Tuesdays with Marcella

[nakji]

I've made the recipe on the previous page, Melanzane Conservate a Crudo several times, and I don't refrigerate it - I just leave it draining in the sink. But it's fairly cool in my kitchen. The salt should do the job of preserving it, but if you're at all worried about it being too hot, you could err on the side of caution and leave it in a cool room or in the fridge.

Please let us know how they turn out - I keep wanting to try this recipe, but I love the other one so much, I don't want to switch.

[C. sapidus]

Actually, I was thinking that this thread also rightly belongs in the Japan forum. Because it really boils down to the ingredients that you have at your disposal in Japan.

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Hmm, I see this thread as primarily about cooking Italian food, with a strong subplot of doing so in Japan. Besides, in a year or three nakji may be spending Tuesdays with Marcella in Phnom Penh, Vientiane, Bangkok, Shanghai, or . . .

Anyway, I followed Marcella’s food processor method to make pesto for the first time. So easy and so delicious tossed with fettuccine and a little pasta water. I look forward to making pesto this summer with freshly-picked Genovese basil rather than plastic-packed basil from the supermarket. Has anyone tried making pesto with Thai basil?

We accompanied the pasta with store-bought “Italian” bread and trout meuniere, which was cooked with sufficient butter to qualify for Marcella’s approval.

[John DePaula]

I've made the recipe on the previous page, Melanzane Conservate a Crudo several times, and I don't refrigerate it - I just leave it draining in the sink. But it's fairly cool in my kitchen. The salt should do the job of preserving it, but if you're at all worried about it being too hot, you could err on the side of caution and leave it in a cool room or in the fridge.

Please let us know how they turn out - I keep wanting to try this recipe, but I love the other one so much, I don't want to switch.

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I think you're right and I won't worry about leaving them out.

My first introduction to Marcella happened in Seattle while visiting friends. Maria brought out a tupperware container of eggplant (Melanzane sott'Olio) and after she described it, frankly, I didn't want to try it. But I'm glad I did because it was heavenly. In fact, I may have eaten more that was "polite" because it was such a revelation to me. The eggplant, since it's not cooked (or not heated, anyway) has a very meaty texture, and the spices are simply perfection; mint, garlic, oregano, wine vinegar, hot peppers - what's not to like. Very very flavorful, I should make it more often.

I searched online and found the recipe for Melanzane Conservate a Crudo here. Looks very similar to the Melanzane sott'Olio.

I am slowly acquiring all of Marcella's books and I can't believe that I had not heard of her until relatively recently. And now I'm a big fan.

This recipe, like the one you referenced, calls for eggplant "the long skinny variety." The first time I made it, I used the typical "American" eggplant. It was "ok" but could have been better. This time I'm using "Japanese" eggplants. They're skinny, about 7" long and 1-1/2 - 2" across, very 'aubergine' colored. I think they'll be better for this dish.

[nakji]

Yes, I use Japanese eggplants as well, mainly because I'm in Japan, and that's what I have at my disposal. They come out very succulent and meaty. The first time I made this recipe, I used small eggplants (of the sort that Japanese people pickle whole) I found at a market in the countryside, and not only did they taste great, they looked lovely. My husband never was much of an eggplant fan until I started making these. Now it's the sort of thing we have with a bit of bread while we're waiting for the pasta to cook. We can go a bit overboard sometimes - I can never make a bottle last more than a week at my house.

I only have the one book by her, but I'd love to collect more of them. Even the simplest recipes are so good. Not only that, but the book is interesting to read, too. She has a real voice that I can hear with me in the kitchen. My favourite way to learn cook something is to have someone show me how first - I don't really enjoy working from anonymous, "best of" type cookbooks. My favourite cookbooks to use are the ones where I feel like the author is in the kitchen with me, and I really feel that with her books.

[C. sapidus]

Spaghetti with carbonara sauce (Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, p. 202). This was my first time making carbonara. Pasteurized eggs and grated Parmesan and Romano cheeses soaked up generous quantities of bacon grease and garlic-infused oil. Boiled-down sauvignon blanc lent a subtle tang.

Good stuff, but the youngsters were surprisingly unenthusiastic.

[nakji]

Boiled-down sauvignon blanc lent a subtle tang.

Can you elaborate on this? Did you reduce the wine first, then add it to the sauce? My objection to carbonara is usually that it's too eggy and rich to be interesting after a couple of bites.

[prasantrin]

Can you elaborate on this? Did you reduce the wine first, then add it to the sauce? My objection to carbonara is usually that it's too eggy and rich to be interesting after a couple of bites.

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I'm with you on the richness! I rarely eat carbonara because of that, and ditto for fettucine alfredo, too! (the real kind, not the gloopy North American kind).

I find, though, that squeezing a wee bit of lemon juice on your plated carbonara or alfredo helps cut the richness and makes it a wee bit more interesting. Must be similar to what the wine did for C. sapidus' version. But shhh, don't tell anyone I do such a heathenistic thing! (is that a word?)

That pictures sure does make it look good, though! Great job C. sapidus! I'd have eaten some, even if I don't really like carbonara.

[C. sapidus]

Can you elaborate on this? Did you reduce the wine first, then add it to the sauce? My objection to carbonara is usually that it's too eggy and rich to be interesting after a couple of bites.

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The recipe calls for crisping the bacon in garlicky olive oil, and then quickly boiling down dry white wine in the hot porky lipids. We happened to have sauvignon blanc dregs in the fridge, added a little extra to finish the bottle, and found the additional touch of acidity welcome.

. . . I rarely eat carbonara because of that, and ditto for fettucine alfredo, too!  (the real kind, not the gloopy North American kind).

