Get off the sidelines and let’s learn together. It’s fun and transformative. We believe if you teach a man to fish, you feed his should and his belly for a lifetime.
This recipe for sausage with grapes from Chef Jennifer embodies the humble (but delicious!) cooking style of Umbria. Though it has just four ingredients, it’s a remarkably well-balanced dish that packs a flavor punch. Make it as a simple dinner when you’re too tired to cook but want something satisfying on the table.
JENNIFER’S SAUSAGE WITH GRAPES
INGREDIENTS
8 sausage links
Fresh wine grapes, cut in half (can substitute raisins)
White wine
Italian parsley (or other herb of choice)
DIRECTIONS
Brown the sausages in a pan until well caramelized. Add the grapes (or raisins). Follow with the white wine, pouring into pan until about 1/3 of the way up the sausages. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
Add parsley leaves and cover, simmering over low heat until sausages are cooked.
Slice the sausages in half on the bias and let them sit in the sauce for at least 10 minutes.
** If desired, reduce the sauce further (with sausages in it) by cooking a little further.
This recipe for sausage with grapes from Chef Jennifer embodies the humble (but delicious!) cooking style of Umbria. Though it has just four ingredients, it's a ...
Here’s a meal I prepared recently: fagioli cannellini semplice e radicchio brasato. This meal combines a staple of my Italian cooking experience and a new recipe that is applied from the techniques and approach I’ve come to learn in my time cooking in Umbria.
FAGIOLI CANNELLINI SEMPLICE
INGREDIENTS
1 can/jar cannellini beans
1 yellow onion
1-2 carrots
1-2 stalks of celery
Parmigiano reggiano
Salt
Pepper
Fresh herbs/seasoning
Optional:
white wine, chicken/vegetable stock &
lemon zest
DIRECTIONS
Start by preparing a classic soffrito: dice your onion, carrot, and celery, and let them sweat on low heat with a bit of oil, butter, or both. Cook until translucent.
Once the onions and carrots are soft, you can add a pinch of salt and the rest of your aromatics (typically I’ll go for some crushed red pepper to give the dish some heat, or you can add herbs like rosemary and thyme).
Once the pan is smelling fragrant, add your rinsed beans. Cook until you’re satisfied—if you want the dish to be dry, cook until the beans are warm and you’re done! If you want a stew-like quality, keep the temperature low and add some white wine, chicken/vegetable stock, or even just some water. Option to toss in more butter to get a rich, velvety texture.
Once you have the consistency you’d like, pull the beans from the heat and top with some parmigiano and, if you’d like, some lemon zest. This is the dish I always cook for myself on the elusive rainy day in Los Angeles.
In Umbria, radicchio is typically roasted over a fire then finished with salt and oil, maybe some lemon juice, and it is a delight. I hadn’t been using the oven recently, however, and wanted to put it to use:
RADICCHIO BRASATO
INGREDIENTS
1 whole head of radicchio
1 yellow onion
Red wine
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
DIRECTIONS
Preheat to 450-500—you just want it to be hot.
Quarter your radicchio lengthwise. Put a pan on medium-high heat, add a splash of olive oil and a small pat of butter. Place the radicchio into the pan to sear its outside—it should brown and even start to blacken before you flip it, about 2-3 minutes a side.
Once the radicchio is seared, transfer the quarters into a baking dish. Slice the onion and add into the baking dish.
Take your bottle of red wine and pour into the dish until the radicchio is about 1/4 submerged, then add just a bit of water to bring the liquid level to just under 1/2 of the radicchio.
Season with salt and pepper and place in the oven for about 30 minutes, flipping halfway through. Once it’s out of the oven, feel free to drizzle with some good olive oil!
Bill’s Whole Snapper Garlic Ginger recipe may seem seem out of place in an Italian recipe blog, but this Asian recipe shares a lot with Italian preparation. First, the fish should be fresh, which in our case was beyond doubt, having purchased it from Robert, our local fishmonger at the daily harbor fish market in Georgetown, Grand Cayman. Robert cleans and filets all manner of fresh catch with an uber sharp machete right in front of your eyes. Second, the accompanying flavors are understated and elevate rather than overwhelm the fresh fish.
This is a favorite of Suzy and mine when we, like we are now, spend time at our vacation home in the Caymans (no money laundering jokes, please). After a grueling day under the sun, there’s nothing quite like this flavorful fish dish and a little (or a lot of) white wine to wash it down.
