The Dark Side of Nutella - Nutella Zeppoles

It happened again. I woke up this morning, my hair a mess, half off the bed, memory blurred and my hand clutching a spoon like it was a teddy bear. What happened? What had I done? And then it all hit me. The familiar scent of hazelnut, the rich taste of chocolate in my mouth, the sticky fingers. I hit the nutella….again. Real bad too. How could I keep doing this? It was so unlike me. There was just something about the way nutella smelled and tasted, the smooth and creamy texture, all the versatility, the things I could do with it.

Never mind that now, I had to figure out exactly what got me here. I looked to the right side of the bed and saw a few half opened jars of the stuff, to the left there was a plate full of crumbs. Crumbs. Okay, I didn’t just eat out of the jar then. They texture of the crumbs didn’t make sense. They weren’t brownies or cookies, they were too crispy for that. I needed to investigate further. I got up and walked into the kitchen searching for more clues. A large mixing bowl sat on the counter, whisk still in it next to a used container of ricotta. A frying pan with a fresh layer of oil on the stove. Frying pan? Ricotta cheese? I clearly wasn’t making cheesecake, so what could I have possibly done with a frying pan, ricotta and nutella?  Oh no. I remembered. It all came back to me. I made my great aunt Carmella’s Nutella Ricotta Zeppoles. But how? My mother kept the secret recipe hidden, I didn’t even know where it was. I checked my phone, seeing that I had called her four times last night, she must have spilled. Obviously, what else could explain the zeppoles? I certainly didn’t know how to make them. Only my mother held the key.

I went back to the bedroom searching desperately for more clues and there it was. Placed neatly on my desk. The recipe. The recipe for the most amazing, crispy and crunchy on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside, Nutella Ricotta Zeppoles. Glancing over the recipe, it wasn’t hard to see why I had ended up like this.

Nutella Ricotta Zepploes

1 ½ pounds ricotta

½ cup of nutella

2 cups of flour

¼ tsp. salt

4 tsp. baking powder

2 tbsp. sugar

4 eggs

1 cup of neutral oil for frying

First, mix together your ricotta and nutella. Then add your eggs. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the nutella ricotta mix. Let the batter sit for around 20 minutes.

Prepare a deep pot for frying over high heat and add your oil. Drop batter by large tablespoons into the oil. Each zeppole should take roughly 4-6 minutes to fry, so please stand by and watch them. They should also float to the top!! Don’t get nervous if when they are done frying they look dark, the nutella makes the batter a mocha color! When they are done, take them out and put on a wire rack so any excess oil drips off. I like to serve these the traditional way with a light dusting on powdered sugar! Boun Appetito!! 

For more intense Nutella cravings and recipes, be sure to take a look at Ms. Adventures in Italy, Bleeding Espresso and World Nutella Day!!

Spaghetti Sausage Pie

Ciao a tutti! Last night I knew I felt like making dinner but I wasn’t quite sure what to prepare. I looked through my refrigerator and it hit me! I had fresh eggs, sausage, parsley, garlic, ricotta and parmigiana, so…..Spaghetti Sausage Pie!! If you are familiar with the Food Network show “Chopped” you know that the premise of the show is to build a dish out of four ingredients in the mystery basket. Now, I don’t have a lot of the unusual ingredients that they showcase, but I love challenging myself and trying to figure out what to prepare just by seeing what foods I have in the house.

I love Pasta Pies. The great thing about pasta pies is that you can pretty much do whatever you like with them. For one thing, if you have some leftover pasta from a previous dish and want to spice it up, you can easily add some ingredients to it and bake into a fresh and delicious pie. It is also a great dish served room temperature for a picnic and it travels very well for a party. Like I said, I had sausage, but you can also make it with chicken, beef or vegetables. I cook my pasta al dente because when it is mixed with the egg and cheese mixture it will naturally soften up a little, so when you cook your pasta make sure that it doesn’t get too soft. This way, when it is out of the oven, the inside will be just creamy enough with the cheese and the outside should have a light crunch.

I made this with whole wheat spaghetti; as I’ve said before, I do what I can to make my recipes a bit healthier. Obviously, I am not going to try to pass this dish off as healthy, but every little thing counts. I had a nice slice fresh out of the oven with a side of sautéed zucchini. Let me know what you all think!!

Spaghetti Sausage Pie

2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 links of Italian sausage- hot or sweet, it’s up to you!
¾ cup of ricotta
½ cup of parmigiana
Salt
Pepper
Red pepper
Garlic-chopped
Parsley- chopped
2 eggs
½ a box of spaghetti

First, prepare a small pan with olive oil over medium heat and put the sausage in. Let it cook on each side for a few minutes. Once it has browned, flip to the other side, repeat flipping them every few minutes until they are fully cooked.

Start boiling a pot of water for your pasta and salt the water.

While the sausage is cooking, in a medium size bowl, mix ricotta, parmigiana, salt, pepper, red pepper, chopped garlic and parsley. All of the seasonings are to taste, so you can add as little or as much as you would like. In fact, what I like to do is try a little of cheese mix before I have added the eggs so I can see if it is well seasoned. Next, add the eggs and beat until thoroughly combined.

Once the sausage is done, let it cool for at least ten minutes. At this point, the water should be boiling so throw your pasta in. Spaghetti cooks very quickly, so stand by. While that is cooking, cut your sausage into slices and add to the cheese and egg mixture. Drain the pasta and run cool water it so it doesn’t instantly cook the eggs!!

I cook my pie in a traditional glass pie pan. You can also use a casserole dish if you like. Whatever you use, oil it so the pasta doesn’t stick. Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Add the pasta to the egg and cheese and stir. Put the pasta mix in your pan and into the oven, cook for 30-45 minutes. Everyone’s oven is different, so be sure to check in every few minutes. You don’t want the center soft and undercooked, but you don’t want it burnt. Once you the pie is done, let it sit for around fifteen minutes before serving. Serve with a nice side of sautéed vegetables or a fresh tomato and arugula salad. Buon Appetito!!