Broccoli Pancetta Salad (Insalata di Broccoli e Pancetta)

Serves 4–6

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup cubed pancetta
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons white vinegar
• 6 cups fresh broccoli florets
• 1/2 cup chopped white onions
• 1/4 cup white raisins
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. In a small sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat, then add the pancetta and sauté for 4–5 minutes, until lightly browned. Drain the pancetta on a paper towel.
2. In a small bowl, place the mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar, and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, until cold.
3. Rinse the broccoli in a strainer, then place in a serving bowl, along with the onions, raisins, and walnuts, and toss. Add the dressing and toss lightly. Garnish with the pancetta and serve immediately.

Polenta Cheese Balls

Ingredients:

• 2 cups coarse polenta cornmeal
• 5 cups warm water
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 lb. pancetta, diced
• ½ lb. shredded fresh Fontina cheese
• ¼ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup freshly diced parsley
• Pinch of salt and black pepper
• ¼ cup of unsalted butter
• ½ cup dry white wine

Directions:

Start by making a basic polenta. Pour the water into a large pot. Heat the water for 4-5 minutes. Add the salt. Slowly add the cornmeal while whisking all the time.  When all the cornmeal is incorporated, continue whisking shortly to make sure there are no lumps. Turn the heat down, place a lid on top with some exposed for ventilation. Stir every 4-5 minutes. Cooking the polenta should take about 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

To make the balls: mix the polenta with the finely diced polenta and the crumbled fontina cheese. Add the lightly beaten egg, parsley, salt and pepper. Make about 30 balls about the size of a golf ball. Wet your hands after every 3 or 4 balls to avoid sticking.

Place the balls in a buttered casserole dish and sprinkle each ball with a little bit of the grated cheese. Place a tiny amount of butter on each ball. Bake for about 20 minutes in the hot oven or until golden. Serve immediately!

 

Cream of Broccoli, Nuts and Pancetta Linguine

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. dry linguine
• 5 cups of fresh broccoli, chopped
• 1  cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 cup fresh Pecorino Romano cheese, grated 
• 3/4 cup walnuts, crushed
• 2 cups pancetta, diced
• 2 clove of garlic, chopped
• Salt to taste
• Olive oil

Directions:

Bring a stockpot of water to a boil and cook the linguine al dente. Brown the garlic and olive oil in a pan and add the broccoli for 3-4 minutes. Then add a ladle of pasta cooking water to the broccoli and cook until soft. Remove the broccoli and dry with a cloth.

In a blender, add the broccoli, cheese, a 1/2 cup of the pasta water and blend. In a separate pan, saute the pancetta and walnuts with 2 table spoons of olive oil. Drain the pasta and add it to the pan. Add a pitch of salt to taste. Pour the broccoli cream over the pasta and toss. Garish with additional cheese and serve!

Baked Onions – Cipolle al forno

Ingredients

• 4 large white onions
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• Olive oil
• 1/2 cup Dry white wine

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel and cut the onions in half. Place the onion halves in a well-oiled baking dish, cut side up. Season very generously with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with the parsley. Finally, drizzled the onion halves with olive oil.

Place the baking dish  oven for an hour or more, until the onions are soft and slightly caramelized. Baste the onions with their cooking juices every so often as they cook. Be careful not to allow the onions to burn.

10 minutes before they’re done, drizzle the white wine on top of the onions. Remove the onions from the oven and plate. Drizzle the sauce from the pan over the tops and serve.

Baked Pumpkin Polenta – Pastuccia

“This is an authentic Abruzzese peasant dish. You can try many variations of this dish by adding vegetables that are in season!” – Frank

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 2 pounds chopped pancetta
• 1 garlic, chopped
• 4 cups cornmeal flour
• 8 cups boiling water
• 4 dry Italian sausages, chopped
• 2 cups of pumpkin, shredded
• 4 egg yolks
• ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup freshly chopped parsley
• Salt to taste

Directions

In a large skillet, sauté the pancetta with some olive oil and the garlic, for 5-7 minutes. Remove the pancetta and set aside. Add the cornmeal and boiling water to the skillet. Add a pinch of salt and allow to simmer until all the water is absorbed. Stir occasionally.

Add the sausage, pumpkin and the egg yolks into the skillet and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle half the pancetta into a large al gratin pan. Pour the mixture over the bacon and spread evenly over the pan. Top with the remaining pancetta, cheese, parsley and a pinch of salt.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and bake for 40-45 minutes.

