Italian Recipes
(From Family Values: The-Sopranos.com)
Pomodoro ripieni di riso (Rice-Filled Tomatoes) You'll need: 8 big, ripe tomatoes 8 table spoons of uncooked rice 3 table spoons of olive oil butter one garlic boat parsley basil salt pepper Cut the "lid" off the tomatoes and gut them, then place them on a platter. The insides of the tomatoes are to be pressed. In the resulting juice you mix rice, oil, herbs, spice and crushed garlic. Place the tomatoes close together in a form, and fill them about half full with the rice mixture. Do not put too much in - remember, the rice is uncooked and will get a lot bigger! Place the tomato lids back in place and in the end place a little butter on top of each. Put the form in an oven pre-heated to ca 200 degrees, and cook for about 45 minutes or until the rice is cooked. Pour off the extra juice and serve. Pollo alla Marengo (Chicken Marengo) You'll need: 1 chicken 5-6 ripe tomatoes or 5-6 hermetic tomatoes without sauce 3 table spoons of cognac 4 table spoons of olive oil 1 garlic boat 1/2 tea spoon dried sage 1/2 tea spoon dried rosemary 1 table spoon of chopped parsley salt pepper Cut the chicken into eight parts. Heat the oil along with the garlic in a casserolle (preferably terracotta), and fry the chicken over heat. Remove the garlic before it gets colour. When all the pieces of chicken have an even colour, pour the cognac over. Let it vapourize a little, and put the tomatoes in along with the herbs. If you are using fresh tomatoes, cut them into suitable pieces. Let the chicken simmer under lid over low heat until it is tender - about half an hour. Serve with, for example, fried potatoes or bread. The chicken is not supposed to float in sauce, rather be just moist and aromatic.
Pasta with eggplant You'll need: (for 4 people) 400 grams of penne or spaghetti 2 eggplants 1/2 onion finely chopped (optional) 1 1/2 tins of chopped tomatoes vegetable cooking oil Extra Virgin olive oil salt cayenne pepper Wash the eggplants, cut into 1 cm thick slices, then into 1 cm strips and then dice the strips. Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan and when it's hot enough fry the diced eggplant for 15 minutes. When the eggplant is golden, take it out of the pan and place it on some sheets of absorbent paper to eliminate excess oil. Chop the onion finely. Fry it lightly in some extravirgin olive oil. When the onion is golden, add the diced eggplant and the chopped tomatoes. Mix and season with salt and cayenne pepper. If you don't like onions, place the fried diced eggplant directly in a non-stick frying pan, without using oil if you prefer, and add the tomatoes immediately. Add half a glass of water. Cook the ingredients for about 15 minutes. Pour this sauce onto the pasta which you will already have cooked 'al dente'.
Ziti colla salsa rubra (ziti with ketchup)
Zitis are a kind of long, hollow maccheroni which is sort of like penne only thinner, that you break in suitable lengths. In this case about 5 cm long pieces will do.
You'll need: 400 grams of ziti salt and pepper 3 egg yolks 5 table spoons of cream 5 table spoons of ketchup 150 grams of chopped ham 200 grams of grated Emmenthaler cheese 50 grams butter Boil the zitis in lightly salted water. Whip up the yolks with the cream, ketchup, ham and cheese. Add salt and water after taste. Pour out the water and put the pasta in a warm bowl. Pour sauce and butter over, and blend until butter is melted. Serve immediatly.
Involtini Della Nonna (Grandma's Meatrolls) You'll need: 400 grams of thinly sliced beef 100 grams of ham 1 celery stalk, or 1 slice of celery root 1 carrot 1 onion 1 garlic boat 1/2 deciliters of bouillon 1 deciliter of white wine flour salt pepper sage oil butter 4 big slices of white bread Pound the slices of beef as thin as possible, and part them in suitable slices, about 8-10 centimeters squares. Put a piece of ham on each slice of beef. Carve celery and carrot in thin strips, and put some of these on each slice of beef. Sprinkle carefully salt, pepper and sage on top, then roll the slices together. Use cocktail sticks or a suitable type of thread to keep them together, and turn them lightly in the flour. Chop the onion and garlic. Warm a mixture of butter and oil in a pan, and fry the rolls. Put the chopped vegetables in the pan the last part of the frying time. When the rolls have a nice, even colour and the onion's glossy, add one glass of white wine. Turn down the heat a bit, and when the wine is somewhat vapourized, add a bit of water. Let the rolls simmer under a lid for about an hour. Fry the loaves of white bread in butter, or toast them (without butter). Put the slices on a serving dish, and spread the rolls on them. Pour the sauce over so it'll get into the bread.
Cannelloni Made The Piemonte Way You'll need: ca. 400 cannelloni-tubes Béchamel: 4 table spoons of flour 2 table spoons of butter 1 liter of milk 100 grams of shredded cheese salt pepper
Filling: ca. 400 grams of meat slices (like pork or calf) 300 grams of frozen spinach 50 grams of shredded cheese 2 eggs 2 table spoons of béchamel nutmeg salt pepper First of all, prepare the béchamel. Set aside two table spoons for later use. Spice it up with as much salt and pepper as you prefer. Chop up the meat. Steam the spinach until there's no water left in it. Mix the spinach with the meat and stir in the two table spoons of béchamel, the eggs and the cheese. Mix it thoroughly and spice up with as much nutmeg, salt and pepper as you prefer. Remember, the farce shouldn't be too loose. Fill up the cannelloni tubes. Put the cannellonis in a form where they can lie side by side. Pour the béchamel over and make sure everything's covered. You could put some more shredded cheese on top if you like that. Put the form in an oven heated to 200 degrees for about half an hour, or until the top is golden.
*** Desserts *** Zabaione
(This dish is said to have arousing powers and is often served to the groom right before the wedding night in Italy)
You'll need: 4 egg yolks 4 table spoons sugar 8 table spoons marsala (or sherry) some grated peelings of lemon or orange (optional) Put yolks, sugar and wine in a bowl, which is then placed over the heat in another bowl with water. Whip it (carefully, don't make it too dense) to cream. Place in dessert glasses and have some grated lemon or orange peelings on top if you like. Set in the refridgerator and let cool a little before served. Should be served relatively fresh, because after some time it will separate and become a little disgusting.
Tirami-Su (Italian cheese cake) You'll need: Savoiardi biscuits (aka Ladyfingers) 4 hectos of cream cheese naturell 3 eggs sugar coffee after taste 3 table spoons brandy 1 drop of rum Boil the coffee nice and strong then let it chill. Stir the cheese with eggs and add sugar after taste. Dip the biscuits in the coffee and place them layer by layer with the cream in a form until nearly all the cream is used. Drip the brandy on the biscuits before you apply the last cheese cream. The cheese is supposed to completely cover the biscuits. Decorate with grated chocolate. Put it in the freezer until it's frozen like an ice cream, then serve.