Nannys Italian Stew Food

ITALIAN BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 350"F
• In a large cast iron dutch oven add a lug of olive oil and sear the garlic cloves until golden all over. Transfer to a plate.
• Add the onion to the pan and saute until it starts to caramelize, about 15 minutes.
• Then add the beef cubes to the pot with the onions and sprinkle with the flour over the top. Toss to coat well all over and cook for a few minutes.
• Add the thyme, rosemary, bay leaf and cloves to the pot together with the red wine.
• Bring everything to a gentle simmer and add the garlic cloves back to the pot. Cook for 10 minutes until the wine has reduced a little.
• Stir in the fire roasted tomatoes, sea salt and the water. Cover with a tight lid and transfer to the preheated oven for 2 hours.
• After 2 hours have passed, carefully add chopped carrots, rainbow carrots, potatoes and mushrooms to the stew, give it a gentle stir, cover and cook another 25 to 30 minutes until the potatoes and carrots are cooked through and the meat falls apart when stabbed with a fork.
• Meanwhile clean the scallions and cut them in half. Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. Toss to coat and pan sear them in a cast iron skillet until nice golden charr marks form. About 3 minutes.
• Ladle the beef stew into bowls, sprinkle with the parsley and a nice drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Divide the scallions between bowls and serve hot with lots of crusty garlic bruschetta to soak up all the gravy.

SICILIAN-STYLE FISH STEW RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in 5-quart Dutch oven (like this one) over medium heat. Add onions, celery, and a little salt and pepper (about 1/2 tsp each). Cook, stirring regularly, until softened (about 4 minutes). Add thyme, red pepper flakes and garlic and cook briefly until fragrant (about 30 more seconds).
• Now, stir in the white wine and reserved tomato juice from can. Bring to a simmer, and cook until the liquid is reduced by about 1/2. Add the tomatoes, vegetable broth, raisins, and capers. Cook for 15-20 minutes over medium heat until flavors combine.
• Pat the fish dry and season lightly with salt and pepper. Insert the fish pieces into the cooking liquid, and give everything a gentle stir so that the fish pieces are nicely covered in the cooking liquid. Bring to a simmer and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove the Dutch oven from the heat and cover. Let sit off heat for another 4-5 minutes so that the fish will finish cooking. Fish should be flaky when gently pulled apart with a paring knife. Finally, stir in the chopped parsley.
• Ladle the hot fish stew into serving bowls, top each with a few toasted pine nuts, if you like. Serve with your favorite crusty bread! Enjoy!

ITALIAN CHICKEN STEW

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook the chicken, potatoes, red pepper and garlic in oil until chicken is no longer pink and vegetables are tender. Stir in the remaining ingredients; cook and stir until heated through.

BONNIE'S ITALIAN STEW

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• For the meatballs:
• Pour the milk over bread and soak to soften.
• Place the meat in a mixing bowl and add the cheese, EVOO, fennel, crushed red pepper, garlic, egg, parsley, salt and pepper.
• Squeeze the excess milk from the bread and crumble into crumbs as you add it to the meat. Combine the meatball mix and roll into 2-inch balls. Place the meatballs on nonstick baking sheet sprayed with olive oil spray and roast until browned but not fully cooked, 10 to 12 minutes.
• For the stew:
• Meanwhile, heat the EVOO in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the garlic, onions and bay, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until translucent, stirring occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes. Then add the tomato paste and stir until fragrant. Add the beef stock and tomatoes, then break up the tomatoes with a potato masher. Add the basil, potatoes and meatballs and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat back to medium, partially cover and cook 10 minutes. Add the green beans and cook 7 to 8 minutes more.
• Serve, or cool completely and store for make-ahead meal. Reheat over a medium-low flame, partially covered, stirring occasionally (or reheat in a 325 degree F oven) until sauce is bubbly.
• To serve, top shallow bowls of stew with cheese and an extra drizzle of EVOO.