Read Saveur: The New Comfort Food Online
Authors: James Oseland
Saveur: The New Comfort Food (5 page)
One of the joys of living in Tuscany is that locals love a good party, which explains why many towns frequently hold communal meals and sagre—outdoor festivals that celebrate the harvest of a cherished local food. Such gatherings are a testament to Tuscans’ abiding attachment to the seasonal rituals that are the foundation of rural life here. In Buggiano (pictured), where I live, we have several alfresco feasts each year, but our summertime cena (the name simply means dinner) is the most special because all of the food is prepared by local home cooks. The dinner, which is held in our main piazza, is a lavish potluck: there are platters of antipasti, including crostini topped with seasonal ingredients, and
Herbed Tomato Tarts
. There are pastas, and a main dish of roast pork, fragrant with garlic and herbs. And for dessert: a spread of pastries, followed by glasses of locally made limoncello, and dancing that goes on late into the night.
—Beth Elon
Cookbook author Beth Elon, who lives in Buggiano, Italy, provided this recipe for a Tuscan-style cherry tomato tart. She prepared it for her village’s annual outdoor summer feast (pictured; also see
“Alfresco Feast,”
, and it would serve just as well for any barbecue, picnic, or other outdoor meal.
2 9 x 11-inch sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed and chilled
½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
12 anchovy filets in oil, drained and finely chopped
3 lbs. cherry or grape tomatoes Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
¼ cup minced flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsp. minced fresh chives
2 tbsp. minced fresh oregano Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
Serves 12–16
1. Heat the oven to 375°F. Fit the pastry sheets side by side in a parchment paper–lined 13 x 17¾-inch rimmed baking pan, pressing the pastry against the bottom and sides. Press together the center where the two sheets overlap to make an even seam; trim the pastry hanging over the sides of the pan. Prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork. Line the bottom and sides of the pastry with parchment paper and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until the edges of the tart are golden, about 25 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment paper, sprinkle Parmigiano-Reggiano over the tart shell, and bake until the cheese is melted and the tart shell is golden all over, 15–20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool.
2. Heat the oven to broil and arrange a rack 4 inches from the heating element. In a large bowl, mix together the olive oil and anchovies; add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Transfer the tomato mixture to another rimmed baking pan and broil, shaking the pan once or twice, until the tomatoes blister, about 12 minutes. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and let them cool slightly. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the tomato mixture to the prepared tart shell and distribute the tomatoes evenly over the shell.
3. Lower the oven heat to 425°F. In a bowl, combine the parsley, chives, oregano, and nutmeg. Sprinkle the herb mixture evenly over the tomatoes. Return the tart to the oven and bake until hot, about 15 minutes. Let the tart cool slightly before serving, or serve at room temperature.
Hummus B’Tahina
The building blocks of this most popular of Mediterranean mezes, or small plates, couldn’t be simpler: chickpeas, sesame paste, lemon juice, garlic, and not much more. Yet these few ingredients can yield incredibly nuanced flavors and a sumptuous texture, and versions vary in subtle and not-so-subtle ways from family to family, kitchen to kitchen, country to country.
5 oz. dried chickpeas
1 tsp. baking soda
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1¼ cups plus 3½ tbsp. tahini
½ cup plus 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice Kosher salt, to taste
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
1
/
8
tsp. sumac or paprika, for garnish1 tsp. finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish Sliced pickles, for garnish Pita, for serving
Makes 4 cups
1. In a medium bowl, combine chickpeas with 6 cups cold water and stir in baking soda; cover and let soak overnight. Drain chickpeas, transfer to a 2-qt. saucepan, and cover with 6 cups fresh water. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until very tender, 40–50 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let cool slightly.
2. Drain chickpeas, reserving cooking liquid. To the bowl of a food processor, add chickpeas and 5 cloves garlic and process for about 2 minutes. Add ¾ cup of the cooking liquid, along with 1¼ cups tahini, ½ cup lemon juice, and 2 tbsp. olive oil; season with salt. Process, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl, until the mixture is very smooth, about 8 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate until flavors have melded, about 4 hours.
3. Bring hummus to room temperature. Finely chop the remaining clove of garlic and sprinkle with salt. Using the side of a knife, scrape the garlic against the work surface while chopping occasionally to make a paste; set aside. In a small bowl whisk together the remaining tahini, lemon juice, 3½ tbsp. ice water, and the garlic paste until the mixture is creamy; season with salt and set aside.
