Category: Dr. Michele Carbone Page 1 of 3

This is my preferred abbacchio dish, which consists of the cooked organs of the milk-fed lamb, or abbacchio. It includes the liver, heart, spleen, and lungs. If you are in Rome go to Sora Lella, one of the remaining old, real Roman restaurants located in a beautiful old house/tower in the middle of the city in the Isola Tiberina, the only restaurant on this tiny island. It’s a15 minute walk from Saint Peter’s piazza. If you go there, order this fantastic dish. They taught me how to make it.

Ingredients

3 large “Roman” Artichokes
3 red onions, cut in thin slices
Vinegar [what kind and how much]
Fresh squeezed lemon juice [how much?]
1 clove of garlic, peeled and smashed
2 bay leaves
1 sprig of rosemary
3 leaves of sage
1 and 1/3 cups (314 ml) of extra virgin olive oil, evenly divided into 2/3 cups (175 ml) and 2/3 cups (175 ml) for different parts of the cooking process
1 -2 chopped Calabrian red peppers
1 cup of white wine
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Put the coratella in a bowl with water and some vinegar [HOW MUCH VINEGAR].
Soak the coratella for about 30 minutes. Rinse the coratella well.
While the coratella is soaking with the water and vinegar, clean the artichokes, then cut each artichoke in 8 pieces. Put the cut artichokes in a large bowl with water and lemon juice for 20 minutes.
Chop the rinsed coratella in small pieces and separate into two bowls; the liver pieces should be in a different bowl than the other organs. The liver is kept separate from the other organs because it cooks more rapidly.
Put the 2/3 cup of olive oil into a medium-sized saucepan on high heat. Add 1 smashed clove of garlic and the artichoke pieces. Once the artichoke pieces take a nice gold color on all sides (about 5 minutes), lower the heat and add 1 cup of hot water. Cook for another 10 minutes on low.
In a non-stick skillet on medium heat, add olive oil (about 2/3 of a cup) and the onion slices. Simmer for 2 to3 minutes. Add the herbs and the chopped lungs (these are not available in the US) and partially cover, simmering for another 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, raise the heat to medium-low and add the chopped heart and spleen, the chopped Calabrian pepper, salt, and a glass of white wine. Continue to simmer partially covered for about 8 minutes. Add the liver, then use a slotted spoon [or do you include the 2/3 cup olive oil used to cook the artichokes] to add the artichokes from the other pan. If it looks dry—it should not— add some water. Mix well and cook partially covered on medium heat for 5 more minutes.
Add a little more olive oil, taste for hot pepper and salt and add more if you like.
Serve this to your guests while it’s still hot.

Classic Pork Ragu (for 8)

By Michele Carbone

On September 24, 2025

In Dr. Michele Carbone

As fall approaches I have recently been experimenting with hearty, delicious dishes that pair with polenta. After exploring a number of recipes online, I decided on a very simple combination of ingredients: sausage, pork ribs, onions, and canned tomatoes.

It is very easy to make polenta. There are 2 types I recommend: Bramata and “instant” polenta. The former is firmer and takes about 45 minutes to cook, and I like it better. Instant polenta is still good, but it is less firm and takes about 8 minutes to cook.

Ingredients

For the Ragu:

4 lbs. pork ribs.
4 – 5 Italian sausages sliced in medallions.
1 cup of white wine, preferably a pinot grigio.
1 medium red onion, chopped.
1 and ½ boxes of Pomï chopped tomatoes.
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed.
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil.
1 handful of fresh Italian parsley (flat-leaf), minced.
a handful of fresh sweet basil leaves, for serving.
1 – 2 Calabrian red peppers, minced.
½ cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese. You can also use Parmigiano, but I prefer the sharper, saltier flavor of Pecorino. Both are great.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Note: This recipe for ragu serves 8 people. If you have four people, use 250 grams of polenta and save the rest of the ragu to be used as a pasta sauce.

For the Polenta:

250 grams of polenta for 4 people; 500 grams of polenta for 8 people.
Water in a ratio of 4 to 1 (1000 ml of water for 250 grams of polenta; 2000 ml of water for 500 grams of polenta)
Salt to taste.

Preparation

Preparing the Ragu

In a large pot (cast-iron or enamel pot best), combine the ribs, chopped sausages, 2 cloves of smashed garlic, the hot pepper, and olive oil to cover by about ¼ inch. Brown the meat on one side, about 3-4 minutes.
When you turn the meat over, add the chopped onion and the handful of minced parsley, and let it saute another 3-4 minutes.
Add 1 cup of white wine. Turn down the heat to medium and allow the alcohol to evaporate.
Add the 1 and ½ boxes of Pomï tomatoes to the pot, then add salt and pepper. Stir well.
Cover, and allow to cook on simmer/low heat for 3 – 4 hours.
Remove the cover and stir. Allow some liquid to evaporate by continuing to cook on low/simmer to allow the liquid to reduce.
Add a handful of fresh basil leaves about 15 minutes before you turn off the heat.

Preparing the Polenta

Both the Bramata and the instant polenta are prepared in the same way.

