Rustic Italian Food
Page 21
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups freshly shelled green peas (about 2 pounds peas in the pod)
1 small shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, smashed
½ cup dry white wine
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1 cup water
1½ pounds halibut, skinned
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté the peas, shallot, and garlic until soft but not browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the wine, pepper flakes, and ½ cup of the water and simmer rapidly over medium-high heat until only a few tablespoons of liquid are left in the pan, 5 to 6 minutes.
Cut the halibut into 6 pieces and season all over with salt and pepper. Add the halibut to the pan and drizzle in the sherry vinegar. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, turning a few times, until you can almost break the halibut apart with your fingers, 6 to 8 minutes, adding the parsley halfway through and spooning the liquid from the pan over the fish now and then. Transfer the fish to a platter or plates and keep warm.
Increase the heat to medium-high and add the remaining ½ cup water in 2-tablespoon increments, stirring during each addition. Cook until the liquid in the pan reduces in volume and thickens slightly and the peas are tender, 6 to 8 minutes total. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Remove the garlic and pour the peas and sauce over and around the fish on the platter or plates.
BEVERAGE—Foradori, Teroldego 2007 (Trentino): Here is another pairing that successfully breaks the outdated “white with fish” rule. A fuller-bodied fish like halibut makes a great match for this red grape, which is indigenous to the Alto Adige. Herbaceous with a whisper of fennel, the wine brings deep flavor yet finishes softly and delicately.
Fish Poached IN OLIVE OIL
This is a surefire way to cook a great piece of fresh fish. It’s much more flavorful than just poaching the fish in water. If you have a meaty fish like halibut or salmon, the texture gets unbelievably silky. Top with some coarse sea salt, and keep the side dishes simple. Fennel Gratin works nicely, as does a green salad.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
1¼ pounds halibut, salmon, cod, or bass fillet, cut into four 5-ounce pieces
1½ to 2 cups grapeseed oil
1½ to 2 cups olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Maldon sea salt, for garnish
Let the fish rest at room temperature for about 15 minutes to take the chill off.
Pour about 3 inches of the oils into a large sauté pan and heat over medium heat to 160°F. The oil will start to shimmer on top.
Season the fish with salt and pepper (go easy on the salt, because the fish will be finished with sea salt). Drop the fish into the oil, skin side down (if the skin is still on). Adjust the heat to maintain the 160°F oil temperature and cook until the fish is medium-rare or about 125°F on an instant-read thermometer, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from the oil using a slotted metal spatula and drain on paper towels, then transfer to plates. Garnish with Maldon salt and enjoy.
PREP AHEAD
You can’t really make anything ahead of time here, but you can save the poaching oil for a few days and use it for any other fish dish, like Tuna-Ricotta Fritters.
BEVERAGE—Tramin, Gewürtztraminer 2009 (Alto Adige): The soft, rich texture of this dry Gewürtztraminer is a beautiful complement to the succulent fish.
Tuna Tagliata with Fennel and Orange
Tuna Tagliata WITH FENNEL AND ORANGE
Tagliata (tahl-ee-atta) means “sliced” in Italian, and trattorias often serve tagliata di manzo for lunch, a thinly sliced rib-eye steak served on a bed of arugula. Here, I have some fun with the whole idea of “sliced.” Instead of beef, I use fish. Instead of slicing the fish like a steak, I pound it thin into one big slice. Instead of arugula, I serve it with fennel that has been cut into thin strips. Even the oranges are segmented to give you only the sweetness of orange and none of the bitterness of the membrane.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
4 ahi tuna steaks, about 5 ounces each
⅔ cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, coarsely torn
1 fennel bulb
2 seedless oranges
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Put the tuna between sheets of plastic and pound to a ½-inch thickness with a heavy pan or the flat side of a meat pounder. Put the fish in a ziplock plastic bag with the ⅔ cup olive oil and the rosemary and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 to 6 hours.
Trim the stems and about 1 inch of the top of the fennel bulb. Thinly shave the fennel into ⅛-inch-thick half-moons. The easiest way is to use a mandoline, even an inexpensive hand-held model, and pass the trimmed stem end of the fennel bulb gently and repeatedly over the blade. Discard the core, dark green parts, and tough root end or outer layers of the bulb. You should end up with about 2 cups of fennel strips.
Segment the oranges into supremes, working over a bowl to catch the juice (see Prep Ahead). Measure out 1 tablespoon of the juice, pour it into the bowl, and drink or reserve the rest. (It tastes awesome; you might as well drink it.) Gradually whisk the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil into the juice in a slow, steady stream until blended. Taste and season lightly with salt and pepper. Add the fennel and oranges, taste, and season again with salt and pepper, tossing to coat.
Light a grill for medium-high heat. Lightly season the tuna with salt and pepper and let stand at room temperature until the grill heats up.
