HOME-MADE PASTA and CHICKPEAS - Pasta e Ceci

 

  This is a traditional old-fashion dish. 

While many uses canned chickpeas with small pasta shells, I prefer home-made pasta and home cooked chickpeas.

Recipe for home cooked chickpeas.  

Ingredients

1 lb. bag of dry chickpeas

Water

DON'T ADD SALT TO THE WATER

Procedure

In a large pot place the washed chickpeas, add water (3 times the amount of the chickpeas),  bring to a boil and then cover and simmer gently.  About 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Homemade Pasta

Pasta Dough

  1 1/2 cups of unbleached flour
  1 tsp salt

  1 tsp olive oil

Prepare the dough by placing the flour on a cutting board and make a well.
Add 1 tsp olive oil and salt into the well. Keep stirring this way until you have formed a sticky dough ball. Dump the dough ball onto a floured surface and knead, incorporating more flour into the dough as needed, until the dough is smooth, elastic, even in color and no longer sticky.
To knead the dough, push down on the ball with the heel of your hand, then give the dough a quarter turn, fold it over onto itself and push away from you again with the heel of your hand. Keep turning and pushing until you achieve the desired consistency.  Once you have finished kneading, cover with a dish and let rest at room temperature for 60 minutes or more.  Once the dough has rested, divide into balls. At this point, you may flatten each ball using a rolling pin or a pasta machine.

Rolling pin

Pasta machine

Then roll each dough sheet with a rolling pin and with a knife cut 

into rectangles.

SAUCE (SUGO)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 lb. ripe tomatoes finally chopped or canned tomatoes
Few fresh basil leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat the oil in saucepan over moderate heat, add the onion and brown for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt and basil and simmer over low heat for half hour.  Add the cooked chickpeas and simmer for few minutes.

In the meantime, cook the pasta in boiling salted water and drain.  Mix the pasta with the chickpeas.

PASTA WITH SWORDFISH TAIL (PASTA CON LA CODA DI PESCE SPADA)

  Recently, as I shopped at the grocery store, I saw and bought some swordfish tail.

I have been purchasing swordfish steaks for quite a while as we enjoy the rich flavor and texture. While the swordfish steaks take center stage and expensive, I found that portions of the swordfish tail are very inexpensive. 

Decided to make swordfish tail with tomato sauce over pasta.

Pasta with swordfish tail

Portion of swordfish tail

Ingredients:

1 lb. of swordfish tail

2 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup of olive oil

1/2 can of whole tomatoes (chopped)

1 green pepper (sliced)

Salt and black pepper

Preparation:

Rinse the tail with cold water and pat dry with paper towels.  Cut into chunks and season with salt and pepper.

Heat skillet with the olive oil and chopped garlic until the garlic is gold. Add the chunks of swordfish tail and simmer for 15 minutes until golden brown.

Remove the chunks of fish.

Add chopped tomatoes to the pan and sliced pepper.

Cook sauce for 15 minutes and then add the fish tail.

Cook for another 10 minutes.

In the meantime, cook pasta.  Add sauce with swordfish over pasta and serve.

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Many times, I pan-fried swordfish steaks with lemon and garlic.  This method creates a crispy exterior and a tender interior.  Give it a sprinkle of salt and ground black pepper on both sides.  

1. 
   

Raw swordfish steak

  

Pan-fried swordfish steak with garlic and lemon

Let me tell you that I have found that the swordfish tails are more flavorful.  They contain more collagen and fat which break down during cooking, resulting in a rich broth or sauce.

Embracing swordfish tails is a culinary exploration!

 

BAKED SALMON

Baked salmon is a dish easy enough for a weeknight but boasts layers of flavor. 

Baked salmon with risotto

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs. skin-on salmon fillet 

3 cloves of garlic (chopped)

3 or 4 sprig of parsley (chopped)

1 lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt and black pepper

Keep the salmon skin on.  Yes, you can eat salmon skin.

Directions

Preheat oven at 400 degrees

Mix the chopped parsley, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and salt and black pepper in a small bowl.

Place a little olive oil on the baking dish.  

Place the salmon skin-side down on the baking dish.

