Happy New Year; let's hope that 2021 will be a better year. Buon capodanno; che il 2021 sia un anno migliore

 

Stewed cauliflover

This is a wonderful and easy dish. 

Cut up a cauliflower or part of one and steam it lightly. Then take a non stick skillet and coat it with good EVO and two cloves of garlic. A dash of red pepper flakes go well here too. Once the garlic is golden add the florets. Reserve the water. Stir for a minute and add some chopped Italian parsley. Also add sea salt to taste and some black pepper. Add some of the water fron where the florets were steamed. Cover and cook for a few minutes.

Serve with more parsley and a little raw EVO. Toast some nice rustic Italian bread and enjoy.

Buon appetito.

Gnocchi al pesto genovese

 Potato gnocchi are wonderful and very filling. They are imported from Italy and are available in any good food store. The authentic recipe was given a few posts ago ( just scroll down). There's an important difference. While a pesto with pasta requires potato and strings beans, here only string beans are added to the pasta water because of the nature of the potato gnocchi. Remember that as soon as the gnocchi come to the surface they are done. You may add a few raw pinoli as decoration; I did not.

Buon appetito

EVO from Oregon, USA

 My dear friend Moe from Oregon sent us this interesting olive oil as a Christmas gift. It is light and delicate and it appears to be excellent when used raw. Thank you Moe. But can I also expect cannoli and arancine from Oregon? But please no Oregon sea salt.

The versatile broccoli

 The trick is to keep things simple. Here is a simple and delicious pasta dish of broccoli and Italian sausage.

Boil a pot of pasta water and add salt and broccoli florets.

Coat the bottom of a large skillet with good EVO and lightly sauté a shallot cut very fine. Once they get golden add the sausage that has been removed from the casing. Stir it in and break it up with a spoon. Now add half a glass of  good dry wine. You ma want to add some fresh peperoncino or black pepper. Once the alcohol has evaporated ladle in the broccoli; the water is for the pasta that you now add. Use a ladle or two of the pasta water to keep the sauce moist. This will help create the cremina that is so important. Add some finely chopped Italian parsley. Two minutes before the cooking time indicated on the pasta box, transfer it into the skillet. Reserve two cups of pasta water. Stir well and aerate. Add some pasta water. When pasta is al dente, shut off the heat waist about 30 seconds and add some parmigiano.. Stir well and serve. Decorate the dish with more parsley and add some raw EVO. As you can see, I added some fresh red peperoncino for taste and color.

Buon appetito

Have a great week

 

Have a freat Sunday

 

Something healthy and light for the day after

 Most of you are stuffed from your Christmas meal so I'm proposing something that will be very appropriate. 

Bread, tomatoes, basil and good olive oil.

Take some stale bread or lightly toast some fresh bread. add some water, Sicilian sea salt, and olive oil. Cut up some tomatoes. Greenhouse tomatoes will do nicely. Place them on the bread and salt and add a trace of oil and fresh basil. That is it. No other ingredients are needed. remember to always cut up the basil by hand.

Have a wonderful and safe Christmas

 

Santa better wear a N 95 mask

Well Christmas Eve is upon us. A different Christmas but I hope that it's a joyful one. Please be safe and take no unnecessary risks. I love this shot taken a few years ago. Th Santa is a NYFD fireman. Truly one of the bravest. The local fire house in Astoria Queens brought toys for the children at a day care center run by Catholic Charities, my client. I just love this image. Sometimes one truly captures the moment.

Ravioli in light tomato sauce

This recipe is fairly easy. To start with I used good imported cheese and spinach ravioli. The other ingredients are: pomodorini (cherry tomatoes), one shallot, a teaspoon of tomato paste, two canned plum tomatoes, chopped up, a dash of peperoncino, sea salt from Trapani, good EVO, a small piece of gruyere cheese and parmigiano. A sprinkle of white or black pepper and some basil. I had no basil so I used parsley. If basil is used, use two garlic cloves instead of the shallot.

