La Cucina Cortellesi - Recipes and Reflections

7/30/2019 La Cucina Cortellesi - Recipes and Reflections

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La Cucina CortellesiRecipes and Reflections


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INDEX

REFLECTIONS 8

PASTA & SAUCES 14Marinara Sauce & VariationsBasic Meat SauceBaccala w/ Pastasee Baccala/Salt CodBolognese SauceClam SauceEggplant/Sausage SauceFettucine w/Dried MushroomsPapardelle w/Chicken Liver RaguPapardelle & Bunny SaucePasta Agli OlioPasta CarbonaraPasta w/CauliflowerPasta CeciPasta w/Peas, Ham and Cream

Pasta PiselliPasta PutanescaPasta w/Shrimp & FennelPerciatelli AmatricianaPesto SaucePork Rib SauceRigatoni w/White Bolognese SauceTagliatelli w/Ricotta & Tomato SauceTuna SauceWhite and Red


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NON PASTAS 42

CannelloniCappelletti & VariationsCrespelleGnocchiManicottiNonnas Chicken RavioliPolentaalso see Polenta WedgesRicotta DumplingsGnudiRisottoRisotto w/AsparagusRisotto w/Dried MushroomsRisotto w/Fresh Mushrooms

SOUP 60

Basic Chicken SoupBean & Barley SoupCod SoupCucumber VichyssoiseLentil SoupMinestronePasta FagioliPotato & Leek SoupRassolnickSenegalese SoupVegetable Soup a la Chiusa

BIRDS 73

Chicken

Aunt Josephines Chicken Chicken Cacciatore Chicken Parmigiana Chicken w/Tuscan Aromas Roast Chicken Roast Chicken w/Fennel Sauted Chicken Livers w/mushrooms & Sage

Duck

Duck Legs & Carrots Roast Duck


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Small Birds

Grilled Quail Quail w/Artichokes Grilled Quail w/Olives & Polenta Roasted Cornish Game Hen

MEATS/BUNNIES, etc. 90

Bollito MistoBraised Lamb Shanks

Calfs Liver w/Pancetta, Scallions & SherryChiliGarlic-roasted Pork ShoulderNeopolitan Pork ChopsOsso BucoPigs Knuckle LyonnaiseSaltimbocca RomanaSausage & Broccoli RabeStuffed PeppersTripe, yes TRIPEVeal CutletsVeal & Peppers

RabbitPappardelle w/ Bunny Saucesee PastaRabbit a la JardineraRoast Rabbit w/Mustard sauceRabbit Le Petit Fontaine


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SWIMMERS111

Baccala/Salt CodBaccala in GuazzettoBaccala MantecatoBaccala Mantecato w/Pasta

Roses Baccala SaladBaccala on ToastCalamari LyonnaiseStuffed Calamari w/Peas & Sun Dried TomatoesBraised Squid/Tomatoes/Chiles & Swiss ChardBaked Cod w/Onions & PotatoesCod, Potato & Fennel CasseroleCod, Potato & Hard Boiled EggFritto Misto di PesceFrutta di MareHake & Bake

Shrimp & FennelShrimp Fra DiavoloShrimp in MarinadeBaked Rollatini of SoleSauted Filets of White FishSauted Filets w/Salsa VerdeSauted White Fish (Merluzzo)


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VEGETABLES 133

ArtichokesSauted Baby ArtichokesArtichokes Fried in BatterArtichokes w/curry SauceStuffed Artichokes

BeansWhite Beans w/Oil & SageWhite Beans w/Tuna FishEscarole & BeansFava Beans

Braised EndiveCelery Root Remoulade

Cipolline Onions & Balsamic VinegarSpanish Grilled OnionEggplant ParmigianaEggplant SandwichFennel w/Butter & Parmesan Cheese

PotatoesFingerling Potatoes w/Herring & VodkaFingerling Potatoes w/Sage & Rosemary in Duck FatGalette of PotatoGratin of Celery Root & PotatoesMashed Potatoes w/pancetta & scallions

Potatoes Anna

Pumpkin Flowers in BatterStuffed Pumpkin FlowersSlow Baked TomatoesSwiss Chard BruschettaSwiss Chard Patties


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MISCELLANEA 154

AioliBerro, Apio y CebollaBordelaise SauceChimichuri SauceGrilled Figs w/Goat CheeseFrittata & VariationsPintxosPissaladierePolenta WedgesTapenadeTomato SaladVinaigrette Sauce

DESSERTS 164

Blue Berry TortoniRicotta w/Black Olives

Castellaras - Fayence


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REFLECTIONSThis is not a cook book

Rather, it involves a bunch of recipes that we have enjoyed over the years, punctuated with sagecomments and sometimes relevant photographs. Some of the recipes are home made, others arehand-me-downs from grandmothers and great grandmothers, and still others come from all over theplace. The theme tends to be Mediterranean. A few will not initially appeal to the unimaginativepalate, but I am putting them down here lest they be forgotten. You can forget them later. Ah! thememories of childhood.

All of this assembled wisdom and cookery is directed to and for the possible use or disregard by theimmediate family (La Famiglia!). Other parties might not pick up on some of the references or oldworld comments. Outsiders who steal this information will be attacked in their dreams by rabidanchovies and relentless voracious squid.

In the future you might consider adapting all of thiswith photos and commentsfor your ownpurposes.

IN THE BEGINNING, there was SOFFRITTO

This is sometimes called Odori, or Mirepoix if you are in France

Once you grasp this fundamental concept you have conquered twenty five per cent of all themysteries of Mediterranean cuisine. It forms the basis for a great many dishes including soups, braisedand roasted meat or fish, pasta sauces, etc. It is even good on toast. Basically, vegetables andseasonings are cooked over low heat in some type of fat, such as oil, butter, lardons (unsmoked


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bacon), pancetta etc. The classic soffritto is chopped carrots, onions and celery sauted in olive oil,seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sometimes chopped peppers and seasonings suchas thyme, rosemary, etc. are added. It serves multiple purposes.

TomatoesThere is an area around Naples near Mt Vesuvius called San Marzano. For some reason soil, microclimate, etc. - the very best tomatoes come from this area. Hard to find, more expensive,

but quite superior. Always use them if you can. Just as with fresh tomatoes, it helps to cut off the topnear the stem to eliminate some bitterness. If practical, get rid of most of the seeds and a good bit ofthe watery liquid. It cuts down on the cooking time. If during the cooking process canned tomatoestaste a little bitter, add a sprinkle of sugar. Note: Cooking timeexcept for meat sauce - is normally30 or so minutes. Once the oil (fat) comes to the top it is about done.

Olive OilAlways use good extra virgin oil (EVO), one normal brand for cooking and at least onemore of higher personality (fruity) for drizzling on salads, sauces, toast, etc. Most recipes understatethe amount needed (the same is true of garlic). Remember, olive oil smokes at a lower temperaturethan vegetable oil, so there are timessuch as when making breaded veal cutletswhen vegetable oilor a mix of both is a better choice.

GarlicPoor garlic, so misunderstood. The trick is not to allow it to burn. In many cases, as it beginsto take on color it has already flavored its surroundings and can be removed. By the way, the rawtaste/aroma is totally different from the cooked state. For instance, baked un-peeled garlic cloves canbe spread on toast like butter. They are quite creamy and un-intimidating. A good rule is to use morethan a recipe calls for.

Onions - A cooked onion has no relation/comparison to raw ones.Generally, when sauting onions, they should be cooked for much longer periods 15 or 20 minutesor moreso that they caramelize. Shallots are onions with a college education and very good in mostplaces where onions are called for.

Pasta SaucesThere are twelve million ways, but always use quality products. Generally, it breaksdown between red and white, white being all those without the blessing of tomatoes (butter/cheese,pesto, vegetables, pancetta, mushrooms, garlic/parsley, etc.). For some reason there is a tendency toover-sauce pasta. Use less so that the particular pasta type has more room to express itself. Note:only people who wear white sweat socks to the office eat bread with spaghetti. It would be like havinga slice of bread with a baked potato. Dipping bread in sauce - now thats something else.

PastaIn this country we tend to forget that pasta dishes dont have to be relegated to the maincourse. Try small servings of various pastas as a first course (or a risotto) to kick things off. Also, wetend to overcook the stuff. Al Dente! Toujours Al Dente! Plan to adjust the type of sauce to the pastain question. Generally, wider thicker (papardelle, gnocchi) pastas or one with bumpy surfaces are

better served with thicker sauces. Thinner sauces work better with pastas that have holes in them(perciatelli, ziti). Fresh made pasta is so readily available these days that it isnt in vogue to make yourown. Nonetheless, home made pasta in its various forms is a knack easily learned. It is very satisfying.Gnocchi are the easiest. Keep in mind dry, boxed pasta is better for oil based sauces than fresh pastasince the fresh stuff readily absorbs the oil. Fresh and dry pastas are two different but equal worlds.Once in a while treat yourself to various high quality importedj (expensive) dry pastas. You will noticethe difference.


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CheeseParmigiano-Reggiano reigns! But, study the subject because of the diversity of choices: soft,hard, goat cheeses, ricotta, fontina, asiago, mozzarella, pecorino. Each has its applications. What isbetter than fresh tomatoes with mozzarella, basil and olive oil?


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Anchovies(Lat. Engraulis Encrasicholus) Get over it! Human beings seem to have strong andunnecessarily negative views of these little bad boys. It is definitely an acquired taste, but given theopportunity, most people come to realize that anchovies add a subtle dimension to many dishes. Thebest ones are those preserved in salt, they keep forever. In the simplest of cases anchovies aresplendid on roasted peppers along with parsley, extra virgin olive oil and s/p. Mixed with hot oil,garlic and parsley they are superb folded into slightly undercooked well drained spaghettini.

