Tag Archives: Italian Recipes

Bruschetta

Fresh tomato's make this a great summer snack!

Bruschetta (bruu skay ttah), an ideal way to consume the delicious fresh tomato’s off the vine, paired with basil and olive oil!

Can be made on Grill, or in the oven under the  broiler.

 

 

 

  • Baguette 1/2 inched round slices
  • Tomatoes Roma or Cherry ( diced. Season to taste with salt and pepper)
  • 3 Garlic cloves (peeled)
  • 12 Basil leaves shredded
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

Place sliced bread rounds directly onto a warm fire on the grill and allow to evenly brown on both sides. Or, place sliced bread rounds onto a cookie sheet and evenly toast both sides under broiler (about 90 seconds per side).

Remove bread from grill or oven.

Take a whole peeled single garlic clove and rub it onto one side of each bread slice.

Arrange bread slices onto a platter and place one spoonful of freshly seasoned diced tomatoes onto each bread slice.

Generously drizzle EVOO over each tomato covered sliced bread

Top off each tomato sliced bread with generous amounts of shredded basil.

Get Creative and add roasted peppers, roasted eggplant or olives to your tomato’s or serve on separate

Tomato's combined with olives

toasted bread drizzled with olive oil.

Italian Seafood Pasta

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Italians enjoy their surf and turf!  This plate includes: Shrimp, Mussels, Clams, Crab and Lobster. Prep time 5 minutes. Cooking time:  15-20 minutes from stove to table!  This recipe maybe used exclusively for any single item of seafood of your choosing. (ex. Only clams or mussels (use 2 lb.’s) or shrimp (Use 1 -2 lb’s).  Don’t forget to choose a wine

Serves 6 people

  • 4 garlic cloves (minced and set aside. use half for initial sauté, remaining half is added at the end or recipe.)
  • 1/2 cup Olive Oil
  • 1/2 onion chopped
  • 4 Tbsp Parsley ( chopped and set aside)
  • 360 g of Barilla Pasta (Spaghetti or Fettuccine)
  • 1 Tbsp salt
  • 1/2 pound cherry tomatoes (optional)
  • 1/2 lb Clams
  • 1/2 pound Mussels
  • 3/4 cup cream (optional)
  • 1-1/2 cup wine. (0ptional)
  • 1 Lobster Tail (meat loosened and removed from shell)
  • 1/2 pound Shrimp (peeled) or Pre-Cooked Shrimp
  • 1 pound Crab Legs
  • 1 tsp Salt & Pepper to taste.

BEGIN

In one large pan start to boil water.

Place clams and mussels in a colander, wash and scrub shells with cold water.

Second large pan: Healt 1/2 cup Olive oil on Medium heat with two garlic cloves for 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add onions,  1/2 lb. Raw Shrimp, Mussels and Clams (and tomatoes optional).  Return pan to medium heat. FYI: Immediately cover dish to avoid hot oil splatter. Pour cream and wine onto fish. Cook together for 3 minutes.

At this time remove pasta from box and add Pasta ( Barilla Spaghetti or Fettuccine) to salted (1 tbsp salt) boiling water allow to boil for 8 minutes.

Place loosened lobster meat from the lobster tail, Pre-cooked Shrimp, Crab and 2 minced garlic cloves and parsley to the cooking mussels and clams. Allow to warm together for 2 minutes.  Add 1 tsp Salt and Pepper to taste.  Cover remove turn off heat. Add 2 ladles of pasta water to simmering seafood.

Drain water from pasta and Add Pasta to seafood carefully turning both, incorporating seafood and pasta together for about 2-3 minutes.  Drizzle fresh oil on seafood and pasta garnish with chopped parsley.

Buon Appettito!

By Kimberly Crocker

La Focaccia Italiana

Most requested Italian Recipe!  Dalla cucina italiana…Buon Appettito!!!    

Delicious Focaccia from Puglia!

