Picnic Dishes and Grilled Meat Recipes for your 4th July
Italian Rice Salad
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (300 g) parboiled rice (the grains should not stick)
Either: An 8-ounce (200 g) can tuna, drained and shredded, and four canned sardines, boned and shredded
Or: 1 hot dog, cooked and sliced, and a 1/4 pound (100 g) slab of ham, diced
1/4 pound (100 g) Fontina or Swiss cheese, diced
1/4 cup pitted, sliced black olives
1 pickled bell pepper, diced
2 ripe, peeled, seeded tomatoes, diced (optional)
1/4 cup mushrooms in oil, diced (optional)
1-2 tablespoons cooked peas (optional)
1/4 cup pickled button onions (optional)
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced or quartered (optional)
1 tablespoon rinsed salted or pickled capers (optional)
2 pickled artichoke hearts, sliced (optional)
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1/4 cup olive oil or mayonnaise
A tablespoon of lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Cook the rice in abundant boiling, slightly salted water. Rinse it with cold water and let it drain. Meanwhile, assemble the remaining ingredients. Once the rice has cooled, combine everything in a bowl and chill the salad in the refrigerator.
Serves 4-6.
Mixed Boiled Vegetables
Ingredients:
About 1 1/2 pounds (700 g) potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
3-4 carrots
1/2 pound (200 g) or more beats
1/2 pound (200 g) baby zucchini
1/2 pound (200 g) string beans, ends snapped off and strings removed
Whatever other vegetables strike your fancy
Olive oil or mayonnaise to taste
Salted capers to taste (optional)
1 tablespoon minced parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Boil, or better yet, steam all the vegetables. Since they cook at different rates you will want to do them in separate pots; the potatoes, beets and carrots in one pot, the zucchini in another, and the string beans in a third.
When the vegetables are fork tender they will be done; remove them from their pots and let them cool.
Peel the beets at this point, then chop all the vegetables into bite-size pieces and combine them in a bowl. If you are using capers, stir them in.
Then season with olive oil or mayonnaise, or a combination of the two, to taste, keeping in mind that the vegetables shouldn't be dry, but they shouldn't be swimming in condiment either.
Check seasoning, chill, and the vegetables are ready.
Lemony Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
14 ounces (350 g) butterfly pasta
4 carrots, peeled
12 ounces (300 g) drained tuna packed in oil, crumbled
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 tablespoons minced parsley and basil
The juice of 2 lemons
The grated zest of an organic lemon
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt & pepper
Preparation:
Grate the carrots directly into a bowl. Crumble the tuna into the bowl as well, add the garlic, the lemon juice and zest, stir in 5 tablespoons of the oil, season lightly with salt, dust with a healthy grating of pepper, mix well, and chill the mixture, covered, for at least an hour in the fridge.
Bring pasta water to a boil, salt it, and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of oil over it before cooking the pasta. Drain it when it's still fairly firm (you want it to be al dente when you serve the salad, so you don't want it too soft to begin with) and run it under cold water to cool it.
When the pasta has cooled, stir it into the tuna mixture, season the pasta with the minced herbs, and sprinkle the remaining oil over it if necessary.
If you don't plan to serve it immediately, cover it and keep it chilled in the refrigerator.
Palermo-Style Grilled Beef Cutlet
Ingredients:
6 slices beef (you'll want the equivalent of a veal cutlet in terms of cut)
Breadcrumbs
Extravirgin olive oil
Fresh oregano, minced
Salt & freshly ground pepper
Preparation:
The olive oil will serve for dredging, so figure about a half cup or so. Season it to taste with salt, pepper and oregano. Pound the slices of beef lightly with a meat pounder to flatten them out, then dip them in the oil, dredge them in bread crumbs, and grill them until done.
Grilled meatballs Sicilian Style
Ingredients:
2 1/4 pounds (1 k) ground pork or veal
5 ounces (125 g) ground pecorino, ideally the Sicilian variety that's made with peppercorns
1 cup bread crumbs, soaked 3 minutes in milk and the excess squeezed out
3 eggs
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Organically grown lemon or orange leaves, rubbed with olive oil
Optional: grated lemon zest, or lemon or orange juice
Preparation:
Combine all the ingredients except the leaves, and make many slightly flattened meatballs small enough that you can wrap each in a leaf (use a toothpicks or skewers to keep them rolled).
Grill the meatballs over the coals until done, and serve them hot.
Serves 6.
Buon appetito!
