two yolks

Sausage has a reputation as a pedestrian food. You eat it at a cook out, at a baseball game, or while camping. It’s something you eat to satiate your hunger, not because it’s good.

But why can’t sausage, in the words of Rodney Dangerfield, get no respect? When it’s good, it should. Most are based around pork with enough added fat that it isn’t dry. And you can do things with seasonings in a sausage that just wouldn’t work in a whole cut of meat.

If you can’t tell, I rather like sausages. But every since I realized that some sausages from the grocery store contained high fructose corn syrup, I’ve decided to stick with the homemade variety. It doesn’t hurt that they taste significantly better. It’s also particularly rewarding to cook up a sausage and realize that you made it.

While I tend to like authentic ethnic recipes whenever possible, this is much more Italian-American than Italian. I’m going to let it slide as it’s pretty tasty. When I make it again, I’d probably use less (or possibly no) coriander seeds. It dominates the flavor a bit too much for my taste. It’s particularly good when sautéed and served with good Dijon mustard and grilled onions.

Hot Italian Sausage
Adapted from Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing

2 kg boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1 1/2″ cubes
225 grams pork belly, cut into 1 1/2″ cubes
100 grams pancetta, cut into 1 1/2″ cubes (optional)
40 grams kosher salt
32 grams sugar
16 grams fennel seeds, toasted
8 gram coriander seeds, toasted
16 grams smoked Spanish paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
24 grams fresh oregano leaves, chopped
24 grams fresh basil leaves, chopped
12 grams red pepper flakes
6 grams coarsely ground black pepper
3/4 cups ice water, chilled
1/4 cup red wine vinegar, chilled
10 feet hog casings

1. Combine all ingredients except water, vinegar, and casings in a large bowl. Toss to distribute the seasonings evenly. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. Place the hog casings in a bowl of water and refrigerate overnight.
3. Several hours before grinding, place the food grinder, mixer bowl, paddle attachment, and any other attachments in the freezer.
4. Remove the meat mixture from the refrigerator and place in a bowl of ice and salt. Grind the mixture through the small die into the mixer bowl set in a bowl of ice and salt.
5. Add the water and vinegar to the mixture. Beat the mixture with the paddle attachment on medium speed for 1 minute. Mix until the mixture is uniform. Refrigerate the bowl until ready to stuff.
6. Sauté a small portion of the sausage in a small bit of oil and taste for seasoning.
7. Remove the hog casings from the refrigerator and rinse both the inside and outside of the casings in running water.
8. Setup the sausage stuffer using the largest stuffing attachment. Place meat in the sausage stuffer and turn on to low speed until the meat is just at the end of the attachment. Slide the opening in the casing onto the stuffer and then push the remaining casing onto the stuffer until there is about an inch hanging off. Tie off the end of the casings. Slowly push the meat mixture into the sausage stuffer while holding the casing and letting the meat fill it (this is a two person job). The speed is determined by the speed of the meat being putting into the stuffer not the speed of the mixer. When there is no more casing, tie it off and repeat this step with the remaining casing.
9. Twist the sausage into 6 inch long segments and cut with shears.
10. Cook the sausage to an internal temperature of 150ºF.

Makes 5 lbs. of sausage.

One can not have too many simple pasta recipes.

I’m certain that will one day be a universal truth. I find few things more satisfying than pasta. Doublely so when it’s uncomplicated.

I subscribe to the Italian idea that when eating pasta, it’s all about the pasta and not about the sauce. The sauce merely accents the natural flavor of the pasta, not overpowers it.

This recipe is almost too simple. The prosciutto is cooked slightly in butter to release its flavor into the sauce. Then, tomatoes and a bit of cream are added to make the actual sauce. It’s cooked quickly so that the fresh flavor of the tomatoes shows through. A little bit of red pepper gives it a little bit of bite. And it’s served with enough cheese for it to be noticed but not so much that it’s feature attraction.

I love recipes like this partially because they’re simple and fast but more so because the flavors meld together well. It’s balance and perfection.

