Site Content

This is a go-to recipe for me any time of year. Those Forno Santa Rita lentils are made for this and then you drizzle it with Cinque Colli Extra Virgin Olive Oil - a hearty and delicious meal that tastes even better the next day. Buon Appetito!

Ingredients:

10 1/2 ounces (300 grams) Forno Santa Rita lentils

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 celery stick, diced

1 large carrot, diced

1 onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoon of estratto or tomato paste

1 tsp of dried chile flakes

1 bay leaf

1 big sprig of Rosemary 

2 sprigs thyme

1 qt chicken stock/broth

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Rinse and drain lentils.

Very gently cook the chopped celery, carrot, onion, and garlic in the olive oil in a casserole or soup pot over low-medium heat until soft and the onion is translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the chile flakes, bay leaf, rosemary and thyme. Toss around in the oil for 30 seconds.

Add the lentils and cover with the broth. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook about an hour over low-medium heat. Add more broth if it looks to dry or thick, do this to your preference depending on if you want it to be more of a stew or soup. Add more salt and pepper to your taste.

Drizzle with olive oil when serving.

I love making this in the summer with the dry farmed Early Girl tomatoes we get in Northern California. They are so concentrated in flavor and make this tomato sauce a favorite of mine. Just a note regarding scooping out the seeds. I put them into a fine mesh sieve over a bowl then I use a wooden spoon and smash all the extra juice out, leaving the seeds behind, and add this juice to my sauce. I want all that tomato goodness!

This recipe is refreshing, bright and a perfect platform to showcase Cinque Colli Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Sapori Eoliani Capers. 

This foccacia is known for its addition of a potato and for its liberal use of extra virgin olive oil (so don't be shy, the dough should be swimming in it). The key to the distinctive soft top and crispy bottom is to remove it from the oven, drizzle it with oil and allow it to cool for about 30 seconds. Then you want to flip each baking tin and tap it on the counter to release the foccacia. Promptly return it to the pan upside down and drizzle the exposed bottom with oil. 

This is one of my favorite Sicilian dishes and I love to recreate it at home. This recipe is a great one to follow, you can translate the webpage into english. I have some notes on my process. The fennel fronds are often cut off from the bulb. If you ask your produce person for them, they usually have them in the back and will likely give them to you for free. The fronds, not just the bulb are a key component to the dish. You will want to boil about 4 oz of them for 5 minutes, then shock in ice water, drain and squeeze out excess liquid. Chop it up finely and set it aside. For the crunchy panko topping mine is more simple. I put panko in a saute pan with a couple of glugs of olive oil, a couple minced cloves of garlic and season it with salt and pepper. Saute over medium high heat until it's all golden brown. Historically, pecorino was a luxury and if you couldn't afford it, you would use day old bread to make breadcrumbs that you would toast with olive oil and salt to mimic the flavor of grated cheese. In the saffron water I soak 1/4 cup of raisins or currants (an authentic addition). When it comes to the sardines, fresh aren't always available and tinned sardines are absolutely acceptable and delicious. I also saute about 1 cup of minced fennel bulb, 1 tablespoon of crushed fennel seeds and 1/8 cup of capers with the onion. 

I love this Rachel Roddy ciambellone cake. 

This is my favorite hummus. I do amp up the garlic, sometimes by triple the amount, and often add more lemon juice. I love it because you don't have to peel the chickpeas and it remains the creamiest hummus I have ever tried.