Chef’s Best: Pranzo • Ambrosia All photos in this article by Jim Bush Chef Gene Pigeon of Pranzo (above and at left) likes the classic combination of bread and pasta. He says, “These recipes are simple to prepare, elegant to serve, and compliment the wine of your choice. I like to dip the freshly baked bread into the pasta sauce and follow it with a sip of my favorite Amarone. . . mmmmagnifique!! Pure ambrosia.” Note, too, that the recipes use olive oil and garlic: two basic and very healthful ingredients of Italian cuisine. Tuscan Rosemary Bread 1 TB active dry yeast 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1/2 cup seedless raisins 6 sprigs fresh rosemary (do not substitute dry) 1 TB salt 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil Dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water in a large bowl. Add salt and stir in the flour a little at a time. Add only enough to make a soft dough that doesn’t stick to sides of the bowl. Place dough on a lightly floured counter and knead for about 8 minutes. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a plastiuc wrap. Let dough rise until doubled. While waiting for dough to rise, sauté and 3 rosemary sprigs in the olive oil for about 2 minutes. Discard the rosemary. Put risen dough onto the lightly floured counter. Chop the remaining sprigs of rosemary. Sprinkle onto the dough. Knead the raisins with their oil into the dough. Divide into 6 equal parts and shape into balls. Place on lightly floured baking sheet, cover, and let rise for 20 minutes. With a knife, make a criss-cross mark in the top of the breads (this prevents the breads from rising in the oven). In a 400 degree oven, bake the breads for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Fettucini with Roasted Yellow Pepper Sauce 3 yellow bell peppers 2 egg yolks (hard-boiled) 1 garlic clove 1 cup olive oil 2 lbs fettucine salt & pepper Roast peppers on a char-broiler until skin is black. Remove skin and seeds and cut peppers. Puree all ingredients (except pasta) in a food processor or blender until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve tossed with freshly cooked pasta. Stavros Malliaris, owner of Ambrosia tries to bring a little taste of the Greek countryside to Buffalo. With these recipes, he provides the traditional—Greek Spinach Pie—and the contemporary—Greek-style Swordfish. Fish is a mainstay of Greek cuisine as well as being a great, health-conscious choice. The Spinach Pie is great for vegetarians. The recipes were prepared with help of Ambrosia chef Joe Chambers. Fresh Grilled Greek-style Swordfish 72 6-8 ounce portions of fresh swordfish fresh lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper to rub on swordfish For vinaigrette: 1 fresh lemon, squeezed 1 tsp. minced garlic salt pepper pinch oregano 1/4 cup olive oil Grill swordfish for 3 minutes on each side. Mix first 5 ingredients of vinaigrette. Slowly pour oil into mixture while whisking until vinaigrette emulsifies. Pour over cooked swordfish. Serves two. (wine recommendation: Johannesburg Reisling) Greek Spinach Pie 1 box Athens phyllo dough (let rest in refrigerator until completely thawed) 2 lbs frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed well 2 medium onions, diced 3 tsp dried dill salt pepper 1 stick melted butter 6 bay leaves 4 cinnamon sticks 1 lb lowfat feta chopped into chunks 3/4 lb lowfat feta grated 3 eggs To make filling: Sauté onions, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, salt, pepper, dill, in sauté pan with enough oil to coat. Make sure most of the water is squeezed from the spinach. Remove cinnamon and bay leaves from the onions. Add onions, eggs, and all feta to the spinach. Adjust seasonings. Divide filling into 2 parts. For layering phyllo: Brush melted butter lightly on bottom and sides of 15” x 9” baking pan or pyrex. Trim phyllo dough so that it fits to pan; save trimmings. Lay down the first layer of dough and lightly brush with butter. Follow this method until a third of the dough has been used. Place one half of the spinach mixture evenly over the phyllo. Layer another third of the phyllo dough in the preceding manner. Place the remaining spinanch mixture on top. Layer the remaining phyllo dough, using trimmings. To bake: Dust pie with flour. Brush with beaten egg (about 2 eggs). You may pre-cut the pie to make serving easier later. Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Halfway through, re-trace your cut lines. It should have a nice brown color. Remove from oven, re-cut, and serve alone, or with a salad. Back to the Table of Contents Back to Top