Stir-Fried Chicken with Cashews and Snow Peas

May 9, 2018

This is the year of the Dog.

It may be old news, but Lunar New Year was Friday, February 16, 2018.  We celebrated with close friends and a dinner menu with an extensive array of Asian dishes.  There are many traditional dishes for Lunar New Year depending on the country.  I chose to do a pan-Asian menu rather than focus on strictly traditional recipes from a single country.

Kifune Shrine, Kyoto, Japan (Photo by Avishek Kumar)

We were in Palm Springs for Lunar New Year.  The plan was to escape winter weather in Santa Fe which, as it turned out, was not very wintery after all, unlike what the East Coast experienced.


Follow us on your social media platform of choice

        


Sourcing Asian ingredients has become a real issue for me now that I don’t live in a major city.  The only Asian grocery store in Santa Fe, Talin Market, closed a few months ago though the original location is still open in Albuquerque.

Palm Springs only has two Asian markets that I can find.  Both are Filipino-owned and, although they stock an array of Asian goods, they really focus on Filipino foods.

Honen-in Temple, Kyoto, Japan (Photo by Avishek Kumar)

Amazon came to the rescue.  While I’d rather stand in the aisles of an Asian market reading and comparing packages of honest-to-goodness product, Amazon was a lifesaver.

There were eight of us for the Lunar New Year dinner.

The kitchen in our Palm Springs house is small, approximately 9 feet by 11 feet.  Turning out a multi-course meal requires a lot of planning and organization.   I divided the main part of the meal into four courses.  Each course included a complementary array of foods and different cooking methods.

We started with hors d’oeuvres and cocktails.  We ended with a simple, non-traditional dessert of gelato and fortune cookies, which I purchased.  I assumed nobody was going to be too into dessert after all the other food.

Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kyoto, Japan (Photo by Avishek Kumar)

Here’s the menu:

Hors d ’Oeuvres
Vegetable Dumplings with Soy-Vinegar Dipping Sauce
Steamed Edamame with Coarse Salt

First Course
Stir-Fried Chicken with Cashews and Snow Peas
Eggplant Hunan Style
Cambodian Fish with Bean Thread

Second Course
Korean Bulgogi
Indonesian Sweet Corn Patties
Szechuan Garlic Noodles

Third Course
Hot and Sour Soup

Fourth Course
Chinese Roast Pork
Japanese Carrot Salad
Mapo Tofu
Caramelized Tomatoes with Ginger and Vinegar


Join our mailing list and you’ll never miss a recipe again!


I recently published my recipe for Chinese Roast PorkHot and Sour Soup is coming up in a couple of weeks.  Today, however, we’re focusing on a Cantonese classic, Stir-Fried Chicken with Nuts and Vegetables, specifically cashews and snow peas.

This is a recipe that I started making during junior year in college.  It got tweaked a lot over that year.  By then I was comfortable with the end product and didn’t really do much with it… until this year.

I didn’t really change the recipe, though.  I changed the pan!

Shrine in Gion District, Kyoto, Japan (Photo by Avishek Kumar)

You’ve probably figured out that I’m prone to excess where kitchen equipment comes in.  I have four woks:  two carbon steel ones that date back to college and two that are a decade or so younger, one aluminum and one carbon steel.  Both of these are larger than the ones from my college days.

I always cook my stir-fries in a wok but this particular dish is always a problem due to the “velvet” coating on the chicken.  The coating always sticks to the wok.  I suspect I could eliminate that problem by using enough oil to deep fry the chicken but that wasn’t supposed to be the way to cook it.  So, I always just accepted the “sticking-chicken” problem.

Until now.

I used a large, non-stick skillet.

It worked like a charm!!!

I don’t think I’ll give up my woks any time soon but for this particular dish, non-stick is definitely the way to go.

Afterthought:  This recipe calls for MSG, though, of course, you can leave it out if you wish.  If you’re at all interested in the hype about the health effects of MSG, I suggest you read this article.

Print Recipe
Stir-Fried Chicken with Cashews and Snow Peas
Walnuts and either broccoli or green beans can be used instead of cashews and snow peas. The chicken can be marinated several hours in advance and refrigerated, tightly covered. If you wish, you can reduce or eliminate the MSG.
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Course Mains, Poultry
Cuisine Chinese
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings
people as part of a Chinese meal
Ingredients
Velvet Chicken
Sauce
Assembly
Course Mains, Poultry
Cuisine Chinese
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings
people as part of a Chinese meal
Ingredients
Velvet Chicken
Sauce
Assembly
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
Velvet Chicken
  1. Cut the chicken into ½ inch cubes.
  2. Put the chicken in a non-reactive dish.
  3. Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper, five spice powder and MSG. Mix well then let stand 20 minutes.
  4. Sprinkle the chicken with cornstarch and 4 teaspoons of oil. Mix well and let stand 20 minutes.
  5. Fold the egg white into the chicken. Let stand 30 minutes. If not using immediately, the chicken can be refrigerated, covered, for several hours at this point.
Sauce
  1. Combine all sauce ingredients, stir well and reserve.
Assembly
  1. Deep fry the nuts until golden. Once they start to color, they will cook rapidly. Careful attention is required to avoid burning them.
  2. When golden, remove the nuts from the oil and spread them on a paper towel to drain.
  3. Cut the tips off the snow peas.
  4. Using a large non-stick skillet, stir-fry the snow peas in 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil over high heat for about 30 seconds, until bright green. (You can use some of the oil used to fry the nuts if you wish.)
  5. Transfer the cooked snow peas to a plate to cool.
  6. In the same non-stick skillet, stir-fry the garlic and ginger over high heat, until fragrant, approximately 30 seconds, adding a few tablespoons more oil if needed.
  7. Add the chicken and stir-fry over high heat until just cooked through, approximately 2-3 minutes.
  8. Stir the sauce mixture to combine and add it to the chicken.
  9. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened, stirring constantly, approximately 1 minute.
  10. Stir in the cooked cashews and snow peas.
  11. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sesame oil.
  12. Serve immediately with steamed rice.
Recipe Notes

Copyright © 2018 by VillaSentieri.com. All rights reserved.

Share this Recipe

Aunt Margie’s Pasta è Ceci (Pasta and Chickpeas)

May 4, 2018

Beans and Macaroni. Pasta è Fagioli.  Even Pasta Fazool to quote Dean Martin.

