Italian Grill - Mario Batali [8]
BLACK PEPPER Some of the recipes in this book call for a large amount of pepper, several tablespoons or so. Even if you often use a spice (or coffee) grinder for spices like cumin or fennel seeds, you may never have thought of grinding pepper this way. The spice grinder seems to release even more of the fragrant oils, and it’s quick and easy when you need a lot of ground pepper. Pepper should always be freshly ground, whether in a pepper mill or a spice grinder, so it’s best to grind just the amount the recipe calls for (though if you do have a bit left over, you can store it in a tightly sealed jar to use within a day or so).
BOTTARGA Once known as the poor man’s caviar, bottarga is the salted, pressed, and dried roe of either tuna (tonno) or gray mullet (mugine). In Sicily and Sardinia, the tradition of preserving seafood is well maintained to this day. There the long, fat roe sacs are salted and massaged by hand over a period of several weeks to preserve them. Then the roe is pressed under wooden planks weighted with stones and sun-dried for one to two months. Both types are salty, but tuna bottarga has a lively, sharp flavor, stronger than mullet bottarga. Bottarga can be shaved, sliced, chopped, or grated, and just a little can add a lot of flavor to a whole range of dishes. I love a salad of bitter greens dressed with fresh orange juice, extra-virgin olive oil, and shaved bottarga (use a Microplane grater to shave the bottarga). Keep bottarga tightly wrapped in the freezer.
BREAD CRUMBS We use bread crumbs in various forms in many dishes at our restaurants, both for coating ingredients before sautéing or frying them and in stuffings for vegetables, meat, fish, and poultry. They also make a nice crust when browned atop a dish or toasted. To make fresh bread crumbs, just grind chunks or torn slices of bread to the desired size in a food processor. We use both finer crumbs and “fat boys”—crumbs that are about ¼ inch in size, which we usually toast, sometimes in a little oil. To toast fresh bread crumbs, spread them on a baking sheet and bake in a 300°F oven for about 12 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until golden brown. To make dried bread crumbs, dry chunks or slices of fresh bread (don’t use stale bread) in a low oven, then break them up and process to crumbs of the desired size. Ready-made bread crumbs are available in the bakery department of some grocery stores and at specialty markets. The bread crumbs sold in canisters are unacceptable.
BRUSCHETTA AND CROSTINI Although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably here, bruschetta and crostini are actually different, though both are variations on a theme. The word bruschetta comes from bruscare, which means to cook over hot coals, and bruschetta (technically the plural is bruschette, but bruschetta has come to be used for both forms here) is grilled thick slices of country bread that are served warm, sometimes with no other adornment than a quick rub with a garlic clove and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Other traditional toppings include white beans seasoned with olive oil and herbs and chopped ripe tomatoes with basil. In some regions of Italy, bruschetta is called fett’unta—fetta means “sliced” and unta means “greasy,” so fett’unta is a nice greased slice of bread. Crostini are more often made from long, thin loaves of bread, such as filone, and sliced thinner. They may be toasted or fried in olive oil, and they are usually served at room temperature, topped with anything from a savory chicken liver paste to a chunky olive puree.
CAPERS/CAPER BERRIES Capers are the flower buds of a creeping shrub called Cappari spinosa that resembles something from an exotic nursery. During their very short season, the unopened flower buds are picked daily just before they open. Capers may be preserved in a vinegary brine or in salt. Packed in brine, they lose much