Recipes Archives

AUSTRALIAN CRYSTALLIZED GINGER COOKIES

A customer sent us this fabulous recipe. She maintains that an excellent quality crystallized ginger is essential. She strongly urges using Australian crystallized ginger from JR Mushrooms & Specialties or OliveNation to produce these soft, chewy ginger cookies. Let us have your feedback.

 

GINGER SPICE COOKIES

 

4c.       flour

5 tsp.   ground ginger

4 tsp.   baking sode

2 tsp.   ground cinnamon

2 tsp.   ground cloves

1½       tsp. kosher salt

5 oz.    Australian crystallized ginger, chopped

2c.       dark brown sugar

1c.       vegetable shortening (at room temperature)

½c.      butter, softened

2          large eggs

½c.      molasses (not dark or robust)

Granulated sugar

 

Preheat oven to 350°.

 

Combine first six ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to blend. Mix in Australian crystallized ginger.

 

In an electric mixer, beat the butter, shortening and brown sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Mix until just combined. Add molasses and beat until blended. Add flour mixture and mix until just blended. Cover and refrigerate for an hour.

 

Add a few tablespoons of the granulated sugar into a small bowl. Roll the cookie dough into balls measuring about 1 to 1½ inch balls. Roll the balls in the sugar to coat completely. Place the balls on greased (or silpat-lined) cookie sheets spaced about 2 inches apart

 

Bake cookies until cracked on top but still soft to touch, about 10-11 minutes. Reverse the cookie sheets after about 5 minutes. Cool on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.

 

Makes about 54-60 cookies

DELICIOUS GLUTEN-FREE PIZZA

1                 Schar Pizza Crust

1               Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

3-4      thin slices of Prosciutto di Parma or other good quality ham

3         Tablespoons Salsa di Ciliegino - Cherry Tomato sauce

3/4      cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

      3         Tablespoons fresh basil, julienned

 

Heat the oven to 450°.

 

Place the pizza crust onto a round pizza pan.

 

Brush the crust with the olive oil. Place the ham slices onto the crust. Spread the cherry tomato sauce over the top. Sprinkle the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese onto the pizza.

Place the pizza into the oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes. Remove and sprinkle the fresh basil onto the hot pizza.

 

Serve with a salad of mixed greens using one of our olive oils along with some balsamic vinegar.

 

Serves 2 for lunch

Etna - fire and ice

We visited the stunning Etna National Park, and went as far up as we could, since the smoke was getting to be very noticeable and the rangers had left warnings in the middle of the road. We slowly came down the mountain watching the sun disappear behind it. As it got darker, what had appeared as a smoky trail was now clearly a stream of hot red lava.

We stopped in a very small town at the base of the vulcano. The main square looked like a terrace, and all of the residents had brought folding chairs and were sitting there, watching the eruption. Something so hot required a frozen refreshment, so we each an had an enormous Sicilian brioche filled with local gelato. I cannot remember which part of the evening was more impressive–watching the vulcano or biting into the ice-cream. They were both pink. And did I mention they are both Sicilian?

The recipe could not be easier.
Sicilian ice-cream sandwiches: cut your favorite brioche in half and stuff with gelato.
Amit loves the pistachio chocolate combination, but I prefer peaches and custard, and my dad swears by chocolate and whipped cream. Danin is still deciding: strawberry and apricot?

Panelle Siciliane

250 g. chickpea flour, sifted

1 liter water

Sicilian extra virgin olive oil (either Nobile, more olivey, or La Uliva, more delicate)

Sicilian sea salt (we like the Trapani kind)

Parsley

 

In a saucepan slowly incorporate the water into the corn flour until the batter is smooth and without lumps. Place on the stove, medium to high heat, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add a sprinkle of coarse sea salt to taste. Continue stirring to avoid sticking. The panella batter will thicken (the process is similar to making polenta.) As soon as it reaches the boiling point, lower the heat to medium-low and let cook for about 20 minutes. In the meantime, chop the parsley and when the batter is cooked, sir it in the saucepan. Coat one large (or two medium) cookie sheets (the type with sides) with extra virgin olive oil, then spread a thin layer of the panella batter on the cookie sheet with a spatula (this requires a little patience.) Allow the batter to cool and then cook for about 20-30 minutes in a 325 ºF oven. Once again, allow to cool, then turn the cookie sheet upside down on a cutting board and tap so the big pancake comes out in one (more is ok) piece. With a sharp chef’s knife, cut 1″ by 2″ rectangles and deep fry in hot extra virgin olive oil until golden and crispy. Drain on paper towels and you have your panella. Enjoy! Yum!

