Focaccia di Bari

Ingredients

4-1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup olive oil, plus extra oil for coating the pans

2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup water, approximately 110° F

2 baking potatoes, boiled with skin on

1 pack dry active yeast

2-3 Plum tomatoes, sliced thin

Dried oregano

Black pepper

Directions
Boil the potatoes until fork tender. Drain and peel the potatoes and pass them through a potato ricer or mash them with a potato masher or fork in a large mixing bowl. Add the flour, yeast, and salt to the mashed potatoes. Drizzle the water and then the oil a bit at a time until they are absorbed into the dough. When all the water and oil are incorporated into the dough, remove the dough to a floured work surface and knead the dough for 10-15 minutes. Add additional flour if the dough appears to be sticky. Divide the dough into three parts and form three disks. Coat three 8-9” round cake pans with oil and press a disk of dough into each. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rise for approximately 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 400° F.
Garnish the tops of the focaccia with the tomatoes, oregano and pepper, and using your finger tips make dimples into the tops (these dimples will catch the oil). Drizzle the tops with a little oil. Bake for approximately 40-45 minutes, spraying the focaccia with water, using a spray bottle. Bake until golden brown. Serve warm or use cold to make sandwiches.

*You may also garnish the focaccia with green and black olives, or rosemary, or caramelized onions etc the toppings are infinite. But the tomatoes and oregano are traditional toppings for Barese Focaccia.

Picadillo (Basic Puerto Rican Ground Beef)

Ingredients

1 LB. Ground beef

1 Medium onion, finely chopped

3 Cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 Large red bell pepper, finely chopped

½ Cup alcaparrado (Latin olive salad), roughly chopped

¼ Cup alcaparrado brine

¼ White vinegar

1 8oz Can tomato sauce

2 Envelopes sazon (with culantro & achiote)

2 Tablespoons sofrito

2 Teaspoons ground cumin

1 ½ Teaspoons kosher salt

½ Teaspoon black pepper

1-2 Teaspoons dried oregano

¼ Cup golden raisins, optional

4 Tablespoons Olive oil, divided

Directions
Coat the bottom of a heavy skillet with 2 tablespoons of oil and brown the ground beef over medium-high heat. Remove beef with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the drippings in the pan. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook off some of the water that the beef left behind (1-2 minutes), add remainder of the oil, onions and saute until translucent. Add peppers, alcaparrado, garlic, olives sofrito, sazon, oregano, salt, cumin, raisins (if using) and black pepper. Once the peppers have softened (approximately 3 minutes), add the beef, tomato sauce, vinegar and olive brine, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes covered.

Remove beef from the pan and set aside to cool, draining of any excess grease. Beef can be made 24 hours in advance and refrigerated.

* Alcaparrado can be found in the latin section of your supermarket (I use Goya's alcaparrado).  I make my own Sofrito, but I also use Goya's sofrito when I'm in a rush.

Traditional Hummus

Ingredients

1 16 oz Can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

1/4 Cup liquid from can of chickpeas

4 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 Tablespoons tahini

2 Cloves garlic, crushed

½ Teaspoon salt

½ - 1 Teaspoon cumin (depending on taste)

4 Tablespoons olive oil (divided)

Directions

Traditionally, hummus should be made from dried beans, chickpeas, lentils, fave beans etc, but the process is a bit longer and canned chickpeas work just fine.
Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in blender or food processor except for the oil. Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes until thoroughly mixed and smooth. While food processor is still running, drizzle in 2 tablespoons of oil.  Place in serving bowl, and create a slight well in the center of the hummus, and add the remainder of olive oil in the well. Garnish with paprika (optional).  Serve immediately with fresh, warm or toasted pita bread, or cover and refrigerate. Enjoy!

