Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [78]
1. Put the shallot or onion into a saucepan together with all the butter and oil, and turn on the heat to medium. Cook and stir the shallot or onion until it becomes colored a pale gold. Add the strips of pancetta or ham, and cook for 1 or 2 minutes, stirring from time to time.
2. Add the cut-up tomatoes with their juice, the reconstituted mushrooms, the strained liquid from the mushroom soak, salt, and several grindings of pepper. Adjust heat so that the sauce bubbles at a gentle, but steady simmer. Cook in the uncovered pan for about 40 minutes, until the fat and the tomato separate, stirring occasionally.
3. After tossing the pasta with the sauce, serve with freshly grated Parmesan on the side.
Mushroom Sauce with Ham and Tomato
For 4 to 6 servings
¾ pound fresh white mushrooms
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly mashed
⅓ cup boiled unsmoked ham cut into very narrow julienne strips, ⅛ inch wide or less
A small packet OR 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, reconstituted
Filtered water from the mushroom soak
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1 cup canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, chopped fine, with their juice
1 pound pasta
Recommended pasta Short shapes of factory-made pasta: maccheroncini, penne, ziti, conchiglie, or fusilli.
1. Wash the fresh white mushrooms very rapidly under cold running water. Pat them thoroughly dry with a soft towel and cut them into very thin lengthwise slices, leaving the caps attached to the stems.
2. Put the oil and mashed garlic cloves into a large sauté pan and turn on the heat to medium high. Cook and stir the garlic until it becomes colored a light nut brown, then remove it from the pan.
3. Add the ham strips, stir once or twice, then add the reconstituted porcini mushrooms and their filtered water. Cook at lively heat until all the mushroom liquid has evaporated.
4. Add the fresh mushrooms, the chopped parsley, salt, and a few grindings of pepper. Stir for about half a minute, add the tomatoes and their juice, and stir thoroughly once again to coat all ingredients. Adjust the heat so that the sauce bubbles at a steady pace in the uncovered pan, and cook for 25 minutes or so until the oil separates and floats free.
Note Do not expect the fresh mushrooms to be firm; they are being cooked in the manner of porcini and, like porcini, they will be very tender when done.
Eggplant Sauce with Tomato and Red Chili Pepper
For 4 servings
About 1 pound eggplant
Salt
Vegetable oil for frying the eggplant
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1½ teaspoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1¾ cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
Chopped hot red chili pepper, to taste
1 pound pasta
Recommended pasta No other shape carries this sauce as well as spaghettini, thin factory-made spaghetti.
1. Trim and slice the eggplant, steep it in salt, and fry it. Set aside to drain on a cooling rack or on a platter lined with paper towels.
2. Put the olive oil and garlic in a saucepan, and turn on the heat to medium. Cook and stir the garlic until it becomes lightly colored. Add the parsley, tomatoes, chili pepper, and salt, and stir thoroughly. Adjust heat so that the sauce simmers steadily but gently, and cook for about 25 minutes, until the oil separates and floats free.
3. Cut the fried eggplant into slivers about ½ inch wide. Add to the sauce, cooking it another 2 or 3 minutes, while stirring once or twice. Taste and correct for salt and hot pepper.
Ahead-of-time note You can fry the eggplant a day or two in advance of making the sauce, or make the entire sauce in advance and refrigerate it for up to 3 or 4 days before reheating.
Eggplant and Ricotta Sauce, Sicilian Style
For 6 servings
About 1 to 1½ pounds eggplant
Salt
Vegetable oil
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup onion sliced very thin
1½ teaspoons chopped garlic
2 cups fresh, ripe Italian plum tomatoes, skinned with a peeler,