Archive

ITALIAN RECIPES

In the Depths of Tomato Season

Italian TOMATO Salad Recipe

Ingredients:

5 not too ripe fairly large flavorful tomatoes
2 red Tropea onions (a single sweet Vidalia will work as a substitute)
4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 sage leaves
2 bay leaves
5 basil leaves
1/4 cup extravirgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons salted capers, rinsed and chopped (optional)
1/2 cup pitted black olives, chopped (optional)
1/4 cup shredded pecorino (optional)

Preparation:

Peel the onion, slice it finely, and sauté it in a pan with the olive oil and 2 tablespoons warm water; keep the flame low so they wilt but don’t brown. Stir them about often, and add more water if need be to keep them from drying out; figure 8 minutes in all.
Season the onions with the vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, the sage and bay leaves, and raise the flame to high for a minute or two, stirring constantly. Turn the onions out into a bowl and let them cool.

Wash and dry the tomatoes, cut them into 1/4-inch (1/2 cm) thick rounds, and arrange them in a bowl. Pour the onion mixture over the tomatoes, together with the optional ingredients if you so decide. Let all sit for a few minutes, shred the basil over the tomatoes as garnish, and they're ready.
What to serve this with? I'd be tempted by steak, or a platter of mixed grilled meats. The wine would depend upon what else is being served.

Tomatoes and Rice

Ingredients:

12 round, large tomatoes
3/4 cup (150 g) rice
1 clove garlic
5 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano
Salt & pepper to taste
1 cup dry white wine
Fresh shredded basil or oregano

Preparation:

Wash and dry the tomatoes, then cut around their caps and scoop out the pulp with a spoon, being careful not to puncture the tomatoes. Do the scooping over a bowl so as to catch all the liquid that drips from the tomatoes as well, and when you are done blend the pulp and juice. Then combine the blended tomato pulp with the remaining ingredients except the wine.

Preheat your oven to 375 F (170C).
Stuff the tomatoes with the filling without tamping down too hard, replace the caps, and put them in a lightly oiled oven proof dish. Pour the wine into the dish and bake the tomatoes until done, about 45 minutes. Serve either hot or cool.

Tomatoes Stuffed with Tuna

Ingredients:

1 pound (450 g) canned tuna packed in brine
A medium-sized onion, weighing about a half pound (200 g)
1/2 pound (200 g) mayonnaise (this will be about a cup)
1/4 cup salted capers, rinsed (if you must, pickled will work)
7 ripe firm tomatoes
7 pitted black olives
A medium sized bunch of parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Cut the tops off the tomatoes and upend them to let the juices and seeds drain out; salt the cavities and put the tomatoes upside down on a plate lined with a sheet of absorbent paper, and chill them in the refrigerator for a half hour.
In the meantime, slice the onion, setting aside the seven best looking slices. Mince the remaining onion and put it in a bowl.

Select and set aside a few pretty sprigs of parsley and mince the rest. Mince the capers and combine them and the parsley with the onion. Crumble the tuna into the bowl, carefully stir in the mayonnaise, and check seasoning.

Pat the interiors of the tomatoes dry, and fill them with the tuna mixture, arranging them on a serving dish as you go.

Decorate them with the reserved onion rings, the black olives, and the reserved sprigs of parsley, and serve as soon as possible -- the tomatoes will become mushy with time.
A wine? A crisp white, for example a Greco di Tufo.

Roasted Stuffed Tomatoes

Ingredients:

3/4 pound (350 g) corkscrews
3 smallish yellow or orange bell peppers
8 zucchini blossoms
2 zucchini
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 anchovy fillets, rinsed
Olive oil
A hot pepper, seeded, ribbed and shredded
A mozzarella weighing about 1/3 pound (150 g), diced
The leaves from a sprig of basil, shredded
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano
Salt to taste

Preparation:

Wash the vegetables. Stem, seed, rib, and dice the peppers. Cut the zucchini into matchsticks. Remove the stems and pistils from the zucchini blossoms and cut the blossoms into strips.

In a skillet, heat 1/4 cup olive oil with the garlic, and when it has become golden remove and discard it. Add the anchovy fillets and cook over a gentle flame, stirring, until they fall apart.
Then add the bell peppers and cook for 5 minutes, followed by the zucchini, and after another 5 minutes the zucchini blossoms.

Cook for another 15 minutes over a fairly brisk flame, and then allow the sauce to cool. In the meantime, bring pasta water to a boil, salt it, and cook the pasta to the al dente stage.
When it's done drain it and chill it under cold water. Stir it into the sauce, together with the mozzarella, hot pepper, and grated cheese. Garnish with the basil and serve tepid.

Buon appetito!

10631 Vinedale Street, Sun Valley, CA 91352 - Phone (818) 767-3413 - Fax: (818) 767-1410