Minestrone is the Italian word for vegetable soup. Vegetables are cut in small pieces, and to make it tastier a soffritto is added. Soffritto is the base for a lot of Italian dishes. It consists of a small amount of vegetables, thinly chopped and saute in few spoons of olive oil or butter. The vegetables vary from recipe to recipe but the two classics are of onions, carrots and celery for dishes like the ragù alla bolognese, and butter and onions for risotto dishes.

I usually prefer to consume my vegetable soup pureed, and in this case it’s called passato di verdura (pureed vegetable soup). When I saw this recipe on Sale & Pepe Magazine (February 2010), I didn’t think twice and I made it right away. This dish is a complete meal and has all the nutrients you need. The quantity of vegetables and legumes is well balanced and neither of them has an overpowers the complete dish.

I love to make earthy minestrone during the winter season when it’s cold and humid outside. When I’m feeling cold and just want something warm. I imagine you too have those days when you would like to be wrapped in a warm blanket all day. This is a comfort food that makes me feel cuddled and cozy and I hope it’ll do the same for you. Let me know if you try it.

For the recipe I used ditalini rigati but you can choose the shape of pasta you prefer. This dish can also be gluten free. Just substitute regular wheat pasta with your gluten free pasta. If you want to enrich your minestrone and don’t waste a single gram of your Parmigiano the crust can be added to the boiling minestrone. Scrape the outer part of the crust with a knife before adding it to the soup. It will become a chewy and extremely flavorful surprise in your minestrone.
I like to savor my minestrone with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a dust freshly grated black pepper.

Minestrone: food for the soul

Ingredients:

7 oz. squash
1 leek
1 carrot
3-4 leaves savoy cabbage
1 zucchini
2 medium potatoes
3.5 oz. Swiss chard leaves
Parmigiano crust (optional)
7 oz. dry borlotti beans (cranberry beans) soaked overnight
5 oz. ditalini rigati pasta*

For the soffritto:
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove minced
1 shallot thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley
3-4 basil leaves finely chopped
3 whole canned tomatoes

Preparation:

Prepare the soffritto before the vegetables. In a nonstick skillet heat up 2 Tablespoons olive oil then add the chopped parsley, basil, celery, the garlic, the shallot and saute for 5 minutes. Add 3 canned tomatoes cut in small pieces and cook for 10 more minutes. Set aside.
Cut in cubes the squash, the potatoes, carrot and zucchini. Slice the leek, savoy cabbage and the Swiss chard leaves. Put all the cut vegetables in a pan and add about 2 quarts water. Season with a big pinch of salt and bring it to a boil. When the vegetables start to boil add the soffritto to the soup and combine well.
Add the beans to the vegetables and cook for 2 hours more. If you have your crust of Parmigiano you can add it after one hour the minestrone is cooking. At the end add 5 oz. ditalini rigati pasta and cook for 10 more minutes or according to directions.
I usually serve it with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of black pepper.

Notes:
* For a gluten free dish substitute the ditalini pasta with a gluten free pasta of your choice, better a small shape.

In this picture our Papà del Gnoco riding a mule. He’s the symbol of our Veronese’s carnival.

No recipe this week but some pictures taken on Friday the 12th of February during the Venerdì Gnocolar parade. I followed the whole parade and had so much fun. While I was busy throwing confetti and clapping at the parade participants, my husband Michael was running up and down the street trying to take some pictures.

Papà del Gnoco having a little glass of red wine

The Mayor of Verona participating in the Carnival parade

My son with his Spiderman mask.

The neighborhoods of the city and villages in the province of Verona
participated in the parade

A Brazilian mask

A Brazilian mask

A parade participant taking a break….

The unforgettable Beatles

It’s carnevale and while every pastry store is serving frittelle and crostoli, we in Verona also have the tradition of eating potato gnocchi. A tradition that culminates on Venerdì Gnocolar* that this year will fall on February 12nd and the parade with its allegorical floats and Papà del Gnocco, the main character of our carnival. As usual we all gather at my parents house to enjoy numerous courses of gnocchi served with different sauces. The end of the meal is always gladdened with carnival sweets such as frittelle, crostoli, favette and creme fritte**. We then spend the rest of the afternoon watching the parade passing by.

