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Brasato al Barolo (Beef Braised in Red Wine)

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January 21, 2021

Pre-pandemic my husband randomly chose a region of Italy.  Most of our meals for the month were traditional foods of that region.

In response to the pandemic, I reduced my marketing, with rare exception, to one supermarket trip once a week.  Obtaining the ingredients to create very specific regional Italian cuisine became difficult with such a shopping regimen.  Meal planning, though still Italian, reverted to dishes for which I could obtain the necessary ingredients at the supermarket supplemented by deliveries from Amazon.

Home-cured pancetta diced and ready to be cooked. Good quality pancetta can be purchased. Be sure to have it sliced thickly.

Amazon is my source for Italian flour, several types of which I use for making pasta, bread, pizza and cake.  Carnaroli rice can be difficult to obtain under the best of circumstances but is available on Amazon.  Some of the ingredients for gelato are impossible to find in retail shops making Amazon the go-to source.

Other items, like specific types of cheeses or cured meats or olives, can only reasonably come from local retail markets.  The same is true for produce and an array of other ingredients.  One marketing trip a week to a general supermarket made it impossible to gather many of the required ingredients so the one-region-a-month-cooking-and-eating regimen fell victim to the pandemic, at least temporarily.

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I made food from Piemonte (Piedmont) while our region-a-month plan was still active.  Piemonte has cows, so beef and dairy figure prominently in the cuisine.  Piemonte is also home to Barolo, among other wonderful wines.

Piemontese food does not shy away from calories or flavor!

This dish makes use of two of the stars of Piemontese cuisine, beef and wine.  The most traditional recipes call for a whole filet.  The wine is traditionally Barolo.

Fresh bay leaves have tremendously more aroma than dried ones.

There was a time when Barolo was affordable.  It is no longer a budget-friendly wine and certainly not one that I would use to braise beef in, even if it’s filet.  If you’re interested in how Barolo became so well-known, watch the movie Barolo Boys.

It’s rare to find a modern recipe that simply specifies Barolo as the red wine.  Even when the traditional name of the dish, Brasato al Barolo, is used, the wine is rarely Barolo.  Calling this Brasato al Vino would be more accurate but that name doesn’t really convey the historic context of the dish.

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I’ve made this with filet that I dutifully larded with my home-cured pancetta.  While the taste was good, the texture of filet after braising was not good, even with the larding.

After that first attempt, I decided to use a cut more commonly used for long, slow, moist cooking even if it was not as high-brow as filet.  Once I made that decision, I started doing recipe research that stretched beyond my several very traditional multi-volume sets of Italian regional cuisine published in Italy in Italian.  I discovered that other (iconoclastic English-speaing) cooks had made the same shift to “lesser” cuts of meat.

I particularly like brisket that’s been braised though a nicely marbled chuck roast would work too.

Fresh sage leaves are better than dried when it comes to flavor.

The dish was a hit when made with brisket.  Truth be told, the family didn’t care to ever have it again when I made it with filet.  With the textural change from the brisket it’s become part of our standard menu rotation.

This is a perfect dish for winter.  It’s great for entertaining as it is actually better if made the day before and reheated just before serving.

Oh, and if you actually make it with Barolo, please invite me to dinner!

Print Recipe
 Brasato al Barolo (Beef Braised in Red Wine)
Since Barolo is so expensive, most contemporary recipes call for another full-bodied red wine. I have used Zinfandel as well as an Argentine wine that was 60% Merlot and 40% Syrah with great success. The meat can be served without refrigerating first but refrigeration makes it easier to get neat slices. If not refrigerating, pour the hot sauce on the sliced meat and serve immediately. If you don’t have a stash of garlic oil on hand, smash two cloves of garlic and sauté in the olive oil until golden then remove the garlic.
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Course Mains, Meats
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Passive Time 24 hours
Servings
people
Ingredients
Course Mains, Meats
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Passive Time 24 hours
Servings
people
Ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Combine beef with the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and wine. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
  2. The next day, remove the beef and wipe dry.
  3. Strain the marinade. Reserve the solids and liquid separately.
  4. Dredge the beef in flour.
  5. Sauté pancetta in garlic oil over low heat until it renders its fat and browns. Remove pancetta and reserve.
  6. Brown the beef in the rendered fat. Remove the beef.
  7. Add the vegetables to the pan and sauté until softened and the onions are translucent.
  8. Add the tomato paste. Sauté the tomato paste briefly to darken and sweeten it.
  9. Add the reserved marinade to the pan along with the bay leaves, cloves, rosemary, sage leaves, cinnamon, juniper berries and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits.
  10. Add the beef. Season with salt. Braise till tender, partially covered, approximately 3 hours.
  11. Remove the beef and refrigerate, tightly covered.
  12. Strain the braising liquid. Discard the solids and refrigerate the liquid.
  13. When the beef is cold, slice it against the grain and put in an ovenproof pan or casserole.
  14. Skim the chilled braising liquid.
  15. Heat the de-fatted braising liquid with the reserved fried pancetta.
  16. When the braising liquid comes to a boil, remove from heat and add the Marsala. Pour the liquid over the beef, cover the pan, and heat at 350°F for approximately 1 hour.
Recipe Notes

Copyright © 2021 by Villa Sentieri, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Carciofi e Patate (Artichokes and Potatoes)

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January 13, 2021

January 7th is International Porchetta Day.

