AOP – Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino

by chefbikeski Posted on August 14, 2012
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Sign at Entrance

“Per star bene fin dal mattino mangia aglio e peperoncino”

To feel good at the end of the morning, eat garlic and peppers.

This sage advice greeted me recently as I entered into a small shop in Bassano del Grappa. While wandering the streets of this beautiful town in the Pre-Alps of the Veneto, I happened upon a local producer of canned products. I was warmly greeted by the family, who were very proud of their products – understandably – and brought out one after another for me to taste. I had a hard time pulling myself away, and returned later with a few of our bike tour guests for even more! Father and mother were in the rear, cooking up the next batch, while their adult son greeted the guests and offered us sample after sample.

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Family at work

The name of this shop is “Specialita in Gamba”, and it advertises “Produzione propria e spaccio di conserve aglio e peperoncino”, conserves of garlic and peppers. Strings of garlic and dried hot peppers hang from every available rafter. They produce a wide variety of items packed in olive oil – garlic, both whole and crushed, shallots, as well as many pickled vegetables – carrots, cauliflower, peppers, celery. In addition, they produce and can many interesting sauces; cren in salsa (horseradish), radicchio, white asparagus, and one simply labeled AOP.

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Conserves in shop in Bassano del Grappa

The sauces here are all basically pestos. Pesto is most commonly interpreted as a mixture of crushed basil, garlic, cheese, nuts and olive oil, but this simple technique can be applied to so many other ingredients. The word ‘pesto’ derives from the Italian word “pestare”, which means to pound or crush. Traditionally, a pesto would be made using a mortar and pestle, with the ingredients being ‘ground’ with a circular motion of the pesto. Now apply this same technique to, say, asparagus, and you get a wonderful sauce for pasta.

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White asparagi sauce

I tried many of these sauces while there; the radicchio, one just made with crushed garlic, and white asparagus. I brought home a jar of the latter, so my family could experience the renowned white asparagus of Bassano. The one that really intrigued me was their specialty, the AOP. It made my now rather long list of dishes to recreate back home!

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My own AOP

I did a bit of research first, to discover if any recipes existed for this AOP sauce as this store produced it. Looking up AOP recipes on the internet, I found several that claim that AOP is a sauce made not from aglio, olio e peperoncino, but aglio, olio, e pomodoro (tomatoes). While I am sure this is a tasty combination, all the recipes for this seemed to originate from a US restaurant.

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Bucatini with AOP

Most of the “authentic” versions of recipes with the AOP are a very simple pasta sauce, made by browning sliced garlic just ever so slightly in olive oil, adding hot red pepper flakes, turning off the heat and tossing it over pasta. This dish is so simple and quick, it hardly seems worth the even minimal effort of making a sauce like I saw in Bassano. But then I started to think about all the other uses for the AOP sauce, if it happened to live in my refrigerator for a week:

  • Over pasta
  • Over grilled vegetables – zucchini, corn, eggplant
  • Over grilled pork, chicken, fish
  • Nice on a sandwich with italian meats and cheeses
  • Flavor a salad dressing – take a little, mix with more oil and a bit of vinegar.  Combine lettuce with black beans, corn and avocado.
  • Season a stir fry
  • Crostini – Chopped avocado mixed with a bit of AOP
  • Mixed in with brown rice

Here is my recipe for the AOP sauce. Four ingredients, (don’t forget salt), and a food processor. This is simply a peperocino ‘pesto’. If you try it, please let me know what other uses you find for it – I am just getting started!

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Peperoncini e Aglio

I used a mix of ancho (mild to medium) and california (medium to medium hot). I began by just pureeing the mild peppers with the oil and garlic, then added the hotter ones until  the level of heat was what I wanted. Experiment with peppers of different heat levels, as well as adding more garlic – both of which I will be playing with in future versions of this. Just remember – it is easier to add more than to take it out!

