Taralli the Italian Pretzel

One of the go to snacks in our house are taralli.  Hailing from Puglia, they were first introduced to me in Naples by our cousin Laura over 10 years ago.  I was addicted at first bite and I think I ate a whole bag!  I couldn't believe the flavor that could come from such a plain looking bread product.  When my son was old enough to eat crunchy food, we introduced taralli to him right away.  They have become the snack he requests most often, although he did not like it when I tried to slip in the fennel flavored ones to his school snack.  Taralli come in many variations. There are savory flavors like fennel, peperoncino and black pepper. You can also find sweet taralli glazed with sugar and often flavored with lemon (we are talking about Southern Italy so makes sense!)  We use the savory ones as part of our go to cheese plate adornments and they are also great dunked in wine.  You can find them at any Italian  special shop from Eataly to Di Palo's in NYC.  A bag usually costs around $3.50, a pretty inexpensive treat that will add a little piece of Puglia to your day.  On my list is to make them from scratch, so stay tuned to see how my homemade taralli come out!

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Lamb Sugo

Over the past few weeks, I have been actively building my Instagram following.  This includes sharing pictures of the food I eat on a daily basis.  I have also begin to follow many chefs and food bloggers which provide daily inspiration for my meal planning.  This week, someone posted an amazing looking brunch dish from Barbuto  in NYC: Lamb Sugo over polenta topped with a poached egg.  This of course looked delicious and my husband and I knew we could make it easily.  The starting point is an amazing lamb sugo (sauce) that can be made ahead of time and used for multiple dishes during the week (recipe below).  Polenta is easy enough, just make it according to the package directions and add in some parmigiano cheese.  Last, poach an egg for each person who you are serving.  Layer in this order: polenta, lamb sugo, egg on top, salt, pepper and a little extra cheese.  The result is a hearty, soul warming dish that is full of flavor!

Lamb Sugo

Ingredients

• 2 35-ounce can San Marzano tomatoes, whole 
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium yellow onions, diced (about 2 cups)
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped fine
• 4 Lamb Shanks or Lamb Shoulder (or a mix of both)
• salt
• 3/4 cup red wine
• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• 4 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably the type dried on the branch, crumbled
• 4 cups hot water

Directions

Pass the tomatoes and their liquid through a food mill fitted with the fine blade or crush with your hands in a separate glass bowl. Set aside.

• Heat the olive oil in a heavy  5-quart pot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Make a little room in the center of the pot, dump in the garlic and cook, stirring, until the garlic is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add the lamb shanks and cook, turning, until lightly browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.  Continue cooking until the meat is browned about 8 minutes. Add the bay leaves and oregano then pour in the wine. Bring to a boil and cook, scraping up the brown bits that cling to the pot, until the wine is almost completely evaporated. Pour in the tomatoes, then stir in the tomato paste until is dissolved. Season lightly with salt. Bring to a boil, adjust the heat to a lively simmer and cook, uncovered, stirring often, until the sauce takes on a dark red  color, 3 to 4 hours. Add the hot water, about 1/2 cup at a time, as necessary so that the sauce does not get too thick.

• Skim off any fat floating on top and adjust the seasoning as necessary. The sauce can be prepared entirely in advance and refrigerated for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 3 months

• It goes well in the polenta/egg dish I discusses above or beautifully with pasta!

Italian Baked Eggs

Winter is finally upon us in New York City and we are all in the mood for some comfort food.  Today as my husband and I came up with a dinner plan, we decided we were in the mood for this delicious comfort dish: Italian Baked Eggs.  This is something anyone can make with only a few ingredients that most people will have on hand most of the time.  

Step 1-Tomato Sauce in a baking dish.  We made our own quick Marinara sauce (1 can San Marzano tomatoes, garlic sautéed in olive oil, salt, pepper, basil).

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Step 2-Add eggs to tomato sauce.  We did individual servings in small baking dishes, so 2 eggs per person.

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Step 3-Cover with shredded mozzarella and top off with parmigiano. 

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Step 4-Bake in the oven at 425 degrees for 12 minutes. Top with parsley for some color and extra flavor. The eggs should be runny, if you want firmer eggs, bake for a few extra minutes.

You can add other ingredients to the baking dish, some suggestions-sausage, hot pepper if you want some kick, or even shredded chicken for extra protein.

Serve with grilled or toasted Italian bread, you will need it to zuppare! 

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Grand Ticino

Sometimes on Christmas Eve, I stop and think about one very special New York Christmas Eve I had back in 1994.  I was a freshman at Fordham University and got to spend Christmas Eve at a very special old school Italian restaurant. My Dad was working that day, he is a sound engineer for musical acts.  He happened to be working for the legendary Laura Nyro who was playing at the Bottom Line, another historic New York establishment which sadly closed in 2004.

After the show, we went to have dinner at the famous Grand Ticino.  I of course was pleased to be eating Italian and even more excited that this was the location where a scene from Moonstruck was filmed (one my my favorite Newyorkese movies).  

The Grand Ticino had an 82 year run at 228 Thompson Street in Greenwhich Village (1919-2001), it was one of the old classics. From the classic menu to the old word decor, it was Italian-American at it's best. I can still remember the delicious ravioli I had, freshly made of course. I am glad I had the chance to eat there and be part of something with such history, there are not many places left in New York like this.  At the time I did not know how lucky I was.

Lambrusco: Italian pronunciation: [lam.ˈbru.sko]

Lambrusco is one of my favorite Italian wines. Originating from Emilia-Romagna A light, bubbly red or rose` that is a great alternative to prosecco or Champagne.  It isn't fancy, but it is fun and is a great Holiday gift. The pink bottle of this Labrusca Rose` makes it a great gift or even a surprise pairing with pasta for dinner. This one is produced by Lini 910 and can be found at Bottle Rocket on 19th Street in Manhattan for $15. They also have a red,  Check our their website: http://www.lini910.it/en/labrusca.htm    Salute!

Olives

Something hit me last week during Thanksgiving shopping, while standing at the deli counter in Lombardy's in Mattituck, LI.  I realized that most people can not tell the difference between olives and have a hard time shopping for them.  A woman next to me started asking me a lot of questions, I guess I looked credible?  She was trying to remember which ones her Dad likes, I finally pinpointed what she was looking for: Gaeta.

I on the other hand was buying my go to cheese/salumi plate olives: Castelvetrano.  The small, bright green Sicilian olives with buttery texture.  They are heaven.

Here is a quick guide to Italian olives to help you out next time you are in your local Italian specialty shop. 

Brine Cured vs Oil Cured-The brine cured olives will be smooth and plum while the oil cured ones will be more wrinkled and coated in oil.

Castelvetrano-A bright green Sicilian olive, great for snacking and of course for cheese plates. Almost always with the pit and brine cured.

Cerignola-From Puglia, come in red, black and green.  Brine cured and quite large.  They are also great for snacking/cheese plates.  They are mild and buttery. 

Gaeta-Dark purple or black. Soft tender flesh, citrus flavor. Can be found both brine cured or oil cured.  Great in pasta, especially Puttanesca.

Saracena-From Sicily, small dark black olives.  Cured in salt and more pungent. Great for pizza!

Taggiasca- Smiliar to a French Nicoise olive, small with a lot of flavor. Grown in Liguria.  Great for tapenade. 

Of course you can mix them all together, a variety is great.  I personally love when they are marinated in oil and citrus rind, amazing.....

I hope this helps, olives make a great addition to any salumi or cheese plate, they are great in pasta, pizza and salads.  They also make the perfect hostess gift when attending a dinner party.