Pesto Genovese

Yes, I am on an Italian kick.  Maybe its the fact that I miss living so close to Italy, maybe its the fact that one of my best friends is moving back to our school town.  Most probably its that I can get my daughter to eat anything that is Italian, and my boyfriend is Italian.
I find that making Italian food is a joy.  Not only are most of the recipes super simple, they are also gorgeous.  Pesto is a sauce that is always an after thought for me.  I usually make it out of necessity, because I bought basil and used one leaf and then I have a bunch that usually goes bad.  When it does, I kick myself and think, why didn't I make pesto?  Its not as if it is going to take me a long time to make it, heck, what couldn't be easier?  There is no cooking involved, and if you know the basics it can really be done with out measuring.  And, it is also DELICIOUS. 

This time I bought the basil apropos, and made the sauce.  It is going to be autumn soon, and with the cool weather come wild mushrooms, and bye bye basil.  So here is my last hurrah for summer....gorgeous green basil Peso alla Genovese!  The key to this recipe is that all the ingredients be of the best quality.  Buy the freshest greenest unblemished basil you can find, some quality pine nuts and olive oil, fresh garlic (not the pre-chopped variety) and the star, Parmiggiano Reggiano.  Please don't purchase Parmesan cheese substitutes, not only does that taste and smell of feet, it isn't worth your money.  A small piece of real Parmesan cheese goes a long way if you keep it wrapped properly in your fridge, and is also great for snacking. (Low fat and highest percentage of calcium in any cheese).  So, here is my recipe, the measurements are pretty crude because I go by my uncle's recipe, but it should turn out pretty amazing!

2 medium bunches fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup good quality Italian or Spanish extra virgin olive oil
1 handful of pine nuts, toasted
3 small garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
About 1 cup grated Parmiggiano Reggiano

1. Pick the nicest, unblemished leaves of basil off the stems.  DO NOT WASH!!!  Clean then with a paper towel, if  you wash them they will lose their fragrance and flavor. 

2. Toast your pine nuts, you can do this in a pan over low heat, making sure they go just golden, not dark brown.  This releases their aroma and taste.  Set aside. 

3. In the cup of an immersion blender or food processor (or mortar, if you really want to be true to the recipe) place your olive oil, pine nuts, garlic and basil leaves.  Pulse until mixed completely and there are no large pieces of pine nuts or garlic, and it turns to a lovely green color.  Add your salt and pepper to taste, but make sure you don't add too much salt, because Parmesan cheese is salty already.   Mix in the cheese if you are using it immediately.  If you are going to keep it in the fridge, make sure there is a bit of olive oil on the top of the mix, that way your leaves won't oxidize and turn black, and mix in cheese right before serving, that way it will keep for 3 days.

4. Boil pasta according to package directions, al dente please.  Strain your pasta, and mix in the pesto and serve.  You can garnish with some more fresh pepper and salt and  more cheese, if you wish.
Buon Appetito!

Ragu alla Bolognese

There are a lot of recipes for Bolognese sauce out there, and as I have commented in my blogs before, everybody, especially Italian households, have their own version.  But recently, I was told that Bologna has published the "original" version of their world famous sauce.  I was really really happy to see that mine is quite close to the original....but like all every one else, I have my own tweaked version of it. 

It really isn't as laborious as it sounds, once you have it on the stove, you can basically leave it (but just make sure it doesn't burn).  Since this is my daughter's favorite sauce, I will happily relinquish my recipe.  If you have any left over, obviously this is what you can use to make meat lasagna. 

I generally prefer it with spinach tagliatelle, or pappardelle.  I am not a huge fan of spaghetti.....I kind of have to crave spaghetti.  But nothing reminds me more of my youth in Lugano than a plate of "Cicche del Nonno con ragu bolognese".  Cicche del nonno (grandpa's cigars) are ricotta and spinach gnocchi, which is a dish I haven't yet mastered.....but I also think I haven't tried it out since I remember it so fondly, and I also tend to think that food tastes so much better when someone else prepares it.   Maybe my next post will be to try and recreate my childhood favorite....let's see.  But in the meantime, here is my recipe for Ragu alla Bolognese.  Pour yourself a glass of the wine you are using, put on some music (Radiohead or The Killers is always a great option) and enjoy the process,  Alla tua salute!

1/4 cup olive oil
2 slices of guanciale or pancetta, finely diced (if you can't get either, you can use bacon as a last resort.)
1 large onion, finely diced
1 large carrot, grated
1 large stalk of celery, finely diced
1 lb ground beef or pork ( I like to use a mix of both)
1 cup white wine (in winter I like to use red)
1 cup beef stock
1 tbsp salt
3 cups pureed tomatoes (canned or fresh from Roma or pear tomatoes)
Pepper to taste

1.In a large stockpot with a heavy bottom, fry up your guanciale or pancetta until it is golden brown over medium high heat.

2.Lower the heat to low, and add your onion, celery and carrot.  Saute, covered for 10-15 minutes.

3. Uncover and raise heat to high, and add your meat and brown.  When the meat is no longer pink, add your wine and let it evaporate completely. 

4.When the wine is all evaporated, add your salt, stock and pureed tomatoes and let it come to a boil.
 Let it boil for 10 minutes uncovered, then lower the heat to medium low,  and let it simmer with the top half off for about 2 hours, or until it is thick and glossy and all of the water from the tomatoes is evaporated.  Add  the fresh ground pepper.  You can serve it immediately, but it is always better after it has rested overnight. 

Casatiello

14:27 pm, my house, Barcelona.

