Aroma Cucina

Elegantly humble: Celery and Saffron Risotto

 

Like a marriage between a nobleman and a peasant, elegant saffron marries with the humble celery leaf, creating a bit of risotto magic.

Arguably,  Risotto Milanese in one form or another, has been served for centuries.  The grains of risotto rice are bathed in creamy Parmigiano,  a rich golden hue stained with the bitter sweet saffron, and possibly with a sprinkle of edible gold to satisfy the eye as well as the stomach.  
Why arguably? Because the origins of this dish are as mythical as a Cesear salad or spaghetti carbonara, including the tradition of serving risotto Milanese with gold foil. Ask 5 Italian historians their opinion, and you will receive at least 12 theories on the origins of any dish.

Shall we yank back the misty veils of history, and get real?
I’m standing in our orto where most of the celery had wintered over and is now very robust. Which meant, I better chop some of this down and start using it!



The celery in our orto is extremely flavorful; it’s celery on steroids. But it is also tough and fibrous, so it’s best used cooked, instead of raw. Our celery is like some robust, weather beaten country peasant. Store bought celery is like your pallid cousin who lives in the city and is afraid of dirt.

I threw some chopped celery into a sauce on the stove, and now I was left with a pile of leaves. It seemed sinful and careless to throw away these perfectly good leaves, but as they were soooo intensely flavored, I wasn’t quite sure what to do with them.  As an experiment, I threw the leaves, a few stalks and bit of onion into the stock pot and let it simmer for about 2 hours. Voila`! Pure celery stock, clear, greenish gold and intensely flavored.


Now what do I do with it? I was trying to be thrifty and oh, so Bonne Femme and now I’d spent more time and energy on the damn celery leaves and I still didn’t know what to do with them. I was a Bad Femme, not a Bonne Femme!

Finally inspiration struck: brodo for risotto! Normally, I use a small bit of soffrito in my risotto: that holy trinity of chopped carrot, onion, and celery. This time it was soffrito minus the celery and it was delicious. A nice flavor bump that married well with the cheese and saffron. Give it a try next time you’ve got a big handful of celery leaves, even if they are pallid city cousins to my robust orto celery!

I also had some fresh peas on hand that needed to be eaten.. so they went to the risotto as well. That’s the beauty of risotto, it’s very forgiving, you can make risotto out of just about anything.

 
Risotto di Sedano e Zafferano
2 cups warm celery stock
1 cup risotto rice: Aborio or Carnaroli
1 T equal parts of finely chopped onion & carrot
1/2 cup of white wine
1/2 cup of grated Parmigiano cheese
1 good sized knob of butter
10-15 saffron threads steeped in a tablespoon of warm celery stock
Olive oil, the extra virgin kind!

Proceed as you would with any risotto.
Gently sauté the rice grains with the chopped carrot and celery. Slowly begin adding the warm celery stock, adding more as the rice grains absorb the stock.
When the rice is nearly done, add the wine and let the rice absorb the wine.
When you deem the rice is ready, and the only way to really tell, is to taste a grain or two, remove the risotto from the heat and swirl in the butter and cheese.

And serve immediately...because you know what they say around our house! Risotto waits for no man!  Buon’ apetito!


 

Dinner Rituals and a Side of Sautéed Mushrooms

In all the chaos of the past few months, I was struck by a lightening bolt moment of clarity. And, gee, no surprise, it was at the dinner table.

Deep into this conference experience, there was a rare night when it was just Jeff and me at home. Alone. Unexpected. And I made us dinner.   And it was good.  Thus spake Zarathustra, that sly Ubermensch,  delivering his sermon about evolved humanity.

With all the intriguing restaurant dinners, hastily grabbed meals, take out and delivery, we were losing our personal social mooring. Gobbling food in front of a computer does not a dinner make. Shared meals matter and it wasn’t until I was making this dinner that I realized how much they matter to us. What’s that silly pop song? “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone?”

That’s not to say, I wasn’t a bit rusty in the kitchen! My timing was off.  Normally I’m pretty good at managing when to start the water, heat the pan, pull the vegetable from the heat. There is a little dance that goes on when you cook (which is an excellent reason to have good music on in the kitchen).  And was my dancing was creaky that night!
It didn’t matter, what mattered was simple, tasty food, with no other obligations. Besides sautéed mushrooms always make things better.


