Eating Italy: A Chef's Culinary Adventure (24 page)

MAKES 10 TO 12 SERVINGS

Ravioli and Filling:

2 cups (12 ounces/340 g) dried borlotti (cranberry) beans, soaked overnight in water to cover

1 ounce chopped prosciutto scraps or pieces

1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped (1¼ cups/200 g)

2 medium-size carrots, chopped (1¼ cups/150 g)

2 large ribs celery, chopped (1¼ cups/125 g)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 large egg

1¾ ounces (50 g) Parmesan cheese, grated (½ cup)

1 pound (450 g) Egg Pasta Dough (
page 282
), rolled into 4 sheets, each about
inch (0.8 mm) thick

Tuscan Kale:

3 tablespoons (45 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

1 large yellow onion, minced (2 cups/320 g)

4 medium-size carrots, minced (2 cups/250 g)

4 medium-size ribs celery, minced (2 cups/200 g)

1 garlic clove, smashed

2 bunches Tuscan kale (about 8 ounces/227 g total), trimmed of thick stems and chopped

2 cups (475 ml) dry white wine

1¼ cups (300 g) canned plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, cored and crushed by hand

1 ounce (28 g) chopped prosciutto scraps or pieces

Leaves from 2 sprigs fresh rosemary

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter

¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

3½ ounces (100 g) Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cup), plus some for garnish

For the ravioli and filling:
Drain the soaked beans and cover by 1 inch (2.5 cm) with fresh water in a medium saucepan. Wrap the prosciutto, onion, carrots, and celery in a large piece of cheesecloth and submerge in the pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, and then lower the heat to medium, uncover, and cook until the beans are tender, 45 to 55 minutes. Let cool slightly, and then squeeze the cheesecloth bundle to press the liquid from the vegetables, discarding the bundle. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the beans to a blender in batches, pureeing them until smooth and adding just enough of the cooking liquid so that the beans will puree. The mixture should be thick like hummus and stick to a spoon turned upside down. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the egg and Parmesan. Season to taste with salt and pepper and mix well. Spoon the mixture into a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.

Lay a pasta sheet on a lightly floured work surface and dust with flour. Trim the ends to make them square, then fold the dough in half lengthwise and make a small notch at the center to mark it. Open the sheet so it lies flat again and spritz with water. Cut a corner from the bag of filling and squeeze the filling in ¾-inch (2-cm)-diameter balls in two rows along the length of the pasta, leaving a 1-inch (2.5-cm) margin around each ball and stopping at the middle of the sheet. Lift up the empty side of the pasta sheet and fold it over to cover the balls of filling. Gently press the pasta around each ball of filling to seal. Use a 2½-inch (6-cm) round, fluted ravioli cutter or a similar size biscuit cutter to cut the ravioli. Repeat with the remaining pasta dough and filling. Place the ravioli in a single layer on parchment paper and freeze until firm, then keep frozen in a resealable plastic bag for up to 1 week before cooking. You should have about 120 ravioli.

For the Tuscan kale:
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic, and cook until the carrots are soft but not browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the kale, wine, tomatoes, prosciutto, rosemary, and just enough water to cover the kale. Stew over low heat until the kale is very tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To finish:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add ten to twelve ravioli per serving, and cook just until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Work in batches, if necessary, to prevent overcrowding.

Meanwhile, heat the butter and oil in a large, deep sauté pan over medium heat. Add the kale mixture and ¾ cup (175 ml) of pasta water. Stir the ingredients until the sauce is creamy and then add the Parmesan and cooked pasta in batches. Swirl the pasta and sauce together in the pan until the sauce coats the pasta. Divide among plates and garnish with Parmesan.

SQUASH GNOCCHI
with
AMARETTI
and
MOSTARDA

Claudia’s favorite dish at La Brughiera is porcini-stuffed squash gnocchi with Parmigiano fonduta. They use almond flour in the gnocchi dough, roll it out, and then stuff it with porcini. Whenever we eat there, she asks me to call ahead and request the dish. I’ve tried numerous times but I just can’t replicate it. So I came up with my own squash gnocchi flavored with crushed amaretti cookies and
mostarda
(mustard-flavored fruit relish). I like them both.

