Abruzzi To The North End; Italian Comfort Food: Little Italy

Introduction

In the 1960’s, my grandmother, Vincenza, had returned to Boston’s North End, the neighborhood where she had first arrived in America. She had come full circle, having arrived in the North End in 1914 to find a filthy, overcrowded slum, to achieving the American Dream and owning a home in the suburbs to finally coming back to the place that felt comfortable and safe and reminded her of Italy as much as any American neighborhood could.
By this time, the North End had progressed from the run down slum it once had been to a tourist attraction for visitors to Boston. People came in droves to visit the small specialty shops along Salem Street, eat in the many restaurants that served regional dishes from all over Italy and to experience the sense of community that had grown and developed over the decades since Vincenza first arrived in Boston.
Walking up the four flights of old wooden stairs to my grandmother’s apartment, I could smell the food cooking from the apartments that lined both sides of the long hallways. The air would be filled with the mouth watering aromas of garlic frying in olive oil, peppers roasting and fresh bread being baked. My grandmother’s kitchen was always rich with the aroma of tomato sauce simmering on the stove, anise cookies baking in the oven and the light, sweet scent of ricotta mixed with eggs and parsley.
I spent hours in my grandmother’s kitchen watching her prepare meals; recipes and techniques passed down from her mother, Lucia; meals that she learned to prepare in an old stone kitchen over an open fire back in “the old Country”, Abruzzi. It seems that there was a story or some type of folk lore to go with every meal she prepared. I loved listening to the stories as much as I loved helping to prepare and eat the food.
The recipes I learned from my grandmother are the recipes of the peasant farmers, sheep herders and laborers of Abbruzzi. They are recipes developed out of necessity; the need to use every bit of food available and waste nothing; the need to find a way to fill your family and keep them nourished even when food and money were scarce. These are not gourmet recipes that use expensive, trendy ingredients. I am not a professional chef. Hopefully, you will enjoy the idea of making comfort food, plain family friendly meals, some of which go back centuries and have their roots in ancient Roman times. I learned that food was something to be fully experienced with all the senses. A meal was meant to be made from scratch, using the freshest ingredients possible. It was meant to be made with love and it was to be shared with family and friends, relished and savored. A full day could go into the preparation of a meal that would be served with pride and love to the family and friends gathered at the table. A meal was a social event; a time to sit around the table, talk, laugh and unwind.
The preparation of food was an art in itself. Food incorporated all the senses. One not only paid attention to taste, but also to the aromas, textures, appearance and sometimes even the sound of food. My grandmother never wrote down or read a recipe. All the knowledge of cooking was stored in her head. She learned to cook from instinct, using all her sense to determine what flavors would work together. I learned to cook the same way my grandmother and great grandmother did. Measurements consisted of a pinch, a bit and a handful.
I cannot begin to explain how difficult it is for me to write the recipes for this blog and for the upcoming cookbook. I learned to measure with a pinch, a handful, a little of this and a generous amount of that. Taste, sight and common sense told me whether or not the amount was right. In writing a cookbook, I had to prepare my grandmother’s and great grandmother’s dishes, trying to measure ingredients to make it easy for others to follow. I learned that this is easier said than done. Half way through the preparation, I realized that I was reverting to instinct and forgetting to measure. That’s what Italian cooking is. You learn to use all your senses to create a meal and you eventually know what flavors will complement one another.
Therefore, in reading these recipes and trying them out, you cannot take the measurements as absolute, but rather as guidelines for amounts. In some cases I have state that you should use a pinch or a bit of an ingredient. This will no doubt cause panic for some people who tend to worry too much about whether or not they are doing it right. These people are missing out on the joy of cooking and the opportunity to develop an intimate relationship to the food. I hope that anyone reading this will eventually try to let loose and have some fun cooking. Learn to trust your instincts, learn to uses all your senses in cooking, and learn to cook like an Italian.

