SPAGHETTI AND MEATBA

04 Oct 2011 2 Comments

by nonnax9 in Nonna's Recipes, Uncategorized

This is a firm favourite with the kids.

Meatballs:

1 kilo of mince
l cup of grated pecorino cheese
1 slice of white breadcrumbs
A couple of cloves of garlic minced
1 egg but may need a bit more
Salt and pepper

Sauce:

I buy jars of passata from Coles and prefer the Rosa brand. Just get the plain one with nothing added
2 x jars of passata
several bits of fresh basil
1 tin of crushed tomatoes.
salt and pepper and maybe a spoon of sugar to take the acid taste off
Salt and pepper

Method:

Put the sause and tomatoes into a saucepan and just bring to a simmer

Meanwhile make up the meat balls maybe a desp of meat for each ball.
Fry and brown all over in olive oil
set aside while making them all and then add to the sauce
Finely chop some more garlic probably another couple of cloves and add to the pan
and just slightly cook and then add a good sloosh of red wine or white if you don’t have red
Tip into the sauce
Add the basil and simmer for a while until the sauce thickens slightly and the meat is cooked
through.

Serve with your favourite pasta shape and a generous sprinkle of pecorino or parmasan cheese.

STUFFED ARTICHOKES

03 Oct 2011 1 Comment

by nonnax9 in Nonna's Recipes

Served up

These are time consuming and fiddly to both make and eat.  However I have loved them since I was a little girl so I think it is well worth it.
If I don’t write the recipe down it will die with me because no one else makes them really except Midge my sister.

This is not something any of the trendy chefs would cook or use

Fancy tearing away half the artichoke.  At $3 each

eat it all and don’t waste the outside leaves.

I always make four at a time only because they fit into my big pot snugly and don’t fall over while cooking.

Sara and Kate both love artichokes and Melinda seems to like them as well, David can’t stand them and the grandchildren won’t ever taste them.  They don’t know what they are missing.  Sara’s husband Craig can’t bear looking or smelling them for some reason. Silly Craig.

 

Method
and ingredients:

 

4 firm fresh artichokes with stems removed and washed and dried.

Several cloves of garlic chopped finely

One loaf of white bread made into breadcrumbs

2 cups of pecorino cheese

1 large bunch of fresh mint finely chopped.

Teaspoon salt.

 

Mix the crumbs, cheese, garlic and mint together in a large bowl.

 

Gently ease the leaves of the artichoke open starting on the outside and stuff crumb mixture into each leaf going around and around until you get to the very firm centre heart bit.  You probably won’t be able to get any more crumbs into there.

 And stand pot on stove and start to heat up.  Gently pour boiling water down the side of the saucepan until it comes half way up the artichoke.  Gently simmer until the leaves come away
easily and taste test that they are tender.
I find they always take ages.
About 1.5 hrs.  If they are old artichokes they will take longer

Peel the hard outer fibrous stuff of the stems and you are left with the white core.  I add this to the pot as it cooks
up to lovely and tender and tasty.

Careful serving them up.  You need two big spoons
to get them out as they do tend to fall apart. 
Serve with some of the broth they were cooked in.  Yum. 

You eat them by pulling them through your front teeth to get the tender inside of the leaf off and the stuffing is delicious

I have just made some so am off to eat them nowout 1.5 hrs