Category: Dr. Michele Carbone Page 1 of 3

As fall approaches I have recently been experimenting with hearty, delicious dishes that pair with polenta. After exploring a number of recipes online, I decided on a very simple combination of ingredients: sausage, pork ribs, onions, and canned tomatoes.

It is very easy to make polenta. There are 2 types I recommend: Bramata and “instant” polenta. The former is firmer and takes about 45 minutes to cook, and I like it better. Instant polenta is still good, but it is less firm and takes about 8 minutes to cook.

Ingredients

For the Ragu:

• 4 lbs. pork ribs.
• 4 – 5 Italian sausages sliced in medallions.
• 1 cup of white wine, preferably a pinot grigio.
• 1 medium red onion, chopped.
• 1 and ½ boxes of Pomï chopped tomatoes.
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed.
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil.
• 1 – 2 Calabrian red peppers, minced.
• ½ cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese. You can also use Parmigiano, but I prefer the sharper, saltier flavor of Pecorino. Both are great.
• Salt and pepper to taste

Note: This recipe for ragu serves 8 people.  If you have four people, use 250 grams of polenta and save the rest of the ragu to be used as a pasta sauce.

For the Polenta:

• 250 grams of polenta for 4 people; 500 grams of polenta for 8 people.
• Water in a ratio of 4 to 1 (1000 ml of water for 250 grams of polenta; 2000 ml of water for 500 grams of polenta)
• Salt to taste.

Preparation

Preparing the Ragu

1. In a large pot (cast-iron or enamel pot best), combine the ribs, chopped sausages, 2 cloves of smashed garlic, the hot pepper, and olive oil to cover by about ¼ inch.  Brown the meat on one side, about 3-4 minutes.  When you turn the meat over, add the chopped onion and let it saute another 3-4 minutes.
2. Add 1 cup of white wine. Turn down the heat to medium and allow the alcohol to evaporate.
3. Add the 1 and ½ boxes of Pomï tomatoes to the pot, then add salt and pepper.  Stir well.
4. Cover, and allow to cook on simer/low heat for 2 hours.
5. Remove the cover and stir. Allow some liquid to evaporate by continuing to cook on low for abut one hour or simmer/low heat.
6. Add a handful of fresh basil leaves about 15 minutes before you turn off the heat.

Preparing the Polenta

Both the Bramata and the instant polenta are prepared in the same way.

1. 500 grams of polenta, which you will let slowly fall into 2  liters of simmering water with one handful of salt in a pot. The best pot is a Paiolo pan, which made of copper and has a wooden handle. As the polenta falls in the water, mix with a whisk. Keep mixing for a minute or two.
2. Lower the heat, making sure the water does not boil, and keep mixing for a minute or two –lower the heat, be sure the water does not boil, then use a wooden spoon to continue to mix the water with the polenta,.
3. Once the polenta falls from the side of the pot and becomes a ball in the center of the pot, it is ready (45 minutes) for the Bramata. For the instant polenta, after 8 minutes it is done, no matter what.

Serving the Ragu with the Polenta

1. When the polenta is ready, pour it onto a large cutting board or serving dish, shaping it into a circle. Make an indentation in the center of the polenta, then pour the ragu onto the polenta.  Add the grated Pecorino cheese and serve.
2. Buon appetito!

Suggestion: If you cook the polenta Bramata, be sure to have a friend in the kitchen who can take turns with you mixing the polenta—and yes, you should constantly mix the polenta, this is why lazy people invented the instant polenta!

Focaccia with rosemary and sun-dried tomatoes

This is a recipe from Kitchen & Craft, with some very slight modifications.  Check out the excellent video posted on YouTube called Amazing Focaccia Bread | How to make it in 6 easy steps.

Even though there are a lot of steps in this process, each step is easy, and the results are fantastic.

Cooking Time

• 35 minutes, + start at least 12 hours in advance – for example, start the dough the evening before you plan to cook the focaccia.

