Rustic Italian Food
Page 23
To serve, brush both sides of the sliced bread with oil and toast the slices until golden brown on both sides, preferably on a grill (but you could broil them in a pinch). Arrange the toasts around the bowl of topping and put the vinaigrette and parsley on the table. Allow guests to make their own bruschetta by spooning some of the topping onto a toast and drizzling on some vinaigrette with a pinch of parsley.
PREP AHEAD
To skip the overnight soaking, cover the beans with water by 2 inches and bring to a boil; cook for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside for 1 hour. Drain and proceed with the cooking as directed.
BEVERAGE—Nicodemi, Cerasuolo Rosé di Montepulciano 2008 (Abruzzi): Flavor intensity is so important in food and beverage pairings. Here, the earthy meatiness of tuna and beans is counterbalanced by an intensely fruity, spicy rosé from Nicodemi.
Fennel Gratin
Fennel GRATIN
Once you start, you won’t be able to stop eating these salty little jewels of fennel. You cut the bulb into wedges, scatter on some red pepper flakes and Parmesan, and slowly roast the fennel wedges in oil. After this cools a little, it’s almost like fennel confit. The Parmesan gets nice and crispy, so you have soft, crunchy, sweet, salty, and spicy all in one bite. I love serving this alongside roasted meats and fish.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
2 fennel bulbs (about 2 pounds), fronds trimmed and reserved
About 2½ cups olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1¼ teaspoons red pepper flakes
⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Trim the base of the fennel and remove all dark and light green parts down to the white bulb. Slice each bulb in half lengthwise. Cut each half lengthwise into 4 wedges and remove the cores. Lay the wedges on a rimmed baking sheet and add olive oil to a depth of ¼ inch. Sprinkle each wedge with a pinch each of salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Top each with about 1 teaspoon of Parmesan.
Bake until fork-tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the oil until just warm.
Using a slotted metal spatula, transfer the fennel to plates and garnish with the reserved fennel fronds.
PREP AHEAD
You can make this 1 hour ahead because it needs to cool until just warm. It tastes great cold, too.
BEVERAGE—Pieropan, Soave 2008 (Veneto): Soave is enjoying a surge in quality, and Pieropan is at the forefront of this movement, making exciting, delicious, and affordable wines. Pieropan Soave, with its palate of apple, pear, almond, and citric notes, provides a welcome counterpoint to the herbal intensity of the fennel gratin.
Escarole Gratin WITH RAISINS AND PARMESAN
I’ll say it again: you can’t go wrong combining something bitter with something sweet. Raisins provide the sweet here, and anchovies give you some salt to balance out the escarole’s bitterness. It’s just the perfect combination. Always has been, always will be.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
2 heads escarole (about 1½ pounds total)
2 salted whole anchovies, rinsed, boned, and tails discarded
¼ cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup golden raisins
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat the broiler. Cut the escarole in half lengthwise. Finely chop the anchovies and discard the tails.
Put the olive oil, garlic, and anchovies in a large ovenproof sauté pan and heat over medium heat until the anchovies start to break down, about 1 minute. Add the escarole to the pan, cut sides down, and sprinkle in the raisins. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then cover and cook until a knife easily pierces the stem ends of the escarole, 5 to 8 minutes.
Top the escarole with the Parmesan and broil until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Cut into wedges to serve.
BEVERAGE—Planeta, La Segreta Bianco 2008 (Sicily): Often the best beverage pairing for food is a local wine. The bitter and sweet qualities of escarole and raisins brings Sicily to mind, and Planeta is one of the wineries that put Sicily on the wine map.
Birds of a Feather
When you are considering what to drink with your meal, keep in mind that this is not a chemistry exam. You do not need a science degree to analyze all the flavor compounds in wine and food and then match them up. Successful pairings can be much simpler. One of the principles that works consistently well is that of geographical complements. Before intercontinental commerce, you drank what you had. The Piemontese drank Barbera, and the Tuscans drank Sangioviese. Those were the grapes that grew in the region, and those were the wines drunk with the meals. That could easily explain why so many of the dishes from these regions have the “ideal” pairing right out the back door. On my travels to Rome, I drank much of the wine from the Roman province of Lazio. The best known of the wineries north of the city is Falesco, owned by the renowned wine makers Renzo and Ricardo Cottarella. Their entry-level whites and reds called Vitiano exhibit many of the key flavors that play well with those of the local fare. Drinking a Falesco Vitiano with Snails alla Romana serves to illustrate this concept.
Eggplant Fries and Zucchini Waffle Chips
Eggplant Fries AND ZUCCHINI WAFFLE CHIPS
Back in 1994, this recipe was one of the coolest things I learned working at Dall’Amelia outside Venice. We cut these zucchini chips on a mandoline and crisscrossed them into a waffle shape, then soaked them in milk, dredged them in flour, and fried them. I started doing the same thing with other vegetables that had a similar consistency, like eggplant, but it’s more fun to serve different shapes on the same plate. So I cut the eggplant into thick sticks here. I like to serve the eggplant fries by themselves with Rigatoni with Swordfish.
