Family-style Rustic Escarole Salad
Family-style Rustic Escarole Salad highlights the delicious texture and slightly bitter flavor of escarole in a very simply-prepared dressing with thin toasts adding an extra crunchy element. This recipe is a family favorite of Vito’s; he learned to prepare it from his great-aunt Evelyn and it’s a great example of the simple, rustic fare of Italy’s cucina povera. Don’t be afraid of the garlic in the dressing, it is mellowed out by the other components. Remember to serve Family-style Rustic Escarole Salad quickly after it’s been assembled as to preserve the texture of the toasts and escarole leaves; waiting too long will cause both to go limp. Family-style Rustic Escarole Salad makes a refreshing light lunch on its own or perhaps with a poached egg, don’t forget to have a bit of crusty bread with sweet butter on the side. At dinner, serve Family-style Rustic Escarole Salad as a first course before a pasta, such as Sicilian Style Cauliflower Pasta, or grilled meats, such as Miso Sherry Skirt Steak, and enjoy a flavorful and satisfying dinner.
Total Time: 20 minutes. Serves 2.
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Lasagna alla Bolognese with Ricotta
Lasagna alla Bolognese with Ricotta is a more approachable take on this classic Italian dish. Replacing the bechamel or balsamella sauce with whole milk ricotta saves time and effort on one of the trickier elements of the classic recipe. As our Classic Bolognese Pasta Sauce is made with heavy cream, it is very rich and silky, further adding to the creaminess of Lasagna alla Bolognese with Ricotta and complementing the ricotta. Using a mix of six shredded cheeses (Asiago, Fontina, Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan and Romano) enriches and enhances the melted cheese component and greatly adds to the overall enjoyment of our Lasagna alla Bolognese with Ricotta. Don’t forget to serve Classic Bolognese Pasta Sauce on the side with Lasagna all Bolognese with Ricotta, accompanied by a Sangiovese for an authentic Italian dinner and perfect for a holiday meal.
Prep Time: 30 minutes including assembly, Baking and Resting Time: 1 hour, Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes. Serves 6.
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Classic Bolognese Pasta Sauce
Classic Bolognese Pasta Sauce is rich, with a depth of flavors to savor, whether it is served over pasta, as in Fettuccine alla Bolognese, or as the critical component in our Lasagna alla Bolognese with Ricotta. The long, slow cooking really allows the various elements of this Classic Bolognese Pasta Sauce to come together for beautiful results, your efforts will be well-rewarded. While many recipes use milk, we opted for heavy cream to add a silkier finish to our Classic Bolognese Pasta Sauce; “gilding the lily”, you might say. Start out with Sicilian Orange Salad, then pair whichever pasta you choose with Classic Bolognese Pasta Sauce, and enjoy your meal with a Sangiovese for an authentic Italian dinner.
Prep Time: 15 minutes, Cooking Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes, Total Time: 3 hours. Yields 6 cups.
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Castelvetrano Olives Marinara Sauce
Bright, colorful Castelvetrano Olives Marinara Sauce brings together a few ingredients for a super flavorful, eye-catching pasta sauce. A ubiquitous snack in Italy, sweet Castelvetrano olives, with their bright green, some say Kermit green, color, come from Castelvetrano, Sicily, and are made from the nocerella del belice olive variety. Their meaty yet buttery flesh and mild, nut-like flavor make these olives the star in our Castelvetrano Olives Marinara Sauce. With just six ingredients, Castelvetrano Olives Marinara Sauce is easy and quick to prepare and serve over a long, strand-type pasta, like fettuccine, linguine, spaghetti or bucatini; perfect for a weeknight dinner with our Wilted Arugula Salad for a starter and accompanied by a medium-bodied, dry red wine.
Prep Time: 15 minutes, Total Time: 35 minutes. Serves: 2
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Thai Red Clam Sauce Pasta
Thai Red Clam Sauce Pasta takes an Italian standby and gives it a Thai twist. A classic Pasta alle Vongole in Rosso is enhanced with fresh, savory elements from Thai cuisine to create a rich, aromatic and colorful fusion dish. We created this recipe after several trips to Thailand and Vito made the connection between Thai and Italian cuisines, which both use local ingredients at the height of their seasonal freshness, often combining them with noodles or pasta or rice to create Thai Red Clam Sauce Pasta.
While spaghetti or linguine are the traditional pasta used for this dish, one could substitute rice noodles or shirataki noodles, as we did. Begin your dinner with an appetizer of Fresh Figs and Prosciutto followed by Thai Red Clam Sauce Pasta, accompanied by a cold, crisp, dry white wine.
