2. Make the mayonnaise.
3. Drain the canned tuna, and put it into a food processor together with the anchovies, olive oil, lemon juice, and capers. Process until you obtain a creamy, uniformly blended sauce. Remove the sauce from the processor bowl and fold it gently, but thoroughly into the mayonnaise. No salt may be required because both the anchovies and capers supply it, but taste to be sure.
4. When the meat is quite cold, retrieve it from its broth, place it on a cutting board or other work surface, snip off and remove the trussing strings, and cut it into uniformly thin slices.
5. Smear the bottom of a serving platter with some of the tuna sauce. Over it spread a single layer of veal (or turkey or pork) slices, meeting edge to edge without overlapping. Cover with sauce, then make another layer of meat slices, and cover again with sauce. Repeat the procedure until you have used up all the meat, leaving yourself with enough sauce to blanket the topmost layer.
6. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours. It will keep well for at least a week. Bring to room temperature before serving. When you remove the plastic wrap, use a spatula to even off the top, and garnish with some or all of the suggested garnish ingredients in an agreeable pattern.
BEEF
La Fiorentina—Grilled T-Bone Steak, Florentine Style
ONE OF ITALY’S two prized breeds of cattle for meat—Chianina beef—is native to Tuscany. Its only rival in the country is Piedmont’s Razza Piemontese. The latter is the tenderer of the two and sweet as cream, whereas the Tuscan is firmer and tastier. Chianina grows rapidly to great size so that it is butchered when the steer is a grown calf, vitellone in Italian. To Italians who love beef, a T-bone grilled in the Florentine style is the ultimate steak. It owes some of its appeal, of course, to the distinctive flavor of the meat, but as much again can be attributed to the Florentine way of preparing it which can be applied successfully to a fine, well-aged steak anywhere.
For 2 servings
A charcoal or wood-burning grill
Black peppercorns, ground very coarse or crushed with a pestle in a mortar
1 T-bone beef steak, 1½ inches thick, brought to room temperature
Coarse sea salt
OPTIONAL: a lightly crushed and peeled garlic clove
Extra virgin olive oil
1. Light the charcoal in time for it to form white ash before cooking, or the wood long enough in advance to reduce it to hot embers.
2. Rub the coarsely ground or crushed peppercorns into both sides of the meat.
3. Grill the steak to the degree desired, preferably very rare, approximately 5 minutes on one side and 3 on the other. After turning it, sprinkle salt on the grilled side. When the other side is done, turn it over and sprinkle salt on it.
4. When the steak is cooked to your taste, and while it is still on the grill, rub the optional garlic clove over the bone on both sides, then drizzle the meat very lightly on both sides with a few drops of olive oil. Transfer to a warm platter and serve at once.
Note I have seen cooks rub the steak with oil before putting it on the grill, but the scorched oil imparts a taste of tallow to the meat that I prefer to avoid.
Pan-Broiled Steaks with Marsala and Chili Pepper
For 4 servings
Extra virgin olive oil
4 sirloin steaks or equivalent boneless cut, ¾ inch thick, brought to room temperature before cooking
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
½ cup dry Marsala wine
½ cup dry red wine
1½ teaspoons garlic chopped fine
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon tomato paste, diluted with 2 tablespoons water
Chopped hot red chili pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1. Choose a skillet that can subsequently accommodate all the steaks in a single layer. Put in just enough olive oil, tilting the pan in several directions, to coat the bottom well. Turn the heat on to high and when the oil is hot enough that a slight haze forms over it, slip in the steaks. Cook them to taste, preferably rare, approximately 3 minutes on one side and 2 on the other. When done, turn off the heat, transfer the steaks to a warm platter, and sprinkle with salt and a few grindings of pepper.
2. Turn the heat on to medium high under the skillet, and put in the Marsala and the red wine. Let the wines bubble for about half a minute, while scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any cooking residues stuck to the bottom and sides.
3. Add the garlic, cook just long enough to stir 2 or 3 times, add the fennel seeds, stir for a few seconds, then add the diluted tomato paste and chopped chili pepper to taste. Turn the heat down to medium and cook, stirring frequently, for a minute or so, until a dense, syrupy sauce is formed.
4. Return the steaks to the pan for no longer than it takes to turn them 2 or 3 times in the sauce. Transfer the steaks and their sauce to a warm serving platter, top with the chopped parsley, and serve at once.
Pan-Broiled Thin Beef Steaks with Tomatoes and Olives
THE STEAKS for this dish are very thin slices of beef that are made even thinner by pounding to bring cooking time down to a minimum. Most butchers will pound them for you, but if you must flatten them yourself, follow the method described in the section on veal scaloppine. Notch the edges of the slices, after pounding, to keep them from curling in the pan.
