12 | A Light Italian Feast

1 |   Main Dish

My Minestrone Soup

Soup in itself can be a perfect meal. This soup is a protein rich dish with lots of vegetables. It starts out with a trinity of celery, onion, and carrots. Then we build on top of that with green beans and kidney beans. It’s rounded it out with a pinch of heat and a little zest to make it irresistible.

3 |   Side

Italian Rice Balls

I love sharing food with friends. Having them introduce new dishes to me is part of a great night together. It’s even better when we cook a meal and experiment with the ingredients. That’s sort of what happened with this. My friend found a rice ball recipe in a book. We made it much simpler, but kept all the favor.

2 |   Salad

Brillant Basic Bruschetta

Bruschetta might sound fancy or difficult to make, but it’s so easy and your friends will ask you for the recipe. I love making this for parties and people always ask, “What’s in this?” With lightly toasted baguette rounds and a splash of Balsamic vinegar for flare, your guests will eat them all, and you’ll have to make more for you.

4 |   Dessert

Plum Crostadas

I was introduced to the idea of crostadas years ago while watching a cooking show. I was reminded that fruit doesn’t need a lot of extra flash to make it taste good. This dessert is rustic and opened faced, which makes it easier than pie. With plums and hint of lime to make it tangy, it’s sweet and everything that’s right about eating light.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

1 large carrot, diced

1 celery stock, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 can cannelloni beans or white kidney beans (15 oz can)

2 medium tomatoes, diced (or a 15 oz can tomatoes)

1/2 tablespoon tomato paste

4 cups vegetable broth

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon salt

a dash or two of cayenne pepper

1/2 cup green beans

1/2 cup elbow macaroni pasta

lemon

Want to make this dairy or gluten-free? This is already deliciously dairy-free. To make it gluten-free too, use your favorite gluten-free pasta like Barilla.

Make ahead option– This soup can be stored for a week in a sealed container in the refrigerator. If you’d like to freeze this, prepare it up to Simple Step 4, pour it into small freezer containers, and store in the freezer for up to a month. When you are ready to make soup, simply remove it from the container and place it into a medium pot. Once the soup is liquid again, continue with the Simple Steps 5 and 6.

The Simple Steps...

1. Add the olive oil to a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Sauté the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic for about 5 minutes or until onions are slightly translucent and tender.

2.  Drain and rinse the cannelloni beans. Add them, the tomatoes with the juices, and tomatoes paste to the pot. For a quick tip on peeling tomatoes, click here.

3. Add the broth into the pot and cook for 5 minutes.

4. Mix in the basil, oregano, bay leaf, salt, and cayenne.

5. Stir in the green beans and pasta then bring the soup to a boil.

6. Reduce the heat to medium low heat, cover the pot, and cook for 10 minutes.

7. Ladle out some soup and add a squeeze of lemon juice to each serving.

1 baguette

1 garlic clove

5 tablespoons olive oil

8 small Campari tomatoes (about 1 lb)

10 fresh basil leaves

5 oz fresh mozzarella cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

drizzle with balsamic vinegar

Want to make this dairy or gluten-free? Leave out the mozzarella for delicious dairy-free option. For a gluten-free experience, use your favorite gluten-free bread or use crackers like Blue Diamond Nut Thins.

Make ahead option– The bruschetta is something you won’t want to make more than an hour or two in advance. Cut tomatoes don’t taste quite as nice the next day so try to use up what you make. The baguette rounds can be made ahead and stored for up to five days in a sealed container on the counter.

The Simple Steps...

1. Preheat the oven to 450˚. Slice the baguette into 1/2 inch think rounds. Using a pastry brush dipped in olive oil, brush a little oil onto one side of each baguette round. Then place them onto a baking tray and bake for 5-7 minutes. The bread should be very lightly toasted not brown.

2. Peel one garlic clove and cut the end off. Rub this exposed end onto the oiled side of the toasted bread. The crisp bread acts sort of like sandpaper to the garlic leaving little pieces of garlic on the bread. Be careful not to rub too much. You can always add more. Repeat for all the toasted bread.

3. Wash the tomatoes and basil. Chop the tomatoes into 1/4 inch square pieces. Place these into a medium mixing bowl.

4. Chop the fresh mozzarella into 1/4 inch pieces too and add them to the bowl.

5. Chop the basil into thin strips then stir them into the tomato mixture. Watch this quick tip video for help with chopping basil.

