Polpette di Tonno (Tuna Croquettes)

Name: Polpette di Tonno (Tuna Croquettes)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Yield: 6 people
Ingredients: 2 x 7 ounce cans tuna packed in oil (preferably Italian); 2 1/4 ounces crustless white bread; 1/2 ounce Grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese; 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley; 2 eggs (lightly beaten); salt (to taste); black pepper (freshly ground to taste); vegetable oil for deep frying (as needed); meatless tomato sauce

2 Comments

6 March 2024

Polpette!

The usual translation of the Italian word polpette is “meatballs.”

But polpette are so much more. Italians use the word polpette to refer to any “balls” made of chopped or ground up stuff including meat, fish, vegetables… you name it!

That leaves the translation a bit up in the air. If the “balls” are made of meat I usually translate polpette as meatballs but if they’re made of other ingredients, as in this recipe, I usually translate it as croquettes. Tuna meatballs just doesn’t sound right! And eggplant meatballs is even worse!

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By the way, the singular of polpette is polpetta but who ever had just ONE meatball… or croquette!

I have other polpetta recipes coming in future blog posts but in the meantime, if you’re up for more meatball recipes, take a look at these two:

Marisa’s Mystical Meatballs

Italian Wedding Soup

The meatball mixture in the Wedding Soup makes scrumptious meatballs that can be fried and then simmered in tomato sauce rather than put into soup!

Once again, I find myself apologizing for a prolonged absence from my blog. I have been working diligently on my latest cookbook, due out this spring, called
Dispatches from Calabria: Eating My Way Through Culinary School in Italy.

In the meantime, if you haven’t seen my first book,
Mastering Artisan Italian Gelato: Recipes and Techniques,
you can read about it HERE.

In the typical progression of an Italian meal, these croquettes would be served as a “secondo,” what we Americans might call the main course except that in a full-on Italian meal the secondo would be preceded with a “primo,” which is usually pasta, soup or a rice dish. A secondo is usually accompanied by one or more side dishes, “contorni.”

You might consider starting a meal with:

Pear, Celery and Arugula Salad with Lemon Dressing

For a pasta course, any of these would go well:

Pasta with Silky Zucchini Sauce

Bowtie Pasta with Peas

Angel Hair Pasta with Crispy Breadcrumbs

Along with the croquettes, you could select from the following side dishes:

Argentine Marinated Eggplant

Roasted Sweet Peppers

Green Beans with Parmesan Cheese

Rapini with Olive Oil, Garlic, and Red Pepper

Happy eating!

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Polpette di Tonno (Tuna Croquettes)

This recipe is from the Italian region of Molise. It can be made with fresh tuna instead of canned, if you desire. Gently cook and flake the fresh tuna. You’ll need about 12 ounces of flaked tuna to equal the amount in two 7-ounce cans. Simmer the croquettes in a simple, meatless tomato sauce. If you need a suggestion, try my Basic Tomato Sauce. A link to the recipe in the Notes below.

Course

Fish and Seafood

Cuisine

Italian

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

25 minutes

Passive Time

1 hour

Servings

people

Ingredients

2 x 7 ounce cans tuna packed in oil preferably Italian
2 1/4 ounces crustless white bread
1/2 ounce Grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
2 eggs lightly beaten
salt to taste
black pepper freshly ground to taste
vegetable oil for deep frying as needed
meatless tomato sauce

Course

Fish and Seafood

Cuisine

Italian

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

25 minutes

Passive Time

1 hour

Servings

people

Ingredients

2 x 7 ounce cans tuna packed in oil preferably Italian
2 1/4 ounces crustless white bread
1/2 ounce Grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
2 eggs lightly beaten
salt to taste
black pepper freshly ground to taste
vegetable oil for deep frying as needed
meatless tomato sauce

Instructions

Drain the tuna and squeeze out excess oil.
Soak the bread in water. Squeeze out excess water.
Combine all ingredients and mix with your fingers until you get a uniform mixture.
Form into 14 portions.
Roll into balls then flatten slightly.
Dredge in flour then refrigerate one hour, if possible.
Deep fry the croquettes then simmer in tomato sauce for about 10 minutes.

Recipe Notes

You can find the recipe for Basic Tomato Sauce HERE.

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Recipes

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

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21 March 2023

Cacio e Pepe, Pasta alla Gricia, Spaghetti all’Amatriciana, and Spaghetti alla Carbonara are the Holy Quaternity of Roman pasta dishes.

