Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [59]
4. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the broccoli florets to a plate and set aside. Do not discard the oil from the pan.
5. Put the broccoli stalks into a food processor, run the steel blade for a moment, then add all the oil from the pan plus 1 tablespoon of the water in which the broccoli had been blanched. Finish processing to a uniform purée.
6. Put the puréed stalks into a soup pot, add the broth, and bring to a moderate boil. Add the pasta or the cooked barley. Cook at a steady, gentle boil until the pasta is tender, but firm. Depending on the thickness and freshness of the pasta, it should take about 10 minutes. You will probably need to dilute the soup as it cooks, because it tends to become too dense. To thin it out use some of the reserved water in which the broccoli had been blanched. Take care not to make the soup too runny.
7. While the pasta is cooking, separate the floret clusters into bite-size pieces. As soon as the pasta is done, put in the florets, continue cooking for about 1 minute, add the chopped parsley, and stir. Taste and correct for salt, and serve the soup promptly with the grated Parmesan on the side.
Passatelli—Egg and Parmesan Strands in Broth
WHERE THE PROVINCE of Bologna stops, traveling southeast toward the Adriatic, the territory known as Romagna begins. A style of cooking is practiced here that, while it may bear a superficial resemblance to the Bolognese, holds more dear such values as lightness and delicacy. This simplest of soups is a good example of that approach and those virtues.
In Romagna a slightly concave, perforated disk with handles is used to produce the passatelli strands from the egg and Parmesan mixture, but it is possible to duplicate the result fairly closely using that essential tool of an Italian kitchen, a food mill.
For 6 servings
7 cups Basic Homemade Meat Broth
¾ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, plus additional cheese at the table
⅓ cup fine, dry, unflavored bread crumbs
Whole nutmeg
The grated peel of 1 lemon
2 eggs
Note The flavor of good homemade meat broth is so vital to this soup that no commercial substitute should be used.
1. Bring the broth to a steady, slow boil in an uncovered pot. In the meantime, combine the grated Parmesan, bread crumbs, a tiny grating—no more than ⅛ teaspoon—of nutmeg, and grated lemon peel on a pastry board or other work surface, making a mound with a well in the center. Break the eggs into the well, and knead all the ingredients to form a well-knit, tender, granular dough, somewhat resembling polenta, cooked cornmeal mush. If the mixture is too loose and moist, add a little more grated Parmesan and bread crumbs.
2. Fit the disk with large holes into your food mill. When the broth begins to boil, press the passatelli mixture through the mill directly into the boiling broth. Keep the mill as high above the steam rising from the pot as you can. Cook at a slow, but steady boil for 1 minute or 2 at the most. Turn off the heat, allow the soup to settle for 4 to 5 minutes, then ladle into individual plates or bowls. Serve with grated Parmesan on the side.
Stuffed Lettuce Soup
EASTER on the Italian Riviera is a time for roast baby lamb and stuffed lettuce soup. In the traditional version of this soup, the hearts of small lettuce heads are scooped out and replaced by a mixture of herbs, soft cheese, chicken, veal, calf’s brains, and sweetbreads. The much simpler version below, omitting the brains and sweetbreads, comes from a friend’s kitchen in Rapallo, and is immensely satisfying.
For 4 to 6 servings
½ pound veal, any cut as long as it is all solid meat
1 whole chicken breast, boned and skinned
4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1½ tablespoons chopped onion
1 tablespoon celery chopped very fine
1 tablespoon carrot chopped