Tag: Italian
Spicy Sausage and Ricotta Pizza
Spicy Sausage and Ricotta Pizza
Italian sausage is my favorite meat topping on a pizza. The big debate with sausage is whether you put it raw on a pizza or cooked. I’ve seen both, and here’s my opinion: I prefer the sausage to be cooked. The reason why is that I don’t want any more excess grease on my pizza than needed. By cooking the sausage, you can drain the grease beforehand. This pizza happens to be exceptionally spicy with the addition of calabrese chilies, with the ricotta acting as a “cooling” component.
Equipment
- pizza pan or pizza stone
Ingredients
- 1 pizza dough recipe or half for thin crust
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 2 cups mozzarella shredded
- 8 oz Italian sausage cooked
- 4 tbsp Calabrian chiles finely chopped
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- 1/2 cup whole milk ricotta
Instructions
- Roll out your pizza dough to your desired thickness. Evenly spread out the tomato sauce, leaving a 1/4” edge to the crust. Top with mozzarella. Evenly distribute the sausage, calabrian chilies, and cherry tomatoes. Drop tsp-sized dollops of ricotta all over the pizza.
- Bake in a preheated 475° oven for 12-15 minutes.
Pizza Dough
For the last 8 months, I’ve been trying to perfect the perfect standard pizza dough. Through lots of trial and error, I think I may have done it. This recipe is basic and straightforward, yielding what I consider a really good medium thickness crust for a 14” pizza. If you divide the dough into two, you will have 2 – 12” thin crust pizzas. Once assembled, these pizzas bake at 475° for 12-15 minutes depending on the crust thickness and the type of pan or pizza stone you use. This dough can keep in the refrigerator for 3 days and can also be frozen.
Equipment
- upright standing mixer with dough hook attachment
- plastic wrap
- rolling pin optional
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast
- 2 tsp sugar
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 2 cups flour plus extra
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Mix together the yeast and sugar. Dissolve in the warm water and let activate until bubbly; about 5 minutes.
- Mix the flour and salt in an upright standing mixer for 30 seconds on low. Pour in the yeast mixture and olive oil.
- Increase the speed to medium and continue to knead for 5 minutes. At this point, the dough will pull away completely from the side of the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise in a warm area for about 30 minutes.
- Gently flour a clean surface. Place the dough in the center of the floured surface and lightly flour the top.
- Using either your hands or a rolling pin, stretch out the dough to your desired thickness.
Spaghetti all’Aragosta
Spaghetti all’Aragosta
Lobster pasta is very popular off the Almafi coast of Italy and all over the Mediterranean. If you’ve never cooked with lobster, don’t be intimidated. This recipe is easier than it looks and will impress whoever you’re cooking for. You can use either lobster tails or a whole lobster. The other great part of this recipe is that you create about a quart of lobster stock that you can use in multiple recipes.
Ingredients
- 4 lobster tails 4-5oz each
- 3 tsp salt divided
- 1 lb fresh pasta spaghetti, bucatini, fusilli
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup shallots diced
- 8 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1 cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley chopped
- parmesan cheese to taste
- crushed red pepper to taste
- lemon wedges for serving
Instructions
- Split your lobster tails in half.
- Drop into a half gallon pot of boiling water.
- Boil for 5 minutes until tail meat is cooked through. Remove from the pot. Allow to cool. Remove the meat from the shell and dice. Place the shells back in the lobster stock and simmer until ready for use. Save the stock.
- Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Cook your pasta al dente according to your package instructions. Drain.
- Heat up 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté the shallots for 5 minutes. Season with 1 tsp of salt.
- Add in the garlic. Cook for 1 minute.
- Deglaze with the white wine. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Stir in the lobster and pasta. Add in a 1/4 cup of lobster stock.
- Stir in the cherry tomatoes and parsley. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Turn off the heat.
- Top with shredded parmesan and crushed red pepper. Serve with a lemon wedge.
Capellini Pomodoro
Capellini Pomodoro
Capellini pomodoro is a dish combining capellini pasta with a simple tomato sauce (pomodoro). The origin is Italian, with the pasta shape believed to have originated in northern Italy during the Renaissance and the tomato sauce evolving from a historical dish, with the combination of both becoming iconic. This pasta takes under 10 minutes to make, with the addition of lemon juice bringing a freshness to this dish.
Ingredients
- 1 lb angel hair pasta cooked al dente
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 cups cherry tomatoes
- 8 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup basil roughly torn
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat up olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté the garlic for 1 minute.
- Toss in the cherry tomatoes and crushed red pepper. Cover and sauté for 5 minutes until the tomatoes burst. Stir in the basil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
- Turn off the heat. Carefully toss the cooked angel hair pasta with the sauce.
