Zuppa d’Ippoglosso con Zafferano

Halibut is a white fish lending itself well to soups. In spring brussels sprouts, dill, mushrooms, and onions, available for the kitchen, add a delicate and distinct flavor to seafood. Used wisely they will not overpower the taste of fish, but rather bring out their delicate flavors.
This dish calls for fresh, wild caught halibut (ippoglosso) and some garden vegetables and herbs. It is light and delicate to the taste, and an excellent one-dish meal or a first or second course. It doesn’t require much time – including preparation no more than 45 minutes.
Ingredienti:
1 lb (500 g) halibut, boned and cut into four 2x3 inch pieces (skin on)
2 medium-large onions, or three small, cut up any way you like
1 toe garlic
2 c sliced mushrooms (crimini or button)
2 c very sweet cherry/grape tomatoes, each one cut in half lengthwise*
1½ c fresh brussel sprouts, small size, cleaned and cooked (whole)
2 c water
2 t of Persian or Spanish saffron
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 T of fresh or dried oregano
2 t thyme
Handful of fresh dill, chopped
Salt (about 1½ T or to taste)
Black pepper and/or peperoncino piccante tritato (optional)
Preparazione
Using a medium-sized pot, sauté onions in about 2 – 3 T oil with oregano and thyme over medium flame until onions are well-caramelized.
While cooking onions, place garlic toe in small frying pan with 2 – 3 T oil. Heat the pan until hot. Place 4 pieces of halibut into hot pan with skin side touching the bottom of pan. Fry until skin is seared about 10 minutes. Remove pieces from pan to a dish and place aside. Keep all the pan oil and juices reserved for use later.
Cook the brussel sprouts in water until softened (can be microwaved in water for about 15 minutes). Remove from water, drain, and set aside (save the broth for soups for another day).
When onions are soft and caramelized, add saffron into pot and stir with the onions for about 2 minutes. Then add the tomatoes into pot, cooking until tomatoes begin to soften – this will also allow the tomatoes to sweeten slightly more. Then add your mushrooms to the pot and cook until they’re soft. Once the mushrooms are softened, add the water, the cooked brussel sprouts, and also the pan juices from the pan you seared the fish in.
Time to season-add salt and optional heat spices if desired. Taste broth to confirm good taste. Let simmer with lid for about 20 minutes.
Last step: add the 4 pieces of fish to the pot, white side down. Do not immerse as you want to maintain crispiness of skin – delicious! Let the halibut finish cooking for about 5-8 minutes. Remove fish from pot to begin serving process: ladle about 1 – 1½ c of soup into each soup bowl (total of 4). Then place a piece of fish with skin side up on top of the soup. Crown each bowl with chopped dill.
A hunk of bread and some pinot grigio go well with this zuppa.
Buon appetito!
*If your tomatoes are store bought and not quite sweet enough, you can bake them briefly to sweeten. After you cut the tomatoes, place in bowl with a little salt and 2 t sugar. Mix and let sit for 15 – 30 minutes. Drain tomatoes thoroughly (reserving liquid), and them mix a couple of T of olive oil with the tomatoes. Bake for about 10 minutes at 375ºF. Remove and let cool and use in the recipe. Add the drained liquid to the pot (using that much less water).

Lonza di maiale arrosto alla Kennuccio

Lonza di maiale arrosto alla Kennuccio (Kennuccio’s Pork Loin Roast)
I never used to like pork loin because the meat is so lean that if you cook it incorrectly, it can turn out tough like jerky. This is the way to cook a lean and very t e n d e r lonza. The secret to tender lonza is the bagna salata (salt bath or brine as the Anglos say). Because this cut is so lean, it’s up to the cook to insure the meat’s moisture. The bagna will allow additional moisture to seep into the lonza, a process which will permit juices to remain in the meat after cooking – the key to tenderness! Additionally, the bagna is your opportunity to season the meat – the reason for adding herbs and condiments to the bath water. Once you try this method of cooking a pork loin roast, I think you will always choose to make a lonza alla Kennuccio!
Ingredienti:
1¾ - 2 lb pork loin roast, center-cut (with some fat covering one side)
For the bagna salata (brine solution):
About 1 c kosher salt (large granular sea salt OK)
1 gallon water
2-3 shakes of Worcestershire sauce (I use the ancient Roman reproduction of garum, much like Worcestershire)
2 shakes of soy sauce (can be omitted if using garum)
About a T of Italian or Greek crushed oregano and a T of crushed thyme
For the roast:
1 T oregano
About 2-3 t sea salt
2-3 T extra virgin olive oil
For the sauce:
About ½ - ¾ c of peach preserves (homemade are the best)
About 2 T of Dijon mustard (I like Maille, but you use what your budget permits)
A little water (1 or 2 T at most)
Preparazione:
Mix all the ingredients for the bagna salata and place into a large bowl. Put the lonza into bagna. Let it bathe in fridge for about two days. Then take out of fridge and dry with towel. Don’t bother removing oregano flakes hugging the lonza.
In small bowl mix the oregano, salt and olive oil. Rub the entire lonza with this oil mixture. Place the lonza on a roasting rack and place into an already preheated 450ºF oven for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, lower temperature to 250ºF and cook for about 35 minutes. Remove from oven. Crown the lonza with the pan drippings. Then cover with foil for about 15 minutes.
While the lonza is resting, make the sauce. Mix the preserves, mustard and water in a sauce pan until heated. After meat has rested, slice the lonza in ¼ - ½ inch slices. Arrange slices to your liking on a serving plate with sauce over them. They will be very tender and full of flavor when you bite into them. Enjoy and mangia bene!
Buon appetito!
NB: This dish goes nicely with asparagus, roasted potatoes, and/or glazed baby carrots. As a primo I would suggest a tasty soup, such as a minestrone. As a wine compliment, I would suggest a dry white Napolitano, such as a Feudi di San Gregano, Greco di Tufo, or Fiano di Avellino.