It’s a classic combination and there are as many variations as there are cooks!  (Google returned 6,300,000 entries for “beans and macaroni,” 588,000 for “pasta è fagioli,” and 57,900 for “pasta fazool!”)

This is my interpretation of Aunt Margie’s, which she made with chickpeas.

At Aunt Margie’s 90th birthday party in September 2010.  From left to right, Aunt Margie’s grandson, Jim, me, Aunt Margie, my cousin Donna (Aunt Margie’s daughter)

It couldn’t be more different from my mother’s which was made with baby lima beans.

Aunt Margie’s was made with water and oil.  My mother’s had tomato sauce.


Follow us on your social media platform of choice

         


Aunt Margie’s was quite soupy.  My mother’s was just slightly “saucy.”

They grew up in the same house and learned to cook from the same mother.  I wish I had thought to ask either of them where their respective recipes came from and why they were so different.

My cousin Donna and I in the lobby of the Hilton Plaza in Miami Beach, 1970

One thing that both versions had in common, though, is that they were frequently served on Fridays, which our families observed as meatless back then.  (When Fridays were no longer meatless, my father joked that it was because the Vatican sold its fisheries.)

But Friday or no, pasta è fagioli, or, in this case, more specifically pasta è ceci (ceci means chickpeas), is consummate comfort food.  Admittedly, pasta è fagioli does not need to be meatless but it very often is.  (Actually, I made a non-meatless version earlier this week with guanciale, cured pork jowl.)


Click HERE to join our mailing list and you’ll never miss a recipe again!


Aunt Margie and Uncle Joe were like second parents to me.  I spent many (most?) summer days at Aunt Margie’s, getting there in the morning and staying until dinnertime or later.  My cousin, Donna, is nine months younger than I am.  Her neighbor Ricky Slivosky is nine months younger than she is.  The three of us hung out pretty much all summer.  That made Aunt Margie’s house the logical choice.

Aunt Margie got a little too much sun while we were staying at the Beau Rivage Resort in Miami Beach, 1971

Our families often vacationed together.  Florida was a favorite destination.  Once every 5 years Uncle Joe had 13 weeks of vacation (ahh, the glory days of American steel manufacturing…and collective bargaining).  Those years were likely to include a trip to California.

Aunt Margie really didn’t like vacations.  Several times I witnessed what I believe was an annual ritual.  Uncle Joe would be loading the suitcases in the trunk of the car and Aunt Margie would be standing beside him still trying to convince him to cancel the vacation.  Aunt Margie never won.

Beau Rivage Resort, Bal Harbour, Florida

Those vacations were always by car; two days to Florida and four days to California.  Aunt Margie ate the same lunch every day of every trip: bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches on white toast, hold the mayo.  Only after we reached our destination did she resume a “regular” diet!

We always had fun and even Aunt Margie seemed to enjoy herself (a minor episode of seasickness, notwithstanding).

Aunt Margie getting seasick on the boat trip from Miami to the Bahamas, 1970

My father didn’t always go on vacation with us due to his work schedule.  He made it on the 1970 trip to Florida, which included several days in the Bahamas which we reached by boat from Miami.  The only food memory I have of that trip is going to an Italian restaurant in Freeport where the garlic bread was so garlicky that it was bitter.  The food itself must have been pretty good as we went back again.  Unfortunately, the garlic bread was just as bad the second time around.

Print Recipe
Aunt Margie's Pasta è Ceci (Pasta and Chickpeas)
Aunt Margie’s Pasta è Ceci was more soupy than my mother’s Pasta è Fagioli. It had no tomato sauce. This is my interpretation. I have made the liquid a little thicker by emulsifying the cheese and oil at the end. Aunt Margie never used wine. That is my addition. To prepare dry chickpeas, combine 1 pound of dry chickpeas, 7 cups of water, 1 tablespoon salt, 2 bruised garlic cloves, one bay leaf, ½ teaspoon whole black pepper, and a piece of Parmesan cheese rind. Cook in the Instant Pot for 15 minutes or simmer, partially covered, adding more water if needed, till tender but not mushy. If not using the Instant Pot, add the salt after about 15 minutes of simmering. Measure out 3 ½ cups of cooked chickpeas. Reserve the remainder for another use. Use the cooking liquid as described below. Aunt Margie's pasta è ceci was usually so soupy that it was served in bowls. Feel free to make yours as loose as you would like.
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. Measure out three cups of chickpea-cooking liquid or use the liquid from canned chickpeas adding water to make three cups.
  2. Combine chickpea liquid, white wine, diced onion, oregano and black pepper in a Dutch oven large enough to hold the cooked pasta comfortably. Bring to a boil and simmer approximately 20 minutes, until the onion is tender.
  3. Meanwhile, brown the garlic in 1/3 cup of olive oil over gentle heat.
  4. When the garlic is brown, remove it and reserve the oil.
  5. Cook the pasta in two quarts of heavily salted, boiling water until the pasta retains just a little crunch at the very center.
  6. Reserve at least two cups of the pasta-cooking water.
  7. Pour some of the remaining pasta-cooking water into the serving bowl to warm it while proceeding with the recipe.
  8. Drain the pasta and immediately add it to the seasoned chickpea-cooking liquid along with the chickpeas.
  9. Add the garlic-infused oil and salt and black pepper to taste.
  10. Simmer gently, covered, until the pasta is just al dente. Add some of the reserved pasta-cooking water as needed.
  11. When the pasta is al dente, add more of the reserved pasta-cooking water, if necessary, to make a slightly soupy mixture.
  12. Remove from the heat.
  13. Stir in the Romano cheese and 1/4 cup of olive oil to create a glossy sauce.
  14. Add a bit more of the pasta-cooking water if needed to thin the sauce as the combination of cheese and olive oil will create an emulsion that will thicken the sauce.
  15. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
  16. Serve immediately with additional freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese.
Recipe Notes

Copyright © 2018 by VillaSentieri.com. All rights reserved.

Share this Recipe

Bertha’s Salsa

April 16, 2018

Bertha was born and raised in Duran, New Mexico.  She was one of 15 children.

If her family lived in Duran now they would constitute 50% of the population of 33 people (35 according to some reports).

With a few dozen residents, Duran doesn’t qualify as an actual ghost town but many of its buildings are abandoned.

