Less water, better pasta?

Another interesting article in the NYT by the man whose job I almost envy above all others, food scientist/guru Harold McGee. He is proposing, to the tsk-tsking of Italian grandmothers everywhere, that maybe we all could cut back on the amount of water we use to boil pasta. His experiments seem to point out that using as little as 1-1/2 quarts of water does just as good a job as the usual 4-6 quarts we all usually use. Now when he actually presented his findings to über-Italian cooking grandmothers Lidia Bastianich and Marcella Hazan they reacted with lukewarm enthusiasm. Still very interesting info contained herein, with the point that not only do you get good results, but the energy savings are not insignificant. A rather delicious way to burnish your "going green" cred.

Cellar report: 1990 Produttori del Barbaresco "Rabaja" Barbaresco

"Just because one is out in the wild doesn't mean one has to act wild."

Truer words were never spoken, especially since I was the one who spoke them. Which is why when I find myself on a camping trip, there are certain amenities I feel must come along. For our last car camping trip, two of those necessities were the makings for Campground Carbonara and a bottle of 1990 Produttori del Barbaresco "Rabaja" Barbaresco. Oh, and a couple of Stolzle burgundy wine glasses to make sure the wine had every chance to show its stuff!

I knew the carbonara would be stellar, as I was using Marcella's perfect recipe and had everything pre-prepped and in the cooler (btw- if you've never eaten spaghetti with a "spork", you're in for a treat!). The '90 Barbaresco was another matter. 1990 was a stellar year in Italy's Piedmont, the nebbiolo grapes achieving near perfect ripeness levels. But still, I hadn't had a bottle of '90 for years and years, so was hoping for the best. As it turned out, I shouldn't have worried. This was an absolutely awesome bottle of vino rosso. Pouring it into the glasses I could already get whiffs of ripe blackberries, and when I really got my nose into it that scent and more...earth, spice, smoke, tar...all came rushing out. With the first sip I knew we were in for a treat. This had that perfectly aged taste, but didn't taste old at all. Hard to describe, but you know it when you taste it. All the sensations from the nose came through, but with even more intensity. This was so complete, the beginning, middle, and long, long finish meshing perfectly. The tannins weren't tired at all, and the acidity was still fresh and vibrant. And it all just got better and better as the wine sat open. Barbaresco at its absolute peak, what all wines wish they could grow up to be! If you ever have a chance to try a well-stored 15 or 20 year old bottle of Barbaresco or Barolo, promise me you won't say no. After about two hours we finished it while sitting around our campfire, listening to the river rush by. Roughing it, indeed!

Things I Love: pt. 2

Okay, I'm not really chowing down on raw rounds of pancetta....but I want to! But when I chop 'em up, cook 'em until they render a little porky juice (I used to drizzle a little bacon "juice" on my old basset hound's kibbles. Sounds so much healthier that bacon fat, don't you think?) and get that crispy edge, they provide untold pleasure. I could eat Marcella's glorious spaghetti alla carbonara perhaps every week if w would put up with it. Scrambled into eggs....the perfect way to start my day. Sprinkled like meaty, smoky croutons on top of a salad....heaven.

I recently picked up a new pancetta supply from local food wholesaler Provvista Foods here in PDX. A beautiful five pound round of the best pancetta I have yet tasted, Venetian Brand, made appropriately enough in Toronto, Canada (?!). It has an exquisite balance of smoky, salty, and baconey flavors and a perfect meat/fat ratio that only skilled Italian...um, I mean Canadian, charcuterie masters can attain. I slice it into five or six ounce portions, wrap them up and freeze them then pull it out as needed.

I am always looking for new ways to bring porky deliciousness into my world, and last night when I needed a quick, easy pasta I consulted epicurious while I was at "work", and came up with this gem. It had to be fast, because I was simultaneously cooking tonight's dinner of braised lamb shanks (more on that soon!). Two dinners cooking at the same time in one night....that is my kind of multi-tasking! In any event, this is one to try because it is fresh, light yet substantial, and gives you a nice hit of tomato and basil goodness, one of the world's greatest food combinations. A perfect family meal, or a nice pasta course at your next dinner soirée.
*** *** ***










Penne with Pancetta & Tomato-Cream Sauce
from epicurious

Using the fresh-tasting canned diced tomatoes eliminates the chopping step.
Makes 4 servings.

ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped pancetta or bacon (3 ounces)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 141/2-ounce cans petite diced tomatoes in juice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup torn basil leaves, divided
1 pound penne

method:
Cook pancetta in large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 10-12 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to paper towels to drain. Add olive oil and garlic to pancetta drippings and sauté 30 seconds. Add tomatoes with juices, wine, and cream. Bring sauce to boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer until sauce is slightly reduced, about 10 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup basil. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain pasta and divide among 4 plates. Spoon sauce over pasta. Sprinkle pasta with pancetta and remaining 1/4 cup basil and serve.

