Rave: Italian Recipes

[Zenguy]

Italian is one of my favorite types of food, garlic, basil, tomatoes…mmm.

This is the best lasagna recipe I have EVER had. It is a little time consuming, but worth every second. Two friends made it one day and at the entire thing!

From Epicurious

For red pepper tomato sauce

1 pound hot and/or sweet Italian sausage, removed from casings

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound white mushrooms, sliced

2 cups finely chopped onion

3 large garlic cloves, minced

3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled

a pinch dried hot pepper flakes

4 red bell peppers, sliced thin

2 pounds plum tomatoes, chopped

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, or to taste

For wild mushroom mixture

1 1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms*

1 1/2 cups hot water

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups milk

freshly grated nutmeg to taste

six 7-inch squares instant (no-boil) lasagne*

2 cups coarsely grated mozzarella cheese (about 8 ounces)

2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 6 ounces)

*available at specialty foods shops and many supermarkets

Make red pepper tomato sauce:

In a heavy skillet measuring at least 12 inches across the top cook sausage over moderate heat, stirring and breaking it up, until cooked through and transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet and add 1 tablespoon oil, white mushrooms, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook white mushrooms over moderate heat, stirring, until all liquid given off is evaporated and add to sausage. Add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet and cook onion with garlic, rosemary, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste until softened. Stir in bell peppers and tomatoes and cook, covered, over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until peppers are very soft, about 20 minutes. In a blender or food processor purée tomato pepper mixture in batches, transferring to a large saucepan as puréed, and stir in vinegar. Add sausage mixture to sauce and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°F. and oil a 13- by 9-inch baking dish.

Make wild mushroom mixture:

In a small bowl soak porcini in the hot water 30 minutes and drain liquid through a sieve lined with a rinsed and squeezed paper towel into a measuring cup. reserve 1/2 cup soaking liquid and chop porcini fine. In a heavy saucepan melt butter over moderately low heat. Add flour and cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add milk and reserved soaking liquid in a stream, whisking, and bring to a boil, whisking. Stir in porcini, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste and simmer over low heat, whisking occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl of cold water soak lasagne squares until softened, about 15 minutes. Drain squares and pat dry between paper towels. In a small bowl toss together mozzarella and Parmesan. Spread enough red pepper tomato sauce in prepared dish to coat bottom. Over sauce in dish layer in this order: 2 lasagne sheets (cut to fit in one layer), a third wild mushroom mixture, a third cheese, and a third remaining red pepper tomato sauce. Repeat twice, reversing order of red pepper tomato sauce and cheese at end of last round of layering so that cheese is on top.

Bake lasagne in middle of oven 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden, and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

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[JanS]

Yummmmm, Zen. I’m gonna like this thread. Here’s another that sounds daunting, but really isn’t. Warning, though, it’s a bit pricey to make, but it’s huge, and really does feed 8 people well. I’ve made it a few times, and will make a few smaller meatloaves next time, I think. There’s a history with this, and you’ll find that you can actually go to Pioneer Square to Batali’s deli to get it, but it makes your home smell sooooo good when it’s baking.:

Armandino Batali of Salumi in Seattle, writes: “My son, Mario Batali, may be the most recognizable foodie in the family, but the Batalis’ interest in Italian cooking and culture goes back generations. My grandfather opened Seattle’s first Italian-food import store in 1903. It was located just a few steps from where my restaurant, Salumi, is now, and it’s one of the things that inspired me to get into the business.

“The idea behind Salumi was to create a restaurant, deli, and meat factory in one place, just like the salumerias in Italy. We’re known for homemade sausages and salami, but we also attract a large lunchtime crowd. Some of the specials, like the meat loaf and frittata, have been in our family for years. They’re also easy to make at home.”

This Italian-inspired version is filled with sausage, mozzarella cheese, and basil.

Servings: Makes 8 servings.

Ingredients:

2 pounds lean ground beef (15 percent fat)

1 pound coarsely grated whole-milk mozzarella cheese

1 pound sweet Italian sausages, casings removed, meat crumbled

2 cups chopped fresh basil

2 cups fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless French bread

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup tomato sauce, divided

3 large eggs, beaten to blend

1/2 cup dry red wine

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine first 11 ingredients in large bowl. Gently mix in 1/2 cup tomato sauce, eggs, and wine. Place meat mixture on large rimmed baking sheet and shape into 16×4-inch loaf. Brush with remaining 1/2 cup tomato sauce. Bake meat loaf until cooked through and thermometer inserted into center registers between 160°F and 170°F, about 1 hour 15 minutes.

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[Zenguy]

Now I am going to have to go to Salumi’s tomorrow for lunch.

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[JanS]

Zenguy….when you get back from Hawaii, we should have an Italian get together/feed – lol…maybe we can get someone to make antipasti, and Tiramisu…and, of course, some good Italian red wine…Valpolicella, anyone?

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[JanS]

you won’t regret going to Salumi’s…have some for me :)

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[Zenguy]

That would be cool, I do am mean roasted pepper, tomato, fresh mozarella and basil appetizer too.

