ITALIAN RECIPES

Ingredients for pumpkin Gnocchi

1 small pumpkin
Sea salt
1 large Organic egg yolk
100 g all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting the board
freshly ground nutmeg
75 g butter
15-20 sage leaves or purple sage leaves
freshly ground black pepper
parmesan, freshly grated
roasted and coarsely chopped pumpkin seeds to garnish

Method
The Secret to making gnocchi is not to add too much flour, it should be light and airy not dense so that you could walk from Rome to Calabria on it.

Pumpkin gnocchi

Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F).
Cut the pumpkin in half and place i nthe oven with a little sea salt, black pepper and olive oil driuzzled all over it. Roast for about forty minutes until it is cooked. Take out off the oven and cool a little and then cut off the peel. Mash the pumpkin in a potato ricer, rather thana masher because it makes beautiful light and airy pumpkin, it really does make all the difference.

Add the egg yolk and flour, and season the puree to taste with salt and freshly ground nutmeg. Blend quickly using a fork, the dough willlook quite sticky. Cover your work surfaces with flour and roll the pumpkin gnocchi mixture with your hands to a thick roll and cut into one inch pieces and cut little steam holes in the top.

Boil a large pot of salty water and then add the gnocchi in one go, give a quick stir with a wooden spoon and cook until they all float to the top of the water. The tiem this takes varies with the size sometime between three and five minutes.

Brown sage butter
Wash and dry the sage leaves, then slice thinly melt the butter in a pan over low to medium heat, add the sage and sauté until the sage has become crisp and the butter has darkened, but don't let it go black, just a nutty brown. Spoon over the gnocchi and add some freshly ground black pepper, grated parmesan and roasted and chopped pumpkin seeds.

This easy to make stuffing will give you the most delicious sardines you've ever tasted. The quantity given is sufficient for about two dozen sardines.First prepare the stuffing a day ahead of time as it improves overnight in the fridge.

Ingredients

110g/4oz fresh white breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons (30ml) good Olive Oil
3 medium cloves of Garlic, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons (30ml) chopped fresh flat leaved Parsley
4 tablespoons (30ml) peeled and chopped shallots
Juice of half a Lemon
60g/2oz chopped large Capers
60g/2oz chopped Black pitted Olives,
60g/2oz chopped golden Sultanas
60g/2oz chopped Pine Nut kernels
6 Anchovy fillets, chopped
Kosher Salt and plenty of freshly-ground Black Pepper

Method:
Fillet the Sardines
Split the Sardines,with hte head from head to tail, along their stomachs, this can be done with your thumb. Then ease the backbone out with the point of a sharp knife and then pull.

Stuff the sardines by spreading the stuffing thinly over the fish and then rolling them up lengthways towards the tail. They can be prepared a day ahead up to this point and kept cling-wrapped in the fridge.The Sicilians then drizzle them with Olive Oil and bake them in a hot oven for about 8 minutes. However they are great grilled or on the barbecue

Serve with plenty of lemon wedges.

Traditionally this is made with pasta made from several colours, flavoured with beetroot, saffron, squid ink and spinach. If I do not have any squid ink I flavour the pasta with black olives.

1lb (500 g) cooked pasta
2 aubergiens diced
1/2 a red onion, sliced
4 plum tomatoes, blanched, peeled, drained and chopped
8 fresh leaves basil, shredded
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 ounce (30 g) pitted black olives
2 salted anchovy fillets, rinsed and boned
Method
Cook the pasta and sauté the onion in the olive oil until it is translucent. Add the eggplant, olives, anchovies, basil, and tomato; mix well and cook for a few minutes. Sere over hot pasta.

Ingredients
1 (12 oz.) box jumbo shells
1 lb. (approximate) sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
10 Ounces frozen spinach, thawed and drained
15 Ounces fresh ricotta
1 egg
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
2 cloves of garlic
Large can of tomatoes, roughly chopped
6 ounces of tomato concentrate
1/2 cup vodka
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
2 handfuls of fresh basil
1/2 cup mascarpone
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

Method
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook jumbo shells until al dente. Drain and set aside to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook Italian sausage and onion. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Place in large bowl, and cool slightly. Add ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, egg, spinach, garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix well and set aside.

