This is such an easy pasta to throw together and so rich and satisfying. Sometimes less is more and the basic ingredients can really sing when left to their own devices.
Ingredients:
6 Italian Sausages, cubed, seared and drained.
1 lb of Pasta, tube like rigatoni is ideal
2 Tbsp Olive oil 1/4 tsp Oregano 1 Onion, minced 1 Carrot, minced 4-5 cloves Garlic, crushed with side of knife. 1-24 oz bottle of Passata 1 Bay Leaf
Fresh Basil Pecorino Roman
Preparation:
Remove your sausage from its casing, and cube it, sear it in a pan until it starts to release some of its fat and break in into smaller pieces, then drain it.
To the same pan add your onion and garlic, and allow it to sauté and soften. Add back the sausage and your passata, bay leaf, oregano and cook for at least one hour. Then add your fresh basil and allow it to continue cooking until the oil separates. I prefer to add the basil later, as I feel if it cooks too long it loses flavor.
Before you drain your pasta, remove about 1/2-3/4 of a cup of the pasta water. Drain your pasta and add it back to the pan with the reserved pasta water and allow it to finish cooking.
The addition of the pasta water really creates a silky sauce and will vastly improve the final dish. I find this to be true for most pasta dishes. I finished with grated Pecorino Romano cheese.
Marcella Hazan is the chef that taught me how to cook authentic Italian. She was tough and demanded authentic ingredients and no short cuts, but the recipes are timeless and still work today as well as they did 30 years ago. If you want one cookbook on Italian cooking, you can’t go wrong with her classic, “Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking”.
Summer is the perfect time to make pesto. With all the rain we’ve been having, my basil has been going crazy. There are many recipes for pesto, but I think Marcella gets the balance just right. I make a small change, because I’m not a huge fan of pine nuts. I’ve even seen authentic recipes from Genoa where they use walnuts, but I love pecans, so that’s my hack. Of course you can use whatever you prefer.
Additionally, while many pesto recipes do not use butter, I feel it gives a great flavor. It’s your choice. Finally, the mortar and pestle method is considered by many to be the best way to prepare pesto, but I have a method I use were I can use a mini prep processor and get excellent results. Again, your choice.
Ingredients:
1 lb Pasta, I think fusilli, orecchiette or farfalle work well, as the ridges catch the pesto.
2 cups Genovese basil leaves, tightly packed, no hard stems. 1/4 – 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil, you’ll need the 1/2 if you choose to skip the butter. 2 cloves Garlic, crushed with flat side of your knife and finely minced 1/2 tsp Sea Salt 2 Tbsp Pecans or Walnuts or pine nuts if you like them.
3 Tbsp Butter 3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan 1/4 cup finely grated Romano
Preparation:
Before you begin, take you food processor bowl including blade and top and pop it into the refrigerator. This will help you from overheating the pesto.
Put the salt, nuts and garlic and 1/4 cup of olive oil into the food processor and pulse until you get a smooth consistency. Then add your basil in in batches, just pulsing gently until fully incorporated. Transfer into a bowl and fold in the butter and cheese by hand until the mixture is smooth and cover and put into the refrigerator. It can start to blacken if left on the counter.
Take your pesto out of the refrigerator. Start the water for pasta, once its boiling give it a heavy dash of salt. Add in your pasta. About 4 minutes before the pasta is done scoop out some hot pasta water and set aside.
Cook the pasta for another 2 minutes, drain and add the pasta back to the cooking pan. Add the pesto and a splash of the pasta water over very low heat and stir to coat the pasta for an additional 2 minutes. You may not need all of the reserved pasta water. Serve with additional cheese as desired.
This sauce is packed with flavor. The roasted peppers complement the Italian sausage well. I like to use a mix of peppers, but I find that green bell peppers are too bitter, so I omit them.
The only slightly time consuming part is the prep of the peppers, but if you do a few extra, you can use them for multiple dishes like salads and sandwiches.
Ingredients:
3 Bell Peppers, red, yellow and orange
2 Tbsp Olive oil
Oregano
6 Italian Sausages, mild or spicy, cubed, seared and drained.
1 Onion, minced
1 Carrot, minced
1 stalk Celery, minced
4-5 cloves Garlic, crushed with side of knife.
1 24 oz bottle of Passata
1 Bay Leaf
Pecorino Romano
Preparation:
Preheat your oven to 375°F, cut your peppers in half, and take away the stems. Place them on a baking sheet with parchment paper skin side down and brush them with olive oil and sprinkle them with salt, pepper and a pinch of oregano. Bake them until well roasted. It usually takes about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove them and allow them to cool.
