Perciatelli in Mushroom Sauce

            This is a pleasantly, full-flavored dish that's pretty quick and easy to make. It's perfect for wintertime both because of the warmth of flavor and the reliance on pantry items. I find the flavor satisfying without the addition of any spice "heat," but that would be easy to remedy for those who require it.

            Perciatelli is a type of hollow spaghetti, slightly thicker than Bucatini, which could be substituted here. Its added weight is useful for dishes with chunks of bacon, pancetta, mushrooms, etc. The hollowness also allows it to soak up sauces or melted cheeses. Both conditions are met in this dish!

            The wine to accompany could be white or red as long as it contrasts nicely with the richness of the food. I don't think I'd want a Merlot here, or a cloying California red. I've chosen a 2007 Côte-du-Rhône,  Perrin & Fils Vinsobres  Les Cornuds. This is a lovely wine with just the right amount of complexity to not overpower this food. It has a remarkable finish, mouth-satisfying and then vanishing like a well-behaved child.

          I'm using good quality canned tomatoes here, but separate the tomatoes from the liquid they're packed in, reserving it. Remove any hard parts (right where the stem was attached) and puree the solids. You'll add the liquids a little at a time as the sauce simmers, only using as much as needed for the thickness desired.

I enjoy the smokiness the Bacon gives to the dish, but if this is something you don't like, then blanch bacon for a few minutes in boiling water. A good tip for any dish.

Ingredients:

½         large, sweet Onion, diced

1          small stalk Celery, diced

2          strips Bacon, see method

3 oz     Mushrooms, sliced

2 Tbs   Olive oil

2          cloves Garlic, minced

1 cup    Beef stock

28oz     can of Tomatoes

sprig     fresh Basil

⅛ tsp   Cinnamon

            Nutmeg

            Salt & Pepper to taste

3          Scallions (or 4)

3 oz     the Wine you'll serve with the meal

            Parmigiano Reggiano

            Perciatelli (just under ¼ lb. per person)

Method:

Prep all ingredients. Slice Bacon strips into 3 or 4 thinner strips lengthwise, then crosscut into pieces about 2 inches long. Prep tomatoes as described above. Chop Scallions into small tubes and reserve for the final steps.

prepping tomatoes

ingredients prepped

Sauté Bacon until its fat is rendered, then add mushrooms and cook until they color on both sides.

rendering bacon

add mushrooms

Now add Onions, Celery, and Garlic and cook until transparent.

Add Beef stock and raise heat, cooking down for a few minutes.

cooking down stock 

Add Wine and cook for a few minutes.

cook down wine

wine added

Add Puree and stir in well. When it comes to a boil, lower heat to simmer and add Cinnamon and several gratings of Nutmeg. Float the Basil in the sauce and simmer on low for about 45 minutes. 

tomatoes added

sauce simmering

As it cooks, stir occasionally and add juice, if needed,  to keep the right consistency. [Mine took just about all the juice!]

After 45 minutes, add Perciatelli to a pot of boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes fewer than the instructions on the box. Drain well and add to the sauce, submerging all the pasta, stir in about half the scallions. Let this cook for about 3 or 4 more minutes. The Perciatelli will absorb the sauce into the hole in the pasta!

perciatelli simmering

pasta drained

Plate the dish and sprinkle remaining Scallions and freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Serve, accompanied by your wonderful wine.

Enjoy!  - Love, Dave

Zuppa di Fagioli con Salisicce

Soup with Beans and Sausage

            This Tuscan-like soup is a great meal for a cold day! It only takes 2 hrs or so from start to finish, and during much of that you can be doing something else, because the soup is just simmering. My recipe makes two bowls. Because it is so small, I chose to use canned beans instead of dried. Expand the recipe and you can use a pound of dried beans. I think the wine can be white or red, but imho it should be a fine wine to counter the rustic meal. I chose a Barbera d'Asti from Vietti (a winery that has never let me down!)

