Zook 'n Eggs - Zucchini and Eggs

Now here's something easy, satisfying and economical that you can have for breakfast, brunch or dinner and is a perfect meal to fix during Lent, just increase the ingredients for the number of people you are feeding. Plus, this makes a great sandwich on a sub roll with some sliced provolone and put under the broiler briefly to give the cheese a little brown.

I like using a large well seasoned cast iron skillet for this.

For two - 

two medium zucchini cut into disks and half moons
1/2 large sweet onion chopped
3 - 4 large eggs
1/4 cup half and half
A Pinch (don't overseason) of Herbes de Provence or Italian seasoning
Hot red pepper flakes to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

On medium heat, saute the onions and zucchini in a couple tablespoons of olive oil until soft and starting to caramelize, about 8-10 minutes.
Add salt and pepper to taste along with the herbes de Provence and red pepper flakes. Turn down the heat to medium low.

Whisk the eggs and half and half in a bowl and add to the zucchini and onions.

Stir easily until the eggs come together and set to your liking. 

Plate up and drizzle with a little olive oil and a sprinkling of grated cheese.

Serve with toast and a side of fresh fruit.

Rice and Beans Cooked in Coconut Milk with Fish

I was talking with a coworker the other day and somehow the conversation turned to food - chili peppers in particular, and how to best use them - we were both fans of controlled heat! She is from Jamaica and told me how she makes beans and rice. The key is cooking the rice in coconut milk. Ingredients included red beans, thyme, garlic, chili pepper and green onions. She also said she liked serving it with cod fish.

Lisa and I talked it over and decided to give it a try but with a few changes - using fresh field peas instead of red beans and tilapia instead of cod. It turned out great. I know you will love it.

For the rice and beans:

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 cup jasmine rice

1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 cup water

1 can coconut milk  (14 oz)

1 cup shelled field peas

1 teaspoons dried thyme

1 whole fresh chili pepper

Juice of 1 lime

Directions

Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté for 4-5 minutes, until they begin to brown on the edges.

Add the garlic and rice, stir well and cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring often.

Add the grated ginger, salt, water and coconut milk and stir well. Add the field peas and sprinkle the thyme over everything. 

Add the whole chile; it will season the rice much like a bay leaf would. Bring to a simmer, then turn the heat to low and cover.

The rice should be done in about 15-20 minutes, depending on the type of rice you are using (some long grained rice takes longer to cook). Check after 15 minutes. 

Once done, remove from heat and cover for 10 minutes. To serve, fluff with a fork. Sprinkle with a little lime juice. Discard the pepper (or eat it, if you dare!)

For the Fish:

4 Tilapia filets
Juice of one lemon
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Green onions sliced in rings

Cut the tilapia filets in half lengthwise and remove the red bloodline. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Saute and brown in a pan. Give them a squeeze of lemon juice.

Serve on top of the rice and beans and add the green onions 

Porchetta American Style

This is our take on Porchetta, a wonderfully savory, moist, fatty, tender boneless pork roast of Italian culinary origin. Traditionally the whole pig is dressed, deboned and arranged carefully with layers of stuffing, thin sliced cured meats and aromatic herbs and seasonings like garlic, fennel seeds, rosemary, sage and parsley then rolled, tied, put on a spit and roasted slowly over wood coals. It's a big deal.

Here is do-able version (no whole hog necessary) for the home cook here in America with a few practical changes to the traditional method. Using "skin on" fresh pork belly as a base instead of the whole hog still gives this porchetta the signature taste and super crisp outside skin. I got this belly from Publix. The butcher had to order it and it came in later that same week. A whole pork belly would run between $40 - $50 depending on the market. This is way too much meat unless you have a big family event you want to cook for. Publix was fine with cutting the belly it in half. This is the perfect size to feed a few friends and have left overs which make great sandwiches. If you do have it cut, have them cut it across, not lengthwise.