One of many abandoned buildings in Duran. This was a general store and hotel adjacent to the railroad tracks.

Duran popped up in the very early 1900’s thanks to the railroad, a common occurrence in New Mexico.  Twenty years later the railroad moved it operations (repair shops, etc.) south to Carrizozo, dealing Duran, population 300 at its peak, a blow.


Click HERE to join our mailing list and you’ll never miss a recipe again!


In the 1930’s US 54 came right through Duran.  The highway traffic revived the town a bit.  In the early 1960’s however, I-25 opened about 60 miles away.  Traffic on US 54 dropped precipitously and Duran entered a downward spiral.

A sign without a purpose

Bertha has been our housekeeper in Alamogordo for the last five years.  As you may know, my husband is the Medical Director for Behavioral Health at the Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center in Alamogordo.

He’s in Alamogordo during the week and back home in Santa Fe on the weekends.

The fastest way from Santa Fe to Alamogordo involves US 54, so Frank and I know Duran well.  It’s almost the halfway point of the trip.

Another abandoned building

Bertha loves to cook.  She periodically leaves goodies in the fridge in Alamogordo.  This salsa appears frequently.  It’s an interesting recipe using canned tomatoes and garlic powder.  The canned tomatoes mean that it’s a year-round treat which does not require the red-ripe tomatoes of late summer.


Follow us on your social media platform of choice

         


I’m not sure why the garlic powder instead of fresh garlic but there are several dishes that I make that turn out better with garlic powder than with fresh garlic (like my mother’s roast turkey and chicken).  So, I didn’t play with Bertha’s recipe.

And yet another

Just whizz everything in the food processor and refrigerate for several hours for the flavors to blend and you’ve got an amazing salsa with almost no work.

The fire department is still in operation

Frank is leaving Alamogordo at the end of June.  We’re going to miss Bertha, her husband Miguel, and the surprise treats that occasionally appear in our refrigerator!

Print Recipe
Bertha's Salsa
Since this salsa doesn’t use fresh tomatoes it can be made year-round. Despite the use of canned tomatoes and garlic powder it tastes bright and fresh.
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Passive Time 2 hours
Servings
cups
Ingredients
Prep Time 5 minutes
Passive Time 2 hours
Servings
cups
Ingredients
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. Cut the tops off the jalapenos.
  2. Put the jalapenos in a food processor and chop finely.
  3. Add the tomatoes and pulse until chunky.
  4. Remove from the food processor and add cilantro, salt, and garlic powder. Mix well.
  5. Add a bit of lemon or lime juice to perk up the flavor. The amount will depend on the tomatoes.
  6. Adjust salt and garlic powder.
  7. Refrigerate several hours to allow the flavors to blend.
Recipe Notes

Copyright © 2018 by VillaSentieri.com. All rights reserved.

Share this Recipe

Anise Twists (Italian Anise Sweet Bread)

March 27, 2018

I really don’t know what to call these little breads any longer.

Growing up we always called them Biscotti.  The Italian word biscotti, which is plural for biscotto, can be translated as cookies or biscuits.  However, in the United States, the word biscotti is now completely identified with a particular type of pastry; those slices of sweet bread that are toasted until crisp (or crisp on the outside and soft on the inside depending on style).

We called those Anise Toasts when I was growing up since they were always flavored with anise in our house.  That was how we differentiated these softer anise-flavored sweet breads from the chewier, and toasted, anise-flavored pastries.

I found this lard at the supermarket. It is not hydrogenated and has just a few reasonable preservatives unlike the hydrogenated lard sold in those blue boxes

I believe that the word biscotto is derived from the words that mean twice (bis) cooked (cotto) making it an apt label for those toasted things.  Despite that, however, it really is used to refer generically to a cookie.


Follow us on your social media platform of choice

         


The Italian word torta is translated as cake or pie or tart depending on the context.  Sometimes that context can be provided only by more description.  For example, the Italian word limon is used for both a lemon and a lime.  To refer to a lime, you could say limon verde (green lemon) if it was not otherwise clear from the context that you meant a lime vs. a lemon.  (This would be critical, for example, when providing directions for making a Margarita!)  I think limon verde could also be used to refer to an unripe lemon but that’s getting a bit esoteric and, honestly, above my meager grasp of Italian.

But it points out the difficulties with translating seemingly simple concepts, like biscotti!

Palm Oil is a solid vegetable shortening that is not hydrogenated

I’m posting this recipe now because my mother always made these at Easter, but their appearance was not limited to that one holiday.  Sometimes, for Easter, the dough would be baked in a big braided circular loaf with colored eggs tucked into the braids.  Honestly, though, that was usually done by a friend of my mother’s, Mille Verbano, rather than by my mother who almost always made small ones as I now do.

Sometimes this is called Easter Bread but, truly, there are different types of Easter bread all over Italy so that term only works within a very specific socio-cultural context.  Although we never called this Easter bread in our house, if a relative did so, I would know immediately what he/she meant.


Click HERE to join our mailing list and you’ll never miss a recipe again!


I’m not a “dunker” but my mother and her sisters, Aunt Mamie (Mary, really, but as a toddler I said Mamie and that name stuck and became what everyone called her) and Aunt Margie loved to dunk bready things in coffee in the morning.  If you’re a dunker, these biscotti are perfect.

Coconut oil is a vegetable fat that is solid at cool room temperature

Some of you may remember my soapbox post about hydrogenated fats as a replacement for the lard often called for in traditional Italian pastries.  In deference to those of you who do not want to render your own lard (which I suspect is most of you), I was prepared to test this recipe with several non-hydrogenated vegetable fats, palm oil and refined coconut oil.  While shopping for other ingredients in Palm Springs I stumbled upon lard…pure, simple lard…not the hydrogenated lard that now dominates supermarket shelves.  I just had to try it.  I’ve not seen Farmer John lard in supermarkets in Santa Fe but I am hopeful that this signals a resurgence of the availability of unadulterated and chemically unaltered lard for baking.

I promise to test out future recipes with the non-hydrogenated vegetable fats, though!


If you have a favorite family recipe and a bit of a story to tell, please email me at santafecook@villasentieri.com and we can discuss including it in the blog. I am expanding the scope of my blog to include traditional recipes from around the country and around the world. If you haven’t seen Bertha’s Flan or Melinda’s Drunken Prunes, take a look.  They will give you an idea of what I’m looking for.


