Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

by Marcella Hazan

  Summer Vegetable Soup with Rice and Basil, Milan Style

  DURING Milan’s hot summers, the trattorie make this minestrone first thing in the morning, pour it into individual soup plates, and display it on a table by the entrance alongside such other likely specialties of the day as an assortment of crisp vegetables for a pinzimonio, a cold poached bass, a Parma ham with sweet cantaloupes or, in late summer, with ripe, honey-oozing figs. By twelve-thirty or one o’clock, when the first lunch patrons are seated, the minestrone will have reached precisely the right temperature and consistency.

  Because the flavor of vegetable soup improves upon reheating, you needn’t make this minestrone entirely from scratch the same day you are going to serve it. You can cook the soup that constitutes its base a day or two earlier and take it out of the refrigerator when you are ready to begin. Bear in mind that once completed, cold minestrone needs at least one hour’s settling time to cool down to the most desirable serving temperature.

  For 4 servings

  2 cups Vegetable Soup, Romagna Style

  ½ cup rice, preferably Italian Arborio rice

  Salt

  Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill

  ¼ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

  8 to 10 fresh basil leaves, torn into several small strips

  2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

  1. Put the vegetable soup and 2 cups water in a pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the rice, stirring it well with a wooden spoon.

  2. When the soup returns to a boil, add salt and a few grindings of pepper. Stir, cover the pot, and turn the heat down to medium low. Stir from time to time. Begin to taste the rice for doneness after 12 minutes. Do not overcook it, because it will continue to soften later while the soup cools in the plate. When done, before turning off the heat, swirl in the grated cheese, then taste and correct for salt.

  3. Ladle the soup into individual plates or bowls, add the torn up basil leaves, mix well, and set aside to rest. Serve at room temperature, drizzling each plate with a little bit of olive oil.

  Note Do not serve the soup any later than the day it is made, and do not refrigerate it before serving.

  Variation with Pesto

  At the end of Step 2 in the preceding recipe, when the rice is done, swirl in 2 tablespoons of pesto. After ladling into the soup plates or individual bowls, omit the fresh basil leaves.

  Spring Vegetable Soup

  THIS IS lighter and fresher tasting than the more familiar versions of vegetable soup. It doesn’t have, nor does it seek, the complex resonance of flavors that a minestrone achieves through lengthy cooking of an extensive assortment of vegetables. It is simply a sweet-tasting mix of artichokes and peas, supported by a base of potatoes, cooked with olive oil and garlic.

  For 4 to 6 servings

  3 medium artichokes

  1 tablespoon lemon juice

  1 pound fresh peas, weighed unshelled, OR ½ of a 10-ounce package frozen peas, thawed

  ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

  1 tablespoon garlic chopped fine

  1 pound boiling potatoes, peeled, washed, and cut into ¼-inch slices

  Salt

  Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill

  3 tablespoons parsley chopped very fine

  OPTIONAL: 1 slice per serving of toasted crusty bread lightly rubbed with garlic

  1. Trim the artichokes of their tough leaves and tops. Cut them lengthwise in half, and remove the chokes and prickly inner leaves.

  2. Cut the artichoke halves lengthwise into the thinnest possible slices, and put them in a bowl with enough water to cover, adding the lemon juice to the water.

  3. If using fresh peas, shell them, and prepare some of the pods for cooking by stripping away their inner membranes. It’s not necessary to use all or even most of the pods, but do as many as you have patience for. The more of them that go into the pot, the sweeter the soup will taste.

  4. Put the olive oil and garlic into a soup pot, turn on the heat to medium high, and sauté the garlic until it becomes colored a pale gold. Then add the sliced potatoes. Lower the heat to medium, cover the pot, and cook for about 10 minutes.

  5. If using thawed frozen peas, set them aside for later and go now to Step 6 below. If using fresh peas, proceed as follows: Into the pot put the peas and the pods you have stripped, stir for 3 or 4 minutes to coat them, and add enough water to cover. Put a lid on the pot, reduce the heat to medium low, and cook for 20 minutes.

