Back in early March I paid my first visit to a new butcher shop - Macelleria - in the neighborhood I grew up in. I was there to pick up fresh Italian sausage that I used to make Sunday Gravy for this the “red Sauce” edition of this newsletter. It’s a great shop, and if you’re in the Columbus area I strongly suggest you pay them a visit – but the reason I’m bring it up now is that while I was there, I picked up a whole fresh pork jowl. When I got home, that jowl went into a mixture of salt, rosemary, black pepper, and a little bit of garlic to cure for a couple weeks. Then it hung in my basement for the last few months slowly losing moisture and concentrating flavors until I had a pretty decent home cured Guanciale.
Cheek and Jowl. You’ve hear the phrase, well, maybe you’ve heard it, If like me you were an English major exposed to way too much 18th century British lit you’ve definitely read it. They’re the same thing, maybe trending more toward jowl as you get older, but that’s a different complaint.
For this week’s menu, I decided I would cut into that jowl and make some delicious things seasoned and enriched by flavorful cured dried pork – because flavorful cured dried pork is amazing. I didn’t put it in the desert. Or the bread. OK, really, it’s only in two dishes. I failed at the theme. But here’s a fun thing: If you don’t do pork you can replace the pork in these recipes with duck prosciutto (cured dried duck breast) for very nearly (or possibly better) the same flavor.
Pugliese
Pugliese is an Italian rustic bread that originates from the southeastern part of the Italian peninsula. Unlike a lot of classic Italian breads, it’s commonly available from a lot of bakeries in the States, but it’s also easy to make at home. Unlike many (most) of the other breads I’ve included in this newsletter, Pugliese uses a pre-ferment (in this case called a biga) to develop flavor and feed the yeast. This means that there’s an additional day involved in the baking process, but it really adds a lot of the flavor of the loaf and it’s not really any extra work as the pre-ferment is a mix-it-and-forget-it step in the process. The next day that pre-ferment is used as the base of the final loaf.
Traditionally Pugliese is shaped into a batard – but I didn’t have a shaping basket for a batard handy when I baked this earlier in the week. You can choose to shape a batard (you can find YouTube videos explaining the shaping process) or simply use a round basket (as I did) or even a greased and floured bowl.
Makes 1 large loaf
500g bread flour (divided)
350g water (divided)
3 g active dry yeast
11 g salt
The night before baking, mix 150g flour, 100 g water and 3 g of yeast in a covered container. Allow this mixture to ferment overnight.
The next day, add the pre-ferment to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a bread hook.
Add the remaining 200g of water, and process until the pre-ferment is dissolved.
Add the remaining 400g of flour, and the salt, and continue mixing on medium speed until the dough is uniform and shiny.
Allow the dough to proof in a covered container in a warm place until doubled in size, then punch down, turn out on to a bread board, and stretch and fold the dough using a series of letter folds.
Return to the container, to rest/rise for 30 minutes.
Repeat the folding and resting twice more.
After the final fold, shape the dough into a boule or batard, and allow to proof in a warm place supported by a greased floured bowl or a banneton basket.
Turn out and slash the dough before baking.
Bake in a pre-heated cast iron dutch oven at 425°F for 35 minutes.
Uncover the loaf and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the loaf is browned to your preference and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
Crunchy Chicory Salad with Almonds
If you’re a regular reader, you already guessed this will probably be another salad made with crisp bitter greens. It’s hard for me to resist because I love the balance that crisp slightly bitter salads can bring to a meal. This version is made with a couple of my favorite chicories – a family of vegetables that includes endives, radicchio, and Puntarelle. You would be wrong that this salad uses bitter “greens” – mostly it’s red and white – but yeah, you’d be correct it’s another bitter green salad. This salad uses. Belgian endive and Radicchio to build a crisp bitter base to which chopped almonds and shaved add even more crunch and some really great toasty notes. It is essentially a winter salad, which is probably a little incongruous here in the verge of summer, but it’s a great balance to the other rich and sweet flavors of this week’s menu. Plus I just really really like it – so even if it feels like a repeat, there ya go.
Serves 4 as a salad course
3 heads Belgian endive
1 small head chioggia (round) radicchio
¼ cup Marcona almonds
¼ cup loosely packed shaved parmesan cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp good quality balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic
½ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp anchovy paste
½ tsp kosher salt
Separate the endive leaves from their heads.
