Joyce Goldstein’s simplistic marinated mushrooms are a crowd favorite that she serves at many family celebrations.
CREDIT: EXCERPTED FROM “Antipasti: Fabulous Appetizers and Small Plates” BY JOYCE GOLDSTEIN; Photograph by Paolo Nobile
Antipasti - regional Italian tidbitsBy Carole KotkinThe Italian proverb advising to "eat little, well, and often" perfectly captures the spirit of antipasto, the Italian word meaning a little bite that is served before (ante) the meal. One finds antipasti (the plural form) all over Italy. In the simplest of trattorias, such big-in-flavor nibbles are usually presented as a help-yourself buffet of tasty, room-temperature dishes intended to be consumed in portions just large enough to tease the appetite without satiating it; in finer osterias, this opening salvo is more often served tableside.
With the growing numbers of enoteche (wine bars) in America, antipasti is becoming part of our dining culture as well. Featuring all manner of savory, herby, oily, garlicky, cheesy and briny flavors, these dabs of appetizers or small first courses can be expanded or contracted on a whim.
"Antipasti can play many roles in a meal," Julia della Croce, author of Antipasti: The Little Dishes of Italy, clarifies. For example, vitello tonnato (cold veal in a creamy tuna sauce from Piedmont) can be a starter for a meal or the meal itself. A side dish of marinated, grilled vegetables for dinner might appear another time on the antipasti table.
In fact, there are but two set-in-stone antipasto rules: Almost any dish except sweets can be part of a selection; and just about the only must-have ingredient is olive oil. "Extra-virgin olive oil transforms the barest ingredients into a finished dish," notes della Croce. "For instance, bruschetta becomes dazzling when drizzled with a fruity olive oil."
The appeal of an antipasti assortment, which can be among the most interesting courses on an Italian table, depends more on the quality of the ingredients than on the quantity of selections offered. A single dish can be as simple as bruschetta, or as complex as seared squid with corona beans and arugula. Throughout Italy, however, these petite temptations usually reflect regional specialties - zesty olives, marinated or fried seafood, sausages and cured meats, salty cheeses, grilled breads - and vary significantly from place to place. Thus the fave con i crostini (fava beans on toast) of Umbria would not be found in the Veneto, and Friuli's crunchy cheese frico may be totally unfamiliar in Sicily. Rather, a favorite from Southern Italy and Sicily is intensely flavorful and colorful peperonata, a pepper and tomato stew that is similar to a Provençal ratatouille.
Food historians believe the antipasto concept dates to ancient Rome, where meals usually began with small bowls of olives, egg-based dishes, vegetables, mushroom and truffles, shellfish or salads. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the antipasti course was only offered at the tables of the aristocracy or, as Della Croce says, "traditionally presented only at restaurants, on holidays and at formal dinners. Typically the average Italian wouldn't have had the means for an extra course at their family dinner except for affettati (thin slices of cold cured meats including tongue, prosciutto, salame, mortadella, coppa), along with olives, artichokes, pimientos, anchovies, raw fennel or whatever is seasonal."
Authentic antipasti ingredients such as these have long been imported to this country, first in the late 19th century by Italian immigrants longing for the flavors they left behind, and more recently by sophisticated importers who cater to gourmet retailers and discerning chefs. These ingredients are quite common these days, and the dishes they yield are relatively simple, requiring few techniques that would be foreign to any experienced cook.
In Italian-American restaurants of the 1970s and '80s, however, "antipasto" usually meant an uninspired selection of mortadella, salami, tomato wedges, provolone cheese and canned black olives. Fortunately, today's more sophisticated chefs are composing a far more authentic course - full of color, flavor and texture - that expresses both the kitchen's style and the seasonal ingredients.
As antipasti evolve into a rich tradition here, many of the dishes are adapted to their new turf via our diverse American palette of flavors. Nationally known chef, author, teacher and Mediterranean cooking expert, Joyce Goldstein's new book, Antipasti - Fabulous Appetizers and Small Plates, begins with a story set in 1987, when a group of American chefs were enlisted to prepare an antipasti luncheon for the first Mediterranean Food Conference. Outraged Italians walked out because the Americans had taken creative liberties with their hallowed small plates. Twenty years later, Goldstein reports that the Americans were actually onto something: Traditional antipasti hasn't gone away, but has been expanded to include dishes that previously were considered part of the opening course. "For example, sformato (unmolded pudding) was always eaten as a primo dish, but is now considered part of the antipasti course," she relates.
