Ethan Stowell's New Italian Kitchen: Bold Cooking from Seattle's Anchovies & Olives, How to Cook A Wolf, Staple & Fancy Mercantile, and Tavol?ta »

ETHAN STOWELL was honored with a James Beard Award nomination for Best Chef Northwest, and was named one of the 2008 Best New Chefs in America by Food & Wine magazine, among other accolades. His restaurants have received rave reviews from Food & Wine, Wine Spectator, and Gourmet, and Bon Appétit and GQ each named Stowell restaurants in their Top Ten in America. LESLIE MILLER’s writing has appeared in anthologies and periodicals. She is partner in the writing and editing firm Girl Friday Productions.

Welcome to Ethan Stowell’s New Italian Kitchen--not so much a place as a philosophy. Here food isn’t formal or fussy, just focused, with recipes that honor Italian tradition while celebrating the best ingredients the Pacific Northwest has to offer. We’re talking about a generous bowl of steaming handmade pasta--served with two forks for you and a friend. Or perhaps an impeccably fresh crudo, crunchy cucumber and tangy radish accenting impossibly sweet spot prawns. Next up are the jewel tones of a beet salad with lush, homemade ricotta, or maybe a tangle of white beans and clams spiked with Goat Horn pepper--finished off with a whole roasted fish that begs to be sucked off the bones. Oh, some cheese, a gooseberry compote complementing your Robiola, or the bittersweet surprise of Campari sorbet. 
 
This layered approach is a hallmark of Ethan’s restaurants, and in his New Italian Kitchen, he offers home cooks a tantalizing roadmap for re-creating this style of eating. Prepare a feast simply by combining the lighter dishes found in “Nibbles and Bits”—from Sardine Crudo with Celery Hearts, Pine Nuts, and Lemon to Crispy Young Favas with Green Garlic Mayonnaise—or adding recipes with complex flavors for a more sophisticated meal. Try the luscious Corn and Chanterelle Soup from “The Measure of a Cook;” or the Cavatelli with Cuttlefish, Spring Onion, and Lemon from “Wheat’s Highest Calling.” Up the ante with a stunning Duck Leg Farrotto with Pearl Onions and Bloomsdale Spinach from “Starches to Grow On,” or choose one of the “Beasties of the Land,” like Skillet-Roasted Rabbit with Pancetta-Basted Fingerlings. Each combination will nudge you and your guests in new, unexpected, and unforgettable directions.
 
Every page of Ethan Stowell’s New Italian Kitchen captures the enthusiasm, humor, and imagination that make cooking one of life’s best and most satisfying adventures. It’s got to be good--but it’s also got to be fun.

Publishers Weekly

The title's "new" claim is apt; this is no red-sauce cookbook. The proprietor of three popular, ingredient-driven, Italian-inspired Seattle restaurants presents a collection of recipes rich with flavor and often featuring intriguing taste combinations. Cavatelli with cuttlefish, spring onion, and lemon has a hit of spice from chili flakes, and a roast quail is stuffed with pancetta, lacinato kale, and sage. As with any good chef-written book, readers will find gems of kitchen wisdom--like which parts of watercress to use in a salad and how to prepare beef to make carne cruda with the perfect texture--casually sprinkled throughout. A humorous chapter on cheese and desserts includes such intriguing presentations as La Tur with oven-roasted tomato; lemon verbena panna cotta with poached peaches; and roasted figs with chocolate-espresso ganache. Like the other recipes in the book, these showcase fresh ingredients and have a decidedly modern feel. (Oct.)

