Category — Recipes

Roman Artichokes

It is artichoke season, and I am wishing I was in Rome   where I would be having an artichoke feast.  Romans grow artichokes in abundance and cook them in the most delicious ways.   I would go to a favorite trattoria, such as Da Giggetto in the Ghetto or perhaps La Campana on Via Campana.  I would order fried artichokes for a starter, then have fettuccine with artichokes, then La Vignarola, a stew of artichokes, fava beans, pancetta and peas.   And for a salad course, artichokes ala Romana, cooked right side down with herbs and olive oil.

I won’t be in Rome until the middle of June, so to satisfy my artichoke craving, I think I will make Fettuccine with Artichokes for dinner tonight.  Here is my recipe, which originally appeared in my book A Fresh Taste of Italy.   I don’t serve this pasta with grated cheese, though I do like to add a little bit of butter at the end to make it slightly creamy.

FETTUCCINE WITH ARTICHOKES

Serves 4

3 medium artichokes

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 pound fresh fettuccine

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1. Cut off the top 1/2 to 3/4 inch of the artichokes with a large, sharp knife. Rinse the artichokes under cold water, spreading the leaves open. Be careful to avoid the little thorns on the remaining tips of the leaves. Bend back and snap off all of the dark green leaves until you reach the pale yellowish cone of tender leaves at the center of the artichoke. With a vegetable peeler or sharp paring knife, peel off the tough outer skin around the base and stems. Leave the stems attached to the base. Trim off the ends of the stems. Cut the artichokes in half lengthwise and scoop out the fuzzy chokes with a spoon. Cut the artichokes into thin lengthwise slices.

2.Pour the oil into a saucepan large enough to hold the cooked pasta. Add the onion, parsley, and garlic and cook over medium heat until the onion is golden, about 15 minutes.

3. Add the artichoke slices, wine, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook until the artichokes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, bring at least 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons of salt, then the pasta. Stir well. Cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until the pasta is al dente, tender yet still firm to the bite. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the pan with the artichokes.

5. Add the butter and a little of the reserved cooking water if the pasta seems dry. Toss well. Serve immediately.

In my home, it would not be Easter without Pastiera di Grano, also known as pizza gran, la pastiera, or grain pie.  Baked in a springform pan, pizza gran has a tender cookie crust wtih a ricotta and whole grain wheat filling aromatic with orange and cinnamon.  Latticed strips of the delicious crust (which can be made into fine cookies) form a pretty golden topping.

Baking la pastiera calls for a trip to one of my favorite stores, Coluccio’s in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.  There I can find everything I need including the hulled wheat, good fresh ricotta, candied orange peel, fresh candied citron, and orange flower water to give the cake the right flavor.   It’s worth the trip  because this wonderful store always has everything I need from top quality DOP canned tomatoes, pasta, olive oil, and so much more.  Best of all are the owners, staff and customers.  For the hour or so I spend there, I feel like I am in Italy and on a mini vacation.   If you can’t get there, many other Italian and gourmet markets sell what you need, though shopping may not be as much fun.

My pastiera tradition originates with my grandparents, who all came from the Naples area.  My mother’s side, the Balsamo’s, were from Afragola and my father’s family, the Scotto’s, (originally Scotto di Fasano) were from the island of Procida, near Ischia.  My mother, Louise Balsamo Scotto, was a great cook and she learned a lot from my father’s mother, Antoinetta Fasonaro Scotto.  Grandma was a terrific baker, who of course, never measured a thing.  She made biscotti and struffoli, but I loved her Easter cakes best of all, especially La Pastiera and her casadeel (casatiello), a braided sweet bread ring studded with whole eggs in the shell.

The following recipe is my adaptation of my grandmother’s pastiera, as I learned it from my mother.  The major differences between mine and my grandmother’s original are that she baked hers in a huge round tin (as they still do in Naples), while I prefer a more manageable springform pan.  Also, grandma always used fresh, homemade sugna (pork lard), but I substitute butter.