Salt CodSometimes known of as baccala. Misunderstood is an understatement. This has been astaple of high quality cuisine for a thousand years. Maybe even a year or two more. Once washed andsoaked in frequently changed cold water for about 36 hours salt cod has multiple applications littleconnection with fresh cod. The thicker sections are the best. Baccala is an important staple to theChristmas Eve fish fry. Brandade de Morue and its variations is famous worldwide, Embrace it! Inall of its dimensions! Those who excel in this subject have earned a Baccalaureate!

ParsleyIt has mysterious qualities and adds a lot, particularly, to pasta sauces. Always use the flatleaf type. The other stuff is purely decorative. Placed in a glass of water, and covered with plastic, inthe refrigerator, it will keep for a week. During the day, it makes for a pleasant bouquet on the kitchen

counter.

Hot Pepper FlakesOtherwise known as peperoncino. Used properly it adds a very pleasant level ofwarmth to many dishes. If the seeds from the whole dried peppers are removed, the amount of heatis lessened quite a bit. A bunch of dried red peperoncino tied at the base can be hung in the kitchento very good effect, and used as needed.

BasilFresh basil is always better than dried. It is very easy to keep a small potted basil plant andpluck off the leaves where required. Fresh leaves can be frozen by placing small amounts in plasticbags. Just drop the frozen pieces in any cooking tomato sauce. Try sprinkling cut up fresh basil onpasta prior to serving. Chopped basil and EVO blended together can be frozen in ice cube trays andused as needed.

Other HerbsOregano is probably the only herb that gets better when dried. Also, as with basil, itsa simple thing to grow small pots of herbssuch as sage, rosemary, thyme and savory. You savemoney and have a fresh attractive product. They can then be dried and mixed. Create your ownHerbs de Provence. After six months or so throw them out and start over.


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MushroomsJust as with having a bouquet of parsley in a glass of water on the kitchen counter,every cooking venue needs a package or two of dried porcini mushrooms. They have multipleapplications and provide a very different and richer quality than fresh ones.

SaltUnfortunately, more rather than less enhances taste. Many recipes encourage little additionsthroughout the cooking process. Actually, you need 3 salts for general use: 1) plain stuff (kosher) toadd to pasta cooking water, etc.; 2) A good quality sea saltSel de Merfor normal flavoring; 3) Ahigh personality oneFleur de Sel, Maldonfor final touches in salads or finished foods. When yourfriends see these displayed you will gain in stature. You will be respected. They may even lend youmoney.

ToastSliced French/Italian toasted breads make a very nice accompaniment to vegetable or meat

dishes. It also invites the addition of various spreads such as EVO, tapenade, aioli, chopped freshtomatoes and onions, etc. Sometimes this is called bruschetta . As an off beat breakfast touch, cut inhalf a clove of garlic and rub it gently on toast. Sprinkle on a little EVO. A nice wake up call.

Bread CrumbsDefinitely make your own. Use day old stuff or fresh. Cut off the edges, chop upcoarsely and put in a 250 degree oven for about a half hour. When fairly dry grind it up to a smallersize. The crumbs dont have to be tiny or even equal in size. No comparison to store bought.


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InfusionsNo pre-prandial cocktail should ignore the fulfilling qualities of dandelion or escarolejuice. Heated, and after a trying day, there is no finer restorative on a late winter afternoon.

Grand Canyon

Mise en PlaceFrench for setting everything up ahead of time. Have the necessary tools( pots, pans,knives, etc.) at hand, prepare some things in advance (slicing, peeling etc). The simpler things are the

easier the cooking task.

Warm PlatesStick them in a 200 degree oven for a few minutes before plating. It makes a worldof difference.

TidinessClean up as you go along. Less confusion and youll be happier at the end of the dayorthe next morning.

~ JPC, May 2013


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PASTA AND SAUCESThis rolling pin was presented to your great grandmother by her husband (Paul) whenshe arrived in Wheeling, West Virginia from Capo dAcqua, Marche (in the mountains)in December 1913. He had his priorities. It was retired sixty two years later. Your other

great grandmother and grandfather came about the same time from Geraci Marina,Calabria (by the sea).

Both were excellent cooks although I lean towards the Calabria versions when it comesto marinara and meat sauce.

The simplest, most basic and versatile red sauce of all is marinara. It was a quick fix forsailors (marinari) by adding crushed fresh tomatoes and basil to hot olive oil and garlic.Ten minutes.

Basic Marinara Sauce

1/4 cup EVO 2 or 3 cloves of garlic thickly sliced 4 cups of tomatoes - preferably San Marzano fresh basil - hand full (frozen basil also works) fresh flat leaf chopped parsley - hand full (optional) a few hot pepper flakes

Heat garlic in oil until golden (not dark) then add tomatoes which you have already (a) cut off anybad tips (b) cut lengthwise and squeezed out much of the seeds and watery liquid (c) chopped or

crushed by hand

Cook a few minutes with medium heat then add chopped basil - after a few minutes add in theparsley, and salt to taste

Continue simmering - 30/40 minutes or more - until sauce thickens. You can puree all or part tocreate a smoother sauce.

Alternatively, add a thinly sliced onion to the EVO - before the garlic - and simmer several minutesuntil caramelized, then proceed as above. Onion tends to sweeten the tomatoes.

Another excellent option: In EVO saut a diced Spanish onion, with a small shredded carrot and 4thinly sliced cloves of garlic. Season with fresh thyme/salt/pepper and cook until wilted. Then add inthe tomatoes, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes (Mario Batali).


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By the way, most people pour sauce over cooked pasta. It usually works out better to put the drainedpasta into the sauce and mix it up.

Sauce can be frozen for up to a few months in small containers for various future uses

There are never ending variations/additions, such as:

A)Vegetables - add cooked Swiss chard, broccoli, dandelion or zucchini to sauce and simmer. Or sautthickly sliced mushrooms in a little oil and salt then add to sauce (or while sauting them add in alittle Marsala sweet wine). Or add a cup of green or black olives + some capers to the cooked sauceand simmer.

B)Fish - (1) add 3 or 4 pieces of soaked(36 hrs) salt cod (baccala) to simmering tomato sauce and cookfor 30 minutes (until tender to the fork) along with some hot pepper flakes. Towards the end sprinklein some wrinkled black olives.

(2) add chunks of canned tuna fish to the simmering sauce along with a sprinkling of capers. By theway, there are multiple qualities of tuna. Once in a while treat yourself to the best.

(3) for the anchovy enthusiast put in rinsed anchovies with some wrinkled black olives

C)Fresh Plum Tomatoes, cooked - drop in boiling water a few minutes, cool then remove skins, seedsand squeeze out the watery liquid. Caramelize sliced onions in EVO (adding salt) then add slicedgarlic. After a minute or so put in the fresh crushed tomatoes and add a hand full of fresh choppedbasil.

From this point on the tomatoes can be cooked for any time desired since they are fresh. Twentyminutes will give more of a fresh tomato taste, simmering it longer will make it thicker and richer.

D)Fresh Plum Tomatoes - 2 lbs - drop in boiling water, as above, then chop the skinned/seededtomatoes and set aside. Force out some of the liquid.

Mash 3 garlic cloves into a paste adding salt, then scatter the mashed garlic over the tomatoes, addinga little more salt. Stir and put in a bunch of torn up large basil leaves.


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Add in a pinch of hot pepper flakes, then pour in 1/2 cup of EVO along with s/p, stirring well tocoat everything in the oil then cover and let marinate 1 or 2 hours at room temperature. By the way,this is great on toast or breaded veal cutlets (along with chopped red onion).

Cook the desired pasta, drain well and pour into the sauce - adding freshly grated cheese. Groundblack pepper.

E)CheeseCook any small pastascavatelli, elbows, penne, etc., drain quickly and stir in fresh ricotta.Add ground black pepper and sprinkle on grated parmesan. Nowhere is it written that you cant stickon a few leaves of fresh basil. Great option: leave out the ricotta and add a room temperature beatenegg and re-heat.

Pop Pop is 80!


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Basic Meat Sauce

3 cans of tomatoes - preferably San Marzano - crushed - with most seeds and water removed

1/2 cup of EVO, or a little more 2 medium onions, sliced thin 6 hot/sweet sausagesas you prefer 1 lamb shank 1 lb beef cubes

Note: Other meats can be added such as neck bones (highly recommended) of pork, lamb or veal.They tend to sweeten the sauce. Meat balls are an American creation but do add a dimension (seebelow).

chopped parsley - hand full fresh basil, torn up - hand full

1 cup of red wine ( or less ) salt as needed

Brown the meats in the oil and put aside in a bowl (later pour off most of the residue liquid in thebowl)

Saut the onions - slowly for several minutesin the oil, scraping the bottom to loosen anythingsticking from the meat

Add the tomatoes and the meats, stir well and raise the heat, add the wine

Bring to a boil then simmer, adding the parsley and later the basil

Depending on the amount of liquid, the sauce can cook 2 or 3 hours or much longer - the thicker youlike it, the longer - It should never be watery. Add a pinch of sugar if the sauce lacks sweetness.

Any pasta works, and it is great over polenta (on which I like to add sauted mushrooms)

Fresh grated cheese


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MEAT BALLSmix1 lb of ground beef or beef/pork with a beaten egg, chopped parsley, a cup ofgrated parmigiano cheese, a handful or so of fresh breadcrumbs (or just chopped up fresh bread) S/P.Add a few drops of water to keep the mixture moist. Roll the mixture into soft balls about the size ofa plum. Let sit in the fridge for 20 minutes and then brown them very well in olive oil. Put aside andadd to the meat sauce about 45 minutes before finished cooking.

