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ITALIAN RECIPES

Too Much Milk? Here Are Some Thoughts

Homemade Fresh Ricotta

Ingredients:

1 gallon whole pasteurized milk
1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt (more if you want a saltier taste and if you are not going to use it for desserts)

Preparation:

Rinse the inside of the pot you intend to use with cold water (this helps prevent the milk from scorching). Place 1 gallon milk in large, heavy non-reactive pot on medium heat. Add salt and stir briefly. Allow milk to heat up slowly, stirring occasionally.

Soon you will notice steam start to form above the surface and tiny bubbles appearing on the milk. You want it to reach 180-185 degrees, near scalding temperature, just before it comes to a boil. Check the temperature with your thermometer.
When it reaches the correct temperature, take the pot off the burner, add the vinegar and stir gently for only one minute.

Add salt. You will notice curds forming immediately.
Cover with a dry clean dish towel and allow the mixture to sit undisturbed for a couple of hours. You can also begin preparing your ricotta in the morning before going to work and let it sit until you come home.

When the ricotta has rested for 2 hours or more, take a piece of cheesecloth, dampen it and place it inside a colander. With a slotted spoon, ladle out the ricotta into the prepared colander.
Place the colander with ricotta inside of a larger pan so it can drain freely. Let it drain for two hours or so depending on how creamy or dry you want your cheese to be.
Lift the cheesecloth up by the four corners and twist gently. If the liquid runs clear, squeeze a little more. If the liquid runs milky, there is no more need to squeeze. Place in a tight sealed container. Refrigerate. It will keep for up to 7 days. Ricotta does not freeze well.
Note: It is not advisable the use of low fat or part skim milk in making the ricotta.

Risotto with Milk and Beans

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (300 g) Vialone Nano or Arborio rice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ounce (25 g) pancetta, minced
2 quarts and 1 cup milk (2 1/4 l; whole will work best)
6 spring onions, thinly sliced
1/4 pound (100 g) dried borlotti beans set to soak the night before
If you're using fresh beans figure about a third of a pound, 150 g

Preparation:

Begin by boiling the beans until tender and keeping them warm.
When they're done bring the milk to a slow boil.
Thinly slice the onions and sauté them until translucent in the butter, then add the pancetta and cook until it is beginning to brown. Scoop the seasonings out of the pan and into a bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pan, and then sauté the rice over a brisk flame for about five minutes, stirring constantly.

Return the onion and pancetta mixture to the pot, cook for another minute more, and then stir in the boiling milk and cook covered, stirring every now and again until the rice is almost done.

Stir in the cooked beans and continue cooking for a minute or two, stirring constantly.
Though the Italian version doesn't mention it, I'd season the risotto with some pepper (not much because the pancetta is spiced) when I added the beans, and serve the risotto with freshly grated Parmigiano for those who want it.
Serves 6.

Cod, Vicentina Style

Ingredients:

1 pound (500 g) cod fillets, either fresh or frozen
Flour, seasoned with salt and pepper to taste
1/2 a small onion, minced
A tablespoon of unsalted butter or olive oil
About a half cup of milk
Minced parsley as a garnish

Preparation:

If the fillets were frozen, thaw them.
Sauté the onion in the oil or butter until it begins to brown. Meanwhile, flour the fillets well. Brown the fillets on both sides, then add enough milk to partially cover them, and simmer them for 6-7
Remove the fillets to a platter and reduce the sauce. Pour the sauce over the fish, garnish it with the parsley, and serve.
Serves 4.

Pork Loin Cooked in Milk

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds (675 g) boned pork loin
2 cloves of garlic, slivered and the pieces rolled in salt and pepper
Several thin strips of lemon zest
Butcher's twine
3/4 pint (375 ml) whole milk, heated to boiling
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt & pepper

Preparation:

Begin by cutting several slits across the grain into the pork, and slipping slivers of garlic and strips of lemon zest into each. Tie the meat so it will hold its shape and dust it with salt and pepper.

Heat the oil in a pot and brown the meat on all sides, then pour the hot milk over it, reduce the heat to a simmer, and simmer uncovered until the pork is done (1 to 1 1/2 hours), turning it occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pot to keep the curds that form as a result of the interaction between lemon and milk from sticking down.

By the time the pork is done almost all the liquid should have evaporated; at this point stir the curds about often or they will burn. When the arista is cooked let it sit for a few minutes, remove the string, slice it finely, spoon the curds over the slices, and serve, with a tossed salad or spinaci rifatti and a light zesty red along the lines of a Dolcetto or a Valpolicella Classico.
Though nice hot this is also quite good cold, which means it can be made ahead, and also served in the summer months when hot foods are too much.
Serves 4-6.

Sweet Gnocchi For Dessert

Ingredients:

1 quart of milk
1 1/4 cups sifted potato starch
8 yolks
Vanilla extract to taste
3-4 level tablespoons sugar to sweeten the gnocchi (optional)

Preparation:

Mix everything together as if you were making cream, and set it to cook in a pot, stirring constantly. Continue cooking for a few minutes longer after the mixture has stiffened, then pour it out on a plate or pan so it's a finger and a half high. Cut it into squares once it has cooled. Stack the squares in a symmetrical pattern on a heat-proof dish, sprinkling them with bits of butter, and heat them through in the oven; serve hot.

Buon appetito!

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