Proud Italian Cook

Eggs and Veggies, The Perfect Pairing

April 23, 2018 by Marie 6 Comments

Eggs in combination with veggies have produced many a meal in my house for breakfast, lunch and dinner over the years and it’s still evolving. It’s still evolving because the variety of veggies are endless and because eggs can be prepared in so many different ways.

Take for example this crispy egg with leftover garlicky rapini, I’ve eaten this for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I always make extra rapini so I can make this combination. If you never had a crispy egg before just google “how to make a crispy egg” there’s a certain technique to it and the result will give you a souffled white with lacy, crispy edges and a nice runny yolk. I like to top mine with red pepper flakes, oregano, black pepper and salt.

Here’s a winning combination fit for a fancy breakfast or brunch, a poached egg on a bed of roasted asparagus with crispy prosciutto and shaved parmesan, the creamy yolk when broken open oozes out and mingles with all the flavors, it’s heavenly!

Peppers and eggs, I seriously grew up on this as a kid, the best sandwich ever with Italian bread, a great lunch or dinner with a salad on the side.

This is a favorite of mine, a recipe from Ina Garten, it’s her herb-baked eggs and it’s wonderful for a lazy Sunday morning. You can make this in individual gratin dishes like Ina, or as I did, all in one pan. My twist on it is to add in some artichoke hearts, a perfect addition I think to the creamy herbs and cheese, but make sure you have some toasted, crispy bread for dipping.

This caprese omelet can be a staple for you this summer made with fresh mozzarella, garden basil and summer tomatoes, nice for brunch and a light dinner..

It’s spring here in Chicago and I love making my Spring Vegetable Frittata with Brie, with tender zucchini, asparagus and peas. I can go on and on about frittata’s they’re a staple. They’re not just for breakfast or lunch either, frittata’s make the best dinner with a side salad and crusty bread of course.

Pressed for time? You can always make this for dinner, Eggs in Purgatory, the way I make it has evolved over the years but here’s my basic recipe.

You can use chunky tomatoes or straight up marinara as I did above but I always add in some vegetables and herbs, here I added haricot verts with a few olives.

My clean out the fridge frittata with a little bit of this and a little bit of that like broccolini, mushrooms, red pepper and fresh mozzarella. It doesn’t’ take a lot of ingredients to put a meal on the table, a couple of mushrooms, a handful of broccolini and a red pepper sliced around some bruised spots creates a nice meal.

The other day I sliced rainbow colored cauliflower into “steaks” and roasted them, basically I only get two or three nicely shaped slices from a head of cauliflower because I cut them an inch thick, the leftover florets can then be tossed into a frittata of course!

Like this one, so delicious and colorful too..

And lastly my version of “steak and eggs“. A crispy egg perched on top of a roasted cauliflower steak sitting in a pool of marinara, healthy, hearty and delicious and perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Endless meals can be made with veggies and eggs, these are just a few of my favorites. Go for what’s in season and just let your creative juices flow!

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6 Comments Filed Under: Eggs, Vegetables Tagged: asparagus, broccolini, caprese omelett, cauliflower steak and egg, eggs in purgatory, fritatta, herb eggs, peppers and eggs, poached egg, rapini

Pan-Fried Ricotta Gnocchi with Asparagus and Peas

April 11, 2018 by Marie 5 Comments

Pan-fried ricotta gnocchi is golden and crispy on the outside and soft and pillowy on the inside. Ricotta creates such a light and dreamy homemade gnocchi, which I much prefer over the potato version.

This recipe is great for spring, it’s light and doesn’t require a heavy sauce of any kind because it’s tossed together with fresh tender asparagus, peas, parmesan cheese, lemon zest and olive oil and it pairs perfectly with the soft and crispy bite of the pan-fried gnocchi.

Some people think that making gnocchi is intimidating, but actually it’s easier than you think, and there’s absolutely no comparison to tasteless store bought, at least the ones I’ve tried.

