Cucina DiBella

Figs with Chocolate

Ok, here's an interesting Calabrian dessert for you: dried figs, stuffed with toasted almonds and cloves, and then covered in chocolate.  Let me explain to you what happened while I was making this dish.  I got tunnel vision while reading through the recipe. I read something about DIPPING things in CHOCOLATE, and everything else kind of faded away.  So, I prepared the figs as described below in recipe #1 and shown in the first picture.

However, after making this recipe the first time, I noticed that there is another suggested way to make these figs.  Rather than dipping the figs into melted chocolate after baking them, you can roll them in a mixture of cinnamon, grated chocolate, and sugar. (Recipe #2 and the second picture.) This way was definitely better.  Lesson learned: always read all options before making a recipe! You would think that would be obvious, wouldn't you?

 

Figs with Chocolate #1

Adapted from La Cucina: The Regional Cooking of Italy by Academia Italina Della Cucina, 2009.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup almonds

1/4 tablespoon cloves, crushed

1 pounds dried figs

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Process:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the almonds on a baking sheet and put in the oven.  Bake for several minutes until lightly toasted.  Remove from the oven and roughly chop the almonds.
2. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees.
3. Mix the chopped almonds with the crushed cloves.
4. Cut open each fig and stuff with a little bit of the almond mixture.  Close the figs up again, pressing the seam together.
5. Put the stuffed figs on a baking sheet. Bake for about 5 minutes, just until they begin to change color.
6. While the figs bake, melt the chocolate in a bowl with the cinnamon.
7. Remove the figs from the oven.  Dip the figs in the chocolate.  Place on a sheet of wax paper to cool and for the chocolate to harden.

Ryan's Sue's rating of Figs with Chocolate #1 - 3. 

 

Figs with Chocolate #2

Adapted from La Cucina: The Regional Cooking of Italy by Academia Italina Della Cucina, 2009.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup almonds

1/4 tablespoon cloves, crushed

1 pounds dried figs

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, grated

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Process:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the almonds on a baking sheet and put in the oven.  Bake for several minutes until lightly toasted.  Remove from the oven and roughly chop the almonds.
2. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees.
3. Mix the chopped almonds with the crushed cloves.
4. Cut open each fig and stuff with a little bit of the almond mixture.  Close the figs up again, pressing the seam together.
5. Put the stuffed figs on a baking sheet. Bake for about 5 minutes, just until they begin to change color.
6. While the figs bake, mix the chocolate with the sugar and cinnamon.
7. Remove the figs from the oven.  Roll the figs in the chocolate mixture.  Allow to cool.

Ryan's Sue's rating of Figs with Chocolate #2 - 4.

Swordfish with Lemon and Capers

One area that I haven't spent much time on up until now is seafood.  Though I made some great appetizer recipes like Venetian Style Scallops and Crab all Triestina, and there was that wonderful Brodetto soup, I haven't really made any main courses that feature seafood.  Even the Stuffed Musselsfrom Liguria, which I made as a entreesimply because of the vast number that I consume at once, is really more of an appetizer.  Calabria gave me the perfect opportunity to change that.  As one would expect of this coastal region, Calabria is filled with delicious seafood.  One of the most commonly used types is swordfish.  Discovering this made me unbelievably excited.  My mom made an amazing teriyaki swordfish growing up which I absolutely loved, but that was the only way I had ever tried it.  So I was pumped to find another way to cook one of my favorite kinds of fish. 

One of the traditional ways to fix swordfish in Calabria is by sauteing the full swordfish steaks in a pan and adding lemon juice and capers.  It really is as easy as that.  This is one of those recipes that I feel silly even writing out because it's so straightforward and simple.  While swordfish is often grilled, by sauteing it in olive oil the fish gets a delicious sear to the outside, while the inside is moist and flaky.  This is a great, healthy meal that you can throw together in about 10 minutes. Can't beat that! 

Swordfish with Lemon and Capers

Adapted from

Academia Barilla

-Serves 4-

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic

4 swordfish steaks, about 6 ounces each (about 1 1/2 pounds total)

salt

pepper

1/2 tablespoon oregano

1 lemon

2 tablespoons capers

Process:

1. Put the oil in a large skillet and put over a medium-high heat.  When the oil is hot, add the garlic cloves. Saute the cloves about 2 minutes, just to infuse the taste with the olive oil.  Remove and discard the garlic.
2. Season the swordfish with salt, pepper, and oregano.  Add the swordfish to the pan. 
3. Squeeze the juice from one half of the lemon over the fish.  For swordfish that is about 1 inch thick, cook about 5 minutes per side, or until it is just cooked through.  It's important to keep an eye on it.  Swordfish cooks, and overcooks, very quickly.
4. About 1 minute before the swordfish is done, add the capers to the pan.  If you add them at the beginning, they will burn.
5. Remove the swordfish from the pan and transfer to a plate with the capers.  Squeeze the remaining lemon juice over fish.  Garnish with some lemon zest.

Ryan's rating of Swordfish with Lemon and Capers - 4.  Personally, I think that is malarkey. I give it a 5.

