Note A mixed salad in the Italian style should reach for as great a variety of textures and flavors as the market can provide, and the ingredients suggested above take advantage of the year-round availability of many vegetables. The selection should be taken as a thoughtfully considered recommendation, but it is not ironclad and you can work within its guidelines to make substitutions that suit your taste and are adapted to the possibilities offered by your market and the season.
In a mixed salad such as this one you can also use Savoy, red cabbage, or green cabbage, shredded very fine; radicchio; romaine or any other variety of lettuce, save iceberg, which does not taste very Italian; small red or white radishes, sliced into thin disks; cucumber instead of carrot, but not the two together; very young zucchini, soaked, cleaned, and trimmed as described, cut into fine matchsticks and put into the salad raw.
1. Prepare the onion as suggested or, if you are using scallion, take a thin slice off the base, trimming it of its roots, and another slice off the tops, pull off and discard any blemished or discolored leaves, then cut the whole scallion into thin rounds and rings. Soak it in cold water a few minutes, then drain and shake dry in a towel. Put the onion when ready, or the scallion, in a large serving bowl.
2. Wash the carrots, take a thin slice off the tops and bottoms, peel them, then shred them on the largest holes of a grater, or in the food processor, or cut them into the thinnest possible rounds. Add them to the bowl.
3. Cut the finocchio tops where they meet the bulb and discard them. Detach and discard any of the bulb’s outer parts that may be bruised or discolored. Slice off about ⅛ inch from the butt end. Cut the bulb horizontally, across its width, into very thin rings. Soak the rings in 2 or 3 changes of cold water, then shake dry in a towel or salad spinner. Add the finocchio to the bowl.
4. Scrape away and discard the inner pulp and all the seeds of the pepper. Skin it raw, using a swiveling-blade peeler, then cut it lengthwise into very thin strips, and add them to the bowl.
5. Cut away any leafy tops from the celery heart, take a thin slice off its base, slice the heart crosswise into narrow rings about ¼ inch wide, and drop them into the bowl.
6. If you are using curly chicory, Boston lettuce, or escarole, discard all the outer, dark green leaves. Detach the remaining leaves from the head and tear them by hand into small, bite-size pieces. Soak them in one or two changes of cold water for 15 to 20 minutes, until no trace of soil shows in the water. Drain and either spin-dry, or shake dry in a towel. If you are using Bibb lettuce, prepare it as described above but use special care in handling it because it bruises easily and discolors. Add to the bowl.
7. Pull off the stems of the mâche or field lettuce and the arugula, tear the larger leaves in two or more pieces, and soak, drain, and dry them as you did with the lettuce. Put them into the bowl.
8. Detach and discard the artichoke stem, and trim away all the hard portions as described, taking a little more off the top of the leaves than you might if you were cooking it. Split the artichoke in half to expose the choke and spiky inner leaves, which you will scrape off and discard. Cut the artichoke lengthwise into the thinnest slices you can. Squeeze a few drops of juice from the lemon half over all cut parts to keep them from discoloring, and add them to the other ingredients in the bowl.
9. Skin the raw tomatoes, using a swiveling-blade peeler, cut them into wedges, remove some of the seeds, and put the tomatoes in the salad bowl.
10. Sprinkle liberally, if judiciously, with salt, toss once, pour in enough olive oil to coat all the vegetables, add a dash of vinegar, and toss repeatedly and thoroughly, but not roughly. Serve at once.
Garlic-Scented Tomato Salad
WHEN I GAVE a series of classes in Bridgehampton, Long Island, one summer, I had devised a curriculum of pasta sauces, risotto, and fish dishes that I hoped my students would find interesting and fitting vehicles for the extraordinary products of Long Island’s farms and waters. As an afterthought one day, I included in the menu this tomato salad, done the way my father used to prepare it when I was a young girl. The response to the pastas and the fish was as enthusiastic as I could have wished, but it was the salad that stole the show. When all the tomato salad was gone, students fought for possession of the serving platter, to sop up the juices with bread. It seems difficult ever to make enough of this tomato salad, so you too may find it expedient, when you serve it, to send it to the table copiously accompanied by slices of good, crusty bread.