Rigatoni con Prosciutto, Pomodoro, Panna e Peperoncino (Rigatoni with Prosciutto, Tomoato, Cream and Hot Chile Pepper)
Adapted from Trattoria Cooking: More than 200 authentic recipes from Italy’s family-style restaurants

4 tbsp butter
2 oz. prosciutto, diced
pinch of red pepper flakes
28 oz. canned tomatoes run through a food mill
1/3 cup heavy cream
salt
1 lbs. rigatoni
1/2 cup grated parmesan

1. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the prosciutto and red pepper flakes and cook for 30 to 40 seconds.
2. Add the tomatoes and cream to the skillet. Season with salt to taste. Cook uncovered at a low simmer for 7 to 8 minutes or until the sauce has a medium-thick consistency.
3. Cook the rigatoni in boiling water for 1 minute less than the instructions list.
4. Drain the rigatoni and place in the skillet. Simmer for 1 minute stirring to coat the rigatoni completely.
5. Serve immediately with the cheese sprinkled on top.

Serves 4.

Some pasta dishes can only be described as strange. Perhaps I should explain that a bit better. There was a time when, to me, pasta meant tomato sauce (as further proof, I almost called it “spaghetti sauce”). And the tomato sauce came in a can and got mixed with sautéed ground beef. Then I discovered alfredo sauce and had multiple choices for my pasta. But, I then went to Italy and realized that there were nearly an infinite number of choices of pasta sauces. This is still the strangest.

I’m probably one of the three people in the United States who likes anchovies. I think they can add a unique flavor to foods. However, I’m still a bit hesitant about any food that tastes primarily of anchovies. And that’s what makes this strange.

I was hesitant to even post this recipe here but, when I thought about it, I rather liked Spaghetti alla Carretiera. It’s strange but then again so am I (as my wife will most certainly corroborate) and I consider my strangeness to be an endearing quality. It’s the same with the pasta.

Yes, it tastes primarily of anchovies. But it’s not objectionable (well, it was to Angela but that’s beside the point). It’s different but that’s why I like it not in spite of it.

Spaghetti alla Carrettiera (Spaghetti with Fried Bread Crumbs, Garlic, and Anchovies)
Adapted from Trattoria Cooking: More than 200 authentic recipes from Italy’s family-style restaurants

3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp bread crumbs
1 large clove garlic, finely diced
1 salt-packed anchovy fillet
1/4 cup milk
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and black pepper
1/2 lbs. spaghetti
1 tbsp finely diced fresh parsley

1. De-bone the anchovy fillet and soak in the milk for 10 minutes. Discard the milk and dry the anchovy well. Chop the anchovy.
2. Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water for 1 minute less than the directions. Drain the pasta and reserve at least 1 cup of cooking water.
3. While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the bread crumbs and cook, stirring, for 5 to 10 seconds. Remove the skillet from the heat. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add the anchovies, garlic, and red pepper flakes to the skillet and stir for 20 seconds.
5. When the pasta is finished, add 1/2 cup of pasta water to the skillet. Add the spaghetti to the skillet and bring to the simmer. Cook for 1 minute until the sauce is thick and coating the pasta well.
6. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the parsley.
7. Serve immediately.

Serves 2.

The entries on here always run at least several days behind when I actually make things. If I’m good, it’s only the night before. Other times, it may be weeks. I don’t think I’ve made it to a month before. But this time, I have an excuse! We were on vacation last week (in France and Germany). And I’d post pictures now but they’re still sitting on my camera. And there are lots of them to go through. The vacation was fun but has very little do with Risi e Bisi. Risi e Bisi is apparently a signature dish of Venice. While I’ve been in Venice, I didn’t try this there. It was the wrong time of the year (I was there in June which is not really pea season). So I have no idea how authentic this version is (outside of the claim from the title of the cookbook). I thought it was good but the real news is that Angela liked it. This is surprising because she a) doesn’t usually like risotto and b) doesn’t usually like green vegetables. So, apparently, I must really have a winner here. It’s typical of much Italian cooking in that it is rather understated. None of the flavors are particularly strong or overpowering. However, they end up well balanced without being bland.

What really drew me to this recipe (outside of the fact that I’ve liked other cookbooks in the series), was the fact that it used the pea pods to make a stock. This actually ended up delaying me by a day for when I could make the risotto (I ended up making the pea pod stock a day in advance) but my experience is that anything that has a stock specifically made for it is better. It really helped for the flavor of the peas to permeate the entire risotto. You could, however, just replace the pea pod stock with 2 cups of meat broth. And, speaking of meat broth, I’ve found that at least for risotto, using a combination of chicken and beef stock produces a better flavor than either of them alone. This also applies to rice pilaf. And if you happen to have duck stuck lying around, try it in a simple risotto.

