Homemade Sausage, Mushroom & Fresh Mozzarella Ravioli – Turn it Up to Venti!!!

4 Apr


Fresh Homemade Sausage, Mushroom and Fresh Mozzarella Ravioli Recipe in White Wine Sauce

With some free time on my hands and the kids playing with their cousins to give daddy some time to cook, I decided to prepare some homemade sausage and mushroom ravioli. As I’ve mentioned in other posts, this amount of time to make ravioli from scratch is rare and even though I was out of Antimo Caputo and Moretti flour, I was determined to create a ravioli dish to share and enjoy! Today I’m sharing my Homemade Sausage, Mushroom, and Fresh Mozzarella Ravioli in a white wine sauce recipe that will inspire you to start speaking a romantic foreign language ….or perhaps simply butcher one? Preparing homemade fresh pasta dough from Paggi Pazzo

We start our homemade sausage and mushroom ravioli recipe by making the dough and creating a flour like volcano with eggs nestled in the middle. Slowly beat the eggs while piercing the flour and continue until the pasta dough starts to firm. Once it begins to solidify, kneed the dough for at least 10 minutes and then put under a bowl to rest for another 30. In the meantime, add garlic to a pan and heat for a few minutes before adding the sausage meat (removed from the casing). Let the sausage begin to cook and then add the mushrooms (chopped) and saute for close to 10-15 minutes or until the sausage meat is cooked throughout, then place in a bowl to cool. After about 10 more minutes, add chopped fresh mozzarella into the bowl and mix before putting into the fridge to chill….WORD!Preparing sausage and mushroom ravioli recipe from Paggi Pazzo

As I’ve mentioned in my previous post of making homemade lobster ravioli, having a pasta machine will make this process a whole lot easier (I should know since I still haven’t bought one). If you don’t, slice the dough in half and flatten with a dough roller for about 15 minutes or until the dough is very thin but if you do have a pasta machine, start from the highest setting until you get the dough extremely thin to the lowest setting. Once the dough is thin enough, lightly dress with olive oil and place the dough over the ravioli maker and pocket the dough so the sausage and mushroom filling can be pressed in firmly. Take your ravioli maker and turn it over so the sausage and mushroom ravioli are flat and use a pizza or pasta cutter to get your square ravioli shapes, then use a fork to close the edges (for best use, freeze the ravioli for at least 3 hours but preferably overnight). True story, I let the dough rest for maybe an hour and 15 minutes (far too long for all natural purpose flour) and when I finally was able to roll enough of the dough for one sheet of ravioli, my son who is just learning to walk approached the dough and accidentally knocked it into the kitchen sink and dirty pots. It was my fault for leaving it where he could reach it, but that was deflating nonetheless – so don’t do what I did. But I digress…back to the recipe, shall we?

Now for the sausage, mushroom, and fresh mozzarella ravioli sauce, heat garlic in pan with olive oil and mushrooms, adding white wine after 5 minutes or so when the mushrooms begin to turn soft (I prefer Orvieto but Pinot Grigio will work just fine). Slowly cook the sauce for 15-20 minutes and in another pot, boil water for the ravioli and keep in mind they will cook quickly so once they float to the top, gently add them to the white wine sauce and cook for a few more minutes before serving with a sprinkle of Pecorino Romano (for added taste) and dried parsley (for garnish). So good you’ll want to invade others personal space for seconds! There you have it, Paggi Pazzo’s Homemade Fresh Sausage, Mushroom, and Fresh Mozzarella Ravioli, buon appetito!

Recipe by Paggi PazzoHomemade Sausage, Mushroom, and Fresh Mozzarella Ravioli recipe from Paggi Pazzo

Fresh Homemade Sausage, Mushroom and Fresh Mozzarella Ravioli in a White Wine Sauce Recipe

Prep time: 1 hour 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 hour 45 min
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 3 sweet Italian sausages
  • 3 1/2 cups flour
  • 3 eggs
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons pepper
  • 4 ounces fresh mozzarella
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
  • 1/4 cup white wine (Orvieto or Pinot Grigio)
  • 1 cup white mushrooms