This dish is not what we usually serve on Venerdì gnocolar, but when I ran across this recipe on l’Accademia della cucina Italiana, I couldn’t resist and I tried it the next day. I was not disappointed by the results. The gnocchi have a hearty and rustic flavor enhanced and complemented by the Speck. The thyme gives a fresh touch to the preparation.
These gnocchi are slightly firmer than the classic potato gnocchi and can be easily mixed in the pan without becoming mushy. Don’t be intimidated by making gnocchi, they’re easy to prepare just follow my instructions. If you like to see pictures just check my basic potato gnocchi recipe. When ready, gnocchi should be cooked within two hours and they are best kept in the refrigerator while waiting to be cooked. If you don’t want to cook them right away they can be frozen. First place the plate in the freezer for about one hour or until the gnocchi are frozen, then fill a freezer bag and store them in the freezer.  When you decide to cook them just add them to the boiling water while still frozen.

Potato buckwheat gnocchi with speck

Ingredients:

For the gnocchi:
2 lbs - 2 oz. whole baking potatoes
1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
pinch of salt

For condiment:
7 oz. Speck cut in thick slices, about 1/4 inches or prosciutto (cured ham)***
3-4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

Boil the potatoes whole with the skin in salted water until cooked.
Once cooked drain the potatoes and then peel them being careful not to burn yourself.
Pass the potatoes through a potato ricer and into a bowl.
Add the 2 flours previously sifted together.
Mix until you have a nice pliable ball of dough.
Prepare a work area and dust it with all purpose flour.
Take the dough, a piece at a time, and roll it out with your hands until you have rolls about 3/4 inch in diameter.
Cut the tubes of dough into pieces about one inch long. if they are a little bit sticky, sprinkle them lightly with some flour.
With a fork, holding the tines against the work surface, use your finger to press a piece of dough gently against the fork, and roll it slightly then letting it fall to the table.
The result should be gnocchi with an indent on one side from your finger and a pattern on the other side from the fork.
Handle the gnocchi carefully so they don’t loose their shape. Place them on a lightly floured plates. Keep them apart so they don’t touch one another or they’ll stick together.
Heat the butter and oil to a low medium temperature then add the cubed speck and cook it for 3-5 minutes until slightly golden. Don’t over cook it otherwise cubes will become tough.
Bring a big pot of water to a boil and then add the gnocchi carefully a plate or two at a time. When they float to the surface they are ready. Remove them with a slotted spoon, set them in a strainer to drain off the excess water and put them in the pan with the speck.
Mix the gnocchi gently and pour them in a warmed serving bowl. Sprinkle them with chopped thyme and serve immediately.

Notes:

* For more info on Venerdì gnocolar and carnival in Verona view my last’s year post.
** If you wish to try some carnival sweets, visit Cooking with Patty where I gathered them together with all my gnocchi dishes on the home page.
*** If you’re using prosciutto crudo (cured ham), add a pinch of black pepper.

I have a special affection to nutella because it reminds me of my childhood. I used to eat it spread on a soft slice of white bread just like in the picture on the label, but my favorite way was, and still is, to eat it directly from the jar. I know I Know I shouldn’t but it’s such a delight. I’m not able to resist nutella, when I see a jar of nutella my hand reaches out for the spoon and there’s nothing that can stop it from dipping into the chocolate. That’s exactly what happened when I prepared these mini croissants. I finished the rest of the jar slowly a little bit at the time and at the end of the day, to my surprise, it was magically gone as well as all the croissants.

These croissants are fast to prepare and can be an energetic breakfast or a mid afternoon snack for your kids. They’re easily ready in 20 minutes and they can also be eaten at room temperature if you’re able to resist. Mine  were gone before they could cool off.

