Fabulicious!: On the Grill (9 page)

Like peanut butter to jelly, olive oil needs its friend vinegar to make Italian summer dressings and marinades perfect. Which vinegar—balsamic, white wine, or red wine—should you always have on hand? The answer is all of them, since they all have different tastes and colors and uses.

Balsamic is amazingly delicious, especially on salad, but its slightly sweet flavor and dark color isn't right for everything. White wine vinegar is a little on the
expensive side, but a little goes a long way; it's great for poultry and fish dishes, or even drizzled on a sandwich. And red wine vinegar is a staple for anything to do with red meat. I use it a lot in my marinades for red meat because the acid helps the marinade penetrate into the meat better.

Salads and soups in Italy are starter courses, but you can add protein, such as grilled chicken, to any of the following recipes and have a wonderfully filling main entrée.

 

Makes 6 servings

Grilling figs brings out their honey-like juices and makes them even sweeter. They are a wonderful complement to the pungent arugula and the sharp and creamy goat cheese. The heat from the grilled figs wilts the arugula and lightly melts the cheese—all the better to bring out their flavor. To give the salad more color, use red grapes if you have green figs, or green grapes if you have the reddish-brown ones.

9 large ripe brown or green figs, stemmed and cut in half lengthwise

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing the figs

4 ounces (about 6 cups) baby or regular arugula leaves

1 cup halved red or green seedless grapes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled goat cheese

1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges

1.
Preheat the grill for direct cooking over medium-high heat (400°F).

2.
Lightly brush the figs with olive oil. Place them on the cooking grate and close the grill lid. Cook, flipping once, until seared with grill marks and the juices are bubbling, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the figs from the grill.

3.
Toss the baby arugula and grapes with the cup oil. Season with salt and pepper. Divide among six dinner plates. Top each with 3 fig halves and the crumbled goat cheese. Add a lemon wedge to each plate and serve immediately. Pass a peppermill at the table to add pepper to the figs and goat cheese, if desired.

 

 

Makes 4 to 6 servings

This isn't the steakhouse wedge salad with the super-thick blue cheese dressing, but a somewhat lighter version with an Italian groove. The vinaigrette that has a little kick thanks to garlic and paprika and crumbled Gorgonzola. You can use any kind of blue cheese, really, just as long as it is firm and crumbles well (avoid using creamy kinds of blue cheese). If you are serving to people with big appetites, then serve the lettuce in quarters, but you can also cut the lettuce into six wedges for smaller portions.

Pancetta Crumbles:

4 ounces (⅛-inch thick) sliced pancetta

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Dressing:

2 tablespoons white or red wine vinegar

1 garlic clove, crushed through a press

½ teaspoon sweet paprika

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1¼ cups (5 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola

1 firm head iceberg lettuce, cored, cut into quarters or sixths

1 ripe tomato, seeded and diced

1.
To make the pancetta crumbles:
In a large skillet, cook the pancetta with the oil over medium heat, turning as needed until crisp and brown, about 6 to 8 minutes. (Don't cook any longer because overcooked pancetta can be tough.) Transfer the pancetta to paper towels to drain. Let cool completely. Coarsely chop the pancetta. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use, up to 2 days.

2.
To make the dressing:
In a medium bowl, whisk the vinegar, garlic, paprika, salt, and pepper together. Gradually whisk in the oil. Whisk in the Gorgonzola.

3.
Place a lettuce wedge, curved-side down, on each of four dinner plates. Spoon equal amounts of the dressing over the lettuce wedges, and sprinkle the tomatoes and pancetta on top. Serve immediately.

 

Makes 8 servings

Every family needs a fantastic macaroni salad that will put the stuff in the deli case to shame. My recipe starts with the basics of elbow macaroni and mayo, but it takes a turn with the veggies. The secret is pepperoncini, sweet Tuscan pickled peppers. Just like many American cooks trick out their pasta salads with dill pickle “juice,” I use some of the pepper brine from the jar as an out-of-this-world seasoning.

