The Easter bunny was late this year: pizza (or torta) rustica

Ciao, ragazzi.  Have you ever had one of those periods in your life when you seem to lose track of time, gain days, lose days, feel like your head is about to explode, or that things are moving faster than they are?

You haven't.  Well, good for you.  Annalena shall be sending a curse your way shortly, for she has experienced ALL of this in the days since she last visited with you.  Some of you who are learned, will remember W. B. Yeats' poem "The Second Coming," and the line "The center will not hold."  Well, Annalena's center has held, but barely , over these past few weeks.  For those of you who are less learned in poetry, but know your television, think of a Star Trek episode when the forces attacking the Enterprise are just over the tested limits of the shield, the ship is shaking, everyone is terrified, but things hold.  And everyone takes a big sigh of relief.

Well, Annalena is doing that now. She THINKS that things are coming together, and hopes that they stay that way.  She accounted for the extra week she thought she had (don't ask), and is now caught up (she thinks).  And she comes your way with a recipe  you should have had before Easter in case you felt ambitious,  but put it aside.  Or, make it now.  Pizza, or torta rustica, used to be one of Annalena's "go to" dishes.  She stopped making it, because it is so big, and when you make a dish, traditionally saved for holidays, for everyday use, it loses its festive tone.

Think about it:  for those of you who love a roast turkey, would Thanksgiving be the same if you had a roast turkey once or twice a month?  Annalena thinks not.  So she brings out this recipe at Easter, sometimes at Christmas, and not at other times.

It is southern Italian in origin, and traditionally, it is said to be a Neopolitan recipe.  Indeed, you will find it in bakeries that trace their origin to Naples, but in others as well.  And as the recipe has gone through time, it has changed.  The one Annalena presents here is , as far as she knows, as close to the traditional as she can find.  It seems to be a common one, with the exception of the peas, which were Annalena's addition to give some color, and because the Guyman likes peas.

Many southern Italian recipes that are cooked around Easter use ricotta in copious quantities.  The reason for this, ragazzi, is that ricotta, like any dairy product that is made fresh, will change in flavor from place to place, and from time to time.  Milk, and cheese, are dependent on what the animals who produce the milk, eat.  In early spring, the grasses, the flowers, etc, are young, and very delicate. So, too, is the milk.  And hence, so is the cheese.  As the year goes on, the flavors will get stronger.  There is nothing wrong with that, nothing at all.   You simply have to learn, ragazzi, that like the song says "to every season."  And learn that even things you may take for granted, like cheese and milk, and eggs, have their season.

With this in mind, Annalena gives the same admonition that she gives every time she presents a recipe using ricotta:  USE THE BEST STUFF YOU CAN FIND AND DO NOT USE THE STUFF THAT ENDS IN AN O AND COMES IN A BIG PLASTIC CYLINDER.     Seriously, ragazzi, there are enough artisanal cheese and milk producers these days that, with a little looking, you can get truly good stuff.  From sheep.  From goats.  From cows.  Perhaps from buffalo.  And if you can't, MAKE IT YOURSELF.  Ricotta is easy to make and the internet abounds with instructions on how to do it.

So, let's make a torta rustica. First, we need a dough.  And this dough is very easy and fun.  It is not a challenge like some others.  You will enjoy this dough, and wonder why you don't use it for more things.  And indeed, you can.   You're going to be filling a deep, 9 inch springform here, so you'll have a lot of stuff to work with.  Use your mixer, or your fingers.  Put two cups of all purpose flour into a bowl, and then add a half stick of cold, unsalted butter, that you have cut into very small cubes.  Add half a teaspoon of sugar.  Annalena does not add sugar, but most recipes call for a tablespoon of it here.  Use your fingers or the paddle of your mixer, to work this until you are getting a fine crumb, as if you were making pie crust (because you ARE making pie crust).  When you have it, put in two large eggs, at the same time, stir it all together and the minute the dough comes together, stop.    Every recipe Annalena has looked at says the dough will be sticky and hard to work with at this time, but she finds this to be false.  Now, gather it up, and then do your best to divide it into a portion that is 2/3 of the whole, and the remaining 1/3.  Separate them, wrap them, and  let them chill.  Overnight.


