Italian Entree Chicken Lemon Piccante Tart, buttery and delicious. These scallopinis of chicken are napped in a capered, lemony sauce.
Chicken: slice chicken breasts in half lengthwise. Or if you're in possession of a good sharp knife, slice the breasts edge-to-edge (like cutting a deck of cards) to make two thin pieces. Place each half (however you cut slice them) between 2 sheets of waxed paper and pound to 1/4" thickness (use a mallet, or heavy chef’s knife blade). Set aside. Coating: combine flour with next 4 ingredients, plus 2 tsp. lemon zest. Coat flattened chicken breasts with the flour mixture. Set pieces on a flat baking sheet and let them rest for 30 minutes before cooking. This helps seasoned flour to adhere. Saute: use a heavy skillet to heat oil and butter until very hot (careful not to burn). Add chicken pieces, batch at a time, and brown 3-5 minutes a side (till chicken is cooked but still tender). Add more oil if you need it. Remove, arrange on a platter, and keep warm. Sauce: next, add garlic to skillet and cook 2 minutes (careful not to brown). Then add lemon juice, wine, and capers, stirring and scraping up meat fond from bottom of the pan. Boil down a few minutes, always stirring, to thicken slightly, and pour over chicken. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately. |
Tips & Glossary Arborio Rice: a medium-grained rice. Its high starch content yields a creamy texture and is the basis for risotto. Balsamic Vinegar: dark, thick vinegar with a sweet pungent flavor. Fermented, concentrated, and aged in wooden casks, sometimes up to 12 years. Can be pricey. Caper: salty, pickled bud of spiny shrub native to the Mediterranean region. Most prized is the non-pareil, the smallest (approx. 1/8”), though other sizes are tasty and less expensive. Formaggio: Cheese! Like France, Italy is a land of sublime cheeses, some 400 varieties. Here are some of the most widely sold in the U.S. Italian Seasoning: blend of dried herbs used in Italian cooking—marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, oregano, and basil. Packaged commercially and found in most food stores. You can also make your own. Olive Oil: There's much more to know than is room for here. To learn all you need to know about the different grades of oil, and much, much more, head to Tanbourit. Pine Nuts: pinoli or pignoli; edible seeds of pine trees used in pesto sauce. Before cooking, release flavor by lightly browning in a heated skillet. Roasted peppers: buy or make your own: place under a broiler, or hold over a gas flame, till skin chars and blisters. Place in a closed paper bag for 15-20 minutes (to steam them). When cool, the skins slip off under water. Prosciutto: especially Prosciutto di Parma, dry-cured ham from Parma. The real deal! Cured up to 2 years, is almost sweet and very expensive. You can substitute with capicola, a delicious, light peppery ham.
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Italian Entree Chicken stuffed with Prosciutto Saltimbocca, literally "jump in the mouth," traditionally calls for veal. This recipe uses chicken and works beautifully.
Cutlets: you're going to make a "chicken scallop" here—a very thin cutlet. Slice chicken breasts in half lengthwise. Even better, if you've got a really good, sharp knife, slice them from edge to edge, through the center (like cutting a deck of cards) to make them thinner. However you do it, place each half between waxed paper and pound to 1/4" thickness (use a mallet, or heavy chef’s knife blade). Roll-ups: place 1 prosciutto slice, 1 sage leaf, and 1 T mozzarella on top of each chicken piece. Roll up and tie with a piece of string (a toothpick can hold the roll while you wrap and tie string, but don’t forget to remove it). Season roll-ups with salt and pepper. Cooking: in a heavy skillet, heat oil till very hot. Add roll-ups, in batches, if necessary. Brown all sides, about 5-6 minutes per batch. Return all roll-ups to skillet, pour in white wine, and simmer very gently over a low heat for 8-10 more minutes, just until chicken is cooked through but still tender. Arrange saltimbocca on a platter and keep warm, with a foil tent, while you finish off the sauce. Sauce & Serve: Add butter to wine in skillet, stirring and scraping up the meat frond from bottom of pan. Boil down to thicken slightly, add salt and pepper to taste, and pour over saltimbocca. Serve immediately. * If you can’t find prosciutto, capicola works well. It’s also considerably cheaper than prosciutto. |
Tips & Glossary Arborio Rice: a medium-grained rice. Its high starch content yields a creamy texture and is the basis for risotto. Balsamic Vinegar: dark, thick vinegar with a sweet pungent flavor. Fermented, concentrated, and aged in wooden casks, sometimes up to 12 years. Can be pricey. Caper: salty, pickled bud of spiny shrub native to the Mediterranean region. Most prized is the non-pareil, the smallest (approx. 1/8”), though other sizes are tasty and less expensive. Formaggio: Cheese! Like France, Italy is a land of sublime cheeses, some 400 varieties. Here are some of the most widely sold in the U.S. Italian Seasoning: blend of dried herbs used in Italian cooking—marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, oregano, and basil. Packaged commercially and found in most food stores. You can also make your own. Olive Oil: There's much more to know than is room for here. To learn all you need to know about the different grades of oil, and much, much more, head to Tanbourit. Pine Nuts: pinoli or pignoli; edible seeds of pine trees used in pesto sauce. Before cooking, release flavor by lightly browning in a heated skillet. Roasted peppers: buy or make your own: place under a broiler, or hold over a gas flame, till skin chars and blisters. Place in a closed paper bag for 15-20 minutes (to steam them). When cool, the skins slip off under water. Prosciutto: especially Prosciutto di Parma, dry-cured ham from Parma. The real deal! Cured up to 2 years, is almost sweet and very expensive. You can substitute with capicola, a delicious, light peppery ham.