Bookemon

Aunt Mary’s Father’s Baklava (Μπακλαβα)

Aunt Mary’s Father’s Baklava (Μπακλαβα)
Aunt Mary was Uncle Carl’s lovely wife. Uncle Carl, brother to my mother Gilda and Aunt Lydia, was lucky to have Aunt Mary, a very warm and kind-hearted lady who adored her husband. Outstanding in my mind is her patience and unconditional love – my uncle was a lucky man to be married to Aunt Mary! Uncle Carl, very missed by all who loved him, passed a month prior to Wally. Uncle Carl was 91 years young.
Aunt Mary is also a loving and devoted mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and friend to many. In addition, she is a very talented cook, just like her Greek father who was a chef. What a better combination, eh! Some of the best chefs come from Mediterranean countries. This baklava recipe was one of her dad’s and family’s favorites. It's a very rich pastry, but so delicious! She encourages you to make it!
Ingredients:
For the pastry
1 package of fillo, which are thin pastry sheets – cover with slightly dampened towel as you work with fillo to keep it from drying out
1 lb butter, melted
1½ lb walnuts, chopped
½ c sugar
½ t cinnamon
For the syrup
2 c sugar
1 c honey
2 c water
Grated zest of 1 lemon or orange
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350º-375ºF (moderate oven).
Combine walnuts, sugar and cinnamon.
Brush 12x18 baking pan with melted butter. Place 10 fillo sheets on baking pan, brushing them one at a time with the melted butter. Spread one third of walnut mixture on top; put 5 more buttered sheets on top, and add another third of the walnut mixture. Add 5 more sheets and remaining mixture, finishing with 10 more on top, repeating the same buttering procedures. Brush top with remaining melted butter. Score top with a sharp pointed knife into diamond square shapes to the size you desire.
Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool.
For the syrup, mix together the sugar, honey, water, and zest in saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Strain and cool a bit. Pour warm syrup evenly over Baklava.
Serve when cool.
Καλή όρεξη! (Kalí óreksi! – Greek for buon appetito!)

Roasted Suckling Pig

Maialino Arrosto
Roasted suckling pig is a holiday delicacy in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. In Italy, you will find a cooked pig on display at the local food stores, selling portions of the pig to the Italian clientele. The aromas made by this culinary treat are delightful – always a sure sign the holidays are among us. I have made roasted suckling pig on four occasions – the first time in Kansas City, Missouri, at the house of my brother Carmenuccio and his former wife Kathy; the second time is illustrated in the picture with the roasted suckling on the table, surrounded by my mother Gilda, sister Madalena, and her three children (who are now all grown up), Mitchell, Robbin, and Russell (the baby of the family). The picture was taken in 1979 at a house I rented in Pine Island of Hernando County, Florida (not to be mistaken for the Pine Island near Sanibel Island, Florida) – a bit of time ago. I think it was their first time having a whole pig – my poor niece Robbin was a little squeamish about having a pig for dinner, but she overcame her reservations and ended up eating with everyone else. It was one of those landmark culinary days where you just can’t forget what you ate at a given point in time, and of course, we have this picture to remind us.
After that, I prepared suckling pig for Colombian friends of mine in Gainesville, Florida, on two different occasions – both times for party events that lasted the entire weekends. The recipe provided here is from the last roast I did in 1981. Roasting a pig is not that different from roasting any other meat – you just need to make sure your pan and oven are big enough for the roast. The real challenge is finding a good source for your piglet – it is not something you can find readily at your local supermarket. In Hernando County, I obtained the piglet from the family of one of my Spanish students – John Hubbard, and in Gainesville, Florida, from a pig and goose farmer living in the outskirts of Alachua County. I knew they were all healthy animals because I had seen them alive – rarely do Americans today have the opportunity to examine the sources of their food – we leave a lot to trust.
If you would like to make maialino arrosto on your own and you live in an urban area, I would check first with specialty supermarkets. Failing those, look up some local farms in the countryside near where you reside. You can also check your local newspaper, the Internet, Google – you name it – there is a reliable source waiting out there. If possible, check out the animals at the farm and see if they’re well-cared for – put an “X” on a skinny pig! Also, if the piglet doesn’t move much – that’s generally a bad sign. A farmer once told me: a pig with no kick is sure to get you sick!
Good luck on your adventure, and I hope you enjoy your maialino!
Ingredients for 6:
1 – 10 lb suckling pig

