Eating Up Italy: Voyages on a Vespa. Matthew Fort

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СКАЧАТЬ MINCED BEEF

      175G MINCED PORK

      4 EGGS

      A HANDFUL OF GRATED PECORINO

      2 BASIL LEAVES

      1 CLOVE GARLIC, CRUSHED

      SALT, TO TASTE

      EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL, FOR FRYING

      Serves 4

      Peel the aubergines. Cut lengthwise into strips about 2cm thick and toss into boiling water. When cooked, drain and dry thoroughly.

      Chop the aubergines finely and mix with an equivalent amount of breadcrumbs. Add the minced meats, eggs, pecorino, basil leaves, garlic and salt. Shape into short sausages about 5–7cm long and 3–4cm thick. Fry 6–7 fritters at a time in extra virgin olive oil.

      INVOLTINI DI MELANZANE

      Aubergine rolls

      Serves 4

      Coat the aubergine slices in flour and fry in extra virgin olive oil.

      Cook the tagliatelle in salted boiling water. When half-cooked, transfer to a frying pan with 250ml of the tomato sauce, the garlic, basil and pecorino. Mix well and leave to cool.

      Spoon the cooked pasta mixture on to the fried aubergine slices and roll up tightly (securing with cocktail sticks if necessary). Cut off the tagliatelle sticking out at either end and use to stuff the next aubergine slice.

      Place the rolls in an ovenproof dish, spoon over more of the tomato sauce, sprinkle with the Parmesan and bake for 30 minutes at 180°C/Gas 4.

      8 SLICES OF AUBERGINE

      PLAIN FLOUR

      EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

      500G HOME-MADE TAGLIATELLE

      500ML FRESH TOMATO SAUCE

      1 CLOVE GARLIC, CRUSHED

      2 BASIL LEAVES

      3 TABLESPOONS GRATED PECORINO

      4 TABLESPOONS GRATED PARMESAN

      CROCCHETTE DI PATATE

      Potato croquettes

      Serves 4

      Wash and boil the potatoes. When cooked, drain, peel and mash well. Leave to cool. Mix with the eggs, Parmesan, pecorino, parsley and salt. Shape into cylinders 6–7cm long and about 2cm in diameter.

      Fry 6–7 croquettes at a time in extra virgin olive oil.

      1KG POTATOES

      5 EGGS, BEATEN

      A HANDFUL OF GRATED PARMESAN, TO TASTE

      1 TBSP GRATED PECORINO

      PARSLEY, CHOPPED

      SALT, TO TASTE

      EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL, FOR FRYING

      LO SPEZZATINO DI CAPRETTO

      Stewed kid (or lamb) offal

      Why is it that the British have lost their taste for offal? I suppose it may be because, unlike most cuts of meat that bear no relation to the living animal from which they came, offal is the essence of animal. A brain looks like a brain, a heart like a heart, a testicle like a testicle. There’s no sliding round the fact that these organs had functions, intimate functions at that. In confronting a brain, a heart or a testicle, we confront our own mortality, and doing so should make us appreciate our living state all the more. It would be charitable to think that the modern tendency in some countries to reject the gift of offal is some evidence of civilised refinement. In truth, it is a throwback to the sixteenth century when offal was thought to provoke ‘euyl humours’.

      1.5KG KID OR LAMB (INCLUDING THE LIVER, LUNGS, KIDNEYS, HEART AND SPLEEN)

      90ML WINE VINEGAR

      EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

      1 CLOVE GARLIC, CHOPPED

      1 BAY LEAF

      3 TOMATOES, SKINNED AND DESEEDED

      TOMATO PASTE

      OREGANO, TO TASTE

      FRESH CHILLIES, TO TASTE

      CHILLI POWDER, TO TASTE

      SALT, TO TASTE

      Serves 8

      Blanch the offal in water and wine vinegar for about 4 minutes. Drain, leave to cool and chop finely.

      Chop the kid or lamb into pieces. Grease a flame-proof casserole with oil and sauté the kid or lamb meat in it with the garlic and bay leaf. After a few minutes, add the offal, tomatoes, a little tomato paste, a pinch of oregano, the fresh chillies and chilli powder and salt to taste. Braise for about 20 minutes. Serve with plenty of freshly baked farmhouse bread.

      LA PITTA PIENA

      Stuffed focaccia alla nicocastro

      When I first saw it, it lay in its baking tray, the colour of ripe wheat on top. Signora Gaetano briskly sliced it the length of its middle, and then in sections across. She lifted out a slice and passed it to me. The inside was pale and spongy, with a fat seam of soppressata, pecorino and hard-boiled egg running through the middle. My teeth sank through. I relished the airy texture of the bread. The rich, spicy, weighty filling boomed through my mouth.

      1KG FOCACCIA DOUGH (MADE WITH 1KG FLOUR, 25G FRESH OR 12G DRIED YEAST, 500ML WARM WATER, 1 TSP SALT)

      115G SOFTENED STRUTTO (PORK FAT), PLUS EXTRA FOR GREASING

      200G PORK RIND, BLANCHED AND DICED

      6 HARD-BOILED EGGS, SLICED

      250G SPICY SAUSAGE (PREFERABLY SOPPRESSATA), CUT INTO ROUNDS

      200G FRESH PECORINO, FINELY SLICED

      1 EGG, BEATEN

      Serves 10

      Mix the focaccia dough in a bowl, knead until smooth and elastic, then leave in a warm place to rise.

      Put the risen dough on the work surface, pull open in the middle and punch down. Add the softened pork fat. Knead until the dough is elastic and silky. Put back in the bowl and leave in a warm place to rise again.

      Roll out half the dough to cover the bottom of a round ovenproof tin greased with lard. Cover with the pork rind, sliced hard-boiled eggs, sausage and pecorino. Cover with the rest of the dough and seal with half the beaten egg. Prick the surface with a fork and brush with the remaining beaten egg.

      Bake at 180°C/Gas СКАЧАТЬ