Panzanella Tomato Salad

Panzanella tomato salad is a unique twist on tomato salad.  Many Italian dishes have their origins in the countryside.  The peasants learned to use everything they grew and did not throw anything out.  Nearly 50% of the produce grown in the US is discarded because of spoilage.  Italians found many uses for their day old bread.  It was often ground and fried in olive oil to be used as a substitute for cheese.  In the case of this tomato salad, the day old bread was soaked in water and added to the salad where it absorbed the flavors of the dressing. The tomatoes and freselle dance on your tongue with the taste of the fresh herbs and balsamic vinegar.

Makes 6-8 Servings

Fresh Herb Dressing *

2 TBS Fresh Basil (chopped)

2 TBS Fresh Parsley (chopped)

1 tsp Fresh Thyme (chopped)

Juice of 1 Lemon

½ C Olive Oil

1/8 C White Balsamic Vinegar *

½ tsp Kosher salt or ¼ tsp table salt

5 grinds of Black Pepper

Other Ingredients

3 Lg Ripe Tomatoes

2 C Water

4 Friselle Caserecce *

1 Small Red Onion

Coarsely chop the fresh basil, parsley, and thyme. Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor and pulse 10 times.  You want to have visible pieces of fresh herbs in the dressing.

Cut the red onion in half and then slice ¼ inch thick.

Place 2 C of room temperature water in a bowl and soak each friselle in the water for 15-30 seconds or until it breaks apart easily.  Break it up into small pieces and place in a separate bowl.  Continue until all 4 pieces are soaked and broken up. Do not over soak. The friselle should still be dry in the center.

Note: If you are substituting the toasted Ciabatta bread, do not soak them in water.

Wash and cut each tomato into 8-12 wedges.

Mix the dressing, the cut tomatoes and the bread together in a serving bowl and refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours tossing every 20-30 minutes.  This salad is just as good the next day.

* Pronto Substitute

Dressing – You can substitute ¾ C of your favorite Italian dressing and optionally add the fresh herbs.

White Balsamic Vinegar – Use red wine vinegar.

Freselle – You can find this unique bread product in Italian specialty stores.  It looks like a squashed toasted bagel.  You can substitute 6 cups of Ciabatta bread that is cut into large cubes, tossed with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and ¼ teaspoon table salt, arranged in a single later on a baking sheet, and toasted in the oven at 400° until light gold in color (about 15-20 minutes tossed halfway through). Cool to room temperature before using. Do not soak in water, just toss with the dressing.

To print this recipe, go to Panzanella Tomato Salad

Fajitas Italiano

This fajita variation with Italian salsa and Italian marinade fuse with the classic Tex Mex dish that has become a regular part of many American diets. I’ve cut down the grilling time by slicing the flank steak before grilling and I’ve marinated the steak in an Italian marinade that my mother taught me. Combine these preparation techniques with the Italian Salsa and you have a unique fusion of Tex Mex and Italian food. Marinating the steak is a wonderful way to infuse flavor into the meat and tenderize it at the same time. You can use the marinade in this recipe with london broil, strip steak or any other steak you want.

Makes 4 servings of 2 fajitas each.

Salsa Ingredients *
1 dry pint Grape or Cherry Tomatoes
½ C Flat Leaf Italian Parsley, chopped
3-4 fresh leaves Basil, chopped or ¼ tsp Dry Basil
2 cloves Garlic Confit, minced (or 1 clove raw garlic)
1.5 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 TBS Aged Balsamic Vinegar
¼ tsp Dry Oregano
¼ tsp Table Salt
5 grinds Black Pepper
2 tsp Brown Sugar
1 Jalapeno Pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)

Marinade Ingredients *
½ C Balsamic or Red Wine Vinegar
½ C Dry Red Wine
2 TBS Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
1 tsp dried Oregano or 1 TBS fresh Oregano chopped
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Ingredients
2 lb Flank Steak
2 lg Red Bell Peppers
2 TBS Olive Oil
½ tsp Kosher Salt
2 Medium Yellow Onions
Canola Oil for grill
8 Tortillas
1 C Shredded Fontina Cheese
1 C Sour Cream

* Pronto Substitutes

Sliced Flank Steak – You can marinate the flank steak whole and slice it after grilling.
Italian Salsa – You can substitute your favorite salsa.

To prepare the salsa, cut the tomatoes into a small dice. Add chopped parsley through jalapeno pepper. Marinate 1-24 hours before serving.

Place the marinade ingredients into a container and shake it until mixed.  Pour the mixture into a Ziploc bag.  Slice the flank steak into ½ thick strips against the grain. Add the meat to the marinade and let it marinate at least 1-2 hours in the refrigerator. NOTE: You can marinate the meat up to 24 hours in advance if kept covered in the refrigerator.

Clean and remove the seeds from the red bell peppers. Cut into 1 inch slices. Heat 2 TBS of olive oil in a large skillet and add the sliced bell peppers. While the peppers are cooking, peel the onions, cut them in half, and create ½ inch slices. Add the sliced onions and the ½ tsp of kosher salt to the pan with the cooking peppers. Continue to cook until the onions are translucent and the peppers are tender.

Heat your grill to medium high heat. Oil the grill with canola oil to prevent the steak from sticking. Grill the marinated flank steak strips just until they have grill marks. Do not overcook or the steak will be dry and tough.

