Funghi Ripieni (Stuffed Mushrooms)

Name: Funghi Ripieni (Stuffed Mushrooms)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Yield: 4-5 people
Ingredients: 16 large mushrooms (2” to 3” caps); 1 1/2 tablespoons butter (plus more for buttering the dish and dotting the tops); 1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs; 2 eggs (beaten); 1 tablespoon minced parsley; 2-3 cloves garlic (minced); 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano; salt (to taste); black pepper (freshly ground to taste); 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly grated (or to taste)); broth or water (as needed)

1 Comment

September 29, 2021

“Your grams are killing me!”

That’s what a friend told me recently regarding some of the recipes on my blog.

His comment came as he was considering how much pasta to cook for dinner. I repeated what Great Aunt Fidalma told me: 80 grams per person.

Making the change to the metric system (International System or SI) of measurement isn’t easy and we don’t do much as a country to catalyze the change. In some areas, though, we’ve made the transition.

**The digital scale I use on a daily basis. I also have two battery powered scales that are just as accurate that cost $20 each.**

Have you looked carefully at a wine or liquor bottle recently? The contents are specified in the metric system even as we continue to refer to a bottle of liquor as a “fifth.” Until January 1979, a liquor bottle, indeed, held one-fifth of a US gallon, approximately 757 ml. Standard liquor bottles now contain 750 ml, just a smidge less.

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Cooking, and especially baking, is much easier with the metric system. And that doesn’t even take into account the ease of weighing ingredients rather than trying to measure cups and fractions of cups.

I find that I am frequently scaling recipes up and down, but usually up. If the recipe calls for 3/4 cup of water, and I’m upscaling by 20%, I end up with the unwieldy amount of 9/10 cup of water. If I were using metric measures, I’d be starting with something like 180 ml and increasing by 20% to get to 216 ml which is much easier to measure out than 9/10 of a cup.

**The manual scale that I used for many years. It has since been mothballed.**

Let’s face it, how do you measure 9/10 cup. You first start by determining what 1/10 cup is, which is 1.6 tablespoons. Multiplying that by 9 gets you 14.4 tablespoons. But since you’re not going to measure out that many tablespoons one by one (and you’re likely to get pretty inaccurate after a few tablespoons, if you do) you work backwards to figure out what standard measure comes close. That gets you back to the 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) you started with plus 2.4 tablespoons.

For most purposes, you can treat 2.4 tablespoons as if it were 2.5 tablespoons since the difference is likely within the margin of error for measuring with kitchen equipment. But unless you have a set of measuring spoons that contains a 1/2 tablespoon measure, you’ll be measuring out 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon plus 1/2 teaspoon… if you can remember how many teaspoons are in a tablespoon.

So rather than just pouring 215 ml into a measuring cup (a reasonable approximation for 216 ml and one that can be found marked on some metric measuring “cups”) you’d be measuring out ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon plus 1/2 teaspoon. In my book, that’s crazy!

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It gets even easier if you give up the notion of measuring by volume and measure everything by weight, even liquids, as is typically done in professional kitchens. You can get a very accurate scale for less than $20. With that, you could weigh out the 216 grams of water (equivalent to 216 ml of water) and call it a day: no guessing, no eyeballing, no complex calculations needed.

**For weighing small quantities this little scale can’t be beat for accuracy.**

So really, what’s holding you back from giving the Metric System a go?

It’s time for me to get off my soapbox (for now) and actually cook something. How about stuffed mushrooms? I’ll even write the recipe in American measures!!

Funghi Ripieni (Stuffed Mushrooms)

These stuffed mushrooms come together quickly and can be made early in the day and refrigerated until it’s time to pop them in the oven.

Course

Appetizers and Nibbles

Cuisine

General, Italian

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

35 minutes

Servings

people

Ingredients

16 large mushrooms 2” to 3” caps
1 1/2 tablespoons butter plus more for buttering the dish and dotting the tops
1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
2 eggs beaten
1 tablespoon minced parsley
2-3 cloves garlic minced
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
salt to taste
black pepper freshly ground to taste
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated (or to taste)
broth or water as needed

Course

Appetizers and Nibbles

Cuisine

General, Italian

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

35 minutes

Servings

people

Ingredients

16 large mushrooms 2” to 3” caps
1 1/2 tablespoons butter plus more for buttering the dish and dotting the tops
1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
2 eggs beaten
1 tablespoon minced parsley
2-3 cloves garlic minced
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
salt to taste
black pepper freshly ground to taste
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated (or to taste)
broth or water as needed

