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ITALIAN RECIPES

Thanksgiving: Ed Il Contorno?

Sicilian-Style Broccoli Recipe

Ingredients:

2 pounds broccoli
1/4 pound pitted black olives, chopped
A small hot pepper, crumbled or not as you prefer, or more to taste
5 tablespoons olive oil
2/5 cup dry white wine
2 ounces salty pecorino romano or salted ricotta, in shavings
Optional: A pound of pasta

Preparation:

Set a pot of water to boil.
Wash the broccoli and cut the florets and tender leaves free (use the thick stems for something else).
Cook the florets and leaves in salted boiling water for three minutes, and then remove them with a slotted spoon (if you are serving the broccoli with pasta cook the pasta in this flavored water).

Heat the oil in a broad fairly deep skillet, and add the broccoli, olives and hot pepper.
Sprinkle the wine over the broccoli, cover, and simmer for a few minutes.
Remove the hot pepper if you left it whole, sprinkle the shaved cheese over the broccoli, cover for another minute to let the heat soften the cheese, and serve.
Serves 4.

Squash Venetian Style

Ingredients:

2 1/4 pounds yellow squash (use butternut squash)
1/4 cup olive oil
Flour
5 tablespoons vinegar
1 clove garlic cut in half
6 basil leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil for frying

Preparation:

Peel and seed the squash, wash it, dry it, and slice it into 1/2 by 2-inch (1 by 4 cm) rectangles. Flour the pieces and shake them to remove the excess.
Heat the oil in a high-sided skillet and fry the pieces, turning them to brown all sides, and drain them on absorbent paper.

Put a pot (make sure it's not aluminum) on the fire and heat the vinegar, garlic and raisins (if you're using them) with a pinch each of salt and pepper; boil the mixture for about 5 minutes. In the meantime wash and dry the basil leaves.

Take a casserole and put down a layer of squash, followed by a few shreds of basil leaves, and another layer of squash. Continue until all is used up, pour the vinegar mixture over the dish, cover, and refrigerate for 24 hours before serving.
Serves 4.

Genovese Style String Bean Recipe

Ingredients:

2 pounds string beans, tips trimmed
2 tablespoons freshly minced parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
4 salted anchovies, rinsed and boned
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup unsalted butter (you can also simply increase the oil to a half cup)
Salt and pepper

Preparation:

Blanch the beans in abundant salted water, drain them, and set them aside.
Heat the oil or oil and butter in a pan and sauté the herbs and the anchovies, stirring everything around until the anchovies dissolve, and then add the beans and cook briefly over a brisk flame, stirring to coat them with the sauce. Check seasoning and serve.
Serves 4.

Sausage and Cauliflower Casserole

Ingredients:

2/3 pound fresh sausages, casings removed and crumbled
2 small cauliflowers
2 eggs
A large onion, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 pound Swiss cheese, grated
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Set a pot of water to boil, and while it's heating strip the leaves from the cauliflowers. Salt the water lightly, acidulate it with the vinegar, and simmer the cauliflower heads for 10 minutes. Drain them, separate the florets, and chop the stems into bite-sized pieces.
While the cauliflower is blanching, sauté the chopped onion in the olive oil. When it becomes translucent add the crumbled sausages and continue cooking until the meat is lightly browned.

Mix the tomato paste with 3/4 cup of hot water and add it to the saucepot. Mix well, cover, and simmer the sauce for 20 minutes.
In the meantime preheat your oven to 360 F (180 C). While it's heating butter an oven dish large enough to contain the ingredients and line the bottom with a layer of cauliflower.

Follow it with some of the sausage mixture and some of the cheese, and continue alternating until all is used up: the top layer should be the sausage mixture. Dot the top of the casserole with the butter.

Next, lightly beat the eggs with the cream and season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Spread the cream over the casserole and bake it for a half hour. Serve hot, with a medium-bodied red wine, for example a Montepulciano D'Abruzzo.
Serves 4.

Potato and Onion Torte

Ingredients:

2 1/4 pounds potatoes
12 ounces button onions, peeled
8 ounces ripe tomatoes, sliced, discarding the seeds
2 ounces salted capers, rinsed well
4 ounces pitted black olives
6 salted anchovies
Milk
Hot water or meat broth
Lard
Olive oil
Salt

Preparation:

Took a while, but I did find recipe from Basilicata, which borders Puglia, and has a filling similar to Aunt Marietta's pie.
Begin by peeling the potatoes, then chop them and put them in a pot with enough milk to cover and cook them, turning the mixture with a wooden spoon, until you obtain thick mashed potatoes.

Use 2/3 of the mashed potatoes to line a lightly greased (with lard, the recipe says, though you can also use oil) oven-proof dish. Put down a layer of onions, followed by one of sliced tomatoes, then one of olives and capers.

Next, rinse, bone and break up the anchovy filets, and sauté them for a few minutes in olive oil. Sprinkle the oil and anchovy mixture over everything else, and brush the edge of the mashed potato "crust" with water.

Spread the remaining mashed potatoes over all to form a lid and bake the pie in a moderate oven (370 F, 185 C) until it is pleasingly browned.
Serves 4.

Buon appetito!

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