[recipe courtesy of taste.com.au]
Whole Snapper with Garlic and Ginger
INGREDIENTS
1 whole snapper, gutted and scaled
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Ginger, cut into thin strips
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp rice wine
2 tsp sesame oil
2 scallions, sliced
2 or 3 dried chili peppers crushed
1 bunch coriander
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 deg.
Rinse and pat dry 1 whole red snapper. Line baking dish with aluminum foil (you may have lay 2 sheets side by side) and place wax or parchment paper on top. Lay snapper on paper and liberally salt and pepper. Sprinkle garlic and ginger over entire surface.
In a small bowl, mix well soy, fish sauce, rice wine and sesame oil. Pour over snapper allowing it to penetrate the skin. Baste several times.
Close aluminum/parchment paper to form an airtight pouch with snapper inside. Place in oven (in baking dish) and bake for 30-45 minutes. The snapper is cooked when the flesh flakes and displays no opacity.
Unwrap fish and transfer to a serving plate or bowl being sure to pour the liquid over the fish. Garnish with a liberal amount of sliced scallions and some sprigs of coriander.
Serve with lots of white wine, preferrably a crisp, acidic wine such as Falanghina, Greco di Tufo or anything from Campania.
We’re celebrating Suzy’s birthday with one of her favorite drinks to sip on—the Tom Collins. In the Italian spirit, we’ve renamed ours Tommaso and used our favorite Italian sparkling water. Here’s why we love it: it’s a simple (and quick!) blend of gin, lemon juice, seltzer and simple syrup which, when combined, is a citrus-y sour cocktail thats deliciously refreshing. Perfect for the sweltering heat of late August!
TOMMASO COLLINS
INGREDIENTS
Ice
Juice of ½ a lemon
½ oz. simple syrup
Seltzer
Lemon wedge, for garnish.
DIRECTIONS
Fill a highball glass with ice. Pour in gin, lemon juice and simple syrup.
Top with seltzer water. Taste and adjust as needed.
This is our favorite way to handle an overabundance of produce—depending on the season you can make a filling with mixed berries, apples and cinnamon or ricotta and marmalade. Here Liam uses a mix of ripe figs, honey and a dash of vincotto. The wine (vincotto translates to “cooked wine”) deepens the flavor and rounds out the sweetness of the figs, leaving you with a balanced and elegant dessert. Enjoy!
LIAM’S FIG CROSTATA
INGREDIENTS
For the crust:
300g flour + more for dusting
140g butter, room temperature
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
1 ½ Tbs baking powder (or 1 packet of Italian bkg powder w vanilla)
pinch salt
For the filling:
6 cups of fresh ripe and plump figs
¾ cup honey
1 T a.p. Flour
3 T butter, cubed into small pieces
1 T vin cotto
DIRECTIONS
Roll the dough to about ½” thickness. Place in a 10” pie pan.
Meanwhile, combine the ingredients for the filling and put in the pie pan. Fold the outer edges of the dough around the perimeter of the fig filling. Brush the dough with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Put in refrigerator for 1 hour before baking at 375 for 30-45 minutes.
We love those recipes that are low effort, maximum reward and that’s exactly what this truffle frittata is. With so few ingredients, quality is paramount—we recommend using Tartufi Bianconi’s delicious truffle sauce “tartufata” to impart a taste of Italy into your frittata.
TRUFFLE FRITTATA
INGREDIENTS
4 eggs
Salt
Truffle sauce or “Truffled Flavoured Oil” from Tartufi Bianconi
DIRECTIONS
-Beat the eggs with salt and a few teaspoons of your favorite truffle sauce.
-Heat olive oil in a skillet and cook the omelette on both sides—serve with truffled mashed potatoes.
We continue our celebration of cheeses with Marinated Pecorino. Enjoy one of Italy’s finest formaggi in a simple but decadent way. Perfect on its own, Pecorino gets a perfection boost from a generous drizzle of good olive oil and cracked black pepper. Buon appetito!
MARINATED PECORINO
INGREDIENTS
1 lb pecorino
1/2 c olive oil
Black pepper, ground coarsly
DIRECTIONS
-Break or cut the cheese into small bite-sized cubes, about 1 inch.
-Toss with the olive oil and black pepper. Put in a serving bowl and cover.
-Let the cheese marinate at room temperature for at least 1 hour before serving. Can be made ahead but should be served at room temperature.
If (for some inexplicable reason) you ever find yourself with leftover panettone, we highly recommend turning it into french toast. While we always gobble ours up immediately, we’ve found that buying a second loaf just for this recipe works equally well. Chef Liam’s panettone french toast includes almond extract, cinnamon and nutmeg in the egg custard, which gives each plate of french (italian?) toast touch of warmth.
