Eating Italy: A Chef's Culinary Adventure (6 page)

Serve with the bruschetta and jam. Invite guests to pick meat from the head (the cheeks are especially rich and delicious). The tongue can be sliced into serving pieces.

WHOLE ROASTED PORK SHOULDER
with
PICKLED VEGETABLES

In American markets, you see two kinds of pork shoulder—Boston butt (the upper part of the shoulder) and picnic ham (the lower part near the foreleg). At the Mangili butcher shop in Italy, I sold the whole shoulder, including both sections. Together, they weigh about fourteen pounds (6.25 kg). It’s a good-size hunk of meat. If you can’t get a whole shoulder, look for pork butt or picnic ham with the skin on. If you can only get skinless pork butt, you can still make this dish. You won’t get any cracklings, but it’ll be delicious anyway. Set out the whole roasted shoulder and let your guests pick at the meat and vegetables. Perfect for a party. The pickled vegetables add some acid to cut through the fat of the pork and the sweetness of the
vincotto
glaze.
Vincotto
is “cooked wine” that’s reduced until it’s thick, sweet, and syrupy, sort of like balsamic syrup. You can find it at good Italian specialty shops.

MAKES 10 TO 12 SERVINGS

1 bone-in skin-on pork butt or picnic ham (about 8 pounds/3.5 kg)

1 cup (135 g) kosher salt

1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar

¾ teaspoon (1.5 g) ground fennel seeds

¾ teaspoon (1 g) freshly ground black pepper

½ cup (120 ml) vincotto (see recipe headnote)

1 packed cup (225 g) light brown sugar

5 cups (200g) torn romaine lettuce

5 cups (500 g) mixed pickled vegetables for garnish

Rinse the pork, and then pat it dry. Combine the salt, sugar, fennel, and black pepper, and rub the mixture all over the pork in a tub or large resealable plastic bag. Cover or seal, and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 275°F (135°C). Transfer the pork to a large Dutch oven and add 2 cups (475 ml) of water. Cover and braise in the oven until the meat is tender, about 190°F (88°C) internal temperature, 4 to 5 hours, checking periodically and adding water, as necessary, to keep the liquid level about three-quarters of the way up the meat.

Carefully transfer the shoulder from the pan to a rimmed baking sheet and cover with foil. Save the cooking liquid in the pan. The liquid should measure about 1 quart (1 L). Add the vincotto and brown sugar to the liquid, and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil until the liquid reduces in volume by about half and becomes a thin syrup, 20 to 25 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Brush the vincotto syrup all over the pork shoulder. Heat the pork in the oven until warmed through, 20 to 30 minutes. Raise the heat to 500°F (260°C). Cook until the pork is hot and the skin is crisp, 10 to 15 minutes, stopping every 5 minutes to brush the glaze from the bottom of the pan over the pork. You may need to add about 1 cup (235 ml) of water to the pan to keep the syrup from burning as it cooks.

Line a platter with the lettuce and carefully transfer the pork to the platter. Garnish with the pickled vegetables and serve the meat whole drizzled with any remaining glaze. Allow guests to crack the skin and pick off pieces of the meat, dragging them in the glaze and alternating with bites of pickled vegetables.

PAPPARDELLE
with
VEAL RAGÙ
and
PEPPERS

When I got back to Philadelphia after working in Italy for three years, I was buzzing with inspiration. I’d just opened Osteria, and toward the end of that summer in 2007, the menu ideas were coming fast. I was doing some really innovative cooking. But sometimes, I would walk into the garden outside the restaurant and crave the classic combinations, such as sausage and peppers. Our pepper plants were going crazy that summer. We had cherry peppers, cayennes, red and green bell peppers, Marcona peppers, and horns of the bull. I grabbed a mix of sweet and hot peppers off the plants, sautéed them, and mixed them with a ragù made from veal rib. Use whatever mix of sweet and hot peppers you have on hand. The heat level should end up being mildly spicy—just a little kick. And if you buy veal rib, the butcher might have it rolled and tied already. For this recipe, just untie it and open it flat before seasoning it.

