Frugal Finance: Italian Food

Showing posts with label Italian Food. Show all posts

Frugal Recipe: Creamy Fusilli w/ Zucchini & Peppers

Contributed By Marissa Bognanno, Author of The Boot Blog

It was Saturday morning and I woke up with one thing, and one thing only, on my mind. What am I going to make for lunch?It’s a common question around these parts and you’ll even hear it come up quite frequently in everyday conversation. I wanted something comforting and creamy but not heavy. I scouted out my fruit and vegetable guy’s stand, took a jaunt to our local supermarket, chatted with the lady at the dollar store, until finally the idea came to me.

Creamy without the cream.

Veggie-packed pastas are my favorite, and this one even has a healthy dose of protein, thanks to the greek yogurt, which gives it the loveliest of creamy consistencies. Any time you’re craving a heavy cream-without-the-cream dish, use this greek yogurt trick. Since not everyone loves the tang yogurt has, add something to balance it out, like lemon zest which I use in this recipe, or fresh herbs or rich spices like cumin or curry.

Creamy Fusilli with Zucchini and Peppers

(serves 3)

1 zucchini

1 yellow pepper

1 tbs olive oil

1 garlic clove

small pinch red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 pound fusilli

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

1 tsp lemon zest

generous sprinkling grated cheese (I used Pecorino)

Slice the zucchini and pepper into thin strips. Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium high heat, add the garlic clove whole and the pinch of red pepper flakes. Let it sizzle for two minutes, then take out the clove. Add the zucchini and pepper strips and toss well. Add the salt and cook covered on medium low until the vegetables are tender/soft, about 10 minutes. In the meantime, cook the pasta according to package directions for al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Add the yogurt and zest to the vegetables, lowering the heat to a simmer, and mix well. Add the cooking liquid until it becomes the consistency you prefer. Add the pasta and toss. Serve with a generous sprinkling of grated cheese.

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Real Rustic Rugelach Recipe & Resolution!

Contributed By Marissa Bognnao, Author of The Boot Blog

I have made a very simple blogging resolution for myself this year, and that is to be as imperfect as possible. To plan less, to give you more real life and less set-up, intentionally propped, stylized shots. Here's the food, as real as can be. Here's life in Italy, as real as can be.

Kate made this rugelach in our kitchen the day before I left and though I didn't plan a photo shoot, or rig a makeshift studio in my room with poster board to reflect light and cute plates to position the rugelach on just so, a crumb in the foreground and a spoon of jam in the background, I think they look just as beautiful like this. And Manu's family devoured them the next day when I arrived in Barletta. When I told Manu's mom they got a little squished on the plane, she said, "No, they're perfect just like this."

Rugelach

(based on this recipe)

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2-pound unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup granulated sugar plus 9 tablespoons

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup walnuts, finely chopped

1/2 cup apricot preserves

1 egg beaten (for egg wash)

Cream the cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light. Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar, the salt, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour and mix until just combined. Dump the dough out onto a well-floured board and roll it into a ball. Cut in quarters, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour. To make the filling, combine 6 tablespoons of granulated sugar, the brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and walnuts. On a well-floured board, roll each ball of dough into a 9-inch circle. Spread the dough with 2 tablespoons apricot preserves and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the filling. Press the filling lightly into the dough. Roll the circle longways into a log. Chill the logs for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Slice the rugelach in 1-inch pieces. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush each cookie with the egg wash. Combine 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle on top. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack and let cool.

And if you're interested, here's an interesting case study of popular trends in food photography right now.

P.S. Thank you everyone for your sweet notes and well wishes for my departure back to Barletta! I arrived safe and sound and now I'm officially ready to start 2013 with a bang!

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Frugal Recipe: Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

Contributed By Marissa Bognanno, Author of The Boot Blog

Spaghetti alla carbonara is quite simply Italian comfort food. All-American eggs n' bacon are added, creating a magical mix of creamy and crispy that makes you savor every strand.

