Category Archives: Vegetarian

Pasta, Vegetarian

Baked Pasta with Peas

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Baked Pasta with Peas

Baked pasta is typically made with red sauce. Baked pasta with peas is white and green with no mozzarella.

Baked Pasta with Peas

Baked Pasta with Peas

Butter 9” spring loaded pan and dust with Parmesan.
Sauce – Melt ½ stick of butter in a pot and add ¼ cup of flour and whisk until blended.  Slowly whisk in quart of milk and bring to a simmer.  Cook until thickened – whisk occasionally.  Remove from heat and whisk in 1 cup Fontina and 1 cup Parmesan.  Add egg, whisk and taste for seasoning.  Cover & keep warm.
Place rack in upper 1/3 of 375o oven.

Baked Pasta with Peas

Put ½ of pasta mix into 9“pan and dot with ½ of the ricotta.  Put the rest of the pasta in the pan and dot with remaining ricotta and sprinkle with ¼ cup of Parmesan.
Bake for 30 min. then sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup of Parmesan and bake for another 10 minutes.  Place under broiler, watching closely, for a minute or so to brown top.
Let it rest for 30 minutes before removing from pan so cheese can harden.  Cut into wedges and sprinkle with parsley and mint.

Baked Pasta with Peas

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Sides, Vegetarian

Roasted Turnip Slices

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Horses and Figures in a Turnip Field by William Edward Millner

 

 

Roasted Turnip Slices

Roasted Turnip Slices

My favorite vegetable has always been fried potatoes.  Vegetables aren’t really something I’m crazy about especially if they’re braised, boiled or steamed. But roasted is another story. Roasting is almost as good as frying and roasted  turnip slices even look like French fries.

 

Roasted Turnip Slices

Roasted Turnip Slices

Preheat oven to 425o.  Lightly grease a baking sheet.
Peel the turnips, and cut into French fry-sized sticks, about 1/3 by 4 inches. Place into a large bowl, and toss with the olive oil to coat. Add the Parmesan cheese, garlic salt, paprika, onion powder to the bowl and thoroughly mix with your hands.  Spread out onto the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and black pepper.
Bake in preheated oven until the done, about 20 minutes.

 

Roasted Turnip Slices

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Pasta, Vegetarian

Pasta Inchiummata 

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Pasta Inchiummata  (pasta with pine nuts, currants and tomatoes)

With currants, nuts and mint pasta inchiummata  might seem like dessert but it’s very hardy Sicilian main course. It doesn’t take long to make and there’s no simmering.

Soak the currants in 2 cups of water for 20 minutes. Drain and discard the water; set the currants aside.  In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, heat the oil and red pepper. Stir in the garlic,  pine nuts and currants. Cook for 3 minutes.pasta inchiummata

garlic, pine nuts, currants

Add the diced tomatoes, basil, parsley, mint, salt and pepper, and then cook for 3 more minutes.pasta inchiummata

tomatoes, basil, parsley, mint

Add the cooked pasta to the sauce. Cook until the pasta is coated with the sauce, about 2 to 3 minutes. Check for seasoning and add salt and black pepper. Toss the pasta in the pan with the bread crumbs and serve.
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Pasta, Vegetarian

Pasta Rosso con Broccoli

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Pasta Rosso con Broccoli (Red Wine Pasta with Broccoli)

This recipe is a bit complicated, takes some time and can be expensive depending on the wine you use but it’s very pretty, tastes great and is worth the trouble. It’s also very spicy but it’s up to you how far you want to go with the pepperoncini. (if you don’t have whole dried pepperoncini, use dried red pepper flakes)Pasta Rosso con Broccoli
The pasta –

Pasta Rosso con Broccoli

  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 2 thinly sliced garlic cloves
  • 1 crumbled dried pepperoncini (stem, seeds and core removed)
  • 3 or 4 anchovies
  • 1 bottle red wine (a moderately priced Chianti would work)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 lb short pasta
  1. In one pot heat oil, garlic, pepperoncini and anchovies. Add 3 cups of  wine and salt.
  2. In another pot add pasta to salted boiling water and cook for 2 minutes after it starts to boil again. Drain and add to pot with wine and bring to boil. Keep stirring until wine is absorbed  and the pasta turns red– about 8-10 minutes. Add more wine as needed.
 The pepperoncini –Pasta Rosso con Broccoli
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 3 thinly sliced garlic cloves
  • 5 or 6 crumbled dried pepperoncini (stem, seeds and core removed)
  • 1 tsp salt
  1. Heat the oil, add the garlic and pepperoncini. Keep the heat low and don’t burn it.
  2. When the peppers and garlic darken a little put everything, including the oil in a food processor (or mortar and pestle) with a teaspoon of salt and grind until it’s a paste.
  3. Put it back in the pan and heat until it dries.
The broccoli –

