Category Archives: Vegetarian

Sides, Vegetarian

Roasted Peppers with Breadcrumbs

October 17, 2023 robiulo 2 Comments

Whenever I visit my Sicilian brother-in-law, I’m treated to a culinary masterpiece that rarely graces Italian restaurant menus—Roasted Peppers with Breadcrumbs. This dish holds a special place in his heart as it’s his mother’s recipe, bringing a taste of Sicily to our lunch gatherings.

Ingredients

4 or 5 red or yellow bell peppers
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 thinly sliced onion
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of yellow raisins
2 tablespoons of chopped pistachios or walnuts
¼ cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup Parmesan grated cheese

Begin by preheating to 400°F.

Roast, Peel, and Slice the Peppers

Roast the bell peppers until their skins char and blister. Once roasted, carefully peel and slice them,

Sauté the Onion

In a pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the thinly sliced onion with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Cook until the onions become soft and translucent.

Combine Peppers and Onions

Add the roasted peppers to the sautéed onions. Allow them to mingle and cook together for approximately 10 minutes,

Raisins and Nuts

Add 2 tablespoons of yellow raisins and 2 tablespoons of chopped pistachios or walnuts to the pan.

Sprinkle Breadcrumbs and Parmesan

Sprinkle ¼ cup of breadcrumbs over the mixture. Follow this with a generous ¼ cup of grated Parmesan cheese.

Roasted Peppers with Breadcrumbs, whether served as a side dish or the star of the meal, this recipe is a testament to the artistry of Sicilian cuisine. Buon Appetito!

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Sides, Vegetarian

Grilled Vegetables

September 25, 2023 robiulo Leave a comment

Grilled Vegetables

Who says grilling is just for burgers and steaks? If you have an outdoor grill – great. If not, a grill pan is fine. This method works with lots of different vegetables so be creative.

Ingredients:

1 eggplant
1 bell pepper
2 zucchini
1 onion
Salt and black pepper
½ tsp, cumin (optional)
Olive oil
Garlic
Balsamic vinegar

Cut the vegetables into convenient sized pieces. Toss them with salt, pepper, cumin, and olive oil.

Lightly brush the heated grill with oil. Cook the vegetables, turning once. Get the grill marks on both sides.

They fine as is but if you’d like a simple dressing try this. Cut a head of garlic in half and wrap the two pieces in foil with two tablespoons of olive oil. Roast at 350 degrees in a pre-heated oven for 20 minutes. When cooled, squeeze the cloves out of the sliced head into a bowl. Add balsamic vinegar and olive oil with a dash of salt and pepper and stir into a thin dressing.

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Pasta, Vegetarian

Fresh Tomato Sauce with Rusks

March 3, 2023 robiulo Leave a comment

Fresh Tomato Sauce with Rusks

Fresh tomato sauce with rusks, inspired by a Greek friend, is a dish that brings together the flavors of ripe tomatoes, olive oil, and the unique crunch of rusks. Rusks are not a vegetable but rather dry, hard biscuits or twice-baked bread, lending a distinctive texture to this dish.

Ingredients:

4 or 5 ripe tomatoes
¼ cup olive oil
3 cloves sliced garlic
Salt, black pepper, and red pepper
1-2 cups crumbled rusks
1/2 lb. pasta

Start by bringing a pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. The sauce is quick to make, ensuring it’ll be ready by the time the pasta is cooked to perfection.

Using the large side of a box grater, grate the ripe tomatoes and set aside.

In a large pot, sauté the sliced garlic in olive oil until it starts to darken. Add the grated tomatoes to the pot, incorporating salt, black pepper, and red pepper to taste. Allow the mixture to simmer for about 20 minutes, letting some of the liquid evaporate and the sauce thicken.

As the sauce simmers, cook the pasta in the salted water until it reaches your desired level of doneness. Once almost done, transfer the pasta to the sauce to finish cooking, allowing the flavors to meld.

Using a mortar and pestle or the bottom of a small frying pan on a cutting board, crush the rusks to yield approximately one cup of crumbles.

Plate the pasta and sprinkle the crushed rusks on top. Add the tomato sauce on top of that.

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Lunch/Snacks, Vegetarian

Roasted Chickpeas

February 24, 2023 robiulo Leave a comment

Roasted Chickpeas

Chickpea is English, ceci is Italian, and garbanzo is Spanish – whatever you call them, this s a great snack.

Ingredients:

Chickpeas – one 15 oz. can, rinsed, drained, and dried
Olive oil – about 3 – 4 tbsps.
Salt – to taste
1 to 2 tsps. of any 2 of the following spices (I’m using garlic powder & ground oregano)
- Chili powder
- Curry powder
- Cajun seasoning
- Garlic powder
- Oregano
- Paprika

Preheat the oven to 350˚F

Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Leave the chickpeas on a towel until they’re thoroughly dry.