Super Bowl Bolognese

What says love more to your crew than a pot of something simmery that has been on the stovetop for over four hours? NOTHING, that's what! And what is more deliciously simmery that a big 'ol pot of Bolognese sauce? That's right, class, nothing again! So yesterday for some post Super Bowl dinner fun, I rocked an awesome batch of Bolognese sauce all day on the stove. For this version, made twice now with resounding success, I've combined the best of two recipes, making it about 80% Dean and Deluca Cookbook, and 20% Marcella's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. With the predictable 100% satisfaction factor! And man, does the house smell good with this bit of loveliness going all day, plus there's plenty of leftover sauce even after taking care of five hungry appetites. You can freeze it in smaller containers, or if you're Bolognese whore like me, eat it again in a couple of days because it's too fucking good to stay away from!!
*** *** ***

Bolognese Sauce
adapted from "Dean and Deluca Cookbook" and "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking"

ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 pound ground beef (pref. ground chuck)
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground pork
1/4 pound chicken livers, chopped
1/2 cup whole milk
2 cups canned San Marzano tomatoes, chopped with juice
1 1/2 cups beef stock
1 cup dry white wine
freshly grated nutmeg

method:
1- Heat olive oil and butter over moderate heat, Add onions and sauté u7ntil opaque, about 8 minutes. Add chopped carrot, celery, kosher salt, and pepper and cook for 5 minutes.

2- Add ground beef, veal, and pork and crumble with a wooden spoon. Cook until meat is no longer pink, ad add chicken livers and milk (the milk is Marcella's idea, she says: "cook the meat in milk before adding tomatoes and wine to protect it from the acidic bite of the latter". Makes sense to me. -BB). Simmer for five to ten minutes until milk is mostly evaporated away.

3-Add tomato sauce, 1 cup beef stock, and white wine. Stir well and simmer, uncovered, over very low heat (an occasional bubble should break the surface) for 1-1/2 hours. Add remaining beef stock and simmer for another 1-1/2 or more hours. Add nutmeg and adjust seasonings.

Cooks note: some chefs, myself included, like to add a little cream at the end to finish the sauce. Thickens it up slightly and seems to ad just the right richness. Marcella recommends fresh tagliatelle, which we had. Also good are DeCecco penne and fusilli.

Making the tough decisions

Go ahead. Put that gun to my head. Make me decide. Don't tell me you haven't thought about it, too. You know THE QUESTION: Name your top five favorite things to eat. Given that it would be hard to name my top twenty-five favorite things to eat, I do have certain things that with every bite always make me happy. A perfectly steamy bowl of cassoulet....a savory plate of osso buco....a crusty medium rare rib eye hot off the 'que. I would also have to include a pasta or risotto in there, just for the comfort food aspect. And if you made me decide which pasta, I would have to go with spaghetti alla carbonara, in all its pancetta-ey, eggy, cheesey glory. I LOVE carbonara...it always satisfies, at least when I make this version. This version being for me the definitive recipe by none other than the doyenne of Italian cooking, Marcella Hazan, from her Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, which to me is a must for any cooks shelf. I posted about this over a year ago, and since have tweaked it a little bit for the better, and after a most pleasantly indulgent plate the other night, thought it was time to share again for all you new readers. For such a quick and easy pasta, I can't imagine what could feel better than this classic. Get ready to swoon..... ********************

Spaghetti alla Carbonara
adapted from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

ingredients:
4-6 oz. pancetta cut into 1/4" dice (or if you must, use regular bacon. Sadly, it won't be as good.)
4 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 large eggs
3/4 cup grated parmagiano-reggiano cheese (Marcella calls for 1/2 cup parma and 1/4 cup pecorino-romano, which I hardly ever have and doesn't make a huge difference)
Fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1# spaghetti, preferably DeCecco dry pasta
1/2 cup reserved pasta water
Extra grated Parmagiano for passing

method:
1. Put large pot of water on to boil for pasta. When boiling, add salt and pasta.
2 Lightly mash garlic with knife blade, which will loosen the skin. Discard skin. Put garlic and olive oil into 10" sauté pan and turn on heat to medium high. Sautee until garlic turns medium gold, and remove and discard it.
3. Put diced pancetta into the pan, and cook until they crisp. ( I let mine get quite crispy, and a bit smoky, which I think adds depth of flavor). Add wine at this point and let bubble away for 2 1 or 2 minutes and turn off heat.
4. Break the 2 eggs into the serving bowl you'll be using for the pasta and lightly beat with a fork. Then add the cheese, a liberal grinding of pepper, and the chopped parsley. Mix thoroughly.
5. When pasta is done, take about 1/2 cup of the pasta water and set aside. Drain pasta. Add the cooked, drained spaghetti to the bowl and toss rapidly. While tossing, briefly reheat the pancetta and add to the bowl, toss thoroughly again, add a bit of the reserved pasta water and serve immediately. Pass extra Parmagiano.

Marcella Rules!

