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Primo Piatto

It's winter...this time of year makes me think of snow covered mountains, cozy fireplaces, hearty food and excellent wine. In Italy all that is found in the mountainous Alpine region in the north.   I thought this months recipe might reflect that region, so I picked one of my favorite pasta dishes featureing a rich, hearty cheese sauce, perfect for keeping the winter chill at bay! 

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 oz grated Gorgonzola cheese
• 4 oz grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• pinch of grated nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• half teaspoon ground white pepper
• half cup chopped toasted walnuts
• corn starch to thicken, if necessary

1) In a large saucepan, bring butter and cream toa boil, stirring often.  Reduce heat until mixture thickens, about 15 minutes. 

2) Stir in cheeses until melted.  Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.  Stir in small amount of corn starch paste if a thicker consistency is desired.  (Sauce will thicken slightly on its own as it cools).

3) Pour over a short pasta like penne, sprinkle with walnuts.

The rich, silky cheese texture of this sauce would be great paired with a crisp white wine from the northern vineyards.  Try a bottle of Muller-Thurgau, or even a chilled Chardonnay from Alto-Adige or the Sud Tirol.

One of our most requested recipes is Felicita’s pesto lasagna:

Pesto
Pesto (“pounded” in Italian) is an ancient food originated along the Mediterranean coast of northern Italy in the region of Liguria. Since pesto stores well, it was a popular staple for fishermen and seafarers while on long voyages. It was easily made from local ingredients: Liguria produces some of Italy’s best basil, the pine nuts were harvested from the forests on the mountainous coast, olive groves along the terraces contributed a very delicate, fruity oil, and local gardens had an abundance of garlic. The only ingredient the locals preferred to import for their pesto was sheep’s milk cheese, which they traded for from Sardinia.

Traditional Method (Mortar & Pestle)
(All amounts are approximate, alter to taste)

• 30 Basil Leaves (stems removed)
• 2-4 Teaspoons Olive Oil (Extra Virgin)
• 1 ½ Tsp Pine Nuts (or Walnuts)
• 1 Clove Garlic, small
• 2 Heaping Tsp Grated Parmesan
• Salt to Taste

Combine all ingredients (except salt) in a stone mortar and pestle set. Using copious amounts of elbow grease, grind ingredients to desired consistency, approximately 5 minutes. Salt to taste. Toss with a short pasta like campanelle, penne, or radiatore. Pesto is also an excellent topping for bread.

Larger amounts can be more easily made with a food processor, just keep the ratio of ingredients the same. There is a lot of room for varying the amount of the ingredients, a lot depends on the size of the basil leaves, the desired consistency, etc. Pesto can easily be frozen in plastic containers for use later.

Lasagna di Pesto

Besciamella

• ½ Cup Flour
• 2 Cups Grated Parmesan
• 1 Stick Butter
• 1 Quart Whole Milk
• Salt
  

In medium saucepan melt butter over low heat, add salt. Add flour in small amounts while stirring for 5 minutes. Add milk slowly while stirring. Slowly increase heat to medium-high and bring mixture to a slow boil until smooth and thickened. Remove besciamella sauce from heat and immediately stir in parmesan until smooth.

In 8x8 glass casserole dish put a layer of besciamella sauce followed by a layer of cooked lasagna noodles. Make a total of 5 layers ending with a heavy layer of sauce.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees, bake for 45 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes and top each piece with a large dollop of pesto sauce.

Baba al Limoncello

Limoncello is a made all over Italy wherever lemons are grown, but the best limoncello comes from the Amalfi Coast area of southern Italy. The lemon groves are terraced on the steep mountainsides overlooking the Mediterranean and produce a larger and sweeter lemon. Limoncello is an after-dinner liqueur, but is also used in various desserts. For centuries the Amalfitanas have made Baba, a small sweet cake made with yeast, and paired it with various toppings such as cream and limoncello.

• ½ Cup Milk
• 1 Envelope active dry yeast or 1 ¾ teaspoons instant yeast
• ¾ Cup all-purpose Flour
• 3 Eggs
• ½ Teaspoon Salt
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• 1 ½ Cups all-purpose Flour
• 8 Tablespoons Butter, melted and cooled
• Limoncello Syrup - see recipe below
• Limoncello Glaze - see recipe below
• Sweetened whipped cream, for garnish

For the sponge, heat ½ Cup Milk to lukewarm; sprinkle the yeast on the surface and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth and slowly stir in ¾ Cup Flour. Cover the sponge and let ferment for 20 minutes. Butter or spray with nonstick cooking spray regular or miniature muffin cups.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, salt, sugar, and flour together (beat flour in very slowly); beat in the prepared sponge, and then the cooled melted butter. Divide the dough into the muffin cups, fill ½ full. Cover the pans loosely with buttered (or spray) plastic wrap; allow to rise in a warm spot approximately 30 to 60 minutes or until dough has risen to the top of the cups. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. NOTE: At this stage, you can put the molds in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight until you’re ready to proceed.

When the dough has risen, remove the plastic wrap and bake for approx. 10-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly in the pan for 1 minute on a rack.

