The Recipe

Source: The Silver Spoon

6 1/4 cups meat stock
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
12 ounces Swiss chard, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup lentils, soaked in cold water for 3 hours and drained
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup long-grain rice
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, to serve

Bring the stock to a boil. Heat the oil in another pan, add the onion, garlic, celery and carrot and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes until lightly browned. Stir in the Swiss chard and cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the lentils and tomato paste and stir well. Pour in the stock, bring back to a boil and add the rice. Cook for 15 minutes or until the rice is tender. Season with salt and pepper, ladle into a soup tureen, drizzle with olive oil and serve with Parmesan.

The Recipe

Source: The Silver Spoon

1/4 cup butter
1 thick slice cooked, cured ham, diced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
5 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 cup vodka
3 cups penne rigate
salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a pan, add the ham, tomato paste and parsley, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Stir in the cream and vodka and cook until the vodka has evaporated. Cook the penne in a large pan of salted, boiling water until al dente, then drain and tip into a warm serving dish. Pour the sauce over the pasta.

The Recipe

Source: La Cucina Italiana Magazine

2 pounds green cabbage, cored and sliced 1/2-inch thick
fine sea salt
12 small new potatoes (about 1 1/2 inches in diameter)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/3 to 1 1/2 pounds solid piece boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt)
1 pound slab bacon in 1 whole piece, cut crosswise into 2 pieces
10 bay leaves
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
2 cups dry white wine
3 sweet Italian sausages (about 1 pound)

Heat oven to 350 F with rack in middle.

Combine cabbage, 1/2 cup water and generous pinch salt in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot with lid. Heat over medium heat until water simmers; reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is wilted, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, put potatoes in a pot and cover with water by 2 inches. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes. Drain potatoes; put in a bowl and toss with oil and generous pinch salt.

Drain cabbage. In the bottom of a large roasting pan, layer cabbage to make a bed for meats. Put pork shoulder and slab bacon on top of cabbage; scatter with bay leaves and peppercorns. Add 1/2 cup water. Roast for 30 minutes, then add wine. Roast for 1 hour more.

Add potatoes, sausages and 1 cup water to roasting pan; continue roasting until meats are tender and sausages cooked through, about 45 minutes more.

Remove pan from oven. Remove and discard bay leaves. Slice meats and serve with cabbage, potatoes and pan juice.t

The Recipes

The recipe for the fritters is from A Taste of Southern Italy by Marlena de Blasi:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
12 ounces beer
2 pounds baccala or stoccafisso – prepared
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
2 large egg whites
4 to 6 cups peanut oil
2 lemons

Place the flour in a medium bowl and stir in enough beer to form a batter the consistency of heavy cream. Cover the batter and set aside.

Place the prepared baccala in a large bowl and, with two forks, finely shred the fish. Stir in the cream, blending the elements until thick.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites until they form stiff but not dry peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the creamed baccala.

In a large, deep sauté pan or a deep fryer, heat the peanut oil over a medium flame. With your hands, form ovals of the baccala mixture, about 3 inches or 2 inches, then quickly dip them in the beer batter. Fry the fritters in the very hot oil. Cook the fritters until deeply golden before turning them, then cook the other side, and remove them with a slotted spoon to absorbent paper towels. Present the fritters as fast as you can, with wedges of lemon and cold white wine.

The sauce recipe is from Cucina del Sole: A Celebration of Southern Italian Cooking by Nancy Harmon Jenkins:

10 canned plum tomatoes, preferably imported San Marzano tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 tablespoons golden raisins, plumped in hot water and drained
½ cup pitted black olives, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons capers, preferably salt-packed, rinsed, drained, and chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Drain the tomatoes, reserving about ¼ cup of their juice in case you need to add it to the sauce later. Chop the tomatoes coarsely and set aside.

Combine the olive oil and garlic in a saucepan over low heat. Cook the garlic until it is soft but not brown. Add the tomatoes, increasing the heat to moderate. Cook the tomatoes for about 15 minutes. Use the back of a fork to crush them as they cook down, adding a little of the reserved juice if necessary. The sauce, however, should be very thick.