Cooking Directions

  1. To make pasta dough, place 3 1/2 cups of flour on cutting board or counter and shape into a volcano with an opening in the middle. Crack eggs into middle of flour (removing shells) and add 4 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of salt
  2. Slowly beat and stir eggs in a circular motion while slowly including flour into egg mix. After several minutes, egg and flour will come together creating greater consistency and become soft like dough mixture. Once thicker, use hands to press remaining flour into dough and push, flatten, and kneed until ready (add water to mixture if necessary)
  3. Take pasta dough and cover with large bowl for 30 minutes
  4. To prepare filling, chop 2 garlic cloves and 3/4 of a cup of mushrooms finely (save some mushrooms for the sauce) then add tablespoon of olive oil to pan. Add chopped garlic and remove casing from sausages, and add sausage meat to pan. Add salt, pepper and then after a few minutes of the sausage meat starting to brown, add mushrooms. Cook for 15-20 minutes at medium heat until sausage is cooked
  5. Remove sausage and mushroom filling from pan and place into a bowl and let cool down for 10 minutes
  6. Add chopped fresh mozzarella to sausage and meat filling, stir and then place in fridge until ravioli dough is ready to be filled
  7. To make ravioli, take pasta dough and flour on both sides, then use hands to flatten (if using a pasta machine, add dough to machine at highest level of 10 and continue to put pasta back in machine until pasta thins to level 2). Cut dough in half and use dough roller to flatten both pieces of pasta repeatedly turning pasta over (and flouring lightly) on both sides until pasta is almost paper thin (this will require 10-15 minutes)
  8. Using a ravioli maker, place one sheet of dough on top and pocket dough firmly to create space for filling. Add sausage and mushroom filling using a full tablespoon or ice-cream scooper then add second sheet of pasta on top of ravioli maker, pressing doughs together to keep sausage and mushroom filling firmly inside and then turn over. Lightly brush the outside edges of the ravioli with olive oil and using a fork, press against the edges. Add flour to cooking sheet pan and add ravioli on top to freeze for at least 3 hours
  9. To make sauce, chop remaining garlic finely, add to pan with a two tablespoons of olive oil. Let simmer for 2 minutes then add remaining mushrooms with a dash of salt and pepper. After the mushrooms begin to soften, add white wine and let cook for 15-20 minutes with pan covered at low heat
  10. Boil water and when ready, add ravioli to pot. When ravioli rises, remove and add to pan of sauce
  11. Saute gently for several minutes, then add grated Pecorino Romano over sausage and mushroom ravioli
  12. Serve with a little more grated Pecorino Romano and a dash of dried parsley for garnish


Homemade Sausage, Mushroom and Fresh Mozzarella Ravioli Recipe
5 out of 5 stars based on 3 ratings and 0 reviews.

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Lobster & Ricotta Filled Arancini – Let’s Bake!

9 Mar


Lobster, Ricotta, and Parsley Filled Baked Arancini

There are so many things one can do with lobster (and I’m referring to cooking with them just to be clear – as I haven’t spent much time with them socially outside of the kitchen) and one of my faves besides preparing Lobster Ravioli is baked Lobster and Ricotta Arancini balls. The delightful taste and texture of these arancini are great for appetizers or snacks, depending on how big you make them of course. Today, it’s Paggi Pazzo’s Baked Lobster and Fresh Ricotta Arancini balls, thus no time to waste, let’s bake! Preparing lobster and fresh ricotta arancini with fresh parsley recipe from Paggi Pazzo

To get started with our baked lobster and fresh ricotta arancini balls, we need to prepare the filling. My father-in-law graciously gave me some lobster meat fresh from Nova Scotia so if you don’t have that kind of connection (who does right? I call it my French-Canadian Connection) buy a steamed lobster and remove all the lobster meat and place in a bowl. In a pan, add olive oil, finely chopped shallots and let simmer for about 2-3 minutes. Then add finely chopped fresh parsley and place at low heat for another 2-3 minutes. Then add lobster meat, salt and pepper and saute for 5-10 minutes at low heat. Once done, let the pan cool down for about 10 minutes and place in a bowl with fresh ricotta, stirring repeatedly and then place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Now that the lobster and fresh ricotta arancini filling is ready, place your breadcrumbs on a plate and use a spoon or ice cream scooper and dip into the filling to get a good size scoop. Shape into a round ball and then place into the breadcrumbs, rolling left to right and back and forth. You can use egg wash to dip the filling before the breadcrumbs step which will help hold the arancini together better or you can fry the arancini as well. I prefer to do neither to limit the cholesterol and fat to the recipe, but keep in mind it can flatten out the arancini a little bit. Heat the oven at 425 degrees and then place the arancini onto a pan lightly dressed with olive oil. After about 15 minutes your arancini will be ready to devour (after you’ve let it cool of course). Trust me that your guests will thoroughly enjoy this and you’ll feel rewarded as if you were the world’s top surfer (calling Jeff Spicoli!!!). My mother-in-law enjoyed this recipe so I’ll have to add this to my regular rotation of appetizers! There you have it, Baked Lobster and Fresh Ricotta Arancini from Paggi Pazzo, Bon appétit mon ami!