Poached Pears with Mascarpone Cheese – Pera con Mascarpone

 Ingredients

• 4 firm pears
• 3 cups Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wine
• 3 cups water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 cups light brown sugar
• 8 ounces Mascarpone cheese
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
• ¼ cup salted butter
• Hazelnuts for garnish
• White chocolate shavings for garnish

Directions

Peel pears and cut in half lengthwise. Use a spoon and scoop out the seeds and core. In a large saucepan combine wine and water and bring to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, cinnamon, bay leaved, sugar and pears and simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove pears and allow to cool. Continue to simmer the wine mixture until you have thick syrup.

In a small bowl combine the cheese, heavy cream, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and confectioners’ sugar and whisk until creamy. Fill a piping bag with the cream and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Next, remove the cinnamon stick and bay leafs from the sauce, add butter to the saucepan.

Plate the pears and fill the hollowed out center with the cream. Drizzle with the wine sauce and garnish with some hazelnuts and white chocolate shavings.

Nutella Donuts – Bomboloni di Nutella

Ingredients

• ½ cup warm whole milk
• ½ cup warm heavy cream
• 2½ teaspoons active dry yeast
• 4½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup sugar, additional for garnish
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup softened unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2-3 cups Vegetable oil for frying
• 2 cups Nutella

Directions

Place the warm milk and cream in a small bowl and mix in the yeast and set aside for 20 minutes. Build a mound of the flour and hollow out the center with a spoon. Add the sugar to the center and fold into the flour with a spoon.

Hollow out the center again and add the eggs, butter, vanilla and yeast and work into the flour to form dough and knead for 10 minutes.

Roll out the dough onto a floured surface to about 1/2 inch thick, cut out your donuts using a 3” biscuit cutter then place them on a lightly floured baking sheet about ½ inch apart. Top with some flour, cover with a kitchen towel and place them in a warm dry area to rise for 90 minutes.

Preheat the vegetable oil in a large deep frying pan. Drop 3-4 donuts at a time and fry until golden brown for 2-3 minutes on both sides, then drain them on a paper towel lined baking sheet. While still warm dredge them in granulated sugar. Fill a piping bag with the Nutella and poke the side of the donuts and fill.

Note: You can also fill your bombolni with traditional Italian Cream.

Creamed Green Beans – Fagiolini alla panna

Ingredients

• 2 lbs fresh green beans
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 garlic, finely chopped
• 3 tbs. salted butter
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

Directions

Trim off the ends of your green beans, then add them into a big pot of well-salted boiling water. Cook them for 5 minutes until al dente.

Saute the shallots and garlic in the butter in an ample skillet or sauté pan for 4-5 minutes. Transfer the green beans from the boiling water right into the skillet and mix them well with the butter and shallots. Continue to saute for 5 minutes.

Add the cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Increase the heat and bring the dream to a soft boil.  Add the parsley and continue stirring from time to time, and simmer until the cream has thickened. Serve immediately.

Potato, Onion & Tomato Casserole – Tiella di patate, cipolle e pomodori

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb potatoes, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 lb onion, sliced
• 1/2 lb tomatoes, sliced and deseeded
• 1/4 cup of fresh oregano, chopped
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
• 1 cup of Parmesano cheese, grated
• Olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking dish with a bit of olive oil. Place a layer of sliced onion in the bottom of the dish and drizzle with olive oil. Place a layer of potato on top of the onions, then a layer of tomatoes. Sprinkle with garlic, oregano leaves, salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. Repeat until you use up all the ingredients—but for the top layer, mix potatoes and tomatoes in a decorative pattern.

Add enough water to come up about halfway up the height of the ingredients. Sprinkle the top layer with breadcrumbs and cheese and drizzle with olive oil.

Place in oven and bake for 45-60 minutes, until the ingredients are cooked, the water evaporated and the top nicely browned. Let cool for about 10-15 minutes before serving.

Ossobuco – Veal Shank

Ingredients

• 4-6 veal shanks
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• Butter, or a mixture of butter and olive oil
• Flour, q.b.
• White wine
• A few canned tomatoes, chopped or puréed, to taste

For the Dressing:

• A few sprigs of fresh parsley
• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
• The zest of one lemon
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Sauté the chopped onion in butter, or a mixture of butter and olive oil, under soft and translucent, taking care not to let it brown.
2. Then place rounds of veal shank, lightly floured and trimmed and brown nicely on both sides.
3. Next, splash the veal shanks with white wine. Reduce the heat and simmer until tender, for 1-1/2 and 2 hours.
4. Plate the veal and pour the juices from the pan over the shanks. Prepare the dressing with a food processor or blender and garnish over top. Serve warm.