Category: italian recipes

Baked Squash with Ricotta, Parmesan, Lemon and Sage

No secret here that I love squash, actually any squash is ok by me. There are so many beautiful varieties out there and I can honestly say that I haven’t found any that I really don’t like.

Although my top three would have to be butternut, acorn and these sweet little things called honeynut, pictured here. They’re hard to find in my neck of the woods, but when I do I grab them!

Here’s another idea using kabacha squash, using a different filling and a different way to cut the squash.

Any type of squash is tender and delicious when roasted and of course chock full of vitamins.

These sweet squash are filled with creamy ricotta, a touch of lemon, parmesan and sage, a match made in heaven! Feel free to stuff any type of squash you want this filling will go nicely with any variety.

If you have leftovers they heat up nicely the next day, no problem.

Baked Squash with Ricotta, Parmesan, Lemon and Sage
 
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Stuffed squash, perfect this time of year and as a side to your holiday table.
Author: Marie
Ingredients

Squash of choice, sliced lenghtwise with seeds scooped out FILLING: 2 cups of ricotta, drained of moisture if need be 1 tablespoon of sour cream or creme fraiche (optional) 1 tablespoon, fresh lemon juice, plus zest of one lemon 1 egg 1 smashed garlic clove ¾ cup or grated pecorino romano or parmesan, plus extra for finishing salt and pepper to taste a quick drizzle of olive oil, just a little on top and some extra for later Sage leaves

Instructions

Heat oven to 400F Place your squash on a parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Incorporate all the filling ingredients into a bowl, mix well. Spoon filling into the cavities of the squash, top with fresh sage leaves. Lay a sheet of foil over the squashes and crimp it around the baking sheet. Bake for around 50 minutes or until squash is tender, test with a knife for doneness. Remove the foil, sprinkle more grated cheese on top, a. little drizzle of olive oil and turn up the oven to maybe 425F until you get a light golden brown and ricotta is set. Enjoy!

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Braised Chicken with Artichokes, Shallots, Tomatoes and Olives

If you’re looking for a one-pan meal thats warm and comforting and easy to make, this is the one for you. A wine braised chicken dish with tender shallots, fresh tomatoes, briny olives and sweet artichoke hearts.

I suggest dark cuts of meat for this dish, I used bone- in, skin on legs and thighs. Dark meat pieces work very well for braising, they’re very forgiving and tend not to dry out like white meat breasts do.

I served this dish with mashed potatoes but polenta would be amazing, especially in the dead of winter, also couscous and rice would work as well.

Comfort food with an intoxicating smell as it’s cooking in the oven, and I can assure you that  the leftovers, ( if you have any), will be just as good the next day!

Enjoy

Braised Chicken with Artichokes, Shallots, Tomatoes and Olives
 
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Braised chicken, warm and comforting a one-pan meal with Mediterranean flavors throughout.
Author: Marie
Recipe type: one-pan meal
Ingredients

5 legs, 3 thighs, bone in, skin on or dark meat pieces of your choice 2 shallots, quartered 1 pint, cherry tomatoes, sliced in half 3 garlic cloves, crushed 1 cup of good white wine a good sized handful of your favorite olives, I used castelvetrano 10 oz. frozen artichokes ½ tube of tomato paste ¾ cup, chicken broth herbs such as parsley, thyme and rosemary olive oil

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 400 Make sure you use a heavy bottomed pan that goes from stove top to oven. Pat dry and season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Get the pan hot then drizzle with olive oil and sear the chicken on both sides til deep golden. Remove the chicken and set aside. Add the shallots, garlic and sauté a little bit. Deglaze with the white wine. Toss in the fresh sliced tomatoes, chicken broth and tomato paste, combine well. Place the chicken back in and scatter with some herbs. Toss in your olives and artichokes. Drizzle the top with olive oil and place into the oven. Cook til internal temp reaches 165. The last few minutes you can stick it under the broiler or if you have a convection setting put it on convection roast til nicely golden.

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Butternut Squash Ricotta Tart With Puff Pastry

Butternut squash is hands down one of my favorite veggies. When fall comes around I get excited to see it popping up in all the markets. It’s so versatile and you can make so many different meals using it.

One way I like using it is in a savory tart like this one with a cheesy spinach and ricotta base, the flavors compliment each other so well which brings out the sweetness of the squash.

Now you don’t actually have to cut the squash like I did, you can just cube it up, but if you want to fancy it up a bit and give it a showstopper look, do what I did.