Prep Time: 20 minutes, Total Time: 50 minutes. Serves 2.
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Fresh Figs and Prosciutto
There is a very short, very special time each summer when figs are ripe and that is the time for Fresh Figs and Prosciutto. Salty, smooth prosciutto, sweet, soft figs and a light touch of freshly ground pepper are all that’s required for this easy but elegant appetizer. We first enjoyed Fresh Figs and Prosciutto while dining at the Hotel Due Torre in Verona, Italy prior to attending a performance of “Aida” at the Arena di Verona many years ago; both the dinner and opera performance were memorable. Since that time, we have always had a fig tree in our garden, just so we could enjoy this dish every summer. You must use very ripe figs, preferably freshly picked that morning if possible, and very good quality, very thinly sliced, imported Italian prosciutto, and a light turn or two of freshly ground black pepper when preparing this appetizer. Enjoy Fresh Figs and Prosciutto for a light lunch treat or at dinner as a starter, then move on to Neapolitan Steak Pizzaiola and finish with Peaches in Red Wine for a lovely Italian summer time meal.
Total Time: 15 minutes. Serves 2*.
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Pasta alle Vongole
Pasta alle Vongole is “Pasta with Clams” in Italian. Traditionally made with either spaghetti or linguine, this recipe is also in bianco or, as they say on the East Coast “white clam sauce” as opposed to in rosso, which adds tomatoes to the dish. With a simple list of ingredients and easy to prepare, Pasta alle Vongole is a summertime classic. Start off with a Wilted Arugula Salad, then prepare Pasta alle Vongole while enjoying a glass or two of very dry white wine; dinner has never been easier.
Prep Time: 15 minutes, Total Time 30 minutes. Serves 2.
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Neapolitan Steak Pizzaiola
Neapolitan Steak Pizzaiola is a traditional dish wherein a boneless cut of beef, is quickly seared and then braised in a pizza-style sauce, hence the name, until it is fork-tender. Popular in restaurants, it is easy to prepare at home. Neapolitan Steak Pizzaiola is usually served with pasta, polenta, mashed or roasted potatoes or roasted cauliflower and a simple green vegetable, our Broccoli al Limone or Simple Sautéed Snow Peas. Pair Neapolitan Steak Pizzaiola with a dry red wine and enjoy.
Prep Time: 20 minutes, Total Time: 1 hour, 25 minutes. Serves 2.
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Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad
Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad is the perfect summer dish. Juicy heirloom tomatoes, bursting with ripeness, join with creamy mozzarella and sweet basil for a light but very flavorful treat. Select a variety of heirloom tomatoes of different colors and sizes for more interest. If you can’t find heirloom tomatoes, use really fresh, ripe beefsteak tomatoes, preferably purchased at a farmers’ market. Use whole milk mozzarella, it will have the moist, creamy texture required and a very good taste. If you can find buffalo mozzarella (mozzarella di bufala) by all means please use it in this recipe for even better taste. Large, ruffled Genovese basil leaves are traditional for this dish; their aromatic perfume and deep green color really bring the right flavor note. We like to combine Genovese basil leaves and some other varieties (small leaf Lemon and Lime basils, Dark Purple Opal basil, Thai Holy basil and Siam Queen basil and a new variety spicy Serrated Leaf basil). The different basil leaves each add their own flavor elements, not to mention additional color and textural elements. Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad is a delicious light lunch and the perfect summer appetizer, perhaps before Grilled Shrimp Scampi Pasta or Swordfish with Lemon Caper Sauce.
Total Time: 15 minutes. Serves 2.
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Peaches in Red Wine
Peaches in Red Wine is a perfect summer dessert. Very ripe peaches cut up into bite-size pieces mellow in dry red wine with just wonderful results. Vito’s family would make this often throughout the summer, prepared with fresh fruit picked from Vito’s maternal grandmother’s peach tree and wine made by his maternal grandfather; you can’t get more homemade than that! This is a true Italian family dessert. This recipe is humble in its use of seasonal fruit at the height of their flavor and readily available, often home-made, wine, and simple in its preparation, yet yielding a wonderful desert to be enjoyed informally, often al fresco, by the whole family.
There is no need to add any other ingredients to this recipe; the ripe fruit provide more than enough sweetness and the dry wine is the medium which both enhances the fruit’s flavor and acts as a dry foil to the its sweetness. You may use any type of peaches (yellow, white, cling or free stone) or substitute nectarines; the fruit you select must be very ripe. Peaches in Red Wine is a lovely way to finish a summer dinner of Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad and Grilled Stuffed Pork Chops.
Prep Time: 15 minutes plus “marinating” time. Serves 2.
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