Adapted from The Italian Dish
There are a lot of fabulous food blogs out there, and more are being added to the net every day. I could lose myself for hours on end if I weren't careful, so I have chosen only a few to read on a regular basis, and I rarely add any to my Google Reader unless I am really moved for fear of being lost in the cosmos.
Well.
Check this out.
I found it because the author had a review for the A16 cookbook, A16:Food & Wine, on Amazon, and I wanted to see what people are saying about this book. The Italian Dish is an amazing blog. The pictures are beautiful, and the recipes are enticing. And if they are all as good as this one, I'm in for a real treat......and so are you.
My father always spoke about a pasta Aunt Red used to make that had fresh horseradish grated on top instead of cheese. This one has breadcrumbs. I always think about my dad, but I really missed him last night because he would have LOVED dinner - this pasta with grilled lamb chops and Brussels sprouts braised in cream.
I find that anchovies have an affinity for lamb (think about a crisp salad with anchovies in it served after a leg of lamb), so I wanted to try a recipe of Guiliano Hazan's for spaghetti with tomatoes and anchovies until I realized I didn't have a copy of Every Night Italian (a lovely little book) here. As luck would have it, I found this recipe and decided it would be the way to go.
Boy, was I right. Walter doesn't usually like pasta as a side dish, and I didn't time it right to serve the pasta as a 2-ounce starter, but it turned out fine because he gobbled it up alongside the lamb chops and the Brussels sprouts, which I personally thought was a great combination.
There's a similar recipe waiting for me in Zuni, which is a variation of this, that includes cauliflower and broccoli, both vegetables I adore, so I am looking forward to cooking that more than ever.
Pasta with Pangretta*
Day-old country bread
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large pinches of salt, kosher or Maldon squeezed between your fingertips
2 glugs of extra-virgin olive oil
3 anchovy fillets (I'm with Simon Hopkinson on this - I prefer those packed upright in jars - not tins - to the ones packed in salt)
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed of salt or vinegar
A handful of parsley, chopped
1 lemon
8 ounces spaghetti or (my favorite) spaghetti alla chitarra
Remove the crusts from the bread. (I usually save these because they are delicious toasted and buttered.) Break enough bread into chunks to make about a cup of crumbs using your food processor with the metal blade in place. Cook these breadcrumbs in olive oil until just crisp. Add salt, stir, and set aside. If you do this a little bit ahead, remove the crumbs from the pan they cooked in with a slotted spoon, and put in a bowl.
Cook the pasta al dente while you are making the sauce. You want to time this so the pasta is done at the same time the sauce is ready. This is easy because the sauce can wait for the pasta. You just don't want the pasta waiting for the sauce. (You NEVER want the pasta waiting for the sauce.)
Add 2 glugs of olive oil and the anchovies to a pan. (I used a 3-1/2 quart saucier.) Turn the heat to medium-low and stir with a wooden spoon or wooden spatula until the anchovies dissolve. Then add the garlic, and cook for about two minutes being careful not to let it burn.
Add the rinsed capers and half the parsley. Stir and cook for about a minute.
Drain the pasta, shaking the colander, but don't drain it totally dry. Add the pasta to the saucier, and toss well. Turn off the heat. Add the rest of the parsley and the bread crumbs removed from the skillet with a slotted spoon. Use your Microplane zester to grate some lemon over the top. (Don't omit the lemon. It adds a lot of delicious subtle flavor.) Toss again, and serve.
This is a recipe that would be delicious topped with an egg fried in olive oil. And I'm sure these crisp breadcrumbs would be delicious on top of my regular recipe for Spaghettini Aglio Olio.
*For some reason I think these breadcrumbs are called pangretta. I have no idea why. I could be totally wrong. If anyone knows one way or the other, please let me know!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Sausages with Porcini Mushrooms
Adapted From Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
4 servings
Even though we only seem to be flirting with cooler weather, my thoughts are turning to foods I avoid in the summer - soups, stews, and all manner of braised dishes. I feel like puttering around the house while enticing smells emanate from the kitchen. I want to linger over meals that are more hearty than those I have been eating for the past four months. This isn't the most beautiful dish in my repertoire, but it is one of my favorites. Serve it with mashed potatoes and buttered green peas for a delicious meal.