MAKES ABOUT 6 SERVINGS
1 Italian globe eggplant, about 1 pound
1 zucchini, about 6 ounces
Canola oil for deep-frying
2 cups whole milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Peel and cut the eggplant into sticks about ½ inch thick and 2½ inches long. Cut the zucchini ⅛ inch thick on a mandoline (a handheld one works fine), preferably with the waffle cutter, though a flat blade is fine, too.
Pour 2 inches of oil into a Dutch oven or deep fryer and heat to 350°F on a deep-fat thermometer. Meanwhile, dip the eggplant pieces and zucchini chips in the milk, then dredge in the flour. Working in batches to maintain the 350°F temperature, drop the vegetables into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes for the zucchini, 3 to 4 minutes for the eggplant.
Using a wire skimmer, transfer the vegetables to paper towels to drain, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
BEVERAGE—Castaldi, Franciacorta Brut Rosé (Lombardy): Fried foods and sparkling wine are a match made in heaven. Try Franciacorta or Champagne with French fries! Here, Castaldi’s sparkling rosé, with its notes of herbs, red berries, and cedar, lends just the right spark.
Snails ALLA ROMANA
My Italian friends hike up the Dolomites and come back with huge bushels of snails. They soak them in water with polenta for a day so the snails eat and get fatter. When the snails eat, it helps clean out their insides so they can be safely eaten by us! To cook them, they scrub the shells, then boil the snails for 5 minutes in water with a little salt and vinegar. Then they follow the simple preparation below. Fresh snails can be hard to come by, so I wrote the recipe using canned snails, which are ready to use. Look for high-quality canned snails from Potironne (see Sources). If you’re lucky enough to have fresh snails, soak and boil them before following the recipe below.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
3 dozen canned extra-large wild Burgundy snails (about one 14-ounce can)
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 salted whole anchovy, rinsed, boned, tail discarded, and finely chopped
2 canned peeled tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, torn into pieces
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup water
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Drain the snails and cut each one into halves or thirds, depending on the size. You want them in nice little bites.
Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, shaking the pan a few times. Add the anchovy, cover, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the snails and cook until heated through, about 1 minute.
Add the tomatoes, white wine, and water and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently, stirring frequently, until the liquid thickens a little and becomes creamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley, taste, and season with salt and pepper.
BEVERAGE—Falesco, Rosso 2009 “Vitiano” (Lazio): From the hills north of Rome, Falesco’s Cabernet, Merlot, and Sangiovese blend offers the right amount of freshness and concentration with a distinct herbal hit to enliven the snails.
Eggplant CAPONATA
People swear by salting eggplant first to leach out the bitterness. The truth is, bitterness has already been bred out of most eggplant varieties, so there’s no need to salt them. If you use small eggplants, you don’t have to peel them either. This recipe uses whole eggplant as is and makes a beautiful caponata that you can serve with almost anything. I usually make a big batch because it goes so quickly. People have asked me to jar it and sell it at supermarkets. Not a bad idea!
MAKES 8 TO 10 SERVINGS
5 tablespoons grapeseed oil
3 or 4 small Italian eggplants (2 pounds total), stemmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored, and cut into bite-size pieces
½ red onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 canned peeled tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted (see Prep Ahead)
⅓ cup golden raisins
2 to 3 teaspoons red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Heat 4 tablespoons of the grapeseed oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant cubes and sauté until nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a wire rack set over a drip pan or paper towels.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan and sauté the fennel and onion until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
Add the sautéed eggplant, pine nuts, and raisins and mix gently so that you don’t break up the eggplant. Add 2 teaspoons of the vinegar, then taste and season with salt, pepper, and vinegar as needed.
Let cool to room temperature before serving.
PREP AHEAD
Make the caponata up to 5 days ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator. Before serving, bring it back to room temperature for the best flavor.
To toast the pine nuts, heat them in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes, shaking the pan now and then.
BEVERAGE—Proprieta Sperino, Rosa del Rosa 2008 (Piedmont): Eggplant and tannin make good bedfellows. The soft tannins of this Nebbiolo-based rosé coupled with its rose petal aroma and spicy berry palate create a complex wine and a remarkable pairing of a Northern wine with a Southern dish.
