crux. Cröxe in Genovese dialect also means cross. So one might realize that the word croxetti (in Italian), might be referring to the "little cross"--gold coins that were made in the 12th century called Genovini d'0ro. It's no surprise that many refer to Crozetti as "coins".
It is also possible that during the Renaissance they were used for weddings with the coats of arms of both bride and groom, one each on either side. Some claim that one local family made corzetti to impress Maria Luigia of Borbone, just before leaving for France to marry Napoleon.
There are some very simple and traditional recipes corzetti sauces. One of the oldest sauces is from medieval times, a pesto made with marjoram, pine nuts, walnuts, olive oil and parmesan cheese. Another similar recipes uses melted butter in place of olive oil, and places the ingredients in the hot pan rather than mashing into a pesto. Here is another fantastic sauce made using walnuts...
Sugo di noci 1 ½ cups chopped walnuts 1 medium size clove garlic 1/2 cup of fresh ciabatta bread, cubed, soaked in a bit of milk, then squeezed nearly dry. 1/4 cup fresh marjoram leaves 3 -4 tablespoons grated Parmigiano Reggiano 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil a pinch of salt Run all the ingredients in a blender until smooth, with some texture remaining. This sauce can be used as any pesto, tossing with the pasta. If you like, you can also place the sauce into a large saute pan and heat along with the corzetti.
Making Corzetti
The ingredients for the pasta are for 4 persons. 3 1/3 cups all purpose flour. 5 egg yolks 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup of white wine
I hope you take the time to make corzetti for your next special event or holiday meal. Let us know how it turned out!
Ciao... --Jerry Finzi |
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