Use a skillet large enough to contain the ravioli and coat with EVO.and add the cut up shallot. Put a teaspoon of tomato paste and the plum tomatoes.. Stir and add a dash of white wine. Add a lottle salt. When the shallot pieces are golden add the cut up pomodorini and again add a little salt. By this time the salted pasta water should boil so put in the ravioli. They take about 5 minutes. Add some pasta water to the sauce. Sprinkle some Italian parsleys and the cut up gruyere. Stir well until the gruyere is amalgamated. Add the ravioli and finish cooking them in the sauce. In about a minute or two shut the flame, wait about 30 ds and add the parmigiano. Stir well. Place on a plate and put extra sauce on top of the ravioli and a little raw EVO. All done. Great for a cold night.

Buon appetito

Winter is here

 

I hope it's not the winter of our discontents 

Have a great week. Stay safe

 

Just a few more shopping days left so hurry.

I wish I were there; I wish it were summer.

 Have a great Sunday

Great for your busy shopping Saturday

Gnocchi alla sorrentina

Gnocchi are potato and flour dumplings that may me found in any good food store. They are imported from Italy under various brands, and cook rapidly. 

The sauce is a basic tomato sauce. Good quality canned  plum tomatoes should be used at this time. Use a hand bender mash them. In a non stick skilled, coat with good EVO and add one or two cloves of garlic. As soon as the garlic turns golden but is not burned, remove it. Add the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. In the mean time start the water. As soon as the water boils, salt it and add the gnocchi. As soon as the float to the surface they are done. Reserve some of the water and drain. Add them to the sauce and aerate and stir. Now add a small fresh mozzarella cut up in pieces. Stir well. Shut of the heat Now add some parmigiano along with pieces of basil cut by hand.

Complete the dish by adding a little more oil and partigiano. It's filling and delicious. Great for a cold day.

Buon appetito

 

It finally came

 Not as bad as predicted. The media always tries to hype any story. The main reason I do not watch TV. At any rate, my dog was very happy.

Christmas insanity

Some people go all out in decorating their homes. This is not my home. I do not engage in such nonsense but. It makes for interesting pictures. 

Simple and delicious

Salmon with pomodorini or cherry tomatoes 

First with a paper towel pat dry the skin side of the salmon and remove any excess scales. Place the salmon skin down on a non stick pan coated with good olive oil. Fry in medium heat for two minutes and turn it over. Another two minutes and remove it and place in a dish.

In another skillet coated with good olive, add a clove of garlic, two anchovies  and a few red pepper flakes. Before this step cut the tomatoes in half. Once the garlic is brown, it has done it's job and may be removed. Add the tomatoes and a little salt but not too much because of the anchovies. Make sure that the anchovies are totally amalgamated. At this point add about half a glass of good white wine and allow the alcohol to evaporate. Cook for about 5 minutes and if needed add some hot water. Now place the salmon skin down on the tomatoes. Add some Italian parsley and some black pepper. Spoon the sauce over the fish and lower the heat. How cooked it is may be gathered by looking at the color of the center of the salmon. Some prefer it lees cooked. 

To complete the dish, place the salmon on a flat plate and spoon the tomatoes around it. Sprinkle with more basil and more black pepper. A touch of raw EVO is also desirable.

Buon appetito

Eating well is the best way to cope

 In these days of isolation eating well makes this seemingly endless period seem tolerable. THis is yours truly enjoying a small sandwich with a nice rose. The dish had hot antipasto Just a light lunch.

Have a wonderful week. Stay safe

 

Sorry for the delay in posting

 I had WIFI problems. It took Verizon Fios 4 days to make he line repairs. Stay away from Verizon, their service is very bad. Actually it's horrible.

Back in business.

 

Have a lovely Sunday

Recipes to follow, stay tuned.