A glug of extra virgin olive oil
1-1/2 pounds mild pork sausage, containing no herbs or hot pepper
1/2 cup dry red wine - whatever you will drink with the meal
1 ounce high-quality dried porcini mushrooms
Reconstitute the dried mushrooms by soaking them in 2 cups of slightly warm water for at least 30 minutes. Using your hands, lift the mushrooms out of the water squeezing out as much liquid as you can, letting the liquid fall back into the vessel you soaked the mushrooms in. Filter this liquid through a coffee filter - I use a Melitta individual cup filter -
and save this liquid to use later in the recipe. Rinse the mushrooms in several changes of fresh water, remove any soil that may still be clinging to them, and dry the mushrooms with a clean kitchen towel.
Put a glug of extra virgin olive oil in a pan that will hold the sausages without their overlapping. Add the sausages, and turn the heat to medium. Cook, turning the sausages frequently, until they are browned all over. Marcella recommends that you prick the sausages, but I personally follow the Nigel Slater policy on this and don't puncture them as I think the sausages stay more juicy if you don't. Try it both ways if you like to see which method you prefer.
Add the red wine, and turn the heat down. Simmer the sausages gently, turning occasionally, until the wine has evaporated. When it has, add the mushrooms and the filtered mushroom liquid, and cook at a gentle simmer, turning the sausages from time to time, until the mushroom liquid has almost, but not completely, evaporated. Tilt the pan and spoon off the fat if there is a copious amount; however, if you haven't punctured the sausages, there shouldn't be, and you don't want to remove all the fat. (Well, actually, you may want to but try and resist the temptation to remove every single bit of it.)
As I said above, serve with mashed potatoes. I make mine using an Oxo Potato Ricer, which I think ensures a perfect texture. You can add warm butter and cream (or cream only, which I do often) and stir with a wooden spoon, or you can go one step further and mix with a hand beater or put through a tamis if you have one.
4 servings
Even though we only seem to be flirting with cooler weather, my thoughts are turning to foods I avoid in the summer - soups, stews, and all manner of braised dishes. I feel like puttering around the house while enticing smells emanate from the kitchen. I want to linger over meals that are more hearty than those I have been eating for the past four months. This isn't the most beautiful dish in my repertoire, but it is one of my favorites. Serve it with mashed potatoes and buttered green peas for a delicious meal.
A glug of extra virgin olive oil
1-1/2 pounds mild pork sausage, containing no herbs or hot pepper
1/2 cup dry red wine - whatever you will drink with the meal
1 ounce high-quality dried porcini mushrooms
Reconstitute the dried mushrooms by soaking them in 2 cups of slightly warm water for at least 30 minutes. Using your hands, lift the mushrooms out of the water squeezing out as much liquid as you can, letting the liquid fall back into the vessel you soaked the mushrooms in. Filter this liquid through a coffee filter - I use a Melitta individual cup filter -
and save this liquid to use later in the recipe. Rinse the mushrooms in several changes of fresh water, remove any soil that may still be clinging to them, and dry the mushrooms with a clean kitchen towel.
Put a glug of extra virgin olive oil in a pan that will hold the sausages without their overlapping. Add the sausages, and turn the heat to medium. Cook, turning the sausages frequently, until they are browned all over. Marcella recommends that you prick the sausages, but I personally follow the Nigel Slater policy on this and don't puncture them as I think the sausages stay more juicy if you don't. Try it both ways if you like to see which method you prefer.
Add the red wine, and turn the heat down. Simmer the sausages gently, turning occasionally, until the wine has evaporated. When it has, add the mushrooms and the filtered mushroom liquid, and cook at a gentle simmer, turning the sausages from time to time, until the mushroom liquid has almost, but not completely, evaporated. Tilt the pan and spoon off the fat if there is a copious amount; however, if you haven't punctured the sausages, there shouldn't be, and you don't want to remove all the fat. (Well, actually, you may want to but try and resist the temptation to remove every single bit of it.)
As I said above, serve with mashed potatoes. I make mine using an Oxo Potato Ricer, which I think ensures a perfect texture. You can add warm butter and cream (or cream only, which I do often) and stir with a wooden spoon, or you can go one step further and mix with a hand beater or put through a tamis if you have one.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Summer Minestrone
From Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan
Serves 4
When the weather starts to turn from summer to fall and thoughts turn to soup, Marcella's Minestrone alla Romagnola is at the top of my list. It's delicious, and since it improves with reheating, it's good for at least a couple of meals. But more than that, it's great to have everyone over for the first fall meal of the season - to watch football, or take a walk in the woods, or whatever is appropriate for where you are when summer ends and the next season is ushering itself in, sometimes not too auspiciously.