There are multiple variations


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Bolognese Sauce

1 - SIMPLE RECIPE - not really 'Bolognese' but quick

Heat in a heavy sauce pan 2 medium, thinly sliced onions in 1/4 cup of EVO

When quite golden remove onions, leaving oil in pan

Mix together 1/2 lb each of well ground beef (15% fat) and pork (15% fat), add to pan with a littlesalt and brown well. Spoon off visible fat.

Add back the onions

Turn up heat and add 3 or 4 cups of crushed (cut up or squeezed by hand) tomatoes

Add some hot pepper flakes - if using a wholel hot dried pepper shake out the seeds and use only theskins

Add chopped flat leaf parsley and simmer 30 or 40 minutes

Serve with almost any pasta - perciatelli, penne, linguine, etc. - and grated cheese

2 - MORE COMPLEX VERSIONThere are multiple variations

2 oz pancetta, lean salt pork or guanciale(pig jowl)* 1/2 small carrot 1 small onion

1 small stalk of celery

The above should be finely chopped into almost a paste. A mortar is useful.

1/4 cup EVO 1 each chopped up chicken liver, gizzard, heart and neck - highly recommended, but not

necessary

1 lb mixture of well ground beef, veal and pork (15% fat content) 1/2 cup dry red or white wine - good quality 4 cups of San Marzano tomatoes or fresh plum tomatoes (peeled/seeded) 1 tbsp tomato paste & 1/2 cup water (or broth) Salt - added to chopped meats

*Claude used to have this (jijada) for dinner at Las Marias. Tita cooked it and mixed it with boiled riceand he was happy. It made his coat glisten.


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In a heavy pot saut the EVO with the pancetta/carrot/onion/celery until golden. Add the groundmeats and salt to the pot and brown thoroughly. Towards the end put in the chopped chickenliver/gizzard/heart/neck.

Stir up frequently with a wooden spoon (breaking up any lumps) until well browned

Add the wine and cook with medium heat until it more or less evaporates

Add salt and freshly ground black pepper

Add tomatoes, tomato paste and water - bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer about 2 hours

at this point you can strip the meat off the neck and toss out the bones

Remove cover and continue cooking another hour to reduce excess liquid

When done remove any excess visible fat

This is great with most pastas, gnocchi, polenta or lasagna

Grated parmesan or romano cheese


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Clam Sauce

1/4 cup EVO 3 or more cloves of garlic, sliced 1/2 cup of white wine hand full of chopped parsley 1 dozen (maybe a few more) little neck clams, scrubbed hot pepper flakes S/P

In a heavy iron skillet saut garlic in oil until golden, then add the wine and simmer briefly

Add the clams and cook covered (shaking occasionally) until they start to open

Add parsley and pepper flakes - salt to taste and simmer 2 or 3 minutes

Cook pasta (linguini, spaghettini, etc.) 'al dente', drain and pour into pan of clams

Note: You can create a Red Sauce by simmering crushed tomatoes in the oil/garlic for a few minutesbefore adding in the clams


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Eggplant/Sausage Sauce

Charlie and Colette cooked this for us at the Castle and we have made it ever since - it can all be donein 45 minutes

1 medium eggplant, sliced 3/4 inch thick 1 lb loose sausage meat - sweet and/or hot 1/4 cup EVO 1 medium onion, chopped- or 3 or 4 chopped shallots 2 cloves thinly sliced garlic 2 cups of crushed plum tomatoes, fresh or canned 1/2 cup of white or red wine 3 tbsp pine nuts, lightly toasted - just shake them around in a hot pan for a minute or so salt pinch of hot pepper flakes

La Bastide Saint-Antoine - Grasse

Salt both sides of the sliced eggplant and place in a bowl under heavy weight (frying pan, etc.) for 10-

15 minutes

Then pour off bitter liquid, wipe off salt and squeeze out excess moisture (If the eggplant is reallyfresh this step is not necessary)


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Cut into 1 inch cubes

Saut garlic/onion in EVO then add in eggplant pieces, stirring and adding salt to taste

Add in tomatoes and simmer until eggplant is done (maybe 20 minutes)

Meantime brown and cook sausage meat in 3 tbsp of EVO, add pinch of salt, turn up heat, add wineand let evaporate

Mix sausage into the pan of eggplant/tomatoes, stir well, add pepper flakes and sprinkle on pine nuts

Serve with grated cheese

Preferable pasta is penne rigati or rigatoni


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Fettuccine with Dried Porcini Mushrooms

The dried porcinis offer up a more penetrating, woodsy flavor than fresh mushrooms

1 1/2 oz dried porcini mushrooms 2 or 3 tbsp EVO 2 oz pancetta, diced (or chopped lardons) 1 minced shallot 1 cup of heavy cream freshly grated nutmeg 1/2 lb fresh fettuccine or tagliatelle grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese S/P Chopped parsely (optional)

Place the mushrooms in a bowl and cover with 2 cups of boiling water for at least 30 minutes

Drain well and set aside, straining the liquid into a measuring cup

Place the porcini on paper towels and press to remove moisture, then cut the large pieces in half

Combine the oil, pancetta, shallot along with s/p to taste in a large skillet and cook with moderateheat until the shallot is golden

Put in the mushrooms and cook, stirring, for 3 or 4 minutes

Add in the cream and nutmeg and cook for about 2 minutes, then put in the strained mushroomliquid and cook over a very low flame until the sauce has the consistency of heavy cream. Stir oftenfor 20 to 25 minutes.

Do not let the sauce become too thick to nicely coat the pasta


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Cook and drain the pasta then pour it into the sauce pan and, covered, let it sit for a minute or so

Immediately serve on warmed plates, adding the parsley and cheese

This makes a very nice first course on a snowy night, maybe followed by roasted chicken or little boyson sleds


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Papardelle with Chicken Liver Ragu

The wide noodles and thick sauce go very well tyogether

1 tbsp vegetable oil 3 or 4 tbsp pancetta, diced (prociutto will also be fine) 2 tbsp finely chopped shallot or onion 2 tbsp butter 1 garlic clove finely chopped 4 or 5 whole sage leaves 1/4 lb ground beef chuck 1/2 lb fresh chicken liverstrimmed and dried 1 tsp tomato paste, dissolved in 1/4 cup dry white vermouth S/P 1 1/4 lbs of papardelle

Saut the shallot,oil and butter over medium heat until opaque,then add in the garlic followed by thepancetta and sage. Stir well for a minute then put in the beef along with a good pinch of salt andpepper. Break up the beef and cook it until it has lost its raw look.

Add the cut up chicken livers, turn up the heat and cook them briefly until they too have lost theirraw look. Lower the heat slightly then add in the tomato paste/vermouth and cook for 6 or 8minutes. Correct for salt.

Cook the papardelle, drain and immediately pour into the sauce pan, stirring

Grated parmesan cheese - A big red wine


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Papardelle and Bunny Sauce

4 tbsp EVO 1 large chopped onion 1 large chopped carrot 2 medium chopped celery stalks 2 or 3 large sprigs of rosemary and sage a 2 3/4 lb rabbit cut into 10 or twelve pieces 1 cup of good dry white wine 1 small (14 oz) can of chopped tomatoes 1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms - well rinsed 4 or 5 cups of chicken stock 1/2 cup chopped basil

In a heavy large pot heat EVO then add onion, celery, carrot, sage and rosemary - saut until golden-+/- 10 minutes

Add rabbit pieces and cook until golden - 10 or 12 minutes

Add wine, reduce heat to simmer and cook until most liquid is gone - 20 minutes

Mix in the tomatoes with juices, and the mushrooms

Add most of the stock and all of the basil and simmer until rabbit is very tender - about 1 1/2 hours

Add more stock if necessary

Remove rabbit pieces and strip off the meat, returning meat to the sauce. Let sauce thicken - about 10minutes

You can also keep some of the rabbit in whole pieces and serve on the side with the rabbit sauce

Grated cheese and a nice glass of vino

For the squeamish you can substitute chicken thighs


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Pasta Agli Olio

With this you should use a thin pasta, cooked 'al dente' and well drained

5-6 oz EVO, or more to suit your taste 4 or 5 cloves of garlic thinly sliced pinch of hot pepper flakes chopped parsley - a hand full freshly grated cheese

Testing the Beaujolais Nouveau

Warm the oil then add the garlic and saut until golden, but not dark.

Add the pepper flakes and turn up the heat

Drain the cooked pasta very well and pour into the sauce - try to time the pasta so that it is donewhen the oil is hot enough to produce mild crackle

S/P to taste

Add grated cheese and sprinkles of parsley along with freshly ground black pepper

Variations:

- Add wrinkled black olives to the above

- Leaving out the cheese - never put cheese on fish - add chunks of canned drained tuna fish to thecooking sauce + some capers

- Add 6 or 7 anchovy fillets to the very hot sauce and stir in. Cheese is optional.


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Pasta Carbonara

The whole process is very fast

Bacon will give this dish a smokier flavor, but I prefer pancetta. If using bacon you may have to addsome EVO to the pan.

2 cloves of garlic, minced 1/4 lb pancetta well chopped 2 eggs, beatenroom temperature some chopped parsley grated parmesan cheese, at least a 1/2 cup freshly ground black pepper

The thick grounds of black pepper give this dish its name. The pepper looks like small bits of coal.

In a frying pan cook the pancetta until somewhat crisp, adding in the garlic along the way. Set aside.

Meanwhile cook in salted water about 3/4 lb of pasta of your choice

Mix the eggs, cheese and parsley together in a large bowl or pan

When the pasta is doneal dente of coursedrain it and immediately pour it into the egg mixtureand stir well so that the heat of the cooked pasta cooks the eggs. Mix in the pancetta. If there is anydoubt, quickly heat up the whole thing.