  6. Drain the artichoke slices, rinsing off the acidulated water. Put them into the pot with salt and a few grindings of pepper. Cook the artichokes in the uncovered pot for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring them well.

  7. Add enough water to top them, cover the pot, and make sure the heat is medium low. Cook the artichokes until very tender when prodded with a fork, about 30 minutes or so, depending on their freshness and youth.

  8. If using frozen peas, add them now and cook for another 10 minutes.

  9. Before turning off the heat, add the parsley and stir once or twice. Ladle the soup into individual plates over the optional slice of bread. Serve promptly.

  Ahead-of-time note The soup may be cooked up through Step 8 several hours ahead of time. Reheat gently and finish as in Step 9.

  Spinach Soup

  For 5 or 6 servings

  2 pounds fresh spinach OR 2 ten-ounce packages frozen whole leaf spinach, thawed

  Salt

  4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter

  2 tablespoons chopped onion

  2 cups Basic Homemade Meat Broth, OR 1 cup canned beef broth diluted with 1 cup water

  2 cups milk

  Whole nutmeg

  5 tablespoons freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

  Crostini fried bread squares

  1. If using fresh spinach: Discard any wilted, bruised leaves, and trim away all the stems. Soak for several minutes in a basin or sink full of cold water, drain, and refill the basin or sink with fresh cold water, repeating the entire procedure several times until there are no more traces of soil in the water.

  2. Put the spinach in a pan with no more water than what clings to its leaves. Add 1 tablespoon salt, cover the pan, turn the heat on to medium, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes or less, depending on the freshness and youth of the spinach.

  3. Drain the spinach and, as soon as it is cool enough to handle, squeeze gently to force it to shed most of the moisture, and chop it rather coarse.

  If using frozen spinach: Squeeze the moisture out of it when it has thawed, and chop it coarsely.

  4. Put the butter and onion in a soup pot and turn on the heat to medium. Sauté the onion until it becomes colored a pale gold. Add the cooked fresh or the thawed spinach, and sauté in the uncovered pot for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring it to coat it well.

  5. Add the broth, milk, and a tiny grating—no more than ⅛ teaspoon—of nutmeg, and bring to a simmer, stirring from time to time.

  6. Add the grated Parmesan, stirring it thoroughly into the soup, taste and correct for salt, and turn off the heat.

  7. Ladle into individual plates or bowls, and serve the crostini on the side.

  Crostini

  Crostini are the easy-to-make Italian equivalent of croutons, so delicious in many soups, particularly if you can manage to make them shortly before you are going to bring the soup to the table.

  For 4 servings

  4 slices good-quality white bread

  Vegetable oil, enough to come

  ½ inch up the side of the pan

  1. Trim the crust from the bread slices and cut them into ½-inch squares.

  2. Put the oil in a medium-size skillet and turn on the heat to medium high. The oil should become hot enough so that the bread sizzles when it goes in. When you think it’s ready, test it with one square. If it sizzles, put in as many pieces of bread as will fit without crowding the pan. It doesn’t matter if they don’t all go in at one time, because you can do two or more batches. Turn th
e heat down, because bread burns quickly if the oil gets too hot. Move the squares around in the pan with a long spoon or spatula, and as soon as they become colored a light gold remove them using a slotted spoon or spatula and place them on paper towels or a wire cooling rack to shed any excess oil.

  If you are doing more than one batch, adjust the heat when necessary to avoid burning the bread. The oil must be kept hot enough, however, to brown the squares lightly and quickly.

  Ahead-of-time note Crostini are at their best when made just before serving. They may be prepared several hours ahead of time, however, and kept at room temperature. Do not keep overnight because they are likely to acquire a stale, rancid taste.

  Spinach or Escarole Soup with Rice

  THE INGREDIENTS in either of these soups are so few that they must be well chosen in order to deliver the comforting flavor of which they are capable. Although, for the sake of practicality, alternatives are given for homemade meat broth, the hope here is that you ignore them, relying instead on the supply of good frozen broth that you try always to have on hand.

