There is no denying the change of seasons, ragazzi. Annalena's source of berries, which has provided them at 4/10 for months, has raised their prices. Scarcity does that. Grapes are at their peak. Apples, apples everywhere. Pears. Figs. And Annalena's beloved quinces have arrived for their brief appearance (we'll be doing more with quinces this year, ragazzi, let me tell you). And a reappearance by that most deceptive of vegetables: radicchio.
To look at radicchio is to love it: beautiful dark red leaves, streaked with white, perhaps with some green spots. It just looks so... inviting.
And you bite into it, and.... bitter. So, so bitter. Well, not so, so bitter, but if you are expecting the sweetness of green leaf lettuce, you are in for a surprise. So, too, if you fall into the trap of "it's red, it must be sweet," as so many do. If you like the flavor of raw radicchio, as Annalena does, there is no problem here. If you do not... there are ways of taming it. As we shall learn.
Also, a vegetable which Annalena's fans will know she favors: fennel Fennel does well in colder weather, so it is everywhere now, much to Annalena's delight. This is another "trickster." You see those big fronds and think dill. Not so much. And in many ways, it looks so much like celery.
So, your first time biting into some fennel and getting the strong anise flavor , much akin to licorice, will surprise you. Again, if you like it, we are fine. If not, well...
And again, there are ways to tame it. And actually, if you like sausage, you like fennel. It is almost impossible to make delicious sausage without some fennel seed. So you know the flavor.
Today, we are going to use both of them, in a dish that is going to involve some work. Not MUCH work, but more than we've done in many of these dishes. And it is going to be a vegetarian dish that has the feel of meat in your mouth. (Annalena is watching, ragazzi. Let us not make jest of this comment).
The title speaks of Sunday supper, because for Annalena, an ideal Sunday supper is some baked pasta, a green salad, some bread, and fruit. But in fact, the Guyman and Annalena ate this for Thursday night supper, as Sunday is the cook's night off. It IS ideal for that Sunday meal, however, because it makes a lot, ultimately it is fancy enough to make people feel they are special, but not so fancy to freak them out. You can serve it to your vegetarian friends (although not your vegan buddies), and they will wonder why you served them meat. Your meat eating friends will insist you are lying when you tell them that you have served them a vegetarian dish. So, let them bicker. You, caro, (or cara), sit at the head of the table , smile, grit your teeth and say "I love my friends, I love my friends, I love my friends," because ultimately, you do. Else they would not be at your table.
Ok, ragazzi, let's get to work here. There is a prerequisite: you need three to four cups of tomato sauce. Now, if you have been a naughty child and do not have such in your fridge or freezer, you will find at least three or four different sauce recipes within this blog. (If you are using stuff out of a jar, Annalena will smite you. Yes, she will). Put that homemade sauce aside, whilst you prepare the vegetables.
First, the fennel. Two large bulbs of it please. Cut away the fronds (save them if you are making fish that week: they are superb with fish, even better in a seafood risotto), and also those long arms. (We traditional Italians eat them at the end of a meal to sweeten our breath. Sadly, this tradition is not much in use anymore. Another sign of the deterioration of standards, we bemoan). Take the remaining bulbs, and slice them into rings. Combine them with rings of a large onion in one bowl.
Next, a couple of heads of radicchio. Chop these into small bits. No need for surgical precision here, but do make them small. Separate bowl for these guys.
Get a really big pan, and combine two tablespoons of butter, and two of olive oil. When it is warm, add the onion, the fennel, and a pinch of salt. Don't move them around much at first, but after about five minutes, do some stirring. Stir, and desist, stir and desist, for you want a slight brown color to the stuff. It should take 10-15 minutes. Now add the radicchio. This is going to heap your pan pretty high, so use some care in mixing it in. It will collapse, as all greens do, and again, watch for the color change. Cooking radicchio is interesting: the red turns to a very dark purple, which you either like or hate , and the bitterness goes out and the radicchio sweetens. This also happens when you grill it. You cook this for about ten minutes, until the leaves are browning as well (do NOT remove the fennel during this process).
So you will have spent about twenty minutes cooking your vegetables. When they're done, put them in a bowl to cool.
Normally, Annalena would tell you to do the next step, simultaneously with the cooking of the vegetables; however, it is important to have them cool, so do it next. Combine two cups of good ricotta (and remember, ragazzi, ricotta with a name that ends with an "o," is NOT good ricotta), with a cup and a half of grated fontina cheese. (A "truc" as the French say, for grating fontina, which can be frustrating: put it in your freezer for 10-15 minutes before you grate it. Firming it up will make it easier to grate). And grate an extra half cup, and put that on the side.
Now, for the pasta. This recipe was originally one for stuffed shells. 48 of them. If any of you think Annalena is mad enough to stand there and stuff 48 shells, you are wrong. So, use a large shaped pasta. Annalena chose something called "calamari" because it is the shape of rings of squid. If you happen to have the large shells, use them, but pace pace, do not stuff them. They will be fine as we make them. You need a pound of pasta, which you cook to a bit firmer than al dente in rapidly boiling salted water. Drain the stuff.
You needed a big pot to cook that pasta. Let's use it again. Put the pasta back in the pot , off the heat, and stir in the vegetables, and then the cheese mixture. Turn your oven to 375. Now, take that sauce (we didn't forget), and put half of it on the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Put the pasta mixure in, and pour the rest of the sauce over that. And finally, sprinkle the last half cup of cheese over the mass . Put it on a baking sheet to help maneuver it, and get it in that oven, for about 35-40 minutes. Take a look after 30, because you're looking for that top fontina, to brown.
PHEW. You worked, didn't you? But you have enough pasta here to serve at least 8, probably as many as 12. Or, if there aren't that many of you, you have meals to spare, as this will freeze wonderfully.
This is the kind of food that hugs you. We all need that from time to time, don't we?
Abracci dal Annalema
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