Add a good bit of the ground black pepper and additional cheese

Note: sometimes I include 2 kinds of grated cheese, using pecorino along with the parmesan

SPEAKING OF EGGSCook tubetti, or any small pasta, drain and quickly beat in a roomtemperature egg, letting the heat of the pasta cook it. Add cheese and ground pepper. The ultimatecomfort food.


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Pasta with Cauliflower

1 lb tubular pasta (ziti, etc) 1 large cauliflower cut into separate pieces 6-7 tbsp EVO 8 cloves of garlic, cut in large pieces 7 or 8 anchovies, rinsed A pinch of saffron 1 cup of breadcrumbsfresh if possible 1 cup grated cheese

Cook cauliflower until mostly done

Heat EVO, add garlic, brown, then add cauliflower pieces, stirring

Add anchovies and mix in saffron (after mixing it with a little pasta water-from the cooking ziti)

Cook pasta until half done, then pour into a oven dish

Mix in 1/2 of the cheese, then add the cauliflower mix, stir up

Put remaining cheese on top then sprinkle on the breadcrumbs

Cook 30 minutes in 350 degree oven

Pousada do Solar de RedeMesao Frio


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Pasta Ceci (Pasta and Chick Peas)

1 15 oz can, or dried chick peas soaked overnight and cooked in boiling water 3 tbsp EVO 2 cloves chopped garlic sprig of fresh rosemary 1 cup of chopped tomatoes (squeeze out seeds) hot pepper flakes - optional S/P 1/3 lb of broken up pasta, or elbow macaroni/ditalini etc

Puree 2/3's of the chick peas (or just mash up)

Add garlic and rosemary to heated EVO and after a minute or so add in the tomatoes. Simmer forabout 10 minutesor until the oil separates on top - then add in all the chick peas stirring well, over

medium heat.

Adjust for S/P

Cook the pasta 'al dente' and add to mixture along with a little of the pasta water

Grated cheese. Fresh or toasted Italian bread.

Variation - you can always add chopped capacollo, salt pork, prociutto or pancetta and saut untilgolden before putting in the tomatoes and peas

You can convert this dish into a soup by adding in hot beef broth before the pasta

Very nice along with sauted spinach or swiss chard

Red Wine, of course


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Pasta w/Peas, Ham and Cream

A rich, colorful and elegant dish

Because of the cream, this should be served promptly

2 lbs. of fresh peas or 1 good cup of frozen (naturally fresh are best) 1/2 stick of butter 1 medium size onion, chopped 3 or 4 slices of pancetta, cut into 1/2 inch pieces 1/2 lbs of boiled ham, cut into 1/4 inch pieces 1/2 cup of heavy cream Salt and fresh ground black pepper 1/3 cup of grated cheese

Instead of the pancetta, sweet capacollo is also great

Any pasta will do, but something short with holes in it is recommended (penne or small rigatoni)

If using fresh peas, cook them in a couple tbsp of butter and 1/4 cup of water, adding salt along theway. Cooking time depends on their freshness, maybe 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a skillet saut the onions in 2 tbsp of butter along with the pancetta until the onions arewell cooked and the pancetta takes on a good color. Then add in the cut up ham and cook anadditional 4-5 minutes.

Note: If using frozen peas, put all 4 tbsp of butter in the skillet then saut the onions/pancetta/hamas above then stir in the frozen peas and cook until tender

If using fresh, cooked peas add them into the completed onions/pancetta/ham, stir well and cookanother 4-5 minutes until done

Stir in the cream, correct for salt, grind in a good amount of the pepper and cook down the mixtureover high heat until it achieves a rather thick consistency

Immediately pour the drained, cooked pasta into the skillet, add grated cheese and mix well. Beforethe cheese, there is nothing wrong with adding in a dollop of butter.

Because of the richness of the dish, a good accompaniment would be a crisp green salad blessed with

balsamic vinegar dressing


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Pasta Piselli(Pasta and Peas)*

2 tbsp EVO 2 tbsp butter 1 large onion or a few shallots thinly sliced 2 cloves of garlic thinly sliced 1 10 oz pack of frozen peas - or fresh if available flat leaf parsley, chopped S/P hot pepper flakes - optional 1 lb small pasta shells

Heat butter and EVO, add onions and cook until quite soft, then add garlic and simmer until golden

Add peas and cook until tender, adding parsley later on

Under the fig tree

Season to taste and mix with pasta shells which have been cooked in salted boiling water

Grated cheese and freshly ground pepper

Variation - after cooking onion/garlic you can add chopped pieces of pancetta, capacollo or prociuttoand cook briefly

*Peas go well with many thingstry a pea omelet: cook sliced onions in butter/oil, add in the cookedpeas then the beaten eggs. S/P.


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Pasta Putanesca

One of the quickest of all sauces. Dont make this for your girl friend.

4 cups of fresh plum tomatoes or canned 1/4 cup EVO 1 tsp oregano pinch of dried hot pepper flakes hand full of black wrinkled or Nicoise olives 1/4 cup drained capers 4 cloves of sliced garlic 8 anchovy filets 1/2 cup of parsley salt

Drain tomatoes, cut open and squeeze out seeds and liquid. Chop up.

Add to heated EVO and bring to a boil

Add remaining ingredients one at a time, stirring and at high heat

Reduce heat and cook a few minutes until thickenedthe EVO will float to the top

Grated cheese

Linguine

Under the figless tree


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Pasta with Shrimp & Fennel

1 lb large shrimp, peeled 1/2 tsp salt 5 cloves of garlic, minced 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper 1/3 cup EVO 1/3 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped 1/4 cup unsalted butter 1/3 cup dry white wine 1 1/2 medium size fennel bulbs, sliced into 1/4 inch thick slices 1 1/2 cups fish stock or clam juice 6 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and diced 1 lb fusilli pasta 1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes

Slice shrimp lengthwise then in half, set aside

Combine garlic and butter in a large saut pan and set over medium heat, until garlic starts to color

Add fennel, tomatoes and pepper flakes - cook +/- 3 or 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until fennel issoft

Turn down heat to medium and add shrimp, s/p and parsley. Stir 1 minute then add wine, raisingheat to high until wine evaporates

Add clam juice and cook 1 more minute

Toss cooked fusilli on top and stir in the hot pepper


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Perciatelli Amatriciana

Amatrice is very close to Capo d'Acqua. Remember Angelina Cortellesi? We visited her in Marche,Capo dAcqua (1978). Later she - a maiden ladymoved to Amatrice. One day I will tell you of acurious thing she did.

4 tbsp EVO 1 small chili pepper or more, seeded About 1 cup of diced lean salt pork, guanciale(pig jowl), pancetta or even bacon 3 cups peeled plum tomatoes, crushed salt

Heat EVO in large frying pan and add the pepper and pancetta

Remove pepper if it starts to burn

When pancetta is translucent add the crushed tomatoes, lower heat and cook until reduced and darkerin color - 20 to 25 minutes. Optionally, before the pancetta, you can add a thinly sliced onion and

saut until translucent. I frequently throw in a few anchovies.

Add salt to taste

Grated cheese and black pepper

Good with all pastas but excellent with perciatelli or bucatini


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Pesto Sauce

The Genovese invented this ligurian mixture

3 tbsp roasted pine nuts - optional 2 packed cups of basil leaves 1 large garlic clove pinch of sea salt 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 3 tbsp grated pecorino cheese 1 1/4 cups of EVO

Put all ingredients except cheeses and oil in a food processor and make a paste

Since I am not crazy about pine nuts I usually leave them out

Add cheeses, drizzle in the olive oil and combine well

If you are serving this as a pasta dish the drained pasta should be a little moist

Note: there are multiple variations - the cheeses can vary, parsley can be added or substituted for thebasil, hot pepper flakes can be added when serving

By the way, Pesto makes an excellent accompaniment to broiled fish or meat.SCHMEER it on top.

If you are going to freeze the sauce, then leave out the cheeses and add them in when defrosted. Icecube trays are useful for this purpose.


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Pork Ribs Sauce

Jane found this one. OH! Sweet Mystery of Wife.

4 tbsp EVO 6 oz of water 2 lbs pork spareribs, cut into 2 or 3 inch pieces 1 tsp salt 1 medium onion, finely chopped 1/2 tsp pepper 2 cloves of minced garlic 1/4 tsp dried oregano 1 28 oz can of plum tomatoes, seeded and crushed 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1 6 oz can of tomato paste 1 1/2 tsp fennel seed

Heat oil in a casserole pot and brown the ribs

Add onion and garlic, saut until golden

Add tomatoes, raise heat and add remaining ingredients, stirring

Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 2 hours or until meat is falling off the bone, stir frequently

Good with all pasta, especially rigatoni

Great winter fare

Wonderfully messy


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Rigatoni w/White Bolognese Sauce

EVO, enough to cover the bottom of a large deep saut pan 1/2 sweet onion chopped 2 medium carrots finely chopped 1 stalk of celery finely chopped S/P 1 lb of mild Italian pork sausage, removed from casing 1 lb of non lean ground beef 1 1/2 cups of dry white wine 2 cups of hot beef bouillon 1 1/2 oz dried porcini mushrooms rehydrated in 2 cups of boiling water 1/2 cup of heavy cream 1 lb of Rigatoni 3/4 cup of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Bagnols en Foret, with Mel

Heat oil and add in the onions, carrots and celerysaut until almost tender. Add S/P and then thesausage/beef meats, breaking them up into small pieces. Brown well and then pour in the wine andsimmer rapidly until it mostly evaporatesadd in beef bouillon

Meanwhile coarsely chop the soaked mushrooms, add them and about a cup of the liquid to the sautpan once the wine evaporates. Adjust for salt and pepper. When the consistency is right, fold in thecream and remove from heat.

