Category: Basics

Zia Viviana’s Tomato Sauce (sugo)

On November 19, 2024

My Zia Viviana loved to cook great foods with simple recipes. Her tomato sauce, with a hint of bell pepper, garlic and Calabrian peppers, is wonderful if you want to make a flavorful, full-bodied sauce to accompany meatballs, pasta, or just soak up with a slice of crusty warm bread.

Ingredients

1 28-ounce can of whole San Marzano Italian tomatoes
1 whole clove of garlic, peeled and smashed
¼ of a red bell pepper
4 – 5 leaves of fresh basil
1 hot red pepper (optional)
¼ – ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil (added after the sauce has been cooked)

Preparation

Put everything into a pot at the same time, leaving the tomatoes whole. Bring to a boil. As soon as it boils, lower the heat to simmer and cover, using a wooden spoon to keep the lid partially open.
Allow it to cook slowly for about three hours. Note that this cooking time is elastic — if you cook it a half hour more or less, it is still delicious. You can also stop halfway, cover, and then continue when you come home from work or errands.
After three hours, remove the cover, and let it continue to cook for another thirty minutes. Remove from the heat and add the extra virgin olive oil. Use a potato masher to smash the tomatoes.
Use this sauce for a great spaghetti or use it as the basis of the sauce for my meatball recipe.
Buon appetito!

Italiano: Sugo di Zia Viviana

Ingredients

1 scatola dei pomodori pelati San Marzano (800 grammi)
1 spicchio d’aglio schiacciato
¼ di un peperoni roso
3 – 4 foglie di basilico
1 – 2 peperoncini rossi piccanti, a seconda di quanto ti piace piccante
½ tazza di olio d’oliva

Preparation

Mettete tutti gli’ingredienti in una pentola contemporaneamente, lasciando i pomodori interi. Lasciarlo bollire. Appena bolle, abbassate la fiamma e coprite, aiutandovi con un cucchiaio di legno per mantenere il coperchio parzialmente aperto.
Lasciare cuocere lentamente per circa tre ore. Tieni presente che questo tempo di cottura è elastico: anche se lo cucini mezz’ora più o meno, è comunque delizioso. Puoi anche fermarti a metà strada, coprirti e poi continuare quando torni a casa dal lavoro o dalle commissioni.
Dopo tre ore, togliete il coperchio e lasciate cuocere per altri trenta minuti. Togliere dal fuoco e aggiungere l’olio extra vergine di oliva. Usa uno schiacciapatate per schiacciare i pomodori.
Usa questo sugo per degli ottimi spaghetti oppure usalo come base del sugo per la mia ricetta delle polpette.
Buon appetito!

Beef Bone Broth

By Michele Carbone

On October 18, 2023

In Basics, Broths and Soups

This is a beef bone broth recipe based on one shared on the New York Times Cooking site by Julia Moskin. It creates a delicious, rich broth that we use in preparing any risotto requiring a meat broth.

You need to start this recipe at least one day in advance because it requires about 12 hours of cooking time.

Ingredients

A total of 6 lbs. of beef bones:
- 1 1⁄2 pounds bone-in beef short rib
- 3 1⁄2 pounds beef shank or oxtail (you can substitute beef knucklebones or neck bones for some of the oxtail)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tube of Italian tomato paste
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
3 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped into 2-inch pieces
3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped into 2-inch pieces
2 red onions, halved and peeled
1 head of garlic, excess skin removed, and the top chopped off to expose the cloves
2 bay leaves
1 bunch of fresh Italian parsley
½ bunch of thyme
1 handful of dried mushrooms, preferably shitake; you can also use fresh shitake if you cannot find dried shitake (I use about 6 ounces of fresh shitake).
1 tablespoon black peppercorns

Preparation

Start this recipe at least one day before you plan to use it. Also, make sure you have some large freezer containers so that you can freeze the portion you don’t use. I am usually able to get at least three dinner parties worth of broth from this recipe.

