What to do with all your garden zucchini? Add them to pasta! 4 ingredients make an easy, nutritious, and delicious main course or side dish. 4-6 servings.

Adapted from The Top One Hundred Patsa Sauces-Dianne Seed

Easy Ingredient:

• 1 lb. spaghetti

• 1/2 cup Villa Graziella Organic extra virgin olive oil

• 4 pounds zucchini, washed and dried

• Sea or Kosher salt

• Fresh cracked pepper

Simple Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions until just firm-al dente.  

2. While pasta cooks, slice zucchini in thin rounds without removing the skin 

3. Heat oil to medium high, add zucchini to hot oil, cooking in batches if necessary, until soft and browned, do not overcook  

4. Strain pasta, place in a large bowl, add cooked zucchini together with the olive oil they were cooked in. 

5. Stir well 

6. Add salt and pepper to taste  

7. Serve & enjoy! 

Hints: 

• Bigger is not necessarily better, large zucchini can be watery with little or no flavor. Choose zucchini with the stem attached, no more than six inches long, 2 inches wide. Firm, without cuts or blemishes.  

• When possible, use pasta cut with bronze dies or plates. Likely indicated on the package, the textured or “rough” surface is perfect for clinging to ingredients and absorbing sauces. 

  Tried, Tasted & True!

  We try & taste every recipe we feature. We love to share our family recipes, those of home cooks & chefs and we sometimes adjust them. We want you to have a healthy & delicious experience using our recipes. So, try them, tweak them and please tell us about it! Take a photo and hashtag it #villagraziella- We love seeing your creations on insta. & facebook and welcome your comments & feedback!

Grazie!

⁣*A delicious recipe & photo prepared by @livewellbytraci
Simple Ingredients: ⁣
15oz. Can organic black beans, drained & rinsed⁣
15oz. Can whole kernel corn, drained⁣
1/2 a red onion, finely chopped⁣
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped⁣
3/4 cup salsa verde⁣
1/4 cup Villa Graziella Organic Silver Label Balsamic Vinegar⁣
Juice of 1 lime⁣
1/2 tsp. Cumin⁣
1/4 tsp. Salt⁣
1/4 tsp. Pepper ⁣
@sietefoods grain free tortilla chips ⁣
⁣
Directions:⁣
1. Combine all of the ingredients into a bowl & stir.⁣
2. Cover & place in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving & up to overnight. ⁣
3. Before serving you may need to drain some of the liquid. ENJOY!⁣

July is National Grilling Month. Next time you are at your local Farmer’s Market pick up a bushel of fresh asparagus and grill it up! It is the perfect side to steak, chicken or fish.

Easy Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Villa Graziella Organic extra virgin olive oil

• ¼ cup Soy sauce

• ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce

• 1 bushel fresh Asparagus, wash and dried

• ½ teaspoon sea salt and pepper

Simple Directions:

1. Chop garlic and add to the top of the asparagus

2. Drizzle oil, soy, and Worcestershire

3. Mix all together

4. Grill

Tried, Tasted & True!

We try & taste every recipe we feature. We love to share our family recipes, those of home cooks & chefs and we sometimes adjust them. We want you to have a healthy & delicious experience using our recipes. So, try them, tweak them and please tell us about it! Take a photo and hashtag it #villagraziella- We love seeing your creations on insta. & facebook and welcome your comments & feedback!

Grazie!

Who doesn’t enjoy blueberries? A welcome sign of summer and known as “Deep Purple Magic”, blueberries are loaded with natural heart healthy antioxidants! We tweaked a recipe using fresh instead of frozen blueberries, olive instead of vegetable oil and almond instead of buttermilk for an easy, nutritious, and delicious cake. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert, enjoy it the next day for a snack.

Easy Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Villa Graziella Organic extra virgin olive oil + extra to oil the pan

• 2 cups fresh blueberries, wash and dried

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose + 1 tablespoon whole wheat flour, regular flour ok

• 1/2 cup almond milk, or regular dairy milk

• 2 large eggs room temperature, organic if possible

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon sugar in the raw, organic if possible

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or kosher

Simple Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F degrees.

2. Brush a 9-inch square or round baking dish/pan with olive oil and line with parchment paper.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together ½ cup oil, almond milk, eggs, vanilla and ¾ cup sugar.

4. In another larger bowl, stir 1½ cups flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to combine.

5. Add wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined, small lumps are ok.

6. Toss blueberries with remaining tablespoon of flour on a large dinner plate.

7. Gently fold berries into batter.

8. Transfer to the prepared baking dish, sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon of sugar.

9. Bake until golden or if a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 55-60 minutes.

10. Cool, serve and enjoy!

Helpful Hints:

• Keep cake loosely wrapped in the refrigerator for 3-4 days

• Use fresh quartered strawberries, quartered peaches or nectarines in place of blueberries

Inspirational Recipe found here at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021092-berry-buttermilk-cake

Tried, Tasted & True!

