CIOPPINO (Fisherman's Stew with The Catch of The Day)

Cioppino, pronounced “chuh-Pee-no,” is an Italian-American seafood stew made with the catch of the day. San Francisco Italian-Americans invented this recipe in the 1800s, and it must include Dungeness crab. Most countries that border the ocean have their own seafood stew. The French have a Provençal stew called bouillabaisse. In Chile, they have caldillo de congrio. In Brazil, it’s moqueca, and in Positano, Italy, they have pesce all’aqua pazza or “fish in crazy water.” 

Because I now live on the East coast, I use Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab meat instead of Dungeness crab. 

Soffrito “under-fried”

2 T olive oil or avocado oil

1 large leek, cleaned, white part diced

1 medium carrot, peeled and finely minced

2 bay leaves

2 cloves garlic, minced

In a large pot or Dutch oven, add the olive oil; over low heat, sauté the leek and carrot for 8 to 10 minutes.

Add the bay leaves and and garlic.

Sauté for another 2 minutes.

Set aside.

Seafood

18 Little to middle Neck fresh clams

18 fresh mussels

1 28 oz can San Marzano crushed tomatoes or 3 cups of your own marinara sauce

1 cup Pinot Grigio or other dry white wine

½ t freeze-dried oregano

4 sprigs thyme, tied together with butcher's twine, ½ t freeze-dried thyme

½ t red pepper flakes (optional)

4 (8 oz) bottles clam broth

1½ lbs fillet of cod or other white fish, cut into bite-size pieces

1½ lbs extra-large shrimp, peeled and deveined

12 sea scallops, cut in half

3 T unsalted butter

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 lb cooked Chesapeake Bay lump crab meat

¼ cup chopped Italian parsley

Extra-virgin olive oil, for finishing

If using wild mussels, remove the beards with a pair of “kitchen only” needle-nose pliers, just before adding to sauce in large pot.

Scrub the mussels and clams with a brush under cold running water; set aside in two separate bowls of cold water for 15 minutes.

Add the wine and the clam broth to the pot with the soffrito and heat to a simmer.

Because clams here near the Chesapeake bay tend to be very sandy, I steam them in a separate 2 quart pan, with ¼ cup water for 10 to 12 minutes, partially covered until they open.  Pour off the sandy water and cover with a lid to keep warm.

Add the the mussels to the pot with soffrito and simmer, covered another 5 minutes.

Remove mussels with a slotted spoon and place in the pan with the clams, cover and set aside.

Discard any that failed to open.

To the pot, add the can of crushed tomatoes and simmer for a 15 minutes.

Add the fish, shrimp, and scallops.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and simmer another 5 minutes.

Remove the bay leaves and add most of the crab meat.

Heat for a couple of minutes.

Arrange the mussels and clams in each bowl.

Divide the cioppino on top, leaving most of the broth in the pan.

Top with the reserved crabmeat in the center of each bowl and ladle the rest of the hot broth over each bowl.

Sprinkle with parsley.

Serve immediately with warm crusty bread.

Serves 6

CHICKEN LOMBARDY - Pollo al Marsala Lombardo

In Italy, this dish is called Pollo al Marsala Lombardo (Chicken Marsala) and made without cheese. With the addition of cheese and green onions, it is an Italian-American version. The capital of Lombardia is Milano (Milan). The regional cuisine is based on butter, lard, pork, and veal.

If you want to serve this for company, prepare it in the morning, refrigerate, and let sit on your counter for 30 minutes before baking.
Serve with risotto, or pasta, or even roasted potatoes and a green salad.

4 T avocado oil

10 cremini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced

1 medium yellow onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

4 boneless chicken breasts

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup marsala wine

¾ cup chicken stock or broth

2 T unsalted butter

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ cup shredded asiago cheese

¼ cup grated Parmigiano-reggiano cheese

2 scallions, thinly sliced

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat.

Add the mushrooms and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring often.
Lower heat to medium and add the onion and cook another 2 minutes.
Add garlic and cook another minute.
Spoon half of this mixture into a baking dish and the rest in a bowl and set aside.

Cut each chicken breast in half lengthwise.
Pour flour in a shallow dish and dredge the chicken in flour, shaking off the excess.

In the same skillet, add 1 tablespoon of oil and brown half of the chicken on both sides until golden, about 4 minutes per side.
Place cooked chicken on top of mushroom mixture in baking dish.
Add the final tablespoon of oil to the skillet and brown the rest of the chicken on both sides until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side.

Add to baking dish.
Spoon the rest of the mushroom mixture on top of the chicken.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Add the wine and chicken stock to the skillet and bring to a simmer.
Add the butter and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Season to taste with salt and pepper and pour over the chicken in the baking dish.