Dusk

 

As we approach the winter solstice the light at dusk becomes even more spectacular.

Tis the season

So the blog is showing holiday colors. Enjoy the holidays and be very careful. All the best.

Pasta alla Norma

This simple and delicious Sicilian dish, a summer staple, is named after the Island's most celebrated composer, Vincenzo Bellini. Scarlatti was also Sicilian, BTW. At any rate, this was Bellini's favorite dish so the people from his place of birth, Catania, named it after Bellini's most famous opera Norma. In my humble opinion it's the best Italian opera. He also wrote I puritani. La sunnambula and  Il pirata among others. All bel canto masterpieces.

This dish can be used with any pasta from spaghetti to rigatonis. I used mafaldine one of my favorite cuts.

The ingredients are, an eggplant, fresh plain tomato sauce, sliced ricotta salata, one clove of garlic, a small onion, some fresh basil and the usual spices along with a good pecorino cheese.. I add some breadcrumbs but this is optional. For a lighter taste ricotta can be substituted but the one sold stateside is pathetically insipid 

First get a fresh eggplant. Slice about one half and dice the other half into small cubes.. Fry in a mixture of corn and olive oil. I never salt the eggplants nor do I cut off the skin. I also never bread them. This is an Italian American development tat I abhor. 

Save the slices for finishing the dish. The cubes will be added to the tomato sauce. Cook the sauce slowly by covering a pot with good EVO, the garlic clove whole along with the whole onion. A few leaves of basil are great at this initial stage. When things sizzle add your tomatoes. Good canned tomatoes made into a pulp are great. Add salt to taste and a little sugar to reduce the acidity. When the sauce is almost done or in about 15 minutes, add the cubed eggplants and more basil always cut by hand. It's time to add the pasta to the salted boiling water. Lower the heat on the sauce. Two minutes before the indicated cooking time, place a skillet coated with good EVO on medium heat and add some sauce along with some pasta water. Save some pasta water and add the pasta to the skillet where it will finish cooking. Stir and aureate well. More pasta water should be added if things get dry. Add more basil and shut off the heat. Wait about 30 seconds and add the pecorino. Stir well. At this point I add the bread crumbs.

The dish is finished by spooning the pasta on a flat plate and adding more sauce, the slices of eggplants, the ricotta salata and a few basil leaves.

Delizioso

Buon Appetito

Here we go again. As promised

 These two seniors were enjoying lunch at one of the several food courts at the Arthur Avenue Market in the Bronx's Little Italy. A great place to eat and shop.

A change of mind

I have been encouraged by the number of visitors even though there gave been no posts. I also miss the blog. So, I will resume posting, Fewer recipes because they are more time consuming. OK, I shall return. I missed all pf you. All the best and stay tuned,

Rocco Galatioto

Arrivederci

 

I believed that my experiment in adding recipes would be successful. Sadly the number of visitors has not increased and now I realize that an hiatus may be in order, After 5920 posts, I must take a break. It could a short one, it all depends. I want to thank all my visitors and followers.

You may follow me in Instagram under roccogalatioto. Therefore arrivederci from New York.

Thoughts of the home town

This pandemic appears to go on and one. I wasn't able to go to my beautiful Castellammare del Golfo this year and hope that I may be able to go next year- In the mean while I comfort myself with photos. What else can I do. Modern communication makes it easy to call my friends and neighbors and while this makes me happy, I then remain more desirous of going back. What can I say. 

Something light and easy to start off the week

I shall propose spaghetti with tuna and lemon-

This is a very fast dish so start with the pasta water and as soon as the pasta is in, start the condimento.

