Cosa Bolle in Pentola?
The Euro is Here, the Big Chill, Piemonte
in Cucina, Cabbage & More
Being the 94th issue of Cosa Bolle in Pentola, your Italian Cuisine newsletter.
To begin with, the most recent feature is dedicated to the Monzù, the chefs of the Neapolitan noble houses who did a brilliant job of adapting the precepts of French Haute Cuisine to the Neapolitan palate in the 1800s, providing European aristocrats with yet another reason to visit one Europe's most beautiful cities. The wine of the week is a lively Tuscan IGT from Vignamaggio, and you'll find the pic of the week below.
The Euro: First Impressions, and The Big Chill
Returning to Cosa Bolle, January first wasn't just the beginning of the new year this year; it also marked the introduction of the Euro as a physical currency rather than a banker's abstraction, and this means we have had to come to grips with a new set of coins and bills. The transition has actually been quite smooth, though there were long lines at post offices (which also give out pensions and function as bill payment centers) and banks for the first week or so, and there have been some surprises -- one post office ran out of bills and gave pensioners 10-pound sacks of change instead. Since there's also a 2-Euro coin, which is worth about two dollars, this isn't as far-fetched a means of giving out pensions as one might think.
The other effect of the introduction of the Euro has been a slight increase in prices, as people have (understandably) rounded up when converting from Lire to Euro. However, the Euro-related increases have been dwarfed by the effects of the weather: This fall an Arctic high settled in over Central Europe and began deflecting the Atlantic storms that usually bring moisture. As a result there hasn't been a drop of rain in Northern Italy in three months; the Alps are brown except where the snow cannons lay down cover for the ski trails, and the lakes are all at historic lows, and the fields have frozen solid, destroying the winter crops and making early spring plantings impossible, while the lack of moisture is likely going to stunt budding cycles. Nor is the situation much better in the South; it did snow heavily in December, but since then the skies have cleared and the temperatures have plummeted, again with disastrous effects on what crops the snows didn't destroy. Thanks to all this the prices of vegetables and fruit have tripled and are still climbing, and many of the spring and summer crops are at risk -- including the grapes that should in theory give us next year's wine harvest. We shall see, but it may be a grim and sorry vintage.
In the meantime, the weather people have been telling us "It'll be warmer in a day or two..." for weeks -- Rather like the summer weather reports that promise "It'll be cooler tomorrow for sure."
A Passion for Piedmont
Moving towards food, I recently came across a copy of Matt Kramer's A Passion for Piedmont, which is subtitled Italy's most Glorious Regional Table. While one could argue the word "most," Piemontese cooking is extraordinarily refined, and Mr. Kramer does a fine job of exploring its ins and outs. Very fine; though he was already familiar with the region (he's also a wine writer, and one must know Piemonte if one writes about Italian wine), and indeed says it's his favorite part of Italy, he and his wife rented a house just outside Bra and spent a year getting to know it very well. While this led them to discovering some of the less savory aspects of the region, for example the summer heat and the size of the mosquitoes (in a house without screens), it also resulted in their discovering things others simply have not, and he does include interesting asides dedicated to travel, Piemontese cheeses (among the great marvels of the world), truffles, wines, and so on.
But of course the main focus of the book is on food, and it's extremely entertaining; there are two kinds of recipes, those that set down the ingredients and then tell one what to do with them in as dry a manner as possible, and those that give the background necessary to make a dish come alive. Mr. Kramer belongs to the second school:
Duck Braised in White Wine -- Anatra al Vino Bianco (page 236)
The Piedmontese love the taste of braised foods. Partly this is a reflection of their still-sedate sense of time: Time just moves more slowly in Piedmont and they have no intention of rushing it. The other, more practical, reason is that Piedmont overflows with wine. There's no lack of flavorful liquid in which to slowly cook almost anything.
