Caprese Salad Recipe

Prep time: 15 min

Serves 4-6

2 pounds ripe tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 to 8 fresh basil leaves
salt to taste

1. Arrange tomato slices on a platter.

2. Top each tomato with a slice of mozzarella. Season with salt to taste.

3. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the mozzarella and tomato. Tear the basil leaves into pieces by hand or chiffonade cut, scatter on top and serve.

Vanilla Gelato Recipe

Prep time: 45 min | Total time: 45 min

Makes About 1 Quart

3 cups whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
4 egg yolks

1. Stir the milk and sugar together in a medium sauce pan over medium heat and add the vanilla bean. Heat until bubbles begin to form around the edges. Remove the pan from the heat and steep for 15 minutes, then remove the vanilla bean.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks together. Slowly whisk the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks and transfer the mixture back to the sauce pan. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon, 8 – 10 minutes and remove custard from heat to cool.
3. Once cooled. transfer the custard to large bowl and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours.
4. Remove custard from refrigerator and process in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.
5. If serving Affogato, scoop gelato into a bowl and pour a freshly made shot of hot espresso over the top. Serve immediately.

Linguine with White Puttanesca Recipe

Prep time: 10 min | Cook time: 10 min | Total time: 20 min

Serves 4-6

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
6 anchovy fillets, chopped
pinch of salt
pinch of crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon capers
12 oil-cured black olives, pitted
1 pound linguine

1. Bring a pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook uncovered over high heat until al dente.
2. After you add the pasta to the pot, heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add garlic, anchovies, salt and red pepper. Cook until garlic starts to soften.
3. Add capers and olives, and oregano. Continue cooking until garlic is lightly browned.
4. Drain pasta, add to pan with the sauce and stir vigorously until well combined and the linguine is coated with the oil.

Puttanesca Sauce is loosely translated to “street walker’s sauce.” There are a lot of stories about how this name came about. The most popular is that prostitutes used to make Pasta alla Puttanesca and put it out on the windowsill so that the aroma would attract prospective clients. Kind of a silly story, but people seem to like it.

Now, lets talk about anchovies. I know there are probably a lot of people out there who think they don’t like anchovies, and may be tempted to make this excluding them. You certainly can do that if you want, but I am going to ask you nicely not to. Please try it at least once with the anchovies. Chopped up they practically dissolve into the oil when sautéing them, so you don’t have to worry about biting directly into or tasting anchovy. What you will taste, however, is a depth of flavor that will be missing if they are left out. Trust me.

Spaghetti alla Puttanesca Recipe

Prep time: 10 min | Cook time: 25 min | Total time: 35 min

Serves 4-6

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
6 anchovy fillets, chopped
pinch of crushed red pepper
1 35 oz can imported italian plum tomatoes, crushed with their juices
1 tablespoon capers
12 gaetta olives, pitted
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 pound spaghetti

1. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add garlic, anchovy, and red pepper cook until garlic is lightly browned.
2. Crush tomatoes and add with juices. Fill the empty tomato can 1/4 of the way with water and pour into the pan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce to a simmer.
3. Add capers, olives, and oregano. Cook at a simmer for 20 minutes, until sauce thickens.
4. While the sauce is cooking bring a pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the Linguini and cook uncovered over high heat until al dente.
5. Drain pasta, toss with sauce and serve.

Grilled Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus Recipe

Prep time: 5 min | Cook time: 10 min | Total time: 15 min

Serves 4

16 large asparagus spears, tough ends removed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
16 slices Prosciutto di Parma, sliced thin

1. Place the asparagus in a baking dish or bowl. Add the extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss until the asparagus are well coated.
2. Wrap each asparagus spear in one slice of prosciutto.
3. Grill over direct medium heat on a gas or charcoal grill, turning occasionally, until prosciutto is crisp and asparagus are tender, but not limp. About 10 minutes.
4. Transfer to a platter and serve hot.