Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [239]
2. In a separate basin soak the cime di rapa in exactly the same manner.
3. Pull off and discard the darkest outer leaves of the Savoy cabbage. Cut off the butt end of the stem, and cut the head into 4 parts.
4. Bring 3 to 4 quarts water to a boil, add 1 tablespoon salt, and put in the cime di rapa. Put a lid on the pot, setting it ajar, and cook until tender, about 8 to 12 minutes, depending on the green’s freshness and youth. Drain and set aside. Refill the pot with fresh water, and if using Swiss chard, cook it in the same manner. After draining the chard, refill the pot and cook the cabbage using the same procedure, except that you must omit the salt. Cook the cabbage until the thickest part of the head is easily pierced by a fork, about 15 to 20 minutes.
5. If using spinach, cook it in a covered pan with ½ tablespoon salt and just the moisture that clings to its leaves from the soak. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes or more, depending on the spinach. Drain and set aside.
6. Gently but firmly squeeze all the moisture you can out of all the greens. Chop them together to a rather coarse consistency.
7. Put the oil and garlic in a large saute pan, and turn on the heat to medium. Cook and stir the garlic until it becomes colored a very pale gold, then put in all the chopped greens. Add salt and pepper and turn them over completely 3 or 4 times to coat them well. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, turning the greens frequently. Taste and correct for salt. Serve promptly.
Ahead-of-time note You can cook and prepare the greens up to this point several hours in advance of the time you are going to serve them. Do not keep overnight, and do not refrigerate.
Braised Leeks with Parmesan Cheese
A FAVORITE with Italians from Roman times and earlier, the leek is often a part of soups, or of the vegetable background of some meat dishes. But this subtle relative of onion and garlic has merits enough to deserve a featured role, as in the preparation described below. As a tasty variant, you can follow exactly the same procedure using scallions in place of leeks.
For 4 servings
4 large OR 6 medium leeks
3 tablespoons butter
Salt
3 tablespoons freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1. Pull off any yellow or withered leaves from the leeks. Trim away the roots from the bulbous end. Do not cut off the green tops. Cut each leek lengthwise in two. Wash the leeks very thoroughly under cold running water, spreading the tops with your hands to make sure any hidden bits of grit are washed away.
2. Put the leeks in a pan just broad or long enough so that they can lie flat and straight. Add the butter, salt, and enough water to cover, put a lid on the pan, and turn on the heat to medium low. Cook until the thickest part of the leeks feels tender when prodded with a fork, about 15 to 25 minutes, depending on the vegetable’s youth and freshness. Turn them from time to time while they cook.
3. When done, uncover the pan, turn the heat up to high, and boil away all the watery juices in the pan. In the process the leeks should become lightly browned. Before removing from heat, add the grated Parmesan, turn the leeks over once or twice, then transfer to a warm platter and serve at once.
Smothered Boston Lettuce with Pancetta
For 4 servings
1½ pounds Boston lettuce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ cup onion chopped fine
⅓ cup pancetta chopped fine
Salt
1. Detach all the leaves from the lettuce heads, saving the hearts to use raw in a salad. Soak the leaves in a basin filled with cold water. Scoop up the lettuce, empty out the water together with any soil, refill the basin with fresh cold water, and put the leaves back in to soak. Repeat the operation several times until you find