Pasta Rosso con Broccoli

  • 1 head of broccoli cut into florets
  • ¼ olive oil
  • 1 clove thinly sliced garlic
  1. Boil broccoli for about 5 minutes. Drain and toss over medium heat with garlic and oil.
  2. Turn off the heat, add half of the pepperoncini paste and stir.  If it’s too dry add more oil.
Put it all together –
  1. Pour the broccoli and pepperoncini mixture over the pasta and add a little of the pasta cooking water to make it moist.
  2. Serve with extra pepperoncini paste.
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Holidays, Seafood, Vegetarian

Christmas Eve Seafood Salad

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Christmas Eve Seafood Salad

Christmas Eve dinner is sometimes known as the  Feast of the Seven Fishes. If you’re aiming for seven this will get you almost half way there.  It doesn’t have to actually be fish. It could be anything that lives in the sea. Every year, either my daughter Kristina or my sister Nicki’s son  Stephen make it. It’s served with the antipasto along with lots of other things. When I was growing up I never heard of the Feast of the Seven Fishes. My mother and aunt just cooked and didn’t count. I’m sure their total was always more than seven.

This is the family recipe as recorded by Nicki –

Calamari – Cut the cleaned calamari (not lengthwise) into 1/2” circles.  If you did not buy cleaned calamari you must clean the calamari under cold running water.  Pull the head out of the body, making sure to get the clear “bone” out.  Squeeze the body from the tail to the opening to get out any residue.  Then peel the thin skin off the body.  Snip off the eyes and make sure you get the small beak out.  (Go for the extra buck and buy cleaned calamari).  Boil the calamari in rapidly boiling salted water for 2 to 3 minutes.  They should be tender not rubbery.  Drain and set aside.

 

Scungilli – Fresh scungilli can be purchased at an Italian fish market.  If you choose to use the fresh you should buy more than a pound because there is a lot of waste when you clean it.  Rinse the fresh scungilli thoroughly under cold running water.  Boil the whole scungilli in rapidly boiling salted water for about 7 – 10 minutes.  Drain and rinse.  Slice each piece thinly, discarding the “tail” section and any hard pieces along the edges.  There is really quite a bit of waste cleaning scungilli.  Canned scungilli saves time, makes your life easier and is very good.  I have found that La Monica is the best-canned brand and I have been using the canned for the past few years.
Octopus – Rinse under cold running water before submerging the whole octopus into salted boiling water.  Boil for 30 minutes or more until tender.  Drain and rinse under cold water.  Cut off the octopus’ head and cut to separate each tentacle.  With a kitchen scissor nip the dark purple skin and run your fingers along the “suckers” to release any loose particles.  Cut each tentacle into small rounds.
Put the calamari, scungilli and octopus in a large bowl with the celery and garlic.  Add the parsley, oil and lemon juice.  Add salt and pepper to taste and mix thoroughly. This salad can be made the day before and refrigerated.

– Nicki

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Desserts, Vegetarian

17th Century Pumpkin Pie

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17th Century Pumpkin Pie

I came across an old English recipe for pumpkin pie on the Folger Shakespeare Library site. It was adapted from Hanna Woolley’s 17th century recipe by Amanda E. Herbert. I tried it (with a few modifications) and it was delicious. There was a choice of using butternut squash or pumpkin, similar in taste and texture and I used the squash. The result isn’t even close to the pudding-like pie most of us are used to but still, it’s something special and definitely worth trying.

” . . . butternut squash or pumpkin, similar in taste and texture . . .”