Instructions

Wipe the mushrooms with a damp cloth.
Remove the stems.
Finely grind the stems in a food processor.
Sauté the ground stems in the butter with a pinch of salt until the liquid is drawn out and then completely evaporated.
Mix the cooked stems with the breadcrumbs, eggs, parsley, garlic, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste.
Cool slightly and add 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.
Butter a baking dish large enough to hold the mushroom caps in a single layer, snugly.
Fill each mushroom cap with some of the stuffing mixture.
Arrange the stuffed mushroom caps in the buttered dish.
Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese, dot with butter and add a small amount of broth or water to the bottom of the dish to keep the mushrooms from sticking.
Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes, until golden brown on top.
Baste occasionally with the liquid in the pan during baking.

Recipe Notes

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Recipes

Roman-Style Olives (Olive alla Romana)

5 Comments

February 3, 2021

This recipe is for Mike.

It’s for all of you, too, but especially for Mike.

Mike dutifully reads all of my posts and recipes but says he’ll never make any of them despite the fact that he’s a good cook.

I challenged myself to post a recipe that Mike COULD make if Mike CHOSE to make it. (Hint: that means it’s fast and easy!)

Most of us are not going to cure our own olives. Even in Italy that’s true. But starting with good quality cured olives and seasoning them to make them unique is quite another thing.

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Many years ago, when we were living in Chicago, and had a very productive garden plot, fall “harvest” season saw lots of foods being made and preserved for the coming months. One of the ways we made use of abundant fresh herbs was to put up gallons of olives with herbs and a light vinegar brine. It was a technique I learned from a friend in Santa Fe, Joe Hoffman.

**Tiny lemon wedges, about the size of an olive.**

The vinegar allowed the olives to be kept for months and months without deterioration. Done right, they weren’t sour. In fact, I thought the vinegar treatment mellowed some of the bitterness that olives can have.

“Joe Hoffman’s Marinated Olives” were a staple nibble during cocktail hour for most of our dinner parties for many years.

Our herb harvest since moving to Santa Fe hasn’t been as abundant as it was in Chicago so I haven’t made these olives in a while. What I do make is an utterly different style of marinated olive that can be prepared just a few hours before serving time. These olives will last in the refrigerator for several weeks, though not as long as Joe Hoffman’s olives.

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The original recipe, which I have since modified, came from Jo Bettoja’s In a Roman Kitchen.

These olives pack a major flavor punch and never cease to get raves from dinner guests.

Roman-Style Olives (Olive alla Romana)

These olives only need to marinate a few hours before serving. They will keep in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for several weeks.

Course

Appetizers and Nibbles

Cuisine

Italian

Prep Time

10 minutes

Passive Time

3 hours

Servings

Ingredients

1/2 pound oil-cured black olives
2 cloves garlic cut into slivers
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper or to taste
1/2 teaspoon dry oregano
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds crushed
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
thin lemon slices cut from about two wedges of lemon

Course

Appetizers and Nibbles

Cuisine

Italian

Prep Time

10 minutes

Passive Time

3 hours

Servings

Ingredients

1/2 pound oil-cured black olives
2 cloves garlic cut into slivers
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper or to taste
1/2 teaspoon dry oregano
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds crushed
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
thin lemon slices cut from about two wedges of lemon

Instructions

Combine all ingredients. Mix well. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature a few hours, stirring occasionally.

Recipe Notes

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Recipes

Crostini with Fava Beans and Arugula

4 Comments

March 18, 2020

A few weeks ago, our dinner group decided that the theme of our dinner would be dishes from my blog. For complete disclosure, I recused myself from that decision.

Dating back to the beginning of our group, Santa Fe Ate, the name being both a play on what we do and how many we are [though recently we’ve been six due to a move out of state], Becky Gould has bid on appetizers. There is the occasional exception but one can count on Becky to sate our hunger at the beginning of an evening with some artfully created appetizers.

**Santa Fe Ate (minus two) our current configuration. (left to right: Pat Assimakis, Doug Howe, Gary Mihalik, Frank Pieri, Rich DePippo, Becky Gould)**

Becky went through every one of my blog posts and came to the conclusion that I had not posted very many recipes for appetizers.

