Orecchiette with broccoli

Mamma Mia how much I like broccoli, they smell bad, make the house a radioactive place because of the stench but... how good they are! One of my favorite first courses is the pasta with broccoli, those dark green florets that blend so well with the pasta ... ok I'm already drooling, and you don't do it, a good food blogger does not drool on the PC! 

Ingredients 

Broccoli 300 g

Orecchiette 350 g

Anchovies 5

Garlic 1 clove

Extra virgin olive oil to taste

Chili to taste

Pepper to taste

Pecorino Romano to taste

Preparation

Clean the broccoli well by eliminating the yellowed leaves if present. Cut the core and remove the florets. Boil in salted water leaving it a little behind cooking otherwise it would flake off too much. Boil the water for the pasta and while you wait for it to reach temperature, pass the broccoli. In a large pan where you will then sauté the ingredients, brown a clove of garlic with a round of extra virgin olive oil and some anchovies in oil. Once the clove of garlic is browned, remove it and add the broccoli. Turn it a little in the sauce and add a ladle of orecchiette cooking water. Drain the orecchiette leaving them rather al dente and sauté them in the pan with the broccoli. Add a couple of tablespoons of grated pecorino cheese and fresh chili.

Notes

If you do not like fresh chili pepper a valid alternative is to use the so-called Holy Oil or an extra virgin olive oil in which you have put to macerate small hot peppers.

 

Broccoli and bean soup

The cream of broccoli and white beans from Campania is a light and nutritious first course. It can be served either as a main course, perhaps accompanied by croutons, or as an entrée served in a small bowl. In any case, the beans will help to give a sense of satiety.

Ingredients

350 grams of dried white beans

4 bundles of broccoli

extra virgin olive oil to taste 

Salt to taste

chili to taste

pepper to taste

Procedure

This time I propose another soup, but less elaborate than the married soup, indeed, very simple and decidedly lighter, typical of Benevento but also widespread in the provinces of Naples and Avellino. The first thing to do, the night before, is to soak the beans. Personally, I use dried cannellini, those already cooked in a jar are a much more comfortable fallback, but the result is not the same. After they have softened overnight, we cook them in a pan with a liter and a half of water without adding salt at all. In the meantime, we will clean the broccoli; broccoli turnip is usually used; those that in Naples are also called ''e vruoccole e rapa''. We remove the hardest parts, wash them and put them to boil in a little salted water. When they are cooked, we combine them with the beans, with only a part of the cooking broth, our soup must not be too watery. Separately we prepare a nice sauté with EVO oil, garlic and chilli, which we will use as a condiment. We can eat it with slices of toasted bread, but another very common variant is the one that instead uses pasta, strictly the mixed one. In this case, when we combine the broccoli with the beans, we also keep all the cooking water, possibly adding a little if we see that it is insufficient to boil the pasta. A full-bodied red is a must, to respect the regionality we can accompany it with a ''Sciascinoso irpino'', which has recently been the subject of a well-deserved rediscovery.

Enjoy your meal!

 

Pork ribs with broccoli

Pork ribs with broccoli is a cheap, tasty, well-flavored, quick and easy to prepare second course. To be enjoyed strictly with your hands, accompanied by a nice broccoli. Pork ribs are also known as "tacks", they are easy to find, and the only precaution is to prefer beautiful pulpy pork ribs.

Ingredients for 4 people:

1 kg of pork ribs

500 g broccoli

30 g pine nuts

white wine to taste

1 clove of garlic

1 chili pepper

extra virgin olive oil

salt pepper

2 bay leaves

oregano to taste

thyme

Procedure:

Clean the broccoli by taking only the florets by removing the hardest stem. Wash them thoroughly. Blanch them in boiling salted water for about 7 minutes, they must be crispy. In a non-stick pan toast the pine nuts. In a large saucepan add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and brown the clove of garlic. Add the meat and, over high heat, brown it evenly. Add bay leaf, a pinch of oregano, thyme and hot pepper (if desired). Deglaze with a glass of white wine. Season with salt and pepper, remove the garlic. Continue cooking the meat over low heat for another 30/40 minutes. 

