Cooking On Pennies XIII: 4 More From Gennaro's Cucina! 🌞

Last edited Sat Nov 1, 2025, 01:20 PM - Edit history (1)

LASAGNE CON SALSICCIA E BROCCOLI
Lasagne with sausage and broccoli

Salsiccie e Broccoli is a popular meal in southern Italy. It is made with
pork sausages and local bitter cime di rape (rape tops) and is usually
served as a main course. I have taken these two beloved ingredients and
made them into this nutritious lasagne. Instead of cime di rape, which is
hard to come by, I have used normal broccoli florets, which are cooked
and blended. Simple to prepare, it creates an alternative lasagne and a
nutritious meal.

Serves 4

350g (12oz) broccoli florets
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, lightly crushed and left whole
300g (10½oz) Italian pork sausages
½ onion, finely chopped
approx. 6 dried lasagne sheets
40g (1½oz) grated Parmesan cheese
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the béchamel sauce
40g (1½oz) butter
40g (1½oz) plain flour
500ml (18fl oz) milk
pinch of grated nutmeg
10g (¼oz) grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas mark 6.
Cook the broccoli in a pan of salted boiling water until tender, about 5
minutes. Drain, reserving a little of the cooking water.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a frying pan, sweat the garlic over a
medium heat for a minute, then add the broccoli and stir-fry for about 5
minutes. Remove from the heat and, using a handheld stick blender, blend
with the reserved cooking water until smooth. Set aside.

Remove the skins from the sausages and crumble the meat. Heat the
remaining olive oil in a separate frying pan, sweat the onion over a
medium heat for about 5 minutes until softened, then stir in the crumbled
sausage meat, add a little salt to taste and stir-fry over a medium heat for
about 10 minutes, until the sausage meat is golden brown.

In the meantime, make the béchamel sauce. Melt the butter in a small
saucepan, take it off the heat and quickly whisk in the flour, then gradually
whisk in the milk. Return to the heat and cook over a low heat, whisking,
until the sauce begins to thicken slightly. Remove from the heat, add a
little salt and pepper, the nutmeg and grated Parmesan.

Line an ovenproof dish with a little béchamel sauce, followed by two
lasagne sheets and a layer of broccoli, then sprinkle over some sausage
meat, then a little grated Parmesan. Continue making layers like these
until you have used up all the ingredients, ending with béchamel sauce
and a final sprinkling of grated Parmesan.

Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and
continue to bake for a further 15 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Remove from the oven, leave to rest for 5 minutes and then serve.



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RAGU DI LENTICCHIE
Lentil ragù

Lentils are an excellent source of protein and a perfect substitute to the
traditional minced meat Bolognese. Simple to prepare with basic
store cupboard ingredients, it makes a quick meal at any time. You can
also make a larger quantity and freeze it in batches.

Lentil ragù is perfect combined with pasta (like in this recipe) or you can
enjoy it on its own with some rustic bread. For best results, use the small
brown or green lentils that are widely available and do not require
presoaking.

Please note, I have indicated an approximate amount of stock,
and also the cooking time may vary, depending on the brand of lentils you
use.

Serves 4

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
40ml (1½fl oz) any type of red wine
200g (7oz) dried small brown or green lentils (rinsed)
1 tablespoon tomato purée
approx. 900ml (31fl oz) hot vegetable stock
small piece of Parmesan rind, whole (optional)
400g (14oz) dried tagliatelle, linguine, spaghetti or penne sea salt
grated Parmesan cheese, to serve

Heat the olive oil in a large, deep frying pan, add the onion, celery, carrot
and bay leaf and sweat over a medium heat for about 4 minutes until
softened. Increase the heat, add the wine and allow it to evaporate, then
stir in the lentils. Dilute the tomato purée with a little of the vegetable
stock and stir in.

Add enough hot stock to cover the lentils, add the Parmesan rind (if
using), partially cover with a lid, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook
for about 40 minutes until the lentils are cooked. Check from time to time
and add more hot stock, if necessary. Depending on the lentils, you may
need more or less cooking time and more or less stock.

Near the end of the cooking time, bring a large pot of salted water to the
boil and cook the pasta according to the packet instructions until al dente.

Drain the pasta (reserving a little of the cooking water, if needed), add to
the lentil ragù and mix well, then cook over a medium-high heat for a
minutes or so to combine, adding a little of the reserved pasta cooking
water to loosen the ragù a little more, if necessary.

