Salsa Genovese Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook pancetta until most of fat is rendered out, about 6 minutes. Remove cooked pancetta with a slotted spoon and save.
• Raise heat to high and transfer meat to the pot. Season with salt. Cook and stir until liquid releases from beef and begins to evaporate, and meat browns, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Reduce heat to medium-high. Add celery, carrots, reserved cooked pancetta, salt and pepper. Cook and stir about 5 minutes. Add a heaping tablespoon of tomato paste, bay leaf, and white wine. Cook and stir, scraping up the brownings from the bottom of the pan, 2 to 3 minutes. Add sliced onions. Reduce heat to medium. Cover pot and cook 30 minutes without stirring. After 30 minutes, stir onions and meat until well mixed. Cover again, and cook another 30 minutes. Stir.
• Reduce heat to low and cook uncovered 8 to 10 hours, stirring occasionally. Skim off fat as mixture cooks. If sauce seems to reduce too much, add water or broth as needed to maintain a sauce-like consistency. Cook until beef and onions seem to melt into each other.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook rigatoni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until just barely al dente, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain.
• Add rigatoni to the sauce and cook until heated through. Serve topped with a pinch of marjoram and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Put 1 1/2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a shallow baking dish. Place the fish fillets in the baking dish and turn to coat them with the oil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon the wine around the fish. Bake until the fish just flakes, about 20 minutes.
• Whisk a tablespoon or 2 of the juices from the baking dish into the salsa and oil mixture to thin and flavor it, then spoon the sauce over the fish. Serve at once.
• Add all the ingredients except for the olive oil and pulse until nearly pureed. With the machine running, add 6 tablespoons olive oil through the feed tube, pureeing until the mixture is almost smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
• Refrigerate in an airtight container with a thin film of olive oil on top to protect it from oxidizing. The flavors will stay lively for 2 to 3 days.

Steps:

• Pulse the olives in a food processor until well chopped. Add all the remaining ingredients except for the olive oil and pulse until nearly pureed. With the machine running, add 6 tablespoons olive oil through the feed tube, pureeing until the mixture is almost smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Refrigerate in an airtight container with a thin film of olive oil on top to protect it from oxidizing. The flavors will stay lively for 2 to 3 days.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• For the fish: Line a quarter sheet pan with parchment paper. Butter the parchment with 2 tablespoons of the butter, then smear another 2 tablespoons on the halibut fillets. Season the fillets on both sides with salt and place in the oven to slow roast until opaque and cooked through, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat a deep-sided pan over medium-high heat until very hot. Add the remaining 8 tablespoons butter, the clams, garlic, shallots, parsley and a pinch of salt. And the wine, immediately cover with a lid and steam until the clams open, about 5 minutes. Transfer the clams to a bowl and set aside. Pour the clam cooking liquid through a fine-mesh strainer and set aside.
• For the beurre blanc: Combine the reserved clam liquid, Champagne, thyme, bay leaf, shallots, lemon juice and peel and peppercorns in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and reduced by two-thirds (the saucepan will be almost dry), 10 to 15 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer fitted with a coffee filter into a small pot.
• Place the pot over medium-low heat, add a few cubes of the chilled butter and whisk constantly until the butter is melted. Repeat the process 2 more times with the remaining butter. Don't allow the sauce to boil or it will break. Whisk in the creme fraiche and a pinch of salt. Using an immersion blender, blend the uni into the sauce, then stir in the chives. Remove the clams from their shells, add them to the beurre blanc and keep the sauce warm until ready to serve.
• For serving: Cover the bottom of each plate with a layer of zucchini slices, slightly overlapping them in a circular pattern. Top with the lemon zest and a drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place a halibut fillet on the zucchini, spoon the beurre blanc over the fish, then top with caviar.

