Patsy's Italian Family Cookbook (13 page)

4 veal shanks, (1 to 1¼ pounds each)

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

6 medium celery ribs, cut into ½-inch dice

4 medium carrots, cut into ½-inch dice

1 cup
Tomato Sauce

½ cup hearty red wine

¾ cup chopped fresh basil

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2.
Lightly dust the shanks all over with flour, shaking off the excess. Heat the oil in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the shanks and cook, turning occasionally, until well browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer the veal shanks to a roasting pan.

3.
Drain all but ¼ cup of oil from the skillet and return to medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrots. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables soften, 6 to 7 minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce, wine, and ½ cup of the basil and bring to a boil. Pour the vegetable mixture over the shanks.

4.
Add water to the roasting pan until it reaches about halfway up the shanks. Cook, uncovered, turning the veal every 30 minutes, and adding hot water as needed to maintain the water level, until the veal is tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 2½ to 3 hours. Transfer the shanks to a platter and tent with aluminum foil to keep warm.

5.
Place the roasting pan over high heat and bring the cooking juices to a boil. Cook, stirring often, until it has reduced by one-quarter, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

6.
For each serving, place a veal shank in a deep soup bowl. Spoon the pan juices on top and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup basil. Serve hot.

Pork Chop Siciliano

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Many old Sicilian recipes use vinegar as a seasoning, knowing that its acidity can perk up a sauce. This is another dish that we have featured on the menu since 1944. It was originally made with red wine vinegar, but we recently switched over to balsamic, and that little adjustment took a good thing and made it even better.

4 center-cut rib pork chops (12 to 14 ounces each), cut 1½ inches thick

4 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

½ cup
Chicken Stock
or use reduced-sodium store-bought chicken broth

½ cup
Quick Brown Sauce

¼ cup chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon finely minced fresh rosemary

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.
Preheat the oven to 500°F.

2.
Brush the chops on both sides with 2 tablespoons of the oil. Place them in a large ovenproof skillet. Roast for 12 minutes. Turn the chops over and continue roasting until they are browned and an instant-read thermometer, inserted horizontally into the center of a chop, reads 145°F, about 8 minutes. Remove the skillet and chops from the oven. Transfer the chops to a platter.

3.
Meanwhile, add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and the garlic to the skillet and warm over medium heat, stirring often, just until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the stock, brown sauce, basil, vinegar, and rosemary, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Add the pork chops, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cover the skillet. Simmer just to blend the flavors, about 3 minutes.

4.
Place each pork chop on a dinner plate and spoon the sauce over the chops, dividing it evenly.

^◆
Quick Brown Sauce
^◆

MAKES ABOUT 1¾ CUPS

We use sauce in a few dishes for its flavor and to give body to a pan sauce. Classic brown sauce takes hours, but here’s a quick version that works very well. Use a high-quality canned or aseptically packaged broth. For the tomato paste, which is a coloring more than a flavoring, use the variety in a tube, which is convenient because you don’t have to open a whole can for half a teaspoon.

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 small yellow onion, chopped

One 13¾-ounce can reduced-sodium beef broth

2 tablespoons dry white wine or dry vermouth

½ teaspoon tomato paste

Pinch of dried thyme

1 small bay leaf

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until browned, about 4 minutes. Stir in the flour. Gradually stir in the broth, followed by the wine, tomato paste, thyme, and bay leaf and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until thickened and slightly reduced, about 10 minutes.

2.
Strain the sauce and discard the solids. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (The sauce can be cooled, covered, and refrigerated for 3 days. Or freeze the sauce in an airtight container for up to 2 months; thaw before using.)

Variation: Chicken Brown Sauce

Substitute reduced-sodium chicken broth or 1¾ cups
Chicken Stock
for the beef broth.

Pork Meat Loaves

MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS

My son Peter (who is an aspiring young chef) loves this meat loaf, which is in our rotation at home as one of our favorite dishes. It’s one of those recipes that I just make off the top of my head. Flavor-wise, it blows regular beef meat loaf out of the water. I shape it into two small loaves because they cook faster than a single big loaf.

Olive oil, as needed

½ cup finely chopped white onion

¼ cup plain dried bread crumbs, plus more as needed for the work surface

¼ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

2 large eggs, beaten

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground pepper

2 pounds ground pork

4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese cut into ½-inch cubes

½ cup fresh or thawed frozen peas

4 cups
Tomato Sauce

2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

¼ cup dry white wine

1.
Position a broiler rack about 8 inches from the heat source and preheat the broiler on high. Lightly oil a flameproof 10 by 15-inch baking dish.

2.
Mix together the onion, bread crumbs, Parmigiano cheese, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add the pork and mix with your hands until well combined. Divide the mixture in half.

3.
Dust a flat work surface with extra bread crumbs. Transfer half of the meat mixture to the work surface and shape into a 10 by 7-inch rectangle. Leaving a 2-inch border, scatter ½ cup of the mozzarella cubes and ¼ cup of the peas into the center of the rectangle. Fold the meat mixture over the mozzarella and peas to enclose them, and shape into a thick loaf about 10 inches long. Transfer the meat loaf to the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining meat mixture, ½ cup mozzarella, and ¼ cup peas. Brush the tops of the meat loaves with oil.

4.
Broil the meat loaves until the tops are browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the broiler. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F.

5.
Pour the tomato sauce, broth, and wine over the meat loaves. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a loaf reads 160°F, about 40 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes. Uncover the baking dish and slice the meat loaves. Serve hot, with the sauce on top.

Pork Rollatini

MAKES 4 GENEROUS SERVINGS