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My review confirmed the same.

This post is the beginning of trying to rectify that situation.

**Appetizers that Becky whipped up from the first edition 1950 Betty Crocker Cookbook for a dinner where all dishes had to come from that book.**

Crostini are a favorite appetizer in our house. The formula is infinitely adaptable. It goes something like this:

Toast bread, preferably a rustic Italian-style loaf or a baguette.
Drizzle with good extra-virgin olive oil.
Rub with the cut side of a clove of garlic.
Add a topping of your choice.

Often, I stop at step three. Toasted bread rubbed with garlic and extra-virgin olive oil is good without any embellishment.

If I’m not making many crostini, I’ll toast the bread in my 1967 General Electric Toast-R-Oven using the aluminum tray and the “top brown only” setting, flipping the bread once to toast both sides. [Yes! I really do use a 53-year-old toaster oven.]

When making crostini for a crowd, I use the broiler and follow the same process of flipping the bread.

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Choose toppings to suit your whim and the season. Chopped fresh in-season tomatoes with a hint of basil is a classic topping as is coarsely mashed cooked cannellini beans with an extra drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

**Becky’s spring rolls for a meal focused on “French Indochina 1920’s to 1930’s.”**

Just last week I made crostini topped with goat cheese and spicy eggplant preserved in extra-virgin olive oil (melanzane piccante sott’olio) that I had made a few days earlier.

This particular combination of beans and arugula, zipped up with lemon, is very refreshing and a reminder that spring is not far away.

Crostini with Fava Beans and Arugula

Frozen fava beans work well in this recipe. If you cannot get fava beans, substitute edamame. If using fava beans, you will need to start with more than one cup of shelled beans to have one cup of peeled beans after cooking.

Course

Appetizers and Nibbles

Cuisine

Italian

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

10 minutes

Passive Time

6 hours

Servings

persons

Ingredients

1 cup shelled fava beans or edamame
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil plus more for final assembly
1 ounce baby arugula divided
12-16 mint leaves if available
3 tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
salt to taste
black pepper freshly ground, to taste
1 clove garlic
1 baguette

Course

Appetizers and Nibbles

Cuisine

Italian

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

10 minutes

Passive Time

6 hours

Servings

persons

Ingredients

1 cup shelled fava beans or edamame
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil plus more for final assembly
1 ounce baby arugula divided
12-16 mint leaves if available
3 tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
salt to taste
black pepper freshly ground, to taste
1 clove garlic
1 baguette

Instructions

Cook fava beans or edamame till tender, approximately 3-4 minutes. Drain and shock in ice water.
If using fava beans, peel them.
Coarsely chop the cooked beans in a small food processor.
Remove half the beans and reserve.
Coarsely chop 1/2 ounce of arugula by hand. Reserve.
To the beans in the food processor, add 1/4 cup of olive oil, the remaining 1/2 ounce of arugula, mint leaves (if using), Pecorino Romano cheese, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
Process until almost smooth.
Combine puree with the coarsely chopped beans and arugula and mix by hand.
Adjust salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Refrigerate several hours, or overnight, to allow flavors to blend.
Return to room temperature before using.
To serve, toast slices of baguette. Drizzle one side of the toasted bread with extra-virgin olive oil. Rub the bread with the cut side of a garlic clove, distributing the oil.
Top each slice of bread with some of the bean mixture.

Recipe Notes

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Recipes

Caponata: A Taste of Sunny Sicily

2 Comments

January 22, 2020

The origins of both caponata and its name are unknown but that doesn’t keep some “authorities” from making definitive statements about both its origins and its name. Other authors are more cautious about how they approach the topic. There are many theories. There are perhaps more theories about the origins of the dish and its name than there are versions of caponata itself, and that’s saying a lot.

Leaving the skin on the eggplant improves the texture of the caponata.

What we do know is that caponata, as we now know it, is Sicilian though there are traditional Neapolitan versions as well.

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At its most basic caponata is a vegetable dish (though some versions include fish) with eggplant typically being the predominant ingredient (though there are other versions, such as one with artichokes) in a lightly sweet and sour sauce that usually contains some tomato product (fresh tomatoes or tomato sauce of some sort) and capers.

Beyond the basics, caponata has numerous traditional regional variations from different areas of Sicily. There are also the endless variations introduced by individual cooks.