If necessary, add a few tablespoons of water. At 10 minutes from the end of cooking do not add more water and raise the heat, the ribs must brown well and have the appearance of roasted meat. In a baking tray add the ribs and boiled broccoli. Season with the cooking liquid of the meat, add the toasted pine nuts. In a preheated oven for about 10 minutes, just enough time to flavor everything. If desired, you can serve broccoli seasoned only with oil and salt.

 

Millefeuille with strawberries

The addition of sugar serves not only for sweetening, but also as a balance to the acidic bite. But please be careful with the sugar. Millefeuille with strawberries and whipped cream a delicious cake and quick to prepare, easy, creamy and perfect for holidays or dinners with friends. It is prepared in a short time and with little effort. It is so fast that you can even prepare it at the last minute and assemble it directly before bringing it to the table, in this way you will be sure that it will remain crispy and does not give up.

And now...

Well, fasten your apron...!

Ingredients

For the base:

2 rolls Puff pastry

50 g butter

50 g Sugar

For the filling:

200 g Fresh liquid cream

60 g Icing sugar

150 g Strawberries

Icing sugar (for decorating)

Preparation

PREPARE THE BASE

Unroll the rectangular puff pastry and cut them in half so that they have 4 equal parts. Prick the surface of each piece of puff pastry, brush with melted butter and sprinkle the surface with granulated sugar. Bake the sheets in a preheated oven at 180 ° for about 10/15 minutes until they are golden brown on the surface then let them cool completely.

PREPARE THE FILLING

Cut half the number of strawberries into cubes and the other half into slices. Whip the cream until stiff add the icing sugar stirring gently with a spatula from bottom to top so as not to disassemble the cream excessively, then add the strawberries cut into cubes and mix.

COMPOSE THE STRAWBERRY MILLEFEUILLE

Compose the strawberry millefeuille by placing one of the 4 sheets directly on the serving plate, put a layer of sliced strawberries and spread with cream and strawberries. Cover with another sheet and continue with the sliced strawberries and cream until all the ingredients are used. Finish with icing sugar and a strawberry for final decoration.

VARIANTS AND TIPS

You can also make millefeuille with other types of fruit. Do not skip the passage of butter and sugar on the sheets otherwise stuffing it with cream will become soft. You can also cut the strawberries all into cubes. You can also fill the strawberry millefeuille with custard or diplomatic cream. If you want to make the millefeuille in advance you can cook the sheets, cut the strawberries and whip the cream and assemble everything at the last moment, it will be much better.

Preservation

The strawberry millefeuille keeps in the fridge for a day. You can't freeze it.

A very easy recipe, perfect also for important occasions, 

such as the upcoming Christmas holidays.

 

SPAGHETTI with SHRIMP and cherry tomatoes

Spaghetti with shrimp and cherry tomatoes quick and tasty first course recipe. The sauce is prepared while the pasta is cooking, everything is sautéed over high heat and the first fish dish is ready to be served. To make pasta with shrimp you need few ingredients, you can also use frozen shrimp even if fresh ones are preferable to obtain a sauce with an intense and delicious flavor. Let's see together how to proceed to bring to the table spaghetti with shrimp and cherry tomatoes that also ensure us the second of fish nice and ready.

Ingredients

350 g Spaghetti

12/16 Prawns

300 g cherry tomatoes

1 clove Garlic

4 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil

Lemon zest to taste

Parsley to taste

1/2 glass Dry white wine

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Wash and halve the cherry tomatoes. Yes! Clean the shrimp: remove the legs, the central rings of the carapace and the head or leave them whole. Remove the black thread and intestines, which are located on the back of the shrimp, making an incision with a small knife and take everything with a toothpick. Wash them gently. Put them to drain in a colander. In a large pan pour a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, add the clove of garlic and a few leaves of parsley, let it brown over low heat for a few seconds and add the cherry tomatoes. Raise the heat and sauté for about 5 minutes over high heat. Add the shrimps, grated lemon zest and mix well, continuing to cook. Finally deglaze with the white wine and let it evaporate. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the garlic and parsley. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, bring plenty of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti. When they are al dente, drain and add them in the shrimp pan. Sauté everything over high heat to flavor well. Serve immediately with a handful of chopped parsley.

