Italian cooks treat eggs as ordinary food rather than as culinary works of art as French cooks do. Eggs are not eaten at breakfast, but as the first or main course of a meal, quite often as a frittata. This solid omelet always tastes good hot or cold. A frittata can be varied in scores of ways with ingredients apt to be always at hand, such as onions, bits of vegetables or leftover pasta. Another popular dish is due uova al tegamino, eggs fried in individual little baking dishes or frying pans, and eaten out of them; transferring the eggs even to a heated plate would cool them off too much for Italian tastes.
Italian cheese cookery is also uncomplicated. While there is not a great deal of it, cheese is a very important part of the diet, serving as the meat substitute when meat is a rare luxury. A few cheeses find their way into cooked foods; but most are table cheeses that are eaten with bread (not crackers) at the end of a meal, or out of hand for a simple lunch. Italian cheeses are few compared to the number of French cheeses and not nearly as fancy. Basically, they can be divided into three categories: grating cheeses, cooking cheeses, table cheeses; sometimes their uses overlap.
Parmesan, or Parmigiano-Reggiano, the full name of the king of grating cheeses, is one of the world’s finest cheeses. In cooking, it does not toughen, or melt prematurely, or become stringy, and best of all, it enhances the flavors of every food it is combined with. Parmesan is golden yellow, compact and grainy. Deliciously sharp, but not biting when eaten fresh, it improves with age for grating, and also gets increasingly expensive. Parmesan has two ages: vecchio (old) and stravecchio (very old) as sold in the shops; the latter cheese is over two years old, costs more, and is better. Proper Parmesan has never been duplicated anywhere else in the world. I have tried all the American, Argentine and other so-called Parmesans, and had no use for them. Parmesan is made only in several officially designated areas around Parma in northern Italy, from mid-April to November. It belongs to the grana (grainy) family of cheeses, which resemble Parmesan in texture, flavor and usage; in Italy, they are specified by name, such as Grana Lodi, the grainy cheese from Lodi in Lombardy.
Pecorino is the generic Italian name for the other grating cheese, the one made from sheep’s milk. In this country, and in others, it is known as Romano, from the Roman variety, though there are many other kinds of Pecorino, made throughout the country and qualified by their origin, such as Pecorino Sardo, the cheese from Sardinia. Most Italians have their favorite kind.
Pecorino is a much sharper and coarser cheese than Parmesan, with varied flavors, some milder, some stronger, depending on where it is made. Parmesan is the cheese of northern Italy, where lush pastures fatten the cows and enrich their milk, whereas Pecorino is the cheese of the south of Rome, where pastures will do only for sheep. Fresh Pecorino, made also in Tuscany and Umbria and wherever there are sheep, is a soft but not creamy white cheese, and very good to eat. Age hardens and sharpens Pecorino. It is less expensive than Parmesan.
Although some of the table cheeses, such as Fontina (p. 150) are used for cooking, the two main Italian cooking cheeses are Mozzarella and Ricotta. Mozzarella and its kin, Provatura, are soft, somewhat rubbery very white cheeses made originally around Naples from buffalo’s milk. They are still made from buffalo’s milk throughout the South, but since there are fewer buffaloes and more Mozzarella lovers, the cheese is also made from cow’s milk, as it is in the United States. The buffalo’s milk variety is more delicately but definitely flavored. Real Mozzarella must be eaten fresh. It is usually kept fresh in a bowl of water, dripping with its own whey, both in the shops and at home. This is very different in taste and texture from the solid, bland mass wrapped in plastic sold as Mozzarella in supermarkets. Fresh Mozzarella is worth seeking out in Italian groceries; for that matter, so are the imported originals of all the cheeses from Italy imitated in the United States. There is also a smoked, tan-colored Mozzarella, which is better for eating than for cooking.
Ricotta means “twice cooked,” as it is, from the whey of other cheeses such as Mozzarella or Pecorino. The genuine Ricotta is made particularly in southern Italy, and very often from sheep’s milk. It is a white, soft, unsalted curd cheese; more solid, salted Ricottas are also made in some parts of Italy. Italian Ricotta is more flavorful than the American version, which is usually sold in 15-ounce cartons. However, dishes calling for 1 pound (16 ounces) ricotta can be made with a 15-ounce container. (Cottage cheese, though of a similar consistency, is never a substitute for Ricotta.) In southern Italian cooking, Ricotta frequently fills the role of cream, or of dessert, eaten with sugar and fruit, or sprinkled with brandy or powdered (not instant) coffee.
