The 'O's' of Italian Cooking

The 'O's' of Italian Cooking are 'O' so delicious. I'm adding some recipes too. Although all of the recipes don't begin with the letter 'O', an ingredient in the recipe does. So I have an ossobuco recipe, some recipes that contain oregano referred to as the 'pizza herb' and an Italian olive salad recipe. Look ahead to pizza and a homemade dough recipe in my next writing! The "O' of Italian cooking starting with:

oliva (aw.le.vah) ~ olive

oregano (aw.ray.gah.no) ~ an herb that is more flavorful when dried than when fresh.

ossobuco (aw.so.boo.ko) ~ 'hollow bone." A meat specialty of Milan.

Recipe for:

Milanese Style Ossobuco

What You Will Need:

1 tablespoon butter

4 veal shin bones with meat, 4 inches long

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup water

1 teaspoon chopped parsley

1/2 chopped garlic clove

4 strips lemon peel, 1 inch long

1 chopped anchovy filet

1 tablespoon butter

What You Need To Do:

Grease a skillet with butter. Roll the veal bones in flour, place in the skillet, add salt and pepper and cook until well browned, turning on occasion. Add wine and continue cooking until the wine evaporates. Add a cup of water, cover skillet and cook 1 hour, adding more water, if necessary.

A few minutes before you serve, add the parsley, garlic, lemon peel and anchovy to the skillet. Cook a couple of minutes longer, turning meat bones over once. Place on a serving dish. Add a little flour to the pan drippings to thicken, stir until well mixed. Pour over the veal bones and serve.

Beef Slices Alla Pizzaiola (Pizza Style)

What You Will Need:

4 slices top round, 1/2 inch thick

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 sliced clove garlic

1/2 large can crushed tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon oregano

dash salt and pepper

What You Need To Do:

Saute' the meat in 1 tablespoon olive oil for 2 minutes on each side. In another pan brown the garlic in 1 tablespoon olive oil, add the tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper and cook over high flame for 10 minutes. Pour sauce over meat slices and serve.

Beefsteak Alla Pizzaiola (Pizza Style)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 porterhouse steak, 1 1/2 inches thick

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 chopped cloves garlic

1 medium can crushed tomatoes

2 teaspoons oregano

What You Need To Do:

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Place the steak in the pan and brown well on both sides. Sprinkle the salt and pepper, remove from pan and keep warm on platter. Place garlic and tomatoes in the frying pan where meat was cooked, and cook for another 3 minutes at high heat. Stir on occasion. Place the steak back in the pan, add the oregano and cook for 1 more minute, stir well. Place the steak on a serving plate and smother with sauce.

Olive Salad

What You Will Need:

2 pounds green Sicilian olives

1 cup diced celery

1 cup capers

2 sliced cloves garlic

1 sliced small onion

1 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 carrot, sliced thin

2 large red peppers, chopped in small chunks

1/2 teaspoon fennel seed

1 tablespoon wine vinegar

What You Need To Do:

Pit each of the olives by pounding it, the pit will expose and you will have broken olive pieces. Place the olive pieces in a large bowl with all the ingredients. Mix well, cover and let stand in a cool place for at least 24 hours before serving. The wonderful thing with this recipe is, the olives last for a long time, ready for the next antipasto or to serve as an appetizer.