Vegetable Neopolitan Food

RAVIOLI NAPOLETANA

Steps:

• Set the pasta dough aside covered with a damp towel for about 30 minutes. In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, egg, parsley, Parmesan, ham, mozzarella, salt and pepper, and stir to thoroughly combine. Roll out the pasta dough into a 1/8-inch thick sheet and place mounds of about 2 tablespoons of the filling equally spaced along half of the dough. Fold the dough over to cover the mounds, and cut around each mound of filling using a 3-inch cookie cutter, press the edges firmly to seal and pressing to release as much of the trapped air as possible. Crimp the edges, if desired. Place the ravioli on a baking sheet or large plate, covered with plastic wrap or a lightly damp towel, and refrigerate until ready to serve, up to overnight.
• Fill a large pot with water and add salt to taste. Bring to a boil. Add the ravioli and cook until they float to the surface, about 3 minutes. Drain briefly on paper towels, then transfer to shallow bowls and serve, with a heaping 1/4 cup of the warmed tomato sauce spooned over the top and garnished with chopped basil and Parmesan.
• Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until a ball is formed. Continue to pulse for 1 minute and remove from the processor. Continue to knead by hand for 5 minutes before forming into a tight ball and covering with a damp towel.

NEOPOLITAN PIZZA

Steps:

• Place the water in a large bowl or mixer with a dough hook. Dissolve the yeast in the water. Add the remaining ingredients except cornmeal and mix on low speed until a ball is formed. Change to medium speed and mix approximately for 1 to 2 minutes until a smooth and elastic dough is formed. Remove the dough from the bowl, cut the dough into 2 portions, roll into tight balls and place in lightly oiled sheet pan, cover and let proof for a minimum of 4 hours.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. To make the sauce, place the salt pork in a large sauce pot and render the fat. Add the onions and saute until translucent. Add the garlic and saute until the aroma is apparent. Add the crushed tomatoes, puree, and stock to the pot and bring to a simmer. Add the bay leaf, thyme, and salt and allow to simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the bay leaf, puree the sauce and adjust the seasonings.
• Once the dough is ready, roll each piece out using a rolling pin until dough in approximately 1/4-inch thick. Spoon some tomato sauce on top of the dough. Layer the mozzarella, place the pizza on a sheet pan dusted with cornmeal and bake for 10 to 15 minutes until crispy and golden. Garnish with basil leaves.

PASTA NEOPOLITAN

Steps:

• Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet on medium heat and saute half of the crushed garlic in the oil along with 1 teaspoon basil and 1 teaspoon oregano. Add the tomatoes, a cup at a time, to the skillet. Once all the tomatoes are in the pan, allow them to reduce by a fourth.
• In a separate pan, cook the chicken with remaining oil, crushed garlic, basil, and oregano. Cook until chicken is brown. Set the pan aside but do not discard any liquid that may be in the pan.
• Once the tomato broth mixture has reduced, add the chicken, chicken broth and juice from the olives to the pan and allow it to continue to cook. In total, the tomato mixture will cook for approximately 1 hour. In a large stockpot, bring water to a boil in order to cook the pasta. Add salt and the pasta and cook until al dente or approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the pasta in a colander and place in a large bowl. Add the finished tomato and chicken sauce to the pasta mix and serve.
• Serve with fresh grated Romano and sliced black olives.

NEOPOLITAN

Steps:

• In heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together water and sugar until sugar dissolves. Simmer 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and add lemon verbena. Let steep 30 minutes, then strain and let cool. Cover and refrigerate syrup until cold, about 1 hour. Makes about 1 cup.
• In cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine vodka, lemon verbena syrup, and cranberry juice. Shake vigorously for about 6 seconds, then strain into 6-ounce cocktail glass. Garnish with orange peel and rosemary sprig, if using.
• If you can't find fresh lemon verbena, substitute the zest of 1 lemon, removed in strips with a vegetable peeler. Use an organic lemon if you can, or scrub it well before zesting to remove any pesticides.

GRILLED VEGETABLES WITH SPICY ITALIAN NEONATA

Steps:

• Heat a grill to medium and oil the grates.
• On two large sheet pans, divide bell peppers, zucchini and eggplant. Drizzle the contents of each sheet pan with 1/4 cup olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper, and toss to evenly coat. In batches, grill the vegetables, turning occasionally, until cut sides are tender and lightly charred, 3 to 5 minutes for the lettuce, 8 to 10 minutes for the zucchini, and 10 to 12 minutes for the peppers and eggplant. Transfer them to one very large (or two large) serving platters as they finish cooking.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine lemon juice, anchovies and garlic; whisk until well blended. And salami, cherry peppers, olives, celery, parsley and the remaining 3/4 cup oil, and mix well. (Makes about 2 cups neonata.)
• Generously drizzle or spoon some of the neonata over the grilled vegetables. Serve vegetables warm or at room temperature, with the remaining neonata on the side.

EGGPLANT (AUBERGINE) NEAPOLITAN

Steps:

• Cut eggplant crosswise into 1/2 inch slices.
• Dip into bread crumbs to coat.
• Heat 1 T oil over medium-high heat.
• Fry eggplant until golden, about 10 minutes, adding more oil as needed.
• Top eggplant slices with cheese.
• Spoon sauce over eggplant.
• Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until cheese melts (about 5 minutes).
• Sprinkle with parsley.

ROASTED VEGETABLE NAPOLEONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F. and brush 2 baking sheets with some of the olive oil.
• Arrange as many vegetables as possible in one layer on sheets. Brush vegetables with some remaining oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast vegetables in middle and lower thirds of oven, switching positions of sheets in oven half way through roasting, until just tender and lightly browned, 10-15 minutes. Transfer vegetables as roasted to a tray, arranging them in one layer. Roast remaining vegetables in same manner. Vegetables may be roasted 1 day ahead, cooled completely, and chilled, layered between sheets of plastic wrap on trays and covered. Bring vegetables to room temperature before proceeding.
• In a small bowl stir together ricotta, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Put 1 eggplant slice on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Spread 1 tablespoon of ricotta mixture over eggplant. Cover ricotta mixture with 2 potato slices and layer with 2 zucchini slices, 1 onion slice, 1 mozzarella slice, 2 to 3 tomato slices, 2 zucchini slices, and 1 onion slice. Spread 1 tablespoon ricotta mixture over onion and top with 1 eggplant slice. Make 5 more napoleons using remaining vegetables, ricotta mixture, and mozzarella in same manner.
• Insert a metal or wooden skewer through center of each napoleon to make a hole from top to bottom. Trim rosemary sprigs to 1-inch taller than napoleons and remove bottom leaves from each sprig, leaving about 1-inch of leaves around top. Insert 1 sprig into each napoleon and bake in middle of oven 5 minutes, or until mozzarella is melted and vegetables are heated through.