Posted by michael bavaro on May 24, 2012 0 Comments
Bavaro’s Italian Specialties Lentils Soup
6 servings
Ingredients:
1 lb Lentils
24 ounces of Antico Pomodoro Pasta Sauce
4 cups of cold water
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sized onion (cut in half, then peeled with both ends attached)
6 garlic cloves (whole, not diced)
3 bay leaves (whole)
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
Pinch of salt and pepper
Directions:
• In warm pot heat the extra virgin olive oil till it is at a small simmer (few minutes)
• Cook the whole garlic and onion till they start to brown (check bottom of onion)
• While this is cooking, wash the lentils out in a strainer
• Once onions brown, add the Antico Pomodoro, then water and ALL ingredients EXCEPT lentils and bring to a boil
• Once boiling, add the lentils, cover and lower temp to medium. Cook everything for about 45 minutes to an hour (stirring occasionally)
• After 40 minutes, check the lentils to make sure they are soft. If they are not and the water is low, you can add a little and increase the cook time (be careful not to add to much water or overcook)
• Once finished, remove the garlic, onions and bay leaves
• You can now plate the soup and serve
• Buon Appetito!
Read More
Posted by michael bavaro on May 17, 2012 0 Comments
Spaghetti Squash alla Marinara
Spaghetti squash is a good alternative to pasta, potatoes, or rice. The cooked squash flesh shreds into threads like thin spaghetti. Spaghetti squash has a very mild flavor, thus it is usually served with a powerful sauce.
You will need:
1 spaghetti squash (serves 2 people)
Large sharp knife
Baking pan
Oven
Kitchen fork
1 jar of Bavaro’s Italian Specialties Marinara Pasta Sauce
Directions:
1. Take a medium sized cooking pan that is 3 inches in depth and put an inch of water into it
2. With a large sharp knife, cut the spaghetti squash in half long ways and place into the pan upside down
3. Place in the oven at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 ½ hours (until the Spaghetti squash softens)
4. Once Spaghetti squash is soft, take it out of the oven and let cool for a few minutes
5. Hold the spaghetti squash with a towel, since it is hot, and use a fork to scrape the inside. You will see the inside start to come apart into 4 inch strands
6. Put the spaghetti squash into a strainer to drain for 15 minutes. Remove from the strainer and place into a mixing bowl to lightly season with salt and pepper.
7. Heat up the Bavaro’s Italian Specialties Marinara Pasta Sauce in a sauté pan until it comes to a boil
8. Once boiling, add the spaghetti squash to the sauce for about 1 minute. The marinara sauce should start soaking into the spaghetti squash
9. Once finished plate the spaghetti squash and cut some fresh basil for the topping
10. Buon Appetito!
Read More
Posted by michael bavaro on May 17, 2012 0 Comments
Bavaro’s Italian Specialties Tagliatelle alla Arrabbiata
Arrabbiata sauce is a light marinara or red Italian sauce that is given an extra spicy flavor by adding hot peppers to the sauce. The word "arrabbiata" can loosely translate to “angry mood,” a name inspired by its piquant taste.
Arrabbiata sauce will go well with any plain pasta, and it is often best enjoyed with home-made pasta or penne pasta. The penne ridges help hold the sauce, and the tubes can also fill with the sauce creating fiery mouthfuls with each bite. When making arrabbiata with home-made or penne pasta, it's important to make more sauce than needed to have adequately coated pasta, since arrabbiata sauce and others like it will be readily absorbed by the pasta.
Ingredients:
12 heaping "Italian" tablespoons of flour (roughly 4 cups)
4 eggs
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 jar of Bavaro’s Italian Specialties Arrabbiata Pasta Sauce
Directions:
1. Add all of the flour into the food processor with a pinch of salt, pepper and olive oil
2. Start the food processor and add each egg one by one to the flour
3. Mix these ingredients until the dough begins to form into a ball or become hard
4. Take the dough out, form into a ball and wrap it in celafain
5. Place this ball in the fridge for about an hour
6. Cut the dough into smaller pieces and use a rolling pin to flatten to your likening
7. You can now use a pasta machine to flatten the dough till it is a 1/8 of an inch and cut the dough into ¼ inch strands. If you don’t have a pasta machine, roll the dough out as much as possible and use a knife to cut the dough into strands for a rustic look.
8. Lightly flour the dough after it is cut so it doesn’t stick together
9. Take Bavaro’s Italian Specialties Arrabbiata sauce and add to a sauté pan till it starts to boil
10. While sauce is heating up, add pasta to boiling water, stirring occasionally until it floats, approximately 90 seconds
11. Add pasta to arrabbiata sauce and cook for 30 seconds
12. You can now plate each dish and shave some fresh parmesan reggiano and parsley as a topping
13. Buon Appetito!
Read More
Posted by michael bavaro on May 17, 2012 0 Comments
This is a classic Italian American favorite; Buon Appetito!
Chicken parmesan, chicken parmigiana, or (Italian Pollo alla parmigiana) is a popular Italian dish. It is made up of a chicken breast covered in bread crumbs and topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella. The chicken may be baked or fried. It is sometimes served over spaghetti. Some variations of the traditional recipe may call for the use of Parmigiano-Reggiano (parmesan cheese) in addition to, or as a substitute for, mozzarella. This may reflect a confused belief that the dish is so-named because it contains parmesan cheese; in fact both the dish and the cheese are (separately) named for the Parma region of Italy.
Chicken Parmesan:
4 pieces of boneless chicken breast
¼ pound mozzarella
1 jar of Bavaro’s Italian Specialties Antico Pomodoro Pasta Sauce
¼ pound butter
4 eggs
Extra virgin olive oil
Season the breadcrumbs:
¼ bag of Seasoned Bread Crumbs
Couple small pinches of Black Pepper
2 large pinches of Sea Salt
Couple tablespoons of Grated parmesan cheese
2 large pinches of Granulated Garlic
Seasoned Flour:
2 cups flour
Couple small pinches of Black Pepper
2 large pinches of Sea salt
2 large pinches of granulated garlic
Steps to make Bavaro’s Italian Specialties Chicken Parmesan:
1. Mix all breadcrumb ingredients and set aside
2. Mix all flour ingredients and set aside
3. Scrabble the 4 eggs in a bowl and set aside
4. Take each chicken breast and trim the fat off, then cut each breast in half long ways to give a thinner breast.
5. Take each breast and place into the flour until coated, then soaked in the egg and finally covered with the breadcrumbs.
6. In a sauté pan, fry all chicken in 60% butter / 40% extra virgin olive oil (cook 80% of the way). Cut the chicken in half and set aside
7. In a 2 inch deep cooking pan, coat the bottom with Bavaro’s Italian Specialties Antico Pomodoro Pasta Sauce
8. Place the chicken in 2 to 3 rows, shingled format from top to bottom
9. Put a sprinkle of mozzarella and Antico Pomodoro Pasta Sauce on each piece
10. For added flavor, put a light sprinkle of Antico Pomodoro and mozzarella over the entire tray
11. Once tray is full place everything in the oven, covered for 25 minutes
12. Before you serve, take the cover off and cook another 15-20 till cheese browns
Read More