The next day, take the dough out to soften, go about your business, and about five hours after you have taken the dough out, get your filling together.  It's very easy.  You need a pound and a half of that supergood ricotta,  a hefty cup of diced mozzarella and the same amount of provolone (need Annalena repeat herself about the quality of the ingredients?)  Put these in a bowl.  IF you are making the traditional one, you now chop up a quarter pound of good quality prosciutto.  Some recipes use cooked, cold crumbled sausage, and this is good too.  Others, which are completely vegetarian, will replace the meat with chopped artichoke hearts.  It's all good, ragazzi.    Add some pepper, some salt,  and grated parmesan- four ounces.  Again, don't let Annalena even THINK you're using the stuff in the green box.    Add six large eggs, and if you are using them, a cup of thawed, green peas.  Annalena likes to make this at the time she's filling her torta, but some would have you let it sit in the fridge.  It is, again, your call.

Let's get baking.  Preheat your oven to 400.  Get the bigger piece of dough, and roll it out on a floured surface.  Be generous with your time on this, and rolling it out, because it has to fill that whole springform pan, and hang over it a bit.  You will find that the eggs make the rolling rather easy, as they sort of "plasticize" the dough.  Annalena repeats that it is a pleasure to work with.  Fit it into your pan, and if it's not big enough, roll some more.  You'll get there.

And when you do, dump all that filling in, and then put it aside, while you roll out the remaining third of the dough.  Put that on top, and now take the overhang, bring it in, and crimp the edges, the way you see fancy pies (this crimping is Annalena's favorite piece of the dish, by the way.).  When you are done, then cut a big cross in the top of the thing.  Annalena always hesitates here, because some people dress the dish with a beaten egg at this point, but Annalena is always glad she didn't.    Put this contraption on a baking sheet, slide it in the oven, and after twenty minutes, drop the heat to 375.

You will need to bake it for another 45 minutes to an hour. It is very hard to overbake this pie, so if Annalena were you, she wouldn't worry.  But you must NOT eat it for at least four hours, and preferably longer, after it's done.  This needs to solidify.  And it will solidify better  in the refrigerator, but it will work at room temperature.

This is what Annalena's looked like:

Not too bad, huh ragazzi?  Make it, and let Annalena see.  She wants to know what her army is cooking

Updating a classic: French Vinegar chicken

Ragazzi, Annalena does not often  publish two versions of the "same" recipe, but today, she is doing so, for a very simple reason:  this one simplifies her earlier one, so it's ideal for when you want a quicker meal.  She warns you that it is not as light as it looks,  and you will see ways of lightening it, if you like.  Annalena did do so, and she'll tell you how.

Vinegar chicken is a classic dish of the French farm house.    Those French farmers did it right, in Annalena's opinion.  Something you can make, with stuff you either have around, or can get, and get on the table quickly.

So, here we go, ragazzi.  The original  recipe is for four legs.  Annalena did six of them, so she kicked up the vinegar.

You need full chicken legs for this:  not drumsticks, and not thighs.  Annalena, as she says, had six of them.  This is about five pounds of chicken.  IF you happen to have time (which Annalena did not), sprinkle the with salt and pepper and let them sit in the fridge, overnight.  If not, pat them very dry, salt and pepper them, and get your other ingredients ready.

Your other ingredients are 3/4 cup of red wine vinegar, a cup and a half of chicken stock, and a 14 ounce can of peeled tomatoes , with their juice.    Open that can, crush the tomatoes with  your hands, and that is the hardest thing you're going to do.

Put a couple of tablespoons of butter into a big pan, with an equal quantity of olive oil (this is where you can cut things down, ragazzi.  ).  When the butter melts, add half of the chicken, and brown it well, on both sides.  This is going to be a braise, so you want that color.  It will probably take you about twenty minutes to finish all of the chicken, but you won't need to add any  more butter or oil.  The fat from the chicken skin will take care of that.

When it's all brown, look at all that fat in the pan, and drain all but about a tablespoon of it away (this, too, will cut down on the bad stuff).  Now, get the vinegar ready, and also be ready to look away.  Add it all, and PLEASE MOVE YOUR HEAD AWAY.  The pan is hot, the vinegar is going to vaporize, and the last thing Annalena wants her army to do is to inhale these fumes.  Make sure your windows are open, as you reduce this vinegar by half (to tell:   put half of it in, see the mark on your pan, and then add the rest.  When it's down to the mark, you're there).  Put the chicken in, turn it a few times.  Add the tomatoes, and the broth, turn the heat to low, cover the pan, and go away for 30-40 minutes.

You will come back to a dish that is really, REALLY good, but is better with sitting.  The acidity of the vinegar "tames" on sitting, until it is almost citrusy.

Any starch will go with this, but Annalena really liked it with cooked farro and mushrooms.

