Rice with asparagi (Asparagus risotto)

This is another risotto. So... you need Arborio rice, lot of Parmesan cheese and some white wine. Asparagi are really good for you and in season right now.

Preparation time: 15-20min

1) Cut fresh asparagi about 1 inch long. Add them to a food processor with some oilve oil and some water. Make a "green asparagi sauce" out of it.

2) Add olive oil, sliced onions, and the "asparagi sauce" to a pot.

3) Add 1-2 cups of white wine and the rice (3 tablespoons per person).

4) Add 3 cups of warm water and let it cook until the rice is done.

5) Add the half lemon juice and fresh parsley, a bunch of Parmesan cheese, black pepper.

Stir and serve it.

One of the secret of a good risotto is that you stir the rice very often while cooking, so it releases the starch and it taste better.

Buon appetito!

Pasta in Peppe's red sauce

A couple of days ago we had some of the pasta with the special Peppe's red sauce... I took a nice shot of it...

Check a couple of posts earlier for the recipe!

Pasta with garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

Garbanzo beans or chickpeas are very good for you. They are the main ingredient of hummus. You can make a sauce kinda like the hummus and add it to the pasta. Usually we use some short kind of pasta. You don't have it? No problem, what we do is to cut the spaghetti in 3 or 4 pieces... in this way we shorten them! :)

Preparation time: 15 min

1) Put 3 cups of water to boil in a pot

2) Add garlic, olive oil, red hot pepper, cut carrots and celery

3) Add the garbanzo beans to the pot (you can use a can of organic beans, otherwise make sure to rinse them very well before using)

4) Cut the long pasta (spaghetti or linguine or fettuccine)

5) Add the pasta in the pot and let cook for 5-10 min

When it is ready, the water will be almost completely evaporated.

You can then add some fresh parsley and black pepper...

Buon appetito!!

Pasta with salmon in pink cream

All of us need to eat more fish. So if you have fresh smoked salmon or some left-over salmon from the day before why not add some pasta to it?

Preparation time: 15 min

1) Boil water for the pasta. Penne or mostaccioli required.

2) Add to a pan some olive oil, cut garlic, red hot pepper, half of a red bell pepper (optional) few fresh tomatoes. Let it cook for few minutes.

3) Add the salmon to it.

4) Add a teaspoon of butter and 1/4 of cup of half&half.

Yes you can add some vodka if you have it...

Before serving add fresh parsley, black pepper.

PS you can add a side of steamed broccoli or cauliflowers to it...

Buon appetito!

Rice with red sauce

Exactly it is rice with red sauce. Unthinkable for asian people... but a reality for many Italians.

Try to believe it!

Preparation time: 20 min (super-easy)

1)Boil water in a pot for the rice (Arborio rice). Add salt to the water.

2)Prepare a red tomato sauce: cut onions, olive oils in a pot for 5 min and then add a can of red tomato sauce. Add basil and a tiny bit of butter (optional).

3) Drain the rice using a pasta drainer.

4) Add red sauce on the top of the white rice.

Add basil, parmesan and black pepper as much as you like.

PS you can stir the sauce in the rice...

Buon appetito.

How to cook pasta the italian way

You can buy several different brands of pasta. I grew up eating Barilla pasta, but DeCecco is good too (a little bit expensive, though). Different brands taste different after cooking, mainly because they have different consistency once cooked. The perfect cooked pasta doesn't have to become fluffy, but always a tiny bit uncooked ("al dente" right?) and stay firm for all the time you are eating. Once you buy the right brand of pasta, my dad's recipe for the perfect cooked pasta is simple: just follow the time that is written on the package of pasta. If it says 11 min, then watch your clock, because 11 min after you put the pasta in the boiling water, the pasta needs to be drained and it will be as close to the perfectness as you can get. That is really so simple.

A step back. Once the water is boiling in the pot ( and before putting in the pasta) add the salt. How much salt? About a tablespoon, for a large pot full of water. I use my hand to measure, see the picture... A little secret: add few drops of olive oil to the boiling water to avoid pasta attaching to one another.

How to dress an italian salad

This is super-easy and a must-know. I figured out that here in the US people don't dress salads in the same way I always do. I don't use pre-made sauces. But instead I only use extra-virgin olive oil, salt and lemon or wine vinegar (red or white). Then I toss the salad and ...

Buon appetito!

Bucatini with red hot sauce and romano cheese

Here the pasta needs to be bucatini. It is kinda of hard to find in the store, but I suggest you to try it. It will kinda of whistle when you eat it, because it is made like spaghetti but with an hole inside. Then you need romano cheese (pecorino).

Time for preparation: 15 min

1) Boil water in a pot for the pasta (bucatini).

2)Add some onion, olive oil, red hot pepper  to a separate pot and let brown the onions for a few minutes.

3)Add plain red sauce and let it cook until the pasta is done.

4) Drain the pasta, add it back to the pot, add a bunch of pecorino cheese, and then the red sauce. Stir it. Add fresh basil and pepper too.

Buon appetito!

Kale with beans soup

If you want something healthy, light and easy to make, kale with beans is the dish for you.

Time for preparation: 20 min

1) Wash the kale and add it to a pot with 6 cups of water.

2)Add olive oil, salt, garlic and let it cook for 10 min.

3) Add some white beans and let it cook for other 10 min.  

I wish I had a pics for you to show. Next time I will make it I will take one!

It is kinda of soupy at the end and you can add dried bread to it.

Add fresh olive oil before serving.

