Archive

ITALIAN RECIPES

Quick, Easy Meats

Scaloppine Primavera

Ingredients:

1 pound (500 g) baby zucchini
2 ribs from the heart of a celery plant
2 small carrots
A scallion
1/2 cup tomato sauce
3/4 cup milk
5 basil leaves, shredded
A small bunch parsley, minced
A pinch of shredded hot pepper
Olive oil
Salt to taste
1 pound (500 g) veal scallops
1/4 cup olive oil

Preparation:

Wash the zucchini, trim their tips, quarter them lengthwise and dice them. Finely slice the scallion. Wash the celery, peel the carrot, and dice both.
Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a pot, flavor it with a healthy pinch of red pepper flakes, and after a second add the scallion, carrot and celery; cook, stirring, over a medium flame for about 4 minutes, and then add the zucchini.

Mix well, and then add the tomato sauce and the milk. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Check seasoning, and raise the flame if need be to thicken the sauce. Once it is the proper consistency, turn off the flame and stir in the parsley and basil.

While the sauce is simmering, heat a quarter cup of olive oil in a skillet broad enough for all the scallops to lay flat and cook them over a brisk flame, turning them once (figure 2-3 minutes per side at the most).

Salt them lightly, transfer them to a serving dish, spoon the sauce over them, and serve them with a tossed salad and lots of crusty bread. The wine? A Chianti d'Annata would be nice, as would a Dolcetto.
Serves 4.

Prune and Beef skewers

Ingredients:

1 1/3 pounds (600 g) beef, from a cut that will grill well, for example rib eye or strip steak
30 dried prunes
A sprig of thyme, minced
Several bay leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
4 skewers

Preparation:

Begin by soaking the dried prunes in a bowl of warm water to plum them. While they are plumping, cut the meat into equal-sized pieces that aren't too small -- aim to have 16 pieces. While you are doing this, you should also heat your grill.
Slip the pieces of meat onto the skewers, with a couple of prunes and a piece of bay leaf between each apir of pieces of meat.

When you have finished assembling the kebabs, brush them with olive oil, dust them with the minced thyme, season them with salt and a healthy grinding of pepper, and grill them, turning and basting them with more oil for about 10 minutes, or until the meat reaches the degree of doneness you prefer.

Serve them at once, with a medium bodied red wine, for example a Pinot Noir.
Don't have a grill? Heat your oven to 400 F (200 C), arrange the skewers over a roasting pan (with the tips and tails of the kebabs on the lips of the pan, so the meat remains suspended, without touching the bottom of the pan), and roast them for about 10 minutes.
Serves 4.

Fillet with Green Peppercorn Sauce

Ingredients:

4 slices beef filet, weighing 8-10 ounces (200-250 g) each
1/4 cup (60 ml) brandy
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup (50 g) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (125 ml) heavy cream
4 tablespoons pickled green peppercorns (you can also use pink peppercorns if you want, or a mixture)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Begin by coarsely grinding three tablespoons of the peppercorns, ideally in a mortar, though a blender will work.
Heat the olive oil and butter in a pan and sear the fillets on both sides, then reduce the flame and cook them until they reach the stage of doneness you prefer, at the most 10 minutes in all. Remove them to a heated platter.

Pour the brandy into the pan, light it, and gently stir until the flames have gone out. At this point stir in the cream (add it slowly) and the peppercorns, season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper, and spoon it over the fillets. The wine? A Pinot Nero, perhaps. In any case, enjoy!
Serves 4.

Marinated Grilled Beef Fillet

Ingredients:

4 fairly thick (3/4 inch, or 2 cm) slices beef filet
An onion, cut into rings
A small bunch parsley, minced
A clove of garlic, sliced
A rib of celery, sliced crosswise
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Lightly pound the filets and arrange them in a bowl large enough for them to lie flat.
Sprinkle the onion, celery, olive oil, and herbs over them, season them with a grating of pepper, cover them, and put them in the fridge; marinate them for 2-3 hours, turning them several times.

Come time to cook them, set them over brisk coals and cook them about 5 minutes, turning them once, and season them with salt when they're done.
Serves 4.

Chicken Scallops in a Marsala Sauce

Ingredients:

1 2/3 pounds (700 g) veal scallops or sliced chicken breast, pounded gently with the
smooth side of a meat pounder to thin them out (don't puncture them)
Flour
Salt
Olive Oil
1/2 cup (125 ml) Marsala diluted with a little water or broth
2 tablespoons minced parsely

Preparation:

Dredge the slices of meat in the flour, and salt them. Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large skillet and saute the meat over a brisk flame, turning the slices once or twice.
When the meat is close to being done, sprinkle in the diluted Marsala, reduce the heat to low, and simmer the slices for a few minutes more.

Remove the meat to a heated platter, add a couple of tablespoons of hot water to the pan drippings, heat them through, stirring briskly, and drizzle them over the meat.
Dust with the minced parsley and serve.
Serves 4-6.

Buon appetito!

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