Rustic Italian Food: [A Cookbook] - Hardcover

Vetri, Marc; Joachim, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 158008589X ISBN 13: 9781580085892

Publisher: Ten Speed Press, 2011

Synopsis

From acclaimed Philadelphia chef Marc Vetri comes a celebration of handcrafted, regional Italian cooking that advocates a hands-on, back-to-the-basics approach to cooking.

Slow-cooked meats, homemade breads, and flavorful pastas are the traditional comfort-food classics that Italians have been roasting, baking, curing, and making in their own kitchens for generations--dishes that people actually want to cook and eat.

Home cooks of every skill level will revel in the 120 recipes, such as sweet Fig and Chestnut Bread, rich Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi, savory Slow-Roasted Lamb Shoulder, and fragrant Apple Fritters. But Rustic Italian Food is much more than just a collection of recipes. With detailed, step-by-step instructions for making terrines, dry-cured salami, and cooked sausage; a thorough guide to bread and pasta making; and a primer on classic Italian preserves and sauces, Rustic Italian Food is also an education in kitchen fundamentals.

In this book Marc Vetri connects us directly to the essence of Italian food.

About this title

Review

Featured Recipe: Semolina Gnocchi with Oxtail Ragù

Makes: 6 servings

Oxtail Ragù
21/2 pounds oxtail, trimmed of fat
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Tipo 00 or all-purpose flour for dusting
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil or olive oil
1/2 onion, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 large ribs celery, coarsely chopped
3 peeled plum tomatoes (canned are fine, preferably San Marzano)
1 cup dry red wine
3 to 4 cups beef stock or water
Sachet: 1 rosemary sprig, 5 flat-leaf parsley sprigs, 5 black peppercorns, 1 bay leaf, 1 smashed clove garlic, tied in a cheesecloth square

For the ragù: Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Season the oxtail with salt and pepper, then dust with flour. Heat the oil in a large roasting pan over medium-high heat. Add the oxtail and sear until browned all over, 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove the meat from the pan and add the onion, carrot, and celery. Cook until lightly browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the wine, stirring to dissolve the browned bits on the pan bottom. Return the meat to the pan and cook until the liquid reduces in volume by about half, 5 minutes. Add enough stock to come two-thirds of the way up the meat. Sink the sachet into the pan, cover, and cook in the oven until the meat pulls off the bone easily, 21/2 to 3 hours.

Remove the meat and sachet from the pan, then pass the sauce through a food mill or blend briefly in a food processor.

Pick all the meat from the bones (discarding any large chunks of fat) and return the meat to the sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

About the Author

Trained in Bergamo, Italy, by some of the region’s most noted chefs, Marc Vetri is the chef/owner of Vetri Ristorante, Osteria, Amis, and Alla Spina, all located in Philadelphia. Vetri was named one of Food & Wine’s Ten Best New Chefs and received the Philadelphia Inquirer’s highest restaurant rating; he also won the James Beard Award for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic. Vetri has been profiled in Gourmet, Bon Appétit, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the New York Times. Visit his restaurants online at www.vetrifamily.com
 
David Joachim has authored, edited, or collaborated on more than thirty-five cookbooks, including the IACP award-winning The Food Substitutions Bible and the New York Times bestsellers A Man, a Can, a Grill and Mastering the Grill, co-authored with Andrew Schloss. He lives in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Visit David at www.davejoachim.com.

Edition details

• Publisher: Ten Speed Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 158008589X
• ISBN 13: 9781580085892
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304