The sauce for Cacio e Pepe is little more than Pecorino Romano cheese emulsified into some of the pasta-cooking water to make a glossy sauce. Pasta alla Gricia adds cured pork, usually guanciale, to Cacio e Pepe. Amatriciana adds tomato to Gricia while Carbonara adds egg to Gricia.

And there you have it, arguably the four most important pasta dishes of Roman cuisine.

The origins of Spaghetti alla Carbonara are murky. Given the obvious relationship between these four pasta dishes one might think that there’s not much to talk about, one just naturally leading into the other. However, there is some intriguing evidence, and a little speculation, about the origins of Carbonara.

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The evidence and speculation go like this. During the Allied liberation of Rome during WWII, the bacon and (powdered) eggs of American GI rations were combined with pasta to make a proto-Carbonara. Some Italians agree with this, and some do not. Those who do not usually insist that the cured pork product of choice is guanciale (cured pork jowl) not pancetta (cured pork belly) let alone American bacon.

But think about it. How likely is it that the Romans had any cured pork hanging around near the end of WWII? It’s more likely that they consumed anything that was consumable by then. The existence of guanciale in any significant quantity is unlikely. In addition, the first reference to Spaghetti alla Carbonara appeared in the newspaper La Stampa in 1950, indicating it was a favorite of American GIs.

Of course, it’s entirely possible that Spaghetti alla Carbonara existed prior to WWII and was made with guanciale. After the Allied liberation of Rome, it’s reasonable to see how GI rations of (powdered) egg and bacon could have been substituted for fresh eggs and guanciale. It’s also possible, even probable, that if it existed before the 1940s, Carbonara wasn’t written about because it was part of the cuisine of the poor (cucina povera). Despite our current fascination with traditional cuisine, until recently culinary history largely focused on foods eaten by the upper classes, not the poor.

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Unless more evidence comes to light, we may never know the origins of Spaghetti alla Carbonara. Even so, there are some things we can say definitively:

Adding cream to Carbonara is an abomination!
If not the original meat, American bacon has a legitimate place in the history of Carbonara.
Carbonara is delicious, whether made with guanciale, bacon, or pancetta. Yes, each is different but each is delicious! I’ve used all of them. I prefer bacon but I’ll never turn down a well-made dish (or three) of Spaghetti alla Carbonara regardless of what cured pork product went into it.

The most challenging part of making carbonara is to incorporate the eggs, getting them to thicken into a sauce without either remaining raw or turning into scrambled eggs. I’ve got a little trick that eliminates these concerns.

Read on!

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Spaghetti alla Carbonara is one of the four classic Roman pasta dishes, along with Cacio e Pepe, Pasta alla Gricia, and Spaghetti all’Amatriciana. It can be made with guanciale, American bacon, or pancetta though guanciale and bacon probably have the greatest claim on tradition. My preference is bacon. If using guanciale, I sometimes decrease the amount by 10% because it usually has more fat than either bacon or pancetta.

Course

Pasta, Noodles, and Sauces

Cuisine

Italian

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

20 minutes

Servings

people

Ingredients

450 to 500 grams spaghetti
4 cloves garlic crushed
225 grams American smoked bacon or guanciale or pancetta
80 ml dry white wine
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
70 grams Pecorino Romano cheese
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley optional
2 teaspoons Freshly ground black pepper plus more to taste
salt as needed

Course

Pasta, Noodles, and Sauces

Cuisine

Italian

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

20 minutes

Servings

people

Ingredients

450 to 500 grams spaghetti
4 cloves garlic crushed
225 grams American smoked bacon or guanciale or pancetta
80 ml dry white wine
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
70 grams Pecorino Romano cheese
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley optional
2 teaspoons Freshly ground black pepper plus more to taste
salt as needed