Mini croissants with Nutella®

1 round or rectangular puff pastry sheet
Nutella
powder sugar (optional)

Yields: 12 croissants

Preparation:

Heat up the oven to 350°
Cut the puff pastry sheet in 12 wedges if round. Place a heaping teaspoon of nutella on the wider end of the wedge and roll it until you form a croissant. Pinch the ends of it and give it a crescent shape.
Place all the croissants on a baking sheet covered by oven paper and bake for 10-15 minutes.
Let them cool for 5 minutes, if you’re able to wait. Before serving them you can sprinkle them with powdered sugar too.

Happy New Year to all of you! I just got back from a long vacation in Minnesota where I had such a wonderful time with friends and family. I’m still adjusting to the time difference, which means staying awake most of the night, but this didn’t stop me from making this pasta that I was craving for a long time.

I like pasta and love to experiment new recipes and methods. A method that I’m particularly fond of is to cook pasta as if making risotto. It’s in fact called “pasta a risotto”. It’s easier than preparing risotto itself, but you still have to follow the preparation closely if you don’t want to end up with an overcooked pasta dish. The best pasta types are the small format like pennette, maccheroni, farfalle and cavatappi. They hold better and they’re prettier to see in the final preparation.

For this particular recipe I chose fresh red beets and leeks that I just bought at my local farmer. Red beets give a pretty color to the pasta not to mention the great taste. I added toasted poppy seeds at the end to give a nutty flavor to the dish and to balance the sweet taste of the red beet. I was going to add some Parmigiano to the pasta as in the risotto, but the poppy seeds proved to be enough to complete the dish without taking away from the beet flavor.

Pasta a risotto with red beets

Ingredients

5 oz. cavatappi pasta
2 1/2 Tbsp. thinly sliced leeks
2 oz. 1/3 heaping cup minced red beets
1 1/2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. poppy seeds
1/2 liter vegetable broth made with 1/2 onion, 1 celery stalk and 1 small carrot

Yields: 2 persons

Preparation:

In a nonstick pan saute leeks, 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil for few minutes than add the beets.
Add about 1/4 cup water and cook until tender for about 10-15 minutes.
Add the pasta and mix until well combined. Now add about 1/2 cup of vegetable broth and stir until the liquid is all absorbed. Add more broth and keep stirring.
The pasta is ready when is cooked and all the liquid is absorbed.
For the finish touch, heat up 1 teaspoon olive oil and 1 teaspoon poppy seeds in small nonstick pan. Let them pop and then add them to the pasta. Serve immediately.

These are the rolls I prepare for our Thanksgiving dinner every year and they always disappear in minutes. I made them this year too but I only used a small amount of the dough and I refrigerated the rest. This particular preparation can be refrigerated, but I had never done it until now. I made the rest of the rolls few days later and served them warm, as an appetizer, with prosciutto crudo and Speck. They were a hit.
Our pastry shops often have small croissants cut in two and filled with prosciutto crudo, Speck or ham with a thin slice of cheese and a leave of salad. My rolls are obviously different from croissants, they are a pan brioche kind of dough but the flavors are well balanced. If you prefer you can spread them with a little bit of butter and then add the prosciutto. I personally like them without, but that also depends on the prosciutto some are in fact drier than others. Never choose the beginning of the leg, it’s drier and saltier than its middle part. The end is sweeter but it is usually cut thicker. Check this well informed site about prosciutto crudo for more info. You can read about Speck on the Speck Consortium.

I have other ideas on how to serve these rolls but I’ll try them an other time. I have no more leftovers but I’m sure I’ll have an other chance soon. We asked my mother in law to prepare us a Turkey dinner while in the States for Christmas and I know she’ll make rolls for sure. I’ll be spending a whole month in the States so my next post will be probably from the other side of the pond. Enjoy the recipe.

