Cooking with Grace

From Cosa Bolle in Pentola, my free newsletter:
Moving in yet another direction, this winter I posted a recipe for making ricotta. It was by Grace Pilato, and was drawn from a soon-to-be-released cookbook. Well, This summer I met Grace, and now have a copy of Cooking with Grace (St. Martin's Press, ISBN 0-312-26138-1), which is very nice. Grace was born in Sicily and then moved to the US, where she married and settled down, working in ceramics and teaching how to cook in Central Pennsylvania. As one might expect, her lessons drew heavily from her Sicilian heritage, and her experiences as a teacher have had a profound influence on her book. Put simply, she doesn't take things for granted, but rather explains clearly, leaving nothing to chance. Therefore, even if you have no experience with the dish you've decided to make, you can be fairly certain of achieving the proper results. For example, Marinated Sun-Dried Tomatoes (Page 18):

Preparation Time 10 minutes -- Cooking Time 1 to 5 minutes

I have vivid memories of watching the ladies in my native village in Sicily slicing whole tomatoes in half, generously slating them, and placing them on screen-covered racks. Magic would happen when the rays from the sun and the gentle breezes danced over and around them. The smells were glorious. A dried tomato is filled with concentrated aroma and flavor. Tomatoes are dried at the peak of the growing season when they are in abundance and very sweet. Preserving them in this manner, we were always assured of having a supply that could be used in a variety of dishes throughout the year.

Years ago, before we were able to purchase sin-dried tomatoes in the U.S., my relatives from Sicily would send us care packages. Now sun-dried tomatoes are widely available in Italian specialty shops, natural food stores, vegetarian markets, and even in supermarkets. The recipe that follows is the one my mother learned when she was a young girl in Sicily -- simple, flavorful, and elegant.

1 1/2 quarts [1.5 l] water

1/2 pound [225 g] sun-dried tomatoes

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil, coarsely chopped (about 20 leaves)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups [375 ml] extra-virgin olive oil (more if needed)

Procedure

In a medium nonreactive saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Drop the dried tomatoes in the boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds, rejuvenating them. With a slotted spoon, remove a tomato from the water and check it to see how it feels; it should feel plumper and softer. If the tomatoes are still brittle, remove the saucepan from the heat and let them stand in the hot water until they soften, about 5 minutes. Drain well and pat dry with paper towels.

In a large bowl, mix the garlic, basil, pepper, and olive oil. Add the tomatoes and toss with your fingers, making sure you incorporate the marinade throughout.

Place the tomatoes and marinade in pre-washed glass quart jars, packing the tomatoes tightly into the jars along with the marinade. The tomatoes should always be submerged in the olive oil by 1/2 inch [1 cm]. Add extra olive oil if needed.

Notes

These tomatoes will keep in the refrigerator for up to a year; take out whatever you need, making sure the tomatoes are always submerged in ol; add more oil if necessary. If you happen to have any extra oil left after you have eaten the tomatoes, use it to flavor soups, vegetables, salad greens, or bread.

Use this recipe to make:

White kidney bean soup, page 159

Stuffed turkey breast, page 216

Baby peas with sun-dried tomatoes and toasted pine nuts, page 241.

Engagingly written, and nothing left to chance. The book begins with notes on organizing one's pantry, followed by a set of what Gail calls "stepping stone recipes" (of which this is one, and the ricotta another), recipes that stand on their own -- these would be quite nice in a platter of mixed antipasti -- but also provide ingredients that go into other recipes. These are followed by about 150 recipes that cover all the basic categories one associates with Italian food; I found the breads, pizza, and focaccia section especially interesting because most Italian authors don't say much about breads. The emphasis is more on southern dishes than northern, though the north does weigh in, for example with ossibuchi with gremolata, a Milanese specialty. To be frank, this southern emphasis is refreshing; the South, especially Sicily and Campania, have glorious culinary traditions that are all too unappreciated.

The book's appeal is further increased by nice layout that's easy on the eyes, and by a pretty section of color photos that feature both the foods and Grace's ceramics. Cooking with Grace is a pleasure to read, and will also make a nice gift.

Publishing Info:
Cooking With Grace
A Step-By-Step Course in Authentic Italian Cooking
By Grace Pilato
St. Martin's Press, ISBN 0-312-26138-1
300 PP, about 170 recipes, and some color photos.

Looks Good! I'd like to see the Order Form.