Have a taste of Italy with these recipes!

Chicken Carbonara Rigatoni

Serves 4–6 | Prep. time 15 minutes | Cooking time 4–6 minutes

Ingredients

• ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated, divided
• 2 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 pound rigatoni
• ½ cup butter, melted
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Ground pepper to taste
• 1 pound ground chicken breast

Directions

1. Add salted water to a medium saucepan or skillet and heat it over medium heat.
2. Add the pasta and cook as per package directions. Drain water and set aside.
3. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan or skillet over medium heat.
4. Add chicken and brown the meat until cooked through about 4-5 minutes.
5. Add ¼ cup of the Parmesan cheese as well as the egg yolks, cream, salt, and pepper. Stir with a whisk or wooden spoon taking care to release the bits of flavor stuck on the bottom the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes.
6. Mix in the cooked rigatoni and simmer the mixture for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese and serve warm.

 

Neapolitan Pizza

Serves 6-8 | Prep. time 15 minutes | Cooking time 3-8 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 thin-crust or any dough of choice
• 1 cup mozzarella di bufala
• 1-2 cloves garlic, sliced very thinly
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Fresh basil leaves
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to hottest temperature (500-550°F for most home ovens), with a rack, positioned closest to grill. When well-heated, turn on the grill.
2. Place the crust in a heated skillet or non-stick pan and cook until dough begins to puff up and bottom begins to brown, about 1-3 minutes.
3. Transfer to pan or pizza peel.
4. Tear mozzarella di bufala and scatter over dough.
5. Sprinkle with garlic.
6. Drizzle with beaten eggs over the pizza and season with salt and pepper.
7. Top with basil leaves and drizzle with olive oil.
8. Place under the grill and bake until eggs are just set and crust is browned, about 2-5 minutes.
9. Serve hot.

 

Osso Buco in a Tomato Sauce with Creamy Polenta

The veal shanks are slowly cooked in a tomato-based sauce and served on a bed of creamy polenta. Italian comfort food at its best.

Serves 4 | Prep. time 25 minutes | Cooking time 2 hours

Ingredients

• 4 veal shanks, about 8-9 oz. each
• ½ cup or more all-purpose flour for dusting
• 2 onions, diced
• 1-2 carrots, diced, about 1 cup
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 3 cups veal or chicken stock
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 can Italian-style stewed tomatoes (14 oz.)
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dry basil)
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dry sage)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For Creamy Polenta

• 1½ cup yellow cornmeal, fine or medium
• 3 cups milk
• 3 cups cold water
• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Rinse veal shank under cold water, and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Dust shanks with flour.
3. In a large, deep skillet, warm the olive oil on medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, brown veal shanks on each side until golden brown. Remove veal shanks from skillet and set aside.
4. Add onions, carrots, and celery. Fry for 2-3 minutes until the vegetables are tender and fragrant. Add wine and deglaze by loosening any remaining bits of meat in the skillet.
5. Add veal shanks back to the skillet. Add stock, tomatoes, basil, and sage. Increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover with a lid. Reduce heat to medium, and let simmer for 2h00 or until the veal shank are well cooked and tender.
6. In the meantime, prepare the polenta. Add the water, milk, and salt to a large saucepan. Bring to a boil on high heat, whisking continuously to avoid lumps. Reduce heat to medium-low, and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Stir frequently until it becomes thick and velvety. Add Parmesan cheese and butter. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. If the polenta’s texture becomes too dense, adjust with some water.
7. To serve, place a generous amount of polenta on plate, and top with a veal shank and its sauce.

 

Caesar Salad

Serves 6 | Prep. time 10 minutes | Cooking time 10 minutes

Ingredients

Caesar Salad Dressing

• 2 small cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Croutons

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, halved
• 3 cups French or Italian bread, sliced into ½-inch cubes
• Salt and pepper

For salad

• ½ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded, plus more for topping if desired
• 2 heads romaine lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces

Directions

For the dressing

1. Whisk together the garlic, anchovy paste, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce.
2. Add the mayonnaise, Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
3. Taste and adjust the proportions to your liking.
4. Will keep, refrigerated, for 2 weeks.

For the croutons

5. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
6. Heat the butter, olive oil, and garlic in a saucepan over low heat.
7. Remove the saucepan from the heat as soon as the butter has melted.
8. Let it stand for 10 minutes, and then remove the garlic.
9. Toss in the bread cubes, and mix to coat.
10. Spread the bread cubes on the baking sheet, and bake until the croutons are golden brown (about 10 minutes), shaking the pan once or twice.
11. Remove the pan from the oven and set it aside to cool.

To assemble the salad

12. Toss the lettuce and croutons in the dressing until well coated.
13. Sprinkle on the Parmesan cheese and toss lightly.
14. Sprinkle more Parmesan on top, if desired, and serve.

 

Traditional Panna Cotta with Berries

Panna cotta is served as sweet treat to celebrate a special occasion. You have to plan ahead as it needs at least 6 hours to rest in the refrigerator before serving.

Serving: 4 | Preparation: 6h20 minutes or more

Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2½ tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 gelatin leave*
• 1 vanilla bean pod – scraped seeds

For the topping

• 1½ cups fresh berries of your choice
• ¼ cup sugar
• ¼ cup water
• Mint leaves

Directions

1. Place gelatin leaf in a saucepan with cold water. Place saucepan over medium-high heat and just before it starts to boil, remove the saucepan from the heat and squeeze gelatin. Add milk to a small bowl. Add gelatin to the milk. Stir gelatin with a spoon until dissolved.
2. Combine fresh cream with the sugar and vanilla seeds in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat and bring to boil, stirring frequently.
3. When it boils remove from the heat and add milk-gelatin mixture. Mix well and pour into 4 ramekins. Place in refrigerator, overnight or at least for 6 hours.
4. Prepare the topping; Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and heat over medium-high. Bring to simmer and continue simmering for 5 minutes; add berries and stir well. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes and set aside to cool.
5. To remove the panna cotta from the molds, place the ramekins in a bowl of boiling water for 1-2 minutes. With a knife, delicately unmold the sides, reverse and place on a plate. Drizzle with prepared berries topping. Decorate with mint leaves.

 

*Note: you can find gelatin leaves in fine Italian grocery stores. If you cannot find any, you can use 1 teaspoon of unflavored gelatin powder (half a packet). The method to prepare the gelatin to add to the cream mixture is to sprinkle the gelatin with 1½ tablespoon of cold water in a small bowl. Stir with a spoon and let it rest for 10 minutes until the gelatin has dissolved. Continue the recipe as described.

 

 

***These recipes and more can be found in Sarah Spencer’s A Taste of Italy: Traditional Italian Cooking Made Easy with Authentic Italian Recipes. To get your own copy, click on the cover or here.

To download and print a copy of the recipes above, click here.