Salsa di AOP (Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino)

Makes 1 pint

3/4 cups extra virgin olive oil
8 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
9-10 dried medium to large chili peppers, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes to rehydrate, seeds removed
Kosher salt

Place the olive oil in a saute pan, and heat over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic and cook until they are just starting to brown. You want the flavor of the garlic in the oil, but you don’t want it too cook too long, or the garlic will become bitter. Remove from the heat.

Place the chili peppers in the bowl of a food processor. Add the oil and garlic. Puree until quite smooth, 1-2 minutes or so. Season with salt. Serve immediately, and place the remainder in a sealed container, topped with a thin layer of olive oil. Store in the refrigerator, it should keep for at least 10 days.

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Capretto Alla Tirolese – Grilled Goat Steaks

by chefbikeski Posted on July 31, 2012
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Capretto alla Tirolese

Always interested in expanding my culinary horizons, when I am at the market I am immediately drawn to any food I haven’t yet had the opportunity to cook. This week at  the Newburyport Farmer’s Market I was able to purchase locally raised goat meat. So guess what was on the menu last night!

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Capretto (Goat) Strip Steaks

I purchased the meat from Riverslea Farm, in Epping, NH. Riverslea is owned and operated by Jeff and Liz Conrad, who started out in 1991 and today raise both sheep and goats for the sale of meat, skins and wool. They sell naturally raised meat animals directly to the public, as well as washable sheepskins and wool products their farm shop and by mail.

They began their goat herd with Nubians, excellent milk producers, and Alpines, another hardy dairy breed.  In 1996, they introduced South African Boer in order to get a meatier animal.  Today, they breed 40 crossbred does exclusively with Boer bucks, producing goats with extremely lean and tender meat. They had a variety of cuts available, but as it is July, I was more interested in something that could be cooked quickly on the grill, rather than slow and low. I asked if they had any cuts they would recommend on the grill, and ended up purchasing 4 strip steaks.

I did a bit of research on goat meat, and how best to cook it, before diving in. Interestingly enough, goat is actually the world’s most popular meat, with 75% of  the world’s population eating it. This fact appeared in several places on the web, including this article in the New York Times. It is growing in popularity here in the US, with demand being driven both from ethnic groups who enjoy it as part of their traditional cuisine, as well as some high end chefs and producers – like NYC chef Scott Conant, and Niman Ranch – who are specializing in it. It is often called chevon or mutton when the meat comes from adults, and cabrito or kid when from young animals.

I leaned that goat meat is very lean, over 50% leaner than beef, and 40% leaner than chicken, even with the skin removed. The lack of fat does mean it should be cooked with a bit of care, and not just like a steak. Leaner cuts can tend to dry out quickly while cooking, so cooking with moist heat rather than dry is usually recommended. If grilling, which is pretty dry, a lower heat is suggested, with some marinating.

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Goat steaks with marinade ingredients, with a Sudtirol Lagrein

In Italy, goat is most popular in the south, with it most commonly being roasted whole. There are several recipes I found in La Cucina: The Regional Cooking of Italy for goat, most requiring slow cooking. I ended up adapting a recipe from Sudtirol for my goat steaks, a traditional recipe for chamois (Chamois alla Tirolese), which I am pretty sure I’m not going to find here in the US anytime soon. Chamois is a goat antelope species, native to the mountains of Europe, including the Alps. They live at moderately high altitudes and are adapted to living in precipitous, rugged, rocky terrain, like you will find in Alto Adige. They spend their summers above the tree line in meadows, and when winter rolls around, they go to lower elevations to live in forests, mainly in areas dominated by pines. As with goat, they are an extremely lean meat.

I used the flavors from the original recipe – bay leaves, cloves, juniper berries, Lagrein wine – to create a marinade. I grilled the steaks, and turned the marinade into a pan sauce.

