EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA (PARMIGIANA DI MELANZANE)

Eggplant Parmigiana is a rich and hearty one-dish meal, typical of Italian cuisine. It's made with fried eggplant, then layered in a pan with mozzarella, tomato sauce, and basil. Delicious in flavor and mouthwatering!

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. eggplants
• 2 eggs
• Fresh tomatoes for sauce
• 1 mozzarella
• 1/2 cup of parmigiano
• 1 cup of breadcrumbs
• 1/2 white onion
• Basil
• Salt
• 1 cup of vegetable oil to fry eggplants

Cut the eggplants

Arrange the eggplant slices in layers on a colander and sprinkle generously all over with kosher salt.  Set aside to let the bitter juices weep from the eggplant, about 1 or so.

Rinse the eggplants under cold running water and then blot dry with paper towels.

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the salt, breadcrumbs, grated cheese, and season with pepper.  In a bowl whisk the egg.  Dip the eggplant slice in the egg and then dredge it in the breadcrumb mixture.  Transfer the eggplant to a baking sheet.  Repeat with the remaining eggplants.
2.                                

In a large straight-sided skillet, pour the oil to a depth of 1/2 inch. Heat the oil over medium heat.  Fry the eggplant slices, turning once, until golden brown.  

Transfer to a paper towel-lined dish.  

Then prepare the tomato sauce. Chop the onion and sauté in 3 tablespoons of oil, then add the fresh tomatoes, parsley, basil and one sliced pepper (if you like) and cook covered for about 20 minutes. Then season with salt and black pepper.

                     

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place some marinara sauce in baking dish and arrange some of the eggplant over the sauce. Cover the eggplant with more sauce.  Scatter half of the mozzarella over the sauced eggplant. Repeat with eggplant, sauce, and mozzarella. 

Bake until hot and brown about 40 minutes.

Serve immediately.

SAUTEED SLICED PORK LOIN RIB END

Despite being less familiar to some, pork rib ends have gained popularity for their rich taste and versatility in various cooking methods.  I prefer this method.

Sauteed pork loin rib end slices with fried peppers

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oil

1 boneless rib end pork loin roast

Salt and ground black pepper

Few hot banana peppers

Large skillet

Directions:

Cut the pork loin into 1/2-inch thin chops, each chop pressed lightly with tenderizer to flatten.

Thinly sliced pork loin

Fry the hot banana peppers and set aside.

Heat the oil in skillet over medium-high heat.   While the pan is heating, sprinkle the chops on both sides with salt and pepper.

Place few slices of pork loin at a time.  Cook turning only once until they reach a golden-brown, about 3 minutes per side.  Remove from the skillet.

Serve with a fresh tomato salad.

CHICKEN BREAST WITH FRIED PEPPERS (Petto di pollo con peperoni fritti)

 A dish does not have a soul....it's up to the chef (in this case me) to give to it.

A sample dish:  Chicken with fried peppers

Ingredients

1 lb. chicken breast (bone-in)

4 Italian frying peppers (2 red 2 green)

1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying peppers

3 tbs. olive oil to sauté chicken breast

1 clove of garlic

Salt and pepper

Procedure

 Cut the chicken in pieces and marinate with lemon and rosemary for an hour.

Remove the seeds from the peppers and slice.

Add the vegetable oil in the pan.  Add salt and pepper to peppers and fry.

Set the peppers aside.

Start with medium-high heat and add oil in skillet.  Add the clove of garlic.

Place the chicken skin side down.  Cook for about 5 minutes until the skin is crispy and browned.

Turn the chicken over, turn the heat to medium-low and cover skillet.

Cook for 25 to 30 minutes, flipping halfway through for even cooking.

Transfer the fried peppers into the chicken pan and mix to combine.

If preferred, you may add some cured olives in the pan.

You're going to love it!

HOME-MADE PASTA and CHICKPEAS - Pasta e Ceci

 

  This is a traditional old-fashion dish. 

While many uses canned chickpeas with small pasta shells, I prefer home-made pasta and home cooked chickpeas.

Recipe for home cooked chickpeas.  

Ingredients

1 lb. bag of dry chickpeas

Water

DON'T ADD SALT TO THE WATER

Procedure

In a large pot place the washed chickpeas, add water (3 times the amount of the chickpeas),  bring to a boil and then cover and simmer gently.  About 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Homemade Pasta

Pasta Dough

  1 1/2 cups of unbleached flour
  1 tsp salt

  1 tsp olive oil

Prepare the dough by placing the flour on a cutting board and make a well.
Add 1 tsp olive oil and salt into the well. Keep stirring this way until you have formed a sticky dough ball. Dump the dough ball onto a floured surface and knead, incorporating more flour into the dough as needed, until the dough is smooth, elastic, even in color and no longer sticky.
To knead the dough, push down on the ball with the heel of your hand, then give the dough a quarter turn, fold it over onto itself and push away from you again with the heel of your hand. Keep turning and pushing until you achieve the desired consistency.  Once you have finished kneading, cover with a dish and let rest at room temperature for 60 minutes or more.  Once the dough has rested, divide into balls. At this point, you may flatten each ball using a rolling pin or a pasta machine.