If Marcella says it's her favorite fish dish, then who am I to argue? Oh, for the uninitiated, uncaring, and people who need a drastic upgrade in their quality of life, that would be Marcella Hazan, goddess of all that is Italian and edible. I was paging through the September '07 issue of Food & Wine in bed the other night before sleep so I could dream about my next meal and came across her recipe for Marinated Fish with Salmoriglio Sauce. Apparently about 30 years ago Marcella and hubby Victor, no slouch himself in the kitchen and wine cellar, were on Sicily in the resort town of Taormina and came across this dish which knocked her support hose off. No mean feat. She says ever since that first revelatory bite it's been a staple in her home, her classes, everywhere. That's good enough for me, so tonight it was time to put it to the test. Bottom line, score another one for Marcella! The salmoriglio sauce had this perfumey aroma from the fresh thyme, with that nice lemon juice and dijon tang and rich, creamy flavor. We had it with halibut, but I think it would be even better with fresh wild-caught salmon or swordfish. Plus, this was a super easy recipe and gave huge return on little effort. Immediately a regular in my repertoire, I can't wait to make it again.
Oh, and I opened a bottle of Meursault "Les Clous" with it, because I brought one home form the wine shack that I had to try. Now I am pretty much a white Burgundy slut, and if I'm slurping chardonnay, I want it to be just like this. Rich, creamy, butterscotchy-apple flavors, brilliant acidity and presence on the palate, which a sauce this flavorful needs. Not my everyday drinker, but it was here and needed my attention!

Salmoriglio sauce











********************

Marinated Fish with Salmoriglio Sauce
from Marcella Hazan
serves 4

ingredients
For Fish:
White vinegar
2 pounds fish fillets, such as wild salmon, arctic char, ruby trout or halibut, with or without skin. Salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup fine, dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salmoriglio Sauce:
2 tablespoons thyme leaves
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

method
1. Prepare the Fish: Pour a little vinegar over the fish fillets, then rinse them under cold, running water. Pat the fillets dry with paper towels and arrange them on an ovenproof glass or ceramic platter. Rub a little salt over the skinless sides of the fillets and sprinkle with the lemon juice. Spread half of the bread crumbs over the fillets and drizzle them with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil; turn the fillets and repeat with the remaining bread crumbs and olive oil. Cover and let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make the Salmoriglio Sauce: In a mini food processor, combine the thyme leaves, lemon juice, mustard and salt. Pulse for 1 minute. Add the butter and process until completely smooth. With the machine on, add the olive oil in a thin, constant stream until fully incorporated. Season the sauce with salt and pour into a sauceboat.
3. Preheat the oven to 400° or light a grill. Bake the fish on the platter until just cooked through, about 12 to 15 minutes. Alternatively, grill the fish, skin side down for skin-on fillets, for about 5 minutes; turn the fillets and grill just until they flake, about 4 minutes longer. Transfer the fish to a platter. Pour the salmoriglio sauce over the fish fillets and serve.

Carbonara Comfort!

It's always good to have a fall back position, especially when things are a little chaotic. Someplace you can go and know things are going to be okay. I'm going through that particular chaos known as moving right now, which while exciting is also a bit non-relaxing in that "what fucking box did I put that in?" or "where the hell is my chefs knife?" kind of way. Thankfully by the end of the day, when both w and I were totally starving, we had found all we needed to whip up one of our favorite things, Spaghetti alla Carbonara.
Talk about finding that good place. When doesn't this taste perfect besides never. So simple, and at the end of a day of schlepping and unpacking, blessedly easy. This is one reason, the main reason, I always keep portioned out pancetta in the freezer and a box of DeCecco dry spaghetti in the pantry. A little chopping, sautéing, boiling, and tossing and you're good to go. The following recipe is from the bible as written by Marcella Hazan, her indispensable Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. It puts to shame any other carbonara recipe I've tried. The key is infusing the olive oil with the garlic and finishing the pancetta with the splash of wine, which perks up the whole dish. As Ella might have sung, this is so nice to come home to!

Spaghetti alla Carbonara
ingredients:
1/2 # pancetta (or if you must, regular bacon. Sadly, it won't be as good.)
4 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 large eggs
3/4 cup grated parmagiano-reggiano cheese (Marcella calls for 1/2 cup parma and 1/2 cup pecorino-romano, which I hardly ever have and doesn't make a huge difference)
Fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1# spaghetti, preferably DeCecco dry pasta

1. Cut pancetta into 1/4" dice
2 Lightly mash garlic with knife blade, which will loosen the skin. Discard skin. Put garlic and olive oil into 10" sauté pan and turn on heat to medium high. Sautee until garlic turns medium gold, and remove and discard it.
3. Put diced pancetta into the pan, and cook until they crisp. ( I let mine get quite crispy, and a bit smoky, which I think adds depth of flavor). Add wine at this point and let bubble away for 2 1 or 2 minutes and turn off heat.
4. Break the 2 eggs into the serving bowl you'll be using for the pasta and lightly beat with a fork. Then add the cheese, a liberal grinding of pepper, and the chopped parsley. Mix thoroughly.
5 Add the cooked, drained spaghetti to the bowl and toss rapidly. While tossing, briefly reheat the pancetta and add to the bowl, toss thoroughly again and serve immediately.
6. Pop a bottle of good red wine (we had a 2004 Fattoria de Petroio Chianti, one of my current faves), and be prepared to eat more than you should, because you'll be back for seconds, or.....!