500 grams of polenta, which you will let slowly fall into 2 liters of simmering water with one handful of salt in a pot. The best pot is a Paiolo pan, which made of copper and has a wooden handle. As the polenta falls in the water, mix with a whisk. Keep mixing for a minute or two.
Lower the heat, making sure the water does not boil, and keep mixing for a minute or two –lower the heat, be sure the water does not boil, then use a wooden spoon to continue to mix the water with the polenta,.
Once the polenta falls from the side of the pot and becomes a ball in the center of the pot, it is ready (45 minutes) for the Bramata. For the instant polenta, after 8 minutes it is done, no matter what.

Serving the Ragu with the Polenta

When the polenta is ready, pour it onto a large cutting board or serving dish, shaping it into a circle. Make an indentation in the center of the polenta, then pour the ragu onto the polenta. Add the grated Pecorino cheese and serve.
Buon appetito!

Suggestion: If you cook the polenta Bramata, be sure to have a friend in the kitchen who can take turns with you mixing the polenta—and yes, you should constantly mix the polenta, this is why lazy people invented the instant polenta!

Rigatoni with Baccalà and Mussels for 4 to 6 People (Rigatoni col Baccalà e Cozze)

By Michele Carbone

On May 23, 2025

In Dr. Michele Carbone, Fish, Pasta Dishes

This is a phenomenal dish invented by my friends at Sora Lella, one of the best and most traditional Roman restaurants on the Isola Tiberina in the center of Roma.

Michele serves baccalà and mussels with rigatoni.

One of Sora Lella’s best recipes is the baccalà and mussel pasta.

Ingredients

500 grams of Rigatoni for 4 – 6 people
3 pounds of mussels (cozze 1.3 kg)
¾ pound de-salted baccalà (400 grams)
½ cup grated pecorino (the best aged Roman or Calabrian pecorino you can find). The amount of pecorino varies depending on how intense it is, for a very good one ½ cup (40 grams) is sufficient, for an average pecorino, one you need double that amount/
4 green scallions, finely sliced
Zest of 2 lemons
large clove of garlic, peeled and smashed
4 small sprigs of fresh thyme
3 tablespoons of fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 cup of white wine
1 cup of extra virgin olive oil, separated
2 hot chopped red peppers (Calabrian preferred)
Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

In a large pot, start boiling the water for the pasta.
Clean the mussels.
Cover the bottom of a large pot with enough olive oil to cover the bottom (about 1/8 inch of oil, or 3 mm). Heat to high, and when the oil is hot, add the peeled garlic cloves. As soon as the garlic takes on a gold color, remove it.
Immediately add the mussels to the hot oil, and cover. Once the noise of the frying mussels changes, it means the mussels have opened, which usually takes about 2 to 3 minutes.
Remove the cover, add 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley, mix well and add one cup of white wine. Cover the pot again and remove it after 1 minute. Allow the alcohol to evaporate for 30 seconds. Immediately remove the pot from the heat—do not overcook the mussels!As long as the mussels are open, they are fine. Add black pepper, mix well. Remove mussels from the pot but reserve the liquid.
Remove about 5 whole mussels in their shells and reserve them in a medium sized bowl. For the rest of the mussels, remove the mussel from the shell and chop each mussel into about 4 pieces.
In a small pot, add 1/3 of a cup of olive oil and the scallions cut in thin slices and after a few minutes add some water, say ¼ of cup, cook on low heat for about 7-10 minutes., add ¼ of cup of white wine, bring the heat to high for 1 min to let alcohol evaporate. Turn heat off and add this to the larger pot containing the mussels sauce turn on fire to medium.
Throw the pasta in the hot water.
Cut the Baccalà in strips and put it in the pot with the mussel sauce. Add the minced hot pepper, the chopped mussels, half of the zested lemon peel, 1 teaspoon of parsley, and the thyme. Let it cook on medium for 3 minutes. Turn the heat off. Let it rest.
Cook the pasta. When the pasta is very al dente, say 2 minutes less the indicated cooking time on the box, drain it, reserving some of the water. Add the al dente pasta to the pot containing the Baccalà/mussel sauce. Bring up the heat to high and cook the combined sauce and pasta for about 3 to 5 minutes, gently mixing the pasta and sauce together to allow some of the sauce to absorb into the pasta.If the sauce seems too thick, you can add some of the reserved pasta water, but it should not be necessary.
Take the pot from the hot burner, add the grated pecorino, the remaining lemon zest, and a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
Put into the pasta bowls, decorating each plate with the 5 mussels reserved in Step 6.
And now, as my friends at Sora Lella would say, enjoy this “poetry”!

Two Fabulous Baccalà Recipes

By Michele Carbone

On May 23, 2025

In Broths and Soups, Dr. Michele Carbone, Fish, Pasta Dishes

Baccalà is dried salted Atlantic Cod (merluzzo in Italian), not to be confused with stoccafisso which is dried (unsalted) cod. Authentic cod should be made using Atlantic cod, merluzzo, but at times I have seen people sell other fish (such as black cod and lingcod) under this same name, so check. Baccalà is traditionally served in Italy on Christmas Eve and Fridays during Lent.

Here are two outstanding recipes for Baccalà. Please note that you need to start preparing baccalà three days in advance in order to remove the salt flavor from the fish.

How to De-Salt Baccalà

When you buy baccalà, you need to remove the salt before you cook it. This needs to be done three days in advance of cooking it.