Showing posts with label Little Italy. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Roasted Peppers

Roasted peppers can add a wonderful flavor to so many dishes and they are deceptively simple to prepare.
Back in Pianella, my great grandmother, Lucia, would roast sweet and hot peppers in a a huge, open fireplace in the kitchen. My great grandfather, Panteleone, loved to eat the really hot Italian peppers with Lucia's rustic bread.
Choose peppers that have a nice, rich color to the skin and are unblemished and firm. I prefer the red and green bell peppers or the hot green Italian peppers. Other varieties, such as yellow and orange bell peppers can be used, but I find their more delicate flavors do not hold up as well when roasted.
Wash the peppers thoroughly and dry off excess water with a dish towel or paper towel. Place the peppers in a shallow broiling or baking dish or a cookie sheet. You can also place them directly on the oven rack.
Set them in the oven close to the broiler and allow to cook until the outer skin of the peppers begins to bubble and char. As the skin begins to turn black, turn the peppers overs to allow the same to happen o the other side. Continue turning the peppers until you have achieved a nice burnt skin all over.
Note that it is almost impossible to get them cooked evenly and in a uniform manner. Do not worry about that.
Once they are cooked, remove the pan from the oven or broiler and allow the peppers to sit and cool so that you can handle them. Although the outside may be comfortable to the touch, the inside of the pepper may still be very hot. Cut them open carefully and, if the inside is still too hot to handle, allow them to sit longer.
Once you can safely and comfortably handle them, remove the stems which should now easily pull away.
Cut the peppers in half lengthwise and spread them open, outer skin down, onto a cutting board.
using a small paring knife, scrape away y the seeds and inside ridged fibers of the peppers and discard.
Turn the peppers over so that the outside skin in now facing up. Again, using a pairing knife, gently scape away the blackened skin. Don't be concerned that you are not able to scrape away all of it. In fact, I prefer to leave some of it as I feel it adds more flavor. You basically want to get rid of the bubbled, overly blackened areas.
The peppers are now ready to be used in some of my recipes or to be eaten sliced into strips and tossed with crushed garlic and extra virgin olive oil. This tastes great when they are placed on a chunk of hearty, rustic bread.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Pizza di Scarola

This is something my grandmother made frequently and would keep on hand in the freezer because it was always a favorite. It can be made with escarole or, if you prefer, spinach works just as well. It was one of the sneaky ways my grandmother had of getting me to eat the nutritious foods that children normally avoid. Presenting it the form of a calzone or pizza could make leafy greens very appealing.

Ingredients:

6-8 ounces of uncooked, fresh spinach

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

1/3 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2 cup sliced white mushrooms

1/2 cup sliced onion

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Saute the onion until it becomes tender and translucent. Just a few minutes before that point, add the mushrooms to the pan and saute until they start to turn a golden color.

Spread the dough out onto a pizza stone or aluminum foil that has been oiled with cooking spray and covered with a dusting of flour or cornmeal.

Spread the spinach over half dough leaving a quarter of an inch at the edge.

Sprinkle on the mozzarella and parmesan.

Spoon the mushrooms and onion over the spinach.

Take the other half of the dough and fold it over the spinach and mushroom mixture to form a half moon shaped pie.

Go around the edges pressing the dough together to form a seal. Place a few small slices in the top to vent steam.

Bake at 325 degrees until the dough has turned a deep golden brown.

Allow to set 5-10 minutes before slicing.

This is delicious hot or cold. It can also be served with a bit of tomato sauce spread over the top.

Sausage Soup

This is another hearty, filling soup that goes along way. Again, this is a recipe I have simplified from the way my grandmother made it and certainly from the way my great grandmother would have. My grandmother, Vincenza, bought dried beans and soaked them for 24 hours them simmered the for half a day. My great grandmother Lucia, picked the beans from the garden.
It can be made with either sweet or hot Italian sausage. Although I love hot, spicy foods, I prefer this soup with the sweet sausage. It tends to blend better with the other flavors rather than trying to compete with them.

