Best Configini Recipes

CONCHIGLIE WITH CLAMS AND MUSSELS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the broccoli into the pasta water and continue cooking until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite, and the broccoli is blanched, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain pasta and broccoli, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
• Meanwhile, in a large, heavy skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and saute for 3 minutes. Add the clams, mussels, and wine. Cook for 5 minutes, making sure all the shells have opened. Discard any shells that remain closed. Sprinkle with the parsley.
• In a large bowl, toss together the pasta, broccoli, and shellfish. Add the reserved pasta water, 1/4 cup at a time, to moisten. Toss to combine. Transfer to a serving platter and serve immediately.

CIOPPINO

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a very large pot over medium heat. Add the fennel, onion, shallots, and salt and saute until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and 3/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, and saute 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Add tomatoes with their juices, wine, fish stock and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the flavors blend, about 30 minutes.
• Add the clams and mussels to the cooking liquid. Cover and cook until the clams and mussels begin to open, about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and fish. Simmer gently until the fish and shrimp are just cooked through, and the clams are completely open, stirring gently, about 5 minutes longer (discard any clams and mussels that do not open). Season the soup, to taste, with more salt and red pepper flakes.
• Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.

CANNOLI

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Cut in the shortening until it is in pieces no larger than peas. Make a well in the center, and pour in the egg, egg yolk, Marsala wine, vinegar and water. Mix with a fork until the dough becomes stiff, then finish it by hand, kneading on a clean surface. Add a bit more water if needed to incorporate all of the dry ingredients. Knead for about 10 minutes, then cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
• Divide the cannoli dough into thirds, and flatten each one just enough to get through the pasta machine. Roll the dough through successively thinner settings until you have reached the thinnest setting. Dust lightly with flour if necessary. Place the sheet of dough on a lightly floured surface. Using a form or large glass or bowl, cut out 4 to 5 inch circles. Dust the circles with a light coating of flour. This will help you later in removing the shells from the tubes. Roll dough around cannoli tubes, sealing the edge with a bit of egg white.
• Heat the oil to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) in a deep-fryer or deep heavy skillet. Fry shells on the tubes a few at a time for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden. Use tongs to turn as needed. Carefully remove using the tongs, and place on a cooling rack set over paper towels. Cool just long enough that you can handle the tubes, then carefully twist the tube to remove the shell. Using a tea towel may help you get a better grip. Wash or wipe off the tubes, and use them for more shells. Cooled shells can be placed in an airtight container and kept for up to 2 months. You should only fill them immediately or up to 1 hours before serving.
• To make the filling, stir together the ricotta cheese and confectioners' sugar using a spoon. Fold in lemon zest and chocolate. Use a pastry bag to pipe into shells, filling from the center to one end, then doing the same from the other side. Dust with additional confectioners' sugar and grated chocolate for garnish when serving.

CLASSIC CANNONCINI

Steps:

• To make the dough, melt the butter in a bain-marie or double boiler and leave to cool. Measure out the water and add the salt. Place the flour in a bowl and pour in the water. Add the vinegar and melted butter. Work the ingredients with your hands to bring them together into a dough, then shape into a block. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• To make the butter paste, sift the flour into a mound on a clean surface and make a well in the middle. Place the butter in the well. Rub the flour and butter together using your fingertips or a dough scraper, until you obtain a very soft paste.
• Place the butter paste between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it out with a rolling pin to form a rectangular block. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Using a rolling pin, roll the chilled dough out on a lightly floured surface to form a rectangle. ¼ inch thick with the short side of the rectangle facing towards you. Flatten the butter paste into a rectangle the same width as the rolled-out dough but a third of its length. Place the butter on top of the dough in the center.
• Take the short side of the dough closest to you and fold it up and over the butter paste. Fold the other short side of the dough up and towards you to cover the first fold of dough. Turn the dough through 90° so the folds no longer face you and roll the dough out again, to form a rectangle just under ½ inch thick.
• Take the short side of the dough closest to you and fold it up and over into the middle of the rectangle, then do the same with the other side, folding the dough up and over so the short sides meet in the center of the rectangle. Fold the rectangle in half again, wrap it in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
• Position the dough with the short side closest to you and roll it into a rectangle ½ inch thick. Fold the lower third of the dough up and away from you, then fold the upper third up and towards you to cover the first fold of dough. Wrap the block in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Repeat this stage a further 4 times, to make a total of 6 stages, and always leave the dough to rest in the refrigerator between each stage.
• Pour the cream into a bowl. Using an electric whisk, whip the cream to soft peaks.
• Add one-third of the whipped cream to the cooled custard and fold it in gently, using a silicone spatula.
• Add the remaining cream and fold it in again until you obtain a soft, even mixture.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F and line the baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Place ¼ cup (50 g) of the sugar in a small saucepan, add the water and bring to boiling point over medium heat to make a syrup. Continue to cook until all the sugar has dissolved then set aside to cool.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry dough into a 13 x 9-inch rectangle, that is ⅛ inch. Using a pastry wheel, cut the rolled-out dough into 16 strips, each measuring ¾ inch wide.
• Pour the remaining sugar into a bowl. Hold a metal cannoncini tube in one hand and, starting at one end, wrap it with a strip of pastry, overlapping each wrap slightly, so as not to leave any gaps. Brush each pastry with the sugar syrup and roll it in the remaining sugar, making sure it is completely covered. Place on the lined baking sheets and continue preparing the rest. Depending on how many metal tubes you have, make, and bake the cannoncini in batches.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed, golden, and starting to release from the cannoncini tubes. Leave to cool for 15 minutes, then slide the pastries off the cannoncini tubes and let cool completely on a cooling rack.
• To serve, fill a pastry (piping) bag fitted with a star piping tip (nozzle) with the chantilly cream and fill each cannoncini. To ensure the pastry remains crisp, fill the cannoncini immediately before serving.

ROASTED BROCCOLINI AND LEMON WITH PARMESAN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Thinly slice half the lemon into rounds and set the other half aside. Toss lemon slices, garlic and broccolini with the olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper, making sure everything is evenly coated, especially the broccolini tips so they get fried and crisp.
• Sprinkle with Parmesan and roast until the broccolini is bright green, starting to char and the cheese is golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven, squeeze the remaining half of the lemon over the top and serve.

SIMPLE CROSTINI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange baguette slices on two large rimmed baking sheets; brush both sides with oil, and season with salt and pepper.
• Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden, 15 to 20 minutes (if undersides are not browning, turn crostini over once during baking). Let cool on baking sheets. Top crostini with desired toppings, and serve.