Italian Zucchini Turkey Meatballs

 

These are not the meatballs you cook in a sauce but rather eaten more like a burger. They are a great way to use up that summer zucchini and are perfect for a main dish along side some juicy roasted bell pepper or Peperonata or Caponata but my favorite way is in a bun with Roasted Bell Peppers or Peperonata!

Ingredients

1 pound ground turkey

2 zucchini

2 cloves garlic

3/4 - 1 cup fine plain bread crumbs 

1/2- 3/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 egg

salt and pepper

olive oil

Optional Add In: 1 tablespoon fennel seeds for a sweet sausage flavor or 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes for a spicy sausage flavor 

Directions

Preheat oven to 375

Grate the zucchini and place in a bowl with the turkey and egg.

Add in cheese and bread crumbs starting with the smaller amount, feeling the texture to see if you want more breadcrumbs and/or cheese. It should be moist yet firm enough to form and hold a ball.

Add in salt and pepper and mix well.

Form balls and place on baking sheet, drizzle each with olive oil and bake 15 minutes.

Then flip meatballs drizzle more olive oil on top and bake for 2-5 minutes under the broiler (I keep my oven door open and stand right there) but WATCH closely as they will burn quickly!

My favorite way to eat these are on a bun with Peperonata!

Peperonata (Italian Ratatouille)

 

This is the perfect Summer dish to use up and enjoy all of those delicious garden veggies! Peperonata is the less "vinegary" cousin of Caponata and a close relative to France's ratatouille. Peperonata mostly uses bell peppers as its flavor base and is jam packed with flavor, full of health and beautiful to look at making it the perfect "last hoorah" dish of the summertime!

Ingredients

1 pound red and/or yellow or even green bell peppers (red is traditional as they are the sweetest)

1/8- 1/4 cup olive oil

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes OR  calabrian paste or 1 small hot pepper red or green

2 medium tomatoes

1 zucchini

1 small eggplant 

1/2 -1 large potato

1 glass white wine

pinch of sugar

salt and pepper to taste

optional herbs: dried oregano, fresh parsley and/or basil etc..

Directions 

Cut all of the large veggies to about same size, not too small or too big, you want some toothsomeness.

Heat up oil medium low in large pot and saute onion and garlic and oregano if using along with a little salt to prevent browning until onion is translucent, don't burn garlic.

Turn up heat to medium/high and add wine and cook until you don't smell alcohol, lean over the pot and smell, you'll know.

Add in the hot pepper, bell peppers, and potatoes and more salt (layering the salt is important) cook until soft stirring here and there, about 15 minutes. Add a little water here and there if its sticking as needed.

Add the tomatoes, eggplant and zucchini season with and pepper this time and stir here & there to cook down  until ALL veggies are soft, check each one. It will take around another 20-30 minutes give or take depending on size of veggies.

Add the chopped fresh  herbs at the end and taste for salt & pepper.

Serve on bread for an antipasto, as a "sauce" for pasta or in a sandwich, this is really good with a sausage or meatball sub!

Italian Pickled Onions

 

These are a quick pickle and you can make them just a an hour or 2 before using. They bring balance to a heavy meat dish like my Porchetta and will add some zing to any sandwich!

Ingredients 

1 large Red onion sliced thin

Red pepper flakes (add as many as you prefer your  heat level)

1/2 cup Red wine vinegar (I’ve used apple cider vinegar as well) 

1/4 cup Water

2 teaspoons Sugar 

1 teaspoon Salt 

Place all together in a bowl or jar cover and refrigerate atleast 1 hour or a few hours before using and they will keep up to several weeks in the fridge. 

Porchetta (crockpot version)

 

This is an easier, not as pretty, version of the real thing I like to think of it as Italian pulled pork and it’s so delizioso! I’ve made it in the crockpot to keep it simple but you must crisp it up in a pan before hand or it won’t have those crackly crispy bits that is a must for a true Porchetta! Eat this on some good crusty Italian bread or hard rolls just like pulled pork with minimal toppings but some like salsa verde, arugula or pickled onions.  It will take about 6-8 hours to cook.

