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POLLO ALLA CACCIATAORA
(Hunter's Wife's Chicken)
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Americans may know this dish as chicken alia cacciatore (hunter's style), but in its native Italy, it's named in honor of the hunter's wife, the cacciatora—who, in parts of northern Italy, traditionally cooked it on the eve of the hunt as fuel for the chase.
INGREDIENTS
1/ 4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 3 -Ib. chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1 cup dry white wine
I 28-oz. can peeled whole
Italian plum tomatoes, chopped, juice reserved
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 cup minced fresh Italian parsley leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
I cup rich chicken stock
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DIRECTIONS:
I. Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add
onions and cook, stirrin g occasionally, until salt, about
10 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring often, for about
2 minutes. Push onions to sides of pan, then add chicken
and fry, turning pieces several times to brown evenly,
about 4 minutes per side.
2. Add wine to pan and cook until it has evaporated,
about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juice, bay leaf,
rosemary, and all but 1 tbsp. of the parsley and season to
taste with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, partially
cover pan, and simmer for 45 minutes, gradually adding
stock to pan as tomato juice evaporates. Remove bay leaf
and serve garnished with reserved parsley and with
steamed potatoes or white rice, if you like. |
SUGGESTED WINES:
Chianti Classico; Sagrantino
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CROSTINI
(Italian Canapes)
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(serves six)
INGREDIENTS
18—20 thin slices of country
white bread, crusts trimmed (if
you like), toasted
FOR THE LIVER PATE:
Vs cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, peeled and minced
1 lb. chicken livers, cleaned
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
I tbsp. capers, rinsed
1 tsp. anchovy paste
2 tbsp. butter
I tsp. tomato paste
FOR THE PORCINI PATE:
4 oz. dried porcini
¥4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 thsp. chapped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Salt
FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE:
2 cups tomato sauce |
DIRECTIONS
1. For the liver pate: Heat oil in a large skillet over
medium-high heat, then saute onions until soft, about 7—8
minutes. Add chicken livers, season to taste with salt and
pepper, and saute until livers brown, about 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in capers and anchovy paste.
Blend to a coarse paste in a blender or food processor. Melt
butter in the same skillet over medium heat, stir in liver
paste and tomato paste, and warm briefly, mixing ingre-
dients well. Allow to cool before spreading on toasts.
2. For the porcini pate: Soak porcini in a small bowl of
hot water until soft, about 30 minutes, then drain. Heat
oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add porcini,
garlic, and parsley, and saute for 5—6 minutes. Season to
taste with salt, then blend to a coarse paste in a blender
or food processor. Allow to cool before spreading on toasts.
3. For the tomato sauce: Drain excess liquid from tomato
sauce. Allow to cool before spreading on toasts. |
Suggested wines: Pinot Grigm; Pinot Bianco
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PASTA VERDE
(Spinach Pasta)
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(makes four - 6" x 22" sheets)
This recipe comes from sisters and cook
ing teachers Valeria and Margherita Simili
of Bologna, Italy. These pasta sheets can be
used to make lasagne or cut into
squares or strips or ravioli and linguine.
INGREDIENTS:
2 bunches spinach, washed
and trimmed
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten |
DIRECTIONS:
1. Put 14 cup of water into a large pot and bring to a boil
over medium-high heat. Add spinach and cook until com-
pletely wilt ed, about 3 minutes. Drain in a colander and,
when cool enough to handle, squeeze out water. Finely
chop spinach and set aside.
2 . Sift flour into a mound on a clean surface. Use your hand
to make a well in the center. Add spinach to well, then add
eggs and lightly beat together with a fork. Continue beating,
gradually incorporating flour from the inside edge of the well
into spinach mixture. When dough becomes too stiff to work
with the fork, knead flour into spinach mixture wirh both
hands until dough is no longer tacky. Form dough into a ball
and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Clean work surface,
then dust with more flour. Uncover dough and knead with
the heel of your hand until smooth, about 5 minutes. Cut
dough into 4 pieces and cover with a damp kitchen towel.
3. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, flatten dough
so that it will fit through the rollers of a hand-cranked pasta
machine. Set rollers on widest setting, then feed pasta
through rollers 3 or 4 times, folding and turning pasta until
it is smooth and the same width as the machine. Decrease
setting by 1 notch and feed narrow end of the pasta through
rollers. Repeat, decreasing setting by 1 notch each time
until you get to last notch. (Don't roll pasta through last set-
ting, or it will be too thin.) Cover pasta sheets with damp
kitchen towels to keep from drying out until ready to use. |
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RAGU ALLA BOLOGNESE
(Bolognese Meat Sauce)
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(makes about 5 cups)
The Simili sisters of Bologna, Italy's—birth-
place of this def initive dish—gave us this recipe
too. Ragu is more than just a simple meat
sauce; it includes prosciutto, chopped chicken
livers, and the mellow ing surprise of milk. Use
it for lasagne (below) or with any pasta
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, peeled and minced
1 rib celery, minced
1/2 medium carrot, peeled,trimmed, and minced
2-3 slices prosciutto de Parma(a bout 1 oz.), finely chopped
2 chicken livers, cleaned and finely chopped
I-1/2 Ibs. ground chuck
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup hot milk
1 cup beef, veal, or chicken stock
1 28-oz . can Italian plum tomato puree |
DIRECTIONS:
I . Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium
heat. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently with a
wooden spoon, until soft and translucent but not browned,
about 3 minutes- Add celery and carrots and cook, stir-
ring frequ ently, for 3 minutes more. Add prosciutto and
chicken livers and cook, stirring, until livers are just
cooked and still a little pink , about 1 minute. Add ground
chuck, season to taste with salt and pepper, and cook,
breaking up meat with the hack of the spoon, until just
cooked and still a little pink, about 5 minutes more. (To
keep meat tender, do not fry or brown.)
