Opening Boxes

 

Sometimes I decide to accept a minor event as a sign pointing me in a particular direction.  I go with it and take the ride.

After reading several tributes to the Italian Cookbook author, Marcella Hazan, who died recently, urging readers to go out and buy Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking as a way to honor her, I wondered if I ought to do just that.

A few days later, I was going through some boxes in a third floor closet, looking for some childhood photo albums and scrapbooks.  While I didn't find what I was looking for, I did open a box containing items from my mother's apartment that I had quickly packed up after she died and we were preparing to sell her place. 

It was like Christmas morning, when I pulled out The Classic Italian Cookbook.

This edition is a re-print published in 1980, and my mother must have received it as a gift.  The edges of the jacket are a bit torn at the top, but otherwise it appears to never have been used.  

I thought I'd try dedicating myself to it, at least the recipes not containing meat.  I've been feeling lately that I want to settle in and learn from a master cookbook author.  An opportunity has come knocking. 

I know Marcella wouldn't approve of our eating a bowl of spaghetti as our main course like we did last night, but the tomatoes for the sauce did come from my garden, so I hope she would forgive our American ways.

Give yourself about two and a half hours to prepare this sauce, and while it simmers, putter about and wash that sink-full of dishes from the day, pour yourself a glass of wine and spend a few minutes with a book you're in the middle of reading. 

Maybe take a moment and think about who or what this slow-cooking sauce might connect you to.

Sughi di pomodoro

Tomato Sauce I

adapted from The Classic Italian Cookbook

2 pounds fresh, ripe plum tomatoes

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup finely chopped yellow onion

1/3 cup finely chopped carrot

1/3 cup finely chopped celery

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar

1.  Cut the tomatoes in half, lengthwise.  Cook in a covered saucepan at a steady simmer for 10 minutes.  Uncover and simmer gently for 1 1/2 hours more.

2.  Puree the tomatoes through a food mill into a bowl.  Discard the seeds and skin.

3.  Rinse and dry the saucepan.  Put in the olive oil, then add the chopped onion, and lightly saute over medium heat until just translucent, not browned.  Add the carrot and celery and saute for another minute.  Add the pureed tomato, the salt, and the sugar, and cook at a gently simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.  Stir from time to time while cooking.

Serves 4 as a main course

Local Heat

A new vendor, Market Day Canele, joined our farmer's market a few months ago. Each market visit I like to try a new item from their small, but very fine offering.

Recently, I bought their Cucarachas--dried chili peppers with olive oil, garlic and salt. They can be crumbled and used in place of chili pepper flakes.

I tried them in a shrimp and spaghetti dish, inspired by a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks. Patricia Wells often calls for crushed red peppers, so I anticipate reaching for my cucarachas with some frequency.

The shrimp are intended to be cooked in their shells and served as an appetizer along with crusty bread for dipping in the garlicky sauce. For us, the addition of spaghetti turned this into a quick, Friday night dinner.

Spaghetti with Shrimp, Garlic, Oil and Hot Peppers
adapted from Patricia Wells' Trattoria

1 pound medium, large or jumbo shrimp
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 plump fresh garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary or thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon crumbled Market Day Canele Cucarachas (hot red pepper flakes), or to taste
Salt to taste
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, snipped with scissors

1. Put up salted pasta water to boil.
2. Shell and rinse the shrimp, pat them dry and set aside. In a skillet large enough to hold all the shrimp in a single layer, heat the oil over moderately high heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the garlic, rosemary or thyme, chili peppers, and shrimp. Toss to coat with oil, and cook stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are pink. Turn off the heat.
3. When spaghetti is cooked, drain and add to the skillet and toss to coat with the oil. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

Bring the Garden in Friday with Fettuccine with Butter and Sage

Sage is my favorite herb, next to rosemary. I think of it paired with cold weather foods, yet it grows most abundantly in Summer. There's only a little bunch left in my herb bed. If the weather stays mild, it might just save itself for our Thanksgiving stuffing.

I went out this week to snip a big handful to make this simple pasta dish from one of my favorite cookbooks. I substituted sage for the rosemary, as suggested, because soon enough, rosemary will be my only herb left in the garden.