Ingredients for one 9” by 13” loaf of focaccia

• Total flour:  600 grams, or 4 and ½ cups:
  You can use all-purpose flour, or a combination of all-purpose and wheat flour. In the pictured version shown here, I used 400 grams of organic all-purpose flour and 200 grams of wheat flour.
• Warm Water, 75 – 450g (2 cups)
• Coarse Sea Salt – 6g (3/4 tsp.)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil  – 20g (2 tbsp.)
• Active Dry Yeast  – 1/4 tsp
• Handful chopped sundried tomatoes (optional)

Toppings

• Fresh shredded rosemary
• Handful freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (optional)
• Coarse salt

Preparation

1. Watch the video for a quick tour of the whole process.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour and active dry yeast. Use a whisk to mix the yeast and flour.
   • If you are adding chopped sun-dried tomatoes or chopped olives, add them now and give the flour, yeast a quick mix to distribute them through the dry ingredient bowl.
3. In a separate, medium-sized bowl, combine the tepid/warm water with the salt. Stir to combine.
4. Pour the water and salt into the large bowl containing the flour, active dry yeast, and the optional sundried tomatoes or olives. With a wooden spoon, mix the combined ingredients together in the bowl for a minute or two until you have a doughy ball that is slightly damp.
5. Add the 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, then use your hands to knead the dough for a couple of minutes. You can pinch the dough with your fingers as you gently knead it together until it forms a soft, damp ball.
6. Coat another large bowl with a bit of olive oil and transfer the dough to the oiled bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and allow the ingredients to rest for a half an hour.
7. Now, for a total of 4 times, every twenty to thirty minutes, “pull” or “fold” the dough in a rotating fashion until you have rotated/folded the dough 360°. Re-cover the bowl and allow it to rest until another 20-30 minutes have passed.
8. After you’ve completed the rotation/folding process at least 4 times, re-cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, or a couple of hours before you plan to bake it, take the bowl out of the refrigerator.
9. Coat a 9” by 13” baking pan  with a layer of extra-virgin olive oil. (I have have experimented with aluminum and ceramic baking pans and have concluded that the aluminum baking pans are best, because the foccacia never sticks to the bottom).   Transfer the dough into it and gently stretch the dough evenly until it is spread through the whole pan.
10. Cover the baking pan with plastic wrap and put it into an un-heated oven with its light on. The temperature needs to be around 80- 90°F, which is generally the temperature of an oven with its light turned on. If you aren’t confident of the temperature, you can boil a small pot of water and put the steaming pot into the bottom of the oven beneath the bread. Leave the dough to proof for about an hour. This is the second proof.
11. Remove from the oven, take of the plastic wrap, and with wet fingers, gently press into the dough to dimple it. Re-cover with plastic wrap and pop it into the unheated oven for another 45 minutes.
12. Take it out of the oven. Bring the oven to 450° F. While the oven is pre-heating, you can finish the focaccia dough by sprinkling the top with fresh rosemary leaves. Add some sea salt on top and then sprinkle some olive oil over the entire surface (I use a plastic squeeze bottle to spread the olive oil evenly).
13. Put the dough into the pre-heated oven. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
14. Remove from the oven and put the hot pan onto the top of the stove or a rack. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then gently remove it from the baking pan and let it sit on the rack. (If you wait too long, it will stick, and it’s a devil to get it out of the baking pan!)
15. Add a little more olive oil to the top surface. Now — avoid temptation and let the focaccia rest on the rack for another 15 minutes.

Enjoy the results!

This is one of the easiest and most delicious recipes I’ve tried. I think the reason it’s so delicious is because the flavor of the cherry tomatoes is dominant, and the combination of sweet and tart reminds us of summer days at any time of the year.  It’s great on its own, as a simple sauce for pasta, gnocchi, or a slice of crusty bread.  But it can also be used as a basis for many other recipes, including a mussel soup.

The confit can be stored in your refrigerator for up to two weeks, so I always buy several pounds of the cherry tomatoes and make a big batch. I’ve never actually made it to the two-week mark without using all the confit in one recipe or another.

The ingredients all go into one pot at the same time.

Ingredients

• 4 lbs. of cherry tomatoes (I use a mix of red, yellow, and orange tomatoes because they each have different levels of acidity. The brand “Wild Wonders,” available almost anywhere in the US, works very well.)
• Good quality extra virgin olive oil
• 2 full head of garlic, skin on, sliced horizontally
• 2 bunches of fresh basil
• Salt and black pepper to taste

If you want to prepare a lot, just buy more tomatoes, and use a larger casserole dish!

Preparation

Pre-heat your oven to 250° F.

Cooked confit of cherry tomatoes. After cooking, the cherry tomatoes are still whole. the sauce is a combination of juice and olive oil.

