Bottega - Michael Chiarello [6]
Sherry vinegar and verjus du Perigord also have a place in my kitchen. For varietals, such as a Sauvignon Blanc vinegar or a Cabernet vinegar, I use Katz brand both at Bottega and in my home kitchen. They’re worth seeking out (see Resources).
Chapter 1
Make Your Own
Faccia Il Vostri Propri
At Bottega, “make your own” could be an entire book. This chapter highlights the basic recipes that make so many dishes at Bottega unique. These stocks, sauces, condiments, and even prosciutto are the starting point, the mise en place that we have ready every morning before we begin cooking anything else. Most of these recipes freeze well, and on days when you’re short of time, having a few of these in your freezer is like having a trusted sous-chef on hand.
I’m a big believer in a well-stocked pantry. I think all of us hold in our very cells a sense of well-being at the sight of food preserved and ready, come what may. Set aside one weekend morning every month and devote it to stocking your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer. You’ll find yourself relying less on take-out food, you’ll eat better, and the experience of making your own pantry items will add flavor to an already tasty meal.
Cooking doesn’t have to be a solitary pursuit. Part of the joy of working in a restaurant kitchen is a camaraderie that makes work time fly. Try assembling your own kitchen crew: throw a stock-making party where three friends each brings a stockpot, one person brings the chicken, one brings the mirepoix, and so on. When you can talk and laugh as you work together, stocking your kitchen can be as satisfying as the sight of those jars and freezer containers, neatly stacked and ready for a rainy day. Most important, when you open one of those jars, you get the memories of good times spent with friends, and that can only make the food taste better.
A word about stocks and broths: I have always called liquid made with raw meat “broth” and liquid made with caramelized bones “stock”; thus the first recipe in this chapter is a basic chicken broth. The third recipe, the chicken stock we use most at Bottega, is a doubled, or rich, chicken stock, because we use broth in place of half the water. Try this at home and see how it changes your finished dish.
Faccia il Vostri Propri
Chicken Broth
Vegetable Stock
Roasted Chicken Stock
Shrimp Stock
Fish Fumet
Tuna Conserva
Salsa di Pomodoro della Nonna (My Grandmother’s Old Hen Tomato Sauce)
Salsa Verde
Blanched-Basil Pesto
Basil Oil
Smoky Paprika Oil
Duck Prosciutto
Roasted Lemons
Preserved Meyer Lemons
Crème Fraîche
Dried Bread Crumbs
Chicken Broth
MAKES ABOUT 5 QUARTS
There is an art to a well-made broth or stock. At one time, every restaurant had one person, the saucier, whose job it was to make the stocks and sauces the same way every day. Why is consistency important? If you want to repeat the flavors of a dish you love, you need to stay true to the details, right down to the vegetables you put in your stock. I like knowing how my stock will taste, and the only way to know is to use the same ingredients and quantities each time.
Please don’t use your stockpot as a catch-all for veggie trimmings. You don’t ever want to put a limp, sad vegetable into your stock. My rule of thumb: If I don’t want to put it in my mouth, I don’t add it to my broth. Beautiful, fresh, crisp vegetables add significant flavor, especially when they’re coarsely chopped by cutting them on the bias into ½-inch pieces, because this exposes more cut surface to the water.
To my way of thinking, the best broths and stocks