 

Friselle with tomato and anchovies

Friselle are one of the most typical specialties of Puglia: crunchy taralli produced with durum wheat flour (on the market there are also whole meal flour) that are cut in half horizontally and then baked until they are biscuits. To season the classic Apulian friselle, typically only tomato, garlic, oil and salt are used, but I have chosen to enrich our version with marinated anchovy fillets, oregano and basil. I advise you to enjoy your friselle as an appetizer, as you would with a bruschetta, or consider them a tasty dish: in any case, their unique flavor will conquer you!

INGREDIENTS

Friselle 4

Cherry tomatoes 400 g

Extra virgin olive oil 30 g

Basil 6 leaves

Salt 3 g

Marinated anchovies 20 g

Garlic1 segment

Dried oregano to taste

Chili pepper 1

Black pepper to taste

PREPARATION

To prepare the friselle with tomato and anchovies, first moisten the friselle with cold water, and place them on a plate. Wash the cherry tomatoes under running water and cut them into small pieces. Pour the freshly cut cherry tomatoes into a bowl and season with oil, salt, oregano and black pepper. Cut the marinated anchovies into small pieces and add them to the tomato salad. Also add half of the clove of garlic, after crushing it and basil leaves, chopped with your hands. Mix well to mix all the ingredients and keep aside. Lightly salt your friselle and rub them with the remaining part of garlic. At this point place the tomato and anchovy salad on the friselle, helping you with a spoon. Remove the inner seeds from the chili, reduce it to strips and place it on the friselle with cherry tomatoes and anchovies.

PRESERVATION

It is advisable to consume friselle with tomato and anchovies just ready. The only tomato salad can be stored for a maximum of 1 day in the refrigerator and used to season friselle when needed.

ADVICE

If the idea appeals to you, enrich your friselle with tomato and anchovies with pieces of mozzarella or black olives! As an alternative to marinated anchovies, you can also use those in oil!

CURIOSITY

In ancient times the friselle, given their aptitude for long conservation, replaced bread in times of famine; The fishermen took them with them to the sea and, to soften them, bathed them in sea water.

 

Spaghetti with cheese pepper and zucchini flowers

Spaghetti with cheese pepper and zucchini flowers are an easy first course, ready in 10 minutes and extremely inviting, perfect for any occasion. It is really simple to make, but at the same time it is so good and spectacular that it will certainly conquer all your diners. The enveloping consistency that combines all the flavors of the dish makes it unique as few, an original combination without a doubt that will amaze anyone who will taste it for the completeness of flavors and the perfect balance that is created. The delicate and characteristic taste of zucchini flowers meets the strong scent of pecorino and freshly ground pepper in a blaze of pure goodness. You just have to get a fresh raw material: your trusted seller will certainly be able to advise you at best, given the seasonality of these delicate and truly delicious vegetables.

Ingredients

320 gr of spaghetti 

200 gr of grated pecorino Romano cheese 

100 ml of fresh cream 

Freshly ground pepper to taste

200 gr of zucchini flowers

A clove of garlic

Salt to taste

Extra virgin olive oil to taste

Preparation

To make this dish, gently wash the zucchini flowers and remove the pistil inside. Let them dry on a clean cloth. Meanwhile, put a pot with plenty of salted water for pasta on the fire and bring it to a boil. In a large saucepan brown a little finely chopped garlic in extra virgin olive oil. Add the zucchini flowers, cover and stew over low heat for a few minutes. Remove the lid and add the fresh cream, continuing cooking always with the heat at a minimum. As soon as the water for the pasta boils, pour the spaghetti: cook and drain them al dente, transferring them to the saucepan with the sauce. Finish cooking and if necessary, add a little bit of pasta water. 

Stir in the pecorino cheese, finish with a nice ground pepper and serve immediately, creamy and fragrant!

 

Pasta with pesto alla genovese

Once upon a time, pesto was invariably made by hand using a mortar and pestle. The name implies the act of using the pestle. This is still the classic and preferred method, but modern times have even reached certain kitchens in Liguria. It is now a given that much of the pesto you taste is made in a blender. Handmade pesto is indeed better because the ingredients have been worked less, but blender pesto is fine as long as you use the finest, freshest ingredients available. This pesto may be tossed with spaghetti, maccheroni, linguine, or the classic Ligurian pastas, trofie or Trenette.