1. Wash the cherry tomatoes and put them into a deep-dish casserole or a Dutch oven.
2. Pour enough olive oil to fill about 1/3 of the casserole containing the tomatoes.
3. Add salt and black pepper, then mix the tomatoes gently so that each one is coated with oil and the salt and pepper are distributed.
4. Now insert the garlic heads and basil into the casserole, covering them with the tomatoes.
5. Put the casserole into the oven uncovered and cook for about one and a half hours.
6. Cover the dish without disturbing the contents and let them cook for another 30 minutes.
7. Remove the casserole dish from the oven. You’ll see that the tomatoes remain whole, but a lot of the juice from the tomatoes will fill mix with the olive oil, creating a delicately flavored sauce. Allow to cool and then remove all the garlic cloves from the mixture. (Leaving in the garlic will change the flavor of the dish because it overpowers the tomatoes.) That’s it!  I like it best when I prepare the confit the day before and then refrigerate it overnight.  The flavors combine into a more subtle sauce.

Mussel Soup with Cherry Tomato Confit

This is a wonderful, fast recipe. I recently hosted a dinner party, and everyone loved it and asked for more!

Ingredients

• Confit of cherry tomatoes (4 cups)
• 3 lbs. fresh mussels, cleaned and bearded
• Fresh minced parsley (as a garnish)
• Black pepper and salt to taste
• 1 bunch of fresh basil

Preparation

1. In a medium-sized pot with a tight lid (for example, a 15-quart pot), add the confit of cherry tomatoes.
2. Bring them to a gentle boil on medium heat. As soon as they start to boil, add the fresh mussels and the basil. Gently stir to combine them with the confit. Cover the pot.
3. Allow them to boil, covered, for 3 minutes. Open the lid and stir the mixture again, trying not to break too many tomatoes. Re-cover the pot cook another 3 minutes or so – you can tell when they are ready: when they all open their shells. Be careful to avoid overcooking them!
4. Ladle into soup bowls, sprinkle with minced parsley, and serve with a crusty bread.

Confit di Pomodori

Ricetta semplicissima, con questo sugo potete farci tante cose, di sotto suggerisco una zuppa di cozze buonissima.

Ingredienti

• Circa 2 kg di pomodorini piccoli (latterini).
• 2-3 mazzi di basilico, lavato e fatto a pezzetti con le mani
• Olio d’oliva di ottima qualità
• Sale

Preparazione

1. Forno a 125 C
2. Mettete i pomodori e il basilico e un po’ di sale in una pentola da forno, aggiungete olio d’oliva a coprire fino a 1/3 dalla base della pentola I pomodori -cioè tanto olio!) e infornateli scoperti per un ora e mezza, poi togliete il coperchio e cuocete per altri 30 minuti.
3. FATTO! Vedrete che i pomodori sono ancora interi.
4. Togliete l’aglio, poi potete farli raffreddare e conservare in frigo per 1-2 settimane, o surgelarli per uso future.

Ricetta con le Cozze

Ingredienti

• 5 Kg di confit di pomodori
• 5 Kg di cozze
• 1 mazzo di basilico fresco
• Pane di giornata

Preparazione

1. Portate a ebollizione il pomodoro, aggiungete 1.5 Kg di cozze e un mazzo di basilico fresco, e coprite.
2. Girate dopo 3 min, aspettate altri 3 minuti circa, appena le cozze si aprono portate a tavola e buon appetito (serve naturalmente pane fresco da intingere nel sugo).

Risotto alla Milanese (with saffron)

There are many “interpretations” of this risotto. I found this recipe in an old 1950s magazine and maybe over the years I modified it a little bit.  It is one of my preferred risotto dishes, and best made together with Ossobuco (see recipe) since for an outstanding risotto you need the veal bone marrow – buccbut is excellent without it, too.

Time: it takes about 22 minutes from the time you pour the rice in the casserole pan.