Butter and sage is such a warming, comforting combination. I even ate some leftovers at 11:00am the next morning, and despite being a vegetable lover, I am a nothing-green-until-Noon kind of person. I feel like I could eat this all day long.

You will find this recipe in the book as Tajarin with Rosemary-Infused Butter. Fresh fettuccine or tagliatelle is called for, but since I can only find fresh pasta on certain days in a certain location, I used dried.

Fettuccine with Sage-Infused Butter
adapted from Patricia Wells' Trattoria

5 tablespoons (2 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter
3 to 4 tablespoons minced fresh sage or rosemary leaves
Sea salt to taste
1 pound fettuccine
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for the table

In a skillet large enough to hold the pasta later on, combine the butter and sage over low heat. As soon as the butter is melted, remove the skillet from the heat and cover. Set aside to infuse for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile cook the fettuccine in 6 quarts of boiling, salted water.

Drain and transfer the pasta to the skillet, off the heat, and toss to blend. Cover and let rest for 1 to 2 minutes to allow the pasta to thoroughly absorb the sauce. Transfer to warmed pasta bowls and serve immediately, with cheese if desired.

Serves 4-6

Bring the Garden in Friday with Pasta and Nine Herbs

When I woke up this morning, I looked up to our skylight and saw the tree leaves had turned from green to gold seemingly overnight.

Last weekend I cleared our cucumber plants out of the garden, but there is still eggplant, peppers, tomatoes and loads of herbs. We have one pumpkin growing.

I made this herbal arrangement because my HBinFive Bread Braid assignment called for rosemary and basil. I invite you to check out the bread baking we all did this week if you would like. In case you are not familiar with our group, we have been baking our way through Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

Since I already had some herbs cut, I decided to make a pasta originally intended for ten herbs. I was missing chervil, so I adapted this recipe to become pasta with nine herbs. I used butter because it was a rainy, chilly evening, and I wanted something a little richer. The idea behind the pasta shape is to choose something that can hold the sauce in the nooks and crannies. The recipe called for Tripolini, which I was unable to find locally.

Pasta with Nine Herbs
adapted from Verdura

3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
3 tablespoons chopped basil
2 tablespoons chopped chives
1 tablespoon chopped tarragon
1 tablespoon chopped sage
1 tablespoon chopped oregano
1 teaspoon chopped marjoram
1 teaspoon chopped thyme
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
1/2 cup olive oil or 1 stick butter
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried red chile pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 pound small pasta shape (I used shells)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a medium saucepan, combine the fresh herbs, olive oil, garlic and red chile pepper flakes. Turn the heat to low, and gently stir the ingredients until the herbs turn bright green and release their fragrance, about 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile cook the pasta. When cooked, place in a serving bowl and toss with herb mixture. Serve immediately, passing the parmesan at the table.

Bring the Garden in Friday with Eggplant and Basil

Basil is decidedly Summer, and eggplant, well, it represents transition to me right now. I suppose that where our garden is on this eve of October as I write this.

On this last evening of September, we are also in the midst of a tornado watch. I hope our remaining tomatoes don't fly right off their vines. The garden seems a little fragile right now--that messy, still producing, but decay hovering stage.

This week the garden was brought into the kitchen. We even ate indoors tonight amidst howling winds like any I have heard during a blizzard. It's not hard to remember that sound--our region had three blizzards last Winter.

This pasta dish started from Chez Panisse Pasta, Pizza and Calzone. I was drawn to it by the simplicity, however, I needed to appeal to Mark Bittman to fill things out a bit.

By the way, do you see these three perfectly spaced holes on my eggplant? That was some insect's or bird's touch. Very creative, don't you think?

Pasta with Eggplant and Basil
adapted from Chez Panisse Pasta, Pizza and Calzone

1 large eggplant
1/2 to 3/4 cup Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
3 handfuls fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 pound fettucine
1/2 cup oil cured olives
Parmesan, freshly grated

Slice eggplant 1/4 inch thick, place in colander and sprinkle with coarse salt. Allow to drain for at least 30 minutes or longer.

Put salted pasta water up to boil.