In our house, there is a ritual to making, eating and cleaning up dinner. my gift is making the dinner. We share the eating. Jeff’s gift is cleaning up. It’s not the best way, or the only way...it’s just our gift to each other ritual. 

If you have kids, or presumably you were once a kid, you know the value of a bedtime ritual. It means safety and comfort and imparts an all-is-right-with-the-world security. Why shouldn’t we recognize the value of a dinner ritual?  If marketers were able to convince the world that convenience and speed trumps home cooking, couldn’t a different set of marketers help us ‘discover’ the value of home meals? 

This is something we should be discussing over the dinner table, isn’t it?


And here is my go-to, can’t really mess it up, Sautéed Mushroom recipe.
Sautéed Mushrooms
A mix of mushrooms is best, but white buttons will do
Minced Parsley
Minced Garlic
Butter
Olive Oil
Sweet Wine
Lemon Juice
Salt, Pepper

There is no real need for quantities here. The recipe scales and is forgiving, so use what you have on hand.

Wash, drain and cube the mushrooms. Mince 1 clove of garlic for every cup of cubed mushrooms. I prefer the dish to be about the mushroom flavor and not overly garlicky. You make them the way you like, ok?

On medium heat, warm a saute pan big enough to hold all of the mushrooms. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil and a small pat of butter. Let the butter melt and the oil warm up. Now add the mushrooms and garlic, cover and let the mushrooms simmer and lose their water, approximately 3-5 minutes.

When the mushrooms are bubbling away in their own juices, remove the lid and let the moisture reduce. When the pan is just about dry, this should take about 5 minutes, add a shot of sweet wine and mix well.  Reduce again until the pan is nearly dry.

Add another small pat of butter, a squirt of lemon juice and a generous grind of black pepper.  Mix well and serve in a warm dish. Garnish with the minced parsley.

Catch y’all on the flip side, cuz’ we’re heading back to the old country tonight.
Time to plant the orto, have ringing bells tell us the time (instead of honking horns letting me know it’s rush hour) and slow down the pace of life. Our boyz are having a little pre-flight snuggle....this is Dante’s first big adventure, so wish us a peaceful flight!


Buon appetito e ci vediamo a presto!

Crackling Prosciutto Wrapped Potatoes: Perfect for a Party

“What can I bring?”
 It is the holiday season after all!  As the words are coming out of your mouth, your brain is flipping thorough your stockpile of recipes.
What can I make that is awesome and quick because you know your ToDo list is more frightening than the thought of a fat man in a red suit stuck in your chimney. Seriously, who came up with that story? An overweight guy squeezing down a filthy dirty chimney?

Crackling Prosciutto Wrapped Roasted Potatoes to the rescue. Tasty, simple to make, pretty and transportable. What more could you ask for?

Ingredients
Scrubbed potatoes cut into bite size wedges
Strips of prosciutto to cover each potato wedge (an average slide of prosciutto will cover  3 to 4 potato wedges)
Grated parmigiano cheese
Sliced shallots
Olive oil

Bring a pot of water to a boil, large enough to hold all the cut potato wedges, and lightly salt the water.
Boil the potatoes until they are just about soft. Usually no more than 10 minutes.

Drain and run cold water over the potatoes. This stops the cooking process and it’s so much easier to work with cool potatoes instead of scalding hot ones.
Cut or tear the prosciutto into small strips and wrap a strip around each potato wedge.

If you are transporting: wrap the potatoes, and lay them into a plastic container with a cover. The less loose space in the container, the better, but don’t crush the potatoes.

I use the ‘caterer wrap’ to make sure nothing spills or leaks. Using plastic wrap, don’t just cover the top of the container, but literally wrap it around the container. Just like they do with suitcases at the airport. Nothing leaks out and nothing seeps in.