Among the table cheeses, the best known are semisoft cheeses like Fontina (the best one of all), Bel Paese, Taleggio, Stracchino, Gruviera (the Italian Swiss-type cheese) and Gorgonzola, the rich and luscious “blue” cheese of Italy. There are many variations of these throughout Italy, often with local names or simply called “little cheeses,” cadotelle. Most should be eaten fresh. Be sure to try Provolone, which is now made from cow’s rather than buffalo’s milk. It is the cheese in amusing shapes, tied with string, that hangs from the ceilings of Italian grocery stores.
Uova Fritte alla Mozzarella All-Italian
This dish should be cooked in individual little baking or frying pans, called tegamino in Italy.
butter
eggs
mozzarella cheese, cut into ¼-inch slices
salt
freshly ground pepper
Generously butter as many individual baking dishes as needed. Line the bottom with mozzarella slices. Break 1 or 2 eggs over the mozzarella in each dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook covered over low heat until cheese is melted and eggs are set. Serve hot.
Uova Strapazzate con i Peperoni from Tuscany
2 large green, red or yellow sweet peppers
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove
½ teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
6 eggs, slightly beaten
salt
freshly ground pepper
6 slices of Italian bread, freshly toasted
Trim the peppers, remove seeds and membranes, and cut peppers lengthwise into ¼-inch strips. Wash and dry them between sheets of kitchen paper. Heat the oil in a large deep skillet. Add garlic and cook until garlic is browned; discard. Add peppers and oregano. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the eggs and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook over low heat, stirring gently, until the eggs are set to the desired consistency. Serve hot, with toasted Italian bread.
Mozzarella Fritta All-Italian
As a luncheon dish, serve with a well-flavored tomato or mushroom sauce, and with a green salad.
1 pound mozzarella cheese
salt
freshly ground pepper
flour
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup fine dry bread crumbs, approximately
olive oil for frying
lemon wedges
If mozzarella is the fresh Italian kind that is kept moist in water, dry it carefully between sheets of kitchen paper. Cut the mozzarella into ½-inch slices, then cut the slices into fingers; there should be about 20 of them. Lay the cheese fingers on wax paper side by side and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Coat the fingers on all sides with flour and shake off excess flour. Dip fingers first into beaten eggs, then into bread crumbs, shaking off excess bread crumbs. Place on a plate lined with wax paper and chill for 1 to 2 hours. Heat about 2 inches of olive oil in a large, deep frying pan or shallow saucepan. The oil should be heated to 375°F. on a frying thermometer. Fry the cheese fingers, a few at a time, until they are pale golden, turning them over to ensure even frying. Drain on kitchen paper. Place on a serving dish lined with a napkin and serve immediately, very hot. Garnish with lemon wedges.
La Fondua Piemontese from Piedmont
This is one of the most famous and most delicious of Piedmontese dishes. It must be made with Fontina, a soft buttery cheese from Piedmont which can be bought in all good cheese shops. Do not substitute Swiss or Gruyère cheese because they make a different-tasting dish. An aromatic white truffle from Alba enhances the fondua but is not as essential as the Fontina cheese. White Alba truffles reach the United States in the fall and good Italian groceries sell them, worth their weight in gold.
1 pound Fontina cheese, cut into small dice
milk
2 tablespoons butter
4 egg yolks, well beaten
salt
freshly ground pepper
1 white truffle, sliced thin (optional)
hot buttered toast fingers
Put the Fontina into a deep narrow bowl and add milk to cover. Steep for at least 4 hours or overnight. Melt but do not brown the butter in the top part of a double boiler over, not in, hot water. Add egg yolks, cheese, the milk in which it was steeped and a little salt and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until eggs, cheese and milk have combined into a thick, smooth cream. There must not be any stringiness in this dish, and it must not be put over direct heat for this reason. Pour the fondua into heated soup plates, scatter the truffle slices over each serving, and serve with hot toast fingers. Or pour it over the toast fingers. Eat hot.