Artichokes alla Guidia
Artichokes ALLA GUIDIA
This is a classic Roman ghetto dish: Jewish-style fried artichokes. They were the bane of my existence for six months when I opened my restaurant Amis. I had such perfect ones in Rome, but when I started making them, they were inconsistent. I found out that the size of the artichoke is important. About 3½ inches in diameter is perfect. If they’re much bigger or much smaller, this preparation won’t work. The other thing I discovered during my six months of hell is that it’s best to leave the choke in. Just trim the outer leaves well and trim the stem. That way they develop amazing texture inside and out. It’s like biting into an ice cream cone—you get the crunch outside, then the tender heart inside. It’s a welcome change of pace from plain old steamed artichokes.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
1 cup fresh lemon juice
12 artichokes, each about 6 inches long and 3½ inches in diameter
Grapeseed oil for deep-frying
1¾ teaspoons coarse salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint, plus a few fresh sprigs for garnish
Fill a large nonreative container with water and add the lemon juice. Snap off and remove 2 or 3 layers of the outer green leaves from each artichoke until you are left with only light green-yellow leaves in a bullet shape. Leave the stem on but trim the outer layer with a paring knife down to the light green inner flesh. Pare off any dark green leaf bases around the outside of the artichoke so you reveal the inner white part. Cut the artichoke in half crosswise and remove and discard the top half. Drop each artichoke into the lemon water to prevent it from browning as you work.
Pour 3 inches of oil into a Dutch oven or deep fryer and heat to 300°F on a deep-fat thermometer.
Line a baking sheet with paper towels and top with a large wire rack. Remove the artichokes from the lemon water, shake off the excess water, and place them upside down on the rack.
Gently stretch the remaining leaves of each artichoke to separate the leaves. Mix together the salt and pepper and season the artichokes inside and out with the mixture.
Working in batches to maintain the 300°F temperature, fry the artichokes in the hot oil for 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked artichokes to the wire rack and drain upside down for 5 minutes. When all the artichokes are fried and have drained, refrigerate them on the wire rack for at least 10 minutes.
Just before serving, heat the oil in the fryer to 350°F. Working in batches to maintain the 350°F temperature, fry the artichokes until very crisp and browned on the edges, about 2 minutes. Drain upside down on a paper towel–lined baking sheet and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Mix the parsley and 1 tablespoon mint together. Serve 2 artichokes on each plate and sprinkle on all sides with the herb mixture. Garnish with mint sprigs.
PREP AHEAD
After the first frying, let the artichokes drain and cool, then loosely cover and refrigerate them for up to 8 hours. Fry the second time just before serving.
BEVERAGE—Tenuta Pietra Porzia, Frascati 2008 “Regillo” (Lazio): Perfumed with fresh flowers, pears, and almonds, this Frascati has enough natural acidity and dry character to pair well with artichokes.
Tuna-Ricotta FRITTERS
Last year, I went to Italy and had lunch in Cene, just outside Bergamo, at Pina Cagnoni’s house. She’s my chef Jeff Michaud’s mother-in-law. When I walked in the door, I opened my mouth to say hello and Pina shoved some food in there instead. It was hot and crunchy on the outside, soft and creamy on the inside. What was that flavor? I couldn’t quite get it, and she never did give me the recipe. But I figured it out on my own. If you like, add about ½ cup finely chopped onion and ½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley to the mix. And if you can’t find robiola, substitute mascarpone or cream cheese.
MAKES 32 SMALL FRITTERS
TUNA MIXTURE
1 (9-ounce) tuna steak
2 teaspoons kosher salt
9 ounces robiola cheese
9 ounces ricotta impastata or drained whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ cup dried bread crumbs
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Grapeseed or olive oil for deep-frying
BREADING
1 cup tipo 00 or all-purpose flour
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups dried bread crumbs
Rub the tuna with salt until it is evenly coated, then cove
r and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Rinse the tuna and put it in a large sauté pan with water to cover. Bring to a low simmer (165°F) over medium-high heat. Adjust the heat to maintain the 165°F temperature and gently poach the fish until it is just firm and registers about 120°F internal temperature. Remove from the heat and let cool in the poaching liquid.
Remove the fish from the water and buzz it briefly in a food processor until it’s still a little chunky. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in the robiola, ricotta, egg, and bread crumbs. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
Add 2 inches of oil to a Dutch oven or heavy ovenproof casserole and bring to 350°F on a deep-fat thermometer.
For the breading: Put the flour in one shallow bowl, the eggs in a second bowl, and the bread crumbs in a third. Form the tuna mixture into 1½-inch diameter balls (about the size of a golf ball) and roll in the flour, then the egg, then the bread crumbs. Transfer the balls to a wire rack set on a rimmed baking sheet as you work.
Working in batches, fry the balls until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes, maintaining the oil temperature at 350°F. Cool on a rack set over a baking sheet lined with paper towels.
PREP AHEAD
If you can’t find ricotta impastata, drain whole-mik ricotta instead. Line a sieve with cheesecloth or paper towels and place over a bowl. Put the ricotta in the sieve, cover, and let drain in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.
You can mix, cover, and refrigerate the tuna mixture up to 3 days ahead. Let the mixture stand at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes to take off the chill, then roll it into balls and bread it just before frying.
BEVERAGE—Planeta, Rosé 2009 (Sicily): Planeta’s Syrah rosé, with its light and fresh strawberry and spice flavors, will take you straight to the Southern Italian seaside.