Following is the recipe from my book 1,000 Italian Recipes.  For more information about my Easter dinner menu, check out my husband Charles’ blog at www.i-italy.org/bloggers/wine-and-food

PASTIERA DI GRANO

Dough:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

1 large egg

2 large egg yolks

2 teaspoons orange-flower water

Filling:

4 ounces hulled wheat (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

1 pound (2 cups) whole or part-skim ricotta

4 large eggs, at room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons orange-flower water

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup very finely chopped candied citron

1/2 cup very finely chopped candied orange peel

Confectioner’s sugar

1. Prepare the dough: In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cinnamon, and salt.

2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and confectioner’s sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and yolks and beat until smooth. Beat in the orange-flower water. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended, about 1 minute more.

3. Shape one-quarter of the dough into a disk. Make a second disk with the remaining dough. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and chill 1 hour up to overnight.

4. Prepare the filling: Place the wheat in a large bowl, add cold water to cover, and let soak overnight in the refrigerator. Drain the wheat.

5. Place the soaked wheat in a medium saucepan with cold water to cover. Add the salt and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the wheat is tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Drain, and place in a large bowl. Stir in the butter and orange zest. Let cool.

6. Place the rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 9 x 3 -inch springform pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the ricotta, eggs, sugar, orange-flower water, and cinnamon. Beat until blended. Stir in the wheat mixture, citron, and candied orange peel.

7. Roll out the larger piece of dough to a 16-inch circle. Drape the dough over the rolling pin. Using the pin to lift it, fit the dough into the pan, pressing out any wrinkles against the inside of the pan. Scrape the filling onto the dough and smooth the top.

9. Roll out the smaller piece of dough to a 10-inch circle. With a fluted pastry cutter, cut the dough into 1/2-inch-wide strips. Lay the strips across the filling in a lattice pattern. Press the ends of the strips against the dough on the sides of the pan. Trim the dough, leaving 1/2 inch of excess all around the rim, and fold the edge of the crust over the ends of the lattice strips. Press firmly to seal.

10. Bake 1 hour 10 minutes or until the cake is golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

11. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack 15 minutes. Remove the rim of the pan and let the cake cool completely on a wire rack. Just before serving, sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar. Store covered with an inverted bowl in the refrigerator up to 5 days.

Sfince di San Giuseppe

St. Joseph’s Day, March 19, is only a week away and throughout Italy it is an important holiday.  St. Joseph is revered as a father and defender of the weak.  Since his feast day comes in the middle of Lent and coincides with the arrival of Spring, it is a nice break from winter and the sacrifices of the season.  Southern Italians and Sicilians in particular celebrate enthuiastically, especially those named in honor of the saint.   My husband Charles and I once spent a week in Sicily at this time of the year and will never forget it.  The almond trees were blooming and the fields were covered with bright green newly sprouted wheat.  Charles wrote about our visit to the home and cooking school of Anna Tasca Lanza at the Regaleali Winery in Sicily.  You can read about it at www.i-italy.org/bloggers/wine-and-food

There are many different types of foods associated with St. Joseph’s Day depending on the region of Italy.  Semolina bread sprinkled with poppy or sesame seeds, pasta con le sarde, and macco, a dried fava bean puree are three Sicilian favorites.  Fried foods are popular, including artichokes, asparagus, rice balls, and cauliflower fritters.  In fact, fried foods are so popular, that Saint Joseph is sometimes irreverently called San Giuseppe il Frittelaro, meaning Saint Joseph the frier.  Fried dessert pastries include cannoli and zeppole, but none is more beloved in Sicily than Sfinci di San Giuseppe.  The name sfinci, according to Mary Taylor Simeti in her outstanding book on Sicilian food customs, Pomp and Sustenance, derives from an Arabic word for light, or airy.  That’s all in the way you interpret light, I guess, and delicious as they are, one a year are a treat and more than enough!  The photo to the left is a sfince that Charles and I recently shared at Veniero’s Pastry Shop.  It was very good, and not nearly as tooth-achingly sweet as the versions I have eaten in Sicily.

