Italian Food Recipes

http://www.youyumyum.com

You can stuff this version of crepes with almost any filling you choose, whether it be either vegetable, cheese or even a seafood stuffing.

Crespelle

:Serves 4:

Once you get going, this Italian version of crepes is really quite easy. Generally you should plan on two filled 6 inch crespelle per person. These crepes make a very nice change from pasta.

1 Cup All-Purpose Flour

Pinch Of Salt

4 Eggs, Lightly Beaten

2 Cups Milk

6 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Mix together the eggs, milk, salt, flour and 4 tablespoons of olive oil until you have a smooth batter. Heat a 6 inch frying pan with a little of the remaining oil, and heat it to medium. Pour in 2-3 Tablespoons of the batter and distribute it evenly by moving the pan from side to side. Cook until one side is set, about 30 seconds, and carefully turn. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove from the pan. Continue in this manner until all the batter has been used, adding additional oil to the pan as needed. Once the crespelle have cooled to room temperature, they can be stacked. If you are not using them immediately, cover well and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

This is my method of making good, crusty Italian bread. Once you know how, you can do lots of things with this dough.

I start with a biga or starter the day before, and leave it sit in the fridge overnight, and complete the bread the next day. I don't knead my bread as much as the traditional recipes call for, but I get great results. Even if you've never made bread before, you'll find this recipe easy.

Biga:

1/2 Teaspoon Active Dry Yeast

1 Cup Lukewarm water

2 Cups Unbleached, All-purpose Flour

Mix the yeast and water together, and then slowly start adding the flour, mixing well. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for up to 6 hours. Refrigerate overnight.

Bread:

2 Cups Warm Water (about 90 degrees F.)

1 Pkg. Active Dry Yeast

5-6 Cups All-purpose, Unbleached Flour

2 Teaspoons Salt

Place the water in a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast overtop and mix well. Let sit 10 minutes until bubbly. Add the biga, flour, and salt and stir with a wooden spoon (or mix with your hands) until everything is mixed. The dough will be fairly wet and sticky at this point. Cover and let stand in a warm spot for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours until doubled in volume.

Punch down the dough, folding it over on itself two or three times, cover and let rise once more until doubled, about 1 hour. If you choose, you could refrigerate your dough at this time and leave it overnight to prepare the next day.

Turn out your dough onto a floured baking sheet, and without overworking it too much shape into one large or two smaller round or oval shaped loaves, using as much extra flour as needed to keep it from sticking. Slash across the tops of the loaves with a serrated knife or razor just prior to baking.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and place a casserole dish with boiling water on the lower oven rack. Bake your bread 30 minutes, turn the baking sheet around, and reduce the heat to 300 degrees and bake for another 30-45 minutes. At this point your bread should be golden brown and should sound hollow when you tap the bottom. Allow the bread to cool to room temperature and serve.

Baking Tip:

You could also use a baguette pan to make long thin loaves, or spread your dough across a well-oiled cookie sheet to make focaccia.

Variations

Rosemary Bread:

Add 4 Tbs. finely chopped rosemary to the flour. Brush the loaves with water and sprinkle with coarse sea salt just prior to baking.

Olive Bread:

Add 12 oz. flavorful pitted olives, coarsely chopped to the flour mixture.

Making Egg Pasta at home is actually much easier than you might imagine. Imagine delicate layers of Egg Pasta nestled between a spicy tomato sauce and meltingly tender cheese for unforgettable lasagna . Or maybe you'd prefer soft pillows of ravioli stuffed with a tasty ricotta and spinach filling. You too can prepare dishes like this, and many others once you learn the basic technique of making egg pasta .

You don't need a kitchen full of equipment to make egg pasta , but a hand-rolling machine that also cuts is a big time saver. The Atlas model from Italy is an inexpensive brand, and it can be found in most department or kitchen stores. At around $30-40 it is well worth the investment if you think making Egg Pasta is something you'll enjoy. There are many ravioli forms available, but I find it is just as easy to make ravioli by hand. A dough scraper is helpful particularly if you make your dough on the counter or on a pastry board as I do. I also have a few hand cutters that crimp, cut, and seal as you roll them over the prepared dough. Of course having a good Egg Pasta pot is very important, and makes preparation much easier. An eight-quart size seems to be the average size available.

The two principle ingredients for making a basic Egg Pasta are flour and eggs. I use all-purpose unbleached flour as it has high gluten content, which creates fairly firm pasta dough. Large, fresh eggs are the only other ingredients unless a splash of warm water is needed to form workable dough. Generally, I would use 3/4 cup of flour for every large egg added. You can increase this recipe as needed depending on the type of dish you are making, or the quantity of people you need to feed.

To start, mound your flour on a large pastry board, or the counter, and make a well in the center. Break the eggs into this well, and start to scramble each egg with a fork as it is being added. Start to incorporate the eggs and flour by slowly bringing more flour in from the inside edges of the well. Continue adding the flour to the eggs until they are no longer runny. Using your hands now, bring the outside edges in, forming a large mass on your board. Use only the amount of flour needed to form a soft ball.

Begin to knead the ball of dough as you would bread, pushing it down with the heel of your hand. Continue kneading until the dough is smooth and satiny, for about 8 minutes. Wrap the prepared dough in plastic wrap, and let it sit for about 30 minutes.

Serves 4

Egg Pasta:

3 Extra Large Eggs

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

Mound the flour onto a large board, making a hollow in the center. Break the eggs one at a time, mixing the egg into the flour with a fork. Once all the eggs have been incorporated into the flour, begin to knead with your hands until the dough is stiff and elastic. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 30 minutes before using.

Whole Wheat Pasta:

1 1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour

1 1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

2 Teaspoons Olive Oil

4 Extra Large Eggs

Follow the above directions, adding both the eggs and the oil into the center hollow.

To Roll Pasta With A Pasta Machine:

Break off a fist sized piece of the dough and flatten into a disc. Flour well, then pass it through the widest openings of your pasta machine. Remove, fold into thirds and repeat. Do this 4 or 5 times, dusting with flour between each time. Now start to decrease the rollers by turning down one notch each time. Put the dough through each setting twice until you have reached your desired thickness. For stuffed pastas, you will generally roll it to the thinnest or second thinnest setting.