Crescent rolls with prosciutto crudo

Ingredients:

6 1/2 to 7 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tsp. salt
1/4 soft unsalted butter or shortening
1 large egg
2 pkg. regular dry active yeast
2 cups lukewarm water
soft unsalted butter to grease and spread

For the filling:
prosciutto crudo (cured ham) or Speck

Makes proximately 4 dozens medium rolls

Preparation:

Dissolve the yeast in 1 cup of water and set aside.
In a large bowl mix butter, sugar, salt and the egg with a fork.
Add the flour and then the water with yeast. Slowly add the second cup mixing the dough with your hands until it gets easy to handle.
Grease a bowl with butter place the dough shaped like a ball and let it rise for 2 hours and half.
Divide the dough in 3 pieces and roll it, one at the time into 10-inch. circle on floured surface.
Spread with softened butter and cut it into wedges. The number of wedges will vary depending on how you want your rolls. I like them pretty small but it’s up to you.
Roll up each wedge starting from the external part. Place rolls with points underneath, on a baking sheet covered with oven paper, curve them slightly. Brush them with butter and cover them with a kitchen towel.
Let them rise in a warm place for 30 more minutes.
Heat oven to 400°
Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Place them in a bowl and covered them with a kitchen towel and let them rest for about 15 minutes.
Slice each roll in two and place a slice of prosciutto crudo or Speck. If you prefer you can lightly spread one side with butter. Serve.

Note:
This recipe has been adapted from the Gold Medal flour recipe.
Dough can also be refrigerated up to 3 days. Put it in the refrigerator right after mixing it. Grease the bowl and the top of dough with butter and cover it with a damp cloth. When ready to bake take only the amount of desired dough and keep the remainder in the fridge. Shape the crescent rolls cover them with a cloth and let them rise for 2 and half to 3 hours.

Every year I like to try a new side dish for Thanksgiving. I usually choose cooked vegetables because I feel they go better with the rest of the dinner. This year for a change I’ll introduce a broccoli salad to my usual menu. The recipe is inspired by a dish I found years ago on Taste of home. It’s an easy salad to assemble, and should be prepared one hour in advance, which is very helpful when you have one dish less to think about before guests arrive.

Quality ingredients are important for good results. Don’t buy the broccoli florets in the plastic bags, they’re already dry and have lost part of their flavor, not to mention their properties. It will take a little bit more time to prepare the salad, but your efforts will be worth it. I bought mine at my local farmer and made the salad right away. The broccoli were so fresh that I used part of the stem too. The day after broccoli were still crispy and didn’t get soggy at all. Buy your tangerines fresh, don’t even think about getting them canned. Be careful when choosing your mayonnaise, make sure it doesn’t have honey or spices in it. It should only contain eggs, oil and vinegar otherwise it will change the flavor of your salad.

If you don’t like raw broccoli, you can always blanch them in hot water for less than a minute. I personally love them raw and crispy. We don’t usually eat raw broccoli in Italy. I learned on my first visit to the States when I encountered a plate of raw veggies and cheese dip. It was love at first sight, for raw broccoli,  cauliflower and cheese dip as well.  I wish all of you who celebrate Thanksgiving a happy one with friends and family.

Broccoli salad with tangerines

Ingredients:

8 cups broccoli florets, about 3 1/2 heads of broccoli
7 tangerines, clementines or mandarin oranges
6 thin bacon strips, cooked and crumbled, 1/2 cup when crumbled
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/3 cup sultanas raisins, soaked in lukewarm water for 20 minutes then dried
1/2 cup toasted unsalted cashews

For the salad dressing
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. mayonnaise (without sugar)
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. Greek yogurt
1-2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tablespoons white or apple cider vinegar

Preparation:

In a small bowl, whisk mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, sugar and vinegar. Cover and refrigerate.
In the meantime cook the bacon slices, in a nonstick pan, until golden brown. Place them on a paper towel to eliminate the grease and then crumble them.
In a large bowl add broccoli, tangerines, onion, bacon and raisins. Add the dressing and combine well. Cover the salad and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Before serving sprinkle the salad with the cashews and mix well. If you let the cashews soak too long they’ll loose their crunchiness.

In this period I’m craving spicy food and in particular Indian. I’m fascinated by this cuisine and particularly interested in the primary role spices and herbs have. I’m amazed by all the different aromas and flavors each individual spice can have: whole and popped, grounded and then cooked, toasted, soaked and more. I have a few books on Indian cuisine and I’ve tried quite a few recipes with success. Notwithstanding I should say I feel I still don’t know anything about it. For the moment I will learn from the books I have, but sooner or later I’m going to follow some cooking classes to learn more about the usage and the different combinations of spices and herbs.