Heat the tortillas according to the package directions.

Top each tortilla with 2-3 pieces of grilled steak, peppers and onions, Italian Salsa, shredded Fontina, and a dollop of sour cream.

To print a copy of this recipe go to Fajitas Italiano.

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Copyright © 2011 by Nicholas Verna. All Rights Reserved. No part of this recipe may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without written permission from the author.

Meatball Sliders

Sliders, also known as “bar burgers”, are not only easier to eat than a full sized burger but they are mysteriously better tasting too. Since 1921 White Castle has been making those tasty little square hamburgers by the millions and they were arguable the first sliders. Many famous chefs now feature sliders on the menu of their new upscale hamburger restaurants – they are even showing up at weddings. Well after 90 years I thought it was time to converge the White Castle hamburger with the Italian meatball sub into an upscale slider that you would be proud to serve to your guests instead of the same old burgers. These sliders are just the right size – you can have more than one and top each one differently. Serve them with a large garden salad, a cold Peroni and you have a meal.

Makes 16 Sliders

Ingredients

4 Slices of White Bread (chopped) *

½ Tsp Garlic Powder

½ Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Dried Parsley

¼ Tsp Ground Black Pepper

2 TBS Grated Italian Cheese

2 Lg. Eggs

2 TBS of water

1 lb. Ground Meatloaf Mix or Ground Round *

16 3 inch buns *

Optional Toppings

1 C of your favorite Tomato Sauce

Shredded Mozzarella
1 tsp Pesto
1/4 C Mayonnaise

 

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Place the bread into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it forms small crumbs. Place the breadcrumbs through the water into a large bowl and mix until a paste forms. Add the meat and lightly mix until incorporated.  Do not over mix or your meat balls will become tough.  Use a ¼ inch ice cream scoop to measure out the meatballs. Round out your meat balls by rolling them between your hands and place them on a cooling rack placed inside a jelly roll pan (a cookie sheet with sides). If you measure carefully you will get up to 16 meatballs.

Bake the meatballs for 15-20 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 150°F on an instant read thermometer.

Split the buns, add a cooked meatball and your desired topping.

Toppings *

These sliders are great just by themselves but you can enhance the flavor with one of the following toppings:

1 – Marinara Sauce

2 – Shredded Mozzarella

3 – Pesto Mayonnaise (mix ¼ C Mayonnaise with 1 teaspoon pesto)

* Pronto Substitutes

White Bread – Use a good quality white bread such as Arnold Country White.

Ground Meatloaf Mix – Many grocery stores now sell a ground meat mixture that contains beef, pork and either lamb or veal. This really enhances the taste of the meatballs but you can easily substitute ground round.

Slider Buns - Depending on where you shop will determine what kind of three inch soft buns you will be able to find. I used frozen yeast dinner buns that were just the right size. I coated the top with olive oil and then sprinkled on some grated Italian Cheese. I then baked them according to the package directions.

To print this recipe, go to Meatball Sliders

Pork Cutlet and Eggplant Parmigiana

When I was young my mother fried everything, but as I got older she started to bake many things, especially cutlets, to make them healthier. I've kept up that tradition because of the health benefits and because I prefer the taste. They are less greasy and can be equally juicy if you use an instant read food thermometer to make sure that they are not overcooked. These crispy coated pork cutlets, topped with grilled eggplant, smothered in marinara sauce and melted mozzarella were actually inspired by a very bad Italian meal I had on a recent trip to Utah for my daughter’s wedding. The production line meal was greasy and swimming in a tasteless pool of limp tomato sauce. I knew that I could create a much better version of the dish and I think I accomplished it. Please let me know what you think.

Makes 8 servings

8 Boneless Pork Chops*

2 large Eggs

1 tsp Olive Oil

1 tsp Water

2 C Italian Flavored Bread Crumbs

½ C grated Italian Cheese

2 tsp dried Parsley

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1 Lg Eggplant

1 TBS Kosher Salt

3 C Marinara Sauce

2 C Shredded Mozzarella

Trim the fat off of the pork chops and pound them to a ½ inch thickness.  In the first bowl beat the eggs with 1 tsp of water and 1 tsp of Olive Oil. In a second large bowl mix the bread crumbs, cheese, parsley, and garlic powder.

Peel the eggplant and cut into ½ inch slices. Lay the slices out on a paper towel and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Dip each pork cutlet first in the egg then in the breadcrumbs until coated on both sides.  Place the cutlet on a greased cookie sheet in the oven until an instant read thermometer reads 145°F (~10-15 minutes).  If you prefer, you can fry the cutlets in canola oil until golden brown.

While the cutlets are baking, spray the eggplant with nonstick cooking spray and grill over a medium high heat until they have grill marks.

Remove the cutlets from the oven and place a piece of grilled eggplant on each cutlet. Top each cutlet with marinara sauce and shredded mozzarella.

You can prepare this up to 1 day ahead of time if kept covered in a refrigerator.

Place the cutlets in a preheated oven for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the marinara in bubbling. Note: if you prepared it the day before it will take at least 30-40 minutes to reheat and have the cheese melt.

* PRONTO SUBSTITUTE

Pork Chops – Substitute thin sliced chicken cutlets or veal cutlets.

To print this recipe go to Pork and Eggplant Parmigiana