Preparing Genovese-style Italian food

Chef Paolo Laboa and Ivano Centemeri

Once again I had the opportunity to attend a cooking demonstration at Arte Italia. Returning chef Paolo Laboa, ably aided by Reno's Ivano Centemeri, cooked and served four fabulous courses and this week I’ll share the Antipasti and Primo Piatto courses.

The mission of Arte Italia is to bring Italian art, food and culture to Reno and I feel they are succeeding. I also love the fact that all the proceeds from the classes are donated to St. Vincent’s right here in Reno.

My mother and sister attended the class with me and we enjoyed a fun night out. Chef Laboa has a restaurant in San Francisco called Farina that we hope to visit soon. If it is half as good as the dishes he prepared for us, we can’t go wrong.

Antipasti

Brandata di baccala con panissa alla savonese

Dry cod served in Savonese style fried chick pea polenta

300gr/10.5oz dry salt Cod

50gr/1.75oz white onion

1 Tbls Pinenuts

1 potato

1 bay leaf

approx. 1 C white wine

olive oil

Put a pot on the stove with water and bring to a simmer.

Rinse the salt cod in water.

Add the rinsed cod to the simmering water till softened.

In sauté pan on med high heat drizzle olive oil, add pine nuts, bay leaves, thinly sliced potato, white onion.

Once hot, deglaze with white wine, add the salt cod to the sauce pan cook low and slow 20 to 25 minutes (potato cooked till almost melted) covered.

Remove bay leaf, mix all in Quisinart until consistency of mashed potatoes, may need to add water if to dry to puree.

250gr/8.75oz chickpea flour

1 ltr water

pinch of salt

oil for frying

Bring water and salt to a boil, whisk in chickpea flour, cook 20/25 minutes medium high heat cooked to a consistency of polenta.

Swirl a little water around a bowl add cooked chickpea mixture, cover with plastic wrap place in refrigerator to cool.

Once cool, cut into “steakcut size French fries” approx. 2 ½” long ¼” thick.

Deep fry in oil, till crisp on outside and still soft inside.

Salt

To plate:

Form the Cod mixture into quenelles (football shaped) using two spoons.

Put 2 to 3 chickpea fries on a plate, place quenelle on top drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with fresh ground pepper garnish with a parsley leaf.

Primo Piatto

Testaroli della lunigina con fungi porcini

Genovese style crepe served with sautéed porcini mushrooms

Semolina flour 35%

OO flour 65%

Water (enough to make a crepe batter/thin pancake batter)

2 Tbls extra virgin olive oil

mix thoroughly in blender

Use 8” to 10” non-stick, oven safe pan.

Heat pan on stove top till very hot.

Pour batter into middle of pan, swirl around to create a thin crepe. It will be holey.

Once it begins to brown, finish in oven.

Crepes may be made in advance, just cover and refrigerate. To reheat, cut crepes into rustic shapes, 6 to 8 pieces per crepe, warm again by dipping in boiling salted water for a few seconds, do not try to re-warm with a dry heat.

fresh porcinis (if not available chantrelles work well also) thinly sliced approx. 4C

porcini powder 1 to 2 Tbls

whole garlic cloves 2 to 3

salt pinch

extra virgin olive oil

white wine approx.1 C

pepper

parsley  approx. 4 Tbls 

butter

parmesan cheese

In a sauté pan warm olive oil and garlic cloves.

Add mushrooms.

After mushrooms cook about halfway, add white wine, finely chopped parsley and porcini powder.

Remove garlic.

Warm sauté pan with olive oil and a bit of butter.

Drop rustic cut crepes to warm, sprinkle with parmesan cheese

To plate:

Place a couple pieces of crepe in bowl, add mushroom mixture on top.

Next week: Secondo Piatto and Dessert

Cannoli with pistachio mascarpone

These Pistachio cannoli are fabulous! Very impressive looking and not hard to make. Don’t be afraid to get creative with the filling, just substitute the pistachio paste for another flavor. I love a walnut filling with ends dipped in chocolate shavings or vanilla hazelnut.

