Potato Zucchini Timballo

A timballo is an Italian baked dish of pasta, potatoes or rice which usually includes other ingredients such as vegetables, cheese or meat.  By inverting the baking dish after cooking, this timballo of potato, zucchini and cheese makes a lovely presentation.

This makes 6 servings.

1 lb potatoes
1 lb zucchini
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup Parmesan
3 tbs butter
1 shallot, diced
Salt
Pepper

Boil potatoes in salted water, remove skins, add a tablespoon of butter and Parmesan cheese and mash.  Retain the potato water.

Thinly slice 2 of the zucchini, longwise.  Boil for 2 minutes in the leftover water from boiling the potatoes.  Remove from water and place on a dry cloth.

Finely dice the remaining zucchini.

Sauté diced shallot in 2 tablespoons of butter, add the finely diced zucchini and sauté for an additional 3 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Add creme and allow it to burn off, about 2-3 minutes.

Mix the sautéed diced zucchini with the mashed potatoes.

Butter ramekins.  Line with the zucchini strips, and fill with potato mixture.

Bake 350 for 30 minutes.

Allow ramekins to cool slightly, invert over serving dish, allowing timballo to gently transition onto plate, upside down.  Top with Parmesan cheese and a little extra virgin olive oil.

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Pumpkin Ricotta Tart

We had some pumpkin we needed to use, and through a combined effort, here's what we came up with today:  A pumpkin ricotta tart.  The pastry dough and pumpkin topping are pure Southern United States fare.  The tart pan and ricotta base are Italian inspirations.  Everyone was pleased with the hybrid product, so I'll share it here.

This makes 2 9-inch tarts.

Ingredients:

For the ricotta base layer:

1.5 cups ricotta
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the pumpkin top layer:

1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup evaporated milk, undiluted
2 tablespoons water

2 unbaked pastry shells (9-inch). (See below for recipe)

Preparation:

In a mixing bowl, add the ricotta ingredients and blend with a wisk or fork.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, salt, spices, and flour. Add eggs; mix well. Add evaporated milk, water, and mix well. 

Pour ricotta base into pastry-lined pie pan.  Then top with the pumpkin filling.   Bake at 400° for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350° and bake about 35 minutes longer, or until center is set.

You can, of course, use a store-bought  pie crust.  If you choose to make your own, here's a recipe that pairs well with the ricotta and pumpkin filling.

Butter Pie Crust

The instructions will yield enough dough for 2 9-inch topless pies or tarts. 

Prep time: 1 hour, 15 minutes. 

Note:  Work with very cold butter. Cut the butter into cubes and freeze, at least 15 minutes.

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
6 to 8 Tbsp ice water


Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse 6 to 8 times, until mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea size pieces of butter. Add ice water 1 Tbsp at a time, pulsing until mixture just begins to clump together. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready. If the dough doesn't hold together, add a little more water and pulse again. Note that too much water will make the crust tough.

Remove dough from machine and place in a mound on a clean surface.  Shape the dough mixture into two disks. Work the dough just enough to form the disks, do not over-knead. Sprinkle a little flour around the disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days.

Remove one crust disk from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes in order to soften just enough to make rolling out a bit easier. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch circle; about 1/8 of an inch.  If the dough is sticking, add a few sprinkles of flour under the the dough. Carefully place onto a 9-inch pie plate. Gently press the pie dough down so that it lines the bottom and sides of the pie or tart plate.

Add filling to the pie.

Carrots Braised in Marsala (Carote al Marsala)

Marsala, Italy's famous fortified wine, is produced in the region surrounding the Sicilian town of the same name.  In Sicily, historically this wine was served as an aperitif, but it took on a different role in the United States.  Marsala became a mainstay in the United States during Prohibition, it being both high in alcohol and fortuitously packaged in a container that resembled medicine bottles of that era.  Frequently used in Italian American cooking, such as the well-known Chicken Marsala and Veal Marsala, in this dish Marsala enhances the sweetness of carrots while providing a savory depth of flavor.

1 pound of carrots
1 shallot
1/2 cup of unsalted butter
1/4 cup of dry Marsala
salt

1.  Wash and peel the carrots.  Cut them into circles, about 1/4 of an inch thick.

2.  Peel and thinly slice the shallot.

3.  Melt the butter in a pan, add the shallot, and sauté for about 2 minutes over low-medium heat.  Add the carrots, a little salt, stir well, and cook for 15-20 minutes.  Add 1/4 cup of water if the pan becomes too dry and the carrots begin to stick, remembering to stir often.  The carrots are ready when they become tender while maintaining some firmness, yet not mushy.

