Last week I talked about the beauty of food boxes and without further ado here is the full video-recipe for Spaghettoni with Red Wine Tomato Sauce made with delicious high quality Italian artisanal products.
P.S. If you want to support small Italian artisans who have outstanding quality products head over to augustoitalianfood.com . Just for italicana kitchen followers you can get a 10% discount at checkout by entering in ITALICANAKITCHEN. Buon appetito!
Note:This post is not paid by augusto italian food. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Spaghetti with Red Wine Tomato Sauce is a delicious Italian pasta dish that is made with high quality artisanal products from AuGusto Italian Food.
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Extra virgin olive oil, as needed
1 garlic clove, cut into thick slices
1 shallot, cut into thick slices
400g Peeled San Marzano DOP Tomatoes
¼ cup still red wine
1 teaspoon milk
2 anchovy fillets, under oil
2 teaspoons capers in salt, desalinated
3 pinches of dried oregano
1 handful of fresh basil, chopped
Salt and black pepper, to taste
400g of Spaghettoni (or spaghetti)
Instructions
Bring a large pot of water to boil, add course salt and cook the pasta for 15 minutes.
Put some extra virgin olive oil in a large pan and over low heat, cook the shallot and garlic for a few minutes to give flavor to the oil. Discard the shallot and garlic.
Add the tomatoes and smash them in the pan with a wooden spoon. Bring to a simmer then add the red wine, milk, anchovies, capers, oregano and bay leaves. Continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Add the basil and season with salt and black pepper, to taste.
While the pasta and sauce are cooking, pour yourself a glass of wine. Drain the pasta, keeping some of the water aside in case you need to thin the sauce. Mix the pasta with the sauce until the sauce has been thoroughly distributed. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Buon appetito!
Notes
You can also use tomatoes with the skins, but you will need to blend the sauce in a food processor before mixing it with the pasta.
Although love :: amore should be celebrated 365 days a year, I think it is more than merited to have one special day dedicated to making a conscious effort to show your affection, love, and gratitude for another person. Today we should take a moment to think about all of the love we have in our life: family, friends, significant others, pets and even that kind stranger who did something nice to make your day. So, go wild with love this Valentine’s Day!
To start with, I would like to thank all of you for the support you have showed me during this past year. I always feel overcome with gratitude :: gratitudine each time someone leaves a kind comment, or just simply reads these words. Without each of you, this blog would not exist, so thank you. 🙂
I have some exciting news to share with you! I am returning back on the Italian national TV cooking show, La Prova del Cuoco, with Antonella Clerici. I have been invited to participate in a new segment of the show: “Master Blog” where I will be competing against another food blogger. I leave for Rome :: Roma tomorrow and will be on live TV on Monday February 16th from 12:05-12:20. You can vote on the Facebook page of La Prova del Cuoco during that time frame. Just find my picture on the page while I am live, and click “like”. I am so excited for this opportunity. I really enjoyed my experience the last time I was on La Prova del Cuoco and I was truly thankful for all your kind comments and support during that week.
Back to today. One simple thing you can do to show your appreciation for another person is to cook them a special meal. This quinoa flatbread with roasted beet heats, spinach and goat cheese is the perfect main course for your Valentine’s Day dinner. The preparation is super easy to do, and can be topped with anything you like. I used blended cannellini beans, fresh spinach, beets :: barbabietole, walnuts and goat cheese. To make the beet hearts just peel the beet, slice it into rounds, use a heart cookie cutter, place everything on a baking sheet, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sea salt and roast.
This Valentine’s Day meal idea is perfect for a romantic dinner for two where you can split the heart down the middle and share. It is also great for a family because it’s something you can easily make with the kids :: bambini and they can have fun choosing their own toppings and making their flatbread hearts.
Wishing you all a Happy Valentine’s day filled with love and happiness.
Xoxo
Italicana
Quinoa Flatbread with Roasted Beet Hearts, Spinach and Goat Cheese
This quinoa flatbread with roasted beet heats, spinach and goat cheese is the perfect main course for your Valentine’s Day dinner.
Serves: 2
Ingredients
For the beet hearts:
1 large beet
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
For the flatbread:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
½ cup (90g) quinoa
1 cup + ¼ cup water, divided
1 teaspoon (4g) baking powder
½ teaspoon (3g) sea salt (I use unrefined sea salt)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
1 can cannellini beans or other white beans, drained and rinsed
5 walnut halves, broken up in to pieces
Instructions
For the beet hearts:
Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Peel the beet and slice into rings. Use a heart cookie cutter to cut out the hearts. Put the heats and the rest of the beet cut outs on the cookie sheet. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. Bake for 30 minutes, flipping the beets halfway through.
For the quinoa:
In the meantime, put 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a medium sized pot and add the quinoa. Toast over medium high heat stirring continuously until the quinoa is slightly golden and there is a nice toasted perfume in the air.
Add 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. The water should have all absorbed, if not, drain any excess water.
Line another cookie sheet with parchment paper and drizzle a little olive oil on top and spread it out to distribute it. (You could also use cooking spray).