Combine the cheeses with the scallions and sprinkle over chicken.
Bake uncovered for 30 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serves 4 to 6

RIGATONI WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE SAUCE

In my Italian-American cookbook, I make serve this Italian Sausage Sauce over pappardelle pasta.  I love the way the sauce gets into the rigatoni, and now this is my favorite pasta with this sauce.

1 lb mild or hot Italian sausages, about 5 links

½ cup good dry Italian white wine, such as Pinot Grigio

2 T olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

1 (28-oz) can whole peeled Italian tomatoes

2 T tomato paste

1 t freeze-dried or dried oregano

1 t minced fresh basil or freeze-dried basil

1 t red pepper flakes, optional

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 lb rigatoni pasta

Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese

Remove sausage from casings and place in a large bowl.

Pour in some of the white wine and crush with hands until sausage is in small pieces.

The wine makes it easier to break up the sausage.

Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. 

Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes.

Add garlic and sauté another minute.

Add the sausages and cook for about 5 minutes, breaking up pieces with a wooden spoon.

Add the rest of the wine and cook until wine has mostly evaporated.

In the same large bowl, pour in the tomatoes and hand-crush them, removing the hard center cores. Alternatively, use an immersion blender to chop the tomatoes.

Add the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste to the pot along with the oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and simmer 30 minutes.

Boil the pasta in salted water for about 8 to 9 minutes, until al dente.

Save about a ladle full of pasta water to pour into the sausage sauce.

Drain the pasta and pour back into the pot.

Add a couple ladles of the sausage sauce and toss.

Spoon into warm pasta bowls and add a little more sauce and sprinkle with grated cheese.

Serves 4

ITALIAN CHOPPED SALAD

This is one of my favorite salads. Sometimes this salad is on the menu in a pizza restaurant.  Add whatever you like to make it your own. 

Garlic-Parmigiano Salad Dressing

2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

1 T minced shallot

¼ cup red or white wine vinegar

2 T fresh lemon juice

1 t dry mustard

¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

2 t freeze-dried or dried oregano 

2 t freeze-dried or dried basil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salad

1 15-oz can chickpeas (garbanzos), rinsed and drained

2 heads Romaine lettuce, coarsely chopped

2 cups coarsely chopped arugula or spring mix

3 oz Sopressata or Calabrese salami

½ cup sun-dried tomatoes

6 pepperoncini, stems removed 

½ red onion, thinly sliced

½ cup pitted black Italian olives

¼ cup green olives, in a jar

8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for garnish

Place the salad dressing ingredients in a jar fitted with a lid and shake to combine.

Place the chickpeas in a bowl and pour about 2 tablespoons of the salad dressing over to marinate for 30 minutes.

Store dressing and chickpeas in the refrigerator until ready to dress the salad.

On a large cutting board pile up the lettuces and chop until bite-size pieces.

Transfer to a large salad bowl.

Do the same with the salami, sun-dried tomatoes, pepperoncini, onion slices, olives and mozzarella.

Chop through them all, until bite-size pieces.

Transfer to a large salad bowl, add toss with some of the Garlic-Parmigiano Salad Dressing.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Top with some of the garbanzo beans and sprinkle with the Parmigiano and serve.

You will have more salad dressing for another salad or two.

Serves 4

CLASSIC CAPRESE SALAD

This is the time of the year, if you live where it is now the summer season, to make Caprese salad at its best.  It is so simple and all you need are homegrown tomatoes, fresh basil, and mozzarella cheese.  Authentic Caprese salad does not have vinegar, of any kind, drizzled over it.  The only seasoning added is extra-virgin olive oil, salt, and black pepper.

3 medium-large homegrown tomatoes, sliced into ¼ inch slices

1 (1-lb) ball fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced or log of pre-sliced fresh mozzarella 

1 bunch of large basil leaves

Extra-virgin olive oil (best quality you can find)

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Start with a slice of mozzarella, place a slice of tomato in front of it and then tuck in one or two basil leaves.  Working around in a circle until the circle meets.  

Generously drizzle with olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 2 to 3

PAN SEARED SCALLOPS WITH DRY VERMOUTH

There are two kinds of scallops, sea and bay scallops. These are large east coast sea scallops. Make sure they are very fresh. They should smell like the sea or almost sweet.

They cook very quickly and the secret to browning is to dry them off with paper towels and do not turn them until they are brown.

10 sea scallops

1 T unsalted butter

1 T extra-light olive oil or avocado oil

½ cup dry Italian vermouth

Juice of ½ lemon

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 T unsalted butter

Rinse scallops under cold water and place on a double layer of paper towels.

Pat completely dry.

Have the butter and oil ready to add to a skillet.

Put the rest of the ingredients into little bowls, ready to add to the skillet.

Season scallops with salt and pepper on both sides.

In a large skillet, heat the butter and oil over medium-high heat.

Add the scallops in a single layer, not touching each other.