For 4 servings
½ medium onion sliced very thin
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium garlic cloves, peeled and sliced very thin
⅔ cup fresh, ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped, OR canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped, with their juice
Oregano, ½ teaspoon if fresh, ¼ teaspoon if dried
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1 dozen black, round Greek olives, pitted and quartered
Vegetable oil
1 pound boneless beef steaks, preferably chuck, sliced less than ½ inch thick, flattened as described above, and brought to room temperature before cooking
1. Put the sliced onion and the olive oil in a saute pan, turn on the heat to medium low, and cook the onion, letting it gradually wilt. When it becomes colored a pale gold, add the garlic. Cook the garlic until it becomes very lightly colored, then add the tomatoes with their juice and the oregano. Stir thoroughly to coat well, adjust heat so that the tomatoes cook at a steady simmer, and cook for about 15 minutes, until the oil floats free of the tomatoes. Add salt, a few grindings of pepper, and the olives, stir thoroughly, and cook for 1 more minute. Turn the heat down to minimum.
2. Heat a heavy skillet, preferably cast iron, until it is hot, then quickly grease the bottom with a cloth towel soaked in vegetable oil. Put in the beef slices, cooking both sides just the few seconds necessary to brown them. Sprinkle with salt and pepper as you turn them.
3. Transfer the meat to the pan with the tomato sauce, and turn it 2 or 3 times. Put the steaks on a warm serving platter, turning out the sauce over them, and serve at once.
Ahead-of-time note The recipe can be completed up to this point several hours or even a day in advance. Stop short of putting in the olives, adding them only after reheating the sauce, before it is combined with the steaks.
Pan-Fried Thin Beef Steaks, Cacciatora Style
For 4 servings
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ cup onion sliced very thin
4 pan-frying beef steaks, cut less than ½ inch thick from chuck or the round
1 cup flour, spread on a plate
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
A small packet OR 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, reconstituted as described and chopped into coarse pieces
The filtered water from the mushroom soak, see instructions
½ cup dry red wine
½ cup canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
1. Ch
oose a saute pan that can subsequently accommodate all the steaks without overlapping. Put in the olive oil and sliced onion, and turn on the heat to medium.
2. Cook until the onion becomes translucent, then dredge the steaks on both sides in the flour, and put them in the pan, turning the heat up to high. Cook the meat about 1 minute on each side, sprinkle it with salt and a few grindings of pepper, and transfer it with a slotted spoon to a warm plate.
3. Add the cut-up reconstituted mushrooms and the filtered water from their soak to the pan, turn the heat down to medium, and cook until the mushroom liquid has completely evaporated. Stir from time to time.
4. Add the wine and let it simmer away for a minute or so, stirring frequently, then put in the tomatoes with their juice and adjust heat to cook at a slow, but steady simmer. Add salt and pepper, correcting seasoning to taste, and stir from time to time. Cook for about 10 or 15 minutes, until the oil floats free from the tomatoes.
5. Turn the heat up to high, return the steaks to the pan together with any juices they may have shed in the plate, and turn them once or twice to reheat them in the sauce, but for no longer than 20 or 30 seconds. Transfer the meat and the entire contents of the pan to a warm platter and serve at once.
Pan-Fried Beef Braciole Filled with Cheese and Ham
VERY THIN matched slices of beef are coupled here, bracketing a filling of cheese and ham. What holds them together is a coating of flour, egg, and bread crumbs that sets as it is cooked and joins the edges. The cheese in the filling also does its part by melting and clinging to the meat.
For 4 servings
1 pound braciole steaks, sliced as thin as possible (see note below)
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
4 very thin slices of fontina cheese
4 thin slices prosciutto OR boiled unsmoked ham
1 egg
Whole nutmeg
Vegetable oil
1 cup flour, spread on a plate
Fine, dry, unflavored bread crumbs, spread on a plate
Note Braciole steaks come from the center cut of the top or bottom round. If they are taken from the broadest section of the round, the slices will be very long, about 10 to 12 inches. In this case, you only need 4 slices, which you will then cut in half. If the slices are from the narrower end section, you’ll need 8 of them, which you will leave whole. If they are any thicker than ¼ inch, have your butcher flatten them some, or do it yourself as described.
1. Pair off the braciole slices that are closest in size and shape. Place one above the other and, if necessary, trim the edges so that the slice above matches the one below it as closely as possible, without large gaps or overlaps.
2. In between each pair of braciole sprinkle salt and pepper, and put a slice of fontina and one of prosciutto. Center the fontina so that it does not come too close to the edges of the meat. Fold the prosciutto over, if necessary, so that it does not protrude beyond the edge of the braciole. Line up the upper and lower half of each pair of meat slices so that they coincide as closely as possible.
3. Break the egg into a small bowl, and beat it lightly with a fork, adding a tiny grating of nutmeg—about ⅛ teaspoon—and a pinch of salt.
4. Choose a skillet that can subsequently accommodate the braciole without overlapping, put in enough oil to come ¼ inch up the sides, and turn on the heat to high.
5. Turn each pair of braciole in the flour, handling them carefully to avoid their coming apart. Make sure the edges are sealed with flour, then dip them in the beaten egg and dredge them in the bread crumbs.