Porchetta sandwich with pickled onions and salad verde

Ingredients 

Pork butt 4 pounds 

Fresh Rosemary 4 tablespoons chopped

Oregano 2 teaspoons dried 

2 tablespoons fennel seeds

Olive oil 2-3 tablespoons 

8-10 Garlic cloves minced 

White wine 1 cup

Salt to taste and  a lot of cracked black pepper 

Crisp up almost black on all 4 sides of the pork in a regular large sauce pan don’t use non stick!  You will know it’s ready to flip when  it no longer sticks to the pan. 

Olive oil a little to coat bottom of crock pot and place pork in, set to high.

Use the wine to deglaze the pan and cook down until a sauce forms and alcohol cooks out.

Pour the wine into the sides of the crockpot.

Put all the seasonings on top of the pork. And drizzle more olive oil. 

Leave it to cook for about 4 hours on high.

Remove most of the  liquid with a ladle and leave only a little bit at the bottom. Add more olive oil sad set to low for another 2 hours. 

Using large forks to pull apart meat and cover to cook for about 30 minutes to an hour or until tender!

Italian Brioche (Breakfast Rolls)

 These sweet rolls are perfect for an authentic Italian breakfast. Just spread on some Nutella or fruit preserves and add some fruit and a cappuccino and you’ve got a true Italian breakfast!

Ingredients 

4 - 4 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour

2 teaspoons yeast 

1 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons sugar

Zest of 1 orange or lemon or half of each

3 eggs beaten

1/3 cup butter melted and cooled to lukewarm

1/2 cup warm milk

1/3 cup warm water 

Egg wash: 1 egg splash of milk beaten

Directions 

Mix dry ingredients in bowl set aside

In a stand mixer mix water, milk and yeast, then add the rest of the liquids, sugar and zest and mix until combined 

Add in dry ingredients starting with 4 cups of flour and mix for 7-9 minutes. You may need the 1/2 cup but maybe not.  It may be sticky at first but should eventually form a smooth ball, if not add more flour.  

Cover with plastic and set in warm place until doubled in size 1 1/2-2 hours

Deflate dough and make 12 even balls by tucking under pinching and squeezing to form smooth balls.

Cover with a light towel and rise in a warm place until almost double, about 30 minutes. I use my microwave to do this.  

Brush with egg wash and bake 20 minutes.

Set on rack to cool. 

Italian Limoncello Loaf (Better & Healthier than Starbucks Lemon Loaf)

 

My Daddy in Naples with his Momma & his Zia

My sweet Daddy, Andrea Casolaro, was not a big fast food or chain store coffee guy being from Naples Italy. But he had 2 weaknesses which I gladly filled, Chick-Filet Lemonade & Starbucks Lemon Loaf!

This is an Italian version (which I believe Starbucks Lemon Loaf  is based on) typically eaten for breakfast unglazed or dessert with the glaze  that every Italian housewife has a recipe for. It uses olive oil instead of butter and yogurt instead of milk making it high protein & Mediterranean diet friendly. I also use limoncello instead of lemon extract but you can replace the limoncello with lemon extract, see exact amounts below.

Ingredients

3/5 cup olive oil

2 medium lemons  (zest of both for cake and juice of 1 for glaze)

6 ounces yogurt with some fat & plain

1& 1/2 cups of sugar 

3 large eggs 

1 tablespoon limoncello or 2 teaspoons lemon extract

2 cups AP flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Glaze (optional: or eat plain for breakfast or a light dusting of powdered sugar)

1- 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon limoncello or 2 teaspoons lemon extract lemon extract 

6 - 8 teaspoons lemon juice (just under 1 medium lemon’s worth 

Directions

Preheat oven 350

Line bottom of 9 inch pan and spray with cooking spray (8 inch pan won’t work for this recipe)

Whisk dry ingredients in a separate bowl

In mixer bowl beat eggs. Add rest of wet ingredients and mix well, scrape down to incorporate the zest

Add in dry and mix until smooth and incorporated 

Pour into pan and bake 1 hour or more, check to see if toothpick doesn’t come out dry

Mix glaze ingredients with a wish until white and creamy adjusting liquid if needed  and until no lumps

Cool on rack in pan 20 minutes

Remove from pan and cool completely 

Eat plain or addd a dusting of powdered sugar or:

Pour on half of glaze let it set and pour on the rest, this keeps it from falling off!

