THE 50 BEST RESTAURANTS IN THE WORLD

CHECK IT OUT!
The World's 50 Best Restaurants . . .

SOME THINGS I MADE FOR EASTER DINNER

I WAS GOING TO MAKE a huge meal, but didn't. It was a good thing, too!

I made Octopus and I also made a fabulous tart, or rather Torta di Ricotta which I found in Michael White's amazing and gorgeous Italian cookbook, Classico e Moderno. It is truly one of the only times that I really followed the recipe (except one or two ingredients) where it looked almost exactly like the picture in his book. 

But let's start with the octopus, shall we?

GRILLED OCTOPUS WITH FINGERLING POTATOES AND LEMON

I know that some people are squeamish, so look away if you must. What one does is wash the octopus (a nice 2-3 pound octopus would be ideal - the one pictured above was about 1-1/4 pounds), remove the eyes and roast it in red wine, some slices of lemon and some pepper corns in a 225º oven for 4 hours. Make sure the pan is covered during roasting. Check periodically if you need to add more wine or water. This draws all of the liquid out of the octopus as well as giving it a rich flavor. When it's done, remove the center (head) and any dark slimy skin from the tentacles. At this point you can reserve until you're ready to grill or broil or do it immediately. 

Octopus - pre-roasting

Cut up about 6 fingerling potatoes in chunks and dress with a little salt and pepper and olive oil and roast in a 350º oven for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and reserve while you are grilling the octopus. 

Dress the octopus with some olive oil mixed with the juice of one lemon and some oregano and place on the grill. You want a nice scorch but you don't want to burn it. Turn over and grill  the other side. 

Arrange the potatoes on a plate and place the octopus and all the juices on top of that and serve with lemon. It's out of this world. 

Serves 2

The recipe for Torta di Ricotta is a little long (first the crust, then the filling and then the syrup and fruits). I was exhausted. So, rather than exhaust you, I'm just going to display my handiwork! The combination of cheese and syrup with fresh fruit with mint was truly amazing. 

Torta di Ricotta with Port Glaze and Fresh Fruit

Serves 8-12

Buon appetito!

CARCIOFI ALL ROMANA

I'M ON A ROLL HERE! So please indulge me; I haven't been writing in a while and need to do this once and for all or it will never get written.

Carciofi (artichokes) are in season in Italy in the winter but here, we almost always have them in abundance  Large or small, they are always completely satisfying. Trimming the artichoke is key. I use a scissors to cut off the pointed ends of the leaves and then cut the choke so the top is even. Peel off  the outer leaves until you see the white/light green parts of the leaves. If you have stems on the chokes trim the bottom but leave the stems attached. If you're going to use large artichokes, you'll have to take a spoon and scoop out the hairy choke in the center as this is inedible.

Carciofi all Romana

After you've trimmed the artichokes, rub the leaves with    lemon juice. Put into a bowl of cold water and reserve.

2-3 cloves smashed garlic

4 tbs. chopped parsley

4 tbs. chopped mint

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup olive oil

Prepare the herb mixture by mixing the herbs and salt together. Place some of the mixture in the center of each of the artichokes. Reserve any leftover herbs for the pan when cooking.

In a saucepan just large enough to hold all the artichokes standing upside down, heat the oil and the garlic, add the water and bring to the boil. Add the artichokes and any of the remaining herbs and cook covered over medium heat for 35-45 minutes. Check occasionally to see if the artichokes need more liquid. You'll know when the artichoke is done if the leaves come off the stem easily.

Arrange in a small serving dish, stems up, and serve immediately or with antipasto.

Buon appetito!

REFLECTIONS ON A GOLDEN PLATE

Following the golden rule "if you don't love it, don't do it", I've always had fun in the kitchen. Sometimes it may be a great deal of work but it's always enjoyable and extremely satisfying to see people eat your food; it's as if they are eating a part of me. So, the build up to Easter can often be  fraught with great expectation. One fasts, attends church (often) and in addition to that, there are the dietary restrictions to consider (no meat being the rule). That said deciding what to eat and what you can't eat, on which day, must be met with imagination.