Cut the squash right above the seed section, peel the skin off and scoop out the seeds, now cut side down make thin slices. A little more time consuming but it does give it a pretty look.

This time I used puff pastry but in the past I’ve used phyllo and even a piecrust as the crust foundation.

I have to say store-bought puff pastry is really time saver, you just defrost and it’s ready to go, and it always turns out nice and crispy!

The ricotta mixture is flavored with garlic, grated fontina and pecorino cheese and a good handful of fresh chopped spinach.

Serve this with a salad of your choice and you have a great lunch, brunch, light dinner or meatless meal, it’s fantastic and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Butternut Squash Ricotta Tart With Puff Pastry
 
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A savory tart with butternut squash and creamy ricotta cheese, the perfect combination with crispy puff pastry as the foundation.
Author: Marie
Ingredients

butternut squash, cut above the seeds, then peeled with seeds scooped out and sliced thin, or just cut in cubes 1 sheet of store-bought puff pastry, defrosted according to directions 2½ cups of ricotta, drained well 2 eggs 1 large garlic clove, crushed ¾ cups of grated pecorino or parmesan, plus a little extra salt and pepper to taste olive oil 1 cup of grated fontina cheese or grated mozzarella 1 handful of chopped fresh spinach a sprig of thyme for garnish

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 400. After you slice the squash, place on a parchment lined and olive oiled sheet pan, and also lightly drizzle some olive oil on top. Roast at 400 until just softened, not browned ,about 5 or 6 minutes. Check because ovens vary.Then cool down. Mix up the filling in one bowl, the ricotta, eggs, garlic, grated pecorino or parmesan, shredded fontina or mozzarella and chopped spinach. Mix well. On another sheet pan place parchment paper and the puff pastry sheet. Roll the puff pastry with a rolling pin til it takes. the shape of a rectangle and not a square. Lightly score a border around the entire edge using a paring knife, then prick the surface inside the border all over with a fork. Spread the ricotta mixture all over the inside surface but not the border. Arrange and layer the butternut squash on top of the ricotta mixture. Brush some olive oil on the border adding a little pepper and grated cheese. A finishing touch of grated cheese on top of the squash a pinch of salt and pepper and quick drizzle of olive oil all over, then add a few thyme leaves. Bake at 400 for around 25 to 30 minutes. Check your oven, the bottom of your puff pastry should be nice and crispy golden and the ricotta will be set.

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Homemade Chicken Soup With Broken Spaghetti

Fall is officially the start of soup weather and here’s a good one to start you off on, plus you can keep it in rotation throughout the winter. It’s my homemade chicken soup with broken spaghetti pasta.

It’s a simple basic recipe, not a lot of ingredients, but all the ingredients I promise will yield you a most delicious pot of soup!

Can you add other veggies to it? of course you can, and that’s up to you. The key to this flavorful broth is using chicken thighs with the bone and skin on, you need that, it won’t be the same without it.

There’s two steps, first you you need to make the base, the broth, which comes from simmering the chicken bones with lots of aromatics, once done the aromatics will be removed, the chicken will be pulled out, skin and bones removed and the shredded chicken set aside.

You’ll then place all the shredded chicken as well as fresh chopped veggies and herbs back into the both, season for taste and when the veggies are tender it’s all done.

We like to make some broken spaghetti on the side and add it into your bowls as needed, so delicious!

Cold a flu season is around the corner and this is just the kind of comfort chicken soup that you’ll be needing.

Homemade Chicken Soup With Broken Spaghetti
 
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Soup season has officially started, and this soup is just what you need for comfort during the cold and flu season.
Author: Marie
Ingredients

FOR THE. BROTH BASE 4- bone in, skin on chicken thighs 2 -1 quart boxes of low sodium chicken broth, or water but I prefer adding the broth 3 large garlic cloves, cut in half 2 celery stalks, cut in half 1 medium onion, cut into quarters 2 large carrots scrubbed clean and cut in half 2 cheese rinds, either Pecorino or Parmigiano a handful of parsley a pinch of dried thyme and salt and pepper a drizzle of olive oil FOR THE COMPLETED SOUP ½ of a large onion, chopped 3 garlic cloves, chopped 2 large celery stalks, chopped 2 large carrots, sliced a handful of parsley ½.- lb. of broken spaghetti, cooked on the side

