Biba's Northern Italian Cooking - Biba Caggiano [27]
Polenta is almost never served by itself. It usually accompanies meat, poultry, fish, cheese or rich sauces. Polenta can be fried, baked, broiled or eaten simply with butter and cheese. When you make polenta, be sure to cook it over medium heat and stir it with a long-handled wooden spoon.The long handle is necessary because polenta will bubble and spit while it thickens.This may leave you with some unwanted tiny burns if you are stirring directly over the kettle.
Polenta is a satisfying food, perfect for cold winter nights, for informal dinners, robust appetites and good company.
Risotto
When I started teaching in California a few years ago, I was amazed at the number of people who had never tasted or heard of risotto. Risotto is an important part of Northern Italian cuisine and in many regions is more popular than pasta.
Risotto is produced by cooking rice in a particular way, with a technique that is uniquely Northern Italian. Italy is the greatest producer of rice in Europe. It is also one of the largest consumers. There are many kinds of risotto, made with the same technique but with different ingredients. Risotto can be made with herbs, vegetables, cheese, sausages, shellfish and many other ingredients. But what is a risotto exactly?
A risotto is rice that is first sautéed briefly with chopped onions in butter. Then enough hot chicken broth is added to cover the rice. The rice is cooked and stirred until the broth is absorbed.Then more broth is added. It is important to stir constantly or the rice will stick.This technique will produce a delicious, creamy risotto with each grain of rice tender yet firm to the bite.
Italian rice, which is thick and short-grained, is perfect for risotto. The best-known exported Italian rice is arborio. It is available in Italian groceries and gourmet shops. Short-grain California pearl rice can be used in place of Italian rice. It is similar to the rice used in Italy. Do not select short-grain rice coated with glucose and talc. It is sticky when cooked and is processed for the Asian market. Do not wash short-grain California pearl rice or any rice that you use for risotto.
Risotto should be made at the last moment or it will dry out, and reheating makes it become soft and mushy. If you have all the ingredients arranged on a tray and the broth is piping hot, it will be very simple to cook a risotto. A risotto is always served as a first course and is only rarely served with meat. One meat dish it is served with is Veal Shanks Milan Style, page 151.
In the summer of 1980, my husband and I took a gastronomical tour through Northern Italy. Wherever we went, risotto appeared on menus as often as pasta, in incredibly varied and mouthwatering concoctions.
After you have cooked several risottos, I know you will feel as I do, completely hooked on this marvelous Northern Italian dish.
BASIC POTATO DUMPLINGS
Gnocchi di Patate
Transform the humble potato into a melt-in-your-mouth dumpling.
MAKES 8 SERVINGS
8 medium potatoes, preferably russets
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon salt
2 to 2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
¼ cup butter
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350F (175C). With a fork, puncture potatoes in several places. Bake 1 hour or until tender. Remove insides of baked potatoes; discard skins. Mash hot potatoes through a ricer or food mill into a large bowl; let cool slightly.
Add egg yolk, 1 tablespoon salt and 2 cups flour; mix well. Put potato mixture on a working surface or wooden board and knead into a ball. Mixture should be soft and pliable and slightly sticky. If it is too sticky, add more flour. Lightly flour working surface and your