Spaghetti alla carbonara

(serves 3-4)

3/4 pound spaghetti

2 eggs

3 1/2 ounces pancetta, cubed

generous pinch salt + pepper

2 ounces each grated pecorino romano cheese + parmigiano reggiano

Set a pot of water to boil. In the meantime, in a sautè pan over medium high heat, cook the pancetta until nicely browned, about 7-10 minutes. Remove from pan and let drain on some paper towels. Beat the eggs with the salt and pepper. Cook the spaghetti in the pot and drain when al dente. Pour back into the pot with the eggs and pancetta, mixing well until all is combined and the eggs are slightly cooked. If it looks runny still, you can turn the heat on to medium while you stir for another minute or so. Add the cheese and serve immediately.

Because we could all use a little comfort food every now and then.

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Frugal Healthy Recipe: Pasta w/ Zucchini

Contributed By Marissa Bognanno, Author of The Boot Blog

"A plate of pasta has to smoke and be eaten immediately for it to be good. Un piatto fumante, a smoking plate!" Manu declares as I get down on the floor balancing my camera on a mixing bowl and teeter the smoking plate of pasta con le zucchine on a step stool near the window to get some photos. "Mari! Hurry with your blogging, the plate needs to smoke!"

Italians have so many rules.

Like, 1) The pasta has to be al dente. I like this rule, it makes the pasta feel substantial, like a good steak.

2) The plate must be hot. (See smoking comment above.)

3) Freshly grated parmigiano on top is key, but not if you're eating fish, peas, broccoli or broccoli rabe.

4) And the rule at our house? When in doubt, (or if the pantry's empty) make pasta with zucchini. It's our staple. It's fast, nutritious and full of flavor.

(Extra points if the plate smokes.)

Pasta con le zucchine
(for two)
1/4 pound penne rigate pasta
2 medium zucchini
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove

generous pinch crushed red pepper

1/4 tsp salt
grated parmigiano
Put a pot of water over high heat. In the meantime, slice the zucchini in half, then chop into half moons. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the crushed red pepper with the garlic clove. When it starts to sizzle, add the zucchini and salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta water starts to boil. Add salt to the water and add the pasta. Add 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking liquid to the zucchini and stir. Taste and check the seasonings. When the pasta's ready, drain and add directly to the pan with the zucchini. Saute until mixed and serve immediately with grated parmigiano.

What are the staples in your house? And do you have any food rules?

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Frugal Recipe: Italian Almond Cookies

Contributed By Chef Marissa Bognanno

What are your most vivid food memories? My blurry toddler flashes are framed by food and my grandparents. Dripping syrup over buttery waffles with my Grandma, eating juicy cherries with her on the porch, watching her peel potato skin into long strips with a knife. Rolling out my own little ball of dough while my Nana formed ravioli, waking up to the smell of her meatballs frying on Sunday mornings, at holiday time watching her frost dozens and dozens of Italian anise cookies, laid out preciously on the dining room table.

Italian almond cookies, amaretti, are a holiday tradition here, and though this recipe is not exactly how my grandmothers made them, I’m ready to add some new food memories to my collection.

Italian Almond Cookies (Amaretti)

Serving Size: Makes about 3 dozen

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups blanched whole almonds (about 12 ounces), plus more for garnishing

2/3 cup sugar

2 large egg whites, at room temperature

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper, or oil lightly. In food processor, combine 2 1/4 cups almonds and 1/3 cup sugar. Process until finely ground, scraping down sides once or twice. Set aside. In electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg whites and salt at high speed until soft peaks form. Reduce speed to medium and gradually sprinkle in remaining 1/3 cup sugar. Return speed to high and beat mixture until stiff, shiny peaks form. Gently fold in ground almond mixture and almond and vanilla extracts. Roll mixture into 1-inch balls, place 2 inches apart on baking sheets, and flatten slightly. Top each with almond. Bake until cookies are golden, switching positions of pans halfway through, about 25 minutes. Cool on sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely. Cookies keep, wrapped, several days, or frozen, several weeks. Recrisp in warm oven. Enjoy the recipe!

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Frugal Recipe: Italian Tomato & Meatball Soup

Contributed By Courtney Horan, Author of Sweet Tooth Sweet Life

Ohhhhhhh, boy oh boy oh boy oh boy. Do I have lots of yummy food (and recipes!) to share with you this morning. And if you follow me on Instagram, then you probably already know what I’m talking about.

Last night, I set out to make some homemade soup and bread. I’m sort of a fan of the whole soup and bread combo, but I decided to switch things up a bit from the usual soup rotation.

