The Recipe

Source: A Taste of Southern Italy by Marlena de Blasi

1 small head white or green cauliflower
2 tablespoons fine sea salt
1 pound cima di rape [Hard-to-find Italian turnip greens] or dandelion greens, beet greens, or red chard
2 ounces anchovies, preserved under salt
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 small, dried red chile pepper, crushed, or 1/3 to ½ teaspoon dried chile flakes
3 fat cloves garlic, peeled, crushed, and finely minced
3 ounces dried black olives, stones removed (optional)
12 ounces orecchiette
coarse sea salt for the pasta water
1 cup just-grated pecorino
1 cup just-made fine bread crumbs, sautéed in ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Trim the cauliflower of its leaves and place it, whole, in a pot, covering it with cold water, adding 1 tablespoon of the fine sea salt and poaching it until tender. Drain the cauliflower and set it aside. Wash and trim the rape and place them in a pot, covering them with cold water, adding the remaining table of salt and poaching them for 3 minutes. Drain the rape very well, transferring them to absorbent paper towels. When the rape are cooled a bit, squeeze each piece, extracting as much water as you can before chopping them coarsely and placing them in a bowl. Add the poached cauliflower, breaking it up and blending it lightly with the rape.

Rinse the anchovies and remove their heads and bones. Dry them on paper towels and crush lightly with a fork.

In a sauté pan over a medium flame, warm the olive oil, scenting it with the fennel, crushed chile, and garlic, taking care not to color the garlic. Add the anchovies and the olives, if you wish to use them, stirring and blending the components. Add this hot mixture to the bowl with the rape and the cauliflower, smashing the whole against the sides of the bowl, permitting the vegetables to inhale the hot, spicy bath.

Cook the orecchiette in abundant, sea-salted water until al dente, draining the pasta but leaving it somewhat wet. Reserve ½ cup or so of its cooking liquids. Transfer the pasta to a large, shallow, warmed bowl. Add a few tablespoons of the cooking liquids and the pecorino to the sauce, thinning it only slightly. Add a few drops more of the cooking liquids only if the sauce is still extremely thick. Add the sauce to the pasta, tossing it and coating each little ear.

Dust the pasta with the browned bread crumbs and present the dish with a rough but honorable red wine.

The Recipe

Source: From Biba’s Italian Kitchen by Biba Caggiano

1 ½ pounds green beans, the smallest you can find
3-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 anchovy fillets, chopped
1 tablespoon minced sun-dried tomatoes
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Snap off both ends of the beans and wash them under cold running water. Bring a medium-size saucepan half full of salted water to a boil over medium heat. Add the beans and cook, uncovered, until tender but still a bit crunchy, 2 to 4 minutes, depending on size. Drain and immediately plunge the beans in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and to set their green color. Drain and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, anchovies, and sun-dried tomatoes. Stir for about 1 minute, making sure not to let the garlic turn too dark. Add the green beans, season with salt and pepper, and stir just long enough to heat the beans through, 1 to 2 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning, and serve.

The Recipe

Source: The Babbo Cookbook by Mario Batali

1 pound green, wax, or romano beans
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small red onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
½ tablespoon hot red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons anchovy paste
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Trim the beans and cut them into 3-inch lengths.

In a 12- to 14-inch saute pan, heat the olive oil over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, and anchovy paste and stir over medium-high heat until the vegetables have begun to brown and become translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the beans and cook over medium heat until the beans are tender and deep brown, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

The Recipe

Source: Second Helpings from Union Square Cafe by Danny Meyer

kosher salt
1 or 2 medium eggplants, unpeeled, cut into 1/2-inch dice (4 cups)
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 teaspoon garlic
5 anchovy fillets, minced
1 ¾ cups arborio rice
1 cup white wine
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
3 tablespoons butter
½ cup grated Pecorino Romano
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Combine 1 quart of cold water and 2 tablespoons of salt in a large bowl. Add the diced eggplant and let soak for 30 minutes. Drain well in a colander.

In a large saute pan, heat 1/3 cup of the oil over medium-high heat until very hot, and add the drained eggplant. If your saute pan is not large enough to hold all the eggplant in one layer, do this step in more than one batch. Cook the eggplant until well browned and tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir often during the last half of cooking, and reduce the heat as needed to keep the eggplant from burning. Transfer to a dish and set aside.

In a small saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a simmer.

Combine 2 tablespoons of oil, the shallots, garlic, and anchovies in a 3-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan or skillet. Place over medium heat and stir to cook, without coloring, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and 1 teaspoon of salt, and stir with a wooden spoon until the rice is coated with the oil. Add the wine and bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook the rice, stirring constantly, until it absorbs the wine.

Ladle ½ cup of the simmering broth into the saucepan and stir until it is absorbed. Continue with the rest of the broth, adding ½ cup at a time and letting each addition become absorbed completely into the rice before adding more liquid. The constant stirring allows the rice to release its starch into the cooking liquid, resulting in the characteristic risotto creaminess. Count on approximately 20 to 25 minutes for the rice to be cooked al dente.

Fold in the eggplant and cook until heated through, about 30 seconds. Add the mint, swirl in the butter and half the cheese, and season with ½ teaspoon of salt and the pepper. Spoon the risotto onto a warm platter or into individual bowls, sprinkle with the remaining pecorino, and serve immediately.