Tuscany's
out; Lazio's in.
Lazio, in case your geography's rusty, is the region halfway
down Italy's western coast, in the middle of which sits Rome. Rome isn't known
as one of the world's — or even Italy's — great food cities, perhaps because the
cooking's fairly simple, and there's a shortage of the kind of restaurants the
Michelin guide would want to shower with stars. But visit Rome and you will eat
very, very well. Visit Rome's markets, and you will wish you lived there, so you
could cook.
Rome's summer markets are filled with artichokes, gorgeous
tomatoes in a dozen shapes and sizes, fava beans, fennel — all the same stuff
that grows so well in Southern California. (Of course you find baby octopus and
fresh anchovies and fat porcini there too, but who's counting?) So Roman cooking
has terrific appeal for Angelenos.
Just in time for summer produce, two
new cookbooks celebrate Rome and its cooking.
You may know Suzanne Dunaway's
baked goods — based in L.A., she's the force behind Buona Forchetta Hand Made
Breads. Her love for Italian-style bread was no doubt kindled by her love affair
with Rome, where she has spent much of her life, beginning with a post-college
trip to the Eternal City, as she tells us in the introduction of "Rome, at Home:
The Spirit of La Cucina Roma in Your Own Kitchen" (Broadway Books, $29.95). She
married a man who lived and worked in Rome, and so spent the better part of 10
years there. Was he Roman? Did she actually live there with him? Is she still
married to him? How much time has she spent there since? She's a little sketchy
on details.
No matter; she tells us plenty about the food. "Parli come
mangi," she explains, is romanesco (Roman dialect) for "Speak as you
eat," that is to say, plainly. "This directness is at the heart and soul of the
Roman experience and especially la cucina romana."
And the book
itself is direct — no fancy photos, no clever division of recipes into flavor
profiles — just 150 straightforward, appealing recipes, sensibly divided into
antipasti; primi; secondi; contorni; pane,
focaccia e pizza; and dolci. I want to make them all, from allici
fritti (fried anchovies) to crostini di fegato (chicken liver pâté
on toast) to pappardelle alla lepre (wide noodles with hare or rabbit).
Those
I've tried have been simple to prepare and delicious. Straccetti con la rughetta
("tattered" strips of beef with arugula) showed up on Roman menus a few years
ago, the headnote tells us, and is now very fashionable, "seen everywhere except
in cookbooks." Lean sirloin is cut into thin strips and browned quickly in a skillet,
and a mess of arugula is tossed in at the last minute, just to wilt it. The flavor
of Orecchiette con rapini (little ear-shaped pasta with broccoli rape)
is deepened by anchovies and enlivened by a squeeze of lemon as it's served, and
you can put it together in no time flat. And Dunaway's version of Carciofi
alla romana, the traditional Roman preparation of artichokes with garlic and
mint, is my absolute favorite this season, which for me has been a nonstop artichoke
fest.
*
Carciofi
alla romana (artichokes with garlic and mint)
Total
time: 45 minutes
Servings: 6
Note:
From "Rome, at Home," by Suzanne Dunaway
6 medium globe or 20
baby artichokes
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves,
chopped
4 fresh mint sprigs, leaves only
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2cup
dry white wine or water
1 large lemon
1. Trim the leaves
of the artichokes down to the yellow part, peel the stems and cut off
the greenish tops to the yellow part.
2. Heat the olive oil in
a large pot with a lid over medium heat, then add the artichokes, cutting each
in half if you like to create more surface area to be browned. Cook for a few
minutes, until golden, turning once, then add the garlic, mint leaves and salt.
3.
Cover and simmer for 6 to 7 minutes, then add the wine or water, lower
the heat, cover, and continue cooking for 15 to 20 minutes, until the artichokes
are very tender. Squeeze the lemon juice over the artichokes and serve at room
temperature in the oil.
Each serving: 240 calories; 4
grams protein; 15 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams fiber; 18 grams fat; 2 grams saturated
fat; 0 cholesterol; 310 mg. sodium.
*
Straccetti
con la rughetta (`Tattered' strips of beef with arugula)
Total
time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4
Note:
From "Rome, at Home," by Suzanne Dunaway
1 1/2 pounds lean sirloin,
cut into 1/4-inch by 1/4-inch by 2-inch long strips
Salt and freshly ground
pepper
1/4cup extra virgin olive oil or 4 tablespoons butter
1 large
bunch arugula leaves, chopped if large, left whole if small
1.
Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper. Heat the oil or butter in a large
skillet, add the meat, and brown quickly on all sides over high heat, about 5
minutes.
2. Add the arugula to the skillet, turn off the
heat, toss with the straccetti and serve immediately.
Each serving:
397 calories; 37 grams protein; 1 gram carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 27 grams
fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 98 mg. cholesterol; 93 mg. sodium