Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
Page 20
Butter and Rosemary Sauce
THE TASTIEST PART of an Italian meat roast is what is left over: The rosemary-saturated garlicky juices, the bits of brown that have fallen off the meat. They usually end up tossed with pasta, which is then known as la pasta col tocco d’arrosto, “with a touch of the roast.” If you don’t have leftovers to fall back on, you can make a mock and meatless “touch of the roast” sauce as in the quick recipe here in which the presence of rosemary and garlic summons up all the fragrance of the original.
For 4 to 6 servings
3 to 4 garlic cloves
6 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 beef bouillon cube, crushed
⅓ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, plus additional cheese at the table
1 pound pasta
Recommended pasta This sauce probably tastes best of all with tonnarelli, the square fresh noodle. But it can also be used with unqualified success on fettuccine or spaghetti.
1. Mash the garlic cloves with the back of a knife handle, crushing them just enough to split and loosen the peel, which you will discard. Put the garlic, butter, and rosemary in a small saucepan and turn on the heat to medium. Cook, stirring frequently, for 4 to 5 minutes.
2. Add the crushed bouillon cube. Cook and stir until the bouillon has completely dissolved.
3. Pour the sauce through a fine wire strainer over cooked drained pasta. Toss thoroughly to coat the pasta well. Add the grated Parmesan and toss once more. Serve at once with additional grated cheese on the side.
“Aio e Oio”—Roman Garlic and Oil Sauce
For 4 servings
1 pound pasta
Salt
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic chopped very fine
Chopped hot red chili pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Recommended pasta Romans say “spaghetti aio e oio” as though it were one word, and they would as soon expect another pasta to be in the combination as the moon to change its course. If any substitution may hesitantly be suggested, it is spaghettini, thin spaghetti, which takes very well to the coating of garlic and oil.
1. Cook the spaghetti in boiling water to which an extra measure of salt has been added. There is no salt in the sauce itself because salt does not dissolve well in olive oil, so the pasta must be abundantly salted before it is tossed.
2. While the pasta is cooking, put the olive oil, garlic, and chopped hot pepper in a small saucepan, and turn on the heat to medium low. Cook and stir the garlic until it becomes colored a pale gold. Do not let it become brown.
3. Toss the cooked drained pasta with the entire contents of the saucepan, turning the strands over and over in the oil to coat them evenly. Taste and, if necessary, correct for salt. Add the chopped parsley, toss once again, and serve immediately.
“Aio e Oio” Raw Version
For 4 servings
4 garlic cloves
Salt
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
Chopped hot red chili pepper, to taste
1 pound pasta
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1. Mash each garlic clove lightly with a knife handle, crushing it just enough to split it and loosen the skin, which you will loosen and discard.
2. Put the garlic, salt, olive oil, and chili pepper in a warm bowl, the one in which you will subsequently toss the pasta and turn all ingredients over two or three times.
3. Cook the pasta with an extra measure of salt. When done al dente, drain and toss it in the bowl with the raw garlic and oil. Thoroughly turn the strands in the oil again and again to coat them well. Taste and correct for salt. Add the chopped parsley, toss again, and serve immediately.
“Aio e Oio” Raw Version, with Fresh Tomatoes and Basil
To all the ingredients in the immediately preceding recipe except for the parsley, which you’ll omit, add ¼ pound, or slightly more, fresh, very ripe, but firm plum tomatoes, and a few fresh basil leaves.
Skin the tomatoes raw, using a swiveling-blade peeler, split them in half, scoop out the seeds, then dice them very fine. Put the tomatoes in the bowl where the pasta will later be tossed, together with one or two large pinches of salt and the garlic, olive oil, and chili pepper from the preceding recipe. Cook the pasta with an average amount of salt. Toss the cooked drained pasta in the bowl, separating and turning the strands over and over in the oil.
Recommended pasta For both raw versions of aio e oio, thin spaghetti, spaghettini, is the pasta of choice.
Cauliflower Sauce with Garlic, Oil, and Chili Pepper
For 4 to 6 servings
1 head cauliflower, about 1½ pounds
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
6 flat anchovy fillets (preferably the ones prepared at home), chopped very fine
Chopped hot red chili pepper, to taste
Salt
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 to 1½ pounds pasta
Recommended pasta Penne, the quill-shaped macaroni, either in the smooth or ridged version, would be the most appealing choice.
1. Strip the cauliflower of all its leaves except for a few of the very tender inner ones. Rinse it in cold water and cut it in two.
2. Bring 4 to 5 quarts of water to boil, put in the cauliflower, and cook it until it is tender, but not mushy, about 25 to 30 minutes. Prod it with a fork to test for doneness. When cooked, drain and set aside.
