Easy Italian Recipes

 MAKES about 1 cup (8 fl oz 250 ml)

- 1 1/2 cups (11/2 oz/45 g) lightly packed fresh basil leaves
- 3 tablespoons pine nuts
- 1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
- Sea salt
- 1/3 cup (3 fl oz/80 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
-1/4 lb (125 g) Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated

In a large mortar, combine the basil, pine nuts, garlic, and about 1/2 teaspoon salt. Using a pestle, and working in a circular motion, grind the ingredients together until a dense, thick green paste forms. This can take several minutes. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while stirring continuously with the pestle until a thick, flowing sauce forms. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the cheese. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Alternatively, in a food processor or blender, combine the basil, pine nuts, garlic, and about 1/2 teaspoon salt and process until finely chopped. Then, with the motor running, pour in the oil in a slow, steady stream and process until a smooth, flowing sauce forms. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the cheese. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Use at once, or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 2 months.

Use immediately, or let cool, cover, and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 2 months.

Buon appetito !

 MAKES 6-8 SERVINGS

- 3 or 4 slices coarse country bread, crusts removed and crumbled (about 1 1/2 cups/3 oz/90 g)
- 1/2 cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) whole milk
- 1 pound (500 g) ground (minced) beef chuck
- 1/2 pound (250 g) ground (minced) veal
- 1/2 pound (250 g) ground (minced) pork
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup (4 oz/125 g) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 1/4 cup (1/3 oz/10 g) finely chopped fresh flat-Ieaf (Italian) parsley
- 1 dove garlic, minced
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil

For the sauce
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 dove garlic, minced
- 2 cans (28 oz/875 g each) plum (Roma) tomatoes, crushed
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 3 or 4 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces

This recipe makes a generous amount of sugo, or "sauce," so you will have plenty left over to serve with pasta as a primo or to save for another meal.
Meatballs, known variously as polpette and polpettine, depending on their size,
or as purpette in Calabrian dialect, are prepared this way throughout southern Italy.

In a small bowl, mix the crumbled bread and milk and let stand for 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the beef, veal, pork, eggs, Parmigiano-Reggiano, parsley, garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Squeeze the bread with your hands to remove the excess moisture and discard the liquid. Add the bread to the meat mixture and mix gently until combined.

Rinse your hands with water but do not dry them. Shape the meat into 2-inch (5-cm) balls, rolling them lightly between your moistened palms. As the balls are made, set them aside on a large platter or tray.
In a frying pan large enough to hold all of the meatballs in a single layer, warm the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and cook, turning them occasionally, until crisp and browned on all sides, about 15 minutes. Transfer the meatballs to a plate and drain off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pan.

To make the sauce, return the pan to medium heat, add the onion, and sauté until softened and golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the crushed tomatoes and their juice, stir well, and deglaze the pan, scraping up any brown bits from the pan bottom. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Cook until the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Stir in the basil.

Return the meatballs to the pan and cook, basting them often with the sauce, until hot and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer the meatballs to a warmed platter and spoon some of the sauce over them; reserve the remaining sauce for another use. Serve at once.

Buon appetito !

 MAKES 4-6 servings

- 5 tablespoons (21/2 oz/75 g) unsalted butter
- 2 carrots, finely chopped
- 1 small celery stalk, finely chopped
- 1 small yellow onion, fìnely chopped
- 2 Ib (1 kg) fresh plum (Roma) tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or 1 can (28 oz/875 g) plum (Roma) tomatoes, drained and chopped
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 lb (500 g) spaghetti
- 10 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
- 1/2 cup (2 oz/60 g) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving

Cooking the carrots, onion, and celery in butter, a mixture known as a soffritto, imparts a mild, sweet fiavor to this simple sauce. But the primary component is stili tornato, which rneans using vineripened plum tomatoes in summer and the best-quality canned tomatoes, such as italy's superb San Marzano variety, the rest of the year. To make a creamy tomato sauce, stir in 1/2 cup (4 fI oz/125 ml) heavy (double) cream once the sauce has thickened and simmer for 5 minutes longer.

In a large frying pan over medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons (2 oz/60 g) of the butter. Add the carrots, celery, and onion and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion has softened and the carrots and celery are tender, about 15 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper and cook unti) the sauce begins to bubble. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, unti) the sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
While the sauce simmers, bring a large pot three-fourths full of water to a rolling boil and add about 2 tablespoons salt. Add the spaghetti, stir well, and cook, stirring occasionally, unti) al dente, according to the package directions. Scoop out and reserve about 2 ladlefuls of the cooking water, then drain the pasta.
Add the drained pasta to the sauce in the pan and stir and toss over low heat unti) well coated with the sauce, adjusting the consistency with some of the cooking water if needed. Add the basii and the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and toss to distribute evenly. Remove from the heat, add the 1/2 cup cheese, and toss again. Transfer to a warmed serving bowl and serve at once, passing additional cheese at the table.

Buon appetito!