Instructions

Heat up a large heavy bottom pot, drizzle with olive oil. Pat dry the chicken thighs and season both sides with salt and pepper. Place the chicken thighs skin side down and get them golden brown, then flip them over and cook the other side. Add the 3 cloves of garlic and cook til golden. Place into the broth, the quartered onion, pieces, carrot and celery halves, cheese rinds, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper. Get it to a boil and simmer low for a couple of hours, give it enough time for the vegetables and chicken to be tender and where you can see the collagen broken down to a gelatine and producing a delicious bone broth, taste for seasoning. Remove the chicken thighs and let them cool down, then scoop out and discard all the large pieces of veggies, parsley and the cheese rinds. Pull the skin and bones off the chicken and shred the chicken, then place it back into the flavorful broth along with all your freshly chopped veggies and herbs.. Simmer until your veggies are tender but not mushy. Serve with your pre-cooked broken spaghetti into your bowls and some sprinkling of grated cheese. Enjoy!

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Zucchini Scarpaccia With Corn And Pecorino

Tis the season of zucchini and the trend right now seems to be zucchini scarpaccia. It’s basically a zucchini tart where the zucchini is the star, there are tons of  variations all over the internet right now.

It’s like a savory zucchini flatbread, baked until it forms a crunchy, golden brown top, it’s very delicious!

I changed mine up a little by adding to the zucchini and onion mixture, an ear of shucked. corn and in the batter some sharp, grated pecorino.

Several recipes say to add cornmeal to the batter, I used dry polenta.

Grab a slice and have it as an appetizer, a side dish, a snack or a light main course served with a salad, like I did recently for dinner.

A perfect summer dish especially while zucchini is in an abundance right now.

Easy to make, virtually a one pan meal and very soul satisfying!

Zucchini Scarpaccia With Corn And Pecorino
 
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Grab. your garden zucchini and make this savory zucchini flatbread called scarpaccia.
Author: Marie
Ingredients

3 zucchini, medium size sliced into thin rounds 1 white or red onion, medium size sliced 1 ear of fresh corn, shucked 1 large garlic clove, grated basil olive oil FOR THE BATTER 1 cup flour 1¼ cup water ⅓ cup polenta or corn meal pinch of salt and pepper ⅓ cup of pecorino romano 2 tablespoons of olive oil ( batter should be loose enough to spread, adjust with a little more water if needed)

Instructions

Saute the zucchini and onion slices in a saute pan, along with the garlic for about 15 minutes until most of the moisture is gone. Let it cool down, now mix up the batter. To a bowl add the flour, water, pecorino cheese, polenta or cornmeal, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt. and pepper to taste, you could also add chopped basil or leave the basil for garnish. Generously olive oil a quarter inch rimmed sheet pan, or if you have a 9 x. 13 non stick pan, all the better. Fold in the zucchini, onion and corn mixture to the batter then spread it out evenly over the pan. Lightly sprinkle the top with a little polenta, grated pecorino and a drizzle of olive oil. Bake at 400. til golden and crunchy on top, time may vary according to oven temps. 35-45 minutes or so. Garnish with basil. Cool down and slice!

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Summer Stuffed Shells With Zucchini And Corn

Looking for a lighter, summer take on stuffed shells? This summer dish consists of creamy ricotta, a little burrata, pecorino, with a hint of garlic and lemon zest and then fresh summer corn and zucchini sautéed and tossed into the mix.

It has a light tomato cream sauce that goes really well with all the fresh flavors.

Serve this as a side or as a main course with a tossed salad. It was the first time I ever made these, as I always make stuffed shells the traditional way.

I fed them to a few family members to see what they thought and they all loved them, me included, so I decided it was worthy to share the recipe here in a blog post.

A light easy meal you can make mid week!

You’ll want to garnish the top with more of the sautéed zucchini and corn, topped off with fresh basil from the garden.