Fettuccine Alfredo was one of the very first things that I learned to cook, so (other than calories, of course ) I have no issue with rich sauces. As with many of Marcella’s dishes, the rich sauce is spread quite thinly over copious pasta. I generally use Marcella’s pasta-to-sauce ratio for fat- and cream-based sauces, and double the sauce for tomato-based pasta dishes.

I find, though, that squeezing a wee bit of lemon juice on your plated carbonara or alfredo helps cut the richness and makes it a wee bit more interesting.  Must be similar to what the wine did for C. sapidus' version.  But shhh, don't tell anyone I do such a heathenistic thing!  (is that a word?)

Sounds like a similar idea to a recipe that I have on my list: fettuccine al limone from Marcella’s Italian Kitchen.

That pictures sure does make it look good, though!  Great job C. sapidus!  I'd have eaten some, even if I don't really like carbonara.

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Thanks, Rona!

[nakji]

Sounds like a similar idea to a recipe that I have on my list: fettuccine al limone from Marcella’s Italian Kitchen.

Oh, I've been meaning to make that one for a while now. I'm buying a big bag of lemons at the market today for some other projects - I think I'll make that on Tuesday. I'll just need to get some fettucine.

[nakji]

I made the fettuccine al limone last night, with my normal adaptations and diversions. There was no fresh fettuccine to be had at my local foreign foods shop, so I had to use dried linguine instead.

This shop, wedged into a corner of a busy grocery store at a busy station, is not the ideal place to go on a busy Sunday afternoon. Nevertheless, I found myself crawling over the free coffee station (dangerous) and squeezing myself through an older Japanese couple arguing whether it was sri racha or nam plaa in the Thai curry recipe they'd left at home (distracting) to free the linguine from its hiding place in the back of the store. On my way out, I took mercy on the couple and whispered "Nam plaa des.", then spent another ten fruitless minutes in the Korean and preserves corners looking for corn syrup, for an unrelated project. The things I do for my hobby.

On the plus side of living in Japan, I do get to acquire lots of cool cooking toys that happened to be useful all over the place. Marcella calls for the zest of four lemons, and the juice of two, to be added to double cream, then reduced. Zesting lemons is not so easy without a zester or a microplane. So I experimentally ran the lemon over several of the roughest surfaces in my kitchen - my suribachi: no change; my ginger grater: lots of oil, no zest; my daikon grater: a fine, powdery zest. Not so strange, I suppose, considering it's also genius for grating parmesan cheese.

I was doubtful of this recipe, because the sauce seemed to have no seasoning other than the cream, lemon, and parmesan cheese. I used my common sense and adjusted for salt and pepper, finished the linguine in the sauce, and took a taste. The sauce was both rich and sharp, with none of the cloying richness that a straight-up Alfredo sauce would have. But I think it was a trifle to sharp with acid for my linguine - I can definitely see how egg fettuccine would help temper the acidity even more. I tossed in some fresh roasted asparagus, which helped the balance. It was a beautiful pale yellow colour, which, next to the asparagus looked quite spring-like. Very nice to get me in the mood for Spring.

[nakji]

p. 232 Fettine di Maiale in Saor con Aceto Balsamico

I've never been to Venice. When I think of it, the only images that come to mind are Canaletto paintings that I've seen in books or on posters. Venice looks golden, and if you hold out your hand you can almost feel the warmth of the sun on stone buildings.

I've travelled to many other famous places around the world, however, and I can with some confidence write that the reality of Venice these days is probably much different. I hope that, unlike the Great Wall of China, there is not a toboggan ride; but I suspect at the very least there is one McDonalds with a long queue of sweaty, underdressed tourists, and an unmopped washroom with the rubbish bin overflowing with crumpled paper towels. I am only speculating here. If this is untrue, and my Canaletto-vision is the real thing, then I am happy to be wrong and cynical.

Marcella writes that this recipe was her own creation, inspired by sfogi in saor, a classic Venetian dish. She says when she has offered this dish to Venetians it, "..tastes as though it had always been a part of their city's cooking." The beautiful colour of this dish, graded from the dark brown of the raisins, the maroon of the balsamic, and the gold of the simmered onions, sauteed pork and pine nuts seems inspired by Canaletto's palette. It's her innovation to use pork tenderloin instead of the more traditional sole. I've read that Venice is famous for seafood; but since I don't have fresh sole from the Adriatic, I decided to try her version, as I do have access to excellent pork. In the absence of the real thing, the imitation might be more beautiful than the original.

[tsquare]

If McD was there, I did not see it. Venice is more beautiful than you can imagine - at once mysterious and welcoming, dark and sunny, crumbling and fresh. The canals are still used for transportation - you can ride with the locals for a reasonable $, or just walk until you can't walk another step.

The food is good - I am sure you can get some great food as well as some horrid, but I enjoyed everything except the hotel breakfast (I gave up after two days and when I mentioned it at check out, they gave me a credit for the b's as well as for paying cash.)

Sunny or in a fine rainy mist, Venice is golden. I was lucky, no downpours, no flooding.

Edited March 12, 2009 by tsquare (log)

[BarbaraY]

Yes, there is a McD's, alas. Only one of our party got anything there. I ate nothing there as I don't eat it here, either.

We were to have lunch on the isle of Burano and it was heavenly.

Venice is very crowded with tourists from everywhere but is still very beautiful. Loved sitting in St. Mark's Square even though it was thronged with people.

The Fettuccine al Limone looks like something I would like, especially with the asparagus.

[C. sapidus]

From Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking: chicken fricassee with red cabbage; sauteed peas with olive oil and prosciutto, Florentine style; and sauteed mushrooms with olive oil, garlic, and parsley (method 1). Sauteeing the mushrooms in the pan where the chicken had been browned gave the mushrooms a particularly nice flavor.