ix Acknowledgments
1 Introduction
3 A Note on Ingredients
 
Nibbles and Bits
 
8 Baked Stellar Bay Kusshi Oysters with Garlic Breadcrumbs and Oregano
10 Bruschetta with Smashed Chickpeas and Grilled Lamb’s Tongue
11 Crispy Young Favas with Green Garlic Mayonnaise
13 Beef Carpaccio with Preserved Pecorino Sardoand Arugula
14 Carne Cruda with Anchovy and Garlic
18 Fried Artichokes Pangratatto
21 Fried Ipswich Clams with Sorrel Aioli
23 Fun with Geoduck
24 Geoduck Crudo with Fennel and Radish
24 Geoduck Scramble with Crème Fraîche
25 Manila Clams on the Half Shell with Fennel,Lemon, and Chiles
26 Sardine Crudo with Celery Hearts, Pine Nuts,and Lemon
28 Marinated Octopus
29 Pickled Vegetables
31 Sea Bass Crudo with Vanilla Oil, English Peas,and Mint
32 Soft-Shell Crab Bruschetta with Spring Garlic Aioli
32 Spot Prawn Crudo with Chile and Mint
34 Frittata with Morels and Savory
35 Bruschetta with Fresh Ricotta and Pine NutSalsa Verde
37 Soft-Boiled Eggs with Anchovy Mayonnaise
38 Shigoku Oysters on the Half Shell withAccompaniments
39 Uni Spoons
 
The Measure of a Cook: Soups
 
42 Soups with Artichokes
42 Essence of Artichoke Soup
42 Farro and Artichoke Soup
44 Mediterranean Mussel and Chickpea Soup withFennel and Lemon
46 Clam Brodetto
47 Parmesan Brodo
48 Oxtail Soup with Farro and Root Vegetables
51 Farmers’ Market Soup
52 English Pea Soup with Poached Duck Egg
53 Kabocha and Porcini Soup
54 Corn and Chanterelle Soup
56 Heirloom Tomato Soup with Garlic Croutons
57 Sorrel and Yogurt Soup
 
Starches to Grow On: Gnocchi, Polenta, Risotto, and Farrotto
 
60 Basic Potato Gnocchi
63 Gnocchi with Morels and Fried Duck Egg
64 Ricotta Gnocchi with Beef Short Rib Ragu
66 Polenta Master Recipes
66 Soft Polenta
66 Firm Polenta
68 Sautéed Chicken Livers with Mushrooms andOnions on Soft Polenta
69 Grilled Polenta with Heirloom Tomatoes andPounded Anchovy Sauce
70 Sautéed Polenta with Hedgehog Mushroomsand Aged Provolone
71 A Trio of Spring Risottos
71 Spring Garlic Risotto
72 Ramp Risotto with Shaved Porcini
73 Artichoke Risotto
74 Clam Risotto with Lemon
76 Butternut Squash Risotto with Hazelnut Oil
77 Farrotto with English Peas and Morels
79 Duck Leg Farrotto with Pearl Onions andBloomsdale Spinach
 
Wheat’s Highest Calling: Pasta
 
84 Pasta Master Recipes
84  Egg Pasta
84  Semolina Pasta
89 Braised Rabbit Paws with Radiatore
90 Linguine with Shrimp
91 Cavatelli with Cuttlefish, Spring Onion, and Lemon
92 Fava Bean Agnolotti with Snails and Herbed Butter
95 Gnocchetti with Pancetta, Chanterelles, and Mint
96 Tagliarini with Totten Virginica Oysters, Prosecco,Chives, and Cream
97 Maloreddus with Squid, Tomato Sauce, and Lemon
98 Spaghetti with Garlic, Chile, and Sea Urchin
100 Trofie with Nettle Pesto
102 Pappardelle with Tomato Sauce and MarinatedPecorino Sardo
103 Bigoli with Grilled Sardines and Fennel
104 Duck Egg Ravioli with Ricotta and Swiss Chard
105 Switch-Hitting Clams with Ramps
106 Cannelloni with Braised Pork Cheeks andSweet Cicely
 