In fact, Goldstein says that dining on an assortment of diminutive dishes has become the new way to eat in Italy. "Italian cuisine has evolved. Italians like traditional dishes, but they vary them and change them. Young Italian chefs who have traveled to France and Asia are branching out and having more fun. For example, Italians always ate their tuna well done, but now they are serving tuna carpaccio; Pan-Latin ceviche; Japanese-style raw fish dishes they now call susci; and French-style warm salads. They will now use ingredients that are not typically Italian, serving foie gras, caviar and smoked salmon alongside local artisanal products."
To complement a wide selection of antipasti, Goldstein suggests chilling a brut sparkler or a dry, crisp white, as well as opening a medium-bodied red. She pairs specific regional dishes, though, with wines from the same area whenever possible. For example, a dish of briny seafood from Campania calls for a Fiano di Avellino or a Falanghina. Perugian chicken liver crostini are perfectly matched with a Montefalco Rosso from Caprai or Adanti, and a truffled onion and cheese sformato from Piedmont is flattered best by a Barbera d'Alba.
Despite the regional affectations, Italy's antipasti are unified by one major ingredient: seafood. Even the most inland areas are near enough to a coast to obtain fresh seafood. Venice's cicchetti (bite-size snacks) are often battered and deep-fried tiny fish or seafood from the lagoon. "After work, around five or six p.m., you'll often see Venetians in a line that trails out the restaurant door and onto the narrow passages between piazzas near the Rialto fish market, for a glass of wine, called l'ombra (the shadow) - a name that comes from the tradition of gondoliers seeking shade from the hot summer sun in the shadow of the campanile in the Piazza San Marco - and cicchetti before taking the ferry home for dinner," della Croce relates. "The wine they always drink [with cicchetti] is Prosecco."
David Pasternak, chef-owner of Manhattan's Esca (an Italian word that means bait), a restaurant specializing in Southern Italian seafood, has paved the way for the latest national culinary fad: crudo. Various fish, octopus and other sea creatures are served raw, straight from ice-packed crates to diners at Esca. Pasternak, author of The Young Man and the Sea, and James Beard award recipient for Best Chef in New York City in 2004, explains, "Crudo is [basically] Italian sashimi. It's raw fish that's dressed with olive oil, sea salt, sometimes lemon juice, lime juice, sometimes some kind of weird vinegars and stuff like that." While the pesce crudo concept sounds very 21st century, it actually isn't. Goldstein points out, "I first ate it in Apulia 25 years ago, where it's an old tradition, especially among seafaring people."
Pasternack's interest in crudo was piqued while on a research and development trip to Italy. "My partners, Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali, and I took a trip to Trieste and Istria in 2000; then a friend of ours took us to Croatia along the Dalmatian Coast, and we went to tiny trattorias and tavernas," he recalls. "We drank a little slivovitz and we ate raw fish that was very thinly sliced, dressed with olive oil, a little lemon juice and sea salt. And I thought, 'Well, this is a brilliant idea. Why isn't anybody doing this in America?' "
He exported the idea to New York, trying it with just a few items at first. "It was hugely successful," he recalls. "We now have almost 20 antipasto crudo on our menu and growing." While he does little more than cut up the freshest of fish and dress it enticingly - black bass with toasted pine nuts and lemon juice; bay scallops with lemon and chervil; and albacore tuna with caperberries - the results are both stunning and amazing in their simplicity. And because this menu of delicacies changes daily, you might also find fluke or some other local fish, perhaps amplified with sea beans and radishes, that Pasternack himself caught on his day off.
One of his favorite wines to quaff with crudo, chosen from Esca's all-Italian list, is Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi from Marche. "We want to showcase the great regional wines that are often omitted from other wine lists. Although we don't have room for Chianti and Pinot Grigio, you'll be able to try the best Lagrein [an earthy red from the northeast] and Tocai Friulano made today," he notes. The elaborate and somewhat esoteric list may seem a bit intimidating to the uninitiated, but ten wines by the quartino (a 1-liter carafe) are also offered, which prove an easier way to sample some of the restaurant's unique finds.
