Italian Grill - Mario Batali [5]
You’ll need to review the specific instructions for the model you buy (and check your grill manual for additional information), but basically spit-roasted food is cooked over indirect heat in a covered grill. Generally the food should be brought to room temperature before it is grilled, since it will not be cooking at a high temperature. Be sure to set up a drip pan under the center of the rotisserie to catch the juices; you may need to pour a little water or other liquid, such as wine, into the pan to prevent the drippings from burning.
COOKING ON A PIASTRA
Cooking on a piastra is a time-honored technique throughout Italy, especially in Friuli and along the Adriatic Coast. Alla piastra essentially means cooking on a flat griddle over a hot fire, and the same method is popular throughout the Mediterranean. Cooking a la plancha is a favorite way of preparing fish in Spain, and in Greece, cooking on a satz, a sheet of metal, is centuries old. Today the free-form sheets of metal used in ancient times have mostly been replaced by griddles made of cast iron or another metal. You could use a regular stovetop griddle with a smooth surface as a piastra. These are readily available in housewares shops, some hardware stores, and online; a large rectangular griddle that fits over two burners is a good choice. An old-fashioned cast-iron pancake griddle would also work, although these are on the smaller side, or even a quarter-inch-thick slab of slate. But best of all is my piastra (see www.italian kitchen.com), which is made of thin but durable, and remarkably light, granite and, at 10 inches by 14 inches, gives you a generous cooking area.
The advantage of a piastra is that it gives you a very hot cooking surface—hot enough to make mussels dance when they are tossed onto it (see Mussels alla Piastra with Prosciutto Bread Crumbs, page 96). It’s a fun and easy way to cook many foods from shrimp (see page 101) to calamari (see page 93). I also use one to “grill-bake” flatbreads such as schiacciate (pages 76 and 79). Just be sure to give the piastra enough time to get really hot—let it preheat, covered, on the hot grill for at least 10 to 15 minutes.
FIRE-ROASTING
Fire-roasting refers to cooking in the hot coals of a wood or charcoal fire. It’s a popular method in Italy, used to cook vegetables while a large cut of meat—or even a whole pig or lamb—cooks slowly over a fire. Whole potatoes, onions, beets, or other vegetables are placed in the coals around the perimeter of the fire to roast in their skins. Big globe artichokes are a natural for this, as the inedible outer leaves char and burn away in the heat of the fire, leaving the tender inner leaves and heart, which will have essentially steamed in their own juices. To cook more delicate vegetables, such as corn, fennel, or new potatoes, wrap them individually in two layers of heavy-duty foil and place around the edges of the fire. After 20 to 30 minutes or so, depending on the vegetable, they will have an incredible, pure flavor that is almost indescribable. For a variation on the theme, add a few leaves of rosemary, summer savory, or sage and a drop or two of fragrant extra-virgin olive oil to each packet before roasting.
GRILLING YEAR-ROUND
Depending on where you live, you may be able to grill outdoors for most or all of the year. For those who live in cooler climates (and city dwellers without access to a grill when they’re not on vacation), note that most of the recipes in this book can be cooked under the broiler or on a ridged grill pan on the stovetop. Timing may vary slightly—just follow the visual clues for doneness in the recipe, and adjust the cooking time as necessary.
EQUIPMENT
Once you’ve got your grill, you don’t need a lot of