Crostini alla Mozzarella from Rome
In Rome, these are made with the Provatura, a mozzarella-like small soft cheese, the size of an egg.
1 pound mozzarella cheese
salt
freshly ground pepper
Italian bread or stale firm white bread
½ cup (¼ pound) butter, melted in a small saucepan
6 to 8 anchovy fillets, drained and chopped
Cut mozzarella into ½-inch slices and sprinkle each slice lightly with salt and pepper. Cut as many slices of bread as there are of mozzarella, plus 6 extra, all of the same thickness and size as the cheese. Beginning and ending with a slice of bread, thread the mozzarella and bread slices on 6 skewers. Preheat a baking dish deep and wide enough to let the skewers rest on its sides without touching the bottom of the dish. Bake in a preheated hot oven (400°F.) for 10 to 15 minutes, or until bread is toasted and mozzarella beginning to melt. Baste occasionally with a little melted butter. While the skewers are cooking, stir anchovies into the melted butter and place over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the anchovies have dissolved into the butter. Place each skewer on a heated dining plate and pour a little anchovy butter over it. Serve very hot.
Tortino di Mozzarella from Naples
4 to 6 thick slices of stale firm white bread or white or wholewheat Italian bread
1 cup milk, approximately
½ pound mozzarella cheese, or more to taste, sliced
4 eggs
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt
freshly ground pepper
Butter an 8- or 9-inch deep pie pan or baking dish generously. Cut the crusts off bread slices and line the bottom and about ½ inch of the sides of the pie pan with the bread. Sprinkle the milk over the bread. Depending on the kind of bread, you may need a little less or a little more milk; the bread should be soft and moist but still retain its shape. Place mozzarella slices over the bread, covering it. Beat together eggs and Parmesan cheese. Taste for saltiness; if necessary add a little more salt and season with plenty of pepper. Pour the mixture over the bread and mozzarella. Bake in a preheated hot oven (400°F.) for about 10 minutes, or until the egg mixture is puffed up and golden and the mozzarella melted. Serve hot.
NOTE: For a richer dish, place slices of prosciutto or other ham over the mozzarella before adding the egg mixture.
Tortino di Patate from Puglia
3 medium-size potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed
1 cup flour
salt
freshly ground pepper
½ cup olive oil
1 cup drained canned tomatoes
½ pound mozzarella cheese, cut into ½-inch dice
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon crumbled dried rosemary
Mix together to a smooth paste mashed potatoes, flour, and salt and pepper to taste. Using your hands is the easiest way. Generously oil a 9-inch flat baking dish. Line the bottom with the potato mixture, making a layer ¼ to ½ inch thick. Sprinkle with half of the olive oil. Top with tomatoes, mozzarella and Parmesan, and sprinkle with rosemary and remaining oil. Bake in a preheated hot oven (400°F.) for 20 minutes, or until browned. Serve hot as a first course or as a side dish with cold meats.
Souffle di Spinad e Ricotta from Naples
2 pounds fresh spinach, or 2 10-ounce packages frozen whole-leaf spinach
½ cup olive oil
1 pound ricotta cheese
3 eggs, separated
⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt
freshly ground pepper
⅛ teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons fine dry bread crumbs
Trim the spinach and wash it in several changes of cold water; drain. Put spinach with the water that clings to its leaves into a big pot. Cook covered over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes, or until spinach is wilted. Do not overcook or spinach will lose flavor. Drain spinach thoroughly, pressing it with a wooden spoon against the sides of the strainer. Finally, squeeze dry with your hands. Chop the spinach. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and cook the spinach in it, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes. Combine ricotta, egg yolks, Parmesan, salt and pepper to taste and nutmeg, and mix well. Beat until light. Add spinach and mix well. Butter a 6-cup baking dish and coat it with the bread crumbs. Beat egg whites until stiff and carefully fold them into the spinach mixture. Turn into the baking dish. Cook in a preheated moderate oven (350°F.) for about 30 minutes, or until the top is golden. Serve hot.
NOTE: A lighter soufflé will result if 4 egg whites are used. However, if they are not handy, it is not worthwhile breaking up 1 egg for this purpose since the soufflé is perfectly good as it is.
Frittata, the Italian equivalent of an omelet, is flat, rather like a pancake, and well cooked on the outside yet still moist inside. A frittata can be made of eggs only, or with cheese or herbs or vegetables. A frittata is a splendid way of using up the dabs of cooked vegetables that linger in refrigerators.