Esca's antipasto altro selections follow the exquisite and light touch of the antipasto crudo with a beautifully fresh and varied assortment of fish and vegetables - platters of marinated sardines with peperonata; grilled sardines with capers, raisins and pine nuts; wonderfully fresh seasonal vegetables with sheeps' milk ricotta sauced with herb garden vinaigrette; grilled octopus with giant corona beans and preserved Sorrento lemons; and a fall salad of celery root, apples, grilled shrimp and apple cider vinaigrette.
Crediting Pasternak for bringing the crudo concept to the attention of American diners, Staffan Terje, chef-owner of San Francisco's Perbacco restaurant, recently added it to his menu, dressing hamachi with blood orange essence, shaved fennel and extra virgin olive oil; sea urchin roe with kumquat, Serrano chili and lime; and albacore tuna with green tomato and coriander. "Crudo became popular in Italy around 15 years ago. That's when I first ate it in Venice," he recalls.
Terje also invokes simple, regional Piemontese and Ligurian flavors on the seasonal appetizer menu with dishes such as grilled squid and prawns with corona beans, arugula and preserved Meyer lemon; fritto misto of rock shrimp, olives, green beans, fennel and lemon aïoli; and hand-cut carne cruda of veal accented by black truffle salsa. He notes, however, that "cured meats begin most meals in Piedmont" and they are experiencing explosive popularity right now in America.
Chefs from coast to coast are learning the meat-curing craft, and are offering their clientele house-made salame, coppa and prosciutto. Like making wine, curing meat is a wondrous process wherein simple raw ingredients are transformed into testimonials about tradition, craft and love of food.
And like any dish of quality, curing demands the finest raw components. Terje is understandably proud of his kitchen's temperature-controlled curing room, where the restaurant's large variety of handmade salumi (cold cuts), such as rich coppa piccante (spicy cured pork shoulder), fatty and fennel-infused finocchiona (fennel salami) and silky prosciutto d'oca (goose), are created and aged. Perbacco also houses a long Carrara marble bar (with seating for 30) that affords a view of the house-cured salumi being prepared to order with a restored 1940s Berkel meat slicer.
Perbacco's name, literally "for Bacchus," but also an Italian exclamation for "wow," echoes its wine sensibility. Patrons may order from a 150-wine list, most of which is Italian, with 25 selections available by the glass. "It is traditional to drink a frizzante [medium fizzy, not quite full sparkling] Lambrusco Reggiano from Emilia-Romagna when eating cured meats," Terje notes. "The wine's frizzante character cuts through the richness of the fat in most salumi."
The concept of a wine bar serving food is familiar enough to the Italians, who, since Roman times, have been hanging out in their local enoteca - a model perhaps for Manhattan's Trattoria dell'Arte, which offers 40 items daily at its zinc-clad antipasto bar that seats twelve. The selections have grown steadily since the restaurant opened in 1988. Corporate executive sous chef Gregg Lauletta of The Fireman Hospitality Group, operator of Trattoria dell'Arte and five other Midtown restaurants, says, "The antipasto idea is like the original salad bar. There's a little bit of something for everyone." He travels to Italy often and strives to make dishes that are classic. "I like to represent the Italian cuisine in the most accurate way I can with what's available," he notes. In addition to offering the familiar grilled vegetables and seafood items, such as shrimp and scallop salad, the recent addition of a mozzarella bar, showcasing house-made burrata and fior di latte as well as imported mozzarella di bufala, broadens the restaurant's inherent appeal.
"Aside from whetting appetites, antipasti platters serve the important function of bringing a feeling of community to a meal," Lauletta observes. "Sharing food doesn't come naturally to all. Some people become territorial about what's set in front of them. But when an assortment of tasty little dishes is placed in the center of the table, if you're hungry, you dip in with the others," he continues. "Sharing the first course lends itself to good conversation."