When the grill is hot, scrape the grill rack clean and oil it with an oily paper towel. Grill the tuna on one side only, creating cross-hatch marks on that side. The easiest way is to look at your grill as if it were a clock and start the tuna pointing toward 10 o’clock. Grill until marked, 1 to 2 minutes, then point the steaks to 2 o’clock and grill until cross-marked. Use a wide metal spatula to flip the tuna onto plates so the grilled side is up.
Arrange the salad over the tuna, drizzling on some of the vinaigrette. Garnish with parsley.
PREP AHEAD
I love the taste of sliced oranges, but I don’t always like the bitter, chewy membranes. To get rid of them, make orange supremes. Do it ahead of time because it’s a little fussy. You can refrigerate the supremes in an airtight container for about 8 hours. Slice off about ½ inch from the top and bottom of the oranges. Stand an orange on end and cut downward all around, cutting just beneath the white pith down to the flesh to remove the entire rind in strips. Steady the orange and remove one orange segment at a time by running the knife in a V shape as close to each side of each membrane as possible, releasing each segment into a bowl. Squeeze the remaining accordion-like “skeleton” of membrane to extract the juice.
BEVERAGE—DiGiovanna, Grillo 2008 (Sardinia): I love the fresh citrus in this indigenous varietal. Its diverse minerality and the fresh-cut grass on the nose make a perfect match for the orange and fennel.
SIMPLE VEGETABLES
AND SIDES
Choosing Produce, Preparing Fruits and Vegetables, Seasoning, Vegetarians Welcome, Birds of a Feather
• • •
Lima Bean Salad with Shaved Red Onion
Apple and Endive Salad with Lemon and Thyme
Celery Puntarelle Salad with Anchovy Dressing
Cold Farro Salad with Crunchy Vegetables
Corn Crema with Corn Sauté and Scallions
Roasted Mushrooms in Foil
Rosemary Roasted Potatoes
Potato Torta
Polenta Squares
Tuna and White Bean Bruschetta
Fennel Gratin
Escarole Gratin with Raisins and Parmesan
Eggplant Fries and Zucchini Waffle Chips
Snails alla Romana
Eggplant Capona
ta
Artichokes alla Guidia
Tuna-Ricotta Fritters
Montasio Cheese Frico
FARMERS’ MARKETS ARE BIG IN PHILADELPHIA. Every neighborhood has its own, and each claims theirs is the best. The reality is, they are all great. Some are smaller than others, but they all have great products. We have honey vendors, meat vendors, jam and marmalade purveyors, and, of course, sellers of incredible fruits and vegetables. Think about it. Pennsylvania was the country’s first agricultural state. Dairy farms and fruit orchards are everywhere. Now that people like buying directly from farmers, there’s even more variety and better-quality produce available.
It’s a field day for chefs. I walk through my local farmers’ market in a daze for the first few minutes. The colors, the smells, the bushels and baskets and tubs and tables filled with vegetables and fruit are just overwhelming. Then I start picking things up, feeling them, smelling them, and talking to the farmers. “When did you pull these carrots?” “What variety are they?” “Did you spray these peaches?” “Do you have Honeycrisp apples?” “How long ago was this corn picked?” “How many more weeks until you get fennel?” I start filling up my bags. I never have enough bags.
For my kids, the best thing is the flowers. They love to choose the bouquets and carry them home and help put them in water. It’s a great family activity that we all look forward to. But more than anything I love watching their faces. When we get to the flower vendors, their faces just light up at the sight of all the colors and shapes and smells. A circle of yellow here, a cone of red there, a burst of pink, some shaggy purple—all of the flowers exuding a sweet perfume that sends you into a daydream. Watching their faces makes me feel like I’m five years old again. The way they take in all the sensations at the market, it reminds me to be thankful I’m alive. As a chef, it reminds me to use all my senses when I walk through the market—to let the colors wash over me, to breathe in the aromas at each stall, and to let my own instincts guide me toward what is good to eat.
CHOOSING PRODUCE
With our five senses, we have all the tools we need to choose good foods. Forget what you’ve been told and go with your instincts. By nature, fruits and vegetables are designed to be attractive. If you’re attracted to them, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy eating them. The colors should be vibrant, the skins should be taut, and the flesh should be plump and juicy. Who said vegetables can’t be sexy? Pick one up and feel it. If it feels heavy for its size, it’s voluptuous and full of juice. Choose that one.
PREPARING VEGETABLES AND FRUITS
If you start with great ingredients, then your job as a cook is merely to enhance the natural qualities of the food itself. When I look at a vegetable or fruit, I think about how I can respect the integrity of the food. What kind of preparation will enhance its best qualities without destroying its essential character? Let’s say it’s celery root. It’s a root vegetable. Firm and crunchy. You may want to just leave it raw to show off those natural qualities, as in Cold Farro Salad with Crunchy Vegetables. If that’s the case, then you’ll want to finely chop the vegetable so it’s easier to chew.
But root vegetables also become nice and creamy when pureed. Think mashed potatoes or pureed carrots or whipped sweet potatoes. You could decide to highlight that characteristic of celery root by making Celery Root Puree.