I decided to make Tagliatelle al Tónno on Good Friday. Considering it was truly the only meal of the day, it was appropriate that there was a bit of substance. That and a great salad of hearts of romaine lettuce, apples, avocados and blue cheese, it made a great meal to break the fast.

Tagliatelle al Tónno

It is not difficult to make fresh pasta; you just have to know  what you're doing. I've been making pasta in a food processor and a hand cranked pasta machine for years now and it's always worked just fine. However, recently I've found that using a stand mixer with a dough hook is a gentler way of kneading the dough and a far better mode of producing la  Sfolgia. Literally translated, it means "sheet", which when rolled ultra thin becomes transparent, just like a sheet billowing in the wind. You should be able to see your hand through the pasta sheet. There is a well in the center of the  flour in which the egg mixture is added and the dough hook mixes in a circular fashion incorporating all of the flour, little by little, until it results in a large mass (no dry bits of flour  should remain on the bottom or sides of the bowl). The flour and the egg are thus cajoled into binding together whereas the food processor violently shocks the ingredients into submission. Much better for the dough, just like Julia's chicken!

I made my "sfolgia" with "00" flour and I think it was the best noodle I ever produced. It had texture and depth and it wasn't wilted or limp, which often can be the case with fresh pasta. And it stretched to a good 15 inches by the time we were at no. 9 on the roller. Paper thin slices through which I could see my hand.

La Sfolgia

3 cups "00" flour

Pinch of Kosher salt

4 eggs

1 tbs. Olive Oil

Put the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer with the salt. Mix the eggs with the olive oil. Make a small well in the center of the flour pour the egg mixture into that and lower your dough hook into the well. Start out at a slow speed and gradually turn the motor to a higher speed but not too fast. Let this mix for about 2-3 minutes or longer, until everything comes together in one mass. When you have reached the point where all of the dough is collected into one ball, remove from the mixer and cover the bowl with a damp towel and let rest for 30 minutes.

Tagliatelle

While the pasta is resting, you can make the sauce.

Tomato Sauce with Tuna

Olive oil

Optional: a pinch of red pepper flakes

Collectively called Soffrito

  1 medium onion, minced

  1 stalk celery minced

  1 small carrot, minced

1 tsp. finely chopped fresh thyme

16 fresh basil leaves cut into chiffonade

1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme

1/2 lb. fresh tuna in oil

(Please refer to my blog entry of January 12, 2014 for the recipe for Tuna in Oil)

2 28 oz. cans peeled plum tomatoes in juice (preferably San Marzano) placed in a large mixing bowl and broken up with your hands

Fresh flat leaf parsley coarsely chopped

Salt and Pepper

Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed cast iron or stainless steel saucepan until it ripples and is about to smoke (you can add the pepper flakes at this stage if using). Add the onions, celery and carrots and cook them until the onions become translucent. Add the thyme and the tuna and blend into the soffrito. Breaking up the tuna as you stir is okay. Immediately add the tomatoes, bring to a boil and turn down the heat to a simmer. Add half the basil salt and pepper to taste and cover. Simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally. When getting ready to serve, add the rest of the basil and the parsley and mix with the sauce.

For specific instructions on rolling out the dough and making noodles see my entry dated November 2, 2012 ("What I did during Hurricane Sandy Part II").

Fill a large pot with water. I use a stock pot; the more water the better. Put on high heat and cover and bring the water to the boil. When the water boils add about 4 tbs. Kosher salt (and handful is good). Add the pasta and cook for about 4 minutes. Since you will have quite a bit of sauce, it's best to prepare a large serving bowl by putting some of the sauce in the bowl with a ladleful of the pasta cooking water. Mix thoroughly and after draining the pasta in a colander, add the pasta and toss. Serve immediately with more sauce. Sorry: it's fish. No cheese!

Buon Appetito!

ROAST PORK SHOULDER WITH ONIONS AND MUSHROOMS AND RED WINE

I'VE MADE THIS RECIPE a little differently each time but this recipe sticks pretty close to the original (from Southern Cooking by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock) with a few changes here and there to add a little spice.