A proper frittata is made only with eggs and enrichments, but if you are short of eggs, you can cheat a little, the way it is done in Italy. For each missing egg, and for not more than 2 eggs, blend together 2 teaspoons flour with 3 tablespoons water or milk. The result is not perfect, but it will do in an emergency.
To cook a frittata, heat a frying or omelet pan over medium heat and add just enough oil or butter to coat the bottom and sides lightly. Add the egg mixture and reduce the heat. Cook until the bottom is golden brown and well set, lifting the edges with a fork to allow the uncooked egg on top to trickle into the pan. Put a plate or a lid slightly larger than the frying pan over the frittata. Hold the plate down with one hand. With the other hand hold the frying pan handle and turn the frying pan and plate upside down, so that the frittata, cooked side up, will be on the plate or lid. Slide it, uncooked side down, back into the frying pan and cook until golden brown and set. Then slide it onto a serving plate, cut into wedges, and serve hot or cold as a first or main course.
If you are making little frittate, you can turn them over with a pancake turner, just as you would a pancake. It is impractical to make a very large frittata and better to make two when needed. The thickness of a frittata should be around ¾ to 1 inch.
Frittata di Peperoni e Patate from Rome
¼ cup olive oil
2 medium-size green, red or yellow sweet peppers, seeded and cut into thin strips
1 medium-size onion, cut into very thin slices
2 medium-size potatoes, cooked, peeled and cut into thin slices
2 tablespoons water
6 to 8 eggs, slightly beaten
salt
freshly ground pepper
Heat the olive oil in a large, deep frying pan. Add the peppers and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes, or until peppers are soft. Add onion and potatoes and mix with a fork. Reduce heat and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is soft. Beat the water into the eggs and season with salt and pepper. Pour eggs over the vegetables and stir with a fork to distribute vegetables. Cook over low heat until golden brown and set on one side as described on page 156; turn and cook until golden brown and set.
Frittata con la Mozzarella e Crostini from Naples
6 eggs, beaten
salt
freshly ground pepper
4 ounces mozzarella, cut into ¼-inch cubes
4 slices of firm white bread
5 tablespoons butter
Combine eggs, salt and pepper to taste and the mozzarella; mix well. Trim crusts from the bread and cut slices into ¼-inch cubes. Heat the butter in a frying pan large enough to hold the frittata. Add bread cubes and sauté over medium heat until golden and crisp. Pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes and distribute bread and mozzarella cubes. Cook over low heat until golden brown and set on one side as described on page 156; turn and cook until golden brown and set.
Frittata di Zucchine from Tuscany
6 eggs
¼ cup minced parsley
½ teaspoon dried sage
salt
freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 small zucchini, trimmed and cut into thin slices (do not peel if young)
Beat together the eggs, parsley, sage, and salt and pepper to taste. Heat the olive oil in a deep frying pan. Add zucchini and cook over high heat, stirring with a fork, until zucchini is soft and golden but still firm. Reduce heat. Add the eggs and stir with a fork to distribute zucchini. Cook over low heat until frittata is golden brown and set on one side as described on page 156; turn and cook until golden brown and set.
Frittata di Pasta All-Italian
Leftover pasta either plain or sauced can be used in this dish.
6 eggs
2 teaspoons salt
freshly ground pepper
1 cup chopped mozzarella cheese (optional)
¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
6 tablespoons butter
½ to 1 pound cooked pasta, freshly cooked or leftover
Beat together the eggs, salt, pepper to taste, mozzarella and Parmesan. Heat the butter in a frying pan and add the spaghetti. Pour the egg mixture over the spaghetti and mix well with a fork. Cook until eggs are set and the frittata is golden brown and crisp at the bottom. Serve hot.
NOTE: There is no need to turn this frittata.