Ingredients

1 5-6-pound piece fresh pork belly, skin on

3 tablespoons fennel seeds

1 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

2 tablespoons minced fresh sage

1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons minced flat leaf parsley

10 or so garlic cloves, minced

Kosher salt
1 orange, seeded, thinly sliced

5 lb skin on fresh pork belly

Toast fennel seeds and red pepper flakes in a small skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Tip spices into a bowl and let cool. Add the peppercorns.

Coarsely grind spices in a spice mill or electric coffee bean grinder and transfer to a small bowl.

Chop the sage, rosemary, parsley and garlic.

Set belly skin side down on a cutting board. Using a knife, score the belly flesh in a checkerboard pattern 1/3" deep so roast will cook evenly.

Flip belly skin side up. Using a sharp pointed paring knife, poke dozens of 1/8"-deep holes through skin all over belly. Don't be gentle! Keep poking.

Turn belly and generously salt it and rub with the spice mixture, then the herbs and garlic, finally topping with the orange slices.

Roll belly up and tie with kitchen twine at several intervals.

Transfer roast to a cooking rack set in a rimmed baking sheet.

Refrigerate, uncovered, for 1-2 days to allow skin to air-dry; pat occasionally with paper towels.

Cooking:

On the day you are going to cook the roast, let the porchetta sit at room temperature for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 500°F. 

Season porchetta with salt. 

Roast on rack in a roasting pan seam side down for 30 minutes. 

Reduce heat to 300°F and continue roasting and turning porchetta occasionally, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of meat registers 145°F, 1 1/2-2 hours more. If skin is not yet deep brown and crisp, increase heat to 500°F and roast for 10 minutes more. But keep an eye on it so that it doesn't burn!

Let rest for 30 minutes. Using a serrated knife, slice into rounds.

Suggested sides - sauteed mustard greens or Swiss chard and roasted mixed russet and sweet potatoes

Pasta Fasoule

Pasta e Fagioli, or Pasta Fasoule in dialect or Pasta Fazool in Americanized Italian, all simply mean "pasta and beans", a humble but delicious peasant dish served in all parts of Italy. There are as many variations as there are Italian grandmothers. Some versions are soupy and some are relatively dry. The key ingredients, of course are beans and some type of pasta, typically small tube shapes that can trap and hold the beans and sauce well. The rest of the dish is where the flavor is built. It can be red with tomatoes or white without them. Other ingredients used in balance include onions, garlic, herbs, some kind of cured meat like pancetta or sausage and stock (chicken, veal or vegetable). Then served topped with grated hard cheese.

                                                                                                                           

This has become my favorite method. It may sound complicated, but it really isn’t – and it is worth the effort.

Ingredients -

Extra Virgin olive oil

Pancetta  - diced  -  use 2 pieces about ¼ inch thick  each

5 cloves of garlic  - minced

1 medium sweet onion  - chopped into small pieces

1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

1 tbsp fresh rosemary 

1/2 - 1 tsp oregano dried 

1 handful fresh basil torn or a spoonful of pesto - don't even think of using dry basil

1 tsp +/- hot red pepper flakes

abt 4 cups of chicken or vegetable stock

4 cans Cannellini beans

1 box Mezzi Rigatoni  - (short rigatoni) 

Pecorino cheese - to taste

I prefer a larger tube pasta like mezzi rigatoni rather than small ditalini. The mezzi rigatoni holds the sauce and stray beans inside much better.

Put about 1/3 cup of olive oil in a large cooking pot or Dutch oven and heat on medium

Add 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes - more or less to your taste

Add the pancetta: Cook in the oil until it starts to render, about 3 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook about 3 minutes

Add the onion and cook for about 5  minutes

Add rosemary and oregano 

Add the crushed tomatoes and a little chicken stock

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Drain and rinse the beans in a colander. Remove about half of them and add to the pot with the sauce.Turn the heat down and let all that simmer for about 15 minutes. With an immersion blender, puree the sauce.

Add the other half of the beans that were left whole along with 1 cup of chicken stock and stir together adding more chicken stock if it gets too thick. Simmer for another 15 minutes.

