Patsy's Italian Family Cookbook (35 page)

¼ cup light cream or half-and-half

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon fresh basil chiffonade (see
here
), for serving

1.
Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the fennel, mushrooms, and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are beginning to brown, about 7 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring almost constantly, until it feels heavier in the spoon, about 2 minutes.

2.
Meanwhile, bring the stock to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce the heat to very low to keep the stock hot.

3.
Stir about ¾ cup of the warm stock into the rice mixture and continue to stir, almost constantly, adjusting the heat so the rice cooks at a steady simmer, until it has almost absorbed all of the liquid, about 2 minutes. Continue adding the liquid, ¾ cup at a time, and stirring until the liquid is absorbed, until the rice is al dente, about 20 minutes. If you run out of broth before the rice is done, use hot water. Stir in the grated cheese, light cream, and butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4.
Divide the risotto among six wide soup bowls and sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon of the basil. Serve hot, with more Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese passed on the side.

Holiday Dishes

St. Joseph’s Bread

Zeppole

Easter Meat and Cheese Pie

Stuffed Leg of Lamb with Prosciutto and Bacon

Easter Bread with Colored Eggs

Pastiera Napolitana (Ricotta and Wheat Berry Cheesecake)

Roast Turkey with Rosemary Gravy

Scognamillo Italian Sausage and Bacon Stuffing

Baccalà Salad

Christmas Escarole

Neapolitan Meatball and Rice Pie

Crown Roast of Pork with Sausage Stuffing

Meatball Lasagna

Struffoli

^◆
St. Joseph’s Day
^◆

Breads and Sweets

March 19 is St. Joseph’s Day, a distinctly Italian holiday that celebrates the saint’s intervention to end a drought. In our family, it is also commemorated as the name day of my dad, my son, my brother-in-law, and my mother-in-law Josephine. (And I sneak in, too, because Joseph is my middle name.) That’s a lot of Josephs.

St. Joseph, the father of Jesus, is especially venerated by Italians from the southern part of the country, such as my ancestors. During a drought in Sicily, the people prayed to St. Joseph for relief. When it came, they celebrated with a feast (of course!) from the harvest. Many Italian families build an altar to St. Joseph, laden with breads and desserts, made from wheat, the most important crop that was saved. Some places in Italy view the date as a kind of Father’s Day.

Italian bakeries really go all out for this holiday, and decorated breads are a big item. Some are designed to resemble the saint’s staff, which can be as simple as bread bent into a crook to intricately cut breads resembling wheat sheaves. The other hot item that every Italian bakery must sell for St. Joseph’s Day is zeppole, a dessert that makes a donut look like diet food. While many people stop by a
pasticceria
to buy baked goods, many wives and mothers make the desserts at home to honor their male head of the household.

St. Joseph’s Bread

MAKES 1 LARGE LOAF, ABOUT 12 SERVINGS

St. Joseph gets his own bread on his name day. The recipe and shape changes from village to village in Italy, so there is no single way to make it. This round “crown” braid is easy and impressive. This sweet dough is also used for the
Easter Bread with Colored Eggs
.

SWEET DOUGH

1 cup whole milk

½ cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon instant (also called bread-machine) yeast

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

2 teaspoons anise seeds

1½ teaspoons salt

5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, as needed

6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, at room temperature, plus softened butter for the bowl

1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1 tablespoon whole milk, for the glaze

2 teaspoons sesame seeds

1.
To make the sweet dough: Combine the milk, sugar, eggs, yeast, lemon zest, anise seeds, and salt together in the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer. Mix with the paddle attachment on low speed until combined. Gradually add 3½ cups of the flour to make a thick batter. One tablespoon at a time, beat in the butter, waiting for the first addition to be absorbed before adding more. Gradually add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough that cleans the bowl. Switch to the dough hook and mix on medium-low speed, occasionally pulling down the dough as it climbs up the hook, until the dough is smooth, shiny, and slightly sticky (do not add too much flour), about 8 minutes.

To make the dough by hand: Whisk the milk, sugar, eggs, yeast, lemon zest, anise seeds, and salt together in a large bowl. Gradually stir in 3½ cups of the flour to make a thick batter. One tablespoon at a time, stir in the butter, waiting for the first addition to be absorbed before adding more. Gradually stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that cannot be stirred. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead, adding more flour as necessary, until the dough is smooth, supple, and slightly sticky (do not add too much flour), about 10 minutes.

2.
Butter a large bowl. Gather the dough into a ball. Turn the dough in the bowl to coat it, leaving the dough smooth side up. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1¼ hours. (Or refrigerate the dough for at least 8 and up to 24 hours.)

3.
Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the dough in half. Roll each piece of dough underneath your palms on the work surface into a 22-inch rope, tapering the ends. Place the ropes next to each other and, working from top to bottom, braid them together, leaving the ends loose. Place on the baking sheet and shape into a circle. Where the ends meet, tuck the ends of one braid underneath the opposite ends to complete the braid so no break is visible. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let stand in a warm draft-free place until almost doubled in volume, about 1 hour (or 1½ hours for chilled dough).

4.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

5.
Brush the braid lightly with the egg glaze and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Bake until the loaf is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, about 35 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing.

“I love everything about Patsy’s! It’s like taking a giant step back in time to the ‘Rat Pack’ era. My favorite dishes are Patsy’s sirloin steak pizzaiola and his Easter meat pie. And I can’t leave without a jar of Patsy’s famous homemade sauce.” —Frank Sinatra, Jr.

Zeppole

MAKES 12 ZEPPOLE

Zeppole, a kind of filled doughnut, is by far the most famous of St. Joseph’s Day sweets, and for a few days before and after March 19, they line the shelves of Italian bakeries. This is my homemade version, stuffed and topped with pastry cream (or substitute 3 cups of the
cannoli cream
for a delicious variation). You will need a pastry bag with an ½-inch-diameter open star tip.