Nothing makes your house feel like a home like freshly baked bread.  The only thing is.....I don't have a bread maker and rarely think about making bread.  But the thought of my house smelling like a Boulangerie is extremely tempting, and it is one of the last frontiers that as a chef I have not yet gone to.  So, on my last trip to Miami (which was exactly 3 days ago) I was looking through the cookbook aisle in Borders and voila!  "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" caught my eye!  The book was covered in plastic wrap so there was no way I could leaf through it like I do most of the time.  But it has several awards on the front, so I figured, this is gonna be good.

This is actually like a frickin space rocket manual.  The first three chapters are all about times, weights, poolish vs. regular breads (??? right?) and so on and so forth.  If I can't make amazing bread at home with this book, then my friends, I am truly doomed.  But if it works, then I am really excited!  There are recipes on how to make bagels, english muffins, rye, sourdough, panettone even!  All of these breads that you cannot, and probably never will be able to, purchase here in Spain.  I chalk it down to the fact that they just aren't a bread culture.

Today I have decided to make Casatiello bread.  This choice comes after browsing through the book briefly, for two specific reasons.  1. It is one of the only breads that doesn't take 2-3 days to make, and 2. The description : This is a rich, dreamy Italian elaboration of brioche, loaded with flavor bursts in the form of cheese and bits of meat, preferably salami.

OK.........Yum.  I mean, who doesn't like brioche with cheese and salami?  (VEGANS...I know, but I am not one of them and will NEVER be one.  Or friends with one.  Sorry, I am sure  you are all incredible people, but if I can't cook for you.....you know the answer.)

So, up to this point is has been surprisingly easy.  That is because I have a stand up mixer, and have kneaded all the dough with it.  I am not going to do all this by hand, I did that in culinary school and I have had enough of that, thank you.  It has taken me most of the morning, but I have been really focused and happy.  At one point I did get really scared because my mixer was traveling all over my counter top....which means it isn't a "professional" mixer even though it says it is......mental note: need a new mixer if I continue to bake bread.  But, the instructions are so clear and so detailed, that I have never had a recipe work so flawlessly.  Now, my bread is in the oven, and that will be a true test to the validity of the book.  Will let ya know in about 40 minutes.

14:39-  Oh my God....I wish I could post smells cause this is ridiculous.  I can't wait.

14:55-  Bread has come out of the oven.  So far so good, except that I can't cut it for another hour.  Maybe I'll just wait thirty minutes for the sake of posterity.

15:22-  I CANNOT BELIEVE I BAKED THIS BREAD.  It is that amazing.  So, that means if you follow the recipe below, you too, on a lazy Sunday afternoon or whenever tickles your fancy, can make this unbelievably buttery, flaky, crusty, lip smacking bread.  Do it, seriously.

Recipe:

Makes 1 large loaf or 2 small ones

Sponge

1/2 cup unbleached bread flour

1 tbsp instant yeast

1 cup whole milk or buttermilk, lukewarm (90 - 100 F)

Dough

4 ounces dry-cured salami or other meat (bacon if you wish)

3 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp granulated sugar

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temp. (6 oz)

3/4 cup coarsely shredded or grated provolone (or Gouda, Swiss, cheddar)

1. To make the sponge, stir together the flour and the yeast in a bowl.  Whisk in the milk to make a pancake like batter.  Cover with plastic wrap and ferment at room temperature for 1 hour.  The sponge will foam and bubble and should collapse when you tap the bowl.

2. While the sponge is fermenting, dice the salami into small cubes and saute it lightly in a frying pan to crisp it slightly. (Or cook and crumble the bacon or saute fresh sausage or salami substitutes until crisp, saving the rendered fat.)

3. To make the dough, in the bowl of an electric mixer, stir together the flour, salt and sugar with a spoon.  Add the eggs and the sponge and mix with a paddle attachment on low speed until all the ingredients form a course ball.  If there is any loose flour, dribble in a small amount of water or milk to gather it into the dough.  Mix for about 1 minute, then let the dough rest for 10 minutes to allow the gluten to develop.  Divide the butter into 4 pieces.  Begin working the butter into the dough, one piece at a time, mixing on medium speed.  The dough will be soft but not a batter.  Continue mixing for 4 minutes, then switch to a paddle attachment and mix 8 minutes more.  The dough will change from sticky to tacky and eventually come off the sides of the bowl.  If not, sprinkle in more flour until the dough forms a ball and clears the side of a bowl.

4. When dough is smooth, add the meat pieces and mix until they are evenly distributed.  Then gently mix in the cheese until it too is evenly distributed.  The dough will be soft and stretchy, very tacky but not sticky.  If it is sticky, sprinkle in more flour until it firms up.  Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

5. Ferment at room temperature for about 90 minutes, or until the dough increases in size by at least 1 1/2 times.

6. Remove the dough from the bowl and leave as 1 piece for 1 large loaf or divide into 2 pieces for smaller loaves.  Mist the inside

of your pan or pans with spray oil.  Lightly dust your hands with the flour and shape into 1 or 2 loaves and place in pans.  Mist the top of the dough with spray oil and loosely cover the pans with plastic wrap.

7. Proof for 60-90 minutes, or until the dough just crests to the top of the pans.

8. Preheat the oven to 350 F, setting the oven rack in the lower third of the oven.

9. Place the pans with the dough in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, then rotate 180 degrees.  Bake for an additional 20-30 minutes.

10. When the bread is done, remove it from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.  Take it out of

 the pan and let it cool for another hour before serving or slicing.