Educated Palate: Lael & Giuliano Hazan’s Blog

How to describe the flavor of Rita’s food? Intense, yet subtle; penetrating, yet gentle; surprising, yet comforting; fragrant, aromatic, surging from deeper sources of savor than anyone else seems to have tapped.

This is how my grandmother used to cook rice, and it’s a foolproof easy recipe. I use the same rice I use for risotto, which comes out slightly sticky but I love its starchy flavor. It’s also good with basmati rice or good plain white rice.

 

broccoflower

When asked about her favorite food, our six-year-old daughter, Michela, invariably names broccoli. The broccoli she’s so fond of is the Romanesco variety. Although it’s fairly new to suburban supermarkets in the United States, Romanesco broccoli has been known in Italy since the 16th century. Grown in the region of Lazio, of which Rome is the capital (hence the name), it is a popular winter vegetable. It’s also used in landscaping—its pointed florets arrange themselves in some amazing fractal shapes. But we buy it because its delicate flavor is so delicious. Often we will simply sauté it and serve it like cauliflower, at room temperature, drizzled with some very good olive oil and sprinkled with salt. Another favorite preparation of the Hazan family is a  sauce of Romanesco broccoli served on pasta. It’s so toothsome that Michela sometimes eats the broccoli and leaves the pasta behind.

 

Photo by Joseph De Leo

Fusilli with Broccoflower

From Giuliano Hazan’s Thirty Minute Pasta by Giuliano Hazan

Broccoflower has a wonderful sweet nutty flavor that makes a delicious pasta sauce but it’s important to season it aggressively in order for its flavor to come through and to properly season the pasta..

1. Fill a pot for the pasta with about 6 quarts of water, place over high heat, and bring to a boil.
2. Remove the leaves around the broccoflower and cut off the root. Peel and finely chop the garlic cloves. Grate the pecorino cheese.
3. When the water comes to a boil, add 2 tablespoons salt and add the broccoflower. Cook until tender, 10-12 minutes, then remove it from the boiling water and transfer to a cutting board. Keep the pot of boiling water over high heat. Chop the cooked broccoflower into ?-inch chunks.
4. Add the fusilli to the boiling water and stir well. Cook until al dente.
5. While the pasta is cooking, put the chopped garlic, hot red pepper flakes, and 4 tablespoons of the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet and place over medium high heat. When the garlic is sizzling, add the chopped broccoflower, season generously with salt, and sauté over medium heat, stirring periodically, until the pasta is done. If the broccoflower begins to stick on the bottom of the skillet add a little bit of the boiling pasta water.
6. When the fusilli are al dente, drain well, toss with the sauce, add the remaining tablespoon olive oil, and the grated pecorino cheese, and serve at once.

In Italy pumpkin would be used for this sauce, but I’ve found that butternut squash more closely resembles the flavor of Italian pumpkin than American pumpkin does. This sauce has been a hit with kids. I made this one day when my daughters had playmates over, and the five-to-nine year old crowd unanimously approved it!

I often make a risotto with red and yellow peppers, tomatoes, and basil whose enticing colors and aroma make it one of my family’s favorites. The fresh and fragrant combination of flavors makes this dish a great light summer meal.

It occurred to me that it would make a very nice pasta sauce, so I added a little cream to the mixture and it was delicious — so much so that I’ve been making it just to use as a pasta sauce.

One of our favorite recipes comes from a restaurant in the Veneto named Il Pompiere. The chef/owner Marco makes an egg pasta dish that is infused with the luscious pea flavor, but only when the peas from Peseggia are in season.

The verdict was positive. The meat had a rich flavor and a firm texture that spoke of the place where it was raised: much like a wine, its terror.

There is nothing edible from the earth, the sea, or the sky that tastes so wonderful to me as a fully ripe, soft, sweet, and yes, messy fruit

Andrea oversees his kingdom with pride. He visits each table at least once during dinner, wanting to know the diners’ thoughts on his creations and eagerly explaining how he prepared an item. He is in his element if he discovers that a wine connoisseur is in the house. A native of Piedmont, home to some of the most prestigious wines in Italy, Andrea has a magnificent cellar and an impressive collection of Barolos. He literally leaps from the kitchen to assist patrons in choosing the wine that will flawlessly pair with their food.