Some friends of Italia Living share holiday thoughts and a few recipe suggestions to add to your Christmas celebration menu.
Laura Vitale – host of “Laura in the Kitchen”
In this video, Laura will show you how to make one of her favorite Christmas dishes – Stuffed Braised Calamari.
And be sure to watch to the end to see Laura’s comments about ItaliaLiving.com! Be sure to visit her website for many more delicious videos.
Mary Ann Esposito – host of ”Ciao Italia”
Stewed Cod – An Italian holiday favorite Christmas Eve
It required patience to prepare dried salt cod (baccala ), stiff as a board, for la vigilia. A few days before Christmas Eve, we would place it in the sink and turn the faucet on to a lazy drip to allow the fish to rehydrate slowly before stewing it. Now I save time by using fresh cod instead of dried.
Serves 4:
2 tablespoons Colavita™ Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
2 cups coarsely chopped plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon capers in brine, drained and minced
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 pounds fresh cod, cut into chunks
Fine sea salt to taste
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until soft. Stir in the tomatoes, capers, bay leaf, and parsley and simmer, covered, for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the cod, cover, and cook over low heat for about 8 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Add salt to taste and serve.
Variation: The fish can also be served as a sauce over spaghetti.
For more holiday recipes from Mary Ann including Christmas cookies, and to purchase her cookbook “Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites”, visit her brand new website: http://www.ciaoitalia.com
Rossella Rago – host of “Cooking With Nonna”
It would not be Christmas if my Nonna Romana would not make Cartellate. Each year Nonna Romana ritually make tons of Cartellate for the entire family. This is a ritual that she started many years ago when she was a your girl and lived in Mola di Bari (Bari), Italy and has carried on when she came to America with her family. And to this date we all look forward to Christmas because of her delicious Cartellate. Tune in on NonnaTV at the www.CookingWithNonna.com website during the Christmas week and you will see Nonna Romana teach me how to make Cartellate.
What are Cartellate? Cartellate are a very simple pastry carefully cut and shaped in the form of a rose and deep fried (alternatively they can also be baked). Once fried they are dipped in the hot Vin Cotto and immediately can be served by adding a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Of course Cartellate are a dessert but its companion for a more filling fare are: Frittelle. Frittelle are a pocket of bread dough filled with whatever you like, and then deep fried. In my home we fill them two ways: with tomatoes, mozzarella and capers or with sauted scallions. Either way they are fantastic and we enjoy them both on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Nonna Romana joins me on my show during the week of New Year and we prepare Frittelle for the entire family.
To watch these recipes cooked among many others, visit www.CookingWithNonna.com
Judy Witts Francini
My husband Andrea is the happiest when I make bollito misto for the holidays–the dish that keeps on giving. I like to make it the day before the meal. We begin our meal with chicken liver crostini, serve tortellini in brodo as the first course, and the boiled meats for the main course, along with the vegetables that were cooked in the broth.
The best parts of bollito misto are the sauces on the side! Traditionally, olive oil and salt are the base, then salsa verde, mostarda di Cremona (candied mustard fruits), and perhaps mayonnaise or mustard. A side of giardiniera (pickled Italian vegetables) is good too.
My favorite dishes are with the leftover bollito misto. I love lesso rifatto, where the beef is cooked with twice the amount of red onions stewed with the beef and red wine. True comfort food!
If you are really eating, this is the extravaganza! Try a double first course, such as the pasta served in sugo. The sugo is from cooking the second main course, stracotto, served with sautéed spinach and roasted potatoes. Andrea always wants a tray of mixed roast meats–veal, pork, rabbit, beef, and perhaps a special pig’s liver wrapped in caulfat, roasted with bay leaves, and basted with Vin Santo.