The dish I made today is adapted from a recipe in The Turmeric Trail: Recipes and Memories from an Indian Childhood by Raghavan Iyer. If you have never heard of this book and you’re interested in Indian cuisine you should definitely have it. It’s a beautifully written book where the recipes are well explained and very precise. Each recipe is introduced by an episode from Mr. Iyer’s personal life that captures your attention and brings you on a time travel through India and its world of spices. I’m never tire of reading his recipes and personal notes again and again. I’m planning to try all his recipes and looking forward to going to the States where, thanks to his indications, I can find certain ingredients that I haven’t found in Italy .

I added fresh curry leaves (karhi) to this rice like my friends from Sri Lanka always do. Curry leaves have nothing to do with curry powder which is a blend of spices and herbs created by the British. Curry leaves are shiny dark green leaves, similar in shape to bay leaves but much smaller. They have a unique flavor and aroma which is impossible to imitate, so if you don’t have them don’t try to substitute them with other spices. It’s also possible to find them dry but the aroma will be different from the fresh leaves. It’s worth a trip to your local Indian store to purchase them. Be careful, curry leaves are highly addictive, once you’ll use and smell them you won’t be able to cook without them anymore. If you’re interested in curry leaves there’s an interesting article on the Washington Post written by Monica Bhide, accompanied by two appealing recipes.

Spiced basmati rice with vegetables

2 cups white Basmati rice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 big carrot shredded
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. leeks, thinly sliced
the green part of the scallion, thinly sliced
2 tsp. black mustard seed
2 tsp. cumin seed
2 three-inch cinnamon sticks
12 green cardamon pods
12 whole cloves
10 fresh Curry leaves or karhi leaves
2 tsp. sea salt
4 cups water

Preparation:

Pour the rice in a bowl full of water and wash it for few times until the water comes out clean. Then leave the rice in clean water for 30 minutes.
In the meantime prepare the vegetables, shred the carrot, chop the onion and slice the leek.
Heat up the oil in a nonstick pan and add the black mustard seeds, when they start popping cover the pan until done. Immediately add the cumin seeds, cardamon, cloves, cinnamon sticks and curry leaves and sizzle them for 20-30 seconds.
Add the onions, scallion and its green part, and cook it for about 2 minutes then add the carrots and continue cooking for 3 more minutes or until the carrots soften.
Drain the rice, add it to the pan together with the water and salt.
Cook the rice uncovered until almost all the water has been absorbed then cover it and cook it at low heat for 5 minutes. Turn the stove off and let the rice rest for 5 more minutes.
Fluff the rice with a fork and serve.

I like fish but we have never been so fond of cooking it in my family until I met my husband and things changed drastically. He loves fish, he loves to fish too as he used to go fishing all year long when living in Minnesota. As a matter of fact he wants to bring me ice fishing this winter, but I’m not so sure I’ll have the courage to go on a frozen lake with the car. Anyway when we moved to Italy he was amazed about all the fresh fish he could find, and we decided it was time to learn how to cook it, or at least learn to cook something different than the usual trout and cod fish. We bought a nice book, complete with instructions for cleaning fish because I didn’t know how to clean any kind of fish. I started by cleaning a squid and after I finished with it I didn’t want to eat it anymore. The squid salad I made with it wasn’t so appealing after I eliminated its brain, eyes and beak. I managed to taste it and finally eat, and after that first experience I started to think about something else while cleaning fish. I’m glad I didn’t give up or I would have missed some amazing dishes that we have prepared since then.

My relationship with fish had a stop when I got pregnant. I couldn’t even see it anymore and this “situation” continued for other 2 years after my baby was born. I’m now back on track though and ready to experiment again.

I’m always searching for easy and fast preparations so when I saw this recipe in one of my The South Beach Diet books I tried it right away, but I already knew it was going to be a winner. The recipe called for salmon fillet, however I used salmon steaks instead this because they were all that was available at the store.
The fish can also be cooked in a pan, but it gets leaner in the oven. When you choose your balsamic vinegar make sure that it doesn’t contain colorants, sugar or additives. Better if it’s organic.