Put the filets of baccalà in a large container and rinse for about an hour under a faucet that continuously drips cold water on it.
Place the container full of fresh water and the Baccalà in the refrigerator. Change the water every morning and evening It will be ready the evening of the third day.

Baccalà Soup for 4 – 6 people (Baccalà in Guazzetto)

Ingredients

1 lb. De-salted baccalà (500 grams)
½ cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 hot red peppers (Calabrian preferred)
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
2 – 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
1/4 tsp dried Italian oregano (this has a different flavor than the dried spice you find in most grocery stores, look for the Italian dried oregano)
A handful of fresh Italian parsley, minced
Fresh Italian basil
800 grams of peeled Italian peeled whole tomatoes (the best are home canned tomatoes)
1 cup of dry white wine (remember to use a decent wine for any cooking), I used Pinot Grigio
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

In a large clay pot or Dutch oven (if you do not have a clay pot) place the de-salted baccalà filets with about ¼ of a cup of olive oil and thyme. Massage the thyme over the baccalà. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes while you prepare the sauce.
In a medium-large pot, add enough olive oil to cover the bottom. Add the chopped red onion, 2 hot peppers, 2 peeled, smashed garlic cloves smashed, two tablespoons of chopped parsley, and about 10 whole leaves of basil. Cook on medium-high heat.
Once the garlic starts to take color, add 1 cup of white wine. Cook for about a minute to allow the alcohol to evaporate, then add about 2 pounds (800 g) of canned whole Italian tomatoes (or your own canned tomatoes). Add 1 teaspoon of Italian oregano and 1 cup of cold water, one teaspoon of salt, lower the flame, and let it cook covered for 25 minutes.Uncover the pot while continuing to cook for another 5 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 325F.
Add the sauce to the pot containing the baccalà filets, mix well, and put in the oven for 35 minutes.
Serve with a crusty fresh bread.
Buon appetito!

Note: This typical Roman dish often has pine nuts and raisins added at the end. I much prefer the soup without them, but if you like them, you can add them. Also rather than cooking the Baccalà in the oven you can cook on the stovetop on low heat.

Rigatoni with Baccalà and Mussels for 4 to 6 People (Rigatoni col Baccalà e Cozze)

This is a phenomenal dish invented by my friends at Sora Lella, one of the best and most traditional Roman restaurants on the Isola Tiberina in the center of Roma.

One of Sora Lella’s best recipes is the baccalà and mussel pasta.

Ingredients

500 grams of Rigatoni for 4 – 6 people
3 pounds of mussels (cozze 1.3 kg)
¾ pound de-salted baccalà (400 grams)
½ cup grated pecorino (the best aged Roman or Calabrian pecorino you can find). The amount of pecorino varies depending on how intense it is, for a very good one ½ cup (40 grams) is sufficient, for an average pecorino, one you need double that amount/
4 green scallions, finely sliced
Zest of 2 lemons
large clove of garlic, peeled and smashed
4 small sprigs of fresh thyme
3 tablespoons of fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 cup of white wine
1 cup of extra virgin olive oil, separated
2 hot chopped red peppers (Calabrian preferred)
Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

In a large pot, start boiling the water for the pasta.
Clean the mussels.
Cover the bottom of a large pot with enough olive oil to cover the bottom (about 1/8 inch of oil, or 3 mm). Heat to high, and when the oil is hot, add the peeled garlic cloves. As soon as the garlic takes on a gold color, remove it.
Immediately add the mussels to the hot oil, and cover. Once the noise of the frying mussels changes, it means the mussels have opened, which usually takes about 2 to 3 minutes.
Remove the cover, add 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley, mix well and add one cup of white wine. Cover the pot again and remove it after 1 minute. Allow the alcohol to evaporate for 30 seconds. Immediately remove the pot from the heat—do not overcook the mussels!As long as the mussels are open, they are fine. Add black pepper, mix well. Remove mussels from the pot but reserve the liquid.
Remove about 5 whole mussels in their shells and reserve them in a medium sized bowl. For the rest of the mussels, remove the mussel from the shell and chop each mussel into about 4 pieces.
In a small pot, add 1/3 of a cup of olive oil and the scallions cut in thin slices and after a few minutes add some water, say ¼ of cup, cook on low heat for about 7-10 minutes., add ¼ of cup of white wine, bring the heat to high for 1 min to let alcohol evaporate. Turn heat off and add this to the larger pot containing the mussels sauce turn on fire to medium.
Throw the pasta in the hot water.
Cut the Baccalà in strips and put it in the pot with the mussel sauce. Add the minced hot pepper, the chopped mussels, half of the zested lemon peel, 1 teaspoon of parsley, and the thyme. Let it cook on medium for 3 minutes. Turn the heat off. Let it rest.
Cook the pasta. When the pasta is very al dente, say 2 minutes less the indicated cooking time on the box, drain it, reserving some of the water. Add the al dente pasta to the pot containing the Baccalà/mussel sauce. Bring up the heat to high and cook the combined sauce and pasta for about 3 to 5 minutes, gently mixing the pasta and sauce together to allow some of the sauce to absorb into the pasta.If the sauce seems too thick, you can add some of the reserved pasta water, but it should not be necessary.
Take the pot from the hot burner, add the grated pecorino, the remaining lemon zest, and a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
Put into the pasta bowls, decorating each plate with the 5 mussels reserved in Step 6.
And now, as my friends at Sora Lella would say, enjoy this “poetry”!