Tear radicchio leaves into small pieces.
Add the endive leaves whole and torn radicchio to a large bowl of cold water and allow to soak for 30 minutes.
Peel, trim and microplane or crush the garlic into a non-reactive bowl.
Add the balsamic vinegar, salt, and anchovy paste and allow to rest for 5-15 minutes.
Whisk in the olive oil to form a stable emulsion.
Add the black pepper to the dressing and taste for seasoning, adding additional salt if necessary.
Coarsely chop the almonds.
Drain the endive and radicchio well.
Toss with dressing and top with chopped almonds and parmesan shavings.
Serve immediately.
Pasta Carbonara
Of all the dishes I cook at home, Pasta Carbonara may be my most frequent. It’s our go-to when we can’t decide what to cook, when we’re feeling rushed or worn out, or when we’re just so very completely totally done that we can’t even be bothered to decide on what to order for delivery.
Our usual recipe is a little less rich than this, and utilizes American style smoked streaky bacon instead of guanciale, but it’s essentially the same. Egg yolk, pepper, cheese, and a sauce that really only comes together when freshly cooked still slightly wet pasta hits the eggs. Of course, since I had that lovely cured and dried pork jowl hanging in the basement and around the kitchen, I had to use it – and I went full tilt on the egg too, because egg yolk sauces are amazing.
You can choose to use any pasta shape you like here, but I find spaghetti works best in that it holds the heat necessary to turn the egg yolks, cheese, and pasta water into a smooth sauce. Other shapes may lose heat faster.
Serves 4 as a main course or 6 as a pasta course
1 lb dry spaghetti
4 oz parmesan cheese, very finely shredded (microplaned) plus additional for garnish
½ cup diced guanciale
8 egg yolks
2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
Remove the pasta from its package.
Spread the pasta on a sheet tray and cover with water.
Allow the pasta to soak for 1-2 hours.
Add the egg yolks, parmesan, and black pepper to a large bowl.
Use a whisk or spatula to beat the mixture until smooth, well combined, and slightly fluffy.
Add the guanciale to a frying pan and fry for 2-3 minutes, or just until the meat begins to render out some fat and becomes fragrant.
Bring a large pot of well salted water to a heavy boil.
Boil the soaked pasta for 3 -5 minutes or until tender. If you’re using unsoaked dry pasta, cook according to the package directions.
Drain the pasta, but do not rinse.
Immediately toss the still hot pasta in the egg and cheese mixture.
Fold in the fried guanciale and toss well to combine.
Top with additional grated parmesan and serve immediately.
White Beans with Guanciale, chilies, and Celery
I know that beans became a “thing” (look, meaningful quotation marks!) during the pandemic. They should have become a “thing” long before that. Beans are a delicious thrifty staple and really – despite all the jokes – they’re not just a last resort. Last week’s Caramelized Onion Baked Beans are one of my favorites, and the Sonoran style pinto beans I included in my weird melted cheese covered tribute to my late father are probably the most popular recipe this newsletter has seen. Beans are … well, they’re good. They soak up flavor and transform into something better than they were. And unlike pretty much any other food, the cheapest, thriftiest form of the thing – dried beans – are the BEST form of the thing. They soak up all the flavors and all the deliciousness of whatever they’re soaked and cooked with. This recipe uses more of that same cured jowl (BECAUSE CHEEKY) and a good portion of celery for a take on that white bean dish you’ve seen on menus and magazine covers that’s approachable and delicious and … well, actually tastes like the beans. Celery works really well with white beans – the citrus and floral notes of the vegetable really compliment the earthy flavors of the beans and the pork, and the fat rendered from the guanciale makes the beans tender and soft. A drizzle of good oil and chili flake makes it all pop, both flavorwise and visually … and let’s face it, we all eat with our eyes first.
Serves 4 as a side, with leftovers.
2 cups great northern, cannellini, or another white bean
½ cup diced guanciale
1 bay leaf
1 stalk celery
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil plus 1 tsp
1 tsp red chili flake
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
Soak the beans overnight in 6 cups of water.
Peel, trim, and finely mince the garlic.
Clean and trim the celery, then chop it into a very fine dice.
Add half of the guanciale, 1 tsp of the olive oil, garlic, and celery to a thick bottomed pan over medium heat and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the garlic and celery are fragrant and soft, but not beginning to brown.