When the rigatoni are done, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain the rigatoni and pour them intothe sauce, adding some of the pasta water or mushroom water if the mix is too dry.

Cheese, along with fresh grated black pepper


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Tagliatelle with Ricotta and Tomato SauceThis is another La Chiusa recipe, excellent with fresh made pasta

2 1/4 lbs fresh or canned tomatoesremove most seeds and watery liquid 5 small carrots finely chopped 3 small celery sticks finely chopped 2 medium onions finely chopped 1 bunch of basil leaves shredded 10 oz EVO pinch of sugar S/P

Heat the oil and add the above ingredients, bring to a boil then simmer until sauce thickens aboutone hour

Cool slightly after cooking then pass thru a sieve twice

5 oz Ricotta4 tbsp of milkpinch of nutmeg freshly gratedS/P

In a bowl mash the ricotta with a fork and slowly add the milk, stirring vigorously for 2 minutes

Season with s/p and nutmeg

Cook and drain the pasta, then mix in as much sauce as desired

Transfer to warm plates and spoon the ricotta into the middle without letting it mix with thepasta/sauce. You can sprinkle on chopped parsley for effect.

Four Generations


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Tuna Sauce

For whatever reason, canned tuna is totally different (and better, to my way of thinking) from freshtuna. Always use the best quality, it makes a difference.

White

3-4 tbsp EVO 1 onion thinly sliced 2 garlic cloves thickly sliced hot pepper flakes 1 can of tuna, liquid squeezed out splash of white wine capers S/P

Cook onions in the EVO until translucent, then add in the garlic and pepper flakes (to taste). After aminute or so put in the tuna, mix well, raise heat and add in the wine. Lower heat, add s/p and capers.

Pour cooked drained pasta into the pan and mix well

Red

1 or 2 garlic cloves thickly sliced 5 - 6 tbsp EVO hot pepper flakes 1 can of tunaliquid squeezed out 2 cups fresh plum ( or cherry ) tomatoes fresh chopped parsley

Saut the garlic and pepper in the EVO. Remove garlic, add the tuna (liquid squeezed out), raise heat*and stir well. Add the chopped/broken up tomatoes. After bringing to a boil, lower heat and simmerfor 1520 minutes until the sauce is thickened. Parsley. Serve immediately.

Wrinkled black olives are an option as are capers

*at this point you can drizzle in a half cup of good white wine if you so desire


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NON PASTACannelloni

A rich, elegant first course

These are majestic relatives of Manicotti. The fillings and sauces are different, but the tubes (crepes)can be made the same way. See the Manicotti recipe. Spinach dough is a nice variation.

1 tbsp unsalted butter 8 oz. ground pork 8 oz. ground veal 3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano 1 tbsp all purpose flour 1 cup whole milk

1 large egg, beaten pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, or a little more salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 or 2 cups of basic tomato sauce 1 cup bchamel sauce*

In a large sauce pan heat 1 tbsp of butter until it foams. Brown the pork and veal, breaking it up intosmall pieces. Drain off any excess fat and add 1/2 cup of the cheese, the flour and milk and bringalmost to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Remove the mixture from the heat and when cool stir in the egg, nutmeg, s/p. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350

Once you have made the crepes (same as for manicotti), spoon about 3 tbsp of the filling on to thecrepe and gently roll into a cylinder. Repeat until using up all the meat mixture.

Spread half of the tomato sauce into a large baking dish and arrange the cannelloni, seam side downin a single layer. Top with the rest of the tomato sauce and then the bechamel. Sprinkle on theremaining 1/4 cup of cheese.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until everything is bubbling and the edges are brown

* Bchamel sauce: 5 tbsp butter, 4 tbsp flour, 3 cups of milk, 2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Heat the butter then slowly add in the flour stirring over medium heat for 6-7 minutes. Heat the milkto almost a boil and add to the butter/flour, 1 cup at a time. Wisk until smooth, bring to a boil,reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes.

Season with the salt and nutmeg


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Cappelletti

The quintessential first course to Bollito Misto. They are cooked in the broth of the assembled meats(see Bollito Misto). By the way, it is all semantics. These fillings can actually apply to cappelletti,agnolotti, tortelloni or ravioli. Just the size and shape differs. Some can be cooked in broth, others insalted water and sauced. These are all great in just chicken broth or sauce.

1/4 lb each of ground pork and veal 1/2 cup of diced chicken breast, or turkey 1/2 cup of diced mortadella 2 tbsp sweet butter 3/4 cups of grated Parmigiano 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten S/P 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg 1/2 tsp lemon zest - optional

The wrappers for the filling are easily made (see below). Not quite as good, but more convenient, arewonton wrappers which are found in many markets.

Cook the pork/veal in half of the butter until well browned

Cook the diced chicken in the remaining butter until pink/done

Put the pork/veal along with the mortadella thru a grinder, then add in the chicken and grind againuntil the mixture almost becomes a paste. Fold in the cheese/egg/salt, pepper/nutmeg.* Mix well anduse immediately or place in refrigerator

Once the cappelletti are made they can be kept a day in the refrigerator, or frozen. They are bestcooked right away.

If using wonton wrappers, place a rounded teaspoon of the mixture on the wonton, paint the edgeswith a beaten egg and fold over to form a triangle. Press the edges with the tines of a fork to seal well.Then, to make the cappelletti (little hats) fold the wonton opposite points together and press to seal.It makes a kind of dunce hat.

Cook them in boiling chicken, meat or best, bollito misto broth

*This same mixture can be used for cannelloni filling, just dont grind it up so much. i.e. not into a

paste


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Homemade wrappers are done as follows:

2 cups of flour, 2 beaten eggs, 3 tbsp water, 1/4 cup olive oil

Mix together the egg, water and oil then fold into a bowl containing the flourand slowly mix with a fork. As it comes together, use your hands to knead the dough. Transfer to a

floured board and continue to knead until it becomes a smooth, soft ball (maybe 5 minutes). Youshould be able to stretch it.

Wrap the ball of dough in plastic and let sit for 30 minutes at room temperature. Then cut off a pieceand roll it out until quite thin. Cut the rolled out dough into roughly 2 1/2 inch squares and fill aswith the wonton wrappers.

Try this Veal &Escarole filling as a variation

1/2 small head of chopped escarole 3 tbsp unsalted butter 4 oz ground veal 1/4 cup of grated parmesan 1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg 1 egg white 1 whole egg beaten S/P

Cook the escarole in boiling salted water until tendermaybe 1 minute


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Drain and squeeze out as much liquid as you can

Briefly brown the veal in a little butterset aside

Heat the butter over medium heat in a skillet, add in the escarole and cook for 34 minutes, then

transfer to a food processor along with the egg white, egg, veal, cheese, nutmeg and s/p

Pulse slightly and transfer to a covered bowl. This can be kept for several hours in the refrigerator.

When ready, place in the wrappers, etc. and cook in boiling broth

Grated cheese


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Crespelle

Serve these and you will be famous. People will talk.

These are crepes stacked up like pancakes8 highwith goodies in between. One can serve 2 or 4people as a first course. This recipe will make 8 or 9 crepes and the concept is the same as making

manicotti except that you will use milk instead of water in the mix.

Crepes

1/2 cup milk 1/3 cup flour 1 egg slightly beaten Pinch of salt 12 tbsp sweet butterfor the crepe pan

Mix together the milk, flour, egg and salt

Using an 8 inch pan make the crepes as with the manicotti recipe and set aside

Filling

Basic marinara sauce 1/2 tbsp sweet butter 1/2 cup shredded prociutto 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese 1/2 cup whole milk mozzarella, shredded

There are many variations for the fillingalmost whatever you like

Preheat oven to 400

Grease a 9 inch round cake pan (or something a little larger) with the butter

Place a crepe in the pan and coat very lightly with some sauce, then sprinkle on a little prociutto, thensome parmesan, then some mozzarella

Put another crepe on top and repeat as above until the stack is complete

Add a little sauce on top and then some parmesan

Place high up in the oven and bake 15 minutes


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Gnocchi

These are relatively unknown and superb when made correctly. They are a first or main course, orexcellent as accompaniment to any meats that have sauces. Eight or ten can be a first course. Thisrecipe - which can be done in under an hour - will produce 60 -70 gnocchi. They go very well with abutter/sage, marinara or meat sauce and cheese.

If not used immediately, they can be frozen (first on a flat tray then placed in ice cube trays)

1 1/2 lbs of baking or russet potatoes 3/4 tsp of salt 1 large egg, well beaten 1 1/2 to 2 cups of all purpose flour

The amount of flour will vary depending on the moisture content of the potatoes

Boil the potatoes in water to cover until tender, but not over cooked. When they are cool, peel off the

skins, put them through a ricer and spread out on a large baking tray or board.

Sprinkle with salt and let stand until cool and dry - about 15 - 20 minutes.

Pour the egg over the potatoes and then a cup of the flour, mixing it slowly together at first with afork and then with your floured hands. Add more flour as needed but keep the mixture light since toomuch flour will make for heavy and dry gnocchi. Dont knead it any more than necessary. A goodcriterion is to cut the mass in half and examine the texture. It should look like cookie dough with lots

of little holes - This can be mastered very quickly. Most of the Cortellesi grandchildren are experts.

When ready, cut a hand full piece out and on a slightly floured surface roll it slowly into a stickabout 1/2 - 3/4 inches thick

Then cut off 3/4 - 1 inch pieces and toss them lightly with flour. Repeat this with all the remainingdough. The result will be 60 + gnocchi.


