Penne with Cauliflower, Tomatoes and Olives - Penne con Cavolfiori, Pomodori e Olive

Due to the popularity of my previous cauliflower dish, I would like to share with you another classic family dish from southern Italy  In fact, I suggest you serve it in abundance because it’s so exquisite, they’ll be asking for more.


All photos - Copyright - ©2011 - La Casa e Il Giardino - picasaweb

 



Ingredients for 4 persons

1 lb. penne or other pasta
½ lb. cauliflower
1/2 lb. sun dried tomatoes
1 cup black olives
2 cloves of garlic sliced
2 tablespoons of grated pecorino cheese
Pinch of fresh rosemary
1/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Procedure

Cut the cauliflower in florets and boil in salted water until tender.  Drain and save a cup of the cooking water. 

In a large pan, add oil and sliced garlic and saute' until golden. 

Add the sun dried tomatoes cut into strips, the olives and the rosemary.  Add cauliflower and reserved water and cook for 10 minutes.  In a pot with salted water cook the pasta, drain and mix with cauliflower.  Add grated pecorino cheese and serve.

Penne with cauliflower, sun-dried tomatoes and olives

PORCHETTA all'Abruzzese

What is PORCHETTA?

In Italy, porchetta is produced using a whole pig that is completely boned and seasoned with various spices according to local traditions. After joining the two edges of the carcass, it is bound with string and placed in a wood-burning oven for cooking.  It is usually prepared for important celebrations and feasts.

There are two basic types of seasonings dictated by tradition. In southern Tuscany, it is flavored with rosemary. In Abruzzo, it is seasoned with wild fennel which gives it a fragrance and taste absolutely unmistakable.

I do not have access to a whole pig nor do I have a wood-burning oven, but throughout the winter months, my family feasts with a porchetta made from a pork shoulder. I pair the pork roast with oven roasted potatoes, fried peppers and an orange-fennel salad and we make our own celebration! 

Ingredients

1 - 5 1/2 to 6 lb. pork shoulder with skin on and boned
5 whole cloves of garlic - cracked and skin on
2 tablespoons of wild fennel pollen
2 dry red peppers chopped
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and pepper

Procedure

Preheat oven to 450°F.  Place roast in a baking pan.  Drizzle evenly with 2 tablespoons of oil. Roast pork 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.  Roast pork until very tender and thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 190°F, about 3 hours 15 minutes longer. Let pork rest 15 minutes.  Best served warm.

All photos - Copyright - ©2010 - La Casa e Il Giardino - picasaweb

The inviting and distinctive scent released from the cooked porchetta is mouth-watering.  I especially love the crackling skin.

Paired with:

Fried peppers

Oven roasted potatoes

Orange and fennel salad

 Semplicemente squisita!

RED LIQUID GOLD aka Crushed Red Pepper in Oil

Peperoni rossi tritati sott'olio

The use of crushed red (hot or sweet) pepper is very popular in Italian cuisine, and especially in the south.  It enhances the flavor of  food. The hot one is pungent and with a strong bite.  It's not for everyone, but in my kitchen it's known as "red liquid gold".  In Abruzzo, crushed red pepper is an indispensable ingredient of every dish:  from tomato sauce to pasta dishes, from greens to cured meats.

  

Strung peppers hung to dry

If you follow my blog, you know that peppers of any kind are staples in my kitchen.  We grow hot and sweet peppers in our vegetable garden.  Mid-August, when peppers get red, they are picked and hung to dry.  In October, when we turn the heat on, the peppers are hung next to the boiler to dry.  Once they are dry, it is easy to take off the stems and shake out the seeds. Then I just grind them in a sausage grinder, and the result is a pungent, spicy paprika.

Red crushed pepper

To preserve the color and flavor, I refrigerate the crushed red pepper in a tightly covered container.  Some of it, I place in a jar and add olive oil.  A teaspoonful of crushed pepper in oil adds color and flavor to many dishes.

Crushed red pepper in oil

Peas and Pasta

Ingredients
2 lb. Fresh peas or 24 oz. package of frozen peas
1/2 lb. small shell pasta
1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion chopped
1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper (preferred in oil)
Salt and pepper to taste

In a small pot, add oil, saute' the onion, add the peas, crushed red pepper, salt and black pepper.  Simmer peas gently and occasionally turning so that all peas cook evenly for 10 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup water to create sauce.  Continue simmering for an additional 20 minutes.

In a pot bring water to a boil and add the pasta.  Cook al dente and drain.  Reserve some cooking water if needed.  Combine the pasta with the peas and serve.

Peas and Pasta - Pasta e Piselli

For your music enjoyment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ihR2XrQ8UI

For your reading enjoyment:
http://frugaltraveler.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/a-spicy-side-of-italy/#preview

http://community.nytimes.com/comments/frugaltraveler.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/a-spicy-side-of-italy/?permid=45#comment45

Calamari Ripieni - Stuffed Squid

Here is an original dish, and one of my favorites, full of flavors of the sea: Stuffed Calamari.