Usually these meals are for a minimum of 10 to 15 close family members. Families either do the bollito misto, or roast meats, or game, if you have a hunter in the house! Some families prefer fish. However, excess is the key! The main meal is at lunchtime. After the main course, the dried fruits (dates, figs, and nuts) are brought out. Panettone, panforte, ricciarelli, and other sweets follow this. After all this a digestivo–an after-dinner drink that helps you digest the feast! After a couple of rounds of cards or bingo game called tombola, it all starts again!
My best wishes for a fabulous and peaceful new year. “Peace on Earth” never meant as much as it does this year. ~Judy Witts Francini
For more recipes, purchase her book here: http://www.divinacucinacookbook.blogspot.com/
Ashley Bartner
Stuffed Eggplant…bake until golden & bubbling
Need I say more?! Oh these are goooood! Just like a little mini quiche tucked into nice little eggplant ‘shells’ just beggin’ to be eaten! This is a great go-to recipe for a dinner party or when you want to make a few dishes a bit earlier since it’s served at room temp. Also a hearty fill for the vegetarians out there (not that there are any in Italy!)
Serves 4:
4 eggplants
3 Tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing
1 onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
3 red or green bell peppers, halved, seeded & chopped
4 ripe tomatoes, diced
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
salt & pepper
Halve the eggplants lengthwise & scoop out the flesh without piercing the ‘shells’.
Chop the flesh & save the shells.
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until soft.
Add the chopped eggplant flesh, celery, bell peppers and tomatoes, season with salt & pepper and cook over low heat for 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Brush an ovenproof dish with olive oil.
Remove the pan from the heat & stir in the eggs. Fill the eggplant shells with the mixture and place in the prepared dish.
Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake until golden & bubbling!
Remove from the oven and let cool.
Serve cold/at room temperature.
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Osso Buco
Osso buco, now here’s a great winters dish that is so simple to make.
Most have heard of osso buco, but what is it? What literally translates as ‘bone’s hole’ is simply an inch & a half slab of veal shank. There is a good amount of tough meat surrounding a large flat piece of bone with ample amount of rich marrow in the center. When cooked the marrow melts into the sauce leaving an open whole in the center, thus the name osso buco.
Try this on a cold sunday evening laddled into a bowl of wet polenta to soak up the rich sauce. Its a good stewy dish!
There are a hundred different variations of osso bucco, mostly braised. This one we did simply with the tomatoes we jarred over the summer.
-4 pieces of osso buco (veal shank)
-a nice size carrot, chopped finely
-nice onion, chopped finely
-couple cloves of garlic, smashed & remove the skin
-bay leaf
-any aromatics you like – rosemary, we used juniper berries because we have them in the woods
-a little flour for dusting
-salt & pepper
-a good handful (about 5 oz.) of canned tomatoes, skins removed or fresh tomatotes with skins & seeds removed
-olive oil
-butter
-white wine (couple of glugs)
-half a cup of water or stock
Salt & pepper the osso buco & then dredge in the flour
In a good size casserole or roasting pan, on med-high heat, add a glug or 2 of olive oil & a pad of butter.
Sauté the osso buco for 2 minutes on each side.
Then add the vegetables & continue cooking the osso buco, turning frequently until it is nice & colored
Add the white wine cook until the wine is reduced by 2/3
Add the tomatoes, aromatics, crack of pepper & salt, water or stock & bring up to a simmer.
Remove from stove & place in a 350 degree oven, uncovered for about an hour & half or until the centers of the bone have melted away & the meat is falling away from the bone
If you need to add a little more water or stock towards the end, do so.
Serve over polenta, potatoes or rice to soak up the juices.
This is one of my favorite dishes because it really resonates with the simplicity of cucina povera.
La Tavola Marche ~ For a deliciously unforgettable holiday
Eleonora Baldwin
Pandoro, a delightful alternative to Panettone, known to be served at the most luxurious feasts and occasions of the Middle Ages.
Read more about it and get the recipe here:
PANDORO, Italy’s Traditional Christmas Golden Bread