Place the ceci in a roasting pan and roast for 10 minutes. Shake the pan and roast for another 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the seasoning of your choice, let cool and serve.

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Seafood, Vegetarian

Scallops with Lemon Butter Sauce

February 17, 2023 robiulo Leave a comment

Scallops with Lemon Butter Sauce

A few simple ingredients and not much time and you have a seafood restaurant quality meal.

Ingredients:

6 pats butter
Salt & black pepper
2 sliced garlic cloves
1 lb. large sea scallops
Juice of 1 lemon

Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Stir in garlic, salt, and pepper and cook for a few seconds. Add the scallops in a single layer in the pan and cooking and turning until they begin to color.

Transfer scallops to a serving platter, reserving butter in the skillet. Whisk in the lemon juice, pour the sauce over the scallops, and serve.

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Soup, Vegetarian

Escarole and Beans

February 8, 2023 robiulo Leave a comment

Escarole and Beans

Escarole and Beans is cheap, easy to make and healthy. My doctor always tells me to eat more greens and beans so this recipe is perfect. Escarole, scarola in Italian, looks like lettuce but with wider, wavy leaves. It’s in the chicory family, and like endive and radicchio it has a slightly bitter taste when eaten raw.

Ingredients:

– 1/4 cup olive oil

– 2 heads of escarole – washed and sliced into 1-inch pieces

– 4 cloves of garlic – thinly sliced

– Salt, black pepper, and red pepper – according to your taste

– 1/2 cup chicken stock

– 1 can (15 ounces) of cannellini beans – drained and rinsed

Heat the oil in a large pot with salt, black and red pepper. Sauté the garlic on low heat until it’s soft but not brown.

Wash (drain but leave it wet) the escarole and cut it into one-inch slices removing the base and add it to the garlic and oil. It may seem like too much, but it will wilt and reduce in about ten minutes. Cover the pot until the escarole begins to wilt and toss it to coat it with the oil.

Add a half cup of stock (or water) and the rinsed beans. Add some hot water if you’d like it thinner. Simmer ten minutes and serve.

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Sides, Vegetarian

Ceasar Salad 2

January 27, 2023 robiulo 2 Comments

Caesar Salad 2

In 1924 Caesar Salad was created by an Italian American chef, Caesar Cardini, at the Caesar Hotel in Tijuana. It’s possible that anchovies weren’t used in the original recipe but there was definitely no mayonnaise or vinegar. I posted a Caesar Salad recipe in the past but this one is a little more authentic.

Ingredients:

1 clove of garlic
½ tsp black pepper
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
5 anchovies finely chopped
2 tbsp of lemon juice
1½ tbsp. of Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup Parmigiana cheese
1 egg yolk
½ cup of extra virgin olive oil
A day-old loaf of Italian bread
3 tbsp olive oil for croutons
Salt and pepper to taste
2 medium heads of romaine lettuce with the outer leaves removed
Extra Parmigiano Reggiano cheese to grate onto the salad

Dressing: (ingredients 1 to 9)

Mash the garlic clove, black pepper, mustard and anchovies in a mortar and pestle until it forms a paste. When it’s well mashed, add in the Parmesan a bit at a time until well incorporated. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and mix in the lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce.

In another bowl, separate the egg yolk from the egg white and beat the yolk.

Mix the beaten egg yolk in with the rest of the ingredients that you’ve already mixed together. Mix in the ½ cup of olive oil into the other ingredients.(You can double the amount of ingredients and refrigerate half of the dressing for use at another time.)

Croutons: (ingredients 10 to 12)

Cut or tear the bread into ½ to 1-inch cubes and place in a bowl (about 3 cups). Add the 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix the bread with the oil, tossing until it is all well coated.Spread the coated bread in a single layer in a pan and cook over medium high heat, shaking the pan a few times, for about 5 to 8 minutes until the bread pieces are crisp and slightly browned.

Assembly: (ingredients 13 & 14)

Remove some of the outer leaves and cut the Romaine into one-inch strips. Add it to a salad bowl and pour in enough of the dressing to coat the lettuce. Add the croutons, some grated cheese, toss again and serve.

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Seafood, Vegetarian

Crab Sauce

December 31, 2022 robiulo Leave a comment

Crab Sauce

I got this recipe from an old friend. I personally think crabs are a lot of trouble to eat. It seems to me that it’s too much work cracking those shells for just a tiny bit of meat. Nevertheless, they make a delicious crab sauce.