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Juniper, cloves, bay leaves

One note on cooking goat, there is a silver skin that should be removed prior to cooking. Silver skin is a thin membrane with a silvery sheen. It does not break down during the cooking process, and can be a bit tough, so is best removed.  This is quite easy to do with a sharp knife. Stick the blade of a thin knife under the middle of the silver skin, making a slit. Slide your knife toward the end of the silver skin, pulling up a bit while pushing forward. The silver skin should come away from the meat underneath in a long strip. Turn the meat 180°, and do the same to the other side. Continue until all the silver skin has been removed. If your meat is frozen, removing the silver skin becomes even easier if you do it before the meat has completely defrosted.

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Removing silver skin

This recipe would work with any meat, especially leaner cuts like venison, buffalo, and elk. It was a very flavorful meat, a bit chewier frankly than a steak, but we don’t use (or even have) steak knives, and was easily cut with a regular table knife. I definitely will be returning for more!

Capretto alla Tirolese

2 lbs. goat strip steaks
2 bay leaves
7 juniper berries
4 whole cloves
Pinch fresh thyme leaves
2 cups red wine, preferable Lagrein
1 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup heavy cream, acidulated with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, or sour cream

Remove the silver skin from the steaks, and place in a sealable plastic bag.

Combine the bay leaves, juniper berries, cloves, thyme, red wine and vinegar in a small bowl. Pour over the goat, seal the bag and refrigerate. Marinate for up to 24 hours.

Preheat the grill to medium.

Place the butter and olive oil in a medium saute pan, and heat over medium high heat. When the butter is melted and hot, add the onions and cook until softened and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes.

Remove the goat from the marinade, and place the steaks on a sheet pan. Season with salt and pepper.

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Baccala Mantecato alla Vicentina, and House-Cured Salt Cod

by chefbikeski Posted on July 27, 2012
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Baccala Mantecato

One of the most traditional dishes of the Veneto region are various versions of baccala. You will find baccala on the menu in restaurants all over Venice, from the small hidden bacari (wine bars) to the most elegant ristorante. It’s a local specialty which we see almost daily on our biking adventures in the area.

Recipes with baccala are found in almost every region in Italy. Outside of the Veneto, baccala is similar to the brandade found in France, and made with salt cod, cod that has been salted and dried. In the Veneto, however, salt cod is not used in their baccala. Instead, they use stoccafisso (stockfish), which is cod that has been air dried as they hang on sticks – hence the name – and not salted. It is much firmer than salt cod, and requires several days of soaking to rehydrate.

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Baccala on our Italy bike tours

The use of stoccafisso in this region has its’ origins far back in history. In 1432, an expedition led by the Venetian captain Pietro Querini was stranded on one of the island Lofoten, off the coast of Norway. Querini returned from his travels with the local specialty, stockfish. In this Catholic country, the use of stockfish became a popular and cheaper way for the poorer inhabitants to refrain from the consumption of meat during fast days, as fresh fish was expensive. In this way, dishes that use stockfish, such as baccala, made their way onto the tables of the Veneto. The dish is so popular in this region that today the majority of Norway’s stockfish production is consumed in the Veneto.

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Cooking baccala in milk and olive oil

You will see various versions of baccala during a trip to the Veneto. In Venice, you will see baccala alla veneziana, which is made only with olive oil. In Vicenza, a city in the Veneto just west of Venice, you will see baccala alla vicentina, which uses milk and olive oil, or sometimes just milk. You will also see baccala mantecato. Mantecato comes from the verb mantecare, to beat or whip, which refers to the process of beat the fish to make the baccala. So you may see baccala mantecato alla vicentina, or alla veneziana.

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Salted cod

Here in the US, I don’t find stockfish. But in New England, I have made my own salt cod using fresh local cod on several occasions. I use this as a substitute for stockfish when I make baccala. It’s easy, and if you start with very fresh cod, won’t smell up your refrigerator. This recipe is adapted from Judy Rodger’s cookbook, The Zuni Cafe Cookbook.