For 4 to 6 servings
4 to 5 garlic cloves
Salt
Choice quality red wine vinegar
2 pounds fresh, ripe, firm, round or plum tomatoes
1 dozen fresh basil leaves
Extra virgin olive oil
1. Peel the garlic cloves and mash them rather hard with a knife handle. Put them in a small bowl or saucer together with 1 to 2 teaspoons salt and 2 tablespoons vinegar. Stir and let steep at least 20 minutes.
2. Skin the tomatoes raw, using a swiveling-blade peeler, cut them into thin slices, and spread the slices out in a deep serving platter.
3. When ready to serve the salad, wash the basil leaves in cold water, shake off their moisture, tear them by hand into 2 or 3 pieces each, and sprinkle them over the tomatoes.
4. Pour the garlic-steeped vinegar through a wire strainer, distributing it over the tomatoes. Add enough olive oil to coat the tomatoes well, toss, taste and correct, if necessary, for salt and vinegar, and serve at once.
Shredded Carrot Salad
SHREDDED CARROTS with lemon juice is one of the most refreshing of salads, and may well be the simplest to prepare.
For 4 servings
5 to 6 medium carrots, washed, trimmed, peeled, and shredded as described in the recipe for Great Mixed Raw Salad
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Combine all ingredients, using enough olive oil to coat the carrots well. Toss thoroughly, taste and correct for salt and lemon juice, and serve at once.
Variation with Arugula
To the ingredients in the preceding recipe, add ½ pound fresh arugula, and replace the lemon juice with red wine vinegar. Trim, soak, drain, and dry the arugula as described in the recipe for Great Mixed Raw Salad Combine all ingredients in the manner described above.
Finocchio Salad
For 4 servings, if the finocchio is a large one
1 squat, round finocchio
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
Note No vinegar or lemon juice is used on raw finocchio when it is served alone.
1. Trim the finocchio, cut it into very thin slices, soak it, and dry it as described in the recipe for Great Mixed Raw Salad.
2. Toss in a serving bowl with salt, enough olive oil to coat it well, and liberal grindings of black pepper.
Sunchoke and Spinach Salad
For 4 servings
½ pound sunchokes
½ pound fresh, very young, crisp spinach
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
Extra virgin olive oil
Choice quality red wine vinegar
1. Soak the sunchokes for 15 minutes in cold water, then scrub them thoroughly under running water with a rough cloth or a brush. Cut them into paper-thin slices and put them in a serving bowl.
2. The spinach will be much more pleasant to eat if you free the tenderest part of each leaf from the stem and its chewy rib-like extention. With one hand fold the leaf lengthwise, folding it inward toward its top side, and with the other hand pull off the stem together with the thin rib protruding from the underside of the leaf. Soak the trimmed spinach in a basin with enough cold water to cover it amply. Drain and refill with fresh water as often as necessary until you find no more trace of soil. Spin-dry, or shake the leaves dry to drive away all the moisture possible, tear them into two or three smaller piece
s, and add them to the bowl.
3. Toss thoroughly with salt, pepper, enough oil to coat well, and just a dash of vinegar. Serve immediately.
Shredded Savoy Cabbage Salad
You WILL FIND here another example of the way only the scent of garlic is used in Italian salads. Also see this tomato salad.
For 6 or more servings
1 Savoy cabbage, about 2 pounds
A slice of crusty bread
2 garlic cloves
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
Extra virgin olive oil
Choice quality red wine vinegar
1. Pull off the green outer leaves from the cabbage and either discard or save for a vegetable soup. Shred all the white leaves very fine, and put them into a serving bowl.