You need a can of good Italian or Italian style tuna that is preserved in olive oil. Remove the oil the tuna comes with and replace it with good EVO and also add the juice of half a lemon in the can, Put some good EVO in a skillet large enough to hold the al dente pasta. Add one clove of garlic and let cook but do not burn it. A small piece of peperoncino may also be added. Add the tuna and mash it with a fork. Add some chopped Italian parsley. Two minutes before the indicated cooking time shot off the pasta and add a ladle of pasta water while reserve a cup. Drain the spaghetti and add to the tuna. Air out the pasta by stirring it and add some more pasta water. Keep stirring This will help create the cremina. Add some EVO and some more parsley. Shut off the stove. Add some lemon rind and serve. To complete the dish, sprinkle with black pepper and more parsley, Cut up some lemon into wheels and add as decoration. Very fast and simple but more important very delicious. BTW like most Italian dishes, it's healthy.

Buon Appetito

Please note that my recipes are for two people. For more diners change accordingly. In Italy each person usually consumes 100 grams of pasta. Here I usually use half a pound. After all everything is larger in the States. Enjoy.

Have a wonderful Sunday

 

Paccheri con salsa di stufato

 This recipe is for what old time Italian Americans used to call Sunday gravy. This was when pasta was still called maccheroni. There are many versions but this is the Sicilian one as my dear mother used to make. Stufato means stew.

The ingredients are: some sausage, a few bracioli, a piece of unprocessed slab bacon with the rind and some pieces of beef chuck. You also need a bottle of passata di pomodoro or a large can of tomato puree, a small onion, a few leaves of fresh basil and two cloves of garlic. The traditional Sicilian recipe calls for some cinnamon and a few whole cloves. You also need peeled potatoes.

PROCEDURE: Take a deep pot and coat it's bottom with good EVO. Add the onion along with the garlic whole. A few laves of basil and some peperoncino are nice too. Let simmer in low heat for a few minutes making sure that the garlic is not burned. Add the meat and increase the heat. Let the pieces brown on all sides and the place in a dish. Add the tomato puree and half a glass of good red wine. Season for salt. Stir for about 5 minutes and then return the meat along with any juices that are in the dish. Cook in medium heat for about 45 minutes making sure that nothing sticks to the bottom. If the sauce gets too thick add some hot water or more wine. Now add the potatoes and continue cooking until they are tender. Some potatoes take longer than others. Once the potatoes are done add some nutmeg and some more basil. Turn off the heat.

Cook either rigatoni or penne rigate. I used pacccheri De Cecco but any cut pasta will do. It's a rather time consuming recipe but it's worth the effort. The pasta is the first course and the meat and potatoes are the second. I usually add a potato in the pasta dish. Try it this Sunday. It's to close to the usually filling Thanksgiving dinner to make it today, Saturday. It's a great cold weather dish. In the old days, on the so called "other side,"  sun dried tomato paste was used this was called strattu or extract. Tomato paste can be substituted but it's not the same. A good pecorino cheese is a must. I took the photo prior to this for clarity.

Buon appetito

 

My beautiful Louisiana Catahoula Leopard dog

 The Catahoula is a water dog and he really enjoys puddles and all sorts ow wet places. Here he has just come out of a large puddle. You can notice that he is very content.. 

Tomorrow I will post a recipe of my Sicilian stufato. No left over turkey recipes here. Stufato is a thick neat sauce usually served during cold weather. Stay tuned.

Happy Thsnksviving Day

 There will not be any recipes on left over turkey because I do not eat turkey or any poultry. A great way tp stay healthy, in my humble opinion.

Just a memory

 

For me New York will never be the same again

A simple and delicious contorno

Contorno means side dish but this can actually be a nice dish on it's own. It's a Sicilian dish so it calls for those round and light purple Sicilian eggplants but the regular ones will do fine. The trick is to know how to select the good ones. The top crown should be green and the body should be shiny and not too hard to the touch. The color should be a uniform purple free from greenish spots.

