Molto Gusto_ Easy Italian Cooking - Mario Batali [2]
From London’s Borough Market to the Boqueria in Barcelona and Rome’s Campo dei Fiori to Pike Place Market in Seattle and the Union Square Greenmarket near my home in NYC, there is the constant source of inspiration driven by the fact that the general constituency of both purveyor and customer represents everything I love about great food and its potential. The single most exciting word in food for me is geo-specificity. If I can find something that is grown close to where I buy it (and plan on eating it), and it tastes like the smell of the wind on a rainy day in May or July or September, I have found something unique.
The recipes in this chapter are based on things we can find at our greenmarket in New York City, and they are generally so simple that I can for the first time put several recipes on a single page. (This is a new format for me and maybe for you too.) As usual, the best thing to do is go to the market and find the finest stuff, buy it, and bring it home. Then peruse the books you have—including this one—and find the simplest recipe you can for those ingredients. And then? Cook them and eat them with your friends and family!! It is the Italian way and the French way and the Spanish way and the Chinese way—I could go on and on describing the best food cultures from antiquity to the present. A series of four or five of these dishes might be a light snack or a brunch. Add a plate or two of salumi and cheeses, and you have a party. Add some of our fabulous homemade pizzas and a couple of pastas, followed by some gelati, and you have a bona-fide feast!
We have organized the recipes by season for the simple reason that that is how we think about all food, when it is at its most delicious, and most abundant, and least expensive. One of the great things about these vegetable dishes is that you can make just about all of them in advance and let them sit in the fridge overnight, or even for two or three nights (though if you are planning to make them ahead of time, it’s really best if you do not add the acidic component of the dressing—e.g., vinegar, citrus juice, etc.—until shortly before serving them). In fact, most of them will get even better as the flavors marry whilst mingling in the darkness.
Radishes
WITH BUTTER DRESSING
Fresh Fava Beans
WITH RICOTTA SALATA
Shaved Asparagus
WITH PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO
Artichokes with Grana Padano
Chickpeas with Leeks
Spring Peas with Mint
Spring Peas with Mint
SERVES 6
2 pounds peas in the pod, shelled, or 2 cups fresh peas
1 medium red onion, cut into dice about the same size as the peas
½ bunch fresh mint, leaves removed and torn into 2 or 3 pieces each
¼ cup Red Wine Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Maldon or other flaky sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper
Combine the peas, onion, and mint in a medium bowl and toss with the vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper and serve, or let stand at room temperature for 1 hour to bring out the flavors. (The peas can be refrigerated for up to 1 day; bring to room temperature before serving.)
RED WINE VINAIGRETTE
MAKES 1 CUP
¼ cup red wine vinegar, preferably Chianti
¼ cup sparkling water
½ cup extra virgin olive oil, preferably Ligurian
Whisk the vinegar, water, and olive oil together in a small bowl. (The vinaigrette can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.)
Fresh Fava Beans with Ricotta Salata
SERVES 6 · PHOTO VEGETABLE ANTIPASTI
2 pounds young fava beans in the pod, shelled
Scant ¼ cup Lemon Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Maldon or other flaky sea salt
A 3-ounce chunk of ricotta salata for grating
Coarsely ground black pepper
If the fava beans are young and tender, there is no need to peel them. It not, blanch the beans in a medium pot of boiling salted water for 30 seconds, just to loosen the skins. Drain, transfer to an ice bath to cool, and drain again. To peel the favas, pinch open the skin at one end of each