Italian Potato Gnocchi

A classic Italian dish, potato gnocchi is one the best easy recipes that requires only a few ingredients including potatoes, egg yolk, flour, and Parmesan cheese. The gnocchi is dressed with pesto sauce made with fresh basil, garlic, and olive oil. His potato dumpling makes a fun snack, appetizer or side dish to Italian meals. This also makes a delicious substitute to the regular mashed potatoes and a healthier alternative to French fries.

You can make the pesto sauce ahead of time so that it develops in flavor as the ingredients meld together. To make the gnocchi, the potatoes are boiled, peeled, and then mashed and combined with whole eggs, flour, salt, and Parmesan. You can also flavor the gnocchi with nutmeg for a bit of spice. The ingredients should be well combined until you get a smooth and even consistency. Use a potato masher or a fork to get the desired consistency. You can also pass the boiled and peeled potatoes through a sieve to get any lumps out. Use the back of a spoon or a spatula to press out the mashed potatoes.

The potato mixture is rolled out and sliced into balls, dusted with a bit of flour and cooked in boiled salted water. While it sounds simple enough, making gnocchi requires technique so as not to ruin it. Done wrong, it might turn out soggy or rubbery. The timing is crucial when cooking the potatoes or they may end up crumbly. The potato dumpling should be delicately handled and shaped. Use a sharp knife to cut the rolls into soft pillows. Press the lines of the fork on the surface pillows with a light yet confident touch. Press down on the fork against the pillow with your thumb. The dumpling should form into a semi-C shape with ridges on the surface where the pesto sauce will stick.

Ingredients

1 1/3 lbs. potatoes (with skins intact)

1 egg yolk

2/3 cup flour

1.8 oz. Parmesan cheese

nutmeg

pistou (fresh basil, garlic, olive oil)

1. Pour olive oil in the blender and add the garlic first and then the pine nuts. Blend. Add the basil and then the Parmesan cheese. Pulse very quickly and place in a bowl then set aside.

2. Boil the potatoes in water with the skin still on until tender. Peel them after cooked and mash them with a fork in a large bowl. Add flour, whole eggs, some salt and Parmesan. Blend all the ingredients well until you get a smooth and even consistency.

3. With some flour, roll the dough in the shape of bread sticks. Using a fork, press the surface lightly to make ridges on the surface. Cook the dumplings in boiling water with nothing but salted water. Cook for just one minute. When the gnocchi floats to the surface this means they are done.

4. Drain gnocchi, arrange them on a plate and dress them with some pesto sauce.

The Original Carpaccio Cipriani

While raw beef salad served as an appetizer has long been a part of the Italian cuisine, its name made headlines sometime in the 1950s. The Carpaccio Cipriani was a recipe of Giuseppe Cipriani, the man who named it after the Venetian painter Vittore Carpaccio. The appetizer was a signature dish served at Harry’s Bar in Venice owned by Mr. Cipriani. Now his son, Arrigo Cipriani, himself a chef, has taken on the Cipriani family tradition and demonstrates their recipe.

Get the best quality beef you can find since it’s the core of the dish. For easier handling, the chef suggests freezing the meat first in the freezer for an hour or so until it firms up. Doing so speeds up the slicing since the delicious meat is firm already. The meat is sliced paper thin, as if it was prosciutto, so that its drapes and folds look more attractive on the plate. It also helps in the eating of this raw appetizer.

To douse on top of the beef slices, a combination of creamy mayonnaise is spiced up with mustard and Worcestershire. It’s a perfect mix of creamy, tangy and spicy which complements the beef. The chef uses homemade mayonnaise for a creamier and richer sauce which is incomparable with the commercial variety.

Make your own mayonnaise by combining in a blender or food processor the following: egg, lemon juice and mustard. Blend until smooth. Then over low speed, stream the olive oil until the mixture emulsifies and thickens. Season with some salt and pepper. Mix with the other ingredients in the carpaccio sauce as usual.

To serve, mix the carpaccio with a plate of mesclun greens, most notable the spicy and refreshing arugula with olive oil dressing. The nutty and bitter flavor of the arugula balances the raw meatiness of the cold beef. Serve this appetizer chilled and pair with a glass of Chianti rouge.

Ingredients

3/4 lbs. beef fillet

3.5 oz. mayonnaise

1 teaspoon mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup milk

1/2 lb. arugula or mesclun (chervil, arugula, leafy lettuces, and endive in equal proportions) salad

cold-pressed olive oil

1 celery branch

1.8 oz. parmesan cheese

1. Slice the raw beef filets very thinly. Arrange on a plate forming a concentric circle. Chill in the fridge.

2. Prepare the dressing. In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, mustard, and milk until creamy in consistency. Season with the Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.

3. Bring out the chilled beef slices then drizzle with a generous amount of the freshly mixed sauce.

4. To serve, arrange a bed of mesclun greens, including arugula. Sprinkle with thin slices of celery and shavings of parmesan. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and the carpaccio sauce. Serve with the carpaccio.