Once you have your perfect eggplant (a medium size one will do fine) wash and dry with a paper towel. Cut it  in small cubes and fry them in a mixture of corn and regular olive oil. Place in a dish and put aside. In a separate deep skillet, coat the bottom with good EVO and add a clove of garlic coarsely cut up and a few red pepper flakes. Heat on a low flame and when the aroma becomes heavenly, add a third of a can of good diced tomatoes. You may want to dice them a little more before adding them. Cook in medium heat for about ten minutes making sure that there's enough liquid. At this point add the fries eggplants cubes. Stir and add a touch of wine vinegar and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Continue in medium heat for about another.10 minutes. Chop one garlic clove very fine and cut up a few leaves of basil by had, ad to the eggplants, stir an shut off the heat. The plate is ready. The aroma is now intoxicating while the flavor will delight you. This is an economical, nutritious and healthful dish.

Buon appetito

The view from my old studio

 This shot dates from the early seventies and it's 135 East "6 Street across from my studio at 132 East 36 Street, Manhattan. I love the colors and the composition. A tribute to Kodachrome II, my Nikon F and my Nikkor 105 F 2.5. What a winning combination.

Have a great week

 

Have a safe Sunday

 

Let-s talk about pesto. The real thing.

 Today pesto is very popular and it has assumed forms that are in many cases far from what the idea of pesto really is. Of course one is free to as one pleases but in this blog we will deal with authenticity so we will propose pesto alla genovese. There are other authentic pesto recipes such as pesto alla trapanese or pesto di pistacchi. The latter being great Sicilian pesti. But the Genovese pesto is the most popular and the most messed with. The Genoese take their pesto very seriously and swear that it's true flavor can only be achieved in Genova where a small leafed basil is used. But this is a matter of opinion. What they do use is a cut up small potato and a bunch of cut up green beans in the pasta water. These will be part of the final dish.

The ingredients are ad occhio or by the eye. Cooking is not a science. Although pesto means pestle and the best way is to do the mashing manually, even the Genoese have surrendered to modern exigencies so a blender will do just fine. In said blender add half a cup of really good EVO, two or three garlic cloves, a nice bunch of washed and dried basil leaves, a spoon of pinoli, half a cup of parmigiano, a third of a stick of butter plus a little Sicilian sea salt. Easy on the salt. Blend slowly until you get the pesto. At this point the aroma is to die for. Of course do this while the pasta and the potatoes and string beans are cooking in salted water. The pasta is usually trofie but they are almost impossible to find. ai got mine at the little Italy in The Bronx. Any pasta will do evem spaghetti

Drain the pasta and reserve some pasta water and then add the pesto to the pasta. Stir well. If the mixture is too dry, add some of the reserved pasta water. Serve by adding a few pinoli on top and if needed some more parmigiano. This recipe comes from my wonderful  zia Grazia who lived many years in Genova and it is as authentic as it gets.

Buon appetito.

  

 

  

Have a nice weekend and stay safe.

 

Vintage film shot

 My favorite building in New York. The timeless Flat Iron Building

 

Spezzatino di manzo or beef stew

 This is a very appropriate cold weather dish It is easy and delicious. Place the beef stew meat available in most supermarkets in a deep put a third of a stick of unsalted butter and a dash of good olive oil. Add 3 or 4 dried bay leaves and the meat. Let the meat brown in medium heat. Now add two carrots cut up in medium pieces and a stalk of celery also cut up in medium pieces along with a medium union finely diced. Add sea salt cover and cook until the meat begins to soften. At this point add the peeled ang cut up potatoes and black pepper. You may also add thyme and a dash of nutmeg. Cover and cook until the potatoes are done. Add some Italian parsley. Make sure that there's enough liquid. Have some hot water handy to add to the meat. Serve with enough broth to dunk good rustic Italian bread coated with EVO. To finish the dish a swirl of olive oil and a sprinkle of black pepper, You may garnish the dish with fresh parsley. Be sure to remove the bay leaves.

Buon appetito 

A little humor but no comments.

 

Late fall scene

 Or is it really early winter.

