Primi
Strascinati with Cardoncelli Mushrooms
(Sausage and ricotta salata)
Ingredients
200 g hard ricotta cheese
150 g extra virgin olive oil
480 g hard wheat flour
420 g cardoncelli mushrooms
300 g fresh pork sausage
900 g fresh tomato sauce
100 g onion
1 garlic clove
5 g dried wild fennel seed
Preparation
Make the pasta with the flour and slightly warm water. Roll cylindrical pieces about 3 cm. length and 1 cm. diameter and "drag" them fingers down on a wooden board. Strascinati pasta will thus be obtained, with one side smooth and the other wrinkled. Prepare the tomato sauce and clean the cardoncelli mushrooms. Remove the sausage from its skin. Without browning, gently fry the grated onion and crushed garlic in extra-virgin olive oil using a terracotta casserole. Then add the sausage and mushrooms and simmer for a few minutes with the lid on the casserole. After stirring the ingredients add the tomato sauce with a few cherry tomato halves and cook for about 20 minutes. At the time boil the strascinati pasta in salted water and drain al dente. Finally add the pasta to the hot sauce, stir the whole casserole on a high gas for a few seconds and flavour with dried wild fennel seed and grated hard ricotta cheese.
Casoncello with Ricotta
(Stuffing and a tomato and basil sauce)
ROASTED WHEAT FLOUR DOUGH
Ingredients
40 g of unbleached all purpose flour
80 g of fine semolina flour
80 g of fine roasted wheat semolina flour
2 g of salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
Preparation
Mix the three types of flour. Arrange in a mound and make a well. Add the eggs and salt. Knead until you obtain a smooth and elastic dough. Roll it into a ball and wrap it in plastic food wrap. Set aside in a cool place, 30 minutes.
PUMPKIN DOUGH
Ingredients
90 of unbleached all purpose flour
80 g of fine semolina flour
80 of pumpkin
1 egg
1 egg yolk
7 g of extra virgin olive oil
1 g of natural food coloring, yellow
Preparation
Bake the pumpkin and pass the pulp through a sieve to obtain a puree. Combine the two types of flour and arrange in a mound. Make a well and add the pumpkin puree, olive oil, salt, natural food colouring and the eggs. Knead to obtain an elastic and smooth dough. Wrap the dough in plastic food film and set aside in a cool place, 30 minutes.
FILLING
Ingredients
500 g of ewe's milk ricotta
1 egg
1 lemon
Clove and cinnamon to taste
Preparation
Pass the ricotta through a sieve. Add the egg and the grated lemon zest. Season with ground clove and cinnamon. Mix well all ingredients. Roll out the two types of dough to 1 mm. thick. Cut into rounds
of 10 cm. in diameter. Spoon some ricotta filling over half of the rounds. Cover with the second type of pasta rounds. Pay attention to alternate the two types of pastas. Press to seal the borders. Keep on the side in a cool place.
SAUCE
Ingredients
600 g of cherry tomatoes
100 g of extra virgin olive oil
40 g of celery
40 g of carrots
80 g of onion
10 g basil leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
In a saucepan, heat the oil and brown the celery, the carrots and the finely chopped onion. Add the peeled and seeded cherry tomatoes. Cook over low heat, 10 minutes approximately. Season with salt and pepper. Put it through a food processor and add basil leaves.
Cook the casoncelli in a large pot of salted boiling water. Remove them with a slotted spoon or a skimmer. Quickly pat them dry on a kitchen towel and transfer them on a hot dish. Serve with tomato sauce and garnish with basil leaves.
Strascinati
Ingredients
600 g of flour
500 g of ripe tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
3-4 basil leaves
1 hot red pepper
250 ml of extra virgin olive oil
150 g of grated Pecorino
Salt
Preparation
Put the flour on a pasta board. Arrange in a mound and make a well. Add a pinch of salt, the lard and lukewarm water. Start kneading the dough and continue until you get a ball of elastic and smooth dough. Roll out the dough and place it on the cauarola (an antique little ridged pasta board similar to the one used for the maccheroni alla chitarra from the Marches Region). Roll back and forth with a rolling pin to cut out the strascinati, pasta rectangles which are patterned in herringbone. Place the strascinati on a cotton kitchen towel with some flour and let the pasta rest until needed. In the meantime, in a saucepan, sauté the chopped garlic in 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil for a few minutes. Add the peeled, diced tomatoes. Season with salt and add the hot pepper. Cook over low heat, 25 minutes approximately. Before removing the saucepan from the stove, add some basil .leaves. Cook the strascinati in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain thoroughly. Transfer to a
big serving dish and add the sauce. Sprinkle with grated pecorino.