Remove your sausage from its casing, and cube it, sear it in a pan until it starts to release some of its fat and then drain it.
To the same pan add your onion, carrot, and celery and garlic, and allow it to sauté and soften. This is your soffritto.
Add back the sausage and your passata and bay leaf and cook for at least one to two hours.
Serve with pasta of your choice, but tube pasta is a good option. I finished with grated Pecorino Romano cheese.
This is the kind of comfort food that I really enjoy cooking. It is the kind of food your Nonna would make on Sunday, and it is both comforting and very tasty.
It takes a little prep time, but I find the end result really satisfying. It’s still amazing to me how such simple ingredients can transform into something so incredibly good. And, they are wonderful the next day, if they last that long.
Ingredients:
1 12 oz box of Jumbo Pasta Shells 2 Egg Yolks 1 Egg 1 Package of Ricotta Cheese 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated. 2 cups Mozzarella Cheese, grated. 1/4 cup Parsley, chopped. Freshly grated Nutmeg, just a bit, or a pinch. 1/8 tsp Oregano 3-4 cups Marinara, good quality store bought is fine, but feel free to make your own if you’re inspired.
Preparation:
Begin by boiling water in a large pot, once the water is boiling, salt it generously and add the shells. Give it a soft stir, but don’t disturb the shells too much. Timing is critical here, because if you over cook the shells, you will have a mushy mess.
Follow the package directions and cut the highest time by half and start tasting for doneness at that point. Example, the package of shells I used said 10-13 minutes. I started tasting at 7 minutes. Had I cooked them for even 10 minutes, they would have been too soft. I found 9 minutes was perfect.
When they are cooked very al dente, pour them into a colander and rinse them well with cold water. Separate them with your fingers and continue to rinse until they are cool. As they are rinsed, they will not stick together.
Beat together your two egg yolks and your egg and them fold in the ricotta, Parmesan and mozzarella. Add in salt, pepper, parsley and nutmeg. Put this mixture into a gallon freezer bag and twirl the bag to make a piping bag, then cut a 1/2 inch corner off the end to fill the shells.
Put about 1 1/2 cups of you marinara on the bottom of your baking dish and then take each shell and pipe in the ricotta mixture. Squeeze the shells slightly and lay them next to each other in the dish.
When all the shells have been filled, or you are out of room, sprinkle on the oregano, add the rest of the marinara and add more Parmesan and or mozzarella cheese. Cover tightly with foil and into a 375F oven for 35-40 minutes. Cook until it is bubbling. Remove from the oven, uncover and let it rest for 5 minutes and serve.
While this is not traditionally a dish found in restaurants around Italy, I think it’s pretty much synonymous with Italian American cuisine. My approach is to keep it simple and treat it as two dishes combined. Meatballs in a marinara sauce.
There are so many options for meatballs and so many things you can add. This is my basic recipe and feel free to experiment.
Ingredients:
Meatballs:
1 lb Beef, ground, but not too lean. 80/20 is perfect.
1 lb Pork, ground
2 Tbsp Breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp Milk, whole.
2 Eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp Parmesan or Romano Cheese, grated
Salt and Pepper
1 Tbsp Onion, grated.
1 clove Garlic, crushed.
Dash of freshly grated Nutmeg.
Gently combine the meat using two forks to pull it together without compacting it. The key to a good moist meatball is not to overwork the meat. Then combine the breadcrumbs and milk and add the two eggs and beat the mixture.
Gently mix the garlic, onion, grated cheese and nutmeg into the meat mixture and add the breadcrumb, milk and egg mixture in a bit at a time gently incorporating it with a fork and then finish with salt and pepper. Cover it, and into the fridge for at least an hour.
Sauce:
Olive Oil
1 medium Onion, minced
1/2 cup Carrot, minced
1/2 cup Celery, minced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1/4 cup Marsala or White Wine
2- 28oz cans of whole peeled Tomatoes, crushed by hand.
Salt and Pepper
Preparation:
Form your meatballs into the size of about a golf ball. Then you have two choices. You can lightly sear them in a sauté pan with olive oil or you can drop them into your simmering sauce. I believe either way is good.
Sauté your onion, carrot, celery, and garlic until it’s translucent, and the smell changes slightly. The key to a good sauce is a properly prepared sofritto.
Deglaze with your wine and add your tomatoes and bring to a gentle simmer. Add in your meatballs and simmer gently for 2-3 hours.
Serve with spaghetti and traditionally some garlic bread. Perfect!
This is a very old school Italian dish. It means a dish prepared in the “hunters style”. Historically it was made with rabbit or other game, really whatever was available, but I feel chicken is easier to find and just as good.
It may seem like a lot of ingredients but it really comes together quickly. It’s a simple one pot meal. And, even better the next day.