Risi e Bisi Adapted from Veneto: Authentic Recipes from Venice and the Italian Northeast 1 lbs. peas, shelled, pods reserved 4 cups meat broth (I used half chicken and half beef) 5 tbsp butter 1 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, diced 2 oz. pancetta, diced 3 tbsp diced Italian parsley 1 1/2 cups arborio rice 1/2 cup dry vermouth salt

1. Rinse the pea pods in running water. Place the pods in a pot and cover with cold water by 3 inches. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a simmer, and simmer for four hours. Then run the liquid and the pods through a food mill fitted with the fine disk. Combine with the meat stock and place over low heat to keep warm. Season with salt if needed.
2. In a large skillet, melt 3 tbsp of the butter with the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and pancetta and sauté until the pancetta is browned and the onions are soft, about 4 minutes.
3. Stir 1 tbsp parsley and the rice into the skillet. Cook the rice for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the vermouth and simmer until the alcohol has evaporated, about 3 minutes.
5. Add a ladleful of the broth and the peas and stir regularly until most of the broth has been absorbed. Add more broth and continuing stirring until all of the broth is absorbed and the rice is cooked through, about 25 minutes.
6. Remove the risotto from the heat. Season to taste with salt. Stir in the remaining butter and parsley.
7. Serve immediately.

Serves 4 to 6.

I regularly run into a bit of a problem: all of the best roast pork recipes call for pork loin. Now, my problem isn’t with pork loin per se but with the fact that there are only two of us. And while I do enjoy leftover pork, I try to keep it to a manageable amount. So I end up either discarding the recipe or adapt it to a smaller piece of pork.

Why such an interest in roast pork? Growing up I didn’t find pork all that tasty. My mom’s pork chops with sauerkraut ended up with pork chops that were more closely related to shoe leather than actual food. And don’t let me talk about how dry they were. It didn’t get particularly better when I started cooking for myself. My pork chops ended up rather dry and flavorless.

My first real introduction to good pork was in college with Dinosaur Barbque’s pulled pork. It was very good but it ended up being more about the sauce than the pork itself. I started making a variation of pulled pork that was good (although it wasn’t authentic; I make mine in a crock pot) but not to die for.

And then I made the Zuni Café House-Cured Pork Tenderloin and I had found nearly the perfect pork. It become the benchmark for all other pork.

And then I managed to successfully adapt this recipe (my first attempt ended up in something edible if not particularly enjoyable). I’m not saying it’s better. The Zuni Café version has a definite porkier taste. This recipe just seems to be in better harmony than the other.

The flavor of the rosemary and garlic are most pronounced but the other seasonings provide pleasant nuances. This may be my new go-to pork recipe.

Aristà di maiale alla fiorentina (Florentine Roast Pork Tenderloin)
Adapted from Enoteca: Simple, Delicious Recipes in the Italian Wine Bar Tradition

1 lbs. pork tenderloin

Brine:
2 1/2 cups water
6 juniper berries, crushed
3 allspice berries, crushed
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs fresh thyme
6 coriander seeds
1 tsp peppercorns
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 clove of garlic, crushed
3 cloves
2 dried chiles
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp kosher salt

1. Place all of the brine ingredients except for the salt and sugar in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and allow the herbs to infuse for 10 minutes.
2. Stir in the sugar and salt until dissolved. Allow to cool.
3. Pore the brine over the pork and place in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 days.
4. Remove the pork from the brine and dry with paper towels. Rub the pork with olive oil.
5. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
6. Place an oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Brown the pork on all sides.
7. Place the pork in the oven and cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 145°F.
8. Remove the pork from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
9. Slice the pork and serve with rosemary potatoes and a Sangiovese wine.

Serves 2-3.

Every week at the farmer’s market, I see the fish vendor. I always stop and look at chalkboard list of products and prices. The line almost always stretches around the back of his truck. My usual thought is that I don’t have enough cash to buy anything and, anyway, Angela doesn’t like fish so it’s not really worth it.

Before we left for the market, Angela had asked if we could have shrimp for dinner. I had some frozen shrimp in the freezer but they wouldn’t easily defrost in time and I don’t particularly relish force defrosting shrimp (although it can be done). So, when I came to the farmer’s market this week, and saw that not only was the fish vendor selling jumbo shrimp but that also his line was relatively short (and I had extra cash), I had to get in line and buy some.