Minuich
(Homemade Pasta)
Ingredients
600 g of flour
Preparation
Put the flour on a pasta board. Arrange in a mound and make a well. Add lukewarm water. Start kneading the dough and continue until you get a ball of smooth and elastic dough. Roll a piece of dough into a rope 1 cm thick and cut into 2 cm long sticks. Make the minuich: place one piece of dough under a thin knitting needle and with both hands give the needle a quick twirl so the dough flattens and wraps itself around the needle. Slide the minuich from the needle and place them on a cotton kitchen towel with some flour. Cook the minuich in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain thoroughly. Transfer to a big serving dish and serve with a lamb ragu, a pork ragu, or a tomato sauce. Sprinkle with grated pecorino.
Fusilli with Sausages
Ingredients
400 g of flour
4 eggs
400 g of sausages
400 g of ripe tomatoes
2 hot red peppers
150 g of ricotta salata, grated
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Preparation
Sauce: In a saucepan, sauté the chopped onion with olive oil for a few minutes. Add the sausages and brown them. Then add the peeled, seeded and pureed tomatoes. Cook over low heat.
Fusilli: Put the flour on a pasta board. Arrange in a mound and make a well. Add the beaten eggs, a pinch of salt and one tablespoon of olive oil. Start kneading the dough and continue until you get a ball of elastic and smooth dough. Let it rest 30 minutes wrapped in a moist kitchen towel. Roll a piece of dough into a thin cylinder and cut it 10 cm. long. Make the fusilli. Roll the knitting needle pressing on the dough so it can wrap itself around the needle. Slide the fusilli from the needle and place them on
a cotton kitchen towel with some flour. Set aside to dry. Cook the fusilli in a large pot of salted boiling,
water until al dente. Drain thoroughly. Serve immediately with the sauce and the sausages. Sprinkle with grated ricotta salata and chopped hot red pepper.
Fusilli with Ricotta Salata
Ingredients
500 g of home-made fusilli
500 g of ripe tomatoes
300 g of lamb
1 hot red pepper
150 g of grated ricotta salata
175 ml of extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Preparation
Wash, peel, seed and dice the tomatoes, Cut the meat into cubes, In a skillet, pour a little olive oil and brown the meat, Add the tomatoes, Season with salt and continue cooking, Meanwhile, cook the fusilli in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain thoroughly, Serve with the meat sauce, Sprinkle with abundant grated ricotta salata and finish with chopped hot red pepper (previously fried in olive oil for a few minutes).
Wheat Grains with a Ragu of Lamb and Pork
Ingredients
350 g of wheat grains
250 g of lamb
250 g of pork
500 g of ripe tomatoes
Grated ricotta salata to taste
2 hot red peppers
175 ml of extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Preparation
Soak the wheat grains in water overnight. The day after, drain them and cook them in boiling water. When the wheat grains are cooked, season with salt. In the meantime, prepare the sauce by browning the lamb and pork, cut into cubes, in olive oil. Add the peeled, seeded and pureed tomatoes and cook over medium heat. Serve the wheat grains with the meat sauce. Sprinkle with the chopped hot peppers and the grated ricotta salata. Serve very hot.
Maccheroni with Hot Red Pepper
Ingredients
500 g of maccheroni
2 hot red peppers
2 sun-dried sweet red peppers
2 garlic cloves
300 ml of extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Preparation
Heat the olive oil in a pan, add the garlic and sauté until it begins to color. Add peppers and continue to cook until they are crunchy. Avoid burning them. Remove the peppers from the pan and crush them in a mortar. Pour the pepper sauce back in the pan with the oil. Cook the maccheroni in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain thoroughly. Transfer to the pan with the pepper sauce and mix well.
Maccheroni with Bread Crumbs
Ingredients
500 g of home-made maccheroni
100 g of stale country bread (crumb only)
2 garlic cloves
60 g of parsley
250 ml of extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Preparation
Heat the oil in a pan and add the chopped garlic and the bread crumb (finely crumbled). Mix well with a wooden spoon. In the meantime, cook the maccheroni in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain thoroughly. Transfer it to a serving dish and pour over the bread crumb sauce. Toss very well. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve immediately.
Orecchiette with Turnip Greens
Ingredients
500 g of turnip greens
250-300 g of orecchiette
(home-made orecchiette with semolina flour, if possible)
Extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 hot red pepper
Bread crumbs
Salt
Preparation
Clean the turnip greens. Discard hard leaves. Wash and cook them in salted boiling water. Halfway through, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain thoroughly. In the meantime, in a pan sauté the coarsely chopped garlic, the chopped hot red pepper and the bread crumbs for a few minutes. Pour the sauce over the pasta. Toss very well and serve. Variation: In a pan, heat olive oil and add chopped anchovies fillets. Cook for a few minutes. Add to bread crumb sauce and mix well.