6. Add two tablespoons of olive oil and the salt to the tomatoes and toss to coat.

7. Once the baguette is toasted and ready, top them with a tablespoon or two of the tomato mixture. Drizzle each with a little balsamic vinegar and try to resist eating them all.

2 cups cooked white rice

2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup breadcrumbs

Oil, for frying

1 cup marinara sauce (optional)

Want to make this gluten-free? To make gluten-free bread crumbs: Break your favorite gluten-free bread into smaller pieces and place onto a baking tray. Bake at 300˚ for about 20 minutes or until the pieces are dried completely. Put the dried bread into a food processor or blender and pulse until you have crumbs. Store the crumbs in a sealed bag in the freezer to use in this or any recipe needing bread crumbs.

Make ahead option– The rice balls can be made from Simple Step 2-4 and stored in a sealed container in the freezer for up to a month. When you have the craving, simply do Simple Steps 1, 5, and 6.

The Simple Steps...

1. Place a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat and add enough vegetable oil to rise 2 inches in the pot. If you have a deep-frying thermometer, the oil should be between 350-375˚ F.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the rice, Parmesan, basil, egg, and salt. Use your hands to make sure that the mixture is combined well.

3. Use about 2 tablespoons of rice and squeeze it firmly to form a ball. Repeat this process to form 12 balls. If the rice sticks to your hands, wet them a little before forming another ball.

4. Place the bread crumbs into a shallow pan and roll each ball in the crumbs to coat.

5. Add 3 or 4 of the rice balls to the pot and fry them, turning them occasionally. Fry about 4 to 5 minutes or until they are golden brown.

6. Use a slotted spoon to remove them from the pot and transfer them to a paper towel lined plate. Repeat the frying process with the remaining balls. Serve them warm with a side of warm marinara sauce.

To cook rice:
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup short-grain white rice
1 clove garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf

My Method: Add the water to a medium pot and bring to a boil.
• Stir in the rice, garlic clove, salt, and bay leaf.
• Cover, reduce heat to medium-low heat, and cook for 20 minutes.
• Remove the bay leaf. Use a fork to fluff the rice and place it into a medium mixing bowl.

1 basic pie dough

4 plums (about 1 pound or 2 cups chopped plums)

1/2 lime

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

dash of salt

4 tablespoons sugar

ice cream (optional)

Pie Dough:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

3 tablespoons very cold water

Want to make this dairy or gluten-free? For a dairy-free option, simply use cold coconut oil instead of butter. To make this gluten-free, use your favorite gluten-free flour instead or combine 1 1/2 cups rice flour, 1/3 cup potato starch, and 1 teaspoon xathum gum to make your own gluten-free flour.

Make ahead option– This can last on the counter up to three days sealed with plastic wrap and five days in the fridge. When you'd like a sweet, tart treat, just pop one or two into the toaster oven for 30 seconds to reheat.

The Simple Steps...

1. Preheat the oven to 450˚.

2. Roll out pie dough. Cut out 4 six inch circles. If necessary, reroll the pie dough to cut out additional rounds. Arrange on a baking sheet.

3. In a large bowl, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together.

4. Wash the plums and cut them all into 1/2 inch chunks. Place them into the bowl. Toss the plums in the sugar mixture.

5. Zest the 1/2 lime and put the zest in with the plums. Juice the 1/2 lime and add the juice to the plums. Stir everything together to coat.

6. Place 1/2 cup of the plum mixture into the center of each dough circle. Fold up the edges of the pie dough slightly to create a damn for the fruit juices to stay in. Sprinkle one tablespoon of sugar onto each crostada.

7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden and the plums are tender. Serve warm or at room temperature with a small scoop of ice cream on top.

Pie Dough:
1. Sift the flour, sugar, and salt together into a large mixing bowl.

2. Use a pastry cutter or 2 knives to cut the butter into the flour mixture until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal.

3. Add the water one tablespoons at a time and mix with a fork just until the dough pulls together.

4. Use your hands to pat the dough into a ball and transfer it to a floured work surface. Then flatten it slightly into a disk. Lightly flour the flattened disk and gently roll out the dough turning it and flouring it as needed. Lightly flour your rolling pin to keep the dough from sticking to it also. Continuing rolling out the dough into a 12 inch circle that’s about 1/8 inch thick.