As you get invited to holiday parties, keep these in mind. You can make the shells in advance, cool, wrap really well and freeze. To thaw, unwrap and lay out on paper towel (prevents condensation and helps to keep crisp), once thawed seal in airtight container till ready to be used. Your treat will be the hit of the party!

Cannoli croccanti con mascarpone e pistachio

Cannoli with pistachio mascarpone

For the cannoli shells:

Forms - copper piping works well 1 inch diameter approximately 5 inches long

Flour double oo (fine) 600 grams / 1.32 #

Sugar 100 grams / 3.52 oz

Butter 100 grams / 3.52 oz @ room temperature

White wine 15 ml / 1 Tbls

Marsala sweet wine 15 ml / 1 Tbls

Lemon rind of two lemons microplained

Mix ingredients together; soft cookie dough consistency. Do not over mix. Cover and put in refrigerator for at least one hour to allow dough to “relax”.

For the filling:

Marscapone 1 kilo / 2.2 #

Confectioners sugar 100 gr / 3.52 oz

Pistachio paste 200 gr / 7.05 oz (available in specialty stores, ice cream ingredient or make your own by pureeing till paste)

Whipping cream 200 gr / 7.05 oz

Gelatin leaves 4 - soak in water

Mix;

Marscapone, sugar, pistachio paste and whipping cream (reserve approximately ¼ cup). Once all ingredients are well mixed together take gelatin leaves out of water, squeeze excess water out, warm reserved cream in sauce pot add gelatin leaves till dissolved, then mix into filling.

You can add nuts, dried fruit etc.. to mix if you desire.

To make the cannoli shells using a pasta machine, work the dough through the machine till it is on number one.  Lay out on a lightly floured surface cut out rectangles that leave approximately ½ an inch on each end of form and just overlap by approximately a ¼ inch seal with an egg wash.

Cook in an oil with a high smoke point - peanut or lard (the best). Cook till golden brown. Remove from oil place on paper towel lined sheet tray and slide off of forms.

To assemble:

Fill a wide tipped pastry bag with filling. Pipe into cannoli shell from each end.

Set on sheet tray, dust with confectioners sugar

To plate: place red raspberries on plate 3, put a cannoli in center of plate   

Multi-Layer Chocolate Cake

Do you have some extra time on your hands? If you spend it making this cake you will not be sorry. Now the question, how many layers can you make? 12, 14, 16? To make the process a bit easier, gather at least 6 9-inch cake pans. 

This is a sweet dessert so one cake serves 15 to 20. Good luck and have fun!

Chocolate layer cake

1 ¾ C butter (3 ½ sticks), 1 C @ room temperature

5 oz (5 squares) unsweetened chocolate melted

7 C sugar

2 ¼ C (18 oz) evaporated milk

3 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbls instant French roast coffee granules

6 large eggs, room temperature

2 C plus 1 Tbls milk

4 C self-rising flour

Non-stick baking spray

Make the cake glaze first.  In a large saucepan, melt ¾ C of the butter and mix it with the melted chocolate and 4 ½ C of the sugar.
Stir in the evaporated milk, 2 tsp of the vanilla, and the instant coffee.
Cook the glaze over medium-high heat until it boils.
Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 20 minutes. Remove the glaze from the heat.
When cooled a bit, return to low heat as needed, as the glaze must be warm to spread on the cake layers.

Preheat the oven to 350º. Spray using non-stick baking spray or grease and flour at least four 9-inch cake pans.
Cream the remaining 1 C butter and remaining 2 ½ C sugar until smooth.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition just until blended.
Mix the remaining 1 tsp vanilla with the milk (2 C plus 1Tbls) and add alternately with the flour, beginning and ending with flour.

Put a very thin layer of batter -about 7 Tbls- in each pan, shaking the pans to distribute the batter to the edges.
Bake the layers for 11 to 13 minutes.
Remove the layers from the pans and frost (a combination of drizzle and lightly spreading works) immediately with the warm icing. Continue baking layers with remaining batter at least twelve!

Hopefully this will become a family favorite.