Spit Roasted Pigeon with Pancetta Recipe

"Your house smells like campfire pork fat. I like it!" my dear friend Theresa recently told Jason and I. Well it's one of the best compliments you can hear as a Chef! It could be we are always grilling and cooking in the kitchen fireplace. The spit roaster (girarrosto) is a quintessential cooking tool in an Italian farmhouse - especially since in the winter there is a fire always going in the kitchen. Its as simple as pulling out some hot coals and laying them just in front of the meat you will spit roast. Here we spit-roast quail, pigeon, all types of wild small birds, chickens, sausage, thick slices of pancetta and even eel.  The best part of how we spit roast comes at the end... with a fiery blaze of melting pork fat!!

Before

After

Spit Roasted Pigeon with Pancetta Recipe

Piccione al girarrosto

serves 4

4 small pigeons cleaned (you can use any small bird you like, up to a chicken it will just take longer to cook.)
4 thick slices of pancetta
juniper berries
sage
garlic
salt and pepper
olive oil
nice piece of lardo or pork fat wrapped in butcher paper


Start a fire.
Clean and dry the pigeons. Sprinkle salt and pepper inside the cavity along with a few torn up sage leaves, a pinch of rough chopped garlic and 1 or 2 juniper berries. Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil over the birds, sprinkle with salt & pepper and rub it all in.

Now prepare the spit.

Using a single skewer spit roaster:
Pierce the pigeon through the rib cage, underneath the breast. Do a bird, piece of pancetta, bird, pancetta, etc. If you like you can also put a piece of bread in between that will soak up all the delicious fat.

If you have a double spit roaster (with two levels) you can have some real fun! Put sausages on the top level and the birds underneath so as the sausages cook the fat drips below, basting the birds.

To cook:
Make a line of coals from the fire about 6 - 8 inches (about 20 cm) away from the birds, in front of the spit roaster. Plug it & let it go!

It takes about an hour so don’t rush it. If the birds start to color right away there is too much heat, pull it back.  After about 50 minutes to 1:10 depending on the size of your birds they should be done. You can check this by gently pulling on one of the legs - if it falls away, you’re good.

Now for the fun part! 
Crisping up the skin: With you pork fat wrapped in butcher paper like a nice package, spear a long bbq fork through the center and light it in the fire.  As the paper burns away, the fat will begin to melt and drip down (staying slightly ignited). Drizzle the melting fat over the birds at the very end to crisp up the skins. (Turn out the light and it looks pretty cool!)

Take the birds off the fire and allow to rest for a few minutes - then enjoy!
Serve with roasted potatoes with rosemary.

Braised Rabbit (or Chicken) in the "Style of the Hunter" - Coniglio alla Cacciatore

photo: Rachel Eats

Braised Rabbit (or Chicken) in the Style of the Hunter

 Rabbit (or coniglio) can be found in butchers & markets throughout Italy. Italians find it savory, lean, inexpensive and perfect for cooking alla cacciatora (in the style of the hunter).  Rabbit is a nice, light white meat - in this recipe we braise it in diluted vinegar (acid) which breaks down the meat - leaving it succulent and falling off the bone.  I'm not sure why rabbit gets such a bad rap -maybe too many people associate it with "Bugs Bunny" or the "Easter Rabbit" or had one as a pet (so did I) and there you go...no more tasty rabbit on the menu. Give it a try, it's absolutely delicious especially with a side of roasted potatoes with rosemary!!

Braised Rabbit (or Chicken) in the Style of the Hunter
Coniglio alla Cacciatore

Serves 4

1 rabbit or chicken cut in pieces (chicken will take longer to cook)
4-5 cloves of garlic whole, peeled
2-4  anchovy fillets
spoonful of capers
small handful of sage
olive oil
white wine vinegar
water
salt/ pepper
pinch of chopped parsley


If using rabbit soak in cold water for a couple of hours to extract any blood. Change the water once during this process.

Clean and pat dry rabbit/chicken and then season with salt and pepper.  In a heavy bottom pan over medium high heat sear rabbit/chicken in a few glugs of olive oil.   About halfway through the searing process once you have turned all the meat over, add in your sage and garlic.   

In a glass combine 1/2 cup white wine vinegar with 1/2 cup water.  Once the meat is seared, turn down the heat and add vinegar mixture to the pan.  Cover the pan with a parchment paper lid (allowing some of the liquid to cook out) and braise slowly, 30 to 50 minutes depending on the size of rabbit/chicken pieces.  Give everything a turn every 10 minutes or so.  Be sure to control pan heat and continue to add vinegar and water in a 1:1 ratio as needed to keep the pan from going dry.  

Once meat is tender transfer to a warm serving plate.  Remove garlic cloves from the pan  and discard (or just mush them into the pan sauce if you like.) Chop anchovy and dissolve into the pan and finally in go the capers and parsley. Check Seasoning and pour over warm meat with a drizzle of good olive oil.  Serve.