House-Cured Salt Cod

2 pounds fresh skinned cod fillet
3 tablespoons kosher salt

Rinse the cod fillet under cold water, and press it with paper towels to dry. Salt the fish with the kosher salt – 1 1/2 tablespoons per pound. Sprinkle a bit more salt on the thicker center than on the edges and tail. If the center section is thicker than 1 1/2 inches, cut a 1/2 inch slash in the thickest section and salt inside this to make sure the salt will penetrate the fish evenly.

Place on a stainless steel rack, and place this on a sheet pan to catch any drips. Cover with another sheet pan, placed upside down. Whatever you use as a cover, make sure it does not touch the fish. Refrigerate and cure for up to 7 days. You can pour any drips off each day. If you keep the fish for longer than 5 days, you should lift out the fillet, rinse and dry the rack, and lightly resalt.

To desalt the cod, rinse it under cold water, and then soak it in plenty of fresh cold water.  Refrigerate. If the cod was salted for only 24 hours, allow 4 to 8 hours to desalt it. For longer cures, allow 24 hours, changing the soaking liquid twice. After the soaking, the texture should resemble the texture of fresh cod, rather than the firmer texture it took on after salting.

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Grilling polenta

I made baccala recently for a cicchetti party I hosted, featuring lots of delicious little snacks I’ve enjoyed in Venice. I used my own salt cod, and adapted a recipe from La Cucina: The Regional Cooking of Italy. I served it with its’ traditional pairing, grilled polenta.

Baccala Mantecato alla Vicentina

2 pounds salt cod, soaked for two days
5 cups milk
3/4 cups extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and white pepper

Place the fish in a pot with the milk over medium heat. When the milk begins to take on a little color from the fish, add the olive oil. Cook and reduce the liquid. When the mixture begins to dry out, beat with a wooden spoon or a potato masher to break up the fish. You want a dense, flavorful mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

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Risotto Aragosta con Riso Venere Nero (Lobster Risotto with Black Rice)

by chefbikeski Posted on July 19, 2012
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Risotto Aragosta con Riso Venere Nero

A recent article in La Cucina Italiana featured a selection of recipes for riso, or rice, each recipe using a different variety of rice. Some are traditional Italian risotto rices, such as Arborio, Carnaroli, and our Veneto favorite on our culinary bike tours, Vialone Nano. But one recipe in particular caught my attention; a recipe using Nero Venere, a black rice. First I thought it must be a white rice dish flavored using squid ink, but no – it is a unique, hard to find rice that is naturally black in color. And then, just the following week, I find this very same rice at my local farmstand! So now to learn more about it, and to use it.

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Riso Venere Nero

Riso Venere is a relatively new whole grain rice variety. A black rice, known as Forbidden, has been cultivated in China for centuries, but was so rare that it was served only to the Emporer and his court (hence the name.) This particular strain of rice is not adaptable to the European climate, however, recently a Chinese hybrid specialist successfully produced a cross between the Chinese rice and an Italian strain, and this new rice variety, Riso Venere, retains the black color but can flourish in the European climate. This variety is now cultivated in Piedmont and Lombardy, in the Po River valley for one.

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Ingredients for risotto

Venere rice is not only beautiful, but healthy as well. This wholegrain rice contains 4 times as much iron and twice as much selenium as regular rice. Selenium, as well as the very substance that gives this rice its distinctive black color, anthocyanins, are both antioxidants,which capture free radicals and reduce oxidative processes, and assist in the prevention of cancer and heart disease. As it is a wholegrain rice, it will take 40 or 50 minutes to cook, as most brown and other whole grain rices do.

This type of rice pairs well with seafood, so that’s where my thoughts drifted as I figured out what to do with it. It’s dramatic black color gives any dish using it an elegance; lobster seemed a natural choice.

