Farfalle al Salmone

Serves 4

The farfalle, salmon and shrimp combined with cream make a very rich but very welcome dish on a windy, snowy winter evening!

Ingredients

• 1 lb Farfalle (bow-tie) pasta
• 3 oz Tomato sauce
• 1 Tbs. Butter
• 4 Jumbo shrimp, chopped small
• 8 oz Salmon filet, diced
• 1 Tbs. Shallots or small onions
• 2 oz Brandy (optional)
• 1/2 cup Heavy cream
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Melt butter in a heavy pan over medium heat, add shallots and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and salmon and cook for another minute.
2. Now add the brandy, tomato sauce and heavy cream and simmer for 15 minutes over low heat.
3. Cook the Farfalle as directed on the package and drain and combine with sauce. Mix well and serve immediately.

Fillet of Sole Oreganata

Serves 4

If you want to make a quick and delectable meal, then try this recipe. There are different kinds of sole, the best is Dover sole, which is caught in the English channel and surrounding waters, imported, and sold in fine fish markets in America. It is naturally expensive but well worth the cost. The best domestic sole is called gray-sole, which is fairly abundant in the North Atlantic. Also distinctive in flavor is Lemon Sole, followed by the flounder. Sole is commonly filleted before being cooked.

Ingredients

• 4-fillets of Lemon Sole (6 oz each)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1-cup of Chardonnay (or another dry white wine)
• 1/2-cup of fish stock
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Oreganata Mixture

• 1-small garlic clove, minced
• 2-tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4-cup of fine breadcrumbs
• 1-tablespoon of freshly grated lemon zest
• 1-tablespoon of finely chopped Italian parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a bowl, mix ingredients and set aside.
2. In a 350-degree oven, bake fillets in a pan topped with lemon juice, wine, fish stock and salt and pepper for 10 minutes. Place Oreganata mixture over fillets and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until golden brown. Arrange fillets on a plate and serve with lemon wedges. To make it a full meal, I suggest serving it over a bed of fresh spinach sautéed with garlic and olive oil.

Gnocchi Cartagine

Serves 4

A dear friend of ours, Salvatore Cartagine and his lovely wife Lillian gave us the notion for this new gnocchi dish. They are seasoned travelers and picked up the idea from one of their many stops. We hope you enjoy this dish and thank its namesake for sharing it with us. Gnocchi are dumplings made with either potatoes, ricotta or semolina. The texture varies from very light to doughy, depending on the ingredients. A light hand is the watchword for these delicacies. In this recipe, we are using potatoes.

Ingredients

• 2 large potatoes (preferably chef potatoes)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 tbs. Salt
• ½ tbs. White pepper
• 1 tbs. Virgin olive oil

Sauce

• 1 oz olive oil
• 2 oz white wine
• 4 oz chicken stock
• 2 oz butter
• 1 tbs. Capers
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 6 pitted green olives, sliced
• 6 pitted ripe olives, sliced
• 8 jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined & diced
• 4 diced plum tomatoes
• 6 basil leaves
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cook potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water over medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes or until tender; drain. Peel potatoes and return to pot. Using a potato masher, mash potatoes ensuring that no lumps remain. In a mixing bowl, place potatoes, salt, pepper, olive oil and eggs. Begin mixing, slowly adding the flour until a soft dough is formed.
2. Dust the work surface with flour. Divide the dough into pieces, rolling it between well floured hands, forming cylinders ½ inch in diameter. Cut into 1 inch long pieces and pinch the center of each lightly. Drop the Gnocchi in a large pot of rapidly boiling salted water, removing them with a slotted spoon as they float to the surface; drain. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan, add the gnocchi and pan-sear for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Divide into portions, add sauce and serve immediately.
3. In a large frying pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic, cook from 1-2 minutes or until golden brown. Add the diced shrimp, olives, capers and plum tomatoes, cooking on high heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add chicken stock and butter, simmer for 10 minutes. Pour the sauce over the gnocchi portions and enjoy!

Goat Cheese Bruschetta

Serves 4

A particularly interesting version of Bruschetta exists in Puglia, where the goat cheese is used with the local olive oil, which is so characteristic in southern Italy. Here in the US, we substitute with Montrachet which is a pure white goat's-milk cheese with a delightfully tart flavor that easily distinguishes it from other cheeses. It comes in a variety of shapes including cylinders, discs, cones and pyramids, and is often coated in edible ash or leaves, herbs or pepper. Store tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator, it can stay fresh up to 2 weeks. Old goat cheese takes on a sour taste and should be discarded.

Ingredients

• 1 Large red bell pepper
• 4 oz soft fresh goat cheese (such as MONTRACHET)
• 12 1/2 inch-thick slices of Italian or French bread
• 4 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (In oil, drained)
• 10 basil leaves, chopped
• 6 Roma plum tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 cup cracked Sicilian olives
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced red onion
• Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Char red bell peppers over gas flame or in broiler until golden brown on all sides, set aside for 15 minutes the peel off the outer skin. In a food processor or blender, mix the goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and the roasted peppers and pulse in 2 tablespoons olive oil; continue pulsing until the mixture is the consistency of soft butter.
2. Combine the diced tomatoes, red onion, basil leaves, olives and olive oil in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper toss the mixture, cover and leave at room temperature. Could be prepared 1 hour ahead. Preheat broiler or a barbecue to medium heat. Rub one side of the bread with garlic and olive oil and toast both sides of bread until golden brown. Spread goat cheese over the toast, mount tomato mixture on toast, dividing equally, place on a serving platter and garnish to your own taste.