Pre-heat the oven to 350°
Put all the beef bones into a large roasting pan, and then drizzle with the olive oil. I use a brush to coat all sides of the bones and meat, then dip the same brush into a small bowl containing the tomato paste. Lightly cover the bones with the olive oil and tomato paste.
Place the pan, uncovered, into the oven and roast for 35 – 40 minutes.
Once the bones are roasted, transfer the bones to a large stockpot (12-quarts).
Pour a little cold water into the roasting pan and use a wooden spoon to mix all the remaining drippings from the bottom of the roasting pan. Pour the water mixed with drippings over the bones, then add enough cold water to cover the bones by about 3 inches. Add the vinegar.
Bring to a rapid boil, then reduce to a simmer, leaving the stockpot uncovered. Simmer for 2 to 3 ho
Meat broth after simmering many hours.

urs uncovered, occasionally skimming the fat from the top.
Now add another 3-4 inches of water, along with all the vegetables and herbs. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Partially cover the pot and allow the stock to simmer for a minimum of 4 hours, but preferably overnight for 9 to 12 hours. If the broth evaporates too much, add more water, and turn down the heat.If you are uncomfortable with letting the stock go all night, you can fully cover the pot overnight, leaving the pot on the cooktop. In the morning, bring the ingredients to a boil, then uncover and reduce to a simmer for the remaining hours. The process of heating and then cooling, then heating again helps add more flavor, in my opinion.
Allow the broth to cool.
Strain the broth from the bones and vegetables with a fine mesh sieve. If you are like my husband, you will put the beef and bones along with the carrots and celery onto a platter, then add some salt and pepper to it. It’s a great meaty dish.

Brodo di Carne (Italiano)

Questa è una ricetta per il brodo di ossa di manzo basata su quella condivisa sul sito di cucina del New York Times da Julia Moskin. Crea un brodo delizioso e ricco che utilizziamo nella preparazione di qualsiasi risotto che richieda brodo di carne.

È necessario iniziare questa ricetta almeno un giorno prima perché richiede circa 12 ore di cottura.

Ingredienti

Un totale di 2.5 kili di ossa di manzo
- 1 kilo di costolette di manzo con osso
- 1 kilo di stinco di manzo o coda di bue (puoi sostituire parte della coda di bue con astragali o ossa del collo)
2 cucchiai di olio extravergine di oliva
1/2 tubo di concentrato di pomodoro italiano
60 ml di aceto di mele
3 carote, sbucciate e tagliate grossolanamente in pezzi da 2 pollici
3 gambi di sedano, tagliati grossolanamente in pezzi da 2 pollici
2 cipolle rosse, tagliate a metà e sbucciate
1 testa d’aglio, privata della pelle in eccesso e della parte superiore tagliata per esporre gli spicchi
2 foglie di alloro
1 mazzetto di prezzemolo fresco
½ mazzetto di timo
1 manciata di funghi secchi, preferibilmente shitake; puoi anche usare lo shitake fresco se non riesci a trovare lo shitake essiccato (io uso circa 6 once di shitake fresco)
1 cucchiaio di pepe nero in grani

Preparazione

Iniziate questa ricetta almeno un giorno prima di pensare di usarla. Inoltre, assicurati di avere dei contenitori freezer grandi in modo da poter congelare la porzione che non usi. Di solito riesco a ottenere almeno tre cene di brodo da questa ricetta.

Preriscaldare il forno a 180°
Metti tutte le ossa di manzo in una grande teglia e poi condisci con l’olio d’oliva. Uso un pennello per rivestire tutti i lati delle ossa e della carne; quindi, immergo lo stesso pennello in una piccola ciotola contenente il concentrato di pomodoro. Coprire leggermente tutte le ossa con l’olio d’oliva e il concentrato di pomodoro.
Metti la teglia, scoperta, nel forno e arrostisci per 35 – 40 minuti.
Una volta arrostite le ossa, trasferirle in una pentola capiente (12 litri).
Versa un po’ d’acqua fredda nella teglia e usa un cucchiaio di legno per mescolare tutti i liquidi rimasti sul fondo della teglia. Versare l’acqua mescolata con i residui sulle ossa, quindi aggiungere abbastanza acqua fredda per coprire le ossa di circa 3 pollici. Aggiungi l’aceto.
Portare a ebollizione rapida, quindi ridurre a fuoco lento, lasciando la pentola scoperta. Cuocere a fuoco lento per 2 o 3 ore senza coperchio, scremando di tanto in tanto il grasso dalla parte superiore.
Brodo di carne.
Ora aggiungi altri 3-4 pollici di acqua, insieme a tutte le verdure e le erbe aromatiche. Portare a ebollizione, quindi ridurre il fuoco a fuoco lento. Copri parzialmente la pentola e lascia sobbollire il brodo per almeno 4 ore, ma preferibilmente durante la notte per 9-12 ore. Se il brodo evapora troppo, aggiungete altra acqua e abbassate la fiamma.
Se non ti senti a tuo agio nel lasciare il brodo tutta la notte, puoi coprire completamente la pentola durante la notte, lasciandola sul piano cottura. Al mattino portare a ebollizione gli ingredienti, quindi scoprire e far cuocere a fuoco lento per le restanti ore. Secondo me, il processo di riscaldamento, quindi raffreddamento e successivo riscaldamento aiuta ad aggiungere più sapore.
Lasciare raffreddare il brodo.

