Cooking with Peachy

Posts Tagged ‘italian’

Difficulty:  

Preparation time: 20′

SERVINGS: 2

INGREDIENTS:

• SPAGHETTI – 180gr
• CLAMS – 450gr
• CHOPPED GARLIC – 2 tbsp.
• CHOPPED PARSLEY – 1 & ½ tbsp.
• GROUND PEPPER – ¼ tsp.
• GINGER POWDER – ¼ tsp.
• EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL – 3 + 2 tbsp.
• BROTH CUBE – 1 + ½ PC. (Classic Flavor)
• WATER FOR BOILING PASTA

DIRECTIONS:

Bring to a boil a large quantity of water in a pot and add 1PC. of broth cube. In a large pan, heat the olive oil and saute garlic and parsley, add clams, 1/2 PC. of broth cube, ginger powder and 2 scoop of cooking water of pasta. Once water is boiling, add pasta and cook as indication on pack. Add ground peper on the clams, stir and set aside. Once pasta is quite cooked, drain and add to the clams, stir often until done, if necessary, add some cooking water of pasta again. Complete with 1 tbps of extravirgin olive oil and some fresh finely chopped parsley.

GOOD FOR 6-8 PERSONS.

INGREDIENTS:

• BASMATI RICE – 300gr.
• SAUSAGE – 300gr. (Unsweetened)
• ASPARAGUS – 300gr. (Sliced in half)
• PARMESAN CHEESE – 100gr. (In alternative, use a medium soft cheese)
• WHITE COOKING WINE – 100ml.
• ONIONS – ½ PC.
• BROTH CUBE – 1 PC. (Vegetable flavour)
• GROUND MIXED PEPPER – ¼ tsp.

PROCEDURE:

Cut half of the sausage into slices and remove the mixture of the remainig sausage from its casing. Heat a non-stick frying pan and roast all the sausage until golden brown then add the onion and mix until half cooked. Add the asparagus, the rice (before to add the rice to the dish, wash it several times with fresh water), the cooking wine, the broth cube, the ground pepper then mix until rice has absorbed the wine. Once rice is quite dry add hot water every now and then until rice is cooked. Add the cheese cut into small cubes and melt within the rice and serve.

GOOD FOR 4 SERVINGS.

INGREDIENTS:

• PASTA – 250gr.
• CHOPPED TOMATOES – 500gr.
• CRABMEAT – 125gr.
• CHOPPED GARLIC – 1 CLOVE
• WHITE WINE – 100ml
• CHOPPED PARSLEY – 1 tsp.
• EXTRAVIRGIN OLIVE OIL – 3 tbsp.
• SALT & PEPPER TO TASTE
• SALT FOR THE PASTA – 1 tbsp.
• WATER FOR THE PASTA – 2Lt.

PROCEDURE:

In a large non-stick pan, heat the olive oil and fry the garlic until golden brown, add the tomatoes and simmer until they are smashed. Add the crab-meat, the wine then season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep on simmering, gentle heat, for 15min then remove from heat and set aside.

Pour the water in a large pot, add the salt and bring to boil, add the pasta and cook “al dente” upon directions written on its pack. Drain the pasta directly into the pan with the sauce with the help of a perforated ladle so that it does not dry too much from its cooking water; whisk the pasta with the sauce and sprinkle with the parsley just after serving.

Tip: Cooking pasta to the “al dente” stage without over-cooking requires a certain amount of practice and skill, since both have a relatively brief midway stage between the under-cooked phase, where rice or dried pasta stays hard in the middle and where fresh pasta tastes “floury”, and the over-cooked phase, where the dish lacks texture and is considered too soft. Using plenty of salt helps achieve the “al dente” texture.

GOOD FOR 4 PERSONS.

INGREDIENTS:

• CANNELLONI – 12 PCs.
• SPINACH – 400gr
• RICOTTA CHEESE - 250gr
• PARMESAN CHEESE – 50gr
• BECHAMEL SAUCE - 250ml
• EGG YOLK – 2 PCs.
• GRATED NUTMEG – A PINCH
• BUTTER – TO SPREAD ON THE BAKING PAN
• SALT - ½ tsp.

PROCEDURE:

Cook the spinach in abundant water until soft, then drain and squeeze them to evacuate the water in excess. Chop finely or pass it thru a food mill then add the Ricotta cheese, the egg yolks, the Parmesan cheese, the salt and the Nutmeg and mix well obtaining a smooth cream.

Bring to boil 2lt. of salty water then cook the pasta for 1min, drain and soak on a bowl filled with cold water to stop the cooking.

With the help of a food syringe (you can eventually use a plastic sack food quality for freezing, cutting out one corner to obtain a hole where to squeeze out the filling) Fill completely the cannelloni and lay them in a baking pan where you previously spreaded some butter.

Pour the Bechamel sauce on the cannelloni to cover them completely then sprinkle some Parmesan cheese and bake at 220ºC (430ºF) for 15min or until the surface is golden brown.

GOOD FOR 6 PERSONS.

INGREDIENTS:

• SPAGHETTI – 500 gr.
• RED BELL PEPPER – ½ PC.
• YELLOW BELL PEPPER – ½ PC.
• GREEN BELL PEPPER – ½ PC.
• SLICED RED ONIONS – 2 PCs.
• SLICED ZUCCHINI – 1 PC.
• BALSAMIC VINEGAR – 3 tbsp.
• SMOKED SALMON – 250 gr.
• SHREDDED CHEESE – 200 gr.
• BROWN SUGAR – 1 tbsp.
• FRESH SLICED TOMATOES – 200 gr.
• A PINCH “BRUSCHETA POWDER SEASONING MIX” (Mixture of dry Garlic, Oregano, Thyme)
• A PINCH OF GROUNDED BLACK PEPPER
• SLICED DRY TOMATOES IN OLIVE OIL (Italian speciality)
• A PINCH OF SALT FOR THE VEGETABLES
• SALT FOR THE PASTA – 1 ½ tbsp.
• OLIVE OIL – 3 tbsp. (For the Spaghetti)
• FRESH CURLY PARSLEY FOR GANISHING

PROCEDURE:

Bring to boil water in a large pot, meanwhile, add in a baking pan all the sliced vegetables, the balsamic vinegar, the spices, the brown sugar, the salt and the pepper. Preheat the oven to the highest temperature, place the smoked salmon on an aluminium foil and place it on the top of the oven cooking it smoothly (alternatively cook either in microwave oven for 1min. or in classic oven for 3min). Once oven is hot, place the baking pan with all the sliced vegetables and cook for 20min or until lovely grilled.

Add the spaghetti in the boiling water within the salt and cook depending on the indication of the pasta pack, once ready, strain and add olive oil avoiding to stick

In each serving plate, construct the portion as follows: place some of the spaghetti in the center, add some of the grilled vegetables, spoon all over some sauce from the baking pan, cover with the shredded cheese, add some smoked salmon bits, garnish with fresh parsley and serve.