We try & taste every recipe we feature. We love to share our family recipes, those of home cooks & chefs and we sometimes adjust them. We want you to have a healthy & delicious experience using our recipes. So, try them, tweak them and please tell us about it! Take a photo and hashtag it #villagraziella- We love seeing your creations on insta. & facebook and welcome your comments & feedback!

Grazie!

Simple Ingredients:

• (1) bottle of Villa Graziella Rosato Toscano I.G.T., 750 mL

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup water

• 3/4 cup fresh raspberries

Easy Directions:

1. Pour entire bottle of Villa Graziella Rosato Toscano I.G.T. into a baking dish or pan and freeze until almost solid (it won't completely solidify due to the alcohol), at least 6 hours.

2. Bring sugar and water to a boil in a medium saucepan; cook, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes.

3. Add raspberries, remove from heat, and let sit 30 minutes to infuse syrup with strawberry flavor.

4. Strain raspberry syrup mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, chill in the freezer until cold, about 30 minutes.

5. Scrape frozen Rosato into a blender. Add raspberry syrup and purée until smooth.

6. Divide among glasses.

Helpful Hints:

• Rosato can be frozen 1 week ahead.

• Substitute your favorite berries including strawberries and blackberries for extra flavor.

Tried, Tasted & True

We try & taste every recipe we feature. We enjoy sharing recipes, from our families, home cooks or chefs. We sometimes adjust them and want you to have a healthy & delicious experience. So, try them, tweak them, and please tell us about it! Take a photo and tag us on Facebook and Instagram @villagraziellaorganic.

We love seeing your creations and welcome your feedback.

Grazie!

Having a dinner-time dilemma? Why not grilled veggies!

Using our Condimento Bianco-white balsamic condiment and our Olio Nuovo-olive oil, we marinated farmers market veggies for 15 minutes, added them to the grill for 10 minutes. The vinaigrette lends a fresh, light flavor without overpowering for a healthy, crowd pleasing, summertime side dish. 4 ample servings.

Easy Ingredients:

• ¼ cup Villa Graziella Organic extra virgin olive oil + extra for grill basket

• 1/4 cup Villa Graziella Organic Condimento Bianco white balsamic vinegar + extra to taste

• 1 medium Spanish (red) onion, halved and quartered

• 2-3 medium zucchini or yellow squash, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds

• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 1/2 teaspoon sea (Kosher fine), + extra to taste

• 1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper, + extra to taste

• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley

Simple Directions:

1. Wash, rinse & dry vegetables (wash, rinse & dry even if bagged)

2. Preheat gas or charcoal grill to medium high heat

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the condimento vinegar, followed by olive oil, mustard, salt & pepper, set aside

4. In a large bowl, combine onions, peppers, tomatoes, and zucchini.

5. Add vinaigrette to vegetable and toss, marinate 15-20 minutes at room temperature

6. As veggies marinate, lightly coat grill basket with olive oil, place on grill to heat

7. Place veggies in grill basket or thread onto skewers, close grill cover, discard marinade

8. Grill for 5 minutes until vegetables soften and begin to show grill marks

9. Stir veggies or turn skewers, close cover, grill for 5 additional minutes

10. Season to taste, sprinkle with parsley, serve hot or at room temperature and enjoy

Helpful Hints:

• Choose in season vegetables for fresh, full flavor-Anaheim Chiles, bell peppers, chayote squash, corn, eggplant, jalapeno peppers, okra or summer squash

• Add your favorite fresh herbs such as basil, chives or thyme

• Compost or use ends and scraps for flavorful veggie-based broth

• Start with vinegar, then olive oil, mustard & spices-binding the ingredients together. If oil is added first it creates a film around the veggies.

• Soak bamboo skewers in water 15 minutes so veggies cook evenly & do not burn

• Cover & refrigerate up to 3-4 days, avoid freezing

  
  Inspirational recipe found here…https://lastingredient.com

Tried, Tasted & True

We try & taste every recipe we feature. We enjoy sharing recipes, from our families, home cooks or chefs. We sometimes adjust them and want you to have a healthy & delicious experience. So, try them, tweak them, and please tell us about it! Take a photo and tag us on Facebook and Instagram @villagraziellaorganic.

We love seeing your creations and welcome your feedback.

Grazie!

Not sure what to make for dinner this weekend?

Vegetarian and with just six pantry ingredients, for a clean, nutritious, and delicious first course or main dish.

