Pesto Genovese

Yes, I am on an Italian kick.  Maybe its the fact that I miss living so close to Italy, maybe its the fact that one of my best friends is moving back to our school town.  Most probably its that I can get my daughter to eat anything that is Italian, and my boyfriend is Italian.
I find that making Italian food is a joy.  Not only are most of the recipes super simple, they are also gorgeous.  Pesto is a sauce that is always an after thought for me.  I usually make it out of necessity, because I bought basil and used one leaf and then I have a bunch that usually goes bad.  When it does, I kick myself and think, why didn't I make pesto?  Its not as if it is going to take me a long time to make it, heck, what couldn't be easier?  There is no cooking involved, and if you know the basics it can really be done with out measuring.  And, it is also DELICIOUS. 

This time I bought the basil apropos, and made the sauce.  It is going to be autumn soon, and with the cool weather come wild mushrooms, and bye bye basil.  So here is my last hurrah for summer....gorgeous green basil Peso alla Genovese!  The key to this recipe is that all the ingredients be of the best quality.  Buy the freshest greenest unblemished basil you can find, some quality pine nuts and olive oil, fresh garlic (not the pre-chopped variety) and the star, Parmiggiano Reggiano.  Please don't purchase Parmesan cheese substitutes, not only does that taste and smell of feet, it isn't worth your money.  A small piece of real Parmesan cheese goes a long way if you keep it wrapped properly in your fridge, and is also great for snacking. (Low fat and highest percentage of calcium in any cheese).  So, here is my recipe, the measurements are pretty crude because I go by my uncle's recipe, but it should turn out pretty amazing!

2 medium bunches fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup good quality Italian or Spanish extra virgin olive oil
1 handful of pine nuts, toasted
3 small garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
About 1 cup grated Parmiggiano Reggiano

1. Pick the nicest, unblemished leaves of basil off the stems.  DO NOT WASH!!!  Clean then with a paper towel, if  you wash them they will lose their fragrance and flavor. 

2. Toast your pine nuts, you can do this in a pan over low heat, making sure they go just golden, not dark brown.  This releases their aroma and taste.  Set aside. 

3. In the cup of an immersion blender or food processor (or mortar, if you really want to be true to the recipe) place your olive oil, pine nuts, garlic and basil leaves.  Pulse until mixed completely and there are no large pieces of pine nuts or garlic, and it turns to a lovely green color.  Add your salt and pepper to taste, but make sure you don't add too much salt, because Parmesan cheese is salty already.   Mix in the cheese if you are using it immediately.  If you are going to keep it in the fridge, make sure there is a bit of olive oil on the top of the mix, that way your leaves won't oxidize and turn black, and mix in cheese right before serving, that way it will keep for 3 days.

4. Boil pasta according to package directions, al dente please.  Strain your pasta, and mix in the pesto and serve.  You can garnish with some more fresh pepper and salt and  more cheese, if you wish.
Buon Appetito!

Ragu alla Bolognese

There are a lot of recipes for Bolognese sauce out there, and as I have commented in my blogs before, everybody, especially Italian households, have their own version.  But recently, I was told that Bologna has published the "original" version of their world famous sauce.  I was really really happy to see that mine is quite close to the original....but like all every one else, I have my own tweaked version of it. 

It really isn't as laborious as it sounds, once you have it on the stove, you can basically leave it (but just make sure it doesn't burn).  Since this is my daughter's favorite sauce, I will happily relinquish my recipe.  If you have any left over, obviously this is what you can use to make meat lasagna. 

I generally prefer it with spinach tagliatelle, or pappardelle.  I am not a huge fan of spaghetti.....I kind of have to crave spaghetti.  But nothing reminds me more of my youth in Lugano than a plate of "Cicche del Nonno con ragu bolognese".  Cicche del nonno (grandpa's cigars) are ricotta and spinach gnocchi, which is a dish I haven't yet mastered.....but I also think I haven't tried it out since I remember it so fondly, and I also tend to think that food tastes so much better when someone else prepares it.   Maybe my next post will be to try and recreate my childhood favorite....let's see.  But in the meantime, here is my recipe for Ragu alla Bolognese.  Pour yourself a glass of the wine you are using, put on some music (Radiohead or The Killers is always a great option) and enjoy the process,  Alla tua salute!

1/4 cup olive oil
2 slices of guanciale or pancetta, finely diced (if you can't get either, you can use bacon as a last resort.)
1 large onion, finely diced
1 large carrot, grated
1 large stalk of celery, finely diced
1 lb ground beef or pork ( I like to use a mix of both)
1 cup white wine (in winter I like to use red)
1 cup beef stock
1 tbsp salt
3 cups pureed tomatoes (canned or fresh from Roma or pear tomatoes)
Pepper to taste

1.In a large stockpot with a heavy bottom, fry up your guanciale or pancetta until it is golden brown over medium high heat.

2.Lower the heat to low, and add your onion, celery and carrot.  Saute, covered for 10-15 minutes.

3. Uncover and raise heat to high, and add your meat and brown.  When the meat is no longer pink, add your wine and let it evaporate completely. 

4.When the wine is all evaporated, add your salt, stock and pureed tomatoes and let it come to a boil.
 Let it boil for 10 minutes uncovered, then lower the heat to medium low,  and let it simmer with the top half off for about 2 hours, or until it is thick and glossy and all of the water from the tomatoes is evaporated.  Add  the fresh ground pepper.  You can serve it immediately, but it is always better after it has rested overnight.