Sunday Sauce - Italian Recipes, Food and More!

Recipe: PORTO LEGGARO's Take on "Al Arabbiata" Sauce

In honor of Jonny Mangia's earning his brown belt in karate on Saturday, "Sunday Sauce" celebrated at Porto Leggaro, an Italian restaurant located in the downtown, waterfront area of Jersey City, New Jersey, that has received local acclaim.  Nikki was particularly pleased with her choice of pasta: a traditional "Al Arabbiata" (spicy tomato sauce), uniquely embellished with "shiitake mushrooms, black olives and a hint of anchovy."  Although there are numerous versions of "Al Arrabiata" made in Italy, this version, with its "puttanesca-like" twist, was an explosion of sweet, spicy and savory.  Nikki was so knocked out of her boots, er, heels, that she  "just HAD" to recreate this dish THE VERY NEXT DAY for both her and Jonny Mangia's Sunday pasta -- and of course, share it with you...

Porto Leggaro's version of "Al Arabbiata" with shitake mushrooms, black olives and a "hint of anchovy".

Nikki's take on the Al Arabbiata sauce. Lighting in our kitchen

made this pic a bit yellowish.

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Porto Leggaro's "Al Arrabiata"

Ingredients:

1 1/2 medium-sized onions, sliced into 1/4 inch half-moon pieces
1 35-oz. can of Italian whole plum tomatoes, crush by hand (Sunday Sauce recommendation: Tuttarosa whole-plum tomatoes)
3 TBs extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb. package of sliced shiitake mushrooms
1/2 cup pitted calamata olives, sliced
1/2 cup pitted black olives, sliced
2 anchovies, minced
3/4 tsp of red pepper flakes (or more, depending on desired spiciness)
7-10 large, fresh basil leaves
2-3 TBs of heavy cream (more if you like a lighter tomato sauce)
1 lb. dried penne or mezza rigatoni
Grated pecorino romano cheese

Andiamo!

- Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet; toss in the onion slices and cook until onion has softened, about five minutes, occasionally shaking the pan
- Clear a space in the pan and cook anchovies for 1-2 minutes until melted
- Clear a space for the red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute
- Add the mushrooms, toss with onions, red pepper flakes and anchovies, cook for 2 minutes; add the olive slices and stir all ingredients together, shaking the pan, for another 3-4 minutes, until  ingredients have softened (making sure the onion does not brown!)
- Add the tomatoes (that you have crushed by hand) and stir all together; submerge the basil leaves in the sauce; bring the sauce to a boil, covering it (so that the basil leaves poach)
- After 5-7 minutes of boiling, lower the heat to a lively simmer and remove the cover; add salt to taste and stir; if want spicier, add more red pepper flakes
- Cook for 8-10 minutes until sauce has thickened and reduced a bit
- Finally, add heavy cream and stir. 

Sauce & pasta

Cook pasta in a large pot; reserve 1 ladle of pasta cooking water before draining; cook pasta until a bit firmer than al dente; once drained, pour pasta back in large
pot and pour 3 ladles of sauce and the reserved pasta water, and stir over high heat; after sauce is coating the pasta well, lower heat to a simmer and serve in warm bowls,
ladling the desired amount of the remaining sauce on top of each serving.  Serve with cheese.

Let us know what you think!

Porto Leggero

Harborside Financial Center 5
Jersey City, NJ
www.portoleggaro.net

Food Wars: Battle of the Italian Sausages

What better way to start off the grilling season than to have a Memorial Day slugfest amongst some of the top Italian sausage purveyors in the New York City metro area?  In a duel for the ages, "Sundaysauce" pitted the finest from salumerias in Staten Island, the Bronx and Yonkers against one another.
We had a full cast of characters on hand to sample the salumerias' finest fare, so the sausages would be vetted by a most discerning crowd.

And in this corner . . . 

The contenders included the following:

- Pastosa's of Staten Island

- A&S Pork Store of Yonkers

- Biancardi's of Arthur Ave. in the Bronx

We bought links of both sweet (no fennel) and hot sausages and then conducted a blind-taste test at Mom B's Memorial Day BBQ.  The sausages were served sans any accoutrements, e.g., bread, pepppers, onions or anything else that could alter the taste.

And the winner is. . .

Sweet Sausage Winner: Pastosa's

In the battle of the sweet sausage, it was a close call, with Pastosa's rated No. 1 by 4 voters and No. 2 by 3 voters.  Coming in at second place was A&S Pork Store which chalked up 3 first place votes and 2 second place spots.

