Ingredients for Fried Vegetables:

• Cooking oil
• 1½ cups broccoli florets
• 1½ cups cauliflower florets
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced into ½-inch thick slices
• 1 small eggplant, sliced into ½-inch thick slices
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup flour
• Beer or sparkling mineral water

Directions for Fried Vegetables:

• Heat cooking oil in large, deep skillet over medium heat and cover.
• Wash vegetables, cut broccoli and cauliflower florets into bite-size pieces and dry with a paper towel.  Set aside.
• Mix egg, flour, and beer or sparkling mineral water in medium bowl.  Stir continually and add salt and pepper to taste.
• NOTE:  Batter should stick to fork without completely running off.  If batter is too runny, add a little flour.  If batter is too thick, add a little more beer or mineral water.
• Dip vegetables into batter and completely coat.  Carefully place vegetables into hot oil and cook on all sides until light golden brown.
• Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.  Sprinkle vegetables with salt to taste and serve warm.

Serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients for Zucchini with Lemon:

• 4 to 5 zucchini
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions for Zucchini with Lemon:

• Slice zucchini into 1/2 inch thick slices.  Steam zucchini for approximately 10 minutes.  Remove and drain.  Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
• Combine zucchini slices with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and lemon in a serving bowl.
• Mix well and serve.  Zucchini may be served at room temperature or chilled.

This Zucchini with Lemon recipe serves 4 to 6.

For an alternative to this recipe, try Steamed Spinach with Lemon.

Ingredients for Steamed Spinach with Lemon:

• 2 pounds fresh spinach
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions for Steamed Spinach with Lemon:

• Steam spinach about 10 minutes.  Remove and drain.  Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
• Cut spinach and combine with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and lemon in a serving bowl.
• Mix well and serve.  Spinach may be served at room temperature or chilled.  Enjoy!

This Steamed Spinach with Lemon recipe serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients for Sauteéd Asparagus:

• 1 pound fresh asparagus
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup grated parmigiano cheese

Directions for Sauteéd Asparagus:

• Wash and break off ends of asparagus. Steam about 3 to 4 minutes until tender when pierced with fork. (Asparagus should be tender, but not mushy.)
• Melt butter in skillet. Add asparagus and parmigiano cheese. Mix well and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

This Sauteéd Asparagus recipe serves 4.

Return from Sauteéd Asparagus to other Vegetables Recipes

Ingredients for Dressed Butter Beans:

• 1 (15 ounce) can butter beans
• 1/2 rib celery, chopped
• 1 ½ tablespoons red onion, finely chopped
• 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

Directions for Dressed Butter Beans:

• Drain beans and rinse.  In a medium bowl, combine beans, celery, onion, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.
• Stir to mix well.  Serve cold or room temperature.

This Dressed Butter Beans recipe serves 4 to 6.

Tip:  For a hearty salad, drain 1 (6 ounce) can tuna and add ingredients.  Serve with crackers.

Ingredients for Drowned Potatoes:

• 6 to 8 Yukon potatoes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley

Directions for Drowned Potatoes:

• Wash and peel potatoes.  Cut in potatoes into cubes.
• Combine olive oil, garlic, potatoes, and  salt and pepper to taste  in saucepan over medium heat. 
• Add 1 cup water and cover tightly.  Cook about 15 to 20 minutes in boiling water.  Stir potatoes occasionally, cover and continue to cook until potatoes are nice and tender.
• Remove from heat.  Add parsley and stir to mix well.  Serve hot.

This recipe for Drowned Potatoes serves 4 to 6.

Tip:  One head of cauliflower may be substituted for the potatoes.

Italian Fried Vegetables (Fritto Misto di Verdure)

Italian Fried Vegetables also known as Fritto Misto di Verdure is a recipe using a variety of vegetables bathed in a creamy batter and fried to golden brown perfection. These are so delicious that even our children devour them without realizing what they are eating. You can use many different vegetables, but we typically use eggplant, zucchini, broccoli florets, and cauliflower florets.

Italian Fried Vegetables are often made and served with the Christmas Eve meal. We enjoy them with pasta with tuna, fried or baked cod, and Pandoro on Christmas Eve when we gather with family. But, you don’t have to wait until the holidays to sample these appetizing veggies.

