FOOD WINE COOK ITALIAN -
ai
Ferri-The Italian Grill
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Bruschetta--Crispy bread with a tomato topping
Panini Bistecca-Steak Sandwich
Parmesan Grilled Chicken Breast
Marinated Grilled Italian Sausage
Bistecca-steak-alla Fiorentina
Grilled or Broiled Lemon Veal Chop
Rosmary and Thyme Crilled Lamb Chopps
Yes yes yes, we grill grill grill!!! Ironically,
for the most part, Italians are not know for grilling. Yet we
love to grill, and we grill all foods. In Italy, grilling is
as welcome and enjoyed as pasta making, and generally, the food
is delicately flavored so that the grilled food can speak for
itself. A steak is a steak, a shrimp is a shrimp a zucchini is
a zucchini and the flavoring agents should enhance the food not
conceal it. In this section there is an array of foods, and many
of the foods can be antipasti, entrees, side dishes whatever
category they fit into. You may even mix and mach to your heart's
content.
.
Bruschetta Pomadoro Grilled Italian Bread topped with tomato and onion
Pre-heat the grill.
Remove stem from the tomato, slice the tomato into eight’s or smaller and chop. Place the copped tomato into a medium sized bowl, add oregano leaves, basil leaves, onion, hot pepper, salt and pepper to taste and two or three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
Cut bread into ½ inch slices. Drizzle a little olive oil on both sides of the bread. Place the bread on the grill and toast on both sides.
To serve, place the grilled toast on serving platter and top with the tomato mixture
Pre-heat the grill.
Wrap the cloves of garlic in aluminum foil and place them on the grill. After twenty minutes, the garlic cloves should be roasted. Open the aluminum foil and check.
Place the peppers on the grill, as one side blackens turn them. Try not to overcook. When all sides have been blackened place into a bowl and cover with saran wrap. After ten minutes under the saran wrap, the peppers are ready to peel. Carefully peel off the charred skin. Then remove the stems and the inside seeds from the peppers.
Chop the roasted garlic and add to a small mixing bowl. Add ¼ cup olive oil to the bowl. Spread the clean peppers on a serving plate. Drizzle the peppers with the roasted garlic oil. Add salt & Pepper to taste.
Couco Richie POLENTA alla GRIGLIA Chef Richie’s Grilled Polenta
A great versatile dish mostly enjoyed as an antipasto. Grill the polenta outdoors and enhance an al fresco meal, or put it in a picnic basket. For this polenta, I prefer course cornmeal. The following quick and easy formula makes preparing polenta fun.
About 1/3 cup of olive oil for grilling
Place the cornmeal in a bowl and mix in 1 cup of tepid water. Place remaining water and broth in a pot and bring to a boil. When the liquid is at a rolling boil, stir in the soaked cornmeal. Return to a boil and lower the flame to a simmer. Stir the bottom of the pot occasionally to prevent sticking. Polenta is cooked when it falls away from the sides of the pot-- about fifteen minutes. Taste to be sure, if uncooked, add water and continue cooking. Add the butter, the chives, the Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt and pepper to taste and mix well.
Spread the cooked polenta on a cookie sheet pan. Cool in the refrigerator until ready to grill.
Pre-heat the grill.
Cut cooled polenta into 2 by 3-inch pieces and paint with olive oil. On a hot grill, brown the polenta crispy on both sides. Place the grilled polenta in a serving tray.
For course corn meal the rule of thumb formula is 1 part cornmeal to 4 parts liquid. See the "Cooking of Parma" cook book for more polenta details and refinement.
Polenta con Fungi alla Griglia Grilled Grilled Mushroom Polenta
It is an old tradition to cover polenta with a mouth-watering mushroom saute' and Parmigiano-Reggiano. My 21st century thing to do is to mix it all together and then crisp it up on the grill. It is an instant success every time.
Serves 6
- 1 recipe of polenta
- ¼ cup of butter
- 10 oz fresh porcini mushrooms or cremini (baby bellas) mushrooms
- ¼ cup chopped chives
- ½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil for basting and dredging
Slice and sauté the mushrooms in the butter until they are brown.
Mix the sautéed mushrooms, the chopped chives, the Parmigiano-Reggiano, and the salt and pepper into the polenta while it is still soft. Lay the polenta onto a tray about ½ inch thick. Place the mushroom polenta into the frig. to firm up.
Heat a grill or grill-top hot. Brush oil unto the grill, and the polenta. Cut the polenta into 2" by 3" pieces. Place the polenta on the grill. Grill the polenta until there are dark brown grill marks on both sides.
To serve, place the polenta on a service tray. The tray may have a decorative border of radicchio and watercress. Drizzle the polenta with extra virgin olive oil for the final touch.
