photo credit: jessicafm

You won’t find a more authentic Italian food than the Italian pasta and bean soup called Pasta e Fagioli or Pasta Fagioli.  This is an ancient peasant dish and some say you will find the best ever made in Tuscany.  It always includes lot of vegetables, beans  and herbs and some smallish pasta like little tubes or shells.  If you are old enough, you may remember Dean Martin singing about this soup in his wonderful song “That’s Amore”.  This Italian Pasta and Beans soup is now served all over the world – and not only in Italian restaurants.

For the stock, you can use either chicken or beef.  You should have some Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top of each serving.  I have a nice recipe that tastes wonderful on a blustery day.  It is made in the crock pot, so you can have it made before noon and it will be ready for dinner!

Brown two pounds of ground beef in a skillet and put it in the crock pot along with a chopped onion, 3 chopped carrots and 4 stalks of chopped celery.  Stir in two 28 ounce cans of diced tomatoes with their juice, a 16 ounce can of red kidney beans – drained and a 16 ounce can of white kidney beans – drained.  Now sprinkle your seasonings over the top – 3 teaspoons oregano, 2 teaspoons pepper, 5 teaspoons parsley and a teaspoon of Tabasco sauce.

Pour a 20 ounce jar of good spaghetti sauce over all.  I recommend Paul Newman’s brand.  Now stir in 30 ounce of beef stock.

Cover and cook on LOW for 7 or 8 hours.  During the last hour, put in your favorite small Italian pasta.

Serve with Parmesan cheese on top and nice crusty Italian bread!

Watch Mama Rosa make her pasta fagioli here!

Mangia Bene!

photo credit: thebittenword.com

Simple Italian soups are so welcome this time of year, and none are more comforting that Split Pea and Potato soup!    A nice warm bowl of soup, a crusty chunk of bread and a fireplace and I’m in heaven.  The addition of potatoes to the pea soup just make it that much more hearty.

I used to make this soup with beef broth.  However, I recently had some good homemade chicken broth, so I used it to make this simple Italian soup and I liked it better than ever.  I also used Yukon Gold potatoes and they added a nice dimension to the soup.

If you like, you can add a little crostini when you serve the dish.  All I do is take the crust off a good firm white bread and toast them up in a little salted olive oil in a pan.  They go real fast and make a nice little crunchy topping.   Bacon pieces is another alternative topping that is always appreciated.

To start the simple Italian soup, saute a chopped onion and 3 or 4 diced carrots in 3 tablespoons of butter for about 5 minutes.  Stir in a pound of rinsed split green peas, 8 cups of chicken stock and a bay leaf.  Add salt and pepper to taste and bring it all to a boil.  Cover and reduce heat to low.  Let it simmer for about half an hour – stirring every once in a while.

Add about two pounds of Yukon gold potatoes that you have cut into 1/2 inch chunks.  Simmer for another half hour until potatoes are tender.  Remove the bay leaf.

Now you must decide if you want smooth or chunky soup.  If you want it smooth, blend it all in the food processor and return it to the pot.

Add 3/8 cup of grated Parmesan cheese and adjust for salt and pepper.  Ladle into bowls and top with some of your crostini and offer additional Parmesan cheese on the side.

Enjoy this simple Italian rib-sticking soup on a cold blustery day.  It tastes even better the next day!
photo credit: thebittenword.com

photo credit: The Marmot

When I first ran across the simple Italian dish called Risi e Bisi, I just loved the name.  Sounds so much cuter than rice and peas.  I thought it was pretty much just a risotto with peas added, but I found I was incorrect.  This dish is actually considered a soup – although it is quite a thick soup indeed.  Some cooks even make it thick enough to eat with a fork!

This classic simple Italian dish originated in Venice, where it is surely the favored of all the many, many rice dishes that Venetians prepare.  In the days of the Republic of Venice, a feast was held each April to honor Saint Mark.  Risi e Bisi was always the first dish served and it surely used the wonderful fresh young peas that were available in late April.

Have you ever tasted peas that had just been picked off the vine?  Simply marvelous.  If you must, you can use frozen peas for this dish, but if you are lucky to find some fresh ones, the simple Italian risi e bisi will be outstanding.

Put half a stick of butter in a stockpot and saute a few tablespoons of chopped onion in the butter over medium heat until they are pale gold.  You could also saute in some finely minced pancetta or diced rosciutto if you like.  Now it is time to add the peas.  If you are using fresh, you will want about two pounds unshelled weight or 10 ounces of frozen peas.  Add 1 teaspoon of salt along with the peas and saute for 2 minutes.  Add 3 1/4 cups of the best meat broth you can make or find and bring to a boil.  Add 1 cup of raw Arborio rice and 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley.  Stir, cover and cook at a low, slow boil for 15 minutes until the rice is tender but firm.  Stir from time to time to avoid sticking and correct the seasonings as you go along.  Just prior to serving your gourmet Italian risi e bisi, stir in half a cup of grated parmesan cheese and serve!

photo credit: Maggie Hoffman

Most Italians love fish soup.  And it really should be no surprise, because Italy has miles upon miles of shoreline and countless lakes and rivers.  There are so many variations on healthy Italian fish soups, but this one seems to be quite special.  It is called Zuppa di Pesce Castagna.  Zuppa is Italian for “soup” and Pesce is Italian for “fish“.  Castagna is a restaurant in Portland, Oregon, which many acclaim as the best Italian restaurant in the entire city.