Hot Sausage Winner: Tie between A&S Pork Store and Pastosa

For the hot sausage contest, Pastosa's and A&S Pork Store battled to a tie as they both notched 3 first place votes.  An interesting sidebar to the hot sausage contest was that three different voters - Dad B and the two Grandma's, all declared it a dead heat finish between the three contestants.

Additional Notes:

- Biancardi's of Arthur Ave. was handed a resounding ass-whupping as they only notched 2 first place finishes out of 20 different votes.

- Jonny Mangia voted Pastoso's - A&S - Biancardi's for both contests

- Nikki voted A&S - Pastoso's - Biancardi for both contests

Nikki and I aren't surprised that Pastosa performed so well. We've enjoyed their sausage for years at Mom B's and in particular I've found their hot sausages to be otherworldly. What I did notice when examining the uncooked sausage is that Pastoso seemed to have more marbled fat content which is going
to lead to a tastier sausage, albeit one that will clog your arteries a hell of a lot quicker.

Lastly, my personal highlight was the sausage sandwiches which we created after the battle. Using A&S' noted broccoli rabe sausage, we combined the sausage with Rocky Road bread from Cuccio's Bakery of Brooklyn and a stellar onion and peppers combo that Nikki grilled up. Simply unreal!

 

Recipe: Quick Red Clam Sauce, Pantry-style

Returning home after a long day, we had a craving for a light seafood sauce, but not the time (or the patience) to buy the clams and go through the arduous process of cleaning and shucking or steaming.  So, with a little guidance from Lady Lidia (Bastianich) and a couple of cans of clams (trust me on this one), I was able to create a tasty and remarkably fresh dish of what I like to call "Red clam sauce, pantry-style".  Because the convenience of this version doesn't sacrifice taste of this Neapolitan classic, you won't even miss the fresh clams!

Ingredients:

Two 6.5 oz. cans chopped clams in clam juice (Snow's Brand is terrific)
10 TBs extra virgin olive oil
10 garlic cloves, sliced
2-2 1/2 cups canned plum tomatoes, crushed
4 TBs fresh parsley, chopped
1 lb. linguini or spaghetti
1/2 tsp. or 1 tsp. red pepper flakes (depending on desired spicyness)
sea salt to taste

Andiamo!!

- Begin heating about 5-6 quarts of water for pasta while you prepare the sauce.
- Open cans of clams and strain clams from clam juice, reserving clam juice and placing clam meat in a separate bowl.  Set aside.
- Heat 1/2 cup of oil in large skillet over medium-heat; throw in garlic and toss until sizzling; throw in red pepper flakes and cook for about a minute.
- Add tomatoes and reserved clam juice, stir and bring to a boil.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes; stir in clams; return to boil and then lower to lively simmer; cook 3-4 minutes.
- When sauce thickens, lower the heat; season with salt to taste; stir in parsley and 2 TBs of oil.
- meanwhile, cook spaghetti or linguini in boiling water until a bit more "underdone" than al dente; drain pasta by lifting with tongs or a spider and dropping in sauce
- Toss sauce and pasta together for a few minutes until pasta is perfectly al dente and sauce adheres to pasta. 

*Note: raising and lowering the heat of the sauce makes allows the sauce to achieve a nice density.

Bellissimo!

Quick Pic: Nikki's Bolognese

This is the bolognese ragu that Nikki whipped together in impromptu fashion last Sunday.  She combined three different recipes - one from Mario Batali, one from Lidia Bastianich, and one from the new Saveur magazine, which highlights bolognese recipes.  She didn't even have all of the ingredients, yet this dish was unreal.  Notice that she used the mafalda pasta that we featured about a week or so ago (scroll down).  It came out PERFECTLY "al dente". Nikki, jump in here now and tell the folks how you did it!

Issue #110 of Saveur Magazine: BUY IT!

From time to time we are asked what our favorite food magazine is. The answer, hands-down, is Saveur Magazine. From the gorgeous glossy photos, to the crisp, articulate writing, this magazine runs circles around the competition. We pick up every issue, but the latest one, Issue #110, is a MUST HAVE if you love Italian cooking (specifically pastas).