½ head of minced garlic
2 red onions, coarsely chopped
1 apple, coarsely chopped
Olive oil
15 whole fresh sage leaves
½ bottle of red wine
½ a loaf of crumbled stale Italian bread
Some toasted pine nuts
Sea salt
Pepper (optional)
Preparation:
Take the pig out of the frig to warm in the morning. Preheat oven between 300º - 325ºF. Wash piglet thoroughly, hang to let dry or towel it dry, particularly the outside. Salt and [pepper] the inside liberally.Create a stuffing if you like: Sauté onions and apple in olive oil in a medium frying pan. Add minced garlic, and sage leaves, and stir.
Then add red wine and reduce most of the liquid.

Add bread and some toasted pine nuts, and stir into the mix. Now stuff the pig with this mixture.Coat outside of pig liberally with olive oil, and put in the terracotta dish positioned like the sphinx. It can be flattened open wide as well, but in a larger pan, and you can do it on its side, but I’d turn it once.

Protect the extremities like the ears and tail with foil. If the legs are exposed, you might do the feet as well. Tying the feet will help keep it together particularly if you’ve roasted it on its side.

Bake in a slow oven for 4 to 5 hours (less an hour if not stuffed). Rotate your dish around some. You can drain off the juices to make gravy if desired. Keep the pig covered and warm while you do this. Serve with vegetables and potatoes. Suggested items could be seared tomatoes, fennel, carrots and mashed potatoes.

Save (freeze) the bones as they will make you a very nice soup stock. After skimming the fat, the broth is excellent to use in rice dishes and couscous!
Mangia bene!

Pasta with Oil and Garlic

Pasta Aglio e Olio
Sam’s business friend for many years, Jimmy Matisse, a New Orleans man of Italian ancestry, was very fond of my mother’s pasta aglio e olio. In fact, his wife, Tuddy (Henrietta), used to warn him not to eat too much. Jimmy was a round man who had quite a guffaw. He loved my mother’s cooking. He used to literally beg her for a bowl every time he visited. Pasta aglio e olio is one of those ingenious and sublime recipes of the Italian plain cooking.

Ingredients:
About ½ lb pasta (spaghetti)
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic toes
1 T capers
Peperoncino piccante tritato (red pepper flakes – optional)
A small bunch of parsley, chopped
Preparation:
Cook spaghetti al dente in salted water and drain, saving about ½ cup of the cooking water. While the pasta is cooking, gently heat the olive oil with the capers and the sliced garlic in a large sauté pan. When garlic turns into a gold color, turn off heat and add the peperoncino piccante tritato and the parsley. Add the pasta and mix well, if too dry sprinkle with some of the pasta juice you saved. Although you shouldn’t add any cheese to this dish, if you do, don’t let the Italians know.
Buon appetito!
Note: Jim Matisse is in the picture sitting in the middle of the kitchen dining counter – it looks like we just finished one of those pasta aglio e olio first courses. This picture was taken by Sam, probably in 1959. I am the young and chubby 8 – year old on the right. The rest of the people from left to right are: mother Gilda, brother Carmenuccio, sister Madalena, Jim Matisse, Tuddy Matisse, Joan Steiniger (hidden), brother Simone (Junior), me, and sister Adelina.

Pears in Red Wine

Pere al Vino Rosso
Pears were Wally’s favorite fruit. One day while we were in Whole Foods, he noticed some cooked pears at the deli counter – he asked me why I didn’t make them. I told him that they were real easy to make and that even he could make them if he wanted to. That was what got me started with preparing pears in red wine. I think you’ll like them, too. The wine gives them a rich flavor you won’t forget.
Ingredients for 4:
4 pears (if possible, small red ones in season)
1 bottle of red wine
1 T whole cloves
1/3 c sugar
Whipped cream for topping, if desired (Wally’s “schlog”)
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Wash pears and place whole in deep baking dish. Cover with wine, cloves, and sugar. Cover and bake for about 60 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Add 1 cup of cooking liquid to skillet. Simmer on high flame for about 30 minutes or until liquid becomes syrupy.
Pour over pears and serve with Wally’s schlog if desired.
Buon appetito!