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recipes – GT Food & Travel
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GT Food & Travel

Tag: recipes

  • Pizza stuffed with escarole

    Pizza stuffed with escarole

    PizzaScarolaI wake up often with food memories dancing in my head. Visions of pizza dough stuffed with sausages and broccoli, peppers and onions, and escarole braised with black olives, anchovies and smoky olives. Mom filled pizza dough with ingredients that she had in the house. Nothing went to waste. I fought for the corner pieces, in love with the yeasty pillowy golden crust.

    I crawl out of bed and put on the coffee as a taste of childhood memories flood my kitchen in Rome. I savor the umami flavor of anchovies preserved in salt, smashed and stirred into a paste. They disappear into the heavy laden silver pan. The bottom is slightly brown, aged by daily use.

    I pour my coffee all the while thinking of anchovies. They may swim in my Sicilian blood. My paternal grandfather, Sebastiano grew up in Augusta, Sicily and was a fisherman by trade. Silent and stoic, he spent the majority of his life at sea. The simplest dishes of fish and greens were prepared by my grandmother Maria. She too spent her childhood in Augusta. She would have lived her life there given the choice. That’s a story for a different day.

    My mouth starts to water just thinking of pizza stuffed with sweet escarole and buttery pine nuts, and the sea. Here is my version of “pizza con la scarola” aka pizza filled with escarole, anchovies, pine nuts, capers and olives.

    Ingredients for the dough

    • 5 cups of flour
    • 1 cube of yeast
    • 1 1/4 cup of water
    • 3 – 5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
    • 1 tablespoon salt
    • grated pecorino cheese to taste
    • 2/3 cup milk

    Ingredients of the filling

    • 2 large heads of escarole
    • gaeta olives (to taste – approximately 3/4 cup)
    • capers (to taste – approximately 1/2 cup)
    • anchovy fillets preserved in olive oil or salt (to taste – 3 or 4 fillets)
    • 2 garlic cloves minced
    • EVOO
    • pine nuts (to taste – approximately 1/4 cup)
    • salt and pepper

    the dough

    Pile the flour in a mound on a marble or wooden surface. Make a well in the center of the mound. Dissolve the brewer’s yeast in tepid water as instructed on the yeast packet. Pour the yeast mixture, EVOO, water, milk and salt into the well. Knead until smooth and elastic adding pecorino cheese to taste to the mixture. Place in a floured bowl. Cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 2 hours.PizzaDoughWhile the dough is rising make the filling.

    the filling

    Clean the escarole. Cook the greens in a bit of salted water for about 20 minutes. Once cooked set the escarole aside to drain.

    Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and anchovy fillets. Stir and mash the anchovies until they melt away. Add the olives and the capers. Stir well. Add the pine nuts and the escarole. Salt and pepper to taste. I like to cut the escarole into bite size pieces but it’s not necessary. Lower the flame and mix well.ScarolaPizzaStuffingLet the filling cool while you roll out the dough. PizzaScarolaFillingGrease the pan with olive oil. I use a medium size square pizza pan. Divide the dough in two sections. Use a bit more dough for the base of the pizza letting it flow over the sides of the pizza pan. Roll out the bottom half of the dough in the shape of the pan. Place in well oiled pan, add filling; covering the dough evenly. Top with the remaining dough. Seal the edges by pinching the dough together with your fingers or press together with fork tines. In a pinch use pre-made dough.PizzaCrustCover and set aside in a warm place for an hour. Place in preheated oven at 400° for 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. It’s mouthwatering served warm or cold.PizzaScarolaSlice

     

  • Casatiello – Savory Easter Bread Recipe

    Casatiello – Savory Easter Bread Recipe

    In Italy a holiday or truly any celebration without food is unimaginable. Whether the festa (party) is at home, a restaurant or in a piazza (square), it most always includes a special meal and a customary dish. Pasqua (Easter) is no exception. At the end the 40 day lenten fast, religious processions begin as does the preparation for Easter lunch. Eggs and lamb or goat, symbols of renewal, are found on most tables. Although capretto (goat) is always the main course at our Easter feast, I not so secretly pine for tortano napoletano aka casatiello – a savory filled Neapolitan Easter bread flecked with salami, cheese and black pepper – what’s not to like?tortano4

    Making casatiello with mom is an annual ritual. Though I won’t be in Boston for Easter this year, I luckily share this tradition with Concetta. Sitting at the table and talking with Concetta as she whisks around the kitchen brings me home. She is a marvelous and loving cook and mom.

    There are many variations of this stuffed bread. Most are crowned with eggs. Some call for lard while others substitute olive oil. Here is a recipe of our combined efforts. I’ve included measurements as a guideline. We measure by eye and fine tune the dough according to the texture. Have fun adjusting the quantities of cheese and salami to your taste and make this recipe your own.