They have an assortment of articles dealing with Ragu sauces and they do an incredible job spotlighting the Italian city of Bologna, the birthplace of bolognese sauce. There are a bunch of different bolognese recipes, and they also found space to add in a recipe for cacciucco, which is a famous Tuscan seafood stew. Lastly, towards the end of the issue they review various tomato pastes, and we were pleasantly surprised to see Staten Island's own Pastoso (which is Mom B's place of choice to pick up most of her Italian food) as one of the finalists. We'll do a more in-depth entry over the weekend about this article.

Ciao!

Sunday Sauce Visits the Cheese Man

Sunday Sauce is proud to present to you the following 4 videos showing our visit to "The Cheese Store", a gourmet cheese shop that recently opened in Hoboken, NJ!  Our mission: to be introduced to a few Italian cheeses that most people wouldn't be familiar with.  That means no talk of parmiggiano, mutz or pecorino romano!  Join us on our journey by clicking on the videos below.  We look forward to your emails and comments. Ciao!

PS - "The Cheese Store" is a must-see in our fair Hoboken.  In addition to over 70 cheeses from myriad regions, they sell gourmet food products, meats and sandwiches made only with their gourmet ingredients.  Check them out at:

The Cheese Store
720 Monroe Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030
201-683-8162
www.thecheesestorehoboken.com
info@thecheesestorehoboken.com

Resident Cheese Expert & the First Cheese, "Piantino" from Tuscany

The Second Cheese, "Fiore di Sardo" from Sardinia

The Third Cheese, "Taleggio" from Lombardy

The Fourth Cheese, "Blu del Moncenisio" from Piedmont

Pasta, Mafalda-style

Posted by: Nikki

Want to go outside of your penne comfort zone for a pasta noodle that is perfect for scooping up your thicker gravies and sauces?  Then you must introduce Mafalda into your pasta repertoire!  "Mafalda," a.k.a "malfade," is a flat, ½ to ¾ inch wide ribbon pasta, somewhat similar to a narrow lasagna noodle, that has rippled edges on both sides.  Although this pasta can be found both in short lengths of about 1 ¼ inches and long lengths of 10 inches or more, our families prefer the longer noodle to aid in scooping up our Sunday sauce! 

Photo: Mafalda pasta (above) is Mom B's favorite to use with her famous Sunday Sauce. She mixes it with fresh mozzarella, ricotta and pecorino romano cheeses.

You'll especially set the rigatoni and spaghetti aside if you serve Mafalda alla Mom B's style, which is a luxurious mixture of fresh mozzarella, ricotta and grated pecorino romano cheeses that can be served either baked or unbaked. 

The baked version has the same decadent taste of lasagna with half of the effort!  Mafalda's ability to grasp onto chunky pieces of meat & cheese (due to its lovely rippled edges) that are found in heavier sauces and ragus, makes every mouthful a meal unto itself. 

Any way you serve it -- and especially Mom B's heaven-on-earth recipe below -- is sure to be a huge hit with guests and ideal for a holiday meal, which always calls for something a little special.

Photo: Mom B's Sunday Sauce over baked malfada pasta. Bravissima!

To prepare Mom B's "Sunday Sauce Special" with YOUR Sunday Sauce:

(serves 8-10 people or approx. 5-6 hungry Italians)

What You'll Need:

2 lbs. Mafalda pasta, cooked al dente
1½ lbs. ricotta cheese
1 lb. mozzarella cheese, cut into 1-inch pieces
1½ cups grated pecorino romano
1 handful of parsley leaves, finely chopped
1 egg
a pot of Sunday Sauce, a.k.a., Sunday Gravy*

*We at Sunday Sauce the blog highly recommend eating "Sunday sauce" with Mafalda pasta.  Sunday sauce is a slow-simmered tomato sauce (or ragu), a basic version of which includes a combination of meatballs, sausage and pork (or beef) braciole. 

OK, Let's Do It!

In a large bowl mix the ricotta with the egg; then fold in the mozzarella, 1 cup of the pecorino romano cheese and parsley; mix well.

Cook 2 lbs. Mafalda pasta, al dente. 

Fold in cheese mixture to drained pasta and mix well, making sure all cheeses are distributed evenly.    Next, scoop in a few ladles of your favorite Sunday sauce, mix again and sprinkle with remaining pecorino romano.  Ready to serve!  For the baked version (featured in photo above) place pasta, cheese and sauce mixture in a baking dish and cook in oven at 350 degrees for approximately 8-10 minutes.  Cut & scoop out pieces as you would regular lasagna and serve in warmed plates.  Enjoy!

Is it Italian if an Italian Doesn't Cook it?

