Episode #210 - Sausage and Radicchio Orecchiette with Roasted Peppers and Cheese appetizer
The kitchen filled up with wonderful smell of peppers, and both Debi and I have been transported somewhere else...
She felt like she was getting ready for a block party in Brooklyn. Gabriele imagined the singing of Cicadas in the Olive Fields...
Just a few quick notes
about today's menu:
- always try to find pork sausage that are not
seasoned (same applies in case you decide to go
turkey)
- you can use your sauce to make Bruschetta instead
of Pasta. Toast some bread, spread some Italian soft
cheese (Mozzarella, Stracchino, Burrata), then
sprinkle the sausage sauce. Bake at 400 for about 10
min...you can broil it at the end for a final crisp.
- when preparing the Peppers, always leave yourself
open to new uses for them. Yes you can do the
skewers, but there are many different ways you can
serve them, as a Bruschetta, as a side dish...you can
even chop the roasted peppers and use them to prepare
a cold pasta salad. Just Get Creative!!!
Roasted Peppers and
Cheese Skewers.
Serves 4
Prep Time 10
Cooking Time 30
Ingredients
4 peppers, medium-big size, different colors
5 cloves of garlic
10 oz of cheese cut into small cubes: Mozzarella,
Machego...anything you'd like to try
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt, Pepper
Tooth picks
How to
Preheat the oven to 450.
Wash your peppers thoroughly, cut them in quarters
and clean them (take the seeds out and all the white
stuff...do not know the name in english...oh, well,
now that I think of...don't know it in Italian
either).
On a cutting board slice them in 1/2 inches strips.
Peel and chop the garlic very fine.
In a pyrex pan sprinkle some oil, garlic, salt and
pepper, and layer down the first "sheet" of peppers,
then again, season with the oil, salt and
pepper...and again, and again, until the peppers are
all well seasoned in the pan.
Cover with aluminum foil and cook for the first 20
minutes.
Remove the aluminum foil, stir the peppers, give it
another 10-15 minutes and then boost the broiler for
less than 5.
Once ready, let them cool for about a half hour, then
get your hands a nice olive oil treatment while
preparing the skewers.
What do you feel like drinking today, a humble
La Costaglia from
Tuscany, a robust Rioja from Spain, or a super
chilled dry Santa Margherita from Trentino?
Sausage and Radicchio Orecchiette.
Serves 4
Prep Time 5 min
Cooking Time 25-30
Ingredients
4 Pork Sausages
1 Whole Radicchio
1/2 Red Onion
2 Handful of Walnuts
1/2 Dry White Wine
2 Bay Leaves and 1 Handful of Peppermint
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese for seasoning
How To
Chop the onion fine.
Chop the Radicchio medium-fine.
In a non stick pan, saute' the onion and the sausages
(without the casing) in 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Add the fresh Herbs.
On a high flame, let the pork sweat some grease,
while you brake the pieces of meat with a wooden
spoon...until golden brown.
Pour the wine into the pan, and stir away, let the
alcohol evaporate, then lower the flame, season with
salt and pepper, add the Walnuts and let the sauce
slowly simmer for about 15 minutes.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, and start
cooking your pasta.
While the pasta is cooking, add the Radicchio to the
sauce, and stir well; you want to wait the last
minute to make sure that it stays crunchy, as opposed
to cook down.
The trick, like in many pasta dishes, is to cook your
pasta very much al dente, and saute' it at the end in
the pan with the sauce...while cooking for its final
minute it will absorbs the sauce, becoming an
incredible dish.
Buon Appetito!
Debi and Gabriele
