Ricotta-Parmigiano-Spinach Dumplings with Sage Brown Butter

These green & white balls are a delicious antipasti from Rome. They’re bright, fresh, and melty. The brown butter with sage glazes the dumplings and adds an herbal accent to the plate.

They're like green meatballs

These would be good to serve at a party, as all the prep can be done the day before, and they cook in just a few minutes.

Mushroom Risotto with Fontina & Sparkling Wine

Rich, creamy, and flavorful. To the basic risotto this dish adds earthy shiitake mushrooms, slightly pungent Fontina cheese, and crisp, sparkling white wine.

Making risotto is easy, just stir it fairly constantly, so the starchy rice doesn’t stick hard to the pan. If you use the right rice and a good vegetable or chicken stock, you will have perfect risotto.

If you enjoy risotto, the easiest way to make it often is to prepare a large batch of vegetable stock (as much as will fit in your biggest pot with a bunch of vegetables), and freeze it in quart-size freezer bags. Then you’ll always have a savory base on-hand for delicious risotto.

Pan-Fried Sausage with Spicy Broccoli Rabe

Spicy Italian sausage and fresh chili pepper balance out the broccoli rabe’s bitterness in this dish, while a little white wine brightens the flavors and cuts the fat. Served after a good pasta or risotto, this dish would round out a meal nicely.

Spicy & Bitter, Green & Brown

Monkfish with White Wine, Tomatoes, and Basil

Shallow poaching is one of the easiest ways to cook firm-fleshed fish, and ensures the fish will be moist and full of flavor. Monkfish is a meaty, versatile fish that holds up very well in this method.

Monkfish in savory, white wine-tomato sauce

In this recipe, the fish is cooked in a sauce full of great, classic Italian flavors – garlic, anchovies, white wine, and tomatoes, and finished with butter and a little basil.

When finishing the sauce, reduce it a bit to concentrate the flavors, but leave it loose enough to soak up some with each bite of the fish, or with some good Italian bread.

Penne with Sausage, Porcini, and Cream

This is a deep, satisfying pasta from Bologna, Italy. Creamy and earthy, with a little lift from white wine in the sauce, and just a touch of heat.

Rich sauce of wine, cream, and mushrooms

The recipe calls for dried porcinis. After soaking them in lukewarm water, strain the soaking liquid and save it for another use – it contains a lot of flavor leaked out from the ’shrooms. I reduced the two cups down to a few ounces of concentrated mushroom jus, and added it to a risotto with shiitake mushrooms, to boost the mushroom flavor.

Eggplant Caponata with Roasted Red Peppers & Parmesan Tuile

Caponata is a Sicilian sweet and sour dish made with eggplant, olives, capers, and somtimes anchovies. Red wine vinegar and sugar are added at the end to balance out the flavors. The dish can be served either hot or cold, as an appetizer, a topping for crostini, or an accompaniment to meat.

I made my version for a dinner party, and served it cold with julienned roasted peppers, a sundried tomato pesto, and a parmesan tuile. The peppers and tuile added color and texture contrast to the dish. The tomato pesto was quite rich, so I served just a little on each plate, quenelled  on the top.

 

Braised Beef Shoulder with Jerusalem Artichokes and Carrots

This recipe gave me a use for my preserved lemons, which I wrote about here. The beef is braised in a flavorful broth of diced preserved lemons, cilantro, and Middle Eastern spices. The sweet, earthy flavors of sunchokes and pearl onions come out in the long braise and balance out the spice and sourness of the sauce. My produce store was out of sunchokes when I made this, so I substituted parsnips and celery root with good results.

Heating up some of the leftovers... Finally got around to getting a picture. Food first, then photos

Lentil Soup with Portobello Mushrooms & Spinach

Green, earthy, and mildly spicy, this hearty mix of legumes & meaty ’shrooms will satisfy both vegetarians & carnivores.

This soup improves greatly overnight, so it’s a great make-ahead dish. My habit is to keep soup in a two quart pitcher, and reheat one portion at a time. Be sure to serve this one with some quality Parmesan; some good Italian bread would be nice too.

The recipe is from Second Helpings from Union Square Cafe, by Danny Meyer and Chef Michael Romano:

Mozzarella with Tomato Jam

Mozzarella, tomato, and basil is a classic Italian flavor combination. In this version, the tomato is in the form of a jam, which concentrates the natural sweetness of the tomato.

Mozzarella with tomato jam on basil leaf

Here’s a recipe for the tomato jam:

Citrus Mostarda (a Condiment for Prosciutto & Other Cured Meats)

There are many versions of mostarda, an Italian fruit relish finished with mustard seeds. This citrus version of mostarda is from Sicily and has a strong sweet-sour flavor common in Sicilian cuisine. The full spectrum of citrus flavors is represented, from sour lemons and limes to sweet navel oranges. It is also a very colorful relish, with yellow, orange, and green diced peels.

Mostarda & Charcuterie Plate

This mostarda is served as a condiment for prosciutto, salamis, and other cured meats. The tart fruity flavor accents the salty meats. For a nice meat platter, serve the mostarda with a few different meats (prosciutto, speck, coppa, etc), some crostinis, and pepperoncini.

I’ve written a general recipe here, based on the way I used to make this dish at work (in, of course, far greater amounts). The recipe can be changed around; if you can’t find blood oranges just use another navel orange or two.