Heat the oven to 425o. Peel the squash and slice it into ¼ inch thick slices. You’ll probably only need half of a large squash for 2 cups. Fry it for about 10 minutes in 1 tbsp butter until it gets soft.
Peel the apples and cut into pieces the same as the squash. Place the cooked squash, apples, currants, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and Marsala in a bowl and mix.
Place the first (bottom) pie crust in a pie pan. Pour the squash/apple mixture into the pie. Dot the top with the remaining butter. Cover with the second (top) crust, crimp the edges, and cut a few vents in the crust to allow steam to escape. Beat the egg with a couple of tablespoons of water to make an egg wash. Brush the top of the pie crust.
Bake at 425o for fifteen minutes, then lower the temperature to 375o, turn the pie, and bake for another 50-60 minutes. Total baking time is between 65-75 minutes.

 

Sides, Vegetarian

Farro – Sweet or Savory

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Farro – Sweet or Savory

Farro is an ancient wheat. It’s been around for so long in the Mediterranean and Middle East I’m surprised that I only came across it for the first time just a few years ago.  Some more farro information here.

Farro Porridge and Farro Breakfast Bowl

– same ingredients for both but a different preparation –

Farro - Sweet or Savory

Ingredients:
  • ½ cup farro
  • 1 ¾ cups water
  • Pinch of salt
  • ¼ cup milk
Farro Porridge
Put the farro in a blender or food processor and process until it’s ground but some small pieces remain. It’s fairly hard grain so this will take a few minutes.Farro - Sweet or Savory
Bring the water and salt to a boil and pour in the ground farro while stirring. Lower the heat and cook while stirring often for about 15 minutes until it’s thickened. Stir in the milk and any dried fruit or nuts if you’re using them. Stir for another 5 minutes and serve.Farro - Sweet or Savory
 Farro Breakfast Bowl
Add farro and water to a small sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. When it starts to boil cover it and lower the heat. Simmer for about 25 minutes, until most of the water has been absorbed and the farro becomes soft. Stir in the milk and any dried fruit or nuts if you’re using them. Raise the heat and simmer another 10 minutes uncovered and serve.Farro - Sweet or Savory
– toppings and sweeteners for both –
Topping for Breakfast Farro – Currents, raisins, chopped dried apricots, chopped nuts – add during the last 5 or 10 minutes of cooking.
Sweeten with your choice of honey, molasses, maple syrup or brown sugar.Farro - Sweet or Savory
Savory Farro
Ingredients:
  • 1 & 1/2 cups farro
  • 4 cups water, stock or a mixture of both
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 tbsp.  olive oil
Put the farro and liquid in a pot with salt and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes. It should be soft but chewy. Drain any cooking liquid that’s left. Place the cooked farro in a serving dish and sprinkle with olive oil and serve as you would rice.Farro - Sweet or Savory

 

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Sides, Vegetarian

Loraine’s Stuffed Artickokes

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Loraine’s Stuffed Artichokes

The last time we were in Florida, our good friends Paulie and Loraine who live there, met us at our hotel. Loraine brought us a snack to pick on at the beach – stuffed artichokes. They were delicious and hit the spot. Here’s her recipe.Loraine's Stuffed Artichokes
Ingredients:
  • Plain breadcrumbs (about two cups)
  • A few cloves of garlic (more or less depending on your taste)
  • A little salt
  • Chopped fresh parsley
  • Locatelli Romano cheese (about a cup or more depending on your taste)
  • Olive Oil (not extra virgin)
  • 2 or 3 artichokes depending on size
Prep:
Artichokes – Cut the stem off – cut the top off – cut the leaves in steps – different levels for easier stuffing.Loraine's Stuffed Artichokes
Boil them for about 10 minutes to make them pliant.
Stuffing – Mix all together in a bowl – drizzle with the olive oil so it’s not too dry – not too wet.Loraine's Stuffed ArtichokesStuff the artichokes and then put them back in the pot you boiled them in – adding a little bit of the stuffing and add some olive oil. Sprinkle a little water over the stuffed artichokes to make sure they are moist. Cover and steam until the leaves pull off easily – keep watching to see if more water needs to be added.
After cooked- put them in a cake pan (round or square) – sprinkle with more Locatelli Romano cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 to 15 minutes!Loraine's Stuffed Artichokes

ENJOY!Loraine's Stuffed Artichokes

Nicki, Loraine and Bridget

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Holidays, Essays & Rants, Sides, Vegetarian

