Bottega - Michael Chiarello [24]
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon julienned orange zest
1 pound sashimi-grade bigeye or sushi-grade tuna, cut into 2-inch bricks
6 salt slabs for serving, or fleur de sel for sprinkling
FOR THE SAUCE: In a large sauté pan or skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat and add the garlic. As soon as it begins to color, add the chile and sauté for 10 seconds, then get ready to add the basil leaves. Basil leaves hold water, so they’ll pop when you toss them into the hot pan. Stand back! Sauté until crispy, 1 to 2 minutes, either flipping or stirring the contents of the pan with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper, remove from the heat, and stir in the orange zest.
Cut the tuna into 1/8-inch-thick slices and fan the slices on each salt slab or chilled plate. If not using salt slabs, season lightly with the best salt you have. Top with a little of the “angry” sauce.
The Four Key Relationships in Cooking
• Your produce guy (or gal)
• Your butcher (not your meat cutter)
• Your fishmonger
• Your wine merchant
If you want to put great food on your table, these are the relationships you need to nurture. It’s not enough to recognize these people—know their names. Bring them something during the holidays. Ask their advice frequently. They’ll tell you when something’s great, they’ll help you special-order, they’ll teach you. If you don’t have a relationship with these people, you will be limited in what you can buy.
Special-ordering is always smarter than going into the store the day you’re cooking and choosing from the case. If you know you want to serve lamb to ten people, the first person to talk to is your butcher, days beforehand if possible.
Swordfish Polpettini (Swordfish Meatballs with Fisherman’s Sauce)
MAKES ABOUT 2 DOZEN POLPETTINI; SERVES 6 TO 8
One of the great ways to enjoy pricey favorites like swordfish and not break the bank is to do what the Italians do—make meatballs! One pound of swordfish, which normally feeds three or four people, can now feed eight. Not only are these meatballs a big hit at Bottega, they helped me win my first quickfire challenge on Top Chef Masters. You can serve it the way we do at Bottega, with all the bells and whistles, such as my Calabrian Mayo, or make it simple and just serve the polpettini with the Fisherman’s Sauce. This sauce is so good, you’ll turn to it often for fillets, cooked crab and shrimp, and in the brodetto.
I prefer anchovies and capers that have been salt-packed; rinse the capers and soak both anchovies and capers in cold water for 30 minutes before using. These polpettini are versatile: try skewering them like the lamb spiedini, or topping them with tomato sauce and gently baking them in the oven. They even make a good lasagna if you use béchamel without any cheese and a seafood-based tomato sauce.
You can form and refrigerate these balls the morning you plan to serve them, but give them 30 minutes to come almost to room temperature before you begin cooking them.
Wine Pairing: Nero d’Avola
FISHERMAN’S SAUCE
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
4 garlic cloves, minced
6 minced anchovy fillets, preferably salt-packed anchovies, soaked in cold water for 30 minutes, drained, and bones removed before mincing
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons capers, preferably salt-packed, rinsed and soaked in cold water for 30 minutes
Tomato Passata (see Note)
CALABRIAN MAYO
2 large egg yolks at room temperature
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil at room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoons Calabrian chile paste (see Resources), or ¼ to ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon sea salt, preferably gray salt
Freshly ground black pepper
POLPETTINI
2 pounds swordfish (preferably line caught) fillets or “trim”
2 cups Salsa Verde, plus more for garnish
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
1 large egg, beaten, plus 3 large eggs
1½ cups Dried Bread Crumbs
1 teaspoon Calabrian chile paste, or ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1½ teaspoon kosher