It was declared so by the participants in a charcuterie class at the Italian Culinary Institute in January 2019.

There is a private Facebook group of individuals who subscribe to the cult of porchetta.  We agree to make porchetta annually on January 7th.

The charcuterie class in question began on January 7, 2019, one week before my three-month Master of Italian Cuisine course began.  I made a point of getting to Italy early, really early, as I didn’t want to find myself in class with a sharp knife in my hand the day after landing, jetlagged from a 29-hour trip and an eight-hour time change.

A traditional porchetta at a street fair in Bagni di Lucca.

I arrived the evening of January 8th, almost a week before my course started. I was invited to go to dinner with the charcuterie class.  I described that first chaotic day in my first dispatch from Calabria.

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The next day, Chef John invited me to sit in on the charcuterie class.  Although not officially part of the class, I shared meals and course time with the group.

When International Porchetta Day was declared, with the date matching the first day of the charcuterie course, I became a member.

Traditionally porchetta is made with a whole pig, and not a small suckling pig, but a BIG one!

Roasted cauliflower is an easy and dramatic side dish.

When porchetta is made at home, it’s done with a smaller cut of meat.  I use the shoulder, aka Boston Butt.  At the Italian Culinary Institute, they use two cuts, the capo collo and a pork belly.  The capo collo is a long muscle group in the shoulder that, in essence, is a large cylinder.  The shoulder, and by extension the capo collo, contain beautiful marbling that makes a luscious roast.

At the Italian Culinary Institute, the belly is rolled around the capo collo.  The fat of the belly protects the capo collo.  It also makes a beautiful presentation.  It also adds about 8 pounds to the weight of the roast.  So, unless you’re cooking for a very large crowd, using the shoulder alone will more than likely be ample.

Given the limitations of the lock-down in Palm Springs where I’ve been sheltering in place, six of us, members of our COVID Pod, celebrated International Porchetta Day.

My porchetta ready for the serving platter.

Porchetta was obviously the centerpiece of the meal and I made my traditional version.  Here’s a link to my Porchetta recipe.

I focused on side dishes that would compliment the roast and settled on a whole roasted cauliflower and a Roman dish called Carciofi e Patate (artichokes and potatoes).  For dessert we had an Olive Oil Cake.

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Carciofi e Patate is traditionally made with whole artichokes, lots of them!  In season, one can buy 12 artichokes for €1 in Italy!  That’s right, about 10¢ each!!! I once used 12 artichokes when I made the dish as part of Easter Dinner.  I spent more than $50 on artichokes for that one dish.  Clearly when Italians describe the dish as “economical” they have no idea about artichoke prices in the United States.

Artichokes in a market in Calabria.

While I prefer the dish made with fresh artichokes, I won’t do that again until I’m in Italy during artichoke season.  Frozen artichokes work well and are much more budget-friendly.

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 Carciofi e Patate (Artichokes and Potatoes)
Carciofi e Patate is a classic Roman recipe. It pairs well with most roasts.
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Course Potatoes and Other Tubers, Vegetables
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Course Potatoes and Other Tubers, Vegetables
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Peel potatoes and cut in 8 wedges unless the potatoes are very large or very small.
  2. Brown the potatoes in the three tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil in a large sauté pan over high heat.
  3. When the potatoes are well-browned, reduce the heat to medium. Add half the onions and garlic.
  4. Sauté until the onion is golden.
  5. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Add approximately ½ cup of water. Cover and cook on medium heat until cooked through, adding more water as needed, approximately 25 minutes. There should be no water left when the potatoes are cooked.
  6. Meanwhile, sauté the remaining onions and garlic in the remaining extra-virgin olive oil in a sauté pan.
  7. When the onions are golden, add the artichokes and salt and pepper to taste. Sauté briefly.
  8. Add white wine, cover and braise until barely tender, approximately 10 minutes. The artichokes will cook further with the potatoes so do not over-cook them.
  9. Add artichokes to the pan with the potatoes.
  10. Sauté, uncovered, about 10 minutes longer, to meld flavors. Adjust salt and pepper.
  11. Stir in parsley and serve.
Recipe Notes

Copyright © 2021 by Villa Sentieri, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Crostata di Amaretti (Amaretti Tart)

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July 21, 2020

You can keep the chocolate!

It’s not that I don’t like chocolate.  It’s just that I’m not one of those people who thinks chocolate is the absolute best flavor for sweets.

My favorite flavors are almond and coconut.  Preferably together.

I remember a cake I ate when I was 12 years old.  It was an absurdly moist yellow cake that tasted of almond and coconut.

A bottle of Amaretto di Saronno before it was rebranded.

In memory of that cake, which I had only once, I have an entire stash of coconut-almond cake recipes.  I’m building up to the day when I head to my kitchen in Palm Springs (so I can bake without contending with the nearly 8000-foot elevation of Villa Sentieri) and bake coconut-almond cakes every day till I create one that tastes the way I remember it.

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In the meantime, I make lots of coconut- and almond-based desserts including almond gelato, maraschino cherry cake with almond filling (from the first edition Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook), raspberry bars with almond crust, coconut pistachio crumb cake, Brazilian coconut pudding, coconut pie, Marcona almond blondies, and wattalappam (a coconut custard from Sri Lanka) among many, many others.

