Italia a tavola-Penne with Smoked Salmon

Penne al Salmone

Penne with Smoked Salmon

Ingredients for 4 servings

12 oz of Penne Lisce

4 oz of Smoked Salmon

one cup of heavy cream

1 oz of butter

½ shot of Whisky

The Juice of ½ Lemon

Salt, White Pepper

While the pasta is cooking, In a large pan melt the butter at slow heat, add the smoked salmon slices chopped, stir lightly for less than a minute and add the lemon juice.  After the lemon Juice has thickened add the cream and whisky, salt and pepper. Let cook for less than 5 minutes and add the penne cooked and drained.  Do not use any cheese!

Italia a tavola-Tomato Sauce

Pomarola

Tomato Sauce

Ingredients for 6 servings

2 cans (32 oz each) of organic Roma tomatoes (or 4Lbs of fresh tomatoes)

1 clove of garlic

1 stick of celery

1 small carrot

1 quarter of a red onion

1/3 of a bunch of fresh parsley 

Salt and pepper to taste

The leaves of 4 sprigs of fresh basil

Preparation:

Mince the garlic, celery, carrot, onion and parsley together finely; lightly sauté in olive oil at a lively heat. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper and cook for about 30 minutes or until thickened, stirring frequently to prevent burning.

When finished cooking turn off the heat and add the basil leaves chopped and 2 TbS of fresh olive oil.

This sauce is delicious, but remember…it is only as delicious as the tomatoes you use!

Italia a tavola-Florentine Crepes

Crespelle alla Fiorentina

Ingredients for 4 servings

For the Crespelle:

3oz. of white flour

2 eggs

12 oz. of milk

butter, salt

Filling:

14 oz of lightly cooked spinach

7oz of Ricotta cheese

2 TbS of grated Parmesan Cheese

1 egg

Nutmeg

Salt, Pepper

Dressing:

Tomato sauce, Additional Parmesan cheese and butter.

Mix all the crespelle’s ingredients together to make a smooth batter and let rest for at least 30 minutes.

Mix the spinach, ricotta, parmesan, egg, and spices together and store in the refrigerator.

In a 8 inch pan cook the crespelle, one at the time.  They should be very thin, so if they are too thick you might need to add more milk to the batter.  You should have enough batter to cook at least 8 crespelle.  As you cook them fill them with the ricotta mix and roll them as if it was a cannelloni. 

Place each crespella in a buttered baking pan side by side.  Finally cover them all with tomato sauce, parmesan cheese and a few dots of fresh butter; cover with the pan lid or aluminum foil and cook at 300 degrees for 30 minutes.

This is a favorite of most