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Pasta

Pasta Alla Zozzona

April 7, 2024 robiulo Leave a comment

Pasta Alla Zozzona

Pasta alla zozzona is a traditional Roman dish. Typical Roman pastas are usually made with a few simple ingredients but not zozzona, which means something like “a big mess.”

Ingredients:

Salt
12 oz. Pennine rigate or rigatoni
Olive oil
5 ozs. chopped pancetta or guanciale
1 small, minced onion
2 tbsp. tomato paste
3 hot or sweet Italian, casings removed
3 cups tomato passata or puree
1 cup red wine
3 egg yolks
¼ cup grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for serving
1 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta until almost al dente. Reserve ¼ cup of pasta water, then drain pasta.

For the sauce: Add the olive oil to a deep, large pan and heat medium low. Add the pancetta or guanciale and cook, stirring occasionally, until it starts to crisp, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove meat to a small dish and set aside. Transfer the pan drippings to a small bowl, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the skillet.

Stir the onion into the pan and add the tomato paste. Blend and fry for about 5 minutes. Add the sausage, season with salt and black pepper and break up the sausage meat into small pieces. Cook for about 5 minutes until the sausage has browned.

Stir in passata and the red wine. Cover the sauce with a lid and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove the lid and stir. Cook uncovered for 5 more minutes. Add the pancetta to the simmering sauce and stir to coat.

In a bowl combine the 3 egg yolks, ¼ cup cheese, the pepper and the reserved guanciale drippings. Stir 2 tablespoons of the hot pasta water into the egg mixture to temper it (otherwise you might wind up with scrambled eggs when you add it to the hot sauce). Stir the egg mixture into the pasta until coated and glossy, adding a bit more pasta water if you feel the sauce is too thick. Add the pasta to the sauce, stir and finish cooking. Serve the pasta and top with additional cheese.

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Meat

Sausage with Potatoes and Peppers

December 23, 2022 robiulo Leave a comment

Sausage with Potatoes and Peppers

Sausage with Potatoes and Peppers is a simple one pan recipe with easily available ingredients. It’s a typical home cooked Italian diner.

Ingredients:

1 lb. thin skinned potatoes
1 red onion
1 each red & green bell pepper
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. dried thyme
salt and black pepper
5 or 6 Italian sausages cut into thirds
¼ cup dry white wine

Preheat your oven to 425^o.

Cut the potatoes, onions, and bell peppers into bit sized pieces. Place them in a bowl with the oil, thyme and salt and pepper. Toss and coat

Put the vegetables to a large roasting pan and spread evenly across the bottom. Place the sausage in the same bowl that the vegetables were in and shake to coat with any remaining olive oil and thyme. Place the sausage directly on top of the vegetables in the roasting pan.

Roast in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss the sausage and vegetables in the cooking juices. Add the wine to the baking pan and return the pan to the oven. Bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until sausages are fully cooked and the potatoes are tender.

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Pasta

Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage

September 9, 2021 robiulo Leave a comment

Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage

Simple ingredients and an easy preparation – this one is a classic. Whoever first put this combination together deserves a medal. You can get this in almost any Italian restaurant, hero shop and even in some pizzerias.

Ingredients:

2 bunches broccoli rabe
Olive oil
Salt, black and red pepper
3 garlic cloves, sliced
4 Italian sausages (sweet or hot) cut into 1 inch pieces
1 lb. short pasta

Start a pot of boiling salted water for pasta. Remove stems, cut into 2 inch pieces and wash the broccoli rabe.

Boil it in the pasta water for 8 – 10 minutes until tender. Remove and drain. Add 2 tablespoons more salt to the water and cook the pasta in the same pot until almost done.

Fry the sausage in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until browned. Add garlic, salt, red, and black pepper and lower the heat so the garlic doesn’t burn. Cook for 5 minutes and add a half cup of pasta water and deglaze the pan.

Add the prepared broccoli rabe and another half cup of pasta water. Blend and cook for 8 minutes. Add the drained pasta to the sausage and broccoli to finish cooking. Serve with grated Parmigiana cheese.