Zia Fidalma selecting produce at a supermarket.

One of my favorites, is an improbable recipe I got from Great Aunt Fidalma in Tuscany nearly 20 years ago for a crostata (tart) with a filling of crushed amaretti cookies and amaretto liqueur.

I know, I know, amaretti and amaretto only pretend to be almond.  They’re really made from apricot pits.  At least the commercial versions are made from apricot pits.

You knew that, right?

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The brand of amaretti I typically buy is Lazzaroni.  It’s the one that comes in the red tin.  Until recently, the brand of liqueur I bought was Amaretto di Saronno.  In 2001 Amaretto di Saronno was rebranded to Disaronno Originale.

Amaretto di Saronno after it was rebranded Disaronno in 2001.

When I went to buy the Amaretto to make this crostata, I found an unfamiliar one from the makers of the cookies, Lazzaroni Amaretto.

While Amaretto di Saronno is made from infusing apricot pits, the good folks at Lazzaroni say that they infuse their famous cookies (which, of course, contain apricot pits).

Lazzaroni amaretti and an amaretto liqueur by the same company.

Since the flavor of this crostata is entirely dependent on the amaretti and the amaretto, I suggest you buy good quality ones.

Print Recipe
 Crostata di Amaretti (Amaretti Tart)
Use very good quality amaretti cookies and amaretto liqueur as the taste of the crostata is completely dependent on them. You can buy amaretti in packages of 200 grams, if you buy a larger quantity, weight out 200 grams or 7 ounces. Most home cooks in Italy buy little envelopes of powered (artificial) vanilla flavoring. These are not common in the United States, so I’ve substituted vanilla extract. You can use one envelope of Italian vanilla flavor instead of one teaspoon of vanilla extract.
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Course Desserts and Sweets
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Pasta Frolla
Filling
Course Desserts and Sweets
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Pasta Frolla
Filling
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Instructions
Pasta Frolla
  1. Blend the flour, sugar, baking powder, vanilla powder, if using, salt and lemon zest in a food processor until combined.
  2. Add the butter, cut in pieces, and vanilla extract, if using, then blend till well combined.
  3. Add the eggs and blend till the pastry almost forms a ball.
  4. Remove the pastry from the food processor and use your hands to press everything into a single ball.
  5. Wrap the pastry in waxed paper and refrigerate for an hour before using.
  6. Roll the pasta frolla into a 13-inch circle.
  7. Line a greased 10" deep dish tart pan with a removable bottom with Pasta Frolla going about 1 inch up the sides. Trim the excess and use it to patch the crust if necessary.
Filling and Assembly
  1. Reserve six amaretti for garnish.
  2. Crush the remaining amaretti and combine with liqueur, and vanilla extract, if using.
  3. Soak, occasionally crushing the amaretti further, until thick and batter-like.
  4. Combine sugar, lemon zest and vanilla powder, if using.
  5. Combine the egg yolk and the sugar mixture with the amaretti mixture. Mix well.
  7. Beat the three egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff.
  8. Fold a spoonful of the egg whites into the amaretti mixture to lighten it.
  9. Gently fold in the remainder of the whites, in two portions.
  10. Pour the filling into the tart pan lined with pasta frolla.
  11. Garnish the top with the reserved whole amaretti.
  12. Bake at 350°F approximately 30 minutes, until golden brown.
  13. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes then gently remove the sides of the pan. (I like to do this by setting the pan on a large can then gently jiggling the pan apart.)
  14. Cool thoroughly on a rack.
  15. The crostata should be stable enough to slide off the bottom of the tart pan and onto a serving platter.
  16. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.
Recipe Notes

Copyright © 2020 by Villa Sentieri, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Sformato di Patate (Italian Potato “Cake”)

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July 13, 2020

I published a photo for this dish on my Facebook feed last week and got so much attention that I decided to actually post the recipe.

Sformato di Spinaci (spinach sformato or, if you must, spinach casserole) is a dish that garners great reverence in my husband’s family.  A while ago, I published my adaptation of the family recipe.

I make sformati out of lots of different vegetables besides spinach, including Swiss chard, zucchini, and cauliflower, among others.

Sometimes I swap out the ground beef in my husband’s grandmother’s recipe for sausage or Calabrese salame, or mushrooms.  This is a heretical act in his family but everyone still eats the sformato.  This is compounded  by the blasphemy of adding besciamella to the mix.

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Although I make several versions of potato “cakes” I never thought of them as sformati until I stumbled upon the genre while perusing Italian-language food websites.

Although I had mixed meat, such as salame or prosciutto, and cheese into the potato mixture before baking it, I had never made a layer of filling in the middle.  Doing so changes the whole character of the dish.  It really feels like a main course (or what would be a secondo in an Italian meal) rather than gussied up potatoes that should be served as a side dish (contorno)!

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When serving sformato di patate, I often start with soup and end with a salad… unless it’s a meal for which I developed a new gelato flavor to try! (This happens once, if not twice, per week… the gelato, not the sformato!)

This recipe calls for prosciutto cotto (cooked ham).  This is not the cured ham that we simply call “prosciutto” in English.  It really is just a cooked ham.  Typically, it would not be smoked.  I have successfully made this with good quality ham from the deli counter as well a fully-cooked lightly-smoked ham from the meat counter.

