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Italian food: Cannoli siciliani

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

The “Cannoli” are probably the most famous Sicilian desserts. Their names is due to the word cannolo, which in Sicilian means “little tube”. Because of the many Italians from Sicily living there, they are very popular also in America.

Our Cannoli are made of a tube-shaped shell of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet filling usually made out of ricotta cheese and chocolate chips or succade; they are produced in various sizes, from the very small ones to the huge ones you can see in the original Sicilian confectioneries.

They were created in the Palermo area, for the period around Carnival (simbolizing fertility); however, now they can be eaten all year-round and are very good in Summertime also because of their freshness.

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Italian recipes: Sicilian Spaghetti!

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

Summertime: blue skies and blue seaside! Here you are a perfect, fresh, savoury dish made by anchovies, which will suit your summer dinners.

Very easy to prepare, wonderfully tasting. Try to cook this spaghetti yourself…buon appetito!

Ingredients

  • 1 pound spaghetti
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 (2 ounce) can anchovy fillets, chopped
  • 1 cup fine bread crumbs
  • 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • ground black pepper to taste
  • 4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

  1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
  2. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat and add garlic and anchovies to cook for about 2 minutes; stir constantly.
  3. Stir in breadcrumbs and turn off heat. Add parsley and black ground pepper; mix together.
  4. Toss anchovy sauce with hot pasta and sprinkle with cheese; serve.

(Source: Allrecipes)

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Italian recipes: Crostata with apricots

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

The beautiful season is wellcoming us with her colourful and juicy fruits! The following recipe is for a delicious crostata with apricots…try to bake it…and you will have a perfect snack for every spring and summer day!

Filling:

8 Medium Sized Fresh Apricots
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 to 3 Tablespoons Amaretto Liqueur
1 Cup Apricot Jam

Crust:

9 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Softened
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Large Egg
1 Large Egg Yolk
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1 1/2 Cups All-purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Finely Ground Cornmeal
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 Cup Finely Chopped Toasted Almonds

Directions:
Cut the apricots in half and remove the pit. You do not need to peel apricots as the skin is very delicate and will blend into the filling. Coarsely chop. In a heavy pan mix the chopped apricots and sugar and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes until the fruit has softened and begun to break down. Add the amaretto liqueur and apricot jam and mix well.

Mix together the butter and sugar with a hand mixer until well blended. Add the egg and egg yolk and continue to mix just until smooth. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cornmeal, salt, walnuts, baking powder and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix just until the dough comes together.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Take about 3/4 of a cup of the dough mixture and set it aside. Press the remaining dough into the bottom and up the sides of a 10 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Spoon the apple mixture into the crust and use a spoon to smooth across the bottom crust. Mix the almonds into the remaining dough, and using your fingers, break up the remaining crust mixture into small pea sized pieces and drop it across the top of the tart. Do not worry that it doesn’t cover completely as it looks more rustic this way!

Bake the tart in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until it is lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to come to room temperature before serving.

Source: http://www.italianfoodforever.com/

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Italian recipes: mushroom, bacon and walnut risotto

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

A rustic recipe, perfect in any occasion. Its creamy consistance will surprise your guests! Let’s see how is it made:

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 onion (finely chopped)
  • 2 bacon rashers (diced)
  • 200g of mushrooms (cleaned and thickly sliced)
  • 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
  • 1/4 cup walnuts – roughly chopped
  • 1 cup arborio rice
  • ½ cup white wine
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and cook the onion for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the bacon and cook for 2 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the mushrooms, garlic, walnuts and rice and cook for a minute, stirring to coat the rice with oil. Add the wine, stock, salt and pepper, bring to the boil then cover with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Simmer gently for 20 minutes without lifting the lid. Stir the reserved tablespoon of olive oil, parsley and cheese through the rice.

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Italian recipes: Torta pasqualina!

