Tag Archives: Recipes

Pan di Spagna

Pan di Spagna is a baked dry cake. After it cools it is soaked in liquor or pineapple juice. Very versatile and used in many European recipes.

A Simple Fat Free Cake often used as a common dessert in Italian Cooking that   will surprise your palate.  Serve with Strawberries. Or add may add 1/2 cup fruit or chopped nuts  (almonds) to batter just before pouring into baking dish.

 

 

 

Serves 12
Pre-heat oven to 350F or 180C. Bake time 15 minutes.

The recipe can be halved to make the Zucotto Cuppula done in a 9″ round pan, or the full recipe if preparing a 9″x11″ pan

Lightly grease cake pan with butter or use a non stick pan.

  • 4 Eggs
  • 3/4 cup or 150 grams Sugar
  • 3/4 cup or 125 grams Flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp Baking Powder
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil (optional to add moisture. If preparing the Zucotto Cuppula this step can be eliminated)
  • 3/4 cup (choose one): Pineapple Juice, or Maraschino, or Sweet Marsala (To be poured over baked and cooled cake)

In a mixing bowl break open eggs and discard egg shells. With a whisk, beat egg yolk and whites for 1 minute. Add sugar and combine ingredients. Add: flour, salt, baking powder continue to combine ingredients with a whisk until all ingredients are well combined, about 90 seconds. (If desired moisture is preferred, choose to add one of the following ingredients at 1/2 cup: vegetable oil, apple sauce, yogurt)
Pour cake batter into cake pan and place into oven. Allow to bake for 25 minutes on 350F or 180C

After cake is cooled add moisture to cake by evenly pouring 3/4 cup of  Maraschino, Sweet Marsala (semi secco or dolce).  Favorite juice may be substituted.

Top off with Strawberry fruit.
1 quart Strawberries
1/2 tsp Lemon Zest
1/2 cup Marsala (optional)
1/4 cup sugar (optional)
Mint Leaves for decoration
Hull strawberry leaves from strawberries and cut into 1/4 or 1/2 slices. Place into a colander and wash thoroughly. Drain well. Place strawberries into a bowl and add lemon zest, Marsala and sugar. Combine all ingredients with a spoon and allow set aside for 20 minutes to allow flavors to combine. Assemble cake slices onto a dish and place strawberries on top. Present dessert with mint leaves on the side of cake.

Cherry Tomato Sauce (Pomodorini)

Fresh Cherry Tomato Sauce! DELICIOUS!!!

1/3 cup Olive Oil
1 Garlic Clove peeled
2 pound Cherry Tomatoes washed and halved
1 Pat of Butter (1 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked pepper (of choice)
1 garlic clove minced
1 teaspoon oregano

Over Medium heat, bring oil and garlic to a warmed temperature, about 3 minutes and garlic will become beige. Add tomatoes, butter and salt. Cover and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add pepper, minced garlic and oregano. Cover and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Serve over favorite cooked pasta.

Gnocchi

5 potato’s peeled boiled and quartered.
1/2 cup Semola Flour
1/2 tsp salt

Mash potato’s by using a food processor or food mill. Add Semola  Flour and salt in order to form a ball. Quarter potato ball. Take one cut quarter of potato mass and begin to rotate back and forth in between hands on lightly flour dusted cutting board or table so that a rope forms. Rope should be about 8-10 inches long and about 1/2 -3/4 inch wide. Cut rope into about 1 inch long pieces. With a fork gently press down on each gnocchi. Continue same process for the rest of the pasta mass.
In a large pan, bring water to a hard boil. Add 1 tablespoon salt. Add in gnocchi. When gnocchi floats to top they are done. About 2 minutes. With slotted spoon remove the gnocchi and place into individual dishes.
Best served with Simple Basil & Tomato Sauce and topped off with Parmesan Cheese.

Simple Basil & Tomato Sauce
1 medium onion
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
28 oz or 720 grams Tomato Sauce ( De Cecco or Fratelli)
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk
8 Basil leaves

Cime di Rapa (Broccoli Rapini)

Orecchiette with Cime di Rapa

Traditional dish from Puglia made with their trademark pasta Orecchiette (little ears)! Pasta combined with Rapa, associated with the Broccoli family.