Something Foraged, Something Green: Salads, Vegetables, and Sides
 
110 Baby Beet Salad with Fresh Ricotta
111 Endive Salad with Creamy Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
112 Seared Rabbit Loin with Frisée and Pancetta
115 Lentils with Pancetta
116 Fried Cauliflower with Ham Hock
119 Lobster Mushrooms with Preserved Garlic, Parsley, and Oregano
120 Miner’s Lettuce, Fava Beans, English Peas, and Spring Garlic with White Balsamic Vinaigrette
121 Shaved Artichoke and Wild Watercress Salad
122 Blood Orange Salad with Shallot andTaggiasca Olives
125 Rapini with Garlic, Chile, and Lemon
126 Delicata Squash with Chestnut Honey
127 Puntarelle with Anchovy, Garlic, and Parsley Dressing
128 Pickled Mackerel Salad with Watercress, Radish,and Pistachio
131 Roasted Fingerling Potatoes and Artichokes with Garlic and Thyme
132 Company Alligator Pear
135 Panzanella with Crispy Pig’s Ear
137 Potato and Asparagus Salad with Home-Cured Bacon and Egg
138 Thumbelina Carrots with Orange and Mint
140 Pheromone Salad (Shaved Porcini Salad)
141 Swiss Chard with Pine Nuts and Golden Raisins
 
Beasties of the Land . . .
 
144 Braised Pork Jowls with the Maligned Mélange
146 Home-Cured Bacon
148 Lamb Chops with Finger Favas
149 Venison Loin with Cipollini Agrodolce
150 Veal Sweetbreads with Parsley, Capers, and Lemon
152 Seared Duck Breast with Sugared Figs and Arugula
153 Braised Veal Cheeks with Grilled Ramps and Porcini
155 Skillet-Roasted Rabbit with Pancetta-Basted Fingerlings
156 Roast Quail Stuffed with Pancetta, Lacinato Kale, and Sage
158 Pan-Roasted Squab with Spring Garlic Compote
159 Party Meats
159  Party Tripe on Soft Polenta
160  Zatar-Rubbed Leg of Goat with Fresh Chickpeas, Spring Onion, and Sorrel
162  Grilled T-Bone with Garlic, Lemon, and Controne Beans
163  Italian “Tacos”
 
. . . and Sea
 
167 Grilled Sardines with Baby Fennel, Capers, and Taggiasca Olives
168 Mob-Hit Squid
170 Fluke with Radish and Citrus Relish
171 Ode to the Northwest (with a Nod to Cincinnati)
172 Roasted Skate Wing with Brown Butter and Potatoes
174 Black Bass with Thyme, Lemon, and Garlic
175 Poached Black Bass with Spring Garlic and Mint
177 Seared Scallops with Chanterelles and Parsnip and Pear Purée
178 Steamed Clams with Guanciale and Sorrel
179 Prosciutto-Wrapped Soft-Shell Crab Cigars with Shaved Radish and Arugula Salad
181 Grilled Mackerel with Crispy Potatoes and Caperand Preserved Lemon Sauce
 
Cheese for the Civilized and Desserts for the Rest of You
 
184 Goat Cheese with Chestnut Honey andHazelnut Dust
185 Ginepro with Gin-Soaked Pear
186 La Tur with Oven-Roasted Tomato Petals
189 Lemon Verbena Panna Cotta with Poached Peaches
190 Robiola with Gooseberry Compote
191 Cacio Faenum with Baked Apricot and Almond Purée
192 Rhubarb Soup with Prosecco
193 Roasted Figs with Chocolate-Espresso Ganache
194 Chocolate Ice Cream
195 Toasted Walnut Ice Cream
196 Pear–Star Anise Ice Cream
197 Melon Sorbet
199 Campari–Blood Orange Sorbet
200 Blueberry-Basil Sorbet
201 Espresso Granita with Grappa Cream
202 Zabaglione with Mixed Berries
203 Cardamom Sablés
204 Pie Cookies
205 Pine Nut Crumbles
206 Almond Cake with Bay-Poached Queen Anne Cherries
208 Chocolate Pumpkin Tart
 
Building Blocks: Condiments, Sauces, and Staples
 
216 Basic Tomato Sauce
217 Mayonnaise
217 Preserved Garlic
218 Preserved Lemons
218 Preserved Pecorino Sardo
219 Salsa Verde
220 Garlic Breadcrumbs
220 Basic Chickpeas