Cosa Bolle in Pentola?
On the radio, Bresaola in the US, more
similarities with Gibraltar & more
Being the 62nd issue of Cosa Bolle in Pentola, your Italian Cuisine newsletter.
To begin with, exciting news, at least for me: Arthur Schwartz, New York City's Food Maven has his office in the building About moved into, and when they plastered the exterior with signs he decided it was time to check out the network. He liked Italian Cuisine, wrote, and when he heard I was planning to be in the US this summer, asked me if I wanted to appear on his radio show on WOR. "Of course," said I, so I'll be on the air with him at about Noon on July 18. In case you're not familiar with Arthur, he's one of New York's most prominent food writers, and also happens to be an expert on Neapolitan cuisine. His book, Naples At Table: Cooking In Campania, is one of the best on Southern Italian foods that I've seen, with excellent recipes and lots of background of the kind one wishes more authors provided. Well worth seeking out. He also has a great site that's fun to get lost in, at http://www.thefoodmaven.com. So if you're in range of New York's WOR, tune in to Arthur's program on the 18th and you'll hear me. Or visit his site and get stuck, as I did.
Sima
Moving in another direction, one can learn a surprising amount about trade and migration routs in the kitchen. For example, though Genova and Gibraltar are separated by thousands of miles, Gibraltar boasts many recipes brought by Genoese sailors who visited the promontory or settled there over the centuries. A few issues ago Marie kindly shared a recipe for Calentita, a fried chickpea purée derived from Genova's panissa, which is a frugal chickpea polenta. Turns out that there is also a Gibraltarian variation on the Cima alla Genovese recipe I sent out last time, and she has again been kind enough to share:
"Again on the similarities with Gibraltarian cooking. There is a recipe we use here in Gibraltar, which we call Sima. It is very popular, and uses same cut of meat opened as a pocket, but instead of using the ingredients you quote in Cima alla Genovese, we use breadcrumbs, eggs, garlic, salt, marjoram, grated cheese, and chopped ham mixed together. The stuffing is then put in the pocket of the meat, sewn up, and all is placed in a deep pan. You add carrots, celery, turnip, salted spare ribs and beef stock, then water to cover and whole potatoes. It usually makes two meals. Hot at midday as a soup, and then the potatoes and meat, sliced, in the evening; the meat and potatoes can be served either cold with salad or warmed slightly in hot olive oil, in which you can also sauté the potatoes. Mmmm, it's yummy. Like I said there are a lot of Genoese descendants this part of the world."
It does look tasty. Figure abundant water so you'll have enough for soup, and simmer the meat long enough for it to be quite tender, at least a couple of hours (I wouldn't use the fork test for fear of puncturing the pocket and having the filling leak out into the soup).
A printer-friendly version of this recipe.
On Bresaola
Shifting again, this spring the US agriculture people finally decided to allow the importing of mortadella, the Bologna's glorious signature cold cut. Seems they've decided to allow the importing of Bresaola too. For those not familiar with it, it's beef rubbed with spices and air-cured in the Valtellina, a long Alpine valley in Lombardia that's also one of the few places outside of Piemonte where the Nebbiolo grape produces great wines. Quoting from an article by Rozanne Gold that Kaye Noble was kind enough to send me: "[Italian Bresaola] is moist and delicate, and completely unlike the salty and slightly leathery domestic versions, or the dryish Swiss bündnerfleisch that Americans have had to make do with for so long.... It has an intriguing, musty bouquet. And unlike prosciutto, bresaola is utterly lean, with no discernible striations of fat. When sliced paper-thin, it is almost translucent."
It turns out that, because of a US ban on Italian beef stemming from the European mad cow disease outbreaks of the past few years, the bresaola being exported to the US is made in the Valtellina, from cattle raised and slaughtered in South America. I would have thought that the differences in forage would have resulted in flavor differences in the meat, but the Consorzio that oversees production and conducts taste tests has given the South-American-Raised bresaola its Seal of Authenticity. So they consider it the genuine article, and it is certainly closer to what you'd get in Italy than anything else might be. In case you were wondering, the Consorzio that oversees the production of prosciutto di Parma, Parma's salted, air-cured hams, also allows the use of imported meats.
Ms. Gold doesn't mention it, but bresaola can also be made from horsemeat. With respect to beef bresaola, horsemeat bresaola is darker, almost black in color, and a little sweeter.
Ms. Gold says that Italian bresaola made by Rigamonti and Negroni are both identified as Bresaola della Valtellina, and that in New York City they're available at DiPalo's Fine Foods, Todaro Brothers, Agata & Valentina, Fairway and Balducci's markets. Prices range from about $16 to $19 a pound.
This may strike you as expensive, and it is, but a little goes a long way -- it should be served sliced paper thin, and an ounce will cover a 10-inch plate, which is about right for a single serving. Ms. Gold says purists prefer it as is, to be eaten with Italian bread, but Elisabetta and I prefer it drizzled with a little bit of olive oil and some lemon juice (mixed together prior to drizzling). Very good, and if you want you can also crumble very thin slices of Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano over it, or add some thinly sliced white truffles. Bresaola also appears in elegant pizzerie, primarily as a focaccia (a word whose meaning varies depending upon context; in this case a pizza dough rolled out and baked without a topping) topping: upon removing the focaccia from the oven, drape it with thinly sliced bresaola, cover it with shredded radicchio, and serve with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Ms. Gold ends her article, which appeared in the New York Times, with this recipe:
Bresaola Al Carpaccio
Adapted from "The Four Seasons of Italian Cooking" by A.J. Battifarano and Alan Richardson Time: 10 minutes
- 6 ounces Italian bresaola, sliced paper-thin
- 24 small prepared marinated mushrooms or wild mushrooms, coarsely chopped
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley
- 3 ounces Grana Padano cheese, in one piece
- 4 or more tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges.
1. Arrange bresaola slices, slightly overlapping on a large platter. Scatter mushrooms over bresaola, then sprinkle with parsley.
2. Using a vegetable peeler, shave thin slivers of the cheese over bresaola. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with black pepper. Serve with lemon wedges.
Yield: 6 servings.
This is a bit more elaborate than I'd usually make, but will in any case be good. Don't have bresaola in a nearby store? Though the people of Valtellina have done their best to keep the recipe secret, there are versions of it on the net. The best I've found is from the Artisan, at http://www.theartisan.net/bresaola.htm.
A printer-friendly version of this recipe.
Sgropin
Finally, last week a reader posted a request for Sgropin, on the Italian Cuisine forum. I wasn't familiar with it, but Warren says, "Received a recipe from an Italian who received it from Dale Degroff's recipes. The ingredients are: 2oz vodka, 2 oz cream, 1 oz Cointreau and 1 big scoop of Italian lemon ice. Blend all ingredients and serve. Try it, you'll like it!"
Perfect in summer.
A printer-friendly version of this recipe.
A presto,
Kyle Phillips
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