Filtrare il brodo delle ossa e delle verdure con un colino a maglia fine. Se sei come mio marito, metterai la carne di manzo e le ossa insieme alle carote e al sedano su un piatto, quindi aggiungerai sale e pepe. È un ottimo piatto di carne.

Basic Tomato Sauce (Sugo Simplice)

By Michele Carbone

On April 20, 2021

In Basics, Pasta Dishes

Basic Tomato Sauce (for 4 – 6 people)

I use a basic tomato sauce as the basis for many recipes. Whether you want to make a lasagna, an eggplant parmigiana, or a fast pasta for a group of hungry kids, use this recipe. It literally takes less than 10 minutes to prepare, especially if you are using canned Italian plum tomatoes.

Ingredients

1 can of Italian plum tomatoes (chopped), or a box of Pomì chopped tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, smashed
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Calabrian red hot pepper or a Thai pepper, minced (optional)
A handful of chopped fresh Italian basil
Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make this Recipe

Add olive oil to a large skillet and heat to medium.
When the olive oil is warm, add the sliced garlic cloves.
Allow the garlic to turn golden; then remove all of the garlic, using a fork.
Add the chopped tomatoes and basil and bring the heat to high. Add salt and pepper. Stir the ingredients together and allow to cook about 5 minutes. DO NOT OVERCOOK!
Turn fire off.
If you are using this as a sauce for another dish, you can use it immediately. If you are using it as a pasta sauce, mix with spaghetti or other pasta, add freshly grated Parmigiano cheese, and enjoy!

Italiano: Sugo Semplice

Uso una salsa di pomodoro base come base per molte ricette. Che tu voglia fare una lasagna, una parmigiana di melanzane o una pasta veloce per un gruppo di ragazzini affamati, usa questa ricetta. Ci vogliono meno di 10 minuti, soprattutto se si utilizzano pomodori a tatterini in scatola.

Ingredienti

1 scatola di pomodori datterini italiani (tritati) o una scatola di pomodori Pomì a pezzetti
2 spicchi d’aglio, schiacciati
120 ml di olio extravergine di oliva
1 peperoncino piccante calabrese italiano o, tritato (facoltativo) o altro Thai pepper, etc.
Una manciata di basilico italiano fresco tritato
Sale e pepe a piacere

Preparazione

Aggiungere l’olio d’oliva in una padella fuoco medio alto.
Quando l’olio d’oliva è caldo, aggiungere aglio schiacciato.
Lasciare che l’aglio diventi dorato; quindi toglierlo.
Aggiungere la polpa di pomodoro e il basilico e portare la fiamma al massimo. Aggiungi sale e pepe. Mescolate gli ingredienti e lasciate cuocere per 5 minuti. NON CUOCERE TROPPO!
Spegnere il fuoco.
Se lo usi come salsa per un altro piatto, puoi usarlo immediatamente. Se lo usi come condimento per la pasta, mescola con gli spaghetti o altra pasta, aggiungi il Parmigiano grattugiato fresco e buon appetito!

Giancarlo Gottardo’s Vinaigrette

By Michele Carbone

On March 8, 2020

In Basics, Fun Stuff

Vinaigrette

Do you like a slightly-sweet vinaigrette with your salads? I do, and often I have used a bit of honey as one of the ingredients in my oil and vinegar salad dressings. Now I have a new favorite – a grape-reduction vinaigrette that has become one of the staples in my pantry.

