Italy (7/14/14)
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Recipes contributed by members of the Italian American Society of Peoria.
The good-natured banter and delicious aromas of an Italian kitchen made this a lively and very enjoyable session. So many different dishes were prepared and tasted - and other versions of discussed - that we could have been there all night! From the tang of capeletti in broth to the ultimate comfort food that is gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce, here is something for everyone's palette. The recipes below are those that were covered in the session. Additional recipes and versions are available in the downloads below. Click here to download the recipes. Click here for Rudy's Gnocchi Want to try more Italian recipes? Click here for the archive from our program in 2012. Click here for the archive from our program in 2013. Click here for the archive from our program in 2015. Click here for the archive from our program in 2022. Click here for the archive from our program in 2023. Recommended resources: Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, by Marcella Hazan (2005, originally published 1973) Stella Lucente: www.learntravelitalian.com |
Basic Egg Pasta
Recipe by Anna Venzon
Anna learned to make homemade pasta in the 1940s during the World War II German occupation of Italy, when you couldn't get pasta at the store. There was also no waste - the leftover scraps of dough were shaped and used. Anna and Clara demonstrated that everyone has their own way and ideas about correct pasta-making methods. If you're doing this with friends, you can follow their example, and either throw flour at those with differing opinions, or cut the dough in half and each of you can do it your own way! (All good-naturedly, of course!)
Ingredients:
6 extra large eggs
1/2 egg shell water
2 1/2 cups flour to start
Method:
Anna uses a bowl and has not found a difference between the bowl and well methods. She starts with 6 eggs and always adds a bit of water, which will slightly soften the dough.
Add about one cup of flour at a time and mix the flour into the eggs gently with a fork. When a dough begins to form, continue to mix with your hands. Turn the dough ball out onto a well-floured board, and add flour to the top of the dough.
Knead, gradually adding more flour when the dough becomes sticky, for at least 15 minutes. The kneading not only mixes in the flour, but also gives it a smooth texture and will make a tender dough. During this process, at least 2 more cups of flour are usually added. More may be needed if the day is humid, less if the day is dry. Continue this process until the dough won't absorb more flour. It should be very smooth.*
Let the dough rest, covered, for 15 minutes.
Cut a slice off the dough and run it through the pasta roller at the thickest setting. If the dough sticks to the machine, add more flour and knead the dough again until it is ready. Run the dough through the machine from the thickest to the middle setting (5), and then either use the strip to make ravioli or cappelletti, or run it through the cutter to make fettucini/linguini, etc.
*A stiffer dough is needed for noodles, and a softer dough for ravioli.
Anna learned to make homemade pasta in the 1940s during the World War II German occupation of Italy, when you couldn't get pasta at the store. There was also no waste - the leftover scraps of dough were shaped and used. Anna and Clara demonstrated that everyone has their own way and ideas about correct pasta-making methods. If you're doing this with friends, you can follow their example, and either throw flour at those with differing opinions, or cut the dough in half and each of you can do it your own way! (All good-naturedly, of course!)
Ingredients:
6 extra large eggs
1/2 egg shell water
2 1/2 cups flour to start
Method:
Anna uses a bowl and has not found a difference between the bowl and well methods. She starts with 6 eggs and always adds a bit of water, which will slightly soften the dough.
Add about one cup of flour at a time and mix the flour into the eggs gently with a fork. When a dough begins to form, continue to mix with your hands. Turn the dough ball out onto a well-floured board, and add flour to the top of the dough.
Knead, gradually adding more flour when the dough becomes sticky, for at least 15 minutes. The kneading not only mixes in the flour, but also gives it a smooth texture and will make a tender dough. During this process, at least 2 more cups of flour are usually added. More may be needed if the day is humid, less if the day is dry. Continue this process until the dough won't absorb more flour. It should be very smooth.*
Let the dough rest, covered, for 15 minutes.
Cut a slice off the dough and run it through the pasta roller at the thickest setting. If the dough sticks to the machine, add more flour and knead the dough again until it is ready. Run the dough through the machine from the thickest to the middle setting (5), and then either use the strip to make ravioli or cappelletti, or run it through the cutter to make fettucini/linguini, etc.
*A stiffer dough is needed for noodles, and a softer dough for ravioli.
Meat Tortellini in Chicken Broth
For this dish, we made cappelletti ("little hats"), a special form of tortellini. In case you can't figure it out from the pictures, I've included below a detailed artist's rendition of how to stuff and fold the cappelletti. For cappelletti, it helps if the dough is soft and not too dry.