- Serves 1
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper to paste
- 1 lb. porter house steak per person or heavier
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 14 cup white wine
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives
- Salt and pepper
- 1 1&1/2" loin veal chop per person
- *4 veal chops about 5 oz each; larger if you wish
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup of olive oil
- the juice of 2 lemons
- salt and pepper to taste
- Veal steaks are best cut
from the top round of veal. Have the butcher cut them about three-quarters
of an inch thick. Supermarket veal shoulder steaks also work
well in this dish.
Put the oil and lemon juice and fresh sage in a shallow dish. Put the veal in the marinade five minutes on each side. Longer is O.K.
Place the veal steaks on the hot grill. Cook three to seven minutes on each side depending on the grill and desired doneness. The veal should be cooked rare to medium well. Your preference but never well done.
The grilled veal looks pretty on a plate next to a generous sprig of Italian parsley and a lemon wedge. Serve with grilled vegetables. A high protein dish that takes 15 minutes. Great for cook outs.
Pannini al fresco A Tasty 0utdoor Sandwich
Pre-heat the grill
Lay out the bread on the table. Drizzle a little olive oil on the bread. Place a slice of proscuitto on half of the bread slices. Top with a slice of tomato, fresh mozzarella and arugula. Close the sandwich with the remaining bread. Place the sandwiches on the grill. Toast on one side and turn to toast second side. When completely toasted, arrange on a serving platter and MANGARE.
Note: Cut bread into 2 inch by 3 inch pieces for hor d’ouervers
Panini
Bistecca
Steak Sandwich
Pre-heat the grill
Add a little oil and salt and pepper to the steak, and grill on the hot grill until cooked the way you like it.
Place the cooked steak on a slice of Italian bread, and top the steak with the baby spinach, arugala, tomato and garganzola cheese. Cover `the toppings with the second slice of bread. Toast the steak slice of bread and then the garganzola piece slice of bread. The bread shall be nice and crispy, the greens a little wilted and the cheese melted.
Pannone
di Parma
Parma sandwich
This is a fenominal wedge, hero, sub, call it what you like.
Serves 1
Slice the Italian bread
lengths wise. On the bottom half of the bread lay the prosciutto
di Parma, coppa, sliced tomato, shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano, mozzarella
and salt and to taste. Drizzle the olive oil on the upper half
of the bread, and close the bread. Place the bottom half of the
bread on the grill to toast, and then place the upper half on
the grill to toast the bread and melt the cheese.
Costoletta
di Maiale
Baby pork ribs or Italian
baby back ribs
Did you ever wonder what the Prosciutto manufacturer does with the animals' spareribs? I did. So, I asked Chef Richie. He said, "They grill the ribs. Generally, over a wood fire made with chestnut wood or cherry wood. So that the spare ribs absorb the flavors of the wood, they only salt and pepper the ribs. If the fire is made with charcoal, similar to the one most of us use, they have a barbecue sauce or a rub. Maybe it is a sauce-rub?
Serves 4
For the sauce-rub:
For the spare ribs:
To make the sauce-rub:
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
To cook the spareribs:
Pre-heat the grill medium hot.
Salt and pepper both sides of the ribs to taste. Cover the meat side of the ribs with the sauce-rub. Place the salted side of the ribs down facing the fire and the rubbed side up. Cook the salted side for about 1 hour, turn the ribs over and cook the rubbed side for about 1/2 hour.
To serve, cut along the ribs, and ideally, serve with the grilled polenta.
Pre-heat the grill to medium.
Cut chickens in half by cutting along the back bone and splitting the breast in half. Put the oil and salt and pepper to taste into a 2 inch deep dredging pan that is about 10 inches long. Dip the chicken into the oil, and carefully place it on the hot grill bone side down. Cook until the bones are charred and the edges of the meat under the skin begins to turn white, about 15 minutes. Turn the chicken on to its skin and cook the chicken until it is cooked well done and the skin is charred and crspy. Psrinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
Petto di pollo a grillia con pesto Pesto Grilled Chicken Breast Chicken Grilled Wwith Pesto
Place the basil, garlic, parsley and pine nuts into a food processor. Turn on the food processor and drizzle the extra virgin olive oil in to form a pesto paste; it may be necessary to scrape the sides with a rubber spatula to incorporate all of the ingredients. Add the salt and pepper to taste, and put the pesto into a small storing container.
Put 2 tablespoons of the pesto into a dredging pan, and add 1/3 cup of olive oil.
Put the chicken breasts into the pan with the pesto mixture and marinate for 20 minutes. Carefully place the marinated breasts on to the hot grill. Cook until breasts turn white, about 8 minutes, and turn. Cook the second side until the breasts are well done, but not dry, about 5 minut6es.
