An Introduction to Lidia's Favorite Recipes by Lidia Bastianich
I have written seven cookbooks thus far, and I'm so happy to have earned a place in your cookbook library. I'm sure that, as you read and cooked your way through each book, you found recipes that became your favorites. Some might be reliable recipes that are easy to cook, and others are probably more difficult recipes that are worth the effort, but my hope is that all of them are dishes that your family loves and that became part of your own traditions. As readers tell me about their experiences around the table, it's become clear that if I collected those favorite recipes and compiled them all accessibly in one book, it might be just the Lidia cookbook you are looking for. And here it is, just for you: Lidia's Favorite Recipes.
These recipes include not only your favorites, but mine as well, like My Mother's Chicken and Potatoes. It is a recipe that has remained a family favorite for the last four generations and I'm sure it had its family roots well before that. It has been slightly altered through the generations, but the deliciousness of this comfort food remains. There are also recipes that represent the flavors and story of my childhood, such as Polenta, and Swiss Chard Potatoes.
There are recipes from some of my unforgettable trips, which will have you traveling through the regions of Italy—making Scaloppine Saltimbocca will transport you straight to Rome; Ziti with Broccoli Rabe and Sausages will take you to Puglia, in the heel of Italy; and Risotto con Porcini and Veal Ossobuco will make you feel like you're in Milan. Then there are recipes that speak of the Italian American story, which can be found in the fl avors of my Spaghetti and Meatballs, Chicken Parmigiana, Baked Clams, Zucchini Roll- Ups, and many more. And as I put this book together, I added some of my new favorites, which I know you will try and love.
Family is very important to me, and I love to cook for my family and friends, so I included the simple and flavorful Italian dishes that you will love to prepare for your family and friends, like Minestrone, Meatloaf with Ricotta, and Sausage and Peppers. These recipes all make family-size quantities, and can also be divided and stored in the freezer for unexpected company, last-minute family visits, or even "I have no time to cook" nights. What's important is that these are all easy and delicious, and the warm, familiar flavors will bring your family straight to the table. Today more than ever we want and need to gather around the table with our family and friends to escape our daily distractions, and what better way than with food that luscious, nutritious, and cooked with love.
For most of these recipes, the ingredients are affordable and easy to find. This is especially true if you cook by the seasons—and, after all, that is the best way to cook. Today all of us care about eating consciously, sustainably, and responsibly to keep our environment safe for future generations. Cooking and eating seasonal and local food, and not wasting a bit of it, is something all of us can do to make a difference while enjoying meals we love. A favorite dish is timeless, no matter your budget or season, and I think you'll find that these favorite dishes of mine will remain your favorites as well.
Continue cooking, and tutti a tavola a mangiare,
Lidia Bastianich
Review
Praise for Lidia Matticchio Bastianich
"Straightforward, honest, simple but sophisticated, and utterly delicious...these satisfying dishes will never fail to please your family or your friends." —Jacques Pépin
"I have enjoyed the creative and soulful cooking at Felidia for more than three decades. Lidia was the first to really bring us authentic regional Italian food in New York. Her recipes in this book are rustic, delicious, and perfect for the home cook." —Daniel Boulud
"For those who want to craft the kind of delizioso Italian delights one finds at the chef’s flagship New York restaurant, Felidia, [Lidia] Bastianich serves up more than 100 signature recipes she’s spent 38 years perfecting: Istrian-inflected dishes both sophisticated and homespun." —O, The Oprah Magazine
"No one gets to the heart of Italian food like Lidia Bastianich." —Debbie Macomber,#1 New York Times best-selling author
"One of America’s great Italian cooks." —Los Angeles Times
"Bastianich’s 16th cookbook and arguably one of her most user-friendly, streamlined to be 'as straightforward to cook as possible' and using a minimal number of pots and pans. . . . You’ll find a wide assortment of primi pasta and risotto cishes, which are the cornerstone of Italian cooking and perfectly suited for one-pot cooking: chicken eggplant parmesan, gemelli with pesto and tomato, chicken cacciatore and zucchini bread lasagna, to name a few. . . . Ever the teacher, Bastianich sprinkles tips and tricks throughout, and also offers substitution and serving suggestions." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
About the Author
LIDIA MATTICCHIO BASTIANICH is the author of eight previous cookbooks, five of which have been accompanied by nationally syndicated public television series. She is the owner of the New York City restaurant Felidia, among others, and she gives lectures on Italian cuisine throughout the country. She lives on Long Island, New York.
