A simplecucina povera recipe – pasta and cauliflower – dressed up with pancetta, breadcrumbs, walnuts and currents. A friend got me this recipe from his grandmother. She was born in Trapani so I’m assuming that’s where this recipe originated. Her instructions were ‘some’ of this, ‘enough’ of that and ‘cook it until it’s done.’ I tried it a few times and this is what I came up with. (Bacon is not a substitute for pancetta. It’s too smokey. If you don’t have pancetta, use some diced pork or no meat at all.)
Soak the currents in warm water for 15 minutes. Sauté pancetta until it starts to brown then add breadcrumbs. Mix and brown crumbs, then add walnuts and drained currents. Mix and simmer for a few minutes, then remove and wipe out pan.
Add oil to pan and put in cauliflower, salt and pepper, on medium heat. Cook until lightly browned on all sides and softened.
In a pot, sauté onion in oil, salt and pepper. When the onion is softened and transparent, add the stock. When it comes to a boil add the pasta and when it’s almost done add the cauliflower. Deglaze the cauliflower pan with the wine (or water) and add that to the pot. Stir and simmer for a few minutes. Turn off the heat, stir in the parsley and pancetta-bread crumb mix and stir. It’s ready to serve.
Made with orange cauliflower – tastes the same but has an new look.
The food that Italian immigrants ate was certainly cheap and delicious and highly nutritious… And they would go out and collect dandelion greens, take them home, and saute them in a little olive oil… You want vitamins, there’s a great source of vitamins! …they had great pasta dishes, which were very good, filled with flavor and filled with nutrients. It’s tragic that we didn’t look to their example for foods to eat during the Great Depression, but that wasn’t “science,” and also that was “un-American.”
Italian desserts are usually simple. Elaborate cakes and pastries are served at special occasions. Fruit is much more common. Here’s an easy recipe that I got from a friend from Ischia – Grapes and Vinegar. It’s good in summer.
Preparation:
Wash the grapes and put them in a small sauce pan. Cover half way with water and add the vinegar. Bring to a boil, stir, lower heat and simmer until they begin to crack. Turn off the heat and mix in lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar and half of the chopped mint. Let it cool and then mix in the Marsala. Marsala works best but sweet sherry is also OK. Chill and sprinkle with the remaining chopped mint when serving.
I don’t usually fall for those late night TV commercials, you know, the ones saying things like, buy one, get one free,but wait there’s more and, act now for free shipping. I once bought this pair of super special driving sunglasses. I actually bought one and got one free. They were supposed to cut glare, help you see through haze and a few other things. The first time I wore them a lens fell out. Then the ear-piece broke off of the second “free” pair.
But even after that, the Gotham Steelfrying pan commercial got to me. There’s this fast talking English chef, cooking all sorts of things with it. Trying to burn and scrape it, but nothing bad ever happens. Burnt food just slides off and nothing seems to damage the coating. I saw the commercial a few times and I couldn’t resist. I forgot about the lousy sun glasses and went on line and bought one. I felt a little stupid but, what the hell, $19.99 plus shipping and handling, it was worth a try.
About a week later it arrived in the mail. It looked pretty good – solid and shiny. I started with something simple – hamburgers – and they were perfect. I’ve used it for other things since and it never let me down.
The pan was everything they said. Here’s a screen shot from their site listing its “Features and Benefits” and you can see, it’s even PTFE/FOA/PFOS FREE, whatever that means.
Another screen shot from the Gotham Steel site featuring Chef Daniel Green
Anchovies – Lots of people don’t like them but when dissolved and used as a spice in a recipe most people can’t tell that they’re eating anchovies. It’s all about umami.
Basic Salernitano Rules (from Grandma):
Red onions are better left raw. Don’t cook them unless you have to.
Don’t overdo it with the aromatics, i.e. if you’re using garlic as a base, don’t add onions, especially in red sauce.
The same is true for basilico and oregano – try to stick to one or the other. Typically, basilico with red meat and oregano with chicken & fish.
If your bread needs butter to be edible maybe you should be buying better bread.
My grandmother, Nicolina, with my aunt and uncle at her grocery store on Mott Street
Bouquet garni – 3 sprigs each, rosemary or parsley and thyme tied around 3 bay leaves.
Breadcrumbs –If you don’t make your own (a blender and two day old bread – simple) always buy unseasoned breadcrumbs and use your own seasoning. To toast – put about a tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy frying pan on medium heat. Add a cup of the unseasoned bread crumbs and keep them moving until they darken. Don’t walk away to do something else because they’ll burn. When they reach the right color remove them from the pan immediately or they’ll keep cooking. They should smell like toast, not burnt toast. You can use this on many pastas in place of cheese and there are some sauces where you can only use toasted breadcrumbs – fish sauces like pasta con sarde or baccala.
Browning meat – just put small batches in the pan. If you crowd it, instead of browning, it steams.
Eggplant – for almost all eggplant recipes:
“Peel the eggplants but leave some of the skin on to ‘hold them together.’ Slice them into rounds and place the slices into a scolo pasta (colander). Salt the eggplants and place a heavy plate on top and set the colander in the sink for about 1/2 hour.” – Nicki Filipponi
Grated cheese – Use Parmigiana, Loccatelli, Romano or whatever you like but don’t think you can put it on everything because it can conflict with and overpower delicate flavors. If you really want cheese, eat a piece of cheese.
Oil – when a recipe calls for oil, it’s always regular olive oil unless otherwise specified. Only use extra virgin when it’s not going to be cooked because it burns and looses its fresh taste at a very low temperature.
