Fabulicious!: On the Grill Page 13
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
12 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio
1 cup bottled clam juice
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 dozen littleneck clams or mussels (or a combination), scrubbed under cold water, soaked in cold salted ice water for at least 1 and up to 2 hours, and drained
6 blue crabs, cleaned by the fish store
1 pound extra-large (26 to 30 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined, or large sea scallops
* * *Cleaning Blue Crabs* * *
Blue crabs, named for the color of their claws, are the small crustaceans (about the width of a saucer) that we have on the Jersey Shore. To clean them, you need to remove the top shell, discard the gills, and rinse out the crab to remove the innards . . . while the crab is still alive. Um, no thank you! I’m lucky that I have a husband and a father that love to clean crabs, but if you don’t, don’t worry! Most places that sell blue crabs will clean them for you, especially if you give the worker a tip. Or you can just skip the blue crab entirely (although it is sweet and delicious!) and increase the shrimp and other seafood.
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
2. While the water is heating, preheat the grill for direct cooking over medium heat (400°F).
3. Place a large, disposable, aluminum foil roasting pan on the cooking grate. Add ¼ cup of oil, butter, and garlic and close the grill lid. Cook, stirring often, until the butter is melted and the garlic is fragrant and softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the wine, clam juice, parsley, and red pepper flakes. Put the clams and crabs in the bottom of the pan. Close the grill lid. Cook for 5 minutes. Shake the pan well, and scatter the shrimp on top of the clams and crabs. Continue cooking, with the lid closed, occasionally shaking the pan, until the clams have opened and the shrimp is opaque, 5 to 10 minutes more.
4. About 10 minutes before the seafood is done, add the linguine to the pot of boiling water and cook according to the package directions until al dente. Drain well. Transfer to a large serving bowl, toss with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
5. Remove the roasting pan from the grill. Using tongs and a slotted spoon, transfer the seafood to a large bowl, discarding any unopened clams.
6. Pour the cooking liquid in the pan over the pasta and mix well. Divide the pasta and sauce among deep soup bowls, and top with equal amounts of the seafood. Serve hot.
Summer Spaghetti with Grilled Tomato and Basil Sauce
Makes 4 to 6 servings
This grilled sauce is fantastic with spaghetti, but you can also use it for any other pasta and with any other additions: add grilled shrimp or sausage—or both! Fair warning though, the reason I call this “summer spaghetti” is because it’s only worth making with ripe local tomatoes.
Sauce:
3 pounds ripe plum (Roma) tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup packed basil leaves
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound spaghetti
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
1. Preheat the grill for indirect cooking with medium heat (400°F).
2. Arrange the tomatoes, cut sides up, in a metal roasting pan. Brush with 2 tablespoons of oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the pan over the unignited burner(s) and close the lid. Cook until the tomatoes are very tender and their edges are browned, about 1 hour. Remove the pan from the grill.
3. Heat the remaining ¼ cup oil and the garlic over medium heat until the garlic is tender, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Pulse the tomatoes, garlic oil, basil, and red pepper flakes in a food processor until coarsely chopped. (If you don’t have a food processor, add the tomatoes to the garlic oil in the saucepan and mash with a potato masher into a chunky sauce. Chop the basil and stir it into the sauce, with the red pepper flakes.)
4. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the spaghetti and cook according to the package directions until al dente. Drain well. Return the spaghetti to the pot and add the sauce. Stir to combine well.
5. Serve hot with the Parmesan cheese passed on the side.
CHAPTER 9
Contorni (Side Dishes)
Presto matura, presto marcio.
Literally: “Early ripe, early rotten.” What it means: If you spoil a young child too much they will turn into a rotten adult.
I’m giving you some side dishes that feature my favorite summer vegetables: carrots, eggplant, peppers, and zucchini; but know that some of these recipes, like the grilled eggplant, can easily be made as entrées for vegetarians—or anyone really. I grew up eating lots of vegetables because my mother grew up the same way, and we were surrounded by them; in Italy there are 25 million acres of farmland that grow fruits and veggies.
If you’ve ever grown any summer vegetables yourself, you know it can be almost too easy, and you can easily end up with more than you’ll ever eat. At the end of every summer in August, my family gets together and we can tomatoes to last us through the year, but we also preserve extra zucchini. Just like tomatoes, zucchini can be sun-dried, too.
In addition to preserving, my mother actually uses the sun to “prebake” vegetables too. For instance, she’ll put the salted zucchini slices for scapece on a baking sheet and set them in the sun for an hour to let the salt pull out some of the moisture and concentrate the zucchini’s taste. Try her “old world” trick and see if it doesn’t make the Italian squash a little more special—just like my mama!