Since the cheese is smoked, I find that smoked ham works as well as un-smoked ham though the former is more traditional.

Print Recipe
 Sformato di Patate (Italian Potato "Cake")
Italian prosciutto cotto is not smoked so the most traditional ham would be unsmoked but since the cheese is smoky, I’ve occasionally used a lightly smoked ham and gotten fantastic results. If the ham is not sliced very, very thinly, cut it into batons about the size of wooden matchsticks. I’ve chosen to keep this recipe in the metric measures that I use. You can click the button below to change to American measures. Feel free to round the quantities up or down a bit.
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Course Meats
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 90 minutes
Passive Time 15 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Course Meats
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 90 minutes
Passive Time 15 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Peel the potatoes. Dice and cook in salted water until they can be easily pierced with a fork but are not falling apart.
  2. While still hot, pass the potatoes through a ricer and allow to cool until they are comfortable to touch.
  3. Combine potatoes with eggs, Parmigiano and milk. Mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Butter a 22 cm springform pan and coat with fine dry breadcrumbs.
  5. Press about 60% of the potato mixture onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
  6. Layer the prosciutto and scamorza inside, making two alternating layers of each.
  7. Top with the remaining potato mixture and smooth the top.
  8. Sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs and dot generously with butter.
  9. Bake at 350°F for approximately one hour, until golden, adding the rosemary sprig to the top of the sformato after about 20 minutes of baking.
  10. After an hour, the internal temperature should be close enough to 165°F that it will reach that temperature while it rests.
  11. Remove from the oven and allow to cool approximately 15 minutes before removing the sides of the pan and serving.
Recipe Notes

Copyright © 2020 by Villa Sentieri, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Ricotta Fatta in Casa (Home-Made Ricotta)

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March 25, 2020

I’ve been at home now for more than two weeks with just a weekly shopping trip to take me “off the mountain” as we say in our house.

This has given me ample time to catch up on some projects and start others.  It certainly gives me a lot more leeway to plan out a lot of cooking adventures.

Three days ago, I made 19 pounds of ‘ndjua.  It was a great project for a Sunday.  Well, these days, almost every day is like Sunday.

‘Nduja hanging in our wine room to age.

Making the ‘nduja, which is roughly 25% red pepper, wiped me out of the supply of peperoncino piccante in polvere (ground hot red pepper) that I brought back from Calabria in September.  In fact, I had to supplement with red pepper from India that I bought at an international food store in Las Vegas, NV a couple of months ago for just such an eventuality.

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I’ve used up half of my supply of nero di seppia (cuttlefish ink… what, in America, we call squid ink except that it’s not from squid…it’s from cuttlefish), also brought back from Calabria.

The same is true for my lievito madre, powdered mother yeast.  It’s a combination of commercial yeast and “natural” yeast.  It’s sort of like a sourdough starter except that it’s not sour and you don’t keep the culture going.  You just use the powdered stuff as needed.

These are all common supermarket or open-air market items in Italy.

A view from the villa where we hope to spend the month of September.

We have plans to spend a month in a villa in Calabria this fall.  I have been honing my shopping list for months but I’m now concerned that the trip might not happen as planned.  It’s still a bit too early to know for sure but I’m getting myself mentally prepared for cancellation.

Meanwhile, I do what I love.  I cook.  Even if it means that I might use up precious supplies with the prospect that there may be no reasonable means of restocking in the near future.

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Two days ago, I made stuffed and rolled flank steak.  One day last week I made a batch of black pasta (with, ahem, cuttlefish ink) that I tossed with fresh scallops and mushrooms. I made a killer sous vide rib eye roast on Sunday.  It bobbed along, all seasoned up, in a vacuum sealed bag with my sous vide doing all the hard work while I made ‘nduja.

The ‘nduja was done, and hung, in time for me to pour a bourbon, take the roast out of the bag and sear it, and cook some veggies.

Rib eye cooked unattended sous vide while I made ‘nduja.

I’m comforted to know that in about two months there’ll be lots of ‘ndjua to enjoy.

If you’re stuck at home, why not consider making something new—like ricotta.  All you need is milk, vinegar and salt (and, if you wish, a little cream).  Once you’ve made ricotta, you can drizzle it with honey and serve it for dessert or turn it into Sancarlin and serve it with some garlicky crostini.

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 Ricotta Fatta in Casa (Home-made Ricotta)
You can replace the cream with an equal amount of whole milk but using cream improves the yield. Because the boiling point of water (and thus milk) is much lower where I live in Santa Fe, I target a temperature between 192°F and 195°F. At sea level, you can go up to 203°F. What you don’t want to do is to have bubbles break the surface of the milk, though there will be some foaming around the edges.
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Course Cheeses and Yogurt
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Passive Time 30 minutes
Servings
pounds
Ingredients
Course Cheeses and Yogurt
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Passive Time 30 minutes
Servings
pounds
Ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Warm the milk, cream, and salt in a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat.
  2. Stir occasionally until it reaches 170°F. Stir more frequently after that, and almost constantly once it reaches 185°F until the targt temperature is reached, 192°F or higher as described in the headnote.
  3. When it reaches the target temperature, add the vinegar and stir well. Turn off the heat and move the pot off the heating element. Even if you’re using a gas stove the grate will remain hot and can increase the temperature of the milk too much.
  4. Allow the milk to sit undisturbed. Curds should form a raft floating on top in 10 minutes. If curds do not form, add 1 tablespoon more vinegar, stir well, and wait 5-10 minutes more.
  5. Cut the curds into one-inch cubes with a knife.
  6. Lift the curds into cheese molds set on a grate to drain.
  7. Alternatively put the curds into a strainer lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth.
  8. Drain until the ricotta is as dry as desired based on how you plan to use it. The ricotta will be slightly stiffer once it is chilled so do not drain it too much.
  9. Once drained, the ricotta can be stored with the bottom sitting in a little of the whey to keep it moist. It will not reabsorb liquid once it has drained out.
Recipe Notes