(Pairs perfectly with roasted potatoes)

Stewed Lentils with Sausages

photo: Simply Recipes

Stewed Lentils with Sausages

 I love good comfort food, chicken noodle soup when your sick, meatloaf and mashed potatoes that remind me of being a kid, you know the classics. But the longer I live in Italy, the more I love Italian comfort food and wish I had been raised on passatelli in brodo, potatoes and cabbage mash or pasta norcina. Another classic Italian comfort food - stewed lentils with sausages. Lentils are very Italian and found in many dishes across the boot, but they are eaten most during the holidays. On New Year's Eve it is best to eat a few spoonfuls of stewed lentils with your cotechino to ensure fortune in the coming year! But the best lentils in Italy are from the tiny mountain top village of Castelluccio di Norcia on the Marche-Umbria border. The tiny greenish/brown legumes are not only known for their soft skin & creamy texture, but the beauty of the fields in May-June when the lentils are in bloom!

Stewed Lentils with Sausages
lenticchie in umido con salsicce

Serves 4

6 Tablspoons/80 ml Olive oil
1 carrot small, diced
1 onion small, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole
2-3 leaves of sage
250 grams/a little over a cup of lentils left to soak in cold water for a few hours
4 sausages
200 ml or 1 cup of passed tomatoes (pomodoro passato) or pureed tomatoes
2-4 cups of stock (vegetable or chicken)
salt & pepper

In a heavy bottomed pot on low heat add olive oil and gently sweat the garlic, celery, carrot and onion with a crack of salt and pepper. Once the vegetables are soft, turn up the heat a bit adding the sausages. Cook the sausages on all sides just to get them started.

Add in the sage leaf (you can add or substitute any herbs you like). Drain the lentils, then add them to the pot along with the tomatoes. Pour about 2 cups of stock (or 400 ml) into the pot and bring up to a slow simmer.

Simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils are tender, adding a little stock if it begins to look too thick.

To finish, adjust seasonings with salt and pepper, fish out the sage and garlic if you like.
Drizzle good extra virgin olive oil and serve with crunchy toasty bread.

Scallopini with White Wine and Capers

photo from Foodie Lawyer

Scallopini with White Wine and Capers

Serves 4

4 slices of veal, chicken, turkey, pork loin or beef cut scallopini style (You choose the protein you prefer. Ask your butcher to slice it for you if you like.)
flour, enough to dredge the meat in
2 T of butter
olive oil
3-4 cherry tomatoes, cut in half (optional)
2 T white wine
2 T chicken stock
pinch of fresh chopped herbs (whatever you have around: parsley, marjoram, oregano or sage)
spoonful of capers or olives
salt & pepper

Place your slices of meat between two sheets of plastic wrap or parchment paper and gently pound until they are thin and even.

Dredge them in flour.

In a frying pan on medium high heat, add a pad of butter with a bit of olive oil. When the pan is good and hot, add in your slices of meat. Saute for a minute or so on each side and season with salt and pepper. NOTE: The cooking time will depend on the type of meat you use - thin slices of veal will cook faster than chicken or turkey.

Once the meat is cooked, remove it from the pan and place on the side on a warm serving platter.

Reduce the heat of the frying pan to low. Deglaze with white wine. Once most of the white wine is evaporated add in your capers and tomatoes, then raise the heat a bit. Saute the capers and tomatoes for 20-30 seconds.

Add in your chicken stock and reduce for just a moment and then shut off the heat. Check your seasoning. Toss in the herbs and swirl in a pad of butter. Once the butter has melted, check your seasonings one last time and pour over the meat. Serve immediately.

Prosciutto Wrapped Pork Tenderloin

We affectionately call this dish 'pork wrapped pork'!  Prosciutto wrapped pork tenderloin with sage is a savory secondo we serve year-round and often on the menu for our cooking classes. Serve it on a bed of grilled radicchio with cherry tomatoes and balsamic for a perfect balance of flavors! 

Prosciutto Wrapped Pork Tenderloin
Serves 4

1 tenderloin of pork
5-8 slices of prosciutto (depending on how big your tenderloin is)
handful of sage leaves
a few cherry tomatoes
clove of garlic
a few Tablespoons of white wine
salt & pepper

The Rolling:

1. Remove the "silver skin" from the pork tenderloin and season generously with salt and pepper.

2. Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap about 6 inches longer than the tenderloin.  Lay prosciutto down the middle vertically, slightly overlapping the edges to fit the length of the tenderloin.

3. Lay sage leaves down the center of the prosciutto, slightly overlapping.

4. Place the pork ontop of the sage. 

5. Now roll it up! Using the plastic wrap, roll the prosciutto tightly around the pork tenderloin - just like sushi. It is very important to roll tightly. If there is slack it will open as it cooks.