Winery at Yellow Blob

Vietti Barbera d'Asti

Castiglione Falletto

Ingredients:

1          Carrot

1          stalk     Celery

Ingredients

1          med     Shallot (1 oz)

1          Pepper (mild-medium heat)
1          link       cooked Sausage

4          cups    Beef Stock

16        oz        Cannellini Beans

8          oz        Tomato Sauce

1          small    Parmesan rind

1          sprig    fresh Basil

1½       oz        Lentils

2½       oz        Ditali pasta

1          splash  Marsala wine

1          small    Scallion

                        Olive Oil

                        Salt to taste

Method:

1    Cut the Celery into thin dice,

      Cut the Carrot into small dice,

      Slice the Shallot in half, then into very thin slices.

2    Gently sauté these in a tablespoon of Olive Oil until Celery becomes transparent.

3    While these are sautéing, clean and slice the Pepper, also thinly slice the Sausage.

4    Add these to the pot and stir until everything is heated, then add a splash of Marsala and let the alcohol burn off.

     Then add tomato sauce. Stir gently until it begins to bubble, then add the stock. Stir and bring soup to a boil.

5    Wash and pick through the Lentils. When soup is boiling, add Lentils, ½ tsp Salt and the Parmesan rind. Lower burner and stir. Let simmer, partially covered, for about an hour.

6    Strain and rinse Beans. Stir them into the soup. Float a spring of fresh basil and let simmer, uncovered, for another half-hour, stirring occasionally. 


























      While the soup cooks, slice Scallion into narrow rings, reserve.

7    Remove Basil and Parmesan (if possible) and add the pasta. Raise heat a bit. Cook until pasta is done, about 15 minutes, stirring often because soup will now thicken !!!

8    Turn off heat. Taste and correct seasoning. Stir in the Scallion rings and pour soup into bowls. Enjoy with a fine wine. This is really delicious!!

Zuppa di Fagioli con Salisicce

Costolette di Vitello (Veal Chops)

A meal from the freezer!!

   The day after New Year's 2012: in my wine cellar I found the first bottle on which I had written the notation "drink in 2012." It is a 2000 Borolo. Now that wine deserves a serious meal. The only problem is that I refuse to take my car from the garage today! (It is a Federal holiday.) What to do?

   It's on days like this that your foresight pays off. I never make a serious Brown Sauce or Sauce Espagnole without freezing a few small containers for just such a day. So after my visit to the wine cellar, I visited my freezer where I found: 1 veal chop, 1 small container mashed potatoes, Sauce Espagnole and commercial, frozen baby Lima Beans. Hey, that's a grand meal waiting to happen with minimal effort. So I'll spend the afternoon watching Die Fledermaus instead of slaving in the kitchen. 

  By dinnertime everything will be thawed. Once it is heated, I'll add a little Lustau Pedro Ximénez sherry to the sauce, swirl in a little butter to finish, and serve up with the Borolo as a smashing finale to a holiday weekend!

   Here is the final plate, with very little work (because it was all done months ago) and finished in about half an hour: 

 - love, Dave

STRUFOLLI

A small strufolli Christmas wreath I made for our small family.

I should have used a Christmas Plate!!

LAMB ROASTED WITH ORANGES AND MINT

            As I was checking out the wares at a new meat market, I ran into this small (1¼ lb!) butterflied leg of lamb. Clearly just a portion of a leg, or this was a very miniature animal :) However, I liked the size, as it fits into the cooking for 1-or-2 category quite nicely.

fat side

All we have to do is roll up some good stuff inside, grill the outside and roast for a short time and we will have a tasty and elegant dish. Choosing the wine should be fun too!

            Unfortunately, it is winter here on the Niagara Frontier, so I won't be using my outside grill, where we could accomplish the entire task. I'll have to save that for a summertime reprise. A leg of lamb always has a good coating of fat on its outside. We'll want to trim that down a bit for inside grilling, to minimize smoke and flare. You should probably leave all of it on for outside grilling. Using a meat hammer to pound and flatten it a little will help in stuffing and rolling. I usually like to marinate my lamb, so we'll have to do this at least the night before (longer if you can). After grilling, roast it draped in thin slices of an orange and fresh mint leaves.