Copyright © 2020 by Villa Sentieri, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Crostini with Fava Beans and Arugula

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March 18, 2020

A few weeks ago, our dinner group decided that the theme of our dinner would be dishes from my blog.  For complete disclosure, I recused myself from that decision.

Dating back to the beginning of our group, Santa Fe Ate, the name being both a play on what we do and how many we are [though recently we’ve been six due to a move out of state], Becky Gould has bid on appetizers.  There is the occasional exception but one can count on Becky to sate our hunger at the beginning of an evening with some artfully created appetizers.

Santa Fe Ate (minus two) our current configuration. (left to right: Pat Assimakis, Doug Howe, Gary Mihalik, Frank Pieri, Rich DePippo, Becky Gould)

Becky went through every one of my blog posts and came to the conclusion that I had not posted very many recipes for appetizers.

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My review confirmed the same.

This post is the beginning of trying to rectify that situation.

Appetizers that Becky whipped up from the first edition 1950 Betty Crocker Cookbook for a dinner where all dishes had to come from that book.

Crostini are a favorite appetizer in our house.  The formula is infinitely adaptable.  It goes something like this:

  1. Toast bread, preferably a rustic Italian-style loaf or a baguette.
  2. Drizzle with good extra-virgin olive oil.
  3. Rub with the cut side of a clove of garlic.
  4. Add a topping of your choice.

Often, I stop at step three.  Toasted bread rubbed with garlic and extra-virgin olive oil is good without any embellishment.

If I’m not making many crostini, I’ll toast the bread in my 1967 General Electric Toast-R-Oven using the aluminum tray and the “top brown only” setting, flipping the bread once to toast both sides.  [Yes! I really do use a 53-year-old toaster oven.]

My 1967 General Electric Toast-R-Oven.

When making crostini for a crowd, I use the broiler and follow the same process of flipping the bread.

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Choose toppings to suit your whim and the season.  Chopped fresh in-season tomatoes with a hint of basil is a classic topping as is coarsely mashed cooked cannellini beans with an extra drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

Becky’s spring rolls for a meal focused on “French Indochina 1920’s to 1930’s.”

Just last week I made crostini topped with goat cheese and spicy eggplant preserved in extra-virgin olive oil (melanzane piccante sott’olio) that I had made a few days earlier.

This particular combination of beans and arugula, zipped up with lemon, is very refreshing and a reminder that spring is not far away.


Print Recipe
 Crostini with Fava Beans and Arugula
Frozen fava beans work well in this recipe. If you cannot get fava beans, substitute edamame. If using fava beans, you will need to start with more than one cup of shelled beans to have one cup of peeled beans after cooking.
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Course Appetizers and Nibbles
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Passive Time 6 hours
Servings
persons
Ingredients
Course Appetizers and Nibbles
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Passive Time 6 hours
Servings
persons
Ingredients
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Rating: 0
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Instructions
  1. Cook fava beans or edamame till tender, approximately 3-4 minutes. Drain and shock in ice water.
  2. If using fava beans, peel them.
  3. Coarsely chop the cooked beans in a small food processor.
  4. Remove half the beans and reserve.
  5. Coarsely chop 1/2 ounce of arugula by hand. Reserve.
  6. To the beans in the food processor, add 1/4 cup of olive oil, the remaining 1/2 ounce of arugula, mint leaves (if using), Pecorino Romano cheese, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
  7. Process until almost smooth.
  8. Combine puree with the coarsely chopped beans and arugula and mix by hand.
  9. Adjust salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Refrigerate several hours, or overnight, to allow flavors to blend.
  10. Return to room temperature before using.
  11. To serve, toast slices of baguette. Drizzle one side of the toasted bread with extra-virgin olive oil. Rub the bread with the cut side of a garlic clove, distributing the oil.
  12. Top each slice of bread with some of the bean mixture.
Recipe Notes

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Ragù alla Bolognese

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March 11, 2020

I grew up eating exactly one type of tomato sauce for pasta: my mother’s long-simmered, Italian-American-but-based-on-Southern-Italian (Calabrese, to be exact) ragù.

OK, OK, I sometimes ate Aunt Margie’s or Aunt Mamie’s version of the same sauce but we’re talking very minor variations on a theme.

My mother made pasta other ways than with ragù, most commonly with beans as in pasta e fagioli.  But if we were going to eat pasta for pasta’s sake, not mixed with beans or in soup, it was ALWAYS served with her ragù.

My recipe for Lasagna Bolognese will be posted in a few weeks. Get ready by making Ragù alla Bolognese and putting it in the freezer!

When I went away to university at the age of 17 this is one of the first things that I learned to cook.  Well, sort of.  There’s a bit of a learning curve but even my first attempt was respectable.

