We put our cooking skills to the test and signed up for some italian cooking class at school. Chef Andrea Connsoli owns a mouth-watering restaurant near John Cabot and teaches cooking classes all throughout the week! (http://www.cookingclassesinrome.com) Here are some recipies we made, plus pictures!! Try some at home-Its amazing!
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First course: Pasta alla Norma (Fresh pasta with fried eggplant and tomato)Ingredients: (4 servings)
2 large eggplant, thinly sliced
2 tbsp coarse salt
200g sunflower oil for frying, or any type of frying oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 small bunch of fresh basil
2 tbsp Extra virgin Olive Oil
50g freshly grated baked ricotta cheese (even parmesan or pecorino)
Ingredients for the dough (4 Servings):
400 gr/4 cups all purpose flour
200 ml/2 cups lukewarm water
1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tbsp salt
Instructions:
Place the eggplant slices in a colander and sprinkle with the coarse sea salt. Let drain for 1 hour (we skiped this in the class, because we didn’t have time, but it’s okay because the eggplant I got for you at the market were very small and sedless). Heat the oil in a large deep frying pan until very hot. Shake the salt off the eggplant and frying small batches until golden brown, 5-7 minutes per batch. Drain onto paper towels. Stir onion into extra virgin olive oil in a medium sauce pan, add water and cover with a lid to let steam and cook for 15 minutes. Then add chopped or diced tomatoes for about 15 minutes and in the end transfer the fried eggplant for the last 10 minutes. Switch off the heat and add basil leaves while the sauce is still warm.
To make the dough you have to mix 4 cups of flour 00 with about 2 cups of water (this is the recipe to make spaghetti,like the one we used in class). Then roll the dough in little tiny long noodles (you can either make fettuccine as you prefer since it'll take you less time! Lol!!). To cook the pasta, put a large pot of boiling water over high heat. When the water is boiling, toss in few tablespoons of salt with the fresh pasta. Stir to keep the pasta from sticking. Cook for 5 or 6 minutes, until a piece of pasta tastes cooked or "al dente".
When the pasta is cooked, drain it and add it to the frying pan with the sauce mixture. Turn on the heat and stir in Pecorino cheese and ricotta to coat the pasta. Season your dish with salt and garnish with pepper if you like, and serve immediately. It's gonna be delicious!!!
Note: This recipe comes from Sicily and is named after Bellini’s maserpiece, the opera Norma. It’s considered the most popular recipe all over the island, which is renowned as Trinacria because of the logo of it (just google it and you’ll find out the wonderful story of this land and of the empire of the King Federico II!).
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Appetizer - Deep fried Neapolitan style pizzette
Ingredients (1lb of dough, serving 4 people):
1 oz fresh yeast
1 tsp of sugar
¾ cup of water
3 1/3 cup all purpose flour
½ tsp of salt
Ingredients (1lb of dough, serving 4 people):
1 oz fresh yeast
1 tsp of sugar
¾ cup of water
3 1/3 cup all purpose flour
½ tsp of salt
Ingredients for the sauce:
1 clove garlic
1 pound of chopped or diced fresh and organic tomatoes
fresh basil
salt
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
fresh basil
salt
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
The dough used to make most focaccias and pizzas is basically the same. You have to place the yeast in a small bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar, half cup of room temperature water and stir until dissolved. Then in a large bowl you have to place the all purpose flour, one teaspoon of salt (remember not to mix the salt with the yeast because it'll kill the organic ingredients contained in the yeast) and then pour the yeast mixture and add another half cup of water. You'll obtain a fairly firm dough. The dough should be smooth and elastic, show definite air bubbles beneath the surface, and spring back if you flatten it with your hands. Now it's time to place it in a big bowl and cover with a cloth, then set aside to let it rise. The dough should be double in volume in an hour and 30 minutes. To test if it's ready you have to poke your finger gently into the dough, and if the impression remains then its ready!
P.S: remember that yeast is a living ingredient, affected by temperature and humidity, among other things. Some days it'll take longer to rise than others.
Now that your dough is ready you have to use a rolling pin or even your hands on a lightly floured marble surface and roll a small pizzetta. Deep fry it into frying oil (sunflower oil is preferable), that you've heated up in a small pot over high heat.