Enjoy the Rapa vegetable tossed with olive oil, saute` onions, red pepper flake’s with a side of sausage drizzled with fresh lemon juice!

Broccoli Rapini is a cousin to Broccoli. Serve with pasta or by itself as a side vegetable.

INGREDIENTS

Bunch of Broccoli Rapini OR Broccoli cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup olive oil
Optional: (4 filets of anchovies (optional) May substitute 1 minced garlic clove)
1 small onion thinly sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cracked pepper
1/3 cup water

Thoroughly wash Rapa leaves. Cut off and discard bottom two inches of stems. With a knife or by hand cut or tear leaves into bite size portions.  Set aside.  Over medium heat in a frying pan, warm 1/2 cup olive oil with (optional,  4 anchovie filets and/)or sliced onion. Allow to saute` for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

saute` chopped onion in olive oil.

Add pasta to boiling water and 3 minutes later add all Broccoli Rapini leaves OR Broccoli to boiling pasta. Allow to boil for another 6 minutes. Using a colander drain pasta and vegetables, place back into large pan, add the oil and previously sautéed onions to pasta and broccoli rapini, stir well. Serve with parmesan on the side.
May be served as a vegetable and no pasta.

Southern Italian Lasagna

Delicious Italian Lasagna commonly served in Southern Italy. Buon Appetito!

Lasagna in an hour!

1 Carrot’s diced
1 Celery stalks diced
1/2 Onion diced
1/3 cup Olive Oil
1/2 pound ground meat
2 28 ounces tomato sauce (unseasoned)
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup water
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 cups Mozzarella Cheese (shredded) 250 g freshly cut Mozzarella
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese
1 box Barilla Lasagna

*Optional: Consider enhancing your Lasagna providing a slight creamy taste and reducing the tomato flavor.
Additional foods that will make your dining experience more tasty:
1 hard boiled egg. Peeled sliced and added into a layer of the lasagna.
6 slices. ham Place ham slices into lasagna and reduce salt granule’s by 1/2 tsp.
6-10 Basil Leaves or (1/2 tsp dried basil) Steps up the meaning of Party!

If adding in the egg slices for additional protein: On high heat, place a sauce pan with 2 cups of water and uncooked egg. Allow to boil for 15 minutes.

In a separate large pan combine vegetables, meat and oil and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, using a wooden spoon to break to pieces the ground beef and to combine with vegetables. Add wine and cover for 5 minutes. Reduce to medium-low heat.  Add sauce, milk, water and salt.  Placing a wooden spoon on top of pan, place lid so that is slightly tilted which will allow for water vapor to escape. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Add basil leaves. Turn off stove and remove from heat.

Pre-heat oven to 350 F or 180 C.

In a 9×11 cake size pan add to bottom of pan 3-4 large ladles of sauce. Add 4 pasta sheets distributed side by side in pan. Add 2-3 ladles of  sauce to cover pasta. Place on a layer of mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle on 1 tablespoon of parmesan (OPTIONAL: place egg slices all over sauce covered pasta.)
Add second layer of 4 pasta sheets distribute so they are side by side. Pour 2-3 ladles of  sauce to cover pasta. Place on a layer of 6 mozzarella slices. Sprinkle on 1 tablespoon of parmesan (OPTIONAL: evenly distribute ham slices)
Add third layer of 4 pasta sheets distributed side by side in pan. Pour 2-3 ladles of  sauce to cover pasta. Place on a layer of mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle on 1 tablespoon of parmesan.
Add fourth layer of 4 pasta sheets distributed side by side in pan. Pour 2-3 ladles of  sauce to cover pasta. Place on a layer of mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle on 2-3 tablespoons of parmesan.

SECRET TRICK to ensure perfect lasagna! Look at the constructed lasagna in the baking pan. The sauce on the side of the lasagna should stop and not elevate past the side of the third pasta layer. There is sauce on the fourth layer with cheese; you are looking for about 1/4 inch of space between the fluid which stops at the third layer and does not rise to the last layer. It will be “soupy” if the sauce on the side of the lasagna completely evens out with the fourth layer.

Place in oven and allow to bake covered with aluminum foil for 20 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and allow lasagna to cook uncovered for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to sit and cool down for 30 minutes before slicing and serving.