Veal Marsala

During my travels in Italy there were a few traditional dishes I had to try. Although I was fortunate to try lamb ragu, veal scaloppini, mussels, nutella crepes, pizzas, antipasti and an abundance of wines there were many more I did not get to try. I guess that just means there is an excuse to go back.

One dish that stood out was veal marsala. The cut is obviously extremely tender with a warm silky smooth textured wine and mushroom sauce coating it. The whole porcini and cremini mushrooms absorb so much of the liquid that they pop in your mouth. Desiring that culinary experience again and to reminisce about the cute cobble stoned alley where we dined my husband and I made a mouth-watering veal marsala. The recipe was from non other than Cooking Light, an Italian magazine and website that provides some wonderful quick yet delectable Italian dishes.

1 pound veal scaloppine
1/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided
2/3 cup beef consommé
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup dry marsala wine
1 cup presliced mushrooms
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Dredge veal in flour. Combine 1 T flour and broth, stirring with a whisk; set aside.

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add veal, cook 1 1/2 minutes. Turn veal over; cook 1 minute. Remove veal from pan.

Add wine to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add broth mixture, mushrooms, and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 3 minutes or until thick. Return veal to pan; sprinkle with parsley.

Pizza with Grilled Vegetables, Pesto & Goat Cheese

I had some friends over to look at photos of my European trip. I figured if I had to get their attention for over 1000 photos I should probably entice them with some food. I figured pizza was a classic thing to have since I was featuring some photos from Italy. It was also nice because I could pre-make the pizza and then just throw it in the oven when it came time to eat. To make the pizza more Italian I used my homemade pesto and tomato sauce as the base and topped it with grilled vegetables and goat cheese. Grilling the vegetables adds so much more flavour to the pizza. You can also roast the vegetables (if you do not have a grill) to intensify the taste of the veggies.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

1 cup warm water

1 tsp dry active yeast

4 tsp honey

2 cups organic whole wheat flour

1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

add herbs if desired (oregano, basil, chili flakes)

Place the yeast and honey in a large mixing bowl and pour the heated water over the mixture, stirring until well blended. Let the mixture stand for about 5 minutes until foamy. Add the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour and salt and stir with a fork until a coarse dough forms

Continue to mix by hand until a dough ball forms and all the flour is well blended. Cover the bowl and place it in a sink with about 4 inches of hot water in the bottom. The heat from the warm water will help the dough rise. The dough will double in size in about 40 minutes.

Punch it a few times with your fingers and let it rise another 30 minutes. Remove from the bowl and cut the ball into four equal pieces or 2 pieces. Can refridgerate unused dough for a day or two.

Pizza Sauce

1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup minced onions
1 clove garlic minced
2 cups tomato sauce
1 can (5oz) tomato paste
2 T dried oregano
1 T red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar

Add salt, pepper, chili flakes, italian seasoning as desired to kick it up a bit. Cook onions and garlic in saucepan for 3min until softened. Add the rest of the ingredient and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 10 min. Cool before using. Makes about 2 1/4 cups.

Basil Pesto

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup pine nuts

2 medium sized garlic cloves, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a food processor combine the basil, pine nuts, cheese, garlic, and salt and pepper. Pulse in a the food processor. While pulsing slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream. Add more salt and pepper if needed.Makes 1 cup.

Pizza Toppings

1 yellow zucchini
1 green zucchini
tomatoes (orange, yellow, red)
eggplant
red peppers
goat cheese
optional (Italian sausage)

Slice the vegetables to ½” thickness (lengthwise for zucchini and red pepper and in rounds for eggplant). Brush with olive oil and grill on each side over med heat (only a few minutes per side). Let cool before placing on the pizza or will be soggy.
Cook pizza crust slightly before adding the pesto, tomato sauce and vegetables. Crumble with goat cheese and cook for 20 min at 400F. Usually broil it for a couple minutes after it is cooked. Watch the pizza and check it at 15 min to ensure not burning as all ovens differ.

Veal Piccata with Pumpkin Polenta

Having recently been to Italy, I have been craving veal scaloppini with porcini mushrooms. I had this dish a few times while in Rome and Venice and it was so delicious - light, tender and served with a nice silky wine and mushroom sauce. I was going to make this same dish and eventually we get around to doing that. However I decided to try something different and went with a Veal Piccata recipe from Cooking Light Italian.

To celebrate the fact that fall is here I served it with some colourful pumpkin polenta. I have always found polenta to be dry and not overly flavourful. The addition of the pumpkin really enhanced the flavour and texture, that I have new found hope for polenta.

Veal Piccata

(Printable Recipe)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Dash of salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon water
1 large egg white
1/3 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
4 (2-ounce) veal cutlets
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon capers, drained and rinsed
Lemon wedges (optional)

Combine flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Combine water and egg white in another shallow dish, stirring with a whisk. Place breadcrumbs in a third shallow dish. Working with 1 cutlet at a time, dredge in flour mixture. Dip floured cutlet in egg white mixture; dredge in breadcrumbs.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add cutlets to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove from pan; keep warm.

Add broth, rind, juice, and capers to pan; simmer 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour over cutlets; serve immediately. Garnish with lemon wedges, if desired.

Pumpkin Polenta

(Printable Recipe)

1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk
2 cups water
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 cups instant dry polenta
3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shaved fresh Parmesan

Bring milk and water to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add pumpkin and salt; stir with a whisk. Reduce heat to low, and gradually whisk in polenta; cook 1 minute or until thick. Remove from heat. Add 3/4 cup grated Parmesan, cream cheese, and sage; stir until cheeses melt. Top with shaved Parmesan. Serve immediately.