Roast Pork Shoulder with the Crackling

1 whole shoulder of pork
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
1-1/2 tsp. dried thyme
5 cloves garlic
10-12 bay leaves

2 onions sliced very thin

1 bottle red wine or port
2 tbs. unsalted butter
1 shallot minced
2 cups sliced mushrooms
A couple of grates of nutmeg
1/2 cup heavy cream

Sometimes you do things on the spur of the moment, and even though you don't have all the ingredients, there is enough of "other" ingredients to well make up for the deficiency. In this case, the recipe called for brining the pork which I didn't do. I didn't have the red wine or the port but I had white wine and I had balsamic vinegar so I used that instead. I wasn't thrilled with the outcome of the sauce at the end and as you will see I add a few things to liven up the overall roundness of the flavor, which truly did work here.

Preheat the oven to 325º.

First of all, rinse the pork under cold water and pat dry thoroughly. Do not score the fat; you want to keep it intact. Mix the salt, pepper and the thyme together. Make pockets with a sharp paring knife and insert some of the herb mixture into each pocket and then insert the slivers of garlic and bay leaf. Sprinkle on the rest of the herb mixture on top of the pork. (You can prepare the roast the night before and let it sit in the fridge overnight.)

Place the onions on the bottom of a heavy bottomed roasting pan which will fit the pork snugly. Place the pork on top of the onions. 

I used 2 cups white wine and 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar and poured this on the bottom of the pan. 

Cover the entire roast with parchment paper and cover that with a double or even triple layer of aluminum foil, ensuring that the entire pot is completely covered and sealed.

Place in the oven and cook for 4 1/2-5 hours.

When you're getting close to the 4 1/2 hour mark, melt the butter and add the shallots and the mushrooms and the nutmeg. Cook until golden and all liquid has evaporated. Turn off heat and reserve.

Once the pork is done, remove the pork from the pan and place on a warm platter. Let rest for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, strain the liquid - there will be a lot - from the roasting pan through a fine sieve into a sauce pan and press as much liquid out of the onions as possible.** Place the sauce on a moderately high flame and cook and reduce by at least half. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes. 

Turn the oven up to 425º.

While the sauce is reducing, try to remove the entire layer of fat from the top of the roast in one piece. Place on a roasting pan and place in the 425º oven for about 15 minutes to make crackling. Once the crackling is crisp, remove from the oven and let it cool somewhat before cutting into squares.

To finish the sauce: 

Try to skim as much fat from the stock as possible with a paper towel. Add about 3 tsp. applesauce and make a roux from a little of the sauce and 2 tbs. dried Coleman's mustard. Add this to the sauce and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the cream and cook for another 5 minutes at a low simmer. Do not let the cream boil.

Cut the crackling into squares and arrange on top of the roast. Serve with the sauce on the side with boiled potatoes and carrots or any vegetable of your choosing.

Bon appetit!

** Not one to waste anything in the kitchen, I add the remaining onions to chicken or beef stock for instant onion soup. It's delicious!

FENNEL AND CUCUMBER WITH ROQUEFORT

I LOVE FENNEL and the addition of cucumbers with Roquefort makes a splendid salad for any occasion. If one wanted a truly green green salad, one could even add an avocado with some tarragon to make it akin to Green Goddess. 

Fennel and Cucumbers with Roquefort

The first rule with fennel salad is this: no vinegar; it really doesn't need it. It's very simple: a little olive oil, a little salt and pepper and that's it. The addition of cucumbers and cheese or avocado shouldn't really change the equation.

1 fennel bulb (outer leaves trimmed and peeled)
1 seedless cucumber
3-4 tbs. crumbled Roquefort 

Using a mandolin with the hand guard, slice the fennel very thinly. You can cut the slices in half after you've used the mandolin or if the fennel bulb is very large, cut it in two pieces before slicing. 

Peel the cucumber, and cut into 2 inch sections and divide each section into 4 strips and cut the strips in half (you want chunks or rather large dice).

Add the cucumber to the fennel in a non-reactive stainless steel bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle oil on and toss. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to use.  

Buon appetito!