Rolling pin

Pasta machine

Then roll each dough sheet with a rolling pin and with a knife cut 

into rectangles.

SAUCE (SUGO)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 lb. ripe tomatoes finally chopped or canned tomatoes
Few fresh basil leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat the oil in saucepan over moderate heat, add the onion and brown for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt and basil and simmer over low heat for half hour.  Add the cooked chickpeas and simmer for few minutes.

In the meantime, cook the pasta in boiling salted water and drain.  Mix the pasta with the chickpeas.

PASTA WITH SWORDFISH TAIL (PASTA CON LA CODA DI PESCE SPADA)

  Recently, as I shopped at the grocery store, I saw and bought some swordfish tail.

I have been purchasing swordfish steaks for quite a while as we enjoy the rich flavor and texture. While the swordfish steaks take center stage and expensive, I found that portions of the swordfish tail are very inexpensive. 

Decided to make swordfish tail with tomato sauce over pasta.

Pasta with swordfish tail

Portion of swordfish tail

Ingredients:

1 lb. of swordfish tail

2 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup of olive oil

1/2 can of whole tomatoes (chopped)

1 green pepper (sliced)

Salt and black pepper

Preparation:

Rinse the tail with cold water and pat dry with paper towels.  Cut into chunks and season with salt and pepper.

Heat skillet with the olive oil and chopped garlic until the garlic is gold. Add the chunks of swordfish tail and simmer for 15 minutes until golden brown.

Remove the chunks of fish.

Add chopped tomatoes to the pan and sliced pepper.

Cook sauce for 15 minutes and then add the fish tail.

Cook for another 10 minutes.

In the meantime, cook pasta.  Add sauce with swordfish over pasta and serve.

--------------------------------------------

Many times, I pan-fried swordfish steaks with lemon and garlic.  This method creates a crispy exterior and a tender interior.  Give it a sprinkle of salt and ground black pepper on both sides.  

1. 
   

Raw swordfish steak

  

Pan-fried swordfish steak with garlic and lemon

Let me tell you that I have found that the swordfish tails are more flavorful.  They contain more collagen and fat which break down during cooking, resulting in a rich broth or sauce.

Embracing swordfish tails is a culinary exploration!

 

BAKED SALMON

Baked salmon is a dish easy enough for a weeknight but boasts layers of flavor. 

Baked salmon with risotto

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs. skin-on salmon fillet 

3 cloves of garlic (chopped)

3 or 4 sprig of parsley (chopped)

1 lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt and black pepper

Keep the salmon skin on.  Yes, you can eat salmon skin.

Directions

Preheat oven at 400 degrees

Mix the chopped parsley, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and salt and black pepper in a small bowl.

Place a little olive oil on the baking dish.  

Place the salmon skin-side down on the baking dish.

Spread the surface with the mixture of parsley, etc. and place in oven.

Bake until the salmon is firm and flakes easily when pressed.

Depending on the size and weight of your fish, baked salmon cooks at 400 degrees and will be ready after 20 to 25 minutes.

One of my favorite things about this baked salmon dish is its versatility.  It pairs well with rice, salad or roasted potatoes.  We enjoy it with risotto with spinach.

Torroni "Croccanti" di Mandorle

Christmas is an excellent opportunity to prepare traditional Italian desserts and serve old recipes but, despite the passing years, still remains a favorite by everyone, young and old. Here is one of my favorite Christmas treats.

Torroni di Mandorle

Ingredients


Blanched Almonds

1 lb. toasted almonds

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup honey
Zest of one orange

Blanching Almonds

Pour boiling water to barely cover almonds.

Let the almonds sit for 1 minute and no longer.

Drain and slip the skins off.

Toasting Almonds

Place almonds in a heavy, ungreased skillet.
Stir often over medium heat until golden brown.
Oven method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Toasted Almonds

Spread nuts in one layer on ungreased shallow baking pan.
Bake for 20 to 30, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.

Preparation
Melt sugar and honey in a pot over medium heat, add the almonds and turn constantly with a wooden spoon (about 30 minutes) until a firm consistency. Add orange zest in final minute. 

Put the mixture on a wet, work surface and spread with a cutting board until you reach a thickness of 1 inch. 

Cut into rectangles of 2 inches. 

These torroni or croccanti may be kept in a closed container for a long time.