01/09/13 Cavatappi with Lentil Bolognese
"The bowls have arrived. They take my breath away. So beautiful! Thank you so much for your above and beyond effort to make our wish come true." Marie and Richard F. (Phoenix, Arizona)
"Dagli amici mi guardi Dio, che dai nemici mi guardo io." (Of friends God save me, that from enemies I save myself.) Welcome to another recipe edition from Angela's Organic Oregano Farm!
This week's Italian recipes:
-Peppered Mussels
-Potato and Parmigiano Gratin
-Cavatappi with Lentil Bolognese
"Auguri a tutti!" "GRAZIE". THANK YOU for all that you do. It means the world to us! Don't change so people will like you. Be yourself and the right people will love the real you. Works well over a hot, simple and delicious plate of pasta. Trust us.
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Yours Truly,
Angela Reina
Recipe: Peppered Mussels
Peppered Mussels
Impepata di Cozze
Ingredients:
4 and 1/2 lbs (2 kg) mussels
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Pepper
Directions:
Scrub the mussels and remove any beards.
Place the mussels in a frying pan with plenty of pepper and cook over a high heat for about 5-6 minutes until they open.
Discard any that remain closed.
Sprinkle with the parsley.
Remove the pan from the heat and serve. Serves 4.
That's it!
Recipe: Potato and Parmigiano Gratin
Potato and Parmigiano Gratin
Gratin di Patate e Parmigiano
Ingredients:
4 lb medium boiling potatoes
1 and 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 and 1/2 cups (7 oz) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Directions:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
Peel potatoes and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices with a knife or an adjustable-blade slicer, spreading slices out on a large kitchen towel.
Sprinkle with sea salt (1 and 1/2 teaspoons).
Stir together cream and milk.
Dot bottom of a 3-quart shallow baking dish (13 by 9 inches) with half of butter.
Pour in 1/3 cup cream mixture.
Without rinsing or drying potatoes, divide into 5 piles.
Layer potatoes in baking dish, 1 pile per layer, spreading 1/3 cup cream mixture and one fourth of cheese between layers.
Drizzle remaining cream mixture over potatoes and dot with remaining butter.
Bake, uncovered, until potatoes are very tender and top is browned, about 2 hours.
Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes before serving. Makes 8 servings.
That's it!
Recipe: Cavatappi with Lentil Bolognese
Cavatappi with Lentil Bolognese
Cavatappi con Lenticchie Bolognese
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 small carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 and 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
Two (16-ounce) cans whole peeled plum tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped (juice reserved)
1 and 1/4 cups dried lentils
Coarse sea or kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound shaped pasta, such as Cavatappi, rigatoni, or ziti
Pecorino cheese, grated or shaved
Fresh basil, chopped (optional)
Directions:
In a large pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil.
Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and cook slowly until the vegetables soften and turn golden, about 20 minutes.
Increase heat to medium-high and add the tomato paste.
Cook until the mixture dries out a bit, about 3 minutes.
Pour in the reserved juice from the tomatoes and cook, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the liquid has reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes.
Stir in the lentils, tomatoes, and 1 cup water.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat.
Season with the salt and pepper and simmer until the lentils are tender, 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the lentils. If the sauce begins to dry out, add additional water as needed.
Reduce heat to low and keep warm.
Cook the pasta according to the package directions; drain.
Serve with the lentil sauce.
Sprinkle with the Pecorino cheese, and garnish with the basil, if desired. Makes 6 servings.
That's it!
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Only In Italy!
"Only In Italy" is a daily news column that translates & reports on funny but true news items from legitimate Italian news resources in Italy. Each story is slapped with our wild, often ironic, and sometimes rather opinionated comments. And now, for your reading pleasure, a sample of today's edition:
Husband Stabbed In the Weiner After Admitting To Cheating By Phone
Livorno – May 14, 2012 – A 61-year-old man died on Monday after being repeatedly stabbed in the 'weiner' and abdomen by his wife. She admitted to attacking him in a jealous rage after he admitted he had spent Saturday night with another woman in the Italian port city of Livorno.
The 61-year-old man was admitted to hospital on Sunday in Livorno a critical condition and operated on after the frenzied attack by his 57-year-old wife late Saturday.
She said she attacked him when he returned home drunk, after he'd confessed his infidelity in a phone call, but only called an ambulance late on Sunday when her husband's condition had worsened.
The woman, who is originally from Germany, faces murder charges and was on Monday being questioned by police.
"Cazzarola", what is this? It caught us off guard.
Why didn't he follow protocol?
Why did he call in the cheating? Dear naive women, what Italian films are you downloading and watching that makes you assume you're going to find the Garden of Eden when you visit Italy? Look at this case. The German subtitles in the film were way off.Why do women who date/marry/enslave Italian men assume it's mandatory we be on top of each other every minute to prove our love? "Porca Eva", come on! It's unnatural for the Italian male species to be with a person after a prolonged period of time.And how is it possible you don't get tired of us? It's gotten to the point where we're contacting you by phone to let you know we're defiling other people. Some of us writers have been on this planet for well over 30 years…and we're tired of ourselves!By the way, there is no need to exhibit such crude violence when you're angry. Getting racked over the head with a pizza shovel or whacking a 'weiner' with a wooden spoon is much more painful and embarrassing.However, and in our defense, when it comes to sentiments and having a good time we can be gentlemanlike. After all, we have a so-called Latin lover reputation to uphold. We think this reputation rumor had to be started by a few ugly American women who got to together with their ugly European girlfriends over a few bottles of wine and the BS started flying around.And to our German female friends who come down and visit us every summer, we're not going to take offense to this story. We would love to entertain you and show you around Sicily…if you weren't too occupied with puking from all the Italian beer you drink.