TUSCAN PANZANELLA SALAD

Panzanella roughly translates to bread (pane) small basket (zanella). This salad is especially wonderful when tomatoes are in season. If you want the salad to be a complete meal, add a can of rinsed and drained cannellini beans to the salad for protein.

Croutons

2 cups roughly chopped Italian bread

Place bread croutons on a baking sheet and place in a 350 degree F oven. 

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Remove and set aside.

Salad

2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half

½ English cucumber, cut in half lengthwise, and sliced

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

½ red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced

¼ cup drained capers

¼ cup chopped Italian parsley

1 T chopped oregano leaves

1 T chopped basil leaves

In a large salad bowl, add the above salad ingredients and the bread croutons. 

Toss to combine.

Vinaigrette

1 clove garlic, minced

½ t Dijon mustard

¼ cup white wine or champagne vinegar

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a canning jar, add the above vinaigrette ingredients, screw on the top, and shake vigorously.

Pour as much as you want over the salad and gently toss to combine. You will have enough salad dressing for another salad.

Serves 4

BAKED EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA

This recipe for eggplant Parmigiana resembles southern-style fried green tomatoes, with all the crunch, and they are not fried. You stack them together and bake a final time for about 10 minutes until the cheese melts. I was inspired to make it this way after I had (one stack only) for lunch at Ristorante Tre Sorelle (Three Sisters) in Positano, Italy. 

1 recipe for marinara or tomato sauce or your favorite jar of sauce

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 large eggs

2 T water or milk

1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided

2 cups panko breadcrumbs

1 ½ cups dry Italian style breadcrumbs

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Extra-light olive oil or avocado oil

2 large, heavy eggplants, peeled and sliced crosswise into 12 slices, ¼-inch thick

1 lb mozzarella cheese, cut into 12 slices

Place flour into a shallow bowl and season generously with salt and pepper.

Whisk eggs in a medium bowl with the water and ¼ cup of the Parmigiano cheese.

Combine the Parmigiano, panko and breadcrumbs, in a shallow bowl.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Drizzle some oil on a large baking sheet and spread it around with a brush.

Dip eggplant slices in flour, shaking off excess, then dip in egg mixture and finally in breadcrumb mixture.

Place eggplant slices on the baking sheet and drizzle a little more oil on top.

Bake for 20 minutes, flip each one over and bake an additional 20 minutes.

On the same baking sheet, arrange four of the baked slices (not touching each other) in a row.

Add a spoonful of sauce, then some grated Parmigiano and a slice of mozzarella cheese.

Place another slice of eggplant on each and repeat one more time (each stack contains three slices) and place back 

in the oven for 10 minutes to melt the cheeses.

Garnish with a couple of basil leaves and serve.

Serves 2 to 4

PASTA & BEANS - Pasta e Fagioli

This is the classic soup of pasta and beans from Southern Italy, especially popular in Napoli and the Amalfi coast.  Don't be a fool...eat pasta fazool!  It is truly amore!

If you can't find pancetta, you can use a couple of strips of unflavored bacon.

2 oz pancetta, diced 

2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ t red pepper flakes
½ cup dry white wine
2 T tomato paste
2 quarts chicken stock
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 (3-inch) piece Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind 
2 (14 oz) cans cannellini beans with liquid
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup ditalini or ditali pasta
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

In a large pot or Dutch oven, fry the pancetta over medium heat until golden.
Add the oil to the pot and sauté the onion until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. 

Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté another minute.
Add wine and simmer 3 minutes.
Add tomato paste, chicken stock, sprig of thyme, bay leaf, and cheese rind.
Simmer 10 minutes. 
Add beans and simmer 10 more minutes.
Remove the sprig of thyme, bay leaf, and cheese rind; season to taste with salt and 

pepper. 
Add pasta and simmer another 5 to 6 minutes.

Serve with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and some grated Parmigiano cheese. 

