Read Online Every Day in Tuscany by Frances Mayes - Free Book Online
Authors: Frances Mayes
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other name definitely sounds better. Italian for seafood is frutti di mare , fruits of the sea or seafruits. Even the Italian word for fish, pesce , two syllables, makes the word palatable and musical.
Naturally, a number of regions have their own names for brodetto , all made differently. There’s cioppino , which is all over San Francisco, but I’ve never seen it in Italy, although it’s said to have originated in Liguria, where they eat buridda; on the Tuscan coast you’d eat Cacciucco alla Livornese .
What Ed suggests: Simply buy what’s fresh that day. If the recipe calls for hake and there’s no hake, and the flounder looks good, then buy flounder. Traditionally, cooks used thirteen different kinds of seafood.
Serves 6
2 shallots, minced
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 or 4 strands of saffron
Salt and pepper
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cups white wine
½ pound cod, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound shrimp, peeled
½ pound small scallops
½ pound flounder, cut into 1-inch pieces
½ cup parsley, chopped
Sauté the shallots in the oil for 2 or 3 minutes, then add the garlic. Continue sautéing, then add the saffron, salt, pepper, and tomatoes. After another 5 minutes, add the wine and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
Raise heat to medium and add the cod, which takes a little longer than the other seafood, and cook for 3 minutes, then add the shrimp, scallops, and flounder. Cover and cook on low for 15 minutes. Add parsley just before serving.
Serve in a bowl on a piece of good toasted bread, or over spaghetti.
G IUSI’S CRESPELLE AI PORCINI E RICOTTA
Giusi’s Porcini and Ricotta Crêpes
For this delicate recipe, try to find bags or jars of Italian dried porcini. Put them in a bowl, cover them with boiling water, and steep them for 15 to 20 minutes, until they’ve expanded. Drain and chop. You can reserve the liquid to use in other dishes, but be sure to strain it first.
For variety in the pommarola , and for a pasta sauce in itself, try using odori (minced onion, carrot, celery, parsley) instead of the onion. Also, you can add ½ cup of cream to the sauce. Pommarola can be fresh and quick like this, or long simmered for an intense concentrated sauce.
Serves 4 (8 crespelle)
1/3 cup flour
1 cup milk
3 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, cut in small pieces
1 cup ricotta
1 egg yolk
½ cup parmigiano, grated
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
Tomato sauce (recipe follows)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Put the flour in a medium bowl and slowly stir in the milk, forming a paste. Beat eggs separately and add to the mixture, along with half of the salt.
Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a 9-inch nonstick skillet to coat it. Ladle ¼ cup of batter into the skillet and cook over medium-high heat. As it’s cooking, loosen the edges of the crespella with a knife or spatula, and after 1 or 2 minutes, turn to cook on the other side another 1 or 2 minutes. Remove to a plate. Add a little more butter to the pan, and repeat the above process.
In a medium bowl, mash the ricotta with a fork, add the egg yolk, the remaining salt, the parmigiano , and porcini and continue to mix. Add 3 tablespoons of tomato sauce and mix.
Drop 2 tablespoons of the filling in the middle of a crespella and spread it all over. Roll the crespella like a cigar. Repeat with the others. Put them in an ovenproof baking dish and top with ½ cup of the tomato sauce, a few more small pieces of butter, and a sprinkling of parmigiano . Bake for 25 minutes. Serve immediately.
P OMMAROLA
Tomato Sauce
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, minced
1 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes, or 6–8 firm fresh tomatoes, peeled
½ cup basil leaves, chopped
Salt and pepper
Heat oil and add onion. After 5 minutes over medium heat, add tomatoes and break them up with a spoon. Add basil and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 10 minutes on high heat, uncovered, to reduce it. Makes 3
Naturally, a number of regions have their own names for brodetto , all made differently. There’s cioppino , which is all over San Francisco, but I’ve never seen it in Italy, although it’s said to have originated in Liguria, where they eat buridda; on the Tuscan coast you’d eat Cacciucco alla Livornese .
What Ed suggests: Simply buy what’s fresh that day. If the recipe calls for hake and there’s no hake, and the flounder looks good, then buy flounder. Traditionally, cooks used thirteen different kinds of seafood.
Serves 6
2 shallots, minced
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 or 4 strands of saffron
Salt and pepper
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cups white wine
½ pound cod, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound shrimp, peeled
½ pound small scallops
½ pound flounder, cut into 1-inch pieces
½ cup parsley, chopped
Sauté the shallots in the oil for 2 or 3 minutes, then add the garlic. Continue sautéing, then add the saffron, salt, pepper, and tomatoes. After another 5 minutes, add the wine and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
Raise heat to medium and add the cod, which takes a little longer than the other seafood, and cook for 3 minutes, then add the shrimp, scallops, and flounder. Cover and cook on low for 15 minutes. Add parsley just before serving.
Serve in a bowl on a piece of good toasted bread, or over spaghetti.
G IUSI’S CRESPELLE AI PORCINI E RICOTTA
Giusi’s Porcini and Ricotta Crêpes
For this delicate recipe, try to find bags or jars of Italian dried porcini. Put them in a bowl, cover them with boiling water, and steep them for 15 to 20 minutes, until they’ve expanded. Drain and chop. You can reserve the liquid to use in other dishes, but be sure to strain it first.
For variety in the pommarola , and for a pasta sauce in itself, try using odori (minced onion, carrot, celery, parsley) instead of the onion. Also, you can add ½ cup of cream to the sauce. Pommarola can be fresh and quick like this, or long simmered for an intense concentrated sauce.
Serves 4 (8 crespelle)
1/3 cup flour
1 cup milk
3 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, cut in small pieces
1 cup ricotta
1 egg yolk
½ cup parmigiano, grated
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
Tomato sauce (recipe follows)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Put the flour in a medium bowl and slowly stir in the milk, forming a paste. Beat eggs separately and add to the mixture, along with half of the salt.
Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a 9-inch nonstick skillet to coat it. Ladle ¼ cup of batter into the skillet and cook over medium-high heat. As it’s cooking, loosen the edges of the crespella with a knife or spatula, and after 1 or 2 minutes, turn to cook on the other side another 1 or 2 minutes. Remove to a plate. Add a little more butter to the pan, and repeat the above process.
In a medium bowl, mash the ricotta with a fork, add the egg yolk, the remaining salt, the parmigiano , and porcini and continue to mix. Add 3 tablespoons of tomato sauce and mix.
Drop 2 tablespoons of the filling in the middle of a crespella and spread it all over. Roll the crespella like a cigar. Repeat with the others. Put them in an ovenproof baking dish and top with ½ cup of the tomato sauce, a few more small pieces of butter, and a sprinkling of parmigiano . Bake for 25 minutes. Serve immediately.
P OMMAROLA
Tomato Sauce
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, minced
1 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes, or 6–8 firm fresh tomatoes, peeled
½ cup basil leaves, chopped
Salt and pepper
Heat oil and add onion. After 5 minutes over medium heat, add tomatoes and break them up with a spoon. Add basil and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 10 minutes on high heat, uncovered, to reduce it. Makes 3
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