Proud Italian Cook

Italian Meatballs with Ricotta (Low Carb and Gluten Free)

August 14, 2019 by Marie 10 Comments

There’s nothing like the smell of homemade meatballs cooking in the kitchen, and these tender beef meatballs enhanced with ricotta, pecorino and other classic ingredients are no exception.

Yes, there are many different ways to make classic and traditional Italian meatballs, every family has their own cherished recipes. In my family I make them a few different ways, traditionally with soaked bread and breadcrumbs, a mix of pork and beef, fried, baked, I could go on and on but recently this has become my current favorite and neither bread nor breadcrumbs are added into the mix.

Ricotta laced meatballs are so tender and flavorful, the taste is incredible and I promise you you’re not going to miss the addition of bread, so because of that ricotta meatballs are perfect for those on a low carb and gluten free diet.

I like using organic ground beef which is 85% lean and 15% fat. I also prefer to pan fry them in a little olive oil after they’re formed. Pan frying allows them to become caramelized all over and form a crust which is a very important step that adds to the intense flavor, and there’s no need to cook them all the way through.

The meatballs will be finished off in the oven along with a good quality marinara for them to bathe in, preferably homemade.

You’re always going to treasure your own tried and true family recipes that have been handed down through the generations but it’s also fun to discover new favorites along the way, I hope you give these a try, they’re truly amazing!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Italian Meatballs with Ricotta (Low Carb, GF)

Author: Marie

Ingredients

1.5 lbs. organic ground beef, 85% lean 15% fat
1 egg
½ onion, finely chopped
2 very generous heaping tablespoons ricotta, look for a good quality supermarket ricotta, not the over the counter deli type which holds a lot of moisture.
2 garlic cloves, smashed or grated on a microplane
1 large handful of grated pecorino romano and 1 large handful of Italian parsley chopped
salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
1 good quality jar of marinara, preferably homemade
basil for garnish

Instructions

In a large bowl mix all the ingredients together well. Before you form mixture into balls, fry off a little bit of the meatball mix, this way you can really check for the right seasoning. Sometimes you need more grated cheese, pepper, salt, parsley and this way you'll be able to adjust to your liking.
Drizzle olive oil in a nonstick skillet and when oil is hot drop your formed meatballs into the pan and caramelize on all sides, no need to worry about cooking it all through, just make sure to get a nice crust all around.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Spoon some marinara into the bottom of a casserole dish, add the meatballs, then spoon some sauce on top of each one as well.
Bake uncovered for 15 minutes.
Garnish with fresh basil leaves.
Enjoy!

10 Comments Filed Under: Meats Tagged: gluten free, Italian meat balls, lowcarb, meatballs, ricotta meatballs

Zucchini Flowers Stuffed with Herby Ricotta and Cheese

July 30, 2019 by Marie 9 Comments

Stuffed zucchini flowers, my favorite summertime treat, whenever I spot them on a menu they get ordered, but It’s been a while since I’ve actually made them myself.

Living in the midwest they’re not the easiest thing to find unless you grow your own, and then if you’re lucky enough to find some, which is not very often, they bring out such a small amount that if you’re not right there in front of them, they’re gone in an instant!

They’re such a delicacy and everyone who appreciates them grabs them up really fast.

I lucked out this time by nicely stalking my produce guy, finding out the exact day and time they would arrive and making sure I got there right before they were put out on display. Again it was such a small quantity that they had but I was able to go home with four nice bundles, so I was a happy girl!

There are so many ways you can eat them, in frittatas, quesadilla’s, pizza’s and pasta’s but my favorite way is stuffing the insides with ricotta, herbs, Parmigiano Reggiano and lemon zest and then frying them up until nicely golden with a very light and crispy batter.

They make the best summertime appetizers especially with a cold glass of Prosecco!

Preparing them is a little labor of love, they’re delicate and fragile and you have to handle them with care in the cleaning process. Usually they’ll have some dirt on them so you’ll want to remove that and check inside to make sure there’s no insect hiding as well, then rinse them really good. In the center of the blossom is a pistil, you’ll want to pinch it out with your two fingers and remove it as well, it’s hard and not so pleasant to eat, then let them dry on paper towels.

You can keep them wrapped up gently in paper towels if not using right away and keep them refrigerated for just a couple of days, so buy according to how much you’re going to be using.

Then as far as the stuffing process goes I like placing my ricotta mixture into a pastry bag, it’s a much cleaner and neater way to fill them rather than using a spoon, and it goes really fast.

I like leaving some of the stem on to use as a handle for ease in frying and for eating.

The batter couldn’t be easier to make, just two ingredients, sparkling water and flour, I’m partial to San Pellegrino but any plain sparkling water will do.

Just whisk the two together until you get a loose yogurt consistency, not too thick and not too thin.

The result is a light and crispy tempura like coating, so airy that it doesn’t overpower the zucchini flower at all, it just enhances it as well as the ricotta stuffing.

It has just the right crunch factor!

Crunchy, creamy, dreamy! Hands down my favorite summertime treat especially when it’s swiped into some warm marinara.

Go seek some out before they’re gone and gobble these up!

You can follow Proud Italian Cook on Instagram to see what I’m cooking up during the week.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Zucchini Flowers Stuffed with Herby Ricotta and Cheese

Depending on how many zucchini flowers you have just mix up more or less ricotta mixture, also some bulbs are bigger than others so I will just give you a step by step procedure instead of exact measurements.

