Italian recipes - share them here!

[bassybill]

I've just been getting back into cooking Italian after giving it a break for a few years. I'm loving some of this stuff!

BASSYBILL'S BEST CARBONARA

Pan 1:
Fresh spaghetti, or linguini if preferred
Just a few drops of good olive oil
Boiling water, with maybe a tiny amount of sea salt (to taste)

Pan 2 (fried):
Tiny splash of olive oil
Lardons of pancetta, or guanciale (jowl bacon) if you can find it
Couple of peeled and lightly bruised cloves of garlic
Small amounts finely chopped onion, and thinly sliced porcini or chestnut mushrooms (all optional)
Small amount of thick real cream (optional)
Torn basil leaves (optional)

In a bowl:
3 large beaten eggs - the best you can find. I use ones from my sister's pet hens when I can get them, very rich almost luminous yellow yolks, absolutely delicious.
Grated hard Italian cheese - parmigiano reggiano is okay, pecorino romano even better. Save some back for sprinkling on the finished dish.

Method:
Boil the spaghetti in Pan 1 until "al dente" or thereabouts.
Lightly fry the stuff in Pan 2, stirring in the cream last (don't use too much of this).
Beat the eggs and cheese together.

Drain the spaghetti when cooked (add a small knob of butter here if you want a really slippery-slidey carbonara).
Very quickly stir in the fried stuff from Pan 2, then the egg and cheese mixture. Toss the pasta around to give it all a good mix. The heat from the pasta cooks the eggs. Add lots and lots of ground black pepper.

Serve IMMEDIATELY on very hot plates, sprinkled with the extra cheese, garnished with a little flat leaf parsley and accompanied by plenty of good Italian red wine.

Buon appetito!

[Holy War]

Originally Posted by bassybill

I've just been getting back into cooking Italian after giving it a break for a few years. I'm loving some of this stuff!

BASSYBILL'S BEST CARBONARA

Pan 1:
Fresh spaghetti, or linguini if preferred
Just a few drops of good olive oil
Boiling water, with maybe a tiny amount of sea salt (to taste)

Pan 2 (fried):
Tiny splash of olive oil
Lardons of panchetta, or guanciale (jowl bacon) if you can find it
Couple of peeled and lightly bruised cloves of garlic
Small amounts finely chopped onion, and thinly sliced porcini or chestnut mushrooms (all optional)
Small amount of thick real cream (optional)
Torn basil leaves (optional)

In a bowl:
3 large beaten eggs - the best you can find. I use ones from my sister's pet hens when I can get them, very rich almost luminous yellow yolks, absolutely delicious.
Grated hard Italian cheese - parmigiano reggiano is okay, pecorino romano even better. Save some back for sprinkling on the finished dish.

Method:
Boil the spaghetti in Pan 1 until "al dente" or thereabouts.
Lightly fry the stuff in Pan 2, stirring in the cream last (don't use too much of this).
Beat the eggs and cheese together.

Drain the spaghetti when cooked (add a small knob of butter here if you want a really slippery-slidey carbonara).
Very quickly stir in the fried stuff from Pan 2, then the egg and cheese mixture. Toss the pasta around to give it all a good mix. The heat from the pasta cooks the eggs. Add lots and lots of ground black pepper.

Serve IMMEDIATELY on very hot plates, sprinkled with the extra cheese, garnished with a little flat leaf parsley and accompanied by plenty of good Italian red wine.

Buon appetito!

that does sound good!

Ill have to dig some up to post in here. I really do love Italian food

[Eric Perry]

Subscribbled.

[Phalex]

I'm at work at the moment, but I have some gooduns! I will be back to this thread a little later with the proper proportions and such.

Could be tomorrow, I have to be to the St Paddy's gig a little early.

[Selta]

Sub'd

[bassybill]

I don’t specify quantities in my recipes as I think a decent cook doesn’t need them. Here we go for my 2nd contribution in this thread...

Bassy Bill’s Brilliant Bolognese sauce

This is how I like to do a proper ragù alla bolognese.

Lightly fry some finely chopped onion and crushed garlic cloves in extra virgin olive oil. Thinly sliced mushrooms are optional here.
Add minced beef (ground beef) and sauté just until the pink colour has gone. You can use pork here as an alternative, or a mixture of beef and pork. I like to add some pancetta lardons in here too for a richer sauce.
Add enough whole milk just to cover the meat and simmer until the meat is fairly tender.
Add chopped tomatoes (or canned, or tomato concentrate). Use enough to give the sauce a good reddish colour. If you want some more veg in there, add finely chopped celery (celery salt also gives a great flavour) and, to make it TalkBass friendly, finely chopped carrots. Keep stirring that sauce!
Add seasoning to taste. Oregano is what gives most of the traditional Italian flavour, but I’ve also used thyme, parsley, sage and bay leaves to get a really heady mix of aromas. Also add ground black pepper and a good old sloosh of wine – I’ve used red and white, both work just fine. I also add Worcestershire sauce at this stage. Not too authentic, but that’s only because the Italians never invented it, so it’s a good job that we did, right?
Now the most important bit – turn the heat down until the sauce is just barely simmering, as slow as you can get it on the lowest possible heat. Leave it cooking as slowly as you can for as long as you can. Three hours is pretty much the minimum, five is better, eight is awesome. Stir it every now and then and maybe add a splash of water or wine if to starts to dry up (it won’t get over dry if you’re cooking it slowly enough). You should be aiming for a fairly thick, pasty consistency. The most common failing I’ve noticed with some people’s Bolognese sauce is that it’s often way too watery.
Warm your plates properly!
Serve the sauce on freshly cooked pasta al dente sprinkled with some good Italian hard cheese such as parmesan or pecorino and more black pepper. Eat it really fast, and drink enough wine with it to make you smile!