Recipe by Paggi Pazzo

Baked lobster and fresh ricotta arancini with fresh parsley and shallots from Paggi Pazzo

Baked Lobster and Fresh Ricotta Arancini Recipe

Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: 20 min

Total time: 50 min

Yield: 16 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 small lobster
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4-6 ounces fresh ricotta
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley
  • 1 shallot
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs

Cooking Directions

  1. If cooking lobster, boil water and place lobster in water for 15 minutes and remove when ready
  2. Remove lobster meat, clean and place into a bowl
  3. To prepare lobster filling, chop shallot and fresh parsley finely and add olive oil to pan. Add salt and pepper and cook for 3-5 minutes at low to medium heat. Add lobster meat and saute at low heat for 5-7 minutes then remove to cool for 10 minutes
  4. Add fresh ricotta to a bowl with lobster, shallot, parsley filling and mix for several minutes. Then place in refrigerator for 30 minutes
  5. Add breadcrumbs to a plate and scoop large balls of lobster and fresh ricotta filling, rolling over breadcrumbs until all parts of the filling are covered and add to cooking sheet, lightly dressed with olive oil (repeat until filling is gone)
  6. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees and let lobster and fresh ricotta arancini cook for 15 minutes or until golden brown
  7. Remove from oven, let sit for 5 minutes and then ready to serve


Lobster and Fresh Ricotta Arancini Recipe
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Grilled Steak and Cheese – It’s Always Sunny for Cheesesteak!

6 Feb


Grilled Steak and Cheese Sub – It’s Time to Go Hextall Up in Here!

Occasionally when I grill steak there may be some left over (this rarely happens by the way) and when this actually does happen (did I mention it’s very rare?), I like to make steak and cheese subs. It might not be Philly-style and if I were to suggest it was better, it might just get me “Hextall-ed” outside the Wells Fargo Center! BUT…(and I am a sucker for a big BUT and a smile – I really wanted to get Boyz II Men in the post but Bell Biv Devoe seemed so apropos for this, don’t you think?) this cheesesteak has proven to be a mighty tasty treat or at least my wife has told me so. Today I’m sharing my Grilled Steak and Cheese that will have you channeling your inner-Philly and ready to throw down like the Broad Street Bullies, or sing the Eagles fight song, or get all fired up like Dennis Reynolds over milk steak…. Or, maybe….. just sit back, relax and enjoy the cheesesteak with a beer? It’s really your call, I’ll let you decide.
Grilled steak and cheese sun with provolone, mushrooms, onions and peppers from Paggi Pazzo

Now I’ve had a real Philly cheese steak before and I can legitimately say…. this is not a Philly Cheese steak. But, the Paggi Pazzo steak and cheese throws together a nice mix of sweet and salty flavors to make this a hardy lunch time meal (dare I say that this recipe is as brilliant as the invention of kitten mittens?). We start off by slicing the already grilled steak into thin strips that were grilled over a wood fire and seasoned with garlic powder, pepper and salt by adding a splash of Worcestershire sauce and wrapping it in foil before allowing it to heat in the oven for 10 minutes at 300 degrees. Then chop your onions, peppers, and mushrooms, and sauté for about 15 minutes until all of the ingredients become soft and caramelize together.

Preparing grilled steak and cheese with sautéed peppers, onions, and mushrooms from Paggi Pazzo

Once the steak strips are done, add them to the pan of peppers and onions at low heat and then stir. After a few minutes, add the sliced provolone cheese on top and once it melts, you’re ready to go to town on your steak and cheese! For bread, I prefer a ciabatta loaf but you can also try a baguette or any other soft bread (toast yours for a nice crunchy flavor). To go with my steak and cheese I enjoyed some tortilla chips and an ice cold Corona, now that’s a lunch that even a philanthropist can enjoy! So there you have it, Paggi Pazzo’s Steak and Cheese sub recipe, a real American classic!