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NE lobsters for risotto

In Italy, you will find a crustacean aragosta, a spiny lobster. This is not the same animal as the North American lobster, but a different species that lives in both the Mediterranean as well as the Adriatic. Back in the US, I would simply substitute the wonderful local lobsters I can easily find in any seafood market. A little fennel to start, white wine or prosecco and fish stock, and I had an elegant and healthy meal. It being summer now, I like to use the grill as much as possible. For my dinner this night, I chose to grill the lobsters. You can either parboil or steam the lobsters for 3 minutes or so, then cut in half and finish on the grill.

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Grilled lobster

Risotto Aragosta

Serves 6

3 lobsters
3 tablespoon butter, 2 tablespoons melted, 1 softened
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 1/4 cups vegetable or fish stock
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 leek, white part only, trimmed of roots and outer leaves, sliced thinly crosswise and swirled in a bowl of cold water to remove any grit
1/2 head fennel, tough outer layers removed, core removed, thinly sliced
2 cups risotto rice Riso Venere Nero
1 1/2 cups prosecco
1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

Place a large pot of water, or a pot fitted with a steamer rack and filled with 2 inches of water, on a burner. Bring water to a boil over high heat. Place the lobsters in the pot, cover, and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove the lobsters from the pot.

Place a lobster shell side down on a cutting board. With a sharp knife, place the tip in  the middle of the lobster, with the sharp end facing the head, and thrust down, bringing the rest of blade down from the center along the head, cutting the lobster in half lengthwise. Turn the lobster and repeat, cutting through the tail. Separate the two halves. Place on a sheet pan. Do the same with the other two lobsters.

Bring the stock to a low boil. Preheat the grill to medium high.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan, add the leek and fennel and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Add the rice. Stir for about 1 minute. Add the prosecco, and simmer until it has evaporated. Stir in a ladleful of the stock. Cook, adding the stock a ladleful at a time, and allowing it to be absorbed by the rice before adding more. Cook until the rice is al dente; don’t worry if you don’t use all the stock, you don’t want mushy rice. This Venere rice will take about 40 – 50 minutes to cook, significantly longer than most risotto rices. It will also not be as creamy.

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Cooking the rice - smell of warm bread and nuts

About 10 minutes or so before you think the rice will be done, drizzle the lobster bodies with the melted butter, and season with salt and pepper. Place the lobsters meat side up on the grill, grill until cooked through, about 7 – 9 minutes. Remove from grill, place on a clean sheet pan and cover to keep warm. This step is a great one to delegate, while you continue to watch the risotto!

When the risotto is al dente, season with salt to taste, and serve in a warm dish, topped with a half lobster, drizzled with a bit of olive oil and garnished with the chopped parsley.

Pair with the prosecco you used in the recipe, like a nice one from Col Vetoraz.

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Our Favorite Venetian Bacari (Wine Bars)

by chefbikeski Posted on July 9, 2012
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Cicchetti at Cantina Do Mori

My previous post discussed our visits on our Italiaoutdoors Food and Wine tours to Venice’s famed Rialto market, and the many wine bars, or bacaro, found just around the market. A great place to try a glass of wine and many wonderful snacks, called cicchetti, similar to tapas. A few of our favorite stops:

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Inside Cantina Do Mori

Cantina Do Mori, Calle Do Mori

I stop here pretty much every time I am in Venice. A classic establishment, it is rumored to have opened in 1462, with luminaries such as Casanova as patrons. Many wines to taste, fancier ones from the bottle, and many ‘house’ wines from large casks behind the counter. Try the traditional baccala, both vicentino (dried cod, cooked in milk with anchovy, parsley, cheese) and mantecato (dried cod, whipped with potato and olive oil), as well as all types of artichokes which were just becoming available on my visit last March. They are grown on the islands surrounding Venice. Also, you will see frittatas, and tramezzini – little thin sandwiches, filled with a variety of yummy combinations, made with crustless white bread.