Fresh Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce

By Michele Carbone

On May 22, 2025

In Dr. Michele Carbone, Pasta Dishes

Rigatoni with cherry tomatoes

This is a pasta sauce that celebrates the fresh flavor of cherry tomatoes. It carries the sweetness of summer, along with a slight tang of acidity.

One of the advantages of this recipe is that you cook all the ingredients together at the same time and you only need to cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Thus, I usually have my pasta water boiling and start cooking the pasta at the same time I turn on the heat for the sauce.

Ingredients

2 lbs. fresh cherry tomatoes, sliced in halves (I often use the “Wild Wonders brand, which combines yellow, red, green and orange tomatoes)
½ bunch fresh, Italian sweet basil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup freshly grated Pecorino (called Romano in many shops because they sell Pecorino Romano). If you do not like Pecorino, use Parmigiano instead. Both are great.
A box of Italian dried fusilli, penne, rigatoni, or spaghetti. A terrific brand is Rummo, which is available in many grocery stores and often low-priced.

Preparation

Combine the tomatoes, basil, garlic cloves, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a medium-sized heavy-bottomed skillet (I use La Creuset).
Start cooking your pasta. My preferred pasta for this sauce is the fusilli (corkscrew shape), but it works well with any type of pasta, spaghetti, rigatoni, penne etc. As soon as you put the pasta into the boiling water, start cooking the sauce by turning the heat to high.
As the cherry tomatoes begin to simmer and boil, adjust the heat so that the sauce cooks gently. Stir occasionally. As soon as the tomatoes get softened, you’ve finished cooking! This usually takes about five minutes, but if you have doubled the recipe, it might take a little more time.
Drain the pasta, combine with the sauce, add the cheese, and serve.

Buon appetito!

Spaghetti with Shrimp, Arugula, Tomato, and Cream

By Michele Carbone

On October 10, 2024

In Dr. Michele Carbone, Pasta Dishes

This is a quick recipe with fantastic results. It’s one of my preferred new recipes, and as you can see, I chose to serve it for a group of good friends just a few days ago. All of them loved it!

A dinner party with friends in Calabria featuring spaghetti with gamberi (shrimp), arugula, orange, and cream.

Ingredients

1 box of spaghetti 500G
20-25 large shrimp (4-5 per person depending how big they are)
½ cup of olive oil
1 clove of garlic, smashed
¼ of cup parsley, minced
2 – 4 hot red peppers -depending on how spicy you like to it
1 box of arugula of 4 ounces (113grams), or so
1 cup of chopped Italian tomatoes (Pomì or similar)
1/3 of cup white wine
½ cup of orange juice
Whipping cream

Preparation

Make sure you have all the ingredients measured and ready to cook, because this is a sauce made while the spaghetti is boiling. Look at the box to see how long the spaghetti should cook: you will need to remove it from the pot about 2 minutes before it’s fully cooked, because it is finished with the sauce for the last 2 or 3 minutes of preparation, which is about 11 minutes after you have started cooking the sauce. The total cooking time is about 15 – 16 minutes from the time you have started cooking the pasta.
Rinse the shrimp and slice through the back of each shell, but leave the shells on the shrimp because they add more flavor to the sauce.
In a large pot for pasta, put water on to boil. Add a little to the water, if necessary, you can always add salt at the end.
Soon after you put the spaghetti on the pot to cook, prepare the sauce. Use a large skillet to cook the sauce, which will take about 11 – 12 minutes before you add the al dente drained spaghetti.Put the olive oil, garlic and minced peppers, shrimp, arugola, and parsley into the skillet at the same time. Turn the heat to high.
After 2 minutes, turn the shrimp and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.
Add the chopped tomatoes and wine, lower the heat to medium and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the skillet and put them in a covered bowl.
Preparing the sauce with shrimp with arugula, tomato, orange juice, and cream.
Add the orange juice to the skillet, stirring well. Let it cook for another 3 minutes so some of the liquid evaporates. If necessary, increase the heat to high.
Bring the heat to low and add the whipping cream a little bit at a time, stirring until the sauce becomes pink –not red, and not white, but pink. Let it simmer gently for another minute or so.
The spaghetti that’s boiling in the pot should be very al dente (firm now). Drain it in a colander and quickly pour it into the skillet containing the sauce. With the heat on high, stir the pasta in the sauce and cook for another 2 minutes – until the sauce is dense.
Mix the reserved shrimp into the pot and serve immediately.

