Kpirrotti76698 – k pirrotti

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

1 package ground beef (approximately 1.5 lbs.)

2 links Italian Sausage taken out of the casing

1 hard roll (Italian, ciabatta, Portuguese, etc.) broken into small pieces (or broken up in a food processor) and soaked in 1/2 c milk

2 eggs

2 tsp. Onion powder, 1 tsp, garlic powder, 1/2 tsp, salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 c Locatelli Pecorino Romano cheese

2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

1 tbsp. chopped fresh basil

Olive Oil (I prefer California Olive Oil)

Gravy:

Olive Oil

1 8oz. Tomato paste

1 28 oz. can Tomato puree

1 28 oz. can Tomato Sauce

Onion

Fresh Basil, Salt, Pepper, Garlic & Onion powder, Red Pepper flakes, Locatelli Pecorino Romano Cheese Rind

For the meatballs, mix all ingredients together until just combined. Be sure to squeeze the bread of excess milk and discard liquid. Form into meatballs. Lightly toss in plain breadcrumbs mixed with all purpose flour. Fry in olive oil until brown. Drain on a paper towel and set aside.

For the gravy, sauté the chopped onion in olive oil & salt until translucent. Add tomato paste, puree & sauce. Season to taste with pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes and fresh basil. Add in a pecorino cheese rind (if available), fried meatballs and simmer over low heat for 30 min.

Serve with your favorite al dente macaroni. Top with olive oil, freshly torn basil leaves & Pecorino Romano cheese.

Pasta Alla Norma

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant

1 24 oz. bottle Passata

Olive Oil #californiaoliveoil

Ricotta Salata (a hard, salty cheese similar to pecorino. Not to be confused with ricotta cheese)

Fresh Basil

1 box Bucattini #DeCecco

To start, dice the eggplant (I leave the skin on), salt it and let it sit for an hour. Salting the eggplant releases moisture so that when it comes time to frying, it won’t get soggy. It’s important not to skip this step.

Once the eggplant is finished with the salting, rinse it quickly and dry very thoroughly.

Meanwhile, heat a large pan over medium/medium-high heat and fill with a good amount of olive oil. Once hot, add the diced eggplant to fry. Cook until eggplant is golden brown. Note: fry in small batches so that you don’t overcrowd the pan. If you add too much eggplant at once, the temperature of the oil will drop and you won’t achieve golden brown pieces of eggplant.

Once fried, set the eggplant on a paper towel to drain and put it to the side.

In a separate pan, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil, 1 bottle passata, a handful of torn fresh basil (reserve some basil for serving) and salt and pepper to taste. Sinmer over medium low heat for 15-20 minutes or until the olive oil and tomatoes become one. Make sure to stir occasionally.

Cook 1lb bucatini al dente (follow the box for timing). When the macaroni is almost done, add the eggplant to the tomato sauce and then add the drained bucatini when ready.

Give it a good stir. To serve, drizzle a small amount of olive oil to the top along with freshly torn basil and shaved Ricotta Salata.