This month in Cook the Books we are reading "The Unprejudiced Palate" by Angelo Pellegrini. Part philosophy and part food preparation recommendations, he focuses on fresh foods from the garden simply prepared. He writes that he not so naive to suggest that a reader may find in his pages the compete formula for a contented life, but he comes close.
His philosophy is that the home garden should be the source of the food we cook and an essential connect to fresh, local and seasonal. Imagine this being written in the 1940's, far before today's food trends. Humble ingredients transformed... the fruit of our own labors brought to the table. My Italian grandparents cooked this way even after coming to the US, so I know these practices well.
What I really liked were Signor Pellegrini's suggestions (not recipes mind you), such as clear broth soups to start a meal. While he focused on meat dishes that followed, I will save these suggestions for hearty fall dishes. I really enjoyed his discourse on clams caught fresh from the sea. These feel more like spring
My recipe inspired by the book features those clams but in addition to the ingredients he suggests to accompany them, I have added a simple risotto to round out the clams into a full meal. My dish for spring risotto with clams uses scallions and grape tomatoes for colors that are bright and vivid. The bite of the scallions and the sweetness of the tomatoes pair well with the briny nature of the littleneck clams.
Spring Clams with Scallion Risotto
(serves four people)
Ingredients:
4 Tbs unsalted butter, 4 Tbs olive oil
4 cups clam juice
1 ½ cup dry white wine
3 shallots, 3 bunches of scallions, 3 cloves garlic
3 dozen little neck clams (rinsed and drained)
2 cups Arborio rice
1 pint cherry tomatoes, broiled for 5 minutes
½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp ground black pepper, ½ cup Parmesan cheese
Preparation:
In a medium saucepan bring clam juice to a simmer.
Coat the cherry tomatoes in olive oil and broil for 5 minutes. Set aside.
Peel and chop the shallots. Chop the white parts of the scallions including some of the green. Reserve 1/2 cup of the scallions as well as 1 incb pieces of their greens. Chop the garlic. Set all aside.
In a shallow heavy skillet, melt the butter and sauté the shallots, scallions and garlic for 5 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside.
Add the olive oil and when heated, add the rice, stirring to coat. Add ½ cup of the wine and cook it off.
In a saucepan heat 1 cup of the wine till boiling. Add the clams. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes until the clams open. Set aside.
Begin adding the clam juice ½ cup at a time to the rice, stirring frequently, until each addition is absorbed. Continue in this way for 20-25 minutes until the rice is tender to the bite.
Add the sautéed ingredients, the tomatoes, the reserved scallions, ½ cup of the scallion greens and the tomatoes. Cook for 3 minutes. Then add the parmesan cheese and the clams, stirring all, and adding salt and pepper to taste.
Serve in individual bowls.
This is my contribution to the Cook the Books reading group,hosted this time by Simona at briciole.