Making them yourself is totally worth the effort and within no time you’ll get the hang of it, and they don’t have to be so picture perfect, that’s the special quality of making them homemade.

If you buy your ricotta from a good Italian deli like I do you’re usually going to have some liquid in the container when you bring it home, that needs to be drained really well to achieve a good gnocchi dough, in fact I think it is key.

I like to drain my ricotta in a strainer over a bowl that I keep in my fridge overnight, when your ricotta is nice and cold the dough comes together beautifully, if the ricotta is warm or room temperature it tends to be more sticky and you’ll keep adding more flour which in turn makes your gnocchi heavier, and we don’t want heavy gnocchi do we? We want it nice and fluffy.

Whenever I make gnocchi I never serve them on the same day, I actually prefer to freeze them ahead of time and for some reason I think they cook up better from the frozen state, but one very important thing that I do before I freeze them is to boil up a couple just to make sure they don’t come apart, if they do, I’ll add a little more flour to the dough, just a little at a time. Then retest a couple more until they’re perfect, intact little dumplings holding together nicely in a gentle boil.

Gnocchi take only a few minutes to cook, toss them into a rolling gentle boil with salted water, give them one good stir, let them rise to the top and boil for an additional 1-2 minutes, scoop them out with a wide hand strainer. Never pour them directly into a strainer for fear they might break, you must be gentle and handle with care.

For the pan-fried version you scoop them out of the water and immediately toss them into a skillet with a mix of butter and olive oil letting them get slightly crispy golden on each side.

If you’re going through the trouble of making homemade gnocchi you might as well make a double batch like I do, you’ll be glad you did and besides it’s nice to have a stash set aside in your freezer, some for pan-frying and some for boiling and tossing into your favorite sauce.

I’m in love with this dish, it’s perfect for springtime, easy enough to make mid week and elegant enough to serve at a dinner party.

Pan-fried ricotta gnocchi gives you a little different take on the traditional boiled gnocchi, and the texture of the gnocchi holds up really well to the spring veggies you’re highlighting, but either way you choose to prepare it you can’t go wrong.

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5.0 from 2 reviews

Pan-Fried Ricotta Gnocchi with Asparagus and Peas

Author: Marie

Ingredients

FOR THE RICOTTA GNOCCHI
1½ cup of drained ricotta, nice and cold
½ cup of grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano
1 beaten egg
1 teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of black pepper
1 cup or so of unbleached all purpose flour
VEGETABLE TOSS
1 bunch of tender asparagus, chopped small like pea size but leaving the pretty tips on
1 cup of frozen, defrosted peas
zest of 1 lemon
2 finely chopped garlic cloves
olive oil for drizzle
a knob of butter
more Parmigiano for garnish

Instructions

PREPPING THE VEGGIES
In a separate skillet, drizzled with olive oil, toss in your chopped asparagus, garlic and defrosted peas, sauteing until nicely al-dente, then set aside.
FOR THE GNOCCHI
Place ricotta, grated cheese, salt and pepper into a bowl, whisk egg then add in.
If ricotta is lumpy, which it usually is, take a hand mixer on low to break up the lumps and just to incorporate all the ingredients.
Then fold in flour, little by little, you might need less or you might need more, but dough should come together quickly and it will feel slightly sticky.
Lightly flour your finger tips and a board.
Cut off a chunk then roll it into a round snake, then cut off bite size pieces.
Leave as is or make indention's with a gnocchi board or the tines of a fork.
At this point you can freeze them single layer, then once frozen place them into zip lock bags, they stay good for a month.
WHEN READY TO COOK THE FROZEN GNOCCHI
Toss them into salted boiling water, let them float to the top and cook maybe another minute or so, then scoop them out carefully with a hand strainer, like a spider.
For pan-fried, drain them first then crisp them up in an additional skillet with a good drizzle of olive oil and a small knob of butter, turning them until they crisp up golden on each side.
Then incorporate the precooked veggies you had set aside together with the golden crisp gnocchi.
Place them onto a platter adding more grated cheese of course, more olive oil and scatter the lemon zest all around.
Happy Spring!

