Recipes / Italian

INGREDIENTS

• ▢ 1 large head cauliflower about 3 lbs
• ▢ 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• ▢ 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese about 2 1/2 ounces
• ▢ 1 cup good-quality prepared tomato-based pastsa sauce (I used red beet sauce) plus additional or serving, if desired
• ▢ 3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese about 3 ounces
• ▢ 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
• ▢ pasta or zucchini noodles optional, for serving

 

INSTRUCTIONS

• Place racks in the center and upper third of your oven. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  
• Place the caulilfower on a cutting board and sliced off the base so that it forms a flat surface. Cut away the thick green stems. Stand it up on its cut end, with the florets-side up. Working from top to bottom, slice the head into 1-inch thick "steaks," starting from the center and working your way out. Some of the slices may break apart and florets on the sides will fall away. Arrange all of the cauliflower, both steaks and florets, in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
  
• In a small bowl, stir together the oil, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Brush over both sides of the cauliflower steaks and florets. Turn any loose florets so that their flat, cut sides are facing down and touching the surface of the pan.
  
• Bake the cauliflower of the center rack for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and with a think, flexible spatula, gently turn the steaks and florets over. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top. Return the pan to the oven and continue baking until the Parmesan turns golden and the caulfower is tender and caramelized at the edges, 18-20 additional minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and turn the oven to broil.
  
• While the caulfower bakes, prepare any noodles you'd like to serve with the cauliflower. If youd like additional sauce to serve on the side with the noodles, warm it in a small saucepan over medium heat (reserve 1 cup sauce for baking the cauliflower).
  
• Once the cauliflower has baked, spoon 1 cup sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the mozzarella. Return the cauliflower to the oven, placing the pan on the upper rack. Broil until the cheese is melted and turning golden, 1 to 3 minutes. Do not walk away from the oven, to ensure the cauliflower does not burn. Sprinkle with the basil. Enjoy immediately, with noodles and warmed sauce if desired.

 

Kale (or spinach)  Ricotta Chicken

• ▢ 1 ½ lb chicken breast
• ▢ 1 c ricotta cheese
• ▢ 1 c fresh chopped spinach (or kale)
• ▢ ½ c parmesan cheese, shredded
• ▢ 1 ½ c marinara sauce (I used pre-made red beet marinara sauce)
• ▢ 3 garlic cloves, minced (separated)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
• ▢ ½ teaspoon cracked pepper
• ▢ ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ▢ extra parmesan for topping

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
  
• In a bowl, mix together the ricotta, parmesan, spinach or kale, one garlic clove, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper until fully combined.
  
• Spray the bottom of a 9x13 pan, or large baking dish with oil. Line the chicken breasts in the pan and evenly season with salt, pepper and 2 of the garlic cloves. Spread the ricotta and spinach mixture over the top of the chicken breasts evenly. Cover the chicken completely with the marinara.
  
• Bake for about 18-22* minutes or until the thickest section of the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. (For thicker chicken breasts, this could take about 5 minutes longer if not more.) In the last several minutes, add shredded parmesan on top of the chicken and continue baking to melt. If the chicken is thick, it may take longer. Just keep an eye on it.
  
• Allow chicken to rest about 5 minutes before serving. Store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Leftovers of this chicken are even better!

 

Nutrition

Calories: 377kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 49g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 149mg | Sodium: 1230mg | Potassium: 1051mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1560IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 311mg | Iron: 2mg

 

Italian Fig Christmas Cookies (Cuccidari)

 

Preheat the oven to 425

 

Christmas Cookie Dough:

((Or use your favorite sugar cookie dough recipe! The recipe below is also PERFECT for frosted cut out Christmas cookies))

2 cups butter

2 cups sugar

6 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

2 lg eggs

½ cup water

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. Almond extract

3/4 tsp salt

 

Filling:

1 pkg. (1/2 -1 lb.) dates (OR DATE SPREAD), chopped

1 box raisins (15 oz.)

1 lb. fresh figs from

½ lb. chopped walnuts

1 lb. jar orange marmalade or I used raspberry

¼ - ½ rum or whiskey or 2 tsp. rum extract (optional)

 

Topping:

Cinnamon and sugar

 

To make the FILLING:

Chop the figs a little at a time in a food processor. They can be quite tough and could burn out your motor if you use dried instead of fresh figs

 

Add the figs and all the other ingredients for the filling in a saucepan for the stove.....

 

Heat it through on medium low till it is soft and pliable and melts together a little. Remove from heat.

 

To make the DOUGH:

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl and add a little at a time to butter mixture. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and dough comes together. Chill 1 to 2 hours. Roll two desired thickness and cut into desired shapes. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes on 350 for Christmas cookies or for these Italian fig cookies 425. Leave cookies on baking sheet to cool for at least five minutes before moving them to decorate.

 

To ASSEMBLE:

Flour your cutting board continuously throughout the whole rolling process. Roll a piece of dough approximately 10" long by 6" wide

and cut the edges and top and bottom straight.....

 

Put the filling down the middle of the dough from top to bottom. The tricky part of this section of making the cookies is to decide how much filling to use so that you don't run out before you get to the end of your dough or your dough doesn't run out before you get to the end of your filling! If you have leftover dough, you can roll it out, sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on it, roll it and bake it......yum! With a butter knife form the dough on either side over the filling and seal the middle and ends. The dough is quite pliable and can be blended together to close the seam.... With a sharp knife cut the tube on the diagonal about every 3/4". Place the cookie seam down on the cookie sheet to bake. No need to grease the pan....there is plenty of shortening in there for that! Bake them at 425 degrees for about 13 minutes til golden brown.....this recipe makes about 7 dozen cookies. They freeze beautifully. I usually freeze them once they are cooled in either freezer bags or large pans with foil. When I need some to give as a gift or to serve to guests (or just eat, and sometimes that is right out of the freezer!), I defrost them and frost them and they are as fresh as the day I made them.....                 

 

 

FROSTING

(I opted to just sprinkle mine with cinnamon sugar- GREAT with coffee) 

2 2/3 cups confectionary sugar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon flavoring (almond, lemon, anise), optional

Hot water

SPRINKLES, Optl

 

Combine all ingredients except water. Slowly add a little hot water till frosting is smooth.