Traditionally, duck braised in white wine would surely have been prepared with wild duck, rather than the fatter, more tender domesticated variety. Yet today, few Piedmontese have access to the tougher, gamier wild birds. They, like us, use domesticated duck almost exclusively. But that hasn't stopped them from continuing to braise the bird. And there's no reason why it should: It tastes great.
What is unusual (for them) is using a white wine, as Piedmontese instinct is always to reach for a red. (One winegrower told me that the only good use for white wine was for taking out red wine stains!) Piedmont does, in fact, produce a lot of white wine, the best known of these being Asti Spumante. But there are other, drier white wines from indigenous grape varieties such as Arneis and Favorita, as well as the Cortese variety that creates the wine called Gavi.
On restaurant menus you will see this dish called Anatra alla Favorita or Anatra almandine Arneis. But any good dry white wine will do, such as Chardonnay, dry Reisling, or Sauvignon Blanc.
Makes six servings
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- One 4- to 5-pound duck, cut into serving pieces
- 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 10 oil-cured black olives, pits removed and coarsely chopped
- 2 bay leaves, crumbled
- Leaves from one large sprig of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 2 cups dry white wine, plus more if needed
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
To brown the duck, put 1 tablespoon of the olive oil il a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the duck pieces. (This may best be done in two pans, or in batches, to prevent crowding the pieces; use an additional tablespoon of oil if necessary). Brown them lightly on all sides. Remove the duck pieces to a large colander set in a mixing bowl to allow any excess fat to drain.
Put the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a casserole large enough to hold all of the duck pieces over medium-low heat. When the oil is hot, add the garlic, olives, bay leaves, and rosemary. Reduce the heat to low and stir vigorously to combine. Let cook for a minute or two; take care not to let the garlic color. Add 1 cup of the wine and stir to combine. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Let the wine reduce by about one third.
Season the duck pieces with salt and pepper, then place them in the casserole. Add the remaining 1 cup wine. The wine should come roughly halfway up the meat; add a little more if necessary. Adjust the heat so the wine is simmering lightly. Partially cover the casserole and let braise until the duck is tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Make sure that the wine does not evaporate too quickly; if that happens, lower the heat slightly, and add more wine as needed. The duck can be kept warm in its braising liquid, covered, for several hours.
To serve, place the duck pieces on very warm plates. Spoon a bit of the braising liquid over them and serve immediately.
Mr. Kramer doesn't suggest a side dish, but mashed potatoes would be nice, I think.
His book is divided into sections covering the various parts of the Piemontese meal, with a lengthy discussion of antipasti, followed by Soups, Risotto (Piemonte is home to Carnaroli, the great rice from the flatlands around Novara), Bagna Caoda, Pasta, Polenta, Vegetables, Main Vourses, and Desserts. All concisely written, interesting, and with much sound advice.
It will make a fine gift, but don't leaf through it if you do buy a copy for a friend, lest you decide to keep it.
- Practical things:
- Mat Kramer
- A Passion for Piedmont
- ISBN 0-688-11594-2
- 336 pages, and about 150 recipes
- William Morrow & Company, Inc
- New York, 1997
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Cabbages!
And what does all this winter cold bring to mind? Cabbages, the classic winter vegetables. You'll find recipes featuring them scattered across the site, and here are a few more, from Alessandro Molinari Pradelli's Il Grande Libro della Cucina Italiana (Newton Compton Editore).
Cavolo Capuccio alla Sarda -- Cabbage Sardinian Style
To serve 6:
- 2 1/2 pounds (1.2 k) cappuccio cabbage
- 5 ounces (100 g) minced cured lard or panceta
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced parsley
- A bay leaf (to be fished out and discarded)
- Broth, if need be
- Salt and pepper to taste
Thinly slice the cabbage.
Sauté the minced lard, garlic, bay leaf, and parsley in the oil in a large pot; when the meat has begun to brown and the fat has rendered somewhat, remove and discard the bay leaf, and add the cabbage. Sprinkle a ladle of broth or water over the cabbage, check seasoning, and simmer everything over a gentle flame, covered, until the cabbage is tender. Of check on it occasionally, and add more liquid if it is drying out.
