Easy Italian Recipes

Easy Italian Recipes

Some cuisines pride themselves on complicated recipes, intricate sauces, and specialized cooking gear, but Italian cuisine is all about getting the best flavor from the simplest ingredients. While many Italian cities are centers of fashion, culture, or high-end fine dining, some of the best meals you can find in Italy are rustic dishes served in tiny villages and made with the freshest of local ingredients. In America, this is called the slow food movement, which was established by Alice Waters of Chez Panisse in Berkley, but in Europe it is called dinner. These easy Italian recipes call for simple, fresh ingredients to create delicious and memorable dishes.

Sherry Shrimp

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 12 raw shrimp, the larger the better, cleaned and de-veined
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of sherry
• ¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes (more depending on how hot you like your shrimp)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan.
2. Add the shrimp and fry it until almost done, about 2 minutes.
3. Add the sherry, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.
4. Sauté another minute, then serve immediately.

Eggplant and Zucchini Casserole

A 9x13-baking dish works well with this recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant, sliced into ¼ inch thick rounds (don’t slice the eggplant until you are ready to fry it)
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes packed in juice
• ½ cup of chopped basil leaves
• 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley
• 2 zucchini, sliced lengthwise
• 6 tablespoons of vegetable oil to fry the eggplant and zucchini (you might need more)
• 12 ounces of mozzarella cheese, sliced ¼ inch thick (or as close as you can get)
• 1 ounce parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
• All-purpose flour to coat the eggplant

Instructions

1. In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil over a medium flame.
2. Fry the onion until it just starts to become translucent.
3. Add the garlic and continue to fry until the garlic becomes fragrant, about 2 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes and juice, half the basil, half the parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.
5. Bring the mixture to a boil.
6. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 25-30 minutes until thick.
7. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
8. Slice the eggplant and coat it with the four.
9. Heat the vegetable oil in a medium pan.
10. Fry the eggplant and zucchini slices until golden.
11. Grease your baking dish with butter or spray it with non-stick spray.
12. Layer half the eggplant and zucchini slices in the bottom of the baking dish.
13. Pour half of the tomato mixture over the slices.
14. Layer half of the mozzarella over the tomato mixture.
15. Scatter the remaining basil over the mozzarella.
16. Layer the rest of the eggplant and zucchini followed by the rest of the tomato mixture, then the rest of the mozzarella.
17. Top with the parmesan cheese.
18. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
19. Garnish with any leftover basil leaves you might happen to have on hand.