In the dining room of Summer and Pete’s farmhouse in Newtown, CT, friends sit down to a meal prepared by the staff from La Zingara in Bethel, Connecticut. Chefs Claudio Quezada and Romelio Pauta and manager Roberto Moro explain to host Parker Kelley how to build the perfect dried meat plate for starters. Next they demonstrate how they make Raviolo di Uovo and Costine Brasato—two favorites off the menu of the nearby restaurant.
We’ve provided all the recipes from Episode 6 of Season 1, so that you can have an Italian dinner party at home, too. Buon appetito!
Piatto del Salumiere
Ingredients:
Butcher block of assorted imported meats and cheeses
Raviolo di Uovo
Ingredients:
Dough:
1 lb. all purpose flour
5 egg yolks
1 whole egg
pinch of salt
water as needed
Filling:
1 lb Ricotta
1 cup parmesan cheese
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
sprinkle of both salt & pepper
1 egg
1 egg yolk
White Truffle Oil
Directions:
1. For Dough: Combine all ingredients except water in a large bowl. Once all combined add water as needed to hold dough together. Roll dough out as thin as possible. Approximately 1/16–1/8-inch thick.
2. For Filling: Prepare filling by whisking 1 egg in medium mixing bowl. Add cheeses and parsley. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
3. Lay dough on clean flat work surface and cut to 6 large-sized raviolis. Spoon filling mixture into center of dough, but be careful to not place filling near edges. Create a well or small nest in middle of the filling and place one egg yolk in center. Top with another layer of dough and seal edges.
4. Bring a large pasta pot of water to a boil. Reduce water to simmer and add raviolis. Poach 3-4 minutes.
Brown Butter Sage Sauce
Ingredients:
¼ lb of butter
15 fresh sage leaves
Directions:
1. Melt butter over medium heat in sauté pan.
2. Fry sage leaves in butter until crisp but not brown (about 1-2 minutes on each side).
3. Remove from butter and place on paper towel.
To Plate:
Transfer to one ravioli to plate. Top with 2-3 tablespoons of brown butter sauce and garnish with fried sage leaves. Drizzle with white truffle oil.
Costine Brasato
Ingredients:
6 large short ribs
1 large onion (chopped)
1 large carrot (chopped)
2 stalks celery (chopped)
red wine (approximately ½ bottle)
12 fresh thyme sprigs (divided)
olive oil
salt & pepper
Directions:
1. Heat large dutch oven pan on stove top over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and heat.
2. Season short ribs on all sides with salt & pepper. Then add short ribs to dutch oven pan and sear on all sides till crisp brown edge starts to form. (Tip: Do not disturb short ribs while searing in order to form a nice crusted edge, then turn and repeat until all sides are seared but not cooked through). Remove short ribs from pan and set aside.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in bottom of large dutch oven.
4. Sauté onion, celery and carrot unit tender (approximately 6-8 minutes)
5. Add short ribs back to pan and fill dutch oven with wine. Wine should be nearly covering ribs but ribs should not be submerged in wine. Add fresh thyme sprigs. Cover and braise in 400-degree oven for 1 hour.
6. Remove ribs and coarsely puree pan drippings to create finishing sauce.
Mashed Red Bliss Potatoes
Ingredients:
12 red bliss potatoes
1 pint whole milk
1/4 lb. butter (melted)
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
Directions:
1. Place potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water with skins on and cook until fork tender. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Combine butter, milk, nutmeg and salt and pepper. Slowly add mixture in small batches to hot potatoes and smash with a potato smasher to incorporate. Keep adding milk mixture in batches until desired creamy consistency.
Wilted Spinach
Ingredients:
12 cups butter
4-5 cloves garlic (sliced thin)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
Directions:
1. In a large sauté pan heat olive oil and butter. Add garlic and sauté (approximately 1 minute). Add spinach and toss to coat. Continue to toss and stir until just wilted (approximately 3 minutes).
To plate:
Spoon potato smash onto plate. Add wilted spinach and place one short rib on top. Ladle with pan dripping puree and garnish with sprig of thyme.
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