But
THIS is Marcella's Minestrone alla Romagnola cooked with rice and served at room temperature.
It's delicious when the temperature is too warm to consider eating a bowl of hot soup and the garden is replete with vegetables and herbs you are aching to cook - green beans, zucchini, basil, etc.
I think this is a good one to have up your sleeve - oh, sorry, you're sleeveless still, aren't you?
2 cups Minestrone alla Romagnola
1/2 cup rice - arborio is Marcella's choice, but converted rice works well too
Salt
Pepper
1/4 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese
8 to 10 fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces or 2 tablespoons of pesto
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Put the minestrone in a pot with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and add rice, stirring well.
When the soup returns to a boil, taste and stir in a little salt and pepper, if needed. Cover the pot, and turn the heat down. Stir occasionally. Start to taste the rice to see if it's done after 12 minutes. (Be careful not to overcook it because the rice will continue to cook as the soup is cooling down to room temperature.)
As soon as the rice is done, stir in the grated cheese, and turn the heat off. Taste, and add salt if necessary. Mix in the pieces of basil or the 2 tablespoons of pesto.
Ladle the soup into individual bowls. Serve at room temperature, drizzling a little extra virgin oil over each plate right before serving.
Print recipe.
Serves 4
When the weather starts to turn from summer to fall and thoughts turn to soup, Marcella's Minestrone alla Romagnola is at the top of my list. It's delicious, and since it improves with reheating, it's good for at least a couple of meals. But more than that, it's great to have everyone over for the first fall meal of the season - to watch football, or take a walk in the woods, or whatever is appropriate for where you are when summer ends and the next season is ushering itself in, sometimes not too auspiciously.
But
THIS is Marcella's Minestrone alla Romagnola cooked with rice and served at room temperature.
It's delicious when the temperature is too warm to consider eating a bowl of hot soup and the garden is replete with vegetables and herbs you are aching to cook - green beans, zucchini, basil, etc.
I think this is a good one to have up your sleeve - oh, sorry, you're sleeveless still, aren't you?
2 cups Minestrone alla Romagnola
1/2 cup rice - arborio is Marcella's choice, but converted rice works well too
Salt
Pepper
1/4 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese
8 to 10 fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces or 2 tablespoons of pesto
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Put the minestrone in a pot with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and add rice, stirring well.
When the soup returns to a boil, taste and stir in a little salt and pepper, if needed. Cover the pot, and turn the heat down. Stir occasionally. Start to taste the rice to see if it's done after 12 minutes. (Be careful not to overcook it because the rice will continue to cook as the soup is cooling down to room temperature.)
As soon as the rice is done, stir in the grated cheese, and turn the heat off. Taste, and add salt if necessary. Mix in the pieces of basil or the 2 tablespoons of pesto.
Ladle the soup into individual bowls. Serve at room temperature, drizzling a little extra virgin oil over each plate right before serving.
Print recipe.
Minestrone alla Romagnola
Adapted from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan
6 to 8 servings
Now that the weather has turned slightly cool - and will only be getting colder from here - thoughts turn to cozy meals. Soups and stews seem to be at the top of everyone's list after a summer of grilled foods and crisp salads. This is a delicious soup, which is great to have on hand because even though it makes a lot, it improves with reheating. Marcella also has a variation of this that is served at room temperature, which is good to eat when the weather is warm, and the garden is flush with zucchini and green beans.
I have never tried lima beans in place of the cannellini beans, but as I like them so much, even the frozen ones, I might try them the next time I make this.
1 pound unpeeled zucchini, ends trimmed and diced
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup onion sliced very thin
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
2 cups peeled, diced potatoes
1/4 pound fresh green beans, topped and cut into small pieces (about 4 to an inch)
3 cups shredded cabbage, savoy or regular green
1-1/2 cups caned cannellini beans, drained (If you want to start with your own dried beans, they must be pre-cooked, not just soaked, for this recipe)
6 cups chicken stock
2/3 cups canned plum tomatoes with their juice
Salt
1/3 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
Put the oil, butter, and sliced onion into an 8-quart stockpot. Turn the heat to medium/low, and cook the onion until it softens and turns a pale gold. Do not let it color more than this.
The diced vegetables are to be added sequentially, not just plopped into the pot. First, add the diced carrots, and cook for 2 -3 minutes, stirring once or twice. Next add the diced celery and do the same. Then do the same with the potatoes. Now do the same with the green beans. Last, do the same with the zucchini.