2. Trim away the soft crumb from the bread, and from the crust cut two pieces about 1 inch long.
3. Lightly mash the garlic cloves with a knife handle, splitting the skin and removing it. Rub the garlic vigorously over both pieces of bread crust, put the crusts in the bowl and discard the garlic. Toss thoroughly and let stand for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
4. When ready to serve, put salt, pepper, enough olive oil to coat well, and a dash of vinegar into the bowl. Toss the cabbage repeatedly until it is uniformly coated with dressing. Take out and discard the bread crusts. Taste and correct for seasoning and serve at once.
Romaine Lettuce Salad with Gorgonzola Cheese and Walnuts
For 6 to 8 servings
1 head romaine lettuce
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon choice red wine vinegar
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
¼ pound imported gorgonzola cheese, brought to room temperature 3 to 4 hours before using
½ cup shelled walnuts chopped very coarse
1. Pull off and discard any of the romaine’s blemished outer leaves. Detach the rest from the core and tear them by hand into bite-size pieces. Soak in several changes of cold water, then spin-dry or shake dry in a towel.
2. Put the olive oil, vinegar, a pinch of salt, and several grindings of pepper into a serving bowl. Beat them with a fork until the seasonings are evenly blended.
3. Add half the gorgonzola and mash it thoroughly with a fork. Add half the chopped walnuts, all the lettuce, and toss thoroughly to distribute the dressing uniformly. Taste and correct for seasoning.
4. Top with the remaining gorgonzola, breaking it up over the salad, and with the remaining chopped walnuts. Serve at once.
Orange and Cucumber Salad
For 6 servings
1 cucumber
3 oranges
6 small red radishes
Fresh mint leaves
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil
The freshly squeezed juice of ½ lemon
1. If the cucumber is waxed or has a thick skin, peel it. If not, scrub it under cold running water. Slice the cucumber into very thin disks and put these on a serving platter.
2. Peel the oranges, removing all the white pith beneath the skin as well. Cut the oranges into thin rounds, pick out any seeds, and add the slices to the platter.
3. Cut off and discard the leafy tops from the radishes, wash the radishes in cold water, without peeling them, cut them into thin disks, and add them to the platter.
4. Wash half a dozen small mint leaves, tear them into 2 or 3 pieces each, and sprinkle them over the orange, radish, and cucumber slices.
5. Add salt, olive oil, and lemon juice, toss thoroughly to coat well, and serve at once.
Pinzimonio—Olive Oil, Salt, and Black Pepper Dip for Raw Vegetables
THE WORD pinzimonio is a contraction, facetious in origin but long since firmly established in respectable usage, of pinzare, to pinch, and matrimonio, matrimony. It describes the custom of holding a raw vegetable between thumb and forefinger—“pinching” it—and “marrying” it with a dip of olive oil, salt, and pepper.
In restaurants pinzimonio is sometimes brought to the table when one sits down, even before one looks at the menu, but its most appropriate and refreshing use is after the meat or fish course of a substantial and palate-taxing meal.
The usual assortment of raw vegetables for pinzimonio includes all or most of the following: carrots, sweet peppers, finocchio, artichokes, celery, cucumbers, radishes, and scallions. Here is how to prepare them:
1. Wash and peel the carrots. If they are small and they have fresh, leafy tops, leave the tops on to hold them by. If you have larger carrots, take a slice off the top, and split the carrot in two lengthwise.
2. Split the peppers in two to expose and remove the pulpy core with all the seeds. Cut the peppers lengthwise into strips about 1½ inches wide.
3. Trim away the leafy tops of the finocchio, take a thin slice off the butt end, discard any blemished outer leaves, cut the finocchio lengthwise into 4 wedges, and wash them in several changes of cold water.
4. Detach and discard the stems of the artichokes. Trim away all the tough parts as described. Cut the artichoke lengthwise into 4 wedges, remove the choke and spiky, curly inner leaves, and squeeze a few drops of lemon juice over all cut parts to keep them from discoloring.