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Meat, Poultry

Sausage and Chicken with Vinegar Peppers

March 19, 2021 robiulo 2 Comments

Sausage and Chicken with Vinegar Peppers

I wish this dish had an interesting name. If I said, “Ma, what’s for dinner.” She’d say, “Sausage and chicken with vinegar peppers,” so that’s what I call it.

Ingredients:

Olive oil for frying
½ lb. Italian sausage (about 3) cut into pieces
½ lb. skinless/boneless chicken thighs (about 3) cut into pieces
2 Idaho potatoes cut into half inch half moons
1 onion cut into wedges
1 cup of sliced vinegar peppers (sweet or hot)
¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup liquid from the pepper jar
½ teaspoon thyme
Salt and black pepper to taste.

Bring chicken and sausage to room temperature and season the chicken with salt and black pepper. Fry the meat in olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat until browned. Don’t crowd the pan or the meat with steam instead of brown. Remove and set aside. Fry the potatoes using more oil if necessary. Season, remove from the pan when almost done and set aside.

Fry meat and potatoes in batches so they brown and don’t steam.

Fry the onions and when they start to brown, add the peppers. Add a half cup of water and deglaze the pan. Return the potatoes and then the sausage and chicken on top. Pour in the vinegar and pepper liquid, sprinkle on the thyme and cover and cook for 10 minutes on medium heat.

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Meat

Sausage Cooked in Red Wine

April 10, 2020 robiulo Leave a comment

Sausage Cooked in Red Wine

Here’s another simple but excellent recipe and it only has 2 ingredients. I got it from Giovanna Bellia LaMarca in her Sicilian cooking class at the Institute Culinary Education.

Ingredients:

1 lb. Italian sausage, hot or sweet
¾ cup dry red wine (something good enough to drink)

Place the sausage in a single layer in a pan. Add enough water to reach ½ way up the sausage and cook, turning half way, until the water is almost evaporated.

Add the wine and cook on medium-high heat, turning at least once, until the sausage is cooked on all sides. Serve the sausage with the pan drippings poured over them.

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Meat

Sausage and Bean Stew

February 28, 2020 robiulo Leave a comment

Sausage and Bean Stew

This is another Melissa Clark recipe. She keeps coming up with good ones. Although the ingredients are mainly Italian, this reminds me of chili.

Ingredients:

Olive oil for frying
1 lb. Italian sausage cut into ¾ inch slices
1 tbsp tomato paste
½ tsp ground cumin
1 & 1/2 cups Italian trinity
2 diced garlic cloves
1 lb. cannelloni beans rinsed
2 thyme sprigs
1 large rosemary sprig
1 bay leaf
2 tbsps. balsamic vinegar plus more for serving
Salt and black pepper

Place the sausage in the freezer for 20 minutes. This makes it easier to slice and hold its shape. Brown the sausage in oil in a stock pot. Remove when done and leave the oil and fat in the pot.

Add the tomato paste and cumin to the pot and cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add the trinity and garlic. Cook on medium until the vegetables have softened.

Stir in the beans, 8 cups of water, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf. Bring it to a boil, lower heat and simmer until the beans are cooked – about 2 hours.

Sausage and Bean Stew — It’s easier to remove the herbs if you tie them together.

At this point remove about a cup of beans and puree them in a blender or food processor and return them to the pot to thicken the stew. Return the sausage to the pot and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, taste and adjust seasoning.

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Meat

Sausage and Grapes

November 29, 2019 robiulo 4 Comments

Sausage and Grapes

This recipe is adapted from Melissa Clark’s A Good Appetite in the New York Times. She suggests using any kind of sausage you like. I chose hot Italian sausage because it made a good contrast to the sweetness of the grapes.

Ingredients:

1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 tbsps. olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
4 cups of stemmed red seedless grapes
½ tsp. ground cumin
1 lb. hot Italian sausage
½ cup coarsely chopped parsley
2 tbsps. chopped scallions or chives
2 tsps. Sherry vinegar + more to taste

Heat oven to 450^o.