Author: Marie

Ingredients

Zucchini flowers, leave about 2 inches of stem on, cleaned of dirt and inner pistil
FILLING
ricotta, ( remove moisture)
grated Parmigiano Reggiano (or pecorino)
granulated garlic
chopped basil and parsley
lemon zest
salt and pepper
1 disposable pastry bag
BATTER
seltzer water
all purpose flour
oil for pan frying
Optional, marinara for dipping

Instructions

Make sure the cleaning prep is done on the zucchini flowers with all the pistils removed inside.
Mix up your stuffing mixture in a bowl and this is all done to taste, start with a cup of ricotta and add in maybe ¼ cup of cheese, a couple of tablespoons of herbs, zest of ½ lemon and everything else, adjust to your liking.
Place a disposable pastry bag into a tall glass, fold down sides and fill it with the ricotta mixture, the glass will hold the bag and give you stability as you spoon the filling in.
Cut the tip of the bag off and proceed to fill the cavity of the flowers.
When they're all filled up mix up your batter.
Grab a shallow bowl add a few generous tablespoons of flour and start adding the seltzer water , consistency should be loose yogurt.
Heat your oil in a fry pan, just enough to cover bottom, then swipe your stuffed flower into the batter on both sides and fry until golden on both sides.
NOTE: If you need more ricotta mixture make it, if you need more batter, mix up a little more, depending on how many flowers you have and the size of them.
Place on paper towels to drain. and serve immediately.
Warm up some marinara for swiping!

9 Comments Filed Under: Appetizers, Summer, Vegetables Tagged: zucchini blossoms, zucchini flowers

20 Ideas, Inspiration and Tips for Antipasto and Small Bites

July 17, 2019 by Marie 7 Comments

This post is meant to inspire you, give you ideas with some tips along the way on creating antipasto platters and small bites for easy entertaining, last minute get togethers, holidays, weekend lunch and Sunday afternoon noshing.

These platters and boards will help you visualize all the different components that you can use in creating them because there is no exact recipe for this kind of eating, the sky is the limit!

This is easy no fuss entertaining, small portions of cured meats, cheese, nuts, crackers, fruit, berries, olives, store bought or homemade spreads and that’s just to name a few.

Small bites can consist of various different crostini, grilled veggies, stuffed mini peppers, honestly there’s no limit, the list can go on and on and the best thing is that it’s always welcome no matter what season of the year it is.

Sometimes you just need a few quality ingredients to make the most perfect and delicious bites, like fresh figs on top of prosciutto with burrata and toasted ciabatta bread.

Here’s a little bit of everything with some of my favorites like soppressata, provolone and black pepper taralli, oh and I can’t leave out my castelvetrano olives.

You can prepare this in advance or arrange it last minute, just serve up your favorite beverage to pair with this and you’re good to go!

You’ve seen those colorful mini peppers, well they make the perfect small bites. The above are filled with goat cheese and herbs, roasted and then drizzled with olive oil, all you need is some crusty bread.

Leftover focaccia bread rounds out this whole board with the other components.

I like using things that are in season, like summer tomatoes and fresh zucchini. I prepared the zucchini carpaccio style, raw with shaved parmesan and dressed with lemon and olive oil.

Grilled artichokes with lemon aioli, these will disappear in a hot minute! We have a love of artichokes in my family.

Your meats should be thinly sliced, sometimes I just order a quarter pound of everything and I can usually make a nice big board, with all the other things added like marinated artichokes, bocconcini and various olives and things to fill it up even more.

Many times just good crusty bread dipped into a simple mix of quality olive oil, a little spice, with a drizzle of balsamic is all you need to satisfy your senses, low effort with unbelievable results and everyone loves it, especially if they have their own individual dish.

Spreads are good too, here I used a spicy Nduja, which basically is a spreadable pork salumi. I also purchased an olive spread and I made a creamy goat cheese spread with pecans, noshing at it’s best!

Roasted eggplant dip, so good and so simple. Prick an eggplant and roast on a foil lined sheet pan until it’s soft, let it cool down then mash in a bowl with garlic, lemon and olive oil. Place into a serving dish and garnish with herbs, olive oil and here I used a swipe of jarred roasted red pepper sauce with a few olives, of course toast up some crusty bread for dipping.

Toasted crostini slathered with smashed peas and burrata was the star of the show here, but just think of the different variations you can make.

Quick lunch? Grab a friselle, ( a hard pre-toasted bread available at Italian markets) and top with a juicy cherry tomato salad with olive oil, fresh hand tied mozzarella, optional!

I always keep a couple of bags of friselle in my pantry, they keep for a long time and when company drops in I can whip something together really fast and top them with different things I might have in my fridge.

Melon wrapped in prosciutto with mixed greens, feta and a rich balsamic dressing, who wouldn’t love this?

Or this?

Or this? I told you I love sopressata, artichokes and those beautiful hand tied fresh bocconcini, if you can find some, grab a big container for sure!

How about some good old store bought fig spread, swipe on some crusty bread with a bit of cheese and an apple slice, the perfect bite!

Thin grilled slices of eggplant topped off with a caprese salad, grab a hunk of bread and a glass of wine, need I say more?

There’s no limit to creating the perfect bite, they’re always crowd pleasing with something for everyone to enjoy. Simple, easy and impressive, fun to make like creating art on a board, the perfect nibble for everyone!

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