Instructions

Cut the bacon into matchstick-size pieces.
Sauté the bacon in a dry sauté pan until some fat renders.
Add the garlic and sauté until the garlic is quite golden, but not brown. Remove the garlic and reserve. If the bacon is not well browned, continue cooking.
Meanwhile, combine the eggs, egg yolks, Pecorino Romano cheese, 2 teaspoons black pepper, and reserved cooked garlic in a blender jar. Reserve.
When the bacon is brown, add the wine and remove from the heat unless you are adding the pasta immediately. The dish can be made several hours ahead to this point.
Cook the spaghetti in salted water until just shy of al dente.
Just before draining the pasta, reheat the bacon and cook off the wine.
Add the pasta to the bacon and sauté on medium to medium-high heat.
Add pasta-cooking water, about one ladleful at a time, and continue cooking the pasta, stirring frequently, until al-dente. There should be enough liquid to coat the pasta in a thick "sauce."
Just as the pasta reaches al dente, turn on the blender. Blend the contents thoroughly and then add about 120 ml (½ cup) of the hot pasta cooking liquid while the blender is still running.
Off the heat, add the blended egg mixture to the pasta along with the parsley, if using, and even more freshly ground black pepper.
Mix well to turn the eggs into a creamy sauce, adding pasta-cooking water if needed. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
Pour into a warmed serving bowl and serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

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Recipes

Funghi Ripieni (Stuffed Mushrooms)

1 Comment

September 29, 2021

“Your grams are killing me!”

That’s what a friend told me recently regarding some of the recipes on my blog.

His comment came as he was considering how much pasta to cook for dinner. I repeated what Great Aunt Fidalma told me: 80 grams per person.

Making the change to the metric system (International System or SI) of measurement isn’t easy and we don’t do much as a country to catalyze the change. In some areas, though, we’ve made the transition.

**The digital scale I use on a daily basis. I also have two battery powered scales that are just as accurate that cost $20 each.**

Have you looked carefully at a wine or liquor bottle recently? The contents are specified in the metric system even as we continue to refer to a bottle of liquor as a “fifth.” Until January 1979, a liquor bottle, indeed, held one-fifth of a US gallon, approximately 757 ml. Standard liquor bottles now contain 750 ml, just a smidge less.

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Cooking, and especially baking, is much easier with the metric system. And that doesn’t even take into account the ease of weighing ingredients rather than trying to measure cups and fractions of cups.

I find that I am frequently scaling recipes up and down, but usually up. If the recipe calls for 3/4 cup of water, and I’m upscaling by 20%, I end up with the unwieldy amount of 9/10 cup of water. If I were using metric measures, I’d be starting with something like 180 ml and increasing by 20% to get to 216 ml which is much easier to measure out than 9/10 of a cup.

**The manual scale that I used for many years. It has since been mothballed.**

Let’s face it, how do you measure 9/10 cup. You first start by determining what 1/10 cup is, which is 1.6 tablespoons. Multiplying that by 9 gets you 14.4 tablespoons. But since you’re not going to measure out that many tablespoons one by one (and you’re likely to get pretty inaccurate after a few tablespoons, if you do) you work backwards to figure out what standard measure comes close. That gets you back to the 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) you started with plus 2.4 tablespoons.

For most purposes, you can treat 2.4 tablespoons as if it were 2.5 tablespoons since the difference is likely within the margin of error for measuring with kitchen equipment. But unless you have a set of measuring spoons that contains a 1/2 tablespoon measure, you’ll be measuring out 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon plus 1/2 teaspoon… if you can remember how many teaspoons are in a tablespoon.

So rather than just pouring 215 ml into a measuring cup (a reasonable approximation for 216 ml and one that can be found marked on some metric measuring “cups”) you’d be measuring out ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon plus 1/2 teaspoon. In my book, that’s crazy!

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It gets even easier if you give up the notion of measuring by volume and measure everything by weight, even liquids, as is typically done in professional kitchens. You can get a very accurate scale for less than $20. With that, you could weigh out the 216 grams of water (equivalent to 216 ml of water) and call it a day: no guessing, no eyeballing, no complex calculations needed.

**For weighing small quantities this little scale can’t be beat for accuracy.**

So really, what’s holding you back from giving the Metric System a go?

It’s time for me to get off my soapbox (for now) and actually cook something. How about stuffed mushrooms? I’ll even write the recipe in American measures!!

Funghi Ripieni (Stuffed Mushrooms)

These stuffed mushrooms come together quickly and can be made early in the day and refrigerated until it’s time to pop them in the oven.