While I was at the store earlier this week, I happened to notice that extra lean ground beef was on sale, so I picked up a pound of it, still not quite sure what I was going to do with it. Jay’s always happy when there’s actual beef in the house, so I knew I couldn’t really lose either way. Winking smile

So I started browsing through some of my cookbooks and wound up coming across a recipe for a tomato type of soup…with meatballs. I mean, how fun does THAT sound?

One of the best parts about this soup is that it unbelievably easy. Once you’ve got the meatballs made, the soup will literally take you less than 15 minutes to prepare. I was actually a little leery of the very basic ingredient list, unsure of whether or not it would turn out super bland.

But I guess last night was my lucky night because this soup turned out anything BUT bland. WOOT!

Italian-Style Tomato and Meatball Soup

(lightly adapted from The Healthy Beef Cookbook)

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20-30 minutes

Meatball Ingredients:

1 pound extra lean group beef (I used 93% lean)
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 egg whites, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Soup Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3-4 cloves roasted garlic (I had some leftover – you could also do 2 tsp minced garlic)
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) fat-free and lower sodium beef broth
1 can (28 ounces) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup whole wheat shells (or other small pasta), uncooked
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Prepare meatballs: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl and mix well (use your hands to really get in there!). Shape into 28-30 meatballs, about 1-1/4 inches each. Place on a rack in a baking dish (or just directly in the dish). Bake for 13-16 minutes, or until no longer pink in the center. Set aside.

Prepare soup: Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, until soft. Add garlic and cook an additional minute. Stir in broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Add in pasta and reduce heat; cover and simmer at least 10-15 minutes, or until pasta is tender. Stir in meatballs and continue to cook until heated through.

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Frugal Healthy Recipe: Spaghetti w/ Green Tomatoes

My new fruit and vegetable guy is set up in the doorway right next to our apartment. As is customary with the other greengrocers in town, he’s hilarious. Friends with every single old lady who comes to buy her daily produce, he chats with everyone, kisses babies, is patient with the older ones and gives a scrap or two to passing dogs. And you know what? He looks a lot like Jake Gyllenhaal, but with a belly.

We became friends instantly, when he laughed at my daily lists of “1 cucumber, 1 zucchini and 2 apples.” “You’re very specific!” he said, giggling. Now that he knows I’m American, it’s all he wants to talk about. His Jake Gyllenhaal-y eyes lit up yesterday, “Auguri per Obama!” Congratulations for Obama. I thanked him and he gave me my green tomatoes, while he joked with a lady about something in dialect. Before I got to my door he said, “I’ll keep an eye on your bike this afternoon!” What a guy.

These green tomatoes are generally used as a crisp addition to summer salads, but make a quick sauce with them and the result is not your average tomato. The acidity wears off during the cooking but that semi-tart freshness remains.

Spaghetti with Green Tomatoes

(serves 3-4)

1/2 pound spaghetti

6 green tomatoes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove garlic

pinch crushed red pepper

1/2 tsp salt

grated pecorino romano cheese

Bring a pot of water to boil. In the meantime, slice an X on the bottom of each tomato, this will help you peel the skin off later. Drop the tomatoes in the boiling water for three minutes. Take out the tomatoes and reserve the water for your pasta. Let them cool and peel off the skin. Chop in medium dice. In a skillet, saute the olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic clove whole and the red pepper. Let it sizzle until it becomes fragrant. Add the tomatoes and salt and cook for 20 minutes. Cook the spaghetti according to package directions for al dente. If you see that the tomatoes are losing a lot of liquid, pour in about 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water. When the pasta is done, drain and toss directly in the pan with the tomatoes, take out the garlic clove first. Sprinkle generously with the pecorino and serve immediately.

There's a lesson to be learned from my fruit and vegetable guy, and that is that we should all approach our jobs with the same youthful exuberance, that weighing produce and chatting with old ladies can be great, that even unripe tomatoes can be delicious.

P.S. Speaking of happiness, have you entered the giveaway to win $50 to Rag & Bone Bindery yet? That recipe journal is calling your name!

