Italy

 Welcome to Italy!  This is a place I have always wanted to go (shocker) and one day hope to make it a reality.  Mainly for the food, let's be honest.  But I think it's a beautiful country (from all the photos I have seen) and so full of history.  Oh, to dream!  According to Google, the population is 60.32 million people and the capital is Rome.  And the national dish is...

 

 

 

Ragu alla Bolognese!

I would have thought some kind of pasta.  I mean, isn't that what Italy is known for?  But no, it's actually "red sauce with meat".  Pretty funny!  I've made spaghetti sauce pretty much since I started cooking, so I didn't have high expectations.  For this recipe, it cooked in a pot for five hours, so our house smelled ah-maz-ing!  We put the Ragu alla Bolognese on gluten free pasta (I didn't make this from scratch...it came from Fred Meyer...) and on spaghetti squash, and then for dessert we made Zeppole di San Giuseppe, which is an Italian pastry.  Here's what I did:

RAGU ALLA BOLOGNESE

1/4 C avocado oil

1 onion, chopped

3 carrots, chopped 

3 celery ribs, chopped

4 garlic cloves, diced

1/4 lb pancetta, coarsely chopped 

1  1/2 lb ground beef

1 1/2 lb ground pork

1 C white wine

1 C beef broth

1 35 oz can of whole Italian tomatoes, blended

1/2 C heavy cream

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.
2. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and the pancetta, and cook another 5-7 minutes, until the pancetta starts to render down.
4. Turn the heat up to high, and add the meat 1/3 at a time.  Cook until most of the water is evaporated.  Continue adding 1/3 until it is completely added.  
5. Cook until the meat is no longer pink.
6. Set a timer for 15 minutes and only stir the meat occasionally (the meat may stick to the bottom of the pan - this is OK).
7. Turn the heat to medium and add the wine to the pan to de-glaze.  Scrape the browned bits at the bottom of the pot.
8. Add the tomatoes and broth and stir to combine.
9. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to low, and simmer, covered, for four to five hours, stirring occasionally.
10. Add the heavy cream about ten minutes before serving.
11. The sauce will be thick and very tasty!
12. Serve with your choice of pasta or vegetable.

(Source: Ragu alla Bolognese and Ragu alla Bolognese)

 

ZEPPOLE DI SAN GIUSEPPE

Pastry

1/2 C butter

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1 C water

1 C gluten free flour

4 eggs, room temp

 

Filling

2 egg yolks

2/3 C milk, room temp

1/2 C plus 1 tbsp sugar

2 1/4 tbsp potato starch

Pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla

Powdered sugar, for dusting

Whipped cream, for garnish

Maraschino Cherries, for garnish

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. For the pastry:
1.  Put the butter, sugar, and water in a medium size saucepan over medium heat, until it comes to a rolling boil.
2. Add the flour, all at once, and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a ball.
3. Remove from heat, and add one egg and beat well, until well-incorporated.  
4. Repeat with the remaining eggs, until the mixture is smooth and satiny.
5. Place the pastry in a piping bag, and pipe onto a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Make sure there is a small hole in the center of the pastry.
6. Bake the pastries for 30 minutes, then turn off the oven, and leave for 10 minutes.  
7. Remove the pastries from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack.
3. For the filling:
1. Place the egg yolks, sugar, potato starch, salt and vanilla into a pot and whisk together.
2. Begin pouring the milk and turn the heat to low heat.  
3. Continue to whisk as you pour the milk in the pot.
4. Gradually increase the heat.
5. Cook until the mixture thickens and is cooked (this took me about 7 minutes).
4. Pipe the filling into the pastry.
5. To serve, dust powder sugar over the pastries, put whipped cream over the hole, and top with a cherry.
6. Enjoy!

(Source: Zeppole di San Giuseppe)

 

 

 

 

 

The verdict? This was a favorite!  This sauce was fabulous.  I may have to make sauce this way every time we have meat sauce.  Yes, it took a while, but wow - it was worth it.  We had dinner with friends, and they really enjoyed it as well. I wasn't super impressed with the pastries - it was not at all what I expected.  But everyone else enjoyed them!  They did not puff like the recipe said they would, but I'm going to chalk that up to gluten free baking.  Overall, I think that this was such a great meal!

 

ME

Taste of Ragu alla Bolognese (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 9

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 8

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Ragu alla Bolognese (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 9

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor):10

 

ME

Taste of Zeppole di San Giuseppe (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing):5

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 4

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Zeppole di San Giuseppe (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 6

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor):4

 

Such a yummy country!  One to remember, for future meals, to be sure!  Join us next time in Israel!