So, put this one in the "how easy was THAT " camp, cook up a batch of it, and have a good old classic French meal

Sort of for beginners, but sort of not: scallion pancakes

Ciao, ragazzi, or more appropriate for this one  TS'AO!  Ni hao ma?  For those of you who have learned Chinese with a different romanization, Annalena apologizes.  See, she learned it in the days of the dinosaurs and then they changed everything on her.  So, if you're looking at it and thinking WTF?   she is greeting you and asking you how you are.  And that is because we are going East today and making scallion pancakes.  And, if you read on enough, you will see that, in Annalena's view, these are really  VEGETABLE pancakes.  Indeed, in Korea,  they are made with things other than scallions.  So, learn the technique (because there IS a technique),  and then have some fun.

Annalena got this recipe from one of the on line sources for her groceries and meal planning.  The original recipe was decribed as "difficult."  Well, it's not, with a bit of help (which the recipe does NOT give you).     It is unusual in some of the techniques, so play along here, ragazzi, and we'll get through this.  You're going to be doing some things that you've been taught you shouldn't do (cooking wise...), and you're going to need to take a few odd steps, but ultimately, it's not hard.

To begin, we need  - and this shouldn't surprise you - some flour, and some scallions.  And that is just about all you'll need for making them.  Sesame oil is a good thing to have, too, but ultimately, if you don't have it, you won't need it, but they won't be as good.

Annalena made four larger pancakes with this recipe.  You can cut down the size of the pancakes, or make a double, triple, etc, recipe, in order to get more.  So, we begin.  You will need about one scallion for every two pancakes of the 5 inch variety (the picture is below).  Slice them on an angle, and put them aside.

Now, the techniques begin to get unusual.  Put a cup of all purpose flour in a bowl, and  bring 3/4 of a cup of water to a boil.  When the water boils, pour it slowly, into the flour, stirring all the time.
Never done that, have you?  You're waking up the gluten here, and as you stir the flour, you are going to notice that the texture is very different than what you would get if you had used cold water.  Do NOT worry.  You're doing fine. And it is gloppy.  And when you have to knead it, well, it's hot.    And to knead it, dump the load out onto a surface that has about half a cup more flour on it, and just knead as if you were making bread dough (this is the business letter technique, ragazzi.  You know how to do that.  ).   After about a minute, divide the dough into four equal parts.

And now, we're going to do things differently than the recipe orginally said, because if you do it the way the recipe said, you're going to get aggravated.  The recipe called for rolling the buggers out, nice and thin, to five inch circles.  Let Annalena tell you, carissimi, if you roll this with a standard rolling pin, it will tear, stick and you will be miserable.  And you don't need to:  ascolta (that means "LISTEN UP!).  Get an aid for measuring five inches.   For some of us, it's a ruler.  For others, it's a 3x5 card.  For others, well...   Use what's convenient.  Ok, now take that   fourth of the dough, and pound it with the base of your hand.  Measure.  Betcha you get 4 inches or so.  So why do you need to roll?  Stretch it out by hand. Annalena can guarantee you that in Asian homes, they are not using matarelli (rolling pins).  After you have done this to all four pieces, working individually, spread about a teaspoon of sesame oil on each one (if you're using it), then a quarter of the scallion pieces, and if you're using anything else, that too.  Don't go crazy though, because they will fall apart.

Now, more new techniques, and this is one that is used in Middle Eastern griddle cooking.  Take each pancake, and roll it into a log, or a cigar , or... whatever long cylindrical object comes to mind.  When you're done, coil it into a cinnamon roll kind of shape, and then pound it out again, once again to five inches.  Do this with all of them.

Time to cook.  Get a non stick skillet ready.   Add about a tablespoon of sesame oil, or another oil, to the pan, and when it begins to shimmer, put in a pancake.  Lower your head, and cook for about two -three minutes on a side.  This cooking time is important, because you don't have eggs, or anything else, to hold the buggers together.  It is just flour and scallions.  Flip the cake and do the other side.   Chances are, you are going to need to add oil periodically, perhaps after each pancake (something the recipe Annalena worked with, does NOT tell you).

When you're done, you can keep these warm in an oven, or you can crisp them up later, in that same pan.  The careful observer will ask, however  "where's the sauce," and indeed, this is a fair question, because  you need a sauce with these.  Think about it:  flour and vegetables.  Did Annalena mention salt? Or other seasonings?  She did not.  Here is Annalena's sauce:  a quarter cup each of soy sauce and rice wine vinegar, a tablespoon of sesame oil, and a dash of hot sauce or red pepper.  And that's it.

Want to see what they look like?

Ok ragazzi, so now you know what to expect, and Annalena wants all of you to start making these.  Ultimately, she thinks you will agree that it wasn't difficult.  It's just one of those "Zen" things where you are shocked out of the normal, in terms of how you cook.  Nothing wrong with that.