Risotto alla Romano (Roman Style)

Risotto alla Romano (Roman Style)

 See the recipe for risotto alla milanese for all about arborio rice. 

Risottos are flavored with harmonious ingredients such as chicken, shellfish, sausage, vegetables, stocks, cheese, white wine, herbs, or a combination of these. 

This Roman style, in its simplest form, uses tomatoes and garlic. It is this risotto the Romans use for suppli 

 2 Cups arborio rice or Carnaroli rice 

½ Cup pinot grigio or another dry white wine 

 3 Tablespoons of butter 

 3 ½ Cups of low salt veal stock (if doing a sea food version reduce this to 3 cups and add to it, a ½ cup of clam juice. 

 2 Inches of beef marrow 

1 Tablespoon concentrated tomato paste 

1 Medium-size white onion, diced 

1 8-ounce can of San Marzano plum tomatoes 

2 Cloves chopped crushed garlic 

Finely chopped slices of Prosciutto ham 

 

Optional for seafood version :

(½ Pound of cockles or small manila clams 

 ½ Pound mussels 

 4-5 Mantis shrimp (Canocchie) )

1 Tablespoon sweet butter 

 Finish with 3 Tablespoons of butter or unfiltered extra virgin fruity olive oil 

 8 Tablespoons of graded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (skip if seafood version) 

 Salt and white pepper to taste 

 Chopped Italian parsley 

In a separate pot, heat wine and stock to a boil and retain. The wine-veal-stock mixture will be added, ½ cup at a time with a ladle. Wipe the bone of any saw chips. Boil a small pot of water. Dip the marrow briefly in the boiling water for a minute. Chop the marrow. Brown the marrow in a heavy sauce pan with in 3 tablespoons of butter, and then add the onion. When the onion begins to clear but not brown, add the rice and garlic. Stir until the rice is coated and shiny and has absorbed the fat. If using Prosciutto, add it now. Add a pinch of salt and carefully pour in ½ cup of the boiling wine-vealstock mixture over rice. Stir the rice occasionally and cook on medium for 15 minutes adding liquid judiciously as liquid is absorbed and as is needed. The finished rice should only be slightly moist. 

In the meantime, if adding seafood, sauté it in some extra butter and a splash of wine and cover. Seafood will be added last. The rice is done when “al dente” – cooked through but still somewhat firm at the center. Keep in mind the rice will continue to cook even when removed from heat so remove it from the heat sooner than later. If NOT adding seafood, then stir in 3 tablespoons of butter and 6 tablespoons of graded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and adjust the seasonings. The balance of the cheese is for topping each bowl of rice. Optionally, drizzle with a little truffle oil. If adding seafood, then strain the juices from the seafood in case there is sand in it, reduce a bit on the stove and then add it and the seafood to the rice

Pasta Channels with Red & White Sauce

Cannelloni Alla Romano

Unquestionably one of my very favorites. And although it may be prepared as a large casse- role dish it is much more elegant when prepared as individual servings each in its own oval chafing dish. This is the way cannelloni would be prepared in Rome. Once assembled, the dishes may be covered with tinfoil and frozen in advanced preparation of a large dinner party. In that case, the individual chafing dishes are unwrapped of their tinfoil when needed, and go straight into the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pasta will be baked on the top shelf. The bottom shelf of the oven should be provisioned with a sheet of tin foil to catch and spillage.

Roman Style Tomato Sauce

Italian White Sauce

Fettuccine al uova recipe making egg pasta in 5 inch squares

Filling:

1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

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1 finely diced small red onion

1 pound ground veal

1 pound ricotta cheese

1 pound fresh spinach triple washed and stemmed 1/2 cup heavy cream.

1 beaten egg

1⁄4 cup bread crumbs made from stale Italian Bread (stabilizer) 1/4 cup graded Asiago cheese

1/4 cup graded Romano cheese

1/4 cup graded Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

salt and black pepper

Cook the stemmed spinach in boiling salted water for five minutes, drain, put the spinach in a kitchen towel and wring the towel to force water from spinach then chopped well. Saute the onion in olive oil until translucent. Add the veal and cook over low heat, stirring and breaking up the bits with a wooden spoon until the meat just done. Do not overcook! Allow mixture to cool. In a large bowl, beat the egg until pale yellow. Add and mix all the other ingredients and season with nutmeg and salt and pepper. Refrigerate the mixture for several hours to make it manageable.

Very lightly brush the individual oval chaffing dish bottoms (boats) with olive oil. Spoon in two table spoons of red sauce in bottom of dish.

Assemble Cannelloni two channels per dish being careful not to over fill the individual boats.

Add filling to each wrapper and a little white sauce to the pasta sheet. Roll up so some white sauce is rolled between the pasta sheet walls. Cover the two channels with white Sauce. Then cover the white sauce with Roman Style Tomato Sauce. Top with grated Romano cheese. Drizzle over the channels a hint of good olive oil.

Bake at 350 F for about 45-60 minutes or until done. Dishes should be bubbling hot and placed on a larger round plate so they may be carried. Serve immediately.

A full bodied Italian wine is required. (Brunello, Bordolino, Brolio, Sangiovese)

Chinese Oxtail Soup

This a Simple soup with very few ingredients. The magical properties of oxtail add a beefy flavor and cartilage for a smooth body. 

+3 pounds oxtails, roasted to enhance their flavor for twenty five minutes under a hot oven
1/2 pound carrots, cut diagonally 
1 vidaila onion, cut slices

2 cloves garlic

Dark soy to taste

Salt and pepper and star anise

Water

Some sort of hot pepper is nice.

Garnish

Diagonally slice scallions, greens only 

Brown oxtails  til flecked with brown at 375 degrees F.

In a large pot, boil oxtails 4 hour in 4 cups of water with garlic. Skim off fat periodically.

After 4 hours, add other ingredients. Cook an additional hour. Correct seasoning

 

Add noodles if desired