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Minestra di Ceci (Italian chickpea & pasta soup)
Ingredients
Chickpeas cooked
Stock, broth or water
Olive oil
Rosemary, fresh or dried chopped
Garlic minced 2 cloves
Tomatoes peeled, seeded, chopped 1
Salt and pepper to taste
Soup pasta
Method
Puree half the chickpeas with 1 cup of the stock in a blender. Set aside.
Heat oil in a large pot. Sauté rosemary and garlic till garlic just browns.
Add tomatoes, and simmer 3-5 minutes.
Add remaining stock, chickpea puree and remaining whole chickpeas. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer 10 more minutes.
Add pasta and bring to a light boil till pasta is cooked through. Serve with crusty bread. |
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Spaghetti & Meatballs
Ingredients
Butter
Olive oil
Onion minced
Pepper, green bell minced
Garlic minced 6 cloves
Oregano dried
Tomato paste 1/4 c
Red wine (opt.) 1 c
Tomatoes chopped or crushed 2
Basil fresh or dried 1/2 c
Sugar
Salt
Pepper
Bay leaves
Meatballs (makes 8 large or 16 small meatballs)
Ground beef 1 lb
Ground pork 1 lb
Breadcrumbs 1/2 c
Parsley minced 1/4 c
Parmesan, Pecorino Romano or Asiago cheese grated 1/3 c
Eggs beaten well 2-3
Salt 2 t
Pepper 2 t
Flour 1 c
Olive oil
Method
Sauce
Heat oil and butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Add minced onions, pepper and garlic. Sauté over medium heat for 5-8 minutes until mixture loses its rawness. Reserve about 3/4 cup of this mixture aside to use in meatballs.
Add oregano and tomato paste to mixture in pot and stir in well 1-2 minutes. Add red wine, stir in and simmer till almost all evaporated.
Add remaining sauce ingredients, stir well and simmer over low heat 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Meatballs
While marinara is simmering, mix well all meatball ingredients except flour and olive oil in a large bowl.
Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a skillet. Add a small bit of meatball mix to oil and cook through. Taste it and adjust seasoning as needed.
Form meat into balls. Roll each meatball in the flour and shake off excess. Brown meatballs in hot oil on all sides.
Add meatballs to marinara sauce during last 30 minutes of cooking. Simmer till cooked through.
Serve over spaghetti or in Italian rolls as a meatball sandwich. |
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Boston Baked Beans
Ingredients
Beans
Baking soda
Onion chopped
Molasses
Sugar, brown
Mustard, dry
Salt
Pepper
Salt pork
Method
Soak the beans in water overnight. Drain and rinse. Place beans in a saucepan and cover with water and a pinch of baking soda. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes or until the skins of the beans flake when you blow on them. Drain.
Preheat oven to 275°. Mix the beans with the onion, molasses, brown sugar, dry mustard, salt and pepper.
Place half the salt pork on bottom of a deep 2-quart casserole dish or bean pot. Add the beans and enough water to just barely cover. Place the remaining salt pork on the top of the beans. Cover the casserole or bean pot with a lid or aluminum foil.
Bake for 6-8 hours. Add water as needed to keep the beans just barely covered - about every hour or so. Do not stir.
Uncover for last 30 minutes to brown the salt pork and caramelize the beans. |
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Brasato al Chianti
Ingredients
Olive oil 1/4 c
Beef roast 2 lbs
Onions chopped 2
Carrots peeled, chopped 2
Mushrooms sliced 1 c
Chianti, sangiovese or other light red wine 2 c
Stock or water 1 1/2 c
Parsley, fresh minced 2 T
Oregano, fresh or dried minced 1 T or 1 t
Thyme, fresh or dried minced 1 T or 1 t
Garlic crushed 1 clove
Rosemary, fresh or dried minced 2 t or 1/2 t
Bay leaves 1 ea
Salt and pepper
Method
Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large pot. Sear meat well on all sides and remove to a plate.
Turn heat to medium low and sauté onions, carrots and mushrooms in pot till onions are translucent.
Return meat to pot and add rest of ingredients. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low so liquid is just simmering. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add water as necessary to maintain liquid.
Remove meat to a platter and slice. Strain and reserve liquid. Puree vegetables in a food mill, blender or food processor. Mix together with reserved liquid, adjust seasoning, and serve as a sauce to accompany the meat. |
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