Pizza Sauce Cheesy and Delicious

Even the words like pizza sauce and tomato paste are mouth-watering. If you are a food buff and love to try out cooking recipes using different ingredients, this stuff is simply outstanding to add up to the taste.

Well, pizza sauce is a common garnishing ingredient for pizzerias. Whether you're making pizza at home or baking the frozen one, few sprinkles of pizza sauce will suffice to add up to flavor.

These are available ready-made, you can also try it at home. For people looking forward to cut costs, it is rather better option to make instant pizza sauce.

Homemade Pizza Sauce with Tomato Paste 

The sauce can be made from myriad of tomato products from canned tomatoes to crushed tomatoes to fresh tomatoes. You can resort to the easiest one and save yourself the fuss, simple use tomato paste.

You can easily find the paste in the market in small cans. It costs very low and tastes very bold which, I feel, is some of the virtues. To turn the paste into pizza sauce, add dried herbs like parsley, rosemary, oregano etc. Parsley is the perfect to start though. Now, add crushed pepper flakes, garlic flakes and salt. You can also add a pinch of sugar, depending on your taste.

The next step is, to add liquids. There are many options to choose from:

• White wine vinegar - adds tart and crisp flavor 

• Olive oil- adds sheen to the sauce 

• Balsamic vinegar- for a bold flavor 

• Water - doesn't add any flavor but gives you the consistency you desire.

In usual 1/4 to 1 cup addition of liquid will give you the desired consistency. If you want it to spread easily, adding more of olive oil will be helpful. Once you are done with this, add spices to adjust to the liquid levels. Add more salt and pepper and taste. With this, your instant pizza sauce is ready to use. You can use right away or keep it in refrigerator for a couple of hours so that the taste develops further. The choice is yours!

You can try it out and share your experiences with friends and family. One thing is sure though, making the sauce at home is very simple with no extra efforts required. Try it out and add flavor to your dishes.

In fact, tomato paste is a multipurpose agent. Adding just basic ingredients, you can make it fit to be added to different cuisines including Greek, Thai and of course, Italian. Store simple tomato paste and add different spices as and when required.

Panzanella A La Tuscan

Panzanella is a classic Italian salad from Tuscany made with leftover stale bread soaked in water and combined with chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and basil. The salad is dressed simply with vinegar and olive oil, and seasoned with salt and pepper. This refreshing dish is typically prepared during the summer and a staple food in Tuscan homes and kitchens. In this version, boiled gambas or shrimps are added to the salad for a scrumptious starter to a lovely lunch or special dinner recipes.

Tuscan cooking is founded on peasant cooking, called “la cucina povera,” and relies on simple preparations using fresh, local and homegrown ingredients. In the Tuscan kitchen, nothing goes to waste and Panzanella is a perfect example of the Tuscan cooking philosophy. The harder the bread, the better it is for making this simple gourmet recipe for the summer. This is perfect for using up any stale bread that you have lying around at home. Instead of throwing it away, you can make a beautiful dish.

Panzanella can be served as an appetizer or antipasto and also makes an excellent side dish to roasted or grilled meats, fish or seafood. The addition of gambas in this recipe transforms it into a light and healthy meal for diet days or dinners. Serve it with soup or a sandwich for a satisfying lunch. You can also add cooked chickpeas or kidney beans to the panzanella and serve it as a stand-alone meal.

The hard bread is soaked in water flavored with some vinegar to make it soft but not soggy. You can leave the salad in the fridge overnight after tossing it in the dressing. The flavors will meld and mellow and the bread will soak up all the wonderful flavors making it a truly refreshing salad dish that will chill the body and serve as a tonic.

Ingredients

24 gambas (shrimp, about 0.27 lbs. each)

1 lemon

0.66 lbs. chopped celery

carrots, and onions

2 laurel leaves

1 lbs. hardened bread

0.44 lbs. tomatoes (for the salad)

0.33 lbs. cucumbers

1 oz. chopped onions

1/4 cup cold-pressed pure olive oil

1/2 cup vinegar

12 fresh basil leaves cut en julienne (into long thin match sticks)

salt

1. In a pot, add lemon juice, celery, carrot, onion, and laurel. Cover in 12 ½ cups water and boil for about 15 minutes. Add the gambas and simmer for 3 minutes or until the shrimps float on the surface and change color. Drain the gambas and peel the skin, remove the extreme of the tail.

2. Cut the stale bread into pieces, soak in 12 ½ cups water flavored with 1/4 cup of vinegar for about 2 hours. Drain well.

3. Dice the celery, cucumbers, and tomatoes and place in a terrine dish. Add the drained bread. Season with oil, salt, and vinegar. Let it rest for about one hour.

4. Arrange Panzanella and gambas on the serving dish. Garnish with basil and round tomato slices. Season with olive oil and serve.