Add the beans and their soaking liquid to the pot along with the bay leaf and bring to a low simmer.
Cook for 2 hours or until the beans are tender – adding additional water if necessary. This will depend on the age and quality of the beans.
Once the beans are tender, add the remaining pork, ground pepper, and chili flake and oil to a pan over medium heat and cook just until the pork is sizzling.
Stir into the beans and serve immediately.
Whole Branzino Onions, Olives, and Vinegar
I’ve been clear in other newsletters that fish – other than raw - isn’t really my thing. It’s neither a favorite, nor is it really in my comfort zone as a cook. It can be finicky to cook, treacherous to buy (for example an ill-considered piece of grocery store salmon that went off a week or so ago meant I had to empty the entire fridge and wipe it all down with bleach), and the sheer amount of time and effort some varieties can take to prep (tiny bones, delicate flesh) often make me take a pass.
Whole fish are another matter altogether. Clean ‘em up and cook ‘em up – or something like that. Also, they look really cool. I know some people are put off by head on seafood, but it feels festive and extravagant to me – and I love the way it looks on a plate. Also you can use the leftover head and bones to make fish stock.
I originally intended to include guanciale in this dish as well, just to keep the theme, but it doesn't need it. Instead, the preparation is a simple agrodolce – an ancient sweet and sour. The sweet comes from slow cooked caramelized onions. The sour from white wine and red wine vinegar. Black olives and herbs add salt and a bright note.
1 2 lb Branzino (aka Loup de Mer or European Bass)
1 large onion
¼ cup Kalamata or other dark soft olive, pitted and halved
¼ cup white wine
1 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
2 sprigs thyme
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp thai fish sauce or garum
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tbsp kosher salt
Peel, trim, and mince the garlic.
Peel, trim, and thinly slice the onion end to end.
Add 1 tsp olive oil to an oven proof pan over medium heat.
Add the onions and ½ tbsp salt.
Cook the onions, stirring frequently until they’re fully caramelized, deglazing the pan from time to time with water.
Preheat your oven to 400°F.
Add the wine, fish sauce, vinegar, olives, black pepper, garlic, and thyme to the pan bring to a simmer, and cook for two minutes.
Season the fish well with the remaining salt, both on the surface and inside the cavity.
Using a sharp knife cut a few slashes into the skin of the fish from spine to belly.
Lay the fish on top of the onion mixture and transfer to a hot oven.
Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the flesh of the flesh is flaky and easily pulls away from the bones.
Spoon some of the onion mixture over the fish, and garnish with fresh herbs.
Cherry Sorbet with Almond Cream
Cherries and almonds just go together. In fact, cherry pits sort of taste like almonds. Green almonds don’t so much taste like cherries, they taste more like “OMG WHY DID I PUT THIS IN MY MOUTH” so it’s sort of a one-way thing – but they’re still a wonderful pairing. This dessert continues my … can I call it a tradition … of desserts that are somewhat slacker-ey. They’re not so much an afterthought as a … no, they’re an afterthought. I mean, literally, they’re a thought, a taste, an essence that comes after. That’s what dessert is, right?
Anyway, this is a quick and easy way to make a sorbet that (unlike other ice creams et al that I’ve posted here) doesn’t even require an ice cream freezer. You can make it with a blender and your own normal regular every day you-bought-it-at-sears-when-those-still existed freezer. You can use fresh fruit instead of frozen, but you should freeze it first. If Crème Fraiche isn’t available in your area sour cream will work – sort of – but Crème Fraiche whips up better and frankly tastes a lot better as well. I like to drop the sorbet and whipped crème fraiche on top of finely chopped almonds because it looks cool. You can go either way.
1 10 oz package frozen sweet dark cherries
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup cold water
1 tsp lemon juice
Add all ingredients to the container of a high-speed blender and process until smooth.
Pour into a covered container and freeze.
Use a fork to agitate the mixture every 2 hours for the first 6 hours to keep the mixture soft.
To serve, scoop and top with or serve with Whipped Almond Crème Fraiche and chopped nuts.
Whipped Almond Crème Fraiche
8 tbsp crème fraiche
¼ tsp almond extract
Whisk together the crème fraiche and almond extract.
Whisk until the crème fraiche becomes slightly fluffy.