4.  Add the Marsala, stirring frequently, and allow to cook until the wine evaporates.

(Note:  For added flavor, after removing the carrots from the pan, raise the heat and deglaze the pan with 2-3 tablespoons of Marsala, scraping the pan as the liquid reduces, for a minute or two, and pour the sauce over the carrots.)

Bolognese Meat Sauce (Ragù)

A friend is opening a restaurant in West Texas and emailed me requesting some pasta sauce recipes. I thought I would share them here, as well.  If you get a chance to visit Del Rio, Texas, you might want to stop by Doc Holliday's for a pizza or pasta dish.

Bolognese Meat Sauce 

This sauce, hailing from Bologna, the region some consider Italy's culinary capitol, is great in a lasagna, as well as with Bologna's famous tagliatelle pasta (a little wider than fettuccine), and frequently will be found dressing tortellini.

(For 6 servings of pasta.)

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2/3 cup finely chopped celery
2/3 cup finely chopped carrot
1/2 pound ground beef chuck
1/4 pound ground (or diced) pork
Salt
Pepper
1 cup whole milk
Nutmeg
1 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups tomatoes, skinned

1.  Put oil, butter and onion in heavy pot and cook over medium heat until onion is translucent, then add the celery and carrot.  Stir well and cook for about 5 minutes.

2.  Add meats, a large pinch of salt, and a couple of grindings of pepper, crumbling the meat with a fork or wooden spoon.  Cook until the meat has lost its red color.

3.  Add milk, simmer gently, stir frequently, and allow milk to bubble away completely. Add a small grating of nutmeg.  

4.  Add the wine, allow to simmer until it has evaporated, then stir in the skinned tomatoes. Reduce heat to a low simmer.  Cook uncovered for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.  As it cooks, add 1/2 cup of water when necessary.  

Basic Tomato Sauce (Pomodoro)

Basic Tomato Sauce

A reader responded to my post on pizza dough with the following bleg:  "Thanks for the post on dough, but what about a pizza sauce recipe?"   For you, of course, basic tomato sauce along with some thoughts about Italian pizza.

Ruminations:  Typically in Italy, each person orders his own pizza, which is eaten with a knife and fork.   The crust is very thin and it is not heavily dressed, with about two tablespoons of sauce for a 10-inch pie.  The emphasis is on the freshest and highest quality ingredients; simply put, quality over quantity.   This also means the Italian pizza has far fewer calories than the typical American pizza.

Tomato sauce theory:  Tomato sauce (pomodoro) is simply a reduction of fresh tomatoes sauteed with a clove or two of garlic, with the garlic being removed prior to running the sauce through a food mill (passatutto).  Some people enjoy the bite that a pinch of crushed red pepper provides when added during the sauté, others like a little diced onion.   

Tomato sauce recipe: The following tomato sauce recipe is adapted from the kitchen of Stile Mediterraneo, a wonderful cooking school near Lecce, Italy.  www.stilemediterraneo.it.  I am grateful to Cinzia and Marika Rascazzo for showing me how to shop for tomatoes and prepare a sauce based on their grandmother's Puglian technique.  Cinzia and Marika would be the first to tell you this is not a pizza sauce recipe because the sauce is not from a region where pizza was traditionally cooked. I find the sauce works well on pizza and have adapted it to that use, in addition to its classical use dressing orecchietti, Puglia's famous duram wheat pasta shaped like little ears. 

Wash two pounds of very ripe vine tomatoes (preferably still on the vine), dry, and cut in half.    Place tomatoes in a pot with olive oil, two peeled cloves of garlic, and a pinch of crushed red pepper.  Saute over low to medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for approximately 15-20 minutes, with the pot's lid ajar, remembering to stir the pot every few minutes.

(Note:  If necessary, you can substitute high quality canned tomatoes, such as whole, peeled San Marzano, if ripe tomatoes are not available.)

Remove the garlic from the pot and discard.  Run the sauce through a food mill using the disk with the finest (smallest) holes,  so that the skins and seeds are separated from the sauce.  Add a generous pinch of salt or two and cook the sauce for another 15 minutes or so to reduce it further.  

Hint: If the sauce is particularly thin (sometimes the tomatoes are plump with water), add a tablespoon of tomato paste to the sauce and cook over low heat for another 5 minutes.

Dress a 10-inch pie with about 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce, sprinkle a little fresh oregano, if desired, and dot the top of the pie with a few pieces of fresh mozzarella, or fresh mozzarella di buffala.  Add other ingredients, as desired, while taking care not to overdress your pizza.