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As each little piece is cut off, place it on a flat surface and, using a fork roll the gnocchi so that thetines of the fork make indentations. The gnocchi will be slightly curled. This helps it hold on to thesauce. Nonna used her thumb.

Cover with a clean towel and either cook in the next 5 - 10 minutes or freeze them. They can hold inthe ice box for a while.

Cooking: Drop them 6 or 7 at a time into salted boiling water and they will cook in 2 or 3 minutes - atwhich point they will come to the surface. Taste one to be sure, then remove with a slotted spoon andput them quickly into the sauce.


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Manicotti

No one could make these as well as Grandma, but we come close

This takes some work but will never be nearly as good in any restaurant. In fact they are rarely worthtrying outside the kitchen.

Crepes (pancakes)

1 cup of water 1 cup of flour 3 eggs beaten pinch of salt melted butter

Filling

1 lb ricotta 1/2 lb grated mozzarella 1/2 cup of grated cheese 2 eggs chopped parsley

Note: This will produce about 10 manicotti. To make 30, triple the crepe portion of this recipe, butonly double the filling.

Filling: Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl

Crepes: Mix together the ingredientsexcept the butter - until quite smooth

Use a 7 -8 inch non-stick frying pan - work in a little melted butter then heat until a drop of watersizzles

Using a small piece of paper towel or cheese cloth rub in additional butter then quickly pour in theequivalent of 4-5 tbsp of the crepe mix - just enough to cover most of the pan bottom very thinly

Quickly swirl the pan around to fill in the sides. When the top of the crepe shows some bubbles it isready to turn over. Pick up the edge and quickly turn over and cook for about 15 seconds. Lift outand place on wax paper to cool. There is a knack to this that is easily learned.

Repeat this with all the crepe mixture - even using 2 pans for speed. It is important to keep the

bottom of the pan well but lightly greased. There will be about 15 crepes. This whole process can bedone in under 30 minutes.

When all the crepes are ready, place a dollop of the mixture in the middle of the crepe then fold theends over so that it looks like a tube. Turn them over so that the seam is on the bottom.

Repeat until the crepes are used up

In an oven proof dish more or less 10" X 10" put in some marinara or meat sauce then fit in as manymanicotti as will easily fit. Cover with some additional sauce.


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Cover the dish and bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees

Serve with grated cheese and a good red - this is great as a first course (2 or 3 per person) or as thereal thing, along with a salad

Note: Extra crepes can be frozen for future use(a few weeks or so at least). Place wax paper betweeneach crepe and stack. They come to room temperature very quickly.

The 4 Campiti sistersFrances, Wilma, Olga and Teresa


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Nonnas Chicken RavioliLazy people buy them, real people make them

This is an excellent first or main course, served with marinara or meat sauce. It is also very goodserved at room temperature. Usually the ones bought in stores are small - these are much bigger sothat 2 or 3 can make up a serving. These will never be found in restaurants.

This recipe will make about eight

Lasagna dough cut into 45 inch squares can do

Home made dough is vastly preferable and not hard to make. See Lidias Family Table page 159 (2egg pasta) as an easy recipe.

Filling:2 cups of ground cooked chicken *and cooked spinach, roughly 2/3 chicken, 1/3 spinach

If you dont have a grinder, just chop it up as well as you can

*an older hen is preferable (fowl), it just has to be cooked a little longer (Paul may have one of thesestrolling around the yard)

2 tbsp of breadcrumbs 2 tbsp of grated cheese 1 tbsp of chopped basil 1/2tsp of grated nutmeg S/P 1 beaten egg

Mix together all ingredients, which should result in a moist but not watery mass

It is important to squeeze as much water as possible out of the spinach first

Taste the mixture for seasoning, there is a tendency to go easy on the nutmeg

Place a couple of table spoons of the mixture on the cut dough squares and dampen the edges witheither a little water or egg

Place the other square on top and seal the sides by gently pressing a fork along the edges in two

different directions. If not done properly the mixture can spill out while cooking, or the cookingwater can enter the ravioli.

Cook these, 3 or 4 at a time in boiling salted water, turning gently with a spatula once or twice so thatall sides are cooked - perhaps 3 or 4 minutes(If in doubt, just taste an edge of the dough).

Serve with sauce and grated cheese

Once made and cooked they can be frozen for short periods


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POLENTA

You people are definitely too lazy to do this, but.

Polenta has a wide variety of applications - main dish, first course, accompaniment to meats etc. Inmany ways it is an alternative to pasta. Cooked and cooled it can be cut into thick slices, fried in oil

and served with grated cheese. Or you can put cheese (mozzarella, munster, goat) on the slices andheat them under the broiler. Cut into pie shaped wedges it can be served as a side dish for any meatthat has gravy.

Generally, polenta works well with most thick pasta sauces, particularly meat and or mushroom

Obviously, the normal serving method is on plates. Your great grandmother (Nonna) had a moredelightful, rustic approach - which goes over very well with guests. Instead of dishing the polenta outon plates and adding the sauce, she would do the following: on the kitchen/dining room table place alarge clean square wooden board (one for making bead, home made pasta etc). With the applicablesauce ready at hand pour the cooked polenta out on to the board, creating a puddle about 1/2 inch

thick - it will quickly take on a form. Then ladle the sauce - it should be on the thick side - on to thepolenta and add grated cheese and fresh pepper. Then everyone sits around the table with a fork andcuts into the puddle, working towards the middle. No plates! Served with a big red wine, its a big hit.

2 cups of cornmeal 10 cups of water 3 tsp salt

Boil 5 cups of water over high heat

Mix the cornmeal into the other 5 cups of coldwater and stir rapidly to avoid lumps (the realenemy of polenta). When smooth, pour the mixtureinto the boiling water.

Add the salt and lower the heat to a good simmer,stirring constantly. Let it bubble slowly for 50 - 60minutes giving a lot of attention to stirring.

When done, ladle on to plates - or the board, asabove - and serve the applicable sauce on top with grated cheese and pepper


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RICOTTA DUMPLINGS - GNUDI

There are at least two ways to do this and they are off the wall great

Dumplings

12 oz of fresh ricotta 3/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper 2 large eggs 1/3 cup parmesan cheese plus more for sprinkling 3/4 cup of flour 2 tbsp of minced chives marinara sauce

Mix all of the above, except the marinara sauce, in a food processor. Heat a pot of boiling water and,

using a tablespoon, drop in golf ball sized blobs of the mixture.

Reduce heat to a simmer and let cook for about 10 minutes. It is probably best to do this in 2 batches.

Place the dumplings in a bowl of ice water. When cool, drain them and place in an oven proof dish,sprinkle with sauce and cheese and bake covered for 25 minutes at 400 degrees.

Same concept, but different

Gnudi

1 lb of fresh ricotta, drained 1 large egg 1 cup of dry spinach puree, from 20 ounces of spinach 1/4 cup of grated cheeseparmesan or grana padano 6 tbsp of fine bread crumbshome made is best 1/4 cup of flourfor rolling s/p

Blend together the eggs and ricotta then mix in the spinach, cheese, bread crumbs and s/p. Kneadlightly. When reasonably firm form golf ball size pieces and then roll each one in the flour. Dropthem one by one into boiling water for 2 or 3 minutes. They are done when they float to the top.

Spoon on butter and sage sauce plus grated parmesan

These are great as a first or main (lunch) course


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RISOTTO

A few comments

This is winter fare more than hot weather food, but great anytime. Inherently satisfying and afrequent substitute for pasta as a first course.

There are a few basic issues when doing risotto

Three kinds of rice can be used - Arborio, Carnaroli and Vialone Nano. Most people use Arborio.Read up on it. Never rinse the rice - it has to be dry.

When the rice is added to the pot is has to be stirred in very well so that all the kernels are coveredwith the EVO/butter

The cooking pot should be a wide, heavy skillet or deeper pot, but never copper or aluminum (therice will discolor)

A medium low flame and the slow incorporation of the hot broth are basic necessities

The best cheeses are of the parmesan variety - Parmigiano-Reggiano, Grana Padano, etc.

A wooden spoon is best for stirring

Once the basic mixture is put together - i.e. butter(oil), onion, rice , wine, broth - additional additivesare limited only by imagination - vegetables, mushrooms, meat, chicken, fish, sun dried tomatoes, oreven nothing but grated cheese, saffron and freshly ground black pepper

Clams make a great risotto: Steam open a dozen, save the juice. After blending in the butter/onionand rice, stir in the filtered juice. Substitute boiling water or more clam juice for the broth. Whenalmost done, add in the whole or chopped clams. Parsley. Grated cheese doesnt really fit in here.

By the way, no one thinks of serving rice in broth or soup (instead of pasta).

Either cook it separately, or in the broth. Add cheese and pepper. Great.


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Risotto with Asparagus

20 stalks of young asparagus - cut off and discard the bottom 1/3, then cut in half and addthe bottom parts to the hot stock for 30 minutes

6 - 8 cups of chicken broth 8 tbsp of butter 1 medium white onion, cut into 1/2 inch cubes 2 cups of raw rice 3/4 cup of good dry white wine 3/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese 2 fresh sage leaves (or 1/4 tsp of dried) freshly grated black pepper

Melt 6 tbsp of butter in the pot, add the onion and cook, stirring until transparent

Add in the rice, raise the heat a little and stir well

Pour in the wine and after it evaporates somewhat add in a cupful of stock, stirring and letting thestock be absorbed

Continue this process for about 10 - 12 minutes, until rice is half cooked

Add in the top third of the asparagus and carefully mix in, being careful not to break the asparagus

Resume adding more stock - slowly to keep the rice thick - until done, about 8 - 10 minutes

Shut off flame and add in the grated cheese, remaining butter, sage leaves and some black pepper

Mix in, cover the pot and let sit for one or two minutes

A Bouquet of Flours


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Risotto with Dried Mushrooms

This is done almost like the Fresh Mushroom recipe but actually has a distinctly different taste

The dried mushrooms - about one cup - have to be soaked in 2 cups of hot or boiling water for 1/2hour, then removed - save the liquid

The steps are about the same, except you have to add 4 fresh sage leaves to the butter/onions

Then add the rice, and the wine - now add in the mushrooms and a little of the soaking water beforeany of the stock, stir then start the ladling process, etc.