In an oven proof pan, toss the onions with the salt, pepper and 2 tbsps. oil. Roast for 10 minutes or so, until the onions take on some color. Remove the pan for the oven and add the grapes, cumin, and the remaining oil. Spread in an even layer and add the sausage. Roast for 25 minutes, turning sausage and tossing onions/grapes halfway through.

After 25 minutes, remove the sausage to a serving plate. Add the parsley and chives to the pan with the grapes and onions and mix. Use a slotted spoon to remove the grapes and onions to the serving plate. Add the vinegar and scrape up any brown bits. Put over the grapes and sausage and serve.

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Pasta

Sausage and WInter Squash Ragu

November 15, 2019 robiulo Leave a comment

Sausage and Winter Squash Ragu

I got this recipe from a northern friend (her grandparents are from Tuscany). You can use any kind of hard winter squash. I used butternut but acorn or even pumpkin would do it.

Sausage and Winter Squash Ragu

Ingredients:

3 cups peeled and diced squash
Olive oil for basting and frying
Salt and black pepper
1 lb. Italian hot or sweet pork sausage casing removed
1 medium onion diced
1 cup diced mushrooms – your choice
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 sliced garlic cloves
1 lb. short pasta like ziti, rigatoni, etc.
½ cup chopped parsley

Start a pot of salted water for the pasta.

Heat the oven to 450^o and roast the peeled and diced squash with oil and salt and pepper for 15 minutes.

Sauté the mushrooms and onion in oil in a pot until they’re soft. Remove from the pot. Add the sausage and break it up and cook until it’s brown. Return the mushrooms and onion to the pot, then add the tomatoes and garlic. Cook on a medium flame for 5 minutes and then add 1 cup of water, stir, and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning.

Cook the pasta until almost done and add it to the pot and mix it with the sauce. Add some of the pasta water if it looks too dry. Now, add the roasted squash and parsley. Mix and serve. (My friend said it can be served with grated cheese but I think that would overpowers the sweetness of the squash.)

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Sides

Biscuits and Gravy

November 1, 2019 robiulo Leave a comment

Biscuits and Gravy

I may be a native New Yorker but I’ve always loved Southern food. I got this recipe in the New York Daily News. Even if you don’t want the sausage gravy, it’s still a great biscuit recipe.

For the Biscuits –

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups flour
2 tbsps. baking powder
1 tbsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
4 ozs. butter
1 cup buttermilk
Melted butter

Pre-heat the oven to 425^o.

Mix the first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Grate in the butter into the bowl and blend. Add the buttermilk and stir until it comes together like a rough dough. Sprinkle some flour on your counter and knead the dough by folding it in half a few times. No need to over do it.

Roll out the dough into a one-inch layer. Use a biscuit cutter (I use a glass) to cut 2 to 3 inch diameter biscuits. You should get about 12. Put the cut outs on a buttered baking sheet. Brush the tops of each with melted butter and bake until golden, about 15 minutes.

For the Gravy –

Ingredients:

2 tbsps. oil
1 lb. pork breakfast meat (or remove sausage casings)
4 tbsps. butter
½ cup flour
3 – 4 cups chicken broth or stock.
½ cup heavy cream
Salt and black pepper (easy on the salt if the broth is salty)

Brown the sausage meat in the oil in a frying pan. Remove the meat leaving the oil and some brown bits. At medium heat, add the butter and when it melts and stops foaming quickly stir in the flour. Don’t let it brown. This is a light-colored gravy.

Raise the heat and whisk in the chicken broth. When it thickens and becomes smooth, return the cooked sausage meat to the pan. Simmer for 20 minutes. Heat the cream, add it to the pan and mix. Taste for seasoning. Serve it hot, spooned over the split biscuits.

The biscuits are pretty good with butter and preserves too.

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Lunch/Snacks, Vegetarian

Sandwiches Italian-Style

April 29, 2016 robiulo Leave a comment

Sandwiches Italian-Style

Subs, hoagies, grinders – that’s fine but in New York, it’s a hero. Sandwiches Italian-Style doesn’t necessarily mean 8 different kinds of meat and cheese and a bunch of other things, where each flavor cancels out the next. It shouldn’t be that complicated.