Peel and thinly slice 1 or 2 shallots. Mix with the grated cheese. You want a generous coating of cheese, enough to form a crust. Sprinkle a little salt and a generous amount of pepper into the cheese and mix thoroughly.
If you are transporting: put this cheese mixture into a plastic bag and seal it tight.

Ready to Bake:
Coat the bottom of your baking dish with a thin film of olive oil.
Arrange the prosciutto-potato wedges in a single layer in the baking dish. Use a pretty baking dish that can also be used to serve the potatoes.

Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the potato wedges and bake in a 375F/190C oven for approximately 15 minutes. You’ll know the dish is ready when the cheese is brown and crispy and the potatoes are hot.

Finish with a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil.
Buon’appetito and enjoy your holidays!

More Mushrooms Than You Can Imagine

As I’m walking into our local grocery store, the Euro Spin, AKA “The Spin”, an elderly, hunched over lady is staggering out of the store lugging a massive flat of white mushrooms.
 Of course, I’m thinking, “What the hell is she going to do with all those mushrooms??”

I cruise into the produce section, which in Italy is still front and center in most grocery stores and is at least 95% untouched, unsliced, unadulterated produce, and I see a wall of mushrooms.
They are selling whole flats of gorgeous, fresh white mushrooms for 2,50 euro (or about $4 US bucks).  They are practically giving them away!

 Holey camoley, now I know why that lady bought so many mushrooms and we’re buying them too.  I bring the flat to our grocery cart, and Jeff gives me the raised eyebrow, what-are-you-doing-now look.  I tell him the price and he makes a secure spot for the flat in our grocery cart. And, that’s one of the reasons why I love him.

Then we get home and I realize this is really A LOT of mushrooms. So the first thing I do, is bag some up for our Orto-Mates. And that still leaves me with 5 or 6 pounds of mushrooms.  

It’s another use it or lose it moment, so I start cleaning mushrooms. I cut the spongy stems off, cube the mushrooms into chunky quarters, go harvest a pile of parsley from the orto, slice up a head or so of garlic and toss everything into a very large pot with equal parts butter and olive oil. And the house smells wonderful!

Here’s the recipe scaled down to a 2 to 4 person serving.

Sauteed Mushrooms
1/2 lb or 500g mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
3-4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 small clove of garlic, minced
1 heaping tablespoon of finely chopped parsley
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
1 glug of wine
1 3 finger pinch of bread crumbs
lemon juice, 1/2 half of a juicy fresh lemon
salt, pepper

Melt the butter in a saute pan big enough to hold the mushrooms in only one or two layers. Add the olive oil and over medium heat add the mushrooms, sliced garlic and a sprinkle of salt. Cover the pan and let the mushrooms release their juice. Stir frequently.

When the mushroom pan is full of juice, uncover the pan and add a good glug of white wine. Cook until all the moisture is gone. This will take about 15 minutes.

The mushrooms will turn a deep, golden brown. Right before serving the mushrooms, generously pepper them, add the minced garlic, parsley, breadcrumbs and finish with the juice of half a lemon. Cook for no more than one minute and serve with a smile.

You can serve these as a side dish with roasted pork, or chicken or use as a pasta sauce.
If you are using them in pasta: about a minute before the pasta is cooked,  spoon a ladle full of the salted pasta water into the pot. Drain the pasta and add to the mushroom sauce pot. Cook until the pasta is done and the cooking liquid has been absorbed. Serve with some extra olive oil and grated cheese on the side.

Buon’ appetito!

PS I went back to the Spin the next week, and there wasn’t a mushroom in sight.

A Few Hot Tomatoes

And the canning season begins.
 A walk over to the orto to get some basil and I’m hit with the realization that there are a ton of ripe tomatoes that need to be dealt with...NOW.
On one hand a kitchen garden is forgiving; if you don’t need any onions, you can leave them in the ground for a few days and no harm done. On the other hand, there is a use it or lose it urgency to ripe  tomatoes.
 
So much for a lazy Saturday afternoon.
The harvesting is fun, the tomatoes are warm from the sun; there is a satisfying weight to the basket as I lug it home.

An hour into peeling the tomatoes, the warm fuzzy glow has been washed away by the steaming hot tomatoes, burned finger tips, and that itchy feeling I get from being submerged in tomato acid. I ruefully realize the Pioneer Woman has staff to do this kind of stuff, and here I am only halfway through the peel and grind process.

