Eating Italy: A Chef's Culinary Adventure (22 page)

The food at Da Cesare in Piedmont is the most simple and elegant you will ever experience. In 2004, out from the kitchen came this piping hot stone with a veal loin cooked rare and sliced thin, so you could use the stone to finish cooking the veal to your liking. You could smell fresh rosemary and thyme sprigs searing beneath the hot stone. The dish was served with an heirloom tomato and basil salad and a little rock salt. Perfection! You can use any flat, heavy stone that will retain heat. I like Pennsylvania bluestone, but salt blocks also work well. Look for bluestone at landscaping stores or salt blocks at the Meadow (see Sources,
page 289
). You can get away with using only two stones if everyone shares.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Four 6-inch (15-cm) square Pennsylvania bluestones, salt blocks, unglazed quarry tiles, or other dense, heavy stones

4 heirloom tomatoes

3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil, plus a few tablespoons for searing

1 tablespoon (15 ml) red wine vinegar, preferably Barolo

6 basil leaves, cut into chiffonade

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 pounds (1 kg) boneless veal loin

8 sprigs rosemary

8 sprigs thyme

Maldon sea salt

If using bluestones, rinse the stones clean, dry them, and place them in a cold oven. Heat the oven to 500°F (260°C) and let the stones preheat in the oven until very hot (about 400°F/205°C surface temperature), about 6 hours. If using salt blocks, heat them over a gas burner on the lowest heat for 15 minutes, then raise the heat from low to medium to high every 10 to 15 minutes until very hot (about 600°F/315°C), about 45 minutes. For electric burners, prop the salt blocks on a wok ring or other rack to avoid direct contact with the heating element.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and fill a large bowl with ice water. Score an X into the bottom of each tomato with a sharp knife and blanch the tomatoes in the boiling water until the skins start to curl back a little from the X, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Immediately transfer the tomatoes to the ice water and let them stand until cooled, a minute or two. Starting at the X, peel the skin from the tomatoes and discard. Cut them in half through their equator and gently squeeze them upended over a bowl or trash can to remove and discard the seeds and gel (you can use your fingers or the tip of a knife to help dig out the seeds and gel). Cut out the core and then finely dice the tomatoes. Transfer them to a bowl and mix in the oil, vinegar, and basil. Season with salt and pepper and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

About a half-hour before you are ready to serve, cut the veal crosswise into four equal portions (8 ounces/227 g each), season with salt and pepper, and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Heat a few tablespoons (about 45 ml) of the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the veal and sear until golden brown on both sides but nice and rare and still cool to the touch in the middle, about 4 minutes per side.

Slice the veal through the side into slabs about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick and place the slabs on a plate or another wooden board. Place the rosemary and thyme on wooden boards that can hold the hot stones (the stones will go on top of the herbs). Using heatproof silicone gloves or thick, insulated grill gloves, carefully remove the hot stones from the oven or stovetop and place them on the herbs on the wooden board. Allow guests to use their forks to transfer the slabs of veal to the hot stones, and cook the veal to their liking (it only takes about a minute per side). Serve with the tomato salad, allowing guests to season the stone-seared veal to taste with Maldon sea salt. If using salt blocks, you may not need the finishing salt because some salt will be released into the veal from the block.

WARM QUINCE TORTINI
with
CRANBERRY
and
ORANGE

Tortino
means “small tart.” Mixing choux pastry with pastry cream is what makes the tart special. It creates an unbelievably light and flaky crust. You could put whatever you want inside—cherries, pears, bananas—and the tart would taste awesome. This version is my Italian twist on American apple pie, using quince as the filling and cranberry compote as the sauce. The recipe is written for individual pies, the way we serve them at Osteria. You’ll need eight fluted three- to four-inch (7.5- to 10-cm) brioche molds (any extras can be frozen and then reheated). Or for one large tart, use a single deep-dish pie pan, rolling the dough for both top and bottom crusts.

