Posts tagged ‘broccoli rabe’

Cetara anchovies from the Amalfi coast

I bet that many of you have an unfair prejudice against anchovies. I lay blame for this at the door of ’80s sitcoms.  “Hold the anchovies” was a frequent and unfortunate punch line each time some study-hall-fatigued-teen or dad-left-to-his-own-devices decided to give in and order the pizza with everything on it. But, wait!! Hold the anchovies!!!! (Cue laugh track.) I grew up loving anchovies, never realizing that they were the same instrument of horror that Charles would never allow on his pizza while he was in charge. In my house, we ordered pizza with alici, or aleech, to be true to our Neaopolitan accent.  At some point, my brother took to calling them hairy fish, but only as a greater term of endearment.

Anchovies are a small saltwater fish related to herring. While they can be bought fresh, they are most usually found brined, packed in sea salt, and cured. They are cheap and easy to find. A good place to start is with the nicer jarred anchovy fillets in gourmet markets like Fairway or Whole Foods.  If you’re a committed anchovy lover, you should buy the imported ones that come in large vats of salted, umami goodness. My pantry is always stocked with a few tins of anchovy fillets in olive oil, found in any grocery store or bodega, usually next to the canned tuna. If you’re still a little hesitant, consider a few of these ideas:

• Anchovies and greens. Sautee broccoli rabe, kale, or chard with a few fillets. I start my pan with a splash of olive oil, red pepper flakes, and two fillets. They disappear into the oil and leave their flavor behind. Throw in your greens, still wet from being washed to make a little steam, stir, cover, and let them cook down. If you already love the flavor, add a few more anchovies toward the end of cooking and let them fall apart all over your greens. Escarole, nutmeg and anchovies are a heavenly combination as I learned while in Anchovies and pasta sauce. Anchovies create a fantastic base for an al’ olio pasta sauce. Get the olive oil, pepper flakes, and ‘chovies going in the same way as you would for your greens. After your pasta is cooked, throw it in to your pan along with a cup of the pasta water and let it all cook together on low heat for 3-5 minutes. You can also throw in a small can of chickpeas, white beans, or a bunch of spinach leaves. Puttanesca sauce—tomatoes, hot pepper, anchovies, and capers—couldn’t be simpler. As the legend goes, prostitutes throw it together quickly because they don’t have much time in between customers.
• Anchovies and chicken sausage. Once again, anchovies serve as your flavorful base. Chicken sausage is low-fat, inexpensive, but kinda eh in flavor. Brown the sausages in a base of olive oil and anchovies and you’ll have something altogether different and wonderful. Add in chopped white cabbage, a dry white wine, salt, pepper, and you’ll have a hearty, satisfying dinner that will be an even better lunch tomorrow.
• Anchovies and pizza. If I’m ordering a good ol’ New York pie from your average pizzeria, I’ll put my own anchovies on top. I don’t like how the pizza oven dries out the oil. Yet, some like them drier. On most pizza menus in Italy, a pizza napoletana has anchovies, black olives, and blobs of mozzarella cheese.
• Anchovy paste and toast. Warning: this is for severe salt fiends like myself. Anchovy paste is sold in tubes in most grocery stores. Often it’s near the pasta sauces, rather than with the canned anchovies. My favorite light breakfast is two slices of rye toast with light layer of butter, and a light layer of anchovy paste. Breakfast of champions!

The feasts of Italian saints is a topic I have been fascinated with for years. For Catholics, each day of the calendar has a corresponding saint. You may have heard people refer to their name day—that being the feast day of the saint after whom they were named.  These days are widely observed in Italy and in many Italian-American communities. The associated processions and rituals have their roots deep in Roman and medieval history.

What’s most interesting for us is that each saint’s day demands you eat a particular kind of food. On the feast of Saint Joseph, you eat sfingi, or cream puffs. Saint Anthony has you picking up a loaf of blessed bread from the church. For Saint Agatha, you eat pastry nipples. Think that’s strange? Wait till the feast of Saint Lucy when I give you the recipe for eyeball bread!

September 27th was the feast of Saint Cono, an obscure saint from the hilltown of Teggiano, near Salerno. Legend says that Cono was born with a cone shaped head, a symbol of the Trinity. He wanted to become a monk which was against his mother’s wishes that he marry a nice Italian girl and have some kids. Finally, she relented when she found Cono praying in a burning bread oven, unharmed by the heat and flames.

Emigrants from Teggiano went to Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, and Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The small Italian community that still lives in the middle of Hipsterville, USA celebrates Saint Cono as a last remaining thread to Teggiano. Richardson Street between Lorimer and Union has the official second name “San Cono Strada” because his unofficial shrine remains there, in a private residence.

There are a lot of people in Williamsburg named Cono, and there used to be quite a few businesses with Cono in the name as well. Many have moved on but you can still dine at Cono & Sons O’Pescatore at 301 Graham Avenue. They serve good, traditional Italian-American fare like reliable scalloppini, saltimbocca, and zuppa di pesce.  But you can have your own feast as well, and prepare this typical dish from Teggiano.

Cavatelli with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage in honor of Saint Cono 
(And if you want to sound like you’re from Teggiano, call them gavateel.)

• 1 lb fresh or frozen cavatelli pasta (or any cone shaped pasta)
• 3 spicy sausages
• 1 bunch broccoli rabe
• 1 1/2 cups of olive oil
• 1 tsp of salt
• a pinch of dried red pepper

Clean the broccoli rabe by cutting off bottom of the stems and dry leaves. Bring pot of salted water to a boil and blanch the broccoli for 2 minutes. Remove with tongs, set aside, and add your pasta.

In a separate pan, warm 1/2 cup of olive oil with red pepper flakes. Remove sausage from casings, place in warm oil and mash them with your spatula as they cook. (You want the sausage to be like ground meat.) Remove from heat, and drain excess fat.

Add another 1/2 cup of olive oil, the cooked pasta and (very important) a ladle full of the starchy pasta water. Stir the pasta and the sausage together until well coated. Finally, add the broccoli and a last 1/2 cup of olive oil, and cook covered for 4 more minutes.