Biba's Northern Italian Cooking - Biba Caggiano [13]
With a slotted spoon, place vegetables in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Return puree to broth. Bring mixture to a boil. Remove from heat. Beat together egg yolks and cream in a small bowl. Quickly beat egg yolk mixture into hot soup. Stir in parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot with Parmesan cheese and toasted bread.
ONION SOUP ITALIAN STYLE
Zuppa di Cipolle all’Italiana
Homemade Meat Broth and top-quality Parmesan cheese are vital to the success of this soup.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
10 to 12 cups Meat Broth, page 22
6 tablespoons butter
8 large onions, thinly sliced
⅓ cup brandy
½ cup all-purpose flour
12 thick slices Italian bread
1 to 1½ cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Prepare Meat Broth. Simmer broth in a large saucepan.
Melt butter in another large saucepan.When butter foams, add onions. Sauté over medium heat until pale yellow. Stir in brandy. When brandy is three-quarters evaporated, stir in flour. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in hot broth. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer 30 to 40 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Toast bread until golden on both sides. Place 2 slices toasted bread in each of 6 ovenproof soup bowls. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle each serving with a generous tablespoon Parmesan cheese. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Place briefly under preheated broiler for a golden crust. Serve immediately.
Pasta
Pasta, which has been basic to the Italian diet for centuries, is synonymous with Italy. Of course pasta is also indigenous to other countries, but nowhere in the world is the image of pasta as exciting, tempting and glorious as it is in Italy. Pasta is undoubtedly Italy’s greatest culinary asset.
I was born and raised in Bologna, a city famous for its superlative fresh pasta, and was fed a daily dose of tagliatelle, tagliolini, cappelletti, tortellini and lasagne. My mother, a superlative cook, would prepare her daily homemade pasta with the speed of sound. She would put the flour on the wooden board, make a well in the center and crack the eggs into the well. Then, with fast, experienced hands, she would mix eggs and flour and in no time at all she would produce a beautiful, soft yellow dough. She would roll the dough out with a long rolling pin into a large circular, transparent sheet, then she would cut the sheet into the chosen shape. It was a miracle, or so I thought, that with a bunch of flour and only a few eggs, something so incredibly delicious could be accomplished. By the time I was fifteen, I too knew how to make pasta by hand, even though mine lacked the silkiness and smoothness of my mother’s pasta.
On occasions we were served a dish of factory-made pasta, such as spaghetti or maccheroni, which my father would barely tolerate, having been fed all his life the homemade product. Today, he would be shocked to know that 55 million Italians use factory-made pasta on a daily basis, even in the north, since the majority of the women work outside the home and have much less time to devote to pasta making.
In this country, the image of pasta has changed drastically in the last ten years. Once a poor man’s staple, pasta has become today a very “in” food. Now that nutritionists have told us we should eat more pasta, much emphasis is spent on learning the art of pasta making. Pasta is a highly satisfying food. It is comfort food at its best. Colorful, ebullient, assertive or delicate, a few ounces of pasta with a moderate amount of sauce can generally satisfy hunger and leave you in a happy, satisfied mood.We can finally indulge in a diet of pasta, without too much guilt.
Homemade pasta and factory-made pasta are