Remove from the heat and serve immediately with a sprinkling of grated
Parmesan.



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CIPOLLE RIPIENE
Baked stuffed onions


The combination of mixed herbs and sultanas here enhances the
flavour of the pork. They take a little time to prepare, but are really
well worth it and make a delicious main course using just a few
ingredients.

Serves 4

4 medium onions, each weighing approx. 270g (9¾oz)
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
200g (7oz) pork mince
2 tbsp chopped mixed herbs, such as rosemary, thyme and sage
50g (1¾oz) stale bread, soaked in 75ml (4½ tbsp) warm milk for 10
minutes
40g (1½oz) sultanas, soaked in 50ml (1.6fl oz) warm water for 20 minutes
2 eggs
100g (3½oz) grated Parmesan cheese
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas mark 6. Lightly grease an
ovenproof dish with olive oil.

Peel the onions, then place them whole in a pan of boiling water and cook
for 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and leave until cool enough to handle,
then cut the onions in half widthways, carefully scooping out the central
cavity of each, so you end up with four onion ‘containers’. Finely chop the
onion cavities.Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the chopped onion
and pork mince and stir-fry over a medium heat for a couple of minutes
until the meat is sealed. Stir in some salt and pepper and the herbs, then
reduce the heat, cover with a lid and continue to cook for about 3 minutes.
Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

Once the pork mixture has cooled down, drain any excess liquid before
stirring in the soaked bread and sultanas, the eggs and the grated
Parmesan until combined. Place the onion ‘containers’ into the prepared
ovenproof dish and stuff them with the filling.

Drizzle with olive oil, then cover with foil and bake in the oven for 25
minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for a further 15 minutes
until the onions have softened and are golden on top.

Remove from the oven and rest for a couple of minutes before serving.


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VERZA RIPIENA
Stuffed whole cabbage

This recipe makes use of both the cabbage and minced meat
to make both ingredients go further. It takes a little time to
prepare, but it really is worth it, served with a simple tomato
sauce, it will surely impress your guests.

Serves 4–6

1 Savoy cabbage (approx 1.2kg/2lb 10oz total weight)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
500g (1lb 2oz) minced pork
3 sage leaves, finely chopped
½ handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
200g (7oz) salami, finely chopped
1 egg
10g (¼oz) grated Parmesan cheese
pinch of grated nutmeg
approx. 600ml (20fl oz) hot water
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the tomato sauce:
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ onion, finely chopped
1 x 400g (140z) can of chopped tomatoes
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

First make the tomato sauce. Heat the olive oil in a pan and sweat the
onion for a couple of minutes over a medium heat until softened.
Stir in the canned tomatoes with about half a can of water, some salt
and pepper and cook over a medium heat for about 25 minutes.

In the meantime, remove the hard very green outer leaves of the cabbage,
then place in a large pot of lightly salted boiling water and cook over a
medium-high heat for 20 minutes. If the pot is not large enough, turn the
cabbage upside-down halfway through the cooking time.

Carefully remove the cabbage from the water and wrap it in a clean
muslin cloth or fine tea towel, then place head-down over a sieve and
leave to drain out all the water.

In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a frying pan and sweat the onion
over a medium heat for a couple of minutes, then add the pork mince
and stir-fry for a further couple of minutes until sealed. Stir in the sage,
parsley and salami. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

Once the pork mixture has cooled, stir in the egg, grated Parmesan,
nutmeg and some salt and pepper to taste.

Take the cabbage and carefully open up all the leaves, one by one.
Then, using a small sharp knife, cut out and discard the hard cavity.
Spread a little of the pork filling in between each leaf until you have
filled them all. Reshape and tie the filled cabbage with kitchen string
and wrap tightly in a clean muslin cloth or tea towel. Place in a large
pot, add enough hot water to cover, bring to the boil, then reduce the
heat to medium, cover with a lid and cook for 45 minutes.

Remove from the heat, carefully unwrap the cloth or tea towel and
cut off the kitchen string, then leave the cabbage to rest for 5 minutes
before serving. Slice the stuffed cabbage and serve with the hot tomato
sauce.

All the above from "Gennaro's Cucina"
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/67353150-gennaro-s-cucina

Real Italian for just pennies! Enjoy!