Eating Italy: A Chef's Culinary Adventure (8 page)

CRISPY SWEETBREADS
with
PARMIGIANO FONDUTA
and
GRILLED TREVISO

Back in 1996, when I was training at the Culinary Institute of America, we always poached sweetbreads before sautéing or pan-frying them. When I got to Italy, I saw Paolo Frosio doing the same thing. But I always thought that pre-cooking gave sweetbreads a chalky texture. I had learned from Marc Vetri that you can just soak them in ice water before cooking them. That’s how I like to do them. With a quick pre-soak, the sweetbreads stay nice and meaty and fry up crispier.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

1 pound (450 g) sweetbreads, preferably veal thymus

1 head Treviso radicchio

¾ cup (175 ml) olive oil, divided, plus some for drizzling

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

¾ cup (95 grams)
tipo
00 flour (see
page 277
) or all-purpose flour

4 ounces (1 stick/115 g) unsalted butter

6 sage leaves

1 cup (235 ml) heavy cream

1 teaspoon (2 g) cracked black pepper

1 ounce (28 g) Parmesan cheese, grated (¼ cup)

2½ tablespoons (37 ml) sherry vinegar

1 tablespoon (3.75 g) chopped mixed fresh herbs (parsley, rosemary, and thyme)

Extra-virgin olive oil for garnish

Rinse the sweetbreads in cold water, then soak in a bowl of ice water for 10 minutes. Pat dry, then remove the outer membrane from the sweetbreads. Cut the sweetbreads into 1-ounce (28-g) portions, about the size of two fingers, and refrigerate for up to 8 hours. It’s important to keep the sweetbreads cold right up until you cook them.

Heat a grill to medium heat. Quarter the head of Treviso lengthwise, drizzle the pieces with a little olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Brush the grill grate with oil and grill the Treviso until charred on all sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Set aside.

Season the sweetbreads all over with salt and pepper, then dredge in the flour, gently shaking off excess flour.

Heat the butter and ¼ cup (60 ml) of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the butter starts to foam, add the sage leaves. Use a spoon to baste the sage with the butter mixture until the sage is crispy, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels; season lightly with salt and pepper. Add the sweetbread pieces to the pan, and cook until darkly browned and crisp all over, about 15 minutes, turning once or twice. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

Combine the heavy cream and cracked pepper in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until steam begins to rise from the cream but it doesn’t simmer, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in the Parmesan until melted. Strain the mixture through a medium-mesh strainer into a small metal bowl, discarding the solids. You will be left with a creamy Parmesan sauce (
fonduta
). Set the bowl into another bowl of hot water to keep warm until ready to serve (if you put it over direct heat the Parmesan will coagulate on the bottom).

Put the vinegar in a bowl or small food processor and slowly whisk or blend in the remaining ½ cup (120 ml) of olive oil until thickened, 1 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cut off and discard the Treviso cores, then cut the grilled Treviso into ¼-inch (5-mm) chunks and toss in a bowl with the vinaigrette and herbs. Keep warm or rewarm gently just before serving.

Spoon about ¼ cup (60 ml) of fonduta onto each plate, and place the sweetbreads on top. Garnish with the grilled Treviso, fried sage, and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

CANEDERLI
with
CABBAGE
and
SPECK

Most American restaurants have a quick staff meal in the middle of the day before dinner service. When I worked in Italy, staff meal was like no other I’d ever had. We actually sat down for thirty to forty minutes and enjoyed a three-course meal. At Frosio, one of the cooks, Francesco Cereda, made these bread gnocchi for staff meal one day and they blew my mind. He soaked some leftover bread in milk, mixed in sautéed onions and eggs, and boiled the dumplings like pasta. The canederli were unbelievably light and fluffy, and he served them with only brown butter, Parmesan, and fresh sage. It was simple and beautiful. Canederli come from Trentino, so I like to serve them with cabbage and Speck, two ingredients that are a huge part of Trentino cooking. That chewy, salty spark ties the whole dish together. If you can’t find Speck, use coppa or prosciutto.

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS (18 TO 20 DUMPLINGS)

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons (100 ml) whole milk, at room temperature

9 tablespoons (125 g) unsalted butter, melted, divided

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon (3.75 g) chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon (18 g) salt, plus more to taste

½ teaspoon (1 g) grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon (1 g) freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

8 ounces (227 g) white bread, crust removed, cubed (from 8 to 10 slices)

6½ tablespoons (50 g) sifted
tipo
00 flour (see
page 277
) or all-purpose flour, plus about 1 cup (125 g) for dusting

2 teaspoons (10 ml) grapeseed or olive oil

8 ounces (227 g) savoy cabbage, julienned (2 cups)

1 ounce (28 g) Parmesan cheese, grated (¼ cup)

2 ounces (56 g) cured Speck, coppa, or proscuitto, thinly sliced into strips (½ cup)

Whisk together the milk, 5 tablespoons (70 g) of the melted butter, and the eggs, parsley, salt, nutmeg, and ½ teaspoon (1 g) of black pepper in a large bowl. Stir in the cubed bread, then the 6½ tablespoons (50 g) of flour. Let stand for 30 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Put the remaining 1 cup (125 g) of flour in a bowl, then scoop the bread mixture into small balls about the size of golf balls and drop them in the flour, rolling them gently until dusted with flour. Shake off the excess flour. The canederli will be loose and soft. Drop the dusted canederli in the boiling water, in batches, if necessary, to prevent overcrowding, and cook until they float, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl or plate.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 4 tablespoons (55 g) of butter over medium heat until deep amber in color, about 5 minutes, swirling the pan for even browning. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat and add the cabbage, cooking it just until tender, about 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Divide the cabbage among plates, top with the canederli (four to five per serving), and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Drizzle with the browned butter and scatter the strips of Speck over the top.