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Frugal Recipe: Pasta Al Forno

This weekend at Barbara's villa, we gathered in the kitchen (girls only, of course) to help prepare the Sunday lunch. Pia peeled the potatoes, Vincenza chopped cherry tomatoes for the bruschette and I sliced fresh carrots. We peeled and chopped and listened to Barbara's mom, Maria, as she recounted how she makes fried calamari in the oven. Enchanted, we listened to her unique recipe-telling...

First, take your fresh calamari rings and dredge them in the softest semolina flour. You can shake them up in a bag if you want to, it's fun! Then, lay them down on a cookie sheet with a few little drops of olive oil. Turn the oven to 350 degrees and slide the rings inside. Wait until you hear "pop, pop, pop!" That's the calamari telling you, "I'm done now, take me out!" See? It's easy! They tell you when they're done!

When she was finished, Barbara noted, "You'd think she was narrating Pinocchio with that recipe! "

Giddy as ever, she went on to her next story; how to make her pasta al forno. Usually a heavy, meat-laden, traditional Sunday dish, Maria's is much lighter and nicer. As she told it we were transfixed...

Slice some bright cherry tomatoes into quarters and drop them into a bowl. Drizzle some olive oil, sprinkle some oregano and dash a bit of salt and pepper right on top and let them sit. Make a box of penne, but be sure to strain them when they are still al dente! Mix them up with half of your tomatoes. The other half you can layer ever so thinly in a baking dish. Next layer the penne. Then layer the freshest cheeses: grated parmigiano reggiano and mozzarella, dried well. Then layer more pasta. Then finish with the rest of the tomatoes and lots of oregano and pepper. Bake in a hot 350 degree oven until the top starts to brown. Wasn't that easy, girls?

Ah, now that's my kind of bedtime story. Buona notte!

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Frugal Healthy Recipes: Broccoli Three Ways!

Contributed By Marissa Bognanno, Professional Chef & Zumba Instructor, and Author of The Boot Blog

I sat at my desk (the kitchen table) for a long time contemplating what I have to say about broccoli. And then I thought, "I don't have to say anything that people don't already know. It's rich in fiber, Vitamin A and K, has detoxifying powers and absorbs flavor in its florets." "Plus 'broccoli' is Italian."-Manu.

Here I'm divulging three ways I love to eat my broccoli that go way beyond (boring) steaming. First is a super simple broccoli pasta that Italians make all the time, especially in the winter when broccoli is in season.

Super Fast Broccoli Pasta

1/2 pound short pasta (penne, fusilli, farfalle, etc.)

1 medium crown broccoli florets

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt

pepper

Chop your broccoli florets. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and drop in the broccoli. Let it cook for about five minutes, then add the pasta to the water. Allow the broccoli and the pasta to cook together, and strain. Immediately place the broccoli and pasta in a bowl and drizzle with the olive oil and add pepper to taste.

A frittata is the perfect lunch or dinner when you have nothing else in the house to make. It's satisfying and really fast to throw together!

Broccoli Frittata

1/2 cup broccoli florets

2 eggs

1 tablespoon milk

a good pinch salt and pepper

1 teaspoon olive oil

sprinkling of grated parmigiano (or any grated) cheese

Steam the broccoli. Beat the eggs and milk with the salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, add the broccoli and saute for two minutes. Pour in the eggs, do not stir. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Place under the broiler for two minutes or until egg is set. Serve with crusty bread.

Marinated Broccoli Stems (crazy, I know, but trust me, they're so good)
broccoli stems
water
1/2 teaspoon salt
Peel and slice the stems into thin rounds. Place in a jar with the water and salt. Shake and put in the refrigerator overnight. Pour out the water the next day and toss them with garlic, olive oil, vinegar and some red pepper flakes and serve.

Now, go forth into the world with your broccoli and have a blast!

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Frugal Finance

Frugal Recipe: Creamy Fusilli w/ Zucchini & Peppers

Real Rustic Rugelach Recipe & Resolution!

Frugal Recipe: Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

Frugal Healthy Recipe: Pasta w/ Zucchini

Frugal Recipe: Italian Almond Cookies

Frugal Recipe: Italian Tomato & Meatball Soup

Italian-Style Tomato and Meatball Soup

Frugal Healthy Recipe: Spaghetti w/ Green Tomatoes

Frugal Recipe: Pasta Al Forno

Frugal Healthy Recipes: Broccoli Three Ways!

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