Lauletta's dishes reflect his sophisticated cooking style with its Sicilian and Northern Italian overtones and emphasis on the highest quality, fresh seasonal ingredients, both domestic and imported. He pays special attention to the antipasti choices on his menu, and offers a mix of the classic - prosciutto di Parma and melon - and the novel - grilled calamari stuffed with pine nuts, shrimp, spinach and fontina cheese. "The antipasti are the first thing your customers see," he says. "They have to look first-class because when they look at something beautiful, they want to take a bite."
Andre Mack, corporate beverage director for Fireman Hospitality Group, presents about 20 quartinos at the antipasti bar. "This allows us to offer our guests a selection of varietally correct and geographically specific wines from Italy and America," he notes. "For whites, we seek out wines with high-acid and low-wood influence, keeping in mind the alcohol levels. Wines high in alcohol tend to overpower more delicate food items," Mack explains. "For reds, we look for classic examples from well-known and lesser-known regions, providing a level of comfort for guests who know what they like while also allowing them to venture off the beaten path." Mack also favors a light, crisp Prosecco or refreshing, frothy Lambrusco because, he says, "Sparkling wines - with their palate-cleansing bubbles - make for great, overall food pairing as well."
A thousand miles south of Trattoria dell'Arte, but also hugging the Atlantic Coast, Sardinia Enoteca Ristorante in Miami Beach is another antipasti enclave. Sardinian-born chef-co-owner Pietro Vardeu mans the establishment's wood-burning oven like a coal tender on a locomotive, shoveling in gamberoni (baked prawns) or quagile (boneless quail, wrapped in pig's cheek bacon); then plating up smeralda (borlotti beans marinated with oil and herbs with cold fresh seafood) or roasted beets with pancetta. He tends the crowded dining room here, too, making sure everyone has plenty of pane carasatu (a thin, crisp imported Sardinian flatbread) that's flavored with rosemary and salt.
"Antipasto is like serving bread on the table. It welcomes diners and if it's good, lets them know the rest of the meal is something to look forward to," Vardeu observes. You can select your own antipasti platter of salumi or formaggi served up on wooden pizza peels. His personal favorites include a sinfully rich taleggio and a fragrant pecorino sardo dolce, or assertively seasoned salami di cinghiale and prosciutto di Parma aged for 24 months.
Verdeu's regional style of cooking is simple, delicious and based on specific authentic Italian ingredients. Instead of using domestic pasta, for example, he wisely counsels using imported pasta, like Rustichella d'Abruzzo that he buys from Manicaretti Italian Food Importers (www.manicaretti.com). Vardeu admits that he is not into fancy cooking; instead, he is concerned about the attention to detail in the presentation of the food. "My customers love the variety of starters, and many make a meal around them. In fact, 30 percent of the food ordered is from the antipasti menu," he notes. Vardeu's enthusiasm extends to the wine service. "We strive to offer a wine experience reminiscent of an Italian railway station, where a plate of house-cured salumi and a quartino of rosso might be all you need," he explains. For his antipasti, he prefers, fittingly, Sardinian wines such as Vermentino di Sardinia Cala Solais or a red like Cannonau from Costera Argiolas.
The diversity of wine-friendly antipasti, inspired by centuries of Italian food tradition and modern-day ingredients, invites the home chef to explore without rules, limited only by the imagination. For professionals, serving antipasti has encouraged them to revive Old World kitchen craftsmanship as they pursue salumi-making and other time-honored techniques. Taken altogether, the antipasti movement is a brand-new Italian renaissance.
Food Editor Carole Kotkin manages the Ocean Reef Club Cooking School in Key Largo; is a syndicated columnist for McClatchey Publishing; is co-author of Mmmmiami; and co-hosts Food & Wine Talk on WDNA FM.
