Patsy's Italian Family Cookbook (8 page)

Two 12- to 14-ounce sirloin steaks, cut about 1 inch thick

2 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced

¼ cup fresh basil chiffonade (see
here
)

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

One 5-ounce bag baby arugula

2 plum tomatoes, cut into ½-inch rounds

1.
Whisk the balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil. Put the steaks in a glass baking dish just large enough to hold them and brush with about 3 tablespoons of the vinaigrette. Let stand at room temperature to lose their chill for about 15 minutes.

2.
Heat a large skillet, preferably cast iron, over high heat until very hot. Turn on the kitchen exhaust fan. Add the steaks, shaking off the excess marinade, and cook until the undersides are nicely browned, about 4 minutes. Turn and cook until the other sides are browned and the steaks feel slightly resilient when pressed in the center, about 3 minutes more for medium-rare. Transfer the steaks to a carving board and let stand for 5 minutes. Wash and dry the baking dish.

3.
Cut the steaks on a slight diagonal into ½-inch-thick slices. Arrange the steak in a single layer, overlapping as needed, in the baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining vinaigrette. and top with the scallions, basil, and garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover loosely and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes (no longer!).

4.
Divide the arugula and tomatoes evenly among four dinner plates. Top each with the steak slices. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and serve.

Three Bean Soup

MAKES 8 TO 10 SERVINGS

Beans are inexpensive sources of protein and they fill you up. And somehow, they warm you up, too. This is a soup for one of those blustery winter days when the wind rips up West Fifty-sixth Street from the Hudson River. And because it uses canned beans, it can be ready to serve fairly quickly.

8 ounces small pasta shells or any small pasta for soup

¼ cup olive oil

4 ounces ¼-inch dice pancetta

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 cups
Chicken Stock
or reduced-sodium store-bought chicken broth

4 cups cold water

One 15-ounce can cannellini (white kidney) beans, drained and rinsed

One 15-ounce can pink beans, drained and rinsed

One 15-ounce can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 scallions (white and green parts), finely chopped

¼ cup chopped fresh basil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions until tender. Drain well.

2.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to brown, about 4 minutes.

3.
Add the stock, water, beans, and rosemary. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer to blend the flavors for 15 minutes.

4.
Discard the rosemary sprigs. Stir in the scallions, basil, and cooked pasta. Cover and simmer just until the pasta is heated through, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Italian Wedding Soup

MAKES 14 TO 18 SERVINGS

I always thought that the name meant it was served at weddings, but actually it refers to the marriage of meat and vegetables in the soup. This makes a huge amount of soup, so bring out your biggest pot and make room in the freezer for leftovers.

6 ounces sweet Italian pork sausage

⅓ cup olive oil

2 medium yellow onions, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

7 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

8 ounces sweet sopressata

8 ounces hot sopressata

1 head Savoy cabbage, cored

1 head escarole, rinsed

12 ounces broccoli florets

12 ounces leaf spinach

6 dried bay leaves

½ recipe
Meatball-tini

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.
Position a broiler rack 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the broiler on high. Pierce the sausages a few times with a fork. Broil the sausages, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides. Let cool. Slice crosswise into ½-inch rounds.

2.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a very large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the broth, 6 quarts water, and sopressata to the pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until well flavored, about 45 minutes.

3.
Discard the casings from the sweet and hot sopressata, and cut the sopressata in ½-inch rounds.

4.
Cut the cabbage into 1-inch pieces. Coarsely chop the escarole and spinach leaves. Add the sliced sausage, cabbage, escarole, broccoli, spinach, and bay leaves. Return to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the cabbage is tender, about 25 minutes. Add the meatballs and simmer until heated through.

5.
Discard the bay leaves. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and serve hot.

Pasta Fagioli

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

Italian cooks know how to stretch their money. I was told that this wonderful bean and macaroni soup uses short pasta because the broken bits of the long varieties were sold at bargain prices. Everyone knows this by its name in Neapolitan dialect, pronounced “pasta faz-ool.” Years ago, a couple of regular customers returned from a trip to Italy and were excited to tell us about a great soup they had eaten called “pahs-tah fah-gee-oh-lee,” which is the textbook pronunciation. Nobody knew what the heck they were talking about until we wrote it down on paper.

8 ounces small pasta shells or any small pasta for soup

¼ cup olive oil

1 cup coarsely chopped yellow onions

1 garlic clove, minced

3 cups
Tomato Sauce

2 cups
Chicken Stock
or reduced-sodium store-bought chicken broth

One 15-ounce can cannellini (white kidney) beans, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the shells and cook according to the package directions until tender. Drain and set aside.