Authors: Gabriele Corcos
Extra Virgin (6 page)
ALBICOCCHE GRIGLIATE CON RICOTTA DI CAPRA
SERVES 12
D:
Our property in Fiesole, Italy, is filled with wild apricot trees, but there are also trees Gabriele planted with his father when he was four or five years old. It’s so rewarding to go there every summer and see the trees producing buckets and buckets of glorious fruit. We even love seeing the dazzling emerald green beetles that fly around when the apricots ripen. This hot-season antipasto isn’t as dessert-y as you’d think though, especially if you have the kind of tart apricots we grow. After quickly searing the apricots on a grill and pairing them with goat cheese ricotta, you get a soft, beautiful meeting of tangy and luscious that excites the palate.
12 apricots (firm-ripe), halved and pitted
4 ounces fresh goat cheese ricotta
Freshly ground black pepper
Sprigs of fresh rosemary or mint, for garnish (optional)
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling (optional)
Sea salt (optional)
Preheat a grill to high heat or prepare a charcoal grill until the coals are bright red.
Lay the apricot halves cut-side down on the grill. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes, until the halves have solid grill marks and can still be removed easily without sticking. (If you try to remove them and they stick, let them be—they will release in time.)
Transfer the apricot halves to a platter, cut-side up. Top with spoonfuls of the ricotta, season with pepper, and garnish with rosemary or mint sprigs, if desired. You can also drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt before serving.
IMPORTANTE!
This dish is best made with less ripe apricots, because a too-ripe apricot will fall apart during grilling.
GRILLED ASPARAGUS
wrapped with lardo
INVOLTINI GRIGLIATI DI ASPARAGI E LARDO
SERVES 6
G:
I love wrapping vegetables in cold cuts—involtini are roll-ups in Italian cuisine—but you can’t grill items like prosciutto or speck, because it turns the meat into something that resembles a big salty cracker. Lardo is different, because lardo can melt. Now before you start thinking, “Lard? Isn’t that fat?” Yes, but lard is liquid fat and lardo is cured fatback, infused with herbs like rosemary, so it has texture, taste, and silkiness. You should be able to find lardo at your higher end, more gourmet-inclined grocery stores. The reason I like it with asparagus on the grill is because the cold, thin-sliced lardo crisps in the same time as it takes to grill the vegetable. You’re left with a nicely seasoned, thin, crisp, buttery creamy wrap around a crunchy salted spear.
1 bunch medium asparagus (about 24 spears), woody bottom ends removed
24 thin slices lardo (get extras as they tear easily)
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat a grill to medium-high heat.
Carefully wrap 2 asparagus with 1 or 2 pieces of lardo, overlapping as you go. (If your lardo is cut paper-thin, then 2 will be easier to work with; if thick, 1 slice should be sufficient.)
Lay the asparagus diagonally across the grill to keep it from falling through the grates, or use a grill basket if you have one. Grill, turning occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the asparagus is just tender and charred and the lardo has rendered and started to become crispy. Remove from the grill and set aside. Drizzle with the olive oil before serving. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
IMPORTANTE!
It may look like the lardo is melting off of the asparagus as you cook it … be patient! It will eventually crisp up and stay put. You may want to make extras because these will go fast!
FRITTATA
with zucchini
FRITTATA DI ZUCCHINI E FIORI DI ZUCCA
SERVES 6–8
D:
As much as the
fried version of zucchini blossoms
meant to our courtship in Italy, the use of these delicate, delicious flowers in a frittata binds us as a family when we’re at the farm in Fiesole. In the United States, a spinach frittata might be our Sunday breakfast, but in Italy in summertime we make use of the zucchini petals. In the morning, the flower of the zucchini is open, which makes it easier to pop out the stamen—the part you don’t eat—and helps preserve the natural beauty of the petals you’ll be using. If there’s one thing we love about this dish, it’s the architectural splendor of it, the kind of elegant, ceremonious tidbit that livens up a brunch, especially with a glass of Prosecco.