Meanwhile, in a small skillet, toast the pine nuts over medium-low heat until they are golden, stirring constantly. Pine nuts burn quickly, so be attentive. Stir the toasted pine nuts into the sauce and add the drained raisins, olives, and capers. Add salt if necessary and pepper to taste. Serve the sauce warm or at room temperature.

The Recipe

Source: A Cook’s Tour of Italy by Joe Famularo

1 pound cremini or button mushrooms
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup Marsala wine
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound pasta bows
4 cups finely shredded fresh spinach leaves
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Wipe the mushrooms with damp kitchen towels, cut off and discard the tough stem ends and slice the mushrooms thinly. Put in a bowl with the lemon juice and toss well.

Melt the butter in a large skillet and add the garlic and Marsala. Cook for about 3 minutes and add the mushrooms. Stir well and cook 8 minutes longer. Add the cream and bring the mixture to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Keep this sauce at a simmer for about 5 minutes and then remove from the heat.

Cook the pasta until al dente according to directions on the package. Drain and return the pasta to the pan in which it cooked. Add the spinach, reserving about 1/3 cup, and the cream sauce. Toss lightly but well. To serve, apportion the pasta and add a heaping tablespoon of Parmesan over the top of each serving. Arrange the reserved spinach over the cheese. Serve right away.

The Recipe

Source: Biba’s Italy by Biba Caggione

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 (3-pound) rabbits, cut into serving pieces, washed and patted dry
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, minced (about 1 to 1 ½ cups)
2 cups dry white wine
10 to 12 black Gaeta or Nicoise olives, pitted and quartered
10 fresh sage leaves, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup red-wine vinegar

Heat 4 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet or casserole over high heat. Flour the rabbit pieces lightly. When the oil is very hot, add the rabbit to the skillet without crowding. (The rabbit can be browned in 2 batches.) Season with the salt and pepper and cook, turning once, until golden on both sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a platter.

Discard the oil and place the skillet back over medium heat. Add the remaining oil. When it is hot but not yet smoking, add the onion. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pan to pick up the browned bits, until the onion is lightly golden and soft, 6 to 7 minutes. Return the rabbit to the pan, raise the heat to high, and add the wine. As soon as the wine begins to bubble, cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, stirring from time to time and turning the rabbit once, until the wine is almost all evaporated and the rabbit is tender when pierced with a fork, 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer the rabbit to a platter, cover loosely with foil, and keep warm in a low oven.

Add the olives, sage, and garlic to the pan, and stir over medium heat until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the vinegar and stir quickly until the pan juices have thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Spoon the pan juices over the rabbit and serve hot.

The Recipe

Source: The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper

1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 medium carrot, minced
1/2 medium stalk celery, minced
1/2 medium onion, minced
2 ounces pancetta, minced
4 ounces mild Italian sausage (made without fennel)
12 ounces chicken thighs, skinned, boned, and cut into 1/4- to 1/2-inch dice
4 ounces turkey or chicken giblets, trimmed and finely chopped, or 4 ounces lean ground pork
4 ounces lean beef chuck, finely chopped
1 California bay laurel leaf
1/2 cup dry white wine
Generous pinch of ground cloves
1 1/4 cups poultry or meat stock
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 1/2 tablespoons imported Italian tomato paste
1/4 cup heavy cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Mincing the meats by hand makes for better browning and gives a silkier texture to the sauce. [Umm, I bought a bag of ground meat from the butcher shop.] In a 12-inch saute pan, heat the oil and butter over medium heat. Add the vegetables and pancetta. Leisurely saute, stirring often, until they begin to color, about 8 minutes. Add the sausage, chicken, giblets, beef, and bay leaf. Cook over high heat 8 more minutes, or until they begin to brown. Lower the heat to medium, and continue sauteing, stirring often with a wooden spatula, 10 minutes, or until the meat is rich dark brown. It should sizzle quietly in the pan, not violently pop and sputter. Slow browning protects the brown glaze forming on the bottom of the pan.

Drain off fat by tipping the browned meat into a large sieve and shaking it. Put the meat back into the pan, placing it over medium-high heat. Add the wine and cloves. Cook at a lively bubble 3 minutes, or until the wine has evaporated. As the wine bubbles, use a wooden spatula to scrape up the brown glaze from the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and add 1/4 cup of the stock. Take about 3 minutes to cook it down to nothing. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, and another 1/4 cup of stock; bubble it down to nothing again. Turn the mixture into a 2 1/2- to 3-quart saucepan.