Buon appetito

Risotto with spinach

In Italy we don't eat just pasta. We can also make some very good rice dishes, which we call risotto. Now it turns out that spinach is very good for you. It contains high levels of minerals and folic acid, which are reported to decrease DNA damage and diminish your chance to get cancer. So, you can buy a bunch of fresh spinach (please organic) or just some organic frozen ones. I like the frozen ones because to make the same quantity you need to buy at least 2-3 bunches of fresh spinach!

Which variety of rice to use? Traditionally, in Italy we use Arborio rice (medium-short grain), which is perfect for risotto dishes because, once cooked, it is both firm and creamy.

Preparation time: 20 min

1) Boil 6 cups of water in a pot for the rice

2) Add 3 tbsp of rice per person.

3) Add olive oil, salt, chopped onions and a lot of spinach (see above). Stir every few minute. The spinach will melt with the rice into a green cream.

4) Let it cook until the rice is done (about 10-15 min).

5) Add a teaspoon of butter and a lot of parmesan cheese at the end. Pepper if you like. Stir.

Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving...

Buon appetito!

Mardi Gras Pasta with ricotta cheese

Yesterday was Marti Gras. Quite a holiday it used to be in Italy. It represented the last day before the start of the Catholic Lent. Therefore, we used to celebrate it with a big party in mask (our Carnival) and very rich food. One of the richest food in Italy is lasagna, which is a pasta dish full of everything from eggs to meat, mozzarella and ricotta cheese. It takes a little bit of time to prepare a fresh lasagna dish, so I have a quick version of that dish. All you need is curly pasta, fresh ricotta, a can of tomatoes sauce, onions and some basil.

Preparation time: 15-20 min

1) Boil water in a pot for the pasta

2) Cut the onions and put in a separate pot with olive oil.

3) Add a can of red sauce to the onions. Add some basil.

4) After about 10 min, add some of the just cooked red sauce to a bowl of fresh ricotta cheese. Stir it to make a white creamy sauce. Remember to leave some extra red sauce in the pot.

5) Drain the pasta, put it back in the pot and add the creamy sauce to it.

When you make the portions add red sauce on the top. Add parmesan cheese and pepper if you like.

PS you can find the curly bucatini pasta at Trader's Joe.

PSPS I like mine messy in a bowl!

Buon Appetito!

Pasta with Garlic and Oil

Let me tell you: this is a classic. This is the simplest Pasta dish ever. When I was in Italy hanging out with friends at night we used to propose to the gang: shall we have a Spaghettata Aglio and Olio? The term derives from Spaghetti, which is the shape of pasta required for this kind of dish, and it means a big feast of spaghetti with garlic and oil. Please remember to use only olive oil.

Time for preparation: 5-10 minutes (Super-easy)

1) Boil water in a pot for the pasta (spaghetti!)

2) Add 4-5 cloves (per person) of smashed garlic, olive oil (2 tbs per person) and hot red pepper to a pan at medium-low fire

3) Drain the pasta and add it to the pan stirring all together

4) Add chopped parsley (parsley will help to cancel the garlic bad smell form you mouth!)

Add parmesan cheese and pepper if you like.

PS because I needed to eat some fish, I opened a can of tuna and with some olive oil added as side to the pasta...

Buon appetito!

Pasta with Portobello mushrooms

I rarely cook mushrooms at home, because not everybody likes them. But few days ago I had some Portobello mushrooms in the fridge that needed to be cooked. I was undecided between a nice risotto with mushroooms or a pasta with mushrooms. I went for the second option. Yes the real story is that I had also some baby tomatoes in the fridge that I wanted to cook. Therefore I thought mmmhh...mushrooms+baby tomatoes...maybe some parsley and garlic and olive oil and voilla` ...a nice dish...

Preparation time: 10-15min

1) Boil water in a pot for pasta (fettuccine!)

2)Add olive oil, red hot pepper and 2 cloves of chopped garlic in a pan at medium fire

3) Wash and cut the mushrooms

4)Add to the pan for 3-4 minutes

5) Wash and cut in half the baby tomatoes

6) While you start cooking the pasta, add the tomatoes to the pan with mushroom

7)Before draining the pasta, add some chopped fresh parsley to the mushroom sauce

8) Add the pasta to the pan and stir it.

At the end add pepper and parmesan cheese.

Buon appetito

No More Pasta!

Somebody says that Pasta is good for you, somebody says that Pasta makes you fat, somebody even says that all kinds of wheat is bad for you. We believe that no food is 100% good for you. We believe that you need to eat both small portions and a larger variety of food. Therefore we believe that you can have also some Pasta with moderation in your diet. 

When I was a kid growing up in Italy, we rarely didn't have a plate of Pasta every single day of the week. There was a kind of Pasta for every day. For example, usually on Mondays we had left over Pasta from Sundays, on Tuesdays Pasta with legumes, on Wednesdays Pasta with vegetables, on Thursdays we had Pasta with red sauce, on Fridays Pasta with fish, on Saturdays we used to have Pasta in vegetable or meat broth, on Sundays big Pasta with ragu` sauce that cooked for hours. The funny thing is that every shape of pasta is meant for a particular kind of sauce.

As you can imagine Pasta is not a nutritionally complete dish, mainly carbohydrates. Therefore Pasta needs to be accompanied with a second dish such as legumes, meat, vegetables and fish. To avoid making several dishes, you can put the second dish together with Pasta, making all in one nutritionally balanced dish.

Buon appetito!