4. To serve, place hummus in a bowl and make a small indentation in the middle using the back of a spoon. Pour the reserved tahini mixture into the indentation and garnish hummus with olive oil, sumac or paprika, parsley, and pickles. Serve with pita.
When my brother married a Polish-American girl named Rachael, my Palestinian-Lebanese mother held her breath. When they named their son after a baseball hero rather than my brother, she held her tongue. But when Rachael proudly served “black bean hummus” at a family party, my mother let it all out. “Hummus with black beans?” she said. “Why do Americans have to mix everything up until you can’t even tell what is what? Hummus is just hummus!” That made me wonder what truly makes hummus hummus, so I polled my Arab-American friends and received passionate responses as to what genuine hummus was and was not. Overwhelmingly, the responses were in favor of the traditional combination of ingredients—chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, and garlic. In an act of Middle Eastern diplomacy, Rachael asked my mother how to make hummus the “real way.” My mom quickly listed the ingredients, giving no measurements or proportions. Always an advocate for peace, I decided to write down the recipe for Rachael. After gathering advice from family and friends, and testing and tasting ten batches, I distilled a formula for classic hummus, one that made my mother proud.
—Alia Yunis
A student at Le Ferrandi culinary school in Paris tends to a simmering pot of veal stock under the watchful eye of his professor.
First, you brown some onions, celery, and bacon. Next, you pour in stock or water and maybe a little wine, scraping up the f lavorful caramelized bits before adding meat or vegetables. Then you stir, season, taste, and wait. As the pot simmers and your kitchen fills with aromas, sharp f lavors mellow and subtle ones intensify, until it all comes together in a beautiful union. Creamy corn chowder, French onion soup bubbling beneath gooey Gruyère, Polish pork and sauerkraut stew—such dishes feed the soul, warm the body, and leave us content.
Boeuf à la Bourguignonne
There are many ways to say “beef stew” in French. In Provence, you might ask for daube; in Belgium, it’s called carbonnade and is made with dark beer. But the most famous of these regional stews is Burgundy’s, made with red wine and cooked slowly, until the flavors fully meld and the beef becomes meltingly tender.
8 oz. slab bacon, cut into ½ -inch slices and cut crosswise into ¼ -inch pieces
2 tbsp. canola oil
2½ lbs. trimmed boneless beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 large carrot, roughly chopped
1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
1 rib celery, roughly chopped
2 tbsp. tomato paste
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
¼ cup flour
2 cups beef or veal stock
1 750-ml. bottle full-bodied red wine, such as merlot
1 bouquet garni (1 sprig each parsley and thyme and 1 bay leaf, tied together with kitchen twine)
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
10 oz. button mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
32 pearl onions, peeled
¼ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, for garnish
Serves 8
1. Heat the oven to 325°F. Cook the bacon in an 8-qt. Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, about 20 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel–lined plate; pour off all but 2 tbsp. of the rendered fat.
2. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the oil to the Dutch oven. Working in batches, add the beef, season with salt and pepper, and cook, turning occasionally, until the beef is browned on all sides, 5–6 minutes. Transfer the beef to a plate and set aside. Add the carrots, onions, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and browned, about 7 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Return the beef to the pot along with any juices, sprinkle with flour, and stir until the ingredients are well coated with flour. Add the stock, wine, and bouquet garni. Cover, transfer to the oven, and cook until the beef is tender, 2 ½ –3 hours.
3. Meanwhile, melt 1 tbsp. butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are soft and golden brown, 10–12 minutes. Transfer the mushrooms to a bowl and set aside.
4. Add 1 tbsp. butter to the skillet along with the pearl onions and 2 tbsp. water. Cover partially and cook until the water evaporates and the onions are tender, about 4 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking the onions, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, 2–3 minutes more. Transfer onions to the bowl with the mushrooms and cover to keep warm.
5. Remove the beef from the oven. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a large bowl and cover to keep warm. Set a fine mesh strainer over a 4-qt. saucepan. Strain the cooking liquid, discarding solids, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook until reduced and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 10–12 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.
6. To serve, divide the reserved beef between 8 serving bowls and pour some sauce over each serving. Divide the bacon, mushrooms, and pearl onions evenly between the bowls, and garnish with the parsley leaves. Serve with crusty bread, if you like.