Biba's Northern Italian Cooking - Biba Caggiano [7]
8 medium, red, yellow or green sweet peppers
½ cup olive oil
6 flat anchovy fillets, mashed
3 tablespoons chopped parsley or fresh basil
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Roast peppers over an open flame or under the broiler until skin is dark brown and blistered. Place peppers in a large plastic or brown paper bag and set aside 5 to 10 minutes. Peel peppers. Cut in half and remove pith and seeds. Cut peeled peppers into large strips. Pat dry with paper towels. Arrange peppers slightly overlapping on a medium platter.
In a small bowl, combine oil, anchovies, parsley or basil, garlic and salt and pepper.Taste and adjust for seasoning. Spoon anchovy dressing over peppers. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. Serve at room temperature.
GRILLED SHRIMP WRAPPED IN PROSCIUTTO
Scampi al Prosciutto di Parma
Fresh shrimp and good Italian prosciutto in a mouthwatering combination. Great for an appetizer or an entree.
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
1½ pounds medium shrimp
¼ pound thinly sliced prosciutto
¼ cup olive oil mixed with juice of 1 lemon
½ cup dry unflavored bread crumbs mixed with 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Lemon wedges
Preheat grill or broiler. Shell and devein the shrimp. Cut the prosciutto slices into 1-inch-wide and 2½-inch-long strips. Roll the prosciutto around shrimp.Thread wrapped shrimp onto 4 long metal skewers. Brush shrimp with the olive oil mixture and sprinkle them lightly with the bread crumb mixture. Put the skewers over the hot grill or under the broiler and cook about 1½ minutes or until golden. Turn skewers over and cook other side 1½ minutes or until golden. Serve hot with lemon wedges.
VEAL CARPACCIO
Carpaccio di Vitello
Veal carpaccio is more delicate than its beef counterpart. It is the perfect way to begin a multi-course meal.
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
1 pound veal eye of round
4 to 5 tablespoons olive oil, preferably extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
8 green onions, minced (white part only)
3 tablespoons capers, rinsed
3 to 4 ounces Parmesan cheese, cut into thin slivers
Freeze the meat for about 1 hour to make it easier to slice. Cut the meat into very thin slices. Put the slices between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound them lightly until they are almost transparent. Arrange the slices on individual dishes and sprinkle with oil and lemon juice. Season lightly with salt and pepper.Top with onions, capers and Parmesan cheese, and serve.
Soups
Soup is not the first item that comes to mind when you think about Italian food, but Italy has an outstanding selection of soups. Unfortunately, they have been upstaged by pasta both at home and abroad. Soup is always the first course, and it is into the first course that Italians have poured their hearts and traditions. The one Italian soup that non-Italians are familiar with is Minestrone. All too often this turns out to be a watery soup with pieces of vegetables and a few beans swimming about aimlessly in too much liquid. A soup in Italy takes on the characteristics of the region it comes from and embodies its traditions.
When I was growing up in Bologna, there was never any question of how to serve tortellini. In the classic Bolognese tradition, tortellini were always served in a rich broth. But today most people associate tortellini only with a cream sauce.Although Emilia-Romagna is the home of the very best lasagne, tortellini and tagliatelle, the traditional Sunday dinner in my family was always soup.The aroma of simmering broth filled the house by 8 A.M. Each Sunday a different kind of pasta would be cooked in the broth.
In some regions, soups are even more popular than pasta.Veneto, for example, boasts some of the best soups in Italy. Thick vegetable and bean soups are especially notable. Italian soups can be delicate and elegant.The lentil and bean soups, on the other hand, are substantial and filling. All these soups have one thing in common: a good broth.To produce a good soup, one must first produce