Molto Gusto_ Easy Italian Cooking - Mario Batali [58]
ROBIOLA There are two main types of robiola. Robiola di Piemonte is the name given to a category of soft creamy cheeses that may be made with cow’s, goat’s, or sheep’s milk. These are rindless fresh cheeses that are allowed to age for about a week or so. Robiola di Piemonte is usually formed into cubes or disks and packaged in wax-coated paper. Robiola di Lombardia—rarely available here—has a reddish-brown rind and a much stronger flavor. The Piemonte is the type you want for the recipe on Insalata; look for it at a specialty market or good cheese shop.
SALT There are now dozens of brands of great salt in the market. At Otto, we use Maldon sea salt in most dishes. Harvested along England’s Atlantic coast, Maldon sea salt is a high-quality flaky sea salt with a delicate briny taste. Look for it in gourmet markets and some supermarkets. I also like sea salt from Sicily, both fine and coarse. I use the coarse salt, with its large, chunky grains, for finishing meat and fish, as well as for sprinking on focaccia and other flat-breads.
SEMOLINA Semolina is ground from durum wheat, a hard wheat high in protein. It comes in both coarse and fine grinds; fine semolina is sometimes referred to as semolina flour. Semolina is used to make pasta and a version of gnocchi; it is also sometimes used in tortas or other desserts.
SOFFRITTO Soffritto is the flavoring basis of innumerable Italian sauces and other dishes, and it is found in many Mediterranean and Latin cuisines as well (the Spanish spelling is sofrito). It’s typically a mixture of finely chopped onions and garlic, often with celery and/or carrots, and sometimes prosciutto or pancetta, which is sautéed gently in olive oil before the remaining ingredients are added. Soffritto is sometimes referred to as battuto.
SUNCHOKES Also called Jerusalem artichokes, sunchokes are small pale brown tubers with sweet, slightly nutty-tasting flesh. Despite their name, they have nothing to do with globe artichokes or with Jersusalem. In fact, they are related to the sunflower, and it’s likely that their name comes from girasole, the Italian word for that flower—despite the fact that they are actually a North American native. Look for sunchokes at farmers’ markets and specialty produce markets. Their season runs from fall into spring, although you may find them at other times of the year. Some varieties are very knobby, others are smooth—the smooth ones are easier to clean. They can be eaten raw or cooked, and it is not necessary to peel their thin skins (though you may choose to do so)—just scrub them well.
TOMATOES A perfectly ripe tomato is a beautiful thing. Unfortunately, tomatoes need to ripen slowly under a hot sun and have a short season. So, while a fresh tomato sauce made with ripe tomatoes may be perfect in the summer, it is always better to use high-quality canned or packaged tomatoes during the off-season. I like two types: Pomì, packaged in shelf-stable pint containers, and canned San Marzano tomatoes.
Pomì tomatoes, sold in most grocery stores, are simply delicious. You can buy them either chopped or strained (pureed); I often use the strained tomatoes for topping a pizza when I don’t have a homemade sauce on hand, and, in fact, we use these for our Otto pizzas. Pear-shaped San Marzano tomatoes are a type of Roma, or plum, tomato. The real thing is grown only in San Marzano, near Mount Vesuvius, outside of Naples. They are available here in specialty markets and some supermarkets (check the label carefully to make sure they are real San Marzanos from Italy). I recommend buying these canned tomatoes and crushing them by hand for sauces, rather than buying crushed canned tomatoes.
Sources
ARTHUR AVENUE CATERERS
2344 Arthur Avenue, Bronx, NY 10458
866-2-SALAMI (272-5264); 718-295-5033
www.arthuravenue.com
Cured meats, specialty items, and cheeses
BIANCARDI MEATS
2350 Arthur Avenue, Bronx, NY 10458
718-733-4058
Fresh meat, game, and house-cured meats
CITARELLA
2135 Broadway, New York, NY 10023
212-874-0383
www.citarella.com