 

Print Recipe
Anise Twists (Italian Anise Sweet Bread)
Shiny aluminum sheet pans work best. Dark pans will cause the bottoms of the breads to get too dark before they are cooked through. For reference, the pictures below show me making half a batch of Anise Twists, not the full recipe given below.
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Course Sweet Breads
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 1 1/2 hours
Passive Time 4 hours
Servings
dozen little breads, approximately
Ingredients
Course Sweet Breads
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 1 1/2 hours
Passive Time 4 hours
Servings
dozen little breads, approximately
Ingredients
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. Melt the lard over gentle heat and allow to cool until lukewarm but still liquid.
  2. Dissolve one teaspoon of the sugar in the warm water, not more than 110°F.
  3. Add the yeast and allow it to proof.
  4. Meanwhile, combine flour, remaining sugar, anise seeds and salt.
  5. Form a well in the center and add 6 eggs and the melted and cooled lard.
  6. Using a circular motion, begin to mix the flour into the liquids in the well.
  7. Add the proofed yeast.
  8. Continue incorporating flour until it is all mixed in.
  9. Add a touch more flour or water, if needed, to create a supple, non-sticky dough.
  10. Knead for approximately 10 minutes.
  11. Place the dough in a bowl. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to double in bulk.
  12. Punch the dough down. Cover and allow to double again.
  13. Cut off small pieces of dough and roll into thin ropes, not much thicker than a pencil.
  14. The dough will have a tendency to shrink back. Roll it out. Let it shrink back a bit. Wait a few minutes for the gluten to relax. Roll it out again. Let it shrink back a bit. Repeat until the dough is the proper thickness. I find it helpful to roll 3 or 4 pieces of dough at a time. It makes the process more efficient.
  15. Cut the dough into lengths. For the straight pieces, the lengths should be approximately 7 inches. For the circular pieces the lengths should be approximately 12 inches.
  16. Fold the lengths of dough in half and twist few times.
  17. Put on ungreased sheet pans, either straight or in circles.
  18. Brush each with beaten egg. Sprinkle with additional anise seeds.
  19. Invert another sheet pan on top. Allow the bread to rise an hour.
  20. Bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.
  21. Remove to wire racks to cool.
Recipe Notes

Copyright © 2018 by VillaSentieri.com. All rights reserved.

Share this Recipe

Philadelphia-Style Tomato Pie

March 14, 2018

Like many psychiatry residents, I used to moonlight to make extra money.

The money was good and the work was usually not difficult.  Many moonlighting jobs required being on-premises overnight.  Most of the time, this usually just involved sleeping but, again, not always.

One of my easier moonlighting jobs was at a private psychiatric hospital in the Philadelphia suburbs.  I had to do the histories, physicals, and psychiatric evaluations on the newly admitted patients and then be available for any issues that came up during my shift.  Usually I got to sleep all night.

This was in stark contrast to one of my other moonlighting jobs at the crisis service that covered a swath of northeast Philadelphia.  The patients were more acute and admissions unplanned.  Sleep was elusive.


Follow us on your social media platform of choice

         


One morning as I was finishing up some work on one of the units at the private psychiatric hospital I spied a pizza box in the staff lounge, clearly intended for anyone who wanted to have some.

I opened the box and was presented with my first tomato pie, basically a focaccia topped with a prodigious amount of a jam-like tomato sauce.  There was no cheese and there were no toppings.

I had never heard of tomato pie like this.  Sometimes the term tomato pie was applied to a run-of-the mill pizza, usually by my Uncle Joe, but this was a whole different creation.

Not only was it naked, except for the tomato sauce, the sauce was very dense (almost like tomato paste) and thickly applied to the dough.

Good quality tomato puree is essential for this sauce. I prefer imported Italian tomato puree, called passato (or passata) (both are correct) di pomodoro

Growing up, a regular mid-morning Sunday snack (after church and before our major meal of the day around 1:00 or so) was a bowl of my mother’s long-simmered tomato sauce that was almost always bubbling away on the stove on Sunday mornings and a stack of bread to dip into it.   Italian bread was preferred but I’d make do with American “slice” bread if need be…often six slices…to hold me over until mealtime.

Tomato pie was heaven-made for someone like me.  It was bread and sauce in an easy-to-eat package.  No bowl or dipping required.


Click HERE to join our mailing list and you’ll never miss a recipe again!


It’s pretty astounding to realize that I had lived in Philadelphia for about 11 years before encountering my first tomato pie.  I don’t really understand why.  Two of the bastions of Philadelphia tomato pie are on Ninth Street, an area that I started going to my freshman year in college.

This article provides some interesting background on Philly-style Tomato Pie.

I’m a big fan of making dough for pizza and focaccia in my bread machine.  If you don’t have a bread machine, use a mixer with a dough hook.  Failing that, some elbow grease and a smooth kitchen counter will do the trick.


If you have a favorite family recipe and a bit of a story to tell, please email me at santafecook@villasentieri.com and we can discuss including it in the blog. I am expanding the scope of my blog to include traditional recipes from around the country and around the world. If you haven’t seen Bertha’s Flan or Melinda’s Drunken Prunes, take a look.  They will give you an idea of what I’m looking for.


Print Recipe
Philadelphia-Style Tomato Pie
Tomato Pie is a thick crust pizza dough topped with copious amounts of very thick tomato sauce. No cheese is put on the pie before baking. Some folks sprinkle grated Pecorino on the finished pie. It is usually served at room temperature. If the garlic taste in the sauce is too strong for you, the garlic can be sautéed in a small amount of olive oil before mixing into the tomato puree mixture. It is best to make the sauce a day in advance and refrigerate it. If you don’t have a bread machine, mix the dough in a mixer with a dough hook for about 10 minutes after the dough comes together. You can also mix it by hand which will give you a bit of an upper-body workout.
Votes: 2
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Passive Time 24 hours
Servings
pieces
Ingredients
Sauce
Dough
Assembly
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Passive Time 24 hours
Servings
pieces
Ingredients
Sauce
Dough
Assembly
Votes: 2
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
Sauce
  1. Grate the garlic on a Microplane grater or crush to a paste.
  2. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce.
  3. Cover the sauce and refrigerate overnight.
  4. Before using, taste and adjust seasoning.
Dough
  1. Prepare the dough using the dough cycle of the bread machine.
  2. At the end of the cycle put the dough into an oiled bowl or covered container and allow to rise until doubled.
Assembly
  1. Oil a half-sheet pan (13" x 18") with a few tablespoons of olive oil.
  2. Stretch dough into the pan.
  3. The dough will spring back. Stretch it out then allow it to rest a few minutes. Stretch more, then allow it to rest a few minutes. With resting in between stretches, the gluten will relax and the dough won't spring back.
  4. Cover the pan. I invert another half-sheet pan on top.
  5. Allow to rise until doubled, approximately 30 minutes.
  6. Spread all of the sauce on top.
  7. Bake at 350°F until crust is browned and sauce is thick, approximately 35-45 minutes.
  8. Cool in the pan.
  9. Cut into squares and serve at room temperature.
  10. Sprinkle with grated Pecorino cheese, if desired, once cool.
Recipe Notes

Copyright © 2018 by VillaSentieri.com. All rights reserved.