When the quinoa is cooked add it to a food processor along with ¼ cup water, baking powder, 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, garlic and rosemary. Blend for 2 minutes until the quinoa it is smooth. (This step is important because if it is not smooth enough, the mixture will crumble when you try to form the heart shape.)
Take the mixture out of the food processor, set it on the oiled cookie sheet and form it into a heart, or any other shape. It should be about ¼ inches high. Bake for 10 minutes.
In the meantime, blend the cannellini in the food processor with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
Take the quinoa crust out of the oven, spread the whipped cannellini on top followed by a handful of fresh baby spinach, walnuts, goat cheese and roasted beet hearts. Now, go ahead and share your heart with someone you love. Happy Valentine's Day!
Food boxes that you buy online and are shipped to your home have been around for awhile. I was skeptical at first, I mean, I go to the grocery store two or three time a week, so why would I need to order something online? Putting my curiosity to the test, I decided to give it a try with this new AuGusto Italian Food.My experience was excellent. What I discovered was that I was able to find a variety of high quality artisanal Italian products in one place. And trust me, these are real Italian products! Even in Italian supermarkets, the shelves are often littered with industrial products making it hard to understand what the “healthy” products are.
Unlike shopping at a supermarket, I can instantly understand all the details of producers, the list of ingredients and raw materials and the method of production while shopping online. Reading the minuscule back labels of products when I am standing in the crowded and stuffy supermarket aisle is burdensome and inefficient. On the internet, however, I can easily get all the information I need to make informative choices on what I should feed my body to keep it feeling good (and who to give my money).
Because my experience was exceptional, I decided that I wanted to be part of promoting these artisanal products in Italy and abroad. One of things I hate the most is going back home to America where it’s hard to find high quality Italian ingredients. Often times what I find aren’t truly Italian products, or I find them hidden away in some obscure specialty store. Therefore, I decided to accept the challenge with AuGusto Italian Food. The company is run by an awesome and down-to-earth group of guys that share my same values. Over the course of the next few months I’ll be creating original recipes with products that I like and that you can find in their food boxes. You’ll be able to find these recipes on my blog and a hardcopy inside their box. You can also check out the video recipes to easily see how the recipes are put together in a matter of minutes to create a simple wholesome Italian meal. Here is the trailer to the first one for Spaghettoni with Red Wine Tomato Sauce. (It’s in Italian but you can follow along with the pictures. I promise my on camera Italian speaking skills will get better with practice!)
I love this project and the idea of helping to promote small Italian artisans who are so passionate about the products they make. AuGusto Italian Food loves my support and help in developing these recipes and therefore, I was able to get a discount for my followers! If you are interested in trying a food box out, go toaugustoitalianfood.com and just put ITALICANAKITCHEN as the promocode at checkout…you’ll receive 10% off! Buon appetito! (Currently only Europe shipping is available.)
Note: This post is not paid by augusto italian food. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I had a devious plan when I made this recipe :: ricetta. I wanted to see if Mr. Italicano really didn’t like beets or if it was just a psychological or textural hatred for this lovely purple vegetable.
Just as I thought, Mr. Italicano devoured his plateful of farro with beet sauce and roasted carrots. He actually complimented me on how good this dish was in between bites. I, of course, kept my mouth shut, took a sip of my red wine :: vino rosso and smiled sweetly back at him, enjoying my sneaky little trick.
Then, the moment came when Mr. Italicano asked what was inside. Luckily by this time, his plate was almost clear. As I mentioned the word beet :: barbabietola, I watched him cringe. Yes, definitely a psychological hatred and hopefully one that I’ve helped him kick as I love cooking with beets.
After the farro is cooked, it is versatile like rice :: riso— I love mixing in blended vegetables like my beet sauce or kale pesto. Here are some other ideas of yummy alternatives from bloggers around the web:
Roasted Cauliflower and Farro Salad with Feta and Avocado from Cookie and Kate—A great winter salad recipe.
Farro Salad with Lentils, Beans, and Oven Roasted Vegetables found on Serious Eats – Not just a salad, but a complete meal.
Warm Farro Salad with Spinach and Mushrooms from Little Spice Jar— A great side for special dinners.
This farro salad with beet sauce and roasted carrots can be served as a side salad, or even as a vegetarian :: vegetariano main course. It is especially great when you host large dinner parties and need to easily (and elegantly) serve a large amount of people.
Wash the beet well and wrap it in a piece of aluminum foil. Place on a cookie sheet with raised lips or in a baking dish in case the liquid drizzles out.
Cook for 50-60 minutes, opening the foil and checking half way through. The cooking time will depend on the size of the beets. *(Add the carrots at this time, see below.)
The beets are ready when you can easily poke a fork in the center. Let them cool slightly then use a paper towel to rub the skin off. If the skin is not easily coming off, put the beets back in the oven for a few minutes.
After the skin has been removed, blend all of the ingredients together.
Mix 2-3 spoonfuls of the beet sauce into the farro salad. Any left over sauce can be used as a dip with raw vegetables or a spread with crackers or can be mixed into pasta, couscous, millet, quinoa etc. Store in the refrigerator and consume within 3-4 days.
