Ditalini With Broccoli Raab (Ditalini con i Broccoli di Rape)

This recipe comes from Basilicata, located in the instep part of the boot toward the south of Italy. It is a homey dish. In this region pasta, fresh or dried, is made with durum wheat.  The recipe in Lidia Bastianich’s book doesn’t call for sausage, but she did have the chefs at the St. Anthony Hotel make it this way. The little bit of pork didn’t hurt the dish at all.

1 ¼ pounds broccoli raab
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for the pasta pot
1 pound ditalini (small shaped pasta)
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 medium-large garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
½ teaspoon peperoncino flakes, or to taste
1 pound mild Italian sausage, crumbled, browned and drained (if desired)
1 cup freshly grated pecorino cheese or half pecorino and half Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for passing)

For the broccoli raab:  Separate the big stems of the bunch, breaking apart any that are attached and trim them one at a time. Slice off the bottom of the stem with a paring knife – just the dried part, where the stem was first cut. With the blade of the knife, lift the outer skin of the stem, starting at you fresh bottom cut, and peel it toward the top in one long strip. Pull off the large, tough leaves attached to the lower stem, too. Peel away more strips of skin (and lower leaves) until only the pale inner stem remains, with all the tender leaves and broccoli raab florets on top. Trim and peel the other stems this way, them chop them all crosswise in short lengths, about 2/3 of an inch or so.

Meanwhile, fill a large pot with salted water (at least 6 quarts water with 1 tablespoon salt), and heat it to a boil. When the broccoli raab is trimmed and chopped, begin cooking the pasta and sauce at the same time.

When the pasta water is at a rolling boil, stir in the ditalini, return to a boil and let it cook, stirring occasionally.

Pour 6 tablespoons of the olive oil into the big skillet, set it over medium heat, scatter in the garlic slices and cook for a couple of minutes, until sizzling and starting to color. Sprinkle the peperoncino onto the pan bottom, let it toast for a few seconds, then spill in all the broccoli raab. Raise the heat, spinkle the salt over it, spread and stir the broccoli in the pan and get it cooking. Ladle in about 3 cups of the boiling pasta water, stir with the vegetables and adjust the heat so the water is at a bubbling simmer. Add the cooked sausage to let it warm up in the sauce, if you are making the dish with the meat. Cover the skillet and cook for 4-5 minutes, until the broccoli is tender.

[amazon-product]0307267512[/amazon-product]Uncover the pan and immediately scoop the ditalini from the pasta pot with a spider or large strainer. The pasta should be undercooked slightly. Spill them into the simmering sauce. Stir the pasta with the broccoli and other ingredients until the ditalini have become perfectly al dente and the sauce has thickened. It should have a soupy, but not watery, consistency. (If the ditalini need more cooking, keep the skillet covered. If they are almost al dente when they go into the skillet, cook uncovered to reduce the sauce quickly.)

When pasta and sauce are done, turn off the heat, sprinkle the cup of grated cheese on top and stir it in. Serve immediately in warm bowls with more cheese for sprinkling on the side.

Makes 6 servings.

From “Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipes”by Lidia Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali

As I watched Lidia Bastianich masterfully present a series of dishes here Sunday night,  lecturing and entertaining all the while, I reflected upon her stature as national treasure.

The late Julia Child was, of course, our national treasure. Though her spirit lives on, she is gone, and it could be we feel we need another master chef to take her place. Someone to lead us gently but firmly through the basics of a venerable cuisine, instructing us to master what is difficult and instilling in us respect for the simple.  We need someone who imparts not only lessons in preparing food well, but in eating with joy and thoughtfulness.

I believe Lidia is such a one. We don’t see her flouncing around on the Food Network, brandishing her knife in those silly commercials or showing us how difficult she can be to work with in a kitchen.  As did Julia, she does what she does with steadiness and grace, without gimmickry, but in singular style.  If she is motherly, that is because she raised a family. If she can be stern and exacting, doesn’t that fit with our fond stereotype of the Italian matriarch gathering her extended family around her table?