5. Separate the celery into stalks, keeping the heart whole but dividing it lengthwise in two. Pare away a thin slice all around the heart’s butt end. Leave the leafy tops on the heart, but discard all the others. Wash in several changes of cold water.
6. Wash the cucumbers and split them lengthwise in two, or into 4 sections if very thick.
7. Wash the radishes and do nothing else to them, leaving their leafy tops on both for looks and to hold them by.
8. Choose scallions with thick, round bulbs, pull off and discard the outer leaves, and cut off the roots and about ½ inch off the tops. Wash in cold water.
9. Put all the vegetables in a bowl or jug where they will fit snugly.
There should be a saucer prepared for every guest with olive oil, salt, and a liberal quantity of cracked black pepper. Guests help themselves to the vegetable of their choice from the bowl, and dip it into the saucer, thus having a pinzimonio.
Panzanella—Bread Salad
Throughout Central Italy, from Florence down to Rome, the most satisfying of salads is based on that old standby of the ingenious poor, bread and water. Stale bread is moistened, but not drenched, with cold water, the other ingredients of the salad you’ll find below are added, and everything is tossed with olive oil and vinegar. The bread, saturated with the salad’s condiments and juices, dissolves to a grainy consistency like loose, coarse polenta. Given the right bread—not supermarket white, but gutsy, country bread such as that of Tuscany or Abruzzi—there is no change one can bring to the traditional version that will improve it. If you have a source for such bread, or if you have made the Olive Oil Bread and have leftovers, make the salad with it in the manner I have just described. If you must rely on standard, commercial bread, the alternative solution suggested in the recipe that follows will yield very pleasant results.
For 4 to 6 servings
½ garlic clove, peeled
2 or 3 flat anchovy fillets (preferably the ones prepared at home as described), chopped fine
1 tablespoon capers, soaked and rinsed as described if packed in salt, drained if in vinegar
¼ yellow sweet bell pepper
Salt
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon choice quality red wine vinegar
2 cups firm, good bread, trimmed of its crust, toasted under the broiler, and cut into ½-inch squares (keep the crumbs)
3 fresh, ripe, firm, round tomatoes
1 cup cucumber, peeled and diced into ¼-inch cubes
½ medium onion, preferably of a sweet variety, such as Bermuda red, Vidalia, or Maui, sliced and soaked as described
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1. Mash the garlic, anchovies, and capers to a pulp, using the back
of a spoon against the side of a bowl, or a mortar and pestle, or the food processor.
2. Scrape away any part of the pulpy core of the sweet pepper together with the seeds, and dice the pepper into ¼-inch pieces. Put the pepper and the garlic and anchovy mixture in a serving bowl, add salt, olive oil, and vinegar, and toss thoroughly.
3. Put the bread squares together with any crumbs from the trimming in a small bowl. Puree 1 of the tomatoes through a food mill over the bread. Toss and let it steep, together with a little salt, for 15 minutes or more.
4. Skin the other 2 tomatoes, using a swiveling-blade peeler, and cut them into ½-inch pieces, picking out some of the seeds if there are too many of them. Add the soaked bread squares and the cut-up tomato to the serving bowl, together with the diced cucumber, the soaked and drained onion slices, and several grindings of black pepper. Toss thoroughly, taste and correct for seasoning, and serve.
Cannellini Bean Salad
ALL THE INGREDIENTS of this salad, except for the beans, are to be chopped so fine that they become creamy, blending with each other and clinging to the beans with the consistency of a sauce. It can be done by hand, but if a food processor is available it should be the instrument of choice.
The components of the salad develop better flavor if it is tossed while the beans are still quite warm. If you can arrange it, try to time the cooking of the beans so that they will become ready when you are about to make the salad.
For 6 servings
2 tablespoons chopped onion
3 fresh sage leaves
2 to 3 flat anchovy fillets (preferably the ones prepared at home as described)
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking Page 61