Blue Tuna with Basil Tomato Sauce and Capers (Tonno fresco con pomodorini e capperi).

Fresh tuna with tomatoes and capers is a simple, quick and tasty recipe for a Mediterranean-flavored main course.

The fresh tuna steaks are accompanied by a delicious sauce of cherry tomatoes, onions and capers.

 Ingredients

3 tuna steaks about 1-inch thick

1/4 cup of olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, cut

One red onion, cut

Few leaves of basil

1 lb. cherry tomatoes

2 tablespoons of capers

Tuna steaks

Cherry tomatoes in pan

directions

Heat 3 tbs. oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add the onions and sauté about 5 minutes until soft.

Add the garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes, then add in the tomatoes, basil and capers, stirring well to combine.

Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

In another pan heat the remaining 3 tbs. of oil over medium heat.

Salt and pepper fish to taste, then place in the pan when oil is hot.

Cook fish about 3 minutes per side (fish should be light brown at edges but still pink inside).

Place the fish in the pan with sauce and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Serve immediately!

CANNING CHERRY TOMATOES (Conservare i pomodorini)

The most classic way to preserve cherry tomatoes is to make a tomato puree by boiling the tomatoes.  And making a fresh cherry tomato sauce is an explosion of authentic flavors, perfect for enhancing many dishes.

Procedure:

Simply wash and cut the tomatoes in half. 

Place them in a pot, add some salt and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat.

Then place the tomatoes in a food mill and rotate to remove skin.

Place the puree in a jar and add few basil leaves.

Cap the jar and boil for 20 minutes.

BAKED SEA BREAM WITH POTATOES (ORATA AL FORNO CON PATATE)

Baked sea bream, along with sea bass, is one of the most popular fish-based main courses thanks to its simplicity. It's incredibly easy to make; all you have to do is season the fish with aromatic herbs and arrange it on a baking sheet with the potatoes... the oven will do the rest.

Ingredients

2 whole orate (sea bream)

1 pound of potatoes

3 tablespoons of olive oil

3 sprigs parsley

3 cloves garlic

2 tsp salt

2 tsp black pepper crushed

Instructions

Peel the potatoes, wash them, pat them dry, and cut them. Take a baking dish and put 3 tablespoons of olive oil in it. Spread the potatoes in an even layer and add some salt and pepper.

Continue with the fish. I usually buy the whole fish already cleaned and gutted, head on. Salt the fish inside and out and then add parsley and 3 garlic cloves cut in half to the fish cavity.

Place the gilthead on top of the potatoes, add 2 more tablespoon of oil and pepper.

Bake at 450°F (230C°) for 40 minutes. Take it out of the oven, remove head and tails, and serve it with the side of potatoes.

Orata al Forno calls for a white wine to accompany it.

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On occasion, I also make orate with crabs.

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.