Having recently returned from my summer trip to Europe where I was able to spend four weeks sampling food in Italy in the village of Guardia Sanframondi or Guardia (as it is known) is a small medieval village in the Campania region. Each year, Guardia is host to an amazing wine and food festival called Vinalia. During the festival I was able to sample many traditional Italian dishes from the Campania paired with delicious wines from the region.

On a day trip to Naples which is about an hours drive from Guardia, I had the most amazing Spaghetti with Clams. This reminded me of my love for this dish and inspired this post on Spaghetti with Clams. In Naples they serve Spaghetti with Clams with a very special Clam called Vongole Veraci, which can only be found in the mediterranean sea near Italy. They are smaller in size between 3 and 5 cm, and are bursting with flavor. In the United states, chefs often substitute Cockles for the Vongole as they are a smaller sweeter clam.

Step one: Cook the garlic in olive oil for about 3 min. Add the wine and cook until reduced by half, about 2 to 3 min. Add the red pepper flakes. Set aside.

Step 2: While the pasta is cooking add the clams to the garlic, wine, olive oil mixture, cover the skillet and cook on high heat, shaking the pan a couple of times.

Step 3: Once the clams open, add the butter and flour mixture to it. Shake the pot and give it a minute until the butter melts.

Step 4: Reserve some of the pasta water and then drain the spaghetti on a colander. Place the pasta on the top of the clam sauce and mix gently. If the pasta gets too dry add some of the reserved cooking water.

Step 5: Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately!

Some restaurants in Italy will also serve Spaghetti with Clams with fresh tomatoes or tomato sauce. I personally prefer the white sauce as I feel that the tomatoes tend to dominate the delicious flavor of the clam, olive oil and garlic. I could go on and on about the reasons I love this dish so much but I would rather let you try and be the judge.

Enjoy!

Print

Spaghetti with Clams- Spaghetti alle Vongole

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Servings 6 servings

Author My Global Cuisine

Ingredients

• 3 pounds littleneck clams
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 5 garlic cloves finally chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or 3 small Italian peperoncinos crushed
• 1 pound spaghetti or linguini
• 2 tablespoons of butter cut into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon of white flour
• 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley leaves

Instructions

• Place all the clams in a bowl and fill it with with cold salted water. Let the clams sit for 30 minutes to an hour. During this time, they will spit out the sand from inside their shells.
• Place your clams in a colander in the sink and run them under cold water. Rinse them to get rid of any debris on their outer shells. Set them aside.
• In a large saucepan or skillet heat the olive oil and sauté the garlic on a low fire for about 2 minutes. Add the wine and the salt and increase the heat so that the wine boils and reduce by half, about 2 to 3 min. Add the red pepper flakes. Remove from the heat.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta according to the package instructions until just al dente.
• While the pasta cooks, add the clams to the garlic-wine-olive oil mix, cover the skillet and cook on high fire. Shake the pot a couple of times until the clams open, around 5 to 7 minutes.
• Remove from the heat. Discard any unopened clams. Mix the butter and flour together and add it to the clam sauce. Shake the pot until the butter melts.
• Reserve some of the cooking water and then drain the pasta in a colander.
• Using a kitchen tongs place the pasta on top of the clam sauce and mix gently. Add a splash of the reserved pasta cooking water if necessary, to loosen up the sauce. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately!
• Buon appetito!

The post Spaghetti with Clams – Spaghetti alle Vongole appeared first on My Global Cuisine.

When zucchini is in season, it is typically sweet and plentiful. Many Italians celebrate by making this wonderful Italian Zucchini Risotto and often find ways to compliment the dish with the beautiful zucchini flowers. This risotto is a colorful and flavorful summer dish that can be served as an appetizer or an entree.

When I am in the mood for comfort food, Italian Zucchini Risotto is one of the first things to come to mind. Its creamy, and there is something healing about the process of stirring and adding the broth slowly that is reminiscent of the way foods must have been prepared many years ago. Making risotto is wonderful not only because almost anything can be added to a risotto, but because it cooks slowly allowing you enough time to prepare another dish simultaneously while occasionally reaching over to give it a stir. Add a nice glass of wine to complete the scene and help you completely unwind.

