Latest

Sunday Dinner: Ossobuco With Risotto Milanese

The weekend is almost upon us, so I thought I would reach down into the Italian Chef archives and recommend something for a nice traditional Italian Sunday dinner. The weather forecast here in the Northeast this week is pretty miserable, with snow and ice predicted for the next few days, so I find myself thinking about good old fashioned comfort food. The classic combination of Ossoboco with Risotto Milanese from the Lombardy region of Italy fits the bill perfectly.

Recipes:
Ossobuco
Risotto Milanese

Feb 24, 2010 | Categories: Sunday Dinner | 4 Comments »

Artisan Breads Every Day

I started baking bread about 10 years ago using Carol Field’s The Italian Baker as my reference. That is where I learned about using a starter or biga to improve the flavor of my bread. The next important book in my bread baking education was The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. An essential volume for anybody serious about baking bread, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, taught me much more about the science of bread baking and introduced me to different types of starters and other pre-fermenting methods that help extract maximum flavor from the combination of flour, water and yeast.

Bread baking can be a time consuming task. Mixing, rising, shaping, and baking bread can take hours depending on the type of bread. In recent years an answer to this problem for home bakers has appeared in the person of no-knead bread recipes, like the techniques in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. These recipes cut down on the active time required to bake bread, the principle being that you make a large batch of very wet dough with minimal kneading, place it in the refrigerator to ferment, take the dough out the day you want to bake, shape, proof for forty minutes or so and bake. While the results can be very good, especially considering the amount of time and effort put in, I find the breads are not quite as good as the ones I make when I use Reinhart and Field’s formulas.

In his latest book, Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Breads Every Day, America’s bread guru comes through with a solution. In this book Reinhart takes the basic principles behind no-knead bread and applies them to his own formulas and techniques. The result is a sort of hybrid that, while a bit more involved than other no-knead recipes, still cuts down on active time, and results in some of the best breads you will ever make.

The book starts off with some science, talking about streamlining the baking process by replacing pre-ferments with overnight fermentation. After that the author talks about tools and ingredients then goes into some of the basic techniques that are used throughout the book such as the stretch and fold technique.

The recipes follow, starting with classic French bread, then moving to a Pain a l’Ancienne Rustic dough than can be used to make ciabatta and focaccia. I have tried many ciabatta recipes at home with varying levels of success and this is definitely my new go to recipe, my results have been consistently awesome every time. A nice open crumb, slightly sour flavor and crisp crust. There are also several pizza dough recipes, including a great Neo-Neopolitan Pizza dough that is so easy to make, you will never need to buy pre-made dough again.

The recipes I have mentioned just scratch the surface. Formulas for everything from bagels to whole wheat sourdough to chocolate croissants should be able to satisfy just about every baker’s tastes. Peter Reinhart has done it again giving us yet another indispensible resource for making excellent breads at home.

Recipe:
Neo-Neopolitan Pizza Dough

Feb 22, 2010 | Categories: Baking, Bread, Cookbooks | 2 Comments »

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Spaghetti alla Carbonara is a classic Roman pasta dish, that has become a standard on menus in Italian restaurants around the world. As with any dish that becomes this ubiquitous, many variations tend to crop up, with people adding different ingredients along the way. One addition that pops up frequently is cream. While I am not typically a staunch traditionalist, and our recipe even demonstrates this with ingredients that some may argue with, I do believe strongly, as all Romans would agree, that cream has no place in a real carbonara sauce.

The ingredients that most agree are contained in a traditional carbonara sauce are guanciale(cured pork jowel), eggs, Pecorino Romano cheese, and freshly ground black pepper. Since, guanciale is an ingredient that is not that easy to get your hands on, pancetta is often substituted. This recipe is how my father served carbonara in his restaurant for years, and it includes shallots, white wine and chicken broth. Those ingredients may not be considered traditional, but they really do work in this dish because they enhance the dish by subtly complementing rather than taking away from the main ingredients.

Serves 4-6

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 shallots, chopped fine
8 ounces pancetta, chopped coarsely
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 pound spaghetti
4 large egg yolks
1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat olive oil and butter in a large sautè pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and pancetta and cook until the shallots are softened and translucent and the pancetta is lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the wine, bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half, 1-2 minutes. Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat while you cook the pasta
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the spaghetti. Cook uncovered over high heat until al dente. Drain and add the pasta to the sautè pan and place it back over medium-high heat.
Add the egg yolks, Pecorino Romano cheese, and black pepper, and cook, stirring vigorously until pasta is well coated and creamy. Transfer to individual pasta dishes and serve with extra Pecorino Romano cheese on the side.

Feb 15, 2010 | Categories: Pasta | 4 Comments »

Christmas Eve Menu 2009

With Christmas less than two weeks away this is a good time to encourage anybody who is interested in having a traditional Southern Italian all fish Christmas Eve Dinner to check out our Feast of the Seven Fishes menu. We first published this menu, with dishes like the Fried Calamari pictured above, on The Italian Chef in 2007, and will try and update it every year with at least one new recipe. It is not a hard set menu, just some suggestions with the goal of giving you a lot of options so you can mix it up to your own taste. This year we have a nice addition to the antipasti choices, Insalata Frutta di Mare.