Add a handful of torn fresh basil.

Meanwhile, in rapidly boiling salted water cook the pasta al dente. Don’t cook the pasta in with the beans. When done, put some in each soup bowl and ladle over with the bean sauce – this way the rigatoni doesn’t get mushy by sitting in the sauce too long and is still firm for leftovers.

Drizzle with a little good extra virgin olive oil, some fresh chopped flat leaf parsley and grated cheese.  
                          

Beans 'N Greens

One of my favorite comfort foods. "Beans 'n Greens" is another example of simple but delicious southern Italian peasant cooking. Cannellini beans, escarole, garlic, tomatoes, olive oil and basil over grilled crusty bread rubbed with garlic and topped with shredded pecorino cheese. This is my aunt Janet and uncle Joe's recipe.

Totally satisfying any time of year but especially during the fall and winter. You will love this!

Ingredients: - for 4 but increase ingredients in this ratio for more

3 cans cannellini beans rinsed and drained

1 head of escarole stub end cut off and the leaves roughly chopped

4 cloves of garlic divided - three minced for the soup and one whole for the bread

1 handful of fresh basil

5 whole canned San Marzano tomatoes, chopped or torn apart with your hands

2 cups chicken stock

2 tablespoons olive oil plus more at the table

Locatelli Pecorino cheese - grated

Thick sliced crusty bread like ciabatta - grilled or toasted
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

How to -

Bring a pot of water to a boil (a Dutch oven works well), add a pinch of salt and the escarole. Blanch for 2 - 3 minutes. Drain and set aside in a bowl.

Add olive oil to the same pot along with the beans and the minced garlic and sauté for 3 - 5 minutes

Add the chicken stock and tomatoes

Add the blanched escarole to the pot with the beans and tomatoes, heat on medium high for a couple minutes. Add a little water if it seems too thick.

Grill or toast a few slices of good crusty bread, rub both sides with a clove of garlic.

Put a slice of the garlic bread in the bottom of each soup bowl.

Ladle the beans and greens over the grilled bread, toss on some fresh basil and top with a sprinkle of grated pecorino cheese, a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes and a drizzle of good olive oil. 

ENJOY!

Sicilian Pot Roast

Now that Fall is here, it's time for some hearty fare. So, here you go. While pot roast is not something you would find on a Sicilian table, it is our take on a pot roast that includes some wonderfully flavorful ingredients that are found in Sicilian/Southern Italian cuisine - fennel, tomatoes, garlic, olives, rosemary, red wine, orange zest. We even added a few fresh figs. Why not!

Ingredients - serves 4 or 2 with great leftovers

Chuck roast - 2 - 3 lb

1 can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes - crush them with your hands

4 - 5 shallots chopped

1 fennel bulb cut into slices lengthwise, reserve the fronds

1/2 cup dry red wine - we used Valpolicella

3 sprigs of rosemary - leave whole

7 - 9 thin pieces of orange zest about 1/2 inch wide by 3 inches long, reserve the rest of the orange

1 cup pitted green Italian olives, NOT those Spanish ones in brine - we used Catelvetrano but you could use Kalamata olives in a pinch

6 fresh figs cut in half. Or you could use dried if fresh are not in season

1 head of garlic - roasted and the cloves separated and squeezed from their paper shells

1 tablespoon ground fennel seeds - we have an electric coffee bean grinder we use just for this kind of thing

Salt and pepper

Water

Directions 

Salt and pepper the roast and brown in a Dutch oven in two tablespoons of olive oil

Remove to a plate

Season and saute the fennel and shallots in the roast juices and a little olive oil

Add the wine

Add  the meat back in

Orange zest slices

Add the orange zest, rosemary, tomatoes, a cup of water. Stir everything together 

Add the roasted garlic and and figs. Put in oven at 325. Roast covered for 4 hours, checking regularly and adding water if needed. 

