LEMON FLAVORED MEATBALLS (Polpette al Limone)

Photo:  Copyright 2011 Jacapo Pandolfini

There are so many ways to cook meatballs.  Everyone has their own secret family recipe.  Meatballs were born to recycle mixed leftovers.  So, feel free to create your own personal recipe, adding vegetables, potatoes,  tomato sauce - whatever you like. 

I always improvise with this recipe.  I adore these little tasty, cute meatballs made with a spoon of ricotta cheese.  The ricotta gives the dish a softness, and the lemon rind and ginger make it fresh and light.  It will be the first of many meatballs recipes I'll post in this blog, because there are infinite variations.   I must confess that it is one of my favorite dishes, so I cook them often.

2 bread slices

2 tablespoons milk

1 cup ground beef and pork, mixed

1 tablespoon ricotta cheese

1 teaspoon chopped basil

1 egg

Lemon rind from half a lemon

Dash of nutmeg

Dash of ginger

Salt, pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

Flour (for rolling the meatballs)

Soak bread in milk until soft.  Mix all ingredients together with a fork until well blended. 

Roll meatballs into small balls, and roll them though the flour.

Heat oil in a sautè pan, and cook meatballs for 10 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve with greens or mashed potatoes.

Serves 4

GRANDMA MARIA FRANCESCA'S SFINCIONE

Photo:  Copyright 2011, Jacapo Pandolfini

* Here is the recipe that was just posted on http://www.our-food-recipes.com/italian-food-recipes.html.  

This recipe of  ‘sfincione’ is my Grandmother's creation. She was a fantastic Sicilian lady full of humor and creativity, and her house was always crowded with the usual last minute guests.  In the kitchen she was my bright star.  Not only did I learn many delicious recipes from her, I also learned the joy of hosting and laughing with my dear friends and family around the dining table.

This recipe is absolutely Sicilian. It is a savory, easy and cheap dish. 

If you prepare the dish a day ahead, it will taste even better!

4 potatoes, sliced

6 tomatoes, sliced

1 yellow onion, sliced

1 Mozzarella, sliced

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoons oregano

Salt, pepper, basil

Preheat oven to 350°

In a large casserole, alternate layers of potatoes, onion, mozzarella and tomatoes.  Season with salt and pepper and add oregano and basil.  Bake for 2 hours.

Serves 4

Check out this site!

I just found out that another one my recipes has been posted on www.our--food-recipes.com

Check it out!

http://www.our-food-recipes.com/italian-food-recipes.html

Ciao!
Ippo

Carpaccio di Zucchini

Photo:  Copyright 2011, Jacapo Pandolfini

This morning, at the farmer's market, I picked up the first zucchini of the season -  so young and tender!  The best way to enhance their freshness is to eat them raw in a wonderful, healthy and tasty Carpaccio di Zucchini.

     In Italy, we usually use the word  ‘Carpaccio’ for meat, but it can be any thinly sliced, raw vegetable or meat, seasoned with olive oil and Parmesan.  The creator of this recipe was Cipriani, owner of Harry's Bar in beautiful Venice.  He prepared this light dish (for a noble lady who was on a diet) as a tribute to the famous painter, Vittore Carpaccio.

     There something about this recipe I really love.  Maybe it’s the fresh, crunchy, raw zucchini, or maybe it’s the pine nuts and Parmesan.  It has a very peculiar and enjoyable taste, and it's so easy to make!

Carpaccio di Zucchini

4 young  crunchy zucchini, thinly sliced

1 cup thinly sliced Parmesan

4 whole mint leaves

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Pine nuts

1 bunch Arugula

Place uncooked zucchini on a tray.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Drizzle with lemon juice and oil. Cover with Parmesan slices, mint leaves and pine nuts.  Serve cold, garnishing with arugula.

A LONELY EGGPLANT

Photo:  Copyright 2011, Jacapo Pandolfini

Yesterday I had a lonely eggplant in my fridge.  It was a long, beautiful, purple one.  Instead of turning it into a pasta sauce as usual, or into a side dish, I wanted to experiment with something new.  I had an idea: my eggplant was perfect for an Italian version of my favorite middle eastern dish, the babaganoush - an eggplant cream with a delicious spicy flavor.

I had a big chunk of ‘pecorino di grotta’ -  a sheep cheese, aged in the darkness of the caves, and I needed something to enhance the beautiful flavor of this cheese.  I improvised this  recipe with what I had at home. I used three olives, forgotten in a little Chinese bowl (a leftover of an antipasto), a  lemon rind and some fresh mint leaves picked from one of my herb vases.  I made this mousse my way - with an authentic Italian flavor.  I served it in a bowl, ready to be spread with cheese slices or to use as grissini (bread sticks) for dipping.  Add a generous glass of hearty red wine, and my antipasto was perfecto!

 EGGPLANT MOUSSE

1 eggplant

Lemon zest to taste

Mint leaves

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

½  garlic clover

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350°

Cut the in eggplant in half and bake until tender (approximately 20 minutes).  Carefully peel the eggplant halves.  Dice the pieces, and place in the food processor.  Add garlic, oil, salt, pepper and some mint leaves and lemon zest.  Process until well blended.  Arrange the mousse into a nice circular shape, garnishing with mint leaves and olives.  Serve at room temperature with bread sticks and aged cheese.