Mama Savoldi's
RECIPES
Pasta
Faglio delle Manicotte
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Flour (as much as needed)
3 eggs
1 c. milk
pinch of salt
1 c. oil
The Filling:
1 lb. ricotta cheese
1 egg
parsley (a little)
Fresh Tomato Pasta​
4-6 fresh, ripe tomatoes, peeled, chopped, and seeded
1 lg. clove garlic
1 sm. white or red onion, diced
¼ c. slivered basil leaves
2T chopped parsley
3T vinegar (balsamic best)
6T olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
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Mix together above ingredients. Let stand 15-30 mins. Cook about 1 lb. Pasta until tender. Drain. Toss the pasta with the sauce. Sprinkle with grated parmesan, romano, or asiago cheese. (4 servings)
Karyn's Red Sauce
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1 pkg. hot Italian sausage
6 cloves garlic
1 onion, cut in half
2 cans tomato paste
2 lg. cans Hunts tomato sauce
2 cans crushed tomatoes (Furmanos preferred)
Fresh basil
I start with hot sausage in a pan with hot olive oil. I brown it and add 6 cloves garlic and one onion cut in half. Then I add one big can of paste and cook for about a half an hour. Then add two big cans of hunts sauce, just the tomatoes and two cans of crushed, I like Furmanos. Add salt, pepper and lots of fresh basil. I cook it at least 3 hours. I add some water to the cans also.
Manicotti
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12-14 mannicotti shells 2 c. cottage cheese (or ricotta)
½ c. parmesan cheese 3. c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 eggs 1 tsp. onion powder, or minced onion
2 T. parsley (dry or fresh) 1 can spaghetti sauce (Grandma swore by Prego)
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Mix cheeses (reserving ½ the mozzarella), eggs, onion, parley. Stuff into manicotti shells by putting mixture into a gallon Ziploc bag. Squeeze mixture to bottom of the bag. Cut off one corner of bag. Squeeze mixture out of bag into the cooked mannicotti shells. Place in 9”x13” pan with sauce under and covering. Sprinkle with other half of mozzarella. Bake 350 degrees 35 mins. or until bubbly.
NOTE: This freezes well. Follow instructions above, then seal tightly with foil or an airtight lid and freeze. Allow 10-15 mins. extra cooking time if still frozen.
Nonna's Red Sauce
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(NOTE: I literally watched Nonna make this and wrote it down as she worked. All measurements are approximate! Use your own judgment on adding more or less. Also, I usually double this.)
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4 carrots peeled salt and pepper to taste
4 stalks celery, leave tops on a handful of parsley (about 1/8 c.)
4 lg. onions 3-4 lbs. ground beef (I use 1/2 Italian sausage)
4 lg. cloves garlic 3 qt. jars tomato sauce
olive oil 1 6 oz. can tomato paste
about 1 Tbsp. basil 1/2 lemon rind
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Grind carrots, celery, onions, garlic, basil, salt, pepper, and parsley in food processor. Put enough olive oil in large pot to cover the bottom completely. Put all ground up veggies, etc. in pot and cook until veggies are cooked thoroughly. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add raw ground beef (can substitute half meat for Italian sausage if desired.) Salt and pepper to taste again. Cook until beef is no longer pink, breaking up meat as it cooks. (According to Nonna, the meat is done when the fat covers it all, but I don't use that much oil and I use low fat meat.) Pour tomato sauce and paste into pot with meat and veggies. Add sprigs of fresh basil and parsley, and 1/2 lemon rind on top while simmering. Simmer, stirring occasionally until rim forms at the top of the sauce around the pot. (According to Nonna, this mean it is almost done.) Simmer a little while longer, until rim around pot turn dark. Pour into pint jars and seal. Will keep about 1 year.
NOTE: When doubling this recipe, just double all the ingredients except the ground beef, and it tastes the same. Doubled, this makes about 17 pints
Pasta​
4 eggs
1 c. warm water
½ c. olive oil
1 pinch salt
as much as flour as needed
Pasta Alfredo with Italian Sausage
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1 lb. Italian sausage about 10 ozs. frozen peas
1 lb. Pasta (I prefer penne) fresh sliced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 pkg. dry Alfredo mix
olive oil
(Heat salted water, and boil pasta while cooking sausage. During the last three minutes of boiling the pasta, I add the peas and cook them at the same time.) Slice sausage links. Cook in about 1 tbsp olive oil with crushed cloves of garlic until sausage cooked. If using mushrooms, saute in olive oil and garlic drippings from sausage. (You may need to drain some grease.) Prepare alfredo sauce as directed on package. Drain pasta and peas. Add alfredo sauce, mushrooms, and sausage to pasta and peas and toss. Serve immediately with parmesan cheese.
Pasta Besciamel
(pronounced bay-shuh-mel)
I got this recipe in Italy while watching Mark’s cousin make it. Delicious!
