Recipes
New Zealand Pavlova
Makes about 8 servings
- 4 egg whites
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1C superfine sugar
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1C sliced fruit (strawberries or kiwis)
- 1 1/2 C lightly sweetened whipped cream
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a shallow jelly roll pan with parchment paper or Silpat baking liners. Sprinkle cream of tartar over egg whites and beat until stiff. Whisk together sugar and cornstarch. Add the mixture to the egg whites a tablespoon at a time, while beating on medium speed, until all is combined. The meringue should be shiny, white, and stiff. Fold in vanilla extract. Reduce oven heat to 200 F. Mound the meringue on the pan in a round shape about 6 inches in diameter. Bake for 1 hour. Turn off oven, leaving meringue in the oven until it is cold or overnight.
Arrange fruit over the base of the pavlova meringue, top with whipped cream, and sprinkle with chocolate chips, crushed or small candies, and/or additional fruit. Use a serrated knife to gently saw slices. Store leftovers in a covered container.
Greek Meat Ragu (Kapamas)
Makes about 6 - 8 servings
- 3.5lbs of Lamb
- 3tbsp Olive Oil
- 4 med. onions finely chopped
- 4tbsp butter
- 2tbsp flour
- 2/3c red wine
- 3 tomatoes, skinned, juiced, and finely chopped
- 1 small stick of cinnamon
- 3 cloves
- 3 potatoes cut in large pieces
- salt and pepper
Cut meat into chunks, season and flour, brown in the frying oil on all sides. saute the onions for 3-4 minutes and place with the meat.
The sauce: Melt the butter in a clean pan mix with flour. Once light brown take off heat. Very gradually, add a little warm water, continuing to stir so it does not become lumpy. pour in wine, place it back over the heat, bring to a boil then pour over meat and onions, add tomatoes, cinnamon, and cloves. Stir well, pinch of s and p and cover. cook over low heat for about 45minutes. Add potatoes and a little warm water STIR WELL. cook for another 35 minutes. checking frequently to keep from burning. add a little water if required.
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Eggplant Parmigiana-
Makes about 4 servings
- 2 medium to large eggplants
- 1 liter of sunflower oil
- 2.5 lbs tomatoes
- fresh basil
- (to substitute canned tomato sauce, minutes tomatoes and basil from recipe)
- 1 medium ball of motzerella
- 1c of parmesean
- 4 slices of a soft cheese
- 1 package of Prosciutto Cotto (Italian dried cured ham)
- 2 hard boiled eggs
- 2 c of flour
- salt
skin, juice, and dice tomatoes. Put in a pot with a small pinch of salt and few fresh basil leaves. Let boil for 10 minutes, stirring often, or until tomatoes have softened. Sauce does not have to be completely liquefied because it will be baked again.
Slice eggplants, cover with salt, and let sit for an hour. In a deep large frying pan pour in an 11/2 inch to 2 inch of oil over medium heat. cover eggplant in flour and fry on each side for about 2 minutes or until golden brown. When oil becomes to brown or begins to burn empty and start with new oil. when eggplant is coming out of oil, place on paper towels. Grease a large baking dish, start with a light layer of tomato sauce, then cover entire dish with fried eggplant with no gaps.slice one hard boiled egg and place on top of eggplant then cover with a layer of prosciutto cotto. the ham does not need to cover the entire dish, a few slices will do. put chunks of mozzarella and another soft cheese over the top, about 11/2 c in each layer. Cover again with a layer of eggplant, this time if there are some gaps it is ok. repeat egg, ham, and cheese. Finish by covering the dish with the remaining eggplant. Use the rest of the tomato sauce to cover entire dish and sprinkle parmigiana cheese over the top. Bake for 40 minutes @ 425.
Carbonara Sauce
Makes about 2 servings
- 100 grams of chopped prosciutto
- 1/4 small red onion
- 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese or Pecorino
- 2 eggs
- salt and pepper
in a bowl mix eggs, salt, large helping of pepper, Parmesan cheese. Sauteed a table spoon of butter with large slices of red onion, until soft, add prosciutto cook for 5 minutes. Add cooked pasta with 4 tablespoons of boiling pasta water and egg mixture, combine all ingredients in a warm pan to make a pasta carbonara.