  For 4 to 6 servings

  1 head escarole OR 1 pound fresh spinach

  Salt

  4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter

  2 tablespoons chopped onion

  3½ cups Basic Homemade Meat Broth, OR 1 cup canned beef broth diluted with 2½ cups water OR 2 bouillon cubes dissolved with 3½ cups water

  ⅓ cup rice, preferably Italian Arborio rice

  3 tablespoons freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

  1. If using escarole: Detach all the leaves from the root end and discard any that are bruised, wilted, or discolored. Soak the others in several abundant changes of cold water until thoroughly free of soil. Drain and cut into strips about ½ inch wide. Set aside.

  If using spinach: If the spinach leaves are still attached to their root, cut it off and discard it, separating each cluster into single leaves. Do not trim off the stems because both leaves and stems go into this soup. Soak the spinach clean in several changes of cold water.

  Cook the spinach in a covered pan over medium heat, adding a pinch of salt to keep it green, but no other liquid than the water clinging to its leaves. When the water it sheds begins to bubble, cook for about 2 or 3 minutes longer.

  Scoop up the spinach with a colander scoop or large slotted spoon. Do not discard any of the liquid remaining in the pan. As soon as the spinach is cool enough to handle, squeeze it gently, letting all the liquid it sheds run back into the pan. Set the spinach aside, reserving the liquid.

  2. Put the butter and chopped onion in a large sauté pan, and turn on the heat to medium high. Sauté the onion until it becomes colored a light gold, then add the escarole or spinach.

  If using escarole: Add a pinch of salt to help it maintain its color, stir it 2 or 3 times to coat it thoroughly, then add ½ cup of broth, turn the heat down to low, and cover the pan. Cook until the escarole is tender, approximately 25 to 45 minutes, depending on the freshness and youth of the green.

  If using spinach: Sauté the spinach over lively heat in the onion and butter for a few minutes, stirring 2 or 3 times.

  3. Transfer the entire contents of the pan to a soup pot, add all the broth and, if you were using spinach, 1 cup of the reserved spinach liquid. Cover the pot and turn on the heat to medium. When the broth comes to a boil, add the rice, and cover the pot again. Adjust the heat to cook at a steady, slow-bubbling boil, stirring from time to time until the rice is done. In about 20 to 25 minutes, it should be firm to the bite, but tender, not chalky inside.

  4. When the rice is done, swirl in the grated Parmesan and taste and correct for salt. Serve immediately.

  Note The consistency of the soup should be dense, but still fairly runny on the spoon. If you find, while the rice is cooking, that it is becoming too thick, add a ladleful of water or of the spinach liquid, if available. But make sure not to dilute the soup too much.

  Ahead-of-time note Once the rice is in the soup, it must be finished and served at once, otherwise the rice will become mushy. If you must cook it in advance, stop at the end of Step 2, and resume cooking when ready to serve. Do start the soup the same day you plan to have it, and do not refrigerate it.

  Variation with Olive Oil and Garlic

  For an alternative version of the same soup that invests it with an earthier flavor, substitute 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil for the butter, and 2 teaspoons chopped garlic for the onion. Although the Parmesan cheese is still a good choice for the finishing touch, in its place you could do the following: After the soup is done and ladled into plates, drizzle a little fresh olive oil on each plate and sprinkle a few grindings of black pepper.

  Risi e Bisi—Rice and Peas

  ON APRIL 25, while all of Italy celebrates the day the country was liberated from Fascist and German rule, Venice celebrates its own most precious day, the birthday of St. Mark, patron saint of the republic that lasted 1,000 years. The tradition used to be that in honor of the apostle, on April 25th, one had one’s first taste of the dish that for the remainder of the spring season became the favorite of the Venetian table, risi e bisi, rice and peas.