Meat filling:
3 Tablespoons butter
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground chicken breast
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
Melt the butter in a skillet, and brown the ground beef and ground chicken breast, but do not cook through.
Put meat with juices into a bowl, and let cool.
Add the cheese and egg, and mix gently.
Chicken broth:
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 carrot, chopped
1 whole chicken
1 chicken bullion cube
Put the vegetables and the whole chicken in a large stock pot and add enough water to cover by about 2 inches. Bring to the boil, then lower heat and simmer uncovered for 20-30 minutes.
Remove chicken and drain vegetables from the broth.
Add salt to taste, and bullion cube, if necessary.
Assemble:
Roll out your pasta dough, and cut circles about 2" in diameter. Place a small amount of filling in the middle of a circle of pasta dough. Fold in half, seal the edges, then pull the ends together, overlapping slightly, and pinch so that they stay. Cook cappelletti in broth until meat is done. Enjoy!
Meat filling:
3 Tablespoons butter
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground chicken breast
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
Melt the butter in a skillet, and brown the ground beef and ground chicken breast, but do not cook through.
Put meat with juices into a bowl, and let cool.
Add the cheese and egg, and mix gently.
Chicken broth:
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 carrot, chopped
1 whole chicken
1 chicken bullion cube
Put the vegetables and the whole chicken in a large stock pot and add enough water to cover by about 2 inches. Bring to the boil, then lower heat and simmer uncovered for 20-30 minutes.
Remove chicken and drain vegetables from the broth.
Add salt to taste, and bullion cube, if necessary.
Assemble:
Roll out your pasta dough, and cut circles about 2" in diameter. Place a small amount of filling in the middle of a circle of pasta dough. Fold in half, seal the edges, then pull the ends together, overlapping slightly, and pinch so that they stay. Cook cappelletti in broth until meat is done. Enjoy!
Bolognese Meat Ragu
Recipe by Kathy Occhipinti
Serves 4
4 Tablespoons butter (plus more to finish)
3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, minced
1 carrot, peeled and minced
1 stalk celery, minced
1/2 cup chopped bacon or pancetta
3/4 cup ground beef
3/4 cup ground pork
1/4 cup ground Italian sausage (about 1 sausage without casing)
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups beef stock
4 tsp tomato paste
1/4 cup cream
1/4 lb. mushrooms
Heat 3 Tb. butter with 2 Tb. olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook until vegetables have softened.
Add chopped bacon and cook to render out the fat. Remove meaty parts of bacon.
Add the ground beef, ground pork, and Italian sausage meat, and brown.
Add dry white wine and boil off.
Mix a little of the beef stock with the tomato paste to make it thinner, and then add to the skillet with the other ingredients. Mix together.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add 1/4 cup of the beef stock and cover the skillet.
Cook over medium-low heat for an additional 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring intermittently and adding more stock gradually to keep the meat moist. All the ingredients should come together to form a gravy-like sauce, or "ragu."
While the meat ragu is cooking, quarter and saute the mushrooms in a special small frying pan in 1 Tb butter and 1 Tb olive oil, and reserve.
To complete the sauce, off heat stir in the mushrooms and their juices, and 1/4 cup of cream. Add additional tablespoons of cream and 1-2 Tb. additional butter, as desired.
Serve immediately, with just a little sauce in the center of a plate of egg noodles. (To reheat any left-over sauce, use low heat and add additional water or cream.)
Serves 4
4 Tablespoons butter (plus more to finish)
3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, minced
1 carrot, peeled and minced
1 stalk celery, minced
1/2 cup chopped bacon or pancetta
3/4 cup ground beef
3/4 cup ground pork
1/4 cup ground Italian sausage (about 1 sausage without casing)
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups beef stock
4 tsp tomato paste
1/4 cup cream
1/4 lb. mushrooms
Heat 3 Tb. butter with 2 Tb. olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook until vegetables have softened.
Add chopped bacon and cook to render out the fat. Remove meaty parts of bacon.
Add the ground beef, ground pork, and Italian sausage meat, and brown.
Add dry white wine and boil off.
Mix a little of the beef stock with the tomato paste to make it thinner, and then add to the skillet with the other ingredients. Mix together.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add 1/4 cup of the beef stock and cover the skillet.
Cook over medium-low heat for an additional 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring intermittently and adding more stock gradually to keep the meat moist. All the ingredients should come together to form a gravy-like sauce, or "ragu."
While the meat ragu is cooking, quarter and saute the mushrooms in a special small frying pan in 1 Tb butter and 1 Tb olive oil, and reserve.