2 . Add wine to pot and cook, stirring, until it has evap-
orated, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low,
add hot milk, and cook, stirring occasionally, until milk
has evaporated, about 10 minutes.
3 . Meanwhile, heat stock and tomato puree together in
a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until hot,
then add to meat mixture in pot. Reduce heat to low and
gently simmer sauce, stirring occasionally, for 2- 1/2 hours.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
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LASAGNE VERDI AL FORNO
(Baked Spinach Lasagne)
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(Serves 8-12)
The best-known baked Italian pasta is undoubtedly lasagne, and each region of the country has its own version. In Bologna, lasagne. is made with spinach pasta and a meat- based ragu; in Liguria , with plain pasta and pesto; in Naples, with mozzarella and tomato sauce.
INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp. butter
salt
4 6" x 22" sheets
spinach pasta
3 cups bolognese meat sauce (above)
1 cup freshly grated
parmigiano-reggiano
2 cups bechamel sauce
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DIRECTIONS:
1. Move oven rack to top third of oven, then preheat oven to 450°.
Grease a 9" x 12" baking dish with butter and set aside. Bring a
large pot of water to a boil over high hear and add 2 generous
pinches of salt. Cook 1 sheet of pasta at a time until it floats to
the surface, about 10 seconds. Carefully remove with a slotted
spoon and plunge into a large bowl of salted ice water to stop fur-
ther cooking. Remove from water when cool. Lay sheets out, being
careful not to let them touch, on clean, damp kitchen towels and
cover with more damp towels.
2. Line bottom of prepared baking dish with a layer of pasta,
trimming sheets with a knife so that they fit in 1 even layer
(patch if necessary). Spread evenly wirh about 1 cup of the meat
sauce, then sprinkle lighrly with some of the parmigiano. Add
another layer of pasta, evenly spread 1 cup of the bechamel sauce
on pasta, then sprinkle lightly with parmigiano. Repeat layers
(you will have 3 layers of meat sauce and 2 of bechamel), end-
ing with meat sauce and parmigiano.
3. Bake lasagne for 10 minutes. Increase oven temperature to
500° and cook until lasagne is bubbling around the edges and
browned on top, 5—7 minutes more. Do not overcook. Allow
lasagne to rest for 8—10 minutes before serving.
Suggested wines; Dolcetto or Nebbiolo d'Alia
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CIME DI RAPA AFFOGATE ALLA PUGLIESE
(Pugliese-Style Broccoli Rabe)
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(Serves 4-6)
The word affogate means drowned, here in wine. This dish may also be made with ferring to the process of cooking broccoli rube, spinach, chicory, or any other sturdy greens.
INGREDIENTS:
Vs cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 hunches broccoli rube, ends trimmed
Salt
1 clove garlic, peeled
2 bay leaves
1/3 cup dry white wine
Freshly ground black pepper
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DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat 2 tbsp. of the oil in a large saute pan over medium
heat. Rinse broccoli rube under cold running water and
add to pan. Season to taste with salt, cover, and cook for
10 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep broccoli from
sticking to pan.
2. Drain most of the accumulated liquid from the pan,
then add garlic, bay leaves, wine, and remaining oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-
low and continue to cook until the liquid has evaporated
and broccoli rube is tender, about 20 minutes more. Remove
and discard bay leaves before serving. |
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TIRAMISU
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(Serves 4)
Invented at El Toula in Treviso—a hotel noted for its good cooking— this dessert,
whose name translates as "pick me up" (perhaps for its caffeine
content), now seems to
appear on every restaurant menu in America.
This simple, classic version of tiramisu comes
from Alle Tesriere in Venice.
INGREDIENTS:
2 eggs, separated
V2 cup sugar
^2 cup mascarpone
1 cup strong,freshly brewed black coffee (not espresso), at room temperature
12 Italian savoiardi cookies
or lady fingers
Unsweetened cocoa powder |
DIRECTIONS:
1. Beat egg yolks with a whisk in a medium bowl. Grad-
ually add sugar and continue to whisk until mixture is
thick, smooth, and pale yellow. Gently fold mascarpone
into mixture with a rubber spatula, then set aside.
2. Put egg whites into a clean, dry mixing bowl and beat
with a whisk until they form stiff but not dry peaks. Fold
egg whites into mascarpone mixture and set aside.
3. Pour coffee into a wide shallow bowl. Dip 4 of the
cookies into the coffee just long enough to moisten them
without mak ing them soggy, then arrange them side by
side in a single layer on a serving platter. Spread one-third
of the mascarpone mixture over the biscuirs, then dust
with a little cocoa powder. Make 2 more layers, dipping
the cookies in coffee and layering them with mascarpone
and cocoa. Refrigerate until well chilled. |
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