Buon appetito...

[SBassman]

Subscribed.

[JimB52]

Hey bassybill, your recipies sound great. Are you sure you're from the UK?

[bassybill]

Originally Posted by JimB52

Hey bassybill, your recipies sound great. Are you sure you're from the UK?

Haha! I often wonder why us Brits get such a bad rep for food over there in the USA (I have to say it works in reverse too - a lot of my friends who have never been across the Atlantic mistakenly think that you all eat **** over there, for some reason).

I think the view of British cooking is probably justified in some cases - several of my older friends and relatives are very, very boring and unimaginative about food. But lots of us here do like to cook, and cook well.

I guess it's a cultural change a bit like the American beer phenomenon - you were just dreadful in that respect until a few years back, and now you've got a taste for some really excellent brews over there.

Anyway, try my carbonara recipe (post #1) and then tell me what you think about British attempts to cook Italian!

[Radical Edward]

This is an AMAZING recipe. I make it about once a month. I use more cheese, no spinach, more garlic, and I finely chop the basil. Here it is: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-L...ta/Detail.aspx

And this Alfredo sauce is amazing as well:
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1855...232207,00.html
Again, I use more cheese, garlic, and half and half. Its soooo good and really quick to make.

Lastly, this is simple, relatively healthy, and tasty:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/f...ipe/index.html

Oh, all of these I use fresh ingredients, garlic cloves, and cook the noodles "al dente" style.
These are all so good. Mmmmm. I'm hungry, now.

[stratovani]

My spaghetti recipe - one box of spaghetti, one jar of Ragu chunky sauce, a bunch of Mama Lucia's frozen meatballs, cook 'em up, put it on a plate and eat it.

I may be good at a lot of things, but cooking ain't one of them! Lucky for me I married a good cook!

[bassybill]

Originally Posted by stratovani

My spaghetti recipe - one box of spaghetti, one jar of Ragu chunky sauce, a bunch of Mama Lucia's frozen meatballs, cook 'em up, put it on a plate and eat it.

I may be good at a lot of things, but cooking ain't one of them! Lucky for me I married a good cook!

Maybe that's why I'm into this - my last girlfriend couldn't cook too well, apart from pretty basic stuff.

I do very much enjoy cooking for people who really appreciate it.

[bassguppy]

nice simple plain homemade tomato sauce from my wife's grandmother that I now make.



olive oil
2 cans tomato puree (20oz per can i think)
2 cans tomato paste
dried basil, oregano, garlic powder, garlic salt, pepper
finely chopped fresh parsley
3/4 cup red wine
sugar

use a large sauce pot,

add olive oil and heat on low.

add tomato paste and cook several minutes adding basil, oregano, pepper, garlic powder and garlic salt.

using the tomato paste cans add 2 cans water and cook several minutes on low.

add tomato puree and 1 1/2 cans of water using the tomato puree cans.

add wine and parsley.

add about 1 tablespoon of sugar to cut the acidity of the tomato puree.

cook stirring occasionally on low heat 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Try to avoid a raging boil, adjust heat accordingly.

use all spices to taste but don't overkill. you can also grind spices between your fingers to help release flavors.

makes enough sauce to last for 4-5 dinners for several peeps.

[Deluge Of Sound]

The Italian Sandwich:
One 12" roll of Italian, Spanish or French bread, split lengthwise-either completely into two pieces or about 75% split, creating a "V" in the roll.

-Fill with various* meats, cheeses, vegetables, spices, and sauces.
*Best done with ham, american cheese, green peppers, black olives, onions, and topped with salt, pepper, oregano and olive oil.

[Sbociol]

I might point you to some typical recipes of the region where I live in...

panelle
http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/RECIPE.../panellla.html

crocchè
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/m...ipe/index.html

they pretty much always go together,you can eat them alone or in a bun...

[Richland123]

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

SOUP:

10 c. chicken broth
1 bunch endive, cleaned and sliced
Sage or poultry seasoning
1-2 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese
Round mini pasta

MEATBALLS: (frozen, pre-made meatballs can be used)

1 lb. ground beef
Salt and pepper
Bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese
Oregano

First, combine all meatball ingredients listed above, or use your own recipe. Roll meatballs between the palms of your hands to shape 1-inch diameter balls. Set aside.
To prepare broth, you can use canned broth or save the broth created by broiling chicken from other dishes. Freeze or refrigerate the broth so all the fat collects at the top. Skim off the fat and discard. Bring the broth to a rolling boil.