**Onions are a common addition to caponata.**

One could add or subtract celery, sweet peppers, zucchini, olives, pine nuts, almonds, and raisins (to name a few).

The eggplant can be fried, sautéed, or steamed (but almost always with the skin on).

Caponata can be served on a slice of toasted bread (crostino), as (part of) an antipasto, as a side dish (contorno), or as a main dish (secondo). Though not traditional, I like tossing it with pasta.

**Capers are in virtually every traditional version of caponata. Some authorities suggest the name “caponata” may be related to the word “caper.”**

I prefer caponata that is neither aggressively sweet nor sour and, while the vegetables should not be mushy, I don’t want to hear a crunch when I bite down.

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If I were drowning in home-grown tomatoes during harvest season, I’d probably work on perfecting a version that uses fresh tomatoes. Since that’s not the case, my version uses tomato sauce. The advantage is that I can make it year-round as the necessary vegetables are always available and of good quality.

Though it should not be frozen, caponata can be canned. In fact, one of the demonstrations that I did for students at the Italian Culinary Institute this past September was how to can caponata.

**Sweet peppers are traditional in some versions of caponata.**

Unlike Italy, where the best eggplants and peppers are available only “in season” that’s not true in the United States. Rather than canning a large batch of caponata, I just make it whenever I want some.

I hope you enjoy this version of caponata.

**Turbinado or Demerara sugars are good substitutes for Italian “cane sugar” (zucchero di canna).**

If you want to get more into the fray about the origins of caponata or its name, or the different versions, you can look here, here, here, here, here, or here.

Caponata: A Taste of Sunny Sicily

There is a link to the recipe for Basic Tomato Sauce in the Notes section below. Any simple tomato sauce, or even tomato puree, could be substituted. If vegetable broth is not available water can be used. To my American readers, I apologize for the metric measures. You can convert to American measures by using the dropdown menu below. Turbinado and Demerara sugars are most similar to the “cane sugar” used in Italy. American light brown sugar would work in this recipe since the quantity is small. You can use either vinegar-packed or salt-packed capers.

Course

Appetizers and Nibbles, Mains, Vegetarian

Cuisine

Italian

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

45 minutes

Servings

cups

Ingredients

350 g unpeeled eggplant cut in 1 cm (1/2 inch) cubes
90 g red bell pepper diced
90 g onion diced
80 ml extra virgin olive oil
180 ml vegetable broth
salt to taste
black pepper freshly ground to taste
4 teaspoons sugar preferably Turbinado or Demerara
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons capers rinsed
1 1/2 tablespoons pine nuts
180 ml Basic Tomato Sauce

Course

Appetizers and Nibbles, Mains, Vegetarian

Cuisine

Italian

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

45 minutes

Servings

cups

Ingredients

350 g unpeeled eggplant cut in 1 cm (1/2 inch) cubes
90 g red bell pepper diced
90 g onion diced
80 ml extra virgin olive oil
180 ml vegetable broth
salt to taste
black pepper freshly ground to taste
4 teaspoons sugar preferably Turbinado or Demerara
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons capers rinsed
1 1/2 tablespoons pine nuts
180 ml Basic Tomato Sauce

Instructions

Sauté the peppers and onions in olive oil with a pinch of salt until the onions become translucent.
Add the eggplant and sauté until most, but not all, of the eggplant has become translucent.
Add the vegetable stock and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook until just tender, 5-10 minutes.
Remove cover. Quickly evaporate any remaining liquid.
Add sugar and vinegar. Cook over moderately high heat until almost dry.
Add the capers and pine nuts.
Add the tomato sauce. Simmer briefly to blend flavors, 5-10 minutes.
Adjust salt and pepper while cooking.
Refrigerate.
Bring to room temperature for serving.

Recipe Notes

The recipe for Basic Tomato Sauce can be found here.

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Recipes

Cotechino with Lentils

Sri Lankan Fish Croquettes

2 Comments

December 26, 2018

OK, I’m going out on a limb again posting another Sri Lankan recipe.

Whenever I do that, fewer people open the email and even fewer look at the recipe. Sri Lankan food just doesn’t garner the interest (among my readers, at least) that Italian food does. Interestingly (or not, perhaps) my cousin’s Marinated Pasta Salad from two weeks ago got the largest response ever!