Latkes for Chanukah

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Latkes for Chanukah

If you’ve been following my blog you know that I’m Italian-American and most often post Italian recipes. But not this time. I grew up in New York and specifically on the Lower East Side so that means I grew up with Jewish food. Latkes have always been one of my favorites and my grandmother used to make them. If you think about it, a Jewish latke isn’t very different than an Italian  potato and egg frittata.
My father’s mother, Amalia came to America from Italy in the early 1880s as a young teenager. Her family settled on Prince Street in what was to become Little Italy but was then a mix of Irish, Jewish and Italian immigrants. Her first job was in a nearby Jewish garment factory and being surrounded by girls and women speaking nothing but Yiddish, that was the first language she learned in America. English came later.

 

My Aunt Sis told me that once when she was shopping with her mother, she saw a coat she liked. Grandma said it cost too much and started to leave the store.
One of the shopkeepers told the other in Yiddish, “These Italian mothers always give in to their kids. She’ll be back for the coat.”
My grandmother turned to him and said in impeccable Yiddish, “It’s too expensive but I might buy it if we could negotiate a better price.” The surprised shopkeeper did just that.
I remember family dinners at her apartment on Prince Street and there were often some of her garment worker friends invited. Grandma spoke perfect English and Italian and it was always fun for us grandchildren to hear her conversing with her old friends in Yiddish.
I think I’ve figured out the Latke recipe she used although it’s possible she fried them in olive oil. But whatever kind you use, the oil is a reminder during Chanukah of what was burned to keep the eternal flame alive the temple.

Latkes for Chanukah

Mix the flour, salt, baking powder and pepper in a large bowl. Add the beaten eggs and stir until the flour is absorbed. Use the coarse side of a grater to grate the potatoes and onion. Latkes for ChanukahDo this right over a dish towel and then squeeze out and discard as much of the liquid as you can. Add potatoes and onions to the flour and egg mix and blend thoroughly.Latkes for Chanukah
Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan. Put a tablespoon of the potato mix in the pan (I use an ice cream scoop) and flatten it with a spatula. Don’t worry about rough edges – they’ll get crisp and that’s what you want.Latkes for Chanukah
Cook them for about 4-5 minutes and turn them. Then the same on the 2nd side. When they’re done, drain them on a paper tower (or a brown paper bag like Grandma did) and sprinkle with salt. Serve them hot with apple sauce and sour cream. Happy Chanukah!Latkes for Chanukah

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Miscellaneous, Sides, Vegetarian

Gladiator Diet

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Pollice Verso (With a Turned Thumb) by Jean Leon Gerome, 1872

 

Gladiator Diet

I guess everyone has heard of the Paleo Diet – that’s what people ate 10,000 years ago. It’s basically meat, nuts, fruit and vegetables. There’s something a little more current, well, from about 2,000 years ago, the Gladiator Diet. It’s what Roman gladiators ate to stay in fighting condition. And surprisingly, it was almost a completely vegetarian diet.

Gladiator Diet

Barley Gruel

Gladiator Diet

Oat and Seed Cakes

No meat and potatoes for these guys. They ate mostly barley, beans and some pasta too, often flavored with fish sauce, trying to put on enough weight to cushion those sword and spear wounds in the arena. That wasn’t enough to strengthen their bones so they drank a sort of “sports drink,” a mix of wood and bone ash to build up calcium. They also drank goats milk and water but no wine. This combination of food and drink made them fit and tough.

String Beans a la Gladiator   (based on what we know they ate and what was commonly available in Rome back then)

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. string beans
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/2  chopped onion
  • 4 tbsp gaurm*

*The Romans used a fish sauce called garum. The modern equivalent is colatura di alici.

Preparation:

Boil the string beans for 5 minutes. In another pot sauté the onion in oil until soft, translucent and just beginning to brown. Add the drained, cooked string beans to the onions, add the colatura di alici and about 1/2 cup of the water you boiled the string beans in. Taste for seasoning. Colatura di Alici can be very salty and you may not need any more salt. Simmer for a few minutes and serve.

String Beans a la Gladiator

Some more information on the Gladiator Diet here –

BBC

Archaeology

Science Daily

Gladiator Diet

Definitely not part of the Gladiator Diet

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