Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [8]
BROTH
Brodo
The broth used by Italian cooks for risotto, for soups, and for braising meat and vegetables is a liquid to which meat, bones, and vegetables have given their flavor, but it is not a strong, dense reduction of those flavors. It is not stock, as the term is used in French cooking. It is light bodied and soft spoken, helping the dishes of which it is a part to taste better without calling attention to itself.
Italian broth is made principally with meat, together with some bones to give it a bit of substance. When I make broth I always try to have some marrow bones in the pot. The marrow itself makes a delicious appetizer later on grilled or toasted bread, seasoned with Horseradish Sauce.
The finest broth is that produced by a full-scale Bollito Misto. You may be reluctant, however, to undertake making bollito misto every time you need to replenish your supply of broth. If you are an active cook, you can collect and freeze meat for broth from the boning and preparation of different cuts of veal, beef, and chicken, stealing here and there a juicy morsel from a piece of meat before it is minced for a stuffing or for a meat sauce, or before it goes into a beef or a veal stew. Do not use lamb or pork, the flavor of which is too strong for broth. Use chicken giblets and carcasses most sparingly because their flavor can be disagreeably obtrusive. When ready to make broth, enrich the assortment with a substantial fresh piece of beef brisket or chuck.
Basic Homemade Meat Broth
1½ to 2 quarts
Salt
1 carrot, peeled
1 medium onion, peeled
1 or 2 stalks celery
¼ to ½ red or yellow bell pepper, cored and stripped of its seeds
1 small potato, peeled
1 fresh, ripe tomato OR a canned Italian plum tomato, drained
5 pounds assorted beef, veal, and chicken (the last optional) of which no more than 2 pounds may be bones
1. Put all the ingredients in a stockpot, and add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Set the cover askew, turn on the heat to medium, and bring to a boil. As soon as the liquid starts to boil, slow it down to the gentlest of simmers by lowering the heat.
2. Skim off the scum that floats to the surface, at first abundantly, then gradually tapering off. Cook for 3 hours, always at a simmer.
3. Filter the broth through a large wire strainer lined with paper towels, pouring it into a ceramic or plastic bowl. Allow to cool completely, uncovered.
4. When cool, place in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight until the fat comes to the surface and solidifies. Scoop up and discard the fat.
5. If you are using the broth within 3 days after making it, return the bowl to the refrigerator. If you expect to keep it any longer than 3 days, freeze it as described in the note below.
How to keep broth It is safe to keep broth in the refrigerator for a maximum of 3 days after making it, but unless you are certain you will use it that quickly, it is best to freeze it. It’s impossible to overemphasize how convenient it always is to have frozen broth available. The most practical method is to freeze it in ice-cube trays, unmold it as soon as it is solid, and transfer the cubes to airtight plastic bags. Distribute the cubes among several containers, so that when you are going to use the broth you will open only as many bags as you need.
CAPERS
Capperi
Capers are the blooms, nipped while they are still tightly clenched buds, of a plant whose spidery branches hug stone walls and rocky hillsides throughout much of the Mediterranean region. Capers are used abundantly in Sicilian cooking, but no Italian kitchen should be without them. They have their assigned place in many classic preparations, in sauces for pasta, meat, fish, in stuffings, and their sprightly, pungent, yet not harsh flavor makes them one of those condiments that readily support the improvisational,