5 Comments Filed Under: Fresh Pasta, Side Dishes, Spring Tagged: asparagus, gnocchi, pan-fried, peas, ricotta gnocchi

Baked Eggplant Parmigiana

April 3, 2018 by Marie 12 Comments

Baked eggplant parmigiana is a much lighter take on the classic breaded and fried version. Don’t get me wrong, I love eggplant and have breaded and fried my own fair share of eggplant over the years many, many times.

Normally it would be a three step process, flour, egg, bread crumbs or more often I would make it like my mother-in-law did, she whipped up a batter of flour, eggs, water to thin it, lots of romano cheese and parsley, oh it’s so good!

Then I would dip the eggplant slices into the batter and start frying, always adding more oil because eggplant soaks up oil like a sponge and there never seemed to be enough.

Most times I would have to start over and clean the pan out in between frying because the crumbs left in the pan would start to burn, so it was a long and messy process and the clean up on my stove would take a while, to say the least!

Years later I’ve really come to love the baked version better, it’s lighter, healthier but even more than that I think the flavor of the eggplant really shines through. My version isn’t buried in sauce or cheese either, to me less is more, with the added bonus of a clean stove!

You need a hot oven to prep your eggplant slices, and by cutting them to almost an inch thick this ensures a crispy bottom with a nice tender bite of eggplant meat in between, because they do shrink down.

I also like to take my veggie peeler and and peel off strips of skin to create a zebra like pattern of skin and no-skin, I think it looks nice and gives structure to the dish, and when cooked it melts in your mouth anyway.

Years ago I would salt them down and place something heavy on top to take the bitterness out, I don’t do that anymore I think the varieties today are perfectly fine and not bitter.

Quality ingredients are always a must, fresh mozzarella,(not the dry shredded kind), good pecorino, fresh basil and homemade marinara, simple and light flavored with garlic and basil.

This takes no time at all to make, you can even roast the eggplant ahead of time and assemble it the next day, it’s easy enough to make mid week and delicious for a special dinner party.

I’ve even made it on a rimmed sheet pan for a large group, you can fit quite a few pieces of eggplant on a half size sheet pan, perfect for a party!

I promise you won’t sacrifice any flavor on this lightened up, baked version of the classic eggplant parmigiana, it’s just as delicious and you’ll feel good about eating it!

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5.0 from 3 reviews

Baked Eggplant Parmigiana

Author: Marie

Ingredients

3 medium sized eggplants peeled in a zebra effect with some skin on and some skin off, sliced ¾ inch thick
8 oz. fresh mozzarella, padded dry
pecorino romano
3-4 cups of homemade marinara flavored with garlic and basil or a good quality store bought brand
fresh torn basil
olive oil

Instructions

PREPPING THE EGGPLANT
Heat oven to 425F.
Drizzle the bottom of a sheet pan with olive oil.
Place sliced eggplant on top and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.
When you see a light golden bottom, flip them over and let the other side get golden as well, if you need a little more drizzle of olive oil, go ahead, time will vary according to oven heat, just watch it.
When finished set aside. If prepping for a party or a larger amount, let it cool down and refrigerate to assemble the next day.
ASSEMBLING
In a 13x9 casserole quick drizzle bottom with olive oil, then spread marinara all over the bottom covering the surface.
Add slices of eggplant to cover, spoon about a tablespoon of sauce on each slice, rip off some fresh mozzarella and add pieces to each slice then sprinkle with romano cheese and torn basil.
Repeat.
Bake in the hot oven until cheese melts down and it's all heated through.
Top with more fresh basil, a sprinkle of cheese and a quick drizzle of olive oil.