Serves 4 to 6 

SHREDDED BEEF SANDWICHES WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS & PEPERONCINI

This sandwich makes a delicious dinner accompanied with a salad or soup. There is enough left over for another couple of dinners or lunches. The entire house had the amazing aroma of that chuck roast slowly cooking in my oven for hours.  You can use a slow-cooker, but brown the meat first.

2 T avocado or olive oil, divided

2 large yellow onions, cut in half and sliced

3 ½ to 4 lb chuck or rump roast trimmed of excess fat

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 cups beef broth

1 T roasted beef base (in an 8-oz jar)

2 fresh rosemary sprigs

1 T fresh oregano sprigs or freeze-dried

4 cloves garlic, cut in half

Provolone cheese, sliced

Golden peperoncini in a jar with juice

Buttered and toasted Italian hoagie rolls

In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat one tablespoon of the oil over medium heat and sauté the onions, for about 15 minutes until caramelized; stirring often.

Remove and set aside on the counter in a bowl and cover.

Season the roast on both sides with salt and pepper.

To the same pot, add the other tablespoon of oil and brown the roast on both sides.

When brown, add the beef broth, beef roasted beef base, rosemary, oregano, garlic, and juice from the ½ the jar of peperoncini.

Cover with a lid and bake in a 275 degree F oven for 6 hours.

Remove from oven and carefully transfer roast to a cutting board and let cool a few minutes..

While roast is cooling, pour the beef broth from the pot through a fine mesh strainer into a saucepan. Keep warm on the stove.

Using two forks, shred the beef completely and place in a medium saucepan and keep warm on the stove. Discard any fat that may be on the roast.

To Assemble

Place a generous amount of shredded beef on the bottoms of the toasted rolls.

Add some of the caramelized onions.

Top with cheese and place under a broiler for just a couple of minutes; long enough to melt the cheese.

Top with a few peperoncini, trimmed of stems.

Serve with individual small bowls of the beef juice for dipping the sandwiches.

Makes 6 to 8 sandwiches

SPAGHETTI WITH SHRIMP FRA DIAVOLO

 Fra Diavolo is an Italian-American creation which translates to 'brother devil'.

All'Arrabbiata is an Italian creation from Rome which translates to 'angry'. They are both spicy, using red pepper flakes and have a tomato base. 
You can serve shrimp fra diavolo with pasta or without. Serve this with a green salad, and a glass of vino rosso.

1 lb large to jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed

¼ cup fine-quality olive oil, divided

½ t sea salt

½ to 1 t red pepper flakes (depending upon how spicy you like it)

¼ t fine ground black pepper

½ medium yellow onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, finely sliced or minced

½ t dried oregano (I used freeze-dried) 

¾ cup dry white wine

1 (28-oz) can San Marzano style whole peeled tomatoes, hand crushed

½ lb spaghetti

2 T chopped Italian parsley

2 T chopped fresh basil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

In a bowl, combine the shrimp, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, salt, red pepper flakes, and ground black pepper.

In a large skillet, over high heat, add the shrimp mixture and cook until lightly brown on both sides, about 2 minutes, each side.

Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

In the same skillet, over medium heat, add the last tablespoon of the olive oil, and cook the onion until translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes.  

Add the garlic and oregano and cook another minute.

Add the wine and stir with a wooden spoon to break up any brown bits.

Add the crushed tomatoes and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, until sauce slightly thickens.

Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in boiling salted water, until al dente, about 8 to 9 minutes.

Take out about ½ cup pasta water and set aside to add to thin the sauce.

Drain pasta and add back to the pot.

Add some of the pasta cooking water to the sauce to slightly thin.

Spoon some sauce over the pasta in the pot and toss to combine.

Add shrimp to the sauce including any juices in bowl and simmer another 2 minutes, until heated through.

Stir in the parsley and basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Divide the spaghetti between 2 warm pasta bowls.

Spoon some sauce on top, add shrimp, and a little more sauce.