6. Tuck the bottom piece of plastic under the top. Turn both ends to tighten even moreso and secure.

photo from our cooking classes at La Tavola Marche

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 205 C/ 400 F

Remove the tenderloin from the plastic. 

 With a little olive oil in the pan, heat until nice and hot. Sear on all sides * starting with the seam side DOWN.  Note: Be gentle and careful not to break/tear the prosciutto as you sear it.

Once seared on all sides, toss in 3 or so cherry tomatoes into the pan with a clove of garlic and the white wine. 

Finish cooking in the oven 18-30 minutes depending on the size of your pork tenderloin.

Remove and allow to rest at least 15 minutes before slicing. 

Wine: Pairs perfectly with a bold red wine from Le Marche like Terracruda's Profundo.

Whole Fish in Salt Crust

This is delicious healthy fish dish that comes out super moist & buttery every time with a dramatic table-side presentation! Don't be afraid of the name - it is not salty at all. In fact the salt crust seals in moisture essentially steaming the fish inside. Because the salt absorbs the moisture, the texture and taste of the fish ultimately is more that of roasted than steamed fish.

Whole Fish in Salt Crust
Pesce in Crosta di Sale

Serves 2-4 depending on size of the fish

2 whole round fish (trout, bronzino, orata, striped bass) between 1-2lbs (.5 - 1 kilo). Stay away from a flat fish such as sole.

lemon
parsley
pepper flakes
sea salt, coarse ground or rock salt - ratio recipe 1.5 salt to 1 fish: if your total fish weight is 1lbs, you need 1.5 lbs of salt
2-3 eggs
olive oil
any aromatics you like to flavor the salt: fennel, zest of lemon, rosemary, herbs, etc.

Clean the fish (or ask your fish monger to do it for you!) Remove the fins & gills,  clean the cavity and scale the fish - leaving the head intact. Wash thoroughly and pat dry.

Stuff the cavity with parsley and lemon slices. Generously oil the fish on both sides.

In a bowl combine the salt with a small handful of pepper flakes, rind of one lemon and eggs. Mix. (You can add any herbs you like - rosemary, thyme, garlic cloves - it doesn't matter you are just flavoring the salt.) It should have the consistency for making good sand castles, add water a little at a time to achieve this consistency.

Lay a 1/2 inch bed of salt in the bottom of a roasting pan suitable to accommodate the fish (not too big, not too small). Lay the fish on the bed of salt and cover generously with the remaining salt. There should be a 1/2 inch crust of salt all around the fish. It's Okay if the head is not completely covered.

Bake at 425 F/ 220 C degrees for 20-40 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish. You can insert a knife into the center of the fish & when the tip is hot the fish is done.

The fish will stay warm in the salt crust for well over an hour - this is something you can do ahead of time and pull it out as your guests arrive.

Crack the salt crust table side - for a dramatic entrance of the secondo! Use a pastry brush to gently brush away excess salt.

Lesso con Salsa Verde - Poached Beef with Green Sauce

Lesso di vitello con salsa verde

Poached beef with green sauce

A quick note about lesso or boiled/poached meat: you can make a lesso of anything - fish, chicken, beef even potatoes. A great secondo for a hot day - as you can make it far ahead of time & then there is no need to turn on your stove in the heat of the day!

Meat
serves 4

little over a lb. of a tough roast: rump roast, eye round or chuck roast will work well
enough broth to cover
1 carrots,
1 rib of celery
half an onion
1 bay leaf
1 leek
couple of sprigs of parsley

In a large pot, bring your broth to a boil. Drop in your aromatics (herbs & veggies) and return the pot to a boil.

Gently add your meat to the broth & veggies. Allow pot to return to a boil.

Lower to simmer for 2 - 4 hours until meat is extremely tender.

Remove meat & place in the fridge to cool.

Broth can be strained & saved to be served as a soup or another dish. Freezes very well.

Salsa Verde

2 handfuls of parsley (stems removed), chopped
2 cloves of garlic, skins removed, smashed
1 tablespoons of capers, chopped
4 filets of anchovies, chopped
pepper flakes as desired
2 - 4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil

In a small sauce pan add a couple tablespoons of the oil, on a low heat fry the garlic.

When outside of garlic turns golden brown add capers & anchovies & pepper flakes. Pulverize into a paste with the back of a wooden spoon.

Remove pan from heat. Add vinegar & parsley incorporating into the mixture.

Once mixture has had a chance to cool down for a minute, slowly stir in the rest of the olive oil and adjust the seasoning.

Allow salsa mix to sit out & rest for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to incorporate

Meanwhile -
Remove the meat from the fridge. Slice thinly against the grain. Lay meat on a plate in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt & top with salsa verde.

Allow for the finished dish to sit for 15-minutes or so once topped. It can be done far ahead in advance & refrigerator - but remember to pull it out of the fridge early so the oil comes back up to room temperature & is not congealed.

Serve a bed of salad underneath the lesso.