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From the Sorrento Peninsula

Potato and Flour Neapolitan Gnocchi
(Strangolapreti)
Ingredients:
3 lbs. potatoes
1 lb. flour
3 eggs
salt

Preparation:
Boil the potatoes, peel and, when still hot, pass through a potato ricer. Work the flour into the potatoes on a wooden board: quantity depends on the potatoes humidity. Add eggs and the salt. Make dough soft and homogenous.
Strangolapreti should be cooked as soon as they are ready, if they stand too long they tend to get tough. Cook in plenty of salted, boiling water.
When ready remove with a strainer, do not dump into a colander. Add a tomato sauce or a ragE and serve with Parmigiano.

Octopus alla Luciana
Ingredients:
2 lbs. stone octopus
1/2 lb. ripe tomatoes, peeled, chopped and seeded
1 cup olive oil
1 handful parsley
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper

Preparation:
Tenderize the octopus by beating with a mallet on a hard, preferably marble, table. Clean, wash and cut into quarters.
Put the octopus into a baking dish or pot (a terracotta pot is preferable for this preparation), add salt and pepper to taste with the tomatoes, olive oil, parsley, garlic and salt to taste.

Seal the pot with aluminum foil fastened with string, and place the cover on top. Cook over low heat or in oven at 425lF for 1/1r2 hours, shaking the pot occasionally, so that the octopus does not stick to the bottom. Remove from oven.

Octopus alla Luciana may be served in the cooking pot or dished out on a serving platter. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Moist-Baked Anchovies
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. anchovies
2 oz. breadcrumbs
1 clove garlic
2 tbs. parsley
2 oz. grated Pecorino
salt
1 tbs. oregano
2 oz. olive oil

Preparation:
Remove the heads and split the anchovies open. Remove the bones, wash and pat dry. Prepare a battuto by mixing the breadcrumbs, Pecorino, oregano and parsley, chopped garlic and salt.

Grease a baking dish with oil and sprinkle with the battuto. Place the anchovies in rows, head to tail leaving no empty spaces.
Sprinkle with more of the battuto. Make 3 layers, the top being the battuto. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake in a hot oven at 450lF for half an hour.

Pork Loin with Garlic
Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless pork loin
4 cloves garlic
2 tbs. raisins
2 tbs. pine nuts
1 oz. capers
2 tbs. olive oil
1 lb. tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 tbs. parsley
salt
pepper

Preparation:
Slice the pork loin and flatten slightly with a wooden mallet. Chop 2 cloves of garlic very finely, mix with the raisins, pine nuts and capers.
Place a small amount of this mix on each slice of pork and roll the slices of pork into braciola. Tie with colorless string. Brown the remaining garlic in oil, and then remove it.

Add the pork braciola, brown on all sides, add tomatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste and cook for 25 mins. over a low flame. Add parsley, remove from heat and serve.

Beef Pizzaiola
Ingredients:
1 lb. beef round
1 tsp. oregano
4 tbs. olive oil
1 lb. tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 tbs. parsley, chopped

Preparation:
Slice the beef into 1/2-in. thick slices. Brown the garlic in olive oil and remove when brown. Add the beef, brown on both sides, add tomatoes and oregano.
Bring to a simmer, then turn down the fire and cook for 15 mins. Remove from heat and add chopped parsley. Arrange in serving platter and serve.

Caulifolwer Salad with Pickles
Ingredients:
1 cauliflower
vinegar
1/4 lb. Gaeta olives
4 oz. mixed sottaceti
1 spoonful capers
8 anchovy fillets
8 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Preparation:
Boil the cauliflower in salted water, without overcooking. Drain and let cool. Cut the cauliflower, or actually break up the flower from the stem, chop up the stem and place on a large platter.

Combine with olives, capers and anchovies. Scatter the marinated mixed vegetables over the cauliflower and dress with oil, salt and pepper. Serve cool.

Baba' with Rum
Ingredients:
For the dough:
1 oz. yeast
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
salt
3 eggs
1/2 cup butter
4 tbs. raisins
For the syrup:
3 tbs. sugar
1/2 cup water
4 tbs. rum

Preparation:
Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of warm milk and 4 tbs. flour. Work into dough. Place dough in a bowl, cover, and let it stand in a warm place for 30 mins. or until it doubles in size.

Make a fontana on a pastry board with the remaining flour, a pinch of salt, the eggs, sugar, butter and fermented dough. Soak the raisins in lukewarm water, then squeeze out the excess water and add them to the dough.

Pour the mix in a large, buttered, sugar-dusted ring mold and let rise again, in a warm place, until it doubles in size (it should take approx. one hour). Bake at 375lF for 45 mins.

Prepare a syrup by dissolving the sugar in the water, over a low flame. Add the rum. Unmold the baba while still warm. Soak with the rum syrup and serve.

Honey Balls (Strufoli)
Ingredients:
For the dough:
2 cups flour
1 tbs. sugar
6 eggs
grated zest of 1/2 lemon
2 egg yolks
1 pinch of salt
2 tbs. butter
frying oil
For the topping:
8 oz. honey
4 oz. candied orange rinds, finely diced

Preparation:
Make a fontana with the flour on a pastry board. Add 6 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks, butter, sugar, lemon and pinch of salt. Knead into smooth but firm dough. Cut the dough into pieces. Roll them into long cylinders 1/2-in. in diameter, and cut each of these into 1/4-in. nuggets. Use up all the dough and place the nuggets on a floured surface. Fry the strufoli in hot oil a few at a time.

When golden, drain them well and dry on paper towels to rid of excess fat. Put the honey in a saucepan (preferably with a concave bottom) and bring to a boil.
Simmer until the foam subsides and the honey turns golden. Turn the heat down very low and add the strufoli with the candied fruit and the grated peel.

Mix well, coating all strufoli evenly. Place on a dish and mold them into desired shape (flat, round, or cylindrical). Always serve at room temperature, do not refrigerate.

Buon appetito!

 

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