Spinach and Ricotta Raviolis
Makes about 4 servings
Filling-
- 250grams of ricotta cheese
- fresh parsley and thyme
- 1 1/2 cups boiled chopped spinach
- 1 ball of mozzarella
- 1/4 Cup Parmesan cheese
-1 egg
- pinch of salt and pepper
Skin-
- 300 grams "00" flour
- 3 medium eggs
- pinch of salt
Sauce-
- Half a stick of butter
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 3or4 Sage leaves
Squeeze out excess water from boiled spinach, mix with chopped small handful of parsley and thyme, ricotta cheese, also remove extra liquids, diced mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper with 1 egg to combine.
Follow same instructions in "Pasta for Lasagna" with remaining ingredients. Make sure pasta does not have any holes, in the center of the pasta, use a 2 finger spacing on each side place a teaspoon of filling along the pasta. Fold over pasta like a hot dog and press around the pockets of filling removing all the air and letting the layers of pasta stick together. with a cookie cutter or small knife cut out raviolis. use a small fork to ensure all the edges are sealed properly, combine unused bits of pasta to create a new ball of pasta in the end. boil for 10 -12 minute. Heat butter in a sauce pan until it melts, add parmesan and sage, stir with a pinch of pepper. server sauce over raviolis
Tiramisu
makes about 8 servings
-500 grams Mascapone cheese
-5 eggs
-5 Tbsp sugar
- 1 package of lady fingers
- 3 short glasses of espresso
-3 Tbsp sweet rum
- 1/4c Dark Cocoa
Let espresso become cold, add sweet rum. With room temperature eggs, separate whites into a mixer and yolks into a mixing bowl. Whip egg whites until soft and fluffy. (add 1/2 a pinch of salt before mixing for ease) mix yolks with sugar until combined into batter, mix in Mascapone making sure to avoid adding any of the extra liquids that made be in the container with the cheese, fold in whipped eggs whites lightly. Use half the batter to Cover a baking pan, dip lady fingers into espresso mix, and set on top of batter to cover the entire pan twice over. Cover with the rest of the batter and smooth over the top for a seem-less finish. Sprinkle dark chocolate over the top. Let set in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Serve chilled.
Lasagna
makes about 6 servings
- fresh pasta
- ragu sauce
-Besciamella sauce
-1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 2 Tbsp of butter
Grease a glass baking pan with a Tbsp of butter, staring with 1 ladle of Ragu, lightly cover the entire surface, add one laddle of Bescimella and lightly combine sauces, cover entire surface with fresh flat pasta, repeat Ragu, Bescimella, than pasta making only about 4-5 layers of pasta. Top layer should be Ragu and Bescimella sauce. cover Lasagna with grated Parmesan cheese and a few chunks of butter.
Bake in the oven at 475 for 35-45 minutes, let top layer of cheese crisp. remove from oven, cover and let sit 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
Fresh Pasta For Lasagna
makes enough for a lasagna for 6, or if used as fresh pasta, serving for 4
- pasta maker
- 4 medium eggs
- 450 grams
- 2 Tbsp salt
400grams of flour, 4 eggs and salt. (100g of flour and 1 egg per person) Knead together by hand until consistent, use extra flour to keep pasta from sticking to hands and surfaces. Separate dough into 6 pieces, dust pasta maker with flour, roll each piece of dough through largest setting (1) 2 or 3 times until dough is completely combined. Than roll piece through the #4 setting to get pasta at the right thickness. Cut to length of pan for lasagna. store on cloth with flour.
Besciamella Sauce
makes about 4 servings. (enough for 1 lasagna or 1 pasta)
- 1 liter of milk
- 4 Tbsp of butter
- 1.5 tbsp of Nutmeg
Over med/high heat melt butter, add nutmeg and stir. Add milk and with a whisk continue to stir until milk begins to boil, just lightly around the edges. You do not want any milk to stick to the bottom of the pot, it will cause the sauce to change flavors, so make sure to scrape the entire bottom of the pot while cooking and do not stop whisking. As soon the sauce is ready (boiling) remove it from heat
Ragu / Bolognese Sauce
makes about 6 servings
- 2lbs of ground beef
- half of each: 1 white onion, carrot, and celery stick
- 1/2 glass of red wine
- 1.5 liters of tomato sauce
- 4 Tblsp olive oil
Using a mixer, dice onion, carrot and celery very finely. In a large pot, add olive oil, add vegetables over medium heat turn vegetables golden; only takes a few minutes and should be watched closely, if vegetables turn brown, one should throw out and start over. Add beef with tablespoon of salt, cover and cook until meat is light brown. uncover, mix and add white wine, as soon as all the wine has evaporated add tomato sauce with a pinch of salt, bring to a boil and cover. Let cook for around 40 minutes stirring frequently. Sauce should thick, and lacking any water when finished.