For a good Italian-Style sandwich the most important thing is the bread. On the right bread, cream cheese and Welch’s grape jelly can be something special. Then comes basic but high-quality ingredients. After that, the main condiments are simply salt, pepper and maybe a few drops of olive oil. Here are a few standards.

Sausage & Peppers – Fry some bell peppers and an onion. Then fry the sausage in the same pan. Simple

Tuna with Lemon and Onion – Use imported tuna packed in olive oil, add some thinly sliced lemon (with skin) and onion. A little romaine if you like.

Ricotta on a Roll – Scrape some of the bread out of the top of the roll to make room for the ricotta so it doesn’t squeeze out.

Mootz & Tomato – Fresh cold mozzarella with sliced tomatoes and basil if you have it.

Escarole – Add just washed and still wet escarole leaves to a pan where you’ve sautéed some garlic in oil. Simmer until it wilts. It’s as easy as that.

Note that only one of these sandwiches contains meat, another fish and the last three are vegetarian. That says something about the Mediterranean Diet.

The photo at the top of this page is from Medonia Brothers Bakery on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx.

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Pasta Alla Zozzona

Pasta alla zozzona is a traditional Roman dish. Typical Roman pastas are usually made with a few simple ingredients but not zozzona, which means something like “a big mess.”

Ingredients:

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta until almost al dente. Reserve ¼ cup of pasta water, then drain pasta.

Stir the onion into the pan and add the tomato paste. Blend and fry for about 5 minutes. Add the sausage, season with salt and black pepper and break up the sausage meat into small pieces. Cook for about 5 minutes until the sausage has browned.

Stir in passata and the red wine. Cover the sauce with a lid and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove the lid and stir. Cook uncovered for 5 more minutes. Add the pancetta to the simmering sauce and stir to coat.

Sausage with Potatoes and Peppers

Ingredients:

Preheat your oven to 425o.

Cut the potatoes, onions, and bell peppers into bit sized pieces. Place them in a bowl with the oil, thyme and salt and pepper. Toss and coat

Put the vegetables to a large roasting pan and spread evenly across the bottom. Place the sausage in the same bowl that the vegetables were in and shake to coat with any remaining olive oil and thyme. Place the sausage directly on top of the vegetables in the roasting pan.

Roast in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss the sausage and vegetables in the cooking juices. Add the wine to the baking pan and return the pan to the oven. Bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until sausages are fully cooked and the potatoes are tender.

Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage

Simple ingredients and an easy preparation – this one is a classic. Whoever first put this combination together deserves a medal. You can get this in almost any Italian restaurant, hero shop and even in some pizzerias.

Ingredients:

Start a pot of boiling salted water for pasta. Remove stems, cut into 2 inch pieces and wash the broccoli rabe.

Boil it in the pasta water for 8 – 10 minutes until tender. Remove and drain. Add 2 tablespoons more salt to the water and cook the pasta in the same pot until almost done.

Fry the sausage in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until browned. Add garlic, salt, red, and black pepper and lower the heat so the garlic doesn’t burn. Cook for 5 minutes and add a half cup of pasta water and deglaze the pan.

Add the prepared broccoli rabe and another half cup of pasta water. Blend and cook for 8 minutes. Add the drained pasta to the sausage and broccoli to finish cooking. Serve with grated Parmigiana cheese.

Sausage and Chicken with Vinegar Peppers

Ingredients:

Fry the onions and when they start to brown, add the peppers. Add a half cup of water and deglaze the pan. Return the potatoes and then the sausage and chicken on top. Pour in the vinegar and pepper liquid, sprinkle on the thyme and cover and cook for 10 minutes on medium heat.

Sausage Cooked in Red Wine

Here’s another simple but excellent recipe and it only has 2 ingredients. I got it from Giovanna Bellia LaMarca in her Sicilian cooking class at the Institute Culinary Education.