Think about the nature of the specific fruit or vegetable. Is it juicy like an apple? Or starchy like a potato? Try to pick a preparation that will amplify those essential qualities. For instance, I would never puree fresh fennel. It’s just too fibrous. And that’s what’s so great about it. It’s crunchy and juicy. For Fennel Gratin, I just cut the bulb into wedges and roast the wedges in the oven with some oil. The oil softens the fennel and makes it taste even more juicy—still with a little bit of crunch.
Potatoes are starchy. So I slice them as thinly as possible for Potato Torta so they will release lots of starch and meld together into a torta when layered and cooked. But the Roasted Mushrooms in Foil are left whole so you can still see their beautiful folds after cooking them.
Whenever you’re working with a piece of produce, keep in mind its defining characteristics and try to enhance those characteristics as best you can. In choosing a cooking technique, I usually try to make fennel taste more fennel-y, potatoes more potato-y, and mushrooms more mushroom-y. But sometimes, it’s better to just get out of the way and let the produce speak for itself by simply cutting it up and making a salad like Apple and Endive Salad with Lemon and Thyme or Lima Bean Salad with Shaved Red Onion.
SEASONING
It’s important to taste as you go. This principle applies to all cooking, but especially to produce. Fruits and vegetables taste different at different times of year and in different regions and from variety to variety. Taste them raw by taking a bite. What you’re tasting for is sweetness, bitterness, acidity, and pungency. Fruits and vegetables are very much alive, and each one will have a different balance of these essential flavors. You need to taste the produce so you can adjust the balance when you’re preparing the dish. If the apples taste super sweet, add a little salt to balance them out. If the endive tastes really bitter, add a pinch of sugar. Spritz the red onion with a little sherry vinegar to offset the pungency. You get the idea. You’re looking for balance.
Lima Bean Salad with Shaved Red Onion
Lima Bean Salad WITH SHAVED RED ONION
Every fall, I look forward to the lima beans at the farmers’ market. They’re like the most tender little fava beans, bright green and soft and sweet. You just have to get them when they’re small and use them fresh—not frozen. I use fresh limas all over my menus. This is a beautiful preparation that I like to serve as an amuse-bouche or even on coarsely torn Rustic Loaf as it comes out of the oven. My son Maurice loves to peel the limas and nibble on them while we’re making dinner in the kitchen.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
2½ cups shelled lima beans (about 2½ pounds in the pod)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons olive oil
½ small red onion, sliced as thinly as possible
2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint
2 teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup shaved or grated pecorino cheese
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the lima beans and blanch for 1 minute, then transfer to a bowl of ice water. When cool, pinch open the pale green skin and pop out the deep green inner lima beans. You should have about 2 cups.
Put the vinegar in a medium serving bowl and gradually whisk in the olive oil in a steady stream until incorporated. Add the limas, onion, mint, parsley, and pepper flakes and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Just before serving, top with shaved pecorino.
PREP AHEAD
You can blanch and peel the limas 1 day in advance and keep them covered in the refrigerator. You can also assemble the whole salad 1 day ahead and refrigerate it.
BEVERAGE—PAUSA Café, Tipopils NV (Piedmont): Bright with citrusy hops and subtle caramel flavors, PAUSA’s Tipopils beer makes a refreshing match for the hearty flavor of lima beans.
Apple and Endive Salad WITH LEMON AND THYME
Whenever new chefs comes to work with me, I have them rummage through the fridge and use up stuff. I help them out. “Look, you have four endives here and a couple of apples there. Let’s make a salad.” You can make a salad out of almost anything, but pairing bitter flavors with sweet is one of my favorite ways to do it. The combination always works. With endives and apples, the salad comes out so crisp and delicious, it only needs some fresh herbs and squeeze of lemon to bring it all together. Perfect with Chicken Halves on the Grill.
MAKES ABOUT 4 SERVINGS
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh
thyme leaves
3 apples (Honeycrisps are my favorite), peeled and cored
2 Belgian endives
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Pinch of sugar (optional)
Put the lemon juice in a medium bowl and gradually whisk in the olive oil in a steady stream until blended. Then whisk in the thyme leaves.
Cut the apples and endives into thin strips about 2 inches long. Add the apples and endives to the dressing, then taste and season with salt, pepper, and a little sugar if necessary.
PREP AHEAD
The salad can be assembled, covered, and refrigerated for up to 2 hours before serving.
BEVERAGE—Germano Ettore, Riesling 2008 “Herzu” (Piedmont): Riesling is incredibly food-friendly, and Herzu, with its classic profile of apple, citrus, and tingling acidity, is just perfect here.
Celery Puntarelle Salad with Anchovy Dressing
Celery Puntarelle Salad WITH ANCHOVY DRESSING
Puntarelle is a bitter green found in the winter in Italy. It tastes a little like dandelion greens, and has serrated leaves attached to a pale green and bright white base. It’s hard to find in the States, but if you have a source or can grow it yourself, by all means use puntarelle. Otherwise, endive makes a fair substitute. On Sundays, I make this salad for my wife, and she can’t get enough of it.
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS