Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [264]
Ahead-of-time note Baked beets taste best the day they are done, served still faintly warm from the oven. But they are very nice even if they must be kept a day or two. Refrigerate them whole, with the skin on, in a tightly sealed plastic bag. Take out of the refrigerator in sufficient time for them to come to room temperature before serving.
Beet Tops Salad
THE FRESHNESS of the stems and leaves is very short lived, and they should be cooked and eaten the day you buy them, if possible. You could make a nice mixed salad, combining the boiled tops with the sliced, baked beets. Or, you could put away the less perishable raw beet bulbs for two or three days and have just the tops in a salad while these are still fresh.
For 4 servings
The stems and leaves from 3 or more bunches raw beets
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
Note If you are serving the tops and the sliced beets together, substitute vinegar for lemon juice.
1. Pull the leaves from the stems. Snap the stems into 2 or 3 pieces, pulling away any strings as you do so. Wash both the stems and the leaves in cold water.
2. Bring 3 to 4 quarts water to a boil, add salt, and as soon as it boils again put in just the stems. After 8 minutes or so—a little longer if the stems are rather thick—put in the leaves. They are done when tender to the bite, about 5 minutes or less. Drain well, shaking off all moisture.
3. When they have cooled down, but are still slightly warm, toss with salt, olive oil, and a dash of lemon juice. Serve at once.
Warm Cauliflower Salad
For 6 or more servings
1 head cauliflower, about 2 pounds, cooked as described
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil
Choice quality red wine vinegar
Note If you cannot use the entire head as salad, season only as much as you need to, and save the rest. It can be refrigerated and used a day or two later to make Gratinéed Cauliflower with Butter and Parmesan Cheese, Gratinéed Cauliflower with Béchamel Sauce, Fried Cauliflower Wedges with Egg and Bread Crumb Batter, or Fried Cauliflower with Parmesan Cheese Batter.
1. Drain the cauliflower when tender, but still slightly firm, and before it cools, detach the florets from the head, dividing all but the smallest into two or three pieces.
2. Put the florets in a serving bowl, and season liberally with salt, olive oil, and vinegar. Cauliflower needs ample quantities of all three. Toss gently so as not to mash the florets, taste and correct for seasoning, and serve at once.
Italian Potato Salad
IN TAKING the measure of a good home cook, many Italians might agree that among the criteria there would have to be the quality of the potato salad. Not that there is any mystery about what goes into it: It’s just potatoes, salt, olive oil, and vinegar. No onions, eggs, mayonnaise, herbs, or other curiosities. But the choice of potatoes has to be right. Their flesh must be waxy smooth and compact, not crumbly; their color when cooked, warm and golden, like that of maize or country butter; their flavor fresh, sweet, and nutty, with no hint of mustiness. They should be boiled until fully tender, but without the least trace of sogginess. The slices must come off the potatoes whole, without breaking apart. They must be splashed with good wine vinegar when they are still hot so that they can soak up the aroma while their heat softens the vinegar’s acetic edge.
For 4 to 6 servings
1½ pounds waxy, boiling potatoes, either new or mature, and all of a size
Choice quality red wine vinegar
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil
1. Wash the potatoes in cold water. Put them in a pot with their skins on and enough water to cover by at least 2 inches. Bring to a slow boil, and cook until tender, but not too soft. It should take about 35 minutes, less if you are using small, new potatoes. Refrain from prodding them too frequently with the fork, or they will become soggy, or break apart later when slicing them.
2. When done, pour out the water from the pot, but leave the potatoes in. Shake the pot over medium heat for just a few moments,