Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [278]
Note The concentrated flavor of this walnut cake makes a modest slice amply satisfying. It goes perfectly with tea or coffee in the morning or afternoon. If served after dinner, it should be topped with freshly whipped cream.
A Farm Wife’s Fresh Pear Tart
THIS TENDER, FRUITY CAKE has been described as being so simple that only an active campaign of sabotage could ruin it. It is indeed simple, but the choice of pears will considerably affect its flavor. It is not half so appealing when made with Bartlett pears as it is when made with a winter variety such as the Bosc or the Anjou. In Italy one would choose a long, slim brownish yellow pear known as Conferenza.
For 6 servings
2 eggs
¼ cup milk
1 cup granulated sugar
Salt
1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 pounds fresh pears
A 9-inch round cake pan
Butter for greasing the pan and dotting the cake
½ cup dry, unflavored bread crumbs
OPTIONAL: 1 dozen cloves
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Beat the eggs and milk together in a bowl. Add the sugar and a tiny pinch salt, and continue to beat. Add the flour, mixing it in thoroughly to produce a compact cake batter.
3. Peel the pears, cut them lengthwise in two, scoop out the seeds and core, then cut them into thin slices about 1 inch wide. Add them to the batter in the bowl, distributing them evenly.
4. Smear the pan generously with butter, sprinkle lightly with bread crumbs, then turn the pan over and give it a sharp rap against the counter to shake loose excess crumbs.
5. Put the batter into the pan, leveling it off with the back of a spoon or a spatula. Make numerous small hollows on top with a fingertip and fill them with little bits of butter. Stud with the optional cloves, distributing them at random, but apart. Place the pan in the upper third of the preheated oven and bake for 50 minutes, or until the top has become lightly colored.
6. While it is still lukewarm, carefully loosen the tart from the bottom of the pan, lift it with spatulas, and transfer to a platter. It is very nice served while still a little warm, or at room temperature.
Polenta Shortcake with Raisins, Dried Figs, and Pine Nuts
WHEN JAMES BEARD sojourned in Venice many years ago, he was fascinated by this local specialty, whose nuts and dried fruits are redolent of imperial Venice’s trading days with the Near East, and he asked me to provide the recipe.
Jim was surprised to find it contained only one egg, but it does rise to about 2 inches, which is not inconsiderable for this rich and dense dessert. It can be quite good served with a dollop or two of fresh whipped cream, but, then, what isn’t?
For 6 to 8 servings
1 cup coarse cornmeal
Salt
1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Heaping ½ cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup pignoli (pine nuts)
⅓ cup seedless raisins, preferably of the muscat variety
1 cup dried figs, cut into ¼-inch pieces
2 tablespoons butter plus more for smearing the pan
1 egg
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 cup all-purpose flour
A 9-inch round cake pan
Fine, dry, unflavored bread crumbs
1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a medium-size saucepan, then adjust heat to medium and add the cornmeal, pouring it in a thin stream. Let it run through the fingers of your partly clenched fist. With your other hand, stir constantly with a wooden spoon. When all the cornmeal is in, add the salt and the olive oil. Continue to stir for about 15 seconds until the mush thickens and pulls away from the sides of the pan when you stir it. Take off heat.
3. To the cornmeal mush add the sugar, pine nuts, raisins, figs, butter, egg, and fennel seeds, and mix thoroughly to combine all ingredients uniformly. Add the flour, and mix well to form a smoothly amalgamated cake batter.
4. Smear the cake pan with butter, sprinkle lightly with bread crumbs, then turn the pan over tapping it against the counter