Course

Appetizers and Nibbles

Cuisine

General, Italian

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

35 minutes

Servings

people

Ingredients

16 large mushrooms 2” to 3” caps
1 1/2 tablespoons butter plus more for buttering the dish and dotting the tops
1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
2 eggs beaten
1 tablespoon minced parsley
2-3 cloves garlic minced
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
salt to taste
black pepper freshly ground to taste
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated (or to taste)
broth or water as needed

Course

Appetizers and Nibbles

Cuisine

General, Italian

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

35 minutes

Servings

people

Ingredients

16 large mushrooms 2” to 3” caps
1 1/2 tablespoons butter plus more for buttering the dish and dotting the tops
1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
2 eggs beaten
1 tablespoon minced parsley
2-3 cloves garlic minced
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
salt to taste
black pepper freshly ground to taste
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated (or to taste)
broth or water as needed

Instructions

Wipe the mushrooms with a damp cloth.
Remove the stems.
Finely grind the stems in a food processor.
Sauté the ground stems in the butter with a pinch of salt until the liquid is drawn out and then completely evaporated.
Mix the cooked stems with the breadcrumbs, eggs, parsley, garlic, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste.
Cool slightly and add 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.
Butter a baking dish large enough to hold the mushroom caps in a single layer, snugly.
Fill each mushroom cap with some of the stuffing mixture.
Arrange the stuffed mushroom caps in the buttered dish.
Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese, dot with butter and add a small amount of broth or water to the bottom of the dish to keep the mushrooms from sticking.
Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes, until golden brown on top.
Baste occasionally with the liquid in the pan during baking.

Recipe Notes

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Recipes

Crostata di Amaretti (Amaretti Tart)

Sformato di Patate (Italian Potato “Cake”)

Bread Pudding

8 Comments

July 3, 2019

It’s a Sunday morning in June. I’m on the East Coast; Fire Island, New York to be exact. I’m one-third of the way through a three-week stay on this slip of land south of Long Island. To the north of Fire Island is the Great South Bay, which separates it from Long Island. To the south is the Atlantic Ocean.

**The Cherry Grove dock. It’s about 4 1/2 miles across the Great South Bay to Sayville on Long Island.**

Whenever I’m here, I seem to channel my childhood as far as cooking goes. I find myself turning (though not exclusively, mind you) to the foods I grew up eating and loving. A few days ago for dinner I made Italian (OK, Italian-American) sausage with peppers and onions.

Today I’m making my mother’s long-simmered Southern Italian Ragu (or Sugo or Tomato Sauce…or, because I’m in New York, Sunday Gravy). Growing up, we NEVER called Tomato Sauce of any sort “Gravy!” It was usually just “Sauce,” which we all knew meant mom’s or Aunt Margie’s or Aunt Mamie’s or some other Italian-American woman’s slow-cooked meat-and-tomato-based sauce for pasta. And we NEVER EVER used the word “Sunday” as a modifier for “Sauce!”

**A tortoise greeted me on a walk from Cherry Grove to The Pines one morning.**

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Sauce was Sauce, it was sacrosanct. It wasn’t better or different or more elaborate because it was being made on Sunday. If by some chance it were to be made on Thursday (which it usually wasn’t) it would still be made the same way. To be sure, there was some variability in the meats that were used. In my family’s version there were always big pieces of pork, preferably bone-in. There could also be sausage (preferably hot), meatballs, and occasionally (and just for the cook) one chicken thigh (to “sweeten the sauce” as my mother would say). Other than that, and the occasional appearance (or not) of an additional aromatic, like a small amount of minced onion or a hot pepper, the rest of the process was invariable.

**Though there are some larger houses, many of the houses in Cherry Grove are small cottages.**

I’m making Sauce today because, well, it’s Sunday and I’m on the East Coast, and because I LOVE it. If I could, I’d find an AM radio and tune it to a station playing Polkas (Is that even possible?). Aunt Mamie always did that on Sunday (despite being of Italian descent). It’s one of those experiences from childhood that has had an outsized impact on me for some reason. The memory is quite simple: summertime, doors open , Aunt Mamie cooking, and her big green box radio sitting on a white enamel-topped free-standing kitchen cabinet near the door to her porch blaring out polka tunes.

**The Tiki Bar can be a happening place during 2-4-1 happy hour!**

Many of my fondest memories are in the summer with the doors open, what can I say? It’s not like Aunt Mamie didn’t tune to polkas in the winter but that’s not what comes to mind!

**One of the many boardwalks that make navigating Cherry Grove possible.**

I’m also making Bread Pudding today. One of those comfort-food desserts that I really enjoy. I know I’ve mentioned this a time or three, but all of my favorite foods are carbohydrates. All of my favorite desserts are based on moderately complex carbohydrates (flour and rice, usually) without lots of extra fat (like butter) and without being overly sweet. Bread Pudding and Rice Pudding are near the top of the list.

