Basic
basil sauce
Put the
following in a sauce pan: 250gm passata or tomato sauce, 250gms pelati or
peeled tomatoes, two big tablespoons of olive oil, ˝ onion cut in quarters, 1 cut-up
carrot, 1 cut-up stem celery (a clove of garlic is optional). Bring all to boil, then
reduce temperature and add salt, pepper and a handful of fresh basil leaves. After cooking
for about an hour, stir in more basil, and it’s done. Serve with freshly grated
parmigiano cheese.
Heat
a couple spoonfuls of olive oil, one crushed chili pepper and a clove of garlic.
When garlic turns golden, add 250gm can pelati/peeled tomatoes, and salt.
Add parsley at the end. Normally, not to use with parmigiano - good with penne.
Heat
a couple spoonfuls of olive oil and one crushed hot chili, add diced onions
(half an onion) and lardons (cut-up raw bacon cut in bits). When the lardons
are cooked, mix in a 250gm can of passata/tomato sauce and a small can pelati/peeled
tomatoes, and salt to taste. Serve with spaghetti or linguini pasta.
Make
this sauce while the pasta is cooking. In a bowl, beat two eggs with salt
and freshly ground pepper. In another small pot, heat up 2 garlic cloves in
oil and hot chili pepper, add lardons/cut-up raw bacon chunks. Grate lots
of parmigiano. Mix together eggs mixture with oil mixture and parmesan, add
to hot drained pasta and mix well.
Pasta
alle melanzane et parmigiana (Eggplant parmesan pasta)
Use
basic basil tomato sauce, above. Slice and fry eggplant in garlic and oil,
or grill the slices of eggplant. Cut the sliced eggplant into quarters, and
add it to the heated sauce, cooking together for 5-10 minutes. Add some fresh
basil at end. As the pasta is cooking, cut up cubes of fresh mozzarella (ricotta
is a possible substitute). When the pasta is done, drain and pour it into
a bowl, quickly stirring in mozzarella and sauce. Add grated parmigiano before
serving.
Sauté di
cozze – mussels (or clams)-sauce pasta
Clean
mussels or clams (300gms for two) by soaking in water for ˝ hour. Then rinse and
de-thread. Warm oil and 2 garlic cloves, add hot chili pepper, and then mussels. Cook till
all are open, add fresh parsley, and pour over spaghetti. Optional to (gingerly) de-shell
before serving.
Easy
risotto with cepes
Soak
a good handful of dried porcini mushrooms for 15 minutes – filter but
KEEP the water. Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and a small diced
onion, add mushrooms, cook with salt and pepper, add parsley (optional, a
bit of hot chili pepper). While this is cooking, open a 250 gm package of
risotto/porcini mix. Cook the rice with the mushroom water (add additional
water as necessary). After it boils, add the mushrooms/onions mix and cook
for 15 minutes or until the the rice is done to your taste. Stir in two to
three tablespoons butter and two to three tablespoons parmigiano and serve.
Sprinkle extra cheese on top, as desired.
Grill
3-6 peppers (preferably yellow and red), turning when brown until uniformly
cooked. Drop them (gingerly) into a double plastic bag and let cool. Peel
and de-seed each one, then cut into bite-size slices. In a cover-able container,
mix the sliced peppers with a few tablespoons of oil, 3 sliced garlic
cloves and plenty of salt, cover and put in the fridge. They should refrigerate
at least a few hours, better overnight. Serve at room temperature with lots
of bread.
Wash
and thinly slice yellow and/or red peppers, drop slices into hot oil and garlic.
Cover and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Cook uncovered for five minutes.
Mix with pasta (linguine is best).
Dice
courgettes and onions, and grill in oil with salt. Mix with pasta.
Make
arrabbiata sauce, add a can of tuna and cook for 15 minutes before adding to pasta.
Lay
a fresh, cleaned sea bass in a thick bed of rock salt in a pan, and cover
completely with another thick layer of salt. Cook for 10-15 minutes under
grill, or until eyes pop out. Turn and cook other side until done.