Rigatoni alla Pastora

Pasta is definitely a staple in Calabria.  I managed to strike gold by stumbling upon this traditional recipe for Rigatoni alla Pastora, which means Shepherd's Rigatoni.  You can take from the name that it is a country dish made by the poor.  As one might expect from that, it is a simple dish that can be thrown together in a matter of minutes. 

The rigatoni is mixed with hot Italian sausage and a sauce made out of ricotta cheese.  I would never have thought of using ricotta with pasta other than as a part of a filling.  However, by mixing it with some water, it becomes a creamy, delicious sauce.  The ricotta can be quite bland though, so it's important to bring in some other strong flavors through the sausage and the parmigiano cheese that is added at the end.  I loved this dish, particularly with the rigatoni.  The pasta's ridges allow it to grab more of the sauce, making it all the more delicious!

Rigatoni alla Pastora

Adapted from Welcome to Italy

Ingredients:

1/2 pound rigatoni

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 links hot Italian sausage

6 ounces ricotta cheese

black pepper

Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Process:

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook as directed.  Drain pasta, but retain 1/4 of a cup of the pasta water.
2. While the pasta cooks, put the olive oil in a skillet and heat over medium-high heat.  Once the oil is hot, remove the sausage from its casings and crumble it into a skillet. Cook until browned completely. 
3. Put the ricotta in a large bowl.  Add pepper to taste. 
4. Slowly add the reserved pasta water to the ricotta cheese a little at a time.  Using a whisk or fork, whisk the ricotta and water.  Continue adding water until the sauce becomes the consistency that you want.
5. When the sauce is done, add the pasta and the sausage to the sauce.  Toss together well. 
6. Put the pasta in bowls.  Top each serving with a generous helping of freshly grated parmigiano reggiano.

Ryan's Sue's rating of Rigatoni alla Pastora - 4.

Eggplant Meatballs - Polpette di Melanzane

If you aren't a fan of eggplant, then Calabria might not be the region for you.  Calabria is the orange region on the map of Italy to the right; the region that represents the toe of the boot.  In northern Italy, the eggplant, which was brought to Europe in the Middle Ages, was not very well accepted.  However, in Southern Italy, particularly the regions of Sicily and Calabria, the eggplant took off.  Used in dozens of recipes, it is an ingredient with immense flexibility. 

Though I made Eggplant Parmesan while working on the Campagna region, Calabria is another region that lays claim to that classic dish.  However, there are plenty of other regional recipes that highlight the eggplant as well.  With its meatiness, it makes great vegetarian dishes since it feels like you're eating something really substantial. However, nothing negates the health benefits of a perfectly good vegetarian dish like breading and frying it.  That is basically what this recipe for Eggplant Meatballs, or Polpette di Melanzane, does.   Personally, I'm not complaining.  It was absolutely delicious, and makes for a perfect antipasto dish! You can bake these if you would rather, which would help make it healthier.

Every recipe for Eggplant Meatballs that I found called for boiling the eggplant to cook it.  Personally, I am not a fan of this. I love roasted eggplant.  Besides getting a great flavor by roasting it with just a little olive oil, it's a lot easier to get the moisture out this way.  Eggplant is full of liquid, and so for me roasting makes more sense than boiling.  However, feel free to boil them if you would like! I also added some red pepper flake, as southern Italian food almost always carries a kick to it.  The heat from the pepper flakes was perfect.  I also recommend making these meatballs very small.  If you are frying the meatballs, they spend very little time in the oil.  Therefore, if they are too large, the inside can remain mushy after they are done frying.  By keeping the size small though, the outside gets a delicious, perfect crunch while the inside stays moist, but not mushy.  You can serve these with some marinara sauce, but honestly, they don't need it.  I ate them plain and they were amazing.  This is one that I can't wait to make again!

Eggplant Meatballs - Polpette di Melanzane

Adapted fromCooking with Patty

-Makes about 20 meatballs-

Ingredients:

1 eggplant weighing about 1 pound

salt

olive oil

1-2 eggs

1/4 cup breadcrumbs, plus extra for breading

1/8 cup parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Vegetable oil for frying

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Peel the eggplant.  Dice into small pieces.  Be aware that the eggplant will shrink as it roasts as well. 
3. Lay the eggplant in a single layer on a paper towel.  Sprinkle with salt, and let sit for about 15 minutes to draw out some of the liquid in the eggplant.  Pat dry with another paper towel.
4. Put the eggplant on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with a little olive oil.  Put in the oven until the eggplant is well browned.  Depending on the size of the pieces you chopped, this will take about 10 minutes.
5. Put the eggplant in a bowl.  Add one egg, 1/4 cup breadcrumbs, the parmesan cheese, and the red pepper flakes.  Mix well. 
6. Form small meatballs out of the eggplant mixture, about the size of a walnut. 
7. Roll the meatballs in breadcrumbs.  I found that my eggplant mixture was moist enough to hold the breadcrumbs on as they were.  However, if your mixture is drier, you can dip the meatballs in the second egg before rolling them in the breadcrumbs.
8. Heat enough oil to fry the meatballs in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.  When the oil is hot, drop in the meatballs in batches.  Fry until golden brown.  Remove from the oil to a paper towel to drain. 
9. Serve hot.

Ryan's Sue's rating of Eggplant Meatballs - 5.