| A User-Friendly Italian Cookbook (Recipes) |
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January 28, 2002 -- Roasted root vegetables are not only delicious but also one of the healthiest dishes you can eat. (SHNS photo courtesy arttoday.com)
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By Marty Meitus
Scripps Howard News Service Although Lidia Matticchio Bastianich was a young child when her family immigrated to the United States, she remembers every detail of her grandmother's farm in Italy. "I think because I never got to say goodbye to my grandmother or my friends, so I think I remember everything vividly," she says. Now in her mid-50s, Bastianich has put those memories to work. She's a successful cookbook author, host of two popular cooking shows on PBS and restaurateur with Felidia's, Becco and Esca in New York City and Lidia's Kansas City and Lidia's Pittsburgh. She was in Denver recently to promote Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen, her newest cookbook. Bastianich was born in 1947 in Istria, the part of Italy given to Yugoslavia after World War II, putting the area behind the Iron Curtain. She and her family fled to Trieste, where they had family. They were forced to live in a refugee camp rather than with family while they waited to immigrate to the United States. Bastianich remembers her first American food experience after they arrived in New York -- at the Horn and Hardart automat. "It was the first time I had grapefruit and Jell-O and peanut butter and tapioca and white bread." Eventually they were relocated to New Jersey, where her father found work as a mechanic and her mother became a piece-maker for clothing manufacturer Evan Picone. The family settled finally in Astoria, in Queens, N.Y., where Bastianich began working in a bakery while attending high school. While in college and working at a restaurant, she met her husband-to-be, a maitre d'. She dropped out of college after two years; they were married, and in 1971 they opened a restaurant. The restaurant, Buonavia, was in Forest Hills and specialized in Italian-American food, the food that Bastianich had observed was the food most people knew. In her book, Bastianich says: "I was still puzzled at how different the food was from what we prepared and served at home. Most of the ingredients -- tomatoes, cheese, dry pasta and fresh pasta -- were familiar, but finished dishes like veal parmigiana, for example, was a dish I did not recall eating in Italy." They hired an Italian-American chef, and Bastianich became sous-chef, eventually working in the dishes of her childhood, the risottos, the polenta, and the gnocchi, which became popular with customers. Six years later, they opened a second restaurant, selling both of them in 1981 to open Felidia in Manhattan. Her grandmother, whose Italian home served as a small restaurant, had made her own olive oil and wine and taught Bastianich the essence of bringing food from the farm to the table. Her aunt had been a professional cook in Italy, and Bastianich would help her with the presentation of the food. All her experiences seem to have propelled her toward success in the food world. "I don't think it's chance" that you end up with a love of food, Bastianich said. "You have it in you and it pulls you to the table. This was preparation for that moment." Although she preached the gospel of the true Italian cuisine, she came to realize that there was nothing wrong with Italian-American food. The recipes in the new cookbook are very user-friendly, with dishes as diverse as spaghetti and meatballs (something she never saw combined in Italy) and calzones. "I think my recipes are very doable," she says. "I believe in simplicity of food, and I'd like professional chefs to come down a little and relax. If you have three or four fresh ingredients, that's all you need."
Breast of Chicken in a Light Lemon-Herb Sauce Ingredients: 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 5 oz. each)
1/2 cup fine, dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbs. chopped fresh Italian parsley
1-1/2 tsp. dried oregano, preferably the Sicilian or Greek type dried on the branch, crumbled
Salt
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock or canned reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. crushed hot red pepper
4 cloves garlic, peeled Preparation: Cut each chicken breast half in half crosswise on a diagonal, to yield 2 pieces of roughly equal size. Place 2 pieces at a time between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Pound gently with the flat side of a meat mallet or the bottom of a small, heavy saucepan to flatten them slightly, to about 1/2-inch thick. Toss the bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of the chopped parsley, 1/2 teaspoon of the oregano, and salt to taste together in a bowl until blended. Spread 1 teaspoon of bread crumb mixture over each piece of chicken, reserving the remaining crumbs. Roll each chicken piece into a compact shape, with the bread crumbs running in a spiral through the center, and fasten securely with a toothpick. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Arrange the filled chicken breasts side by side in a 13-by-9-inch, preferably flameproof, baking dish. (There should be some space between the pieces of chicken.) Stir the wine, stock, lemon juice, hot pepper, the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, the remaining teaspoon of oregano, and salt to taste together in a small bowl. Pour into the baking dish. Whack the garlic cloves with a flat side of a knife and scatter them among the chicken pieces. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Top the chicken with the remaining bread crumb mixture. Return to the oven and bake until the bread crumb topping is golden brown, about 5 minutes. If the roasting pan is flameproof, place it directly over medium-high heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons parsley and bring the pan juices to a boil. Boil until lightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. (If the roasting pan is not flameproof, transfer the chicken rolls to a warm platter and pour the juices into a skillet before bringing them to a boil.) Remove the garlic cloves, or leave them in if you like. Gently transfer the chicken pieces to plates with a slotted spoon. Pull the toothpicks from the chicken without loosening the bread crumb topping. Pour the sauce around, not over, the chicken pieces, and serve immediately. Servings: 4
