Rocco DiSpirito shares summer recipes for grilled shrimp salad, pesto pasta and more
Whether you're planning a summer dinner party or looking for a new weeknight favorite, Rocco DiSpirito has you covered.
The celebrity chef and restaurateur stopped by "Good Morning America" on Wednesday to share four recipes from his new Italian American restaurant, Bar Rocco, including a summer garden salad with grilled shrimp, meatballs, paccheri pesto pasta and a sweet sundae.
Scroll below for the recipes.
Summer garden panzanella with grilled shrimp
"In the summer months when my garden is full of fresh produce and herbs, I look forward to waking up, making an espresso, and plundering the small field I call my garden for whatever is ripe and ready," DiSpirito says. "That's how I decide what to put in this summer salad. The fresh shrimp don't grow in the garden, obviously, but they do add a lot of flavor and texture and still scream 'summer.'"
"Feel free to improvise with the veggies that are easily available to you," he adds.
Yield: 4 portions
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 lemon, juiced
1 small red onion, sliced thin
2 cups very ripe tomatoes, large dice
3 cups day-old bread, large dice and toasted
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper
2 red peppers, charred, peeled and large dice
2 ears fresh corn, husked, charred and shaved
1 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined, and grilled until firm, yet tender
1 cup basil leaves, torn
Directions
Place the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, sliced onions, tomatoes, and bread in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper, and stir. Let sit for 1 minute to allow the bread to absorb the liquid and soften.
Add the red peppers, corn, shrimp, and basil, and fold everything together.
Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.
Divide among 4 bowls, or serve family style.
Tips from DiSpirito
1. Buy the best produce you can find. When tomatoes, corn and zucchini are at their peak, your job is simply not to get in their way.
2. Cook the shrimp just until done. Shrimp only needs a couple of minutes per side. The moment it curls into a tight "C," it's overcooked.
3. Season the vegetables before dressing. A little salt on tomatoes and vegetables wakes up their natural sweetness.
4. Balance every bite. Sweet corn, smoky grilled shrimp, juicy tomatoes, fresh herbs and a bright vinaigrette give you contrast in every forkful.
5. Think of salad as the centerpiece, not the side dish. Add beautifully grilled seafood and fresh seasonal vegetables, and you've got a complete summer meal.
Bar Rocco ice cream sandwich sundae
DiSpirito describes this as "a Bar Rocco favorite, featuring a chocolate chip vanilla ice cream sandwich, rich Biscoff ice cream, fragrant orzata syrup, whipped cream, chocolate shavings and Amarena cherries."
Yield: Serves 2
Ingredients
1 chocolate chip vanilla ice cream sandwich
2 generous scoops (about 1 cup) Biscoff-flavored ice cream
2 tablespoons orzata (orgeat) syrup
Fresh whipped cream
2 tablespoons dark chocolate shavings
4-6 Amarena cherries
1 tablespoon Amarena cherry syrup
Directions
Cut the ice cream sandwich in half diagonally.
Place the two halves slightly overlapping in a chilled dessert bowl or coupe.
Nestle 2 scoops of Biscoff ice cream alongside the sandwich.
Drizzle the orzata syrup over the ice cream and sandwich.
Pipe or spoon whipped cream generously over the top.
Finish with dark chocolate shavings.
Garnish with the Amarena cherries and spoon a little of the Amarena syrup over the dessert.
Serve immediately.
Tips from DiSpirito
1. This dessert is nostalgic, playful, and surprisingly easy to recreate, so I'd make the takeaways about building a memorable dessert rather than baking.
2. You don't have to make everything from scratch. Start with a great-quality ice cream sandwich and elevate it with a few special ingredients.
3. Every great dessert needs contrast. Cold ice cream, airy whipped cream, rich chocolate, crunchy cookie, and tart Amarena cherries make every bite different.
4. Build desserts in layers. Every spoonful should capture all the flavors and textures -- not just one ingredient.
5. A little goes a long way. A drizzle of orzata syrup and a few Amarena cherries add complexity without making the dessert overly sweet.