In the meantime, in a large frying pan over low heat, stir in garlic with its own skin and E.V. olive oil and cook until garlic will start to brown. Then add chopped tomatoes and cover with a lid as we did to steam them and keep their nice red color, in the way they wont be burnt. Cook it for 10-15 minutes or until it'll look like ready and steady. Add basil in the end to flavour it.
In the meantime, in a large frying pan over low heat, stir in garlic with its own skin and E.V. olive oil and cook until garlic will start to brown. Then add chopped tomatoes and cover with a lid as we did to steam them and keep their nice red color, in the way they wont be burnt. Cook it for 10-15 minutes or until it'll look like ready and steady. Add basil in the end to flavour it.
When the pizzetta is cooked and well drained from the oil, add the sauce on top of it and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to coat your dish. Season it with salt and garnish with pepper if you like, and serve immediately. It's gonna be mouth watering!!!
***With this recipe you can either make a regular pizza (roll it and bake it), or to deep fry it into sunflower oil (roll it thinner and smaller, and deep fry it few minutes per side)
***With this recipe you can either make a regular pizza (roll it and bake it), or to deep fry it into sunflower oil (roll it thinner and smaller, and deep fry it few minutes per side)
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First course: Penne alla vodka - penne with vodka sauce
Ingredients for the sauce:
- 1 carrot
- 1 stalk celery (if you can please try to use the central one because its leaves contains magnesium which is very good for your diet!)
- 3 onions small
- 1 glass of white wine
- 2 lb chopped or diced tomatoes in cans
- 1 carrot
- 1 stalk celery (if you can please try to use the central one because its leaves contains magnesium which is very good for your diet!)
- 3 onions small
- 1 glass of white wine
- 2 lb chopped or diced tomatoes in cans
- salt
- 1/4 lb guanciale (pork chick or pancetta diced)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 5 tbsp extra vergin Olive Oil
Instructions:
In a large frying pan over low heat, stir in the "soffritto" made from carrots, celery and onion with E.V. olive oil and cook until it starts to brown. Turn on the heat over medium-high and stir in some dry white wine and cook it until it'll evaporate (please never use any sweet wine). Then you can add your chopped tomatoes and cook it for 15/30 minutes (depending on how much sauce you're cooking). In another large pan, place E.V olive oil and add onions to saute. Keep adding water to the onions over a medium flame to keep a golden color to the onion. Once the onions are golden brown add the guanciale. sautee for a few more minutes. Once this is ready, add vodka straight and flambe it over high heat. The flame will make the alchool evaporate and it will turn it creamy. Then add it to your tomato sauce. Boil water, for the penne noodles. Saute your noodles with sauce adding heavy cream. Turn off the heat and stir in Parmesan cheese to coat your dish. Serve hot. It's gonna be delicious!!!
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2. Second course: Veal "spezzatino" stewed with potatoes and saffron
Ingredients for 4 servings:
- 1 pound potatoes
- 1 pound veal (very tender ad soft cut, no fat an no preservatives)
- 3 onions medium
- 5 tbsp EV olive oil
- fresh rosemary
- 1 cup dry white wine
- vegetable stock (to make the stock you have to use 1 stalk celery, 1 carrot and 1 onion with its own skin, don't peel it off otherwise the color of your stock won't be as yellow as the one we cooked together)
- saffron
Instructions:
Cook the vegetable stock first. Let boil and cook into boiling water all the vegetables like onion, celery and carrots and don’t forget to keep the skin of the onion to give your stock a better and yellower color (like the one that Lucas did for us in the kitchen). In a large skillet over low heat, stir in the EV olive oil and place the onion to cook. Add water and cover with a lid, in the way that the onion will get steamed an softly cooked, but not browned.
Add spoonful of vegetable stock and cook the onion for about 15 minutes, then add the tender cubes of veal and start sealing the meat. In this way your meat will be brown, sealed and all the juices will be kept inside it. Add dry white wine and let it evaporate, then add potatoes, saffron, and rosemary. Drizzle with salt and pepper and add enough tablespoons of stock to keep it soft and juicy. Cook it with under very low heat.
Serve hot and use slices of bread to make "scarpetta"!!