Note:  This simple sauce freezes well, and can be used for tomato-based pasta sauces such as garlic and basil, meat sauces, and butter and onion sauce, simply by adding the tomato sauce after sautéing the other ingredients.

Red Wine: Is There Anything it Cannot Do?

This article from the Toronto Sun discusses new research extolling the health benefits associated with moderate consumption of red wine, including the following:

"Italian researchers observed that exposing cells from breast cancer patients to resveratrol caused a marked reduction in their growth. This effect is caused by a drastic reduction in the receptor's exposure to estrogen, a protein often associated with the progression of breast tumours. More importantly, the study showed that resveratrol could stop the growth of cancer cells resistant to tamoxifen, a medication currently being used to treat hormone-dependant breast cancers.

These results suggest that resveratrol could serve as a model for the development of cancer-fighting agents that could be used to treat women who have become resistant to hormone therapies."

Salute!

http://m.torontosun.com/2011/12/24/make-it-merlot

Pizza Dough Recipes

A friend wrote that she received a pizza stone for Christmas, requesting a pizza dough recipe.  I sent her two, one from the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners and the other a basic dough recipe from my personal collection.

Thought I would share both recipes here, in case anyone is looking to roll some dough. This photo is of a pizza I made one day in class at the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners.  Buon appetito! 

Pizza Dough Recipe from Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners

Please note:  this recipe is in grams, but most scales are calibrated in both ounces and grams, just switch the button. 

This recipe makes 4 thin pies. 

500 grams of unbleached white flour (usually a cup is about 100 grams)
250 grams of water (tepid)
5 grams of dry yeast
12 grams of salt
Semolina flour for rolling and baking


1.  Mix yeast in about 1/2 of the tepid water, set aside.

2.  In a mixing bowl, mix salt and flour with remaining of water, mixing with a spoon or by hand.  Add the the yeast and water mixture, completely incorporating it into the flour mixture.

3.  Remove the dough from the bowl.  Work the dough by hand, stretching, folding and turning,  for about 12 minutes.

4.  Divide into four balls, place in pan with semolina flour, cover with plastic, and let rise until dough doubles in size.

5.  Roll with pin into very thin pies, rolling on a surface covered with semolina flour.

Bake in a very hot oven, at least 650 degrees.

ICIF tip:  you can make dough balls in advance, keep plastic wrapped in fridge, and remove from fridge about an hour before you need to roll them.



Sicola's Basic Pizza Dough Recipe

This recipe makes 2 round 12" pizzas, depending on how thin you roll them.

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast.
1 cup lukewarm water
3 cups unbleached flour
1/4 cup semolina flour
Extra virgin olive oil (1 tablespoon for the dough, 1 teaspoon for the bowl)
1/2 tablespoon salt
cornmeal (or semolina)

1.  Mix both flours together in a bowl and set aside.

2.  In a separate large bowl, dissolve yeast by dissolving into 1/4 cup of water.  When dissolved, in about 5 minutes, add 1 cup of the flour mixture and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.  Continuing to stir, add 1 tbs. olive oil, 1/4 tbs. salt, and another 1 cup of flour mixture.  Continue to stir with spoon.  Add only enough of the remaining amounts of water and flour to create a manageable dough, soft but not sticky. 

Remove the dough from the bowl and work it as follows:  Slap it hard on a work counter several times, until it stretches to 9-10 inches.  Fold the far end halfway towards you, push it out with the palm of your hand, rotate it a 1/4 turn, fold it toward you, stretch with the palm of your hand, rotate, repeat for about 10 minutes. Then pat the dough into a round ball.

Or:  use a food processor in lieu of these first two steps!!!!

3.  grease the inside of a clean bowl with 1 tsp. of olive oil.  Place the dough in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap. Set bowl aside until dough has risen, about 3 hours.

Or: use a breadmaker for these first three steps!!!

4.  At least 30 minutes before you are to bake, place the baking stone in the oven and heat oven to 450 or 500, or even much higher, depending on your personal preference and oven.

5. Sprinkle the baker's paddle generously with cornmeal (or semolina).  Take 1/2 dough and roll it out on the paddle as thinly as possible, leaving the edges a little higher.  If you don't have a paddle, roll on a surface covered with cornmeal (or semolina).

6.  Dress the pizza as desired, use paddle to slide it onto stone, baking for 15-25 minutes, depending in the oven temperature you chose (20 minutes for 450 degrees, as a general rule).

Repeat process for remaining dough.