When done, pull the meat apart, add the olives and ground fennel and stir through

Serve over mashed potatoes with an orange wedge and add the fennel fronds. Serve the same type of wine you used cooking the roast. Squeeze some orange juice over the meat.

  

Pumpkin Ravioloni with Sage Butter

Pumpkin Ravioloni is something that we make a couple times every fall. Ravioloni are rustic oversize ravioli about 3 1/2 " square. They are great to take to family gatherings around the Holidays. Not quick and easy, they take a little bit of work, and having a pasta machine, while not a necessity, makes rolling out the dough simple. As long as you are at it, you might as well go ahead and make a lot of these and keep in the freezer. By the way, their sweet honey pumpkin flavor profile along with the earthiness of the sage pairs perfectly with salty savory grilled Italian sausages. You know that's right!

If you are strapped for time, you could cheat and use canned pumpkin puree and won ton wrappers in this recipe, but at some point you have to try doing them with real pumpkins and homemade pasta dough. You will be glad you did. 

*** And, OK, you could use butternut squash instead of the pumpkin. Treat it the same way cutting it onto pieces and roasting.

This recipe will make 15 - 17 ravioloni 

For the filling
   

Ingredients 

1 Medium pie pumpkin 

1 small head of garlic

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

2 Tbs. grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or grana padano cheese

1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp. fine sea salt

2-3 Tbs. anise cookie crumbs  (Use Stella D’Oro anise biscotti)

Procedure

Cut the pumpkin in half and pull out the seeds and strings. Then cut the halves into eight pieces.

Preheat oven to 375º. Place the pumpkin pieces on a cookie sheet or a roasting pan with the head of garlic nestled in the middle. Roast until slightly caramelized and tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 45 to 50 minutes. The head of garlic is there just season the pumpkin aromatically. After the pumpkin is done, you can squeeze the now soft cloves onto some nice grilled crusty bread to have with the ravioloni. 

When the pumpkin is cool enough to handle, scrape the flesh from the peel, and transfer to the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Remove to a mixing bowl. Add the egg yolk, cheese, nutmeg and sea salt. Mix well, adding the anise cookie crumbs as needed to bind the ingredients into a tight mixture. Cover the filling and set aside.

Add the Parmigiano 

Stella D'Oro Anise biscotti  crumbled

For the Ravioloni - 

Ingredients

2 cups semolina or unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 cup water plus 1 - 2 tablespoons

Procedure

Put the flour in a bowl. Make a well in the center and pour the water in a little at a time incorporating the water a flour together using your fingers until you get a kind of shaggy dough. Then turn the dough out on to a work surface. Knead with both hands until you get a smooth, firm ball that is not sticky. If the dough is too wet add a little flour and continue to knead. Wrap the ball in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Now if you have a pasta rolling machine, I'm assuming you know how to use it so put it to use and roll out the pasta in sheets close to the thinnest setting but not too thin. If you don't have a pasta machine, your going to use a rolling pin to roll the pasta out 1/4 of the ball at a time keeping it in sheets about 4 " wide and maybe 1/16" thick or use your own sense of what seems a usable thickness. Use our photos as a guide. If you are a food nerd like us, you'll get it right. Cover the pasta sheets with damp paper towels so they don't dry out.

Square up and trim the sheets of pasta and cut into 3 1/2 inch squares

Place a tablespoon of the filling in the center of a square of pasta. Add the top and press the edges closed. 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a tablespoon of salt to the water then gently add the ravioloni. They will not take long to cook - about 5 minutes after the water comes back to a boil.

Meanwhile on medium heat melt the butter in a pan and add the sage leaves. Watch carefully and cook until the butter starts to brown and the sage crisps up. Then take off the heat.

Option - You could add a cup or so of Half & Half to the sage butter and make it into a cream sauce. That is nice too.

When the ravioloni are done, remove them with a skimmer or slotted spoon and place on a large serving platter. Spoon the sage butter over them. Serve 3-4 to a plate with a sausage and sprinkle with a little parmigiano.