**Getting ready for the Fourth of July, a “house cat” is decked out with patriotic sunglasses.**

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Neither would be considered fit for company but I’m foisting the bread pudding on our dinner guests today with the option of some heavy cream poured on top. I can always do a run to the store for gelato if I have a last-minute change of heart. And, it would be a “run.” There are no cars on this part of the island. There are some motorized carts that ply the boardwalks that crisscross the community, providing the only means of navigating the town. The carts are mostly used by contractors, businesses, trash pickup, the fire department, and the EMS. Although a few residents use small carts or electric scooters to get around, the rest of us walk and use wagons to cart things that are too heavy to carry.

**Looking south toward the Atlantic Ocean with deer in the distance.**

It’s a pretty idyllic place to spend part of the summer.

**A view toward the dock and Great South Bay from the Tiki Bar.**

It can also be an exciting and unpredictable place. Sunday afternoon an intense storm hit Long Island and Fire Island. Trees and power lines were downed. The storm put an end to internet service for more than forty-eight hours. That’s the reason that this blog is getting posted a few days later than planned.

**Part of the Cherry Grove Fire Department, an all-volunteer force.**

Meanwhile, I’m eagerly anticipating the arrival of the next urge to cook something from my childhood!

Bread Pudding

If the raisins or currants are not absolutely fresh and soft, cover them with hot water to plump up before adding them to the mixture. It is best if the bread is a few days old so that it has lost some of its moisture.

Course

Desserts and Sweets

Cuisine

American

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

80 minutes

Passive Time

60 minutes

Servings

people

Ingredients

7 cups 3/4 inch bread cubes such as French, rustic Italian, or Challah
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar white or firmly packed brown
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon preferably freshly ground
2 3/4 cups whole milk
1/4 cup Rum or Brandy or more milk
1/2 cup raisins or currants optional
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg optional
butter to dot the bread pudding and grease the baking dish

Course

Desserts and Sweets

Cuisine

American

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

80 minutes

Passive Time

60 minutes

Servings

people

Ingredients

7 cups 3/4 inch bread cubes such as French, rustic Italian, or Challah
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar white or firmly packed brown
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon preferably freshly ground
2 3/4 cups whole milk
1/4 cup Rum or Brandy or more milk
1/2 cup raisins or currants optional
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg optional
butter to dot the bread pudding and grease the baking dish

Instructions

Beat eggs, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon.
Add milk and rum to the egg mixture and whisk to combine.
Butter a three-quart ovenproof covered dish.
Toss the bread cubes and raisins if using. Put the bread into the buttered dish. Pour milk and egg mixture on top.
Grate nutmeg over the top. Dot lightly with butter.
Cover and allow to sit at room temperature 30-60 minutes.
Bake at 350°F, covered, for approximately 60 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until brown on top.
Serve warm or at room temperature. Pour a little heavy cream on top if desired.

Recipe Notes

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Recipes

Sri Lankan Fish Croquettes

2 Comments

December 26, 2018

OK, I’m going out on a limb again posting another Sri Lankan recipe.

Whenever I do that, fewer people open the email and even fewer look at the recipe. Sri Lankan food just doesn’t garner the interest (among my readers, at least) that Italian food does. Interestingly (or not, perhaps) my cousin’s Marinated Pasta Salad from two weeks ago got the largest response ever!

Although a majority of my recipes are Italian, I am reluctant to post ONLY Italian recipes. There are just so many things that I like to cook…and therefore want to share…that I want to keep my options open. What happens, if for example if I choose to post only Italian recipes and then want to post my recipe for Bourbon Brown Sugar Apricot Jam? That most certainly is NOT Italian. (But it is so, so good!)

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One possibility, I guess, would be to focus this blog on Italian food exclusively and to start a second blog that includes all the other foods I like to cook. The majority of that food would end up being Asian with a smattering of Western Cuisines. Bourbon Brown Sugar Apricot Jam would be just as out of place there as it would in an exclusively Italian-food-oriented blog. (And, I’m not sure I could keep two blogs going.)

Here’s my request: Use the comment feature to let me know what you think about the options, or even come up with alternative suggestions, for how to focus the blog. I plan to continue posting while I am in Italy for three months but that would be a great time to redesign the focus of the blog, if need be, and start fresh when I return.

