Eating Italy: A Chef's Culinary Adventure (13 page)

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Parmesan Crisps:

3½ ounces (100 g) Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cup)

Salad:

4 large apricots

¼ cup (60 ml) grapeseed oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup (235 ml) olive oil, divided

4 garlic cloves, smashed

20 sprigs fresh thyme

3 ounces (85 g) chanterelle mushrooms (1 cup)

3 tablespoons (45 ml) sherry vinegar

6 ounces (170 g) mixed salad greens

For the Parmesan crisps:
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. For each crisp, spoon a heaping tablespoon of grated Parmesan into a mound on the prepared baking sheet, leaving 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) between each mound. Spread each mound to a 3-or 4-inch (7.5- to 10-cm) diameter. Bake until the cheese melts, loses its moisture, and browns slightly, about 6 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

For the salad:
Heat a grill to medium-high.

Halve and pit the apricots. Toss the apricots in a bowl with the grapeseed oil to coat all over. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Coat the grill grate with oil, then lay the apricots skin-side down on the grate, grilling just until marked with grill stripes but not mushy, only a minute or two per side. Return the apricots to the bowl.

Heat ¼ cup (60 ml) of the olive oil over medium-low heat in a sauté pan. Add the garlic, thyme, and mushrooms. Cook slowly until the mushrooms soften a bit but aren’t limp, 5 to 7 minutes. You don’t want any browning on the mushrooms. Pluck the mushrooms from the pan with tongs and add to the bowl with the apricots.

Pour the sherry vinegar into a medium bowl and whisk in the remaining ¾ cup (175 ml) of olive oil in a slow, steady stream. Add the greens and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

To plate, divide the dressed greens among plates and spoon the mushrooms and apricots over the top. Serve two to three Parmesan crisps per salad.

RABBIT ALLA CASALINGA

I first tasted this dish in Fiobbio when Claudia’s family was celebrating the baptism of her niece, Francesca. It’s an old family dish from her great-grandmother Virginia Zanga, who lived in nearby Villa di Serio. Everyone on her side of the family was a farmer. They raised rabbits on hay and grass. They made their own butter, cured their own pancetta, and got their corn milled for polenta by the miller in town. They used what they had to make dinner. The amazing thing here is the technique: The rabbit is cut into pieces, browned in a pan, and deglazed with white wine, and then with plain water for about forty-five minutes, which creates a dark mahogany brown glaze on the rabbit and an intense-tasting sauce. The meat and sauce are served simply over polenta.

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

1 whole rabbit (5 to 7 pounds/2.25 to 3 kg), dressed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

8 ounces (2 sticks/227 g) unsalted butter

¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil

8 ounces (227 g) pancetta, diced

4 rosemary sprigs

10 sage sprigs

1 cup (235 ml) dry white wine

9 cups (2.25 L) Polenta (
page 281
)

Using a cleaver, cut up the rabbit: Remove and discard the innards and excess fat deposits. Put the rabbit on its back and remove the hind legs and forelegs by driving your cleaver right through the primary joints. Keep the forelegs whole. Cut the hind legs into two pieces each by driving your cleaver through the knee joints. Cut through the breastbone, then keep your knife against bone and cut down around the rib bones, separating the flesh from the bones. Be sure to keep the thin flap of meat attached to the loin that runs up against the ribs. Remove and discard the ribs by cutting through the ribs at the backbone. Cut the rabbit crosswise through the backbone into six pieces. You should have a total of twelve pieces. Season the pieces all over with salt and pepper.

If you have one wide braising pan big enough to hold all the rabbit pieces in a single layer, use that. Otherwise, divide the butter and oil between two braising pans and place over medium heat. When hot, divide the pancetta, rosemary, and sage sprigs between the pans, and cook until the pancetta is browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Divide the rabbit pieces between the pans, laying them in a single layer, and brown them on all sides, 15 to 20 minutes, turning as needed. Divide the wine between the pans, scraping the pan bottoms to loosen the browned-on bits, and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the wine evaporates. Add just enough water to each pan to come one-quarter of the way up the meat, and simmer until the water evaporates and the rabbit continues to brown, turning the meat once or twice. As the water evaporates, you’ll see the bubbles in the pan go from large to small. When the bubbles are small and fizzy, you’ll start to see smoke (from the fat) rather than steam (from the water) rising from the pan. That’s the right time to add more water. Again, add just enough water to come one-quarter of the way up the meat, and simmer until the water nearly evaporates, turning the meat now and then. Repeat the process of adding water, evaporating it, and turning the rabbit until the meat is tender and dark mahogany brown, 45 to 55 minutes total. This process of continual deglazing helps to create a nice dark crust on the rabbit and a richer sauce. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.

Spoon the polenta onto warmed plates. Divide the rabbit pieces among the plates, placing them on top of the polenta. Spoon the sauce over the top.

WILD BOAR BRAISED
with
MORETTI BEER

In Bergamo, hunters get one of three licenses: a bird license, small-game license, or a big-game license. Claudia’s father, Mario, loved to hunt birds like grouse, pheasant, partridge, and pigeon. But her brother, Alex, prefers big game, such as
capriolo
(roe deer) and wild boar. Pina usually braises game meat in red wine to stand up to the strong flavor, but one day she wanted to make the boar taste lighter, so she used beer. Moretti beer is what they had in the house. Any lager-style beer works well with the milder-tasting boar you find in America.