Once the ground, peeled, and mostly seeded tomatoes are in the pot, bubbling away, my mood improves considerably. The tomatoes smell delicious and they are crazy sweet.

 
I have a fancy pair of canning tongs that makes lifting the boiling bottles out of the sterilization bath a breeze. They are more like elongated, scissored grippers than tongs, and they allow you to pick up the bottle by the neck or the body.  Regular tongs have a channel for the boiling water to run directly onto your arm, so you either scream and drop the jar or suck it up and let the water flow. My gripper tongs make bath time fun.
Once the bottles have boiled for a good half hour, out they come to cool. Now I wait for the "POP" sound as the lids contract, and I know I have a good seal on the jar. As I’m making dinner for our orto-mates, the crimson colored jars are cooling by the window I know they are filled with nothing but tomatoes and satisfaction.

OK, like childbirth, all pain is forgotten, and I’m ready for the next batch of tomatoes.

(PS The idea that childbirth pain is forgotten is rubbish. I remember it ALL..it’s just the price you pay for a kid or for a batch of canned tomatoes.)

And the Beet Goes On!

 
What do you do when a whole row of beets in the orto need to be eaten now? You yank those babies and throw a party!
 

We had Speecy-Spicy Pickled Beets. (Note to self: back off on the chili peppers from the garden! I wonder what would happen if I pickled hard boiled eggs in that spicy brine? Now that would truly be a deviled egg.)


Sweet Roasted Beets covered in Gorgonzola and Toasted Walnuts. (There was a small skirmish when it was down to the last few bites.)


Richly decadent beet consume’. (A rich meat broth laced with dried porcini mushrooms to give it an earthy zest. Recipe courtesy of our friend The Polish Countess. So named because you could always count on her in the kitchen).

And as a finale, pale pink beet panna cotta! (Relax. I just used the beets to color the cream, not flavor it!)  And no picture either, it was too dark and toooo late in the evening.

I’m getting worried though. The tomato plants have kicked into high gear...anyone up for  Tomato Fest...running from today through September??

Kitchen Garden Lunch: Spaghetti Ortolana

The dog days of summer are upon us.
"When the seas boiled, wine turned sour, Quinto raged in anger, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies" according to Brady’s Clavis Calendarium, 1813.

Is it any wonder, when the world feels baked to a crisp, why three showers a day might not be enough, and the urge to howl at the full moon seems like a perfectly good idea, that a walk to our garden, and a chat with friends, seems like a mini-vacation after the torrid heat we’ve endured?

We’ve reached the harvesting point where lunch can be made by just visiting the orto, our kitchen garden. It’s so deliciously easy now, to walk over to the garden, with no plan in mind, just a “let’s see what needs to be eaten” attitude.  For all of us in the northern hemisphere, it is a time of lazy quick meals that taste of summer sunshine.

Here is today’s version of  Spaghetti Ortolano:
2-4 ripe, sun warmed vine tomatoes like San Marzano
1 chili pepper of unreliable heat (sometime killer, sometimes sweet, there’s no telling until you cut it open)
1 red Tropea onion (the first of the harvest)
Some fennel fronds, basil and parsley leaves
3 stalks of fresh celery

Not from the garden: a handful of olives, a big spoonful of capers, olive oil, oregano,and a big clove of garlic.

Put the pasta water pot on to boil.
Chop everything up and gently saute the vegetables.
A minute before the pasta is ready, ladle a spoonful of pasta water into the saute pot.
Drain the pasta.
Add it to the saute pot and cook for 1 minute.

Serve immediately with a cold glass of wine and enough time to have a lazy chat with your dining companion.

On Sunday, we’re planning on having our 1st Ever Beet Festival because the beets are ready to be eaten. We are eagerly requesting all music suggestions to accompany the Beet Festival. Tweet us @judithklinger or @jeffaromacucina because our music selection is in need of help!

Buon appetito!