Pasta with pesto is a great classic of Ligurian cuisine, a first course Saporito and fragrant and also very quick to prepare! The original Ligurian recipe provides that pasta, in addition to the classic Genoese Pesto, are also added potatoes and green beans (Pasta with pesto accommodated). There is no trattoria or restaurant in Liguria that does not offer you Trofie, Linguine, Bavette or Spaghetti with pesto! Of course, the quality of the Pesto which, bought or homemade, must comply with the regulations of the Consortium (otherwise it is not Genoese pesto!). Preparing pasta with pesto is really simple, all you have to do is cook the pasta and mix it, cold, with pesto. Being a very aromatic cold sauce, pesto lends itself very well to making many variations; try it with both bacon and tuna and shrimp. Just prepare the pasta and add a tablespoon of pesto at the end! I also prepared baked Tambellini with pesto ... Yummy!

Ingredients

180 gr. spaghetti, linguine...

100 gr. pesto

basil leaves

sun dried tomatoes

Preparation

 Pour the Genoese pesto into a pan with the sun-dried tomatoes. Cook the pasta and when it is cooked, drain it and put it in the pan with the pesto. Mix the pasta with pesto, diluting with a little bit of pasta cooking water. Serve your pasta with pesto with grated cheese (parmesan or pecorino cheese). 

Add the basil leaves for decoration.

 

Spaghetti with clams (white sauce)

Spaghetti with clams is a great classic of Neapolitan cuisine, a real symbol among the first Neapolitan dishes loved throughout Italy. In addition to the typical white version, spaghetti with clams is very appreciated the so-called ''sporcata'', or with the addition of fresh tomato. The pasta shapes to choose from in addition to spaghetti, are vermicelli and linguine. The original recipe for spaghetti with clams involves the use of clams, often replaced by Philippine clams -called lupins- which are smaller; honestly when I do not find the truthful, I do not do them, they are too good! What are you waiting for? 

Bring the scent of the sea to the table with spaghetti with clams!

As with most regional dishes, some ingredients can vary from door to door. In the case of spaghetti with clams there are those who put – and those who do not – white wine, pepper and chili, 

I love them and they look great! 

But of course, you can vary to your taste.

If you buy clams the day before or in the morning for the evening, put them in a damp cloth keeping them tight, in the refrigerator. Clams live and breathe for up to a day in the refrigerator, inside their own water inside the shell.

Ingredients 

320 g spaghetti

1 kg clams

extra virgin olive oil to taste

1 garlic clove

150 g dry white wine (optional)

1 chili pepper (dried or fresh)

1 bunch parsley

to taste black pepper 

1 pinch coarse salt

PREPARATION:

Start with the most important thing: check the clams and throw away the open ones and the broken ones, we don't want to feel bad, right? In the Ory, the fishmonger where you buy them should do it before weighing them, so always ask for it. Clams, unlike lupins, almost never contain sand, but to be on the safe side, put them to purge in a saucepan covered with cold water and a handful of coarse salt. Clams are alive and breathing, so recreating the marine environment they will relax, hatching slightly for breathing and purging sand. Change the water every half hour for about an hour, an hour and a half. After the first hour, take a clam and beat it on the cutting board or table and check if sand comes out, so as to understand whether to keep them still in purging or not. After the bleeding time, drain and rinse them with cold water inside the colander. In a large non-stick pan pour a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and fry a clove of garlic with a pepper (dry or fresh). As soon as the garlic browns, add the clams and dry white wine (wine is optional, but it looks great!) then cover with a lid for a few minutes over high heat, just enough time to open them. The clams open with heat, so shake the pan occasionally so that they all open. Once opened, remove them immediately with a slotted spoon otherwise they cook too much, and place them inside a bowl covered with plastic wrap, so as not to dry them. Now, filter the remaining sauce on the bottom of the pan with a strainer, inside a bowl, and keep it aside. It will serve to finish cooking the spaghetti (throw away the garlic). Boil a pan with water for spaghetti, with a pinch of coarse salt (not too much because the clams are already quite savory, but a pinch is needed). Cover the pot, the water will boil faster! As soon as it boils, dip the spaghetti, draining them halfway through cooking. While picking up the pan where there was the sauce you filtered, clean it with a sheet of absorbent paper and turn the sauce back into it. As soon as the spaghetti have reached half cooking, drain them with a fork directly into the pan with the sauce, and keeping the medium heat let them so they will take all the flavor of the clams, also creating a delicious cream thanks to the starch released by the pasta. Mix the spaghetti often with two forks, immediately add the chopped fresh parsley and continue. When they are well creamy and al dente, and the sauce almost completely withdrawn, add the clams and mix well everything. If you have not put the chili pepper sprinkle with black peppercorns and grind (more fragrant) and immediately serve your spaghetti with clams hot!

