Bigoli alla carbonara

Servings 4

•    500g / 1lb Bigoli

•    5 oz guanciale (or bacon)

•    1 finely chopped onion 

•    4 egg

•    3 ½ oz Pecorino cheese or Parmigiano

•    3 spoons of chopped parsley (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Cook the Bigoli in a large pot of salted water.  
Meanwhile, cut the pancetta or guanciale into strips and put it in a large pan.  Gently brown the pancetta or guanciale, then add the onions and brown the onions.

Next, beat the egg yolks with the Pecorino cheese, and add two spoons of milk or cream, and grind some black pepper in.

When the pasta is cooked al dente, drain it and put it into the pan with the bacon.  Empty the pasta/bacon/onions from pan into a mixing bowl and add the beaten egg yolk mixture and the chopped parsley; finally, add a tablespoon or two of the pasta's water from cooking it for a creamy result.

Serve the pasta immediately and grate a little more of the Pecorino cheese on top for presentation.

Puttanesca

 

•    1 ¼ lb spaghetti

•  6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

•    6 anchovies, pounded in a mortar with a pestle

•    3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

•    7 oz black olives, pitted and sliced in half

•    1 tablespoon salted capers, rinsed and roughly chopped

•    1 ¼ lb tomatoes, cutted into thin slices

•    1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

•    salt

Place a large sauce pan on the heat and add the olive oil. Then add the thinly sliced garlic and pounded anchovies.

When the garlic begins to turn golden and the anchovies have dissolved, add the olives, capers and tomatoes. Cook over high heat for a few seconds, stirring continuously.

In the meanwhile, cook the Spaghetti in a large pot of boiling, salted water. Then drain and transfer the pasta to the sauce pan and sprinkle with parsley.

Paella Mista for six hungry people!

Ingredients

Meats

6 drumsticks (cleave the bottom portion of the drumstick off)
6 large shrimps
1/2 pound of calamari rings
1/2 pound of bacon in cubes
1/2 pound of pork in cubes (pork chop meat)
1 pound of mussels
6 sea scallops

Vegetables

1/2 chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced or garlic pressed
1 small tomato, cubed in 1cm peices
1 cup of cooked fava beans
The juice of one lemon

Herbs/Spices

1 gram of saffron (3grams if it's powder)
3 bay leaves
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 tea spoon of smoked paprika

Other

Short grain rice (bomba is the best!)
3-5 liters Fish or vegetable stock (amount depending on the heat and other factors)
2 cups of white wine
Salt and Pepper

Making the Paella

At a low heat, heat the olive oil until is hot, but not smoking.  Add the chicken first, then the pork, then the bacon, then the onion and finally the garlic.  The pan will begin to turn brown on the bottom, add the tomatoes to 'clean' and prepare the pan for the next ingredient.  After the paella pan is 'clean' again, add the calamari and fava beans.  When the calamari are white, add the stock until it covers the rivets.  After the liquid evaporates, you will see the rivets again.  When you can see the rivets, add the rice (see picture).  With the spoon, lightly move the rice, without stirring too much.  Add all the herbs and spices. Add the wine, stirring a little bit in a crossing gesture with the spoon.  When the rice is almost cooked, add the shrimps, sea scallops and the mussels.  Turn the heat off!  Immediately cover the pan with tin foil (the vapor will cook the seafood).  The big secret for a perfect paella is allow the bottom of the pan to get brown, being very careful not to burn too much!
After the paella is ready, allow the dish to rest for 5-10 minutes before eating.  Remove foil, squeeze a lemon on top and it's ready!!!

Yiayia's Olives

Yiayia's Olives

Olives (whichever are your favorite, but yiayia only eats Kalamata olives!)

Olive oil

Red wine Vinegar

Garlic

Celery

Dried oregano

Cut 4-6 garlic cloves in half lengthwise and chop one celery stick into 1cm slices. (note not to introduce ANY water to the jar or it can spoil).  Drain off all the brine from the olives, place the olives in a jar.  Add to the jar, the garlic, the celery and the oregano.  Shake and mix the ingredients up.  Slowly, add the olive oil and the vinegar until cover the olives (50% oil, 50% vinegar in the jar), and let sit for one week before consuming.  Periodically shake the jar to mix the olive oil and the vinegar.