FOCACCIA…

A thick airy crust that can be served warm or cold. Very simple to make and can be prepared by hand, or with a kitchen mixer by using the bread hook and setting the mixer on stir in 5 minutes. The dough rises only for 1 hour and is ready for toppings and to placed in the oven where it takes only 15 minutes to bake!


Ingredients needed: Flour, Sugar, Water, Milk, Boiled Potato, Salt, Olive Oil, Butter, Yeast.  Those in the states will likely use Dry/ Dry Active Yeast, while in Europe Fresh Yeast (beer yeast)  is more readily available. I using Fresh Yeast skip to part two.  

FYI:  Careful to not combine hot milk or salt directly to the yeast as they will kill the yeast and the dough will not rise. 

Part One  In a bowl combine together with a fork the following ingredients and allow the starter dough to sponge for 20 minutes.  

  • 1 package  dry yeast ( for 1 cube beer yeast se recipe below as yeast is mixed directly in to flour with no preparation)
  • 1/3 cup warm water  ( room temperature to 110 F or 43 C)
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 tsp sugar

The yeast mixture should have bubbled and increased in size.

Peel and boil 1 small potato, allow to cool.  Mash with a fork. The potato

Dough will rise to double it’s original slice and be supple to the touch

provides extra levitation to the dough and gives a nice crunch to the crust.  Potato to be added in Part Two.

Part Two

  • Yeast Starter or 1 cube fresh beer yeast crumbled,
  • 2 ¼ cup flour (500 grams)
  • 1 Potato, peeled, boiled, mashed (optional)
  • 1 c warm milk (110 F or 43 C) (or may substitute with water)
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in large bowl: Yeast, Flour, Potato, Milk, Salt  May use dough hook, kneading for 5 minutes, or knead by hand. Knead dough until texture of dough is supple and elastic, not sticky, for about 5 minutes. With a small amount of oil on your hands gently spread the oil onto dough ball, place into a large bowl and loosely cover bowl with plastic wrap, setting aside in a warm area to rise for 1 hours. 

 Part Three  Pre-Heat oven to 425 F

Generously grease cookie sheet with 1 tsp of butter.

Place risen dough onto cookie sheet and extend dough into any round or square form.

TOPPINGS

  1. Traditional Preparation: halved cherry tomatoes, inverted and gently pushed into extended dough.  Sprinkle on top of dough:   1/8 tsp oregano, 1 teaspoon Coarse Sea Salt, 1 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese, Drizzle ¼ cup Olive Oil.
  2. Try Focaccia with sliced onions spread over dough and gently pressed into dough with fingers. Add 1/8 tsp Oregano, 1/8 teaspoon Rosemary, 1 teaspoon Coarse Sea Salt, 1 Tablespoon Parmesan Cheese

Bake in preheated oven at 425 F  for 15 minutes. Before serving drizzle Extra Virgin Olive Oil over Focaccia for extra flavor.


By Kimberly Crocker

BUON APPETTITO!!!

Simple Spaghetti Basil & Tomato Sauce

Simple Spaghetti Basil & Tomato Sauce

1 medium onion

2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil  (EVOO)

28 oz tomato sauce

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup milk

10 Basil leaves

120 grams Spaghetti

In a large pan bring 1 quart of water to boil.

In a medium size pan, sauté onion in olive oil for 5 minutes on medium low.

Add tomato sauce, salt, milk (helps to reduce acidity of sauce which comes from the processed seeds.)

Allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Add basil leaves to sauce at end of simmering time.

 

Place Spaghetti in large pan of boiling water and allow to boil for time indicated. Drain water from spaghetti.

Serve Spaghetti with a 1/4 c of sauce

Add Parmesan cheese on top for a delicious bite of dinner!

 

 

Nutrition Facts  Cal 149  Cal from fat 125   Sodium 391mg  Carbohydrate 48g

Note: The fat in this recipe contains heart healthy alimentary fat made of  monosaturated fat (oleic acid) and polyphenols.

 

By:  Kimberly Crocker