Recipe by Paggi PazzoGrilled Grilled Steak and Cheese recipe from Paggi Pazzo

Grilled Steak and Cheese recipe

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 hour
Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

  • 4-6 oz. Steak (New York Sirloin, Boneless Rib Steak or Strip Steak)
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 Spanish onion
  • 1/2 red or green pepper
  • 4 slices American Provolone cheese
  • 1 dash salt
  • 1 dash black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 French baguette or Italian ciabatta

Cooking Directions

  1. Season steak with garlic powder, salt, and pepper
  2. Add lump hardwood charcoal to 1 chimney starter (you can add cherry or mesquite wood chunks or chips if you prefer) and when grey, dump into grill pit
  3. Dress grates with olive oil on a paper towel and then add steak to grill over high-heat zone, giving a quarter-inch turn after 2 minutes and turning over after 5 minutes (10 minutes total)
  4. Once steak is done, remove from grill and cut into thin strips then wrap in aluminum foil with a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce then place on low-to-medium heat zone of grill (heating indirectly)
  5. *Your choice from here to continue to cook on grill or cook indoors with your stove – Chop onions, peppers, and mushrooms and add to pan with olive oil, sauteing for 10-15 minutes until vegetables are soft.
  6. Add steak strips to pan and saute for 5 minutes, adding provolone cheese on top until it melts then remove from grill or stove
  7. Cut baguette or ciabatta in half and slice into sandwiches, add steak and cheese saute to baguettes. Ready to enjoy and serve.

Grilled Steak and Cheese recipe
5 out of 5 stars based on 4 ratings and 2 reviews.

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Chicken Parmesan and a Taste of Betrayal?

9 Jan


Baked Chicken Parmesan with Fresh Mozzarella

When it comes to a favorite dish for my wife, there are few that can compete with Chicken Parmesan. Italian-American restaurants (and many other kinds) all over the country have their own renditions, styles, and recipes and my wife absolutely loves this classic dish. To keep her happy, I try to play nice and make Baked Chicken Parm with Fresh Mozzarella with a healthy twist that may have you trying this at home and leaving the restaurant version behind – dare I say, a taste of betrayal?
Chicken Parmesan with Fresh Mozzarella from Paggi Pazzo

To make our baked chicken Parmesan with fresh mozzarella, I start by cleaning the chicken breasts and trimming all the fat off. After, I pound down the chicken to thin out the filets and help them cook evenly (this is an important step to keep the chicken tender throughout). I like to use my pasta sauce for this dish which consists of garlic, onions, bay leaves, basil, carrots and olive oil as a base followed by crushed San Marzano tomatoes slow cooked for 3-4 hours. Now if you don’t have the time or have your own sauce, feel free to substitute or you can make a quick sauce with San Marzano crushed tomatoes, garlic, and basil. Now, rather than add an egg to help keep the breadcrumbs sticking to the chicken, I prefer to lightly brush the chicken with olive oil or run the chicken under water (this helps cut out some of the additional fat you might find in a restaurant version). Once the breadcrumbs have been added, add sauce to the baking dish and then place the breaded chicken filets on top. Add another layer of sauce (thicker if you prefer) and thin slices of fresh mozzarella (you can add finely chopped basil leaves on top as well). Then add a little more sauce on top with a sprinkling of grated Reggiano Parmigiano.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and add your baked chicken Parmesan, covered with aluminum foil for 45 minutes. It’s a really simple recipe with an excellent result. My wife is a big fan of this recipe so I’m sure I’ll be preparing this again very soon in the near future. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as she does! So there you have it, Paggi Pazzo’s Baked Chicken Parmesan with Fresh Mozzarella, enjoy!