6. Presentation creates anticipation. Height, generous scoops, chocolate shavings, and a dramatic finish make dessert feel like an occasion before you even take the first bite.
My mama's meatballs
Yield: 4
Ingredients
1/3 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped fine
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground veal
1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
2 eggs
1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3-6 cups of your favorite marinara sauce
Directions
Place the chicken stock, onion, garlic, and parsley in a blender or food processor, and puree.
In a large bowl, combine the pureed stock mix, meat, bread crumbs, eggs, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, red pepper flakes and salt.
Combine with hands until mixture is uniform -- do not over-mix.
Put a little olive oil on your hands and form mixture into balls a little larger than golf balls.
Pour about 1/2 inch of extra virgin olive oil in straight sided, 10-inch-wide saute pan, and heat over a medium-high flame.
Add the meatballs to the pan, working in batches if necessary, and brown meatballs, turning once.
This should take about 10-15 minutes.
While meatballs are browning, heat the marinara sauce in a large pot.
Transfer the meatballs to the pot with the marinara sauce and simmer for one hour.
Serve alone or over your favorite pasta.
Tips from DiSpirito
1. Use a blend of meats. Combining beef, pork, and veal gives you the best balance of flavor, richness and tenderness.
2. Mix gently. The more you handle the meat, the firmer the meatballs become. Stop mixing as soon as everything is combined.
3. Brown for flavor, finish in the sauce. A good sear develops a rich crust, then the marinara gently finishes the cooking.
4. Don't overcrowd the pan. Leave space between the meatballs so they brown instead of steam.
5. Let them rest. Meatballs are even better after they've had time to sit in the sauce, allowing the flavors to meld.
Paccheri pesto rosso
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
12 ounces Paccheri pasta (Gragnano 100% semolina)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 anchovy fillets
1 large pinch red pepper flakes
1 bunch fresh basil, divided
1 1/4 cups blanched plum tomatoes, hand-crushed
Kosher salt, to taste
Directions
Infuse oil: In a large saute pan over medium heat, combine olive oil, garlic, anchovies, red pepper flakes and half of the basil. Cook gently until garlic is fragrant and anchovies have melted into the oil (about 2-3 minutes). Do not let the garlic brown.
Build the sauce: Add the blanched, hand-crushed plum tomatoes to the pan. Season with salt and let simmer for 10-12 minutes until slightly reduced and flavorful.
Cook the pasta: Meanwhile, cook the paccheri in well-salted boiling water until just al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water, then drain.
Finish the dish: Toss in the drained pasta and a splash of reserved pasta water to help emulsify the sauce. Stir in the remaining fresh basil, torn by hand.
Serve: Drizzle with a bit more olive oil and finish with more basil or a spoonful of fresh pesto rosso if desired.
Tips from DiSpirito
1. Anchovies are a flavor builder, not a fish ingredient. They melt into the sauce, adding incredible depth and umami without tasting fishy.
2. Cook the pasta just shy of al dente. Finish it in the sauce so that it absorbs flavor instead of just being coated.
3. Always save your pasta water. The starch naturally emulsifies the sauce, making it silky and helping it cling to every piece of pasta.
4. Paccheri is the perfect pasta for this sauce. Those large tubes trap the pesto rosso inside, so every bite is full of flavor.
5. Finish with fresh basil and a drizzle of great extra-virgin olive oil. Adding them off the heat preserves their fresh aroma and gives the dish a bright finish.
Recipes reprinted with permission from Rocco DiSpirito.
'GMA' kitchen picks
'By clicking on these shopping links, visitors will leave ABCNews.com and Goodmorningamerica.com, and these e-commerce sites are operated under different terms and privacy policies. ABC will receive a commission for purchases made through these links. SOME PRICES ARE DYNAMIC AND MAY CHANGE FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. Have questions about ordering or a purchase? Click here.
Pyrex Essentials (3-Piece) Glass Mixing Bowls Set For Prepping, Baking and Cooking
- $17.99
- Amazon
Graza Sizzle Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Cooking Oil
- $12.14
- $13.48
- Amazon
