07/02/08 Tuna Livornese from OreganoFromItaly.com
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"Can che abbaia non morde." (The dog that barks doesn't bite. The barking dog seldom bites.) Welcome to another recipe edition from Angela's Organic Oregano Farm!
This week's Italian recipes:
-Gnocchi di Spinaci e Ricotta
-Arrosto di Agnello con Rosmarino e Aglio
-Tonno alla Livornese
Enjoy the recipes and the complimentary news article report from "Only In Italy.com".
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Yours Truly,
Angela Reina
Recipe: Gnocchi di Spinaci e Ricotta
Gnocchi di Spinaci e Ricotta
Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi
Ingredients:
Four 6-ounce packages ready-to-use baby spinach leaves
2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese (about 16 ounces)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup (about) all purpose flour
2 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Generous pinch of ground nutmeg
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
Directions:
Cook spinach in large pot of boiling salted water just until wilted, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Drain. Squeeze out liquid.
Chop spinach.
Mix spinach, ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup flour, egg yolks, salt, pepper and nutmeg in bowl until slightly sticky dough forms.
Dust baking sheet with flour.
Working in batches and using floured hands, roll 1/4 cup dough on floured work surface to form 5-inch-long rope.
Cut rope into 1-inch pieces.
Roll each piece between palms to form oval.
Transfer gnocchi to prepared baking sheet.
Repeat rolling, cutting and shaping with remaining dough.
Working in batches, add gnocchi to pot of boiling salted water; cook until gnocchi rise to surface.
Cook 4 minutes longer.
Using slotted spoon, remove gnocchi from water; drain. Place in serving dish.
Pour butter over gnocchi; toss. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Reheat in 400° F oven about 10 minutes.)
Sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
Season with salt and pepper. Makes 8 first-course servings.
That's it!
Recipe: Arrosto di Agnello con Rosmarino e Aglio
Arrosto di Agnello con Rosmarino e Aglio
Roast Leg of Lamb with Rosemary and Garlic
Ingredients:
One 6 to 7-pound leg of lamb, trimmed of excess fat
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup water
Fresh rosemary sprigs
Directions:
Place lamb, fat side up, in large roasting pan. Sprinkle with salt.
Mix olive oil, minced rosemary, lemon peel and garlic in bowl. Rub over lamb.
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Roast lamb until thermometer inserted into thickest part registers 130° F for medium-rare, basting occasionally with pan juices, about 1 hour.
Transfer to platter. Tent loosely with foil; let stand for 15 minutes.
Spoon off fat from drippings in roasting pan; add 1/4 cup water to pan.
Place on burner over medium heat.
Add any lamb juices from platter. Bring to boil, scraping up browned bits on bottom of pan.
Season with salt. Keep warm.
Cut lamb into thin slices; arrange on platter.
Pour pan juices over. Garnish with rosemary sprigs. Makes 8 servings.
That's it!
Recipe: Tonno alla Livornese
Tonno alla Livornese
Tuna Livornese
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 and 1/2 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, peeled, coarsely chopped
1 bay leaf
1 cup fresh basil, torn into bite-size pieces
4 6-ounce tuna steaks (each about 1 inch thick)
Fresh basil sprigs
Directions:
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat.
Add onion, celery, parsley and garlic.
Saute until onion is tender but not brown, about 10 minutes.
Add tomatoes and bay leaf. Cover and cook until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead.)
Cover and refrigerate. (Rewarm before continuing.)
Discard bay leaf. Mix in torn basil.
Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
Sprinkle tuna with salt and pepper.
Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in another heavy large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add tuna and cook until golden and just opaque in center, about 3 minutes per side.
Transfer tuna to platter. Spoon sauce over tuna. Garnish with basil sprigs. Serves 2-3.
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:
Italian 'Army Police' Plan To Go Ahead
Rome – June 16 2008 – A plan to put 2,500 soldiers on the streets of Italy to fight crime has come under fire from opposition politicians, police unions and a former top military commander.
"It does not give a good impression to see soldiers doing in our cities what they've done in Kosovo and Albania," said former military chief of staff General Mario Arpino. Opposition MP, Antonio di Pietro, said "only Colombia" used troops to patrol its streets, while a police union spokesman called it "a publicity stunt".
Announcing the plan on Friday, the defense minister, Ignazio La Russa said that veterans of foreign peacekeeping operations could be sent out at night in major cities alongside regular police patrols, with powers to stop and search suspects but not to make arrests.
The idea is a response to growing public alarm over security and claims that a disproportionate number of crimes are committed by immigrants.
La Russa said the patrols would be used for no more than one year adding that 2,500 troops represented a limited deployment compared to the 20,000 sent to Sicily to tackle the mafia in the 1990s.
The opposition leader, Walter Veltroni, said the plan "presents a catastrophic image of the country".
Let's lay it on the line. The defense minister is right. We're not safe anywhere! We need a surveillance camera strapped on the statue of David and metal detectors at the entrance of the Sistine Chapel. We need navy soldiers waiting in the monumental fountains with skin diving outfits and homing pigeons armed with explosives in Venice.Porca miseria, if the Italy crime situation is not handled criminals are going to turn the leaning Tower of Pisa upside down stick it into the ground. Rome is going to look like Kenya after a stampede of elephants and rhinos."…2,500 troops represented a limited deployment compared to the 20,000 sent to Sicily to tackle the mafia in the 1990s." Cazzo, we hope they do a better job than the 20,000 sent to Sicily. Some of them tackled the beaches instead trying to get a decent tan while others went AWOL and actually joined the Mafia.Our advice to tourists who intend to visit this summer is to stay poolside at the hotel and no one will get irritated.