Share this Recipe

Frittata di Spaghetti (Frittata with Spaghetti)

March 9, 2018

Although I typically heat up left over pasta and have it for lunch, it definitely pales in comparison to the freshly made dish.

In the pre-microwave days of my youth, leftover pasta was heated gently in a sauté pan with a little bit of water added.  Now, the microwave makes quick work of the same task.

If you have leftover pasta, though, consider turning it into a frittata.  I think it constitutes an entirely new dish, and not leftovers, because it’s being turned into something totally different.

A slice of frittata with a few Calabrian oil-cured peppers on the side

We eat so much pasta in our house that if we turned the leftovers into frittate (the plural of frittata) our dinners would alternate between pasta and frittata almost every day of the week!  That’s why some of the leftover pasta is simply heated up for lunch.


Follow us on your social media platform of choice

         


A frittata is often referred to as an Italian omelet.  But an omelet it most definitely is not.  It is cooked using a different technique with a different intended outcome.

Calling a frittata an Italian omelet is like calling everything made from ground beef a hamburger.  (OK, off my soapbox for now.)

You can use most any combination of pasta and sauce for a frittata but you don’t want there to be lots of extra sauce or it will be difficult to get the eggs to set.

Most often, I’ll use a long thin pasta, like spaghetti or spaghettini with either a tomato sauce or anchovies and garlic.  They both work well.  That said, I’ve made frittate from a wide array of leftover types of pasta.  Shape is no object!

If you happen to know somebody who raises chickens or if you have access to freshly laid eggs at a farm stand or farmers’ market this is an excellent use for them.  There’s little that stands between you and the eggs, so using really good, fresh eggs is noticeable.

Crushed red pepper is a good alternative to Calabrian oil-cured peppers, but definitely not as flavorful

As I mentioned earlier this week, I’m losing the battle to raise chickens at our house.


Click HERE to join our mailing list and you’ll never miss a recipe again!


A frittata is cooked slowly in a sauté pan until the eggs set and turn golden brown on the bottom.  I prefer to do this with the pan covered as it aids in setting the top of the eggs, too.

Once the bottom is set, there are two methods to finish the frittata.  One is to put the frittata under the broiler or in the oven.  The good folks at Wikipedia think this is the only way to do it.  In fact, I would suggest that most Italians do not do that.  They simply flip the frittata over.  (OK, I was back on the soapbox for a moment there.)

If you’re going to finish the frittata by flipping, however, you need to be sure that the top of the frittata is not runny.  It should be just barely set.

In case you missed it, I previously published a recipe for an onion frittata.  Although it uses a large quantity of onions, they cook down into sweet, golden deliciousness before the eggs are added.

And…before we leave the subject of leftovers…leftover frittata makes a great filling for a sandwich, especially with a few oil-cured Calabrian peppers!


If you have a favorite family recipe and a bit of a story to tell, please email me at santafecook@villasentieri.com and we can discuss including it in the blog. I am expanding the scope of my blog to include traditional recipes from around the country and around the world. If you haven’t seen Bertha’s Flan or Melinda’s Drunken Prunes, take a look.  They will give you an idea of what I’m looking for.


Print Recipe
Frittata di Spaghetti (Spaghetti Frittata)
This is a wonderful Italian way to use leftover pasta by turning it into something completely different. The proportions are approximate and will depend on how much pasta is leftover. The pictures show this being made with about half a pound (uncooked weight) of spaghettini with anchovy and garlic (see the Notes section below for a link to the recipe) but it works equally well with most pastas and sauces, including tomato sauce. Use 8 eggs if you have a larger amount of leftover pasta or if you need to stretch the dish to feed more. Use either onion or garlic as the aromatic. Which you choose will depend on which better compliments the pasta. In this case, because the sauce had a lot of garlic, I chose onion to add a bit of a sweet note. If using a tomato sauce, I would have chosen garlic. Whether or not to use Parmesan cheese follows the same logic. Italians feel that cheese rarely goes with fish, like the anchovies in this sauce, so I didn’t use it.
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Servings
people
Ingredients
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Servings
people
Ingredients
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. Heat the oil in a 12 inch (preferably non-stick) sauté pan.
  2. Add the onion or garlic and sauté over medium heat until the onion is soft and caramelized or the garlic is fragrant.
  3. Add the pasta and sauce and heat gently.
  4. Toss the pasta a few times to be sure it heats evenly.
  5. Meanwhile, beat the eggs with salt and pepper to taste.
  6. When the pasta is heated through, spread it evenly on the bottom of the pan.
  7. If you cannot clearly see enough of a slick of oil on the bottom of the pan to protect the eggs from sticking, add a bit more. (Some sauces sop up the oil more than others.)
  8. Pour the eggs over the pasta, being careful to distribute them evenly.
  9. If using cheese, sprinkle it over the top of the eggs.
  10. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to low.
  11. Keep the eggs covered the whole time and move the pan around on the stove, even putting it off-center much of the time, to be sure the heat is evenly distributed around the bottom of the pan.
  12. Cook until the top of the eggs is just set. That is, there is no runny egg left. This will take approximately 25-30 minutes.
  13. When the eggs are set, slide them out of the pan onto a cookie sheet or pizza pan.
  14. Put the sauté pan upside down on the eggs and then flip the whole set-up over.
  15. Return the eggs to the heat, uncovered, for approximately 5 minutes to lightly brown the bottom.
  16. Slide on to a serving platter and cut in wedges to serve.
Recipe Notes

This is where you can find my recipe for Spaghettini with Anchovy and Garlic.

