Italian Fast Food: Tomato Salad Variation no 1.

What's the fastest and healthiest thing you can put on your plate?

A salad. With all those tomatoes laying around the house I decided to make this fast, simple delicious meal!

Ingredients for 2 people:
5 medium size plum tomatoes
1 mozzarella
a bunch of baby spinach
two spoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt

Cut the veggies in big chunks and put them in a bowl with the mozzarella cut in cubes and some baby spinach that you have ripped with your hands.
Add oil and salt. Eat with bread or crackers.

Enjoy!
Valentina
Real Italian Kitchen

How to make Italian Style Grilled Vegetables

Last night I had a dream I was Woody Allen's chef and I was making him Grilled Vegetables for Memorial Day... 

I'm always very happy to go to barbecues and find a side of vegetables. Salads are fine, but you need a fork to eat that. Grilled vegetables can be eaten with you hands and are a great addition to a burger. They also make a great side if you're having steak or fish.

For 2 people: 1 Zucchini, 1 Eggplant, 1 Pepper

What's good on the grill? 
Peppers
Eggplant
Zucchini
Yellow Squash
Onions
Tomatoes
Asparagus

For 2 people:
1 Zucchini
1 small Eggplant
1 Pepper
(see picture)





Prepare the vegetables
1. Rinse all the veggies.

2. Peppers: cut them in half, cut out the seeds inside and the white lining of the vegetable. Cut in even strips.
Zucchini: cut in long strips, a little on the thick side especially if they're going on an outdoor grill.
Eggplant: you can eat the skin but I like mine pealed. Cut "circles" out of it (like the picture) or cut through the length of it if it's a thin eggplant.
Tomatoes and Onions: start cutting circles from the "bottom"
Asparagus: leave it whole.

3. Season with oil and salt BEFORE they go on the grill.

Grill it!
Put it on the grill and once the griddle has made convincing marks on one side, turn them. On a medium hot grill about 5 minutes per side. Don't burn them.

Enjoy!
Valentina
Real Italian Kitchen

Italian fast food: Fried Turkey Cutlets with Fresh Tomatoes on top.

When I think of fast food I think fried, comfort food. And fast please.

My favorite dish in this case is Breaded Turkey Cutlets with Tomatoes. Today I added some sauteed spinach to the dish. But let's start from the fried turkey.

COOKING TIME (including prep time): 10 minutes 

Ingredients

For the turkey
Turkey cutlets, one per person (the kind of cut you want it's actually called italian cut... pretty funny uh?!)
1 egg
bread crumbs
vegetable oil

For the tomatoes
fresh tomatoes
oregano
salt
extra virgin olive oil

For the spinach
cooked spinach
extra virgin olive oil
hot red dried peppers
garlic

Put the vegetable oil in a large flat pan and set the fire on high. Beat the egg in a plate, dip the turkey cutlet in it then bread it in the bread crumbs. Throw (gently, don't burn yourself!) the breaded cutlet in the pan and fry it. Once is cooked set it on a plate over a paper towel, to dry off some of the oil.

While the turkey is frying prepare the tomatoes. Just cut them in little cubes, put them in a bowl, season with salt, oregano and extra virgin olive oil.

Saute' the spinach in a pan were you had previously heated up the oil with the garlic and the hot peppers.

DONE! Serve the turkey with the tomatoes on top, the spinach on the side, a good slice of bread.

Pictures coming soon... today I was so hungry I didn't even think about taking pictures! Oh well, it just means I'll have to do it again soon...!

Enjoy!
Valentina
RealItalianKitchen