Ingredients for 6 people:

• About 500 ml of either meat broth – that is what I usually use; or chicken broth, which also works also very well. Bring to a boil before you start cooking then lower heat to a simmer.
• 50 grams of butter and 1 TB olive oil
• 500 grams of risotto, “Carnaroli” best, alternatively “Vialone nano.”
• 1 medium red onion, minced
• ½ cup dried porcini – which you will put in a cup of warm broth before you start cooking – or 50 grams or so of fresh porcini or some good fresh mushrooms cut into ½ inch thick slices
• 1 cup of red wine (Nebbiolo grape is best)
• About 2 grams of saffron dissolved in 1 cup of warm broth. You will dissolve the saffron before you start cooking as it takes some time to completely dissolve
• Bone marrow from about 3-4 osso buchi
• ¹_/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano (about 50 grams); more can be grated on the plate

Preparation:

1. In a good round pot, La Creuset, Staub, etc., or in a copper pot, melt the butter and oil.
2. Bring the heat to medium-high and add the minced onions. As soon as they start to soften, add the risotto. While constantly stirring it, cook for about 3 minutes.
3. Add the mushrooms, stirring constantly for 1 more minute.
4. Add 1 cup of red wine, and allow it to evaporate almost entirely
5. Add the hot broth, 1 ladle at time. As it is incorporated into the risotto, add more.  You need to stir continuously as the risotto, mushrooms and onions cook in the hot broth.
6. When you are close to 20 minutes of cooking time, add the broth in which you have dissolved the saffron. How much saffron? Well different saffron have different power, so 2 grams/500 grams of rice is a suggestion that may need to be modified depending on the type of saffron you use.  Anyway it is pretty simple: The rice should turn yellow orange: if is pale yellow you need to dissolve more saffron in broth and add more, if it starts turning orange, as soon as that happens, stop adding broth with saffron and continue instead with broth without saffron
7. Once the rice is ready –taste it to know when is ready–add the bone marrow, mix well, turn off the heat and move the pot on a cold burner.  Add the Parmigiano, mix well, taste for salt and eventually add more as needed (it depends if the broth had or did not have enough salt).  Black pepper? Tell your guests to add it if they like.
8. Buon appetito!

Italiano: Risotto alla Milanese

Tante “intepretazioni” questa ricotta l’ho trovata in una vecchia rivista degli anni 50 a casa dei miei nonni, l’ho copiata e probabilmente modificata un po’ nel corso degli anni.  È uno dei miei risotti preferiti.  Suggersco di offrirlo insieme all’ossobuco, perchè per un risotto alla Milanese perfetto serve un po di midollo di vitello, ma va bene anche senza, non perfetto, ma ottimo.

Tempo: Ci vogliono circa 22 minuti dal momento in cui buttate il riso in casseruola.

Ingredienti per 6 persone:

• Circa mezzo litro di brodo di carne o se non lo avete di pollo che mettete sul fuoco finchè bolle, poi abbassate al minimo
• 50 grammi di burro e 1 cucchiaio di olio d’oliva
• 500 grammi di risotto, “Carnaroli” oppure “Vialone nano”.
• 1 cipolla media a pezzettini
• 1-2 pugni di porcini secchi messi a mollo in circa 200 ml di brodo tiepido
• meglio circa 50 grammi di porcini freschi o altri funghi buoni a pezzetti
• 1 bicchiere vino rosso (nebbiolo meglio)
• Circa 2 grammi di zafferano dissolto in circa 250 ml di brodo tiepido –ci vuole un po perchè i dissolva perciò mettetelo a dissolvere appena cominciate, quando mettete il brodo a scaldare.
• Il midollo di 3-4 ossi buchi
• Circa 50 grammi di parmigiano –poi chi vuole ne mette altro

Preparazione

1. In una buona pentola rotonda, La Creuset, Staub, etc., o di rame, squagliate il burro con olio –fuoco basso.
2. Alzate il fuoco e aggiungete cipolla a pezzetti e riso girando costantemente, 3 minuti.
3. Aggiungete i funghi, girare 1 altro minuto.
4. Aggiungere 1 bicchiere vino rosso fare evaporare quasi completamente.
5. Aggiungere 1 mestolo di brodo per volta fino a cottura – circa 20 minuti.
6. Quando il riso è quasi cotto, 5 minuti prima di spegnere il fuoco, aggiungere il brodo in cui avete dissolto lo zafferano. Quanto zafferano? Quando il riso è giallo/arancione (colore mandarino) è la quantità giusta: se è solo giallo serve più zafferano, come diventa un po’ arancione, fermatevi.
7. Quando il riso è quasi pronto aggiungere il midollo di vitello che avrete preso dagli ossibuchi mischiare, spegnere il fuoco spostare la padella su fornello freddo aggiungete il parmigiano e mischiate. Sale? Dipende se il brodo lo aveva, comunque assaggiate e se necessario aggiungetelo. Pepe nero? Un po’ ci sta bene, ma fate fare ai commensali a gusto proprio.
8. Buon Appetito.