3. Put water in a saucepan, and bring it to a lively simmer.
4. Put the oil and garlic in a medium sauté pan, turn on the heat to medium, and cook until the garlic becomes colored a light, golden brown. Remove the pan from the burner, place it over the saucepan of simmering water, and add to it the chopped anchovies. Cook, stirring and mashing the anchovies with the back of a wooden spoon against the sides of the pan to dissolve them as much as possible into a paste. Return the sauté pan to the burner over medium heat and cook for another half minute, stirring frequently.
5. Add the drained, boiled cauliflower, breaking it up quickly with a fork into pieces not bigger than a small nut. Turn it thoroughly in the oil to coat it well, mashing some of it to a pulp with the back of the spoon.
6. Add the chopped chili pepper and salt. Turn up the heat, and cook for a few minutes more, stirring frequently.
7. Toss with cooked drained pasta. Add the chopped parsley, toss once or twice again, then serve immediately.
Ahead-of-time note You can prepare the sauce several hours in advance up to this point. Do not refrigerate it. Reheat it gently when the pasta is nearly ready to be drained and tossed.
Broccoli and Anchovy Sauce
For 6 servings
A large bunch fresh broccoli, about 1 pound
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
6 flat anchovy fillets (preferably the ones prepared at home), chopped very fine
Chopped hot red chili pepper, to taste
1½ pounds pasta
2 tablespoons freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
¼ cup freshly grated romano cheese
Recommended pasta A chewy, handmade pasta from Apulia known as orecchiette—it looks like miniature saucers—is the natural match for this earthy broccoli sauce. Orecchiette can be made at home, but it is also available in shops that specialize in imported Italian products. An excellent alternative to orecchiette is fusilli or conchiglie.
1. Detach the broccoli florets from the stalks, but do not discard the stalks. Pare the stalks, wash the stalks and florets, and cook them in salted, boiling water until just tender when prodded with a fork.
2. Drain the broccoli, break up the florets into smaller pieces, and cut the stalks into large dice. Set aside.
3. Put water in a saucepan, and bring it to a lively simmer.
4. Put the oil in a sauté pan and turn on the heat to low. When the oil begins to wa
rm up, place the pan over the saucepan of simmering water, double-boiler fashion, and add the chopped anchovies. Cook, stirring and mashing the anchovies with the back of a wooden spoon to dissolve them as much as possible into a paste.
5. Return the sauté pan to the burner over medium heat. If you were making the first part of the sauce in advance, reheat the anchovies gently, stirring with a wooden spoon. Add the broccoli florets, the diced stalks, and the hot chili pepper. Cook the broccoli for 4 to 5 minutes, turning it from time to time to coat it well.
6. Toss the entire contents of the pan with cooked drained pasta. Add both grated cheeses, and toss thoroughly once again. Serve immediately.
Ahead-of-time note The sauce may be prepared a few hours in advance up to this point, but do not refrigerate the cooked broccoli.
Tomato and Anchovy Sauce
For 4 servings
1 teaspoon garlic chopped very fine
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 flat anchovy fillets (preferably the ones prepared at home), chopped coarse
1½ cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1 pound pasta
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Recommended pasta First choice would be thin spaghetti, spaghettini, to which the only satisfactory alternative is the thicker, standard spaghetti.
1. Put water in a saucepan, and bring it to a lively simmer.
2. Put the garlic and oil in a sauté pan or another saucepan, turn the heat on to medium, and cook and stir the garlic until it becomes colored a very pale gold.
3. Place the pan with the garlic and oil over the saucepan of simmering water, double-boiler fashion. Add the chopped anchovies, stirring and mashing them against the sides of the pan with the back of a wooden spoon until they begin to dissolve into a paste. Return the pan with the anchovies to the burner over medium heat and cook for half a minute or less, stirring constantly. Add the tomatoes, salt, and a few grindings of pepper, and adjust heat so that the sauce cooks at a gentle, but steady simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until the oil floats free from the tomatoes. Stir from time to time.
4. Toss cooked drained pasta with the entire contents of the saucepan, turning the strands so that they are thoroughly coated. Add the chopped parsley, toss once more, and serve immediately.
Ahead-of-time note The sauce may be prepared several hours in advance and gently reheated when the pasta is nearly ready to be drained and tossed. Do not refrigerate.
PESTO
Pesto may have become more popular than is good for it. When I see what goes by that name, and what goes into it, and the bewildering variety of dishes it is slapped on, I wonder how many cooks can still claim acquaintance with pesto’s original character, and with the things it does best.
Pesto is the sauce the Genoese invented as a vehicle for the fragrance of a basil like no other, their own. Olive oil, garlic, pine nuts, butter, and grated cheese are the only other components. Pesto is never cooked, or heated, and while it may on occasion do good things for vegetable soup, it has just one great role: to be the most seductive of all sauces for pasta.
It is unlikely that any pesto will taste quite like the one made with the magically scented basil of the Italian Riviera. But never mind, as long as you have fresh basil, and use no substitute for basil, you can make rather wonderful pesto anywhere.
