Pasta with broccoli and anchovies

This is a typical dish from Sicily that mixes seafood (under oil anchovies) and vegetables (broccoli): we love this kind of food,  it's really tasty and ITALIAN. 

Ingredients (Metric and imperial) - Party of 4

• 14 oz (400 g) of Pasta (I've chosen Orecchiette)
• 60g (4 tablespoons) Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Clove of garlic (finely chopped)
•  2/3 Cup (150  ml) White Wine
•  1 Pinch of salt (for sauce) + 2 tablespoons (for boiling water)
• 20 under oil anchovies fillets
• 60g (4 tablespoons) of breadcrumbs
• 1 medium Broccolo
• 1 pinch of pepper
• 1 little chili

Method:

• Cut your Broccoli in little pieces and cook them for 10 minutes in boiling water
• Put into a nonstick pan the oil, the anchovies and the garlic and put the pan on a low flame
• After 1 minute, add the wine and cook for 4-5 minutes
• Add the boiled broccoli (saving some of them for decoration), the salt, the pepper and the chili
• Boil pasta in salted water. You've to stop cooking them 2 minutes before the instruction of the packet says. At this time strain them out of the water (saving a glass of it) and pour it in the pan with high flame, mixing them  with the sauce and ending the cooking time in there. The right way to cook them is firm to the bite ( “al dente", in Italian). If they become a bit dry, then add a little quantity of cooking water while mixing.
• Serve on your plates, adding a broccolo and the breadcrumbs (fry it before, if you prefer)on the top

 

TARALLI from APULIA

This is a typical Bakery product from APULIA:  we love eating them one by one while drinking a good italian wine and t's really hard to stop eating them.
Let's see how to prepare them:

Ingredients (Metric and Imperial) - 30 pieces

• 250g (2 cups) of all purpose flour
• 60g (4 tablespoons) of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 100 ml (7 tablespoons) of white wine
• 3 pinches of salt
• 2 pinches of chopped rosemary or chopped fennel seeds

Method:

• Mix slowly all of your ingredients, after 10 minutes you'll get your perfect and homogeneous dough.
• Cover it with the food film and put in the fridge for 30 minutes
• Take your dough and make lots of cylinders sized as the half a normal pencil.
• Give them the shape of a ring, crossing and pressing the extremities
• Put them (in group of 10) into some boiling water: when they raise up, take them and put on a dry  and clean dish cloth
• Bake them at 350°F for about half an hour
• Enjoy the smell
• One cooking time is over, put them off and wait until they become just warm 
• Now you can really enjoy them!

Salmon Finger Food with black bread

During last years in Italy we're specilizing in appetizers: Before having dinner we have the "APERITIVO" (We can translate it with the word "opening"): So we drink a glass of good Italian wine, or a Cocktail, a glass of Martini or Campari....and eat something of little, called FINGERFOOD (you can easily understand the reason for this name).
Well, today we'll see how to prepare this tasty fingerfood: It's made with black bread (I used rye bread), salmon and creamy cheese enriched with orange skin or rucola or any other herb or spice you like with salmon.

So you just have to take una slice of bread, spread it with your "spicy" cream cheese, add a slice of smoked salmon: Do this 2 times and cover with a last slice of black bread.

Now you have a BIG "sandwitch": so you have to slice it into little squares, to string them with a skewer  and to serve!!

Everyone will be happy about your fashionable Finger-Food