    Ingredients

    • 620 g (5 cups) flour
    • 40 g (1.4 oz ) brewer’s yeast (one sachet of instant yeast may weigh anywhere between 5 g to 15 g)
    • 150 g (3/4 cup) lard
    • 100 g (3.5 oz) provolone cheese cubed
    • 100 g (3.5 oz) salami cubed
    • 50 g (2 oz) pancetta cubed
    • 50 g (2 oz) parmesan cheese cubed or grated
    • 50 g (2 oz) emmental cubed (optional)
    • salt & pepper to taste

    Pile 4.5 cups of flour in a mound on a marble or wooden surface. Make a well in the center of the mound. Dissolve the brewer’s yeast in tepid water as instructed on the yeast packet. Pour the yeast mixture, salt and pepper into the well. Add 1/2 cup lard to the well. Knead until smooth and elastic. Place in a floured bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 2 hours. While the dough is rising, cube the salami, cheese and pancetta. Brown the pancetta and put aside.

    tortano3Once the dough has doubled, punch it down and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out in a rectangle. Scatter the cheese, salami and pancetta on the surface of the dough. Sprinkle with salt and plenty of pepper. tortano6Start to roll the dough from the longest side, making sure to tuck in the ends. Place in a greased bundt cake pan. Pinch the ends together. tortano5Place the dough in a warm place and it rise for an hour or more. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Bake for approximately 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. tortano1Casatiello is heavenly served warm or at room temperature. It tastes even better on Easter Monday. I hope you enjoy making and eating it as much as we do.

  • Bruschetta with Tomato & Olive Oil

    Bruschetta with Tomato & Olive Oil

    Bruschetta

    Repeat after me: brew-SKEH-tuh. Bruschetta! One thing that was much debated amongst my family on our first trip to Italy was the pronunciation of this word for toasted bread rubbed with garlic and topped with tomatoes tossed in olive oil. I now know that the proper pronunciation involves a hard “c” sound; though for most Americans this can be a difficult adjustment since we call it “brew-SHET-ta” stateside.

    Pronunciation aside this classic Italian antipasto (appetizer), is delicious no matter what language you eat it in! Bruschetta is my favorite Italian starter. It’s so simple, and yet there’s something almost transcendent about the combination of tomatoes and olive oil – it’s a match made in heaven.

    Here’s my go-to bruschetta recipe, which my Italian roommate taught me on my first night living in Rome.

    Ingredients

    • 1 baguette Italian bread, sliced
    • 1 clove of garlic, peeled
    • Handful of ripe cherry or grape tomatoes, diced
    • Extra virgin olive oil
    • Salt
    • Pepper

    Start by dicing your tomatoes. You can do a rough or a fine chop, depending on preference. In a small bowl, toss diced cherry tomatoes with 1 tbsp of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

    Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a medium skillet, swirling around to coat the bottom. Place bread in skillet, flipping to make sure both sides are coated in oil. As the bread toasts, rub each side with garlic clove, rubbing vigorously for strong flavor and gently for milder flavor.

    Heat until bread is golden brown and beginning to darken on both sides. Remove from heat and give it another rub with garlic, if desired. Spoon tomato mixture over toasted bread and enjoy!

  • Strawberry Shortcake from Ma’s Kitchen

    Strawberry Shortcake from Ma’s Kitchen

    strawberriesI’ve been eyeing strawberries at the Rome food markets for weeks. Ma (aka my grandmother) loved strawberries, sliced and sprinkled with sugar, over ice cream or in cake fillings. She made whipped cream and fruit filled shortcake for summer parties and birthdays, pineapple for my great grandfather Domenico’s, strawberry for my cousin Jimmy’s. On the 4th of July, she added strawberries and blueberries to layers of whipped cream. Ruby red, purple blue and porcelain white to celebrate Independence Day.wholecake

    On a whim Ma would replace the whipped cream with home made vanilla and chocolate pudding. Simple, comforting and delicious…here’s my version of Ma’s recipe just in time for the 4th of July!

    Ingredients for cake

    • 6 eggs
    • 1 cup sugar
    • 1 cup flour
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla

    Ingredients for filling

    • 2 – 3 cups strawberries
    • 1 cup heavy cream
    • confectioners’ sugar or granulated sugar to taste

    Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans. Line the pans with wax paper, butter the paper and dust the pans with flour, knocking out any excess flour. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. In a large bowl beat the egg whites until they form peaks. In a separate bowl with the mixer on low speed combine the egg yolks, sugar, flour, baking powder and vanilla. Fold the egg whites into the batter. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a spatula. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. I don’t have 2-9 inch round cake pans. My 13-inch springform did the trick. cakeoutofovenWhile the cake is cooling slice 1 to 2 cups of strawberries and put aside. In a mixing bowl beat 1 cup heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add confectioners’ sugar or granulated sugar to taste and beat until soft peaks return. Fold sliced strawberries into the whipped cream. If you used one pan like me you’ll need to slice the cake into two layers and top the first layer with the strawberry-whipped cream mixture. cakelayerPlace the second layer on top and garnish with whipped cream and whole or sliced strawberries. Slice and enjoy!cakeslice

