L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.com 12 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2015 L'Italo-Americano It's the dead of winter, when one's tastes go to deep earthy root vegetables such as beets and lentils. Never mind that it's 70 degrees in Los Angeles! That makes exploring urban farmers' markets for candy cane beets and other colorful vegetables all the more fun. Beets and lentils do make a great combo, but deep purple beets and dark lentils make for pretty muddy colors. Enter the golden beet and the candy cane beet! Golden beets are getting easier to find at both farmers m a r k e t s a n d g r o c e r y s t o r e s . Candy cane beets remain a bit elusive, but when found, they can be thinly shaved using a mandolin slicer over salad for a pop of color. Never cook these beautiful beets, as the striped color will fade away. A n d w h a t m a k e s p e o p l e happy about salads are the diffe- rent crunches and textures. A salad of just lettuce is a vegeta- ble dish in Italy. Enter creamy Pecorino and a gremolata made by substituting crushed hazel- nuts for garlic! That extra crunch will make you happy in January. H e r e a r e a f e w t i p s f o r making this dish: Use Puy or French green len- tils. Brown lentils are wonderful f o r s o u p — t h e y f a l l a p a r t a s cooked. These lentils will hold their shape when cooked. Steam the golden beets. As much as I love the taste of roa- sted beets, steaming beets will better retain the bright golden color. Remove the pecorino cheese from the refrigerator before use. It's that time of the year again: Carnevale is almost here! Carnevale means floats, costu- mes, confetti, big party everywhe- re you go in Italy and it's a lot of fun, not only for kids! We also have many traditional recipes that we make to celebrate Carnival. I want to give you my recipe for some sweets that are delicious and perfect for your Carnival party: "Castagnole". They're very popular in Italy, many regions have this recipe as traditional Carnival sweet: Veneto, Lombardia, Liguria, Emilia- Romagna, Marche, Lazio, Umbria, Abruzzo. It is a very old recipe: some versions of it were found in an eighteenth-century manuscript. Some places make Castagnole stuffed with custard or whipped cream. I learned this recipe from my nonna and I want to share it with you. However, be careful: once you know how easy it is to make them, you get addic- ted! I cannot help making "Castagnole" every year! They're deep fried bites of heaven! Using a vegetable peeler on cold cheese leads to a broken crumbly mess. T h i s r e c i p e m a k e s 4 f i r s t course salad servings. Ingredients and Directions: • 1 cup Puy or French green lentils • 2 cups of water or chicken broth • 1 garlic clove, peeled and lightly smashed • 1 sprig of thyme • 1 bay leaf • 8 small golden beets • 1 candy cane beet, peeled and thinly shaved on a mandolin slicer • A m i l d P e c o r i n o c h e e s e such as Pecorino Toscano • Bunch of watercress or baby arugula, trimmed and washed if needed • Zest of 1 lemon, reserving lemon for dressing • 5-10 sprigs of Italian par- sley, finely minced • ½ cup roasted and hulled h a z e l n u t s , c o o l e d a n d f i n e l y chopped • Good quality olive oil Special equipment: • Steamer insert for a deep pot • Mandolin slicer • Vegetable peeler • Microplane zester Prepare the lentils: place the lentils, broth (or water), thyme sprig, smashed garlic clove and bay leave in a small pot. Bring to boil and then reduce to a low simmer. Cook for 20-30 minutes until the lentils are al dente and not too mushy. Cool briefly and then drain in a colander. P r e p a r e t h e g o l d e n b e e t s : place the beets in a heavy-bot- tom pot with a steamer insert. Fill the bottom with water and Lentil and golden beet salad with hazelnut gremolata JOSEPH BECCI place the beets in the steamer. Bring to a boil and steam for a b o u t 1 h o u r . O c c a s i o n a l l y check the water at the bottom of the pot to make sure it has not all boiled off. Use a sharp knife to test the beets for doneness. When done, let cool enough to handle. Peel them with your hands and slice into quarters (or smaller) depending on the size of the beets. Place the lentils and beets in the refrigerator until cold. Prepare the gremolata: zest 1 lemon into a work bowl and then add the finely chopped par- sley and hazelnuts. Season with salt and pepper and stir in a tablespoon of good quality olive oil. Prepare the dressing: juice half the lemon into a bowl and add twice as much olive oil as lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Vigorously whisk until the dressing is emulsified. Mix the beets and the lentils in a bowl and add a small amount of the dressing. Lightly toss and return in the refrigerator. Assemble the salad: • Lightly toss the watercress or arugula with a little salad dressing and place on the ser- ving plate. • Top the watercress with the beet/lentil mixture. • S c a t t e r w i t h t h e s l i c e d candy cane beets. • Top with slices of Pecorino cheese created with the vegeta- ble peeler. • Sprinkle with the gremolata and serve. Joe and Michele Becci are a b r o t h e r a n d s i s t e r t e a m w h o l o v e a l l t h i n g s I t a l i a n . Together, from opposite coasts, t h e y c o - a u t h o r t h e b l o g Our ItalianTable.com. Lentil and golden beet salad with hazelnut gremolata Castagnole, one of the most popular Carnival deep-fried sweets CASTAGNOLE • 600 gr flour • 150 gr sugar • 150 gr olive oil • 4 eggs • 1 small glass of anise-fla- voured liqueur (optional) • Grated peel of 1 lemon • 8 gr baking powder • Icing sugar • A pinch of salt • vegetable oil (to deep-fry) Mix all ingredients together until you get a soft and smooth dough. Let it stand for a few minutes. Cut the dough into smaller pieces and roll them into strips; then using a knife, cut the strips into small pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth, little ball. Deep-fry the balls in vegeta- ble oil (I use sunflower oil). When they are golden, take them out with a skimming ladle and dry them. Give Castagnole a few minutes to cool down and then sprinkle with icing sugar. They are good for three/four days…but I doubt you will have any left! Alessia Odoardi is an Italian travel and food specialist. www.mapleandsaffron.com ALESSIA ODOARDI Castagnole

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