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

Easter is already approaching! We can feel it in the air…so why not surprise your guests with a special and savoury typical Italian easter recipe? Try to bake the Torta Pasqualina your own!

The Torta Pasqualina finds its origins in Liguria, a region in northeastern Italy. It is mostly made of a green mixture; the most common is swiss chard but you can also use spinaches or arugula. In Liguria they add to the mixture a slightly sour fresh cheese called prescinsena in place of the ricotta. Originally, the Torta was made with layers of filling alternated with paper-thin sheets of pastry: 33 layers of dough were used representing each year of Christ’s life. Also, 12 eggs were added to represent the apostoles. The one we propose here is an easier one,  made with 2 layers of douogh forming a top and a bottom crust. Good luck in the kitchen!

Ingredients for the dough

  • 2-1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup water

Ingredients for the filling

  • 10-12 ounces Swiss chard, washed and trimmed
  • 10-12 ounces spinach, washed and trimmed
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • Pinch of ground cloves
  • 6 eggs, divided
  • 1 cup ricotta
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
  • Pinch of grated nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan
  • Olive oil

To make the dough:
Combine the flour and  salt  in a large bowl. Stir in the oil and 1/2 cup water to make a smooth, non-sticky dough.   Knead just to bring the dough together. Divide the dough into 2 pieces, one three times the size of the other.  Wrap each piece with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.

To make the filling:
Combine the Swiss chard and 1/2 cup water in a large pot. Cover and cook over medium heat until tender and wilted, about 10 minutes. Add the spinach and season with salt.  Cook 5 more minutes or until spinach is wilted.   Drain the greens and allow to cool. Squeeze out as much water as possible from the greens.   Place on a cutting board and finely chop.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter.  Add the onions and cloves. Cover and cook over medium heat until the onions are tender, about 5 minutes.   Remove from the heat.

In a large bowl, beat 2 eggs until blended. Add the greens, onions, ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan, marjoram, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Mix well and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Oil a 9-inch springform pan.

On a floured surface, roll out the larger piece of dough to a 15-inch circle. Place the dough into the pan, pressing it against the bottom and up the sides.   The ends will overhang the edge of the pan.
Add the filling to the pan and smooth the top. Make four evenly spaced indentations in the filling.   Carefully break on egg into one of the indentations. Repeat with the remaining 3 eggs.
Sprinkle each egg with some of the remaining tablespoon of Parmesan.

Roll out the smaller piece of dough. Cut out a 9-inch circle, using the bottom of the pan as a guide, if desired. Place the dough circle on top of the filling. Trim the overhanging dough to 1-inch.   Fold the dough inside the pan over the edge of the dough circle.   With your fingers, crimp the rolled edge to seal.  Brush the top of the dough with olive oil. Make several small slits in the top crust. Bake for 45 minutes, or until browned.   The top with puff up during baking but will relax when cooled. Cool on a wire rack about 10 minutes before removing the side of the pan. Serve hot or at room temperature.

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Italian recipes: Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Friday, February 26th, 2010

A very popular recipe, known all over the world for its tempting taste: try to cook it yourself and surprise your guests!

The strange name, “Carbonara” probably belongs to the fact that the dish was invented by the carbonari, the foresters making charchoal from the woods in the Italian Appennini. But let’s see how it is made:

For 4 serves
Preparation: 15 mins
Cooking: 10-12 mins
Difficulty: Medium

INGREDIENTS:
* 400 g (14 oz) Spaghetti (cooked “al dente”)
* 150 g (5 oz) Unsmoked streaky bacon slices (very thin – 1 mm thick)
* 50 g (2 oz) Pecorino cheese – matured (freshly grated)
* 15 ml (1tbs) Extra virgin olive oil
* 3 Egg yolks + 1 whole egg (use large size eggs, preferably free range organic)
* 80 ml (3 fl. oz) White wine
* 1 Small size onion (cut into thin rings)
* 5 g (¼ oz) Ground pepper grains (crushed in the mortar)

About the salt: Spaghetti is boiled in salted water, the bacon is salty and the Pecorino cheese is salty, so take care seasoning with salt!