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[mellaw6565]

JanS – yum on the recipe! My mother’s maiden name is Marranzano and I can remember as a very young child watching my grandmother and great grandmother hand-rolling out pasta and hanging it all over the dining room. It was like confetti all over the place – at least from a young child’s perspective.

My favorite is my Mom’s meat sauce every other Sunday – she would start making it early in the morning and the smell would get you out of bed for bread and sauce as breakfast:) I still can’t recreate it like she does, but I do make a fabulous stuffed shells in fire-roasted garlic tomato sauce (totally vegetarian). Add spinach and mushrooms for a twist and it really kicks!

Zen – love everything about the first recipe except the no-boil lasagne noodles – they never seem to come out evenly cooked. And see my paragraph number 1 – I’m spoiled from years of the real thing:)

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[Zenguy]

Ya, I did not use the no boil either. Stuffed shells…mmm. A friend with the last name of Copolla makes the best shells. We might have to have a taste off.

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[JanS]

hehehe…and come up with some vegetarian recipes for the faction that eats no meat :) We can’t exclude them.

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[mellaw6565]

I’m game:) I can hear my grandmother now if I didn’t take it on: “Whatsa matta u?”

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[JenV]

I have been making spaghetti sauce with Morningstar Farms meatless crumbles for years now. The BF did not even know the difference the first time I made it – he thought it was ground turkey. Very yummy. I would love the idea of an Italian potluck sometime soon.

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[cjboffoli]

My great-grandmother’s recipe for meat sauce (which she called gravy) is too much of a family treasure to post here. But I will tell you that the secret to a transcendent spaghetti sauce has to do with two ingredients: pork and time.

Add a couple of pork chops (pan seared, on the bone) to the sauce while it cooks and let it cook a very long time. You can make a “short” sauce in a few hours that will taste OK. But if you start a sauce at night, say around 8pm, and let it simmer on the stove or in a crock pot all night it will cook down and concentrate into one of the most delicious, mouth-watering sauces you will ever taste. Deep red and flavorful. Nothing like that ridiculous, over-sugared junk they sell in jars at the supermarket. Just remember to take out the bones which have fallen off the velvety, tender porn chunks.

Here is the recipe that my great-grandmother (Maria Concetta Angolano Boffoli) used to make her meatballs:

One pound ground beef

One pound ground pork

One pound ground veal

1/2 cup yellow onion, minced

1/2 cup italian parsley, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2/3 cup breadcrumbs

4 eggs

2/3 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese, grated

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

extra virgin olive oil (for frying and forming balls)

Combine onion, parsley, garlic and stock and puree (in a blender or food processor). In a large bowl combine the meat, breadcrumbs, egg, cheese, red and black pepper, salt and the puree mixture. Oil hands lightly and mix with hands until everything is uniform. Do not overmix. Form into balls. Fry the meatballs in batches in a frying pan with the olive oil until browned. Then allow to finish cooking in spaghetti sauce for at least an hour.

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[mellaw6565]

CJ – because of my heritage, I’m always amazed at people that make sauce in an hour or so. It just doesn’t come out the way it’s supposed to unless it simmers for hours.

My ex used to make microwave sauce – yuk!! No wonder she’s my ex.

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[mellaw6565]

Also, the key to good meatballs is not to pack them hard when forming them – it makes the meat tough!

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[cjboffoli]

mellaw6565: Exactly. It is all about concentrating the flavors. I always try to shoot for 13-16 hours. That gives it plenty of time for the chemistry to work its magic and let the acids in the tomatoes render to the surface.

The meatball recipe I’ve posted above tends to be a bit loose so I’m inclined to form them a little tighter so they don’t fall apart when you’re browning them in the pan. They’re going to be in the sauce for a long time so there is no worry about them being tough. Every meat in that sauce is going to come out fork-tender.

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[katydid]

Hey, CF, the only thing I would add to your sauce which I am sure is delicious – is chicken. Had a Norwegian friend, a good cook, who made pretty much the same recipe but added chicken. It would simmer all day and I could hardly wait to taste it. Just looked at the recipe again. Do you suppose the veal in yours is a substitute for the chicken my friend used?

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[squareeyes]

Just back from San Diego and ate at a fabulous restaurant in Little Italy at a place called Trattoria Fantastico. This was a real Italian-style dining experience that took nearly three hours, a ritual I loved in Italy (without the table fee). I had a dish I’d never heard of before called Imbottiti. Per the menu it’s thin slices of eggplant wrapped around pasta with mozzarella and ricotta cheeses, topped with fresh tomatoes. I did a websearch on the word to find that it’s supposed to be an Italian stuffed pepper so what I had wasn’t necessarily authentic, but it was full-flavored and delicious. Looking at the recipes I found online it seems as if the only omission by the restaurant was the peppers. I’m going to have to try this a couple of times to see if I can recreate it.

Also, my San Diego brother-in-law is Italian and he has two sauces, a quick sauce that takes an hour or two and then his special all-day sauce. This trip I didn’t get any sauce, but he did make scampi using prawns he picked up at the gulf coast in Mexico. Shrimp has never tasted so good. Color me spoiled when I visit the relatives!

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