Thursday, January 27, 2011

Linguine con Granchio


This has to be one of my all time favorite pasta dishes. It is so simple, so fresh, & so flavorful. It is perfect for this time of year when you want to feel like you can eat lighter after all the hearty dishes that winter usually brings. This also calls for one of my favorite citrus fruits, buddha hand. It is from SE Asia, and is in season from late November - January. It isn't necessarily Italian, yet Italy has many citrus fruits that we don't even have available in the U.S.

Serves 4

TT = to taste

1# Linguine
2 King Crab Legs(3/4# each), Meat Picked of Shell
6 Cloves of Garlic, Sliced paper thin
2T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2T Butter
1/4 cup White Wine
TT sea salt
TT chili Flakes
TT Buddha Hand, freshly grated (You can substitute lemon if you cannot find buddha hand)
Flat leaf parsley, chopped

Method:
Bring 6 qts of water and a handful of salt to a boil
Add the pasta to the water
Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat
add the garlic cloves and saute for a minute
add the chili flakes and the white wine
add the butter and the crab and heat through
Once pasta is a minute from al dente, remove from the water and add to the sauce & toss together for last minute while cooking
add a little pasta water to pan if needed to loosen the sauce
add the grated buddha hand and parsley and toss
Transfer pasta to serving plates
add a last drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil if desired
serve immediately

Monday, January 10, 2011

Salumi Misti


Here is a variety of the different types of salumi(cured meats) that I make. They are great to make during the fall and keep well over the cold winter months.

Bresaola - Cured beef tenderloin with fall spices from Piemonte
Salame Trentino - Salame from NE Italy flavored with garlic, beer & caraway
Salame al'Alba - Salame from Piemonte flavored with nebbiolo wine, fall spices & truffles
Finocchiona - Tuscan salame flavored with fennel pollen, fennel seeds, chianti, peppercorns & garlic
Duck Prosciutto - Cured duck breast in a similar style of prosciutto with salt, sugar, herbs & spices
Coppa - Spicy cured pork shoulder
Pancetta - Un-smoked cured rolled pork belly flavored with herbs & spices

Not Pictured:
Nduja - Spicy smoked spreadable salame from Calabria(Southern Italy)
Lardo Colonnata - Cured pork fat back with rosemary, juniper, garlic & other spices