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Italian Entree Shrimp in Garlic OIl This recipe replaces the butter of traditional shrimp scampi with olive oil...a healthier and equally delicious dish.
Preheat oven to 475. Arrange shrimp in an ovenproof casserole. Pour juice of 1 lemon over shrimp and sprinkle with salt. Heat oil in heavy skillet. Add garlic and salt and sauté for 2 minutes. Pour flavored oil over shrimp and bake 5 minutes, till shrimp are just translucent (not overdone). Arrange shrimp on a platter; garnish with parsley and other 2 lemons, cut into wedges. Serve immediately pasta, salad, and crusty Italian bread to mop up oil. * A 12"-long plastic shrimp peeler-and-deveiner makes quick work of the shrimp. They’re an inexpensive and handy tool to keep in your kitchen drawer. |
Tips & Glossary Arborio Rice: a medium-grained rice. Its high starch content yields a creamy texture and is the basis for risotto. Balsamic Vinegar: dark, thick vinegar with a sweet pungent flavor. Fermented, concentrated, and aged in wooden casks, sometimes up to 12 years. Can be pricey. Caper: salty, pickled bud of spiny shrub native to the Mediterranean region. Most prized is the non-pareil, the smallest (approx. 1/8”), though other sizes are tasty and less expensive. Formaggio: Cheese! Like France, Italy is a land of sublime cheeses, some 400 varieties. Here are some of the most widely sold in the U.S. Italian Seasoning: blend of dried herbs used in Italian cooking—marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, oregano, and basil. Packaged commercially and found in most food stores. You can also make your own. Olive Oil: There's much more to know than is room for here. To learn all you need to know about the different grades of oil, and much, much more, head to Tanbourit. Pine Nuts: pinoli or pignoli; edible seeds of pine trees used in pesto sauce. Before cooking, release flavor by lightly browning in a heated skillet. Roasted peppers: buy or make your own: place under a broiler, or hold over a gas flame, till skin chars and blisters. Place in a closed paper bag for 15-20 minutes (to steam them). When cool, the skins slip off under water. Prosciutto: especially Prosciutto di Parma, dry-cured ham from Parma. The real deal! Cured up to 2 years, is almost sweet and very expensive. You can substitute with capicola, a delicious, light peppery ham.
