Fabulicious!: Teresa's Italian Family Cookbook (19 page)
Read Fabulicious!: Teresa's Italian Family Cookbook Online
Authors: Teresa Giudice
Makes 4 to 6 servings
As you know by now, Joe and I like things spicy (after 11 years of marriage, that’s a good thing!). This is one of our favorite meals—great for the entire family or just a romantic dinner. It’s an
arrabiata
(“angry”) sauce over sweet spaghetti.
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound medium (21 to 25 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups Snappy Red Sauce (
page 22
)
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Salt
1 pound angel hair pasta
1.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
2.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and cook, turning once, until it turns opaque, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
3.
Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and the garlic to the saucepan and stir until the garlic is softened but not browned, about 30 seconds. (The pan will be hot, so be careful not to burn the garlic.) Add the tomato sauce, red pepper flakes, and black pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Return the shrimp to the saucepan and stir in the lemon juice. Cook just to heat the shrimp through, about 1 minute. Season the sauce with salt, and add more red pepper flakes if you want the sauce really devilish. Remove from heat.
4.
Meanwhile, add the pasta to the water and cook according to the package directions until al dente. Drain well. Transfer the pasta to individual bowls and top with the shrimp and sauce. Serve hot.
Little Mermaid’s Baked Flounder Oregano
Makes 6 servings
Everyone in my family loves this simple fish dish of moist flounder fillets with an herb-crumb topping. Folding the fish in half keeps it from getting overdone in the hot oven.
6 (4- to 5-ounce) flounder or sole fillets
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ cup dry breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Lemon wedges, for serving
1.
Position a rack in the top third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly oil a 13 × 9-inch baking dish.
2.
Season the flounder with the salt and pepper. Fold each fillet in half crosswise, tip to tip. Arrange in the baking dish. Drizzle the wine and lemon juice over the fillets.
3.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, parsley, and oregano. Top each fillet with an equal amount of the breadcrumb mixture. Drizzle with the olive oil.
4.
Bake until the fish flakes easily when prodded with the tip of a knife, about 15 minutes. Serve hot, with lemon wedges.
***
Yes, Yes It Is
***
A
good way to get kids to eat fish is to explain to them that fish are our friends—our good, tasty friends. Remind them of the Little Mermaid’s pal, Flounder. We love Flounder! I’m obviously kidding, but it helps to have a sense of humor in the kitchen, especially when faced with stubborn spouses and tantrumming toddlers. I have found that going overboard with the drama actually breaks it up and soon everyone is giggling. “What? You think this is disgusting? It looks like weeds? Oh no, it’s not weeds. It’s worm guts. Or maybe baby bunny stew. I can’t remember . . . ”
Makes 4 servings
A
braciole
is a thin piece of steak marinated and rolled with other ingredients. You can pan-fry it, but I like it baked. It’s so easy, but looks and tastes completely gourmet!
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (1 ½ pound) flank steak, butterflied
4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
4 ounces sliced provolone cheese
⅓ cup (1 ½ ounces) freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1.
Combine the oil, vinegar, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large, resealable plastic bag. Close the bag and shake to mix the ingredients. Add the steak, close the bag, and massage the meat through the bag to coat it on all sides. Refrigerate for at least 2 and up to 12 hours.
2.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.
3.
Remove the steak from the marinade, letting the excess marinade drip back into the bag. Reserve the marinade. Pat the steak dry with paper towels. Place the steak, with the grain running vertically, on a large piece of aluminum foil to catch any drips.
4.
Layer the prosciutto, and then the provolone, over the steak. Sprinkle with the grated cheese, and then the basil. Starting at a long side of the steak, roll up the meat with the grain like a jelly roll. (If you are under 50 years old, think of a Hostess Ho Ho.) Tie kitchen string around the roll every 2 inches or so to keep it from falling apart during cooking.
5.
Place the roll (without the foil) in a baking dish just large enough to hold it. Pour the marinade over the top. Bake, basting every 15 minutes with the marinade in the baking dish, until the meat feels tender when pierced with a meat fork, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let stand for 15 minutes so all the juices soak back into the meat.
6.
Remove the strings. Transfer the roll to a carving board. Holding the knife at an angle, cut the roll crosswise (you will be cutting across the grain now, which will make the tough flank steak more tender) into ½-inch-thick slices. Serve hot, with the marinade from the pan spooned on top.
***
Butterfly Steak
***
T
o butterfly the flank steak, place the steak on the work surface in front of you, with the grain of the meat (it really looks like the grain in wood) running vertically. Using a sharp, thin-bladed knife, starting at a long side of the meat, make a long incision into the center of the steak. Keep cutting, reaching deeper and deeper into the steak, until you are about ¼ inch from the opposite side. Stop cutting, and open the steak up like a book.
When in Rome . . . When in Jersey . . .
Braciole = brah-CHO-leh | Braciole = bra-ZHOLE
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Every self-respecting Italian cook needs a good meatball recipe, and this one is great! Like in life, bigger is better, so these are big, fat, juicy meatballs. With my special sauce of course! Since it’s all about the ground beef, get the best stuff you can find: grass-fed, organic, no added hormones.
1 pound ground round (85% lean)
½ cup dry Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
½ cup milk (preferably 2%)
⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 large egg, beaten
3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3½ cups Snappy Red Sauce (
page 22
)
1.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet.
2.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground round, breadcrumbs, milk, grated cheese, egg, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper. Knead everything together with clean hands. Feel for the right texture—it should be soft, but not sopping wet, so add a little more milk or breadcrumbs if needed. Form 12 egg-sized balls by gently shaping the meat mixture in your hands. Do NOT crush and mold the meat between your palms! Baby and coax it lovingly into the balls.
3.
Place the balls on the baking sheet. Bake until browned, about 30 minutes.
4.
Bring the tomato sauce to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the meatballs and return to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the meatballs are cooked through, about 30 minutes. Serve hot.