4 Spice Turkey Burgers

Ingredients

3 Pound package of ground turkey

1 Medium sweet onion, finely chopped

2 Medium carrots, finely shredded

1 Green bell pepper, finely chopped

2 Tablespoons Italian parsley, finely chopped

3 Large cloves of garlic, grinded into a paste

1 Tablespoon paprika

1 Teaspoon kosher salt

¼ Teaspoon ground ginger

¼ Teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ Teaspoon curry powder

¼ Teaspoon ground black pepper, optional

½ Teaspoon Mesquite seasoning, optional

1 Large egg, well beaten

Directions

Prepare all your vegetables, and set them aside. Place ground turkey in a large mixing bowl, and add the vegetables, spices and egg. Mix well but be certain not to over mix, since this will yield a tough and dry burger. With a ¼ - ½ measure scoop up some of the ground turkey mixture and form into a ball, squeeze gently. Now flatten the ball into a patty form and place on a piece of waxed paper, continue the process with the remainder of the turkey mixture. This recipe will yield 6-8 rather large burgers, or 10-12 medium sized burgers. You can place the burgers in the freezer for up to 2-3 months and use as needed.
A Great recipe if you’re having a BBQ, and want to serve something other than the standard beef burger. Enjoy!!

*Note:  If you are going to melt cheese on the burgers, you want to do this when the internal temp is between 135-140 degrees F.  Ground turkey is well done at a temp of 160 degrees F.  Remember carry over cooking, so removing the burger from the heat when it's 145-150 degrees F will ensure a proper cooked burger, that is still moist and Yumm'tastic! 

Basic Homemade Pasta

Ingredients

3 Cups all-purpose flour

1 Teaspoon kosher salt

1 Cup warm water

1 Tablespoon olive oil

Directions

In the bowl of a food processor place flour and salt, run the food processor to aerate the flour for approximately 10 minutes. Through the feeding tube begin to drizzle in the water and olive oil while the processor is still running. Only add enough water to make the dough form a ball. Continue to process for another 10 minutes. You may need to add additional water or flour to get to the right consistence (a smooth non tacky dough). Remove pasta dough from the food processor form into a disk and cover with plastic wrap, and set aside for approximately 20-30 minutes. Divide the disk into 8 pieces. Taking 1/8 of the dough at a time, and roll it out or roll it through a pasta machine until it's a fraction thicker than a sheet of paper (if using a pasta machine roll dough out to a #7 thickness) even the sheet of pasta out (in a rectangular shape) cut it in ½ and stack both halves on top of each other sprinkling flour between sheets. Then cut in ½ once again, follow same process. Once you have a stack of pasta dough measuring approximately 3” x 6” using a pizza cutter, cut the pasta into 1 ½ – 2 inch wide stripes. Separate the pasta so they won't stick together. Shake off excess flour from pasta and add to a pot of salted boiling water. Pasta is ready once it begins to float to the top. Add to the skillet with the beans and cook over low heat. This process will help thicken the sauce. Remove from heat and add the cheese and toss the pasta. Serve immediately. Enjoy.

Pasta Casalinga Con Fagioli ed Prosciutto Affumicato

Pasta Casalinga Con Fagioli ed Prosciutto Affumicato

(Homemade Pasta With Beans & Smoked Ham)

Ingredients

½ Cup Smoked Ham, diced

6 Cloves Garlic, sliced razor thin

1 Tablespoon Basil, finely chopped

1 Tablespoon Parsley, finely chopped

1 19oz Can cannellini beans, drained

3 Tablespoons tomato paste

1 14.5oz Can chicken broth

Salt & Black pepper to taste

Olive oil

Pinch granulated sugar, optional

¼ - ½ Cup Romano cheese, grated

Directions

In a heavy skillet saute the ham in approximately 3 tablespoons of olive oil until crisp, add the garlic. Once the garlic has softened add the tomato paste and continue to saute over low heat, until tomato paste is well incorporated. Add the beans and chicken broth and simmer for approximately 15 minutes, taste and add sugar, salt and pepper as needed (keep in mind that u will be adding grated cheese which is salty). Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and continue to simmer for an additional 20 minutes. Homemade pasta should be used if possible, the recipe follows.

Mozzarella In Carrozza

Ingredients

8 Slices bread

1 Pound mozzarella, sliced into ¼ inch slices

4 Extra large eggs, beaten

1 Cup seasoned bread crumbs

Salt and black pepper to taste

3-4 Basil leaves

Canola oil for frying

2 Tablespoons olive oil

Directions

Heat canola oil and olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, add the basil and allow to crisp up. The basil will flavor the oil slightly, but this step maybe omitted.

Sandwich a slice of mozzarella between two slices of bread and dip both sides into the beaten eggs. Dredge in the bread crumbs, and fry until golden brown on both sides. Cut in half and serve while hot. Can also be served with a little marinara sauce on the side for dipping. Enjoy!!