Steps:

• Using the food processor with the metal blade, mince the bacon and garlic cloves together into a fine pestata (paste). Since you have the machine out, use it to chop the carrot, celery, and onions if you want (you don't need to wash the bowl). Process each vegetable separately. Cut the carrot and the celery stalk into chunks before chopping; pulse each to small bits. Chunk up the onions into 1-inch pieces, put them into the food-processor bowl in batches, and pulse them to 1/4-inch bits, not too fine. Put the onions in a big bowl-you will have 4 to 5 quarts of chopped onion when you are done.
• (Of course, you may shred and chop the vegetables by hand, or even mince the bacon-garlic paste with a heavy cleaver, as I did growing up. It takes longer but is quite satisfying.)
• Rinse and dry the pork, then sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon salt lightly on all surfaces, patting it on. Pour the oil into the braising pan, and set it over medium heat. Before it gets hot, lay the pork in and brown it-lightly-turning it after a minute or so on each side.
• While the meat is browning, scrape the pestata into the pan bottom; spread it out and let the bacon begin to render. Drop in peperoncino now, if you want some heat in the salsa; toast it on the pan bottom.
• After 3 minutes or so of browning the pork, drop the tomato paste into the fat; stir and caramelize a minute. Dump the shredded carrot and celery into the pan bottom; stir for a minute, just to get them cooking. (Keep turning the meat so it browns evenly and slowly.)
• Now scrape the chopped onions into the pan, all around the meat. Sprinkle the remaining coarse salt over the onions; raise the heat a bit, stirring the onions up from the bottom and mixing them with the oil, pestata, and tomato paste. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the onions are all hot and starting to sweat. Cover, and turn the heat to medium-low.
• The pork is now going to cook for about 3 hours. Leave it alone for the first 45 minutes, then uncover, turn the meat, and stir the onions. They should be wilting and releasing liquid; if there is any sign of burning, lower the heat. Cover, and cook for another 45 minutes, turn the meat, and stir the onions. They should be quite reduced in volume, in a thick, simmering sauce. Stir in 2 cups of hot broth, bringing the liquid higher around the pork.
• Cook, covered, for another 45 minutes, then stir. If the sauce level has dropped a lot and is beginning to stick, stir in another cup or two of broth. Taste, and add more salt if necessary.
• Cover, and cook another 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. Check the consistency of the onions-they should be melting into the sauce, and the meat should be soft when pierced with a fork. If satisfactory, remove from the heat; otherwise, cook longer, adding more broth, or, if the sauce seems thin, uncover and cook to reduce it.
• As a primo, first course, for six: Remove 2 cups of the fresh onion sauce from the pot and put it in a large skillet. Cook 1 pound of rigatoni or other pasta, and toss it in the skillet with the simmering sauce. Finish with extra-virgin olive oil and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano.
• As a secondo, main meat course, for six or more: Remove the pork from the braising pot and cut out the blade bone (just lift the cooked meat off it and remove the bone). Slice the pork against the grain in 1/3-inch-thick slices, and moisten with hot sauce from the pot.
• As a meaty sauce for pasta: Traditionally, the leftover meat and sauce from Sunday dinner were combined and served another day as a dressing for pasta, but you can dedicate any amount of Salsa Genovese to this marvelous mixture.
• If you want to make this with freshly braised meat and sauce, let cool briefly, then pull the meat apart with forks (or fingers) into shreds, about 1/2 inch wide or more, and toss with the sauce. Refrigerate or freeze for another day.
• To dress 1 pound of pasta with meaty sauce: Heat 2 cups of sauce in a large skillet; refresh and extend it with a bit of extravirgin olive oil and broth, and bring to a simmer. I like to serve this with rigatoni or ziti. Fresh garganelli or cavatappi would also be a fine pasta choice. Finish with more oil and freshly grated cheese.
• You'll notice that I put coarse salt, rather than granular salt, on large meat cuts and whole birds that roast or braise for a long time. At home, I use either coarse sel de mer-sea salt with crystals formed naturally in coastal flats-or kosher salt, which crystallizes in the manufacturing process. The crystal structure adheres to the meat better than ordinary salt; real sea-salt crystals, my favorite, have more flavor too. I also prefer coarse salt for finishing-that is, for sprinkling on hot foods after they come out of the pot or pan.
• I recommend that you have at least one of these coarse crystal salts in the kitchen. If a recipe calls for coarse salt but you have none, use ordinary granular salt but reduce the amount by a third or a half: since granular salt is smaller and more dense, a spoonful of it (or any measured amount) adds more saltiness than an equal measure of bigger, airier salt crystals.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Sift both types of flour, the baking powder, and salt together into a medium-sized mixing bowl; set aside. In a separate large-sized bowl, use an electric mixer to blend the sugar and butter until creamy. Add the eggs and mix until combined. When combined, stop the mixer and add the dry ingredients. Mix at a slow speed until combined. Add the milk, vanilla, orange oil, almond oil, and lemon oil. Stop the mixer and add the soaked raisins, fennel seeds, pignoli, and the lemon and orange peels. Mix until the dough is sticky and moist.
• On a floured counter top, gently shape the dough with your hands and divide it into 4 equal pieces. Form each piece into the shape of a mountain and place the dough mounds onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the oven and bake for about 35 minutes. To test for doneness, insert a wooden skewer into the mounds. If the mounds are done, the wooden skewer should come out clean.
• Let the Pandolce cool completely. Wrap each loaf with plastic wrap, taking care to ensure that the wrapping is airtight. Tie each loaf with a ribbon. The flavors will develop with time. The Pandolce can be stored for about 2 months.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Put 1 1/2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a shallow baking dish. Place the fish fillets in the baking dish and turn to coat them with the oil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon the wine around the fish. Bake until the fish just flakes, about 20 minutes.
• Wisk a tablespoon or 2 of the juices from the baking dish into the salsa and oil mixture to thin and flavor it, then spoon the sauce over the fish. Service at once.
• Salsa Genovese;.
• Add all the remainingingredients (starting at "recipe follows") except for the olive oil and pluse until nearly pureed. With the machine running, add 6 tablespoons olive oilthrough the feed tube, pureeing until the mixture is almost smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
• Refrigerate in an airtight container with a thin film of olice oil on top to protect it from oxidizing. The flavors will stay lively for 2 to 3 days.
• Michael's Notes: Choose an olive that is not too heavily brined, such as picholines or Lucques from France.