Although a majority of my recipes are Italian, I am reluctant to post ONLY Italian recipes. There are just so many things that I like to cook…and therefore want to share…that I want to keep my options open. What happens, if for example if I choose to post only Italian recipes and then want to post my recipe for Bourbon Brown Sugar Apricot Jam? That most certainly is NOT Italian. (But it is so, so good!)

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One possibility, I guess, would be to focus this blog on Italian food exclusively and to start a second blog that includes all the other foods I like to cook. The majority of that food would end up being Asian with a smattering of Western Cuisines. Bourbon Brown Sugar Apricot Jam would be just as out of place there as it would in an exclusively Italian-food-oriented blog. (And, I’m not sure I could keep two blogs going.)

Here’s my request: Use the comment feature to let me know what you think about the options, or even come up with alternative suggestions, for how to focus the blog. I plan to continue posting while I am in Italy for three months but that would be a great time to redesign the focus of the blog, if need be, and start fresh when I return.

**Nanacy Rajapakse (left), who taught me the fundamentals of Sri Lankan cuisine, and her sister Thilaka in 2005.**

As for the Fish Croquettes, these are actually called Fish Cutlets in Sri Lanka but croquettes would be a more common term in the West. I think you’ll find that they go really well with cocktails and, if you didn’t tell anyone they were Sri Lankan, nobody would be the wiser.

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Over the next few months, I will post a few more of my favorite Sri Lankan recipes. When I started doing this in the late summer, my plan was to post enough recipes for my readers to be able to put together a credible Sri Lankan meal, not that every dish I posted would need to be included but that I would have posted enough of an assortment of recipes to provide a good basis for selection.

I am going to follow through on that plan in the coming months. Upcoming recipes might include Beef Smoore, Devilled Cashews, Ghee Rice, Pol Sambol, Pork Badun, Beet Curry, Fish Curry, Pickled Lime, Pumpkin Curry, Tempered Cabbage and Peppers, and Wattalappam. If you’ve got a favorite that you want me to post just let me know!

The blog will be an interesting juxtaposition over the next few months as I chronicle my culinary experience in Italy interspersed with Sri Lankan recipes.

Sri Lankan Fish Croquettes

Although Tuna is a traditional fish used for cutlets, almost any type of fish will work. Good quality frozen tuna can be used in place of fresh. Curry leaves can be found in many Asian markets. There really is no substitute for them in terms of taste but if not having access to curry leaves is the only thing preventing you from trying this recipe, use another fresh green herb such as basil, thyme, or oregano. These may be served warm or at room temperature.

Course

Appetizers and Nibbles, Fish and Seafood, Mains

Cuisine

Sri Lankan

Prep Time

1 hour

Cook Time

1 1/2 hours

Passive Time

4 hours

Servings

croquettes

Ingredients

For the croquettes

14 ounces small red-skinned potatoes
1 1/2 pounds tuna or bonito preferably skinless
1/2 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground, or to taste
2 onions chopped
3 small green chiles more or less to taste
20 curry leaves fresh (see headnote for options)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons oil
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 eggs lightly beaten
breadcrumbs to bind

For dredging and frying

Course

Appetizers and Nibbles, Fish and Seafood, Mains

Cuisine

Sri Lankan

Prep Time

1 hour

Cook Time

1 1/2 hours

Passive Time

4 hours

Servings

croquettes

Ingredients

For the croquettes

14 ounces small red-skinned potatoes
1 1/2 pounds tuna or bonito preferably skinless
1/2 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground, or to taste
2 onions chopped
3 small green chiles more or less to taste
20 curry leaves fresh (see headnote for options)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons oil
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 eggs lightly beaten
breadcrumbs to bind

For dredging and frying

Instructions

Peel the potatoes. Cut them into pieces approximately ¾ inch on a side.
Put the cut potatoes in a steamer basket. Sprinkle with ground black pepper to taste.
Steam the potatoes over boiling water until tender, 15-25 minutes.
Put the cooked potatoes into a mixing bowl.
Cut the fish into strips approximately 1 ½ inches wide.
Put the fish in the steamer basket. Sprinkle with ground black pepper to taste.
Steam the fish over boiling water until fully cooked and flaky, 10-20 minutes. If the fish has skin, remove it after steaming.
Put the fish on a plate to cool.
Coarsely chop the green chiles
Grind the onions and green chile in a food processor.
Sauté the ground onion mixture, curry leaves, and cumin in the oil until the onion is soft but not brown, 6-8 minutes.
Coarsely mash the partially cooled potato.
Add the fish to the potato and mash again. The mixture should not be completely smooth but there should not be any really large chunks.
Add the onion mixture and salt to the mashed potatoes and fish. Mix well.
Add the eggs and then enough breadcrumbs to bind the mixture. The amount of breadcrumbs needed will vary based on the moisture content. Use your judgement and opt for making the mixture a little loose rather than overly stiff.
Refrigerate, covered, for several hours for the breadcrumbs to fully hydrate.
Taste and adjust salt (and chile if you wish).
Divide into 50 portions. Shape each into a slightly flattened oval shape.

