• 1 ½ cups vegetable oil
• 1lb sausage, a combination of hot and sweet, cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 2 ½ pound chickens, cut into 12 small   pieces, bone in
• 2 large bell peppers, red, green or yellow, cored, seeded and cut, lengthwise into ¼ inch strips
• 1 large yellow onion, cut, lengthwise, into ¼ inch slices
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• ½ cup chicken broth
• ½ cup dry white wine
• ½ cup vinegared hot cherry peppers
• ½ cup vinegared sweet bell peppers
• ½ cup of vinegar from vinegared sweet bell peppers
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large, deep sauté pan over medium-high heat.  Sauté sausage for about 8 minutes until lightly browned.  Using a slotted spoon, remove sausage from pan and set aside to drain.  Reheat oil so that it is hot but not smoking, pat chicken dry, and sauté chicken for about 15 minutes or until it is almost cooked through.

Stir in bell peppers, onion, and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes or until vegetables are soft and beginning to brown.  Drain off all excess oil.  Return sausage to pan.

Add wine and chicken broth to chicken, sausage, and vegetables and bring to a boil.  Stir in hot and sweet vinegared peppers, vinegar, oregano, and salt and pepper.  Again, bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer slowly for about 10 minutes or until flavors have combined and sauce has reduced.  Remove from heat and serve.

serves 6

• 24 fresh littleneck, or small cherrystone clams
• 1 cup plain bread crumbs
• 2 teaspoon fresh chopped parsley
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano, or more according to taste
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 4 tablespoons Rao’s extra virgin olive oil
• Lemon wedges
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat broiler.

Combine bread crumbs, parsley, oregano, garlic and salt and pepper.  Add olive oil and mix until it feels like wet sand, adding more oil if necessary.  Add chicken stock. The mixture should be quite wet.

Put approximately 1 heaping tablespoon of the breadcrumb mixture on each clam. Smooth the top, making sure the edges are sealed.

Pour 1/8” cold water into a broiler pan with sides (to keep the clams moist while broiling).  Add clams and broil for about 7 minutes until the topping is browned and crisp.

Remove clams to a serving platter and garnish with lemon wedges and parsley sprigs.

This photo shows both the salt crust and the finished dish.

Branzini, or Mediterrean sea bass, is popular throughout Italy.  It is a firm white-fleshed fish with a mild flavor.  Branzini baked in a salt crust traps the moisture in the fish and is best served simply with a drizzle of Rao’s imported Italian extra virgin olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon.

• 1 whole branzini, cleaned with head and tail intact
• 2 lbs coarse salt
• 1 egg white
• ¼ cup water
• Lemon
• Rao’s extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Rub the fish with Rao’s extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place the branzini on a baking dish.  Mix the kosher salt, egg white and water together.  Pack the salt mixture around the fish completely.  Bake for 20 minutes until salt crust is hardened and begins to turn color.  To serve, open the salt crust and transfer the fish filets to a serving plate.  Drizzle with Rao’s olive oil and fresh lemon juice.

• 1 jar Rao’s Puttanesca Sauce with calamata olives, capers and anchovies
• Rao’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil, enough to coat bottom of pan
• 1 lb. Fish filets
• Flour for fish filets (1lb.)

Lightly flour fish filets.

Heat Olive Oil in large skillet.

Add fish filets; cook until lightly brown, turning once.  Drain any excess oil.

Stir in puttanesca sauce.  Cook over low heat until fish flakes easily and sauce is heated.  Remove and serve.

Serves 4 – 6

• 2 cups sliced fresh fennel bulb
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 large pieces fillet of sole, about 2 pounds
• ¾ cup vegetable oil
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken broth
• Juice of 1 and ½ lemons
• Salt and pepper to taste

Place fennel in a small pan of rapidly boiling water.  Boil for about 3 minutes or until fennel is tender but still crisp.  Drain and refresh under cold running water.  Pat dry.

Lightly dredge the fish in the flour, shaking off any excess.

Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Saute the fish for about 3 minutes or until lightly golden.

Drain all oil from the pan.  Add 2 tablespoons butter.  When melted, add wine, broth, and lemon juice** and bring to a boil.  Lower heat and add fennel and salt and pepper.  Simmer for 2 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, remove fish and fennel from the pan and transfer to a large, warm serving platter.

Return pan to high heat and whisk in remaining butter.  Boil for about 1 minute or until sauce has thickened slightly.  Pour over fish and fennel and serve.

Serves 6

**FOR A QUICK AND EASY ALTERNATIVE:

Replace wine, broth, and lemon juice with a jar of Rao’s Seafood Salad Marinade.