TANYA BASTIANICH MANUALI received her PhD in Renaissance art history from Oxford University. In 1996 she started Esperienze Italiane, a travel company that arranges food, wine, and art tours to Italy. She also coauthors cookbooks with her mother, Lidia; manages Lidia's product line; and serves as the cultural and art consultant for the art series. She lives on Long Island, New York.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Spaghetti and Pesto Trapanese
Pesto alla Trapanese
Pesto has become very familiar in American homes by now—that is, pesto made with fresh basil leaves, garlic, and pignoli nuts. Well, this one is different—it is an uncooked sauce freshly flavored with herbs, almonds, and tomatoes. It is a recipe I discovered in Sicily while researching for Lidia’s Italy, and I have received countless e-mails about this recipe, praising its simplicity and rich flavor. I am sure it will become one of your favorites.
serves 4 to 6
3/4 pound (about 2 1/2 cups) cherry tomatoes, very ripe and sweet
12 large fresh basil leaves
1 plump clove garlic, crushed and peeled
1/3 cup whole almonds, lightly toasted
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt, or to taste, plus more for the pasta pot
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound spaghetti
½ cup freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Rinse the cherry tomatoes and basil leaves, and pat them dry. Drop the tomatoes into a blender jar or food-processor bowl, followed by the basil leaves, garlic clove, the almonds, hot red pepper flakes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Blend for a minute or more to a fine purée; scrape down the bowl, and blend again if any large bits or pieces have survived. With the machine still running, pour in the olive oil in a steady stream, emulsifying the purée into a thick pesto. Taste, and adjust seasoning. (If you’re going to dress the pasta within a couple of hours, leave the pesto at room temperature. Refrigerate it for longer storage, up to 2 days, but let it return to room temperature before cooking the pasta.)
To cook the spaghetti, heat 6 quarts of water, with 1 tablespoon salt, to the boil in a large pot. Slip in the spaghetti, and cook until al dente.
Scrape all the pesto into a big warm bowl. Lift the cooked spaghetti up, drain briefly, and drop directly into the pesto. Toss quickly to coat the spaghetti, sprinkle the cheese all over, and toss again. Serve immediately in warm bowls.
Cannoli Napoleons
Cannolo a Strati
Traditional cannoli are crispy fried dough cylinders stuffed with ricotta cream. This version is made with deep-fried discs of cannoli, stacked high with layers of ricotta cream in between, just like a napoleon. It is a much easier technique, frying the discs rather than the tubular cannoli shells, and the finished cannoli taste as good as the traditional version but look quite contemporary.
makes 6 to 8 cannoli napoleons
for the pastry dough:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 cup dry red wine, or as needed
for the cannoli cream:
1 pound (2 cups) fresh ricotta
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for decoration
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier (optional, but very good!)
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate (or 3 tablespoons bittersweet chips)
2 tablespoons candied orange rind
2 tablespoons almonds, toasted
1 cup vegetable oil, or as needed
Honey and grated chocolate for decoration
To make the dough: Put the flour, granulated sugar, and salt in a food-processor bowl, and process just to mix. Mix the olive oil, vinegar, and wine together in a measuring cup, and, with the machine running, pour all but 1 tablespoon of the liquid in; process for 20 seconds or so, until a dough gathers on the blade. If it feels hard and dry, sprinkle in the remaining liquid and process briefly, to make it moist and malleable. Turn the dough out of the bowl, scraping any bits from the sides and blade, and knead by hand into a soft, smooth ball. Flatten to a disc, wrap very tightly in plastic, and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Make the pastry dough in the food processor a day or two—or at least 4 hours—in advance for the best texture.
