Don Genova's Blog

My old friend Sam Corea (pictured with me, left) is with VANOC, the Vancouver Olympics Organizing Committee.  But right now he’s been seconded to the Torino Olympic Games in Italy, and I handed him the assignment of being my palate in absentia, as it were.  Sam has attacked his task with gusto, and this morning we talked about some of the typical dishes available in Turin.  Thin crust pizza is everywhere, he says, with every imaginable topping.  Sounds like one of his favourites involved melted gorgonzola cheese.  He’s also enjoying the coffee, including a cappucino in the morning with a dollop of Nutella added!

My friends Sonya and Thorsten came over to help with test kitchen last night as I made a couple of other dishes that Sam says are quite typical of Torino, including grissini, little breadsticks brought to your table before dinner.  Sam says you can dip them in wine, or in his case, take some home and dip them in Nutella as a snack!  Here is a recipe for grissini, one I adapted for use last night.  I haven’t had time to develop my one well-tested recipe, so you’ll have to go it on your own with this one.

The other recipe I made was for agnolotti. These are square, stuffed pasta much like ravioli.  You’ll see in the recipe I followed one of the ingredients is for brains…I substituted more sausage.  Getting your pasta rolled out as thinly as possible without tearing it is tricky, so be patient, and good luck!  Thanks to Sam for his culinary sleuthing and to Sonya, Thorsten and Ramona for helping out last night. 

First, Contest Winners!

Congratulations to Ted Rajotte and Denise Taylor Ellis.  They each will receive a copy of Emily Richards’ Italian Express Cookbook.  Thanks for all the entries!

Pacific Palate for Tuesday, January 31st.  The Next Great Chef

Next Great Chef Beef Short Ribs with Cauliflower Puree Serves 4

This pairing was inspired by Ryan Stone and Laura Sharpe, two of the contestants in the Next Great Chef show, which airs on Global TV on Friday nights. Ryan and Laura were deemed the two best young chefs in British Columbia; their battle against each other takes place this Friday night, Feb. 3^rd.

Ingredients:

For the Short Ribs:

2 tbsp. olive oil

8 beef short ribs, bone in, each about 4 inches long

1 large onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 ribs of celery, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 ½ cups of beef stock, or water

1 ½ cups of red wine

2 sprigs each fresh thyme and rosemary, or 1 tbsp. each dried

salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 300F. Heat the oil on medium-high in an oven-proof pot with a tight-fitting lid. Salt and pepper the ribs, then brown the ribs on all sides, in batches if necessary, and remove from the pot as they brown. Saute the onion, carrots, and celery until softened, then stir in the stock and wine. Return the ribs to the pot, cover and put in oven for about two and a half hours, until the meat is tender and falling off the bone. Take the ribs out of the braising liquid and keep warm in the turned-off oven. Strain the liquid and return to the pot. Reduce the liquid over high heat just until it starts to turn syrupy. Season to taste. As the stock is reducing, prepare cauliflower puree.

For the Cauliflower Puree:

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

¼ cup white wine

1/3 cup whipping cream or crème fraiche

salt and pepper to taste

Boil the cauliflower until tender in salted water. Drain, then puree the cauliflower in a food processor with the white wine and whipping cream until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

To assemble, spoon a pool of the puree on the middle of each plate. Top with two ribs, and drizzle sauce over top of the ribs and around the edge of the puree. Enjoy!