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Italian Entree A Table of Many Sauces Set a buffet table with a variety of sauces and bowls piled high with different types of pasta. Include a green salad, crusty Italian bread, and bowls of freshly grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese. Let your guests have at it! Tip: Toss the pasta with a little oil to keep it from clumping together. Pesto Sauce 5 cloves garlic (crushed, minced) In a food processor, pulse garlic and pine nuts with salt. Add cheeses, basil and pepper; blend thoroughly. Through the opening in the top, add oil, very gradually, in a thin stream, making sure it gets incorporated into basil-cheese mixture. Serve warm or at room temperature. Tuna Sauce 7-oz. can tuna with oil Drain tuna, reserving 1 T of its oil. Flake tuna meat and set aside. In a saucepan, heat tuna oil and olive oil till hot. Add garlic and sauté till brown. Remove and discard garlic. (You’re just flavoring the oil.) Add mushrooms, sautéing for 3-5 minutes, till soft. Add chopped tomatoes and vinegar, cover, and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Add flaked tuna, salt & pepper, and stir in dried herbs. Cook for a few more minutes to warm tuna. Right before serving, stir in fresh chopped parsley. Zucchini, Tomatoes & Pine Nuts 1/2 lb. prosciutto (large dice) * In a saucepan, sauté prosciutto in melted butter (careful to burn). Add mushrooms and continue sautéing till mushroom liquid is reduced, about 7-8 minutes. Lower heat and add cream, stirring constantly, being careful not to boil. Add cheese and continue stirring. Serve immediately. * If you can’t find prosciutto, capicola works just as well. It’s also considerably cheaper than prosciutto. Sicilian Eggplant Relish 2 lbs. eggplant (peeled, 1” cubes) Eggplant: preheat oven to 350. Sprinkle eggplant cubes with salt and set in colander to drain for 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry. In a large bowl, toss eggplant with 2 T oil, place on foil-lined baking sheet, cover with foil, and bake 15 minutes till glistening and tender (not mushy). Vegetables: heat remaining 2 T C oil in large skillet, add celery and onion, cooking 10 minutes till soft. Add eggplant mixture and cook, stirring, for another 2-3 minutes. Combine vinegar with sugar and pour into eggplant-onion mixture. Add remaining ingredients (except pine nuts). Final cook: bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and add pine nuts. Refrigerate (relish keeps for a good week or more). Serve at room termperature over cold pasta, or warm over hot pasta. |
Tips & Glossary Arborio Rice: a medium-grained rice. Its high starch content yields a creamy texture and is the basis for risotto. Balsamic Vinegar: dark, thick vinegar with a sweet pungent flavor. Fermented, concentrated, and aged in wooden casks, sometimes up to 12 years. Can be pricey. Caper: salty, pickled bud of spiny shrub native to the Mediterranean region. Most prized is the non-pareil, the smallest (approx. 1/8”), though other sizes are tasty and less expensive. Formaggio: Cheese! Like France, Italy is a land of sublime cheeses, some 400 varieties. Here are some of the most widely sold in the U.S. Italian Seasoning: blend of dried herbs used in Italian cooking—marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, oregano, and basil. Packaged commercially and found in most food stores. You can also make your own. Olive Oil: There's much more to know than is room for here. To learn all you need to know about the different grades of oil, and much, much more, head to Tanbourit. Pine Nuts: pinoli or pignoli; edible seeds of pine trees used in pesto sauce. Before cooking, release flavor by lightly browning in a heated skillet. Roasted peppers: buy or make your own: place under a broiler, or hold over a gas flame, till skin chars and blisters. Place in a closed paper bag for 15-20 minutes (to steam them). When cool, the skins slip off under water. Prosciutto: especially Prosciutto di Parma, dry-cured ham from Parma. The real deal! Cured up to 2 years, is almost sweet and very expensive. You can substitute with capicola, a delicious, light peppery ham.
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Italian Side Broccoli in White Wine An elegant, tasty Italian version of broccoli. You'll never think about broccoli the same way again.
Heat oil in skillet. When hot, add broccoli and sauté, stirring for 3 minutes. Season with salt & pepper. Add garlic and sauté for 3 more minutes. Add white wine, a little at a time. Cover and simmer for 6-8 more minutes, or until broccoli is tender but still crisp. Drain and serve immediately. |
Tips & Glossary Arborio Rice: a medium-grained rice. Its high starch content yields a creamy texture and is the basis for risotto. Balsamic Vinegar: dark, thick vinegar with a sweet pungent flavor. Fermented, concentrated, and aged in wooden casks, sometimes up to 12 years. Can be pricey. Caper: salty, pickled bud of spiny shrub native to the Mediterranean region. Most prized is the non-pareil, the smallest (approx. 1/8”), though other sizes are tasty and less expensive. Formaggio: Cheese! Like France, Italy is a land of sublime cheeses, some 400 varieties. Here are some of the most widely sold in the U.S. Italian Seasoning: blend of dried herbs used in Italian cooking—marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, oregano, and basil. Packaged commercially and found in most food stores. You can also make your own. Olive Oil: There's much more to know than is room for here. To learn all you need to know about the different grades of oil, and much, much more, head to Tanbourit. Pine Nuts: pinoli or pignoli; edible seeds of pine trees used in pesto sauce. Before cooking, release flavor by lightly browning in a heated skillet. Roasted peppers: buy or make your own: place under a broiler, or hold over a gas flame, till skin chars and blisters. Place in a closed paper bag for 15-20 minutes (to steam them). When cool, the skins slip off under water. Prosciutto: especially Prosciutto di Parma, dry-cured ham from Parma. The real deal! Cured up to 2 years, is almost sweet and very expensive. You can substitute with capicola, a delicious, light peppery ham.
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