(You can have your fish market clean the crabs or you can do it yourself.)

Ingredients:

¼ cup olive oil
3 cloves of garlic sliced
Salt, black, and red pepper
6 crabs
2 – 28 oz. cans crushed tomatoes
1 pound spaghetti or linguine

Slowly simmer the garlic in the oil in a pot on low eat or until it begins to color. Discard the garlic and season the oil with salt, black and red pepper. Add the crabs (broken in half) and toss in the oil for 8 minutes.

Add the crushed tomatoes and 1 tomato can full of water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 2 hours.

Cook the pasta al dente, add the sauce and crabs and serve.

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Pasta, Vegetarian

Roasted Poblano Pasta

November 23, 2022 robiulo Leave a comment

Roasted Poblano Pasta

This recipe is adapted from Gretchen McKay | The Seattle Times. She calls Roasted Poblano Pasta a “an Italian-meets-Mexican fusion dish,” and I agree.

Ingredients:

5 poblano peppers
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin, or more to taste
12 ounces fettuccine pasta
½ cup packed parsley
½ cup chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream, divided
1 minced garlic clove
Pinch or two crushed red pepper flakes optional

Char poblano peppers on all sides over a gas flame until skin is blistered evenly all around. (If you don’t have a gas stove, char them under the broiler.) Once all of the peppers are roasted, place in plastic bag and let them sit for 5 minutes. This helps loosen the skin to make them easier to peel. When they’re cool to touch, rub the charred skin off with the back side of a knife blade. Remove stem and seeds.

While the peppers are sweating, bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until just shy of al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain, reserving about ½ to 1 cup of the starchy pasta water. Set aside.

While pasta is cooking, add 3 peppers, parsley, cumin, garlic, chicken stock and ½ cup heavy cream to a blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Slice 2 remaining peppers into thin strips.

Once drained, add the poblano cream sauce to the pasta, along with the remaining heavy cream, minced garlic, ½ teaspoon salt and red pepper flakes. Sometimes poblanos can be very hot, so taste before adding any more pepper. Taste and add more salt or cumin, if desired. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer until slightly thickened and the pasta absorbs some sauce, about 3-4 minutes.

Add the sliced peppers and cook until pasta has absorbed sauce. Stir to combine and give one final taste to see if you need more salt and/or pepper.

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Condiments, Sides, Vegetarian

Cubanelles

October 25, 2022 robiulo Leave a comment

Cubanelles

Generally known as Cubanelles, some people refer to them Italian green peppers and my mother called them “frying peppers.” They’re easy to prepare and are good as a side dish, with fried eggs, and cold or room temperature in an antipasto or in a sandwich.

Cut the stem end off the peppers and remove the core and seeds. Slice them in half or quarters lengthwise.

Heat the oil and add the two crushed garlic cloves. Season with salt and pepper and sauté until the garlic starts to brown.

Discard the garlic and place the sliced peppers in the pan. Weigh them down to flatten them. You can use a dish and tomato can (or whatever weight you like) and fry for a few minutes on each side.

When they’re done, place them in a container layered with the sliced garlic clove. Add a little extra oil if it’s to dry. It’s good to let them marinate in the refrigerator overnight before serving.

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Whenever I visit my Sicilian brother-in-law, I’m treated to a culinary masterpiece that rarely graces Italian restaurant menus—Roasted Peppers with Breadcrumbs. This dish holds a special place in his heart as it’s his mother’s recipe, bringing a taste of Sicily to our lunch gatherings.

Ingredients

Begin by preheating to 400°F.

Roast, Peel, and Slice the Peppers

Roast the bell peppers until their skins char and blister. Once roasted, carefully peel and slice them,

Sauté the Onion

In a pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the thinly sliced onion with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Cook until the onions become soft and translucent.

Combine Peppers and Onions

Add the roasted peppers to the sautéed onions. Allow them to mingle and cook together for approximately 10 minutes,

Raisins and Nuts

Add 2 tablespoons of yellow raisins and 2 tablespoons of chopped pistachios or walnuts to the pan.

Sprinkle Breadcrumbs and Parmesan

Sprinkle ¼ cup of breadcrumbs over the mixture. Follow this with a generous ¼ cup of grated Parmesan cheese.

Roasted Peppers with Breadcrumbs, whether served as a side dish or the star of the meal, this recipe is a testament to the artistry of Sicilian cuisine. Buon Appetito!

Grilled Vegetables

Who says grilling is just for burgers and steaks? If you have an outdoor grill – great. If not, a grill pan is fine. This method works with lots of different vegetables so be creative.