Italiano: Spaghetti con Rucola, Gamberi, Pomodori, e Panna

Ingredients

1 box of spaghetti 500G
20-25 gamberetti grandi (4-5 a persona a seconda della grandezza)
½ tazza di olio d’oliva
1 spicchio d’aglio schiacciato
¼ di tazza di prezzemolo, tritato
2 – 4 peperoncini rossi piccanti, a seconda di quanto ti piace piccante
1 scatola di rucola da 4 once (113 grammi), circa
1 tazza di pomodori italiani a pezzetti (Pomì o simili)
1/3 di bicchiere di vino bianco
½ tazza di succo d’arancia
Panna da montare

Preparation

Assicurati di avere tutti gli ingredienti misurati e pronti per la cottura, perché si tratta di un sugo preparato mentre gli spaghetti bollono. Guardate nel riquadro per quanto tempo devono cuocere gli spaghetti: dovrete toglierli dalla pentola circa 2 minuti prima che siano completamente cotti, perché vengono cotti con il sugo negli ultimi 2 o 3 minuti di preparazione, ovvero circa 11 minuti dopo aver iniziato la cottura del sugo. Il tempo di cottura totale è di circa 15 – 16 minuti dal momento in cui avete iniziato a cuocere la pasta.
Sciacquare i gamberetti e tagliare la parte posteriore di ciascun guscio, ma lasciare i gusci sui gamberetti perché aggiungono più sapore alla salsa.
In una pentola capiente per la pasta, mettere a bollire l’acqua. Se necessario aggiungetene un po’ all’acqua, potete sempre aggiungere il sale alla fine.
Subito dopo aver messo gli spaghetti in pentola a cuocere, preparate il sugo. Utilizzate una padella ampia per cuocere il sugo, che richiederà circa 11 – 12 minuti prima di aggiungere gli spaghetti scolati al dente.
Mettere contemporaneamente nella padella l’olio d’oliva, l’aglio, i peperoni tritati, i gamberi, la rucola, e il prezzemolo. Alza la fiamma al massimo. Dopo 2 minuti, girare i gamberi e continuare la cottura per altri 2 minuti.
Aggiungere i pomodori tagliati a pezzi e il vino, abbassare la fiamma a una temperatura media e cuocere per 2 minuti. Togliere i gamberi dalla padella e metterli in una ciotola coperta.
Aggiungi il succo d’arancia nella padella, mescolando bene. Lasciare cuocere per altri 3 minuti in modo che evapori parte del liquido. Se necessario, aumentare la fiamma al massimo.
Portare la fiamma al minimo e aggiungere la panna un po’ alla volta, mescolando finché la salsa non diventa rosa, non rossa e non bianca, ma rosa. Lasciamo cuocere dolcemente per un altro minuto circa. Gli spaghetti che bollono in pentola dovranno essere molto al dente (sodi ormai).
Scolatela in uno scolapasta e versatela velocemente nella padella contenente la salsa. A fuoco alto, mantecate la pasta con la salsa e fate cuocere per altri 2 minuti, finché lo sugo non sarà denso.
Mescolare i gamberetti messi da parte nella pentola e servire immediatamente.

Betti’s No-Knead Bread

By Michele Carbone

On June 13, 2023

In Dr. Michele Carbone

Home made bread is the best!

We started making bread at home when one of our favorite shops stopped making the type of bread we preferred — a crusty loaf with an airy middle. After searching for recipes and a fair amount of experimentation, we found that this recipe works best for us. We make it several times a week, with an extra loaf or two before friends come over for dinner. It’s always a hit!

Yield One 1 loaf of bread (1/2 lb.)
Time 1 hour 30 minutes, plus about 20 hours’ resting time

This recipe is largely based on Mark Bittman’s original No-Knead bread recipe, one of the most popular recipes The Times has ever published, courtesy of Jim Lahey, owner of Sullivan Street Bakery (here’s the recipe link: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/11376-no-knead-bread).

While Mark Bittman’s original recipe did not require any kneading, the bread becomes airier when a small amount of kneading is done during the 18+ hour fermentation process. See my variations on this great original Bittman recipe below.

Cooking Time

45 minutes, plus 18+ hour fermentation

Ingredients if Using Active Dry Yeast

430 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
- (I use SAF, which is recommended by King Arthur Baking Company: https://shop.kingarthurbaking.com/items/saf-red-instant-yeast)
2-3 teaspoons sea salt
390 ml lukewarm water (between 105°F and 115°F on an instant-read thermometer)
- I use my kitchen scale to weigh the water as I pour it into the bowl with the flour, salt, and yeast. One ml of water weighs 1 gram, so it’s easy. I simply zero the scale after mixing the dry ingredients, then turn it on to measure 390 grams of water as I add them to the mixing bowl.

NOTE: If you are making this with all whole-wheat flour, use 420 ml of water, because the whole wheat flour needs a bit more water.