Using your fingers, one at a time, remove individual babas from muffin cups and submerge each baba in warm limoncello syrup for approximately 1 minute or until they swell slightly. Then place the dipped baba in a large baking dish or pan (tops up). After dipping all the babas, pour any leftover syrup over the top of the cakes. Allow them to stand 1 hour (all syrup will be absorbed). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours. Before serving, brush tops of cakes with warm Limoncello Glaze. Serve with whipped sweetened cream.

NOTE: After Babas are baked, soaked and cooled they can be wrapped in freezer container and frozen. To serve, let stand at room temperature 1 hour; then warm in 300 degree oven for 15 minutes. Top with warm Limoncello Glaze and serve.

Makes 24 regular sized Babas – the number is going to depend on how much you fill the muffin cup.

Limoncello Syrup

• 2 Cups Sugar
• 3 Cups Water
• ½ Cup Limoncello (or more to taste)

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, mix water and sugar together; bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and pour syrup into a 2-cup liquid measure (because it’s narrow and deep, it’s easy to dip the babas into). Cool syrup to lukewarm; stir in Limoncello. If made in advance, syrup will keep for 6 months.

Makes about 2 ½ Cups.

Limoncello Glaze

• 12-ounce Jar Apricot Jam
• 1 to 2 Tablespoons Limoncello

In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat approximately 2/3 of a 12oz jar of apricot jam until melted. Pour hot, lumpy jam through sieve (pushing on pulp with spatula if needed). Add Limoncello to taste. If made in advance, glaze will keep for 6 months

Makes about ½ Cup

Domenica Marcelli’s Pasta Sauce

When our grandmother Domenica Marcelli came to the United States in 1921, she brought with her the cooking traditions of central Italy.  Born and raised in the small village of Serradica in the mountainous Marche region, she practiced (like most poor villagers of that era) cucina povera, or simple country cooking utilizing whatever was available.  This recipe was no doubt modified over the years as she learned to use the local ingredients of Illinois, substituting for whatever was unavailable.  You’ll notice the use of dried herbs (from my grandfathers huge garden), and canned tomatoes.  By the time I was old enough to watch my grandmother cooking, she was producing a large quantity of sauce every Sunday for all her adult children AND their children.  I imagine that the use of canned tomatoes made this process much simpler for her, so I’ve faithfully reproduced that here.  She of course canned her own tomatoes, but you can make a great sauce using store-bought canned tomato products, too.  I’ve not seen this exact recipe during my travels in Marche, but it definitely has unique ingredients (especially the meat and spices) typical of the Marche-Umbrian mountain regions.

Ingredients:

• 1 large white onion, minced
  
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
  
• Extra virgin olive oil
  
• Salt
  
• Basil
  
• Oregano
  
• Parsley
  
• Allspice
  
• Ground cloves
  
• Cinnamon
  
• Crushed red pepper
  
• 1 lb Italian pork sausage, ground
  
• 1 lb ground beef
  
• 1 large can crushed tomatoes
  
• 1 regular can tomato sauce
  
• 1 regular can tomato paste
  
• 1 heaping cup grated parmigiano cheese
  
• 1 stick butter

In a large saucepan sauté minced onion and 3 cloves of crushed garlic in some olive oil until the onions are clear, about 5 minutes.  Add a small amount of water if necessary.  Add a heaping tablespoon of dried parsley, a teaspoon of dried basil, a teaspoon of dried oregano, a quarter teaspoon of allspice, quarter teaspoon of cinnamon, half teaspoon of ground cloves, a teaspoon of crushed red pepper, and about a teaspoon of salt.  Stir and let simmer for another minute or two…don’t be afraid to add water if it’s too dry, it will cook down later, anyway.  Add 1 large can crushed tomatoes, 1 regular can of tomato sauce, and 1 can of tomato paste.  Add 2 more cans of water to rinse the tomato paste can. Simmer on med-low for at least 15 minutes.

In a skillet brown 1 lb of ground Italian sausage and 1 lb of ground beef.  (This makes a very meaty sauce, you can use less if you prefer).  Drain the meat and add it to the sauce.

Simmer for another 15 minutes. Add 1 heaping cup of grated parmigiano cheese.  Stir in slowly to allow the cheese to melt.  Add 3 more crushed garlic cloves.  Now here is one of Grandma’s secret ingredients…add 1 whole stick of butter!  That’s right, an entire stick!  You can skip this step and the sauce is still excellent, but it definitely has a richer texture with the added butter.

For the last step you can taste the sauce as its simmering and add another round of the herbs and spices to taste.  I wouldn’t add the same quantity, but try to keep the ratio the same.  The red pepper should provide a slight zing to balance out the sweetness of the tomatoes, and the cinnamon, cloves, and allspice should be detectable, but only if you know about them.  You shouldn’t be able to identify them if you don’t know they’re in the sauce.  The parsley, oregano and basil should be evident to give it the traditional Italian flavor.

You can simmer the sauce on low for another 30 minutes to achieve the desired consistency, and then serve it over any type of pasta you prefer, although we grew up eating it with spaghetti and rigatoni.  Top with grated parmigiano or romano cheese.

Enjoy!