Cook them all together for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the shredded cabbage, and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
Add the chicken stock and the tomatoes with their juice. At this point check carefully for salt. How much you need will depend on how much your chicken stock has in it, but be sparing because you can add more when it's cooked down.
Stir thoroughly, cover the pot, and lower the heat so the contents are cooking at a gentle simmer.
After 2-1/2 hours, added the canned drained cannellini beans. Then cook for at least another 30 minutes. This soup should be rather thick, but if it gets too thick while cooking, it can be thinned with a little water.
When it's done, turn off the heat, swirl in the grated cheese. Taste and correct for salt. Improves with reheating.
Print recipe.
6 to 8 servings
Now that the weather has turned slightly cool - and will only be getting colder from here - thoughts turn to cozy meals. Soups and stews seem to be at the top of everyone's list after a summer of grilled foods and crisp salads. This is a delicious soup, which is great to have on hand because even though it makes a lot, it improves with reheating. Marcella also has a variation of this that is served at room temperature, which is good to eat when the weather is warm, and the garden is flush with zucchini and green beans.
I have never tried lima beans in place of the cannellini beans, but as I like them so much, even the frozen ones, I might try them the next time I make this.
1 pound unpeeled zucchini, ends trimmed and diced
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup onion sliced very thin
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
2 cups peeled, diced potatoes
1/4 pound fresh green beans, topped and cut into small pieces (about 4 to an inch)
3 cups shredded cabbage, savoy or regular green
1-1/2 cups caned cannellini beans, drained (If you want to start with your own dried beans, they must be pre-cooked, not just soaked, for this recipe)
6 cups chicken stock
2/3 cups canned plum tomatoes with their juice
Salt
1/3 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
Put the oil, butter, and sliced onion into an 8-quart stockpot. Turn the heat to medium/low, and cook the onion until it softens and turns a pale gold. Do not let it color more than this.
The diced vegetables are to be added sequentially, not just plopped into the pot. First, add the diced carrots, and cook for 2 -3 minutes, stirring once or twice. Next add the diced celery and do the same. Then do the same with the potatoes. Now do the same with the green beans. Last, do the same with the zucchini.
Cook them all together for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the shredded cabbage, and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
Add the chicken stock and the tomatoes with their juice. At this point check carefully for salt. How much you need will depend on how much your chicken stock has in it, but be sparing because you can add more when it's cooked down.
Stir thoroughly, cover the pot, and lower the heat so the contents are cooking at a gentle simmer.
After 2-1/2 hours, added the canned drained cannellini beans. Then cook for at least another 30 minutes. This soup should be rather thick, but if it gets too thick while cooking, it can be thinned with a little water.
When it's done, turn off the heat, swirl in the grated cheese. Taste and correct for salt. Improves with reheating.
Print recipe.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Molly & Luisa's Rice-Filled Tomatoes
From Molly and Luisa
Summer has fled for good now. The air - even when warm - has that certain, indescribable crispness that means fall has arrived in full force. But I don't care because I love fall. It's my favorite time of year. I love seeing the leaves change; I love walking in those that have fallen, which crunch and emit their earthy scent with each step I take. I love the first day I pull thin leather gloves out of the drawer. I'm happy to reacquaint myself with cozy sweaters. I'm glad to wear black tights and suede shoes again. So I probably shouldn't still be writing about tomatoes.
But I am.
Maybe it's because fabulous tomatoes are only available for what seems like such a short time. No matter how many I eat, it's never enough, and every year when tomato season ends, I'm already longing for it to begin again. So when I read Molly's recent post about these tomatoes, which Luisa wrote about last July, I looked in the pantry to find my little glass jar of Arborio rice and ran to the garden to pluck four tomatoes from their vines, snagged a few leaves of basil from the pot near the back door, and made this dish on the spot. I threw a russet potato, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch rounds, into the pan too because it was what I had, and my only regret was that I didn't throw in two.
This just might be the first dish I make next year when the tomatoes I dream about reappear.
Rice-Filled Tomatoes
Adapted from Orangette and The Wednesday Chef
2 main dish servings; 4 side dish servings
4 large tomatoes
1 small yellow onion, diced
Olive oil
1/3 cup Arborio rice
1/3 cup water
5 fresh basil leaves
Maldon Salt
Breadcrumbs
2 flaky potatoes, sliced into ¼-inch-thick rounds or, maybe even better, cut into chunks
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the tops off the tomatoes, and scoop out the flesh, seeds, and juice into a bowl.