Preparation

In a large glass or metal mixing bowl combine flour, yeast, and salt. Use a whisk to mix the dry ingredients thoroughly.
Add the lukewarm water (105°F to 115°F) and stir with a wooden spoon until it’s blended; the dough will be shaggy and sticky.
Cover the bowl with a tight-fitting lid or with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at room temperature for twenty minutes.
Remove the lid/wrap, wet your hands with warm water from the kitchen faucet, and then reach into the bowl to pull the dough from the outside edge to the middle. Rotate the bowl as you pull the dough until you have rotated the bowl completely around (360-degree rotation), and then quickly flip the dough upside down. Re-cover the dough to prevent it from drying out.
Let the dough rise another for another twenty to thirty minutes, then repeat the “pulling” process. Repeat this “pulling process” another couple of times, for a total of 4 times.
Cover the bowl and put it into the refrigerator for at between 8 to 12 hours. You can keep it in the refrigerator up to 36 hours, but I like it best after 12 hours.
Remove the bowl from the refrigerator at least 6 – 10 hours before you plan to bake the bread.
Wet your fingers so the dough won’t stick to them, and then fold the dough over itself once or twice while it remains in the same bowl in which you allowed it to rise in the refrigerator. Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap (or with the container’s lid) and let it rest another 15 – 20 minutes.
Wet your fingers again, then form the dough into a ball. Cover the container, or loosely place plastic wrap over it if you don’t have a container, allow it to rise at room temperature for 6-8 hours, until you plan to bake it.
When it is ready, the dough will be at least double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
At least a half-hour before you plan to bake the bread, heat oven to 450°F. Put a 6-to-8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in the oven as it heats. (This is especially important if you are using a ceramic pan because it will break if it does not heat in the oven from cool to 450°F).
When the oven is pre-heated, carefully remove the heated bread pot from the oven. If you don’t have a silicone dough sling (or parchment paper) to lay at the bottom of the bread pan, sprinkle a little bit of flour on the bottom and sides of the pot to help prevent the cooked bread from sticking.
Quickly wet your fings and quickly and gently lift the dough from the bowl where it’s been rising, and place the dough directly into the hot bread pan. It may look like a mess, but that is okay. Shake the pan once or twice if the dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover the pan/ceramic pot with its lid and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake another 15 minutes (or so), until the loaf is beautifully browned.
As soon as you remove the bread from the oven, remove it from the hot baking pan. Cool it on a rack (or on the cool burners of your stovetop) so that air can flow around it for at least 10 minutes.Keep in mind that bread making with a non-commercial oven requires that you adapt to circumstances such as your altitude and humidity. If you live at sea level in a humid environment, you may need to reduce the water added to the dough. If your bread is consistently too “wet” in the middle after cooking it the usual 45 minutes, you can put it back into the oven at 350°F for another 10 minutes. This usually resolves the problem of it being too “wet.”

Focaccia

By Michele Carbone

On June 13, 2023

In Dr. Michele Carbone

Foccacia with rosemary and sun-dried tomatoes

Focaccia with rosemary and sun-dried tomatoes

This is a recipe from Kitchen & Craft, with some very slight modifications. Check out the excellent video posted on YouTube called Amazing Focaccia Bread | How to make it in 6 easy steps.

Even though there are a lot of steps in this process, each step is easy, and the results are fantastic.

Cooking Time

35 minutes, + start at least 12 hours in advance – for example, start the dough the evening before you plan to cook the focaccia.

Ingredients for one 9” by 13” loaf of focaccia

Total flour: 600 grams, or 4 and ½ cups:
You can use all-purpose flour, or a combination of all-purpose and wheat flour. In the pictured version shown here, I used 400 grams of organic all-purpose flour and 200 grams of wheat flour.
Warm Water, 75 – 450g (2 cups)
Coarse Sea Salt – 6g (3/4 tsp.)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 20g (2 tbsp.)
Active Dry Yeast – 1/4 tsp
Handful chopped sundried tomatoes (optional)

Toppings

Fresh shredded rosemary
Handful freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (optional)
Coarse salt

Preparation

Watch the video for a quick tour of the whole process.
In a large bowl, combine the flour and active dry yeast. Use a whisk to mix the yeast and flour.
- If you are adding chopped sun-dried tomatoes or chopped olives, add them now and give the flour, yeast a quick mix to distribute them through the dry ingredient bowl.
In a separate, medium-sized bowl, combine the tepid/warm water with the salt. Stir to combine.
Pour the water and salt into the large bowl containing the flour, active dry yeast, and the optional sundried tomatoes or olives. With a wooden spoon, mix the combined ingredients together in the bowl for a minute or two until you have a doughy ball that is slightly damp.
Add the 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, then use your hands to knead the dough for a couple of minutes. You can pinch the dough with your fingers as you gently knead it together until it forms a soft, damp ball.
Coat another large bowl with a bit of olive oil and transfer the dough to the oiled bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and allow the ingredients to rest for a half an hour.
Now, for a total of 4 times, every twenty to thirty minutes, “pull” or “fold” the dough in a rotating fashion until you have rotated/folded the dough 360°. Re-cover the bowl and allow it to rest until another 20-30 minutes have passed.
After you’ve completed the rotation/folding process at least 4 times, re-cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, or a couple of hours before you plan to bake it, take the bowl out of the refrigerator.
Coat a 9” by 13” baking pan with a layer of extra-virgin olive oil. (I have have experimented with aluminum and ceramic baking pans and have concluded that the aluminum baking pans are best, because the foccacia never sticks to the bottom). Transfer the dough into it and gently stretch the dough evenly until it is spread through the whole pan.
Cover the baking pan with plastic wrap and put it into an un-heated oven with its light on. The temperature needs to be around 80- 90°F, which is generally the temperature of an oven with its light turned on. If you aren’t confident of the temperature, you can boil a small pot of water and put the steaming pot into the bottom of the oven beneath the bread. Leave the dough to proof for about an hour. This is the second proof.
Remove from the oven, take of the plastic wrap, and with wet fingers, gently press into the dough to dimple it. Re-cover with plastic wrap and pop it into the unheated oven for another 45 minutes.
Take it out of the oven. Bring the oven to 450° F. While the oven is pre-heating, you can finish the focaccia dough by sprinkling the top with fresh rosemary leaves. Add some sea salt on top and then sprinkle some olive oil over the entire surface (I use a plastic squeeze bottle to spread the olive oil evenly).
Put the dough into the pre-heated oven. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and put the hot pan onto the top of the stove or a rack. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then gently remove it from the baking pan and let it sit on the rack. (If you wait too long, it will stick, and it’s a devil to get it out of the baking pan!)
Add a little more olive oil to the top surface. Now — avoid temptation and let the focaccia rest on the rack for another 15 minutes.