Heat 1/4 cup of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, cook the eggplant slices in batches, one layer at a time, not overcrowding. Add more oil as needed. Cook until nicely browned on each side, then remove to platter to drain on paper towel. Drizzle the red wine vinegar over the browned eggplant slices, sprinkle with salt, pepper and a handful of chopped basil. Allow to marinate while cooking all the eggplant, and repeating the seasoning on each batch. (The recipe says to marinate for one hour. I didn't have enough time for this, but maybe you are able to plan ahead a bit better).

While the eggplant cooks, mince the garlic and chop remaining basil, set aside. When water is boiling, cook pasta.

After all eggplant slices are cooked, add oil if needed to coat the pan. Saute garlic and red pepper flakes, taking care not to brown garlic. Cut eggplant slices into quarters and add to pan. Heat until warm. Add cooked pasta to the pan and toss gently.

Transfer pasta to a larger serving bowl, add olives and remaining basil. Serve immediately with grated parmesan.

Serves 4

HBinFive August 15th Bread Braid

My favorite bread in HBinFive, the Rosemary Flax Baguette, was found in this assignment.

I have never used flax meal before, but I love rosemary, olive oil and wheat germ. This bread is soft and flavorful, the olive oil flavor comes through loud and clear. I could even taste a little salt, which is the first time I can say that here (I always increase the salt to 1 1/2 tablespoons and usually it makes no difference).

Then, there was the pretty addition of adding sprigs of rosemary to the slashes before baking. Aaah! A very nice idea indeed.

We enjoyed this with some tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden, and a pasta dish with pesto and roasted potatoes.

Only once have I had pasta with potatoes. My cousin, who has traveled all over Italy, made it once at a party. It was delicious, as was our dish.

Pesto with New Potatoes and Pasta
adapted from Chez Panisse Pasta, Pizza & Calzone

5 or 6 new potatoes
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Fresh thyme leaves
1 pound linguine
Pesto
Parmesan (optional)

Wash the potatoes; leave the skins on. Cut the potatoes in thin slices, then toss them in olive oil in a baking dish. Season with salt and pepper, add some fresh thyme leaves, and roast them in a hot oven. Turn and stir the potatoes a few times during the cooking so that they brown evenly. Meanwhile, cook the linguine. When the potatoes are brown and crisp, remove them from the oven. Toss the linguine with the potatoes and pesto. Serve immediately with freshly grated parmesan, if desired. Serves 4

May 15th HBinFive Bread Braid

There is still more to create from the Master Dough recipe, demonstrated by three new breads for this assignment.

The Hearty Whole Wheat Sandwich Loaf made good toast and sandwiches.

The Turkish-Style Pita Bread was indeed more like a flatbread than the puffy pita most of us are familiar with. We enjoyed it with a Greek salad and Hummus.

I had the most fun with the Whole Grain Garlic Knots with Parsley and Olive Oil, although I substituted rosemary for the parsley. Yes, my garlic did burn a bit, as some have also experienced, but no matter, these were still wonderful. I decided to use rosemary, not only because I have so much of it, but since others said their parley burned, I thought the rosemary might be heartier in a hot oven.

We all loved these, and I imagine the dough and toppings could be really versatile here, so I look forward to trying these again. It made me think of fougasse, which I have made often, and always look for new topping ideas.

We served the knots with this pasta, adapted from Chez Panisse Pasta, Pizza and Calzone.

Spaghetti with Shrimp and Asparagus
An adaption of Shrimp, Peas, Creme Fraiche & Spaghetti

1 pound shrimp
2 cloves garlic
A handful of fresh basil leaves
3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups sliced asparagus, tough ends removed
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 pound spaghetti

Put pasta water up to boil, and cook spaghetti when water is ready.

Wash and peel the shrimp. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Cut the basil leaves into narrow ribbons.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the shrimp, salt and pepper. After a minute, lower the heat and add the garlic and asparagus. Cook for 1 minute. Add the cream and basil and cook another minute or so. Add the cooked spaghetti to the pan. Mix well and taste for seasoning. Serve garnished with additional fresh basil.

The basil I used was not yet from my garden. My garden challenge this week included more salad for 2, strawberries and chives.