I never knew what to do with the grapes that remained after an event. They are so beautiful when they are fresh and cool, displayed artfully on a platter…but if they aren’t all eaten, they look soft and unappealing the next day. I used to throw them away, until Giancarlo Gottardo, our good friend, showed me how to use them to make a fantastic homemade vinaigrette.

Ingredients

1 cup of sugar
1 cup of white, apple cider vinegar, or white
balsamic vinegar
1 cup of water
1 teaspoon of salt
1 kilo (2.2 lbs) of white, red, or green grapes and their stems (you can use a mix of these varieties as well)

How to Prepare this Recipe

Put the grapes, sugar, vinegar, water, and salt into a heavy saucepan with a good lid.
Bring to a boil for a couple of minutes, then put a lid on the pot and turn down the heat. Cook for an hour on a simmer with the lid on.
Allow the pot to cool, covered, then strain through a fine sieve or cheesecloth into a bottle.
Store at a cool temperature inside a cabinet.

Homemade Vegetable Broth

By Michele Carbone

On September 24, 2018

In Basics, Broths and Soups

I like to use homemade broths for all of my soup and risotto recipes. My wife, Betti, makes the broth in our household, and she always keeps fresh or frozen broth in the kitchen. Here’s her recipe for a simple vegetable broth.

Ingredients

2 potatoes
2 onions
2 leeks
2 celery stalks
2 carrots
2 leafs of kale (optional)
2 cherry tomatoes
½ bunch flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
Salt
A teaspoon of black peppercorns
2 liters of water

How to make this recipe

Coarsely chop all of the vegetables except the cherry tomatoes and the parsley.
Fill a pot with 2 to 3 liters of water. Make sure you have a heavy lid for the pot.
Add the chopped vegetables, salt and peppercorns, and the ½ bunch of Italian parsley to the pot.
Bring to a boil. Allow to boil vigorously for 5 to 10 minutes, then partially cover the pot with its lid and bring to a simmer.
Allow the ingredients to simmer for about 2 – 3 hours, making sure that it stays close to a boil, but doesn’t actually boil anymore
After cooking for 2 – 3 hours, add the cherry tomatoes and bring to a boil once again for a few minutes.

Turn off the heat and allow to cool. Use a colander or a strainer to separate the vegetables and peppercorns from the broth.

Basic Chicken Broth (Basic, or light version)

By Michele Carbone

On August 31, 2017

In Basics, Broths and Soups

My wife Betti makes all of the broths we use in our recipes. We always have a store of frozen chicken, vegetable, and meat broths available because the flavor of these home-made broths is much richer and more intense than that of packaged broths. If you have to buy a broth, look for an organic broth in your local market. But I promise you, once you’ve made your own broth, you won’t go back to the store-bought variety.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken
2 carrots, chopped into large pieces
2 celery stalks, chopped into large pieces
1 white onion, quartered
2 leeks, chopped into rounds (wash the leeks carefully to remove the grit)
½ bunch fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley
2 bay leaves
20 black peppercorns
A handful of salt
A bunch of fresh thyme – sometimes you can find a combined bunch of thyme and marjoram mixed together at the market, and you can use this bunch

How to Make this Recipe

In a large stockpot (about 4 quarts of water), add cold water and all of the ingredients except the chicken.
Bring to a boil for about 5 minutes, then lower the heat to a simmer and cover. Allow the vegetables to cook for about 40-45 minutes.
Raise the heat to a boil and add the chicken (don’t add the giblets—you can reserve them for something else).
Bring the heat to a boil over medium-high heat. Allow it to boil for about 5 minutes.
Reduce the heat to a simmer, so that you see rolling bubbles every minute or two, but the water is not rapidly boiling.
Partially cover, and allow to cook for about 1 hour. You can skim off any foam periodically, so that the resulting broth will be very clear.
Remove the chicken from the pot, placing it into a large bowl or baking dish so that it can cool. Keep the broth on a low simmer until the chicken is cooled enough to pick the meat from the bones. Once it’s cooled, you can shred the meat from the bone and use it for another recipe—my favorite use for the shredded chicken is a variation of the Mediterranean Chicken Salad recipe from the classic cookbook The Silver Palate: http://www.silverpalate.com/recipe/store-favorites/mediterreanian-chicken-salad
Put the bones back into the broth and cook for another hour, partially covered, and always at a low boil.
Strain the chicken broth once it’s cooled enough for use or storage.

