Chris Bianco - Bianco - Pizza, Pasta and Other Food I Like

COPYRIGHT

HarperCollins Publishers

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www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in the US by HarperCollins Publishers 2017

This edition published by HarperCollins Publishers 2017

FIRST EDITION

© Bianco Verde LLC 2017

Cover layout design © HarperCollins Publishers

Photographs by David Loftus

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

Chris Bianco asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

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Source ISBN: 9780007497720

Ebook Edition © August 2017 ISBN: 9780007497720

Version 2017-07-17

DEDICATION

TO MY FAMILY, PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE;

TO MY FRIENDS, BETTER KNOWN AS THE ONES WE CHOOSE;

AND TO GOD—ALL YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT HAS BEEN,

AND IS, THE DRIVING FORCE OF MY EVERYTHING

CONTENTS

COVER

TITLE PAGE

COPYRIGHT

DEDICATION

INTRODUCTION

PIZZA

PIZZA DOUGH

CRUSHED TOMATO SAUCE

PIZZA MARGHERITA

PIZZA MARINARA

PIZZA BIANCOVERDE

PIZZA ROSA

SONNY BOY PIZZA

WISEGUY PIZZA

FOCACCIA

TOMATO, PARMESAN, AND HERB TOPPING

FIG, RED ONION, PECORINO, AND THYME TOPPING

LEMON, PECORINO, AND RED ONION TOPPING

SALADS

SIMPLE GREEN SALAD

PURSLANE AND CUCUMBER SALAD

SUNDAY SALAD (ESCAROLE SALAD)

FENNEL AND BLOOD ORANGE SALAD

WATERMELON, FENNEL, AND PARSLEY SALAD

PANZANELLA

BRUSSELS SPROUTS SLAW

WARM CABBAGE SALAD WITH APPLES AND BLUE CHEESE

POTATO SALAD

SANDWICHES

MOZZARELLA AND TOMATO SANDWICH

ROASTED TOMATO AND GOAT CHEESE SANDWICH

FRITTATA SANDWICH

TUNA SALAD SANDWICH

SOPPRESSATA AND PROVOLONE SANDWICH

THE MEATBALL HERO

PULLED LAMB SANDWICH

PASTA & GRAINS

SPAGHETTI WITH CRUSHED TOMATO AND BASIL

TAGLIATELLE WITH LEMON

PASTA E FAGIOLI

SUNDAY GRAVY

PAPPARDELLE BOLOGNESE

LASAGNA AL FORNO

CRISPY GNOCCHI WITH SPRING ONIONS AND GOAT CHEESE CREMA

PASTA DOUGH 1

PASTA DOUGH 2

SPINACH AND RICOTTA CRESPELLE

CREAMY POLENTA

RISOTTO BIANCO

SMALL PLATES

SPIEDINI

FARINATA WITH SAGE AND ONION

ROASTED FIGS WITH FONTINA AND PROSCIUTTO

GRILLED ZUCCHINI WITH SUNNY-SIDE-UP EGG AND MINT

CHANTERELLES WITH GARLIC AND THYME

BEETS ROASTED WITH FIG LEAVES

GRILLED RED PEPPERS

PAN-GRILLED PADRÓN PEPPERS WITH LEMON AIOLI

CRISPY ROSEMARY FINGERLINGS

ROASTED SWEET POTATOES WITH BAY LEAVES

ROASTED ONIONS

ROASTED CARROTS

BRAISED KALE

ROASTED TOMATOES WITH WILD OREGANO

PAN-ROASTED CAULIFLOWER

BIG PLATES & BOWLS

ROASTED EGGPLANT WITH TOMATO AND PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO

POLPETTONE

PAPPA AL POMODORO

MUSHROOMS AND BEER

POLPETTE DI CECI (CHICKPEA BALLS)

CHICKEN CACCIATORE

BRACIOLE

SLOW-ROASTED LAMB NECK

SOMETHING SWEET

RHUBARB RICOTTA PUDDING (BY WAY OF CANNOLI)

MAMA’S SIMPLE CUSTARD

CAROLINA RICE PUDDING

LEMON COOKIES

FARRO BISCOTTI WITH MANDARIN, ALMOND, AND ANISE

APPLE CAKE

SEASONAL FRUIT CROSTATA

MY FAVORITE SPONGE CAKE

THREE ITALIAN ICES: CHOCOLATE, NUTMEG, AND LEMON

CONVERSION TABLES

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF RECIPES

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

INTRODUCTION

The only thing stranger than me writing a book is the idea that anyone would read it. Whether you bought this, stole it, or received it as a gift that you plan to regift, thank you.

If you told me back in 1988, when I first opened Pizzeria Bianco in the back of a Phoenix supermarket, that anyone would ever give a shit about anything I had to say, I would have said, “Sure! And maybe I’ll have a two-way wrist radio like Dick Tracy too! Get the fuck outta here.”

But here I am, almost thirty years later, with a head of hair that is more salt than pepper, almost a real grown-up, married to my best friend, with two beautiful kids and friends and family who I love beyond my ability to articulate. These are my riches, and any successes I may have outside of these pale by comparison.

Love brought me to the table and helped me stumble through the kitchen. I watched as my mom, aunts, and grandmothers made something delicious, and I watched how people responded to it. How I responded to it. It was an expression of love and, though I didn’t know it then, I wanted to be a part of it.

Knowing where our food comes from is as important as knowing where we come from. What we eat has history, purpose, and value. The choices we make affect our bodies and our planet. None of this was on my radar when I was a kid ironing a foil-wrapped grilled cheese sandwich after school, but now it colors everything I do. We need only submit to nature’s perfection and from there imagine the possibilities. An heirloom apple hanging heavy on a crisp autumn day might need only a rub on your shirtsleeve to illuminate its perfection.

My hope is that this book can help you to appreciate how much you already know. A delicious pizza is no more mysterious or magical than the omelettes you make on Sundays or the grilled cheese sandwich you’ve been perfecting for twenty years. The same principles apply. Use the best ingredients you can and keep at it. Don’t quit. You learn things when you burn things.

When it’s perfect or close to it, recognize why, remember what you did, and repeat again and again until your children ask you to teach them to make it.

This is not the last book or the “final word” on pizza, pasta, or anything else, but I hope you will find something in it of worth.

Love,

Chris

My brother, Marco; my grandfather Leonard “Big Sonny” Bianco; and me.

PIZZA