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10/05/2001 Archived Entry: "Michele Scicolone's Italian Holiday Cooking"

Michele Scicolone is one of my favorite cookbook writers. Her recipes are always precisely but tersely written. You never have any doubt about what to do or how to do it. They are for the food I love the most, which is, needless to say to readers of this website and listeners to my radio program, Italian. She even seasons it the same way I would. And she is prolific. If I wanted to do, I could cook from Michele’s books and never need another recipe. Well, almost. In any case, she is always turning up another treasure – like the simple pasta recipe that follows.

Michelle is also one of my favorite people – a friend of long-standing. That’s why I am so pleased that we will be appearing together this Monday at 7 p.m. at the Freehold, New Jersey, Barnes & Noble. We will be there to answer your cooking questions, as well as to autograph our books. We will also be together, doing the same, at the Staten Island Barnes & Noble next Saturday, October 13, at 1 p.m.

Michelle’s new book is called Italian Holiday Cooking and in it she has preserved many recipes that Italian-Americans still make because they are cherished family traditions, but that Italians may have abandoned. Like Americans, Italians have become too busy to cook the way grandma did.

One of the things that Michelle says in the book made me think about my own growing up in the kitchen. Making these traditional recipes is sometimes time consuming, she points out, but they were often made as a family effort. Grandmothers, mothers and children would gather in the kitchen, dividing the tasks to produce something wonderful together. Naturally, the time spent doing this was a bonding time, a memorable time. Yes, cooking was women’s work then, but boys would be enlisted to do chores, too. That’s why Italian men, though they may not be the primary cooks in their households, always know how it is done – or, if you ask them, how it “should” be done, since they way their mother and grandmothers did it had to be the definitive way.

That’s the way I learned how to cook, being a kitchen slave for my maternal grandmother who lived in the same house as us, and for my paternal grandfather who had been a professional chef earlier in his life and was, when I was growing up, the boss in his kitchen. (Just for record, my father’s mother, Rose, was an excellent cook, but she didn’t put anything on the table without saying that she “couldn’t even boil an egg before I met Ben.”)


Sette P Penne di Selvapiana
Selvapiana Seven P Pasta
Makes 4 to 6 servings

The Rufina zone of Chianti in Tuscany is known for its elegant and subtle red wines, especially those from the Selvapiana winery owned by the Giuntini family. When my husband, Charles, and I visited there one recent December, I asked about the traditional local dishes, especially those that would be prepared for the coming holidays.

To my surprise, I was told that everybody is too busy working these days and few people bother to make traditional recipes anymore. For the holidays or for any occasion, they probably roast a chicken and make this quick, modern pasta, which everyone loves. The “seven P’s” are Porro (leek), pancetta, peperonicino, pomidori (tomatoes), panna (cream), Parmigiano-Regiano, and penne.

Though it is not a traditional recipe, the Giuntini family enjoys it so much they request it for holidays and special occasions. It is indeed festive, and I lie that it is so quick and easy.

1 medium tender leek
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 ounces sliced pancetta, chopped
1 small dried peperoncino, crumbled, or a pinch of crushed red pepper
2 cups peeled, seeded, and chopped fresh tomatoes, or drained canned Italian peeled tomatoes
Salt
1 pound penne rigati or another short ridged pasta, or ziti
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Trim the leek and cut it lengthwise in half. Rinse well under cool running water, separating the layers to remove any grit. Cut crosswise into narrow slices.

In a nonreactive skillet large enough to hold all of the ingredients -- including the cooked pasta -- combine the olive oil, pancetta, leek, and peperoncino. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the leek is tender, about 10 minutes

Stir in the tomatoes and a pinch of salt. Simmer for 10 minutes more.

Meanwhile, bring at least 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Add the pasta and salt to taste and cook until the pasta is al dente, tender yet firm to the bite. Drain.

Meanwhile, stir the cream into the tomato mixture and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Add the pasta and cheese. Toss well. Serve immediately.

Arthur’s Two Cents: If you like your food fiery, you will want to add more than just a “pinch” of crushed red pepper, although, depending on the pepper, one dried one could well be enough.