1 lb. rigatoni prepared red sauce
4 tsp. flour ½ tsp nutmeg
1 c. milk sliced cheddar cheese
sliced Monterey Jack cheese sliced Swiss cheese
Parmesan cheese
Boil about 1 lb. rigatoni pasta until al dente. While the pasta is cooking, heat up some prepared red pasta sauce, with or without meat. In a separate pan, place 4 heaping tsp. flour, ½ tsp. nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste, and about 1 cup milk. Whisk this mixture briskly to mix. Heat over medium heat until thick and creamy, stirring constantly. (It will have the consistency of glue.)
After draining pasta, put a thin layer of the red sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish. Next, layer with pasta, cream sauce, and pieces of the sliced Cheddar, Monterey Jack, and Swiss cheeses. Repeat these layers until dish is filled, sprinkling the top with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees about 30 minutes or until bubbly.
Pasta Fagioli
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1 onion 2 15 oz. cans Italian tomatoes
2 cloves garlic 2 15 oz. cans Great White Northern Beans
1 lb. Italian sausage about 1 lb. pasta, any type
Saute onion and garlic with sausage. Add tomatoes and beans. (If you don’t want that many beans, puree one can to make a thicker broth.) While sausage mixture is simmering, cook pasta in a separate pot, reserving water. Add pasta to sausage mixture, adding some of the reserved water if it gets too thick. The consistency should be like chili.
NOTE: I usually leave the pasta out. It gets too slimy for me!
Potato Gnocchi
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6 large potatoes, cooked, hot, and peeled
4 T. butter
3 eggs
4 c. flour
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Mash potatoes through potato ricer. Beat in butter and eggs. Salt to taste. Add flour, making a stiff dough. Mix and knead until dough is smooth. Shape dough into long rolls about as thick as a finger and cut into 1” pieces. Roll each gnocchi over the back of a fork, then prick with the end of the fork. Cook gnocchi in salted boiling water, about 25 at a time, covering the bottom of the pot. They will float to the top when they are done. Remove with slotted spoon, and place on platter. After all gnocchi are cooked, top with red meat sauce, pesto, or just butter and parmesan cheese. Serve hot.
Note: Freezes well uncooked.
Penne Rosa​
1lb box of penne pasta
1lb of boneless chicken breast
8 ounce chopped spinach
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can of Italian diced tomatoes, drained
2 (16 ounce) jars alfredo sauce
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (8 ounce) can mushrooms
Red pepper flakes
Parmesan cheese
Fill a medium size pot with water and add red pepper flakes, bring to boil and penne noodles.
Cut the chicken into pieces and cook thoroughly. Set aside and keep warm. Sauté the mushrooms. Thaw the spinach and drain out all excess water.
In a large saucepan mix the alfredo sauce, tomatoes, tomato sauce, mushrooms, spinach and more red pepper flakes to taste. Simmer on low for 15-20 minute. Drain the pasta and place in a large serving bowl.
Add the chicken to the pasta and stir. Add the sauce and stir. Serve immediately and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and additional red pepper flakes if desired.
Penne Rustica​
GRATINATA SAUCE
3 Tb. butter
2 Tb. minced garlic
3 Tb. marsala wine
2 c. heavy cream
1 c. grated parmesan cheese
1⁄2 c. milk
1⁄2 c. chicken broth
1 Tb. cornstarch
1 Tb. Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard
2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
1⁄2 tsp. salt
1⁄2 tsp. minced fresh thyme
1⁄4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1 lb penne rigate, cooked
12 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1⁄2 c. about 2 ounces thick-sliced prosciutto, chopped
TOPPING
3 Tb. grated parmesan cheese
1 1⁄2 tsp. paprika
GARNISH
12 sliced pimientos
4 sprigs rosemary
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Preheat bbq grill to high.
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Prepare gratinata sauce by melting 3 tbls of butter over medium/low heat. Add garlic and sweat it for about 5 minutes. Be sure the garlic doesn't brown. Add the marsala wine and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients for the sauce and whisk until smooth. Bring mixture to a simmer and keep it there for 10 minutes or until it's thick. Cover sauce and remove from heat.
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Cook past following directions on the package (7-9 minutes in boiling water). You want the pasta tender, but not mush (al dente). Strain pasta and set it aside when it's done.
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Pound the thick end of your chicken breast a bit with a kitchen mallet to make them a uniform thickness. Rub chicken with olive oil, then sprinkle on a bit of salt and pepper. Spear the shrimp on skewers (6 per skewer should work fine), then rub them with oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
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Grill chicken for 5 to 6 minutes per side. Grill shrimp for 2 minutes per side. When chicken is done, slice each breast into strips.
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Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Build each dish in a large shallow baking dish. Or you can use a 9 inch glass or ceramic pie plate. Load 3 cups of pasta into each baking dish. Add one quarter of the chicken, 3 shrimp, and 2 tbls of prosciutto onto each serving. Spoon 3/4 of a cup of gratinata sauce on each serving and toss to coat. Combine 3 tbls of grated Parmesan cheese with 1 1/2 tsp paprika, then sprinkle about 1 tbls of this mixture over the top of each serving. Bake the dishes for 10-12 minutes, or until tops begin to brown.