Chili Scented Zucchini Flowers with Pickled Onion Sauce

When I presented Jeff with the latest zucchini flower incarnation..he openly scoffed, until  he took a bite. (Those are his fingers in the photo...he just couldn't wait...!)  Neither one of us are fans of stuffed zucchini flowers; either the filling is so hot and steamy it burns your tongue, or the filling oozes out, or the flavor of the stuffing overwhelms the flower.  And if it has a big, thick coating to hold in the stuffing, it gets extra demerits in the fried flower ranking system.

I was inspired to create an alternative to the stuffed zucchini flower conundrum. Don’t put the stuffing inside the flower... make a dip or sauce for dunking! This gives you the  advantage of being able to play with contrasts in temperature and texture. No more burnt tongue...instead a piping hot, crispy flower is dipped into a piquant sauce.

And thusly Chili Scented Zucchini Flowers with Pickled Onion Sauce was invented.

For the sauce:
Equal parts robiola cheese and pickled onions

Robiola is a fresh, very soft, buttery cheese. You could use a whipped cream cheese or sour cream as a substitute.
Puree the two ingredients into a soft, fluffy puddle of goodness and pour into a pretty serving bowl.

For the flowers:
1 egg white, whipped into stiff peaks
2-3T flour
1-2 T water

Salt, Chili Powder, Smoked Paprika: combine equal parts in a small bowl.

Oil for frying: use a canola or grapeseed or other neutrally flavored oil

Whip the egg whites into stiff peaks. In another small bowl add the flour and stir in a little cold water; keep adding the water until you have the consistency of sour cream. Now whip the flour mixture into the egg whites, keeping every thing light and frothy.

Wash the flowers, remove any of the prickly little green fronds that are at the base of the flower where it meets the stem.  If the flowers are very large, gently remove the inner stamen as they can be bitter.  Leave the stems on if you feel like it, they look pretty, but you won’t be eating them.

Gently coat each flower with the egg white mixture.

Use a flat bottomed, wide saute or fry pan, preheat the oil to 350F/180C.  I use a digital thermometer, but a candy thermometer that you can immerse in the oil also works well. Guessing at the oil temperature doesn’t really work at all and I’ve been frying stuff for years!

Working in small batches, fry the flowers, turning once. Remove from the oil when the crust has formed on the outside of the flower and it is beginning to brown.

Be careful removing the flowers from the oil.  With tongs, turn the flower and drain the oil before you remove it from the fry pan. There will be steam inside the flower so when it drains out, it will cause some splattering. Wear longs sleeves and use long tongs.

Drain the flowers on paper towels.

When you finish frying the flowers, turn up the heat on the oil to 365/185C. Quickly refry the all flowers for 10-20 seconds.  This is the secret to making the flowers extra crispy.

Drain any excess oil, liberally sprinkle with the chili/salt mixture and serve immediately along side the pickled onion dipping sauce.

Who says there is nothing left to be said when it comes to fried zucchini flowers? Inspiration comes in many ways, this time it was having a lot of those pickled onions on hand.

Buon’appetito!

A New Love Affair: Pickled Onions

I came away from Austin with a new love: pickled onions. OK, I did flirt with a fried pickle, but it was just an infatuation. I think my love of the pickled onion has staying power.

Going to an IACP Conference is a little like being set down in the middle of a Calcutta rush hour intersection. Everyone is going somewhere, people are connecting on Twitter and colliding in the hallways as they tap into their devices, and look for their next session or contact.  It’s an adrenalin rush of networking, and when Susan invited me and another IACP-er to a quiet backporch dinner, it was like being invited to an oasis of calm.

There was a delicious table full of goodness waiting for us when we walked in the door. Plates of  warm tacos, chile spiked BBQ, baked tortillas and beans scented the whole room while we sipped some cool rose wine.  But there tucked away on the far corner of the table, like a shy girl at her first dance,  sat a bowl of pickled onions aglow with a natural pink blush.

I’ll take pickles over sweets any day, so I was immediately intrigued. It made perfect sense to pair BBQ with something pickled,  the acid and the salt could free up the palette after the fatty richness of the meat. But it was the crunch, the tartness, the play on flavors that hooked me. Susan used a recipe from Joe Yonan’s new book Serve Yourself and that is one bangin’ good recipe.