basic Bruschetta
"Probably the humblest of the antipasti in the bread category is bruschetta, which is called fettunta in Tuscany and is so simple as to need no formal instructions. Traditionally, thick slices of bread are toasted over an open fire, rubbed with plenty of garlic while still warm, drizzled generously with the first spremuta - 'squeezing' - of the new season's olive oil and then sprinkled with sea salt. The slices should be thick to prevent them from falling apart when they are rubbed with the garlic. The bread can [also] be toasted in the oven. While such a bruschetta does not have the romance of the ritualistic toasting of bread, it is still delicious. In the summer, when sweet, vine-ripened tomatoes are available, they are sometimes chopped and mixed with basil and the same good oil and spread over the bruschetta. A variation of bruschetta from Apulia is frisa, in which slabs of peasant bread are toasted over the fire, drizzled with the local fruity green olive oil and topped with finely sliced sweet onions and chopped fresh tomatoes." - Julia della Croce
Bay Scallops with
Lemon and Chervil
From The Young Man & The Sea
by David Pasternack & Ed Levine
- 1/2 pound bay scallops (about 25-30), well chilled
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Coarse sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 sprigs chervil, leaves only
Serves 4
Hamachi Crudo
with Sharlyn Melon & Mint
From Chef Staffan Terje of Perbacco
For the Hamachi:
- 2 4 1/2"-thick slices of sushi grade hamachi (yellowtail jack)
- Maldon sea salt (or other flake sea salt)
- Pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 lemon
- 6 teaspoons Sharlyn Melon Salsa Cruda (recipe below)
- 20 mint leaves, torn into pieces
- 1 cup finely diced Sharlyn melon (cantaloupe)
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Salt
- Pepper
- 10 mint leaves, chopped
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
To serve: Arrange slices of hamachi on plates, 4 per plate. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper; drizzle generously with olive oil. Squeeze a couple drops of lemon juice on each slice. Make sure to dress in this order. This will keep the fish from "cooking" in the lemon juice. Top each slice with 1 teaspoon Sharlyn Melon Salsa Cruda and mint, and serve.
Serves 6
Albacore Crudo with
Green Tomato and Coriander
From Chef Staffan Terje of Perbacco
For the Albacore:
- 2 4 1/2"-thick slices of sushi grade albacore tuna
- Maldon sea salt (or other flake sea salt)
- Pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 lime
- 1 cup Green Tomato Condimento (recipe below)
- 30 cilantro leaves
- 1 large unripe tomato, finely diced
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- Sea salt
- Pepper
- 1 Serrano chili (optional), seeds removed, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
To serve: Divide albacore slices between 6 plates, 4 per plate. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Drizzle generously with olive oil and then squeeze a few drops lime juice on each slice. Make sure to dress in this order. This will keep the fish from "cooking" in the lime juice.
Top each fish slice with a teaspoon of Green Tomato Condimento and a few cilantro leaves.
Serves 6
Seared Squid with
Corona Beans & Arugula
From Chef Staffan Terje of Perbacco
For the Seared Squid:
- 24 fresh squid, cleaned
- Salt and pepper
- 2 cups Corona beans, cooked or other large white bean (cannellini)
- 4 cups arugula leaves
- 1 red jalapeño or Serrano chili, thinly sliced (optional)
- 1 cup lemon vinaigrette (recipe below)
- Extra virgin olive oil
For the Lemon Vinaigrette:
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 pinch red chili flakes
- Salt
- Pepper
To serve: Arrange salad on 6 plates.
Heat a large sauté pan or griddle over high heat and add olive oil. Sear squid until opaque (about 2 to 3 minutes). Place squid on top of salad.
Serves 6
Fregoletta Sardinian Couscous with Baby Clams in Saffron Broth
From Pietro Vardeu of Sardinia Enoteca Ristorante
- 1 pound dried saffron fregola
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 pound littleneck clams
- 1 cup dry white wine such as Vermentino
- Pinch of saffron
- 1/2 cup basic tomato sauce or diced fresh tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon hot red pepper flakes
- 1 bunch Italian flat leaf parsley, leaves only
- Salt
- Pepper
Meanwhile, in a 12" sauté pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil. Add onion and garlic and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes. Add clams, wine, saffron, tomato sauce, red pepper flakes and parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Drain fregola and add to sauté pan. Cover and cook 5 minutes, shaking skillet several times. Dish is done when clams open (discard any unopened clams).
Serves 4
Marinated Mushrooms
From Antipasti by Joyce Goldstein
The key to making these taste wonderful is not to marinate the mushrooms too long, so they still have some crunch. If you don't finish eating all of them, they will be good for days, of course, but will be softer. That's when you can throw them into a green salad. The leftover marinade can be added to your everyday vinaigrette.