–Whisk eggs. Add the remaining ingredients. Whisk until combined.
-Slice your panettone into 1.5” thick slices and soak in the mixture for about 30 seconds. Meanwhile, heat a non stick skillet, add butter and a little oil and place the slices of panettone onto skillet to brown on both sides. Remove from skillet and place on a sheet tray and finish in oven for 5 minutes at 375.
-Serve with fresh berries, and real VT maple syrup.
Nothing goes better with a juicy burger than a pile of hot, crispy, perfectly golden French fries. Unless, of course, you happen to have Chef Liam’s recipe for homemade fries with pecorino, garlic and oregano. Those might top the list.
LIAM’S PECORINO, GARLIC, OREGANO FRIES
INGREDIENTS
3 each russet potatoes, large
2 T chopped fresh oregano
1 T chopped fresh garlic
2 T fresh grated Pecorino Romano
Fryer oil, or canola oil
Salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
–Wash potatoes, keep skin on. Square off the potato by cutting it to form four sides. Proceed to cut ½ inch slices then cut into strips.
–Place a colander in a bowl. Place fries in the colander and run cold water continuously(it will fill up with water) over the fries till the water starts to run clear. This is removing any starchy sugars.
-Strain the potatoes. Meanwhile, heat oil in a deep saucepan for frying to 300F. Add strained potatoes to the fryer and cook for about 3 minutes. Remove from fryer and place on sheet tray and let cool.
-Heat fryer up to 375…Then fry the fries again. Cook till crispy. Put in a bowl with the herbs, garlic, cheese and salt and pepper and toss. Serve immediately.
Insalata di riso is a typical summer dish in Italy, where the summers are hot and turning on the stove is avoided at all costs. Quick and refreshing, it’s infinitely adaptable to fit whatever you have on hand. Assunta, co-owner of Studio Geribi, sent over her family’s favorite recipe so that we might all enjoy summer the Italian way.
INSALATA DI RISO
INGREDIENTS
1 cup rice
4 hard boiled eggs
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1/3 cup cucumbers
1/4 cup celery
1/2 cup peppers
1 large carrot
1/3 cup fennel
1/2 cup olives (in oil or fresh)
1/3 cup artichokes (in oil)
1/2 cup mushrooms (in oil)
1/3 onion (in vinegar)
Salt to taste
DIRECTIONS
–Place a large tray in the refrigerator to chill (you’ll need this later).
-Add rice to a pot of boiling, salted water. 2-3 minutes before the rice is fully cooked, drain and let it cool on the tray that you chilled in the fridge.
-Meanwhile, wash and clean all the vegetables and place them in a large bowl. Once the rice has cooled, add it to the fresh vegetables, followed by the ingredients in oil and vinegar.
-Add the two tablespoons of mayonnaise and the egg. Mix carefully, trying not to damage the hard boiled eggs.
-Season with salt to taste. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Chiara’s vibrant green bean pesto is a delicious twist on a classic. Use it generously on your pasta or as a spread on bruschetta—it goes particularly well with fresh, creamy burrata.
CHIARA’S GREEN BEAN PESTO
INGREDIENTS
500g green beans
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
1 garlic clove
Juice of 1 lime
Handful of mint
DIRECTIONS
-Wash and remove the sides of the green beans and then cook in boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Drain into a colander.
– In a blender, combine drained green beans with lime juice, garlic, mint, pepper and olive oil. Blend until smooth and creamy.
Jennifer has an abundance of zucchini and is putting the blossoms to good use. This gorgeous arrangement of fresh zucchini blossoms stuffed with ricotta and parmigiano is accented with bright cherry tomatoes and scented with lemon and basil. It’s a dish that never fails to impress—both for how gorgeous it is and how shockingly simple it is to prepare.
FIORI DI ZUCCA RIPIENI
INGREDIENTS
about 15 zucchini flowers
500g (1lb) ricotta
1/2 c grated parmigiano reggiano
1 T lemon zest
2 T chopped basil
1 t salt
2 T extra virgin olive oil (+ more for drizzling)
1 c sliced cherry tomatoes
DIRECTIONS
-Carefully pull the stamens out of all the flowers
-Mix the ricotta, parmigiano, lemon zest, basil and olive oil. Carefully stuff into the blossoms.
-Place the blossoms in a baking pan. Scatter the tomatoes around and sprinkle with a little salt and extra virgin olive oil.