Ingredients:

Cut the vegetables into convenient sized pieces. Toss them with salt, pepper, cumin, and olive oil.

Lightly brush the heated grill with oil. Cook the vegetables, turning once. Get the grill marks on both sides.

Fresh Tomato Sauce with Rusks

Fresh tomato sauce with rusks, inspired by a Greek friend, is a dish that brings together the flavors of ripe tomatoes, olive oil, and the unique crunch of rusks. Rusks are not a vegetable but rather dry, hard biscuits or twice-baked bread, lending a distinctive texture to this dish.

Start by bringing a pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. The sauce is quick to make, ensuring it’ll be ready by the time the pasta is cooked to perfection.

As the sauce simmers, cook the pasta in the salted water until it reaches your desired level of doneness. Once almost done, transfer the pasta to the sauce to finish cooking, allowing the flavors to meld.

Using a mortar and pestle or the bottom of a small frying pan on a cutting board, crush the rusks to yield approximately one cup of crumbles.

Plate the pasta and sprinkle the crushed rusks on top. Add the tomato sauce on top of that.

Roasted Chickpeas

Chickpea is English, ceci is Italian, and garbanzo is Spanish – whatever you call them, this s a great snack.

Ingredients:

Preheat the oven to 350˚F

Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Leave the chickpeas on a towel until they’re thoroughly dry.

Place the ceci in a roasting pan and roast for 10 minutes. Shake the pan and roast for another 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the seasoning of your choice, let cool and serve.

Scallops with Lemon Butter Sauce

A few simple ingredients and not much time and you have a seafood restaurant quality meal.

Ingredients:

Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Stir in garlic, salt, and pepper and cook for a few seconds. Add the scallops in a single layer in the pan and cooking and turning until they begin to color.

Transfer scallops to a serving platter, reserving butter in the skillet. Whisk in the lemon juice, pour the sauce over the scallops, and serve.

Scallops with Lemon Butter Sauce – Better than a restaurant and cheaper too.

Escarole and Beans

Ingredients:

Heat the oil in a large pot with salt, black and red pepper. Sauté the garlic on low heat until it’s soft but not brown.

Wash (drain but leave it wet) the escarole and cut it into one-inch slices removing the base and add it to the garlic and oil. It may seem like too much, but it will wilt and reduce in about ten minutes. Cover the pot until the escarole begins to wilt and toss it to coat it with the oil.

Add a half cup of stock (or water) and the rinsed beans. Add some hot water if you’d like it thinner. Simmer ten minutes and serve.

Caesar Salad 2

Ingredients:

Dressing: (ingredients 1 to 9)

Mash the garlic clove, black pepper, mustard and anchovies in a mortar and pestle until it forms a paste. When it’s well mashed, add in the Parmesan a bit at a time until well incorporated. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and mix in the lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce.

In another bowl, separate the egg yolk from the egg white and beat the yolk.

Mix the beaten egg yolk in with the rest of the ingredients that you’ve already mixed together. Mix in the ½ cup of olive oil into the other ingredients.(You can double the amount of ingredients and refrigerate half of the dressing for use at another time.)

Croutons: (ingredients 10 to 12)

Assembly: (ingredients 13 & 14)

Remove some of the outer leaves and cut the Romaine into one-inch strips. Add it to a salad bowl and pour in enough of the dressing to coat the lettuce. Add the croutons, some grated cheese, toss again and serve.

Crab Sauce

Roasted Poblano Pasta

This recipe is adapted from Gretchen McKay | The Seattle Times. She calls Roasted Poblano Pasta a “an Italian-meets-Mexican fusion dish,” and I agree.

Ingredients:

While the peppers are sweating, bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until just shy of al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain, reserving about ½ to 1 cup of the starchy pasta water. Set aside.

While pasta is cooking, add 3 peppers, parsley, cumin, garlic, chicken stock and ½ cup heavy cream to a blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Slice 2 remaining peppers into thin strips.

Add the sliced peppers and cook until pasta has absorbed sauce. Stir to combine and give one final taste to see if you need more salt and/or pepper.

Cubanelles

Cut the stem end off the peppers and remove the core and seeds. Slice them in half or quarters lengthwise.

Heat the oil and add the two crushed garlic cloves. Season with salt and pepper and sauté until the garlic starts to brown.

Discard the garlic and place the sliced peppers in the pan. Weigh them down to flatten them. You can use a dish and tomato can (or whatever weight you like) and fry for a few minutes on each side.

When they’re done, place them in a container layered with the sliced garlic clove. Add a little extra oil if it’s to dry. It’s good to let them marinate in the refrigerator overnight before serving.

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