|
|
|
|
AN ITALIAN EXPERIENCE - FOOD - Dispensa (pantry)
PRESERVING FRESH BASIL
Wash a large quantity of basil leaves. Spread them on a towel in the sun to dry for ten minutes or so, until all the moisture from the washing has evaporated. Mince them very finely, almost to a pulp, and put them in a large mixing bowl. Add freshly grated Parmesan cheese and mix thoroughly. Continue to add cheese until all the moisture has been absorbed. The texture should resemble sawdust. It is very important to use excellent quality Parmesan cheese, and only freshly grated cheese. You will know the difference.
Prepare half-pint jars, as many as necessary, by sterilizing them. Add a thin layer of salt and pepper to the bottom of each jar. Add a layer of the basil/cheese mixture and pack it down with a wooden spoon or something similar until it is about 1/3" deep. Continue with another layer of salt and pepper and then of the basil/cheese mixture until you have reached 1/3" below the top of each jar. Add 1/4"olive oil, screw on the top and put the jars in the refrigerator. The salt in the cheese and the salt and pepper are the preserving agents, and this mixture can last a year or more. This mixture makes a terrific and simple coating for pasta.
MAKING JAMS How much to make? Jams and preserves come out best made in small batches -- 1 to 1.5 quarts (liters) at a time. If you have more fruit make a second batch. Lightly crush the fruit with your hands and put it in the pot, adding a little water if it's a relatively dry fruit, for example apricots. Heat over a low flame, stirring often to prevent sticking or burning, until the fruit has become soft, then add the sugar. Continue stirring while the sugar dissolves, and then reduce the heat and continue to cook until the jam thickens to the point that a drop on a tilted plate runs slowly (keep in mind that it will thicken further as it cools, so don't let it get too thick); this could take up to a half hour. Taste as you go; should the jam be too tart add more sugar, and if it is overly sweet add some lemon juice. Once the jam is done, transfer it to sterile jars with metal lids. (Wash the lids with boiling water before use. Drop them in the same pot with the jars when the jars are sterilizing). Pour the hot jam into them, leaving a little bit of air space, and screw the lids on tightly. Let the jars cool on a metal rack. When they have cooled, tap the lids lightly with a spoon or knife; if they ring the seal is true. Should the lid of a jar fail to ring, either reseal it or use it immediately. Store the jam in a cool dry place; it will keep for a year or more.
APRICOT DIPPING SAUCE
Ingredients:
Preparation:
JAM, APRICOT WITH GINGER
Preparation: Return the apricot puree and sugar to the pot, cook over low heat at a simmer for one hour.Place prepared jam into hot, sterilized jars, and store in a cool dark place.
CHERRY JAM
Ingredients: Sort and wash fully ripe cherries, remove stems and pits. Grind cherries or finely chop. Measure prepared fruit into a large heavy pan. Add sugar and stir well. Place on high heat, stir constantly and bring to a full rolling boil. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in pectin. Skim with metal spoon if needed. Fill hot sterile jars leaving 1ò4" head space. Wipe jar rims and adjust lids. Process in boiling water bath.
JAM, GINGERED PEACH
Preparation: Continue to cook for an hour or more until the peaches are glossy and the juice is thick enough to your taste. Pour the mixture into sterilized jars and let them sit for at least a week.
JAM, GINGERED FIG WITH LEMON
Preparation: Simmer the figs in water and spices for five minutes, add the sugar gradually and simmer over a low heat until the figs have become glossy and the syrup is thick. This will take approximately one hour. Bottle into sterilized jars immediately. Note:The figs can be eaten as a very rich sweet with ice cream, or served with cheese. They are very rich but delicious.
JAM, LINDSEY'S TOMATO
Preparation: Add a pinch each of salt and cayenne and cook over medium-high heat, stirring very often, until the tomatoes cook down to the consistency of jam and the sugars are bubbly and carmelized, about 30 minutes. Set aside to cool. If it is too sweet, adjust the seasoning with up to 1/2 Tbsp. of the vinegar.