There are two schools of thought regarding the chicken. I use boneless skinless chicken thighs, but some prefer a bone-in thigh or an entire chicken cut up to add flavor. While I understand this, I find it very messy as the chicken falls off the bone and the bones end up in the final dish and I feel it’s hard to eat. If that’s not an issue for you, then go for it.
Ingredients:
2 lbs Chicken Thighs, boneless skinless.
1/2 cup of Pancetta
3-4 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, chopped
1 Red Pepper, chopped
1 Carrot, chopped
1 stalk Celery, chopped
5 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 cup Marsala or white Wine
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata Olives.
2 Tbsp Capers
2 packages Mushrooms, sliced – optional.
2- 28oz can Crushed Tomatoes or suitable fresh tomatoes. I like to use cherry tomatoes sliced in half.
1 sprig fresh Basil
1 tsp Oregano
1 Bay Leaf
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Chili Flakes
Salt and Pepper
Parmesan Cheese
Preparation:
Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken thighs and into the fridge. Take it out a bit before cooking to take the chill off. Cook the pancetta until lightly brown and gently brown the chicken on both sides.
Finely mince your onion, red pepper, carrot, celery and garlic and then sauté in the same saucepan. Add olive oil as needed. Deglaze with your Marsala wine.
Add your tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients, and simmer gently for 1-2 hours. It just gets better.
Spoon into bowls and grate Parmesan cheese on top. It’s very good on it’s own like a stew, with some crusty bread, but feel free to serve with pasta or extra vegetables if you choose. If you choose pasta, use a tube or shaped pasta, like penne or rigatoni.
Regular readers will know my love for Italian food runs deep, especially for the true comfort dishes practiced and perfected in kitchens by generations of nonnas (Italian grandmothers).
Sunday is a special day when the family comes together for a big meal and while each family has their own traditions of which dishes are served. In the US, the tradition of the Sunday Sauce is essential.
While this is a marinara base, the key is the slowly braised meats which flavor the sauce and then impart a flavor to the sauce that is beyond delicious. You can also add braciole, lamb necks and/or veal knuckles etc, but this is optional. Bottom line, if you cook anything in a tomato sauce for 4 hours, it will come out great.
The key, as with all comfort food, is to use the best ingredients, take your time and layer the flavors. Here is what you will need.
Ingredients:
Meatballs:
½ lb ground Beef
½ lb ground Pork
2 Tbsp Grated Romano Cheese
2 Tbsp Breadcrumbs, I like panko breadcrumbs or plain.
1 Egg, beaten
1 tsp Lawry’s Seasoning Salt, this is my secret weapon for killer meatballs.
Sauce:
5 Italian Sausages, sweet/hot or both, cut in half.
1 or 2 Beef Short Ribs, depends on size. Try to find them around 3 to 4 inches; the larger ones do not fit in the pan well. You can also have the butcher cut them in half.
1 or 2 Pork Ribs, country style is good. Same size as above.
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
4 cloves of Garlic, smashed with side of knife and loosely chopped
1 cup finely diced Onion
½ cup finely diced Carrot
½ cup finely diced Celery
¼ cup Marsala Wine
2 – 28 oz cans of whole San Marzano Tomatoes, puréed in a food processor or crushed by hand.
1 Tbsp Salt
Black Pepper
Preparation:
First, prepare your meatballs by combining all ingredients. Start with the meat, then salt and cheese, work it together then add your beaten egg and gently work the mixture and lastly add your breadcrumbs 1 Tbsp at a time until it comes together. Roll into 2 inch diameter meatballs or whatever you prefer and put into the refrigerator.
Preheat your oven to 375F/190C. Take your beef and pork ribs and salt and pepper both sides and put onto a foil lined baking sheet or directly on a griddle, then place the prepared meatballs and sausages onto the same sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes.
To make your sauce, start with a large heavy duty saucepan, which will hold the heat and give you a consistent low simmer. A cast iron Le Cruset is perfect. Larger is better, as you don’t want to crowd the meat.
Heat the olive oil and sauté the garlic, onion, carrot and celery. Stir frequently and make sure to add ½ of the salt and some pepper to the mixture.
When it is sautéed and translucent, add your Marsala wine and cook until the wine is gone (about 3-4 minutes), then add the tomatoes and bring up to a soft simmer.
Once the meat is finished, gently add it into the sauce, add the rest of the salt and softly simmer uncovered for 4 hours or longer, stirring occasionally.
Serve over your choice of pasta with grated Romano and Parmesan cheese. Optionally, you can remove the meat and serve it as a separate meat course after the pasta course.
The Louisville Chef 