1 pound (16 ounces) elbow macaroni

2 large red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, and diced (see
page 178
)

1 cup thawed frozen peas

6 to 8 pepperoncini, coarsely chopped

½ cup finely chopped red onion

½ cup pitted and coarsely chopped olives

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons pepperoncini brine from the jar

⅔ cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon sweet paprika, plus more for garnish

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the macaroni and cook according to the package directions until tender, about 9 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Drain well and transfer to a large bowl.

2.
Add the roasted bell pepper, peas, peperoncini, onion, and olives, and mix well. Sprinkle with the vinegar and peperoncini brine, and mix again. Stir in the mayonnaise and paprika. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.

3.
Just before serving, taste the salad and reseason with vinegar, peperoncini brine, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle paprika on top and serve chilled.

 

Makes 8 servings

Red-skinned potatoes make great potato salad because you get to skip the peeling step. Just scrub the skins well under cold running water before cooking. White-skinned potatoes or Yukon Golds, with their thin peels, also work well here. In this Italian version of potato salad, we skip the mayo and use extra-virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar instead.

3 pounds medium red-skinned potatoes, well scrubbed but unpeeled

¼ cup white wine vinegar

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup finely chopped red onion

4 celery ribs, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, basil, or oregano

1.
Put the potatoes in a large pot and add enough lightly salted water to cover by 1 inch. Cover tightly and bring to a boil over high heat. Uncover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook at a low boil until the potatoes are tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, about 20 minutes. Drain and rinse the potatoes under cold running water. Let stand for about 10 minutes, or until easy to handle.

2.
Cut up the warm potatoes into bite-size pieces and transfer to a large bowl. Whisk the vinegar, salt, and pepper together in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil to make a dressing. Gently stir the dressing into the potatoes, trying not to break up the potatoes. Stir in the red onion, celery, and parsley. Let cool. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.

3.
When ready to serve, taste the salad and reseason with vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

 

Makes 12 servings

This is traditionally one of the fish dishes that we serve on Christmas Eve, but it's such a great summer recipe that my mom has started to make it at our Shore house. Every time she does, everyone goes nuts and asks for the recipe. So here it is! It makes
a lot,
but it keeps well. I love octopus, but you can substitute with scallops or more shrimp if you like. Leave plenty of time to cook the octopus and scungilli because you can never really tell how long it will take (allow at least 1½ hours for each, but don't be surprised it they take an hour more), and it's best to make them at the same time in separate pots. Because of the time factor, take my advice and make this the day before serving so you aren't rushed and the salad can marinate. My mom doesn't, but feel free to add freshly ground black pepper or red pepper flakes for an extra kick.

Special Equipment: Corks from 2 wine bottles

1 (3-pound) fresh or thawed frozen octopus

2 pounds fresh or thawed frozen scungilli, cleaned

Salt

2 pounds (31 to 36 count) medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

½ cup fresh lemon juice, plus more for serving

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 large carrots, shredded

4 large celery ribs, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1.
Clean the octopus by finding the beak in the center of its body and cutting it off with a sharp knife. Put the octopus in a large pot and add enough salted water to cover by 1 inch. Add a wine cork, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and uncover. Cook at a steady simmer until the octopus is tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife and the suction cups are easily removed, 1½ to 2½ hours. Remove from the heat and let stand in the cooking liquid until completely cooled, about 3 hours. Drain and rinse under cold running water, rubbing off the skin and suction cups. Cut into bite-size pieces.

2.
Meanwhile, put the scungilli in a large saucepan and add enough salted water to cover by 1 inch. Add a wine cork, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Cook at a steady simmer until the scungilli is tender when pierced with
the tip of a sharp knife, 1½ to 2½ hours. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Let cool. Cut each piece of scungilli on a slight diagonal into thin slices, then into ¼-inch-wide strips.