Step1
CHOOSE YOUR INGREDIENTS.
In order to create a healthy, vegetarian, Italian cuisine, you do not need alot of expensive and challenging ingredients. Simplicity is best. Gather up colorful vegetables and fresh spices. The more ingredients you buy, the more creative you can get. To get started, simply focus on picking up Italian bread, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, vegetables, fresh spices, and mozzarella cheese. If you would like to go into making simple pizzas, pick up flour, a couple packets of yeast, tomato sauce, and some wax paper. A rolling pin is also useful, but not necessary. When choosing your vegetables and spices, organic is best for health, but not necessary to preserve taste. Remember to clean all vegetables thoroughly with hot water and even some lemon if you have it. A good tip is to clean your veggies right after buying and before storing them, to save time when whipping up your meals. Choose your veggies according to your taste. Once you have the foundation of the simple dishes described, any vegetable or spice can be used interchangeably. Tomatoes, however, are a sure choice in most dishes to preserve the Italian influence. In addition, Other strong cheeses accenuate the simple recipes, and can be very fun to experiment with.
Step2
BRUSCHETTA.
Bruschetta is a very simple and light dish. It can be used as an appetizer, a quick meal, or entertaining.
In order to prepare a quick bruschetta, preheat oven to about 450 degrees.
Cut several circular pieces of bread into about one inch circular pieces.
Dice desired vegetables and spices (such as tomatoe and basil or arugala and oregano)
Lightly oil bread pieces with extra virgin olive oil and a couple dashes of sea salt.
Place veggies and spices neatly on bread.
Lightly oil oven sheet or aluminum foil that is placed over oven rack.
Place bruschetta on sheet and allow to bake for about 10 minutes, until bread is toasty.
Remove and place on plate and drizzle with olive oil and a couple dashes of salt.
TIP: When entertaining or preparing this at home, creating a variety of bruschetta with varied vegetables is alot of fun, creative and makes for a great presentation.
Step3
BRUSCHETTA PIZZA.
This is something that I came up with as a quicker alternative to pizza. Using whole pieces of sliced bread allows for more ingredients, and even sauce. It can served whole or sliced.
Preheat Oven to 450 degrees.
Slice a whole or half loaf of Italian Bread lengthwise.
Dice Vegetables and spices.
Chop Mozarella into small pieces.
OPTIONAL: Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce onto bread.
Lightly oil cooking sheet or aluminum foil placed on oven sheet with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Lightly drizzle bread and ingredients with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a couple dashes of salt.
Place in Oven and bake for about 10minutes until cheese is melted and bread is toasty.
Drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a couple dashes of sea salt.
Let cool for several minutes and Serve on plate whole or sliced into pieces.
TIP: If serving to several people, slicing the bread into pieces of desired width is a great idea. Make sure bruschetta pizzas are cooled fully before slicing to ensure ingredients stay intact before cutting. To save time, place entire sheet in freezer for two minutes before serving.
Step4
PASTA. Popular Pastas for Italian cuisine are Spaghetti and Linguini. However, any pasta found in a store will work for a great recipe. The key to making a quick recipe, that preserves Italian authenticity, is cooking the pasta Al Dente. Al Dente means not overcooking the pasta, so it strains semi-hard and dry. With these dishes, simplicity is key. Sauce can be replaced with Extra Virgin Olive oil and vegatables.
To get started, Boil water after adding several dashes of salt.
Dice desired vegetables and spices.
Place pasta in boiling water for aproximately 15-20 minutes, while assisting pasta to soften into pot and stirring occasionally.
Strain Pasta and shake to remove as much water as possible.
Allow to cool for about five minutes.
Place pasta in a clean, dry pot.
Add sauce, or sauce and vegetables, or Extra Virgin Olive Oil and vegetables.
Turn heat to low, and stir, until pasta is warm, adding dashes of sea salt.
Serve on plate or bowl.
TIP: Pastas are especially good with uncooked vegetables and spices placed ontop of the finished product. Minced garlic is also a good option to add, in moderation.
Step5
PIZZA. Pizza can seem time consuming but actually can take a little over an hour, and be done in intervals while working on other tasks.
Prepare a dry, flat surface with wax paper. Ensure atleast two pieces of wax paper are used side by side to cover entire surface.
Dust surface with flour.
Empty approximately half of a package of flour into a large bowl.
Add one packet of yeast.
Add about a cup of warm water.
Add about a a half cup of olive oil.
Add a teaspoon of salt (or about five dashes)
Knead all ingredients until made into a sticky ball.
Continue to add flour as kneading until ball is completely dry and does not stick to fingers.
Place ball on wax paper and roll flat with rolling pin or use fingers to spread into a thin oval shape.
Cover an oven sheet with wax paper, and lightly oil.
Place dough on wax paper.
Wait about 45 minutes.
Dice desired vegetables and spices.
Chop Mozzarella cheese into small pieces.
Return to dough after 45 minutes and remove.
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.
Place dough on same wax papered surface used to roll and flatten in center, gathering slack around perimeter to create a crust.
Ensure cooking sheet is still lightly oiled.
Place dough on cooking sheet.
Cover with a light layer of tomato sauce.
Place veggies, spices, and mozzarella on top of tomato sauce on pizza.
Bake for approximately 30 minutes until cheese is melted. Do not remove pizza until dough is fully cooked and crust is hard and browned.
Remove from oven and allow to cool.
OPTIONAL: Grate Parmigiano or Asiago cheese on cooled pizza.
TIP: Do not cut pizza until fully cooled. Again, placing pizza in freezer for a couple minutes can save time.
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