Orecchiette Matera Style
Ingredients
500 g of home-made orecchiette
500 g of ripe tomatoes
200 g. boneless lamb
200 g of mozzarella
150 g of grated Pecorino
175 ml of extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Preparation
Cut the meat into cubes and sauté in a medium saucepan with olive oil. Add the peeled, seeded and diced tomatoes. Season with salt and continue to cook. In the meantime, cook the orecchiette in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain thoroughly. Preheat the oven to 160° C (320° F). In a terra cotta baking dish, make a layer of orecchiette, and add the sliced mozzarella, the pecorino and the sauce. Continue alternating layers of orecchiette and the rest of ingredients. Finish with the sauce and sprinkle the top with pecorino. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
Orecchiette Potentina Style
Ingredients
500 g of home-made orecchiette
400 g coarsely ground beef
500 g of ripe tomatoes
2 onions
3-4 basil leaves
2 hot red peppers
150 g of grated Pecorino
250 ml of extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Preparation
Peel and chop the onion. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and brown the onion and the meat. Add the peeled, seeded and diced tomatoes. Season with salt and add the basil leaves. Cook over medium heat adding, if necessary, a ladle of water or broth. Cook the orecchiette in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain thoroughly. Pour the sauce over the orecchiette, mix well and sprinkle with grated pecorino. Serve immediately with the chopped hot peppers and the meat on the side.
Pasta with Horseradish Roots
Ingredients
400-500 g of spaghetti
(or other type of pasta)
500 g of ripe, fresh tomatoes or canned tomatoes
6 basil leaves
200 g of horseradish roots
175 ml of extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Preparation
Prepare the sauce. Wash, peel, seed and dice tomatoes. Add them to a skillet with olive oil, basil leaves and salt. Cook over medium heat. In the meantime, cook the spaghetti in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain thoroughly. Mix the pasta with the sauce and before serving, sprinkle with freshly grated horseradish root.
Lagane with Bread Crumbs
Ingredients
300 g of flour
Salt
Pinch of cinnamon
1 egg
500 ml of vino cotto (sweet "cooked wine")
200 g of crumb of stale country bread, grated
50 g of chopped almonds
100 g of chopped walnuts
Sugar
100 ml of extra virgin olive oil
Preparation
Prepare the dough by mixing the flour, the egg, salt and water. Start kneading the dough and continue until you get a ball of smooth and elastic dough. Roll out the dough to a thin sheet of pasta and cut it into 2-3 cm. strips. Cook the lagane in a large pot of salted boiling water. Meanwhile, place a skillet with olive oil over low heat. Add the bread crumbs and saute until they are golden. Remove from the stove and add the almonds, the walnuts, the sugar and the cinnamon. Mix well. Drain the pasta thoroughly. In a soup plate, place a layer or lagane and pour over some sauce and vino cotto.
Lagane with Chick Peas
(Also called the Brigand’s Dish”)
Ingredients
600 g of flour
125 ml of extra virgin olive oil
200 g of peeled tomatoes
300 g of chick-peas
4-6 basil leaves
1 garlic clove
Salt to taste
Preparation
Knead the flour with tepid water in order to obtain an elastic and smooth dough. Roll out the dough to a thin sheet of pasta. Roll up the sheet of pasta completely. With a knife cut into fettuccine about 1 cm wide. Cook the lagane in a large pot of salted boiling water. Drain thoroughly. Soak the chick-peas in salted warm water overnight. The day after, drain them and cook them in water, over low heat, in a terracotta pot, with no salt. In a separate skillet, heat the oil and add the chopped garlic and saute for a few minutes. Remove the garlic and add the peeled tomatoes, the basil and a pinch of salt. Continue cooking for a few minutes. Add the sauce and the lagane to the chick peas. Mix well and let it rest for a few minutes before serving.
Minestra Spersa
(Wild herbs soup with pork)
Ingredients
1 escarole
1 kg of wild herbs (and/or other vegetables)
70 g of green onions
500 g of pork, cut into cubes
Pork rind
1 potato
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 hot red pepper
Preparation
Cook the washed and coarsely chopped vegetables in salted water Call together or separately according to the different varieties). In a large pot of salted water, cook the pork rind and the pork. Add the vegetables and continue to cook. In a separate saucepan, prepare a soffritto with extra virgin olive oil, garlic and hot pepper. Add it to the wild herbs' soup before serving.