Recipe by Paggi PazzoChicken Parmesan recipe from Paggi Pazzo

Chicken Parmesan with Fresh Mozzarella Recipe

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 hour
Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

  • (2) 8 ounce chicken breasts
  • 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 ounces fresh mozzarella
  • 1/4 cup grated Reggiano Parmigiano
  • 12 ounces crushed tomatoes (San Marzano)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh basil
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 small carrot
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper

Cooking Directions

  1. To make sauce, chop garlic, basil, and onion finely (if you have sauce, skip this part and go directly to adding sauce to the baking pan)
  2. Add olive oil to pot with garlic, onion, pinch of basil, pinch of salt and pepper and cook for 10-15 minutes at low heat
  3. Add crushed tomatoes, bay leaves, and carrot (I usually cook my sauce for 3-4 hours but 45 minutes is acceptable in this case as the sauce will cook another 45 minutes in the chicken parmesean)
  4. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees
  5. Clean chicken cutlets and then slightly flatten to thin out, then cover in breadcrumbs on both sides
  6. Add sauce to oven pan and smooth around base, then add chicken cutlets on top
  7. Add a light layer of sauce over chicken cutlets and then slice fresh mozzarella over sauce.
  8. Add another thicker layer of sauce over fresh mozzarella and then spread Reggiano Parmigiano over cutlets
  9. Cover pan with aluminum foil and place in oven for 45 minutes.
  10. Take out of oven and let sit for 5 minutes then serve

Chicken Parmesan Recipe
5 out of 5 stars based on 4 ratings and 2 reviews.

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Grilled Angus Beef Steak Filets – Super Duper!

7 Dec


Grilled Steak Filets Over an Apple & Cherry Wood Charcoal Fire; It’s Super-Duper!

No matter the weather or the reason, grilling beef and steak are always in-season! Especially when we’re talking thick, Angus Beef filets my friends! The absolute succulence of the beef which is so thick and tender is really a thing to behold. Today I’m sharing my Grilled Angus steak filet recipe over a hardwood charcoal fire with apple & cherry wood chunks that will have you screaming in delight Super Duper!, as if you were just told your newscast was voted #1 in the ratings (doesn’t everyone dream of that?).Grilled Angus Beef Steak Filets over an apple and cherry wood charcoal fire from Paggi Pazzo

My buddy Rob was generous enough to give me a few Wilson & Wilson Omaha Angus beef steak filets and there was no way I could decline. These bad boys were 2-3 inches thick and similar to a Bistecca Fiorentina in terms of size but certainly nowhere near as long. With beef this good and thick, I don’t like to do too much with it in terms of marinating or seasoning so I put together a quick dry rub to help bring out the meat juices over the grill. Before grilling, I season the steak filets with garlic powder, salt, pepper and a little olive oil and Worcestershire sauce. Now when I say a little, I mean a little…. no more than a teaspoon for each filet and to finish it off I add a dash of paprika for a little kick. The dry rub will give the steak filets a nice little crust when we grill them over high heat, as if we were searing the filets in a pan.

To get the grill going for your Angus Beef Steak filets, I use hardlump wood charcoal but add a few thick apple & cherry wood chunks with them in the chimney starter. Once the charcoal wood fire is going strong and turns a nice grey color, add them into the grill pit and lightly dress your grill grates with olive oil on a paper towel or an onion cut in half. Then add the steak filets over the high heat zone area for 2 minutes a side, turning a quarter inch. Because these filets are so thick, we want to give the edges a nice crust before moving them to a medium-heat zone. Once we’ve grilled them on high heat for both sides, move the filet steaks to a cooler zone of the grill and slowly grill them for another 5 minutes per side with the grill top closed. Give a nice soft push to them soon after and if there’s a nice bit of give, you should have a medium-rare and tender Angus Beef steak filet!

Now that the Angus Beef Steak filets are done and off the grill, I love me some red wine to go with my steak so I’m going to recommend an Argentinian Malbec or a Californian Cabernet or a French Médoc. So there you have it, Paggi Pazzo’s Grilled Steak Filets over a wood apple charcoal fire, Super-Duper!!!