Now I’m back in Montone, and I’ve got a bowl of magnificent red onions staring at me, and I remember the shy girl at the dance, and I come up with my version of pickled onions. What would you call them here? Cipolla sottaceti? Ciopolla salamoia? Doesn’t quite have the same appeal, does it?

Here’s my version of Pickled Onions:
2 large red onions, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup vinegar
3/4 cup water
1 t salt
Zested orange peel
Chili peppers
Pepper corns
 Juniper Berry

Peel and slice the onions to a medium thickness, about 1/4” or 5cm.
Combine all the other ingredients in a bowl and mix until the salt dissolves.
Place the onions into a jar and cover with the brine mixture. 
I like chili peppers, and mine are sort of punky, not that hot, so I added a good 5-7 chili peppers into the brine.
 I also like the way orange peel acts as a flavor bridge and enhancer, it smooths out some of the rough edges of the chili and pepper corns. But, you adjust the brine the way you like it.

Let the onions marinate for 24-48 hours before using them.
This is not a sterilized, canning recipe. These onions will only keep for about a week to 10 days in the fridge, so just make a small batch and next time fool around and tweak the recipe a bit, just for the fun of it.
Buon appetito!

Next up: Fried Zucchini Blossoms with a Pickled Onion Sauce

Artichoke Festival: Grilled Lamb with Artichokes & Potatoes, Perfect for Mother's Day BBQ

  Lamb and artichokes make a lovely couple. Sizzling hot grilled lamb meets its match with the seductive sweet artichoke and it’s steady side kick, the potato.
A great Mother’s Day picnic or BBQ idea because you can prep the artichokes and potatoes ahead of time and putting the whole dish together just takes a few minutes.

Ingredients:
Lamb: chops, sliced shoulder, thinner cuts
Medium Size Artichokes
Potatoes
2 Lemons
Herbs: Thyme, Parsley, Fresh Chives
Garlic, Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper

1) Blanche the artichokes.  Select medium size artichokes. Clean the artichoke, remove the choke and cut into quarters, or even smaller pieces if the artichoke is a bit large.
Blanche for 3-5 minutes in lightly acidulated water. I usually throw in the lemon slices that I used in the bowl of water when I cleaned the artichokes. The artichokes should be medium tender. Drain and run cold water over them and store in a bowl. They can keep for 1-2 days in the refrigerator.

2) Par boil the potatoes.  Scrub the potatoes and chop into bite size pieces. Par boil them for 5-7 minutes in salted water. Drain and run cold water over them and store in a bowl.

3) Prep the lamb. I prefer thinner cuts of lamb because that’s how it’s eaten in Italy, but full lamb chops works equally well. Generously salt and pepper the lamb chops and sprinkle with thyme. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature.

When it’s time to serve the lamb:
1) Get the grill good and hot. Use wood if you can.

2) In a frying pan, heat a small quantity of olive oil and add the potatoes. You want a nice crust to form on the potatoes, so don’t turn them right away.

3) Finely chop the fresh herbs: thyme, chives, parsley, a little rosemary would be good, and 1-3 cloves of garlic depending on how much of a garlic lover you are.

4) Begin grilling the lamb. Depending on the thickness of the chops, this could take 3-4 minutes or longer. We like our lamb rare and use a hot, hot fire, so it goes fast.

5) Add the artichokes and freshly chopped herbs to the potato pan.

6) Flip the lamb on the grill. By now the herbed potatoes and artichokes should be done, so spread them out on a platter. By now, the kitchen and the grill are also smelling divine so you will have no problem getting everyone to gather at the table.
 
7) Arrange the grilled lamb on top of the potatoes and artichokes. Serve with wedges of fresh lemon.

Wine pairing: We drank a Montefalco Rosso and it worked beautifully, no problem with artichoke interference. This Montefalco Rosso was blend of sangiovese, sangrantino, and merlot, so it was medium to full bodied red. I would gear the pairing more to work with the lamb instead of worrying about the artichoke factor.

Buon’ appetito and Happy Mother’s Day!

Next Up: Artichoke Risotto