Sfinci are basically fried spoonfuls of cream puff batter stuffed with sweetened ricotta and chocolate chips. If you would like to make them at home, here is a recipe adapted from my book Italian Holiday Cooking

SFINCI DI SAN GIUSEPPE

Serves 8

Ricotta Cream:

One 15 ounce container part-skim milk ricotta

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons chopped semisweet chocolate

1 tablespoon chopped candied orange peel or citron

Dough:

1 cup water

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup all purpose flour

4 large eggs

Vegetable oil for frying

Candied orange peel or cherries, and chopped pistachios, for garnish

1. To make the cream, whisk the ricotta, sugar and vanilla until smooth.  Stir in the chocolate and orange peel.  (Can be made up to 24 hours ahead.  Cover and refrigerate.)

2. In a medium saucepan over medium low heat, heat the butter, water, and salt until the butter melts and the mixture reaches a boil. Remove from the heat. Add the flour all at once and stir well with a wooden spoon until the flour is completely incorporated.

3. Return the saucepan to the stove over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly and turning the dough often, until the dough begins to leave a thin film on the bottom of the saucepan, about 3 minutes. Transfer the dough to a large bowl.

4. Add the eggs one at a time beating thoroughly after each addition with a wire whisk. At first the dough will resist absorbing the eggs, but continue to beat it until smooth.

5. In a deep heavy saucepan or deep fryer, bring about 3 inches of oil to 370° F on a deep frying thermometer. Scoop up about 1 rounded tablespoon of the batter. With another spoon, push the batter into the oil being careful not to splash it.

6. Add more spoonfuls of batter but do not crowd the pan. The batter will puff up and double or triple in size. Cook, turning the puffs often, until golden brown. When they are almost done, the sfinci will break open. Continue to cook 1 or two minutes more. Remove the puffs with a slotted spoon or skimmer. Place them on paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining batter.

7. When all of the puffs have been fried, split them partially open like a book with a small knife. Fill with the ricotta cream. Garnish the cream with strips of candied orange peel.

8. Serve warm or chill until serving time. These are best eaten soon after they are made.

Every year, when winter is at its worst, I make Bollito Misto.  It is one of the few things I can think of that will take the misery out of a cold winter day, and our friends have come to look forward to it.  That’s a good thing, since a properly made bollito serves a small crowd.  In case you have never tried it, bollito misto, which means mixed boil, is made by simmering a variety of meats, poultry, and vegetables together for several hours.  The aroma fills the house with warmth.  The resulting broth, which turns out rich and complex, is served as a first course with tortellini or other homemade pasta.  That’s my idea of a super bowl!  Then the tender meats are sliced and served with different sauces.  Traditionally, bollito is made with veal, beef, and capon or chicken. Tongue is also typical.  This year I added a few marrow bones to the broth as well.  Cotechino, or zampone, two similar large sausages made by stuffing spiced ground pork in pork skin,  are served as well, though they are cooked separately to avoid making the broth greasy.

Bollito Misto photo by Ellen Silverman for A Fresh Taste of Italy

Though it cooks without much attention, it’s a bit tricky to serve bollito misto because the meats have to be kept in the hot broth until the last possible moment or they will cool off and dry out.    You really can’t waste any time slicing and serving the meat.  In Italy many restaurants have a special stainless steel cart to serve bollito misto.  The waiter rolls the carrello, as it is called, to your table and takes out each cut of meat one at a time from a large tub of steaming broth.    He displays it and asks what you would like:  a slice of this, perhaps, or maybe that, the lean or the fat?  Some capon, light or dark meat?  With the meats, a variety of sauces is served.  My husband prefera mostarda, available in jars at most Italian markets, whole fruits cooked in a thick syrup flavored with mustard. The glistening fruits are spicy and sweet and their gorgeous color enhances the meat.  The other essential sauce is Salsa Verde, a green sauce made with parsley, garlic, anchovies, capers and olive oil.   I also accompany Bollito Misto with grainy mustard and coarse salt.  Horseradish is good, too.

