Tag: Italian

Prosciutto Pizza

Prosciutto Pizza

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Prosciutto Pizza

Prep – 5 minutes

Cook – 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 McCain Regular Crust Pizza Base
  • 4 tbs of pizza base sauce
  • 100g of prosciutto
  • 200g cherry tomatoes
  • 200g buffalo mozzarella
  • Optional – marinated whole olives – leave the pips in so they keep their shape while baking!
  • Optional – 1 Spanish onion – halved and cut into wedges
  • Fresh oregano leaves – to serve

Method

  1. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 200°C and place pizza stones or oven trays in the oven to heat – this will ensure a crispy pizza base!
  2. Spoon pizza base sauce on to McCain Regular Crust Pizza Base and spread evenly. Top with desired toppings and bake for 15 minutes or until base is crispy and cheese is golden and melted.
  3. Remove pizza from oven, top with fresh oregano leaves, cut into even slices and serve immediately.
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Pea and Persian Feta Bruschetta

Persian Feta and Green Pea Bruschetta

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Pea and Feta Bruschetta

Bruschetta is an exercise in getting the basics right; balancing the flavour, and texture of simple ingredients to create something greater than the sum of its parts.

The flavours of my Pea and Persian Feta Bruschetta are perfection. The creamy peas, are accentuated with fresh mint, then hit with the sharpness of garlic, parmesan and lemon, and finished with crunchy bread and smooth Persian Feta. So good.

Ingredients

  • 10 slices of sourdough bread
  • 2 cups of McCain Peas
  • ¼ cup of fresh mint leaves
  • 2 tbs of olive oil
  • 2 tbs of freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • ¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese
  • 1-2 cloves of garlic – crushed or grated
  • 250g of Persian Feta
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • Fresh mint sprigs and lemon cheeks to serve

Pea and Persian Feta Bruschetta

Method

  1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add McCain Peas and cook 3 minutes or until tender.  Scoop peas out of the pot, into an ice bath to cool. Drain. The ice bath will help the peas retain their bright colour, juiciness and plumpness.
  2. Add McCain Peas, mint leaves, olive oil, lemon juice, parmesan and garlic to a food processer and blitz for 1 minute or until roughly crushed. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
  3. Preheat a chargill pan over medium-high heat. Brush both sides of bread with oil and chargrill, in batches, for 3 minutes each side.
  4. Spread pea mixture over grilled bread and serve scattered with Persian Feta, mint leaves and lemon cheeks.

Enjoy!

Breadcrumb Pasta

Golden Crumb Pasta

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Breadcrumb Pasta

This dish is a modern take on the classic Italian dish of Spaghetti with Pangrattato. “Pangrattato” is basically Italian for breadcrumbs – but so much more romantic! Coming from the Calabria district, like me! Traditionally this is seen as ‘peasant food’, given the cheap and readily available ingredients of bread and pasta; and was eaten during lent or at Christmas when Catholics avoid meat.

In this dish I have chosen to mix it up a bit and use Abe’s Bagels – Bagel Crisps, for their crunch and in this case their roasted garlic flavour. This dish is easy and delicious, with the subtle hum of the anchovies, the kick of chilli and crunch of the garlic bagel crumbs.

Ingredients

  • 1 packet of Abe’s Bagels – Roasted Garlic Bagel Crisps
  • 1/3 cup of oil olive
  • 2 long red chillies – halved, seeds and membrane removed and finely sliced
  • 10 anchovies – finely diced
  • The juice of 1 lemon
  • 500g of thin spaghetti – I recommend Barilla
  • ¼ bunch of flat leaf parsley – roughly chopped

Method

  1. Place Abe’s Bagels – Roasted Garlic Bagel Crisps into the bowl of a food processor and process until roughly chopped.
  2. Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/3 cup of cooking liquid.
  3. Heat oil in a large, non-stick pan over medium heat. Add chilli and anchovies and stir cooking for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Add parsley and Abe’s Bagels – Bagel Crisp crumbs and cook for 1-2 minutes or until bagel crumbs are golden and parsley is beginning to crisp. Add pasta and lemon juice to the pan and toss, adding enough of the reserved cooking liquid to moisten.
  4. Divide between bowls and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Spring Vegetable Pasta