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add walnuts and cook until they have softened slightly, about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• Combine garlic and 1 pinch sea salt in the bowl of a mortar and pestle. Grind to create a thick paste. Add walnuts, marjoram, thyme, and oregano. Grind until combined and slightly creamy, but still coarse.
• Transfer the walnut mixture to a large bowl. Slowly whisk in olive oil to form a thick emulsion. Add heavy cream and Pecorino Romano cheese, whisk until combined. Season with black pepper and sea salt to taste.
• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in the fettuccine, return to a boil, and cook pasta over medium heat until cooked through but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain.
• Toss walnut sauce with pasta. Garnish with fresh chives.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place the onions in the boiling water, and cook, covered, 15 minutes. Drain the onions, and let cool a bit, then slice very thinly.
• Heat half the oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat; stir in the carrots, celery and bacon, and cook for 4 minutes. Add the beef, then cover with the onions. Pour the remaining oil over the onions, then sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Cover, bring to a simmer and cook gently until the beef is tender, about 2 hours; the onions will release a good deal of liquid.
• Uncover the pot and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring more frequently as the liquid reduces and lowering the heat as necessary to prevent scorching, until the meat has fallen apart and the sauce is creamy, about 45 minutes. Stir in the wine and taste, adding more wine if desired. Reduce the heat to low, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce is glossy and quite thick, about 15 minutes more.
• Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, then drain and toss with the sauce. Stir in Parmesan to taste, then serve.

Steps:

• Pour a kettle of boiling water into a very large pan until half full. Return to the boil, then add the potatoes and spaghetti, and a little salt. Cook for 10 minutes until the potatoes and pasta are almost tender. Tip in the green beans and cook for 5 minutes more.
• Drain well, reserving 4 tbsp of the cooking liquid. Return the potatoes, pasta and beans to the pan, then stir in the fresh pesto and reserved cooking liquid. Season to taste, divide between four serving plates and drizzle with a little olive oil.