The key to making this recipe is all in the “pastella” or batter. The consistency of the batter should be thick enough to cling to a flork without completely running off. If the batter becomes too runny, add a little more flour. If the batter becomes too thick, add a little more beer or sparkling water.

Ingredients for Italian Fried Vegetables:

• Cooking Oil
• 1½ cups broccoli florets
• 1½ cups cauliflower florets
• 2 medium zucchini
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1½ cups flour
• Beer or sparkling mineral water
• Salt, to taste

Directions for Italian Fried Vegetables:

• Heat cooking oil in large, deep skillet over medium heat and cover.
• Wash vegetables, cut into bite-size pieces, and dry with paper towel.  Set aside.
• In medium bowl, mix flour into eggs, then add beer or sparkling mineral water.  Stir continuously and add salt and pepper to taste.
• If batter is too thick, add a little more beer or sparkling mineral water.  If batter is too runny, add a little more flour.
• Dip vegetables into batter and completely coat.  Carefully place vegetables into hot oil and cook on all sides until light brown.
• Remove with a slotted spoon and drain

This Italian Fried Vegetables recipe will serve approximately 4 to 6 people.

Mangia, Mangia!

Roasted Potatoes (Patate Arrosto)

 

Roasted potatoes are called Patate Arrosto in Italian. Whatever you call them, they are delicious. The outside is a bit crunchy with a soft center that is full of flavor due to the olive oil and rosemary used in this recipe. This is a very common dish that mamma makes especially when she is preparing Italian meatballs (polpette), Italian meatloaf (polpettone), Oven-baked Chicken (Pollo al Forno), or Pork Roast (Arrosto di Maiale).

Ingredients for Roasted Potatoes:

• 6 to 8 Large Russet potatoes
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 sprigs of fresh Rosemary

Directions for Roasted Potatoes:

• Preheat oven to 350° F (176° C).
• Wash and peel potatoes.  Cut potatoes in half, then into quarters.  Set potatoes aside.
• In an oven-safe dish or foil roasting pan, add olive oil, garlic, potatoes, salt, and pepper.  Mix well.  Add more olive oil if potatoes are not coated.
• Sprinkle rosemary pieces over top of potatoes.
• Place in oven and stir occasionally during the baking process.  Bake for about 1 ½ hours or until potatoes are golden brown. 

This Roasted Potatoes recipe will serve 4 to 6.

Italian Stuffed Tomatoes (Pomodori Ripieni)

Pomodori Ripieni or Italian Stuffed Tomatoes is a traditional Roman dish. It does take some time to prepare, but the end result is well worth the time and effort. This recipe will require 3 major steps. First, you will need to make a basic red sauce. Second, you will need to make the rice stuffing. Third, you will need to bake the tomatoes with the rice stuffing inside. Let’s start with the recipe for the basic red sauce:

Ingredients for Sugo di Pomodoro Semplice (Basic Red Sauce):

• 2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 4 leaves fresh basil

Directions for Sugo di Pomodoro Semplice (Basic Red Sauce):

• In one large pot, add olive oil and garlic.
• Sauté garlic until lightly golden brown over low to medium heat.
• Add tomatoes, salt to taste, crushed red pepper, and basil leaves.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours.

Now, let’s prepare the Pomodori Ripieni (Italian Stuffed Tomatoes).

Ingedients:

• Basic Red Sauce
• 6 large Beefsteak tomatoes
• 3 cups Arborio or Basmati rice
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375° F or 190° C.
• Wash tomatoes, then cut large hole in top of tomato.  Remove pulp and seeds.
• Cook rice according to package directions.
• Drain rice and return to pot.  Add sauce, olive oil, and parmigiano cheese.  Mix thoroughly.
• Using a large spoon, scoop rice mixture into tomatoes and fill to top loosely.
• Prepare oven-safe dish with non-stick spray.  Place filled tomatoes in dish and bake for approximately 20 to 30 minutes  Remove from oven and serve hot.

This recipe for Pomodori Ripieni (Italian Stuffed Tomatoes) will serve 4 to 6 people.  It is best that the tomatoes are not too ripe or too hard.  Otherwise, the tomatoes will not cook very well.  Enjoy this recipe with your family and friends.  Be sure to let us know how you like it.