Mangia Con Elena

  Giuseppe's Suppli  al Telofono/ Rice Balls Ig: @mangia.con.elena My mother always called these "palle di riso" so that is how I grew up calling them until my youngest brother (the same one who makes the best pizza dough and his recipe is in an earlier post) began working at an fine dining Italian restaurant as a teenager and began to craft his culinary skills. He informed us that they were called suppli ( pronounced soo- plee )  and his are phenomenal. However, they are not arancini and I know this can be quite confusing so I will try to clarify this for you. Suppli and arancini are both created with risotto made with arborio rice, parmigiano and breadcrumbs. Their most distinctive feature is their shape. Arancini are large round balls or large triangular whereas suppli are cylindrical. Arancini are of Sicilian origin and have the addition of meat sauce and peas and no mozzarella  whereas suppli are of Roman origin and do not include peas. So for this recipe I seem to h

  Ciambelline al Vino/Wine and Anise Donuts IG: @mangia.con.elena Ciambelline al vino is a classic Italian dolci originating from the Lazio region. You would find them at almost every bakery and cafe/bar in Rome and surrounding cities and villages. They are made with simple ingredients of flour, olive oil, sugar, dry white wine and anise seeds. They  are a bit hard and crunchy on the outside which makes them perfect for dunking into wine as a dessert or into your coffee or espresso! As children we would dunk them into our caffe latte in the mornings or as a  mid afternoon snack dunked into milk! They make an appearance at every special Italian celebration and were always available in our house for pop in afternoon guests. My mother would freeze them in freezer bags and just pull them out as she needed them. There might have been a few times that she was disappointed because the bag sat empty in the freezer as we would sneak in and eat them! Cominciamo! Ingredients 4-5 cups of all purpo

  Springtime Risotto with Asparagus, Peas and Parsley It's Spring and time for seasonal vegetables to start making its appearance. The trees, plants and grass are bright green and new life is all around! Risotto is a perfect dish to showcase delicious asparagus, sweet peas and flavourful parsley!  Risotto is a versatile dish with so many options. In an earlier post I made a classic risotto using meat sauce and it is delicious but is more suited for cooler days. This is definitely a perfect springtime dish!  As with all of my recipes the measurements for spices are just estimates. Don't like a spice? Then leave it out! If you feel you want more of one ingredient then add more! When it is enough for you is what QB signifies in my recipes. It is important to start with small additions of spices and then taste test and adjust as you go along. Quanto basta  is what Italian cooking is all about.  Let your taste buds be your guide! Cominciamo! Ingredients 2 cups of arborio rice 1 bunc

  Meat filled Cannelloni IG: @mangia.con.elena Pinterest: mangia con elena Cannelloni is one of our family's favourite dishes and a popular feature in my mother's kitchen. We like to call them "Mamma's famous cannelloni" because her reputation for fantastic cannelloni quickly grew in our neighbourhood. She eventually started making them for an Italian restaurant and for the local Italian Club. She also started a small business making trays of them for others. The grandkids and great-grandkids love them and it was always an assumption that we would be served a large tray of meat and cheese cannelloni on every special occasion or celebration. When we would make the trek up North to visit them or they would come here there was always a cooler full of bags of cannelloni. I made sure to make them last until their next visit. They can be a bit time consuming to make so I would recommend that you make a large amount and you can freeze them for later use. You can freeze t

Strawberry/Rhubarb Crisp  I g_ @mangia.con.elena Pinterest: mangia con elena I have been making crisps for as long as I can remember. My kids love them and I love their versatility. You really can't go wrong with them! They take little time to put together and you can use fresh seasonal fruit or frozen! It is definitely a great way to use up fruit in the fridge that has seen better days. This dessert can easily become gluten free by substituting the all purpose flour with almond. In this recipe I used almond flour. It added a rich nutty taste to the crisp and added some sweetness as well! It can be served fresh out of the oven with some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream or just as is! Allow crisp to rest for about 10 minutes before digging in to allow juices to be absorbed into the dish. It tastes just as great cold as well! For this recipe I used frozen rhubarb and strawberries that I had frozen from last season and wanted to use it up to make room for more! I will not be giving

Spaghetti Alla Gricia  IG: @mangia.con.elena Pinterest: mangiaconelena Spaghetti alla Gricia is one of the four classic Roman pasta dishes. The other dishes are Cacio e Pepe, Bucatini all' Amatriciana and Carbonara. They are simple pasta dishes with few ingredients yet incredibly flavourful and delicious! It is also referred to as "Amatriciana bianca"  the ingredients are identical except for the tomatoes.  Spaghetti alla Gricia is said to hail from the town of Grisciane in the region of Abruzzo where poor shepherds  would take this simple meal while working in the fields.  Tomatoes were added in the 17th century when they were introduced to the Italian soil. Bucatini all' Amatriciana was born in Amatrice and later became a classic dish of Roman cuisine.  The authentic recipe calls for guanciale which is pork jowl. However, it can be challenging to find guanciale and you can certainly substitute pancetta or bacon. If using bacon I would highly recommend purchasing the

  Grilled Greek Marinated Pork Chops IG: @mangia.con.elena Pinterest: mangiaconelena After a long winter inside it is finally starting to look like spring and that means time to clean the grill and light it up! This is a simple and delicious marinade perfect for pork chops but most definitely can be used for chicken as well. Nothing beats the combination of garlic, greek oregano and lemon and this marinade has all three! I often will pair these pork chops with Greek Lemon Potatoes. An amazing combination that reminds me of our amazing trip to Greece oh so long ago! The recipe for the potatoes is in an earlier post. Try the two together and I promise you will be wanting to break out the ouzo!  Ingredients 8 bone in centre cut pork chops 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil zest and juice of one large lemon 3 large garlic cloves chopped or minced 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar 1 tbsp of Greek oregano (regular will do if you don't have Greek) 3 sprigs of rosemary. Two intact and one chopped fre