Escarole and white bean soup delicious and simple to make. Italian Grandmothers translation “Sca-roll” with white beans.

You will need 1 head of escarole, 2 cups of white cannellini beans (I soak them over night or you can use canned), 3 quarts of chicken stock home made or a good quality store bought, 4 large garlic cloves sliced, olive oil, salt, pepper and grated Romano cheese.

Start by slicing the garlic and sauté in 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot. Chop the escarole into bite size pieces and clean by soaking in a bowl of cold water. When the garlic is translucent drain the escarole and put it in the pot with the garlic. Toss in a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of pepper and stir and cover on medium heat stirring a few times until the escarole is wilted about 3 min. Pour in the 3 quarts of Chicken stock. Cover and bring this to a slow boil and reduce heat to a simmer and add the 2 cups of beans. Stir and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. I usually add some crushed red pepper flakes. Spoon into bowls and top with grated romano cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.

This soup is perfect served with some crusty Italian bread.

To make this a total vegetarian soup add vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.

I really enjoy this soup and I make it often. I sometimes make a large pot and freeze it in portions for a quick meal.

Enjoy!
Daniel

So I dug in too fast. My grandmother would have made me wait the incredibly LONG, felt like an eternity, 10 minutes for it to rest.

Whenever I make my Grandmothers “square A-pizz” as it was named growing up, my home fills with such a “scented memory”.  A “scented memory” of a Saturday evening growing up in my Grandmothers home. This was her signature pizza and it was only created on Saturday evenings. Trust me this is outrageous.

You will need 2 lbs of pizza dough, 1 lb of a nice quality mozzarella, 1 can 28 ounce crushed Italian plum tomatoes, olive oil, heated romano cheese and a baking sheet.

Start with 2 lbs of pizza dough. You can make it or buy it. Place the dough in a olive oil greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap, leave in a warm spot in your kitchen for an hour to rise.  When the hour is up generously grease a baking sheet with olive oil and run it all around with your fingers covering the entire pan, sides and all. Spread the dough evenly to all sides. Cover with a towel and set in a warm place in your kitchen and let it rise for  1 hour until it doubles in size.

I use a fresh mozzarella and about a pound will do. Leave it out for an hour to come to room temperature, it will melt much easier.

The pizza sauce, this is easy. Take one can 28 ounces of crushed plum tomatoes (use a good quality and not one with puree). Pour the tomatoes in a pot and bring to a slow boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 min to thicken.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. When the dough has doubled in size place the dough in the oven for 15 minutes.

Remove the dough from the oven and layer with thin slices of the mozzarella cheese to cover the whole pizza and then top with the sauce. I love a lot of sauce. Sprinkle a generous amount of romano cheese all over the sauced pizza. I know you are used to putting the sauce down first then the cheese but trust me this  is gonna be amazing.

Place back in the oven and cook for 10 min and turn and cook another 10 min or until done to your taste. You can lift a corner up with the tip of a knife to check if it is done. You will see it start to brown on the bottom.  I make mine a little well done.

Now here is the hard part, you need to let it rest for 10 min before cutting. You can remove it from the pan and place on a cutting a board or just cut it in the pan. I hope you enjoy my “square A-pizz”.

Enjoy and remember good food is easy to make. Just throw in a little love.
Daniel

Talk about a quick and simple recipe that is loaded with flavor! Mussels are so simple to make.

For this recipe, I use 2 lbs of mussels which will serve 2 people.
Ingredients:
· 2 lbs. cleaned mussels
· 2 tablespoons of butter
· 1/2 cup of dry white wine
· flat leaf parsley
· 2 medium size shallots
· Crusty French bread

In a pot big enough to hold the mussels, sauté 2 medium shallots chopped in 2 tablespoons of melted butter until translucent, just a couple minutes.

Then add 1/2 cup of dry white wine and bring to a boil on medium heat. Once boiling toss in all the mussels and cover.

While covered, shake the pot a few times while the mussels steam. This will take just a couple minutes.

After 3 to 4 min remove lid and toss in a palm full of chopped flat leaf parsley and 1 tablespoon of butter.

Using a large serving spoon fold the parsley and butter into the mussels. Check to see that the mussels are opened.

Serve in a large platter with some crusty french bread. Remove any mussel that has not opened. The bread is very important because you will use it to soak up the sauce. Trust me you will go nuts over the sauce so have some extra bread handy.

Enjoy,
Daniel

I love simple easy dishes everyone can relate to and make.
And you will too with these 3 EASY STEPS.

1.) I cut up the cauliflower and toss with some olive oil.
2.) Then I place the cauliflower on a baking sheet.
3.) Roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes

Great for a snack, side dish or tossed with pasta!

ENJOY!

This is a simple and fun dish to prepare. Pick up a loaf a rustic Italian bread and make a simple salad. It doesn’t take long to prepare this dish maybe 30 min? This is a favorite of mine, full of amazing flavors. I am really big on bringing back the family dinner so if possible be sure to share this dish with your family and friends!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. 1/4 cup chopped onion.
• 4 garlic cloves thin sliced.
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms.
• 1 can Italian whole plum tomato ( usually sold in 28 ounce cans)
• 1 cup frozen peas.
• 1 pound of bow tie pasta.
• grated romano cheese.

Directions

In a large skillet heat the olive oil  add the onion and garlic. Sauté until translucent. Then add the can of tomatoes. Cook on medium heat for 20 min stirring every 5 min. After the 20 minutes using a fork crush the tomatoes in the pan to a chunky consistency. Add the mushrooms and continue to stir over medium heat for 5 min. Turn off the heat.  Now the  sauce is done and its time to prepare the pasta.

Follow  the directions on the package and just before the pasta is done put the frozen peas into the pot with the pasta and boiling water and let it sit for 1 minute. Drain the pasta and peas and turn the heat to medium under the sauce and pour the pasta and peas into the sauce.  Sauté for 2 minutes this is going to infuse the sauce into the pasta. At this point you can transfer the pasta to a serving dish and sprinkle generously with the grated Romano cheese. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over the pasta. I serve it directly from the skillet but you can transfer it to a serving dish if you prefer. This is a very easy dish to prepare and it is so delicious.

After you make it for the first time you can adjust all the ingredients! Add more or less of any on the ingredients to your taste.  I prefer not to add salt and pepper. I love the natural flavors that are created with the dish and just find the salt and pepper not necessary.  Its not that I don’t love salt and pepper, I just feel we all over salt and pepper so many dishes that have such great flavor on their own. If you don’t have a skillet large enough to hold the entire dish you can drain the pasta and peas and return to the pasta pot. Turn the heat to medium under the pot and pour the sauce into the pasta and peas and sauté.

If you want to reach me with questions or comments or just to chat you can e mail me directly at daniel@mamamamancinis.com Enjoy Daniel Mancini