Here is what the dish looks like as we move through the process.

Adding broth a little at a time…..

Mixing in the Basil, Parsley and Parmesan Cheese…..

It’s important to note that you really must use arborio, carnaroli or vialone rice. You cannot substitute for other rices, otherwise you won’t get enough starch out of it in order to make your risotto creamy and not sticky. Also, don’t be worry about the butter. It’s all natural and and skimping will not give you the same flavor or results. When it comes to butter I usually make every attempt to minimize or avoid it all together, but there are cases like when it’s really necessary. There comes a time when it really pays off to indulge, and this Italian Zucchini Risotto is a beautiful indulgence. If you want to be creative, try substituting some mushrooms, proscuito, fresh peas or any combination of the three.  The results will be equally delicious.

Here is ready to be plated. You can almost feel the creaminess!

I am confident that you will enjoy making it, and eating it will be even better!

Print

Italian Zucchini Risotto

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Servings 6 servings

Author My Global Cuisine

Ingredients

• 6-7 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
• 7 tablespoons of butter
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• 3 zucchini about 3/4 pound, diced
• 1 large onion chopped very fine
• 1 parsley spring minced, and 1/4 cup minced
• 2 to 3 fresh basil leaves minced
• 1 1/2 cups Italian short-grain rice Arborio, Carnaroli or Vialone Nano
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

• In a medium sauce pan heat up the broth and keep it at simmer.
• In a large skillet or heavy saucepan, combine 3 TBSP of butter and the olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini and sauté, stirring until beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, transfer the zucchini to a bowl and reserve.
• Return the saucepan to the heat, add the remaining butter and heat over medium heat. Add the onion, parsley sprig and basil, and sauté, stirring often, until the onion is soft, about 7 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to medium, stir in the rice and saute, stirring, until the rice starts to stick to the pan. Immediately add a 4-ounce ladleful of the stock at a time.
• Cook, stirring until the stock is absorbed. Continue adding stock in this fashion and cooking until the rice is al dente, about 20 minutes.
• Remove from the heat, stir in the zucchini, remaining parsley and parmesan cheese.
• Serve immediately. Enjoy it!

The post Italian Zucchini Risotto appeared first on My Global Cuisine.

Last summer, while in Italy, I had it all the time. Growing up in Brasil, where chicken liver is widely served, my mom frequently served me and my siblings chicken liver with rice and beans so I grew up loving chicken liver. Liver is delicious and is packed with vitamin A and iron. It is also a complete protein containing all of the essential amino acids. For anyone requiring extra iron in their diet, this is this is a real power food because it contains folate, iron and vitamin B12.

When I saw Chicken Liver Crostini on the menu at the restaurants in Italy I had to give it a try. One taste took me back home, to my childhood and to that familiar feeling of mom’s homemade chicken liver. I usually enjoy my Chicken Liver Crostini with a nice glass of red wine. If you want to get really Italian, try it with a little Bruschetta topping. The fresh tomatoes wake up the flavor of the livers and give the presentation some color.

I hope you give this delicious Chicken Liver Crostini a try. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Print

Chicken Liver Crostini

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 12 people

Author My Global Cuisine

Ingredients

• 20 OZ or 567 GR of chicken liver
• 4 TBSP of olive oil
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1/2 cup marsala wine
• 1/2 TSP of salt
• 2 TBSP of butter
• 4 OZ drained capers
• Pepper to taste
• 1 TBSP of parsley finely chopped
• 1 large baguette

Instructions

• - Drain the liquid from the chicken liver and dry them on paper towels
• - In a large nonstick skillet add the olive oil and saute the onions and cook them for about 4 minutes.
• - Add the chicken liver and cook for 8-10 minutes.
• - Add the marsala wine and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• - Remove from the stove. Add the salt, the butter, the capers, the pepper and stir it all together. Let cool slighthly.
• - Transfer the mixture to a food processor and pulse until chunky but not too smooth.
• - Add the parsley and serve on toasted slices of bread cut into 1/3 inch thick.

