Penne Pasta with Peas, Peppers and Pancetta

You will be surprised by how easy, quick and delicious is this pasta with peas, peppers and pancetta!

Let's start the week with a super easy, extremely fast, really delicious, one-dish meal recipe, to make your Monday dinner a breeze.
I call this pasta "the Four Ps ",  because of its four simple ingredients: piselli (peas), pancetta (or bacon), peperoni (peppers) and pomodori ... well, that's tomatoes. I guess the name doesn't quite work in English :-(
To prepare this sauce all you need is to place the ingredients in a pan and let them cook for 20 minutes or so. Yes, it's that easy. Check out the recipe!

Ingredients:       Printable Recipe

• 1 cup of green peas
• half red pepper, cut in small cubes
• 2 slices of pancetta or bacon, cut in small cubes
• 12 oz of crushed tomatoes (I used organic canned tomatoes)
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, freshly grated (optional)
• salt to taste
• 12 oz of penne pasta, or other short pasta

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Directions:

Step 1: Place all the ingredients for the sauce (olive oil, peas, pancetta, peppers, tomatoes and salt to taste) in a medium pan, over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes. As soon as it start boiling, cover the pan and simmer for about 20 minutes over medium flame. Stir occasionally. Check the sauce and uncover the pan for the last 5 minutes if you need to make it a little denser.

Step 2: While the sauce is cooking, bring to boil a large pot of salted water. Cook the penne. Drain the pasta when ready. Place in saucepan and mix well. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if you like.

And voila'! Dinner is ready!

Classic Italian Fried Meatball - Polpette

These soft and crispy, fried meatballs are simple to make and delicious to eat. A classic Italian, hearty, comfort food.

Happy Friday!
Let's start the weekend with a dish that, for sure, will satisfy your craving for a savory, hearty, comfort meal. Yes, these classic Italian fried polpette, soft and crispy, are what you are looking for!
Simple to make and delicious to eat. These meatballs are perfect for a fun, cozy dinner at home, served with a green salad or baked potatoes. You can eat them hot, right off the pan, or warm, so you can take some along on your next picnic.
And make sure to cook plenty!  Leftovers meatballs are always everyone's favorite, especially on some toasted baguette with some lettuce for a super tasty sandwich.
Here is the recipe!

Ingredients: To make about 20 meatballs, serving 4-6 people     Printable Recipe

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground pork
• 5 slices of bread
• 2 eggs
• 1 garlic clove, thinly minced
• 6 tablespoons of milk
• 2 tablespoons of fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
• half cup of Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 1/2 cup of bread crumbs, plain
• about 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation time: 40 minutes

Directions:
Step 1: Remove the crust from the bread and cut it in small cubes. Place it in a small bowl with the milk to soak for a few minutes.

Step 2: In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, pork and the eggs, and mix together with a fork. Add the bread (drained from the extra  milk), chopped parsley, Parmesan cheese, minced garlic, salt and pepper. When mixing with fork keep the mixture soft.

Step 3: To make the meatballs, scoop a spoonful of mixture, roll it in your palms. Don't press it too hard, but rolled it just enough so that it keeps its shape. Roll the meatball in the bread crumbs. I make mine a little flat, so that they are faster to cook.

                                               

                                               

Step 4: Cook in olive oil over medium-high flame for about 4-5 minutes on each side. Lower the flame to medium and cook until nice and golden, and fully cooked inside (should be
another 10 minutes or so).

 Buon Appetito!

NO WEEP MERINGUE

We love lemon meringue pie, but since we are "empty nesters" it takes us several days to eat the pie, and by then my meringue starts to "weep" a clear liquid that makes everything.......well, we throw it away when that happens.

Recently, I found a recipe online for a "No Weep Meringue" and it truly is, just that, it doesn't weep!! Not only does it taste excellent, but the pie has been in the fridge for three days now and not a DROP of liquid has appeared!! 

For the life of me I can't remember where I found this recipe, so I apologize to the original author. Where has this recipe been all my life!?!?!?

 

NO WEEP MERINGUE

1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons cold water

Bring this to a boil (whisking all the time) and cook until it gets very thick.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool to lukewarm.

In a large glass or stainless steel bowl (NO PLASTIC) beat three egg whites until they are thick and foamy (they shouldn't hold a peak yet).

With mixer on high, add 6 tablespoons sugar (one tablespoon at a time) beating well in between each addition. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract + a pinch of salt and beat until stiff and glossy.

With mixer running, add the lukewarm cornstarch mixture and beat on HIGH for 3-4 minutes.

Spread on filled and cooled 9" lemon pie.  Bake at 350° for about 10 minutes or until meringue peaks begin to turn golden.

