FOODIE FRIDAY RECIPE- ITALIAN MEAT PIE

Pizza Rustica

This is a savory torte which is served either cold or at room temperature and is dense, rich, salty and wonderful.  Traditionally my family served this for lunch on Easter Saturday to break the fast of Lent.  I like to serve it as an appetizer on my Easter Sunday menu.

This is the perfect companion "Easter Pie" to the Ricotta Pie recipe because it uses the 10 egg yolks left over from the 10 egg whites used in the other pie.  This pie is fairly easy to make but it is slightly time consuming and relatively expensive but it is completely worth the effort and cost.

Over the years I have slightly altered the recipe to my taste and because of availability of some items.  I have substituted boiled ham for prosciutto because I prefer the milder flavor and the much reduced price tag.  I have substituted mozzarella for fresh "basket cheese" because it is easier to find.  When buying the salami and ham ask for it to be cut in 1/4" slices.  This makes the dicing easier and more uniform.

Ingredients:

2 cups Genoa salami diced 

1.5 cups boiled ham diced

1.5 cups mozzarella diced

2 tablespoons grated Romano cheese

3/4 pound ricotta

10 egg yolks 

1 whole egg [for glaze]

3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

top and bottom pie crusts for 2 pies*

Method:

Preheat oven to 400*

 In a small bowls separate the egg yolks and whites. Reserve the whites for another use. Dice the salami, ham and mozzarella into (approximately) 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes and place in a large mixing bowl. Add ricotta, Romano egg yolks and ground pepper and fold all the ingredients to combine.  Divide equally into two prepared 9" pie crusts and cover with top crusts.  With a fork, prick the top crusts all around.  Beat the whole egg with 1 teaspoon water and brush it onto the top crusts.

Bake in preheated 400* oven for 1 hour or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  About half-way through the baking  time check to see if the edges of the crust are getting too brown.  If so cover the edges with aluminum foil.

Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature and then refrigerate.  

*I prefer to use the boxed pie crusts you find in the refrigerated section of the grocery.  Each has 2 roll-out crusts.

Served cold, this is perfectly matched with a nice glass of beer!

  

Happy Easter

FOODIE FRIDAY RECIPE -CHICKEN CACCIATORE

This is a rustic family favorite sure to please

Cacciatore means "hunter style" which gives you a good idea of the simple robust nature of this dish.  Allow several hours total for this recipe.  You can make it in advance, reheat and serve over pasta when you're ready.

Ingredients:

1 medium [3-5 lb.] chicken cut up

1 [28 oz]can crushed tomatoes

2 red or green peppers

3 ribs celery

3 carrots

1 large sweet onion

2 cloves garlic

8-12 oz. sliced mushrooms

1.5 tsp. dried oregano

5 leaves fresh basil or 1 tsp. dried

pinch of thyme

salt & pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup good dry red wine

1 pound spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine

Method:

Heat a large skillet with olive oil over medium heat.  Rinse the chicken in cold water and pat dry with paper towel.  Slowly brown the chicken parts in the skillet until nicely browned on all sides.  As the pieces are browned, remove to a large ovenproof baking dish.*

While the chicken is browning give the onion, celery, peeled carrots, and peppers a rough chop. Peel and chop the garlic.

When all the chicken has been transferred to the baking dish, lightly brown the chopped vegetables in the skillet and oil that the chicken was browned in.  [ add extra oil if needed].  

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the vegetables to the baking dish, spreading over the chicken parts.

In the same skillet, brown the mushrooms.  While the mushrooms are browning salt and pepper them using 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. When the mushrooms are slightly softened, add the wine, stir and cook for 1 minute.

Transfer the mushrooms to the baking dish along with the liquid from the pan.  

In a bowl combine the tomatoes with the herbs and spices and 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper and 1/2 can of water.  Pour liquid over the chicken and vegetables. Cover with foil.

Bake in 400* oven for 2 hours.

Remove the chicken to a serving platter and use the sauce over the cooked pasta.

Be sure to serve grated Italian cheese on the side.

* I use a disposable aluminum deep pan with a baking sheet underneath for support.

Chicken Cacciatore

Recipe: Super Simple and Delicious Pasta Fagioli

Sauce Ingredients:

(1) 12 oz. can tomato paste

(1) small onion

(2) tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

(1) teaspoon salt

(1/4) teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 or 4 fresh basil leaves

(1/4) teaspoon dried oregano flakes

Other Ingredients:

(1) pound small elbow or similar pasta.

(1) 12 ounce [approximate] can of white kidney beans

red pepper flakes [optional to taste]

Method:

Dice onion into fairly small pieces and sauté in olive oil over medium heat until just lightly colored. Put all ingredients into a 1 quart oven-save pan along with

2 cups of water. Cover and cook in the center of a 330* oven for approximately 1 hour.

Cook pasta as directed on the package. When pasta is nearly done add the beans to the boiling pasta. Drain pasta reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water. In a nice serving bowl combine the pasta/beans with the sauce. Add some of the cooking water back in as desired. There should be a rather soupy consistency to this finished dish.

Add a loaf of good Italian or garlic bread and your favorite Chianti and mangia!

FRIDAY NIGHT MEANS FAMILY NIGHT

As long as I can remember Friday nights have always been family night. When I was young it wasn't uncommon for 10 or more extended family members to join us at the kitchen table. My mother's sister Gloria [who lived with mom and me] would put on a feast. More friends and family would usually drop in later for coffee, dessert, gossip and nostalgia.

I loved Friday nights. The house was filled with love and fun and cousins to play with. The aroma of tomato sauce was inescapable. When you were there you knew you belonged. That's where and when I developed my loving relationship with food and cooking. I watched Gloria cook. I pitched in. I saw the look on everyone's faces as the food was being served.

Family night was always a deleted scene from MOONSTRUCK

Sure there was love and food and fun and strong ties to the past but don't think it was all smooth and congenial. Italian families, my family, don't work that way. Along with the niceties were the arguments, temperaments, gossip and scandals. No quiet bunch, this Clemente-Lanni clan!

And then there was the humor

Larger-than-life personalities seems to be genetic. When uncle George [Orlando] and his wife were in the house you knew there were going to be laughs. As a kid I had to miss a great deal of George's humor because I was sent out of the room with the other kids. I could hear the laughter coming from the kitchen and I sorely wanted to be in with the "grow-ups". George had colorful language. This was long before political correctness. George was our very own Richard Pryor or Red Foxx. There's a lot of George in me, at least my sense of humor.

Times change and family shrinks

Family members have fallen by the wayside and my generation is spread all over the place with kids of their own but I have continued the Friday family tradition. Sure most weeks there are only 4 or 5 of us but I cook family favorites and we sit around the table and yell and argue and reminisce.

Tonight's menu:

Pasta Fagioli [we say pasta "fazool"] *

Breaded chicken cutlet

Salad

Italian cheesecake

*recipe to follow