Frittata di Spinad al Forno from Lombardy
3 pounds spinach, washed, drained and shredded
3 tablespoons butter
salt
freshly ground pepper
dash of Tabasco
6 eggs
⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Mushroom or Tomato Sauce (optional) (pp. 288 and 135)
Cook spinach in the water that dings to it for 3 minutes. Drain spinach and squeeze it dry in a strainer, using a wooden spoon or hands. Return spinach to the saucepan. Add butter and cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until spinach is well coated with butter. Remove from heat and season lightly with salt (the cheese will be salty) and pepper to taste and the Tabasco. Beat together the eggs and Parmesan cheese. Butter a medium-deep 8-inch baking dish or deep 8-inch pie pan on all sides. Place it over direct low heat for a few moments to heat it up. Pour in half of the egg mixture. Cook like an omelet for 2 minutes, or until set. Remove from the heat. Spread the spinach evenly on top of the eggs. Top the spinach evenly with remaining eggs. Bake in a preheated moderate oven (350°F.) for about 15 minutes, or until set and golden. Unmold on a plate and serve hot with Mushroom or Tomato Sauce. Or serve lukewarm, with sliced tomatoes.
Frittata di Cipolle All-Italian
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, cut into very thin slices
6 eggs, beaten
salt
freshly ground pepper
Heat the olive oil in a deep frying pan. Add onion slices and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until onions are very soft and golden; do not brown. Season the eggs with salt and pepper and pour over onions. Stir with a fork to distribute onions. Cook until golden brown and set on one side as described on page 156; turn and cook until golden brown and set.
Pizza Fatta in Casa
Real pizza should be made with bread dough. In Italy bakers will sell you plain dough, and in America some ethnic bakers will do the same, though rather unwillingly. This is where a baking powder dough for pizza comes in; it is very acceptable indeed.
FOR THE DOUGH:
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons olive oil
⅓ cup water
olive oil
Into a bowl sift the flour, salt and baking powder. Combine 3 tablespoons oil and the water and stir the mixture into flour. Beat until well mixed; this should take less than 1 minute. Turn onto a lightly floured baking board or counter. Knead for about 1 minute, or until the dough forms into an easily handled ball. Pat the dough ball flat and place in the center of a lightly greased baking sheet; the sheet must be flat, without borders. Pat the dough into a circle ⅛ inch thick in the center and ⅜ to ½ inch thick at the edges. This is easiest done using fingers and starting from the center of the circle in a radiating pattern. The dough is very pliable; if it tears, the holes are easily repaired by pushing other dough over them. Brush olive oil around the edges of the circle.
FOR THE FILLING:
1¼ to 1½ pounds peeled fresh plum tomatoes or very well drained canned plum tomatoes (avoid canned if possible)
1 tablespoon salt
¼ pound fresh whole-milk mozzarella, approximately, to make 1 cup diced
freshly ground pepper
1 2-ounce can flat anchovy fillets, well drained
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 tablespoons olive oil
To peel the tomatoes, spear each on a fork and dip quickly into rapidly boiling water; slip off peel. Do not let the tomatoes lie in the boiling water, or they will cook. Cut the tomatoes into halves. Or else, cut the tomatoes into halves and place them skin side down in a frying pan, preferably Teflon-coated. Place the pan over low to medium heat; after 3 to 4 minutes shake the pan to avoid sticking and scorching. The skins will begin to wrinkle. Remove from the heat and slip the skins off. With either method, turn the tomatoes into a colander and sprinkle them with the salt. Toss carefully in order not to break them. Stand the colander in the sink to let the tomatoes throw off excess liquid; this is important or you will have a wet pizza. If they are large, cut the tomato halves into 2 or 3 pieces. Dice the mozzarella.
TO ASSEMBLE:
A freshly baked pizza should be a lovely crazy quilt of white, red and golden brown, contrasting the soft shapes of tomatoes and cheese with the more clearly defined shape of the anchovies. By the spoonful, place the tomatoes in little round heaps in a circle on the bottom of the dough that has been patted out on the baking sheet. Fill the spaces between the tomatoes with the diced mozzarella, reserving a few pieces to scatter over the whole pizza. Season with freshly ground pepper. Cut the anchovies into halves and place them on both tomatoes and mozzarella. Sprinkle with oregano and olive oil. Bake in a preheated hot oven (450°F.) for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the dough is browned and the filling melted and bubbly.
NOTE: Most pizza, especially commercial pizza, is made with tomato sauce rather than with the vastly preferable fresh tomatoes. Reason: it is easier and quicker. There is a world of difference in the flavor of fresh tomatoes. It is essential that the oven be thoroughly preheated.