Grilled Calamari Salad

Serves 4

Calamari (squid) is a tender and delicious saltwater mollusk, commonly served in Italy, and is becoming increasingly popular worldwide. They can be prepared many different ways. Often the inner ink sac from the squid is reserved and used to make “black” sauce for rice and pasta dishes. The calamari must be skinned, by rubbing off the skin, before cooking. They have a long internal bone, which must be removed. After cleaning the calamari, or you can ask your fisherman to clean them for you, they must be thoroughly washed and dried. Vinaigrette dressing—the standard proportions of a vinaigrette are three parts oil with salt and pepper to taste, dissolved in one part vinegar. Olive oil, nut oil or vegetable oil may be used, depending upon personal taste.

Ingredients

Marinade

• 1 cup of olive oil
• 1 pinch of salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoon of chopped parsley

Vinaigrette and Salad

• 3 ounces of preferred vinegar
• 6 ounces of preferred oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Mixture
• 1 head of Italian Chicory, leaves separated, washed and dried
• 1 head of Boston Lettuce, leaves separated, washed and dried
• 1 pound of cleaned Calamari, cut lengthwise
• 1 Lemon, cut into four wedges

Instructions

1. Marinate the Calamari for 3 hours in the refrigerator. Preheat a grill about four inches above red hot charcoal. Place the calamari on the grill and cook for about 3 minutes on each side, they should be slightly blackened. Transfer the calamari to a cutting board, and slice thin, Julienne style.
2. In a large salad bowl, toss the salad leaves, add the vinaigrette, mix well. Portion the salad into 4 individual plates, topped with equal amount of sliced calamari and served with a lemon wedge.
3. This dish goes well in the spring or summer because it could easily be done on the barbecue.

Grilled Vegetable Tort

Serves 8

Since vegetables are virtually fat-free, they need to be brushed with oil to prevent them from sticking to the grill. Use a good quality olive oil, plenty of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook vegetables over direct heat, but don't crowd them or they'll cook unevenly. If the vegetables are done too soon, push them off to the side and bunch them together. This slows the cooking but keeps the vegetables moist and warm. Vegetables are cooked properly when they're soft enough to be pierced easily with a fork or the tip of a knife but still have some "bite" to them.

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant (about 1-1/2 pounds), peeled and thin sliced length wise
• 5 Portobello mushrooms, cap thin sliced
• 2 green zucchini, thin sliced length wise
• 2 roasted red peppers, seeded
• 1 lb goat cheese
• 8 oz mascarpone cheese
• 8 oz virgin olive oil
• 4 oz olive oil (to brush vegetables)
• 4 basil leaves, chopped
• 4 oz parsley, chopped
• Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat grill for medium-hot coals (the coals should be covered with gray ash but still has a red glow). In a medium bowl add mascarpone, goat cheese, and virgin olive oil and whip with a hand mixer until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, salt & pepper; brush mixture generously onto vegetables. Coat the roasted red peppers with 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and place on the hottest part of the grill. Cook until the skins have blackened, turning regularly, about 10 minutes. Remove, allow cooling, and then peel off the outer skin. Grill vegetables, cut sides down, 4-5" from heat, 10-15 minutes or until tender when pierced with a skewer, turning once. Place on a sheet pan to cool.
2. Line a 7" round spring pan with plastic film wrap. Assemble tort by placing layer of vegetables and goat cheese mixture in any order, drizzling the olive oil, parsley, and basil between the layers. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
3. When ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap and cut the tort like you would a cake, it can be served over lettuce of your choice.

Herb Crusted Salmon

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 (8-ounce) skinless salmon fillets*
• 6 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice, strained
• 1 tablespoon of lime juice, strained
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 teaspoon tarragon, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh parsley, minced
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh basil, minced
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh sage, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves, minced
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup of flour

Instructions

1. Carefully chop all the herb spices and combine with bread crumbs in a bowl , mix well, add the salt and pepper and mix again.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 400°
3. In a non-stick oven proof skillet heat 4 tablespoon of olive oil. Brush the salmon on all sides with the remaining 2 tablespoon olive oil. Dredge each salmon fillet in herb mixture, coating well. Then dredge in flour and sear in the skillet with the hot olive oil, for about 3 minutes each side. Drain the oil out of the skillet and add the wine, lemon and lime juice. This is called “deglaze”, but be careful, it is important you remove the pan from the flame when adding any liquids with alcohol so you don't end up with singed eyebrows. Transfer the salmon to the oven and cook for about 10 minutes. Divide the salmon in 4 serving plates, drizzle the remaining sauce on each piece and serve with your favorite vegetable or a nice salad.

*Notes

1. You can substitute the salmon with any other fillet of fish of your choice keeping in consideration cooking time will vary according to the thickness of the fish.

Lobster Cognac

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 Lobsters about 1-1/2 pounds each
• 1 Cherry pepper, chopped
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup fish stock
• 1/2 cup cognac or brandy
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 1 lemon peel, finely chopped
• Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cut the lobster in half length-wise, discarding the sack located behind the head, and cut into one-inch pieces. (Ask the fish market to do this for you.) Melt the butter in a heavy pan, add the cherry pepper and lemon peel. Cook for one minute over medium heat and add the flour, mixing well. Add the lobster pieces and cook an additional minute. Carefully add the cognac —keep a lid handy in case it ignites —then add the fish stock and simmer for about 15 minutes until the lobster is done. Serve immediately. This is a perfect appetizer for those occasions when to want to impress your guests.