Our Bollito Misto dinner this year was all the more special because of the excellent wine, several vintages of aged Taurasi, supplied by our guests.  For more information about them, read my husband, Charles Scicolone’s blog, at www.charlesscicolone.wordpress.com

Here is the recipe for Bollito Misto adapted from my book 1,000 Italian Recipes

Bollito Misto

Serves 10

1 large ripe tomato, halved and seeded

4 parsley sprigs with stems

2 celery ribs with leaves, coarsely chopped

2 large carrots, coarsely chopped

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1 garlic clove

1 boneless beef chuck roast, or brisket, about 3 pounds

Salt

1 boneless veal shoulder roast, or breast, rolled and tied, about 3 pounds

1 cotechino or other large garlic sausage, about 1 pound

1 whole chicken, about 3 1/2 pounds

Green Sauce and/or Mostarda

1. In a 5-gallon stockpot or two smaller pots of the same capacity, combine the vegetables and 3 quarts of water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.

2. Add the beef and 2 teaspoons salt. Cook for 1 hour after the liquid returns to the simmer. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce, if necessary.

3. Add the veal to the stockpot; after the liquid returns to the simmer, cook 1 hour. If necessary, add more water so that the meats remain covered.

4. In a separate pot, combine the cotechino with water to cover by 1 inch. Cover and bring to a simmer. Cook 1 hour.

5. Add the chicken to the pot with the veal and beef. Bring to a simmer and cook, turning the chicken once or twice, for 1 hour, or until all of the meats are tender when pierced with a fork.

6. With a large spoon, skim the fat from the surface of the broth. Taste and adjust for salt. (If serving the broth as a first course, strain some of the broth into a pot, leaving the meats with the remaining broth in the stockpot to stay warm. Bring the broth to a simmer and add some cooked pasta. Serve hot with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and a sprinkle of chopped parsley.)

7. Have ready a large warmed platter. Slice the meats and arrange on the platter. Drizzle with a little of the hot broth. Serve the sliced meat immediately with the sauces of your choice.

Regaleali Wheat Berry SoupPhoto by Ellen Silverman for A Fresh Taste of Italy

Blame it on the winter cold, sniffles and flu, or maybe it’s the economy, but all we seem to want to eat lately is soup.  Last night I made chicken soup with escarole, today it will be Regaleali Wheat Berry Soup, a recipe from my friend Anna Tasca Lanza.  The recipe first appeared in my cookbook, A Fresh Taste of Italy.

Together with her daughter Fabrizia, Anna operates the Anna Tasca Lanza Cooking School on her family’s winery and farm in Vallelunga in central Sicily.  Anna makes the soup with grains of the hard durum wheat for which Sicily has long been famous.  Anna served us this soup the first time we visited the farm a number of years ago.  I use wheat berries or farro, whatever I happen to have on hand, plus cannellini beans, canned Italian peeled tomatoes, some white wine and a few staples like onions, garlic and celery.   I particularly like the battuto, as Anna called it, a finely chopped blend of herbs, garlic and pecorino that finishes the soup and really lifts the flavor.

Here is the recipe:

REGALEALI WHEAT BERRY SOUP

Serves 6

1 pound (about 2 cups) durum wheat berries or farro

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 celery ribs, finely chopped

1-1/2 cups canned Italian peeled tomatoes with their juice

6 cups beef broth, preferably homemade

1 cup dry white wine

Salt to taste

Pinch of crushed red pepper

4 cups cooked cannellini, or 2 cans (16 ounces each) drained and rinsed

Battuto

1/4 cups chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1 or 2 garlic cloves, minces

1/3 cup freshly grated pecorino romano

In a large pot combine the wheat, vegetables, broth, winne, salt and crushed red pepper.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.  Add the beans and cook ofr 30 minutes more or until the wheat is tender.