Serve steaming hot.
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Cavolo Nero in Casseruola -- Kale in a Casserole
Though I generally associate kale with Tuscan cooking, and in particular with ribollita, a tasty bread soup that's peasant food at its best, it does also grow in other parts of Italy, including Lombardia, which is where this recipe hales from. To serve six:
- A head of kale
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 5 ounces (125 g) pancetta, thinly sliced
- An onion, thinly sliced
- A the leaves of a sprig of rosemary
- A half cup of tomato sauce
- A ladle of hot broth
- Salt and pepper
Wash the kale well and blanch it in boiling water, then drain it and shred it coarsely. In the meantime, heat toe oil in a large pot.
Sauté the pancetta, onions, and rosemary leaves in the oil, add the kale, tomato, check seasoning, and bring the mixture to a simmer, and cover it.
In about 20 minutes the sauce will be partially dried; sprinkle the hot broth over the kale and finish cooking it uncovered, until the excess moisture has evaporated. Serve steaming, as a side dish.
Variation: You can also use Savoy cabbage, at which point it becomes Verzada.
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Oca con le Verze -- Goose with Savoy Cabbage
A rich Piemontese recipe that will serve six:
- A young goose
- 1/4 cup (50 g) unsalted butter
- Minced rosemary to taste
- The zest of a lemon (yellow part only), in thin strips
- 2 cups dry white wine
- A Savoy cabbage
- An onion, minced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Clean the goose, if need be, cut it into pieces, and brown it in a skillet with the butter and the minced rosemary. Check seasoning, add the lemon zest, sprinkle the wine over it, cover, and simmer for several hours. In the meantime wash the cabbage, shred it, and sauté it in a little oil with the onion and the bay leaf, season it with salt and pepper, and simmer it until done.
When both the goose and the cabbage are cooked, combine them, stir the vinegar into the mixture, and simmer a few minutes more before serving.
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Cabbage Casserole
Winding down, a recipe for left-over cabbage and leftover boiled meat from a treatise on dealing with leftovers published by Olindo Guerrini a little more than a century ago:
If you happen to have a leftover boiled cabbage, or even several large leaves in good condition, use some of them to line the bottom of a well-buttered oven-proof dish. Dust the cabbage well with freshly grated Parmigiano, followed by a beaten egg or two, and then a dusting of minced boiled meat (in the days before bullion, boiled meat was very common in Italian households). Dribble some melted butter over all, season lightly with salt and pepper, and repeat with as many layers as you have cabbage and boiled meat, dusting the top layer with bread crumbs and dotting it with butter curls. Heat the dish through in the oven until the top has browned, and serve it.
Remember, if you also happen to have some leftover liver, it will go just fine with the boiled meat.
By modern standards it would be something almost to make from scratch, but it is interesting and will be good.
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Minestra di Noci -- Walnut Soup
And finally, an unusual Pemontese walnut soup from Mr. Molinari Pradelli:
- 1 1/3 pounds (600 g) walnuts
- 1 cup (250 ml) whole milk or cream
- 2 quarts (liters) beef broth
- Slices of day old bread
- 2 tablespoons (25 g) unsalted butter, for browning the bread
- Salt and pepper to taste
Shell the walnuts, blanch the nutmeats in abundant salted water, drain them, and peel away the walnut skins.
Grind the walnuts in a mortar, or blend them (short bursts to keep from liquefying them), and combine them with the milk, to obtain a liquid cream. Bring the broth to a boil, and while it's heating toast the slices of bread in the butter. Stir the walnut cream into the broth, dust it with pepper to taste, and cook it for a few minutes, then serve it steaming hot, the sliced bread.
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This week's proverb is Piemontese: Chi veul tút a so mod c'a viva da per chiel. Those who would have everything as they want it should live alone.
A presto,
Kyle Phillips
Webweaver, About Italian Cuisine
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