copyright 2009, Maria Liberati

This frittata is one of my favorites and is so simple made up only of a few ingredients..not the least important is the fresh mint to turn a few ordinary eggs into something extraordinary. Here it it is our lunch from the country house, serve with a chilled white wine..like Fallenghina, Est!Est!Est!, Trebbiano, Pecorino

Frittata con Mentuccia

For 2 people

* 3 whole eggs

* 1/4 lb ricotta di pecora

*2 tblsps olive oil

*handful fresh mint leaves, washed and torn

*salt and pepper to taste

Place eggs in bowl, shave the ricotta and add into eggs with salt and pepper. Beat with fork. Add in mint leaves, whisk with fork gently. In saute pan, heat olive oil. Pour in egg mixture. Cook on both sides. When finished, flip onto dish, cut into slices, serve garnished with mint leaves.

Just in time for the Holidays..get your copy of

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking :Holidays & Special Occasions  with over 140 recipes, menus, wine pairing tips and short stories of Holidays spent in the mountains of Italy

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

http://www.twitter.com/Marialiberati

copyright 2009, Maria Liberati

A morning of mentuccia (mint) and rosmarino(rosemary) ..a day in the country. One last day at the coutnry house before fall really sets in..the days and the nights have become so  chilly. What shall it be for lunch today? A sack of local potatoes we picked up at the open market yesterday..some extra virgin, cold pressed olive oil and the best ingredient …organic rosemary from our garden here.

And for dessert an apple torte made with apples from Trentino.

We set out early and after opening up the house made a quick dash to the garden with a big scissors to cut the rosemary..how much do you want??more , more” I said since I tend tol go  a bit overboard when cooking with fresh rosemary. It has such a hypnotic scent and enhances the flavor of potatoes so well that I can’t imagine cooking roasted potatoed without rosemary.

Ready to leave the garden but can’t resist the fresh mint..ahh perfect for a simple egg fritatta tonight and to flavor some spring water and to scent the house..pick a bouquet for me” I said as I began returning to the house to prepare the lunch.

But first I had to locate a vase just the perfect size to hold a bouquet of mint to place on our mantle by the front door..no luck in finding a vase but jar used for preserving marmelade will suffice..and when my beautiful mint bouquet arrived the fresh, crisp mint scent seemed to quickly fill the room..and soon our little house in the country was brimming with scintillating scents..potatoes roasting in the oven with fresh rosemary stalks and extra virgin cold pressed olive oil from a local olive oil press..an apple torte baking in the second oven..a large bouquet of fresh mint ..

What a fragrant way to begin the day and wake up all the senses….stay tuned for a recap of tonight’s fritta with fresh mint leaves..recipe will be included..

copyright 2009, Maria Liberati

Buying fresh fruit in the summer is one of my favorite things to do..the aromas of the freshly picked fruits are so hypnotic (especially if you are buying locally grown produce). The colors are so vibrant (or they should be).

Yesterday, I observed how people pick out their fruit while at a supermarket that does carry local produce.  Maybe I make too much of a ‘ceremony’ out of picking my fresh fruits..but  In oticed that most people seem to just quickly get the fruit …throw it in the bag and they are off.. no smelling, looking at the fruit to make their choice..

Smelling the fruit is one of the great pleasures of the summer..and if the fruit has no perfume.. it has been sitting on shelves or in a truck somewhere for a long  time &  does not have any flavor…like eating a piece of wax fruit.

So when selecting your fruit, although each fruit has some of their own characteristics you need to look for, pick it up and smell it..the first test.

Peaches,lemons, nectarines, plums ,cantaloupes,strawberries,apricot should have a fresh aroma  at this time of the year.

Oh well so much of my rumblings on how to choose fruit..

Here is one of my favorite appetizers or light lunch dishes to make with fresh lemons. perfect to eat ‘al fresco’:

Stuffed Lemons

For 4

*4 fresh lemons

*16 ounce can of tuna in olive oil

*2 hard boiled eggs

*1 tablespoon of green olives

*1 tsp of capers

*1 tsp of extra virgin, cold pressed olive oil

Wash lemons and cut in half. Scoop out pulp. Place in food processor- drained tuna pieces, capers, pitted olives, yolks of hard boiled eggs. Blend till consistency of a smooth paste. Place small bed of lettuce or baby spinach or salad greens on 4 small appetizer plates. Slice egg whites. Place 2 lemon halves on each plate. Fill with tuna mixture. Garnish with egg white slices and whole green olives. Drizzle olive oil on top. Serve

July 31-August 2- Atlantic City Food & Wine Shos- Bally’s Casino Come to The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm booth. For more info email: events@marialiberati.com

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

http://twitter.com/Marialiberati

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copyright 2009, Maria Liberati

Summer should be filled with delicious, uncomplicated foods…….

Although food always evokes some kind of memory, the warm beautiful summer sun that shone briefly today, took me away (if only for a brief moment ) to  my thoughts of  hiking in the mountains of Abruzzo, the warm summer sun beating down on you, the fresh summer air..the only thing missing is the view from the top….you know I can stand there when I get to the top and look down. Serene and quiet and peaceful where I am at the top but yet I can look down on the busy traffic and the town below me.. and still enjoy the peaceful quiet at the top where I am..

Once at the most serene spot, we take a break for lunch and eat our fresh pannini sandwiches made with fresh mozzarella ,fresh tomatoes and a drizzle of olive oil…

Wherever you are spending your summer..make sure you get to enjoy it ..if even for a weekend..a week or whatever you can spare..get to the top of  a mountain the beach..even your backyard and don’t forget to take along something special to eat..a piece of fresh summer fruit..a freshly made pannini..delicious..not complicated..

After all, it is easy to make delicious and uncomplicatd things with the fresh produce Mother Nature gives us in the summer.

One of my favorite things to make in the summer is simple Pizza Margherita using fresh tomatoes and fresh basil and it’s  great hot, warm or even cold for a picnic lunch..or bring it to the office and pretend you are on a picnic.

Pizza Margherita

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 lb. tomatoes, crushed

1/2 tsp. salt

Enough dough to make a pizza pie about 12″ around and roughly 1/8 – ¼ inches thick (most bread machines have a pizza dough setting).

6 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, shredded

6 fresh basil leaves cut into julienne strips

extra virgin olive oil

1. Let olive oil, tomatoes, and salt marinate in bowl while making the dough.

2. Flatten dough out with hands and lightly rub with some olive oil. Remember to flatten the dough evenly and thinly to ensure it will rise appropriately

3. Turn the edges of the dough up slightly and top with tomatoes and mozzarella, then sprinkle some olive oil on top.

4. Preheat oven to 450F and bake on pizza stone (clay stone) for about 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly.

5. Top pizza with basil leaves after removing it from the oven.

6. Allow pizza to cool, then cut into slices and enjoy.

Join me on July 9th at WHole foods Market, Jenkintown, Pa for the Outdoor Kitchen.  Recipes from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking for the  beach or a picnic. Samples and recipes provided. Call store at 215-481-0800 or email events@marialiberati.com

July 11th- Book signing of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at the Chestnut  Hill Book Festival in Chestnut Hill, Pa.

July 16th, Whole Foods Market, Annapolis ,Maryland, Picnic in Tuscany cooking Demo. Email events@marialiberati.com for more info

July 18th- Whole FoodsMarket, Fairfax, Virginia, Picnic in Tuscany and wine pairing. Call store or email events@marialiberati.com

Mangia bene, Vivi Bene

http://twitter.com/Marialiberati