Copyright © 2018 by VillaSentieri.com. All rights reserved.

Share this Recipe

Stracciatella (Italian Egg Drop Soup)

March 5, 2018

The name of this Italian soup, Stracciatella, comes from the Italian verb meaning “to shred,” a reference to the strands of egg in the soup.

I learned to make this from Auntie Helen d’Aquili when I was in college.

Auntie Helen and I in 1976. Can you believe my hair!!!

It’s really simple to make but, like so many Italian dishes, it relies on few ingredients that must be of high quality.  In this case the broth is absolutely paramount as is high-quality Italian imported Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.


Follow us on your social media platform of choice

         


I have a few friends in Santa Fe who raise chickens and I am occasionally gifted with freshly laid eggs but good supermarket eggs are usually what I use.

I’ll let you in on a little domestic struggle, however.  I want to raise chickens.  My husband doesn’t.  So far, he’s winning the struggle but I haven’t given up.  His excuses are pretty lame as far as I’m concerned.  The most common one is that chickens will attract coyote.

HELLO!  We live in the forest.  We are surrounded by coyote and other wildlife.  Just an hour ago, while sitting at my desk getting ready to write this blog, a big deer walked through the paved area in front of our house gnawing down our landscaping like it was a salad bar.


Click HERE to join our mailing list and you’ll never miss a recipe again!


Most summer nights we hear the coyote yipping as go hunting.  They are mere yards from our house.  I don’t think a few chickens will bring them any closer than the already abundant rabbits currently do.  We just need to build a coyote-proof chicken enclosure.  There’s a great how-to right here (Frank! Frank, are you listening?).

Frank seems pretty happy in this selfie we took on Kauai. Chickens roam everywhere on Kauai. I think that is part of Frank’s happiness though he has yet to admit it.

Homemade broth is essential.  Chicken or beef broth are both standard choices, though Auntie Helen used beef.  You can make an excellent beef broth as part of the process of making Marisa’s Mystical Meatballs.  In fact, this soup would make an excellent first course followed by the meatballs and accompanied by a vegetable or two and some rice.


If you have a favorite family recipe and a bit of a story to tell, please email me at santafecook@villasentieri.com and we can discuss including it in the blog. I am expanding the scope of my blog to include traditional recipes from around the country and around the world. If you haven’t seen Bertha’s Flan or Melinda’s Drunken Prunes, take a look.  They will give you an idea of what I’m looking for.


Print Recipe
Stracciatella (Italian Egg Drop Soup)
This classic Italian soup requires top-notch broth and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Homemade broth is essential. See the Notes section, below, for a link to my blog post that contains instructions on making a wonderfully flavorful beef broth.
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. Grate the cheese.
  2. Grate the nutmeg.
  3. Beat the eggs, cheese and nutmeg together.
  4. Beat 1/2 cup of cold broth into the egg mixture.
  5. Bring the remaining broth to a boil.
  6. Stir the boiling broth with a whisk while slowly adding the egg mixture.
  7. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat.
  8. Adjust salt and pepper.
  9. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes

You can find a recipe for beef broth in my post on Marisa's Mystical Meatballs.

Copyright © 2018 by VillaSentieri.com. All rights reserved.

Share this Recipe

Sri Lankan Zucchini and Peppers

February 28, 2018

As a freshman in college who made tentative forays into non-Western European cuisines, I was transformed into a person who couldn’t find a cuisine he wouldn’t try, and didn’t like, by the end of sophomore year.

Junior year was really an intensive study in cooking.  It’s the year I became a respectable Sri Lankan, Indian, Chinese, and West Indian cook.  There were many other cuisines that I dabbled in but those four formed the basis of what I cooked during the year.  By then I considered myself a good Italian cook but my repertory and skill level have expanded significantly since then.

Starting junior year, and for many years thereafter, Reggie and Nanacy Rajapakse taught me much of what I know of Sri Lankan food.  Several cookbooks by Charmaine Solomon, as well as the [Ceylon] Daily News Cookery Book, provided much additional guidance.  Several trips to Sri Lanka with Nanacy, many years later, confirmed to me that I had captured the taste of Sri Lankan food.

In 2005, I accompanied Nanacy Rajapakse to her nephew’s wedding. The groom (with flower on his lapel) and his family approach the wedding venue.

I understand that Sri Lankan food may be a stretch for some of my readers but I really want to introduce you to it.  As a starting point, I’ve selected a vegetable dish that pairs really well with a wide range of cuisines, Zucchini and Peppers with Fennel Seed and Cinnamon.


Follow us on your social media platform of choice

         


I actually made this a few weeks ago at an otherwise all-Italian meal.  It paired really well.  The dinner guests, all of whom were Italian, didn’t think for a moment that it wasn’t Italian!

The wedding ceremony

It’s an example of a style of cooking vegetables in Sri Lanka called tempering.  The vegetables are cut into relatively small pieces.  Aromatics (onion, garlic, ginger, etc.), depending on the dish, are first sautéed.  The vegetables and seasonings are added and everything is cooked relatively quickly, 10 minutes or so depending on the vegetable.

Most Sri Lankans are ethnically Sinhalese.  The next largest group are Tamils, followed by individuals of Arab descent (called Moors locally).  Typically, Sinhalese are Buddhist, Tamils are Hindu, and Moors are Muslim.  There is a smattering of others ethnic groups and religions.

A reception for the newlyweds, several days after the wedding. Nanacy is on the right and her sister Thilaka is on the left

Hindus and Buddhists in South Asia, are nominally vegetarian.  Muslims typically don’t eat pork.  This recipe, which is ethnically Sinhalese, includes bacon which 92% of the Island’s population theoretically would typically refrain from eating.  But they don’t!


Click HERE to join our mailing list and you’ll never miss a recipe again!


In fact, I found no shortage of meat (and meat-eaters) on my trips to Sri Lanka.  Even the most ubiquitous of condiments, pol sambola, contains flakes of dried fish which would typically be avoided by both Buddhists and Hindus.  Clearly there is some sort of “accommodation” that the Sri Lankans have made around the idea of being vegetarian because the local cuisine contains a lot of (very wonderful) meat and fish dishes.

On the other hand, it’s also an easy place to be vegetarian.  One of my trips to Sri Lanka coincided with one of my periods of vegetarianism (which I ultimately gave up for cultural and health reasons).  There was an array of vegetarian options available at every meal.