6 large eggs
2 tablespoons whole milk
¼ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 medium or 2 small zucchini, medium diced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 or 3 zucchini flowers (optional), stamen removed, torn in half (see
Fried Squash Blossoms
, for stamen removal process)
In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and milk. Add the Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste. Stir until combined.
In an 8- to 10-inch skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and zucchini and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until just beginning to soften. When the zucchini has softened and achieved a golden color, remove from the heat and add to the eggs. Stir until combined.
Using the same pan, add the butter and swirl until melted. Add the egg and zucchini mixture and top with the torn zucchini flowers (if using). Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 8 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown and the center has set and is puffed slightly. Serve immediately.
SEARED SCALLOPS OVER ENGLISH PEA PURÉE
CAPESANTE SCOTTATE CON PUREE DI PISELLI
SERVES 4
D:
We find sea scallops to be awfully rich as an entree, but they make a great starter, a crisp, buttery beginning to a light fish entree. The English pea purée provides a nice smooth contrast to the creamy, pulpy goodness of the scallop. You should be able to find English peas year-round, but if you want a seasonal touch, go for a fava bean purée if it’s spring or summer.
1 cup English peas (fresh or frozen)
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
1 medium Yukon Gold potato
½ yellow onion, roughly chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon finely sliced fresh mint
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
12 sea scallops
1 handful fresh chives, for garnish
In a medium pot, bring 6 cups water to a boil. Add the peas and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until tender. Keeping the water at a boil, remove the peas, drain them, and rinse under running water. Set aside.
To the boiling water, add the carrot, celery, potato, and onion. Reduce to a low boil and cook for about 30 minutes to flavor the broth. Remove the potato, peel it under running water, and cut it into chunks. Discard the carrot, celery, and onion.
In a blender, combine the peas, potato, and a couple of ladles of the broth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Blend to a purée.
In a small bowl, mix together the lemon zest and mint. Set aside.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil and butter over medium-high heat. Add the scallops and cook for 3 minutes, without moving them around too much, then flip them and cook for another 3 minutes, or until caramelized on the edges.
Place about 2 tablespoons of pea purée in the center of each of 4 serving plates. Then gently place 3 scallops on top. Sprinkle with the lemon-mint mixture and garnish the plate with a few chives.
IMPORTANTE!
Pea purée should be served warm or at room temperature, never cold.
FRIED SQUASH BLOSSOMS
FIORI DI ZUCCA FRITTI
SERVES 4–6
D:
Gabriele made this for me on our first date. I’d always loved zucchini, but wasn’t aware that they produced these wonderful flowers that were delicate and strange-looking, like a burst of fire on the end of a torch. I cherished the idea of him taking these beautiful blossoms—straight from his garden—stuffing them with cheese, lightly frying them, and feeding them to me as if I were a bee being nourished by this tuft of nature.
G:
If you’re looking to fall in love in summer, there are few things more poetic than this dish.
D:
And nothing hotter than a man making them for you!
16 zucchini flowers
1 cup ricotta cheese (fresh is best)
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 handful fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (12-ounce) bottle lager beer
Vegetable oil, for frying
Use your fingers to carefully dig a hole on the side of each zucchini flower, opening it enough with your pointer finger to dig out the stamen that is inside. Gently rinse the flowers under a sprinkle of cold water, taking care to not damage the thin petals, then spread them out on a kitchen towel and gently pat dry.
In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta and lemon zest. Fill a piping bag with the mixture. Carefully pipe 2 to 3 teaspoons of the ricotta mixture into each flower. Twist the petals to close tightly so the cheese won’t escape during frying.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, parsley, a couple of generous pinches of salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Slowly start pouring the beer into the mixture, using a whisk or a fork to mix the batter, and work it enough to eliminate any lumps.
In a heavy skillet, pour in enough oil to come up a half inch, but no more than halfway up the sides. Heat the oil over high heat until a deep-fry thermometer reads 350ºF.