Place the chicken breasts on to a service platter4 and with a pastry brush; paint the, paint the hot chicken with additional pesto.
Petto di pollo Parmigiana ai Ferri Parmesan Grilled Chicken Breasts
Pre-heat the grill to medium.
Put the olive oil, fresh sage leaves, fresh marjoram, scallions, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste into a 2"x6"x8" dredging pan. Add the chicken breasts and marinate for 20 minutes.
Carefully place the chicken breasts on to the grill, and cook until they turn white, about 8 minutes. Turn the breasts; put a slice of prosciutto on each breast and sprinkle abundantly with the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Cook breasts well-done, about 5 minutes.
Pre-heat the grill to medium hot.
In a 2"x6"x8" dredging pan, put the olive oil dry basil, dry oregano, chopped garlic, hot pepper and salt and pepper to taste. With a fork, prick holes into the sausage and place the sausage in the dredging pan to marinate for 1 hour.
Carefully place the marinated sausage onto a medium hot grill. Brown the sausage well on all sides, and they should be cooked. Check for doneness.
Bistecca alla Fiorentina Florentine Steak
In Tuscany it is all about the Chianina cattle. A large breed of cattle that produces tender guicy beef. If it is unavailable in your neighborhood, buy a large juicy porter house steak.
Pre heat grill hot-hot. If you have a large grill, half the grill should be on medium.
Place the olive oil and salt and pepper in a 2x6x8 dredging pan. Dredge the steak in the oil, and carefully place on the hot grill. *Sear one side dark, dark brown and turn to sear the other side. The steak should be very rare to rare. If you prefer to cook it more, move the meat to the medium side of the grill.
Serve the steak with the connalini bean salad.
*Searing a steak holds in the juices. A grill marked steak will release juices during cooking. To determine how a steak is cooked, think of the steak as a mussel. A relaxed mussel is raw, and a flexed mussel is well done.
Costoletta di Vitello a Griglia Grilled Loin Veal Chop
Pre heat grill hot. If you have a large grill, half the grill should be on medium.
Put the olive oil, white wine, chopped chioves and salt and pepper into a 2x6x8 dredging pan. Add the veal chopps to the pan and marinate for 30 minutes.
Carefully place the steak on the hot grill. Sear the chop one side dark, dark brown and turn to sear the other side. The veal chop should be very rare to rare. If you prefer to cook it more, move the meat to the medium side of the grill or lower the heat.
Costoletta di Vitello e Lemone ai Ferri Grilled or Broiled Lemon Veal Chops
An Italian way with food that demonstrates the simplicity of Italian food.
Serves 4
Preheat a grill or a broiler, very hot.
Put the chops in a rectangular 2 inches deep pan that is about 6 by 12 inches. Put the olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper into a mixing bowl, and whip the ingredients a bit. Pour the mixture over the chops to marinate for about 15 minutes.
Place chops on the very hot grill. Char on both sides to seal in the juice, and lower the heat, or move to a less heated area of the grill, and finish cooking to your pallets taste.
*Pork chops may be used in place of the veal chops.
Pre-heat grill hot.
Put the olive ooil, rosemarie, thyme, salt and pepper in a 2x6x8 dredging pan, and add the lamb chops to marinate for 30 minutes.
Carefully place the lamb chops on to the hot grill. Sear the chop one side dark, dark brown and turn to sear the other side. The lamb chops should be very rare to rare. If you prefer to cook it more, move the meat to the medium side of the grill or lower the heat.
FETTA
di VITELLO alla GRIGLIA
Grilled Veal Steak
Serves 2
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Verdure Mista ai Ferri Grilled Mixed Vegetables
An excellent accompaniment to grilled meats. Increase the portion per person, and you have healthy meal. Most vegetables can be grilled. However, we have our favorites. Their seasons peak at different times,and they are not all available at the same time. Usually a variety of four are grilled. From the list below, select the vegetables that are peaked. Grill the vegetables indoors or outdoors.
Wash the vegetables. Cut the stem end off the zucchini, and cut the zucchini in half width and lengthwise. Cut 1/4 inch slices of the potatoes. Cut 2&1/2 eggplants in half. The root end of the asparagus may have to be trimmed. Peel and cut the onions in half, and then pierce with a tooth pick to hold together. Core the stem out of the tomatoes and split them in half. The mushroom stems may have to be trimmed.
Put the olive oil in a shallow pan, squeeze the lemon juice into the olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Marinate the vegetables in the olive oil for 15 minutes. The marinate with vegetables may be prepared a couple hours before cooking time.
Grill the potatoes and onions on both sides, 8 minutes or so on each side. Just warm the tomatoes, no need to turn, 5 minutes. The other vegetables take about 5 minutes on each side. The time will vary a little, simply think al dente.