Stir in cheese before serving and let sit for a minute or so

Note: As one of many options, towards the end stir in small strips of boiled chicken


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RISOTTO with Fresh Mushrooms (Risotto al Funghi Freschi)

Porcinis would be great but they are not generally found in the U.S.

12 medium sized mushrooms, maybe even mixed varieties 8 cups of beef stock (or mixed meat stock, which you can make from uncooked leftover meat

pieces), or chicken stock 8 tbsp of butter 1 medium white onion, cut into 1/2 inch squares 2 cups of raw rice 3/4 cup of dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio 3/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese 2 tbsp of chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Bring stock to a boil and let simmer while preparing the mushrooms

Separate the stems from the mushrooms and add stems to the stock, slice the caps to your preferenceand set aside

Place 6 tbsp of the butter in the risotto pot and melt, then add in the onions and cook untiltransparent, stirring

Add the rice, raise the heat a little and stir well to make sure all rice is covered with the hot butter

When the rice shines, add in the wine, mixing well and let simmer until the alcohol evaporates

Ladle in a cup of the stock, stirring until it is absorbed, then again and again - slowly - until rice is half

done - 10 - 12 minutes

Add in the sliced mushrooms and continue to ladle in more stock, allowing rice to absorb it, untildone (al dente), 8 - 10 minutes more

Turn off the flame and add in the grated cheese, parsley and rest of the butter

Cover for a minute or two and serve with freshly ground black pepper


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SOUPBasic Chicken Soup

Next to Treasury Bills, chicken soup provides the greatest all around comfort to mankind

Whether a numbered Poulet de Bresse or just a 66 day old Perdue, it only changes things fromsuperb to not bad

You have Soup, you have Chicken and, strained, you have a resulting Broth given to multipleapplications

3 - 4 lb whole hen, rinsed - reserve the incidental extra parts(gizzard, neck, heart, liver, andfeet if you are lucky)

2 medium onions 4 medium carrots 3 stalks of celery 1 small can or 4-5 fresh plum tomatoes S/P

Place chicken in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook untilfroth rises, which should be spooned off.

Add the other fabulous chicken parts - gizzard etc.do not underestimate the value added of thesemorsels

Add onions, carrots, celery and crushed tomatoes

Cook over medium heat, partially covered, about 1 hour or until chicken is done

Correct for s/p

Variations:

Add cooked tubetini/pasta or rice along with grated cheese Add to almost finished broth chopped escarole and cook a few minutes

Note: Take a room temperature lightly beaten egg and stir it into very hot chicken broth! The heatwill cook it. Grated cheese and ground pepper.

Second note : In some hard to find places fresh chickens come with feet attached. Put this foot inyour mouthvery delicious.

Strain what is left over. It freezes well and can be used for risotto, etc.


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Bean & Barley Soup

9 oz of cooked white beans 4 oz of pearl barley, or orzo pasta, cooked in salted water 2 fresh or canned tomatoes, seeded and quartered 2 carrots thinly sliced 1 stalk of celery thinly sliced 1 onion thinly sliced 5 oz EVO S/P

In a soup pot saut the carrots, onions and celery in the EVO for 10-12 minutes

Add the beans + s/p and simmer another 20 minutes

Add tomatoes and simmer 10-12 minutes

Remove from heat and pass thru a sieve, adding boiling water as needed

Add in the cooked barley and heat through a few minutes


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Cod Soup

This is more like a loose risotto since it is rather thick

Big time winter fare! Do not fail to try this as a first or main course.

1/4 cup EVO 2 medium potatoes - diced 2 medium carrots - sliced thinly 1 lb cod fillets - preferably on the thick side - cut into 1 or 2 inch pieces - if you want to go

"uptown" red snapper is fine

2 cups of boiling water 1 tbsp white vinegar 1 quart (maybe a little more) of chicken or fish broth - preferably not from cubes 3/4 cup Arborio, etc. rice handful of parsley red pepper flakes S/P

Heat oil in a 6 quart pot, add the potatoes and saut 4-5 minutes

Add the carrots and cook until softened, 2-3 minutes

Add boiling water and the vinegar plus 1 1/2 tsp of salt

Simmer +/- 10 minutes until vegetables are tender

Add chicken broth then the rice and simmer about 15 minutes, stirring

Add the fish chunks and cook until ready - maybe 5 - 6 minutes

Remove from heat, add parsley, then red pepper flakes

Put in warm bowls and add grated cheese (one of the rare times you can put cheese on fish) and blackpepper


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Cucumber Vichyssoise

A quick and easy summertime delight

1/4 cup of sliced onion 2 cups of diced unpeeled cucumber 1/2 of finely diced potato 2 cups of chicken broth 2 sprigs of parsley 1/3 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper 1/4 tsp dry mustard 1 cup of light cream or half & half

Place the onion, potato and cucumber in a saucepan along with the broth, parsley and seasoning.Bring to a boil and then simmer until the potato is barely tendermaybe 10 minutes. Put the mixturethrough a blender and then chill thoroughly. When ready to serve stir in the cream.

LOasis- La Napoule


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Lentil Soup

1 cup of lentils 2 quarts cold water (or chicken broth can be mixed in) 1/2 cup EVO 2 medium onions finely chopped 2 cloves of garlic, minced 2 small stalks of celery, chopped 1 medium carrot, chopped small amount of chopped parsley 1 bay leaf 1 28 oz can of plum tomatoes, crushed up 2 ham hocks (preferably un-smoked) or 6 slices of pancetta (or lean bacon) chopped up 1 cup or more of pasta, such as ditalini or even broken up pasta s/p

Wash lentils then add to 2 quarts of water with some salt - bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer

Meanwhile heat oil in a heavy large skillet and add ham hocks (pancetta, etc), onions, celery, carrotand garlic

Cook a few minutes, until ham hocks are browned, then add parsley and 1 tsp of salt plus somefreshly ground pepper

Add the bay leaf and crushed tomatoes to the skillet, lower heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20/25minutes-stirring once in a while

Add all of the above to the pot of lentils and simmer for about one hour, or until the meat from thehocks is tender

The skin is probably not for the diet conscious, but absolutely delicious

The pasta can be cooked separately or added to the lentils/tomatoes and cooked until ready

The problem with cooking it in the lentils is that it has to be consumed at that time. Cooked pastasitting around in soup for a day or so becomes very uninteresting.

Grated cheese


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Minestrone Vegetable Soup

There are multiple variations depending on the season and availability

Battuto (paste)

Variation 1: 1 celery stalk 1 onion 1 carrot 2 slices of lean salt pork 1 sage leaf 3 tbsp EVO

Variation 2:

3 oz of pancetta or salt pork

1 tbsp fresh rosemary 1/4 cup of garlic cloves 3 tbsp EVO

Soup

2 1/2 quarts of hot water 2 or 3 tsp salt 2 celery stalks chopped 2 carrots chopped 3 potatoes diced 2 medium zucchini in 1/2 inch pieces 1/4 cabbage (Savoy) head chopped 1/4 head of escarole chopped 1/4 head curly endive chopped 1 cup of fresh spinach leaves 1/2 medium onion cut in slivers 3 peeled plum tomatoes, crushed 1 cup fresh or frozen peas 1/2 cup canned chick peas (or more) with liquid 1/2 cup canned beans - cannellini, kidney, etc (or more) with liquid

1 cup of rice or small pasta


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Battuto

Chop all ingredients into a paste ( battuto) and saut in the EVO until golden - in a large pot

To the pot add the hot water and salt - raise heat to boil and add in the celery, carrots and potatoes -cook 10 minutes

Add in the zucchini, cabbage, escarole, endive, spinach, onion, tomatoes, peas - stirring - and reduceheat - cook about 15 minutes

Optional: at this time you can add the rice or pasta if desired, or later cook it separately. Its morecontrollable done apart.

Then add in the chick peas and beans (crushing some of the beans to thicken the soup) - cookanother 15 minutes or so

When serving, you can pour it over a thick slice of toasted Italian brown bread and/or add grated

cheese

VARIATION1 lb of pork neck bones - rinse well in hot water and then add to the pot with the battuto and the 2

1/2 quarts of hot water, before putting in the vegetables

Simmer a few minutes, skimming off any residue, then continue as above


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Pasta Fagioli(Pasta & Beans)

winter fare that is great all year long

There are many interpretations and it is vastly underrated

2 or 3 slices of lean salt pork, pancetta, good bacon or capacollo 1 medium onion 1-2 garlic cloves 1 stalk of celery 3 or 4 tbsp EVO 3-4 peeled, seeded plum tomatoes - or 1 tbls of tomato paste 11 1/2 quarts of hot water 2 tsp salt 2 cups of cannellini or cranberry beans, preferably fresh - dried beans of course would have to

be soaked overnight in cold water. If using fresh beans you need 1 1/2 lbs. If using cannedbeans, a 20 oz can along with the liquid (in which case you need only 1 quart of water)

2 cups of small pasta, or broken leftover pieces of mixed pastas-these are called maltagliatipasta

grated cheeseThe salt pork, onion, garlic and celery should be chopped up and minced into almost a pasteamortar is best for this - then added to a large pot with the heated EVO. Flavor with salt.