Drizzle with a small amount extra-virgin olive oil.

Serves 2

SUNDAY RIGATONI WITH BEEF SHANK GRAVY

Here is a hearty Sunday Italian-American dinner from Mamaw, Elizabeth Greco Noviello. Some Italian-Americans call their sauce that is cooked with meat "gravy". The beef is so tender and the marrow bones give the gravy so much flavor. Buona Domenica a tutti!

2 (28 oz) cans whole peeled Italian tomatoes

2 lbs beef shank with marrow bones intact

2 T extra-light olive oil or avocado oil, divided

1 medium onion, diced

4 oz pancetta, diced

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2 T tomato paste

½ cup dry red wine

½ t red pepper flakes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 T chopped fresh basil

1 lb rigatoni

Chopped fresh basil, for garnish

Freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Pour tomatoes into a large bowl and hand-crush them, removing the hard center cores.

Alternatively, use an immersion blender to chop the tomatoes.

In a large heavy pot or Dutch oven, brown the beef shanks in a tablespoon of oil for about 6 to 7 minutes on each side. Do not turn the shanks until they are deeply browned. This will add flavor and allow the meat to release from the pan. Remove the meat from the pot and set aside.

Pour off any excess grease and add the rest of the oil.
 Sauté the onion and pancetta for about 10 minutes over low heat. Add the garlic and sauté another minute.

Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, wine or water, red pepper flakes, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Simmer for 10 minutes, then return the beef shanks to the pan and nestle them into the sauce. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and place in a 325-degree F oven for 2 to 2 ½ hours.

Using tongs, transfer the beef shanks to a cutting board.
When cool enough to handle, shred the meat and place back into the pot. Discard the marrow bones. Reheat gravy and stir in chopped basil.

Boil the rigatoni in salted water for about 9 to 10 minutes, until al dente.
Drain rigatoni and pour back into the pot.
Add a couple of ladles of the gravy (with some shredded meat) to the pasta and toss.
Spoon into warm pasta bowls, add a little more of the gravy and meat to the top of the pasta. Sprinkle with some chopped basil and serve with grated cheese.

Serves 4


* Grana Padano cheese is one of the world’s first hard cheeses; it was made by monks near Milan, Italy, in the 12th century. Grana means “grain” in Italian, referring to the texture of the cheese.

ROASTED BUTTERFLIED CHICKEN WITH FRESH SALSA VERDE

To butterfly a chicken for roasting, you remove the backbone, make a slit in the breastbone, also known as keel bone, and flatten it before cooking. The chicken cooks faster and the skin browns more evenly with this method. I made a fresh salsa verde (green sauce) to serve along with the chicken.  

1 (3 to 4 lb) whole chicken

4 fresh thyme sprigs

1 T extra-light olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Place chicken, breast side down, on a plastic cutting board.

Cut out the backbone with kitchen shears and trim off any excess fat at the base of the tail.

Discard chicken back or save in a plastic baggie and freeze for making stock later.

Using a sharp knife, make a slit at the top, between the breastbone (this will help flatten the chicken).

Turn chicken over and press down hard with your hands to flatten the chicken.

Tuck wings under and flip legs inward and down.

Place thyme sprigs on a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan.

Place chicken, breast side up, on top of the thyme sprigs.

Rub the olive oil all over the skin of the chicken.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

Place in oven and roast for about 60 minutes, basting with pan juices, after 30 minutes. 

Chicken is done when the skin is golden brown and breast meat registers 165 degrees F with an instant-read thermometer.

While chicken is roasting, make the Salsa Verde.

Remove chicken from oven and place on a cutting board, tented with foil for 5 minutes before cutting into pieces.

Salsa Verde

1 large bunch Italian parsley

8 large basil leaves

2 T capers, drained

2 anchovy fillets

1 clove garlic

Zest and juice of 1 large lemon

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 T extra-virgin olive oil

Place ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.

Spoon into a small serving bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serves 4