The post Chicken Liver Crostini appeared first on My Global Cuisine.

I first tried Mussels al Sambuca (Cozze al Sambuca in Italian) while attending cooking school in Tuscany with Chef Paolo Monti. I had been searching to find the perfect mussels recipe and when I smelled the aroma coming out of the pot I knew it would be love at first bite. Mussels are a wonderful meal by  themselves or they can be served as an appetizer.  This dish is simple to make and the taste is sublime. Serve with with some warm or toasted bread and a bottle of chilled white wine, preferably on the dry side.

Here you can see the julienne carrot and the celery.

I hope you enjoy preparing this Mussels al Sambuca recipe, and that you get as many compliments from your guests as I do. Buon appetito!

Print

Mussels al Sambuca

Course Appetizer

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Author My Global Cuisine

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of mussels scrubbed, debarred, and washed
• 4 TBSP extra virgen olive oil
• one pinch of red pepper flakes
• 2 cloves fresh garlic minced
• 1 TBSP of julienned carrot
• 1 TBSP of julienned celery
• 1/2 glass of dry white wine
• 4 TBSP of whipping heavy cream
• 1/4 cup Sambuca Italian liquor
• 3 TBSP chopped fresh parsley
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

• Place the mussels inside a large bowl with water, wash and scrape them and then remove the beard from each mussel with your fingers or a small knife.
• In a large stock pot, add 3 TBSP of olive oil and add the red pepper flakes and the garlic and saute on low fire for a few seconds. Add the carrot and the celery and stir and saute for another 20 seconds. Add the mussels and bring to boil over high heat. Cover the pot and cook until the mussels open, about 4 minutes. Uncover the pot, add the wine and cook for another 2 minutes.
• Add the cream and cook for another minute.
• Add the Sambuca and cook for another 2 minutes.
• Add some salt and pepper to taste.
• Drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the sauce.
• Sprinkle the chopped parsley over it and serve.

The post Mussels al Sambuca – Cozze al Sambuca appeared first on My Global Cuisine.

This Grilled Zucchini, or as they call it in Italy zucchini gligliate, is a popular Italian dish that can be served as a side dish, or as an appetizer. At home I serve as a side dish, alongside my previous recipe, Chicken Escalope with Lemon Sauce. The first time I tried grilled zucchini made this way I was in Italy, and I thought to myself, how could something so healthy taste this good? The secret is in the dressing, which I will also share with you in this recipe. You can just grill the zucchini and serve that way, but in my opinion, the dressing really makes this dish. This grilled zucchini is also a great side dish to have with grilled steak or chicken or to add to a sandwich. If you are not into zucchini, you could substitute for eggplant, or grill both together. The technique is the same. When making this grilled zucchini, keep in mind that you must let the zucchini sit in salt for at list 30 minutes in order to extract the water.

Once the zucchini releases the water,  wash them well, and pat dry with paper towels. Grill afterwords.

I hope you enjoy making this grilled zucchini dish as much as I do. I made a big batch last night and I had leftovers for my sandwich today. You can refrigerate the dressing, but make sure you bring to room temperature before serving again. Enjoy!

Print

Grilled Zucchini

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Author My Global Cuisine

Ingredients

• 4 large zucchini
• 1 TBSP of salt
• 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 1 handfull of Italian parsley - flat leaved parsley roughly chopped
• 3 TBSP of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Italian peperoncino or 1/4 TSP or less of red pepper flakes crushed
• a pinch of salt

Instructions

• Slice the zucchini length ways into (1/4 inch) strips than cover them generously with salt for 30 min before rinsing and drying them. Grill the zucchini on a griddle pan in a single layer in pan, or under the grill. Grill for 4 minutes, turning after 2 minutes. For tender zucchini slices, grill for an extra 1 minute on each side.
• To make the dressing: On a cutting board, chop together the garlic, parsley and peperoncino. Transfer to a small bowl. Stir in the olive oil, and add a pinch of salt. Serve on top of the zucchini or on the side.

The post Grilled Zucchini appeared first on My Global Cuisine.