• 6 lobster tails
• 1 ½ cups Rao’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined, butterflied, tails removed
• 12 littleneck, cherrystone or manila clams, well washed
• 1 ½ cups dry white wine
• 1 ½ teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 cans of Rao’s Imported Canned Italian Tomatoes
• 1 cup bottled clam juice
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• Pinch dried red-pepper flakes
• Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Remove lobster meat from tails. Cut into chunks.

2. Heat oil in a large, deep Dutch oven over high heat. When oil is very hot but not smoking, add the lobster. After lobster is seared, add shrimp and clams. Sauté for about 4 minutes or until lobster and shrimp are opaque, and clams have begun to open. Remove shellfish from pan and drain off excess oil.

3. Return pan to medium-high heat. Stir in wine, garlic and bring to a boil. Stir in tomatoes, clam juice, oregano, pepper flakes and again bring to a boil. Lower heat and allow to simmer about 10 minutes or until flavors have blended and sauce has thickened slightly. Return shellfish to the pan and cook to heat through. Taste, adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, and serve.

Serves 6

**FOR A QUICK AND EASY ALTERNATIVE:

Substitute Rao’s Arrabbiata Sauce for tomatoes, garlic, oregano and red-pepper flakes.

• 2 lbs shrimp, cleaned and de-veined, tails removed
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 jar of Rao’s Vodka Sauce
• 2 tablespoons Rao’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Lightly coat a large skillet with Rao’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil and heat.  Add garlic, shrimp, parsley and cook shrimp for two minutes on each side.  Remove shrimp and garlic, keep warm.  Remove pan from heat and add Rao’s Vodka Sauce.  Heat thoroughly.  Place shrimp on platter, spoon Vodka Sauce on top, serve.

• 2 lbs large shrimp, peeled and deveined, butterflied, tails removed
• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup dry white wine
• Juice of 1-1/2 lemons
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• ¼ cup grated Romano cheese
• 2 teaspoons minced Italian parsley
• Additional chopped parsley for garnish

Whisk eggs, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper until well blended. Dredge shrimp in flour and dip into egg mixture, and dredge in flour again.

Heat oil over medium-high heat.  When oil is hot, place shrimp in pan, open side down. Brown shrimp for 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove cooked shrimp to a warm serving platter.

Drain off excess oil. Add wine, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil and add 2 tablespoons butter.  Raise heat and whisk in remaining butter until sauce has thickened.  Pour sauce over shrimp.  Sprinkle with fresh parsley and squeeze lemon juice over shrimp.

• 8-10 all purpose potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1 cup Rao’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 bunch celery, trimmed, well-washed, and cut into 3-inch long pieces
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cups Gaeta olives
• 4 28-ounce cans of Rao’s Italian Peeled Tomatoes, crushed
• 12 cups chicken broth
• 4 pounds dried salt cod, cut into 3-inch pieces, soaked
• Salt to taste

Place potatoes in cold water to cover over high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are almost cooked through. Drain.

Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed casserole over medium heat. Add the celery and sauté for about 5 minutes, then add onion and sauté until vegetables begin to get soft. Add the olives and sauté for an additional minute. Stir in the tomatoes and their juice. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in broth and return to simmer.

Stir in the potatoes and the soaked baccala and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked and the baccala flakes when poked with a fork.

Taste and, if necessary, add salt. Serve hot.

Note: Often salt cod dishes will require no additional salt. Therefore, always taste before adding any seasoning.

Serves 12

Pastry Dough

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 cup Rao’s extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup ice water

Egg Filling

• 2 cups ricotta cheese
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup cubed ham or prosciutto
• 1 cup cubed Genoa salami or soppressata)
• 1 cup cubed mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup cubed provolone cheese
• ¼ cup grated pecorino romano cheese
• ¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1 jar Rao’s roasted peppers with Portobello Mushrooms, drained and chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 egg yolk,  beaten with 1 teaspoon Rao’s extra virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly oil a 9- inch springform pan or deep baking dish.

Pastry Dough: Combine the flour and salt in a food processor and slowly add the oil. Mix until coarsely mixed. Add the ice water and mix until the mixture forms a ball.  Remove from food processor and wrap with plastic wrap.  Store at room temperature while preparing the filling.

Egg Filling: Combine the eggs and ricotta cheese and mix well. Add the provolone, mozzarella and grated cheeses, salami, ham or prosciutto and roasted peppers with mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Divide the pastry into 2 pieces, one slightly larger than the other. On a lightly floured board, roll out the pastry dough to line the baking pan including the sides. Fill with the egg and cheese mixture. Roll out the second piece of dough to place over the filling.  Crimp the edges together to seal. Make small slits in the top crust to allow the steam to escape. Brush the top with the beaten egg mixture.

Bake for 45-55 minutes until golden brown. Serve at room temperature.