Paola di Mauro’s recipe for pasta with roasted cherry tomatoes-a healthy & delicious pasta dish you’ll enjoy over and over again. 2-4 servings

Easy Ingredients:

• 1-pound fresh cherry tomatoes, (if possible organic) washed, dried and halved.

• ½ pound fusilli or any tubular shaped short pasta such as penne

• 1/3 cup Villa Graziella Organic extra virgin olive oil, plus 2-3 tablespoons for tossing

• 2 tablespoons Villa Graziella Organic Silver label balsamic vinegar

• ¼ cup bread or panko crumbs

• ¼ cup freshly grated pecorino Romano, aged parmesan, asiago fine too.

• Sea or Kosher salt

• Freshly cracked pepper

• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley finely chopped, dry also ok

Simple Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375˚F.

2. Line bottom of casserole dish with cherry tomatoes in a single layer, halved side up

3. Season with salt and pepper, then drizzle with balsamic vinegar followed by olive oil.

4. Sprinkle cheese and panko crumbs on top.

5. Bake until tomatoes begin to brown, caramelize, and become dense about 20 minutes.

6. As tomatoes bake, cook pasta according to directions minus 1 minute, so pasta is firm (al dente). Ladle approx. 1 cup of pasta water, set aside.

7. Drain pasta, add to casserole dish with tomatoes. Combine tomatoes and pasta, add 1-2 tablespoons of reserved pasta water.

8. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil, to coat.

9. Sprinkle with parsley, taste, adjust seasonings, cheese and oil

10. Serve & enjoy with your favorite Villa Graziella Organic certified wine.

Who was Paola di Mauro? An Italian winemaker from Marina-12 miles southeast of Rome.

She was a talented home chef who together with other women, kept the time honored, traditional Italian cooking style known as “La Cucina Casalinga” (housewives cooking) alive over generations. Focused on simple, fresh, quality ingredients combined in a balanced manner, more than a style La Cucina Casalinga continues as one of the pillars of authentic Italian cooking.

Helpful Hint:

-Double the recipe, refrigerate, and enjoy for next day lunch

Inspirational Recipe found here…https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1778-penne-with-roasted-cherry-tomatoes

Tried, Tasted & True

We try & taste every recipe we feature. We enjoy sharing recipes, from our families, home cooks or chefs. We sometimes adjust them and want you to have a healthy & delicious experience. So, try them, tweak them, and please tell us about it! Take a photo and tag us on Facebook and Instagram @villagraziellaorganic.

We love seeing your creations and welcome your feedback.

Grazie!

Did you know? June 4th is National Cheese Day! Why not celebrate with a sformato? An Italian style savory soufflé or flan, it means “unmolded”, as it is cooked in single serving ramekin then “unmolded” onto a dish. Fresh eggs & quality Parmigiano Reggiano cheese are the key ingredients. The Bologna based culinary historian, talented home chef and very patient, Carmelita Caruana taught us this recipe which we tweaked. Delicious as a first course or enjoy the next day with a salad for lunch, Makes 4-sformati.

Easy Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons Villa Graziella Organic extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tablespoon Villa Graziella Organic Gold balsamic vinegar

• 7/8 cup or 3.1 ounces of finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

• 1 cup or 8.45 ounces fresh whipping cream

• 1 tablespoon of corn starch

• 2 fresh, room temperature eggs, if possible organic

• 1 tablespoon fresh or dried herbs-optional

• 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg

• 1 teaspoon cracked pepper + to taste

• 1/4 teaspoon sea or Kosher salt + to taste

Simple Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F, oil ceramic or aluminum foil molds thoroughly, set aside

2. In a small saucepan, combine corn starch with 1 tablespoon of water until smooth, add cream to mixture, stir together

3. Season with nutmeg, salt, pepper and herbs

4. Place pan over medium heat, slowly bring to a boil

5. As cream is heating, lightly whisk eggs and grated cheese in a bowl set aside

6. When cream comes to a boil, remove from heat, adding a bit of egg & cheese mixture, whisk quickly but gently to not curdle eggs

7. Add remaining eggs & cheese in batches, whisk quickly but gently until completely blended

8. Fill moulds ¾ to the top, place in a water bath, bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted

9. Remove from oven, cool to room temperature so sformato firms, turn mold over onto a dish, drizzle balsamic vinegar over each sformato

10. Serve and enjoy!

Helpful Hints

• Make extra and refrigerate for next day lunch with a salad, serve at room temperature

• Sformato can be made in a larger soufflé dish and served onto individual dishes

• Don’t have Parmigiano Reggiano? Use quality grated aged Pecorino cheese

• Although travel to Bologna is restricted, fortunately you can still learn from Carmelita with her online lessons. wink

For more info. visit https://www.cookitaly.com/homepage-cook-italy/store-2-2/

Tried, Tasted & True

We try & taste every recipe we feature. We enjoy sharing recipes, from our families, home cooks or chefs. We sometimes adjust them and want you to have a healthy & delicious experience. So, try them, tweak them, and please tell us about it! Take a photo and tag us on Facebook and Instagram @villagraziellaorganic.

