Posted by The Serious Eats Team, May 10, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Adapted from Italian Grill by Mario Batali.
- serves 6 -
Ingredients
2 pounds large asparagus (12 to 18 stalks per pound)
4 ounces thinly sliced pancetta
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme
Coarse sea salt
Procedure
1. Snap the tough bottom stalks off the asparagus. Unroll the slices of pancetta and lay them out on a work surface. Lay an asparagus spear on a slight diagonal across the bottom of one slice and roll it up, covering as much of the stalk as possible but leaving the tip visible. Place on a tray or small baking sheet and repeat with the remaining asparagus. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour (this rest will help the pancetta adhere to the asparagus).
2. Preheat a gas grill or prepare a fire in a charcoal grill.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the orange zest, juice, and mustard. Continuing to whisk, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until emulsified and smooth. Season the citronette with salt and pepper, and set aside.
4. Place the asparagus on the grill and cook, turning occasionally, until it is just tender and the pancetta is crisped, about 4 to 6 minutes. If the pancetta browns too much before the asparagus is cooked, move the spears to a cooler part of the grill.
5. Whisk the citronette again, and pour half of it onto a serving platter. Sprinkle with half of the chopped thyme and pile the asparagus on top. Drizzle with the remaining citronette and sprinkle with the remaining thyme. Serve with a small bowl of coarse sea salt for dipping.
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 26, 2008 at 5:00 PM
Each Saturday evening we bring you a Sunday Supper recipe. Why on Saturday? So you have time to shop and prepare for tomorrow.
I don't know how it happened, but my favorite dish from my go-to neighborhood Italian restaurant happens to be a simple concoction of penne tossed with some good olive oil and some sautéd garlic and broccoli—all topped by a grilled chicken breast. I always picture it as their sop to dieters or calorie-concious diners, and I always feel like it's akin to ordering steak at a seafood joint.
I order it because over the past year or so, I've started getting the acid reflux after eating heavily tomato-sauced foods, and this lightly treated pasta preparation appeals to me. The price, however, does not. (I'm embarrassed to even mention it here because it's ludicrous for what actually goes into it.)
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Posted by Blake Royer, April 17, 2008 at 4:15 PM
Considering the length of most recipes in Judy Roger's Zuni Cafe Cookbook, the eponymous cookbook of her San Francisco restaurant, finding a quick dinner recipe is something of a feat. Every page of her book is awash with meticulous detail about the cooking process, from advice about the shape of diced onion pieces to the flavor a fish stock ought to have when it's just finished (minutes too long on the stove and it can go muddy). Her roast chicken recipe, for example, runs four pages. Yet despite the laborious descriptions of technique (or perhaps because of it), everything I've made from that book has been outstanding: a monkfish stew, that roast chicken, and now, this soup. As she mentions in the recipe's introduction, it's a soup of delightful flavors and unexpected textures.
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Posted by Ed Levine, December 24, 2007 at 4:05 PM
- serves 4 as a main pasta course -
Ingredients
1 pound linguine
1/2 medium red onion, finely minced
1/4 pound pancetta, cut into 1/8th inch dice (or mole salame)
4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
6 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon crushed red chiles
1 pound Manila clams, scrubbed and rinsed
2 cups dry white wine
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 bunch Italian parsley, finely chopped, to yield 1/4 cup
Procedure
1. Bring six quarts of water to boil and add 2 tablespoons salt.
2. In a large sauté pan, sauté red onion, pancetta, and garlic over medium heat until onion is very soft and pancetta is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add hot chiles, clams, white wine, and butter and bring to a boil. Cook until all clams have opened, and then set aside.
3. Boil linguine according to package instructions. While softened but still firm, drain in colander over sink and toss into plan with clams and stir gently to mix. This should still be a little brothlike. Add chopped parsley, pour into warm serving bowl and serve.
Posted by Ed Levine, October 14, 2007 at 7:30 AM
This is one of the greatest breakfast or brunch sandwiches ever. If you live in New York or plan on visiting, you can go to 'ino any tine of the day or night, and the skilled toaster-oven cooks there will make one for you. Or you can use this recipe to rustle up one right now in the comfort of your own home (and your own toaster oven).
This Scrambled Egg, Pancetta, and Fontina Bruschetta is adapted from Simple Italian Sandwiches by Jennifer and Jason Denton and Kathryn Kellinger.
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Posted by Ed Levine, July 13, 2007 at 3:30 PM
Dave Pasternack is probably best known for introducing crudo, Italian-style raw fish, to American palates. Think of it as sashimi with an Italian soul.
I have eaten this Albacore Tuna Crudo at Dave's restaurant, Esca, hundreds of times and never tire of it. Some people get nervous at the thought of making a raw fish preparation at home. Captain Dave says, "Don't be. Obviously it's imperative to use very fresh fish. If you're not a fisherperson yourself, you need to develop a relationship with a local fishmonger who will steer you to the freshest fish he's got. Once your fishmonger selects your fish for you, ask him or her to cut it into crudo-size pieces, 2 inches wide and 1/4 inch thick."
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Posted by Ed Levine, July 12, 2007 at 1:30 PM
Rock shrimp are delicious, forgiving, and so easy to cook with. Peppers and corn are the essence of summer eating, and when you combine them with rock shrimp and fettuccine you end up with the perfect, hassle-free summer dinner.
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Posted by Ed Levine, July 11, 2007 at 1:30 PM
Dave Pasternack, with whom I wrote The Young Man and the Sea, has a real knack for combining two or three ingredients into something unique and delicious. Take this grilled shrimp dish for example. I love the combination of grilled radicchio—which is simultaneously smoky and bitter—with meaty shrimp and porky pancetta (cured Italian bacon). But what really makes this dish is the aged balsamic vinegar, which lends the whole affair a sweet, tangy finishing touch.
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