Book Review 2, Mario Batali

In case anyone has not heard of Mario Batali, he has been on the Food Network Channel for about the past 10 years with the shows, Molto Mario, Mediterranean Mario, Mario Eats Italy and Ciao America with Mario Batali. He is also one of the Iron Chefs on the Food Network's Iron Chef America. You can't miss him with his red hair and those distinctive orange gym shoes or orange clogs he wears. Seems always to have shorts on also. He is quite the character. You can check out Mario on his blog here. One of his big successes has been the restaurant Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca in New York City. I have Mario's book Molto Italiano which includes recipes from his shows on TV. I enjoy Mario's distinctive, often humorous way he provides us with a historical and cultural perspective on his Italian dishes. In his book he also shows ways to shorten or simplify everything from purchasing great ingredients to tips on how to prepare things ahead of time. I like the sidebars where he provides the background for the recipe, including the places, people and history behind the dish, so it is not just a book filled with recipes! The book starts out with a small chapter on Italian wine then follows with antipasto; soup, rice and polento; pasta; fish; fowl; meat; vegetables and dolci! It also has an informative chapter on essential equipment and sources for some of the goodies that he includes in his recipes. Along with that are beautiful photos of some of his dishes. I enjoy photos in books as it gives me a guide as to what the dish should look like when "I" get finished with it! (Unfortunately, sometimes my food does not look like the photo! )

Since the "fall season" is upon us, and we have finally gotten down into the cool low 70 degree mark at night with low humidity, I decided to do a meat dish with a hearty sauce to go along. I must apologize that this recipe again is a tomato based dish, but I adore tomatoes! So I promise in my next cookbook review I will make something without tomatoes! Anyhow, please find below Mario's "Braciole di Vitello"!

Braised Veal Rolls In Tomato Sauce

12 thin slices veal shoulder or leg

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/4 cup dried currents, I used raisins

1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano Cheese

3 oz. sliced Prosciutto Di Parma, cut into 1/8 in. dice

1 cup coarsely chopped Italian parsley

4 cloves of garlic - I doubled

3 large eggs

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 oz. sliced Pancetta cut into 1/8 in. dice

1 large Spanish onion thinly sliced

2 cups basic tomato sauce, see below

2 cups dry red wine - and a glass for yourself while you are preparing this!

Basic Tomato Sauce

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 Spanish onion cut into 1/4 inch dice

4 cloves of garlic - I doubled

3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme or you could use dried - 1-1/2 tablespoons

2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano, or used 1 tablespoon dried

1/2 medium carrot finely shredded

2 - 28 oz. cans whole tomatoes - squished!

1 teaspoon sugar

Salt to taste

Here are the instructions for the tomato sauce.

Heat olive oil over medium heat, add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the thyme, oregano and carrots and cook about 5 minutes long, until the carrot is soft. Add the tomatoes with their juices and bring to a boil stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer until it gets really thick, about 30 minutes. Season with the salt.

Now for the veal rolls.

Using a meat mallet, gently pound each veal slice to 1/4 inch thick. Set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the pine nuts, currants, pecorino, prosciutto, parsley and garlic. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well. Season the veal with salt and pepper on both sides and lay out on a work surface. Divide the pine nut mixture onto the veal slices, leaving 1/2 inch border uncovered on each slice. Roll up each piece tightly, starting from the short side, then tie with butcher's twine.

In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over high heat until almost smoking. Add the veal rolls, working in batches if necessary, and brown on all sides. Transfer to a plate and add your pancetta to the oven and cook for 2 minutes, add the onion and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the tomato sauce and wine to the pot and bring to a boil scraping up those yummy brown bits. Reduce to a simmer and add the veal back into the pot. Cover tightly and simmer for 1 hour. Remove from heat and let rest about 10 minutes.

I then put my veal on a platter and spooned the rich tomato sauce over.

The tip on this one is to have your tomato sauce pre-made. Then all you have to do is the veal part. It looks like alot of work, but actually if I can do it, so can you! For this dinner I served an Italian salad, fusilli pasta with olive oil, and Italian Country bread with sauteed mushrooms atop. I used fusilli pasta because those wonderful little grooves grabbed onto the sauce perfectly! We enjoyed a bottle of "A-Mano" 2005 Primitivo from Puglia with this dinner.

What a way to start the end of the day!

Cheers!