6. As soon as the oil is quite hot, slip the braciole into the pan. The oil is ready when it sizzles if you dip one end of a braciola into it. Brown them well on one side, turn them carefully, and do the other side. When you have thoroughly browned both sides, place them briefly on a cooling rack to drain or on a plate lined with paper towels, then transfer to a warm platter and serve at once.
Ahead-of-time note The braciole can be prepared up to this point several hours in advance on the same day you plan to cook them.
Farsumauro—Stuffed Large Braciole, Sicilian Style
THERE ARE many versions of farsumauro in Southern Italy and in Sicily that vary depending on the variety of sausages, cheeses, and herbs that a cook may choose to put into the stuffing. The recipe given below is more restrained than most I have had, partly out of necessity—there are no satisfactory substitutes available outside Sicily for the local cheeses and pork products—and partly out of choice: It seems to me that even in this simplified rendering it is rich and savory enough.
The large slice of meat that constitutes the wrapping for the stuffing, can either be rolled up jelly-roll fashion or sewn up forming a calzone-like bundle. The latter is the method I recommend because I find it keeps the filling tender and succulent.
For 6 servings
Approximately 1½ pounds beef braciole, cut either in 1 large slice from the center section of the top or bottom round, ½ inch thick, OR 2 smaller slices of the same thickness
Needle and thin trussing string
¾ pound not too lean ground pork
1 medium garlic clove, peeled and chopped fine
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 egg
2 tablespoons freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
⅔ cup flour, spread on a plate
1 cup dry white wine
1. If using a single large slice of meat, fold it in half, and stitch its edges together, leaving enough of an opening for putting in the stuffing. If using 2 slices, place one on top of the other and stitch 3 of the sides, leaving one narrow side open, like a pillowcase. Put the needle safely distant from the work area.
2. Put the ground pork, garlic, parsley, egg, grated Parmesan, salt, and pepper into a bowl, and mix with a fork until all the ingredients are evenly combined.
3. Place the mixture inside the sewn-up braciole wrapper, distributing it evenly. Get the needle and string out again and sew up the remaining opening. The farsumauro may look rather floppy at this stage, but it will tighten up in cooking. Put the needle safely out of the kitchen.
4. Choose a sauté pan, or a roasting pan preferably oval in shape, that can subsequently snugly accommodate the meat roll. Put in the butter and oil and turn on the heat to medium high.
5. Turn the meat in the flour to coat it all over, and when the butter foam begins to subside, put the meat in the pan. Brown the meat roll well all over.
6. When you have browned the meat, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and add the wine. Let the wine simmer for about half a minute, turn the heat down to medium low, and cover the pan, setting the lid slightly ajar. Cook for 1 to 1½ hours, turning the meat from time to time. There ought to be sufficient liquid in the pan to keep the meat from sticking, but if you should find the opposite, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water, as needed. The total cooking time may appear to be abnormally long, but think of this as comparable to a pot roast that needs to cook slowly and at length so that it can become very soft, while its flavors acquire intensity and complexity.
7. With a slotted spoon or spatula, transfer the farsumauro roll to a cutting board. Cut the farsumauro into slices ½ inch thick. Pick out the bits of string (or let people do it on their own plates). Spread the slices on a warm platter.
8. There should be fat floating on top of the juices in the pan. Tip the pan and spoon off about two-thirds of the fat. If the juices are rather dense, add 1 or 2 tablespoons water to the pan, turn the heat on to high, and, while boiling away the water, scrape loose the cooking residues stuck to the bottom and sides, using a wooden spoon. If the juices should be thin and runny, reduce them over high heat, while loosening the cooking residues on the bottom and sides of the pan. Pour the contents of the pan over the sliced farsumauro and serve at once.
Beef Rolls with Red Cabbage and Chianti Wine
For 4 servings
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic chopped very fine
4 to 5 cups red cabbage shredded very fine
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1 pound beef round, sliced extra thin, preferably by machine
6 ounces sliced boiled unsmoked ham
6 ounces sliced Italian fontina OR comparable tender, fine-flavored cheese
Round sturdy toothpicks
⅔ cup Chianti or other fruity, full-bodied, dry red wine
1. Choose a sauté pan that can later accommodate all the beef rolls without overlapping. Put in 2 tablespoons olive oil and the garlic, and turn on the heat to medium. Cook the garlic, stirring occasionally, until it becomes colored a very pale gold.
2. Add the shredded cabbage, salt, and liberal grindings of pepper, turn the cabbage over completely a few times to coat it well, put a cover on the pan, and turn the heat down to low. Cook, stirring from time to time, until the cabbage becomes very soft and has become reduced to half its original bulk, approximately 45 minutes.
3. While the cabbage is cooking, assemble the beef rolls. If the meat is not truly thin, flatten it some more with a meat pounder. Trim the slices into shapes more or less square with sides approximately 3 to 4½ inches long, and lay them flat on a platter or work surface. Over each square place a slice of ham and a slice of cheese, neither of which should protrude beyond the edge of the beef. Roll up each square and fasten it with 1 or 2 toothpicks or tie it with string like a miniature roast.
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking Page 43