DOPPIO RAVIOLI
with
DUCK
and
CHESTNUT

Toward the end of summer 2008, I was developing the fall menu for Osteria in Philadelphia. I thought back to the
doppio
(double) ravioli that Paolo Frosio made when I was there, which contained two different fillings. Genius! I wanted some chestnuts on our fall menu, so I decided to try duck and chestnuts. With some chestnut flour in the pasta itself, the combination was perfect. Thanks for the inspiration, Paolo!

MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS

Duck Filling:

2 pounds (1 kg) bone-in duck legs

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons (30 ml) blended oil (
page 276
)

½ small yellow onion, chopped (⅓ cup/52 g)

1 medium-size carrot, chopped (⅓ cup/40 g)

1 medium-size rib celery, chopped (⅓ cup/33 g)

4 cups (1 L) red wine

1 sachet of 2 sprigs parsley, 2 sprigs rosemary, and 2 sprigs thyme (see
page 277
)

1 large egg

1 ounce (28 g) Parmesan cheese, grated (¼ cup)

Chestnut Filling:

1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil

1 tablespoon (14 g) unsalted butter

½ small yellow onion, chopped (⅓ cup/52 g)

1 small garlic clove, minced

8 ounces (227 g) peeled chestnuts (1⅓ cups), thawed if frozen

4 ounces (113 g) fresh whole-milk ricotta cheese (½ cup)

½ ounce (14 g) Parmesan cheese, grated (2 tablespoons)

1 large egg

Ravioli:

8 ounces (227 g) Chestnut Pasta Dough (
page 282
), rolled into 2 sheets, each about
inch (0.8 mm) thick

8 ounces (2 sticks/225 g) unsalted butter

6 ounces (170 g) peeled chestnuts (1 cup), sliced

8 sprigs thyme

1¾ ounces (50 g) Parmesan cheese, grated (½ cup) for garnish

For the duck filling:
Remove any excess fat deposits from the duck legs. Rinse them well, then pat dry and season the duck all over with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large, deep saucepan over high heat. When the pan is smoking hot, add the duck and sear on both sides until well browned, 10 to 12 minutes total. Transfer to a plate or platter. Pour off all but a few tablespoons of fat from the pan, and then add the onion, carrot, and celery; cook over medium heat until soft but not browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Return the duck to the pan, pour in the wine, and add the sachet. Bring to a simmer, then adjust the heat so that the liquid simmers gently. Cover and simmer gently until the duck is very tender, just about to the point of easily falling apart, 2 to 3 hours. Remove from the heat, and remove and discard the sachet. Transfer the duck to a plate or platter. Strain the broth, reserving the broth and vegetables separately. Pick the meat and skin from the bones, discarding all the bones. Grind the meat, skin, and reserved vegetables on the small die of a meat grinder. Fold in the egg and cheese, and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the filling into a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Refrigerate the braising liquid as well.

For the chestnut filling:
Heat the oil and butter in a sauté pan over medium-low heat. When the butter melts, add the onion and garlic, and cook until soft but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the chestnuts and season with salt and pepper. Add enough water to cover the ingredients, increase the heat to medium, cover, and cook until the chestnuts are tender enough for a fork to slide in easily (sort of like that of boiled potatoes), 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and reserve the cooking liquid. Transfer the solids to a blender and puree with just enough of the cooking liquid to make a thick, smooth puree that’s roughly the texture of ricotta cheese, scraping down the sides of the blender as necessary. Fold in the ricotta, Parmesan, and egg. Spoon the filling into a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

To make the ravioli:
Lay a pasta sheet on a lightly floured work surface and dust with flour. Trim the ends to make them square, then fold the dough in half lengthwise and make a small notch at the center to mark it. Open the sheet so it lies flat again and spritz with water. Cut a corner from each bag of filling and pipe the fillings in ½-inch-wide columns along the length of the pasta, leaving ½-inch margin around each column of fillings and stopping at the middle of the sheet. (See photo at right, but note that the pasta sheet has been rolled in a commercial pasta machine and is about twice as wide as what you get from a typical consumer pasta machine.) Neaten up the columns of filling with your fingertips. Lift up the empty side of the pasta sheet and fold it over to cover the filling. Gently press the pasta around each strip of filling to seal (it helps to use a long wooden dowel or chopstick). Use a fluted pasta cutting wheel or a sharp knife to cut the ravioli into rectangles. When cut, each ravioli should have two fillings in it. Repeat with the remaining pasta dough and filling. You will have about sixty ravioli.