Put the tomatoes into a lightly oiled 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Using kitchen shears, cut the flesh of the tomatoes directly in the bowl you have put them in.
Warm a glug of olive oil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat; add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent. Add the rice to the pan, and continue to cook, stirring, for another minute or two. Then add all the contents of the bowl (tomato flesh, juice, and seeds - this looks like a lot, but don't worry) as well as the water. Tear the basil leaves into pieces, and add them too, along with a pinch or two of Maldon Salt squished by your fingertips.
Reduce the heat, cover the pot, and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste, and add more salt if necessary. The rice is not cooked through at this point. Spoon this mixture into the tomatoes, and sprinkle breadcrumbs lightly over the top of each tomato.
Molly made her own breadcrumbs.
I will do this next time. But this time I used PLAIN dried breadcrumbs, and they were fine. Actually, better than fine; they worked well.
Arrange the potato slices (or chunks) around the tomatoes in the pan. Drizzle olive oil over everything, and turn the potatoes over to make sure they are covered on both sides. (I want to eat this again RIGHT NOW as I am typing!)
Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Make sure the potatoes are cooked through before you take the pan from the oven. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
Summer has fled for good now. The air - even when warm - has that certain, indescribable crispness that means fall has arrived in full force. But I don't care because I love fall. It's my favorite time of year. I love seeing the leaves change; I love walking in those that have fallen, which crunch and emit their earthy scent with each step I take. I love the first day I pull thin leather gloves out of the drawer. I'm happy to reacquaint myself with cozy sweaters. I'm glad to wear black tights and suede shoes again. So I probably shouldn't still be writing about tomatoes.
But I am.
Maybe it's because fabulous tomatoes are only available for what seems like such a short time. No matter how many I eat, it's never enough, and every year when tomato season ends, I'm already longing for it to begin again. So when I read Molly's recent post about these tomatoes, which Luisa wrote about last July, I looked in the pantry to find my little glass jar of Arborio rice and ran to the garden to pluck four tomatoes from their vines, snagged a few leaves of basil from the pot near the back door, and made this dish on the spot. I threw a russet potato, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch rounds, into the pan too because it was what I had, and my only regret was that I didn't throw in two.
This just might be the first dish I make next year when the tomatoes I dream about reappear.
Rice-Filled Tomatoes
Adapted from Orangette and The Wednesday Chef
2 main dish servings; 4 side dish servings
4 large tomatoes
1 small yellow onion, diced
Olive oil
1/3 cup Arborio rice
1/3 cup water
5 fresh basil leaves
Maldon Salt
Breadcrumbs
2 flaky potatoes, sliced into ¼-inch-thick rounds or, maybe even better, cut into chunks
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the tops off the tomatoes, and scoop out the flesh, seeds, and juice into a bowl.
Put the tomatoes into a lightly oiled 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Using kitchen shears, cut the flesh of the tomatoes directly in the bowl you have put them in.
Warm a glug of olive oil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat; add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent. Add the rice to the pan, and continue to cook, stirring, for another minute or two. Then add all the contents of the bowl (tomato flesh, juice, and seeds - this looks like a lot, but don't worry) as well as the water. Tear the basil leaves into pieces, and add them too, along with a pinch or two of Maldon Salt squished by your fingertips.
Reduce the heat, cover the pot, and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste, and add more salt if necessary. The rice is not cooked through at this point. Spoon this mixture into the tomatoes, and sprinkle breadcrumbs lightly over the top of each tomato.
Molly made her own breadcrumbs.
If you happen to have some leftover baguette lying around, or some crusty white bread or something like that, it will take you about 5 minutes. Just cut off the crust, cut the soft center into cubes, and whirl the cubes in a food processor until they are reduced to fine crumbs. (Only process a couple of handfuls at a time, though, or the motor of the machine could overheat.)
I will do this next time. But this time I used PLAIN dried breadcrumbs, and they were fine. Actually, better than fine; they worked well.
Arrange the potato slices (or chunks) around the tomatoes in the pan. Drizzle olive oil over everything, and turn the potatoes over to make sure they are covered on both sides. (I want to eat this again RIGHT NOW as I am typing!)
Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Make sure the potatoes are cooked through before you take the pan from the oven. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
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