To complete the sauce, off heat stir in the mushrooms and their juices, and 1/4 cup of cream. Add additional tablespoons of cream and 1-2 Tb. additional butter, as desired.
Serve immediately, with just a little sauce in the center of a plate of egg noodles. (To reheat any left-over sauce, use low heat and add additional water or cream.)
Rudy's Gnocchi (Potato & Flour Dumplings)
Recipe by Rudy Litwin
Certain pastas are made to go with certain kinds of sauce. The dimple created by "flicking" the gnocchi (or the grooves made by shaping it on a gnocchi board) is designed to hold specific kinds of sauce. Rudy's favorite is Gorgonzola sauce (recipe below).
Ingredients:
1 large Idaho potato
1 Cup flour
Notes:
- These amounts can be doubled for larger batches.
- It's best to use a fresh warm potato, although you can make Gnocchi from left over mashed potatoes.
- Humidity makes a big difference as to how much flour you'll need. Practice will help you develop the touch.
- If you want to freeze gnocchi for a quick meal later on, flash freeze on a cookie sheet before transferring to a bag so they don't stick to each other.
Cook the potatoes till soft throughout. (Rudy like to use a microwave on high for about 6 minutes.) If you are cooking potatoes for more than one batch, wrap the extras in foil to hold the heat in until you're ready to use them.
Don't work your potato when it is very hot. Wait until it is comfortably warm, and then mash it or use a potato ricer. The ricer makes quick work of getting the potato ready to add flour and at the same time will remove all eyes and lumps from the mashed potato. The mashed/riced potatoes should be light and loose.
Place one cup of flour on your work surface. Place your mashed potato in a separate pile. Spread out the riced potatoes; sprinkle some of the flour on to the potatoes and start working the two ingredients together. As soon as the flour is absorbed, add more flour until the mixture starts to create workable dough. A light hand in mixing here will yield a tender dumpling (don't over-knead). Depending on the size of your potato, you may or may not use all the flour: only use enough to create a workable dough. If you add too much flour, your Gnocchi will be doughy when cooked.
Gather the dough into a ball and cover for 10 minutes. This will allow the moisture from the potatoes to be absorbed by the flour. Knead the dough just enough to blend together again; do not overwork the dough.
Slice off a quarter of the dough and start rolling out to form a ½ inch thick rope.
Cut the rope into ½ to ¾ lengths pieces and flick (term from my families vocabulary) by holding your finger lightly on top of the gnocchi; pulling toward you until it has rolled beneath your finger a full turn and then, flick the gnocchi away like shooting marbles. Or you can use a gnocchi board or fork to create ridges in the dumpling to help hold the sauce.
To a pot of boiling salted water add the batch of gnocchi and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes. When they float to the top of the water they are ready to be lifted out. Mix the gnocchi with your favorite sauce soon after removing from the water, or they will start to stick together.
Certain pastas are made to go with certain kinds of sauce. The dimple created by "flicking" the gnocchi (or the grooves made by shaping it on a gnocchi board) is designed to hold specific kinds of sauce. Rudy's favorite is Gorgonzola sauce (recipe below).
Ingredients:
1 large Idaho potato
1 Cup flour
Notes:
- These amounts can be doubled for larger batches.
- It's best to use a fresh warm potato, although you can make Gnocchi from left over mashed potatoes.
- Humidity makes a big difference as to how much flour you'll need. Practice will help you develop the touch.
- If you want to freeze gnocchi for a quick meal later on, flash freeze on a cookie sheet before transferring to a bag so they don't stick to each other.
Cook the potatoes till soft throughout. (Rudy like to use a microwave on high for about 6 minutes.) If you are cooking potatoes for more than one batch, wrap the extras in foil to hold the heat in until you're ready to use them.
Don't work your potato when it is very hot. Wait until it is comfortably warm, and then mash it or use a potato ricer. The ricer makes quick work of getting the potato ready to add flour and at the same time will remove all eyes and lumps from the mashed potato. The mashed/riced potatoes should be light and loose.
Place one cup of flour on your work surface. Place your mashed potato in a separate pile. Spread out the riced potatoes; sprinkle some of the flour on to the potatoes and start working the two ingredients together. As soon as the flour is absorbed, add more flour until the mixture starts to create workable dough. A light hand in mixing here will yield a tender dumpling (don't over-knead). Depending on the size of your potato, you may or may not use all the flour: only use enough to create a workable dough. If you add too much flour, your Gnocchi will be doughy when cooked.
Gather the dough into a ball and cover for 10 minutes. This will allow the moisture from the potatoes to be absorbed by the flour. Knead the dough just enough to blend together again; do not overwork the dough.