Combine the ingredients for the battuto.  Spoon the soup into serving bowls.  Drizzle each portion with a little oil.  Sprinkle the battuto over the hot soup just before serving or pass it at the table.  Serve hot or at room temperature.

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I had an opportunity to visit Anna and Franca at Regaleali again with a small group on one of the culinary tours Charles and I lead for Tour de Forks.  Here is a picture of Anna, Franca and I showing the group how to make panelle, Sicilian chick pea fritters.  Anna’s method is to spread the chick pea batter on dinner plates to set up.  Then she peels it off the plates, cuts it into wedges and fries them til crisp.  They were sensational.  Perhaps I will make some tonight, as a starter before the soup.  That should have us dreaming of Sicily!

I’m making my list and checking it twice:  octopus, calamari, vongole, shrimp, anchovies, garlic, parsley, lemons, and lots of escarole.   That’s the shopping list for this year’s Il Cenone or, Christmas Eve Dinner.

There will be 8 of us at my house and I am planning to make a Neapolitan style Pizza di Scarola for a starter. This was one of my mom’s specialties — a double crust pie filled with sauteed escarole, garlic, black olives and anchovies.  When Mom made it, she fried the pie in a big, heavy cast iron skillet.  When one side was crusty and brown, she flipped the pie onto a plate, put more oil in the pan, and then slid the pie, browned side up, back in. I don’t know how she was able to lift it and turn it, but it always turned out perfect.  As a concession to modern health concerns (and out of trepidation about that flipping), I bake the pie instead, as they do in Naples today.

Spaghetti with Clams will be next.  It’s a fairly typical recipe, with plenty of garlic, parsley and crushed red pepper.  I like it with a little bit of tomato, and this time of the year, I use the sweet fresh grape tomatoes that are widely available.  Little cockles are my substitute for the tiny vongole, hard shell clams, used in Italy.  They don’t have much sand and can be simmered right in the sauce.  If they were not available, I would use little neck clams, which I would steam open and remove from the shells, then rinse in their own juice to eliminate any sand.

Our main course will be a big seafood salad with the octopus, calamari, and shrimp in a lemon juice, olive oil and garlic dressing with lots of parsley and chopped celery for crunch and clean flavor.

In this country, most Italian Americans think of the Christmas Eve meal as the Feast of the Seven Fishes, but my grandparents never called it that and nobody counted the number of fishes. But we always had fish — any number will do and any kind.  Baccala or stockfish, two types of salt preserved cod are typical, as is eel, scungilli, lobster, and whole fin fish.  It was more about what was available than any set number, so feel free to have as many as your time and budget will allow.

My sister sent me some sweet juicy tangerines from Florida.  We will have them with some grapes, and roasted chestnuts, followed by dessert.  I made Pignoli Cookies, a family favorite, and my niece Amy will bring some sfogliatelle that she bought in Brooklyn.  The cookie recipe is from my book 1,000 Italian Recipes.  Here it is — my Christmas gift to you!

Pine Nut Macaroons

Pignoli Cookies

Makes 40

I have made many variations of these cookies over the years.  This version is my favorite because it is made with both almond paste and ground almonds for both flavor and texture.

1 (8-ounce) can almond paste

1/3 cup finely ground blanched almonds

2  large egg white

1 cup confectioner’s sugar, plus more for decorating

2 cups pignoli nuts or slivered almonds

1.Place a rack in the center of the oven.   Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a large baking sheet.

2. In a large bowl, crumble the almond paste. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat in the almonds, egg whites and 1 cup confectioner’s sugar until smooth.

3. Scoop up a tablespoon of the batter. Roll the batter in the pine nuts, covering it completely and forming a ball. Place the ball on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, placing the balls about 1 inch apart.

4. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Place the baking sheet on a cooling rack. Let the cookies cool 2 minutes on the baking sheet.

5. Transfer the cookies to racks to cool completely. Dust with confectioner’s sugar. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 1 week.