     

  • Recipes from my Grandmother’s Kitchen

    Recipes from my Grandmother’s Kitchen

    Can a book of recipes capture a lifetime? My grandmother Louise, known as Ma to her family and friends, kept her recipes in a leather bound book. She hand wrote each one. She added recipe clippings from magazines which she’d take and make her own. During my last visit to Boston, I read each page, overcome by delicious memories of food, family and laughter – Sunday lunches under the grapevine with my cousins, Christmas Eve dinner for 40+ guests and beach BBQs are just a few. Her kitchen was a magical place where simple fresh ingredients were melded into my favorite dishes.CookbookWhen I moved to Italy seven years ago my mom gave me a book of Ma’s signature recipes. My mom hand wrote each entry. It is the most thoughtful gift that I’ve ever received. I add more family recipes to the book each season as well as my own. It is a tribute to my Italian heritage intertwined with American ingredients and Ma’s love of cooking.

    IMG_3834Ma passed away more than 15 years ago. Cooking brings her into my kitchen. The smell of bubbling tomato sauce and freshly torn basil fill the air and I smile at my reverse journey from the U.S. to Italy, taking Italian-American recipes handed down from generation to generation and making them my own testing, tasting and retesting with authentic Italian ingredients. I am lucky.

    I’ve shared her pasta and beans, biscotti and date nut bread recipes here and I look forward to sharing more memories with you from my kitchen.

    DSC_3537

    biscottiSlice

    DSC_3582

     

  • Orange Marmalade

    Orange Marmalade

    From lemon curd tart to orange marmalade, I love cooking with citrus fruit. The sharp and bitter flavor combined with the sweetness of sugar is unique. Although I like my marmalade straight up, you can customize it to suit your taste – infuse it with ginger, vanilla or cloves, use thickly sliced orange peel, add more or less sugar…the jam is completely in your hands.

    marmalade-2

    Here’s my simple recipe.

    Ingredients

    • 3 pounds oranges
    • 2 lemons
    • 4 cups sugar

    Wash the oranges and lemons thoroughly. Let dry. With a paring knife, remove the orange and lemon zest only leaving the pith behind. Slice the zest thinly and set aside. Cut off the white pith from each orange and lemon. Place the fruit, zest  and enough water to cover the mixture in a large heavy pot. Bring to a boil.

    marmalade

    Stir in the sugar until it dissolves. Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for approximately 2 hours. Turn the heat up to medium, boil gently, stirring often for another 30 minutes.  Skim off any foam on the top. If you want to be sure it’s ready, place a small amount in a bowl and refrigerate it until it’s cool. If it’s firm it’s done. If it’s runny continue cooking it and if it’s too hard add more water.

    Pour the marmalade into clean, hot jars, seal with lids and store for up to a year.

     

  • Lemon Curd Tart

    Lemon Curd Tart

    _-6I’ve been meaning to post this lemon tart recipe since I made it for Valentine’s Day. A weekend trip to Naples was all the inspiration that I needed. Each time we visit my family in Campania, we leave with a car full of organic oranges and lemons picked from the garden. Thanks to the 30 year old trees, we enjoy freshly squeezed orange juice, homemade orange marmalade, lemon confit and this simple and delicious lemon curd tart.

    lemontart

    Here’s my recipe that is adapted from the lime curd tart in the barefoot contessa cookbook.

    For the lemon curd

    • 4 lemons
    • 1 – 1.5 cups sugar
    • 1/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
    • 5 medium eggs at room temperature
    •  a pinch of salt

    For the tart shell

    • 3/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
    • 1/2 cup sugar
    • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 3/4 cups flour
    • a pinch of salt

    Make the shell first.

    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the butter and sugar with a hand or electric mixer until they are well combined. Add the vanilla extract. Add the flour and salt to the butter-sugar mixture. Mix the dough on a low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Press the dough into a 10-inch round false-bottom tart pan. Chill until firm.

    Butter one side of a piece of aluminum foil to fit inside the tart and place it, buttered side down, on the pastry. Fill with beans. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and beans, prick the tart with a fork and bake until lightly browned (approximately 25 minutes). Let cool to room temperature.

    Then make the filling.

    lemons

    Remove the zest of 4 lemons with a knife or zester (avoid the white pith). Squeeze 1/2 cup of juice from the lemons. Put sugar and zest in a food processor with a steel blade. Pulse until the zest is minced well. Cream the butter with the sugar and lime zest with a hand or electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until smooth. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, approximately 5 – 10 minutes. The curd will thicken just below a simmer.

    lemoncurdRemove from the heat and set aside. Fill the tart shell with warm lemon curd and allow to set at room temperature. Optional: I top the tart with candied lemon slices.

     


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