Amy Riolo - Italian Recipes For Dummies

Chapter 3

IN THIS CHAPTER

Learning the base recipes needed to recreate authentic Italian cuisine

Discovering how to fit these recipes into your daily life for better health and flavor

Becoming fluent in Italian culinary terms with a glossary

RECIPES IN THIS CHAPTER

Molliche di pane/ Fresh Bread Crumbs

Crostini

Bruschetta

Brodo di verdure/ Homemade Vegetable Stock

Brodo di pesce/ Homemade Seafood Stock

Brodo di pollo/ Homemade Chicken Stock

Brodo di carne/ Homemade Meat Stock

Fagioli secchi/ Dried Beans

Cannellini brasati/ Braised Cannellini Beans

Lenticchie/ Lentils

Pepperoni rossi arrostiti/ Roasted Red Peppers

Passata di pomodoro/ Tomato Purée

The recipes in this chapter are hardly anything to brag about. Despite their simplicity, however, they truly are the backbone of the Italian kitchen and having them on hand sets you up for success. Whenever I teach my Mastering Italian Certification Series cooking classes, I always start with these.

In this chapter, you learn how to make fresh bread crumbs, crostini, bruschetta, stocks, beans and legumes, and to prepare fruits and vegetables in advance so you will be able to whip up marvelous Italian meals in minutes.

Base recipes like those included in this chapter have long been the best friends of Italian home cooks. Setting out to make every component of the more intricate recipes can be challenging, so savvy homemakers traditionally took advantage of breaks in their schedule to stock their kitchens with time-saving basics. Even though most Italians work outside of the home nowadays, they still rely on these recipes to enable them to pull together authentic dishes whenever the mood strikes.

Because bread is so integral to the Italian culture (see Chapter 21), it is considered sacrilege to waste it. Artisan and homemade breads don’t last as long as commercially prepared breads do, because they are free of preservatives. After a day or two, real fresh bread should be hard, and then stale.

Use leftover bread to create bread crumbs, crostini, and bruschette. Making these items on your own saves time and money, while adding flavor to your recipes. In much less time than it takes to go to the store and purchase pre-made bread crumbs that are full of additives, you can simply put leftover bread in the oven and process it in a food processor. Homemade croutons taste better as well because they are fresher than what you buy in the store. In addition, homemade versions of these everyday items are free from unwanted chemicals and additives, so they are better for your health, too.

Note: Bruschetta is said to be the most mispronounced of all Italian words. The correct pronunciation is broos/KEHT/tah (not broo/SHEH/tah). It is also important to note that Italian words that end with the vowel “a” change to an “e” ending for the plural form. Bruschetta becomes bruschette when plural, pizza becomes pizze, and so on.

Homemade stocks, known as brodo, are the unsung heroes of the Italian kitchen. Whether you would like to make an authentic risotto, homemade soup, stew, braised meat or seafood recipe, having healthful stock on hand enhances the flavor of your recipes.

Health-wise, homemade stock can’t be beat. Purchased stocks contain a great deal of sodium (even the “low-sodium” varieties contain a hefty amount) and additives, but the homemade versions do not. Flavor-wise, fresh broth can make or break Italian recipes.

The good news is that stock is very easy and inexpensive to make. Whenever I have leftover skins from onions, carrot or celery tops, shrimp shells, roasted chicken or meat bones, I place them in double plastic bags and refrigerate or freeze them until I am ready to make stock. If you make a stockpot at a time, you can freeze portions in gallon size containers for later use. Each week, place a gallon or two in your refrigerator so that you have it on hand to make your recipes during the week.

The recipes in this book call for homemade stock, and Chapter 5gives ideas of how a few pantry ingredients can be transformed into a wholesome dinner with the addition of stock.

Per the Mediterranean Diet, we should be consuming ½ cup of cooked (¼ cup dry) beans or legumes per day. Many Americans fall short on this requirement, but luckily there are many tasty Italian recipes — from minestre and bean, chickpea, and lentil soups to side dishes such as Cannellini brasati /Braised Cannellini Beans and classics such as Fave e cicoria/ Fava Beans with Chicory.

Throughout the centuries, beans and lentils were often dismissed as “poor man’s food” and even nowadays are considered vegetarian protein sources that are meat substitutes. However, when we consider how good beans are for our health, how good they are for our environment, and the fact that they lend themselves to so many cooking applications, they should be enjoyed much more often.

In ancient times, lentils were actually a form of currency, and beans were used to count. The power of the ancient Egyptian empire depended upon revenue from lentils because it was the chief exporter of them to the Mediterranean. To this day, we eat lentils on New Year’s in Italy to signify prosperity. Whatever your reason for eating them is, having precooked beans on hand makes cooking a cinch.

When purchasing dried beans and lentils, be on the lookout for DOP and IGP Italian varieties, which signal genuine ingredients coming from specific areas with certification from the Italian government. ( Chapter 5talks more about product labeling). For example, you might see Fagioli Bianchi di Rotonda DOP, Fagiolo Cannellino di Atina DOP, Fagiolo Cuneo IGP, Fagiolo di Lamon della Vallata Bellunese IGP, and Fagiolo di Sarconi IGP or heirloom versions that are being re-introduced to the market for flavor and quality. Otherwise, use your favorite kinds. In Italy, borlotti (Roman), cannellini, and white beans are used most extensively.