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 small yellow onion, peeled and cut into 1/4"-thick rings
- 2/3 pound fresh small white button or cremini mushrooms
Trim stem ends on mushrooms and then wipe mushrooms clean with damp paper towels. Add to marinade, stir gently to mix well, and leave at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours.
Serve mushrooms with toothpicks for spearing.
Serves 8
Carrots with Marsala
From Carole Kotkin
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 11/2 pounds carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
- Salt & freshly ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 cup dry Marsala
Serves 6
Sautéed Escarole & Beans
From Carole Kotkin
- 11/2 pounds escarole
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 large cloves garlic, peeled, crushed and minced
- 1/2 pound dried borlotti or cannellini beans, cooked, or 1 can (19 ounces) cannellini beans
- 3/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Serves 6
Piemontese Roasted Peppers with
Prosciutto & Fontina
From Carole Kotkin
- 3 large red bell peppers
- Salt
- Pepper
- 6 very thin slices prosciutto d'Parma
- 6 thin slices Fontina d'Aosta (about 41/2 ounces)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Set peppers on outdoor grill, under broiler, or directly on a gas burner. Watch them closely and when skin blackens, turn peppers with tongs until entire surface is black. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. After peppers have cooled, scrape away blackened skin with a paring knife. Cut peppers in half, remove seed and membrane. Lay pepper halves out on a board, skinned side down. Lightly salt and pepper the insides. Put a slice of prosciutto and a slice of fontina on each pepper. Fold in half and secure with a toothpick. Oil a shallow baking dish with 1/2 tablespoon of the oil. Set peppers in the dish and drizzle the rest of the oil on top. Put them into a preheated 400° oven and bake until fontina melts, about 10 minutes. Let cool briefly and remove toothpicks before serving.
Serves 6 - CK
Grilled Eggplant with
Fresh Mozzarella and Lemon
From Carole Kotkin
- 4 small eggplants (1/2 pound each), cut into 1/2" slices
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 pound mozzarella, cut into 1/4" slices
- 4 medium tomatoes (about 2 pounds), sliced
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
- 2 lemons, cut in half
Serves 4
Remedy for home-curing
Those not so inclined to cure their own meats can source outstanding products from outlets such as Salumi Artisan Cured Meats in Seattle, Wash. (www.salumicuredmeats.com). There, retired Boeing engineer Armandino Batali cures a number of handmade salamis (mole, with a hint of dark cocoa, is a special treat), signature lamb prosciutto, coppa and culatello, described as "heart of prosciutto," with meticulous care. Batali's recipes are based on traditional Italian preparations, and these products are finding their way to restaurant menus across the country. - CK
Bay Scallops with
Lemon and Chervil
From The Young Man & The Sea
by David Pasternack & Ed Levine
- 1/2 pound bay scallops (about 25-30), well chilled
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Coarse sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 sprigs chervil, leaves only
Serves 4
Hamachi Crudo
with Sharlyn Melon & Mint
From Chef Staffan Terje of Perbacco
For the Hamachi:
- 24 1/2"-thick slices of sushi grade hamachi (yellowtail jack)
- Maldon sea salt (or other flake sea salt)
- Pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 lemon
- 6 teaspoons Sharlyn Melon Salsa Cruda (recipe below)
- 20 mint leaves, torn into pieces
- 1 cup finely diced Sharlyn melon (cantaloupe)
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Salt
- Pepper
- 10 mint leaves, chopped
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
To serve: Arrange slices of hamachi on plates, 4 per plate. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper; drizzle generously with olive oil. Squeeze a couple drops of lemon juice on each slice. Make sure to dress in this order. This will keep the fish from "cooking" in the lemon juice. Top each slice with 1 teaspoon Sharlyn Melon Salsa Cruda and mint, and serve.
Serves 6
Albacore Crudo with
Green Tomato and Coriander
From Chef Staffan Terje of Perbacco
For the Albacore:
- 2 4 1/2"-thick slices of sushi grade albacore tuna
- Maldon sea salt (or other flake sea salt)
- Pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 lime
- 1 cup Green Tomato Condimento (recipe below)
- 30 cilantro leaves
- 1 large unripe tomato, finely diced
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- Sea salt
- Pepper
- 1 Serrano chili (optional), seeds removed, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
To serve: Divide albacore slices between 6 plates, 4 per plate. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Drizzle generously with olive oil and then squeeze a few drops lime juice on each slice. Make sure to dress in this order. This will keep the fish from "cooking" in the lime juice.