A NEW SEASON(ING): PAPRIKA
Although it’s not well known as an Italian seasoning, paprika is commonly used in many Italian dishes because it is, after all, just another form of one of our favorite ingredients: peppers. Red hot pepper flakes are an Italian staple, and paprika is made from ground, dried peppers. I use paprika a lot in my summer dishes because it’s milder than cayenne pepper and has an almost fruity taste. It also makes any dish prettier!
Paprika belongs on more than just devilled eggs. I use it on chicken, salads, and once you taste it on my grilled corn on the cob, you won’t want it any other way!
Grilled Eggplant with Pesto and Mozzarella
Makes 6 servings
Eggplant loves being grilled—it picks up a lot of flavor. Eggplant also loves garlic, olive oil, pesto, and Parmesan cheese, and when you put these all together, you end up with a kind of vegetable pizza without the dough. You can serve this as a side dish to just about any meat, or try it as a warm appetizer, maybe drizzled with a little balsamic vinegar. You can easily take this dish to a whole new level by serving it with my Quickie Tomato Sauce (page 56). It will magically transform into a new main course: Grilled Eggplant Parmesan.
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed under the flat side of a knife and peeled
1 large eggplant, cut crosswise into ½-inch-thick rounds
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup Homemade Pesto (page 161)
⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1. Heat the oil and garlic together over medium-low heat until tiny bubbles form around the garlic, about 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour. Discard the garlic.
2. Preheat the grill for direct cooking over medium heat (400°F).
3. Brush the eggplant rounds on one side with about half of the garlic oil. Season the eggplant on both sides with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large platter. Place the eggplant, oiled-sides down, on the cooking grate and cover with the grill lid. Cook until the underside is golden brown and seared with
grill marks, about 5 minutes. Brush with the remaining garlic oil. Flip the eggplant over and continue to cook, with the lid closed, until the other side is golden brown and the eggplant is tender, about 5 minutes more. Flip the eggplant, and use the back of a spoon to spread each eggplant round with a thin smear of pesto. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and cook with the lid closed until the cheese melts, about 1 minute.
4. Return the eggplant rounds to the platter, slightly overlapping. Serve hot or cooled to room temperature.
Fabellini Glazed Carrots
Makes 6 servings
This is my Teresa twist on the French dish Carrots Vichy, in which root veggies are glazed with mineral water, butter, and sugar. In this recipe, though, I use my Fabellini fruit-flavored sparkling wine. It’s a bit of a splurge for a side dish (unless you use the leftovers from the previous night’s celebration), but the carrots turn out like candy, and everyone will love them.
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 pound baby-cut carrots
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1½ cups raspberry-flavored sparkling wine, such as Fabellini
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for serving
1. Use a large nonstick skillet big enough to hold the baby carrots in a single layer. Heat the oil and butter together in the skillet over medium heat until the butter melts. Add the carrots and sprinkle with the brown sugar. Cook, stirring often, until the sugar is melted, about 2 minutes. Add the Fabellini, spread the carrots in a single layer, and bring to a simmer.
2. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the skillet. Simmer for 10 minutes, occasionally stirring the carrots. Uncover and increase the heat to high. Cook, stirring often, until the carrots are very tender and the liquid is syrupy and reduced to about 2 tablespoons, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve hot.
Parmesan and Paprika Corn on the Cob
Makes 6 servings
Sweet summer corn on the cob grilled with butter is delicious. But you’ll never want it that way again after you try it Italian-style, with garlic, smoked paprika, and Parmesan cheese.
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika (also called pimentón de la Vera)
1 garlic clove, crushed through a press
6 ears of corn, husked
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, as needed
Salt
1. Preheat the grill for direct cooking over medium heat (400°F). Brush the cooking grates clean.
2. Tear six 12-inch squares of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Mix the butter, paprika, and garlic together in a small bowl. Spread each corn ear with an equal amount of the garlic butter, place on the foil and roll it up tightly. (The corn can be stored at room temperature for up to 8 hours.)
3. Place the foil-wrapped corn on the cooking grate and cover with the grill lid. Cook, turning occasionally, until the corn is heated through with some toasted browned spots (open the foil to check), 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the foil-wrapped corn to a platter.
4. Unwrap the corn and return to the platter. Serve hot, allowing each person to sprinkle the corn with Parmesan cheese and salt to taste before eating.
* * *Paprika Primer* * *
There are a few different varieties of paprika available, and you should pick the one that suits your palate. If you find paprika in a regular supermarket (look in the spice aisle) and it’s not labeled as anything but “paprika,” it’s a mild version. The imported Hungarian or Spanish kinds have the most flavor. Hot paprika is labeled just that: “hot.” There’s also a Spanish smoked paprika (also called pimentón de la Vera) that I love.