Final Assembly

Season the flour with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Beat the four eggs lightly and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Dredge each croquette in flour, then dip in the beaten egg, then roll in the breadcrumbs.
Refrigerate, uncovered, at least one hour before frying.
Deep fry the croquettes at 350°F to 375°F until golden brown.
Drain on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet.

Recipe Notes

Curry leaves have an alluring flavor that isn't really comparable to any other herb. I recommend that you try to find them. You will probably have extra left. I suggest adding the whole fresh leaves to eggs before scrambling.

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Recipes

Bertha’s Salsa

Marisa’s Mystical Meatballs

2 Comments

February 9, 2018

These meatballs are really mystical if you consider the sway they hold on my husband, his brother, and his father. They go wild for these meatballs.

Well, wild in that very restrained Northern Italian way.

If they were Southern Italian, where a dinner conversation can seem like a minor riot, their meatball response would barely register on the scale. It would signal almost utter disregard for the meatballs.

But that, in fact, is not the case. The meatballs hold some sort of magical, mystical charm.

Marisa, of course, is my mother-in-law and these are her meatballs. She considers them quite unusual, having learned to make them from her mother and basically not remembering any other relatives or friends making something similar.

And, as meatballs, they ARE unusual!

**An old-fashioned ricer is still an indispensable piece of kitchen equipment. Make sure yours is very sturdy. Many new ones are not.**

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But here’s a secret that I haven’t told anyone yet. They really AREN’T meatballs. They’re croquettes! Crocchette in Italian.

There, I said it. Marisa’s Mystical Meatballs aren’t really meatballs. But everybody in the family calls them “Ma’s Meatballs.” “Ma’s Croquettes” doesn’t have the same alliterative allure, even if it’s more accurate.

**My mother-in-law and father-in-law celebrating his birthday.**

When I did a Google search for crocchette, Google turned up about 1,730,000 results in 0.51 seconds. When I searched for crocchette patate e carne (potato and meat croquettes), Google returned 1,500,000 results in 0.72 seconds.

And that was doing searches in Italian!

I found a Japanese woman who seems to have the same relationship to her mother’s meat and potato croquettes (korokke) as my husband and his family have to his mother’s.

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The meat for these “meatballs” (a word I’ll use in deference to my husband and his family of origin) is boiled before being finely chopped. This presents a perfect opportunity to make a really nice beef broth. You don’t have to do that, of course, but since you’re going to be boiling the meat anyhow, and since it only takes a few extra minutes to throw some aromatics into the pot, why not!

The broth from the meat for the specific batch of meatballs shown in this blog is sitting in the freezer ready to be turned into Auntie Helen’s Stracciatella, which will be coming up on the blog next month.

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.

Marisa's Mystical Meatballs

Marisa says she usually uses cross-cut beef shank for the meatballs. When we made them, she also had a piece of beef she bought for soup so we used both. In the end, we got ½ pound of cooked beef, with fat and gristle removed. Adjust the proportion of the other ingredients if you get substantially more or less cooked beef. If you want to use just cross-cut beef shank, I would try about 2 ½-3 lbs. The beef is boiled and then finely chopped to make the meatballs, giving you the opportunity to make a really nice beef broth with just a few minutes more work.

