POLPETTONE (Italian meatloaf)

polpettone

this is for Tony 🙂

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef
1lb ground turkey
salt qb
3 cups bread (stale french bread works best)
arugula, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
3 oz parmigiano
1.5 cups milk
breadcrumbs

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400F.

Soak bread in milk until all milk is absorbed.

Then, mix all ingredients except for the breadcrumbs together in a large bowl.

Transfer mixture to parchment paper. Roll paper to form loaf.

Slowly add breadcrumbs (enough to make loaf compact yet soft).

Place loaf in glass baking pan.

Cook in oven about 1.5 hours until golden. Use meat thermometer to check temperature – should be 160+ degrees.

CHICKEN CARLINA

chicken_carlina
Ingredients:

2lbs chickens (5 legs/5 thighs)
1 large red onion sliced
6 cloves of minced garlic
olive oil (to coat chicken)
fresh basil chopped
fresh parsley chopped
dried oregano
salt
pepper
1.5 cups of red wine vinegar
0.75 cups of water

Preparation:

Place onions and chicken in roasting pan. Coat evenly with 4-6 tbsp olive oil, garlic, dried herbs, salt and pepper.

Turn chicken and repeat seasoning with oil, dried herbs, salt and pepper.

Pour red wine vinegar and water underneath chicken and place parsley and basil on top.

Roast uncovered in oven 375 for 1.5 hours or until done.

Best if served over rice or quinoa, but a side of broccoli works as well.

GARLIC JAM

garlic

Ingredients:

10 cloves of garlic, peeled and diced
4 cups of onions, finely chopped
3 3/4 cups of sugar
2 cups of wine
2 tbsp of lemon juice
2 (3oz) packs of pectin
3 tbsp of unsalted butter
1 tbsp of vegetable oil

Preparation:

Sautee the onion and garlic in the butter and vegetable oil for ten minutes. Add 1/2 cup off sugar and stir until dissolved.

Combine the garlic sauté, wine, lemon and half the sugar in a pan and let stand for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, add the remaining sugar and place the pan over a medium-high heat; stir constantly until the sugar dissolves. Bring the mix to a boil for two minutes.

Remove the pan from the flame and skim off any foam that accumulates. Place the pan over the heat again for 1 minute to boil. Again, remove and skim off the foam. Add the butter and bring the mixture to a boil again. Add the pectin and stir constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Skim off the foam.

Allow the jam to cool for 7 minutes before adding it to canning jars. Close the jars and bath them in 250-degree water for 10 minutes to create a seal.

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Photography by CarbonNYC

BUTTERNUT SQUASH, ROSEMARY, AND GARLIC LASAGNE

BUTTERNUT SQUASH, ROSEMARY, AND GARLIC LASAGNE

Ingredients:

3 pounds butternut squash, quartered, seeded, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 9 1/2 cups)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cups milk
2 tablespoons dried rosemary, crumbled
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
nine 7- by 3 1/2-inch sheets dry no-boil lasagne pasta
1 1/3 cups freshly grated Parmesan (about 5 ounces)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
Garnish: fresh rosemary sprigs

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 450°F. and oil 2 large shallow baking pans.
In a large bowl toss squash with oil until coated well and spread in one layer in pans. Roast squash in oven 10 minutes and season with salt. Stir squash and roast 10 to 15 minutes more, or until tender and beginning to turn golden.

While squash is roasting, in a saucepan bring milk to a simmer with rosemary. Heat milk mixture over low heat 10 minutes and pour through a sieve into a large pitcher or measuring cup.

In a large heavy saucepan cook garlic in butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Stir in flour and cook roux, stirring, 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in milk mixture in a stream until smooth. Return pan to heat and simmer sauce, whisking occasionally, about 10 minutes, or until thick. Stir in squash and salt and pepper to taste.
Sauce may be made 3 days ahead and chilled, its surface covered with plastic wrap.

Reduce temperature to 375°F. and butter a baking dish, 13 by 9 by 2 inches.
Pour 1 cup sauce into baking dish (sauce will not cover bottom completely) and cover with 3 lasagne sheets, making sure they do not touch each other. Spread half of remaining sauce over pasta and sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan. Make 1 more layer in same manner, beginning and ending with pasta.

In a bowl with an electric mixer beat cream with salt until it holds soft peaks and spread evenly over top pasta layer, making sure pasta is completely covered. Sprinkle remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan over cream. Cover dish tightly with foil, tenting slightly to prevent foil from touching top layer, and bake in middle of oven 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake lasagne 10 minutes more, or until top is bubbling and golden. Let lasagne stand 5 minutes.

Garnish each serving with rosemary.

Makes 6 main-course or 12 side-dish servings.

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From Gourmet December 1995

Photography by africankelli

ANGEL HAIR with SUN-DRIED TOMATOES and GOAT CHEESE

angel-hair-pasta.jpg

Ingredients:

1 (10-ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped (oil reserved)
1 small onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup tomato paste
2/3 cup dry white wine
8 ounces angel hair pasta
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

Preparation:

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the wine and sun-dried tomatoes and simmer until the liquid reduces by half, about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking liquid. Add the pasta to the tomato mixture and toss to coat, adding some reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the goat cheese and parsley and stir. Mound the pasta into bowls and serve.

Serves 4 to 6 servings

From Giada De Laurentiis, Everyday Italian

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Photography by ninjapoodles

WILD BOAR RAGU

wild-boar-pappardelle.jpg

Ingredients:

1 large Spanish onion (chopped)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds boneless wild boar meat (cut for stew)
1 can chopped tomatoes
3 bay leaves
1 cup red wine
5 cloves garlic, crushed
3 dried chili peppers (crushed)
1 cinnamon stick
5 cloves
3 sun-dried tomatoes
3 anchovies or 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
Fresh or dried oregano, basil, and sage
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt and black pepper to taste
Pasta (pappardelle or fettuccine)
Grated pecorino cheese (Parmigiano is an acceptable substitute, but pecorino, being sheep cheese, complements game)

Preparation:

In a large cast-iron pot, sauté the onion in olive oil until translucent. Add the boar meat and brown. (That is, cook the meat over high heat, turning frequently, just until it’s cooked on the outside.)

Add the canned tomatoes, the bay leaves and the wine.

Gradually add the garlic, dried chili, cinnamon stick, cloves, sun-dried tomatoes, anchovies (or anchovy paste), oregano, basil, sage, red wine vinegar, and salt and black pepper to taste.

Simmer on low on the stovetop with the lid of the pot slightly ajar, and stir occasionally for at least two hours — or longer if possible. The longer you simmer this, the more tender the meat will become. The ragù is ready to eat when the meat has totally fallen apart and most of the liquid has been absorbed by the meat. Take out the cinnamon stick and bay leaves before serving.

Serve over the pasta and top with grated cheese. Accompany with some crusty peasant bread and a good red wine, preferably a strong Italian, like Amarone or Barolo.

from I Like Food, Food Tastes Good: In the Kitchen with Your Favorite Bands

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Photography by Roboppy