Saut until golden then add the tomatoes and cook 4 - 5 minutes, stirring

Add the hot water, salt and beans, bring to a boil and cook until the fresh beans are done (or just heatfor 5 -10 minutes if using canned beans)

Before adding in the beans, mash at least 1/3 of them. This will add substance to the soup.

Add the pasta and continue cooking until done, adding more boiling water if needed (you can cookthe pasta separately if desired)

Note: The finished product should be on the thickish side, not very soupy

Grated cheese and hot pepper flakes if desired


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Potato & Leek Soup

A basic staple of every blue collar French family, particularly on a cold winters evening

The water in the recipe can be cut or substituted with chicken broth, which I feel is better. Stir in aspot of cream at the end, if you like. And black pepper.

2 quarts of boiling water salt 1 lb of potatoes, peeled and cubed 1 lb of leeks, tough green parts removed, cleaned and finely sliced 3 tbsp of unsalted butter

Add the potatoes and leeks to the salted boiling water (broth) and cook, covered, at a light boil

Cook until the potatoes begin to fall apart - 30 to 40 minutes - i.e. when they easily mash against theside of the pot. If desired, you can puree the whole thing. Add the butter at the moment of serving.


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Rassolnick

This is a variation of the Russian recipe which normally uses a beef kidney instead of chicken livers.Jane makes this for Anatole.

We stayed at La Locanda di San Ufficio, near Asti

3 tbsp barley 1 1l2 cups water 3/4 cup chopped onions 4 tbsp butter 1 boneless chicken breast cut into small pieces or 6 wing joints cut in half 1/2 lb chicken livers cut in halves 1 tbsp flour 1 cup of carrots, diced 1 cup of potatoes, diced 8 cups of chicken broth 2 dill pickles, diced S/P 1 cup of sour cream 1 bunch of fresh dill

Simmer barley in the water until soft - drain


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Saut the onion in the butter until limp, add the chicken and livers. Continue to saut over high heatuntil the livers begin to color, then stir in flour.

In a large pot combine the carrots and potatoes with the chicken broth and simmer until soft

Add in the barley and the chicken/onion mixture, bring to a boil then simmer 20 minutes

Add the pickles and s/p

To serve, put the sour cream into a tureen and stir in 1 cup of hot broth, then add the rest of thebroth

Sprinkle on the fresh dill

This is much better than it sounds


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Senegalese Soup

One of the great cold soups. Make it ahead of time. We sometimes serve this in cups as part of thehors doeuvres.

3 Granny Smith apples 2 tbsp unsalted butter 2 carrots chopped 2 cloves chopped garlic 1 lge white onion chopped 3 tbsp curry powder 2 tbsp flour 8 cups chicken broth 1 tbsp tomato puree 1/4 cup raisins 1/2 cup heavy cream chutney

Heat the butter and cook the apples, carrots, onions, raisins and garlic until softened (10 -12 minutes)

Add the curry powder and cook stirring I minute

Add flour and cook stirring 2 minutes

Stir in the hot broth and tomato puree and simmer covered 1 hour 20 minutes

Then stir in the cream and add a sprinkle of salt

Simmer uncovered 10 minutes

Let the mixture cool then puree

Serve cold with a dollop of chutney on top


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Vegetable Soup a la 'CHIUSA'

In April 2000 we stayed at the Albergo Fattoria La Chiusa in Montefellonico

10 oz white (cannellini) beans 5 oz carrots, thinly sliced 3-4 small celery stalks, thinly sliced 2 onions, thinly sliced 4 fresh or canned tomatoes, diced 10-12 leaves of Swiss chard, cut into long strips 1 white or Savoy cabbage, cut into strips ( remove the ribs ) 5 oz EVO boiling water or water cut with chicken broth - 4 or 5 cups 1 slice (per person) of toasted brown bread - optional

If using fresh beans, soak overnight in cold water, rinse and cook until done

In a sauce pan heat the oil and add the carrots, celery and onions - saut until slightly tender

Add tomatoes and cook 10 minutes

Add the beans along with some of the cooking liquid and s/p - let simmer for 25-30 minutes. Alongthe way, mash some of the beans with a fork.

Add cabbage, stir in and then add Swiss chard - let simmer for 45 minutes or so, adding water orbroth as needed from time to time

If including the toasted bread, place it in a warm soup dish and pour in the soup. Let sit for a minute.

Grated cheese can be added as can a drizzle of EVO


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BIRDS

Bert (without Linda)

CHICKEN

Grilled or roasted chicken, cornish hens, quailall go very well with certain sweet fruit such as figs orsemi-dried prunes. The same applies to rabbit.

Try this. Ruffle some feathers! Cook some bacon or diced pancetta until crisp. Set aside. Put slicedgarlic in same pan and cook until golden. Set aside. Split open a salted Cornish hen lengthwise (onepiece) and brown skin side down in the bacon/garlic fat. Put the hen in a roasting pan and scatter

over thyme and quartered fresh figs. Roast at 500 for 15-18 minutes, until done. Meanwhile, deglazethe bacon fat with a little lemon juice and pour it over the plated hen. Sprinkle on the broken up crispbacon and garlic.

Aunt Josephine's Chicken(Actually, Granddaddy's, or maybe even Nonna's-in any event Marchegiano)

A whole chicken cut into 8 parts is fine, but 6 separate pieces (or more) of legs and thighs are better.Consider chopping the legs/thigh bones in half since smaller pieces brown better.

4 tbsp EVO 3 large garlic cloves, sliced thinly 1 cup of good dry white wine 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary, or 1 or 2 tbsp of dried S/P Pinch of hot pepper flakes (optional)

In the heated EVO slightly brown the salted chicken parts on all sides, then add the garlic slices

After 1 minute, turn up heat and add the rosemary, stir to cover with the oil and add the wine


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After a minute turn heat to simmer- add pepper flakes - and cover, turning chicken from time to timeuntil done - about 40 minutes

Aunt Jo, Nonna and Aunt Vi

Variation:

Instead of white, use red wine or drizzle on red wine vinegar

Before adding wine/vinegar stir in a couple of hands full of whole or thickly slicedmushrooms. ORAbout 20 minutes before the chicken is done, put in some presoaked driedporcini mushrooms with a little of the soaking liquid.

Cook, uncovered from time to time, to reduce excess liquid - the resulting gravy is great withrice , small pasta or polenta


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Chicken Cacciatore(Chicken Hunter Style)

In its simplest form this is nothing more than well-browned chicken parts with tomatoes, herbs andpeppers, cooked up in a little wine and maybe some broth.

There are multiple variations

This one has a lot of moving parts but is well worth it

3 1/2 lb whole chicken, cut into 8 - 10 parts - alternatively (which I think is better) just legsand thighs

1 1/2 tsp coarse salt 1/3 cup EVO 6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed 8 fresh sage leaves 1 or 2 sprigs of rosemary 3/4 cup finely chopped shallots 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, cut into strips (they may have to be soaked in oil or hot water

first)

1 1/2 tsp of tomato paste 1 or more pickled hot cherry peppers, drained, seeded and quartered 1/4 tsp of hot pepper flakes 1 1/2 tbsp of red wine vinegar 3/4 cup of white wine 2 large red bell peppers, seeded and cut into one inch strips 1 to 2 cups of chicken or vegetable broth

Salt the chicken parts and brown in the oil - in a heavy casserole - over medium heat. Brown all atonce and don't turn until one side is well caramelized, then turn and continue another 5 minutes orso.

Drop the garlic cloves into and open spot in the pot and cook a minute or so, then scatter in the sageand rosemary

In another open spot add in the shallots, stir and add the sun dried tomato strips

Add the tomato paste in an open spot and toast for a few seconds

Now tumble the chicken around the pot to distribute the seasoning

Drop in the pickled pepper chunks and the red pepper flakes, adding some additional coarse salt

Turn heat to high and add the vinegar - after a minute or so add the wine and cook another minute athigh heat, stirring

Toss in the peppers and stir - reduce heat to medium, turning the pieces now and then


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Cook 5 or 6 minutes then ladle in 1 cup of the broth (this is probably all you will need), partially coverthe pot and cook 15 to 20 minutes

Place chicken/peppers etc. on a warm platter, scrape bottom of pan and strain the juices, which canbe spooned over the chicken

This can be served with pasta, gnocchi or just toasted Italian bread


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Chicken Parmigiana

Very good for company because they can be made mostly ahead of time

This works equally well with veal cutlets (pounded, of course)

Heat oven to 350

6 breasts of chicken cutlets (about 1/2 inches thick) S/P flour 2 eggs beaten fresh breadcrumbs basic marinara sauce thinly sliced mozzarella

One at a time salt the cutlets, dredge in the flour, dip in egg and then roll them in the crumbs. Setaside.

Ideally, they should sit in the refrigerator for 2030 minutes to allow the crumbs to adhere better

Heat 1/2 cup of EVO and vegetable oil until a drop of water jumps around then lay in a cutlet one ata time so that the oil doesnt lose its heat. After a couple of minutes turn them for another minute orso, until nicely browned.

Place the cooked cutlets on paper towels

When ready, put a little sauce on the bottom of an oven tolerant dish and put the cutlets in side byside. Cover with some additional sauce and top with scattered mozzarella pieces. Cover the dish andbake for about 25 minutes.

Optionally, you can sprinkle on parmesan cheese before the mozzarella, which is not a bad idea


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Chi

La Cucina Cortellesi - Recipes and Reflections

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