DIRECTIONS:

Put 3 egg yolks plus 1 whole egg into a large bowl. While whisking, add the Pecorino cheese, but add it gradually because the cheese will dry the mixture and you need a smooth and creamy mixture. The remaining cheese can be used later for topping the pasta if you like. Take the crushed pepper you have previously prepared and add it to the bowl. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and creamy, and then leave it to rest.

Put the oil into a frying pan and when it is hot move the pan around distributing the oil all over the pan surface. Lay all the bacon slices into the pan and cook at medium heat. After a minute or so, start stirring the slices in order to cook them on both sides. When you see the first sign of browning, remove the pan from the cooker and go to the next step.
Transfer the bacon slices into a small bowl and leave them for the moment. Now, put your spaghetti into the boiling water and while boiling start cooking the onion. In the same pan you cooked the bacon slices, which is still hot, add the onion rings and cook them for a couple of minutes; then, add the wine and cook for a couple of minutes. Then, turn the heat down and gently cook the onions until caramelised. Remove the pan from the cooker and put the bacon slices back into the pan. With the pan away from the cooker (in order to avoid the bacon to overcooking), stir everything together and set aside.

When the spaghetti is ready, put the saucepan containing the bacon and the onion back on the cooker (low heat) and meanwhile drain the spaghetti (remember to leave the spaghetti a little wet). Be quick draining the spaghetti because they shouldn’t cool down. Put the drained spaghetti back into the large pan you used to boil it, which is still hot, and quickly add the bacon and onions. Stir quickly for 10 seconds and move on to the next stage.

Quickly add the egg mixture. Stir everything together for 20 seconds. The heat of the spaghetti and the heat of the pan is enough to cook the egg mixture. Do not carry out this procedure on the cooker otherwise, you will dry the spaghetti too much (I do not think you want to reach this stage to have spaghetti and scrambled eggs!). The final result should be a creamy sauce coating the spaghetti.
Serve immediately and feel free to season with more pepper if you like, or sprinkle with some of the remaining Pecorino cheese, if you have any left. You can also try garnishing the plate with some parsley (flat leaf – torn by hand), but not too much.

(source: http://www.italyum.com/italian-recipes/pasta-recipes/spaghetti-carbonara.html)

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Italian recipes: Rolled pepper delights

Friday, June 12th, 2009

Make your aperitivo more than good, but delicious! This recipe is good also ad appetizer, before a light meal. Here you are the “Rolled bell pepper delights”!

INGREDIENTS

  • 6 red or yellow bell peppers (or a mix), cut into 1 inch wide strips (along the longest length, in order to have long strips)
  • 1 lb. ground meat
  • ¼ lb. mortadella
  • ¼ lb. cooked ham
  • ½ cup bread crumbs
  • 1 egg
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • toothpicks
  • extra-virgin olive oil
  1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).To make cutting the bell peppers into strips easier, you can first soften them by placing 2-3 at a time inside a small plastic bag and heating them up in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. The vapor that forms makes them soft and easier to cut and clean.
  2. Prepare the meat filling by processing the mortadella and ham in a mixer or blender. Add to the ground meat in large bowl, then add the bread crumbs and egg. Mix well. Add salt and pepper.
  3. Take some meat and spread it on the bell pepper strips with the back of a spoon. Take one end of the strip and roll up onto itself until you have a small roll. Fasten closed with one or two toothpicks.
  4. Pour enough olive oil into a long tray to cover bottom. Place the rolled up bell peppers flat on one layer, close to each other (you should see the meat filling from the top and rolled up peppers). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until tops of rolls are slightly browned. Remove and let cool 10 minutes before serving. Also tasty served slightly warm. (source: tuscan recipes)

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