Fish Broth

By Michele Carbone

On August 30, 2017

In Basics, Broths and Soups, Fish

How to Make Fish Stock

Use only fish from the sea, not from rivers and lakes. You can use anything you like. For example, you can use 1 pound of sardines and/or fish heads (say salmon, grouper, Mahi Mahi, shirimp, or the “skin” of the shrimp. Always use some, say 10 or so mussels or clams, etc. and their spines. Do not use small fish. Then, you do not have to deal with their small bones that will choke some guests not used to eating fish).

In a pot (really big), add the fish; it should occupy about 1/3 to ¼ of the pot. Add 1-2 glasses white wine –depending on how big your pot is, 1 red onion cut in 4, 4 cloves of garlic crushed, 1 bunch of parsley, 1 sprig of rosemary, 1 celery cut in pieces, water up to 2 inches to the top, black peppercorns, and salt. Let it boil lightly for 2-3 hours or three, until the water is about half then what you started with. Drain the broth, set aside until it reaches room temperature, and then freeze. When you need it, you will defrost it.

Canned Tomatoes – A Cooking Basic

By Michele Carbone

On May 19, 2017

In Basics

Although many recipes are very good when you use store-bought canned tomatoes (like Pomì), they reach the next level of excellence when you can use tomatoes you have canned yourself. My wife and I discovered this when we lived in the Chicago area, and found many varieties of beautiful heirloom tomatoes at a local farmer’s market. We found that the yellow, green, and orange heirlooms provided a lovely balance for fish recipes requiring tomato, while the red heirlooms were milder and more tasty than the store-bought tomatoes. Now, we always keep a supply of canned tomatoes on hand.

Ingredients

Ball mason jars and new lids (you can buy these jars at Walmart and in many supermarkets) – washed and drained
Fresh basil
Lots and lots of mature, clean tomatoes – we typically buy 50 pounds of them from the market and spend the weekend cleaning and canning.

How to make this recipe

Put a very large pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil

Carefully drop the clean tomatoes (in batches) into the water

Leave them there for a minute or two until the skin begins to split

Use a slotted spoon to lift the tomatoes from the water and put them on a large flat serving dish to cool

Do steps 2 and 3 multiple times until all the tomatoes are ready

Peel the tomatoes and put them into the canning jars, filling to near the top (you could also look at the instructions on the Ball Canning website

Add one leaf of clean, fresh basil to the jar

Use a wooden tool to make sure that there are no air bubbles in the jar

Screw on the top of the jar, finger-tight

Place the jars into a large pot of cold water or a pressure cooker, with at least 3 inches of water covering the jars.

You can follow the instructions on the Ball Ball Canning website for cooking.
I do not follow instructions and do as I saw my grandmother did: At sea level, since the water boils, I wait 20 minutes, then I turn off the fire and leave the pot on the stove until it cools down (about 16 hours). Then you can store the jars for several years. However, the time it takes to cook the tomatoes is influenced by the altitude. So, if you live on top of a mountain, you may want to wait 30 minutes or so before turning the fire off.

Italiano:

Come fare la conserva: Tanti pomodori maturi, bollire 1-2 min appena la pelle si spacca metterli in uno scolapasta. Farli raffreddare. Sbuccciarli e metterli in barattoli di vetro per fare conserva -si vendono ovunque, precedentemente lavati in lavastoviglie -che disinfetta molto meglio che lavando a mano. Riempire fino all’olrlo e mettere una foglia di basilico fresco -togliere bolle d’aria con una forchetta. Chiudere il barattolo con gli appositi coperchi. Mettere in un grande pentolone e coprire d’acqua fredda. I barattoli devono essere interamente sommersi. Accendere il fuoco al massimo, da quando bolle, aspettare 20 min. poi spegnere il fuoco e lasciare raffreddare fino al mattino successivo. Pomodori pronti: si conservano vari anni.