Roasted Root Vegetables 3 medium leeks
2 large parsnips (about 8 oz.), peeled and cut into 3" lengths
3 large carrots (about 8 oz.), peeled and cut into 3" lengths
2 large, outer celery stalks, trimmed and cut into 3" lengths
6 small red or white new potatoes (about 1/2-lb.), cut in half
3 small yellow onions, peeled and cut in half through the core
20 large cloves garlic, peeled
3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper Preparation: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Trim the dark-green leaves from leeks and cut the whites in half lengthwise. Trim the root ends of the leeks, leaving enough of the root core intact to hold the leek halves together. Rinse the leek halves under cold water, separating the layers to rinse out any grit from between them. Toss all the vegetables together with the garlic, olive oil and rosemary in a large bowl until the vegetables are coated with oil. Season generously with salt and pepper and toss again. Turn the vegetables into a 13-by-9-inch (or equivalent-size) roasting pan and roast until they are tender and well browned, about 1 hour. Remove the pan from the oven and stir the vegetables gently several times while they roast, so they cook and brown evenly. Note: Parsnips can vary greatly in width from stem end to tapered end. If the tops of your parsnips are very wide, cut them in half lengthwise after cutting them into 3-inch lengths. Servings: 6
Pizza Margherita Made with Fresh Tomatoes and Sliced Mozzarella Pizza dough: (see recipe)
3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse cornmeal
2 large ripe tomatoes, cored and sliced 1/4-inch thick
3/4 lb. fresh mozzarella, sliced 1/4-inch thick
Salt
20 fresh basil leaves, cut into very thin strips Preparation: Prepare the pizza dough, dividing into 4 portions after the first rising. When the dough has risen for the second time, preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Roll or stretch each dough ball out to about a 12-inch circle about 1/4-inch thick, with a slightly thicker border around the edge. Brush each circle lightly with some of the olive oil. Working with one circle of dough at a time, sprinkle a pizza peel or a flat baking sheet generously with the cornmeal. Place the dough on top and arrange alternately slices of tomato and mozzarella to cover the dough, leaving a thin border around the edge. Do not cover the tomatoes with cheese to avoid making the crust soggy. Sprinkle the pizza lightly with salt and scatter some of the basil over it. Drizzle a little of the remaining olive oil over the cheese. Bake the pizzas on a stone, in a skillet or on cookie sheets, as directed. Note: To bake on a pizza stone, place the oven rack in the lowest position, center the pizza stone on it and preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Pull the oven rack out partially and carefully slide the pizza onto the stone. You do not want the pizza to overhang the stone. Push the rack back in, close the oven and bake until the pizza is golden brown underneath, and the cheese is melted, about 8 minutes. To bake without a pizza stone: Choose a heavy 12-inch skillet with a heatproof handle -- cast iron is ideal. Lightly oil the bottom of the skillet, place the dough circle in the skillet and arrange the toppings over the dough. Place skillet on the bottom rack of the oven. Alternately, bake on a cornmeal-sprinkled preheated cookie sheet. Pizzas will take 10 to 12 minutes.
Pizza Dough Ingredients: 1 tsp. active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
3 cups all-purpose flour, and more as needed
1-1/2 tsp. salt
Olive oil Preparation: Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water (110 to 115 degrees) and let stand until dissolved. Toss the flour and salt together and stir into the dissolved yeast, using a wooden spoon or your fingers, until you have a stiff dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead 5 to 10 minutes, adding flour as needed to prevent sticking, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turn the dough to coat all sides with oil, and cover with a damp cloth. Set the bowl in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in volume, about 1-1/2 hours. Punch down the dough and divide dough into number of portions called for in the recipe. Place the dough balls on a lightly oiled baking sheet and cover with a piece of plastic wrap pressed directly against the dough. Refrigerate until the dough is roughly doubled in bulk. This can take from 12 to 24 hours. Punch down the dough and continue with the recipe.
(Contact Marty Meitus of the Rocky Mountain News at www.rockymountainnews.com .)
RESOURCES :
Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen
Model: 037541150X
Author: Lidia Matticchio Bastianich
(2001)
To order this title from Amazon.com, click here.
Random House (Alfred A. Knopf Inc., Villard Books, Times Books, Shambhala Publications, Ballantine B
Westminster, MD 21157
Phone: 410-848-1900
Fax: 800-659-2436
Email: customerservice@randomhouse.com
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