Italian Christmas Eve Dinner

Dec 16, 2009 | Categories: Christmas Eve, Seafood | 1 Comment »

Italian Bread with Fresh Ricotta

My wife picked up some fresh ricotta cheese from Calandra Cheese market on Arthure Avenue this weekend. I love to spread good fresh ricotta on a slice of Italian bread, drizzle it with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle some coarse sea slat and freshly ground pepper on top. I only do this when I have good quality fresh ricotta, and I have not been able to find any place in Connecticut that makes their own, all I see is the plastic tubs of Polly-O and such.

I have tried my hand at making my own fresh ricotta, and while the results have been good, I just really haven’t been able to get into making it too often, I would much rather find a good source and buy it. If you are interested in trying to make your own, below are some links to recipes for three different methods that I have found. If anybody knows of a good source for fresh ricotta in Connecticut, especially Fairfield County, please let me know in the comments.

How to make Fresh Ricotta

Home-Made Ricotta

How To Make Ricotta At Home

Dec 15, 2009 | Categories: Bread and Cheese | 7 Comments »

Seafood alla Siciliana

In the cookbook Seafood alla Siciliana: Recipes and Stories from a Living Tradition, author Toni Lydecker takes us with her on a trek through Sicily in which she visits fishermen, fishmongers, restaurant chefs and home cooks all over the Island. The result is a comprehensive and evocative volume on the rich culinary tradition of Sicilian Seafood that not only gives us great recipes, but an insight on how history and tradition have shaped the wonderfully eclectic cooking of the island.

Lydecker gives us well written and easy to follow recipes for classic Sicilian dishes such as Pasta con le Sarde, Involltini di Pesce Spada (she gives us two variations of these typically Sicilian stuffed swordfish rolls, including a wonderful pistachio-crusted one with an escarole filling), and Tuna with Sweet-Sour Onions alongside more modern riffs on Sicilian flavors such as Aromatic Salmon Steamed in Foil and Braised Grouper Over Sweet Pea Puree. Interspersed throughout the book are great stories about the people and traditions she encountered as she explored Sicily, including a nice section on some of the more memorable meals she enjoyed while putting together the book.

One thing I was not expecting to get out of a book on Sicilian Seafood was great sandwich ideas, but the chapter on Savory Pies and Panini surprsed me with recipes like Pizza-Panino with Anchovies and Fresh Tomatoes and Sardine Sandwiches with Grilled Eggplant. That chapter and a one page listing of Antipasti, Presto or quick appetizers such as tuna crostini and roasted red peppers rolled up with anchovies are just two of the extra little touches that help make this one of my favorite cookbooks of the year.

Recipes:

Aromatic Salmon Steamed In Foil
Seared Tuna With Sweet-Sour Onions

Nov 30, 2009 | Categories: Cookbooks | 5 Comments »

Homemade Tortellini

Last week I posted a recipe for Tortellini Pasticcio. What I did not mention in that post is that the tortellini I used were homemade. I had still been tweaking the recipe for the filling and wanted to wait until I settled on a final combination of meats before I shared it. The filling that I prefer contains ground veal with some pancetta. It makes a nice light but flavorful tortellini that is equally at home in a cream sauce like the Tortellini alla Panna pictured above or floating in a simple chicken broth to make Tortellini in Brodo.

Homemade Tortellini

2 tbsp butter
1 small yellow onion, diced
1/8 pound pancetta, chopped coarsely
1 pound ground veal
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese
6 large eggs
2-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Make The Filling:

Melt the butter in a medium sautè pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent.

Add the pancetta and cook for 1 minute, then add the ground veal and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the veal is browned through, about 10 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

Transfer the cooked meat mixture to a food processor, add 2 of the eggs and Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese and pulse until well blended. Cover and refrigerate while you make the pasta.

Make The Pasta:

In a large bowl, add 2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour, and make a well in the center. Break the remaining 4 eggs into the well. Beat the eggs lightly with a fork for about 1 minute, then start to work a little of the flour from the edges in to the eggs, until the eggs are no longer runny. Using your hands mix the flour and eggs thoroughly into a ball. If dough is too wet, and you are having trouble forming it into a ball add half of the remaining flour. If it is still not working out add the rest of the flour, but you should not need more than that.

Transfer the ball to a lightly floured work surface and knead: flatten the dough with the palm of your hands, fold it back towards you, rotate it a half turn and repeat. Continue this process for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and firm. Shape it into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Anchor the pasta machine to your work surface following the manufacturer’s instructions, and set the rollers to the widest setting. Cut the ball into 4 pieces. Take one piece and flatten it into a half-inch disk. Pass the disk through the rollers, turning the crank with your hand. Fold the dough into thirds and roll again. Repeat this 2 more times.

