Bottega - Michael Chiarello [78]
Meanwhile, heat a large sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat and add the remaining 1/3 cup olive oil. Carefully (because it will spatter), add the 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon sea salt. Bring to a boil, add the beans, and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, or until tender. Add more water if the pan looks dry.
Squeeze the tomatoes between your fingers right into the pan with the beans and add the tomato juice. Return to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and simmer for another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve with any roasted meat, fish, or poultry or as a late-night sandwich—beans spooned between two slices of country bread.
Sautéed Spinach with Preserved Meyer Lemon
SERVES 6
Spinach is good for you, but when’s the last time you were excited when someone set a bowl of sautéed greens in front of you? The preserved lemon will change your attitude. It has a bright, wake-you-up lemon flavor that adds just the right contrast, and the tiny squares of lemon pop visually against the dark green of the spinach. This spinach is great beside a rich meat like pork shanks or short ribs. You can use this same method with mustard greens, kale, or any cooking green. There’s nothing that can go wrong with this dish as long as it’s cooked long enough: keep the heat down and continue to cook until the spinach is dark and tender. Squeeze on fresh lemon juice right before serving.
I never buy prewashed spinach, even to cook at home. People grumble about washing spinach, but I don’t mind it. (I know what you’re thinking, but at home I am the sous-chef.) Spinach-washing just takes a lot of water and a swift hand.
Spinach takes more salt than other veggies, so taste and don’t be afraid to add more. When you blanch the spinach, reserve some of the water to add back at the end if the dish needs a little more moisture.
2 tablespoons kosher salt
6 pounds fresh spinach, stemmed and rinsed
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
Sea salt, preferably gray salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1½ tablespoons minced Preserved Meyer Lemons
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes or ½ teaspoon Calabrian chile paste (optional)
Juice of ½ fresh lemon
Add the kosher salt to a pot with 1½ gallons of water and bring to a boil over high heat. While the water heats, prepare a large ice bath, half ice and half water. Add the spinach to the boiling water and stir to make sure every leaf is submerged. When the water returns to a boil, cook for 4 minutes more. Reserve about 1 cup of the water and then drain in a colander. Press the excess water out with a ladle, and then transfer the spinach to the ice bath, pressing it under to stop the cooking. Remove it from the ice bath and with your hands make a ball of the spinach and squeeeeeze until you’ve made a spinach hardball. Transfer the spinach ball to a cutting board and cut into 1/2-inch slices. Pull apart with your hands.
Heat a large sauté pan or skillet over high heat, add the olive oil, and sauté the garlic until light brown. Add the drained cooked spinach, taking care to squeeze out the water again before adding it to the pan. Season with salt and pepper.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the spinach for 2 to 3 minutes, or until it’s piping hot throughout. Taste for salt and add the preserved lemon and the red pepper flakes, if you want a spicy kick to your greens. Toss. Add a little of the reserved spinach water if you need to. Squeeze the fresh lemon over the spinach, toss, and serve.
Chapter 9
Desserts
Dolci
For me, desserts require a different emotion, a different pace, a different part of my brain. At Bottega, we always clear everything off the table—all the utensils, the salt, even the water glasses—before we bring on dessert. You don’t want a water glass that