L'Italo-Americano

Around much of the country Winter is in full force, a time for cooks to bring warming, substan- tial food to the table. Creamy polenta topped with a hearty ragù certainly fits the bill, but corn is more than just polenta. These lit- tle pasta squares, known as tacco- ni, hail from Italy's Mezzogiorno, and are particularly well known in Molise and Abruzzo. Toothsome and with plenty of corn flavor, they are made with a blend of finely ground wheat and corn flours, along with eggs and water. Traditionally cut with a straight edge, either a knife or a rolling pastry cutter, some cooks elect to dress them up a bit by cutting them with a fluted rotello. These golden yellow pat- ches are a brilliant match for my grandmother's ragù di carne macinata e funghi porcini secchi, a delectably rich beef sauce enri- ched with earthy porcini. The mushrooms enhance the flavor of the dark ragù, and the corn swee- tens the fragrant sauce, rounding out the entire dish. Next time the weather outside is frightful, try some corn pasta and sumptuous beef ragù for supper. Ragù of Beef with Dried Porcini 1 stalk celery, cut in 1-inch chunks 1 large carrot, cut in 1-inch chunks 1 small red onion, quartered 10 sprigs of Italian parsley ½ cup olive oil 18 ounces of ground chuck, preferably ground at home ¾ ounce dried porcini plus water to cover 1 cup Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2 cups beef stock 24 ounces Passata (tomato puree) 1 clove of garlic, crushed kosher salt freshly ground black pepper Parmigiano to serve Make the ragù: Place the celery, carrot, red onion and the sprigs of parsley, torn from their stems, in the workbowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse until well chopped and reduced to a pestata, a mix- ture of almost paste-like consi- stency. Heat ½ cup of extra vir- gin olive oil in a 4-quart heavy bottom Dutch oven. Add the pestata and a generous pinch of fine sea salt, adjusting the flame to medium-low. Cook, stirring often, decreasing the heat if necessary, to prevent scorching, until well caramelized. Meanwhile, place the dried por- cini in a medium bowl and pour 1 cup of boiling water over them to reconstitute. Set aside for 30 minutes. Strain the porcini, reser- ving the soaking water. Transfer the drained porcini to a board and chop finely. Set the chopped mushrooms and their soaking water aside, keeping them separa- te. Add the ground beef and cru- shed garlic clove to the cooked vegetable mixture. Cook, stirring often, until the meat is well browned, about 8 to 10 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden spoon or spatula as it cooks. Add the wine to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally. Add the Passato and beef stock. Carefully add the mush- room soaking liquid, holding back the last bit which will con- tain grit from the mushrooms. Discard the gritty dregs. Increase the heat to high, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to a very low simmer, and add the chopped mushrooms. Cook over very low heat until thickened and dark, about 1½ hours. Remove and discard the garlic clove. Add freshly ground black pepper to taste, and salt, if desired. This sauce may be kept, well covered, in the refrigerator for 3 days or frozen for 2 months. Corn pasta squares 3 ounces (about ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons) finely ground corn flour 3 ounces (about ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons) 00 or all-purpose flour 2 large eggs 2 tablespoons warm water Combine the flours and place on a clean spianatoia (wooden work board) or counter. Form a fontana, or well, by hollowing out a space in the center of the flour about the size of an orange. Crack the eggs into the fontana, and add water. With a fork lightly mix the eggs and ADRI BARR cROcETTI THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2014 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano 23 Corn Pasta Squares with Beef and Mushroom Ragù water. With each stroke of the fork, bring a bit of the flour into the egg mass, combining well, being careful to avoid creating lumps. Once the mixture has come together into a shaggy mass, use a bench scraper to push it aside. Scrape the spiana- toia clean. Lightly flour the spianatoia and return the dough to it, kneading until smooth, about 5 to 7 minutes. Form the dough into a ball. Wrap in pla- stic and set aside to rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour. After the dough has rested, lightly flour the spianatoia with flour and roll the dough to 3- 4mm thickness. Cut the dough lengthwise into ¾ inch strips, and cut again crosswise at ¾ inch intervals to make ¾-inch squares. Separate the squares and place them on lightly flou- red lint-free towels. Cover with a clean towel, and set aside to dry for 1 to 1 ½ hours. Bring 6 quarts of water to a rolling boil. Salt the water libe- rally and add the corn pasta. Cook about 15 to 17 minutes, depending on thick- ness. Drain and toss briefly with about half of the hot ragù. Serve topped with Parmigiano. For a step by step lesson on tacconi, visit my web site at AdriBarrCrocetti.com

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