Herself's Recipes

Technically Florentine refers to dishes made in the Florentine, Italy style. These dishes include spinach and use a cream sauce. Over time that has shifted and it now usually refers to dishes with spinach and cheese. Rumor has it that Catherine de Medici brought the dish from Italy to the French court of Henry II in the mid 1550s.

This is a nice way to use up spinach or dress up some rice. I usually serve this dish with fish.

1 cup white rice

2 cups water

1 cup cooked spinach ( about 12 oz boiled )

1/4 cup Parmesan or other hard cheese, grated

1/2 white onion diced

1 Tablespoon butter

Take the rice, water and place in microwave for 15 minutes or so until water is evaporated.

In a small skillet brown the onion in the butter until clear.

Add spinach, cheese and cooked onions to your rice.

*If you try to save time by cooking the spinach with the rice, you will end up with green rice.

*If you add the spinach, cheese and onions to the rice before it is done you’ll loose some of the flavor. Wait and add them at the end.

Bolognese is a great way to use up leftover meats. I prefer to use leftover ribs and rib roast but any meat will do: duck, chicken, turkey, beef, pork… The richer the meat the richer your sauce will be.

In a crockpot mix:

6 oz tomato paste ( 1 can )
6 oz water
1 cup white wine
1 cup milk ( whole milk or cream is best )
30 oz diced tomatoes ( 2 cans )

diced carrots ( ~ 2 )
diced onion ( ~ 1 small to medium )
diced celery ( ~ 1 large )
3 oz diced pancetta ( bacon will work if you don’t have pancetta )

1 to 2 pounds leftover meat ( shredded is best, diced very small if that’s not possible ) If you use less meat you need to cook longer to reduce the sauce, if you use more you can cook it a little less time before it thickens.

Put the crockpot on its lowest setting ( keep warm on some newer pots ) and cook uncovered for about 8 hours. You want the sauce to thicken up like a sloppy joe or chili mixture.

More traditional sauces use about half as much tomato paste as I have in this recipe and eliminate the garlic. Some people also add mushrooms. You’ll want to experiment and find what suits you best.

Bolognese sauces are also known as ragu sauces. The history of bolognese sauce is not clear. It was served in wealthy courts to noble families in the 1500s. The word ragu comes from the 18th century French word ragout. Bologna is supposed to be the city of origin. Beyond that not much is known.