Tag: italian recipes
Ricotta Parsley Gnudi with Sausage Mushroom Ragu
This is a great recipe to make either through the week or for a Sunday meal. A rich sausage mushroom ragu with soft, pillowy gnudi. Saw this being made on tv and modified it a bit to suit my taste. Try it… this is delicious!!
Gnudi
1 pound fresh ricotta, drained overnight to attain super dry ricotta
2 egg yolks
¼ cup Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
¼ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
Semolina for rolling and coating
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
Transfer the ricotta and egg yolks to a stand mixer. Mix at medium speed for a minute or till incorporated. Add the cheese, flour, breadcrumbs, parsley and salt. The dough should moist but not sticky. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes while bringing a small saucepan of salted water to a boil. Roll a piece of dough into a 1 inch ball and cook in the boiling water for about 2 minutes. If the gnudi is too soft to hold it’s shape, add more flour to the dough. Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour if not more. Shape the dough into 1 inch balls and transfer to a semolina dusted pan so the gnudi does not stick. Refrigerate the gnudi balls, covered with plastic wrap till ready to cook.
Take out of fridge and cook gnudi in salted boiling water until cooked- about 3 to 4 minutes in batches. The gnudi will begin to rise to the surface once cooked. Drain the gnudi and place them into a wide frying pan with the olive oil and butter. Brown the gnudi on the outside for 2 to 3 minutes, moving them about constantly. If the pan gets dry, add some spare pasta water. Serve with the ragu.
Ragu
¼ cup dried porcini mushrooms, soaked 1 cup hot water
1 cup fresh shiitake mushrooms, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 sausage links of choice, casing off and crumbled
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
½ cup strained tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock
Salt
½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
Strain the mushrooms, reserve the liquid and chop the procini mushrooms and set aside.
Heat a sauté pan with olive oil. Add the crumbled sausage and sauté on medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and sauté on medium heat for another 4 to 5 minutes. Add the shiitake and procini mushrooms and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the spare mushroom water, tomatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and let simmer, with the lid on for 10 minutes. Take the lid off, add salt and let cook for another 15 minutes. Check for seasonings and garnish with parsley. Serve with gnudi with a sprinkle of Parmigiano Reggiano.
Bucatini with Salted Pork and Shrimp
½ cup salted pork, cut into chunks less than ½- inch
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 to 3 garlic cloves, chopped
28 ounces can of San Marzano tomatoes
½ pound medium shrimp, deveined and cleaned
Salt
½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
½ pound cooked bucatini, cooked al dente with 1 cup spare pasta water
½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
Heat a wide skillet with the olive oil and salted pork and fry over low heat for 15 minutes or till the fat is rendered out and the meat is crisp. Remove the pork with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add the onion and garic and sauté over medium heat for five minutes. Crush the tomatoes with hand in the can and add to the onion mixture. Cook for 20 minutes on medium heat with the lid on. Check for seasonings and add salt and the red pepper flakes.
Add the raw shrimp and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the al dente pasta and cook on medium for another 2 to 3 minutes, till the shrimp is cooked through- careful not to over cook. Check for seasonings and garnish with parsley.
Sausage and Peppers Sandwiches with Ricotta Cheese
Ricotta Cheese
½ cup full fat ricotta cheese
1 garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
¼ cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
1 teaspoon salt
Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl and keep aside.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pack chicken sausages (I used roasted garlic ones from Trader Joes), sliced
1 large or 2 medium red pepper, cut into 1 inch squares
1 large yellow onion, cut into 1 inch squares
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups tomato sauce (jar, bottle or fresh)
Salt
½ cup fresh basil, chopped
Heat a medium saucepan with the olive oil. Add the sausage pieces and sauté on medium high heat and brown both sides, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and sauté on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, bring to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer. Cover with lid and cook for 15 minutes. Take the lid off, add the peppers and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook on medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, or till the peppers are soft, but not too soft and falling apart. Check for seasonings and garnish with basil.
4 ciabatta rolls, toasted with a drizzle of olive oil
Add some sausage and peppers into a toasted roll. Top with a dollop of ricotta cheese. Serve with oven fries.