**Nanacy Rajapakse (left), who taught me the fundamentals of Sri Lankan cuisine, and her sister Thilaka in 2005.**

As for the Fish Croquettes, these are actually called Fish Cutlets in Sri Lanka but croquettes would be a more common term in the West. I think you’ll find that they go really well with cocktails and, if you didn’t tell anyone they were Sri Lankan, nobody would be the wiser.

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Over the next few months, I will post a few more of my favorite Sri Lankan recipes. When I started doing this in the late summer, my plan was to post enough recipes for my readers to be able to put together a credible Sri Lankan meal, not that every dish I posted would need to be included but that I would have posted enough of an assortment of recipes to provide a good basis for selection.

I am going to follow through on that plan in the coming months. Upcoming recipes might include Beef Smoore, Devilled Cashews, Ghee Rice, Pol Sambol, Pork Badun, Beet Curry, Fish Curry, Pickled Lime, Pumpkin Curry, Tempered Cabbage and Peppers, and Wattalappam. If you’ve got a favorite that you want me to post just let me know!

The blog will be an interesting juxtaposition over the next few months as I chronicle my culinary experience in Italy interspersed with Sri Lankan recipes.

Sri Lankan Fish Croquettes

Although Tuna is a traditional fish used for cutlets, almost any type of fish will work. Good quality frozen tuna can be used in place of fresh. Curry leaves can be found in many Asian markets. There really is no substitute for them in terms of taste but if not having access to curry leaves is the only thing preventing you from trying this recipe, use another fresh green herb such as basil, thyme, or oregano. These may be served warm or at room temperature.

Course

Appetizers and Nibbles, Fish and Seafood, Mains

Cuisine

Sri Lankan

Prep Time

1 hour

Cook Time

1 1/2 hours

Passive Time

4 hours

Servings

croquettes

Ingredients

For the croquettes

14 ounces small red-skinned potatoes
1 1/2 pounds tuna or bonito preferably skinless
1/2 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground, or to taste
2 onions chopped
3 small green chiles more or less to taste
20 curry leaves fresh (see headnote for options)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons oil
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 eggs lightly beaten
breadcrumbs to bind

For dredging and frying

Course

Appetizers and Nibbles, Fish and Seafood, Mains

Cuisine

Sri Lankan

Prep Time

1 hour

Cook Time

1 1/2 hours

Passive Time

4 hours

Servings

croquettes

Ingredients

For the croquettes

14 ounces small red-skinned potatoes
1 1/2 pounds tuna or bonito preferably skinless
1/2 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground, or to taste
2 onions chopped
3 small green chiles more or less to taste
20 curry leaves fresh (see headnote for options)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons oil
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 eggs lightly beaten
breadcrumbs to bind

For dredging and frying

Instructions

Peel the potatoes. Cut them into pieces approximately ¾ inch on a side.
Put the cut potatoes in a steamer basket. Sprinkle with ground black pepper to taste.
Steam the potatoes over boiling water until tender, 15-25 minutes.
Put the cooked potatoes into a mixing bowl.
Cut the fish into strips approximately 1 ½ inches wide.
Put the fish in the steamer basket. Sprinkle with ground black pepper to taste.
Steam the fish over boiling water until fully cooked and flaky, 10-20 minutes. If the fish has skin, remove it after steaming.
Put the fish on a plate to cool.
Coarsely chop the green chiles
Grind the onions and green chile in a food processor.
Sauté the ground onion mixture, curry leaves, and cumin in the oil until the onion is soft but not brown, 6-8 minutes.
Coarsely mash the partially cooled potato.
Add the fish to the potato and mash again. The mixture should not be completely smooth but there should not be any really large chunks.
Add the onion mixture and salt to the mashed potatoes and fish. Mix well.
Add the eggs and then enough breadcrumbs to bind the mixture. The amount of breadcrumbs needed will vary based on the moisture content. Use your judgement and opt for making the mixture a little loose rather than overly stiff.
Refrigerate, covered, for several hours for the breadcrumbs to fully hydrate.
Taste and adjust salt (and chile if you wish).
Divide into 50 portions. Shape each into a slightly flattened oval shape.

Final Assembly

Season the flour with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Beat the four eggs lightly and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Dredge each croquette in flour, then dip in the beaten egg, then roll in the breadcrumbs.
Refrigerate, uncovered, at least one hour before frying.
Deep fry the croquettes at 350°F to 375°F until golden brown.
Drain on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet.

Recipe Notes

Curry leaves have an alluring flavor that isn't really comparable to any other herb. I recommend that you try to find them. You will probably have extra left. I suggest adding the whole fresh leaves to eggs before scrambling.