Top each fish slice with a teaspoon of Green Tomato Condimento and a few cilantro leaves.
Serves 6
Seared Squid with
Corona Beans & Arugula
From Chef Staffan Terje of Perbacco
For the Seared Squid:
- 24 fresh squid, cleaned
- Salt and pepper
- 2 cups Corona beans, cooked or other large white bean (cannellini)
- 4 cups arugula leaves
- 1 red jalapeño or Serrano chili, thinly sliced (optional)
- 1 cup lemon vinaigrette (recipe below)
- Extra virgin olive oil
For the Lemon Vinaigrette:
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 pinch red chili flakes
- Salt
- Pepper
To serve: Arrange salad on 6 plates.
Heat a large sauté pan or griddle over high heat and add olive oil. Sear squid until opaque (about 2 to 3 minutes). Place squid on top of salad.
Serves 6
Fregoletta Sardinian Couscous with Baby Clams in Saffron Broth
From Pietro Vardeu of Sardinia Enoteca Ristorante
- 1 pound dried saffron fregola
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 pound littleneck clams
- 1 cup dry white wine such as Vermentino
- Pinch of saffron
- 1/2 cup basic tomato sauce or diced fresh tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon hot red pepper flakes
- 1 bunch Italian flat leaf parsley, leaves only
- Salt
- Pepper
Meanwhile, in a 12" sauté pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil. Add onion and garlic and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes. Add clams, wine, saffron, tomato sauce, red pepper flakes and parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Drain fregola and add to sauté pan. Cover and cook 5 minutes, shaking skillet several times. Dish is done when clams open (discard any unopened clams).
Serves 4
Marinated Mushrooms
From Antipasti by Joyce Goldstein
The key to making these taste wonderful is not to marinate the mushrooms too long, so they still have some crunch. If you don't finish eating all of them, they will be good for days, of course, but will be softer. That's when you can throw them into a green salad. The leftover marinade can be added to your everyday vinaigrette.
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 small yellow onion, peeled and cut into 1/4"-thick rings
- 2/3 pound fresh small white button or cremini mushrooms
Trim stem ends on mushrooms and then wipe mushrooms clean with damp paper towels. Add to marinade, stir gently to mix well, and leave at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours.
Serve mushrooms with toothpicks for spearing.
Serves 8
Carrots with Marsala
From Carole Kotkin
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 11/2 pounds carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
- Salt & freshly ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 cup dry Marsala
Serves 6
Sautéed Escarole & Beans
From Carole Kotkin
- 1 1/2 pounds escarole
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 large cloves garlic, peeled, crushed and minced
- 1/2 pound dried borlotti or cannellini beans, cooked, or 1 can (19 ounces) cannellini beans
- 3/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Serves 6
Piemontese Roasted Peppers with
Prosciutto & Fontina
From Carole Kotkin
- 3 large red bell peppers
- Salt
- Pepper
- 6 very thin slices prosciutto d'Parma
- 6 thin slices Fontina d'Aosta (about 4 1/2 ounces)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Serves 6 - CK
Grilled Eggplant with
Fresh Mozzarella and Lemon
From Carole Kotkin
- 4 small eggplants (1/2 pound each), cut into 1/2" slices
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 pound mozzarella, cut into 1/4" slices
- 4 medium tomatoes (about 2 pounds), sliced
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
- 2 lemons, cut in half
Serves 4
Remedy for home-curing
Those not so inclined to cure their own meats can source outstanding products from outlets such as Salumi Artisan Cured Meats in Seattle, Wash. (www.salumicuredmeats.com). There, retired Boeing engineer Armandino Batali cures a number of handmade salamis (mole, with a hint of dark cocoa, is a special treat), signature lamb prosciutto, coppa and culatello, described as "heart of prosciutto," with meticulous care. Batali's recipes are based on traditional Italian preparations, and these products are finding their way to restaurant menus across the country. - CK