Summer Stuffed Shells With Zucchini And Corn
 
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A lighter take on stuffed shells with corn and zucchini tossed into the creamy ricotta mix. Perfect for summer eating!
Author: Marie
Ingredients

1 -12 oz. box of jumbo shells 2 cups whole milk ricotta, drained well 4 oz. hand shredded burrata ¾ cup of grated pecorino or Parmigiano Reggiano 2 medium zucchini, diced 1- ½ cups of fresh corn kernels or frozen thawed 2 small garlic cloves grated or 1 large 1 egg the zest of one lemon 4 oz. of shredded mozzarella basil olive oil 1 28 oz can of whole San Marzano tomatoes, or homemade marinara or a high quality store bought marinara heavy cream

Instructions

Make a quick marinara by coating a heavy sauce pan with olive oil, warm up a couple of cloves of chopped garlic, add the canned tomatoes squishing them til smooth but with some chunks. Add a teaspoon of salt and fresh basil simmer for 20 minutes or so. When finished pour in some heavy cream, start with ¼ cup and see if that’s good for you, if not, add a little more. Quick saute the chopped zucchini and corn together for a few minutes in a little olive oil, set aside. Boil shells according to directions on the box, the lesser time for further baking, then drain and cool down with cool water. Mix up the filling in a bowl with the ricotta, burrata, the egg, grated cheese, garlic, lemon zest, chopped basil, salt and pepper to taste, but not the shredded mozzarella. Fold in the cooled down sauteed zucchini and corn, reserve some to sprinkle on top. Grease the bottom of a casserole dish with olive oil, then spread a layer of the tomato cream sauce on the bottom. Stuff your shells and place them single layer on top of sauce. Spoon more sauce on each shell but don’t drown them with sauce. Sprinkle the grated mozzarella cheese all around, along with more pecorino or Parmigiano and the reserved sauteed corn and zucchini. Drizzle the top with olive oil and bake uncovered in a 350 oven for 25 minutes, garnish with fresh basil. To serve spread some sauce on the bottom of the dinner plate, add the shells and topped them off with more warmed sauce. Enjoy!

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Party Worthy Summer Fruit Salad With Honey Lime Drizzle

Summetime is here and we all need a good fruit salad to serve alongside your next cookout or party. This is the one, it’s certainly very party worthy as a side or even a light dessert.

Using the best fruit’s this season has to offer, like these fresh cherries, grapes, blackberries and my favorite, watermelon.

When you add in some crunchy cucumber, spicy arugula and a little salt from the feta cheese you have a delicious combination of flavor.

The  honey lime drizzle is clean, simple, refreshing and bright and it just takes the whole fruit salad over the top.

Serve this on your next special occasion, or just make it for yourself!

Party Worthy Summer Fruit Salad With Honey Lime Drizzle
 
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A fruit salad worthy for your next party.
Author: Marie
Recipe type: Fruit Salad
Ingredients

2 cups watermelon cubes or balls 2 cups fresh cherries pitted and sliced in half 1 cup of black or blueberries 1 cup of grapes, sliced in half 1 cup of cubed Persian cucumbers or small chop on regular but remove seeds 1 cup of good feta cheese, crumbled a handful of arugula ¼ cup of honey 3 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lime juice

Instructions

Combine all ingredients together, then in a small bowl whisk together the honey and lime juice. Assemble the fruit onto a nice platter and right before serving drizzle the honey lime dressing all over top.

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Whipped Ricotta Berry Tart

This is one of those desserts that is just so satisfying, its light, not to sweet, it uses fresh berries in season. There’s lemon and vanilla flavor in the background and it’s all surrounded by crunchy phyllo dough. It’s a whipped ricotta tart and you don’t even need to pull out your mixer!

I love making tarts with ricotta and love using phyllo, which by the way is VERY forgiving. Of course this would be just as delicious if you make or buy your own pie crust and use that, but you’ll need to blind bake that as well. You can also mix up the berries you use, I did sliced strawberries, blackberries and blueberries.

I wouldn’t do too many strawberries they’re not as sturdy as the other ones I mentioned, they tend to soften the tart up much quicker, but if you’re eating it right away that won’t matter.

The hardest part will be waiting for it to cool down so you can have a slice with some coffee, don’t forget to sprinkle it with a nice shower of powdered sugar! With Mother’s day around the corner this just might be one to make for that special mom in your life.