Add the remaining stock to the saucepan and let it bubble slowly, uncovered, 30 to 45 minutes, or until the stock has reduced by about one third and the sauce is moist but not loose. Add the cream, and simmer 3 to 5 minutes. Season to taste. Allow the ragu to cool; cover and refrigerate. Defat the ragu when it is cold.

Toss the reheated ragu with cooked pasta as suggested above. Serve in heated bowls, passing freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese separately.

The Recipe

Source: Cucina del Sole: A Celebration of Southern Italian Cooking by Nancy Harmon Jenkins:

2 medium yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced or cut into chunks
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 sweet peppers, preferably red and yellow
1 pound ripe fresh tomatoes, diced, or 1 cup chopped drained canned plum tomatoes
1 fresh or dried red chili, or more to taste

Combine the onions and olive oil in a skillet large enough to hold all the ingredients and set over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to soften, then stir in the potatoes along with salt and pepper to taste and continue cooking and stirring for about 10 minutes, until the potatoes are tender enough to pierce with the point of a knife.

Meanwhile, peel the sweet peppers, using a vegetable peeler to remove the thin filament on the outside. Cut the peppers into long, inch-wide strips.

Add the pepper strips to the pan, stirring carefully to mix well without breaking up the potatoes. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until the peppers are beginning to soften, then stir in the tomatoes. (Note that because the peppers are raw, they will take longer to soften than roasted peppers would.) Cut the fresh chili in half, discard most of the seeds and white membrane, cut it into very thin slices, and add to the pan; if using dried chili, break it shaking out and discarding most of the seeds (which is where a lot of the heat is located) and crumble into the pan. Stir once more and cook for another 15 minutes, until the tomato sauce is thick and all the vegetables are very soft. If there is still a lot of liquid in the pan, raise the heat and boil rapidly until the liquid is reduced to a syrupy sauce.

Remove from the heat and serve immediately. Peperonata is also often served at room temperature.

The Recipe

Source: The Silver Spoon

5 eggplants, thickly sliced
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 pound 2 ounces ripe plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprig, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 eggs
juice of 1 lemon, strained
salt and pepper

Place the eggplant slices in a colander, sprinkle with salt and let drain for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, ,melt the butter with the oil in a pan, add the onion and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Rinse the eggplants, pat dry and add to the pan, then add the tomatoes, parsley and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Mix well and cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes or until the eggplants are tender. Remove the pan from the heat. Beat the eggs with the lemon juice and pour over the eggplant mixture. Stir rapidly so that the egg does not scramble but coats the mixture like a cream. Transfer the fricassée to a warm serving dish and serve immediately.

The Recipe

Source: Cucina del Sole: A Celebration of Southern Italian Cooking by Nancy Harmon Jenkins:

1 cup dried white beans, soaked for 6 hours or overnight
1 large bunch of escarole (about 1 pound)
1 or 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 crisp green celery stalk, coarsely chopped
5 or 6 flat-leaf parsley sprigs, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus oil for serving
12 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 dried red chili (optional)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
toasted slices of bread, for serving

Drain the beans, put them in a saucepan, and add fresh water to cover by about 1 inch. Bring to a simmer over low heat, cover, and cook for 40 to 60 minutes, or until the beans are tender. Drain the beans, reserving the bean liquid.

Measure the bean liquid and add enough water to make 2 ½ cups.

Rinse and core the escarole. Chop the leaves into pieces about 1 inch long. Add them to the saucepan in which you cooked the beans, cover the pan and cook the escarole over gentle heat in the water clinging to its leaves until it is tender. Be careful not to let it scorch, adding a little boiling water to the pan if it starts to burn. When it is tender, set it aside with any liquid remaining in the pan.

Chop together the garlic, celery, and parsley to make about ½ cup finely minced aromatics. In a small skillet, cook the aromatics gently in the olive oil for about 10 minutes or until they give off fragrance but are not brown. Stir in the halved tomatoes and continue cooking until the tomatoes have shriveled somewhat and given off lots of juice.