A patron in line ahead of me ordered some scallops. In fact, he thought he was buying all the scallops: he wanted about 12 and that’s how many the vendor thought were left. Instead, the fish vendor had mis-estimated how many were left. So I decided that this week they were also going to be mine.

When I presented my acquisitions to Angela, she decided that the shrimp would wait until the next day and she wanted them seared in a cream sauce. I had never made such a dish but it sounded good to me so I thought I’d give it a try.

I usually cook from recipes. Occasionally, I’ll try and improvise. Unfortunately, it’s usually a bit disappointing when I do. So I have an aversion to improvisation. Particularly when it comes to expensive ingredients as I don’t want to waste the money.

With this recipe (I wanted to say today but I made this on Sunday), I may have finally broken the streak. To be fair, this isn’t particularly complicated or difficult recipe. But I am pleased with it.

Neither the garlic nor the lemon are overpowering. It didn’t hurt that we had high quality scallops (better than frozen at least). And the sauce went well with the pasta.

Angela would have liked her scallops a bit more seared but it may require a switch to clarified butter to actually make that happen.

The serving range is a bit large as the two of us ate all of the recipe but it could easily be served to four if they aren’t particularly hungry. But it’s good enough for two to eat the entirety.

Fetuccini with Seared Scallops in a Lemon-Garlic Cream Sauce

1 lbs. large scallops
salt and pepper
3 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/4 cup dry vermouth or white wine
1 cup heavy cream
juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp diced Italian parsley
1 lbs. fresh fettuccini, preferably homemade

1. Remove the small muscle attached to the scallop and discard. Dry the scallops in paper towels thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper on both sides.
2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the butter has stopped foaming, add the scallops. Sear the scallops in the butter on both sides, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove the scallops to a plate and cover with aluminum foil.
3. Reduce heat of the skillet to medium and add the garlic. Sauté the garlic until it is golden, about 1 minute.
4. Deglaze the skillet with the vermouth or wine. Increase heat to high and boil down the vermouth until it is reduced by half.
5. Add the heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Simmer the heavy cream until it is thickened. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and add the lemon juice. Reduce heat to medium-low.
6. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted boiling water until it is just undercooked.
7. Return the scallops to the skillet and add the parsley. Toss the sauce with the scallops until they are well coated.
8. Remove the pasta from the boiling water and add it to the skillet.
9. Increase heat to medium-high and cook for 1 minute more.
10. Serve immediately.

Serves 2-4.

In Italy, this was one of my favorite dishes to order. While I had never been to Italy before and I’m not of Italian decent, this was instantly comfort food, even though it was foreign to me. It didn’t hurt that it almost universally good.

The first time I tried my own hand at tortellini panna e prosciutto the tortellini were my undoing. I decided to be a perfectionist and measure the size of each tortellini. It would’ve helped to keep them all the same size if I could cut straight. It ended up taking an inordinate amount of time: I think it took about 2 hours just to form them.

I would’ve been hesitant to make them again but they’re really good. I’ve managed to get my tortellini making time to about 1 hour but that’s still a significant investment of time and energy.

This is also probably not particularly good for you. The tortellini are filled with cheese. The sauce is similar to alfredo sauce but with prosciutto added. However, I probably burned enough calories making the tortellini.

I’ve posted instructions for making pasta before. The tortellini recipe I use is basically the same that I use for cheese ravioli but in a different shape. You could also use fresh fettucini in place of the tortellini if you don’t want to invest as much time. It’s also sometimes served with peas (becoming tortellini panna, prosciutto e piselli) if you’d like it with a green vegetable.

I always try and make enough so that I’ll have left-overs for lunch the next day but for some reason we always manage to eat them all.