Recipe by Paggi PazzoGrilled Angus Beef Steak Filet recipe from Paggi Pazzo

Grilled Angus Beef Steak Filet Recipe

Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 oz Angus Beef Steak Filets (2)
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 dash paprika

Cooking Directions

  1. Clean Steak filets and then place on a plate
  2. Season both sides of steak with garlic powder, salt, and pepper
  3. Then lightly dress (on both sides) with 1/2 teaspoon per side of olive oil and Worcestershire sauce
  4. Sprinkle dash of paprika on top
  5. Prepare charcoal grill: Add lump hard wood charcoal with apple and cherry wood chunks to chimney starter with paper towel brushed with olive oil.
  6. Light olive oiled paper towel under chimney starter to start fire.
  7. Once wood charcoal is a nice grey color, remove charcoals from chimney into grill pit
  8. Place grates back on grill and use long grill fork to oil up grates with 1/2 onion, back and forth.
  9. Add (2) 4 ounce Angus Beef Steak filets to grill over high heat for 2 minutes then giving a quarter-inch turn for another minute before turning steaks over (and repeating)
  10. Move steaks to medium-heat zone, cooking indirectly for another 5 minutes per side
  11. Remove from grill and allow Steak filets 5 minutes to cool
  12. Ready to serve!

Grilled Angus Beed Steak Filet recipe
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Chicken, Ziti and Broccoli – A Northern Italian Delight!

17 Nov


Northern Italian Comfort Food Chicken, Ziti, and Broccoli; I Feel a Chicken Dance Comin’!

When the weather starts to get cold and my family and I are craving some comfort food, the perfect remedy to satisfy that craving is…..to do the chicken dance!!! After….we prepare and eat a Northern Italian delight of Chicken, Ziti, and Broccoli. Restaurants all over the world have recipes for this classic and I’m just joining the fray by adding another to the collection. However, this rendition stays a little closer to the healthier side, so sit back and enjoy Chicken, Ziti, Broccoli recipe…what a delight!

To start our Chicken, Ziti, Broccoli dinner we chop the chicken into small chunks (trimming the fat off) and seasoning with salt and pepper. In a large pan, add the chicken with olive oil and cook until the outsides begin to turn white, then add finely chopped garlic (a lot of garlic!!!), salt, and pepper. For about the time it takes for the chicken to cook, the same time will take for the water to boil to add your ziti. Now many recipes include adding cream, wine, and or baking the dish but Paggi Pazzo’s version tries to keep it light and healthy (not to mention faster to prepare). In addition, the extra garlic added to the dish provides a nice flavor that makes up for the need to add cream or a thick sauce. Once the water is ready to boil, add the ziti and let cook just before al dente because we’ll be sauteing the pasta a little longer with the chicken. Now that the ziti is almost ready, be sure that your broccoli crowns have been cleaned and the stems chopped. Drain the ziti and add to the pan of chicken and then add the broccoli and saute for another 5-7 minutes over low-medium heat, keeping the cover on when not stirring. It’s almost chicken dance time!

Were just minutes away from enjoying our Chicken, Ziti, Broccoli so hang in there! Remove the pan from the stove and generously grade Reggiano Parmigianno over the pan, stirring to allow the cheese throughout the dish. Now you’re ready to serve and delight your guests and family! It’s not only a great healthy dish but it takes a little over 30 minutes to have it all done. My mother made this recipe quite regularly growing up with chicken stock and then baking the dish covered with Reggiano Parmiganno on top, and it was fantastic! But I find this dish to be almost as tasty and easy to prepare in about half the time. So there you have it, Chicken, Ziti, and Broccoli from Paggi Pazzo, enjoy!

Recipe by Paggi PazzoChicken, Ziti, and Broccoli recipe from Paggi Pazzo

Chicken, Ziti, and Broccoli Recipe

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 (8 ounce) chicken breast fillets
  • 6 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 pound ziti (Barilla)
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen broccoli
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 cup Reggiano Parmigiano

Cooking Directions

  1. Chop garlic finely and cut broccoli into chunks, florets and stems
  2. Clean chicken, trim fat, season with salt and pepper, then cut into chunks
  3. Heat large pan medium-to-high with olive oil
  4. Add chicken to pan and cook until edges begin to turn white
  5. Add garlic, salt and pepper
  6. Boil pasta water and when ready, add ziti
  7. Cook ziti for 8 minutes, just under al dente
  8. When ziti is cooked, add 1/3 ladel cup of pasta water to pan with chicken and garlic, drain pasta then add to pan
  9. Add broccoli cuts and saute, stir for several minutes, then cover pan for 5-7 minutes
  10. Remove pan from stove and add grated Reggiano Parmigiano
  11. Ready to serve

Chicken, Ziti, and Broccoli Recipe
5 out of 5 stars based on 4 ratings and 0 reviews.