Fresh Gnocchi
makes about 8 servings- 2.5 lbs of medium yellow potatoes
- 1 medium egg
- 250 grams of "00" flour
- Tbsp salt
Soak potatoes in cold water for 30mins. Place potatoes in large pot cover with water and bring to a boil together, potatoes should be soft in about 30 mins. Drain, skin, then mash potatoes. In a large bowl mix with your hands egg, salt, 100 grams of flour into potatoes, continue to add flour into mixture until it no longer sticks to hands or bowl. Mixture should be 80% potato 20% flour. dust cutting board with flour, roll balls of gnnochi into long snakes and slice thinly, with a spoon, or your thumb press pockets into slices and place on a cloth dusted in flour to store.
Fresh Tomato Sauce
makes about 4 servings
- Mixer
- 8 medium tomatoes
- 1 small white onion
- salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Cover medium pot with a tablespoon of olive oil, add chopped onion, cook to soften, do not brown. Skin, juice, and dice tomatoes, add to pot with 2 tablespoons of salt. Bring to a boil and cover, stirring occasionally let cook about 30minutes or until tomatoes have nearly dissolved into a sauce consistency.
Use a mixer to puree sauce, low and slow as not to make a mess, until onions become invisible. Add 1/4c olive oil, and salt to taste, stir to combine and serve.
Gnocchi alla Sorrentina
Serves 2
- 4 cups of gnocchi
- 2.5 cups of tomato sauce
- 1.5 cup of mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Boil a pot of water with a pinch of salt and tablespoon of olive oil. Drop gnocchi in boiling water, should only cook about 2 minutes, as soon as gnocchi floats, remove it and place in a strainer. In a pan mix warm tomato sauce with gnocchi cover with chopped mozzarella and parmesan, place under broiler until cheese melts and parmesan begins to boil.
- Gorgonzola cheese
- Pecorino cheese
- Soft goat or sheeps cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- Olive Oil
- Salt
Dice equal parts of the gorgonzola, pecorino, and 1 1/2 parts of the soft cheese. Cover pot with oil, over low heat melt cheese together, add a pinch of salt. As cheese combines, add 1 equal part of shredded parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup of oil with a tablespoon of salt.
Serve hot over gnocchi, bread, or pasta.
Fettuccine for 2
- pasta maker
- 300 grams of "00" flour
- 2 medium eggs
- pinch of salt
100 grams of flour and 1 egg per person with salt to taste, best kneaded on marble by hand. Use extra flour to keep pasta from sticking to hands and surfaces.
Once Mixture is evenly combined separate in to 3 balls, dust pasta maker with flour to prevent sticking and roll dough through pasta maker on largest setting (1). When pasta is flattened change setting to fettuccine size (4) roll pasta through to reach the right thickness, then roll through serrated setting to create fettuccine. Place on cloth with flour
Once Mixture is evenly combined separate in to 3 balls, dust pasta maker with flour to prevent sticking and roll dough through pasta maker on largest setting (1). When pasta is flattened change setting to fettuccine size (4) roll pasta through to reach the right thickness, then roll through serrated setting to create fettuccine. Place on cloth with flour
Fettuccine is now ready to be cooked. It can also be stored in the freezer, refrigerator, or if left out, will dry in 3 days and can be cooked as hard pasta.
Bring water to a boil, add a pinch of salt, Tbsp of olive oil (to prevent sticking) and add pasta. 7min. - al dente 8min. - slightly softer. Drain add sauce and serve
Tomato Mushroom Sauce for 2
- 8 medium tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms
- pinch of salt
Skin and core tomatoes, squeeze out juice and chop into small chunks.To re-hydrate mushrooms soak in hot water for 15 minutes, drain the cut in thick slices (fresh mushrooms can be used in season). Cover a deep, large skillet twice over with olive oil, med heat, add finely chopped garlic. Do not overcook garlic, as soon as you can smell it add mushrooms, 5 minutes until mushrooms are brown. Add tomatoes, salt to taste, cover and simmer on low for 20 to 30 minutes stirring occasionally.