Whipped Ricotta Berry Tart
 
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A berry ricotta tart, not too sweet but oh so delicious with a nice crunchy phyllo crust.
Author: Marie
Ingredients

½ stick of unsalted butter, melted 8 sheets of phyllo dough tart pan with removable bottom, I used an 11 x 8 rectangle pan FILLING: 2 cups whole milk ricotta, make sure it’s well drained if it’s from a deli, or use a good one from a grocery in the cheese section 2 eggs ½ cup of sugar ¼ cup of heavy cream the zest of 1 lemon ½ teaspoon lemon extract 1 teaspoon vanilla a mix of berries, I don’t measure those, I just fill in and cover the top of the tart to my liking powder sugar for sprinkling the tart when cooled

Instructions

Heat your oven to 350F, you’re going to pre-bake the phyllo for 15 minutes. With the melted butter, brush your tart pan all over. Working fast,add 1 sheet of phyllo at a time brushing it all over with the melted butter, repeat brushing the butter on to all the rest of the phyllo sheets. You’re going to layer them on top of each other, squishing them around the sides of the pan, don’t worry if they rip, no one will know, phyllo is very for giving. Put the tart pan onto a cookie sheet for easy in and out of the oven and place into your pre-heated oven for 15 minutes. If it puffs up when you take it out just press it down with the back of a spoon, set it aside, now make your filling. Raise the oven temp to 375F now. In a medium size bowl whisk together the ricotta, eggs, heavy cream, sugar, zest and extracts til nice and smooth. Pour the filling on top of the pre-baked phyllo dough. Sprinkle your berries all around filling in and covering the top of the ricotta mixture. Bake for another 30- 45 minutes, remember it all depends on your oven, everyone is different and also if the ricotta has a lot of moisture and is not drained properly, that could affect the cooking time as well, I didn’t use the deli kind. Take the tip of a knife after 30 minutes and see if it comes out pretty clean in the center, if not check every 5 more minutes. Let the tart cool down before you slice into it then sprinkle powder sugar all over it. Enjoy this creamy, crunchy berry bite!

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Grilled Eggplant With Fresh Tomato Salad

I can’t think of a more enjoyable salad to make during the warm summer months ahead than this grilled eggplant with fresh tomato salad.

It’s fun to serve for picnics, BBQ’s and any of your upcoming parties you’re planning. All I can say is that whenever I make this and lay it out on a buffet table people gravitate right towards it, not only is it super delicious, it has a pretty presentation and as an added bonus it holds up very well at room temperature.

Grilling eggplant is so easy, just salt, pepper and olive oil both sides, place on the grill until tender with nice looking grill marks.

I like to look for medium size more slender eggplant rather than the rounder fatter kind, to me there’s less seeds, less bitterness. I also like to peel the skin off in strips, using a vegetable peeler go around the whole eggplant lengthwise making “zebra stripes”. If you take the skin completely off, the eggplant slices collapse and have no structure.

You can even grill up the eggplant the day before, then all you have to do is make your salad and assemble it all on serving day.

Fan your grilled eggplant unto a pretty platter and then proceed to make your fresh tomato salad. Mine consisted of sliced cherry tomatoes, chopped cucumbers, red onions, olives, feta cheese, parsley, basil and olive oil. Here’s were you can add your own twist on it, you can replace the feta with any special cheese you like, I’ve changed it up many times myself by using provolone chunks, fresh mozzarella chunks, or even those cute little mozzarella pearls

Once you make this grilled eggplant salad I think it will become a regular for you throughout the summer months.

Enjoy!

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Summer Bean Salad

I’ve been on a salad kick lately, I think it’s the change of weather and the fact that we started using our grill again. If you’re looking for a side dish to any of your grilled meats or fish you need to make this summer bean salad.

It’s quick to put together because it’s made with canned beans and jars of antipasto, usually sun-dried, packed in oil or marinated with some fresh ingredients added in as well.

I used a combination of cannellini and garbanzo beans but you can use all cannellini or all garbanzo, it’s your choice, same thing goes with the other ingredients, make it your own.

This keeps well for a couple of days in the fridge and delicious served cold or at room temperature, plus it can sit out and you don’t have to worry about it going bad, the dressing is simply olive oil and fresh lemon. A great side dish for all your summer parties!

Here’s how I made mine.

Summer Bean Salad
 
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Make this side dish salad for all your summer grilling.
Author: Marie
Ingredients

1 can each, cannellini and garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained then patted dry 1 jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, scooped out and chopped jarred roasted red peppers, drained and sliced 2 small garlic cloves, minced finely ½ teaspoon of Calabrian chili paste, (optional for a little heat) olives of your choice bocconcini balls, ( fresh mozzarella) drained and sliced in half chopped red onion chopped parsley a few thin lemon slices a handful of arugula

Instructions

Toss everything into a big bowl, let the flavors meld together then place into your serving dish! (Amounts of ingredients vary to your liking and how much you will be making.) The dressing is simply fresh lemon and olive oil whisked together and drizzled all around.

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