Saturday, March 29, 2014
Monday, March 24, 2014
Quick and Easy Broccoli and Kale Soup
This is a pretty easy recipe, and you can adjust all the
ingredients to suit your own tastes.
And be sure to include the Kale. For those of you "afraid" of
it, it literally disappears into the soup once blended and offers a ton of nutritional value.
Ingredients
3 heads of broccoli (chopped up, including stem, just cut
off any brown bits)
1 stalk of celery chopped
6-7 stalks of kale
1 chopped medium onion
1 anchovy (optional of course)
2 cloves of chopped fresh garlic
Salt, pepper, and pepper flakes to taste
2 cups of water
1 teaspoon of bouillon (or one small cube)
1/2 Cup fresh ricotta
1/4 cup grated pecorino
Coat the bottom of a medium pot with Villa Cappelli Extra
Virgin Olive Oil. Throw everything
in but the water, bouillon and cheese. Cook until everything starts to get a
little soft and you get a little caramelization or color on the veggies. Add in
the water and bouillon and let it come up to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes. Throw everything into a Vitamix (or
other high powered blender) with the cheese and blend away. You might have to do this in batches. Serve with a drizzle of fresh Villa
Cappelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil up on top.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Grandma Cappelli's Ragu
This is a recipe right from the kitchen of Paul's mom, so
you know it's going to be good.
First, a word on the meat. Here in Italy we just say we are
making ragu, and the butcher know the cuts to give us, but in the states you
should probably ask for "stew cuts." This should definitely include some bone-in pieces. We recently included a few pieces of
oxtail as well with amazing results.
Ingredients (feeds 12...hey, this is Italy, we feed a lot
of people)
1.5 lbs. each of Veal, Pork and Lamb
3 Tablespoons of Villa Cappelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 onions
1/4 a cup of white or red wine (can use a splash of vinegar
as well if you prefer)
Two 680ml (23oz.) jars of pureed tomatoes
Half a jar of Villa Cappelli Sun-Dried Tomato Spread
3 Tablespoons fresh basil
Salt and pepper
Cook your meat in batches, taking it out when both sides are done. Add your onions to the pan. Let the onions cook until at least translucent if not a little longer. Add the wine or vinegar to deglaze your pan. Next add your tomato and Villa Cappelli Sun-Dried Tomato Spread. Let the sauce cook a bit, then taste. Add salt and pepper to taste, and more sauce or spread if you like.
Place the meat in the slow cooker. Grandma Cappelli doesn't use one, but I find it invaluable. You can cook this on the stove, just adding your meat back into the sauce, but you will need to check it religiously every 20-30 minutes and cook it very very slow for a good 3-4 hours. The slower cooker just makes the process a little more fool-proof and easier.
After adding your meat, pour the tomato sauce over the meat, and cook for 4-5 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low. Add in you fresh chopped basil at the end.
After adding your meat, pour the tomato sauce over the meat, and cook for 4-5 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low. Add in you fresh chopped basil at the end.
The meat is always served as a second course which is one of the best the things about this dish. You have a starter and a delicious fall-off-the-bone-meat second course all in one pot!
Oh, and I forgot to take a picture of the final dish. And there wasn't a drop of leftovers, so I guess everyone liked it! Buon appetito!
Friday, March 7, 2014
No bread here
Dipping your bread in Extra Virgin Olive Oil seems to be a very American
invention. In Italy, you'll almost never
see anyone doing that and while restaurants are probably accustomed to tourists
asking for olive oil for their bread, they are probably laughing at you in the
back. As this article in the Huffington Post can attest.
Italians instead eat a much healthier alternative, pinzimonio, which is
simply raw, fresh vegetables dipped in extra virgin olive oil.
Vegetables ready for their dip. |
There really is no set "recipe." Just prepare a big plate of fresh vegetables cut into strips
or pieces for dipping. Feel free
to use whatever you like, but bell peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, fennel, celery
and carrots work well.
Then serve with Villa Cappelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Have some red whine vinegar and our 100% Italian Sea Salt on hand if anyone wants to add a little extra flair to their dish, but our oil has enough flavor on its own. Everyone can make their own small dipping bowl to taste or make a big one everyone can share. Then just dip and eat.
Oh, and our flavored oil are perfect for this as well, especially the Sun-Dried Tomato Oil, which is almost sweet with a hit of sun-dried tomatoes and mint infused into it.
Then serve with Villa Cappelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Have some red whine vinegar and our 100% Italian Sea Salt on hand if anyone wants to add a little extra flair to their dish, but our oil has enough flavor on its own. Everyone can make their own small dipping bowl to taste or make a big one everyone can share. Then just dip and eat.
Oh, and our flavored oil are perfect for this as well, especially the Sun-Dried Tomato Oil, which is almost sweet with a hit of sun-dried tomatoes and mint infused into it.
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