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

Pastry Cream:

¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar, divided

¼ cup (32 g) cornstarch

9 large egg yolks

1⅔ cups (400 ml) whole milk

6 tablespoons (90 ml) heavy cream

½ vanilla bean, split and scraped

Pâte à Choux Dough:

7 ounces (200 g) unsalted butter

1½ cups (205 g) pastry flour

¼ teaspoon (1.5 g) salt

6 large egg yolks

Quince Filling:

2¼ pounds (1.1 kg) quinces, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon (14 g) unsalted butter

Juice of 1 lemon

2½ cups (500 g) granulated sugar

1½ teaspoons (4 g) ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon (0.6 g) ground mace

⅛ teaspoon (0.3 g) ground cloves

⅛ teaspoon (0.3 g) ground allspice

⅛ teaspoon (0.3 g) ground ginger

1 cup (235 ml) apple cider

Cranberry and Orange Sauce:

Peel from ½ orange

9 ounces (about 2¼ cups/255 g) fresh cranberries

1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar

3 tablespoons (45 ml) brandy

To Serve:

1 cup (235 ml) Crème Anglaise (
page 284
)

For the pastry cream:
Combine the sugar, cornstarch, and egg yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Bring the milk, cream, and vanilla to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat and mix about ½ cup (120 ml) of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture. Scrape all of the egg mixture into the pot of hot milk, and cook over medium heat until thick and creamy. Transfer the mixture to the mixer bowl and whip on low speed until cool, 4 to 5 minutes.

For the pâte à choux dough:
Melt the butter with ⅞ cup (210 ml) of water in a large saucepan, and bring it to a rolling boil. Stir in the flour and salt, cooking and stirring vigorously until the flour absorbs the water and a film forms on the bottom of the pan, 2 to 3 minutes. When the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the pan, about a minute later, transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed for 1 minute to cool the dough. Add the eggs one or two at a time, allowing each addition to become fully incorporated before adding the next and scraping down the bowl as necessary.

Add the cooled pastry cream to the pâte à choux, and mix on low speed until combined to make the final tart dough. It will be sticky. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use or up to 4 hours.

For the quince filling:
Combine the chopped quinces, butter, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, mace, cloves, allspice, ginger, and cider in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the quince breaks down and thickens the entire mixture into a jam, 30 to 40 minutes.

For the cranberry and orange sauce:
Cut the orange peel into very thin strips about 3 inches (7.5 cm) long (julienne). Reserve the rest of the orange for another use. Set up three small pots of boiling water and fill a bowl with ice water. Blanch the orange peels in the first pot for 30 seconds, then transfer with a slotted spoon to the ice water to cool. When cool, blanch the peels in the second pot for 30 seconds and transfer to the ice water to cool again. When cool, blanch the peels in the third pot for 30 seconds and transfer to the ice water to cool.

Combine the blanched orange peel, cranberries, sugar, and brandy in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until the cranberries break down some and the mixture thickens (about 215°F/102°C on a candy thermometer), 20 to 25 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and butter eight fluted 3- to 4-inch (7.5- to 10-cm) brioche molds.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out half of the dough to an even ¼-inch (6-mm) thickness; the dough will be sticky and you will need a lot of flour to roll it out. Cut eight circles out of the dough, each about 4½ inches (11.5 cm) in diameter, and line the prepared molds with the dough, easing it into all the flutes of the molds. Fill halfway with the quince filling.

Roll the remaining half of the dough on the work surface, adding flour as needed, to an even ¼-inch (6-mm) thickness. Cut eight circles out of the dough to fit over the top of the tortini. Lay the top crust on each tortino and crimp the edges to seal. Place the tortini on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes.

To serve:
Spoon a pool of Crème Anglaise on each plate and top with a warm tortino. Spoon on some of the cranberry and orange sauce.

ZABAIONE
with
MOSCATO AND FRESH FIGS

Listening from the dining room of Da Cesare, you can hear the clang of the whisk in Cesare’s copper bowl as he makes his famous zabaione. It’s never too thick or too soupy or too sweet. It’s perfect. He doesn’t cook it in a double boiler but in a copper bowl right over a burner, whisking like hell. It takes skill to keep from scrambling the eggs. I wrote this recipe using the safer method of whisking the zabaione in a bowl over gently simmering water.

MAKES 2 SERVINGS

6 ripe fresh figs

2 large egg yolks

Two half-eggshells of granulated sugar

Two half-eggshells of Marsala or muscat wine

2 hazelnut biscotti cookies or other biscotti

Quarter the figs and divide them among small serving bowls.

Combine the egg yolks, sugar, and wine in a heatproof bowl or the top of a double boiler. Whisk vigorously until the mixture is thick and pale yellow, 2 to 3 minutes. Set the bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. You don’t want the water at a rolling boil or it will cook the eggs too quickly. Whisk constantly until the mixture takes on enough air to triple in volume, thicken slightly, and fall in sheets when the whisk is lifted. It should register 145°F to 150°F (63°C to 66°C) on an instant-read thermometer and take about 5 minutes of whisking over the hot water.

Spoon the zabaione over the figs at the table and garnish the bowls with hazelnut biscotti.