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Grilled Stuffed Tomatoes Over a Charcoal Wood Fire

23 Oct


Grilled Stuffed Tomatoes with Feta & Orzo Recipe

Preparing Grilled Stuffed Tomatoes is not something that came easily to me. At first I thought, “oh what to do with all of these tomatoes?!!?!?!?” That was a dilemma I had recently when my father-in-law presented me with half a dozen large tomatoes. Did I want to make pasta or pizza sauce? Did I want to chop them up with some basil and garlic for bruschette or crostini? The choices were limitless… or maybe not limitless, but you get the message. What I did instead was review what ingredients I had in the fridge and….wait a second, yes, come up with an idea for these very large pomodori. Today I’m sharing my recipe for Grilled Stuffed Tomatoes filled with Feta cheese, orzo pasta, onion, and peppers that are a perfect appetizer or meal to impress family, guests, or business partners and total strangers from Switzerland.
Preparing grilled stuffed tomatoes with Feta cheese, onions, peppers and orzo from Paggi Pazzo

To prepare Grilled Stuffed Tomatoes, carve out the insides of the tomatoes with a spoon leaving close to a quarter-inch thickness (I saved the fillings and made pasta sauce the next day). Leaving a thick outside exterior will allow the tomatoes to absorb the heat and soften the inside while not allowing the stuffing to pierce through. Prepare the filling by boiling some water and cooking orzo for 10 minutes (al dente). Once the orzo is done, chop the onion and green pepper finely and add to a bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper, and crumbled Feta cheese. Stir for several minutes and then add the filling to the tomatoes (stuffing as much as you can), topped with a drizzle of olive oil.

It’s time now to get the grill started for our stuffed tomatoes, so add lump hardwood charcoal to a chimney starter (feel free to add some apple or cherry wood chunks) and ignite with a paper towel dressed in olive oil. Once the charcoal wood is grey, dump into the grill pit at one end. Now, since these stuffed tomatoes are large and filled to the brim, we don’t want to put them over direct heat, so place the tomatoes at the opposite end of the fire (with the sliced tops covering the filling) cooking indirectly with the grill closed. After 25 minutes move the tomatoes directly over the high heat zone of your grill for 5 minutes (without the sliced tops). Once the 5 minutes pass, remove the tomatoes from the grill and be prepared to feel overwhelmed with flavor! That’s all there is too it! So there you have it, Grilled Stuffed Tomatoes from Paggi Pazzo, enjoy!!!!

Recipe by Paggi PazzoGrilled stuffed tomatoes with Feta cheese, orzo, peppers and onions from Paggi Pazzo

Grilled Stuffed Tomatoes Recipe
Published: October 23, 2012

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min

Ingredients

  • 4 large tomatoes
  • 1 small onion
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 green pepper
  • 1/2 cup Feta cheese
  • 1 cup Orzo (Barilla)

Cooking Directions

  1. Boil pot of water and when boiling, add orzo and cook for 10 minutes (until al dente) then, drain and add to large bowl with teaspoon of olive oil and stir (let sit and cool for 10 minutes)
  2. Chop onion and pepper finely and add to large bowl with orzo. Then add Feta cheese (crumble if bought in whole block), with pepper, salt, and two teaspoons of olive oil. Stir for several minutes
  3. Slice top of tomatoes and put aside, then carve out inside of tomato with knife to create a a bowl (save the inside of the tomato filling for sauce or another recipe)
  4. Take orzo, feta, onion and pepper filling and place inside hallowed tomatoes then add a little extra olive oil to top
  5. Start grill (if using gas grill fire up burners and maintain medium-to-high-heat) and use one 1/2 chimney starter filled with wood lump charcoal. Once wood charcoal is grey, empty into grill pit on one side of the grill
  6. Oil grates with paper towel and then place tomatoes (with the sliced tops on top of the tomatoes) on grill at opposite end of the charcoal for indirect grilling
  7. After 20-25 minutes, the tomatoes should be softening so remove the sliced tops and place directly over heat for 5-10 minutes
  8. Remove from grill and rest for 5 minutes. Then ready to serve

Grilled Stuffed Tomatoes with Feta and Orzo
4.5 out of 5 stars based on 3 ratings and 0 reviews.

Click here for full Grilled Stuffed Tomatoes recipe, and other Paggi Pazzo recipes.

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