To make the cannoli cream: Put the fresh ricotta in a fine-meshed sieve, and set it inside a bowl to drain for 12 to 24 hours in advance. Cover the ricotta with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
Whip the ricotta with the whisk attachment of an electric mixer until smooth. Whip in the confectioners’ sugar and Grand Marnier. Chop the chocolate (or chips) into coarse bits—big enough to bite into and to be visible. Coarsely chop the candied peel and almonds to the same size, about the size of raisins. Fold the chopped pieces into the cream; refrigerate until you assemble the cannoli.
Cut the pastry dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of dough to a rectangle 11 by 14 inches (or as close as possible). Use a round cookie cutter about 3 inches in diameter to cut discs. Set the rounds aside, on a lightly floured tray, to rest for 15 minutes before frying. Meanwhile, roll out and cut the remaining half of the dough the same way.
To fry the pastry, pour vegetable oil into a skillet to a depth of 1/4 inch, and set over medium heat. Use the point of a small, sharp knife to pierce each pastry round about ten times all over its surface, as though you were making pinpricks through the dough. (These tiny holes will prevent the pastry from ballooning when fried.)
Heat the oil until the edge of the dough sizzles gently when dipped into it, then lay in as many rounds as you can, 2 inches apart. Raise the heat to keep the oil temperature up (but lower it as soon as the sizzling gets too fast). Fry the rounds for about 3 minutes on the first side, pushing them under the oil occasionally to heat the top surface. As the tops begin to bubble, press with tongs to prevent big bubbles from ballooning—small bubbles are OK. When the bottom is golden brown, flip the rounds over and fry until evenly colored and crisp on both sides, about 2 more minutes. As soon as they’re done, lift them with tongs, let excess oil drip off, and lay them to drain on folded paper towels. Fry all the rounds this way, adding oil as needed and heating it between batches.
Assemble your cannoli napoleons: Set one round on the plate, drop about 1 ½ tablespoons of cannoli cream in the center, lay another round on top—sides aligned—and press gently to spread the cream. Drop on another layer of cream, cover with a third round, and press. Finally, shower the top of each napoleon with confectioners’ sugar and embellish with drizzles of honey or a sprinkle of finely grated chocolate and serve.
Escarole and White Bean Soup
Zuppa di Scarola e Cannellini
A southern-Italian specialty, this soup has been a favorite of Italian American immigrants through the generations and still is. It is easy to make, delicious, nutritious, and affordable—all the elements appreciated by those who brought it to this country, and by all of us today who make it in their honor.
serves 6
1 1/2 cups dried cannellini, Great Northern, baby lima, or other small white beans
2 quarts water
2 fresh bay leaves, or 3 dried
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling over the finished soup
Salt to taste
6 cups (approximately 1 head) coarsely shredded escarole leaves (preferably the tough outer leaves), washed and drained
8 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half
4 to 6 whole dried peperoncini (hot red peppers)
Cold-soak the beans a few hours in advance: Dump them into a 2-to-3-quart container and pour in enough cold water to cover them by at least 4 inches. Let soak in a cool place for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Drain thoroughly.
Transfer the beans to a large stockpot. Pour in the 2 quarts water, toss in the bay leaves, and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat to maintain a simmer, pour in half of the olive oil, and cook until the beans are tender and only an inch of liquid remains, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Season the beans to taste with salt, then stir in the escarole, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the escarole is quite tender, about 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat.
Heat the remaining olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and peppers, and cook, shaking the pan, until the peppers change color, about 1 minute or less. Remove from the heat, and carefully—it will sputter quite a bit—pour one ladleful of soup into the skillet. Swirl the pan to blend everything, and then stir the panful of seasoned soup back into the large pot. Check the seasoning, and let the soup rest off the heat, covered, 10 to 15 minutes.