For the farro salad:
Line a cookie sheet with raised lips with parchment paper
In a small sized bowl, toss the carrots together with the basil, ginger, salt and extra virgin olive oil. Place on the cookie sheet and bake alongside the beet for 30 minutes. (I like to give the veggies a stir every 10 minutes to prevent the outer carrots from burning.)
In the meantime, bring a medium pot of water to boil. Add course salt followed by the farro. Cook for ½ hour. Drain.
Put the farro in a large bowl and mix in 2-3 spoonfuls of beet sauce and roasted carrot. Serve. Or, if you want to present the salad like the photo, set a pastry ring in the middle of a plate and add the farro that has been mixed with the beet sauce, topped by another layer of beet sauce and top with the roasted carrots. Buon appetito!
All Italians know about the traditional American apple pie but many have never heard of apple crisp, another classic American dessert. It is also a British favorite known as apple crumble. The beauty of this recipe is in its versatility: you can use apples or substitute with various other fruits like rhubarb, peaches, pears or berries.
The soft sweet baked apples contrast with the crunchy topping made of flour, oats, nuts and spices. It is common to serve this dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I am an ice cream addict, so I do this all the time; however, if you want to keep the integrity of the crunchy topping, a drizzle of warm salted caramel is the perfect solution.
Although Americans may find it strange to see apple crisp or apple pie on the table for brunch, since living in Italy, I have become accustomed to eating sweets for breakfast. Not to say that we Americans never eat sweets for breakfasts, quite the contrary, as we often have coffee cake, sweet breads,,, pancakes, scones and muffins, but for some weird reason it’s hard to find pie, cupcakes, cakes or chocolate on dessert menus—they are considered desserts. Since I am italicana, I say go for it. I think it is completely acceptable to eat your apple crisp when you want: for breakfast, a snack or for dessert! Enjoy!
This stovetop apple crisp with salted caramel sauce takes the classic recipe to a whole new level.
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Serves: 2
Ingredients
For the apples:
1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
½ teaspoon cinnamon (20shakes, 10pinches)
1 teaspoon (4g) sugar
2 tablespoons (28g) butter
For the crumble:
2 tablespoons (22g) flour
2 tablespoons (16g) oats
2 pinches cinnamon
2 tablespoons (24g) dark brown sugar
2 walnuts, chopped
8 almonds, chopped
2 pinches salt
4 tsp (20g) unsalted butter
For the salted caramel:
3 tablespoons (50g) sugar
2 tablespoons butter (28g) butter
2 tablespoons (30ml) heavy cream
¼ tsp salt
Vanilla ice cream, optional
Instructions
Put all of the ingredients for the apple mixture in a small saucepan and cook over medium high for 5-7 minutes or until the apples are tender. Stir often.
In the meantime, prepare the crumble. In a small bowl combine all of the ingredients for the crumble. Transfer the mixture into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the butter has melted and the nuts are lightly golden. Remove from the heat.
Now prepare the salted caramel. In a small saucepan cook the sugar over medium heat, keeping it constantly stirred with a rubber spatula.
When the sugar has completely melted and is an amber color, add the butter. Be careful as the butter will try to bubble up out of the saucepan. Stir constantly for 1-2 minutes.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and slowly stir the heavy cream into the saucepan. The mixture will also try to bubble up again so be careful.
Divide the apple mixture among two bowls, then top with the crumble mixture, salted caramel and ice cream, if desired.
Last week I talked about the beauty of food boxes and without further ado here is the full video-recipe for Spaghettoni with Red Wine Tomato Sauce made with delicious high quality Italian artisanal products.
To start with, I would like to thank all of you for the support you have showed me during this past year. I always feel overcome with gratitude :: gratitudine each time someone leaves a kind comment, or just simply reads these words. Without each of you, this blog would not exist, so thank you. 🙂
Unlike shopping at a supermarket, I can instantly understand all the details of producers, the list of ingredients and raw materials and the method of production while shopping online. Reading the minuscule back labels of products when I am standing in the crowded and stuffy supermarket aisle is burdensome and inefficient. On the internet, however, I can easily get all the information I need to make informative choices on what I should feed my body to keep it feeling good (and who to give my money).
Because my experience was exceptional, I decided that I wanted to be part of promoting these artisanal products in Italy and abroad. One of things I hate the most is going back home to America where it’s hard to find high quality Italian ingredients. Often times what I find aren’t truly Italian products, or I find them hidden away in some obscure specialty store. Therefore, I decided to accept the challenge with AuGusto Italian Food. The company is run by an awesome and down-to-earth group of guys that share my same values. Over the course of the next few months I’ll be creating original recipes with products that I like and that you can find in their food boxes. You’ll be able to find these recipes on my blog and a hardcopy inside their box. You can also check out the video recipes to easily see how the recipes are put together in a matter of minutes to create a simple wholesome Italian meal. Here is the trailer to the first one for Spaghettoni with Red Wine Tomato Sauce. (It’s in Italian but you can follow along with the pictures. I promise my on camera Italian speaking skills will get better with practice!)