Tortellini Panna e Prosciutto (Tortellini with Cream and Prosciutto)

Tortellini:
1/2 cup ricotta
1/4 cup grated parmesan
2 tbsp diced Italian parsley
3 eggs
salt and pepper
2 cups all purpose flour

Sauce:
4 tbsp butter
4 oz. prosciutto
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup parmesan

1. In a bowl, stir together the ricotta, parmesan, and parsley, attempting to break the ricotta into as small pieces as possible. Stir in one egg and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Using the well method, mix the flour with the remaining 2 eggs to form a dough. Knead the dough briefly and then divide it into 4 pieces.
3. Roll out 1 piece of dough to the thinest setting on a pasta machine. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into approximately 1 1/2″ squares. Discard any dough that is not approximately square. On each square, place about 1/4 tsp of the filling made previously. Fold each square in half by having two opposite corners meet, forming a isosceles triangle. Make sure that the dough forms a good seal. Pull the two corners of the triangle which form the longest side together to form the tortellini. Repeat with the remaining dough.
4. Cook the tortellini in boiling salted water about 3 minutes or 1 minute after it floats.
5. Melt the butter for the sauce in a large sauce pan over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the prosciutto and sauté for about 4 minutes.
6. Add the heavy cream and bring to a simmer and allow the cream to reduce. Stir in the parmesan cheese.
7. When the pasta is done cooking, add the pasta to the sauce and cook for 1 minute more.
8. Serve with additional grated parmesan.

Serves 2-3.

We’ve been buying a lot of tomatoes at the farmer’s market recently because we’ve found a farm stand with good prices on heirloom tomatoes. And the tomatoes are really good.

So I keep looking for new things to do with them. The spaghetti al pomodoro was good. As was the tomato soup. But I’m always looking for something new to try.

Angela originally had this at the Zuni Cafe (I was too interested in my Caesar salad to try it). She had liked it so I thought I would try it again.

We always have left over bread and we had the tomatoes so there wasn’t much else that was needed. Plus the recipe seemed easy.

And it was. It’s just barely cooked tomatoes with bread to thicken. It took me a bit longer than I expected simply because the prep work was a bit longer than I expected (particularly the blanching of the tomatoes). But it wasn’t a lot of work.

I liked the soup a lot (although I never did get around to eating the leftovers). Angela didn’t like the barely cooked flavoring of the tomatoes. The bread gives it a consistency similar to cream of wheat which I liked. It’d be good if you were having teeth problems. I plan to make it with roasted tomatoes in the future to see if Angela might like it better.

Pappa al Pomodoro (Tomato-Bread Soup)
Adapted from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook

2 lbs. tomatoes
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup diced yellow onions
salt
3 garlic cloves, diced
1 bunch fresh basil
sugar (optional)
1/4 lbs. day old Italian-style bread, without crusts
black pepper

1. Blanch half the tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds. Rinse them under cool water and peel and core them. Cut them into 1/2″ chunks. Core the remaining tomatoes and cut them into 1/2″ chunks. Make sure to capture all juices.
2. Sweat the onions over medium-low heat in a large sauce pan with 1/4 cup olive oil and a pinch of salt until softened, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and sweat for 2 to 3 minutes more, or until the garlic is softened.
3. Add the tomatoes and juices to the sauce pan.
4. Remove the leaves from the basil stems. Add the basil stems to the sauce. Cook over medium heat until the tomatoes just start to break up.
5. Taste for seasoning and add salt or sugar if necessary.
6. Remove the basil steams and add the torn basil leaves. Tear the bread into pieces and add to the soup. Stir to combine.
7. Bring to a simmer then remove from the heat. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes.
8. Serve the soup with black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.

Serves 2 to 4.

As I’ve said before, simple pasta dishes appeal to me. There’s something infinitely satisfying about taking a few good ingredients and turning them into something spectacularly good. And while Dr. Atkins may not approve of a meal like this, it’s one of my favorites. It’s actually good enough that we served it as a course for Christmas last year (we served a meal in the Italian style).

This dish is becoming increasingly popular on Italian restaurant menus. Particularly, those that want to appear more authentically Italian (as opposed to Italian-American). The sad thing is that they seldom have an authenticity nor are they particularly good. Angela ordered one a few weeks ago that wasn’t spicy at all.

And, really, this is such a simple and fast dish that a restaurant should be able to do a very good rendition of it without too much effort. I would be fine if it wasn’t this most authentic but at least make it taste good. There’s no real excuse.

The recipe itself takes about 40 to 45 minutes to make. For me, that’s a pretty quick dinner (but not Rachel Ray speed). I usually prepare the ingredients and then start cooking the sauce. Once the tomatoes are added and they begin to simmer, I start boiling the water for the pasta. When the pasta’s done, I add it to the sauce and go from there.