In small bowl, crack the eggs and lightly beat with a fork. Add the beaten eggs by pouring in a THIN stream. As you pour the eggs, stir the broth so the egg is broken up and appears as threads throughout the broth. (Will look like Chinese Egg Drop Soup.)

Next, add the seasonings, tasting to please your palate. Then add endive and meatballs. Allow to simmer 2 hours or more. The longer the ingredients "marry, " the better the flavor.

[UncleFluffy]

Originally Posted by bassybill

Haha! I often wonder why us Brits get such a bad rep for food over there in the USA (I have to say it works in reverse too - a lot of my friends who have never been across the Atlantic mistakenly think that you all eat **** over there, for some reason).

I think the view of British cooking is probably justified in some cases - several of my older friends and relatives are very, very boring and unimaginative about food. But lots of us here do like to cook, and cook well.

As I understand it, a lot of that is the result of the long period of post-war rationing. If you look back a bit further there was a lot more interesting stuff going on - the "Two Fat Ladies" cookbooks resurrect quite a lot of traditional-but-forgotten British cooking.

Though I often explain to people that the whole reason for the British Empire was that the whole country got really drunk one Friday night, had nothing interesting to eat on the way home and so had to go find some.

[SBassman]

I enjoy cooking very much, but I'm a hacker, so I probably don't have complete recipes to share. But this 100% Italian knows the magic recently cited by someone else - the spritz of wine in the sauce.

I like to do it early in the sauce process - really, in the very beginning so that I can scorch it and burn off the alcohol. Burning it while browning things like onion and garlic. Then - the actual sauce ingredients go in.

As someone said - cook it slowwwwwwwwwwww - and you will be rewarded.

You can't rush sauce. And to the Ragu guy - it's easy to do your own sauce. You gotta do it. Ragu should be - illegal.

That ain't Italian eating.

[SBassman]

Originally Posted by bassybill

Serve IMMEDIATELY on very hot plates, sprinkled with the extra cheese, garnished with a little flat leaf parsley and accompanied by plenty of good Italian red wine.

Buon appetito!

Niiiice.

The only thing to make that better is - home made Italian red wine.

Salud!

[bassybill]

Time for another recipe. This one takes a bit more time and trouble, but will probably be the one of the most fantastic dishes you have ever eaten in your life if you care to try it. But be warned - it is VERY rich. A little goes a long way.

CANNELLONI ALLA PEPITO (Named for a great and now sadly gone restaurant in my home town. I came up with this recipe while trying to get as close as possible to my memories of the superb cannelloni they used to serve there a long time ago.)

For the filling:
Lightly fry some onions and garlic in some good olive oil.
Stir in minced beef, minced pork and pancetta lardons. Cook until mixture is light brown.
Add milk to just about cover the meat, stir in chopped celery, cook until meat is tender.
Add some red wine, fresh oregano, bay leaves and Worcestershire sauce.
Now cook it slowly for ages. It needs to go really thick with no excess moisture.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

For the tomato sauce:
While you’ve got the filling mixture cooking, fry some more onions and garlic in a second pan.
Add thinly sliced chestnut mushrooms and cook to soften.
Add a can of chopped tomatoes and tomato puree.
Stir in some torn fresh basil, a splash of Worcestershire sauce and red wine. Maybe add some of the meat juices from the first pan if you wish.
Reduce it down, really slowly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add a splash of lemon juice at the end of cooking, just before use. Or, if the sauce is a bit too sharp for you, you can add a tiny bit of sugar here (not too much!) to take the edge off just a little.

Making the cannelloni:
You can use lasagne sheet pasta to do this. I like pasta verdi, just for the colour. Soften the pasta in very hot, almost boiling water. (NOTE – you can buy empty cannelloni pasta tubes for filling, but I haven’t been able to find these made out of green pasta over here.)
Pour a generous dollop of the tomato sauce into individual baking dishes. I use little foil trays for this.
Cut the pasta into 4” squares. Spoon some of the thick filling into each one and roll it all up into a tube. It helps if you let the mixture cool down first. Then carefully place these into your dishes or trays on top of the tomato sauce, about four pieces in each. A slice of mozzarella on top doesn’t hurt here!
Now you can leave all this alone for a few minutes while you make the white sauce.

For the white sauce:
Boil a large onion until very soft and then mash it up really well.
In a separate pan, make a flour/butter roux, then slowly add milk to make a traditional white sauce.
Stir in a little mustard powder if desired and maybe a splash of white wine.
Stir in mashed onion and lots of good cheese (not the plastic processed crap). I like to use some crumbled gorgonzola and some grated gruyere. Also add a little grated nutmeg if you like it.

Pour the white sauce over the cannelloni on top of the tomato sauce. Sprinkle on more grated cheese such as gruyere and/or (my favourite) parmesan. Add plenty of ground black pepper. Bake the dishes in a medium oven for about half an hour. I like to turn the oven up way high for the last five minutes or so to brown the cheese topping and get the whole mixture really bubbling hot.

Serve garnished with shredded parsley leaves. Some garlic bread and a green leaf salad with a tasty dressing go well with this dish. Don’t forget the wine!