ITALIAN RECIPES
Cabbage, prince of the winter vegetables
Sausage and Savoy Cabbage Soup
Ingredients:
1 1/4 pounds Savoy cabbage, shredded and chopped
4 fresh, lean, mild sausages
3/4 cup medium-grained rice suitable for soups (Originario or Maratelli for example), or brown rice
1 1/2 quarts light broth (you don't want something too salty or too flavorful), simmering
1 medium-sized white onion, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano
Salt & pepper to taste
(Optional): 1/3 pound fontina cheese, chreddedPreparation:
Once you have minced the onion, sauté it in the oil in a pot over a moderate flame, until it becomes translucent and light golden in color. Add the shredded, chopped cabbage and a few tablespoons of broth, and continue simmering until the cabbage is tender. In the meantime boil the sausages in water for about a half hour, then drain them, peel away the skins, and use a fork to break them up. Stir them into the cabbage mixture, cook a few minutes more, and then stir everything into the boiling broth, together with the rice.
Simmer the soup until the rice is done to your taste, season the soup with salt and pepper to taste, stir in the grated cheese, and serve. This soup lends itself well to variations. For example, you could omit the sausages and use brown rice; simmer the soup in an oven proof pot, and when it's done, shred some Fontina cheese over it and run the pot under a broiler to melt the cheese.
If you use a terracotta pot, the presentation will be very pretty. The wine? A light zesty red wine along the lines of a Cabernet from the Veneto or a Tocai Rosso. Also, the soup should be thick, but not dry. In other words, there should be enough liquid so you need to eat it with a spoon. Serves 4-6.
Savoy Cabbage Flan with Pecorino Romano and Guanciale
Ingredients:
A head of Savoy cabbage, weighing about 2 1/4 pounds
1/4 pound guanciale, finely sliced
Olive oil
Salt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Shredded hot pepper to taste
Pecorino Romano, finely shredded
Warm platesPreparation:
Clean the cabbage, separate the leaves, and boil them until tender in lightly salted water. When the cabbage is almost done, heat 1/3 cup oil in a broad skillet and sauté the garlic until it turns golden.
Add the cabbage leaves and cook, stirring; season to taste with salt, pepper, and hot pepper. After a minute or two divvy the cabbage up onto the plates, lay the slices of guanciale over them, dust everything with an abundant layer of shredded Pecorino, and serve. Serves 4.
Braised Savoy Cabbage
Ingredients:
2 1/4 pounds Savoy cabbage
A small onion, finely sliced
A clove of garlic
1 3/4 cups dry red wine
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon vegetable extract (a crumbled vegetable bouillon cube will be fine)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to tastePreparation:
Free the cabbage leaves from the head, rinse them, drain them, and finely shred them. Slice the onion, and peel the garlic clove. Heat the butter in a broad deep saucepot (terracotta would be nice), and add the sliced onions.
Crush the garlic clove over the pot using a garlic crusher to add the juice from the clove to the pot. When the onion has become translucent and is beginning to color, add the cabbage and the vegetable extract. Mix well, cover, and cook over a fairly brisk flame for 5 minutes.
While the cabbage is cooking, stir the tomato paste into the wine. Add the wine to the cabbage, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer 45 minutes; shortly before the time is up raise the flame some and uncover the pot to thicken the sauce. Stir the Worcestershire sauce into the cabbage, season everything to taste with salt and pepper, and serve at once. Serves 4.
Pizzoccheri with Porcini, Savoy Cabbage, and Sage
Ingredients:
14 ounces pizzoccheri
10 ounces fresh porcini (substitute portabellas if need be)
12 ounces Savoy cabbage
4 ounces smoked scamorza (a firm smoked cheese that will melt, and is fairly pungent)
An onion
A clove of garlic
The leaves of a sprig of sage
1/2 cup unsalted butter
Hot pepper
Salt and pepperPreparation:
Trim the roots from the mushrooms, wipe the dirt off with a cloth, and slice them lengthwise. Slice the onion finely and cook it in a third of the butter over a low flame until it has wilted and become translucent; do not let it brown. Add the mushrooms and cook over a medium flame for 10 minutes.
While it's cooking wash the cabbage and cut it into thin strips. Put them in a pot with cold water to cover and bring them to a boil; salt the water, stir in the pizzoccheri, and cook the mixture for 12-15 minutes, or until they are al dente. While the pasta is cooking peel and slice the garlic, and sauté it with the sage in the remaining butter until the butter is nutty brown. Peel the skin from the smoked scamorza and slice it very finely.
Drain the pasta mixture and transfer it into a bowl. Stir in the mushroom sauce and then layer the pasta in a bowl; cover each layer with a layer of finely sliced cheese, sprinkle it with some of the melted butter, and season it with a healthy grating of pepper. Dust the top of the pasta with a little hot pepper, and serve the pizzoccheri quite hot. Serves 4.
Buon appetito!
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