Baked salmon steaks with balsamic vinegar sauce

Ingredients:

4 salmon steaks, about 8oz. each
1 cup balsamic vinegar (no artificial coloring and no sugar added)
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 400°. Place the salmon steaks on a baking dish, brush them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and black pepper.
Cook for 10-15 minutes or as necessary.
In the meantime prepare the sauce. In a small saucepan add the balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and olive oil. Cook at medium-high temperature for about 20 minutes or until the sauce starts to thicken.
Drizzle the salmon with balsamic sauce and serve.

Note:
This dish can be accompanied with boiled potatoes or a mixed salad of your choice.

Antipasto calabro is the typical appetizer that I enjoy eating when I’m on vacation there, and I love to prepare it for my guests when I’m back in Verona. It’s a simple dish that encompasses the main products of this land: red hot pepper, pork meat, sheep milk cheeses, red onions from Tropea, tomatoes, eggplants and mushrooms.

There’s no cooking in this appetizer, you just have to buy good quality products and display them nicely on a plate. I actually buy most of the ingredients in Calabria except for the Pecorino cheese that I can find here in Verona too.

A jar of eggplants and a package of olive schiacciate are always in my pantry. The eggplants are peeled and cut in thin strips, seasoned with oregano, a little bit of red hot pepper, slices of garlic and preserved in olive oil. Olive schiacciate, the olives are seeded and seasoned with red hot pepper, garlic and oregano. I had a recipe how to prepare them and I made them once but they came out too bitter, so I still prefer to buy them. Of course dry tomatoes preserved in olive oil are a must.

This dish is often enriched with mushrooms preserved in olive oil, they actually were in the dish but they are not visible in the picture. The Sila, a wide mountainous plateau between Cosenza and Catanzaro, abounds in mushrooms including the prized porcini mushrooms.

Soppressata and capocollo are the Calabrian cured meats that come from locally-raised hogs. Sopressata calabrese (or soppressata) is made with the lean part of pork meat and 2-3% pork fat. It’s flavored with salt and black pepper and a dusting of red hot pepper. Capocollo, called coppa in the other regions of Italy, is cured pork shoulder prepared with salt, herbs, and spices. Prosciutto crudo is also produced here, but it’s not as typical as the other cuts.

Finally there’s the mythical Nduja, my favorite pork product from Calabria. A spreadable salami filled with pork and a lot of red hot pepper, then smoked. I would eat it every day if I could, but this year I went a little bit easy on it and it was really hard. I brought one nduja home as usual, so when I miss it I have it on hand all year long to prepare a pasta dish or to spread it on slices of bread.

Recently I’ve seen Nduja produced abroad, I wouldn’t buy it even if it would be produced here in Verona for that matter. I think that certain products are authentic only when produced in their region of origin. It shouldn’t be called nduja if not produced in Spilinga (Vibo Valenzia) or its surroundings.

The last ingredient is Tropea red onions, one can find them everywhere in Italy and abroad, but I wonder how it’s possible that such a small area produces such a great amount of onions. Anyway I tasted the real ones and I can assure you that I’ve never tasted anything so sweet and flavorful while not overly strong. The secret to extra sweet onions is to slice them and leave them in cold water 30 minutes before consuming.

I know this is a rich appetizer and it could be a whole lunch by itself, but if you want to organize a Calabrian dinner this is a good start. Just make sure to serve a small portion.

Antipasto calabro

Ingredients:

Pecorino cheese
Dry tomatoes preserved in olive oil
Olive schiacciate, preserved eggplants, mushrooms and artichokes
Sopressata
Capocollo
Prosciutto crudo
Nduja
Sliced red onion previously soaked in cold water for 30′
Rustic bread

Prepare a small plate for each guest and place few slices of Pecorino cheese, sopressata and capocollo. A Tablespoon of olives, eggplants, mushrooms and few artichokes. A piece of nduja. Add a small mount of sliced onions. Make sure to accompany this appetizer with a rustic bread, better if it’s not too salty.

You may also be interested in other Calabrian specialties: Pasta with nduja, Pasta with potatoes.