Another great article from the New York Times, discussing the trend in Italy where former immigrants are becoming chefs in Italian restaurant kitchens...and the flak they are receiving from certain constituents in Italy who don't consider the food they are cooking to be authentic "Italian"..even though they are following the recipes given to them by their Italian patrons. Silly, isn't it?
Does it matter who is making it, so long as they are following the traditions that have been established over the years?  The funny thing is, the article mentions that noted Italian food authority Gambero Rosso sought out Rome's best dish of carbonara, and the restaurant who took the title - Antico Forno Roscioli - has a Tunisian chef (pictured below)!

"I'll Take Some Mutz with the Baccala"

Thanks to Dad Barbaro for this exciting news find which dispels the draconian italian rule-of-law that you cannot, under any circumstances, put cheese on your seafood.

How many times have you been sneered at by an Italian waiter when requesting parmeggiano with your clams and macaroni or pecorino romano on that zuppa di pesce? Well, no longer do we have to endure being scolded at by grandma or scoffed at by the waiter because according to Robert Trachtenberg's article in the March 30, 2008 NY Times, cheese & fish have been culinary bedfellows in Italy since 400 BC!

Food Wars: Battle of the Pizza Rusticas

Welcome to our first installment of Food Wars. We decided to use Jonny Mangia's favorite dish of the Lent/Easter season, pizza rustica, as the subject of the first Food War. We went out and bought four different version from leading vendors (hey, we wanted a homemade one but couldn't get one of the vaunted ones from Nicole's Great Aunt Tina in time for the taste test), brought them to Mom G's for Easter and set about tasting them with Mom and Dad G, Jen & Mario Giannettino and Chessy. Here are the contestants:

Faicco's Pork Store - 260 Bleeker Street, NYC 212-243-1974
The Skinny - Faicco's was handicapped as an early favorite. They specialize in stuffed breads and it's so damn clean you can eat off the floor of the place. Cleanliness = quality in the Sunday Sauce book.

Rocco's Pastry & Espresso Cafe - 243 Bleeker Street, NYC 212-242-6031 
The Skinny - Rocco's was a dark horse candidate, added at the last minute. His specialty is pies and pastries. Could he pull-off a prime-time pizza rustica?

DeCicco's Food Market - 21 Center Street Ardsley NY 914-813-2009
The Skinny - This is where Mom G bought the gorgeous lamb for Easter. They have a lofty reputation
for quality so we figured they would hold their own in this pitched battle.

A & S Pork Store - 1789 Central Park Avenue, Yonkers NY 914-337-2550
Jonny Mangia's "go-to" place when it comes to Italian food products.

Note: No contestants from Arthur Avenue? That's right folks. Due to it's rapid transformation into a
tourist mecca, the prices on Arthur Ave. are getting ridiculously inflated. $40 for a pizza rustica? Go scratch!

Here are the tasting notes:

Faicco:
Visual -Huge gorgeous chunks of soprassata show they didn't skimp on the meat. Towering piece.
Crust - A thick shell, almost bread-like
Taste - A bit salty due to the large amount of meat, but after the salt spike subsides, bliss.

Rocco's:
Visual - Shallowest one we bought, not  much meat.
Crust - Pie crust which makes sense as it came from a baker.
Taste - Tasted more like an Italian cheesecake due to the propensity of formaggio.

DeCicco:
Visual - Another large piece, alla Faicco. Decent amount of meat.
Crust - Flaky, phyllo-like crust. Very Middle Eastern.
Taste - Very nice, correct balance of meat and cheese. Only problem was the structure as it fell apart easily when cut into.

A&S Pork Store:
Visual - Somewhat underwhelming. Not much in the way of meat, especially when compared to Faicco.
Crust - Crust was a negative, had a gummy, undercooked vibe.
Taste - Certainly not bad when heated up, but most were unimpressed..with one exception (read below).

The Winner: Faicco's of Bleeker Street
Aside from the initial salt spike, there wasn't anything wrong with this beast, as it scored three 1st place votes and a 2nd place finish as well. Tasted great, held it's form and wasn't all that expensive to boot - about $24 for a whole pie.

Second place was awarded to DeCicco as they finished in the upper rung with all of the voters and avoided any last place finishes.

Next up was A&S which had a few last place finishes yet scored a 1st Place with Nikki !(?).

Rocco's took up the rear, mostly due to it's lack of meat. Hey if we were voting on cheesecake, it would have been a contender.