  No alternative to fresh peas is suggested in the ingredients list, because the essential quality of this dish resides in the flavor that only good, fresh peas possess. To make peas taste even sweeter, many Italian families add the pods to the pot. If you follow the instructions below that describe how to prepare the pods for cooking, you will acquire a technique that will be useful in many other recipes that call for peas. The other vital component of the flavor of risi e bisi is homemade broth, for which no satisfactory substitute can be recommended.

  Risi e bisi is not risotto with peas. It is a soup, albeit a very thick one. Some cooks make it thick enough to eat with a fork, but it is at its best when it is just runny enough to require a spoon.

  For 4 servings

  2 pounds fresh, young peas, weighed with the pods

  4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter

  2 tablespoons chopped onion

  Salt

  3½ cups Basic Homemade Meat Broth

  1 cup Italian rice

  2 tablespoons chopped parsley

  ½ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

  1. Shell the peas. Keep 1 cupful of the empty pods, selecting the crispest unblemished ones, and discard the rest.

  2. Separate the two halves of each pod. Take a half pod, turning the glossy, inner, concave side that held the peas toward you. That side is lined by a tough, film-like membrane that you must pull off. Hold the pod with one hand, and with the other snap one end, pulling it down gently against the pod itself. You will find the thin membrane coming away without resistance. Because it is so thin, it is likely to break off before you have detached it entirely. Don’t fuss over it: Keep the skinned portion of the pod, snap the other end of the pod and try to remove the remaining section of membrane. Cut off and discard those parts of any pod that you have been unable to skin completely. It’s not necessary to end up with perfect whole pods since they will dissolve in the cooking anyway. Any skinned piece will serve the purpose, which is that of sweetening the soup. Add all the prepared pod pieces to the shelled peas, soak in cold water, drain, and set aside.

  3. Put the butter and onion in a soup pot and turn on the heat to medium. Sauté the onion until it becomes colored a pale gold, then add the peas and the stripped-down pods, and a good pinch of salt to keep the peas green. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes, stirring to coat the peas well.

  4. Add 3 cups of the broth, cover the pot, and adjust the heat so the broth bubbles at a slow, gentle boil for 10 minutes.

  5. Add the rice and the remaining ½ cup of broth, stir, cover the pot again, and cook at a steady moderate boil until the rice is tender, but firm to the bite, about 20 minutes or so. Stir occasionally while the soup is cooking.

  6. When the rice is done, stir in the parsley, then the grated Parmesan. Taste and correct for salt, then turn off the heat.

/>   Rice and Smothered Cabbage Soup

  GOOD LEFTOVERS make good soups, and this one makes use of the Smothered Cabbage, Venetian Style. It’s too good a soup, however, to have to wait for enough cabbage to be left over, so the recipe below is given on the assumption you will be starting from scratch.

  Like risi e bisi, the Venetian rice and peas soup, which precedes this recipe, this one is fairly thick, but it is not quite a risotto. It should be runny enough to require a spoon.

  For 4 to 6 servings

  Smothered cabbage (It can be prepared 2 or 3 days ahead of time.)

  3 cups Basic Homemade Meat Broth, OR 1 cup canned beef broth diluted with 2 cups water OR 1½ bouillon cubes dissolved in 3 cups warm water

  ⅔ cup rice, preferably Italian Arborio rice

  2 tablespoons butter

  ⅓ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

  Salt

  Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill

  1. Put the cabbage and broth into a soup pot, and turn on the heat to medium.

  2. When the broth comes to a boil, add the rice. Cook uncovered, adjusting the heat so that the soup bubbles at a slow, but steady boil, stirring from time to time until the rice is done. It must be tender, but firm to the bite, and should take around 20 minutes. If while the rice is cooking, you find the soup becoming too thick, dilute it with a ladleful of homemade broth. If you are not using homemade broth, just add water. Remember that when finished, the soup should be rather dense.

  3. When the rice is done, before turning off the heat, swirl in the butter and the grated Parmesan, stirring thoroughly. Taste and correct for salt, and add a few grindings of black pepper. Ladle the soup into individual plates, and allow it to settle just a few minutes before serving.