Ingredients:

1 pound Italian sausage
2 clove garlic, minced
2 cans beef broth (14 ounces)
1 can crushed tomatoes (14 ounces)
1 cup sliced carrots
1 can of great northern beans or cannellini beans, undrained
2 small zucchini, cubed
1 medium onion sliced
Directions
Brown the sausage and saute the garlic and onion with it. Do not brown the garlic and onion, just cook until the onion is soft and translucent.
Slice the sausage into 1/4 inch slices.
In a large soup pot mix together the broth and tomatoes. heat on high until the liquid gets just about to the boiling point. Reduce heat and add the sausage, carrots, onions and garlic.
Allow this simmer 15-20 minutes.
Add the zucchini and beans along with liquid from the can.
Continue to simmer, on low heat, for another 20 minutes until sausage is completely cooked and the vegetables are tender.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Simple Polenta

I was shocked the first time I saw polenta show up on the menu of a fancy restaurant as a side dish. Polenta has it's origins on the farmlands of Italy as a means to feed and fill a family when there is little food with which to work.

Polenta is basically a cornmeal mush that has been baked with tomato sauce and cheese. It is relatively simple to prepare. The way my grandmother prepared it was to mix tomato sauce directly into the polenta before baking. Most recipes call for it to be poured over the top only.
Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups cornmeal
6 cups water
1 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

Bring water to a full boil. Reduce heat and add cornmeal, whisking in a little at a time.
Cook about 10-15 minutes until the mixture it is the consistency of cream of wheat, stirring frequently.
Pour into a large mixing bowl and stir in 1/2 of the tomato sauce and the grated Parmesan cheese.
Once the ingredients are well mixed, pour into a baking pan or casserole dish that has been well greased or sprayed with cooking spray.

Spread a layer of tomato sauce over the top and sprinkle on the mozzarella.

bake at 400 for 20-30 minutes or until the polenta has firmed and the mozzarella has melted.

Allow to set for 5-10 minute before serving.

Cut into squares to serve.

Veal Stew (Stufato del Vitello)

This was a favorite of mine as a child. My grandmother made this frequently and served it with large chunks of crusty, rustic bread for sopping up the soup at the end.

This is a light, savory stew that is perfect for a cold day. It can be made in a hour or can be left to simmer longer than that. Once this starts to simmer, your whole kitchen will fill with a rich aroma that will draw the family (and possibly some neighbors) to the kitchen.

My grandmother and great grandmother would buy fresh peas still in the pod and spend hours shucking them. In this version, frozen peas will suffice. If you plan to use canned peas, not only will you end up with that aluminum taste overpowering the stew and ruining it, you will also end up with peas that are pretty much pureed.

Sorry, I think canned vegetables are the work of the devil. Fresh is, of course, always the first preference. Frozen is second.

Ingredients:

1 pound of stewing veal
2 white potatoes cut into chunks
1 large onion sliced
2 cloves of garlic crushed
3 cups of water
1 cup of crushed canned tomatoes
1 teaspoon of parsley
1/2 cup of diced sun dried tomatoes
1 box of frozen peas
1/3 cup cooking oil

Heat the oil in a good sized skillet. Once the oil is hot (it will start to pop and sizzle) place the onion, garlic and veal into the skillet and cook until the meat has browned and the onion and garlic has become soft.

Do not over cook the garlic and onions. You are not browning them nor are you cooking the veal all the way through. You simply want to lock in the flavor and juices of the veal and release the flavor of the garlic and onion.

In a large soup pot, add water and tomatoes together, put in the parsley and sun dried tomato and stir to mix all ingredients.

Put the veal garlic and onion into the pot and add the potatoes. Set on the stove at a low to medium heat, cover and allow to simmer.

This should be left to simmer for an hour.

Do not put the peas into the pot until 5-8 minutes before cooking time ends. This allows them to maintain their color and texture without overcooking.

Serve this steaming hot with a big loaf of rustic bread.