We love seeing your creations and welcome your feedback.

Grazie!

Fresh Strawberries & Red Wine

Did you know strawberries are a member of the rose family & the only fruit with seeds on the outside? Rich in vitamin C, the ancient Romans prized strawberries for their medicinal properties eating them to treat fever, fainting & even kidney stones. From spring through early fall, strawberries are a healthy & delicious dessert. They taste even better with a splash of red wine, lemon juice, a bit of sugar & fresh mint. The berries absorb the wine, and lemon juice while macerating making a naturally sweet syrup with fresh, juicy flavors. Serves 3-4

Simple Ingredients

• 1 pint – 3 ½ cups of fresh, whole, organic strawberries

• ½ cup Villa Graziella Organic Rosso Toscano IGT red wine, plus extra to flavor

• ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 2 teaspoons of sugar in the raw, plus extra to flavor

• 1-2 sprigs of fresh mint

Easy Directions

1. Place strawberries in a colander, gently rinse with red wine

2. Transfer to a large bowl

3. Trim green caps, cut in quarters or halves

4. Add lemon juice, sugar in the raw & sprigs of fresh mint

5. Mix thoroughly

6. Cover & refrigerate 30 minutes to 1 hour

7. Serve chilled top with fresh mint & enjoy!

Helpful hint: Look for unblemished strawberries, one berry that has turned will affect the others.

Once home, refrigerate strawberries and keep them dry, only trim & rinse right before using.

Inspiration recipe found here LaCucinaItalianamagazine

Tried, Tasted & True

We try & taste every recipe we feature. We enjoy sharing recipes, from our families, home cooks or chefs. We sometimes adjust them and want you to have a healthy & delicious experience. So, try them, tweak them, and please tell us about it! Take a photo and tag us on Facebook and Instagram @villagraziellaorganic.

We love seeing your creations and welcome your feedback.

Grazie!

It’s finally here-pull out the grill, Saturday, 05.16 is National Barbeque Day!!

We tweaked Diana R. Worthington’s recipe using Villa Graziella Organic Silver Balsamic Vinegar and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. No artificial caramel or synthetic sweeteners, the clean, natural tangy flavors of the balsamic blend with the fruity olive oil for a healthy and nutritious marinade. Use any cut of beef, chicken, turkey, lamb, or salmon. Makes 4-8 servings

Easy Ingredients:

• 4 pieces of fresh fish or meat 1- 1 1/2 pound each, add ½ pound if bone-in

Marinade:

• 6 tablespoons Villa Graziella Organic balsamic vinegar

• 4 tablespoons Villa Graziella Organic olive oil

• 2 finely minced fresh garlic cloves

• 2 finely minced shallot cloves

• Fresh rosemary or any of your favorite herbs-1 sprig per piece of meat

• Freshly ground black pepper

• Sea salt

Simple Directions:

1. Whisk marinade ingredients together in a medium bowl

2. Place meat in a nonaluminum container or dish & pour marinade to thoroughly coat meat

3. Refrigerate & marinate 2 to 8 hours, turning meat portions over once

4. Prepare barbecue or grill for medium-high heat cooking. Or preheat oven broiler

5. Grill or broil meat approx. 3 inches from heat until grill marks appear & meat is cooked medium rare, approx. 4-5 mins. per side. (For medium to well done, additional 3-5 minute per side)

6. Using a meat or instant read thermometer, test meat for 130°F temperature

7. Remove meat from heat, place on clean platter or container

8. Arrange rosemary sprigs on meat, cover loosely with foil, allow to rest 10 minutes

9. Plate whole meat pieces or slice diagonally & arrange on a platter.

10. Serve & enjoy with your favorite Villa Graziella Organic wine

Helpful Hints:

Take meat or fish out of the refrigerator about 15 minutes before grilling to bring it to room temperature. Cold protein does not cook evenly.

Allow meat to develop a seared crust on the grill before moving or turning it over. Doing it too quickly results in meat sticking to the grill

Let cooked meat to “rest” for 10 minutes before serving, this allows the juices to return to throughout the meat where they retreated during the cooking.

Inspirational recipe found here…http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/food/sns-201705081709

Tried, Tasted & True

We try & taste every recipe we feature. We enjoy sharing recipes, from our families, home cooks or chefs. We sometimes adjust them and want you to have a healthy & delicious experience. So, try them, tweak them, and please tell us about it! Take a photo and tag us on Facebook and Instagram @villagraziellaorganic.

We love seeing your creations and welcome your feedback.

Grazie!