Recipes from cooking school in Florence

Dinner with Florence

Tempted to try your hand at Tuscan fare? Here are three entrees our writer learned at the Apicius International School of Hospitality.

Pesto and the fresh pasta gets the easy tag, osso bucco gets intermediate, and the sole fillets gets filed as advanced.

Tagliatelle with Pesto (serves 6)
3 cups basil
3 heaping tablespoons pine nuts
3 cloves garlic, crushed and finely minced
1½ teaspoons salt
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan (or even better, a mix of Parmesan and pecorino), plus extra for serving
3 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced ¼-inch thick
Fresh tagliatelle (recipe follows)

Process basil, pine nuts, and salt in a food processor or blender while adding oil in a thin but steady stream until the sauce becomes the consistency of a grainy paste, but not a fine puree. Add the garlic and pulse a few times to combine. Transfer to a bowl, fold in cheese, and adjust to taste with salt and additional olive oil.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Drop potato slices into pot and boil for 10 minutes, then add pasta. Stir with a wooden spoon, cover pot, and return to a boil. Uncover once boiling and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until al dente. Reserve a ¼ cup of hot pasta water, drain pasta and potatoes, and place in prewarmed bowl. Stir half of reserved water into pesto (discard the rest) and pour pesto over pasta. Toss gently and serve immediately with additional grated cheese.

Fresh Tagliatelle
7 ounces durum wheat flour, or a combination of durum and unbleached flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons olive oil
Pinch of salt

On a cutting board, make a well in flour and pour eggs, olive oil, and salt in center. Using a fork in a circular motion, combine until mixed (alternatively, combine ingredients in a food processor, process until they form a ball, and turn out onto cutting board.) Knead pasta dough for 10 minutes, sprinkling with flour if it sticks to your hands, then wrap in plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes.

With a pasta machine or a rolling pin and floured board, roll pasta into 1/8-inch-thick rectangular sheets. Dust pasta sheets with flour and roll loosely lengthwise. Slice into ¼-inch rounds, unroll, and trim strands to desired length.

Osso Buco alla Milanese (serves 4)
4 pieces veal shank (¾- to 1-inch thick)
Flour for dusting
3 tablespoons ounces butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small carrot, finely chopped
½ cup dry white wine
½ tablespoon tomato paste
Beef stock (about 3 ups, divided; more if cooking all day)
1 tablespoon fresh minced parsley
Zest from ½ lemon
2 salted anchovies, rinsed and boned
Salt
White pepper

Slice through thin membrane around veal shanks, then dust slices with flour. Combine butter and olive oil in a large frying pan and sweat the onion and carrot on low heat until they are soft and the onion becomes translucent. Remove vegetables from pan, reserving as much oil as possible. Raise heat to medium-high and brown veal on both sides. Add wine to pan and evaporate. Dissolve tomato paste in 1 cup of beef stock and add to pan with sautéed carrot and onion. Reduce heat to low and simmer 1 hour (or more, up to 5 hours) adding stock 1 cup at a time as needed to keep veal from drying out.

Fifteen minutes before serving, prepare a gremolata by chopping the parsley, lemon zest and anchovy fillets together. Sprinkle over osso buco and season with salt and pepper. Add 1 cup of stock, then flip the meat. Simmer to reduce stock and serve.

Fillet of Sole with Frutti di Mare (serves 4)
3 whole sole
½ pound mussels, scrubbed and debearded
¼ pound fresh shrimp
1 tablespoon cream
1½ teaspoons egg white
2 teaspoons soy lecithin (available at drug and health-food stores)
1 bouquet garni (parsley sprig, thyme sprig, and bay leaf tied together)
Salmon roe or caviar
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Remove skin from sole and carefully slice each fish into 4 fillets, reserving bones. With the flat side of a chef’s knife, lightly pound fillets to an even thickness, about ¼ inch thick. Boil shrimp until cooked, blanch in cold water, and peel, reserving shells. Add shrimp shells, sole bones, bouquet garni, and a pinch of salt and pepper to a saucepan with 4 cups of water, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, puree cooked shrimp with cream, egg white, and a pinch of salt. Lightly salt and pepper sole fillets and spread each with a thin layer of shrimp on one side. Gently roll fillets and tie with kitchen string (should look like a sushi roll). If uneven, shave off one end so that they stand up on their own, place in a steamer, and steam until just cooked through (about 7 minutes).

Strain stock into a sauté pan (reserve 1 cup) and bring to a boil, adding mussels; cover and simmer until open. Turn off heat, remove mussels from shells (discarding any unopened mussels) and return to reserved cup of stock until sole is ready. Blend 2 teaspoons soy lecithin with 11/3cups of stock until emulsified, creating a stiff foam.

To plate, snip string from sole and center three pieces in a line on prewarmed plates. Top center piece with salmon roe and the two outer pieces with a mussel. Spoon stock emulsion alongside and drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of freshly cracked pepper.