In another skillet over medium heat, combine tomatoes, tomato paste, vodka, red pepper flakes, and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens, 15 to 20 minutes. Add in mascarpone cheese, stirring constantly until fully melted add the basil and reheat.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Begin assembling stuffed shells by filling each shell with a spoonful of meat mixture. Place in large baking dish. Pour tomato sauce over shells. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top of shells, and place baking dish in oven. Bake until mozzarella is hot and bubbly on top, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Enough for two large pizzas
1 package fresh yeast
1 teaspoon honey
1 cup warm water (105º F to 115º F)
3 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
Toppings of your choice

Method

Chopped fresh basil, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, or a sprinkling of crushed red pepper flakes, dried garlic can be added to the dough

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and honey in 1/4 cup of the warm water.In a mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour and the salt. Add the oil, yeast mixture, and the remaining 3/4 cup of water and mix on low speed until the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl and clusters around the dough hook, about 5 minutes. The pizza dough can also be made in a food processor. Dissolve the yeast as above. Combine the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse once or twice, add the remaining ingredients, and process until the dough begins to form a ball.

Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead by hand 2 or 3 minutes longer. The dough should be smooth and firm. Cover the dough with a clean, damp towel and let it rise in a warm spot for about 30 minutes. When ready, the dough will stretch as it is lightly pulled.
Place a pizza stone on the middle rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 500º F.
Divide the dough into 4 balls, about 6 ounces each. Work each ball by pulling down the sides and tucking under the bottom of the ball. Repeat 4 or 5 times. Then on a smooth, unfloured surface, roll the ball under the palm of your hand until the top of the dough is smooth and firm, about 1 minute. Cover the dough with a damp towel and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes. At this point, the balls can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

To prepare each pizza, dip the ball of dough into flour, shake off the excess flour, place the dough on a clean, lightly floured surface, and start to stretch the dough. Press down on the center, spreading the dough into an 8-inch circle, with outer border a little thicker than the inner circle. If you find this difficult to do, use a small rolling pin to roll out the dough. Lightly brush the inner circle of the dough with oil and arrange the toppings of your choice over the inner circle.

Using a lightly floured rimless flat baking tray, slide the pizza onto the baking stone and bake until the pizza crust is nicely browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Remember that the oven is very hot and be careful as you place the pizza into and out of the oven. Transfer the pizza to a firm surface and cut into slices with a pizza cutter or very sharp knife.

prepared pizza dough (see recipe above)
1 cup organic cherry tomatoes, preferably assorted colors
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
4 cups rocket leaves
Large handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped
2 cups greshly grated parmesan
2 cups grated mozzarella
Red wine vinegar
Olive oil
Salt, pepper

Method
Prepare all toppings, and put them in prep bowls by the grill. Soak chopped shallots in a mixture of red wine vinegar and water, to take the bite out. Preheat the grill to medium high, and brush olive oil.

Roll out dough into two 12-inch thin squares or rounds and lay directly on the grill. After about a minute, rotate pie 180 degrees to make sure it's cooking evenly. Dough will begin to puff in big bubbles, in about three minutes.

Slide off the grill and flip over, reducing heat to low. Drizzle with olive oil, cover with cheese, herbs and vegetables, and sprinkle with red wine vinegar and salt and pepper. Place under a hot grill to heat the toppings

Ingredients
2 cups fresh baby spinach
2 cups loosely packed basil leaves
1 cup grated Romano cheese
2 tablespoon fresh oregano
2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon koshe salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 cup olive oil

Method

Place the first six ingredients in a food processor. Cover and pulse until chopped. Add the walnuts, lemon juice, and the peel. Cover and process until blended. While processing, gradually add the oil in a steady stream. If there is any over freeze for up to a month.

Passion for Pasta
A revised and updated edition of the famous pasta book by one of the biggest names in modern Italain cookery books. You can tell a book is a classic when the author's name is printed on the cover, as it is here, in letters that dwarf the title. You could call this book simply 'Carluccio' and bookshop customers would be flocking to it. This is one that makes a fetish of simple pasta, that uses a common basic foodstuff and turns it into a rare delicacy. The publishing genius of revised editions of cookery books is that owners of the original versions are bound to buy them because it is in the nature of good food that you always want more of the same. Here Carluccio delivers. Anyone for Chocolate Pasta Sauce? Form a line, children. Buy it here Passion for Pasta

Ingredients
1/4 cup of olive oil
4 cloves of garlic sliced in half
1 35oz can of imported Italian tomatoes
3 washed and chopped basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon of oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Place garlic and olive oil in large sauce pan. Turn heat to medium and cook until garlic is soft and lightly browned. Crush the tomatoes and add with their juices.
Fill empty tomato can 1/4 of the way with water and pour in with tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer and cook until thickened approximately 20 to 30 minutes.Add basil, oregano, salt and pepper.