How to cook pasta

Some cooking tips for perfect pasta:

• Follow the exact cooking time written on the pasta package to avoid overcooking it. The manufacturer has spent a lot of time testing optimum cooking times for each individual pasta shape.
• Use a large stock pot that can hold about 1 quart of water per 100 grams of pasta. When in doubt, use more water rather than less to cook thoroughly.  Too little water will cause  the pasta to stick. together.
• Add salt (10 grams per quart of water)  when the water starts to boil. Wait until the water comes to a rolling boil before adding the pasta.
• The pasta must be immersed all at once. Immediately stir thoroughly  with a fork or a wooden spoon. Bring the water back to a boil.  Stir regularly to avoid sticking.
• Its important to make sure the water is kept boiling at all times.
• Taste the pasta for al-dente doneness. When you are not quite sure if the pasta is cooked or not (not hard, not soft) it is ready; drain completely, add sauce and serve right away while it’s still piping hot. Generally, I find that following cooking time directions on the package is crucial.
• I have never seen an Italian adding oil to the pasta water. It makes it slippery, which may interfere with the sauce you have prepared. Regular stirring is more than enough to prevent sticking. Another practice to avoid is  rinsing the pasta  in cold water when you drain it.  But why would you want to make a hot dish cold?

Dressing the pasta

Most people think the pasta is just there to absorb the sauce. That depends on what pasta you bought and probably applies to most supermarket pasta. Our opinion is that if you have a really good pasta or a great egg pasta like the Spinosi, then you want to savor the taste of the pasta as well as the sauce. In that case, you want to keep the sauce to a minimum. A great quality pasta is exquisite with some butter and Parmesan cheese (and maybe some grated truffles on top) or with olive oil, garlic and red peppers. Sometimes simplicity is hard to beat, especially if you are looking for the true taste of Italy.

Frittata with leftover pasta

We usually make a Frittata on Fridays with our left-over pasta and whatever else we have in the refrigerator. Its always great and always a surprise. Take your left-over pasta (even if its a couple of different ones - sauce and all), chop it up into fairly tiny pieces. Then chop up whatever other left-overs you have and mix with the pasta. We sometimes have some meatballs, other times some broccoli and spinach, sometimes we have some peas and some left over cold cuts like ham or salami, potatoes, chicken teriyaki,…. Really, whatever you want or need to finish. Put it all together and add some beaten eggs. The number of eggs depends on the amount of chopped up food. But I would go on the liberal side and say about 6 eggs for about 500 gms of food. It all needs to be nicely coated and eggy. I don’t have an exact measurement. Anyway, heat up some olive oil in a frying pan and pour in the egg and pasta mixture. Cook on low-med heat until the Frittata is 80% cooked on the underside. Then use a plate to cover the frying pan and flip the Frittata so that the other side cooks through as well. That’s it. Your Frittata is done. Its a great way to use up your left-overs and its different each time. I sometimes have a slice of the frittata as a sandwich and other times with ketchup. A wedge might show up as a side at dinner. Its a most versatile of dishes.

Recipe for Sweet Potato Fries

I had sent an email with the recipe for Sweet Potato Fries with sea salt. The fries are oven-baked and so not quite as unhealthy as frying in oil. But then a customer wrote back and had a better way to sprinkle the salt. She said to put the fries in a zip-lock bag and shake ‘em with the sea salt. I am still trying to make up my mind about whether a fine salt goes better or a coarse salt. Not sure.

Different Recipes for Bruschette

I just usually grill the bread on my barbeque, rub a clove of garlic over it once, add a spoonful (or more) of  extra virgin olive oil, some salt and I have a bruschetta! Our neighbors in Venarotta, Marche make it that way. My wife, Chiara, chops up some tomatoes and adds a little chopped parsley and a garlic clove while they marinade in extra virgin olive oil. She lets them sit for a couple of hours. We usually throw away the garlic cloves after that otherwise the garlic taste becomes too strong (for us). Then we grill or toast some bread and spoon some of the tomato-olive oil mixture on it. Yumm! It’s impossible to stop eating.

A customer of ours said that her grandmother, who is from northern Italy, sprinkles parmesan cheese on top as well. That sounds good, too.

Other bruschetta toppings include olive tapenade, eggplant in tomato sauce,  grilled vegetables and herbs.

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