Garden Green Pasta

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Green Pesto Pasta

This delicious pasta dish will ensure you and your family are getting your daily dose of greens! Ready in a flash, and with a chilli pop that will keep you warm in winter, it’s the perfect weeknight main meal or side to grilled meat.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of Green Vegetables – I used McCain Garden Greens – cooked as per packet instructions
  • ¼ cup of olive oil
  • 3 cloves of garlic – halved and finely sliced
  • 1 long red chilli – halved, seeds and membrane removed, and finely sliced
  • The juice of 1 lemon
  • 500g of Orecchiette pasta
  • 1/3 cup of green basil pesto
  • 100g of rocket
  • Shaved parmesan to serve
  • Salt and pepper to season

Spring Vegetable Pasta

Method

  1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water, to al dente, and drain, reserving ½ cup of pasta water.
  2. Heat olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add sliced garlic and chilli and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Add pesto, pasta, Green Vegetables, lemon juice and season to taste. Mix well and cook for 2 minutes. Add reserved pasta water sparingly to lubricate the pasta and create a dry sauce.
  3. Divide rocket evenly amongst bowls, top with Garden Green Pasta and serve topped with shaved Parmesan.

Enjoy!

Cannelloni

Broccoli Cannelloni

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Cannelloni

This lemony twist on the classic spinach and ricotta pasta bake is packed with hidden broccoli and is so tasty that even the littlest of taste-buds will enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 14 instant cannelloni shells
  • 2 cups of McCain Broccoli – thawed and patted with paper towel to remove excess moisture
  • 300g Fresh Ricotta
  • 50g Danish Feta
  • ¼ cup parmesan
  • 2 tbs of milk
  • 1 clove of garlic – minced
  • The juice and grated rind of ½ a  lemon
  • 700ml of passata or tomato based pasta sauce
  • Salt and pepper – to season
  • Mozzerella slices – to top
  • Fresh basil leaves – to serve

Vegetarian Cannelloni

Method

  1. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 180C.
  2. Place 2 cups of thawed McCain Broccoli into a food processor and pulse to chop coarsely.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, place McCain Broccoli, ricotta, feta, parmesan, milk, garlic and lemon juice/rind and mix well to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Spoon the mixture into each cannelloni shells, using a butter knife to carefully push the mixture in.
  5. Place 1/3 of the passata sauce on the base of a heavy bottom baking dish, top filled cannelloni shells, pour remaining sauce over the top and arrange mozzarella slices to cover the top.
  6. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cannelloni is tender and cheese is golden. Serve with salad and crusty bread.

Enjoy!

15 Minute Monday – Meatzza

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Image: Fuss Free Cooking

This Meatzza is adapted from none other than a true Queen of the Kitchen – Nigella Lawson, from her book Nigellissima.

A Meatzza is the ultimate meat lovers pizza, or basically a giant rissole topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella. Which ever way you look at it, it’s still delicious! And, the way I see it is if the domestic goddess that is Nigella Lawson says that it’s okay to eat a meatzza. Then you follow, without any question.

With so many people on strict wheat-free or gluten-free diets these days, this recipe allows them to still enjoy the glorious world of pizza by creating a meat pizza base. Yes read that right – A PIZZA BASE MADE OF MEAT! While the recipe does call for some breadcrumbs, there is the option of replacing the breadcrumbs with porridge oats, which very well it works, too. All in all, it’s just about perfect.

Ingredients

  • 500g minced beef or lamb
  • 3 tbs parmesan – grated
  • 3 tbs breadcrumbs or porridge oats – not instant oats
  • 3 tbs fresh parsley – chopped
  • 2 free-range eggs – lightly beaten
  • 2 cloves of garlic – crushed
  • 1 tsp dried ground oregano – meat mixture
  • 2 tsp mixed Italian herbs
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • Canola spray oil – for greasing
  • 1 tin of chopped tomatoes and paste, drained
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp dried oregano powder – tomato sauce
  • 1 tsp mixed Italian herbs
  • 125g ball of mozzarella (not buffalo) – halved, then sliced
  • Fresh basil – to scatter

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 220ºC.
  2. In a large bowl, using your hands, combine the mince, parmesan, breadcrumbs or oats, parsley, eggs, garlic, herbs and add some freshly cracked sea salt and black pepper. Do not overwork it, just lightly mix together, or the meat will become compacted and dense.
  3. Spray a shallow, round baking tin of about 28cm diameter with the spray oil and push the meat into it, pressing the mixture lightly with your fingers to cover the bottom as if the seasoned minced meat were your pizza crust.
  4. Drain as much runny liquid as possible from your can of chopped tomatoes, then mix the tomato with the oil, herbs and some salt and pepper and using a rubber spatula, pread lightly on top of the meat base. Arrange the mozzarella slices on top, and then put in the oven for 15 minutes, by which time the meat should be cooked through and lightly set and the mozzarella melted.
  5. Remove from the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes, top with fresh basil leaves and bring it to the table before cutting into wedges, like a pizza.

