All things Gratinato!

Ciao a tutti!

We had such a wonderful time in Puglia and Tuscany this fall, sharing our favorite places, foods and wines with new clients who fast became new friends! The weather was beautiful, warm and summery well into October. While it wasn’t great for the mushrooms or truffles, it was perfect for outdoor touring, walking and dining al fresco!

We love the opportunity to go to Italy twice a year, we always come back home inspired to recreate the wonderful dishes we ate. Our cooking class with Rita in Puglia is so inspirational and this year her class focused on gratins, or gratinato in Italian. These simple dishes that are roasted with a little olive oil and a sprinkling of breadcrumbs are versatile and delicious. Her amazing locally-made terracotta pots add visual appeal to an already gorgeous dish. We wish we could have as many sizes and shapes as she does, but we each managed to come home with one terracotta pot!

Below you’ll find recipes for several gratin dishes, from mussels to onion to a tomato sauce for pasta. The dishes are comforting and easy to prepare. It’s best to make your own breadcrumbs from bread that has no high fructose corn syrup. Just puree the bread slices in a food processor and dry them in a low oven. In a jar, they’ll keep for months. If you purchase the breadcrumbs, get the unflavored ones at Trader Joe’s. Scroll on for the recipes. Be sure to share your recipes on Facebook page and tag us!

We have a few spots still open for next year's tours. We'll be publishing our 2025 dates soon!

A presto -

Buon appetito!

Gina and Mary

4 gratin recipes to try!

Tomatoes Gratinato for Pasta Sauce

Date tomatoes cut into quarters

Garlic, minced

Oregano, dried

Sea salt & Pepper

EVOO

Parmigiano

Breadcrumbs

Pasta, any short and dried shape (penne, cavatelli, orecchiette, rigatoni, etc)

Scatter the tomatoes in a baking dish, sprinkle the garlic, oregano, salt and pepper on top. Drizzle with a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil and cover with parmigiano and breadcrumbs. Bake at 375 until tomatoes are browned and cooked. Cook the pasta til al dente, take it out of the water and add it directly to the baking dish. Drizzle with EVOO and toss to coat.

Serve with extra parmigiano or pecorino romano.

Handmade cavatelli with tomato gratin

Bell peppers

Peppers Gratinato

Bell peppers, different colors

Garlic, minced

Parsley, chopped

Capers, rinsed

Tomatoes, diced

Sea salt, pepper

Parmigiano

Breadcrumbs

EVOO

Cut bell peppers into large squares and lay them in a single layer in the bottom of an oiled baking dish. Sprinkle the peppers lightly with all the ingredients and drizzle them with extra virgin olive oil.

Bake at 400 until browned.

Onion Gratinato

Thick onion slices to cover the bottom of the baking dish

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt, cinnamon & black pepper

Oregano (dried)

Breadcrumbs

Small glass of water

Oil a terracotta or glass baking dish with a small amount of EVOO and lay the onion slices in a single layer. Sprinkle the onions with sea salt, cinnamon, black pepper and oregano and drizzle EVOO on top. Add some breadcrumbs on top, not enough to completely cover the onions, and pour a little water in the bottom. Bake at 400 until golden brown.

Mussels Gratinato

2 lbs mussels

Garlic, minced

Parsley, minced

breadcrumbs

EVOO

White wine

Place the mussels in a large pot, cover and put on a high heat. Shake the pan after a couple minutes and remove the mussels as soon as they open. Save the water that’s in the bottom of the pan.

Open each mussel, discard the empty shell and place the shell with mussel in a single layer in a baking dish. Sprinkle the mussels with minced garlic, parsley, breadcrumbs and extra virgin olive oil. Put the reserved mussel water in the bottom of the dish along with a small amount of white wine, bake at 375 for 8 minutes.

Cooking Class with Rita never disappoints!

In Puglia visiting the Domenico Modugno statue and singing Volare with our all women group in September!

This month's Italian saying:

"A goccia a goccia si fa il mare."

(Little by little, you can do great things. (Literally: drop by drop you make a sea.)

Cooking class dining with Rita

Dinner at the Masseria al fresco

Join one of our small group tours in 2024

Join us next year on one of our wine and culinary adventures! We only have a few spots still open for some of our weeks. Check it out here: schedule

Our tours are a week filled with delicious foods and regional wines. The small group tours are perfect to be with fun people to explore the culture and history of Italy through its foods and wines.

Where do we go? Veneto, Emilia-Romagna and Piedmont in the spring and Puglia and Tuscany in the fall. AND...

It's official, we'll offer our Campania - Naples, Capri, Sorrento & Amalfi tour next September 8-15. Check out the details here!

Contact Mary (972-342-8308, email) or Gina (321.412.2011) with any questions or for more info.

2024 TOUR DATES to Italy!

Visit Our Website

Fun times on our Fall tours - for more check out our Facebook album page!

Toasting the sunset on the terrace

Al fresco dining in Lecce

al fresco dining at the villa in Tuscany

Fun in Montalcino

Gina Stipo and Mary Stipo Potter | Ecco La Cucina | 1-972-342-8308| Email | Website