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

2½ pounds (1.125 kg) boneless veal rib

2½ tablespoons (21 g) kosher salt

½ teaspoon (1 g) cracked black pepper

All-purpose flour, for dredging

¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil, divided

2 medium-size yellow onions, finely chopped (2½ cups/400 g)

3 large carrots, finely chopped (2¼ cups/275 g)

1 whole head celery, finely chopped (2¼ cups/225 g)

1 sachet of 1 sprig rosemary, 3 sprigs thyme, 1 bay leaf, 5 black peppercorns, 5 parsley stems and 2 garlic cloves (see
page 277
)

1 quart (1 L) dry white wine

2 to 2½ quarts (2 to 2.5 L) Veal Stock (
page 279
)

8 ounces (227 g) Egg Pasta Dough (
page 282
) rolled into 2 sheets about
inch (1.5mm) thick

2 long hot or cherry peppers, seeded and cut into narrow strips

2 red or green bell peppers, seeded and cut into narrow strips

4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter

1 ounce (28 g) Parmesan cheese, grated (⅓ cup)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Rub the veal with the kosher salt and cracked black pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to lightly cure the veal. Then rinse it off and pat dry.

Cut the veal into two or three manageable-size pieces and dredge them in flour. Heat 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of the oil in a Dutch oven over high heat. When hot, add the veal and sear until golden brown on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes per side (sear in batches, if necessary, to prevent overcrowding the pan). Transfer the veal to a plate.

Add the onions, carrots, and celery to the pan and lower the heat to medium. Add the sachet, and cook until the vegetables are golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes, stirring now and then. You want a little caramelization on the vegetables, but not too dark. Add the wine, raise the heat to high, and boil until the liquid reduces in volume by about half, 15 minutes or so.

Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).

Add 1½ quarts (1.5 L) of the veal stock to the pan. When it comes up to a simmer, add the seared veal, which should only be covered by liquid about halfway. Adjust the amount of veal stock as necessary.

Cover the pan and braise in the oven until the veal is tender but not easily falling apart, 2 to 3 hours. Chop the veal into bite-size pieces and then return it to the sauce. Discard the sachet.

Meanwhile, roll the pasta dough out into 2 sheets, each about
inch (1.5 mm) thick. Lay the pasta sheets on a lightly floured work surface and trim the edges square. Cut crosswise into strips a little less than 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide, preferably with a fluted cutter.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of oil in a large, deep sauté pan over medium heat. Add the peppers, and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Add the veal ragù, and cook until slightly thickened, 5 minutes or so.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook until tender yet still firm, about a minute. Drain and add the pasta to the sauté pan, along with the butter and Parmesan. Cook, stirring gently, until the sauce is creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Taste, then season with salt and pepper and serve hot.

GRILLED LAMB RACK
with
FAVETTA
and
ROASTED PEARL ONIONS

A couple of years after I returned to the United States, my wife, Claudia, asked me to bring home some fava beans for dinner. It was springtime and she made a rustic fava bean puree with grilled lamb rack. It was exactly like the one her Uncle Bruno made for us years before when we started dating in Italy. I like to cut the lamb rack from the whole saddle, French it, and then tie it myself. But most U.S. butchers sell Frenched lamb racks already tied. When you cross-cut the rack into portions, each piece should have a nice long rib bone that you can use as a handle to hold the meat while dragging it into the fava puree. That’s how Uncle Bruno eats it.

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

Favetta:

4 pounds (1.75 kg) young fava beans in the pods

½ cup (120 ml) olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Roasted Pearl Onions:

12 ounces (56 g) red pearl onions, peeled

3 cups (750 ml) plus 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil, divided

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup (235 ml) red wine vinegar

30 mint leaves, cut into chiffonade

Lamb Racks:

2 Frenched lamb racks, about 4 pounds (1.75 kg) total, trimmed and tied

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil, as needed

For the
favetta
:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and fill a large bowl with ice water. Add the whole fava pods to the boiling water and blanch for 1 minute. Transfer to the ice water to stop the cooking. When cool, pluck the favas from the pods, then pinch open the pale green skin and pop out the bright green fava beans. You should have about 4 cups (750 g).

Place the fava beans in a food processor, turn it on, and slowly add just enough olive oil until the beans catch and the mixture forms a rustic, slightly chunky puree. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

For the roasted pearl onions:
Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C). Toss the onions with 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread the onions in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until tender and golden in color, 10 to 12 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice. Let cool slightly, then slice any large onions in half lengthwise. The onions can be roasted up to 2 days ahead.