Limoncello

Ingredients:

• 9 Organic Lemons (This is a must)
• 4 cups Grain Alcohol (You can use vodka or grappa)
• 6 cups of water
• 3 1/2 of white sugar

Utensils:

• 1x Strainer
• 1x Pot
• 1x Big Jar with sealed tap

Cooking Method:

Step One

1. Peel 9 organic lemons. Make sure you only peel the skin without getting the white part of the lemon.
2. Place the lemon skins in a big jar and add grain (pure) alcohol. Seal the jar and let it infuse for approx 30 days.
3. The lemons need to soak in this liquid for 30 days in order for the Limoncello to be bold yellow in colour and full of flavour.

Step Two (After 30 days)

1. Bring water to a boil and add sugar.
2. When the water cools add the marinated yellow alcohol to the water using a strainer so the lemon skins don’t go into the limoncello.
3. Put a glass of water into the jar, mix it around and add it to the mix. This will get the most flavour out of the lemon mix for the limoncello to be full of bold flavour.
4. Now mix the limoncello really well for a couple of minutes.
   Step Three
   1. Fill up empty glass bottles with the limoncello.
   2. Put one bottle of limoncello in the fridge and store the other ones in a dry cool place.

      How to Serve it:

      • Serve the Limoncello in small glasses. Some Italians enjoy to drink it in a cold glass. To do this, place the glass in the freezer for about 20minutes before you drink the limoncello.
        
        You can use the same process to make other liquors like (Cherries, Strawberries, Orange, Mandarin, Kiwi, Infused herbs etc etc).
        
        

Schnitzel with beer and speck sauce, served with Sauerkraut

Schnitzel

1 1/2 pound of pork chops

1/2 cup of flour

2 eggs

1 Tbsp of minced parsley

2 Tbsp of milk

1/2 cup of breadcrumbs

1 cup of sunflower oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Place each pork cutlet between two pieces of plastic wrap, and pound with the flat side of a meat mallet until about 1/4 inch thick. Dip in flour to coat.

In a medium bowl, stir together the eggs, parsley, salt, pepper, nutmeg and milk. Place bread crumbs on a plate. Dip each cutlet into the egg mixture, then press in the bread crumbs to coat.

    Fry the breaded cutlets until browned on each side, about 3 minutes per side.      Remove to a serving platter.

Beer and Speck sauce

1/2 an onion chopped

1 cup of your favorite beer

1 cup of bechamel

1 Tbls of butter

4 leafs of sage

5 slices of speck

4 oz of Asiago cheese in cubes

Salt, nutmeg and pepper to tas

In a big sauce pan, brown the onions, three sage leafs and speck.  Sauté the speck until crispy.  Add the beer over medium heat and allow liquid to reduce half it's beginning amount.  Add one cup béchamel sauce, and the cubed pieces of Asiago cheese and the nutmeg.  Sauce is complete!

Sauerkraut

1/2 an onion chopped

1 clove of garlic chopped finely

3 cups of sauerkraut

Butter

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

In a pan, heat olive oil and butter over medium low heat and brown bacon and garlic together.  Add the sauerkraut and stir occasionally.  Cook until hot, add salt & pepper to taste.

Pizzoccheri

1/2 pound of pizzoccheri 

3 big potatoes

5 leafs of Swiss chard

1/2 pound of fontina cheese

5 oz of Grana Padano cheese

4oz of butter

A clove of garlic

4/5 sage leafs

Salt and pepper to taste

Clean the the chard and cut a V-shaped cut along the veins of the leaves, then remove the stem.  Cut into sticks of a width of 1 cm so that are cooked faster.  

Peel and cut the potatoes into chunks.  Cook the potatoes and the Swiss chard for 10 minutes in a vegetable stock; in the same pan (with the chard and potatoes still inside) cook the Pizzoccheri pasta for another 10 minutes. 

 After 10 minutes of cooking, drain the pizzoccheri with a slotted spoon and pour some in a hot oven safe pan, sprinkle with grated Grana Padano and Valtellina Casera (you can use Fontina, Puzzone di Moena or Emmental), and continue alternating pizzoccheri and cheese.  In a separate pan, melt the butter with the garlic cloves uncut and sage until the garlic gets brown, remove the garlic and pour the melted butter on pizzoccheri (do not forget to take out the garlic cloves or they will overpower the dish).  Serve the pizzoccheri hot and with a dusting of freshly ground pepper.