Frittata Fantasia

From Elisa Celli’s Italian Light Cooking, Elisa Celli, Prentice Hall Press, 1987.

I always enjoy a good frittata and thought I might try this rather simple one from Elisa Celli. However, added to the basic herb frittata were to be two sauces, I guess to make it ‘fantasia’. Before I begin I should add that I didn’t make two sauces; I settled for one.

I first made the Red Pepper and Tomato Sauce. I cut up half a red capsicum and fried it to soften it. I took it from the pan and added a chopped onion, a chopped garlic clove and 3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped. I cooked these until they had softened then returned the capsicum to the pan with a small sprinkle of Italian herb seasoning. A little more cooking and it seemed done to me. I added in a tablespoon of chopped parsley. The mixture then went into the blender to make a rough puree. When I tasted it, it needed a little more seasoning to bring it up some. I added salt and black pepper to taste but it still needed something else so I gave it a dash of red wine vinegar and I think it was ready.

In a bowl I beat 4 eggs with a good handful of chopped parsley, a smaller amount of chopped basil leaves, a pinch of Italian herb seasoning, a pinch of cayenne, and ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese. I chopped an onion and added it to a frying pan to sauté in a little butter. When it had softened I poured in the egg mixture. After a minute or two for the base to cook a little I took it off the stove and placed it under the grill. In a minute or two it had puffed up and browned. It was ready.

While it was served with the sauce I didn’t feel that the sauce added to the frittata. Perhaps I needed both sauces, so that it would have a pesto sauce and a tomato sauce. I enjoyed the frittata and it went well with the dish of peas as an accompanying vegetable.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

Tomato and Beetroot Pizza

From Elisa Celli’s Italian Light Cooking, Prentice Hall Press, 1987.

Elisa Celli has three different recipes for pizza bases and none of them has yeast. I was interested to try one to see how they would turn out.

For the one I made I used one cup of plain flour with one-half cup of corn meal. The recipe actually called for whole-wheat flour and plain flour. I had no whole-wheat flour so made the changes. Two tablespoons of butter were now mixed into the flour and rubbed until like breadcrumbs. Cold water was now added bit by bit until the dough held together. It was kneaded a little, then formed into a ball, covered in cling wrap and refrigerated for about half an hour.

The dough was now divided into two pieces and rolled out to form two pizza bases. They went into a hot oven for about 10 minutes. They then came out to have their toppings added.

I had some tomato sauce left from a previous cooking burst so spread this on the base and then added sliced tomatoes, sliced cooked beetroot, Kalamata olives, red onion, mozzarella and chopped basil. A sprinkle of salt and freshly ground black pepper and a dribble of olive oil and it went back into the oven for a few minutes more and it was ready.

As a pizza base this one turned out to be rather like a type of biscuit. It worked well as a base and was easily made. When you make your own pizzas the toppings always turn out to be much richer, thicker and tastier than the ones you buy.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

Risotto Primavera Parmigiano

From Elisa Celli’s Italian Light Cooking, Prentice Hall Press, 1987.

This turned out to be a simply made risotto with plenty of vegetables.

I firstly prepared some vegetables: a zucchini chopped, some florets of broccoli, some eggplant chopped, a few spinach leaves and some green peas. It made about a cup and a half all told. Then a brown onion and two garlic cloves were chopped. The vegetables were added to a pan with olive oil and a large pinch of chilli flakes.

These were stirred over heat for a few minutes before adding a pinch of Italian herbs and a cup of Arborio rice.

In the usual manner then warm stock was added bit by bit as the rice cooked but, differently from usual, chopped tomatoes were added alternately with the water.

When the rice was cooked (about 20 minutes later) chopped parsley was added with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese and seasonings.

This was an easy to make risotto with loads of flavour. Though not an out of the ordinary dish it was certainly a satisfying one and one that could be quickly put together using any vegetables that were handy.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

Pasta with Mushrooms, Peas and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

From Elisa Celli’s Italian Light Cooking, Elisa Celli, Prentice Hall Press, 1987.

I’m glad I picked this older book again from my bookshelf. I’m enjoying getting back into the solid recipes.

This particular pasta did have prosciutto in it but I decided just to leave it out as the ingredients sounded as though they would work equally well without the meat.

It was a quick meal to prepare. First dried porcini mushrooms had to be soaked. While they were doing their bit, the remainder of the ingredients were got ready. An onion was chopped. A cup of frozen peas was taken from the freezer to defrost. A half-cup of sun-dried tomatoes (the kind marinated in oil) were chopped. Three garlic cloves were crushed. A little Italian herb seasoning was added to the sun-dried tomatoes.

By the time all this was ready the mushrooms had had sufficient time so they were sliced.

A pot of salted water was put on to boil . When it was ready the pasta was added to cook. At the same time the sauce ingredients were added to a frying pan with some olive oil and sautéed to be ready when the pasta was.

When it was cooked the pasta was drained and added to the sauce in the frying pan with a little of the cooking liquid.

It was all blended and put into the serving plates with some Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

A satisfying and easy pasta dish. I particularly liked the flavour bites from the tomatoes and the texture that the peas added.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

As some of these books may be out of print if anyone would like a particular recipe, email me (alfcooksvege@ozemail.com.au) and I’ll send an abbreviated version. Of course, the whole book would be better; it’s loaded with other goodies.