Patsy's Italian Family Cookbook (11 page)

Steak Oreganata

MAKES 2 TO 4 SERVINGS

There’s nothing wrong with a plain steak. But this is Italian-style steak, topped with garlicky bread crumbs seasoned with some oregano. After all, oreganata means “flavored with oregano.” You can serve one steak per person, or split the slices up among four people, making this a good dish to serve to kids or people with not-so-big appetites.

Two 12- to 14-ounce sirloin steaks, cut 1 inch thick

Olive oil, for coating and drizzling

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¾ cup
Seasoned Bread Crumbs

Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

1.
Let the steaks stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Brush both sides with the oil and season with the salt and pepper.

2.
Position a broiler rack 6 inches from the heat source and preheat well. Lightly oil the broiler rack. Broil the steaks until the tops of the steaks are nicely browned, about 5 minutes. Turn the steaks and broil to brown the opposite sides, and until the steaks feel slightly resilient when pressed, 4 to 5 minutes more for medium-rare. Transfer to a carving board and let stand for 3 to 5 minutes.

3.
Using a sharp knife, cut the steaks across the grain on a slight diagonal into ½-inch-thick slices. Push the slices of each steak back together to resemble the original cut. Return to the broiler rack. Top each steak with an equal layer of bread crumbs and lightly drizzle with olive oil.

4.
Return the steaks to the broiler and broil until the topping has browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the slices to dinner plates and serve.

Veal Scaloppini Besciamella

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

My grandfather called this dish by its French name, L’Ayolau, which was probably a restaurant that made a specialty of this dish. It is basically veal coated with a thick cream sauce (besciamella means “béchamel,” which is the basic French white sauce), then crumbed and cooked. He loved it, and so do I. It’s an indulgence, but live it up a little!

BESCIAMELLA

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

⅔ cup all-purpose flour

3 cups light cream or half-and-half, heated to steaming

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1¼ pounds veal scaloppini, cut into 8 pieces, pounded with a flat meat pounder to ⅛-inch thickness

⅔ cup all-purpose flour

1⅔ cups olive oil

5 large eggs, beaten to blend

3 cups plain dried bread crumbs

1.
To make the besciamella: Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk in the light cream and bring to a boil. Add the parsley and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer, whisking often, until the sauce is very thick and no raw flour taste remains, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour into a medium bowl. Press a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface to stop a skin from developing, and let cool to tepid. Refrigerate until completely cooled, at least 2 hours.

2.
Meanwhile, heat ⅓ cup of the oil in a very large skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Spread ⅓ cup of the flour on a large plate near the stove. Working in batches, coat the veal in the flour, shaking off the excess, and add to the skillet. Cook, turning once, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer the veal to another plate. Let cool until tepid. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour.

3.
Spread the remaining ⅓ cup flour on a plate. Put the besciamella sauce in another bowl. Beat the eggs in a wide shallow bowl. Spread the bread crumbs on a second plate. Pat each scaloppini with a paper towel to remove any moisture. Coat lightly in flour and shake off the excess. Now, using a small metal spatula, spread the veal on both sides with the sauce. Dip in the beaten eggs. Coat with the bread crumbs. Transfer to a large baking sheet.

4.
Preheat the oven to 200°F. Place a wire cooling rack over a large rimmed baking sheet. Add the remaining 1⅓ cups oil to the skillet and heat over medium-high heat until the oil is shimmering but not smoking, or until a frying thermometer reads 350°F. Working in batches, add the scaloppini, and fry, turning once, until the coating is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to the wire rack and keep warm in the oven until all of the scaloppini are cooked. Serve hot.

Like in the Movies

A wise guy runs into Patsy’s, being chased by an unknown assailant. He barricades himself in the men’s room. Joe manages to talk him out of the restaurant, but not before a very dangerous, scary scene with him being threatened with a knife. Two days later, the man was found … after killing someone else with the same knife.

Veal Scaloppini Fra Diavolo

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

When you see Fra Diavolo, or “Brother Devil,” on a menu, it means that it is devilishly spicy. (In Rome, the same treatment is called arrabiata, for “angry.”) Our version is no exception, and gets its heat from both fresh cherry peppers and hot red pepper flakes. Of course, you can adjust the heat to taste by using sweet red peppers and less flakes.

2 pounds veal scaloppini, cut into 12 pieces, pounded with a flat meat pounder to ⅛-inch thickness

½ cup all-purpose flour, for dredging

⅓ cup olive oil

3 cups
Tomato Sauce

1 cup
Chicken Stock
or use reduced-sodium store-bought chicken broth

¼ cup dry white wine

6 to 7 fresh or pickled hot cherry peppers (see Note), quartered, seeds removed

¼ cup chopped fresh basil

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.
Heat the oil in a very large skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Spread the flour on a large plate near the stove. Working in batches, coat the veal in the flour, shaking off the excess, and add to the skillet. Cook, turning once, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer the veal to a clean plate.

2.
Carefully discard the oil from the skillet and wipe out the skillet with paper towels. Return the skillet to medium-high heat, add in the tomato sauce, stock, wine, cherry peppers, basil, oregano and red pepper flakes and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the sauce has reduced by one-quarter, about 5 minutes. Return the veal to the skillet and reduce to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the sauce has thickened and the veal is opaque in the center when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, about 3 minutes.

3.
Transfer the veal and sauce to a platter and serve hot.

NOTE:
Fresh hot cherry peppers (sometimes called cherry bomb peppers) are available in late summer at farmers’ markets and Italian grocers. You can substitute 2 red jalapeño peppers, cut into rings and seeded, for the cherry peppers.