Genoese cooks insist that if it isn’t made in a mortar with a pestle, it isn’t pesto. Linguistically at least, they are correct, because the word comes from the verb pestare, which means to pound or to grind, as in a mortar. They are probably right gastronomically, too, and out of respect for the merits of the tradition, the mortar method is described below. It would be a greater pity, however, to pass up making pesto at home because one has not the time or inclination to use the mortar. The nearly effortless and very satisfactory food processor method is therefore also given.
Note The pecorino cheese known as fiore sardo, which is used in the Riviera for making pesto, is much less harsh than romano. But up to now at least, romano is the one that is available. In the recipes given here, the proportion of romano to parmigiano-reggiano is less than what you will want to use if you can get fiore sardo.
Pesto by the Food Processor Method
For 6 servings
FOR THE PROCESSOR
2 cups tightly packed fresh basil leaves
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons pine nuts
2 garlic cloves, chopped fine before putting in the processor
Salt
FOR COMPLETION BY HAND
½ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons freshly grated romano cheese
1 ½ pounds pasta
3 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
1. Briefly soak and wash the basil in cold water, and gently pat it thoroughly dry with paper towels.
2. Put the basil, olive oil, pine nuts, chopped garlic, and an ample pinch of salt in the processor bowl, and process to a uniform, creamy consistency.
3. Transfer to a bowl, and mix in the two grated cheeses by hand. It is worth the slight effort to do it by hand to obtain the notably superior texture it produces. When the cheese has been evenly amalgamated with the other ingredients, mix in the softened butter, distributing it uniformly into the sauce.
4. When spooning the pesto over pasta, dilute it slightly with a tablespoon or two of the hot water in which the pasta was cooked.
Freezing pesto Make the sauce by the food processor method through to the end of Step 2, and freeze it without cheese and butter in it. Add the cheese and butter when it is thawed, just before using.
Pesto by the Mortar Method
For 6 servings
A large marble mortar with a hardwood pestle
2 garlic cloves
2 cups tightly packed fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons pine nuts
Coarse sea salt
½ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons freshly grated romano cheese
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
1½ pounds pasta
1. Lightly mash the garlic with a heavy knife handle, just enough to split and loosen the skin, which you will remove and discard.
2. Briefly soak and wash the basil leaves in cold water, and pat them gently but thoroughly dry with paper towels.
3. Put the basil, garlic, pine nuts, and coarse salt into the mortar. Using the pestle with a rotary movement, grind all the ingredients against the side of the mortar. When they have been ground into a paste, add both grated cheeses, and grind them evenly into the mixture, using the pestle.
4. Add the olive oil, in a very thin stream, beating it into the mixture with a wooden spoon. When all the oil has been incorporated, beat in the butter with the spoon, distributing it evenly.
5. When spooning the pesto over pasta, dilute it slightly with a tablespoon or two of the hot water in which the pasta was cooked.
Recommended pasta Spaghetti is perfect with pesto and so are the Potato Gnocchi. In Genoa, a homemade noodle locally called trenette is the classic pasta for pesto. It is virtually identical to fettuccine, and if you’d like to serve pesto on fresh pasta, follow the instructions for making fettuccine. Even more appealing, if less orthodox than fettuccine, would be another kind of homemade noodle, tonnarelli.
Pasta and Pesto with Potatoes and Green Beans
WHEN SERVING pesto on spaghetti or noodles, the full Genoese treatment calls for the addition of boiled new potatoes and green beans. When all its components are right, there is no single dish more delicious in the entire Italian pasta repertory.
For 6 servings
3 small, new potatoes
½ pound young green beans
1½ pounds pasta
The pesto from the precedi
ng recipe
1. Boil the potatoes with their skins on, peel them when done, and slice them thin.
2. Snap both ends from the green beans, wash them in cold water, and cook them in salted boiling water until tender—not overcooked, but not too hard either. Drain and set aside.
3. Cook spaghetti or fettuccine for 6. When draining the pasta, hold back some of its cooking water, and add 2 tablespoonfuls of it to the pesto.
4. Toss the cooked drained pasta with the potatoes, green beans, and pesto. Serve immediately.
Pesto with Ricotta
The slightly sour, milky flavor of ricotta brings lightness and vivacity to pesto. To the ingredients in the basic food processor recipe, add 3 tablespoons fresh ricotta and reduce the amount of butter to 2 tablespoons. As in the basic recipe, mix the grated cheese, the ricotta, and the butter into the processed ingredients by hand in another bowl. Serves 6.
Recommended pasta The homemade lasagne-like piccagge are the traditional and most interesting choice. But even if you settle for spaghetti, you are not likely to be disappointed.
Black Truffle Sauce
WHEN THIS RECIPE was first published in More Classic Italian Cooking, the cost of the ingredients and the powerfully sensual quality of the dish led me to scale the quantities down to serve two persons. It still seems to me that its pleasures are of the kind that are best savored a due, in the company of just one other. If you’d rather have a crowd, increase the recipe, but each time you double the truffles, add only half again as much anchovies.