Italian pasta types

Some time ago I found this amazing image of pasta types in internet. I thought it’s interesting and will be great to post it on my blog.  You can download it here in large size. 

There are roughly 350 different shapes and varieties of pasta in Italy, even more counting regional differences. It comes in all shapes and sizes.  It is impossible to remember them all)) But all Italians know mostly used types of pasta and how to cook it and with which condiment. 

Some are great with sauce, others stand on their own, just asking to be drizzled with olive oil and eaten 'al dente'. Pasta shapes with holes or ridges like mostaccioli or radiatore are perfect for chunkier sauces. The tiniest shapes are often used in soups. Some shapes are large enough to be stuffed and baked. 

Pasta can be homemade or produced commercially and often is available in different flavors or colors, seasoned with vegetables and also with wine. But also there are a lot of regional artisan pasta producers and many people prefer to by their products, which can be dried or fresh one day made.  Lastly the producing of whole wheat, spelt or made from other cereals pasta is growing too.

Risotto with zucchini flowers and saffron - Risotto con fiori di zucca

Today I wrote about new recipe. It's Risotto with zucchini flowers. A few days ago I gone at the local market to buy a piece of pumpkin. After I bought it I saw fresh zuvvhini flowers and decided not to miss opportuniti to make this risotto. The piece of pumpkin I left for other day. So, let's begin!

It's easy to make recipe and need about 20 min. 

You will need :

about 200 gr of zucchini flowers,

300 gr of rise

1 onion

1 l of vegetable broth (you can use also water)

a sachet of saffron

70 gr. grated Parmesan cheese

butter

pepper

50-70 ml of white vine

 Wash the zucchini flowers, dry them with a paper towel, remove the pistil. Thinly slice flowers:

 Cut the onion finely. Put butter in one sausepan and saute the onion.

 Add the zucchini flowers

After a few minutes add the rice and toast it, then pour white wine.

Start adding gradually the ladles of vegetable broth, as soon as you see that the water is absorbed. Melt the contents of a sachet of saffron to the pan and stir well, so that mix well with rice. Continue to add broth, until the rice will be cooked. Don't forgot to add salt and pepper.

Before serving add Parmesan cheese and let stand for 5 minutes.

Rana Pescatrice al forno - Monkfish in the oven

Rana Pescatrice or Coda di Rospo (in English Monkfish, or Goosefish) is one of the ugliest fish you'll find in Italian markets. But it has delicious white meat and it’s great to make a soup.

In this recipe Monkfish is used whole with head to make a flavor more intensive. 
It’s a simple but very delicious recipe and It’s great for some fest of if you have guests at home.

You will need:
Monkfish 
About 1 kg of Potatoes
0.5 kg of Tomatoes cherry
7-15 Olives
4-5 cloves of Garlic
2-3 tablespoons bread crumbs
5-6 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese
A few basil leaves
Extra virgin Olive oil
Sale

I always buy Monkfish already scaled, so I don’t know how to scale it. If you don’t find whole Monkfish, but the tail ends it’s also OK.
Clean garlic and cut it in 2-3 pieces, cut tomatoes.
For the first clean and cut potatoes as shown. Mix well potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, olives, Olive oil and basil. Put a little of salt and pepper. I mix by hand so tomatoes make a little of sauce. Leave blend for half an hour. You can mix the blend from time to time.

At the time mix bread crumbs and grated parmesan. 

Put Monkfish in the form for the oven. I always use clayware form:

Put blend with potatoes around the fish. If the sauce is not enough – pour a little of water.

Dredge with mix of bread crumbs and grated parmesan

and put in the oven at 200º. Fish don’t need many time to cook so I try potatoes and when they are cooked and have a crust I determine that a time get out.

Clean fish before serve and put a piece with potatoes and sause in every plate. Or you can put portions in small caseroles and after other 5 minutes in oven bring them on the table.  You must admit that it most scenic))
Buono appetito!

Pasta con le vongole - pasta with clams recipe

Today after many time I sharing with you a new recipe. It's spaghetti with clams - in italian spaghetti con le vongole. It's very simple and easy recipe. It need only about 15 minutes!

You will need 300 gram of fresh clams (vongole) per person, not cleaned or frozen! You can make clams spaghetti with frozen clams but the taste will be pretty much different.
Couple cloves of garlic.
Spaghetti pasta 100 gram per person.
Olive oil.
Couple tablespoons of white wine.
Salt.

Pasta and the rest will be cooked separately and combined in the end, so let's start with putting water on to boil for the spaghetti.

Peel garlic and roast it till golden in olive oil. It's better to remove the garlic cloves in the end of roasting. Add clams.

Saute, add couple tablespoons of white wine and saute a few more minutes.
You may want to take out the clams to a separate bowl at this time.
When water comes to boil, cook the spaghetti. Cook until almost ready (one minute shorter than cooking time on the package and drain them well!)

Add spaghetti to the sauce and simmer a couple more minutes.
And that's it! Clams spaghetti is ready. Serve clams over spaghetti on every plate or the clams may be served in separate bowl where everyone can take as much as they want.

Italian seafood soup

As I promiced in my sunday post today I write about Zuppa di pesce - Fish soup or Italian Seafood soup. It's famouse plate of South Italy. It's easy to cook but need many ingridients.

I made these photos when we cooked Zuppa for ten persons, so, you can see many ingredients and full pan of seafood. 

For cooking Zuppa for two persons you would need:

100 ml/ 3,5 fl. Oz. - extra virgin olive oil (di oliva),
3-4 garlic cloves,
0,5 kg/17.6 oz. tomatoes
2 scampi (wild shrimps)
6 shrimps
1 small cuttlefish
10-12 black mussels (better to use the type called mussels Taranto)
15-20 clams
2 fasolari (Callista chione)

One small goosefish
One-two different small rock-fish that have intense flavor 

It's important that fish is very fresh! All mussels, clams and fasolari must be alive. Ask to control clams at the fishmarket - it can contain sand. In this case one clam will damages all plate. Crustaceans must be also very fresh. Do not use the crustaceans that have the flesh is very soft, greenish-gray.

If you use bake ware the flavor will be more intense.
Recipe:
Put some oil in pan. Fry garlic a little. Then put fish, and sliced cuttlefish and tomatoes. (You can put also some seafood - in this case you will need to remove it from pan together with fish)

The trick that fish must always be bathed in broth or sause. You don't need to salt because the sea fish is lready quite salty.
Remove fish from the pan after 10-15 minutes. Put all seafood in the pan. Add some chopped parsley. Stew it about 15 minutes. 

If a broth is insufficient consistency, pour a little bit of water with salt.
After 15 minutes put the fish back to the broth. 
Boil it for 1-2 minutes.

At the same time toast 3-4 pieces of bread.

Put in the plate Zuppa for serving along with toasted bread.

Buon apetito!