Parsley – always flat leaf/Italian. Even French cooks use it because curly/French parsley has no taste.
Pasta – First, use more water than you’d think you’d need, about four quarts for one pound. Add a lot of salt, at least 2 tablespoons (it can only absorb so much). Pick a pasta shape that compliments the sauce. Cook it until it’s done the way you like it and don’t worry about the Al Dente Police raiding your kitchen.
Not too long ago my wife Bridget and I, my sister Nicki and our neighbor Susan signed up to take a recreational cooking class at the Institute of Culinary Education. The course we chose was Essentials of Sicilian Cooking. It was taught by by Giovanna Bellia La Marca, a professional chef and author of the cookbook Sicilian Feasts.
Giovanna showing us how to make the cassata
The first part of the 4 hour class began with Giovanna giving a talk on Sicily and its cuisine. There were 12 of us in the class. We broke up into small teams and divided the menu between us.
Almost ready to serve
Some of us knew how to cook and some were beginners but we all worked together with help from Giovanna. It took about 2 hours to prepare the meal and when everything was ready we sat down to dinner with wine right on the work tables where we prepared the dishes . Full time I.C.E. students served and cleared. It was a great was to spend an evening. The cooking was fun and we really learned something. The meal at the end of the evening was great and we got copies of the recipes to take home.
Invented by the Dutch 350 years ago, this colorless spirit, flavored with juniper berries was originally called genievre or jenever. Lately, it’s been replaced in popularity with vodka but for the four cocktails made with gin listed here, there is no substitute.
Belmont Cocktail
Very simple – just shake the 3 ingredients with ice and pour into a chilled cocktail glass.
Pink Lady
Put the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Shake vigorously & strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the cherry.
White Lady
Everything goes into the shaker and shake thoroughly because of the egg white.
Old Tom Martini
An early Martini recipe – put gin and Vermouth in a mixing glass and stir (never shake) with ice. Pour into a chilled Martini glass and add bitters and olive.
Place a rack in upper third of oven; preheat to 425°. Remove the backbone from the chicken and cut it in half (you can have your butcher do this). Season the room temperature chicken with salt and pepper. Mix the spice rub in a small bowl. Sprinkle chicken with spice mixture and rub it in. Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high. Cook chicken, skin side down, until browned and beginning to crisp, about 5 minutes.
The Spice Rub
Meanwhile, bring the glaze ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan and cook until thickened and syrupy, 12–15 minutes. Discard garlic.
The Glaze
Transfer the chicken to a plate and arrange pineapple slices in pan and baste them with the glaze.
Place chicken, skin side up, on top of the pineapple. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of thigh registers 165°, 40–45 minutes.
When chicken is done, brush it with glaze and roast just until glaze is bubbling, about 2 minutes; repeat with any remaining glaze. Let it rest 10 minutes. Serve chicken and pineapple with any juices from skillet alongside.
Two recipes for cheese spreads with similar preparation techniques but different results.
Ingredients for both – blue and butter with Worcestershire – cheddar and horse radish, also with Worcestershire
Blue Cheese Spread
My father’s recipe, it goes well with cocktails or beer. Even people who don’t like blue cheese like this.
Crumble a piece of room temperature blue cheese and mix 4 to 1 with good quality room temperature butter. The butter takes some of the sharpness and even some of the stinkyness away from the blue cheese. Mash with a fork, adding a few drops of Worcestershire Sauce until smooth.
Cheddar Horseradish Spread
I got this from a waiter at Fin, a seafood restaurant at the Tropicana in Atlantic City. They serve it alongside the butter with their bread basket.
Grate some good quality sharp cheddar and mix with prepared horseradish 5 to 1. Mash with a fork, adding a few drops of Worcestershire Sauce until smooth.
I grew up with Marie Brizard. That was my father’s go-to brand of anisette. The bottle was on the table after every dinner to sweeten our expresso. It was a low enough proof so I got to use some in my coffee too. I don’t remember too many people drinking it straight. Anisette is very sweet. Maybe an old lady who needed a drink for a toast and didn’t want anything too strong would have some. Sometimes I’d get a sip of it in a cordial glass if I had a cough or sore throat.
Although some people think it’s main ingredient is liquorice root, anisette is made by macerating the seeds of the anis plant in a neutral spirit. I have an anis hyssop on my balcony (see the heading photo) but I’ve never tried to gather the seeds. A friend recently suggested that I can make a passable anisette using its leaves by filling a jar half full with them, then filling it with vodka. Strain it after a month, and add sugar syrup to taste. I may try that when my plant is bigger toward the end of the summer.
Anis Seeds
My Aunt Lena use to make her own anisette with anis essence she’d get from a local pastry shop. That’s a main ingredient in anisette biscotti so all the pastry shops had it. The essence would be added to black market grain alcohol and sugar syrup. She’d mix it in a big pot on her kitchen table. I remember being small enough to stand on the table to stir it with a long wooden spoon.
Anisette Biscotti
When I was growing up, the only time I ever saw sambuca was if someone brought a bottle back from Italy. It wasn’t imported to the US back then. And as much as it tastes like anisette, sambuca is made from the elder berry plant. It’s a higher proof and is now much more common here than anisette.
I still generally use Marie Brizard but when it’s available I buy Anis del Mono, a Spanish brand. I like the monkey on the label. There are other anis flavored liquors made around the Mediterranean: Pernod, raki, ouzo and anazone but anisette is the best for sweetening expresso.