Enjoy!

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Homemade Pasta

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Making your own pasta is one of the easiest things you can make. I would however highly suggest that you get yourself a pasta maker – they are life changing!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of 00 flour
  • 1 whole egg
  • 1 tbs of olive oil
  • a pinch of salt
  • ¼ – ½ a cup of water dependant of how well the ingredients are coming together
  • Additional flour for dusting

Method

  1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well until combined. The mixture will still be slightly sticky but it will come away from the bowl without sticking.
  2. If you put in too much water you can always add a little extra flour to adjust.
  3. Cover the dough ball with cling wrap, place in a bowl with a tea towel over the top and rest for 30 minutes in a warm area.
  4. Flour your work surface, divide the dough into four even pieces and flour the dough portions.
  5. Using your pasta maker send the dough trough on setting 1, flour and fold in half lengthways.
  6. Send through on setting 1 and flour.
  7. Set the pasta maker to setting 2 and send the dough through, flour and fold in half widthways.
  8. Send through on setting 2 and flour.
  9. Send through on setting 3 and flour.
  10. Send through on setting 4 and flour.
  11. Cut your four pasta lengths in half width ways and either using a knife or your pasta maker attachment cut into fettuccine, spaghetti, pappardelle or any other shape that takes your fancy.
  12. Ensure that as you cut the pasta you dust with flour to ensure they do not stick together!
  13. To cook – bring a large saucepan of salted water to a rapid boil and place in the pasta, in batches if needed, and cook till al dente – this will take around 3 minutes dependant on the width of your pasta.
  14. Serve with your favourite sauce.

Enjoy!

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Chicken and Mushroom Risotto

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Chicken and Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients

Serves 4

  • 1 large brown onion
  • 6 cloves of garlic
  • 3 shallots – white part very finely sliced and green part roughly chopped
  • 500g arborio rice
  • 500g chicken (I used thighs but you can use breast if you would like)
  • 300g mushrooms sliced
  • 1/2 cup of baby green peas (they are sweeter than regular peas)
  • 1L chicken stock
  • 500ml water
  • a dash of milk (I used skim, probably 1/4 to 1/2 a cup)
  • fresh rocket/roquette/green space ships
  • fresh parmesan cheese
  • oil olive
  • raw sugar
  • freshly ground black pepper and sea salt
  • dried rosemary, garlic, onion, basil, oregano, chilli, marjoram, sage, thyme

Method

  1. Finely chop onions and add with crushed garlic and finely sliced white part of the shallots to a hot pan with a dash of oil. Cook until translucent.
  2. Add the mushrooms, diced chicken, a sprinkle of raw sugar and spices. Stir and cook until all chicken sealed.
  3. Add rice and fry until rice appears slightly translucent. This helps the rice to absorb the liquids slowly with becoming soggy and is called “Toasting the Rice”. The color should remain pearly white, not turn brown.
  4. Once this happens turn the pan to a medium heat and begin adding ladles of the hot stock to the rice, stirring until all is absorbed. Repeat until you run out of stock. It is important to add hot stock, not cold, to the rice during the cooking process. Adding cold broth to hot rice results in a hard, uncooked kernel in the center of the grain.
  5. Add peas and repeat the absorption process with the water. It is important to note that the quantity of liquid suggested in the risotto recipes is always approximate. In actual cooking, you should be prepared to use more, or sometimes less, as each risotto is different.
  6. Once the rice is cooked to your liking, traditionally risotto is served al dente, meaning the rice is firm but not hard, add the green parts of the shallots and a dash of milk, stir; this will help make your risotto creamy without the addition of cream, season to taste with salt and pepper.
  7. Serve on a bed of rocket/roquette/green space ships and top with fresh parmesan cheese.

Note: NEVER wash the rice before you make risotto. Every bit of the rice starch helps make risotto creamy.

Enjoy!

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