Fresh Squid - Calamari Freschi

These mollusks, also known as calamari (ink holders in Italian), because when chased they emit a black liquid that muddles the water allowing them to avoid the opponent. They are ideal because they are tender, flavorful and provide a great amount of protein but are low in calories.

Ingredients for 4 people

1 1/2 lb. fresh medium sized calamari

2 cups day-old bread

2 eggs

2 tbs. minced parsley for stuffing

1 tb. minced parsley before serving

2 tbs. of pecorino cheese or parmigiano

2 cup of finely chopped tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic finely minced for stuffing

2 cloves of garlic chopped

3/4 cup of white wine

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Clean squid and leave them whole.  Cut the tentacles into small pieces and saute' them in a pan with some of the oil for 5 minutes.  Add salt and pepper.  Immerse the day-old artisan bread in water and remove quickly.  Squeeze excess water and shred into small pieces.  In a deep dish add the bread, the cooked tentacles, chopped parsley, pecorino cheese, eggs, salt and pepper and mix well.  Stuff the squid with stuffing mixture 3/4 to the top of the squid (too much will cause them to explode) and secure each squid's end with a toothpick.  In a hot pan, add the remaining oil and two cloves of garlic and brown over medium heat along with the stuffed squid, carefully turning from time to time (10 minutes).  Add the white wine, the tomato pulp, salt and pepper and cook for an additional 10 minutes covering the pan with a lid.  Just before the end of cooking, sprinkle the stuffed squid with minced parsley.  Serve the squid sliced.  Great with a side dish of fresh peas.

Calamari Ripieni

Cauliflower and Shell Pasta - Cavolfiore e Pasta

Cauliflower is one of the most popular winter vegetables in Italy.

Cauliflowers are rich in vitamin C, folic acid and potassium. Low in sodium, which makes it a good choice for those on low-salt diets, and low in calories. Whether they are white, green or purple, they are simply healthy.

  

 

Cauliflower and Shell Pasta

All photos - Copyright - ©2010 - La Casa e Il Giardino - picasaweb

Ingredients

1 large head cauliflower
1/2 lb. pasta shells
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 medium onion chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup chopped tomatoes
Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano
1 tablespoon parsley
Salt and black pepper to taste

Procedure

In a pan, add oil, chopped onion and minced garlic.  Saute' briefly, add tomatoes and simmer for 15 or so.

 

In the meantime, fill a large stockpot with water and bring to a boil; add cauliflower and salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, until cauliflower is half-cooked and not yet fully tender. Drain the cauliflower.  Reserve some of the cooking water.  Separate the cauliflower florets and add to the tomato sauce.  Continue to simmer an additional 10 minutes until cauliflower is tender.  Salt and black pepper to taste.

In another pot, bring water to a boil, add pasta and cook al dente.  Drain pasta.  Add cauliflower sauce over pasta.  Sprinkle the chopped parsley and add an abundance of shaved Parmigiano.  If dry, add some of the reserved cooking water.

A great dish for a Meatless Monday.



Home-made Flat Pancetta - Pancetta Tesa

In Italy, up to 40-50 years ago, raising a hog for a year and then killing it for home consumption was a rule in all families and mine was no exception. The best time for this particular operation was the winter. Therefore, during the months of January and February was salumi making time – sausages, prosciutto, pancetta and capicolli. Nothing was thrown away.  The ears were braised, the tongue poached, the feet thrown in sauce and the skull and the bones used for stock.  Today, we do not raise a pig but we maintain the tradition of making home-made sausages and pancetta.

Cured Flat Pancetta
All photo Copyright - ©2010 - La Casa e Il Giardino - picasaweb

 Flat Pancetta - Pancetta Tesa

Ingredients

1 - 2 - 3 lb. pork belly with skin on
1/2 lb. kosher salt
3 tablespoons crushed red pepper
3 tablespoons coarsely crushed fennel seeds
3 tablespoons coarsely crushed black pepper

Pork belly with skin on

Home-made crushed red pepper

Spices - Fennel seeds, black pepper
red pepper

Take a 2 to 3 lb. pork belly with skin on.  Place it in a deep pan (Corning wear) and cover it with 1/2 inch of Kosher salt.  Cover with a cloth and place a heavy object on top of it (I use two filled gallons).  The pressure helps excrete the water out of the meat.  Every other day, turn it over, up to 6 to 7 days.
   
After a week, remove the pork belly from the salt and wash thoroughly with white wine.  Repeat several times until all salt is removed.  Pat thoroughly dry.


Prepare a mixture of spices - black pepper, fennel seeds and  red pepper.  Place the mixture of spices in a mortar and crush.   

Rub and press the spice mixture all over the dry pork belly.

At one corner of the pork belly make a hole.  With a butcher string create a loop and hang it to age in a cool place.  (Curing chamber not needed).  We use our basement cantina.  Curing time 30 to 45 days.  Optimal temperature 40 to 50 degrees - 70% humidity.

Whenever you want to "kick up" a dish, add pancetta.