Braciole (Herb Stuffed Steak)

Braciole is a stuffed flank steak. Many of the braciole recipes are a bit more complicated than this one. The way it was made in my family was to keep it simple and prepare it so that it could be put into the Sunday Gravy to simmer all day. The reason for keeping it simple was that, as well as the gravy itself, the meatballs, sausages, pork and braciole were all going into the pot.

Another way to enjoy this dish, if you are not making a large pasta sauce, is to serve the braciole topped with a bit of sauce and a sprinkling of a nice Parmesan reggiano cheese.

Ingredients:

1 pound or more of flank steak
1/2 cup of diced sun dried tomato
1/2 cup diced onion
2-3 cloves garlic crushed
1 teaspoon of parsley
1 teaspoon of dried basil or 4 leaves of fresh basil diced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Lay the flank steaks out flat and tenderize with a mallet.

In a bowl, mix all the other ingredients. Spoon out this mixture onto the lower portion of each steak, about a tablespoon full for each. Pull the sides of the steak inward over the stuffing and proceed to roll the steak up into a tube shape.

Quick meal method:
Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce onto the bottom of a shallow baking dish. Lay the stuffed braciole inside the baking dish. Do not layer on top of one another. Cover with tomato sauce and any left over stuffing you may have. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for one hour.

Cooking in a gravy:
If the braciole is going to be cooked in a sauce, you will need to tie each one with twine wrapped end to end. this will keep the steak from unrolling in the sauce. Place into your pot of sauce and allow it to simmer for a few hours.

These can also be cooked in a slow cooker. Provide enough sauce to keep the meat completely covered during the cooking time.

An alternative is to use a slightly thicker steak, such as a top round thinly sliced. using all of the ingredients above and adding a cup of seasoned bread crumbs to the stuffing mix. This will result in a larger, stuffed steak that is better for slow cookers or cooking slowly in an oven than it would be for a gravey.

Summer Salad with Peaches and Figs (Insalata di estate con le pesche ed i fichi)

This is a very simple salad that incorporates some of the flavors of an Italian summer. My great grandmother, Lucia, would put together this salad with fruits and vegetables picked fresh that morning. Some cured meats, a wedge of cheese and some fresh baked bread would accompany the salad and for a lighter meal during those hot days in the Italian summer. My grandmother a sable to serve the same meal with everything chilled, something my great grandmother could not do until coming to the United States.
The dressing for this salad calls for an apple cider or red wine vinegar. Apple cider and red wine vinegars are light and fresh tasting. They blend well with the fruits and vegetables in a salad without overpowering them. For the same reason, a lighter tasting oil than an extra virgin should be used. This can be light to or pure olive oil or even a vegetable or canola oil.
The idea of this salad is to use the garden fresh flavors, mixing sweet, savory and a bit of tang.
Ingredients:
1 bunch of romaine lettuce
1 bunch of radicchio
2-3 fresh ripe tomatoes
1 large cucumber
2 ripe peaches
4 fresh figs quartered
1/2 cup oil
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Wash the romaine and radicchio well and let dry.
Cut tomatoes, figs and peaches into quarters. The peaches should be ripe but not too soft.
Tear the romaine and radicchio into a large salad bowl.
Add the quartered figs, peaches tomatoes and sliced cucumber.
Mix together the vinegar, oil and lemon juice, pour onto salad and gently toss.
Other fruits that go well in this salad and hold up with their own flavors are pears (either the Bosch or Bartlett variety) apples (Cortland, Empire or Granny Smith) and green or red grapes.
If you have never picked out fresh figs before, here are a few tips. Italian black figs or Mission Figs can be used. Mission Figs are often easier to find in most stores.
Choose fruit that has a mostly dark purple skin that is free of blemishes and has some firmness to it. After being washed, the entire fig, including the outer skin, is edible. If you find the outer skin to have a little bitterness, you can peel away the first layer.
The inside of a fig should be a rich purple or magenta color and should look succulent and juicy, not dried out.