photo credit: zoyachubby

I serve this simple Italian stew with polenta and it always gets thumbs up around our house.  I think it is named Italian stew because it contains fennel seed and rosemary.  I think the best Italian sausages are the ones that use fennel.  Fennel is native to southern Europe, so it is not surprising that Italians use it in sausage, meatballs, meatloaf, marinara sauce, etc.  Fennel is a member of the parsley family.  It was so popular with the Romans that the men took it to maintain good health and the women took it to control their weight.  Fennel seeds are sweeter and less pungent than anise seeds.

If you really like the taste of fennel, you can enhance the fennel flavor by toasting the seeds before including them in your simple Italian stew recipe.  This one is made in the crock pot, but you could bake it in the oven if you’d rather.  Probably two hours at 300 degrees.

First slice up a red bell pepper, a yellow bell pepper and an onion and place them in the crock pot with 4 cloves of garlic, minced.  In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and brown up 2 1/2 pounds of boneless pork that you have cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes.  You will probably have to do this in batches.

Place the pork in the crock pot.  Now place a 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes – I like the fire-roasted type – in the skillet along with 1/2 cup of dry red wine.  Boil this up while you scrape up the flavors from the bottom of the pan.  Add a teaspoon of fennel seeds, 1/2 teaspoon of crushed rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.  Pour this over everything in the crock pot.  Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 9 hours.  You want your pork fork-tender.

Mix together 3 tablespoons of flour and 1/4 cup of water.  Stir this into the pot at the end of the cooking time.  Turn the heat to HIGH and cook for an additional 15 minutes to thicken your simple Italian stew.  Serve with polenta and wait for the compliments!  Mangia Bene!

We know from a poem that dates back to the 1500′s that Panzanella goes back many centuries.  Now, tomatoes had not been introduced way back then, but when they came along, they were quickly utilized in Panzanella and today you will not find it without tomatoes.

To make Panzanella, you need good crusty, very stale rustic bread and it should be salt-free.  The bread should be anywhere from a day to a week old.  Do not use any bread that has preservatives in it.  The bread should be sliced thickly and allowed to dry completely.  This is a wonderful fresh Italian summer salad that takes very little effort to put together.

The main components of the salad are olive oil, red wine vinegar, red onion, tomatoes, cucumber, basil … and of course, the bread!  Although i prefer it without, many recipes are starting to inlcude pieces of mozzarella cheese in the salad.  It is thought that this may have started in honor of the Italian Flag – red, white and green.  With or without the cheese, it is just a refeshing gourmet Italian delight!

I happen to love red wine vinegar, so this is one of my favorite Panzanella recipes.  It comes from La Vecchia Bettola – a charming trattoria on the outskirts of Florence.

Fresh Italian Stale Bread Salad: Panzanella

Put 4 cups of water and 1 cup of red wine vinegar in a bowl.  Add six slices of 2 or 3 day old coarse rustic bread, preferably unsalted, and let it soak for 15 minutes.

Now drain well and squeeze all the the excess liquid from the bread and crumble into small bite size pieces in a large salad bowl.

Add a head of romaine lettuce, coarsely chopped and a red or sweet onion that has been halved and thinly sliced.  Next add a cucumber that has been peeled, cored, seeded and thickly sliced.  Now take 3 of the best tomatoes you can find – I like the Ugly tomatoes for significant flavor!  Coarsely chop the tomatoes and add to the bowl.  Throw in a few handfuls of fresh basil leaves, salt and pepper to taste, and 1/4 cup olive oil.  Toss this very well.  In the Tuscany region, this step is done using your hands.  Judge the consistency for yourself and add a little more oil if you like.  Wonderful served with a Chianti or other brisk, young red wine!

See how gorgeous this is and how to make it right here!

Mangia Bene!