Enjoy the results!

Confit of Cherry Tomatoes

By Michele Carbone

On May 15, 2023

In Dr. Michele Carbone

This is one of the easiest and most delicious recipes I’ve tried. I think the reason it’s so delicious is because the flavor of the cherry tomatoes is dominant, and the combination of sweet and tart reminds us of summer days at any time of the year. It’s great on its own, as a simple sauce for pasta, gnocchi, or a slice of crusty bread. But it can also be used as a basis for many other recipes, including a mussel soup.

The confit can be stored in your refrigerator for up to two weeks, so I always buy several pounds of the cherry tomatoes and make a big batch. I’ve never actually made it to the two-week mark without using all the confit in one recipe or another.

The ingredients all go into one pot at the same time.

Ingredients

4 lbs. of cherry tomatoes (I use a mix of red, yellow, and orange tomatoes because they each have different levels of acidity. The brand “Wild Wonders,” available almost anywhere in the US, works very well.)
Good quality extra virgin olive oil
2 full head of garlic, skin on, sliced horizontally
2 bunches of fresh basil
Salt and black pepper to taste

If you want to prepare a lot, just buy more tomatoes, and use a larger casserole dish!

Preparation

Pre-heat your oven to 250° F.

Cooked confit of cherry tomatoes. After cooking, the cherry tomatoes are still whole. the sauce is a combination of juice and olive oil.

Wash the cherry tomatoes and put them into a deep-dish casserole or a Dutch oven.
Pour enough olive oil to fill about 1/3 of the casserole containing the tomatoes.
Add salt and black pepper, then mix the tomatoes gently so that each one is coated with oil and the salt and pepper are distributed.
Now insert the garlic heads and basil into the casserole, covering them with the tomatoes.
Put the casserole into the oven uncovered and cook for about one and a half hours.
Cover the dish without disturbing the contents and let them cook for another 30 minutes.
Remove the casserole dish from the oven. You’ll see that the tomatoes remain whole, but a lot of the juice from the tomatoes will fill mix with the olive oil, creating a delicately flavored sauce. Allow to cool and then remove all the garlic cloves from the mixture. (Leaving in the garlic will change the flavor of the dish because it overpowers the tomatoes.) That’s it! I like it best when I prepare the confit the day before and then refrigerate it overnight. The flavors combine into a more subtle sauce.

Mussel Soup with Cherry Tomato Confit

This is a wonderful, fast recipe. I recently hosted a dinner party, and everyone loved it and asked for more!

Ingredients

Confit of cherry tomatoes (4 cups)
3 lbs. fresh mussels, cleaned and bearded
Fresh minced parsley (as a garnish)
Black pepper and salt to taste
1 bunch of fresh basil

Preparation

In a medium-sized pot with a tight lid (for example, a 15-quart pot), add the confit of cherry tomatoes.
Bring them to a gentle boil on medium heat. As soon as they start to boil, add the fresh mussels and the basil. Gently stir to combine them with the confit. Cover the pot.
Allow them to boil, covered, for 3 minutes. Open the lid and stir the mixture again, trying not to break too many tomatoes. Re-cover the pot cook another 3 minutes or so – you can tell when they are ready: when they all open their shells. Be careful to avoid overcooking them!
Ladle into soup bowls, sprinkle with minced parsley, and serve with a crusty bread.

Confit di Pomodori

Ricetta semplicissima, con questo sugo potete farci tante cose, di sotto suggerisco una zuppa di cozze buonissima.

Ingredienti

Circa 2 kg di pomodorini piccoli (latterini).
2-3 mazzi di basilico, lavato e fatto a pezzetti con le mani
Olio d’oliva di ottima qualità
Sale

Preparazione

Forno a 125 C
Mettete i pomodori e il basilico e un po’ di sale in una pentola da forno, aggiungete olio d’oliva a coprire fino a 1/3 dalla base della pentola I pomodori -cioè tanto olio!) e infornateli scoperti per un ora e mezza, poi togliete il coperchio e cuocete per altri 30 minuti.
FATTO! Vedrete che i pomodori sono ancora interi.
Togliete l’aglio, poi potete farli raffreddare e conservare in frigo per 1-2 settimane, o surgelarli per uso future.

Ricetta con le Cozze

Ingredienti

5 Kg di confit di pomodori
5 Kg di cozze
1 mazzo di basilico fresco
Pane di giornata

Preparazione

Portate a ebollizione il pomodoro, aggiungete 1.5 Kg di cozze e un mazzo di basilico fresco, e coprite.
Girate dopo 3 min, aspettate altri 3 minuti circa, appena le cozze si aprono portate a tavola e buon appetito (serve naturalmente pane fresco da intingere nel sugo).

