Raisins make this meatball dish tasty!
2 lbs ground sirloin
2 large eggs
1 cup bread crumbs
2 Tblsp dried Pagliacci oregano (or use fresh which has been finely chopped)
2 Tblsp dried Pagliacci basil (or use fresh which has been finely chopped)
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped golden raisins
2 tsp Alessi Sea Salt
2 tsp ground pepper
2 Tblsp Antica Italia Olive Oil Infused With Basil
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
Mix together. Fry in 4 Tblsp vegetable oil. Delicioso!
Mix all of these ingredients together. Add sea salt & freshly ground pepper as desired.
2 large tomatoes chopped into chunky pieces
2 large cucumbers cut into chunky pieces
1 cup Formato Brothers Eggplant Salad, drained
4 Tblsp crumbled goat cheese
When serving, add Antica Italia Olive Oil With Lemon Flavor or a slightly citrusy flavor. Definitely chill this concoction since the flavors have a chance to mix together & the result is a crispy combination. Serve with your favorite pasta or soup or sandwich. Buon Appetito!
4 lbs ripe tomatoes**
Blanch, cool in ice water, remove skins & core. Smoosh all together, use or freeze for a couple days.
Peel & chop many fresh garlic gloves (a whole head will work), or if you don’t like to peel & chop, use the already-chopped kind you can buy in a little jar in a grocery store. Saute garlic in some Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a flat bottom deep saute pan. Continue until someone walks into the house & says, “What smells so good?” or “When do we eat?” That really means until slightly browned.
Add the fresh tomato mixture, a lot of sea salt, 1 ½ – 2 Tblsp Formato Brothers Hot Pepper Spread.
Cover & cook over medium flame on the stove for at least one hour. The sauce should thicken just a little, but it should not be thick. Stir once in awhile.
Add fresh basil leaves. The minty flavored leaves especially provide a nice contrast to the spicy pepper spread.
Serve over cooked pasta, cavatelli, farfalle, fusilli, trofie are suggestions; any shaped pasta will work. Avoid heavy shapes which work better with a meat sauce.
Make a double batch because it will be wonderful the next day when the flavors blend even more; you’ll want to have some in case there are any leftovers needing more sauce. Hopefully your dinner guests will leave you with empty pasta bowls, but you’ll have extra sauce ready just in case.
Buon Appetito!
** Roma Tomatoes are tasty for sauce, but you can mix varieties
Note From Mama Formato: I recently made this using a few of each: Roma, Tomatoes on a Vine, Hydroponically produced large red tomatoes—delicious, fresh, flavorful results.
We are so excited about this recipe. For the first time ever we entered it in a Chili Cookoff contest & won first prize! We’ve never entered any contests before, so this was exciting & fun for us. We competed against 19 others & received a fantastic trophy to acknowledge our efforts. Woo Hoo! Thanks to our friend & food consultant, Sam Manfer, for his assistance, & also to our family for helping us with the behind-the-scenes work to make this happen. Click on the link below the recipe to see how this wonderful chili is made.
Ingredients:
2 medium sized yellow onions, finely chopped
Antica Italia Extra Virgin Olive Oil (evoo)
1/2 red pepper, finely chopped
Celery, finely chopped to make 1 cup
2 Tblsp Formato Brothers Hot Pepper Spread
1 lb hot or spicy sausage
2 cans (6 oz each) tomato paste (with or without seasonings)
3 cups water
1 can diced tomatoes (15 oz with or without seasonings)
1 can black beans (15 oz) drained & rinsed
1 can kidney beans (15 oz) drained & rinsed
2 Tblsp Alessi Sea Salt
1 Tsp ground black pepper
1 Tblsp garlic powder
2 Tblsp oregano
Click on the link below to see Sam & Carl in action in the kitchen preparing this chili.