Past alla carrettiera

 A dish that is easy, delicious, and full of anti oxidants. The carrettieri were carters who traveled throughout Sicily on their colorfully decorated carts. This simple pasta was sort of a tail gate event. It was very fast and simple and very economical, Only three ingredients plus the pasta. In this case I used linguine but any cut will do, The carters usually used spaghetti. Good olive oil (EVO) , a clove of garlic minced finely and a handful of Italian parsley also minced finely.

Boil the water for the pasta. Do not forget the salt. When the pasta goes in, take a large bowl add two tablespoons or more of the EVO plus the garlic and parsley. Stir well. Add a little salt. Drain the pasta and place into the bowl. Mix well. The heat will subdue the garlic somewhat. Note that if the garlic is old, remove the center that is usually beginning to sprout. This is what causes garlic nasties.

Place on a flat dish and finish the dish with a sprinkle of black pepper, a little swirl of oil and a good pecorino. Do not be afraid to try this simple but very healthful dish. You will be assured a seat on the bus or subway.

Buon appetito

 

Have a great week

 May your skies be red at night so that your days will be delightful

Have a wonderful Sunday. Spring will be here before you know it.

 

Something fast and easy. Appropiate for a Saturday

 Penne rigate con prociutto cotto e piselli. Penne rigate with boiled ham and peas.

This is a very fast dish so get the pasta water ready. As the water is heating up, chop up a small onion and cut up a thick slice of boiled ham into small squares. Tell the deli man to give you a slice about a quarter of an inch thick. When the water boils, add the pasta and now put good EVO to coat the bottom of a non stich pan large enough to hold the pasta. Add the onion and as soon as it becomes translucent, add the ham. You may now add a dash of good dry wine. Remember to stir the penne. Once the alcohol evaporates, add the peas and a laddle of pasta water that is rich in starch. Cover and cook. Chech for salt. Because the ham is salty just add a little salt to allow the peas to release their natural water. This is called acqua di vegetazione. When the pasta is very al dente, usually two minutes before the indicated cooking time, drain it but reserve a cup or two of the water. Stir in the pasta in into the ham-peas mixure and stir. Also areate the pasta. If you cannot do that, stir while pushing the handle back and fort. Add some reserved pasta water and keep strring. By now a cremina will be formed but to make it better add a dash of EVO. Shut the burner, wait 30 seconda annd add some parmigiano. You are ready to serve. Sprinkle generously with black pepper and you are done.

Buon appetito

Have a great weekend

 

Sunday afternoonin the park....

 the park being the Jardin du Luxenbourg in Paris. What a great city, what vitality. OK the coffee is pathetic and the espressi and cappuccini are absolute horrible (BTW there's no longer the so called French roast, it's all espresso, macchiato and cappuccino done very poorly even though they use Italian machines) but Paris is always Paris. This park is absolutely stunning. It has a plethora of flowers, wonderful trees and an artificial pond for toy boats. But what is best is the way it's being used to relax and enjoy life at least until Monday whel it's time again to work. We Italians also have a great joy of life except that we do not empohasize work as much. At any rate anyone visiting Paris must come here.

Stewed cauliflower

 Many people have issues with cauliflower and broccoli. Perhaps it's the aroma. Yet these are extremely healthy vegetables.

This recipe is simple and not greasy. You must first steam the cauliflower florets and keep the water in reserve.

Take a deep  non stick skilled, put about one TBS of good EVO, a sprinkle of peperoncino and two whole garlic cloves. Once the garlic changes color and releases it flavor to the oil, add the cauliflower florets.  Saute until the florets get brown. Now add a laddle or two of the stream water and chopped Italian parsley. Salt and pepper to taste.

Toast some rustic Italian bread and cat with EVO. To finish the dish add  some of the cooking water and alittle more EVO. Now add some some raw Italian parsley. Simple and healthful

Buon appetito