Of course it does. During her presentation on Sunday, as she prepared fresh broccoli raab for a pasta dish with Italian sausage, she looked up from her work to tell the audience to pipe down.

“OK,”  she said, in a matter-of-fact tone. “You are talking. And you and I can’t talk at the same time.”  Those who were listening laughed. Those who were talking stopped.

This is what we need. I won’t tout Lidia as the next president of the United States. But when a wise and knowledgeable person talks, on whatever the subject, wouldn’t it be good if we could all be quiet and listen; that rude people might pay attention instead of interrupting?

Bastianich was asked, during the question and answer session, about her relationship with Child. It was a friendship as well as a professional collaboration. “Julia always was very curious about Italian food,” Bastianich said.  But the two personalities met on another level as well.  They recognized that, in addition to providing nourishment, one of the messages that comes from food is “the social element, the sharing of ideas, sharing a meal,” said Bastianich.

Sharing a meal? How much do we do that anymore? Some have said that the recession might be bringing families together around the dinner table. I don’t have any figures to back this up, but I’d like to think that it was true. And if it is true, who better to guide us back with some very, very good food reasonably easy to prepare at home than Bastianich?

Child presented Americans with culinary lessons that would raise our level of  sophistication, make us aware of what a classic cuisine was all about and how introduce its lessons into our lifestyle. I might not make boeuf  à la bourguignonne once a month, but I can tell you that when I want to brown cubes of beef, I pat them dry before introducing them to the properly heated oil in the pan. When I use wine in a recipe I don’t use wine I wouldn’t drink, and I have no fear of butter.

I like the idea of Bastianich as our new, most respected chef. But  she will never be the “new” Julia, nor would we want her to be.  She would remain completely what she is and has always been —a wonderful personality, expert cook and teacher.

The following are links to recipes for the dishes Bastianich presented at the KLRN Chef Series Sunday, Nov. 1, at the St. Anthony Hotel in San Antonio.  The Italian-American chef’s  Public Television series, “Lidia’s Italy”, airs locally on KLRN, several days during the week. Her book is “Cooking From The Heart of Italy,” which she wrote with her daughter, Tanya Bastianich Manuali (Knopf, $35).

Celery Root and Apple Salad

Dittalini with Broccoli Raab

Fillet of Grouper Matalotta Style

Lidia Bastianich taught, joked and reminisced as she prepared four excellent Italian dishes at the St. Antony Hotel Sunday night. When it was nearly over, though, some in the crowd of about 150 people just hadn’t had enough.

“When are you going to put a restaurant in San Antonio?”  This question, followed by much appreciative clapping and cheering from the audience, came from a woman during a question-and-answer session. The questioner backed up her request for a Bastianich restaurant by mentioning that the Italian-American chef, whose shows air on Public Television, is much beloved by San Antonio and her supportive fans here feel they know her personally.

“I love writing my books and doing the television shows, but the restaurants I leave up to my son and daughter now,” said Bastianich. “But, I do love San Antonio.”

The dinner was part of the KLRN-TV Chef Series. The meal was based on recipes from Bastianich’s new book, “Lidia Cooks From The Heart of Italy,” (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, $35).  The book is a companion publication to Lidia’s Italy, the 26-part public television series. A new series just began in September.

While Bastianich prepared all of the dishes on a stage at one end of the large ballroom, closeup views were provided to the dining audience by large-screen monitors. The food that was served, however, was prepared by the chef and staff at the St. Anthony. The menu began with an antipasto featuring fall apples with celery root dressed with olive oil and accompanied with prosciutto. The pasta course was Ditalini with Broccoli Raab; the second course was Pesca alla Matalotta, or a fillet of grouper Matalotta Style. Dessert was an Ambrosia of Wheat Berries, Fruit and Chocolate.

Look for recipes for the dishes presented in this meal and more on Lidia on Wednesday, in WalkerSpeak, on SavorSA.