ITALIAN BREAD MAKING I can categorically state that I don't like Italian flour. I'm not alone. Friend Wendy Briggs brings hers from Australia with her when she comes. Until we drive to Rome to a biologic store called Naturasi!, we're slogging by with local flour. The local bakery will sell us their flour by the kilo, and that's a bit better than the packages offered in the markets, but only by a bit. I've wanted to understand the difference between "O" and "OO" flour. Thanks to Carol Field, here is the difference: "OO" flour is one part pastry flour and three parts all-purpose flour. "O" flour is one part cake flour and four parts all-purpose flour. Why am I so obsessed with baking bread? I love the metal hook attachments that come with our electric mixer, or rather, the magic they create. Once plunged into a mass of flour and water and leavening, they transform the mess into a silky consistency that rises into glorious shapes that, once baked, compare with the best panificios around. Here's an herb bread, that is great when hot, then makes wonderful breadcrumbs. I know, it's a lot of work for bread crumbs, but when you've breaded something with these breadcrumbs, which come out of a food processor after pieces of the loaf have been cut and whirled around, you'll be a believer. I'll never use those tiny-grained store bought bread crumbs again! But try the bread first, hot out of the oven and cooled on a rack until you're able to slice it.
HERB BREAD
Ingredients:
Preparation: Stir the yeast into the warm water in a large mixing bowl; let stand until creamy, about ten minutes. Stir in the chopped herb mixture and the oil. Mix the flour and salt and stir 1 cup of it at a time into the yeast mixture in the bowl. Using mixing beaters, continue to mix until the dough pulls away form the sides of the bowl. If the mass is not this consistency yet, add a little water. Then change to the dough hooks and knead until silky, elastic and resilient. This should take 2 to 3 minutes.
First rise:
Second rise:
Baking: Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. If using a baking stone, turn the oven on 30 minutes before baking and sprinkle the stone with cornmeal just before sliding the loaves onto it. Bake until the loaves sound hollow when you tap the bottoms, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool completely on racks before serving.
HARVEST FOCCACIA
Ingredients:
Preparation: In a small saucepan, warm 1/4 cup of the olive oil with the rosemary and lemon zest. Add the grapes and raisins, mix well then add half to the yeast mixture. Mix another 1 cup flour into the yeast mixture with the dough hook attachment. Knead until smooth. With the machine running, add the salt and remaining 3 cups flour, one cup at a time, kneading until smooth after each addition. Knead another six minutes after the addition of the last cup of flour. The dough should remain rather wet to ensure a soft and light bread. Shape the dough into a ball on a floured board and put it in an oiled bowl. Cover with a damp towel and allow it to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk about 45 minutes. Punch dough down and lightly sprinkle work surface with flour. Turn out dough and knead lightly. At this point, the dough may be wrapped and frozen. To bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil an 11x17 baking sheet and sprinkle corn meal over the top. Press dough down into a flat disc with the heel of your hand. Using your fingertips, nudge the dough into a rectangle. The dough can be rolled but the pressure will produce heavier bread. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet and brush with the remaining olive oil. Let rise again until doubled, 30-40 minutes. Make indentations all over the dough by pressing with your fingertips, being careful not to puncture all the way through. Bake 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and brush with the egg. Sprinkle with the remaining grape mixture, then the remaining sugar. Finish with some coarse salt. Return to the oven and continue to bake until golden brown on top and crisp on the bottom, about 10 minutes. Let cool in the pan before cutting.
PASTA, HOME MADE
Preparation: Knead the dough for ten to fifteen minutes, until it is smooth, firm, and quite elastic. Don't skimp on the kneading or the dough will tear while you're rolling it out. You are now ready for the hard part: separate the dough into two pieces. Flour your work surface and start to roll out the dough, rolling from the middle, flipping it occasionally, and flouring it as necessary to keep it from sticking. To keep the sheet from breaking, once it has reached a certain size, roll it up around the rolling pin and then invert the rolling pin. You can, as you are unrolling the sheet, gently stretch it by holding the unrolled part firm and pulling gently away with the rolling pin. Keep on flipping and rolling till you have a sheet that's almost transparent -- as thin as a dime, or thinner, if you can manage it (the pasta will almost double in thickness while cooking). Once you've rolled out the sheet, either use it to make stuffed pasta such as ravioli or tortellini, for lasagna, or cut it into strips. If you choose the latter course the easiest thing to do is roll the sheet of dough up into a tube, then slice the tube into rounds of the desired width and unroll them so the strands come free; set them to dry on a rack or between two chair backs, supported by a towel (you often see this in the country). Roll out the second piece and cut it as you did the first. Cook the pasta in salted, boiling water. Since it's fresh, it will cook in three to five minutes. Soft wheat flour has much less gluten than the durum wheat used in commercially prepared dry pastas, and will become flabby if it overcooks.
CURING OLIVES, two ways
Preparation: At the end of six weeks, rinse the olives off.
Option 1: In these jars, pour some of your best olive oil and put the jar away in a cool, dark place for at least a couple of months.
Option 2:
|