Brown on one side for about 2 to 3 minutes. 

Do move scallops until they are brown, you can peek under one to see.

Turn scallops over with tongs and brown on the other side.

Remove scallops to a plate and set aside.

Lower heat in skillet to medium-low.

Add the vermouth and lemon juice.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cook for a minute or two, stirring with a wooden spoon.

Add the two tablespoons of butter, then return the scallops to the pan and cook another few seconds to warm scallops. Do not overcook.

Serve with pan sauce over scallops.

Suggestion: Serve with a green vegetable and risotto.

Serves 2

PIZZA WITH CAPICOLA HAM

Capicola, capocollo, or coppa, is a traditional Italian cold-cut (salume) made from pork.

One recipe for pizza dough or already-prepared dough
One recipe for pizza sauce or store-bought pizza sauce

Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
4 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
4 oz capicola him, thinly sliced
Oregano for sprinkling on top of the pizza
2 t extra-virgin olive oil
Fresh basil leaves, for garnish

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Lightly oil two pizza pans.
Preheat a pizza stone on the bottom rack of oven for 15 minutes.

Place a ball of dough onto the center of each pan. Use your hands to stretch, form, and flatten each ball of dough to a 10 or 12-inch round.

Spread a ladle of pizza sauce on the rolled-out pizza dough, leaving a border all around.
Sprinkle with a little Parmigiano cheese, 4 slices of the mozzarella cheese, and 4 slices of ham. Sprinkle with a little oregano.
Place pizza pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake 5 minutes; then slide the pizza directly onto the heated stone and bake another 10 minutes.

Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and add a garnish of basil when finished baking.

Makes 2 12-inch pizzas or 4 personal size pizzas

FARFALLE WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGES, PEPPERS, SUN-DRIED TOMATOES, & FENNEL

This is one of my Go-To meals on a weeknight.  It is so delicious, you may want to serve it for company. . .after this pandemic is over. This recipe includes Italian sausages (pork or turkey), sun-dried tomatoes, and fennel. Farfalle (pronounced fa-FAR-lay) translates to "butterflies". Get the onion, fennel, peppers, and garlic chopped up on a cutting board ready to toss into the skillet. Dinner in under 40 minutes!

2 T extra-light olive oil, divided
1 lb mild or hot Italian sausages

1 T sea or kosher salt, for the pasta water
1 lb farfalle (butterfly) pasta

1 large sweet onion, cut in half and thinly sliced

1 medium bulb fennel, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 T fresh basil, chiffonade or torn

½ t red pepper flakes

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ cup red or white wine

1 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, sliced into bitesize pieces

1 bunch Italian parsley, trimmed and chopped

½ cup grated Parmegiano-Reggiano or Pecorino-Romano cheese

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil and fry the sausages for about 15 minutes over medium heat until brown on all sides. I put a splatter screen over my skillet to keep most of the grease from popping out on the stove.

Remove to a cutting board and discard grease and carefully wipe out or wash out skillet.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the salt.  
Boil the farfalle pasta for 10 minutes, until al dente.

Save 1 cup of the pasta water and set aside.  

Drain pasta and set aside.

In the same large clean skillet add the rest of the oil and cook the onion, fennel, and peppers over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring as needed.  

Add the garlic and cook another minute. 
Add the wine and cook another minute.

Cut the sausages into ¼ inch circles and add to the skillet along with the sun-dried tomatoes.  
Add 1 cup of the pasta water and cook another 4 to 5 minutes.

Spoon in the pasta and add the basil, red pepper flakes and parsley.  

Toss to combine and add more pasta water, if needed.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add the grated cheese and spoon pasta into 4 heated pasta bowls.

Serve with extra grated cheese at the table and a green salad...and of course a glass of vino rosso (red wine) or vino bianco (white wine).

Serves 4

MARINATED MUSHROOMS

I have been making these marinated mushrooms for such a long time. Make the mushrooms at least 2 days before you want to serve them. I serve them in a little bowl on an antipasti platter with cocktail picks next to them. Adjust the red pepper flakes according to your taste. If you can find small or button mushrooms, leave them whole.

1 lb cremini or white mushrooms, trimmed, wiped clean, and cut in half 

1 T extra-light olive oil or avocado oil

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar

1 large shallot, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ to ½ t red pepper flakes

½ t chopped fresh oregano leaves

1 t fresh thyme leaves

2 T minced fresh Italian parsley

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 bay leaves

In a large skillet add the tablespoon of oil and over medium-high heat, cook the mushrooms until lightly golden, about 10 minutes.

Turn off heat and let mushrooms cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the extra-virgin olive oil, vinegar, shallot, garlic, red pepper flakes, oregano, thyme, and parsley.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add the mushrooms and bay leaves and gently stir to combine.

Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 2 days.

Serve at room temperature.