Ingredients:

1 lb. Italian sausage, hot or sweet

¾ cup dry red wine (something good enough to drink)

Place the sausage in a single layer in a pan. Add enough water to reach ½ way up the sausage and cook, turning half way, until the water is almost evaporated.

Add the wine and cook on medium-high heat, turning at least once, until the sausage is cooked on all sides. Serve the sausage with the pan drippings poured over them.

Sausage and Bean Stew

Ingredients:

Place the sausage in the freezer for 20 minutes. This makes it easier to slice and hold its shape. Brown the sausage in oil in a stock pot. Remove when done and leave the oil and fat in the pot.

Add the tomato paste and cumin to the pot and cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add the trinity and garlic. Cook on medium until the vegetables have softened.

Stir in the beans, 8 cups of water, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf. Bring it to a boil, lower heat and simmer until the beans are cooked – about 2 hours.

At this point remove about a cup of beans and puree them in a blender or food processor and return them to the pot to thicken the stew. Return the sausage to the pot and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, taste and adjust seasoning.

Sausage and Grapes

This recipe is adapted from Melissa Clark’s A Good Appetite in the New York Times. She suggests using any kind of sausage you like. I chose hot Italian sausage because it made a good contrast to the sweetness of the grapes.

Ingredients:

1 large onion, thinly sliced

4 tbsps. olive oil

Salt and black pepper to taste

4 cups of stemmed red seedless grapes

½ tsp. ground cumin

1 lb. hot Italian sausage

½ cup coarsely chopped parsley

2 tbsps. chopped scallions or chives

2 tsps. Sherry vinegar + more to taste

Heat oven to 450o.

After 25 minutes, remove the sausage to a serving plate. Add the parsley and chives to the pan with the grapes and onions and mix. Use a slotted spoon to remove the grapes and onions to the serving plate. Add the vinegar and scrape up any brown bits. Put over the grapes and sausage and serve.

Sausage and Winter Squash Ragu

I got this recipe from a northern friend (her grandparents are from Tuscany). You can use any kind of hard winter squash. I used butternut but acorn or even pumpkin would do it.

Sausage and Winter Squash Ragu

Ingredients:

Start a pot of salted water for the pasta.

Heat the oven to 450o and roast the peeled and diced squash with oil and salt and pepper for 15 minutes.

Biscuits and Gravy

I may be a native New Yorker but I’ve always loved Southern food. I got this recipe in the New York Daily News. Even if you don’t want the sausage gravy, it’s still a great biscuit recipe.

For the Biscuits –

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups flour

2 tbsps. baking powder

1 tbsp. sugar

½ tsp. salt

4 ozs. butter

1 cup buttermilk

Melted butter

Pre-heat the oven to 425o.

Mix the first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Grate in the butter into the bowl and blend. Add the buttermilk and stir until it comes together like a rough dough. Sprinkle some flour on your counter and knead the dough by folding it in half a few times. No need to over do it.

Roll out the dough into a one-inch layer. Use a biscuit cutter (I use a glass) to cut 2 to 3 inch diameter biscuits. You should get about 12. Put the cut outs on a buttered baking sheet. Brush the tops of each with melted butter and bake until golden, about 15 minutes.

For the Gravy –

Ingredients:

2 tbsps. oil

1 lb. pork breakfast meat (or remove sausage casings)

4 tbsps. butter

½ cup flour

3 – 4 cups chicken broth or stock.

½ cup heavy cream

Salt and black pepper (easy on the salt if the broth is salty)

Brown the sausage meat in the oil in a frying pan. Remove the meat leaving the oil and some brown bits. At medium heat, add the butter and when it melts and stops foaming quickly stir in the flour. Don’t let it brown. This is a light-colored gravy.

Raise the heat and whisk in the chicken broth. When it thickens and becomes smooth, return the cooked sausage meat to the pan. Simmer for 20 minutes. Heat the cream, add it to the pan and mix. Taste for seasoning. Serve it hot, spooned over the split biscuits.

Preheat your oven to 425^o.

Heat oven to 450^o.

Heat the oven to 450^o and roast the peeled and diced squash with oil and salt and pepper for 15 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 425^o.