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I now make scores of tomato-based sauces on a regular basis but I keep going back to three of them over and over:

  1.   My mother’s ragù.
  2.   Ragù alla Bolognese.
  3.  Ragù del macellaio (the butcher’s ragù).

There are so many childhood memories attached to my mother’s ragù that I can’t imagine a time when it wouldn’t be my favorite.

As far as I’m concerned, Ragù alla Bolognese is the gold standard for those tomato-based pasta sauces made with ground meat.  (My mother’s ragù, on the other hand, is made with large pieces of pork.  Other meats can be added but the pork is always there.)

It is really important that the vegetables for Ragù alla Bolognese be cut in tiny dice, 1/8 on a side, often called brunoise.

Ragù del macellaio is very good but, as you might expect for a sauce linked to a butcher, it is made with an array of meats—pretty much anything you have.  I always end up with odds and ends of meat in my freezer, a bit of beef, a bit of pork, some sausage, a piece of chicken, some pancetta, and so forth.  I grind them all up and make the sauce.  The fact that it cooks, unattended, in a slow-cooker all day is an added bonus.

Just as there is an official Pesto alla Genovese recipe, there is an official Ragù alla Bolognese recipe that was codified in the 1980’s.  The ingredients go something like this:

  • 300 grams ground beef, preferably thin flank aka skirt (finta cartella in Italian)
  • 150 grams pancetta, minced
  • 50 grams carrot, minced
  • 50 grams celery, minced
  • 50 grams onion, minced
  • 30 grams triple-concentrated tomato paste
  • 1/2 glass red or white wine
  • 180 ml milk
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Every family in Bologna probably has a slightly different version.

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Some aspects of the recipe are notable.  There is no garlic.  There are no herbs.  The amount of tomato is quite modest.  Probably the biggest differences I see in credible recipes for Ragù alla Bolognese is whether or not to add milk or cream.  The official version clearly includes it but many otherwise solid recipes do not.

This is not a “tomatoey” sauce.  It’s really ground meat held together with a bit of tomato “binder.”

The version that I make most often varies somewhat from the official one.  I add a hint of garlic and more tomato.  I don’t typically use pancetta though it’s a great addition.  I never add milk or cream.

So, I’ve done it, I’ve laid down a gauntlet.  I’m advocating a recipe that’s not the official one.  I can tell you, however, that it’s darn good.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

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 Ragù alla Bolognese
I make garlic oil and keep it in a squeeze bottle by the stove. It comes in really handy for cooking and for flavoring finished dishes. You can use plain extra-virgin olive oil if you wish. In fact, that would be more traditional than garlic. For added flavor, sauté 150 grams of minced pancetta in the olive oil until the fat is rendered. Remove the cooked pancetta. Brown the meat in the oil. Add the cooked pancetta to the meat just before adding the wine. Ragù alla Bolognese should be served with a wide long pasta such as mafalde or linguine.
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Course Pasta, Noodles, and Sauces
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 5 hours, mostly unattended
Servings
liters
Ingredients
Course Pasta, Noodles, and Sauces
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 5 hours, mostly unattended
Servings
liters
Ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Heat the butter in a heavy-bottomed sauté pan. Add the celery, carrot, and onion.
  2. Sauté the celery, carrot, and onion in the butter until soft without browning. Reserve.
  3. Heat the garlic oil, or extra-virgin olive oil, in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan. Add the beef and pork, if using.
  4. While the meat is cooking, break it up into small bits.
  5. Sauté the beef and pork, if using, in the garlic oil until a lot of fond develops.
  6. Add the wine and boil it all away, loosening the fond from the bottom of the pan.
  7. Pass the canned tomatoes through a food mill.
  8. Add the sautéed vegetables, the tomatoes that have been passed through a food mill, and bay leaf, if using.
  9. Season with salt and pepper.
  10. Simmer 3 to 4 hours partially covered, stirring frequently, until reduced by 50%.
Recipe Notes

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Torta all’Arancia (Orange Polenta Upside-Down Cake)

10 Comments

March 4, 2020

Italy is lavished with citrus, more so in Southern Italy than Northern Italy.  Even in Tuscany, though, families traditionally use a limonaia to winter-over lemon trees grown in pots.

Potted lemon trees at a house in the village of Benabbio in Tuscany.

Citrus fruits feature prominently in Italian cuisine, especially in Southern Italy.  Calabria is responsible for about 25% of the citrus fruit produced in Italy.

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A very short list of Italian foods that contain, or are made from citrus includes the famous limoncello liqueur and its orange-based cousin, arancello; panettone that is traditionally made with candied citron; lemon sorbetto (sorbet); an array of marmalades and jams; candied citrus peels of various types eaten as sweetmeats, sometimes coated in chocolate, as well as diced and incorporated into cakes; citrus salads, including an amazing Sicilian salad of oranges, fennel, onions and black olives; and the endless dishes where lemon juice is the basis of a pan sauce or salad dressing or, in lesser quantities, perks up other flavors without making itself known.

A rustic limonaia at a home in the village of Benabbio in Tuscany. It may be simple but it works beautifully.

Bergamot, most of which (and certainly the highest quality) comes from Calabria, is the defining flavor of Earl Grey Tea.  It is also used in an array of cosmetics and fragrances.