A view of the Indian Ocean not far from Thilaka’s house south of Colombo

The most difficult time came when neighbors of Nanacy’s sister Thilaka, with whom we were staying, invited me over for a lunch of “curry and rice” which, although it sounds innocent enough, means you’re in for a delightful meal and lots and lots of food.  On the other hand “short eats” refers to snack food.

The neighbors had gone all out!  There was a huge array of dishes, each more wonderful than the last.  It truly was the best food I ate in Sri Lanka.  I tried to just eat the vegetarian options but it was clear that my hosts were distraught, though they would never have said anything to me.

Thilaka tempering vegetables for dinner

I decided that the appropriate response to their generosity was to eat everything.  My hosts quickly became delighted (as did my taste buds)!  Only years later did I come to understand that in Sri Lanka (and many Theravada Buddhist countries of South East Asia) Buddhist monks are obliged to accept all food offered to them, even meat, unless they suspect the animal was slaughtered specifically for them.

Since I was most certainly not a monk, I’m sure they couldn’t understand why I was only eating the vegetarian dishes rather than everything that was offered to me.  In the end, it was a happy accommodation for everyone involved.


If you have a favorite family recipe and a bit of a story to tell, please email me at santafecook@villasentieri.com and we can discuss including it in the blog. I am expanding the scope of my blog to include traditional recipes from around the country and around the world. If you haven’t seen Bertha’s Flan or Melinda’s Drunken Prunes, take a look.  They will give you an idea of what I’m looking for.


 

Print Recipe
Sri Lankan Zucchini and Peppers
I learned to make this from Nanacy Rajapakse who is from Sri Lanka. Nanacy made it with bacon, and, while very good with bacon, it is also wonderful without. As a variation, cabbage, cut into ½ inch wide strips, can be substituted for the zucchini. Feel free to adjust the quantity of spices to your taste. Curry leaves can be difficult to obtain outside of large metropolitan areas with large South Asian or Southeast Asian populations. There is no substitute. If not available, just omit the curry leaves as I often do.
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Course Sides, Vegetables
Cuisine Sri Lankan
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Course Sides, Vegetables
Cuisine Sri Lankan
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. Peel and thinly slice the zucchini.
  2. Core and seed the peppers and cut into thin strips.
  3. Thinly slice the onion.
  4. Dice the bacon.
  5. Crush the fennel and cinnamon in mortar. Reserve.
  6. In a large sauté pan, fry the bacon until crisp.
  7. Remove and reserve the cooked bacon.
  8. Fry the onion in the rendered bacon fat until golden.
  9. When the onion is nearly done, add the crushed fennel seed and cinnamon along with the curry leaves, if using.
  10. Cook a few minutes longer to bloom the spices.
  11. Add the zucchini and peppers.
  12. Stir fry over high heat until the vegetables are pliable but still crunchy.
  13. Season with salt and pepper while cooking, tasting from time to time to adjust the seasoning. The dish is best with a bit of a bite from black pepper.
  14. Stir the cooked bacon into the vegetables after they have cooked.
Recipe Notes

Copyright © 2018 by VillaSentieri.com. All rights reserved.

Share this Recipe

Kidney Beans in Tomato Sauce

February 19, 2018

As you may have figured out by now, we live in a multi-generational household.

My husband’s parents live in our casita in Santa Fe.  Before we moved to Santa Fe, they lived in our coach house in Chicago.

Meals are usually communal affairs and, after many years, I’m learning to make some of my mother-in-law’s dishes that I’ve taken for granted for more than 20 years.

Though these beans could easily be the centerpiece of a vegetarian meal if you leave out the bacon, they usually accompany something more pleasing to carnivores (that would be my husband and my father-in-law).  For this rendition, I went back to the original recipe, with bacon, though usually my mother-in-law leaves it out and simply adds a few tablespoons of olive oil to sauté the onion and bell pepper.

My husband at two years of age with his parents

As I was learning to make these with my mother-in-law, I also learned that the recipe originally came from Lorraine, the wife of my brother-in-law’s godfather, Jack.  Lorraine is of Polish heritage but was married to Jack, a close friend of my father-in-law who moved to the USA from Italy.


Click HERE to join our mailing list and you’ll never miss a recipe again!


I’m totally confused by the heritage of these beans.  My mother-in-law says they’re Polish based on Lorraine.  I always thought of them as Italian because, until recently, I thought the recipe was from my mother-in-law’s family and, also, because the red sauce with bacon is pretty similar to an Italian-American adaptation of a classic Italian method for cooking green beans.  The bacon is a substitute for pancetta which is the same cut of meat as bacon but which is not smoked after it is cured.

I guess I’m going to have to go with my mother-in-law’s assertion that these are Polish though I can’t say I ever had anything like them among the Poles and other Eastern Europeans in my hometown of Johnstown, PA.  Really, though, that’s not definitive.  I’ve never had any potato cakes like my Slovak grandmother’s (unless they were made by one of her daughters-in-law, of which there were seven!).  That doesn’t make those potato cakes any less Slovak, though.

Red beans and tomatoes are a common combination internationally.  There are versions from New Orleans to Haiti to India to South America to Italy to name just a few.  To be sure, the seasonings vary tremendously but the basics, red beans and a tomato-based sauce, remain the same.


Follow us on your social media platform of choice

        


Fast forward to the 1970’s:  my husband (on the right) and his brother (on the left) with their parents

I’ve decided to keep this recipe in its original form, with canned beans and tomato sauce.  Although I keep an array of canned beans in my pantry for unexpected events I usually prefer to start with dry beans.  Most commercial brands of tomato sauce are made from tomato paste and water, with a bit of onion powder and garlic powder added.  In place of tomato sauce, I typically use tomato paste and water to achieve the same results.


If you have a favorite family recipe and a bit of a story to tell, please email me at santafecook@villasentieri.com and we can discuss including it in the blog. I am expanding the scope of my blog to include traditional recipes from around the country and around the world. If you haven’t seen Bertha’s Flan or Melinda’s Drunken Prunes, take a look.  They will give you an idea of what I’m looking for.


