Tag Archive: Italian
Italian Quinoa With Fava Beans
Quinoa is the perfect canvas for any recipe. You can add flavors from any culture, any sort of ingredients and have it be delicious, cohesive, and filling. This was my first time trying fava beans and I loved how their meaty texture matched the sundried tomatoes and olives. This has quickly become a new favorite potluck dish.
Italian Quinoa With Fava Beans
Ingredients(Makes 3-4 servings):
- 1 dry cup quinoa, rinsed
- 1/4 cup diced black olives
- 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil, drained
- 1 can fava beans, drained
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Cook the quinoa in 2 cups of water until all the liquid has been absorbed. Add more water if need be.
Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix while fluffing the quinoa. Serve hot or cold.
Am I wrong to think you must serve this with a nice chianti? You can skip the liver though.
Italian-Style Broccoli
If this recipe were a person it would be on Jersey Shore.
If this recipe were a person, it would have a cousin Vinny.
If this recipe were a person, it would GTL(Gym, Tan, Laundry) every Saturday.
This recipe is very Italian. It reminds me of the kind of vegetables I ate growing up: Covered in garlic. The olives are a welcomed, meaty bite with the broccoli. And it’s so easy it comes together in only 10 minutes. This just might save the reputation of Italian-Americans.
Italian-Style Broccoli
Ingredients:
- 3 cloves of garlic, diced
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1lb steamed broccoli florets, fresh or frozen
- 1/4 cup finely chopped black olives
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
Over medium heat, sauté the onion and garlic in the oil for 2-3 minutes until the onions start to turn color.
Add in the broccoli and lower the heat. Toss the pan to make sure the broccoli soaks up the oil.
Add in the olives and distribute evenly throughout the dish. Serve hot.
My favorite part about this is how much flavor gets soaked into the broccoli. It completely loses that off-putting “green” flavor and is filled up with onion, garlic, and olives. If this recipe were a person, it would be way too good for Snooki.
Cannellini Beans With Kale And Walnuts
I’ve been trying to eat very healthily to prepare for my marathon in a few weeks; I’d like to think that that could make up for a full season of laziness and daily desserts. And so I’ve been eating lots of beans, vegetables, and nuts. This dish has all of that. It’s a flavorful mix that’s perfect for a hearty vegan entrée or a side dish to some fish. I use walnuts in place of pine nuts for some added omega-3’s(also, if you’ve ever shopped for pine nuts you might notice that they cost more per pound than some precious metals). Beans, beans, the magical fruit; the more you eat… let’s just say you should be eating them.
Cannellini Beans With Kale And Walnuts
Ingredients(Makes 4-6 side servings or 2-3 entrees):
- 4 cups chopped kale
- 2 cans cannellini beans, drained of water
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil plus more for finishing
- 1/2 cup toasted walnuts
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Heat a large pan with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over a burner set to medium.
Add in the kale and sauté until it has reduced to about half of its volume.
Mix in the 2 cans of beans and leave on the heat until they’re warmed.
Turn off the heat. Add in the walnuts, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and stir the contents of the pan until fully mixed. Serve hot and drizzle on top some of the good extra virgin olive oil(the kind you would serve Ina Garten).
This is my idea of hearty Italian comfort food. The only thing that might make it better would be sautéing some garlic into the oil in the beginning, but my breath really doesn’t need any more garlic.
Gluten-Free Pizzelles
2 years ago one of the gifts I asked for for Christmas was a pizzelle maker. If you aren’t from an Italian family, you might not even know what a pizzelle is: A pizzelle is a thin, wafer-like cookie often flavored with lemon or anise with a snowflake pattern. It’s a traditional Italian cookie and one of my family’s favorites. To cook them, you need a special iron. These used to be made out of iron and you’d hold them over a hot flame but now Cuisinart makes a great electric press. This year was my first time making them gluten-free and with a few changes to the original recipe they came out fantastic! I’m happy I can still enjoy these traditional treats even under some untraditional circumstances.
Gluten-Free Pizzelles
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup oil
- 2 teaspoons anise extract
- 3/4 cup sugar
-
2 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour(I like Bob’s Red Mill’s)
In a large bowl, Sift together your flour and sugar. Add in the oil and anise and whisk. Continue whisking as you beat in the eggs and the dough has come together.
Heat a standard pizzelle maker until it’s ready. Take about a 1-inch round scoop of dough and put it in the center of the press. Close the lid and cook about 3 to 4 minutes until both sides have browned. Remove the cookies to a plate to cool.
As any Italian grandmother will tell you(well, not my Italian grandmother. My Italian grandmother would rather have a Little Debbie snack cake), there’s no real “science” to cooking pizzelles. You add as much dough looks right and cook until they don’t need to be cooked any more. The more you make these, the better you’ll get at judging the right amounts and cooking times.
These are a great homemade gift to anyone who likes a cookie. They’re flavorful and festive and perfect with a cup of tea at the end of the night.
Gluten-Free Italian Christmas Cookies
*Have you entered the holiday giveaway yet?*
I have to admit that I’m not the biggest fan of cookies. Besides being a huge challenge for a gluten-free baker, they just aren’t as interesting as cakes or as chocolaty as brownies. But come every Christmas, there’s always one cookie that has my heart: I love Italian anise cookies. Growing up Italian-American, my relatives always bought these for me fresh from an Italian bakery. I love the sharp licorice flavor with a super sweet frosting. I couldn’t imagine Christmas without them, so this year I tried to adapt the recipe to be gluten-free. After 2 batches, I came out with the perfect, sinfully good Christmas cookies.
Gluten-Free Italian Christmas Cookies
Ingredients(Makes 20 cookies):
- 2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup neutral flavored oil(not coconut oil and not butter)
- 1 1/2 eggs, lightly beaten(see here how to measure this)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons anise extract
*If you’re making these with regular flour, use just 1 egg
Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the oil, eggs, and extract.
Combine the dough by mixing until it’s firm and the flour has been all absorbed. Put the dough in the refrigerator to chill 30-60 minutes.
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees with the baking trays inside the oven to warm them up. When the oven is ready, take out the baking trays, line them with parchment paper, and roll the dough into 3/4-inch balls lining them up with enough room to spread. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the outside starts to turn slightly brown and the center is almost set. Take them out of the oven and let them set completely before moving them to another tray.
These taste just like the cookies from the bakery: Soft and slightly cakey yet still sugary dense. The anise flavor is strong, so you’ll want to give these to a true lover. And the icing—oh, the icing. But that’s for another day.