Some fat trimmed off

Pounded & ready to marinate

            Now for the wine! Located high in the foothills of Beaujolais is a small cru called Chiroubles. (See map.) 

Chiroubles at red dot

There is some unique and lovely wine produced here. The Gravallon-Lathuilière estate has created a wonderful example in their 2009 Chiroubles. A more serious wine with a complex set of overtones that can be drunk now or cellared for a while. The flavor still has a brightness to it and a gorgeous color, I think it will make a lovely pairing with the lamb.

Marinade:

1 cup Onion, rough chopped

1 Tbs. chopped Garlic

Salt and Pepper

several dashes on Worcestershire Sauce

juice of one Lemon

everyday Olive Oil

            Trim some of the thicker pieces of fat off the lamb and then pound it out to an even thickness and shape, as much as possible. Place, fat side down, in a container just large enough to hold it. Sprinkle the top with salt and coarsely ground pepper. Sprinkle on Worcestershire Sauce and the juice of a lemon. Cover with the chopped onion and garlic. Pour on olive oil to just cover. Put the lid on and refrigerate at least overnight, the longer the better.

Placed in marinate

Filling:

1 cup Bread Crumbs

1 Egg

2 Tbs. grated Romano Cheese

2 Tbs. Tomato Paste

freshly ground Pepper

1 Tbs. Olive Paste*

Mayonnaise*

thin slices of Fontina Cheese

            * If you have not yet acquired a taste for Olive Paste, then replace both the Olive Paste and the Mayonnaise with Greek Yogurt. A tasty substitution.

Filling, ready to be mixed

Roasting:

small Leg of Lamb, prepared as above

1 Orange

1 Onion

several sprigs of fresh Mint

about ½ cup of liquid (water is fine)

An oven thermometer

Method:

1          Remove Lamb-in-Marinade from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature for a while. Meanwhile, mix all filling ingredients, except for the Fontina Cheese and Mayo. I used a mini food-processor attachment for my hand blender for this task. Stir in enough Mayo to make a spreadable paste.

2          Remove Lamb from Marinade and brush off loose onions, etc. Do not dry off. Place fat side down on a work surface. Season with salt and pepper, then spread filling evenly over the Lamb. Place some slices of Fontina Cheese over filling at intervals. 

            

            I used a lovely Fontina from Valle d'Aosta. Roll the Lamb and tie carefully. Program your oven to BROIL. Place Lamb on a broiler pan and then into the preheated oven under the broiler. I recommend you keep it on a rack lower than you would normally use to broil meat because the fat will want to splatter. (See picture.)

Ready for broiler

Broiling not-too-close

3          Broil for about 8 minutes, roll over and broil 8 minutes longer on the other side. 

            The roast should be nicely colored. 

            Remove from oven and reprogram to BAKE at 325F.

4          Chop the Onion and scatter over the bottom of a shallow ovenproof pan. Carefully place roast on the bed of Onions. Insert the oven thermometer into the roast to its center. Strew the fresh mint over the roast and then drape the thinly-sliced Orange over the mint. Add about ½ cup of liquid to the pan. 

Just before tenting

            Tent a small piece of foil over the roast and place in the 325F oven for about 50 minutes. Remove foil after about 25 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on the thermometer! Ovens vary and Lamb legs come in different sizes. Your roast is done when it reaches 130-135F, no more! Remove from oven and tightly cover with the tenting foil. Let rest for about 15 minutes. The internal temp will increase a couple of degrees.

5          Slice and serve with a not-too-rich side. I used brown rice to which I added some fresh green-bean pieces cooked with diced carrots. I also added some button mushrooms I had sautéed in butter and deglazed with Brandy. Then I folded in some grated Romano Cheese. This made a nice, understated accompaniment to the Lamb! The Orange and Mint only adds a hint of flavor to the outside of the roast which, of course, is present in each slice.

6          The pairing with Chiroubles was brilliant: wine and food complementing each other magnificently!   -Love, Dave