Eating Italy: A Chef's Culinary Adventure (5 page)

2 tablespoons (30 ml) balsamic vinegar

1 small head of radicchio

1½ tablespoons (14 g) chopped raw unsalted pistachios, preferably Sicilian

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a stockpot or large, clean tub or plastic bag, submerge the veal in the brine. Cover (or seal) and refrigerate for 4 days.

When you’re ready to start cooking, soak the hay in water for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 450°F (120°C). Remove the veal from the brine, give it a rinse, then place it in a Dutch oven and pack the wet hay around it. Roast uncovered until the hay smells dry and the meat begins to brown, about 1 hour.

Lower the oven temperature to 300°F (150°C). Add enough water to come one-quarter of the way up the meat, then cover the pan and braise in the oven until the meat is tender (about 190°F/88°C internal temperature), 4 to 5 hours. Let cool slightly, then remove the meat from the pan and discard the hay. You can cover and refrigerate the meat for up to 4 days at this point.

About an hour before you’re ready to serve, preheat a grill to medium-high heat. Cut the peaches in half lengthwise and discard the pits. Coat the peaches with 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of the blended oil. Coat the grill grate with oil and grill the peaches just until grill-marked but not mushy, 2 minutes per side. Cut each peach half into quarters lengthwise.

Pour the vinegar into a medium bowl and whisk in 6 tablespoons (90 ml) of the blended oil. Core the radicchio and cut it into 1½-inch (3.75-cm) squares. Add to the bowl, along with the grilled peaches and pistachios. Season to taste with salt and pepper and toss gently.

To finish, preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C) and roast the whole shoulder on a large baking sheet until crispy on the surface, 20 to 25 minutes.

Place the remaining hay on a large serving platter and set the roast on it. Loosely assemble the salad around the roast. Serve hot, discarding any large fat deposits as you carve the roast.

PORK NECK CANNELLONI
with
HEIRLOOM TOMATOES
and
BASIL

Here’s a way to use a part of the pig that’s usually forgotten. You do see the neck used to make cured
capocollo
, but not much else. I decided to braise it down, grind it, and stuff it into cannelloni with cheese and eggs. It was one of the best pasta fillings I ever had. Ask your butcher or farmers’ market vendor for pork neck. They’ll be happy to sell it to you cheap because no one asks for it. If you can’t get pork neck, use boneless pork shoulder or shank instead. Either way, there’s so much flavor here, all you need are some quick-sautéed heirloom tomatoes to pull the whole thing together. It’s a great late summer dish when you’re up to your ears in overripe tomatoes. This recipe makes a large casserole, so you have plenty of leftovers (which taste even better the next day). If you want less, cut the recipe in half.

MAKES 8 TO 10 SERVINGS

Pasta and Filling:

2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

2½ pounds (1.125 kg) boneless pork neck or pork shoulder, cubed

1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped (1 cup/160 g)

2 medium-size carrots, chopped (1 cup/125 g)

2 medium-size ribs celery, chopped (1 cup/100 g)

4 ounces (115 g) chopped prosciutto (scraps are fine if you have them)

½ cup (120 ml) white wine

20 ounces (570 g) fresh whole-milk ricotta cheese (2½ cups)

5 large eggs

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

8 ounces (227 g) Egg Pasta Dough (
page 282
), rolled into 2 sheets, each about
inch (1.5 mm) thick

1 quart (1 L) Béchamel Sauce (
page 281
), divided

3½ ounces (100 g) Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cup)

Heirloom Tomato Sauce:

8 garlic cloves, minced

1½ cups (375 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

4 pounds (1.75 kg) heirloom tomatoes

24 fresh basil leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the pasta and filling:
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over high heat. Add the pork in batches to prevent overcrowding, and cook until browned all over, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the meat to a bowl, and add the onion, carrots, and celery to the pan. Cook until the vegetables are soft but not browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the prosciutto, and cook for 2 minutes. Return the meat to the pan, add the white wine, and simmer until the liquid reduces in volume by about half, 10 minutes or so. Lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the meat is extremely soft, 3 to 4 hours, adding a little water, if necessary, to prevent sticking. The meat should fall apart in shreds when poked with tongs. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool down in the pan. Refrigerate the whole pan until the mixture is cold, at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.

Put all the parts of a meat grinder in the freezer for 15 minutes to chill them. Grind the cold meat mixture on the small (¼-inch/6-mm) die of the grinder. Weigh out 2 pounds (1 kg) of the mixture and reserve the rest for another use. (You may have about 4 ounces/115 g extra—add it to tomato sauce or use it to top bruschetta.) Put the 2 pounds (1 kg) of ground pork in a bowl and stir in the ricotta cheese, eggs, and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture into resealable plastic bags and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.

Lay the pasta sheets on a lightly floured work surface and cut into 4-inch (10-cm) squares. You should get about twenty squares from each sheet, forty total.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and fill a large bowl with ice water. Drop the pasta squares into the hot water a few at a time, quickly return the water to a boil, and cook for 15 to 20 seconds just to blanch them, stirring gently to prevent sticking. Immediately transfer the pasta to ice water to stop the cooking. Lay the pasta squares on kitchen towels and pat dry; they will be delicate and some may stick, but you should have plenty.

Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C). Turn on convection, if possible.

Pipe a 1-inch (2.5-cm)-thick line of the cold filling along one edge of each pasta square. Starting at the filled side, use the edge of the kitchen towels to lift and roll the pasta to the edge of the unfilled side to enclose the filling.

Spread a thin layer of béchamel over the bottom of a 4-quart (3.75-L) baking dish (or use individual dishes, if you like). Place the cannelloni on top, seam-side down, and top with the remaining béchamel. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese, and then bake until the cheese melts and browns on top, 8 to 10 minutes.

For the heirloom tomato sauce:
Heat the garlic and oil over medium-low heat in a sauté pan for 3 to 4 minutes. Thinly slice the tomatoes and add to the pan. Raise the heat to medium, and cook until the tomatoes fall apart and the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes, stirring now and then. Chop the basil and stir into the sauce, along with salt and pepper to taste.

To finish, spoon the sauce on top of the cannelloni.

WHOLE ROASTED PIG’S HEAD

Jonathon Sawyer was the inspiration for this recipe. He’s the chef at the Greenhouse Tavern in Cleveland and is completely dedicated to zero-waste cooking. I invited Jonathon to do a dinner with me at Osteria in Philadelphia. Jonathon saw me cutting off a pig’s head and throwing it out (we roast a small pig almost every day at the restaurant). “What the hell are you doing?” he screamed. “You’re throwing away good food there!” He kept the head and roasted it whole with a Coca-Cola glaze. Since that day, I started roasting all our pig’s heads. But now I use beer cooked down with some orange juice and chili flakes to make an
agro dolce
(sweet-and-sour) glaze. It’s become a cult classic. At Osteria, we only have so many heads a week, so people call in advance to order it. When it comes to the table, the whole roasted pig’s head looks kind of macabre. But it tastes 100 percent awesome.

MAKES 2 TO 4 SERVINGS

Pig’s Head:

1 small pig’s head (4 to 5 pounds/1.75 to 2.25 kg)

3 quarts (2.75 L) 3-2-1 Brine (
page 280
)

1 tablespoon (6 g) ground fennel seeds

1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped (1½ cups/240 g)

2 large carrots, chopped (1½ cups/185 g)

3 medium-size ribs celery, chopped (1½ cups/150 g)

1 sachet of 1 sprig rosemary, 3 sprigs thyme, 1 bay leaf, 5 black peppercorns, and 1 garlic clove (see
page 277
)

1 quart (1 L) Chicken Stock (
page 279
)

Beer Agro Dolce:

12 ounces (375 ml) beer (I like pale ale, but almost any beer will do; in the fall I use a chestnut beer from Baladin called Noël)

½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar

¼ cup (60 ml) sherry vinegar

Juice of 1 orange

Big pinch of chile flakes

½ teaspoon (1 g) black peppercorns

Bruschetta:

5 thick slices rustic bread

Olive oil, for brushing

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Raspberry, apple, or another seasonal jam of your choice

For the pig’s head:
Rinse the head and set aside. Make the brine and stir in the ground fennel seeds. Submerge the head in the brine, and refrigerate for 4 days.

Put the head in a large Dutch oven or other pot that will hold it comfortably. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and sachet to the pot. Pour in the stock and just enough water to come about halfway up the head. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.

Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). When the liquid comes to a boil, transfer the pot to the oven, and cook, covered, until the head is tender, 4 to 5 hours. The skin on top of the head should start to split and the cheeks should feel soft to the touch. When the head is done, carefully remove it from the pot (heatproof silicone gloves work well), put it on a rimmed baking sheet, cover, and refrigerate. When the head is cool, use a knife to remove the skin from the cheeks and snout, peeling away the skin but leaving the meat and fat. Score the fat around the cheeks. Leave the skin on the top of the head so the ears remain attached. Remove the tongue, and remove and discard the skin from the tongue.

For the beer agro dolce:
Combine the beer, sugar, vinegar, orange juice, chili flakes, and peppercorns in a pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil until the liquid reduces in volume to about ⅔ cup (150 ml) and becomes a thin syrup, 10 to 15 minutes. Strain and set aside.

For the bruschetta:
Heat a grill or broiler to medium-high heat. Brush both sides of the bread with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill or broil the bread until toasted, 1 to 2 minutes per side.

Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Put the pig’s head and the tongue in a roasting pan or on a rimmed baking sheet and pour the agro dolce evenly over the head and tongue, brushing it to cover completely. Transfer to the oven and roast for 5 minutes. Pull out the pan and turn the head onto one cheek, spooning the sauce from the pan evenly over the head and tongue. Roast for another 5 minutes. Remove again from the oven and turn the head on the other cheek, spooning the sauce all over the head and tongue. If the sauce gets too thick, add a little water to the pan to thin it enough to be pourable. Roast for another 5 minutes. The total roasting time will be 15 to 20 minutes. Put the head right side up on a large plate or platter, with the tongue alongside it. Spoon the remaining sauce over the head.