A while back, this recipe was requested in the SOS column in the LA Times.  Apparently, the person who requested it had enjoyed this healthy Italian dish at Castagna and couldn’t get it out of his mind, and he wanted to try to make it at home.  “Ambrosia”, he said.  Well, that’s pretty high praise, so I had to try it.  It really is a sensational dish with a depth of flavor that comes from the leek, fennel, and lemon.  It has a nice rich broth and a little kick of chile to liven it up just a tad.

There are two things I really like about this recipe – you can make a good portion of it the day before and you can vary the  fish and shellfish according to what is fresh in your area.  Would you like to try your hand at this healthy Italian delight?
This serves 8, so vary the recipe according to the number of guests you will be serving.

First of all, make your soup base.  Coarsely chop and wash 4 leeks (white part only) and 1 fennel bulb (white part only).  Saute these in 3 tablespoons of good olive oil over medium-high heat until translucent.  Then stir in 1 arbol chile, seeded and 4 tablespoons tomato paste.  Cook this for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture darkens and thickens a bit.  Now stir in two tablespoons of arborio rice and two quarts of fish stock.  Scrape up any flavorings from the bottom of the pan to incorporate it into your base.  Bring to a fast simmer, than reduce the heat and continue cooking until the rice is tender, about 15 minutes.  Cool a bit and puree in a blender until smooth and pass through a sieve.  Adjust the flavor with salt, lemon juice and a bit of Pernod – to taste.

Now saute 1/4 cup chopped shallots in 2 tablespoons of oil.  Stir in 24 de-bearded mussels, 24 clams and 1/4 cup dry white wine and salt and pepper to taste.  Cover and simmer until clams and mussels open.  Stir in your soup base and 16 prawns and 16 quartered scallops.  Simmer gently until the shellfish are cooked and add 1/4 cup of chopped chives.

Cut l pound of cod or other firm white fish into 2-inch pieces and sprinkle with salt and pepper and dredge with flour.  Put about 1/4 cup of olive oil i a hot pan and saute until fish is golden brown on each side – 3 or 4 minutes per side.

Ready to serve!  Divide the soup among eight warm bowls and top with the fish!  This is optional, but I like to top each bowl with a spoonful of creamy anchovy aioli. I hope you enjoy this healthy Italian bit of ambrosia!  Don’t forget the crusty bread!

Watch a famous chef make Bill Clinton’s favorite Italian Fish Soup here!

Mangia Bene!

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photo credit: @sahxic < twitter

There is a common misconception about this Italian Chicken dish – Pollo alla Marengo.  The story almost always appears when you read a recipe for Chicken Marengo.

There is a city in Italy, just south of the Piedmont region, called Marengo.  This is where Napoleon defeated the Austrians in the early summer of 1800.  Napoleon felt it was bad luck to eat before a battle, so the story goes that he was starving after defeating the Austrians.  He supposedly told his Chef, Dunan, to scrounge up whatever he could from the locals and make him a fabulous meal.  Dunan returned from his “scavenger hunt” with chicken, tomatoes, garlic, eggs and a few crayfish.  With that, he created Napoleon’s signature victory meal – Chicken Marengo.

The problem with this story about the creation of a wonderful Italian chicken dish, is that Dunan was not hired to be Napoleon’s chef until well after the battle and there is no mention in any books of this dish until around 1820.

No matter what the true story is behind this Italian chicken dish, it is a good one with many variations.  I find that very few of them actually incorporate the crayfish.  Here is a version that I like that uses boneless chicken breasts, which makes eating it a little less messy.

Sprinkle four boneless chicken breast pieces with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Brown these in a few tablespoons of good olive oil over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes on each side and remove to a plate and keep warm.

Now add a few tablespoons of butter to the pan and toss in one chopped, sweet onion and a cup of finely chopped celery.  Cook until tender and add 1/2 cup of good chicken stock and 1 cup of white wine.  Bring this to a boil and return chicken to pan.  Now add one 14-oz can of diced tomatoes.  I like the fire-roasted ones for a deeper flavor.  Add a cup of button mushrooms and cover the pan.  Reduce to a simmer and simmer about 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Remove the chicken to a serving platter and add 1/2 cup of pitted and chopped Kalamata olives.  Okay, I know those are Greek, but I like the saltiness they bring to the dish.  Also add a few springs of parsley and about 14 cup of fresh thyme leaves.  Cook this for an additional minutes and pour over the top of the chicken.  If you really want to be true to the original Italian chicken dish, you may add a fried egg to each plate as a garnish and tell the Marengo story!   This is marvelous served with polenta, mashed potatoes, or pasta with a nice green salad and some good artisan bread! 

Watch Chef Lucca make Chicken Marengo here!

Mangia Bene!