Risotto alla Milanese

By Michele Carbone

On July 17, 2022

In Dr. Michele Carbone

Risotto alla Milanese (with saffron)

There are many “interpretations” of this risotto. I found this recipe in an old 1950s magazine and maybe over the years I modified it a little bit. It is one of my preferred risotto dishes, and best made together with Ossobuco (see recipe) since for an outstanding risotto you need the veal bone marrow – buccbut is excellent without it, too.

Time: it takes about 22 minutes from the time you pour the rice in the casserole pan.

Ingredients for 6 people:

About 500 ml of either meat broth – that is what I usually use; or chicken broth, which also works also very well. Bring to a boil before you start cooking then lower heat to a simmer.
50 grams of butter and 1 TB olive oil
500 grams of risotto, “Carnaroli” best, alternatively “Vialone nano.”
1 medium red onion, minced
½ cup dried porcini – which you will put in a cup of warm broth before you start cooking – or 50 grams or so of fresh porcini or some good fresh mushrooms cut into ½ inch thick slices
1 cup of red wine (Nebbiolo grape is best)
About 2 grams of saffron dissolved in 1 cup of warm broth. You will dissolve the saffron before you start cooking as it takes some time to completely dissolve
Bone marrow from about 3-4 osso buchi
¹_/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano (about 50 grams); more can be grated on the plate

Preparation:

In a good round pot, La Creuset, Staub, etc., or in a copper pot, melt the butter and oil.
Bring the heat to medium-high and add the minced onions. As soon as they start to soften, add the risotto. While constantly stirring it, cook for about 3 minutes.
Add the mushrooms, stirring constantly for 1 more minute.
Add 1 cup of red wine, and allow it to evaporate almost entirely
Add the hot broth, 1 ladle at time. As it is incorporated into the risotto, add more. You need to stir continuously as the risotto, mushrooms and onions cook in the hot broth.
When you are close to 20 minutes of cooking time, add the broth in which you have dissolved the saffron. How much saffron? Well different saffron have different power, so 2 grams/500 grams of rice is a suggestion that may need to be modified depending on the type of saffron you use. Anyway it is pretty simple: The rice should turn yellow orange: if is pale yellow you need to dissolve more saffron in broth and add more, if it starts turning orange, as soon as that happens, stop adding broth with saffron and continue instead with broth without saffron
Once the rice is ready –taste it to know when is ready–add the bone marrow, mix well, turn off the heat and move the pot on a cold burner. Add the Parmigiano, mix well, taste for salt and eventually add more as needed (it depends if the broth had or did not have enough salt). Black pepper? Tell your guests to add it if they like.
Buon appetito!

Italiano: Risotto alla Milanese

Tante “intepretazioni” questa ricotta l’ho trovata in una vecchia rivista degli anni 50 a casa dei miei nonni, l’ho copiata e probabilmente modificata un po’ nel corso degli anni. È uno dei miei risotti preferiti. Suggersco di offrirlo insieme all’ossobuco, perchè per un risotto alla Milanese perfetto serve un po di midollo di vitello, ma va bene anche senza, non perfetto, ma ottimo.

Tempo: Ci vogliono circa 22 minuti dal momento in cui buttate il riso in casseruola.

Ingredienti per 6 persone:

Circa mezzo litro di brodo di carne o se non lo avete di pollo che mettete sul fuoco finchè bolle, poi abbassate al minimo
50 grammi di burro e 1 cucchiaio di olio d’oliva
500 grammi di risotto, “Carnaroli” oppure “Vialone nano”.
1 cipolla media a pezzettini
1-2 pugni di porcini secchi messi a mollo in circa 200 ml di brodo tiepido
meglio circa 50 grammi di porcini freschi o altri funghi buoni a pezzetti
1 bicchiere vino rosso (nebbiolo meglio)
Circa 2 grammi di zafferano dissolto in circa 250 ml di brodo tiepido –ci vuole un po perchè i dissolva perciò mettetelo a dissolvere appena cominciate, quando mettete il brodo a scaldare.
Il midollo di 3-4 ossi buchi
Circa 50 grammi di parmigiano –poi chi vuole ne mette altro

Preparazione

In una buona pentola rotonda, La Creuset, Staub, etc., o di rame, squagliate il burro con olio –fuoco basso.
Alzate il fuoco e aggiungete cipolla a pezzetti e riso girando costantemente, 3 minuti.
Aggiungete i funghi, girare 1 altro minuto.
Aggiungere 1 bicchiere vino rosso fare evaporare quasi completamente.
Aggiungere 1 mestolo di brodo per volta fino a cottura – circa 20 minuti.
Quando il riso è quasi cotto, 5 minuti prima di spegnere il fuoco, aggiungere il brodo in cui avete dissolto lo zafferano. Quanto zafferano? Quando il riso è giallo/arancione (colore mandarino) è la quantità giusta: se è solo giallo serve più zafferano, come diventa un po’ arancione, fermatevi.
Quando il riso è quasi pronto aggiungere il midollo di vitello che avrete preso dagli ossibuchi mischiare, spegnere il fuoco spostare la padella su fornello freddo aggiungete il parmigiano e mischiate. Sale? Dipende se il brodo lo aveva, comunque assaggiate e se necessario aggiungetelo. Pepe nero? Un po’ ci sta bene, ma fate fare ai commensali a gusto proprio.
Buon Appetito.