Brodo

Brodo is the Italian version of stock and can take many forms, this is my basic brodo technique.

Brodo can be made from whatever meat and bones you have lying around your house. At home I would usually make brodo the night I cook chicken, duck, or other bird. You can roast poultry bones and freeze them if you want to make brodo in the future. You should also use some meat. At the restaurant I put short ribs, chicken thighs, and pheasant drumsticks in mine, but they are nor necessary to make brodo. At home, frequently the chicken wings, neck, and carcass have enough meat on the bones to make it work. Brodo freezes well. you can put it into plastic containers and thaw it when you want to make pasta, risotto, or anything else delicious.

Ingredients

Roasted carcass of one chicken, duck, or other game bird 

Beef  short ribs or scrap meat (approximately 8 oz)

Chicken Leg

1 onion cut in half

1 carrot

1 celery

1 tomato (fresh, peeled, dry, or in paste form)

Parsley stems

Bay Leaf

Black peppercorns

3 T salt

Blacken the onion in your heaviest pan with a little oil over high heat. make sure the flesh is completely charred and black.

Combine all ingredients in a large (8 quart) stockpot. Fill with water, bring to a boil over high heat. Skim the foam that rises to the top, turn down to a low simmer, and cook until delicious, at least 6 hours. The brodo should be delicious enough to stand alone, and can be enjoyed straight from the pot.

This brodo can be used for anything. It is interchangeable with chicken stock. When replacing chicken stock with brodo, be sure to adjust the salt levels, as stock usually contains no salt.

Return of the Verza

I am bringing back the Insalata Verza, Savoy cabbage shredded and dressed with bagna cauda, toasted hazelnuts, and pomegranate seeds. The Verza was one of last year's most popular dishes, originally from chef Josh Ziskin at La Morra in Brookline, Massachusetts. www.lamorra.com.

Strangozzi con Erbette

In response to numerous requests I am posting the recipe for the most well received dish from our recent Umbrian wine dinner: Strangozzi alle Erbette, or farro noodles with Swiss chard, herbs, and almonds.

Strangozzi con Erbette e Mandorle

For the pasta:
4oz farro flour, 4oz 00 flour (or all purpose,) 3 extra large eggs, pinch of salt

For the sauce:
1 bunch chard, 1 small red onion, 4 cloves garlic, basil, parsley, mint, marjoram, thyme, butter, Parmigiano-Reggiano , brodo or pasta cooking water, olive oil.


Follow the pasta technique from my posting on pasta with the ingredients listed above. Once you have the sheets, divide into two stacks. Roll each stack and slice with a sharp knife about 1 cm wide. Toss the noodles with a little flour to separate and store.

Remove the chard leaves from the stems, slice the stems thinly on a bias. Slice the leaves as thick as your finger. Slice the onion thinly against the grain. slice the garlic and immerse in oil. finely chop together the herbs.
Saute the stems with the onions in oil over medium heat, when the onions become translucent add the garlic and cook for two more minutes before adding the leaves. Cook the leaves until wilted, season with salt and pepper, then add a ladle of brodo and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add another ladle of brodo and 4 tablespoons of butter and bring to a simmer. Drop your pasta in heavily boiling salted water. When the sauce achieves a nice creamy texture turn off the heat. when the pasta is al dente, add to the sauce and return to a simmer, adding brodo to adjust the consistency. toss in the herbs, some parmigiano, and some almonds. Taste for seasoning and plate. top with parmigiano and almonds and serve.

Fresh Pasta

As many of my subsequent recipes will contain pasta, today I will post my standard pasta making technique and recipe.

Standard Pasta
8 oz double-zero flour (you can substitute all purpose)
3 extra large eggs
Pinch of salt

Note: This recipe is for the altitude in Boulder Colorado at 5430 feet above sea level. for sea level pasta use 7 oz flour and 2 eggs.

Make a pile of the flour on your board. Make a well in the flour. Add the eggs and salt into the well, and beat the eggs, slowly incorporating the flour from the edge of the well.

When the dough becomes too thick to work with a fork, start kneading with your hands and helping with a bench scraper.

After the dough is one smooth ball, knead with your hands for about 5 minutes or until the dough is reasonably firm. Let the dough rest in a bowl covered with plastic wrap for at least a half hour before rolling.

This whole process can be done in a kitchen mixer with a dough hook.

To roll the pasta, either use a giant rolling pin called a matarello or a pasta machine. If using a machine fold the dough with flour at least 10 times before taking it down to it's final thickness. As every machine has different numbers, roll the dough to a thinness so you can see the wood grain of the table through the sheet of pasta.

Dry and cut according to the instructions in the recipe.

Brussels Sprouts

All winter long I will be celebrating the friendship between Brussels sprouts and our house cured pancetta. We like to get some really good color on the little guys for a sweet and nutty flavor.

A taste of Umbria

Wednesday night we are offering an authentic taste of Umbria. The menu is as follows, the recipe testing phase for this one was especially delicious.

A Taste of Umbria

Umbria is a landlocked region east of Tuscany. The foods of Umbria date back centuries to the civilization of the ancient Etruscans, who reaped the bounty of the land, sky and waters of Central Italy’s “Green Heart.” The Umbrian culinary tradition is best known as one passed from mother to daughter at home, not from chef to apprentice in a famous cooking school or restaurant. Umbrian wine making has long stood in the shadow of neighboring Tuscany, but has begun to emerge in recent years with the production of some outstanding Sangiovese-based wines. The area surrounding the small town of Montefalco has won acclaim for its wines made from a Sangiovese clone known as Sagrantino. As is the case throughout Italy, the wines are made to complement the local food.

ANTIPASTO

Lumache in Umido

Escargots in garlic, herb, and tomato sauce

Palazzone Orvieto - 2008

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PRIMO

Strangozzi di Farro con Erbette e Mandorle

Farro pasta with chard, herbs, and almonds

Della Seta Rosso di Montepulciano -2006

Optional: Pardi Montefalco Rosso - 2006

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SECONDO

Daino in Umido

Venison stew with myrtle berries and creamy polenta

Giacomo Mori Chianti -2006

Optional: Pardi Sagrantino di Montefalco - 2004

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DOLCE

Salame del Re

Chocolate “salame” with espresso crème anglaise

Pardi Passito di Sagrantino - 2005

$55.00 per person

Optional Wine Supplement: $20

Call for Reservations 303.938.8800

Burrata

Our attempt at burrata was a success.

Burrata is the creamiest member of the mozzarella family, native to the Apuglia region in southern Italy. We have started producing the cheese here at Alba. We serve it with a garlic-rubbed bruschetta and a petite salad of arrugula and shaved fennel. A drizzle of olive oil and some fresh cracked pepper and the dish is complete.

Mangia

House Made Mozzarella

For a year we have been making our own ricotta, but recently we have started making our own mozzarella in house. Reaching toward our goal of making everything ourselves we are now making fresh mozzarella, scamorza affumicata, a smoked and aged mozzarella, and we are attempting buratta, the softest and creamiest member of the mozzarella family.

Come taste!

Welcome to the Alba Chef's Blog

Welcome to the Alba chef's blog. This blog will be to discuss new dishes, recipes, culinary ideals, events, wine, Italy, or anything else food related going on here at Alba.

Thank you for reading,

Alexander Feldman