Spread the surface with the mixture of parsley, etc. and place in oven.

Bake until the salmon is firm and flakes easily when pressed.

Depending on the size and weight of your fish, baked salmon cooks at 400 degrees and will be ready after 20 to 25 minutes.

One of my favorite things about this baked salmon dish is its versatility.  It pairs well with rice, salad or roasted potatoes.  We enjoy it with risotto with spinach.

Torroni "Croccanti" di Mandorle

Christmas is an excellent opportunity to prepare traditional Italian desserts and serve old recipes but, despite the passing years, still remains a favorite by everyone, young and old. Here is one of my favorite Christmas treats.

Torroni di Mandorle

Ingredients


Blanched Almonds

1 lb. toasted almonds

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup honey
Zest of one orange

Blanching Almonds

Pour boiling water to barely cover almonds.

Let the almonds sit for 1 minute and no longer.

Drain and slip the skins off.

Toasting Almonds

Place almonds in a heavy, ungreased skillet.
Stir often over medium heat until golden brown.
Oven method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Toasted Almonds

Spread nuts in one layer on ungreased shallow baking pan.
Bake for 20 to 30, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.

Preparation
Melt sugar and honey in a pot over medium heat, add the almonds and turn constantly with a wooden spoon (about 30 minutes) until a firm consistency. Add orange zest in final minute. 

Put the mixture on a wet, work surface and spread with a cutting board until you reach a thickness of 1 inch. 

Cut into rectangles of 2 inches. 

These torroni or croccanti may be kept in a closed container for a long time.

LAMB'S LIVER WITH ONIONS (Fegato d'agnello con cipolla)

 I know that liver is not a food that everyone likes, but it's an extremely valuable food from a nutritional point of view as it is very rich in proteins.  It's not only nutritive but simple to prepare.  The liver together with onions acquires a special flavor.  

Try it, it will win you over.

Ingredients

1 lb. liver

3 red onions

1/4 cup olive oil

Few leaves of salvia and rosemary

Salt and pepper

Preparation

Rinse the liver under running water, dry it with kitchen paper and cut into pieces.

 

To add flavor and tenderize the liver, you can marinate it for at least 30 minutes in a mixture of olive oil, minced garlic herbs (salvia, rosemary), salt and pepper.

Put the oil in a large pan, add the onions, lightly salt (this prevents it from burning) and brown it lightly over a low flame, stirring with a wooden spoon.

As soon as the onions are golden, add two spoons of hot water and cook it over a very low flame for a few minutes.  Remove the onions from the pan and add the liver.

Cook them over a medium-low flame, turning them over as soon as the first side is cooked, season lightly with salt, add a pinch of pepper and finish cooking. Serve immediately.

Liver with side dish of broccoli

Enjoy your meal!

OUR TYPICAL THANKSGIVING DINNER

Thanksgiving dinner that my family enjoys yearly.

Lot of time and work, but simply worth it. 

Antipasto:  Shrimps and stuffed clams 

               Fried Calamari

            Vegetable tray with stuffed mushrooms, fried mushrooms and peppers

Home made ravioli

Ravioli with sage and butter

Ricotta ravioli with sauce

Turkey stuffing

Stuffed turkey

Roasted potatoes

 

Fresh Romano Beans with Tomatoes (Fagioli a Corallo in Umido)

     Romano beans, also known as flat beans, are like the cool cousins of green beans. Inside, you’ll find small, juicy beans that are both crisp and sweet.  These Italian-born beans thrive during the summer months, stretching from June through September. 

                                                   

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup of. extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 lb. very ripe fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced, or 1 small can of plum tomatoes, chopped.
• 1 small red chili (optional) 
• 1 lb. Romano beans, ends trimmed 
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste 
• 1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional) 

Romano beans ends trimmed

 

Directions:

Snap off the stem ends and boil beans until tender-crisp and set aside.

In a saucepan warm the olive oil. Add the onions and cook until translucent.

Add the tomatoes, chili, salt and pepper and simmer.

After 30 minutes, stir in the beans for a few minutes and serve.

Great dish to eat mixed with pasta.

Also great as a side dish.

 

Flat green beans with grilled tuna