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Recipes

Rabbi Goldie’s Jewish Apple Cake

12 Comments

September 5, 2018

In September 1972, at the age of 17, I went from the small town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania to Philadelphia to attend the University of Pennsylvania.

Little did I know how much my life was going to change, nor how sheltered I had been growing up in Johnstown. There were a few trips to Florida and California by car, and a portion of every summer spent in Atlantic City, but other than that my life mostly revolved around the family and happenings within a few hours’ drive of Johnstown.

A few weeks before I left for college, I got a note from Jon Rikoon who was to be one of my roommates. Jon lived on Long Island. I don’t think I’d ever been to New York at that point.

**Harnwell House, the dorm (now a college house) I lived in during freshman year**

Another of my roommates (we had a three-bedroom, four-bed dorm “apartment”) was Chip Fleischmann, as in Fleischmann’s yeast. The fourth roommate only lasted the first semester and I simply can’t remember his name. (He kept to himself mostly.)

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Early in freshman year, Jon started dating Gail Milgram. Gail spent a lot of time in our apartment and she and I became very good friends.

Gail’s relationship with Jon didn’t last beyond freshman year but our friendship did. We saw a lot of each other throughout our undergraduate years and for a few years thereafter while I was in medical school.

Our friendship remained strong. In fact, at one point early in medical school Gail and I had to temporarily stop spending time together as her boyfriend at the time was jealous of our relationship. Needless to say, he didn’t last!

Gail and I were in infrequent contact after my first couple of years in medical school. In fact, years could go by without contact but, somehow, we always managed to reconnect.

As the years did, in fact, go by, Gail officially changed her name to Goldie. She also became a rabbi.

A few months ago, out of the blue, just after I decided to post a recipe for the Jewish Apple Cake that (the then) Gail taught me how to make in college, I received an email from her.

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She was in Europe for the summer and we set up a time to chat by video conference but her internet connection did not cooperate and we were unsuccessful in our attempts to chat. We’re planning another attempt at video conferencing when both of us are in the States later this fall. I’m looking forward to catching up with her.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy what is now, officially, Rabbi Goldie’s Jewish Apple Cake!

Rabbi Goldie's Jewish Apple Cake

It is best to bake this cake in a plain, shiny aluminum pan. A dark pan will overcook the outside before the center is done. Don't add the sugar to the apples before you are ready to pour the batter into the pan or it will pull a lot of liquid out of the apples.

Course

Desserts and Sweets

Cuisine

Jewish

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

90 minutes

Passive Time

1 hour

Servings

people

Ingredients

3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil preferably corn oil
5 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon orange juice
2 large apples
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup chopped walnuts optional

Course

Desserts and Sweets

Cuisine

Jewish

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

90 minutes

Passive Time

1 hour

Servings

people

Ingredients

3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil preferably corn oil
5 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon orange juice
2 large apples
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup chopped walnuts optional

Instructions

Grease and flour a 10" tube pan with a removable bottom.
Sift together the flour and baking powder.
Peel the apples, cut them in quarters and remove the core.
Slice the apples crosswise into 1/8 inch thick slices.
Mix the apples and cinnamon and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer cream oil and 2 cups plus 3 tablespoons sugar.
Add eggs one at a time beating after each addition.
Add 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon orange juice and vanilla. Mix well.
Add flour and baking powder mixture and mix well.
Add 5 tablespoons of sugar to the apples and mix well.
Pour half the batter into the prepared pan.
Top the batter with half the apples.
Top the apples with half the walnuts, if using.
Add the remaining batter and top with the remaining apples and walnuts, if using.
Bake at 350°F for approximately 1 hour 40 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes on a rack. Remove from pan and cool completely.

Recipe Notes

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Mom’s Biscotti (aka Anise Toasts or Slice Cookies)

8 Comments

April 20, 2018

Growing up biscotti were not ubiquitous the way they are now.

Remember, this was before the coffee shop craze swept the country and when Italian food was viewed as “foreign.”

Sure, one could get biscotti in Italian specialty stores. There was even a marginally passable supermarket version from Stella d’Oro. (It still exists though the company has been sold many times.)

**Stella d’Oro Biscotti (I just can’t bring myself to spell it incorrectly with an uppercase “D” and a lowercase “o”)**

But mostly, biscotti were homemade.