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

5 pounds (2.25 kg) wild boar shoulder

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil

About 1 cup (125 g) tipo 00 flour (see
page 277
) or all-purpose flour, for dredging

4 medium-size carrots, chopped (2 cups/145 g)

1 large yellow onion, chopped (2 cups/320 g)

4 medium-size ribs celery, chopped (2 cups/202 g)

1 cup (240 g) canned plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, cored and crushed by hand

1 bottle (12 ounces) Moretti or other lager-style beer

1 sachet of 1 bay leaf, 1 garlic clove, 1 sprig rosemary, 5 juniper berries, 5 whole cloves, and 5 peppercorns (see
page 277
)

9 cups (2.25 L) Polenta (
page 281
)

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Season the boar all over with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat the boar with flour, shaking off any excess.

Add the boar to the hot pan and sear until well browned on all sides, 10 to 15 minutes total. Transfer to a plate.

Add the carrots, onion, and celery to the pan, and cook until lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the boar back to the pan, along with the beer, the sachet, and enough water to come three-quarters of the way up the meat. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover, and braise in the oven until the meat is fall-apart tender, 3 to 4 hours. Let the boar cool in the liquid until the boar is cool enough to handle.

Transfer the boar to a bowl. Strain the braising liquid, reserving the liquid and vegetables separately. Puree the vegetables in a food mill or blender using short pulses to create a rustic puree. Combine the reserved liquid, pureed vegetables, and boar back in the pan and simmer over medium heat until the liquid reduces in volume and thickens to the texture of gravy, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and then cut or shred the meat into four to six portions. Divide the polenta among plates and top with the boar and gravy.

SCARPINOCC

In Val Seriana, near the Serio River, the tiny town of Parre sits beneath the western slope of Monte Bò, where Claudia grew up. Parre is famous for its scarpinocc (scar-pee-NOACH), a poor man’s ravioli filled with leftover bread and cheese, made during wartime. The bread is soaked in water, milk, or broth and mixed with Grana Padano or Parmesan cheese. Then the ravioli are shaped like little pointed shoes and served simply with butter and sage (
scarpinocc
means “rustic shoes”).When Parre holds its annual
sagra
(food festival) in August, the rich aromas of melted butter and fresh sage fill the entire town.

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

Filling and Pasta:

1¾ ounces (50 g) Grana Padano or Parmesan cheese, grated (½ cup)

3 ounces (85 g) white bread, crust removed, cubed (about 4 slices sandwich bread)

1 small garlic clove, minced

¼ cup (15 g) chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 teaspoons (9 g) unsalted butter, well softened

1 large egg

1 cup (235 ml) whole milk

¼ teaspoon (0.5 g) ground coriander

⅛ teaspoon (0.25 g) ground cloves

⅛ teaspoon (0.25 g) freshly grated nutmeg

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

8 ounces (227 g) Egg Pasta Dough (
page 282
), rolled into 2 sheets, each about
inch (0.8 mm) thick

Sauce:

½ cup (120 ml) Walnut Pesto (
page 284
)

4 teaspoons (20 ml) olive oil

1 ounce (28 g) Parmesan cheese, grated (¼ cup) for garnish

¼ cup (29 g) chopped toasted walnuts for garnish

For the filling and pasta:
Combine the Parmesan, bread, garlic, parsley, butter, egg, milk, coriander, cloves, and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper, then mix with a wooden spoon. Let stand for 15 minutes so the bread can absorb the liquid.

Lay a pasta sheet on a lightly floured work surface. Spoon ½- to ¾-inch (1.25-to 2-cm)-diameter balls of filling at 1½-inch (3.75-cm) intervals down the center of the sheet. Spray lightly with water, then pick up the long edge and fold it over the filling to meet the long edge on the other side. Gently press down the dough around each ball of filling to seal. Using a 3-inch (7.5-cm) round cutter, cut out a series of half-moons and discard the scraps of pasta. Turn each half-moon so the filling rests on top of the curved edge of the pasta (see the illustration). Slightly pinch the pasta on either side of the filling to make “wings.” Use your finger to flatten the filling slightly so the half-moon will stand up easily. The finished pasta should resemble a rustic shoe with the “wings” as the toe and heel of the shoe. Repeat with the remaining pasta dough and filling. Transfer the scarpinocc to a baking sheet lined with floured waxed paper, cover, and freeze for at least 1 hour. When frozen, transfer to a resealable plastic bag, seal, and freeze for up to 2 weeks.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in the pasta, in batches, if necessary, to prevent overcrowding; quickly return the water to a boil, and cook until barely tender, 4 to 5 minutes.

For the sauce:
Put the pesto and olive oil into a sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add a ladle of pasta water and simmer until the sauce is loose and creamy.

Drain the pasta and add it to the pan, gently swirling until the pasta is coated with sauce. Divide among plates and garnish with the Parmesan and chopped walnuts. Serve immediately.