Italian food recipes

Pan-Seared Chicken with Italian Salsa Verde

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon  all-purpose flour
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 4  (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 5  teaspoons  olive oil, divided
• 3/4  cup  fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 2  tablespoons  water
• 2  tablespoons  red wine vinegar
• 1  teaspoon  bottled minced garlic
• 1  teaspoon  capers, rinsed and drained
• 4  (2-inch) fresh mint sprigs
• 1  (2-ounce) slice peasant bread, crust removed

 Preparation

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal and shake well to coat. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done.
Place the remaining 2 teaspoons oil, parsley, and remaining ingredients except bread in a food processor; process 10 seconds or until finely chopped. Tear peasant bread into pieces; add to the processor, and process 4 seconds or until well blended. Thinly slice each chicken breast half, and serve topped with salsa verde.

Nutritional Information

Calories:280 (27% from fat)

Fat: 8.3g (sat 1.5g,mono 4.7g,poly 1.3g)

Protein:40.9g

Carbohydrate:8.1g

Fiber:1g

Cholesterol: 99mg

Iron: 2.7mg

Sodium: 345mg

Calcium:51mg

 

Italian Combo Sandwich

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon  Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Light Mayonnaise
• 2  slices multigrain bread
• 2  tablespoons  chopped marinated artichokes (optional)
• 2  tablespoons  sliced hot Italian peppers (optional)
• 2  ounces  thinly sliced deli ham
• 1  slice mozzarella or provolone cheese
• 1/4  cup  baby arugula or spinach leaves

Preparation

Light Mayonnaise on 1 bread slice, then top with artichokes and Italian peppers. Layer with remaining ingredients, then top with remaining bread.

Grilled Clams with Sambuca and Italian Sausage

Ingredients

• 4  ounces  hot turkey Italian sausage (about 1/2 link)
• 1/4  cup  finely chopped onion
• 1/4  cup  finely chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4  cup  finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1/2  teaspoon  butter
• 1  garlic clove, minced
• 1  (1-ounce) slice day-old white bread
• 2  tablespoons  Sambuca or Pernod (licorice-flavored liqueur)
• 1/2  teaspoon  Worcestershire sauce
• 1/8  teaspoon  black pepper
• Dash of salt
• 36  littleneck clams, cleaned
• 6  lemon wedges

Preparation

Remove casings from sausage. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add sausage; cook until browned, stirring to crumble. Add onion, peppers, butter, and garlic to pan; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Place bread in a food processor; pulse 5 times or until breadcrumbs form. Add breadcrumbs to sausage mixture; cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour Sambuca into one side of skillet. Ignite Sambuca with a long match, and let flames die down. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and salt.
Prepare grill to high heat.
Shuck clams; discard any broken shells or shells that remain open. Place 12 clam halves on shellfish grate; discard top halves of shells. Top each with about 1 teaspoon breadcrumb mixture. Place grate on grill. Cover and cook 4 minutes or until clam juice in shells boils. Remove clams from grate; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining clams and breadcrumbs. Serve with lemon wedges.

Italian Chocolate-Chestnut Torte 

Ingredients

• 2  ounces  bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 3/4  cup  mascarpone cheese
• 1/2  cup  whole-milk or part-skim ricotta cheese
• 6  tablespoons  granulated sugar
• 2  large eggs, separated
• 1  tablespoon  rum (optional)
• 1/4  cup  chestnut flour or all-purpose flour
• 1/3  cup  chopped chestnuts in syrup, drained, or marrons glacés (see notes)
• Cookie crust (recipe follows)
• Powdered sugar
• 8  to 10 whole chestnuts in syrup, drained, or marrons glacés (optional)
• Coffee ice cream

Preparation

1. In a large microwave-safe bowl, heat chocolate in a microwave oven on full power (100%) until soft, about 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds.
2. To chocolate, add mascarpone, ricotta, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, egg yolks, rum, flour, and chopped chestnuts; stir until well blended.
3. In a bowl, with a mixer on high speed, beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and continue to beat whites until they hold stiff peaks. Gently fold whites into cheese mixture; scrape into cookie crust and spread level.
4. Bake in a 350° oven until filling is firm when pan is gently shaken and springs back when lightly touched in the center, about 30 minutes (20 minutes in a convection oven).
5. Cool on a rack about 20 minutes. Run a knife between cake and pan rim; remove rim. Let torte cool to room temperature, about 45 minutes; proceed, or chill airtight up to 1 day.
6. Sift powdered sugar over torte. If desired, decorate top with whole chestnuts spaced evenly around rim. Cut into wedges and serve with ice cream.
Cookie crust. In a food processor or blender, whirl about 45 vanilla wafer cookies (6 oz. total) until finely ground. Pour crumbs into a 9-inch cake pan with removable rim. Add 3 tablespoons melted butter or margarine, 1 tablespoon each honey and rum, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon; mix well and press evenly over bottom and 1 inch up sides of pan.

Shrimp Alfredo Pizza

Ingredients

• 1  (1.6-ounce) package dry Alfredo sauce mix
• 1  pound  unpeeled medium-size fresh shrimp
• 3  bacon slices
• 1  medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  teaspoon  dried oregano
• 1/4  teaspoon  pepper
• 1  (16-ounce) package prebaked Italian pizza crust
• 1/3  cup  shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1  (8-ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2  plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1  teaspoon  dried parsley

Preparation

Prepare Alfredo sauce according to package directions. Set aside.
Peel shrimp, and devein, if desired. Set aside.
Cook bacon in a nonstick skillet until crisp; remove bacon, reserving drippings in skillet. Drain bacon on paper towels; crumble and set aside.
Add onion and garlic to skillet, and sauté over medium-high heat 3 minutes or until tender. Add shrimp, and sauté 2 minutes. Stir in oregano and pepper. Remove from heat.
Place crust on a baking sheet; spread with Alfredo sauce. Sprinkle evenly with shrimp mixture, bacon, Parmesan cheese, and remaining ingredients.
Bake at 400° for 12 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Note: For testing purposes only, we used Boboli for prebaked Italian pizza crust.