* * *Grilling Peppers* * *
Grilled bell peppers are everywhere in Italian cooking, but I make them most in the summertime when they are in season. Red and yellow bell peppers really should be peeled, and charring over a flame helps loosen their thick skins for removal. (Green peppers have thinner skins and flesh, and don’t need to be peeled.) Yes, you can cook them on the stove over an open gas flame or under a broiler, but grilling is the easiest way.
You probably know the method of putting the whole pepper on the grill and turning it until it is blackened, but there is an easier way that skips the turning. The trick is to cut the pepper open into a long strip so it lays flat on the grill.
Cut off the top and bottom from a bell pepper to make “lids.” Discard the stem. Make a vertical cut down the side of the pepper and open up the pepper. Remove the core and seeds.
Preheat the grill for direct cooking over high heat (500°F). Place the pepper, skin-side down, directly on the cooking grate and close the grill lid. Cook, without turning, until the skins are blackened and blistered, taking care that you don’t burn through the flesh, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a plate, and let stand for until tepid, about 20 minutes.
Using a small sharp knife as an aide, peel and scrape the blackened skin from the peppers. Don’t rinse them under cold running water unless absolutely necessary to get rid of black flecks of skin. Cut the peppers on a chopping board into one-half-inch-wide strips and transfer to a medium bowl.
Grilled Peperonata
Makes about 2 cups, 6 servings
This peperonata has peppers that are grilled and marinated with capers, garlic, and oregano in a sweet-and-sour dressing. We serve it by itself, as a side, but you can also use it as a sauce on top of grilled pork chops, as an amazing bruschetta topping, or as a condiment on a salami sandwich on crusty bread.
2 medium red bell peppers
2 medium yellow bell peppers
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons bottled capers, rinsed and drained
Salt
1. Preheat the grill for direct cooking over high heat (500°F). Prepare and grill the peppers according to the instructions on facing page. Cool, peel, and cut into ½-inch-wide strips. Transfer to a medium bowl.
2. Whisk the vinegar, oregano, sugar, red pepper flakes, and garlic together in a small bowl. Whisk in the oil. Pour over the peppers, add the capers, and toss to coat. Season with salt to taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow the flavors to blend. (The peperonata can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.) Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Alici Baked Potatoes
Makes 6 servings
Anchovies and potatoes are a great combination, and whenever I serve these, people usually don’t know that it has anchovies until I tell them. It’s easiest to bake the potatoes inside (or use the microwave), and then put the stuffed halves on the grill to heat up before serving. You can put the potatoes over the empty side of the grill to cook with indirect heat, and cook meat over the ignited burner at the same time. These are fantastic with steaks or pork chops.
3 large baking potatoes, scrubbed but unpeeled
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons whole milk
4 anchovy fillets in oil, drained and finely chopped
Salt and red pepper flakes
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for serving
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Pierce each potato a few times with a fork. Bake directly on the oven rack until tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, about 45 minutes. Let cool until easy to handle, about 15 minutes.
2. Cut each potato in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scoop out the potato flesh from each potato half into a medium bowl, leaving a shell about ½ inch thick. Add the butter to the bowl, and using a fork, mash the potatoes, gradually stirring in the milk. Stir in the anchovies.
Season with salt and red pepper flakes to taste. Spoon the mixture into the potato shells. (The potatoes can be covered with plastic wrap and kept at room temperature for up to 1 hour.)
3. Preheat the grill for indirect cooking with high heat (500°F).
4. Drizzle oil over the stuffed potatoes. Place on the cooking grate and cover with the grill lid. Cook until heated through, about 10 minutes. Remove from the grill, sprinkle with the parsley, and serve hot.
Grilled Zucchini Scapece
Makes 6 servings
When you see that a food (usually vegetables or fish) is prepared scapece-style, it means that it has been marinated in a tart vinegar sauce. My mama always salts the zucchini first, to draw out its excess juice so that the juices don’t dilute the marinade. This is another dish that you are likely to see on an antipasti menu, but it can double as a side dish. Try it with simple grilled fish steaks or fillets (see photo on page 176).
3 large zucchini, cut lengthwise into ¼ to ½-inch-thick strips
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing the zucchini
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1. Arrange the zucchini strips on a baking sheet and sprinkle on both sides with 1 teaspoon of salt. Let stand for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Rinse under cold running water and pat dry on clean kitchen towels or paper towels.
2. Preheat the grill for direct cooking over medium heat (400°F).
3. Return the zucchini to the baking sheet and brush lightly on both sides with oil. Season with pepper. Place the zucchini on the cooking grates, perpendicular to the grid, and cover with the grill lid. Cook until the zucchini undersides are seared with grill marks, about 3 minutes. Flip the zucchini and continue cooking until seared and crisp-tender, about 2 minutes more. Remove the zucchini from the grill.