Recommendations

To better enjoy spaghetti with clams, I suggest you buy fresh clams, so as to fully enjoy the wonderful flavor! If you like red, you can add some fresh tomatoes to the sauté. You can avoid both pepper and chili pepper if you don't like them or if there are children.

 

Pasta with peppers and sausage

One of my favorite dishes, simple and tasty, pasta with peppers and sausage is a really easy and comfortable first course! You can customize it as you wish, I bring you my rather basic recipe. Let's see what we need to prepare pasta with peppers and sausage, first course.

Ingredients

200 g Pasta (I used rigatoni)

2 Peppers (red and yellow)

1 clove Garlic

1 Sausage

Pecorino to taste

Salt to taste

Pepe to taste

Preparation

Start the preparation of pasta with peppers and sausage, first course by putting a large pot with water for cooking pasta on the fire. While waiting for the boil, prepare the seasoning. Wash, dry and cut the peppers into strips, then leave them aside momentarily. Crumble the sausage into a bowl with just a teaspoon of oil and the clove of garlic. (If necessary, you can omit the oil) Cook for about 5 minutes, then drain the excess fat. Add the peppers and cook for another 10 minutes over low heat. 

After the time, season with salt and pepper and remove the clove of garlic. When the pasta is cooked, season with peppers and sausage, sprinkle with parmesan or fresh pecorino cheese at will. Serve the pasta with peppers and sausage, very hot.

 

Pasta alla Norma

Legend says that this iconic Sicilian dish was created in the 1800s after opening night of Bellini's opera Norma. Pasta topped with eggplant, tomato sauce and ''ricotta Salata'' makes for a hearty vegetarian meal that can be whipped together in under an hour. A few simple ingredients for an unforgettable result: here is my recipe for pasta alla Norma, one of the most beloved first courses of the Sicilian tradition of all time. Generally, I prefer to prepare the pasta alla norma siciliana using short pasta: penne, pennette, rigatoni. If you prefer you can use the sauce alla norma to prepare delicious spaghetti alla Norma or paccheri alla Norma. 

In short, you will have understood that pasta with Sicilian eggplant is really a riot of flavors, so tasty and rich, that will make you fall in love!

Ingredients

4 servings

1 Kg San Marzano tomatoes

400 g eggplant

350 g short pasta 

150 g salted ricotta

basil

half an onion

extra virgin olive oil

salt

Procedure

Step 1

For the pasta alla Norma recipe, coarsely chop the onion and fry it in a saucepan with 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Cut the tomatoes into large pieces. Prepare an aromatic bunch with about ten basil leaves.

Step 2

Add the bunch of basil in the saucepan and, after a minute, also the tomatoes, add salt and cook for 25 minutes. Remove the basil a couple of minutes before turning off the heat. Pass the tomato sauce with a vegetable mill.

Step 3

Wash the aubergines and cut them into 3-4 mm thick slices; Fry them in plenty of hot oil for 1-2 minutes.

Step 4

Cook the celery in plenty of boiling salted water. Dress them with the tomato sauce and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, distribute them on the plates and complete them with fried eggplant, a few basil leaves and a generous grated salted ricotta.

Step 5

To taste, enrich the pasta with the zest of half a lemon and cherry tomatoes, roasted brightly in a pan or baked in the oven at 100 ° C for 50 minutes with lemon zest.