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All' Arco in Venice

All’Arco, Calle del Arco

Literally just around the corner from Do Mori, this little spot was ranked #2 for restaurants in Venice on Trip Advisor – pretty good for a wine bar in the midst of the many wonderful restaurants in Venice. Francesco and his son Matteo vary the cicchetti they produce daily, depending upon what’s in season. The baccala mantecato is a favorite, as well as various crostini type treats with prosciutto, cheeses, and grilled vegetables.

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Lista Vini at Osteria alla Ciurma

Osteria alla Ciurma, Calle Galeazza

A large wine selection here, all available for only 2 euros a glass. You can even try a taste before investing your 2 euros! A large selection of traditional cicchetti, including polpette – fried meatballs – both with meat, and also tuna. Just a few stools for seating, but just move on up to the bar and rub elbows with the many locals that frequent this place.

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Hard at work at Osteria ai Storti

Osteria ai Storti, Calle San Matio

This spot is notable for two things – seating, and a bathroom. I would recommend selecting one of the fish or shrimp you will find at the bar. Skip the assorted cicchetti from the menu; it’s a plate of mediocre deep fried nibbles, none of which was particularly worth the trouble.

Here are a few more recipes, my versions of the snacks I’ve enjoyed on my visits to these traditional Venetian wine bars.

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Tramezzini di Asparagi e Uova

Tramezzini

You don’t really need a recipe for tramezzini – it is basically a sandwich. I get a loaf of thin white sandwich bread at the store, cut of the crusts, and make sandwiches with an Italy inspired filling. Possibilities include:

Prosciutto, shaved grana or parmegiano reggiano cheese, arugula
Tuna, olive and egg
Eggplant caponata

For my recent cicchetti party, I made tramezzini with sliced tomato, sliced hard boiled egg, and asparagus pesto. I would suggest placing the tomato slice down first on one slice of bread, followed by the egg slices, and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Spread the pesto on the other slice, place the two slice together, and cut in half on the diagonal.

Asparagus Pesto

1 bunch asparagus, woody end snapped off
kosher salt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Salt. Place the asparagus in the boiling water and blanch until tender, about 7 minutes. Do not cover the pot while blanching. When tender, remove the asparagus from the boiling water and immediately immerse in an ice water bath to halt the cooking. Remove and pat dry.

Place the cooked asparagus spears in a food processor. Add half the olive oil, and puree. Continue to add olive oil until it reaches the consistency of pesto. Season with salt and lemon juice.

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Arancini

Arancini

I posted a recipe for this a while ago, where you stuff them with prosicutto and mozzarella. This is a variation better suited for smaller, bite-sized snacks. Everything is simply combined, rolled into small cherry tomato sized balls, and deep fried.

Arancini

4 1/2 cups leftover risotto
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons finely minced parsley
1 cup freshly grated parmegiano reggiano
4 ounces mozzarella, cut into very small cubes
4 ounces prosciutto, finely diced
Flour
4 eggs, lightly beaten
Bread crumbs or panko
Vegetable oil for frying

Place the risotto in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper, if needed. Add the butter, parsley, parmegiano, mozzarella and prosciutto and combine.

Combine the prosciutto and mozzarella. Take a small handful (about 1 tablespoon) of rice and begin to shape into a small ball, rolling between your palms. Keeping your palms wet will help keep the rice from sticking to your hands. Repeat with all of the risotto mixture.

Place the flour in a shallow bowl, the eggs in another, and the bread crumbs in a third bowl. Roll the arancino first in the flour, then dredge it in the beaten egg, and roll it well in the breadcrumbs.

Fill a heavy sauce pan with the vegetable oil to a depth of 3 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat to a temperature of 350°. Carefully place a couple of arancino in the pan and fry until golden brown, turning occasionally. Using a slotted spoon, remove from the oil and drain on a dish covered with a paper towel. Continue cooking until all are fried.

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