Slice off a quarter of the dough and start rolling out to form a ½ inch thick rope.
Cut the rope into ½ to ¾ lengths pieces and flick (term from my families vocabulary) by holding your finger lightly on top of the gnocchi; pulling toward you until it has rolled beneath your finger a full turn and then, flick the gnocchi away like shooting marbles. Or you can use a gnocchi board or fork to create ridges in the dumpling to help hold the sauce.
To a pot of boiling salted water add the batch of gnocchi and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes. When they float to the top of the water they are ready to be lifted out. Mix the gnocchi with your favorite sauce soon after removing from the water, or they will start to stick together.
Gorgonzola Sauce
Adapted from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, by Marcella Hazan
The trick to this recipe is finding the right gorgonzola. Try for a fresh wheel just arrived from Italy, as quality declines once it is cut. At its peak, it is a warm white color, creamily soft and even runny. Don't use gorgonzola straight out of the refrigerator, as the cold stunts its flavor and aroma. Take it out of the fridge at least 6 hours before using it.
For 6 servings
Ingredients:
1/4 pound gorgonzola (see notes above), kept at room temperature for 6 hours
1/3 cup milk
3 Tablespoons butter
salt
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/4 pounds pasta
1/3 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, plus additional cheese at the table.
Method:
In a saucepan, combine gorgonzola, milk, butter, and one or two pinches of salt, and turn on the heat to low. Stir with a wooden spoon, mashing the cheese with the back of the spoon and, as it begins to dissolve, incorporating it with the milk and butter. Cook for a minute or two until the sauce has a dense, creamy consistency. Take off the heat until the moment you are nearly ready to drain the pasta. (Bear in mind that if you are using freshly made pasta, it will cook in just a few seconds and the sauce needs to be reheated for about 1 minute.)
Shortly before the pasta is cooked, add the heavy cream to the sauce and stir over medium-low heat until it is party reduced. Add the cooked drained pasta (if you are doing gnocchi, add sauce to the gnocchi as each batch is retrieved from the pot and transferred to a warm platter), and toss with the sauce. Add the 1/3 cup grated Parmesan and toss thoroughly to melt it. Serve immediately, directly from the pan, with additional grated cheese on the side.
The trick to this recipe is finding the right gorgonzola. Try for a fresh wheel just arrived from Italy, as quality declines once it is cut. At its peak, it is a warm white color, creamily soft and even runny. Don't use gorgonzola straight out of the refrigerator, as the cold stunts its flavor and aroma. Take it out of the fridge at least 6 hours before using it.
For 6 servings
Ingredients:
1/4 pound gorgonzola (see notes above), kept at room temperature for 6 hours
1/3 cup milk
3 Tablespoons butter
salt
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/4 pounds pasta
1/3 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, plus additional cheese at the table.
Method:
In a saucepan, combine gorgonzola, milk, butter, and one or two pinches of salt, and turn on the heat to low. Stir with a wooden spoon, mashing the cheese with the back of the spoon and, as it begins to dissolve, incorporating it with the milk and butter. Cook for a minute or two until the sauce has a dense, creamy consistency. Take off the heat until the moment you are nearly ready to drain the pasta. (Bear in mind that if you are using freshly made pasta, it will cook in just a few seconds and the sauce needs to be reheated for about 1 minute.)
Shortly before the pasta is cooked, add the heavy cream to the sauce and stir over medium-low heat until it is party reduced. Add the cooked drained pasta (if you are doing gnocchi, add sauce to the gnocchi as each batch is retrieved from the pot and transferred to a warm platter), and toss with the sauce. Add the 1/3 cup grated Parmesan and toss thoroughly to melt it. Serve immediately, directly from the pan, with additional grated cheese on the side.
Gnocchi with browned butter and sage
Ingredients:
2 sticks salted butter
fresh sage leaves
Method:
Melt the butter very slowly over low heat in a large, non-stick pan.
After the butter has melted, keep the heat on low, but watch it carefully. It will start to turn brown.
When the butter has turned light brown, immediately remove from heat.
Add fresh, torn sage leaves and additional salt to taste.
Immediately pour over gnocchi and mix gently to coat. If you like, garnish with a sprig of sage.
2 sticks salted butter
fresh sage leaves
Method:
Melt the butter very slowly over low heat in a large, non-stick pan.
After the butter has melted, keep the heat on low, but watch it carefully. It will start to turn brown.
When the butter has turned light brown, immediately remove from heat.
Add fresh, torn sage leaves and additional salt to taste.
Immediately pour over gnocchi and mix gently to coat. If you like, garnish with a sprig of sage.