Skinny Italian: Eat It and Enjoy It (22 page)

P
APÀ’S
S
TEAK
P
IZZAIOLA

This is my dad’s specialty. I think about him every time I make it (although I’m a lucky girl, and he’s usually here in my house when I’m cooking it).

Two 12-ounce shell (strip) steaks, each about ¾ inch thick

¾ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 ripe plum tomatoes, cored, seeded, and diced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

¼ teaspoon crushed hot red pepper (optional)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1.
Pat the steaks dry with a paper towel and season them with ½ teaspoon salt. Let stand at room temperature while making the tomato sauce.

2.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about
3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, oregano, remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, and the hot pepper, if using. Stir in ¼ cup water and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes, until the sauce thickens. During the last 5 minutes, stir in the parsley. Transfer the sauce to a bowl, and clean the skillet.

3.
Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the steaks to the skillet and cook about 3 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Transfer to a carving board and let stand for 5 minutes.

4.
Pour out the fat in the skillet. Return the tomato sauce to the skillet and bring to a simmer, scraping up the browned bits in the skillet. Remove from the heat.

5.
Hold the knife at a slight diagonal and cut the steak across the grain into ½-inch-thick slices. Arrange the steak slices on a platter. Pour the tomato sauce over the steak and serve hot.

V
OLUPTUOUS
V
EAL
P
ICCATA

1 pound veal scaloppine, cut into 8 pieces

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more if needed

1 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons drained capers

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1.
Pound the veal cutlets with the flat side of a meat pounder until they are about ¼ inch thick. Season with the salt and pepper. Spread the flour on a large plate. Coat both sides of the veal cutlets in the flour. Shake to remove excess flour.

2.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. In batches, without crowding, add the veal to the pan, and cook 1 minute on each side, until golden brown. Add more oil only if really necessary. Remove the veal from the pan and set aside.

3.
Add the wine to the skillet and bring to a boil, scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Boil until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add the butter, lemon juice, capers, garlic, and parsley. Return the veal to the pan and cook, turning the veal in the skillet to coat with the sauce, until the veal is tender, about 1 minute more. Serve hot.

S
TUFFED
F
LOUNDER
F
LORENTINE

1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 pound baby spinach leaves, rinsed and shaken to remove excess water

3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

3 tablespoons dried Italian-seasoned bread crumbs

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Four 6- to 7-ounce flounder fillets

¼ cup dry white wine

1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1.
Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly oil an 11 × 8-inch baking dish.

2.
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. In batches, letting the first addition wilt before adding another, add the spinach. Cook, stirring often, until the spinach begins to wilt, about 5 minutes. Drain in a colander. Using a rubber spatula, press the spinach well to remove excess liquid. Transfer to a bowl, and stir in 2 tablespoons Parmigiano, 1 tablespoon bread crumbs, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Let stand until cool enough to handle.

3.
Season the flounder fillets with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and
1/8 teaspoon pepper. For each serving, place a fillet on the work surface, with the shinier skinned side up. Place one quarter of the spinach in the center of the fillet, shaping it into a compact log about 2 ½ inches long. Fold over the right and left sides of the fillet to enclose the spinach. Arrange the flounder fillets, folded side down, in the baking dish. Drizzle the wine over the fish. Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons bread crumbs and 1 tablespoon Parmigiano. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the fillets, and drizzle with the remaining ½ tablespoon oil.

4.
Bake until the flounder is opaque when pierced with the tip of a knife,
15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot, with the lemon wedges and a spoonful of the pan juices. Sprinkle the parsley over all.

M
AMMA
A
NTONIA’S
A
MAZING
A
LMOND
C
OOKIES

Every Italian mamma has her own special way of making almond cookies. This is my sweet mamma’s. They’re the best!

2 cups sliced blanched almonds

1 ½ cups sugar

4 large egg whites, at room temperature

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 ounces semisweet, milk, or white chocolate, finely chopped

1.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the almonds on a baking sheet. Bake, stirring the almonds occasionally, until lightly toasted, about 10 minutes. Cool completely.

2.
Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

3.
Process the almonds and sugar in a food processor until finely ground. Whip the egg whites and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Add the almond mixture and vanilla. Fold with a rubber spatula until combined.

4.
Using a heaping teaspoon for each cookie, drop the batter onto the baking sheets, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. The cookies will spread during baking. Bake, switching the positions of the sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking, until the cookies are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. When baking subsequent batches of cookies, be sure to use cool baking sheets.

5.
Melt the chocolate in the top part of a double boiler over hot, not simmering, water. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.

6.
Arrange the cookies side by side on clean parchment or waxed paper. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookies in a pretty pattern. Cool to set the chocolate.

L
EMONITA
G
RANITA

If you’ve ever had true Italian gelato, you know it’s ice cream from angels. In Italy, though, we also perfected the healthier combination of fruit and ice. The granita was invented in Sicily and it’s like a cross between a sorbet and an Italian ice. The most common flavors are lemon, mandarin orange, strawberry, coffee, almond, and mint. But my absolute favorite is lemon.

1 ¼ cups sugar

1 cup fresh lemon juice

Grated zest of 1 large lemon

Sprigs of fresh mint, for garnish

1.
Bring 2 cups water and the sugar to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring just until the sugar dissolves. Let boil for 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice and zest, return to a boil, and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool completely.

2.
Place a metal baking pan (an 8-inch square pan is perfect) in the freezer to chill. Pour the syrup into the pan. Freeze until the mixture has frozen edges, about 2 hours. Scrape the frozen edges into the mixture, and freeze again until the mixture has frozen into a slushy ice, about 2 hours longer.

3.
Using the fork, scrape the granita into chilled bowls. Garnish each with a sprig of mint, and serve immediately.