Ingredients for 4 servings:
- 1 pound potatoes
- 1 pound veal (very tender ad soft cut, no fat an no preservatives)
- 3 onions medium
- 5 tbsp EV olive oil
- fresh rosemary
- 1 cup dry white wine
- vegetable stock (to make the stock you have to use 1 stalk celery, 1 carrot and 1 onion with its own skin, don't peel it off otherwise the color of your stock won't be as yellow as the one we cooked together)
- saffron
Instructions:
Cook the vegetable stock first. Let boil and cook into boiling water all the vegetables like onion, celery and carrots and don’t forget to keep the skin of the onion to give your stock a better and yellower color (like the one that Lucas did for us in the kitchen). In a large skillet over low heat, stir in the EV olive oil and place the onion to cook. Add water and cover with a lid, in the way that the onion will get steamed an softly cooked, but not browned.
Add spoonful of vegetable stock and cook the onion for about 15 minutes, then add the tender cubes of veal and start sealing the meat. In this way your meat will be brown, sealed and all the juices will be kept inside it. Add dry white wine and let it evaporate, then add potatoes, saffron, and rosemary. Drizzle with salt and pepper and add enough tablespoons of stock to keep it soft and juicy. Cook it with under very low heat.
Serve hot and use slices of bread to make "scarpetta"!!
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3. Dessert: Nutella Cookies (so called in Italian as Canestrelli alla Nutella)
To make the dough you have to mix 4 cups of all purpose flour, 2 sticks of butter, 2 cups of sugar and 2 eggs, a pinch of salt. Mix everything powerfully on a slightly floured marble surface, and leave in the fridge for 10 minutes to let your butter get less soft and the dough more suitable to stretch and easy to handle. Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C for any italian oven that you have in your apartment).
Use a wax sheet paper to roll your dough. Then use round metal forms as the one I gave you and give the right shape to your cookies, (cut a smaller whole in half the cookies to be used as the tops of the cookie sandwich) bake for 10-15 minutes or until the pastry is golden. Sprinkle with icing (powder) sugar all the tops, while spreading on the bottoms a light surface of Nutella. Use a pastry bag for the toppings. This dough can also be used for tortes, mini calzone shaped stuffed with Ricotta and any type of fruit jelly or marmalade.
To make the dough you have to mix 4 cups of all purpose flour, 2 sticks of butter, 2 cups of sugar and 2 eggs, a pinch of salt. Mix everything powerfully on a slightly floured marble surface, and leave in the fridge for 10 minutes to let your butter get less soft and the dough more suitable to stretch and easy to handle. Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C for any italian oven that you have in your apartment).
Use a wax sheet paper to roll your dough. Then use round metal forms as the one I gave you and give the right shape to your cookies, (cut a smaller whole in half the cookies to be used as the tops of the cookie sandwich) bake for 10-15 minutes or until the pastry is golden. Sprinkle with icing (powder) sugar all the tops, while spreading on the bottoms a light surface of Nutella. Use a pastry bag for the toppings. This dough can also be used for tortes, mini calzone shaped stuffed with Ricotta and any type of fruit jelly or marmalade.
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3.Dessert: Chocolate Salami
To make the cream mixture you have to use an electric whisk to whip 4 eggs with 3 cups of sugar. Then stir in 3 sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature and keep whisking it until smooth and creamy. Add a few grains of salt until stiff but not dry. Then into another bowl you have to beat 4 cups of plain biscuits, and then add them to the creamy mixture together with few tablespoons of nuts, almonds and pine nuts. With a wooden spoon, stir in 2 cups of semi-sweet cocoa powder and mix everything in the same bowl where you've whisked eggs, sugar and butter. As soon as it's ready leave it in the freezer to cool it down. To assemble use wax paper and roll the dough into "salami" shapes. Leave it in the freezer, and it'll be ready in an hour. Slice it and serve it with fresh whipped cream.....
To make the cream mixture you have to use an electric whisk to whip 4 eggs with 3 cups of sugar. Then stir in 3 sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature and keep whisking it until smooth and creamy. Add a few grains of salt until stiff but not dry. Then into another bowl you have to beat 4 cups of plain biscuits, and then add them to the creamy mixture together with few tablespoons of nuts, almonds and pine nuts. With a wooden spoon, stir in 2 cups of semi-sweet cocoa powder and mix everything in the same bowl where you've whisked eggs, sugar and butter. As soon as it's ready leave it in the freezer to cool it down. To assemble use wax paper and roll the dough into "salami" shapes. Leave it in the freezer, and it'll be ready in an hour. Slice it and serve it with fresh whipped cream.....
more to come....
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