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My mother’s biscotti are a little softer on the inside than the standard biscotti today, which seem to have a crunch the whole way through. She also made them much smaller than is now common, maybe three inches or so in length as opposed to six or eight.

The interesting ingredient in these biscotti is maraschino cherries. The maraschino cherry as we Americans know it was a product of food science from the 1920’s and 30’s. “Real” maraschino cherries, Marasca cherries from the Dalmatian coast of Croatia, pickled in salt water and preserved in Maraschino liqueur, are actually quite rare. There are many versions of cherries preserved in liquor from throughout Europe, some clearly developed as substitutes for authentic maraschino cherries.

I remember eating these biscotti in the 1960’s so the recipe is at least that old, probably older. It is unlikely, however, that these biscotti ever saw real maraschino cherries due to their rarity.

If this recipe dates to pre-prohibition, in which case it would have been from my grandmother or someone in her generation, it’s possible that some sort of cherry preserved in alcohol (on the order of a real maraschino cherry) was originally used. I have no idea if the recipe is that old.

Since liquor-soaked cherries were outlawed during prohibition they would have been eliminated from this recipe even if it is that old. Which brings us to a dichotomy in thinking about recipes that I often consider: the difference between authentic and traditional.

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Is food authentically Italian if it’s prepared in Italy by an Italian but does not follow any traditional recipe?

If cioppino is made following a longstanding traditional Italian regional recipe but the cook substitutes seafood available in the United States for that available in Italy, is it authentic?

There is no doubt that these biscotti are traditional in my family, having been made for more than 50 years. But what would make them authentic? And for that matter, would it be authentically Italian or authentically Italian-American?

I suggest you mull that over while dunking biscotti in your morning caffe latte.

Biscotti

In my family, these biscotti are traditionally made much shorter (after being cut crosswise) that is commonly the case now. For longer biscotti, form 6 logs approximately 9 ½ to 10 inches long before baking. For shorter biscotti, form 10-12 logs of the same length. The recipe is easily cut in half (which is what I did when making this batch).

Course

Desserts and Sweets

Cuisine

Italian, Italian-American

Prep Time

45 minutes

Cook Time

2 hours

Passive Time

30 minutes

Servings

dozen large biscotti

Ingredients

12 cups all purpose flour
4 cups sugar
13 teaspoons baking powder (1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon)
6 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil such as corn oil
1/2 pound unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly
1 cup whole milk
1 x 16 ounce jar maraschino cherries
1/2 pound walnuts chopped, optional
1 ounce anise extract not anise oil
1 egg beaten for glazing

Course

Desserts and Sweets

Cuisine

Italian, Italian-American

Prep Time

45 minutes

Cook Time

2 hours

Passive Time

30 minutes

Servings

dozen large biscotti

Ingredients

12 cups all purpose flour
4 cups sugar
13 teaspoons baking powder (1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon)
6 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil such as corn oil
1/2 pound unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly
1 cup whole milk
1 x 16 ounce jar maraschino cherries
1/2 pound walnuts chopped, optional
1 ounce anise extract not anise oil
1 egg beaten for glazing

Instructions

Drain the cherries.
Cut the cherries in quarters.
Squeeze out excess liquid by gently pressing a small handful of cut cherries between your flat palms. Do not make a fist and do not smash the cherries. Reserve the cherries.
In a very large bowl, mix flour, sugar, and baking powder using your hands.
Make a well in the center.
Add the eggs.
Begin to incorporate some of the flour into the eggs working in a circular motion using your hands.
Add the oil and butter and continue mixing.
Add the milk and anise extract. Mix thoroughly.
Add the cherries and nuts, if using.
Fully incorporate the cherries and nuts.
Form into six or twelve cylinders approximately 9 ½ inches long. Six cylinders will make biscotti that are quite long once cut crosswise. Twelve cylinders will make shorter biscotti.
Bake the cylinders for 30 minutes at 350°F. You can line the sheet pan with parchment if you prefer.
Brush the tops with beaten egg.
Bake 5 to 10 minutes longer, until golden brown and the cylinders are cooked through. Larger cylinders will take longer to bake.
Cool the baked cylinders on the baking pan on a cooling rack for approximately 10 minutes.
Cut the baked cylinders crosswise on the diagonal into slices approximately 1 inch thick.
Cool the slices completely.
Lay the slices cut side down on a baking pan.
Toast in the top rack of the oven at 450°F.
Turn and toast the other side.
Remove biscotti to a rack to cool.