Distinct recipes from Deborah Mele
Bread And Cheese Meatballs
I love this dish as it is so typical of cucina povera and shows just how imaginative Italian cooks can really be. You basically take stale bread, grated cheese, a few eggs and create really great tasting "meatballs" cooked in sauce. The texture of these meatballs are quite similar to the chicken ones I make, and they are very tender and moist cooked in the tomato sauce as I have done here. This is a meatless dish that is so satisfying and delicious that you will never miss the meat.
I would serve this dish with some crusty Italian bread to sop up the delicious sauce, and a crisp garden salad to complete the meal and you'll end up with a very inexpensive delicious dish to serve your family. The important tips in creating this dish well is to use the right ingredients. You need real Italian style bread with good texture, not sliced white bread or bread with a too soft center crumb.
It is best if the bread is a little dry and stale which helps the meatballs hold together.
Ingredients:
For The Meatballs:
8.5 Ounces (250 gm) Grated Hard Cheese (See Note Above)
7 Ounces Stale Bread, Crusts Removed
1 Garlic Clove, Peeled
5 Large Eggs
1/4 Cup Fresh Parsley Leaves
Cracked Black Pepper
For The Sauce:
26 Ounce Can Good Quality Chopped Tomatoes
1 Small Onion, Peeled & Chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, Peeled & Minced
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Chopped Fresh Basil
Salt & Pepper
Red Hot Pepper Flakes (Optional)
To Serve:
Grated Cheese
Preparation:
To make the sauce, heat the oil in a large heavy bottomed saucepan. Add the onion, and cook over medium heat until tender. Add the garlic, and cook another minute or two. Add the tomatoes and basil and mix well.
Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, add an additional cup of water to your sauce and mix well.
While the sauce is simmering start your "meatballs". In a food processor, pulse the bread and garlic until you have created coarse crumbs. Add the cheese and parsley and pulse briefly until mixed. Dump the bread mixture into a bowl. Begin to add one egg at a time using as many as needed until you have created a mixture that is still very moist, but is firm enough to handle. Using your hands (moisten with water if necessary) form small egg sized balls and drop carefully into the sauce.
Continue to use up the remaining bread mixture making as many meatballs as you can. Simmer on low heat for 15 minutes, then gently turn the meatballs over. Simmer another 10 minutes, adding additional water if the sauce begins to thicken too much. To serve, place a large spoonful of sauce in each of 4 bowls, then add three meatballs on top. Offer grated cheese at the table.
Serves 4.
Zucchini Pasta Without The Pasta
The zucchini itself takes the place of pasta in this recipe, creating yet another easy, quick way to use up your summer zucchini bounty that is both light and healthy. There are many ways you could cut your zucchini, but I used a small, inexpensive mandolin made specifically to julienne vegetables and it worked great.
If don’t have a mandolin, and you can either use a vegetable peeler or a knife. The peeler method will give you long flat noodles, and if using a knife, just cut the zucchini into thin slices, stack up, and cut again lengthwise into thin strips.
I like the size and thickness I was able to get using my little mandolin and using young, fresh zucchini I did not need to pre blanch them first.
I simply tossed the fresh julienned zucchini with the hot oil sauce which cooked it just enough to create tender zucchini that still were a little "al dente", just how I like my pasta.
If you are cutting by hand and getting thicker pieces, you might want to blanch the zucchini in boiling water for 30 seconds to a minute, then drain it and toss it with the sauce.
Ingredients:
4 Medium Zucchini
1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Garlic Cloves, Peeled And Thinly Sliced
1 1/2 Cups Ripe Grape Tomatoes, Sliced In Half
Salt & Pepper
Red Hot Pepper Flakes
A Handful Of Fresh, Small Basil Leaves
Preparation:
Cut your zucchini into julienne using a mandolin or sharp knife. Place in a bowl with the basil leaves. In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium low heat, then cook the garlic until sizzling. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, and pepper flakes and cook just until the tomatoes begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Pour the sauce over the zucchini and toss well. Let sit 5 minutes and then divide evenly between four plates.
Serves 4.
Courtesy of Deborah Mele
Buon appetito!