Maestro Paolo Caridi teaching a class at the Italian Culinary Institute.

Bergamot is also one of several citrus fruits used by Maestro Paolo Caridi to concoct the scrumptious citrus flavoring he uses in some of his pastries.  I’m itching to find a source of bergamot, which I understand grows in Palm Springs, California, to make a batch, having gotten his formula when I studied at the Italian Culinary Institute.

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Being surrounded with citrus at our home in Palm Springs, I try to find ways to use the bounty.  It took me a while to come up with an orange cake (torta alle arance) that was everything I though an orange cake should be: a moist, not to sweet cake with a sturdy crumb and a distinct orange flavor.

A potted lemon tree on Great Aunt Fidalma’s terrace in Tuscany.

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 Torta all'Arancia (Orange Polenta Upside-Down Cake)
Instead of cutting the oranges in slices, you can supreme them if you prefer the look of sections rather than slices. If possible, use the metric measures for the best results.
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Course Desserts and Sweets
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Passive Time 1 hour
Servings
people
Ingredients
Topping
Cake and Assembly
Course Desserts and Sweets
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Passive Time 1 hour
Servings
people
Ingredients
Topping
Cake and Assembly
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Instructions
Topping
  1. Grease a 10-inch x 2-inch circular cake pan with butter.
  2. Finely grate the zest of the three oranges without any of the white pith. A microplane grater work well. Reserve the zest and oranges separately.
  3. Combine brown sugar, butter, white sugar, and orange juice in a small pan. Heat, stirring frequently till butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Raise heat and boil for 2 minutes, without stirring, until slightly thickened.
  4. Remove caramel syrup from the heat. Stir in the zest of three oranges. Pour the caramel on the bottom of the prepared pan. Allow to set for approximately 5 minutes, until cool.
  5. Meanwhile, slice the oranges approximately ¼ inch thick. Cut off all pith and rind. Remove the tough core from any slices that have it. Scissors work well for doing this.
  6. After the caramel has cooled for about 5 minutes, arrange orange slices over the caramel without overlapping. Cut slices as needed to fill in the larger gaps between the full slices.
Cake and Assembly
  1. Stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Reserve.
  2. Beat the butter in an electric mixer until lightly creamed.
  3. Add the white sugar, then beat at high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 4 minutes.
  4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on medium after each addition until the egg is combined.
  5. Mix in sour cream then vanilla and orange zest.
  6. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture a little at a time and mix until almost combined. Finish mixing by hand.
  7. Spoon the batter over the orange slices in the prepared pa. Spread the batter and tap the pan to remove air bubbles.
  8. Bake at 350°F until a cake tester comes out clean, 50-55 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan.
  9. Using a knife, loosen the cake from the sides of the pan. Invert onto a serving dish. Cool completely.
Recipe Notes

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Porchetta: A Festive Pork Roast from Italy

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February 14, 2020

Porchetta is roast pork, but it’s no ordinary roast pork.  In its most traditional form, it is made from a whole pig, well-seasoned, and slowly roasted.

Porchetta can be found throughout Italy at festivals and street fairs, such as the one in Bagni di Lucca that I attended this past August.

Porchetta, made from a whole pig, at a festival in Bagni di Lucca.

Though there is some debate, Porchetta probably originated in Lazio in Central Italy.  Lazio is the region where Rome is located.

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Seasonings vary with the region and often include some combination of garlic, rosemary, fennel, and black pepper.  Some regional variations include chopped entrails or liver in the mix.

Perhaps the most unusual version of Porchetta that I’ve encountered is made at the Italian Culinary Institute in Stalettì, Calabria.  It is seasoned with salt and a large amount of truffle puree!

Chef Juan and Chef Chris about to carve a truffle-laden porchetta at the Italian Culinary Institute.

Most of us are not going to roast an entire pig which raises the question of what cut or cuts to use.  This is especially important as much of the mouth-feel of porchetta derives from the combination of fatty and lean meat inherent in using an entire pig.

One solution, that makes for an elegant presentation, is to roll a slab of pork belly around a lean pork loin and tie it.  This strategy allows one to cut neat slices that contain both lean and fatty meat.

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Another solution is to use a cut of meat that inherently contains about 20% fat.  A pork shoulder fits the bill nicely.  The bone must be removed and the thickest parts of the meat butterflied before being seasoned and tied.  This cut of meat doesn’t create consistent slices as does the pork-belly-wrapped-around-a-pork-loin method.  It does, however, create supremely succulent meat, more so that the pork loin that’s encased in the pork belly.

A porchetta vendor in Rome. (Photo by Alessandro Pinna – Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34665585)

I lean towards the “pulled pork” version of porchetta, so slices aren’t really important to me.  I always opt for the boneless shoulder method and pull the cooked meat apart in large chunks.  Given the chance, though, I’d like to try a whole pig.