Course

Appetizers and Nibbles, Mains, Meats

Cuisine

Italian

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

6 hours

Servings

meatballs

Ingredients

Beef and Broth

10 ounces stewing beef
14 ounces cross-cut beef shank
2 carrots diced
2 stalks celery diced
1 large onion sliced
3-4 cloves garlic chopped
1 bay leaf
5-6 sprigs parsley leaves and tender stems only
1 piece Parmesan cheese rind
1/3 cup red wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
2 whole cloves

Meatballs

1/2 cup parsley leaves and tender stems only, lightly packed
2 large cloves garlic
6 medium russet potatoes approximately 2 pounds
2 eggs lightly beaten
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons salt plus more to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
fine dry breadcrumbs
neutral oil such as corn or canola, for frying

Course

Appetizers and Nibbles, Mains, Meats

Cuisine

Italian

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

6 hours

Servings

meatballs

Ingredients

Beef and Broth

10 ounces stewing beef
14 ounces cross-cut beef shank
2 carrots diced
2 stalks celery diced
1 large onion sliced
3-4 cloves garlic chopped
1 bay leaf
5-6 sprigs parsley leaves and tender stems only
1 piece Parmesan cheese rind
1/3 cup red wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
2 whole cloves

Meatballs

1/2 cup parsley leaves and tender stems only, lightly packed
2 large cloves garlic
6 medium russet potatoes approximately 2 pounds
2 eggs lightly beaten
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons salt plus more to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
fine dry breadcrumbs
neutral oil such as corn or canola, for frying

Instructions

Beef and Broth

Cross-cut beef shank.
Put the meat and all other broth ingredients in a large stock pot.
Cover with abundant cold water.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 4-6 hours, until the meat is very tender.
Remove and cool the beef.
Strain the broth and reserve for another use.

Meatballs

Remove fat, gristle and bone from beef. You should have approximately ½ pound of cooked beef.
Cook the unpeeled potatoes in boiling water until you can easily pierce them with the tines of a long fork or paring knife, 20-25 minutes.
Remove the potatoes from the water and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, mince the garlic or grate it on a microplane grater.
Combine beef, parsley and garlic in a food processor. Process until finely chopped.
Peel the slightly cooled potatoes. If they are too cool it will be difficult to rice them.
Pass the potatoes through a ricer.
Combine the beef mixture with the potatoes, nutmeg, allspice, salt and black pepper.
Mix well with a large spoon or your hands.
Add the lightly beaten eggs.
Mix well using your hands.
Form the mixture into 16 balls and then flatten them slightly.
Lightly roll the meatballs in fine dry breadcrumbs.
Pour ⅛ inch of oil into a large sauté pan.
Heat the oil on medium-high heat.
Fry the meatballs in two batches, on medium-high, flipping once, until brown.
Drain on paper towels.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe Notes

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Roasted Sweet Peppers

Fried Zucchini Blossoms (Fiori di Zucca Fritti)

2 Comments

August 2, 2017

Fried Zucchini Blossoms are one of the joys of summer at our house.

Simple, unadorned flowers, coated with a small amount of an equally simple batter (flour, salt and water), are addictive.

Stuffed zucchini blossoms are common and often quite good but in my estimation the stuffing does not pay homage to the blossom. One really tastes the stuffing, not the blossom. This is fine if one has such an overabundance of zucchini blossoms that one can squander them by stuffing them.

**A zucchini blossom in our courtyard container garden.**

Don’t get me wrong, I like stuffed zucchini blossoms but I’d much rather nibble my way through the crispy fried flowers with a cocktail. Bourbon, did someone say bourbon?

On a summer trip to Italy a few years back, one of the pizzas that I kept seeing was topped with zucchini blossoms alternating with anchovies. It made a striking presentation (which I suppose was the point) but there was no way the taste of the blossoms could stand up to the anchovies. But taste isn’t everything. I’ll admit that appearance is equally important.

When I was in college I ate fried food with abandon. Most of it was fried in lard that I rendered. My roommate and I would sometimes do an entire meal of fried food in the Italian manner, a frito misto. These days I rarely eat fried foods except for fried zucchini blossoms and fried sage leaves in the summer.

Over my years of frying I have tried many different batters, with and without eggs (some with whole eggs mixed into the batter and others with the yolk used as part of the liquid and the stiffly beaten white folded in at the last minute to lighten the coating), with and without baking powder, and with club soda or seltzer in place of water or milk, among other variations. In the end, I settled on the simplest of batters that I had at Great Aunt Fidalma’s house in Tuscany: flour, salt and water.

It works beautifully, turning out a thin crunchy coating.

You can use the batter on most any kind of vegetable though watery vegetables like zucchini and mushrooms are challenging.