The nutritional information below shows for 1/12 of the loaf a typical Italian size

Neapolitan Breadcrumbs for fish, veggies , pasta meat etc…

 

These breadcrumbs will keep in the fridge all week ready to top fish, stuff vegetables, top simple pasta dishes or coat meat for frying! They taste and smell like the Mediterranean Sea with the essence of lemon anchovies! 

Ingredients 

1 lemon zested and juice of

2-3 cups plain bread crumbs 

Olive oil to entirely coat bottom of sauté pan

3 anchovies filets 

2 garlic cloves minced 

Handful Italian  parsley chopped fine ( about 1/8-1/4 cup after chopped)

Salt and black pepper 

Directions 

Heat oil over medium heat and add anchovies and melt into oil, add garlic and soften, add the rest of ingredients and stir until toasted and the smell fills your kitchen! It should not be too wet or too dry and Keep stirring constantly. 

Turn off heat and leave to cool and dry out. 

Store in container in fridge for a week or a little longer.

Uses: stuff mushrooms and add parmigiana and bake/ topping for pasta that’s coated in olive oil and garlic (aglia olio)/ use instead of bread crumbs for coating chicken or fish or eggplant or zucchini before sautéing or frying/ 

Sicilian Lemon Ricotta Cake

 

This classic Sicilian cake is so good with a moist center, lemony flavor and buttery texture! The recipe never changes and this is the classic recipe.

Tools: 9 inch springform or 10 inch Bundt pan buttered and floured well

Ingredients

• ¾ cup butter, softened 
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 15 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese (drained well)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 large lemon, zested and juiced
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ cups flour
• powdered sugar for dusting top of cake (optional)
•  

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease pan using butter and flour; set aside. 
• In a large mixing bowl or stand up mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until combined. Add in the ricotta cheese and blend until light and fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes. 
• Mix in the eggs, one at a time. Add in the vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice and mix to combine. In the same bowl, stir in the baking soda and salt. Lastly, add in the flour and mix until just combined, scraping down the sides of bowl to full incorporate all of the ingredients. 
• Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan. Bake for 55-60 minutes , or until the cake is set and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. 
• Let cool in pan for 15 minutes before removing the collar and base of the pan. Cool on a wire rack and dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Cooking Vegetables the Italian Way!

 

The way to eat more vegetables as the Italians do is to make them taste delicious and the Italian way of doing this is simple, use more olive oil than you think and cook until soft.

Pour that olive oil on and then add some more! Then some sea salt, whole garlic cloves (not minced) and lemon at the end, or vinegar, and enjoy!!

You can roast or saute but either way please cook until soft, Italians don’t like crunchy raw vegetables unless they are eating a salad. 

Using more olive oil will satiate you actually causing you to eat less of the entire meal so don’t fear getting fat from olive oil. 

Roasted Asparagus in Olive Oil

Trim bottoms by snapping off first then lining up and cutting the rest at the same spot.

Peel 3-4 garlic cloves

Place in a pan with the garlic and sea salt liberally then pour in the olive oil and coat.

Roast at 400 for 15-20 minutes then flip and continue until soft, another 15-20 minutes. 

Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon all over. 

Pasta alla’ Arrabbiata 🥵

 Arrabbiata is Italian for “Angry” and this sauce is as wicked hot as you like! It comes from Rome but I use Calabrian peppers as an homage to my maternal great Grandmother Cornaccio. Her family came from Calabria and are they are some of the few Italians who like spicy foods. My Mom (part Calabrian) loved spice and so do I but my Dad (pure Neapolitan) did not. Calabrian’s are also known as being stubborn and when referring to someone from Calabria you knock on your head as a sign of their “hard headedness” I guess I may have gotten that from my Mom as well! 

Grandma Cornacchio

Ingredients

1 can 28 ounces Italian tomatoes (crush with hands or immersion blender) 

2 whole Garlic cloves 

Olive oil

Fresh parsley chopped 

Parmigiana or Pecorino to serve (optional)

Red pepper flakes or paste (I use Calabrian pepper pate’) use as much as you like!

Directions

Start pasta water (traditionally use penne or if you order spaghetti) 

Heat oil on medium low heat adding garlic and tossing to not burn, add peppers and cook another minute or two, add tomatoes and bring to a simmer, cook uncovered for 15-20 minutes. Add parsley and Salt to taste.

Meanwhile: Cook paste al dente. Drain pasta.

Remove garlic and add pasta tossing and cooking for a minute longer.