Recipes Using Our Products

Spiedino of Chicken, Tomatoes and Pancetta with Fresh Herbs

Serves 8

    Purchase 4 whole legs of chicken, 16 thin slices of Fra’ Mani Pancetta, mixed fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano) and a small basket of mixed cherry and plum tomatoes in a variety of colors. Have your butcher bone the chicken (or bone them yourself) and remove the skin and fat.

    Cut the chicken legs into plump 2 inch chunks. Marinate with ¼ cup dry white wine, 1 large clove of finely minced garlic, 2 teaspoons of sea salt, fresh ground black pepper to taste, 3 tablespoons of olive oil and a scattering of herbs.

    Using bamboo skewers (8), alternate a line-up of chicken (4 to 5 pieces) and tomatoes. Starting at the pointed end of the skewer and attaching one slice of pancetta, wind it loosely around the chicken and tomatoes. Starting at the other end of the skewer attach the end of the pancetta slice around the blunt end of the skewer, pull it up toward the chicken and tomatoes and wind it around the remained exposed part. Proceed with the remaining skewers.

    Pre-heat the oven to broil. Place the skewers on a baking sheet and set on the middle rack of the oven. Broil for approximately 7 minutes per side or until lightly browned.

    Collect any juices in the bottom of the baking sheet. Add ¼ of your best extra virgin olive oil to the juices and a heaping tablespoon of the same fresh herbs you used to marinate the chicken. Transfer the skewers to warm plates and drizzle a little of the pan juices, olive oil and herbs around each portion. Serve at once.

Pancetta and Wild Arugula Crostini

Serves 4

    Purchase 12 thin slices of Fra’ Mani Pancetta. Finely chop a small sprig of rosemary. Finely mince a small clove of garlic. Warm a sauté pan, add the pancetta, rosemary and garlic and soften over medium heat. Remove the pancetta from the pan, chop it finely and return it to the pan. Toast 12-15 sweet baguette croutons lightly brushed with extra virgin olive oil.

    Make a vinaigrette with finely diced shallot, red wine vinegar, a little lemon juice, sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. Dress 2 handfuls of wild arugula with the vinaigrette. Re-warm the pancetta mixture and toss it into the arugula. Top the croutons with the mixture and lay them out onto your favorite platter. Grate Reggiano Parmigiano over the top and pass at once.

Lonza Cornets

    Make a salad of young lettuces, fresh herbs (mint or tarragon, parsley, chives), scallions and radishes (we prefer the deep pink watermelon radish) dressed with a vinaigrette made with minced shallots, lime zest, champagne vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil. Chop the herbs coarsely and cut the scallions and radishes into fine julienne. Add scallions and radishes to the lettuces and herbs and toss lightly to combine in a bowl.

    Dress the salad. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. The salad should lean toward the acidic. Add additional vinegar if necessary to sharpen it.

    Purchase thin slices of Lonza cut about 1/8 inch thick. On a work surface lay down two slices of Lonza lengthwise and slightly overlapping. Place a bundle of the salad across the first slice arranging radishes and scallions so that some protrude out the ends. Roll forward across both slices in a slightly angled direction to create a conical “cornet” form.

    Arrange on a platter and drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over the top and any remnants of the salad.

    Serve at once.

Lonza Tonnata

    Lonza Tonnata is a take off on the traditional classic Italian summer dish of cold veal loin in tuna sauce. Fra’ Mani Lonza can be served as the appealing centerpiece of an elegant lunch or as a component of dinner antipasto.

Tonnata Sauce

  • 2 cups pure olive oil
  • 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 12 Salt-cured Anchovies, rinsed, soaked for 5 minutes in lukewarm water, and peeled away from the bone
  • 10 ounces fresh tuna, preferably belly, one-inch pieces
  • 1-teaspoon salt
  • 2 egg yolks
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup cold water

Warm the olive oil in a small saucepot. Add the garlic and anchovies and place over medium low heat. Cook slowly for 10 minutes until the anchovies dishevel to a paste. Add the tuna to the pot and cook for an additional 5 minutes. As the tuna cooks, gently mash together tuna, garlic and anchovies. Set aside to cool. When the tuna mixture has cooled to room temperature, separate the solids from the oil in a sieve and set aside.

In a one quart mixing bowl, make a mayonnaise by beating with a whisk the olive oil you saved from cooking the tuna mixture in a steady, thin stream into the egg yolks. After half the oil is incorporated the mayonnaise will become quite stiff. At this point, add a little water and lemon juice to thin it, and continue adding oil until it is all incorporated. Set aside.

Place the tuna, garlic, and anchovy mixture in a food processor. Blend well for approximately 3 minutes until the mixture is cut to a very fine paste. Add all of your mayonnaise to this paste and blend for several minutes more to a very smooth consistency. Next add the cream and water and blend for an additional 30 seconds. Set the tonnato sauce aside.

Purchase 32 thin slices of Lonza. Have your delicatessen clerk cut them approximately 1/8 inch thick.

Lay out the slices, slightly overlapping, on a large white platter. Ladle the sauce over the Lonza slices so that the meat is thinly but completely coated.

Garnish the platter with lemon slices, capers, oil cured black olives. Sprinkle with a little Italian parsley. Serve slightly chilled.

Breakfast Sausage and Egg Torta

Serves six

  • 2 large slices sourdough bread
  • 1 fresh garlic clove
  • Unsalted butter
  • 6 eggs
  • 2/3 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 10 Fra’ Mani Mattinata Breakfast Sausages

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Medium toast the slices of sourdough bread. Rub each slice with a raw garlic clove, then butter the bread generously.

Butter a standard Pyrex pie dish.

Combine eggs with grated cheese, cream, salt and a little fresh ground black pepper. Mix well.

Break the buttered toast into rough 2-inch pieces and lay the pieces in the pie dish. Arrange the Fra’ Mani breakfast sausages in a spoke pattern on top of the bread. Pour the egg mixture over and around the bread and sausages. Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned on top and just set in the center. Serve at once.

Rigatoni al Diavolo with Spicy Italian Sausage

Serves eight

  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 red bell pepper (about 10 ounces), seeded, sliced thinly
  • 2 fresh red, hot peppers (optional)
  • 1/2 yellow onion (about 6 ounces), finely diced
  • 3 teaspoons salt
  • 3 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced
  • 3 ounces tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1 small can crushed tomatoes (141/2 ounces)
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup water
  • 12 ounces Fra’ Mani Spicy Italian Sausage, cut into 1/4 inch chunks
  • 1 1/2 pounds rigatoni pasta
  • 1 1/2 heaping cups Pecorino Romano, plus more for grating

Warm the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed, 6-quart saucepan. Add the bell pepper, hot peppers (optional), onion and salt. Soften over medium heat for 5 minutes. Raise the heat and lightly brown the onions and peppers. Lower the heat, stir in the garlic and the tomato paste, and cook for 2 minutes more.

Add the wine and stir to combine it with the other ingredients. Reduce until thickened. Add the crushed tomatoes, sugar, black pepper, sausages and water.

Simmer the sauce for 20 minutes, or until the sauce clings to the back of a spoon.

Boil the pasta until al dente. Add it directly to the sauce along with the cheese and stir over low heat until the sauce coats the pasta. If the pasta begins to stick or the sauce appears too thick, add a little hot water and continue to stir until you achieve a loose, but never runny, consistency.

Serve at once in warm bowls and grate additional Pecorino Romano cheese over each portion at the table.