My only alternate coating (when I’m cooking in the Italian manner… which is most of the time) is the one my mother used for cauliflower. She would par-boil the cauliflower, cut it into florets, dip it in egg, and then coat it with fine, dry breadcrumbs. Because some of the breadcrumbs come off during the frying, the oil has to be strained after every few batches of florets are fried otherwise the loose breadcrumbs start to burn imparting a burnt taste to the cauliflower. It’s really pretty easy to accomplish as long as you’re prepared for it.

I set up a very fine mesh strainer over an empty pot and use it to strain the oil. A quick wipe of the pot used for frying and the strained oil can be poured right back in and the pot put back on the heat. The whole process takes less than 30 seconds.

I’ve always fried in a pot on the stove, never in a dedicated deep fryer. I’ve never even used a thermometer to test the temperature of the oil. I flick a drop of water on the oil and watch how it skitters across the top to judge when the oil is hot enough. There’s a lot of trial and error learning involved in this method so I’d recommend you invest in a deep-frying thermometer (or even a dedicated deep fryer) if you’re not already skilled at frying.

My two favorite pots for deep frying are a Lodge cast iron pot and an Indian-style karahee. The cast iron is better at holding the temperature steady but the karahee uses less oil because of its curved bottom. A karahee can only be used on a gas stove, however.

**This is the Indian-style Karahee that I brought back from Guyana in the 1970’s. Fifty-one percent of the population of Guyana trace their ancestry to the Indian subcontinent.**

Although I use lard for some baked goods, I don’t deep fry in in on a regular basis any longer. I use corn oil. I think it works a little better than other vegetable oils for frying. Results are even better if one adds a small amount of oil that was previously used for frying to the pot with the fresh oil.

Fried zucchini blossoms are always served informally in our house. Since they are best right after frying, with just a moment to cool down, everyone gathers in the kitchen, cocktails in hand. When the first batch comes out of the oil, the flowers are put on absorbent paper while the next batch is battered and put in the oil. The previous batch is then salted and passed around. It’s about one minute from the time the flowers come out of the oil until they are being eaten.

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Fried Zucchini Blossoms

These zucchini flowers are coated with the simplest of batters. The amount of water needed cannot be determined precisely as it will depend on the flour to some extent. Refrigerating the batter allows the flour to fully hydrate, after which it will need to be thinned with a bit more water. Cold batter also sticks to food better than warm batter. Gently scraping the battered flower on the edge of the bowl allows for the amount of batter to be controlled. The flowers should just brown slightly otherwise they can start to taste bitter. Zucchini flowers are very delicate and do not stand up well to rinsing under water so only wash them if absolutely necessary. One cup of flour will make enough batter for at least two dozen flowers.

Course

Appetizers and Nibbles

Cuisine

Italian

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Passive Time

1 hour

Servings

persons

Ingredients

24 zucchini flowers
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water approximately
corn oil for frying

Course

Appetizers and Nibbles

Cuisine

Italian

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Passive Time

1 hour

Servings

persons

Ingredients

24 zucchini flowers
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water approximately
corn oil for frying

Instructions

A batch of flowers ready to be cleaned.
To clean the flowers, remove the stem end by breaking the flower where it creases, about ½ inch above the stem.
Pull out the stamen and stigma.
Remove any green bits (calyx) at the base of the flower.
Lay the flowers on a tray or plate, cover lightly, and refrigerate until ready to use.
Mix the flour and the salt.
Add the water, a little at a time to the center of the flour, stirring in a circular motion with a fork to incorporate more and more of the flour.
Xxxx
Keep the flour and water mixture thick until all the flour is incorporated. The stiffness of the batter will break up any lumps that might form. You can tell from the ridges in this batter that it is thick. Thinner batter will have a smooth surface.
After a thick batter is formed, continue to add water, mixing well after each addition, until the batter thinly coats the fork.
Cover and refrigerate the batter for at least one hour and up to one day.
When ready to use, thin the batter with more water until it once again lightly coats a fork.
Bring oil to frying temperature, approximately 350°F.
Dip a flower into the batter, scraping off excess batter on the edge of the bowl.
Drop the battered flower into the batter and continue to add flowers, without crowding.
Turn the flowers frequently.
Just as they begin to turn golden, remove the flowers from the oil allowing excess oil to drip into the pan.
Put the flowers on absorbent paper. Batter the next batch and put the flowers in the oil.
Salt the previous batch and serve while still hot.
Repeat!