Fresh Liguria Basil Pesto
Makes ¾ cup
4 cups fresh basil leaves
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 tsp. kosher salt
¼ cup toasted pine nuts (optional)
¼ to 1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon
juice
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
Place basil leaves, minced garlic,
salt, lemon juice, and pine nuts in a blender or food processor. Blend until
well chopped. Slowly add the olive oil and continue blending until you have a
smooth pesto sauce.
Refrigerate sauce in a glass jar or
plastic container. Mix before serving. Will keep in refrigerator for 1 to 2
weeks.
Chef Tony Pisconeri 2013
Fresh Sundried Tomato Pesto
Makes ¾ cup
8 oz. sun dried tomatoes (soaked in
hot water until rehydrated and soft*)
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 tsp. kosher salt
¼ cup toasted pine nuts (optional)
¼ to 1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon
juice
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
Place sun dried tomatoes, minced
garlic, salt, lemon juice, and pine nuts in a blender or food processor. Blend
until well chopped. Slowly add the olive oil and continue blending until you
have a smooth pesto sauce. If sauce is
too thick you can add vegetable stock until you achieve your desired thickness.
*Sun dried tomatoes can be soaked in cold water in the refrigerator
overnight too.
Refrigerate sauce in a glass jar or
plastic container. Mix before serving. Will keep in refrigerator for 1 to 2
weeks.
Chef Tony Pisconeri 2013
No-Knead Crusty White Bread
The most basic of all no-knead
loaves, this is a wonderful way to get into yeast-bread baking. The easy
stir-together dough rests in your refrigerator, developing flavor all the time,
till you're ready to bake. About 90 minutes before you want to serve bread,
grab a handful of dough, shape it, let it rise, then bake for 30 minutes. The result?
Incredible, crusty artisan-style bread. If you're a first-time bread-baker,
you'll never believe this bread came out of your own oven. if you're a seasoned
yeastie, you'll love this recipe's simplicity.
3 cups lukewarm water
6 1/2 to 7 1/2 cups King Arthur
Unbleached All-Purpose Flour*
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast
Directions
*The flour/liquid ratio is important
in this recipe. If you measure flour by sprinkling it into your measuring cup,
then gently sweeping off the excess, use 7 1/2 cups. If you measure flour by
dipping your cup into the canister, then sweeping off the excess, use 6 1/2
cups. Most accurate of all, and guaranteed to give you the best results, if you
measure flour by weight, use 32 ounces.
1) Combine all of the ingredients in
a large mixing bowl, or a large (6-quart), food-safe plastic bucket. For
first-timers, "lukewarm" means about 105°F, but don't stress over
getting the temperatures exact here. Comfortably warm is fine; "OUCH,
that's hot!" is not. Yeast is a living thing; treat it nicely.
2) Mix and stir everything together
to make a very sticky, rough dough. If you have a stand mixer, beat at medium
speed with the beater blade for 30 to 60 seconds. If you don't have a mixer,
just stir-stir-stir with a big spoon or dough whisk till everything is
combined.
3) Next, you're going to let the
dough rise. If you've made the dough in a plastic bucket, you're all set — just
let it stay there, covering the bucket with a lid or plastic wrap; a shower cap
actually works well here. If you've made the dough in a bowl that's not at
least 6-quart capacity, transfer it to a large bowl; it's going to rise a lot.
There's no need to grease the bowl, though you can if you like; it makes it a
bit easier to get the dough out when it's time to bake bread.
4) Cover the bowl or bucket, and let
the dough rise at room temperature for 2 hours. Then refrigerate it for at
least 2 hours, or for up to about 7 days. (If you're pressed for time, skip the
room-temperature rise, and stick it right into the fridge). The longer you keep
it in the fridge, the tangier it'll get; if you chill it for 7 days, it will
taste like sourdough. Over the course of the first day or so, it'll rise, then
fall. That's OK; that's what it's supposed to do.
5) When you're ready to make bread,
sprinkle the top of the dough with flour; this will make it easier to grab a
hunk. Grease your hands, and pull off about 1/4 to 1/3 of the dough — a
14-ounce to 19-ounce piece, if you have a scale. It'll be about the size of a
softball, or a large grapefruit.
6) Plop the sticky dough onto a
floured work surface, and round it into a ball, or a longer log. Don't fuss
around trying to make it perfect; just do the best you can.
7) Place the dough on a piece of
parchment (if you're going to use a baking stone); or onto a lightly greased or
parchment-lined baking sheet. Sift a light coating of flour over the top; this
will help keep the dough moist as it rests before baking.
8) Let the dough rise for about 45 to
60 minutes. It won't appear to rise upwards that much; rather, it'll seem to
settle and expand. Preheat your oven (and baking stone, if you're using one) to
450°F while the dough rests. Place a shallow metal or cast iron pan (not glass,
Pyrex, or ceramic) on the lowest oven rack, and have 1 cup of hot water ready
to go.
9) When you're ready to bake, take a
sharp knife and slash the bread 2 or 3 times, making a cut about 1/2"
deep. The bread may deflate a bit; that's OK, it'll pick right up in the hot
oven.
10) Place the bread in the oven, and
carefully pour the 1 cup hot water into the shallow pan on the rack beneath.
It'll bubble and steam; close the oven door quickly.
11) Bake the bread for 25 to 35
minutes, until it's a deep, golden brown.
12) Remove the bread from the oven,
and cool it on a rack. Store leftover bread in a plastic bag at room
temperature.
13) Yield: 3 or 4 loaves, depending
on size.
Grilled Eggplant Caponata Bruschetta with Ricotta Salata
Grilled Eggplant Caponata Bruschetta with Ricotta Salata
Ingredients
4 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
2 medium globe eggplants, cut into
3/4-inch-thick slices
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black
pepper
1/2 cup canola oil
1 large stalk celery, diced
1 small red onion, diced
1/2 cup Sicilian green olives, pitted
and chopped
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup golden raisins
2 tablespoons capers, drained
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Pinch red chile flakes
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, plus more
for garnish
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 loaf Italian bread, sliced into
1/2-inch-thick slices
8 ounces ricotta salata, crumbled
Directions
Preheat a grill to medium-high heat.
Brush the tomatoes and eggplant with
olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill the eggplant until golden
brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes each side. Grill the tomatoes until
charred all over, about 8 minutes. Remove the eggplant and tomatoes from the
heat and cut into dice.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil
in a large saute pan. Add the celery and onions and cook until soft, about 5
minutes. Add the eggplant and tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes. Add the olives,
vinegar, raisins, capers, sugar, chile flakes, a big splash olive oil, salt and
pepper. Bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 10
minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the basil and parsley and
sprinkle with salt and pepper. Transfer the caponata to a bowl and keep at room
temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving. The caponata can be made 1
day in advance, covered and refrigerated. Bring the caponata to room
temperature before serving.
Meanwhile, grill the bread on both
sides until slightly charred, about 30 seconds each side. Remove the bread from
the grill and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top
each slice of bread with some of the caponata and sprinkle with the ricotta
salata. Drizzle the top of each slice of bread with more olive oil and scatter
basil on top.
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