I don’t know exactly how authentic this recipe is. It does use pancetta in place of guanciale (I would try to make some if I could find a local source for pork jowl). It also uses spaghetti in place of bucatini (bucati was available at Trader Joe’s for a month or so but was nearly impossible to actually eat). The taste seems pretty close to what I had in Rome but I don’t know how memory has influenced that. Either way, it’s still pretty tasty.

Spaghetti all’Amatriciana
Adapted from Roma: Authentic Recipes from In and Around the Eternal City

1 tbsp olive oil
2 oz. pancetta, diced
1/4 cup diced onion
a pinch of red pepper flakes
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes
salt
2 tbsp Pecorino Romano, grated
1/2 lbs. spaghetti

1. Place the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the pancetta and onion. Cook until the pancetta is browned.
2. Add the red pepper flakes (add more or less depending on your taste) and the tomato paste. Stir well and allow to cook for one more minute.
3. Add the tomatoes and their juices to the skillet. Scrap up any browned bits. Simmer the tomato sauce for 30 minutes.
4. Bring salted water to a boil and add the spaghetti. Cook for one minute less than indicated on the package, about 7 minutes. Drain the spaghetti.
5. Stir in half the Pecorino Romano into the sauce. Add the spaghetti and mix well. Cook for one minute more or until the pasta is al dente. Add the remaining Pecorino Romano.
6. Serve with additional Pecorino Romano to sprinkle on top.

Serves 2 to 3.

When I first tasted these shrimp, my response was “best shrimp ever.” To be honest, I’m prone to hyperbole. However, this time I wasn’t exaggerating. These were the most exquisite shrimp I’ve ever tasted. The quality of the shrimp themselves wasn’t particularly high: they were frozen farmed shrimp from Trader Joe’s.

The blessing and the curse of shrimp is that they have a relatively mild flavor. Shrimp just don’t taste particularly much like shrimp. And, frankly, most shrimp applications are lacking. I wish I had the idea of making a shrimp stock to use in the sauce to go with the shrimp. It makes perfect sense: it’s similar to using chicken stock for pan sauce for chicken.

But, because shrimp are so small, the flavoring of the stock goes even further. The shrimp manage to absorb a lot of the flavor from the shrimp stock even though they’re only cooked in it briefly. With apologies to Julia Child, the shrimp tasted more shrimpy.

The recipe itself is pretty straightforward. You make a shrimp stock with the shrimp shells. Then the shrimp are pan-fried in olive oil and a reduction is made with some garlic and the shrimp stock. The only modification I made to the recipe were to use dry vermouth instead of white wine and to brine the shrimp.

If you think that brining poultry makes a difference, wait until you try it on shrimp. It improves the texture immensely and it also means that there’s a larger window for cooking the shrimp in. It also doesn’t take very long which is nice.

If you like shrimp, I implore you to try this recipe. It really is that good.

Gamberi alla Cannavota (The Shrimp of Trattoria Cannavota)
Adapted from Trattoria Cooking

For the Shrimp Stock:
1 lbs. shrimp shells
1 small carrot, cut into three pieces
1/2 onion, peeled and cut in half
1 stalk celery, cut into three pieces
2/3 cup dry vermouth
4 cup water

For the Shrimp:
1 cup water
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup sugar
6 ice cubes

1 lbs. shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/4 cup dry vermouth
1 tbsp softened butter
2 tbsp parsley, diced

1. Combine all the ingredients for the shrimp stock in a sauce pan. Cook at a high simmer over medium-low to medium heat for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the shrimp stock is reduced to 1 cup. Drain the stock through a strainer and reserve the stock. This can be prepared in advance and the shrimp stock refrigerated until used.
2. Put 1 cup of water, the kosher salt, and the sugar in a sauce pan over high heat. Stir the contents until the salt and sugar are desolved in the water. Remove from the heat and pour into a heatproof bowl. Add the ice cubes. When the brine is cool, add the shrimp for 15 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the brine and pat dry.
3. In a large sautée pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until just before smoking. Add the shrimp and cooked until they are lightly golden on both sides, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove the shrimp to a plate.
4. Add the garlic to the pan and cook until the garlic is golden, about 1 minute. Add the vermouth and the shrimp stock. Increase the heat to high and reduce the stock until it is a medium consistency. Taste for seasoning.
5. Reduce the heat to medium and add the shrimp, butter, and parsley. Mix the contents well and cook for 1 minute more.
6. Serve the shrimp in bowls with good bread.

Serves 2 to 3.