Corn and Green Bean Pappardalle with Herbed Ricotta
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup fresh or frozen corn
- 1 cup green beans, chopped and rinsed
- Salt
- ½ cup fresh basil, chopped
- 2 cups homemade or bottled marinara sauce
- ½ pound cooked pasta (I used pappardelle) with ½ cup pasta water to spare
Heat a wide frying pan with olive oil. Saute the onion and garlic on medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the corn and green beans. Sprinkle a teaspoon of salt. Saute on medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the basil and check for seasonings. Add the marinara sauce, bring to a boil and then add the cooked pasta with the pasta water. Mix well, bring to a boil and check for seasonings.
Herbed Ricotta
- 1 cup fresh ricotta
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- Zest of one lemon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup basil, chopped
- 1/3 cup parsley, chopped
Mix everything together in a large bowl. Check for seasonings and serve with a dollop of ricotta on a serving of pasta.
Pasta Arrabbiata with Herbed Breadcrumbs
Just a simple plate of pasta can be so delicious- you don’t need a whole lot of ingredients… just really good ones!!
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 to 3 medium shallots, chopped
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 to 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped (seeded depending on how spicy you want)
- 3 cups fresh tomato sauce or canned tomatoes
- ½ pound penne, cooked al dente with 1 cup pasta water
- ½ cup fresh basil, chopped
Heat a saucepan with butter and oil. Add the shallots, garlic and jalapenos. Saute on medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Simmer with lid off for 30 minutes. Add basil and pasta. Mix well and check for seasonings and add salt. Adjust consistency of sauce by adding pasta water if needed. Serve warm with a garnish of herbed breadcrumbs.
Breadcrumbs
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- Zest of one lemon
Mix all the ingredients and serve on top of pasta.
Spaghetti with Fried Egg and Pangritata
What is pangritata, you ask? Well it is some bread crumbs cooked in olive oil with some herbs.. I added some lemon zest for good measure… It creates an amazing texture in any dish. This recipe is simple with pasta and eggs topped with breadcrumbs… so, so simple and so good! Perfect for meatless Mondays…
Pangritata
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
- Zest of a small lemon
Heat a large frying pan with the oil. Add the bread crumbs and sauté on medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes till golden brown. Add the rosemary, stir and turn heat off. Take out in a small bowl and add the lemon zest and mix well and keep aside.
- ½ pound spaghetti, cooked al dente with 1 cup of pasta water spare
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
- ½ cup grated grana padano cheese
Heat the same frying pan with the oil and butter. Add the garlic and cook for a minute on low heat. Add the eggs and cook on medium heat till the whites are cooked just barely through and the yolks are still runny. Add the cooked spaghetti and mix well, incorporating the eggs well. Add the chives and cheese. Mix well and check for seasonings. Add salt if necessary. Garnish with the Pangritata and serve immediately.
Spinach Meatballs stuffed with Mozzarella Cheese
Who doesn’t love meatballs? My daughter and husband especially do- in all forms. Last week Sia reminded me I had not made them in ages- she does that even when I have not made something in a week but in this case she was right- I had not cooked meatballs in a long time. Now that I am writing this blog, I feel I cannot repeat a recipe- so I started thinking how I can make the meatballs different this time. Of course I wanted to make them healthy but thought I should disguise some veggies in the meatballs as well. I decided to saute frozen spinach with some garlic and shallots and added the mixture to the ground turkey. Speaking of ground turkey- any ground meat can be used but I am trying to use less red meat and I feel dark meat ground turkey does the job really well- although you can’t beat the taste of meatballs made out of a combination of beef, pork and veal! I also decided to add a tiny chunk of fresh mozzarella cheese in each meatball. It give the meat a nice creamy texture- also while cooking the meatballs in the marinara sauce, as the cheese melts and, oozes out into the sauce making it extra delicious! Somehow meatballs taste extra yummy with spaghetti- don’t know what it is- maybe it’s the texture of the thin long pasta but any other pasta shape just doesn’t do. Instead of serving the meatballs with plain spaghetti, I dress it up a bit. Once I cook it, I saute it with some minced garlic, olive oil, salt, dried basil and oregano. It really makes a big difference to the dish on the whole- the dried herbs and garlic take the spaghetti to a whole new level. Another great way to serve the meatballs is on a crusty roll. I usually toast the roll with a drizzle of olive oil. I then rub a garlic clove all over the crusty goodness with a sprinkle of salt. I place the meatballs on top with a slice of provolone or mozzarella cheese- melt in the toaster oven and it’s the best meatball sandwich you will ever taste!!! Of course for the adults, some salad and red wine is a must!!