Move the dial to the next notch, narrowing the rollers and run the dough through them. Continue this process, narrowing the rollers by one setting on the dial each time until you reach the second to last setting. Lay the flattened dough to the side and repeat the procedure with the other 3 pieces. To save space you can stack the rolled out sheets of pasta on top of each other, separating them with kitchen towels.

Stuff and Shape the Tortellini:

Working with 1 sheet of pasta at a time, cut them into 2 inch squares. Brush the tops of the squares lightly with water (this will help them form a seal when you shape the tortellini, and also make the pasta easier to work with if it has dried out too much). Place about 1/2 teaspoon of the filling in the center of each square and fold one corner over the filling, forming a triangle.

Press down around the filling, eliminating any air pockets and sealing the triangle. Wrap each triangle around your little finger pressing the opposing corners together to make a circle, and curl the top point back slightly. Place the shaped tortellini on a lightly floured baking dish in a single layer.

Related Recipes:

Tortellini alla Panna

Tortellini Pasticchio

Nov 10, 2009 | Categories: Pasta | 9 Comments »

Tortellini Pasticcio

Tortellini alla Panna is a classic Northern Italian preparation of meat filled Tortellini tossed in a cream sauce. My father used to serve a Tortellini Pasticcio that consisted of Tortellini alla Panna layered with Bolognese Sauce and then baked in the oven. I have been wanting to make this at home for a quite a while, but for whatever reason never got around to it until now. While eating it my wife had one question for me, “Why have we never had this before?”

I always liked the presentation for this in my father’s restaurant. Each one was cooked to order in individual metal plates that went in the oven, with a circle of Bolognese sauce on top in the center of the white Tortellini in the cream sauce. The metal plates were then placed on top of serving dishes and brought to the table (with a warning to be careful of the hot metal plates, of course). The individual metal plates are not an ideal solution for the home cook, but you can still achieve a great presentation with a round or oval ceramic baking dish served family style.

Tortellini Pasticcio

Serves 4-6

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
salt to taste
1 pound of tortellini
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese
1-1/2 cups bolognese sauce

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Add the butter, cream and salt to a large sauté pan, turn the heat on to medium and melt the butter into the cream. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Take off the heat.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the tortellini. Cook until the tortellini are slightly underdone, 3-5 minutes. Drain well.
Place pan with butter and cream back over medium heat. Add the tortellini and Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese and stir gently until cheese is melted and tortellini are well coated with the sauce.
Coat the bottom of a round or oval baking dish with 1 cup of the bolognese sauce. Add the tortellini with the cream sauce to the dish, then make a circle on top of the tortellini in the center with the remaining half cup of bolognese sauce, leaving about 1 inch around the edges uncovered.
Place the baking dish in the oven and cook for 15 minutes, until the cream sauce is starting to bubble around the edges.

Oct 29, 2009 | Categories: Pasta | 5 Comments »

Springpad – Save Your Recipes

A few months ago I was invited to join a new website called Springpad. Springpad is a free online personal organizer that helps people get things done. From food and entertainment to parenting and managing the day-to-day, Springpad makes it easy for you to collect, use and share content from bloggers, brands and trusted friends to help organize your life. To date, the Springpad community of hundreds of food bloggers and thousands of members have already collected and shared more than 50,000 recipes and created more than 15,000 weekly meal plans.

They asked me to join because they were launching a new feature, Weekly Recipe Planner, which allows Springpad users use their web clipper tool or click on their partners’ “save it!” buttons to collect recipes from across the web. Once in Springpad, users can personalize and share their recipes by adding notes, photos and video and automatically generate shopping lists. Springpad also has a mobile web app that allows you to access your recipes, shopping lists and meal plans on the go.

I have updated all of the recipes on this blog with a Springpad “save it!” button:

When you click on this button a popup window will allow you to save the recipe to your Springpad (if you are a registered user) without leaving The Italian Chef. All recipes going forward will have the “save it!” button and I am working to add it to all of the legacy recipes on italianchef.com. I am excited to be adding this new functionality to our recipes because I think Springpad is a very nice application. It is quite easy to use and can really help you organize your online life.

Oct 05, 2009 | Categories: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Cookbook Recipe: Urban Italian

Black Bass with Siclian Style Pesto

In addition to our own original recipes, we like to feature recipes from some of our favorite cookbooks on The Italian Chef from time to time. Urban Italian: Simple Recipes and True Stories from a Life in Food by Andrew Carmellini and Gwen Hyman had been sitting on my bookshelf for a while before I finally cracked it open and started leafing through it this summer (it was published in Oct 2008). The book, which chronicles Carmellini’s culinary journey from boyhood to becoming a top chef in New York, is very well written with great, accessible recipes that add a modern touch to classic Italian fare. The recipe we were given permission to reprint is Black Bass with Sicilian Style Pesto. In the photo above, I actually substituted some nice cod, since my local fish market did not have black bass at the time.

Recipe:

Black Bass with Sicilian Style Pesto

Sep 07, 2009 | Categories: Cookbooks | 8 Comments »