06/04/14 Roasted Garlic and Sweet Potato Crostini
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"Chi se move mangia e chi sta fermo secca." (He who moves eats, he who remains still, dries up.) Welcome to another recipe edition from Angela's Organic Oregano Farm!
This week's Italian recipes:
-Broccoli with Garlic and Hot Pepper
-Roasted Garlic and Sweet Potato Crostini
-Potato Salad with Swiss Chard
"Estate e qui, ragazzi!" Thanks for everything you're doing and we'll continue to find recipes to help your kitchen come alive with flavors and aromas this summer season. After all, living is eating. Please share this newsletter, if you found it useful.
Thanks again for reading!
Yours Truly,
Angela Reina
Recipe: Broccoli with Garlic and Hot Pepper
Broccoli with Garlic and Hot Pepper
Broccoli Strascinati
Ingredients:
1 bunch broccoli (about 1 lb), stemmed and cut into florets
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 tsp crushed red chile flakes
Kosher salt, to taste
Directions:
Heat olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.
Add broccoli.
Cook, turning occasionally, until lightly browned, 6-8 minutes.
Sprinkle in 2 tbsp water.
Add garlic.
Cook until golden, 2-3 minutes.
Add chile.
Cook until toasted, about 2 minutes.
Season with salt. Serves 2-4.
That's it!
Recipe: Roasted Garlic and Sweet Potato Crostini
Roasted Garlic and Sweet Potato Crostini
Crostini con Patate Americane e Aglio Arrosto
Ingredients:
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 loaf ciabatta bread, sliced diagonally 1/2-inch thick
3 heads garlic
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp roughly chopped capers, plus more for topping
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
Heat oven to 400?F.
Cut 1/4 inch from the top of each garlic head, exposing the cloves.
Drizzle each with olive oil and wrap tightly in foil.
Place in a baking dish and bake until garlic heads are soft and lightly browned, 30-40 minutes.
Let cool slightly.
Squeeze cloves from skins into a bowl.
Set aside.
Combine sour cream, zest, capers, pepper flakes, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Heat olive oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat.
Add sweet potatoes, salt, and pepper.
Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, about 8 minutes.
Transfer to a paper towel-lined sheet.
Set aside.
Brush bread slices with olive oil, and place on a baking sheet.
Bake, turning once, until crisp and golden, about 8-10 minutes.
Remove and let cool slightly.
Spread about 1 tsp of the roasted garlic on each crostini.
Divide sour cream mixture between crostini.
Top with sweet potatoes, and garnish with chopped capers. Serves 6.
That's it!
Recipe: Potato Salad with Swiss Chard
Potato Salad with Swiss Chard
Insalata di Patate con Bietole
Ingredients:
4 large potatoes
1 small bunch of Swiss chard
1/2 cup white onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
3/8 cup white wine vinegar
3/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 and 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
Directions:
Wash and cut the potatoes (skin on) into 2 to 3-inch chunks.
Add them to a large pot of boiling, salted water and cook until tender but still firm.
Drain the water and set the potatoes aside.
Wash and tear the Swiss chard (including the stem) into large pieces.
Blanche the Swiss chard for about 3-4 minutes, then drain.
In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, Swiss chard and onion.
In a smaller bowl, mix together the garlic, vinegar and olive oil, and red pepper flakes.
Pour the dressing over the potato mixture and gently toss.
Add salt to taste.
Refrigerate until chilled, and serve. Serves 6.
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:
40% of Italy's Youth Is Home Scratching Themselves And Staring At Walls
Rome – October 1, 2013 – While Euro zone unemployment maintained a steady 12% in August, Italy's jobless rate rose from 12.1% to 12.2%. But it was youth unemployment that took the worst hit in the Euro zone's third largest economy, reaching a new all-time high of 40.1% from 39.7% in July.
The rise comes at a time of political instability in Italy. The Italian center-right party, headed by Berlusconi, pulled out of Prime Minister Enrico Letto's coalition government on Sept. 28 after five months of shaky cooperation.
Italy's coalition government has been particularly unstable since Berlusconi's tax fraud conviction was upheld by a top Italian court on Aug. 1.
In addition to its high levels of youth unemployment, Italy is also struggling to manage a two-year-long recession and a two trillion Euro ($2.7 trillion) public debt.
Youth unemployment is a huge problem in Italy and we know that it's not just about numbers. It's about the lives, career aspirations and futures of hundreds of thousands of so-called hard-working young Italians. They say it's a complex problem…but whose fault is it? You know we have to give the blame to someone.Politics: Should the Italian government do more to encourage businesses to hire young people, by offering tax breaks, for example? And the answer: "Well, it's my firm opinion that the unemployment problem should be apprehended in its entirety, and the authenticity of the outcome is a reality."Suddenly afterwards, you get that far away look on their faces.
Their energy drips and their minds…float away.
We think it has something to do with the way they absorb food.
See? Now you know why they need that 3 hour afternoon siesta to recuperate.
Unfortunately, these characters are going to stick with us until retirement…unless we do something physical to them first.Parents: Could the expectations and demands of most Italian parents be irrational? That's the idea you get when they start discussing the merits of their children as if they were some baron or artist from the Renaissance period."Our Leonardo has already blossomed into a very important person and should be acknowledged so in the workforce. So, when the perfect career opportunity arises, he will receive our blessings to pursue it."Don't mistake these Italian parents as being rude. They're just treating you as insignificant. Just lean back and enjoy, and know one day Leonardo and company will wake up and realize they're caught in the Twilight Zone.