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

4 ounces (1 stick/113 g) unsalted butter, divided

1 medium-size butternut or longneck squash (about 2 pounds/1 kg), peeled, seeded, and diced (about 6 cups)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 large egg

1 cup (125 g)
tipo
00 flour (see
page 277
) or all-purpose flour, plus about 1 cup (125 g) for dusting

½ cup (54 g) plain, dry breadcrumbs

3 tablespoons (22 g) amaretti cookie crumbs

2¾ ounces (75 g) Parmesan cheese, grated (¾ cup), divided

8 large sage leaves

¼ cup (60 ml) minced mostarda

Melt 4 tablespoons (57 g) of the butter in a large deep sauté pan over medium heat. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the diced squash. Season with salt and pepper, cover, and cook for 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes or so to make sure the squash does not brown. Uncover and cook until the pan goes dry and the squash is tender but not browned, 10 to 15 minutes more. The squash should be very dry. Transfer it to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix on medium speed until the squash is fairly smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in the egg, flour, breadcrumbs, amaretti crumbs, and ½ cup (50 g) of the Parmesan on low speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary. The mixture should be moist like wet cookie dough. Flour your hands, pinch off chunks the size of large marbles, coat them in flour, and then roll into balls between your palms.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the gnocchi, and cook until they are tender and float, 5 to 6 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining 4 tablespoons (57 g) of butter and sage in a sauté pan over medium heat. Cook until the sage is lightly fried, 2 to 3 minutes. Add about ½ cup (120 ml) of gnocchi cooking water and simmer, shaking the pan vigorously, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mostarda.

Drain the gnocchi and divide among plates. Pour on the sauce and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.

SWORDFISH PANCETTA
with
FENNEL ZEPPOLE

Traditional Italian bacon, pancetta, is made with pork belly. But why not use other bellies? Most animals store enough fat in their bellies to stand up to the curing process. When swordfish belly is cured, it slices up into these beautiful pale pink ribbons with a rich mouthfeel like lardo. Some shaved fennel and a golden citrus vinaigrette make it a gorgeous plate. Ask for swordfish belly at any fishmonger’s. It’s usually a throwaway part of the fish, so they’ll be happy to sell it to you. Just call your fish market ahead of time and ask them to save the swordfish belly for you. If they don’t have any swordfish in, try tuna belly or salmon belly.

MAKES 16 SERVINGS

Swordfish Pancetta:

1 pound (450 g) swordfish belly

5 teaspoons (14 g) kosher salt

½ teaspoon (2 g) granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon (1.5 g) curing salt #2 (see
page 277
)

¼ teaspoon (0.5 g) toasted and ground fennel seeds

¼ teaspoon (0.5 g) ground coriander

⅛ teaspoon (0.25 g) ground red pepper

½ small garlic clove, pressed into a paste

Fennel Zeppole:

1 cup (235 ml) whole milk

¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar

1 tablespoon (6 g) toasted and coarsely ground fennel seeds

½ teaspoon (3 g) salt

¼ teaspoon (0.5 g) freshly ground black pepper

4 ounces (1 stick/113 g) unsalted butter

2¼ cups (280 g)
tipo
00 flour (see
page 277
) or all-purpose flour

4 large eggs

Oil, for frying

To Serve:

1 cup (235 ml) citrus vinaigrette (
page 277
)

2 fennel bulbs, with fronds

¼ cup (15 g) chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Salt

For the swordfish pancetta:
Rinse the swordfish belly and pat it dry. Combine the kosher salt, sugar, curing salt, fennel seeds, coriander, red pepper, and garlic in a medium bowl. Add to the swordfish to the bowl, patting in the cure to completely cover the fish on all sides. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 36 hours. Remove the fish from the bowl, rinse it, and pat it dry. Refrigerate in a covered container for up to 1 month.

For the fennel zeppole:
Combine 1 cup (235 ml) of water with the milk, sugar, fennel seeds, salt, and pepper, and butter in a medium saucepan and bring up to a boil over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour until incorporated, and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a ball and a skin forms on the inside of the pot. Transfer the dough to a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed until each egg is incorporated. On a floured work surface with floured hands, pinch up golf ball–size balls of dough. You should get about thirty-two. Roll each ball into a log and gently twist each log in opposite directions from the center into a twisted log 5 to 6 inches (13 to 15 cm) long. Form the twisted log into a circle, but overlap the ends of the circle to make an X, pinching the dough gently at the X. Each zeppola should look like a loop with an X, kind of like a pretzel that hasn’t been twisted at the X. The zeppole can be transferred to a shallow, parchment-lined container, covered, and refrigerated for up to 2 hours.

Heat the oil to 350°F (175°C) in a deep fryer or large, heavy pot. Deep-fry the zeppole until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes, adjusting the heat to maintain a constant 350°F (175°C) temperature. Drain on paper towels and immediately season with salt.

To serve:
Pour the citrus vinaigrette into a bowl. Trim the fennel, discarding the tough white core but reserving the fronds. Shave the fennel lengthwise on a mandoline into thin strips. Add to the vinaigrette, along with the parsley, and season with salt. Toss to combine.

Arrange the shaved fennel in a single layer on a wooden platter or plates. Very thinly slice the swordfish and drape over the fennel. Place the zeppole in the center and garnish the plate with small fennel fronds. Drizzle the swordfish with the remaining vinaigrette in the bowl.

Note

If you want to make eight servings instead of sixteen, just cut the zeppole recipe in half. But leave the pancetta as is. Trust me. You’ll be slicing off ribbons of swordfish pancetta almost every day and dipping them in the citrus vinaigrette.