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 Porchetta
The seasonings in this version of Porchetta closely adhere to what is used in central Italy. Be sure to spread the seasoning very evenly on the meat before rolling and tying.
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Course Mains, Meats
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 10 hours
Passive Time 2 days
Servings
persons
Ingredients
For the initial seasoning
Final seasoning and cooking
Course Mains, Meats
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 10 hours
Passive Time 2 days
Servings
persons
Ingredients
For the initial seasoning
Final seasoning and cooking
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Instructions
For the initial seasoning
  1. Crush fennel seeds in a mortar. Reserve.
  2. Puree the garlic and olive oil in a small blender jar.
  3. Add the crushed fennel seeds, salt, black pepper, rosemary, chile and enough olive oil to make a paste.
  4. Rub the paste over what will be the inside of the roast once it is rolled and tied.
  5. Roll up roast and tie with butcher’s twine.
  6. Put the tied roast, fat side up and seam down, into a non-reactive roasting pan and cover with plastic wrap.
  7. Put the cover on roasting pan (or cover tightly with aluminum foil) and refrigerate for 2 days.
Final seasoning and cooking
  1. Remove the pork from refrigerator about 60-90 minutes before roasting.
  2. Using a mortar and pestle, grind the fennel seeds.
  3. Add garlic and salt to the fennel and crust into a paste.
  4. Add black pepper and rosemary. Combine well.
  5. Rub spice mixture over the top of the roast.
  6. Pour the white wine into the bottom of the roasting pan.
  7. Cover the pan and roast at 250°F, for 10 hours, occasionally basting with pan juices after about 5 hours.
  8. Uncover the pan for the last hour of roasting. If necessary, but usually not, add a bit of water to the pan.
  9. Remove the roast from the roasting pan and place it on a serving platter. Pull the roast into chunks.
  10. Skim the fat from the pan drippings. Drizzle the pan drippings over the meat.
Recipe Notes

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Caponata: A Taste of Sunny Sicily

2 Comments

January 22, 2020

The origins of both caponata and its name are unknown but that doesn’t keep some “authorities” from making definitive statements about both its origins and its name.  Other authors are more cautious about how they approach the topic.  There are many theories.  There are perhaps more theories about the origins of the dish and its name than there are versions of caponata itself, and that’s saying a lot.

Leaving the skin on the eggplant improves the texture of the caponata.

What we do know is that caponata, as we now know it, is Sicilian though there are traditional Neapolitan versions as well.

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At its most basic caponata is a vegetable dish (though some versions include fish) with eggplant typically being the predominant ingredient (though there are other versions, such as one with artichokes) in a lightly sweet and sour sauce that usually contains some tomato product (fresh tomatoes or tomato sauce of some sort) and capers.

Beyond the basics, caponata has numerous traditional regional variations from different areas of Sicily.  There are also the endless variations introduced by individual cooks.

Onions are a common addition to caponata.

One could add or subtract celery, sweet peppers, zucchini, olives, pine nuts, almonds, and raisins (to name a few).

The eggplant can be fried, sautéed, or steamed (but almost always with the skin on).

Caponata can be served on a slice of toasted bread (crostino), as (part of) an antipasto, as a side dish (contorno), or as a main dish (secondo).  Though not traditional, I like tossing it with pasta.

Capers are in virtually every traditional version of caponata. Some authorities suggest the name “caponata” may be related to the word “caper.”

I prefer caponata that is neither aggressively sweet nor sour and, while the vegetables should not be mushy, I don’t want to hear a crunch when I bite down.

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If I were drowning in home-grown tomatoes during harvest season, I’d probably work on perfecting a version that uses fresh tomatoes.  Since that’s not the case, my version uses tomato sauce.  The advantage is that I can make it year-round as the necessary vegetables are always available and of good quality.

Though it should not be frozen, caponata can be canned.  In fact, one of the demonstrations that I did for students at the Italian Culinary Institute this past September was how to can caponata.

Sweet peppers are traditional in some versions of caponata.

Unlike Italy, where the best eggplants and peppers are available only “in season” that’s not true in the United States.  Rather than canning a large batch of caponata, I just make it whenever I want some.

I hope you enjoy this version of caponata.

Turbinado or Demerara sugars are good substitutes for Italian “cane sugar” (zucchero di canna).

If you want to get more into the fray about the origins of caponata or its name, or the different versions, you can look here, here, here, here, here, or here.

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 Caponata: A Taste of Sunny Sicily
There is a link to the recipe for Basic Tomato Sauce in the Notes section below. Any simple tomato sauce, or even tomato puree, could be substituted. If vegetable broth is not available water can be used. To my American readers, I apologize for the metric measures. You can convert to American measures by using the dropdown menu below. Turbinado and Demerara sugars are most similar to the “cane sugar” used in Italy. American light brown sugar would work in this recipe since the quantity is small. You can use either vinegar-packed or salt-packed capers.
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Course Appetizers and Nibbles, Mains, Vegetarian
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings
cups
Ingredients
Course Appetizers and Nibbles, Mains, Vegetarian
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings
cups
Ingredients
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Rating: 0
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Instructions
  1. Sauté the peppers and onions in olive oil with a pinch of salt until the onions become translucent.
  2. Add the eggplant and sauté until most, but not all, of the eggplant has become translucent.
  3. Add the vegetable stock and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook until just tender, 5-10 minutes.
  4. Remove cover. Quickly evaporate any remaining liquid.
  5. Add sugar and vinegar. Cook over moderately high heat until almost dry.
  6. Add the capers and pine nuts.
  7. Add the tomato sauce. Simmer briefly to blend flavors, 5-10 minutes.
  8. Adjust salt and pepper while cooking.
  9. Refrigerate.
  10. Bring to room temperature for serving.
Recipe Notes

The recipe for Basic Tomato Sauce can be found here.

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