Print Recipe
Kidney Beans in Tomato Sauce
These beans can be made without the bacon, or with less bacon, in which case a few tablespoons of oil will need to be used to sauté the onion and bell pepper. If you want extra sauce just increase the amount of tomato sauce. You can sauté a clove or two of minced garlic with the onion and bell pepper if you would like. The liquid from the canned beans will improve the consistency of the sauce. Before using it, however, taste it to be sure that it does not have a metallic flavor which happens with some brands of beans. If so, drain and rinse the beans and add additional water in place of the liquid in the cans.
Votes: 5
Rating: 1.2
You:
Rate this recipe!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 75 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 75 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Votes: 5
Rating: 1.2
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. Dice the onion.
  2. Dice the bell pepper.
  3. Chop the bacon.
  4. Sauté the bacon until it begins to color, adding a small amount of oil if needed to keep it from sticking.
  5. Add the onion and bell pepper to the bacon.
  6. Sauté until the onion just begins to color and the pepper becomes a dull green and starts to soften. It may be necessary to cover the pan and/or add a tiny amount of water if the onion and/or pepper begin to get too brown.
  7. Add the beans and their liquid.
  8. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.
  9. Add tomato sauce and water.
  10. Simmer, partially covered, for approximately one hour, adding additional water if necessary.
  11. Taste and adjust seasoning while the beans are cooking.
Recipe Notes

Copyright © 2018 by VillaSentieri.com. All rights reserved.

Share this Recipe

Mom’s Slow-Roasted Pork

February 14, 2018

Growing up, Sunday dinner almost always included some sort of pasta with my mother’s long-simmered Southern Italian sugo.

The sauce was made with large pieces of pork which were always served on the side.  In addition, there might be meatballs, simmered in the sauce after being fried to a deep brown.  Sometimes, actually, much more often than sometimes, there would be veal cutlets.  This was back in the day when people didn’t really think about how veal was produced…or maybe it was produced more humanely back then.  I’m not sure.

Sometimes a pork roast would accompany the pasta.  Occasionally, though not often, the pork roast would be accompanied by potatoes and there wouldn’t be pasta on the table.

A Sunday without pasta, though, was quite unusual in my parents’ house.


Click HERE to join our mailing list and you’ll never miss a recipe again!


The pasta could have been homemade linguine or fettuccine, which my mother and her sister, my Aunt Margie, made on a regular basis and then dried and stored in large rectangular aluminum tins that once held baccala (salted cod).

Those tins had a myriad of uses, from protecting pasta and cookies to storing recipes and papers.  Even though they were made of an inert metal, they had to be thoroughly scrubbed and allowed to air out, uncovered, for weeks to rid them of the smell of baccala.

My mother learned her style of Southern Italian cooking from her mother, Angelina (far left). No doubt she learned it from her mother (center).

Sometimes the Sunday pasta was homemade ravioli, never was it gnocchi as my father didn’t like gnocchi.  Those were reserved for dinners when my father was out of town.

Usually, though, the pasta was dried pasta from a box: spaghetti, rigatoni, wagon wheels, fettuccine, and so forth.  Dried pasta is really a different sort of pasta with some different uses than fresh pasta (even if the fresh pasta is dried before use as mom and Aunt Margie often did).


Follow us on your social media platform of choice

        


I know many of you have heard me say this, but roasts in our house were much more similar in texture to pulled pork than the typical French-American style of “just-how-little-can-we-cook-this-hunk-of-meat-and-say-it’s-done” type of roast.

A huge advantage of this style of cooking is that you can know in advance when it will be done because it’s really the clock that counts, not the thermometer.  I don’t like making an American style roast for a dinner party.  It makes me crazy.

I don’t get to enjoy cocktails and I don’t get to enjoy the first course because I’m focused on when the thermometer might say the roast is done.  While the temperature to be achieved is precise, the time is not.

On the other hand, the Italian style of roasting eliminates all of these problems because the meat is not “just barely cooked enough.”  The collagen begins to liquefy and the roast becomes unctuous.

If you haven’t experienced this style of roast, give it a try.  If you like it, look up my recipe for Italian Slow-Roasted Chicken or Turkey for the poultry equivalent.


If you have a favorite family recipe and a bit of a story to tell, please email me at santafecook@villasentieri.com and we can discuss including it in the blog. I am expanding the scope of my blog to include traditional recipes from around the country and around the world. If you haven’t seen Bertha’s Flan or Melinda’s Drunken Prunes, take a look.  They will give you an idea of what I’m looking for.


 

Print Recipe
Mom's Slow-Roasted Pork
I have an assortment of blue spatterware roasting pans which are perfect for this type of roast. I also have an array of heavy stainless steel, aluminum, and enameled cast-iron roasters. The more important issue is using a roasting pan of the right size to hold the roast without crowding (it shouldn’t touch the sides or top of the roaster) or without too much empty space. The initial cooking at higher temperature not only browns the roast, it helps it to reach the optimum temperature for collagen to break down to produce that pull-apart texture. You can easily increase the size of the roast. With a 4 to 5 pound roast, you would probably need to add another 45 minutes to 1 ½ hours to the roasting time.
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Course Mains, Meats
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Servings
people
Ingredients
Course Mains, Meats
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Servings
people
Ingredients
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. Cut the garlic cloves into 3 to 4 slivers each.
  2. Plunge a paring knife into the pork at intervals to make small pockets about 1 inch deep. Space the pockets out around the roast.
  3. Put a piece of garlic and some of the fresh rosemary into each pocket.
  4. Some of the rosemary will invariably stick to the fat cap. Don’t sweat it, just try to get most of it in the slits.
  5. Put the roast into a roasting pan that is just large enough to hold it.
  6. Generously season the roast with salt and pepper.
  7. Pour the wine (or water) into the bottom of the roasting pan.
  8. Roast, uncovered, at 375°F until the roast is browned a little, 45-60 minutes.
  9. Baste with pan juices.
  10. Cover and continue to roast at 275-300°F for about another three hours, basting with the pan juices every 30-45 minutes or so.
  11. The pan juices will dry up. Be careful not to burn the bits on the bottom of the pan, but allow them to brown before adding another ¼ cup of water or so. After two or three cycles of this, the pan juices will be a luscious dark brown.
  12. Remove the roast from the pan. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
  13. To serve, pull the roast into large pieces. Don’t even try to slice it. It’s not supposed to slice.
  14. Pour a little of the pan juices on top. Pass the rest.
Recipe Notes

Copyright © 2018 by VillaSentieri.com. All rights reserved.

Share this Recipe