Keep finished pie in fridge.

Risotto with Speck, Porcini and Taleggio Cheese

Deliciously creamy risotto, with an amazing combination of Italian ingredients cooked in red wine!

Today was the end of my giveaway! And the lucky winner of a new set of silicone baking mats from Kitchen Executive Chef is:

Allison C.

Congratulation Allison on your win! I will shortly contact you by email.
Thank you all for your entries, and a special thank you to Kitchen Executive Chef for the generous gift!!

And for tonight, no cooking for me :-)
My mother-in-law has been visiting from Italy, and today is her turn in the kitchen. She suggested this deliciously yummy risotto for dinner. So all I'm doing is sit back and relax! Well, not quite. I do need to write down the recipe, which I've never prepared before, and take lots of picture for this post. I definitely want to share with you this super tasty risotto!

Speck, porcini  mushrooms and taleggio cheese are common ingredients in Italy. You would find them in any grocery store. Here, not so much. So in order to prepare this dish, you may have to search around a bit. But I promise: when you taste it, this risotto will be well worth your time and effort!
If you live in the Los Angeles area, you can find dried porcini mushrooms and speck, which is a smoked type of prosciutto, at Guidi Marcello, Ltd. (1649 10th street in Santa Monica). Here is an interesting article about the store.
Bay Cities Italian Deli in Santa Monica also sells dried porcini and taleggio cheese. Don't forget to buy the arborio rice for the risotto! And while you are there, make sure to try their bread. Freshly baked, still warm and always delicious!!


Note: I recently added a printable version of my recipes (see right under here!) which only has the ingredients and step-by-step directions. No pictures, and no extra blah blah blah. :-)

Ingredients: serving 4                                                             Printable recipe

• half onion, finely chopped
• 5 oz of speck, cut in small cubes
• 0.5 oz of dried porcini mushrooms
• 0.5 lb of Taleggio cheese (or Robiola cheese)
• 1 cup of red wine
• 1.5 cups of Arborio rice
• 2 cups of vegetable stock (or water if you don't have any)
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• salt to taste

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Directions:
Step 1: Soak the dried porcini mushrooms in warm water for 10 minutes or until you are ready to use them.

Step 2: In a large skillet, saute' the chopped onion in the olive oil for a few minutes.

Step 3: Stir in the rice, and after a minute add the red wine. Cook for about 7 minutes, adding stock (or water) when necessary.

Step 4: Add the porcini mushrooms, drained and cut in pieces. Cook for 5 more minutes, adding more stock or water when the rice is dry.

Step 5: Add the speck cut in cubes and cook the risotto until ready al dente, should be an additional 5 minutes or so. Adjust with salt if necessary.

Step 6: At this point, stir in the taleggio cheese. Mix well and let the risotto sit off the stove for a couple of minutes, before serving.

Buon Appetito!

Traditional Venitian Bussolai Cookies

Ring-shaped cookie typical of Burano island in Venice, Italy

Don't forget there are only 48 hours left for your chance to win a set of silicone baking mat from Kitchen Executive Chef. On Wednesday, I will announce the winner, selected randomly through PromoSimple. Here is where you can enter:

And here is one more recipe I made using my silicone mats. These cookies, traditional from Burano island in Venice, could not miss from my list of dessert recipes.
They are made from simple ingredients, sweet dough and lemony aroma. A bit crunchy on the outside and a bit chewy on the inside. Like the biscotti (or cantucci) these are great cookies to have for breakfast with your cappuccino or milk. Or for snack with your afternoon tea. Or, as a true Venetians, after dinner dipped in a delicious glass of sweet wine!
This recipe is simple and quick to bake. But, no matter how good and original you can make these bussolai, there is nothing like enjoying one of these cookies from a pasticceria in Burano, eating while strolling around the picturesque pastel-colored houses down the canals.
Ingredients: to make 8-10 cookies, about 3 in in diameter           Printable Recipe

• 4 egg yolks
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 lemon, zest
• pinch of salt, 1/8 teaspoon
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour

Preparation time: About 45 minutes

Directions:
Step 1:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a double boiler.

Step 2: Blend the egg yolks with the sugar until nice and fluffy.

Step 3: Stir in the melted butter.

Step 4: Blend in the salt, vanilla extract, and lemon zest

Step 5: Mix in the flour.

Step 6: Make doughnut shape cookies. Start by rolling long pieces of dough,  about 7 in long, 3/4 in thick. Close them in a circle, making cookies that are about 3 inhes in diameter (before baking). Place the cookies on the silicone mat over a baking sheet. No need to grease!

Step 7: Bake for  about 20 minutes. They should be removed when only the bottom (not the top) is golden.

Enjoy :-)