Penne in the Style of Sorrento with Grilled Peppers, Onions and Italian Sausage

Here is a nice twist on a a popular Italian dish, "sausage and peppers with penne". For this dish, penne pasta is usually tossed or served with sauteed Italian sausage and bell peppers, onions and garlic. What I often do however is grill my Italian sausage links (I prefer hot, but mild or sweet sausage would also work great), as well as my vegetables, which I served along side a penne tossed in a cheesed-up classic marinara sauce, that I call penne, in the style of Sorrento, after a gnocchi dish I had there!

First I'll start with a simple recipe for a basic marinara sauce, the mother of all Italian tomato sauces. With that being said, marinara is actually a "mother" sauce as it can be transformed into many other tomato based sauces with particular additions, such as meat, for a bolognasse, or cream, or into a pizza sauce or a vodka sauce, or as I will do, add fresh mozzarella and ricotta cheese to make a pink and cheesy tomato sauce.

Basic Marinara Sauce

In a sauce pan, heat over medium heat:
- 1/4 cup of olive oil 
Add, and saute until tender:
- 1 large onion, diced fine
- 1 carrot, diced fine
- 1 rib of celery, diced fine

Then add:
- 3-4 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 2 large (28 ounce) of good quality crushed tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp of dried Italian herbs (mix of oregano, thyme, marjoram and basil)
- 1tsp of salt and pepper.

Bring sauce to a low simmer and let cook, uncovered for at least 30 minutes. A little longer wouldn't hurt.


Penne in the Style of Sorrento (serves 4)

Cook 1 pound of penne pasta until it is al dente (still with bite).

While the pasta is cooking, ladle 4 cups of marinara into a deep saute pan. Bring to a low simmer and add:
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup of fresh mozzarella cheese, diced
- 1 tsp hot red pepper flakes (optional)
- 3-4 basil leaves, chopped
- 2 Tbsp of fresh Italian parsley, chopped (reserve some for garnish)

Add the hot pasta to the cheesy marinara sauce and garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and parsley

 
 To complete the meal, grilled Italian sausages and vegetables couldn't be easier...or tastier.
Simply slice:
- 1 large red onion, red bell pepper and green bell pepper. Toss in a little olive oil and grill in a grilling basket over a medium flame until tender and carmalized. Add a pinch of salt and pepper while grilling.
At the same time of cooking the veggies, grill your Italian sausages. Turn frequently so all sides get scorched, and cook until the juices run clear.

Broiled Swordfish with Lemon and Olive Oil

While in Italy, I enjoyed some delicious grilled swordfish at a rustic little restaurant in Sorrento. It was after a long day of hiking all over the island of Capri we had worked up quite an appetite. When we left our hotel to go out for supper the skies had opened up, and by the time we time we made it to the main piazza we were soaking wet. We walked up and down some random side streets (actually like narrow alleys, but the locals drive on them, mostly by moped) until we located  what looked like a nice place to eat. This place looked to have a mix of locals and tourists so we felt good about it. We hung our dripping coats on the rack and sat and relaxed over an excellent meal and some nice wine.

Here are my take on two dishes we enjoyed that day...caprese salad and grilled swordfish.

Caprese Salad
For lunch in Capri we shared a much deserved lunch consisting of margarita pizza and a caprese salad over looking the ocean.This salad, which means "salad in the style of Capri" couldn't be simpler to prepare. It consists of three simple ingredients, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil. It's great just like that or seasoned with a little olive oil and vinegar (balsamic or red wine). To make it, simply arrange slices of the cheese and tomato topped with basil however you wish. Common ways to do so are in individual stacks or around a platter. As you can see in the photo, I made mine atop some lettuce as to make it a little more substantial of a first course salad.


Grilled/Broiled/Baked Swordfish

Which ever one of the above methods you choose, the same basis hold true when cooking a firm, "meaty" fish like swordfish...do not overcook it! Swordfish is one of my favorite seafood choices but whenever it is over cooked it becomes very dry. The nice thing this recipe does to overcome that is using a quick marinade/basting sauce, a quick cooking time, and a good squeeze fresh lemon juice at the end.

About 10-15 minutes before cooking, toss: 4  -- 6 ounce swordfish fillets (steaks) with a little olive oil, the zest of one lemon and a little fresh thyme.

Preheat the broiler or your grill on high. Once the grill/broiler is hot, season the fish well with salt and pepper. Cook the fish to a medium-well doneness for about 8 minutes in the oven or 3-4 minutes per side on the grill. About 1 minute brfore removing from the heat squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over the fish.

Remove from heat and serve with lemon slices and fresh chopped parsley. If cooked in the oven, you will be left with a flavorful lemon-fish broth. Spoon the warm lemon sauce over the fish when serving.

Buona appetito!