The Best of Fine Cooking — Real Italian 2017

12 FINE COOKING • DEC 2016/JAN 2017

Whether it stars on a cheese platter, tops a gratin, or fl avors a sauce or fi lling, as in the recipes here, Grana

Padano is a must for the weekly menu. An aged, hard cheese, Grana Padano is made with semi-skim milk

from the Po River valley of northern Italy, following a tradition created by monks in 1100 AD. Available in

three vintages (see below), Grana Padano has a remarkable taste and texture that guarantees it’s a

cheese you’ll want to keep on hand.

Sweet, Nutty Grana Padano

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• Aged between 9 and
  16 months, Grana Padano
  PDO is softer and less grainy
  than mature versions. Pale
  yellow in color, its taste is
  mild, milky, and delicate. Add
  this cheese to sauces and
  gratins, shave it on salads,
  and more.The lightness of
  this cheese makes it perfect
  with young white and spar-
  kling wines.


• With a soft straw-yellow
  color, Grana Padano “over
  16 months” has a grainier
  consistency and crumbles
  when cut. The sweetness in
  its flavor is less noticeable,
  and it has a stronger, tangy
  taste that equally suits it for
  grating or cheese platters.
  Try it in dishes ranging from
  quiche and vegetable pie
  to risotto and soup. It pairs
  well with young, fresh red
  wines of moderate intensity
  and body.


• Aged for at least
  20 months, Grana Padano
  RISERVA is distinctly grainy
  in texture, rich in flavor, and
  deep straw-yellow in color.
  Fabulous on a cheese platter,
  it is also delicious cooked.
  Due to its distinct flavor, it
  should be enjoyed with a
  soft red, intense, tannic wine
  that has a moderate to high
  alcohol content and a linger-
  ing and persistent flavor, but
  also with a full-bodied and
  rich red wine.

THREE DELICIOUS

VINTAGES

Meatballs

with Roasted

Tomato Sauce

Serves 4

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 ¼ cups finely chopped onions

3 Tbs. finely chopped garlic

2 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. crushed dried rosemary

4 14.5-oz. cans fire-

roasted tomatoes

1 14.5-oz. can tomato sauce

2 ½ cups finely grated Grana

Padano; more shaved for

serving

Kosher salt and freshly ground

black pepper

1 ½ lb. 90% lean ground beef

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

4 slices bacon, finely chopped

1 large egg, beaten

1 Tbs. toasted crushed fennel

seed

In a large pot, add the olive oil

over medium high heat until

shimmering. Add 1 cup onions

and sauté until beginning to

brown. Add 2 Tbs. garlic, the

basil, oregano, and rosemary

and continue to sauté for

another 30 seconds. Add

the tomatoes and sauce,

1 ½ cups water, 1½ cups

Grana Padano, ½ tsp. salt,

and ½ tsp. pepper. Bring to a

boil, then reduce the heat to

a simmer.

In a medium bowl, com-

bine the beef, breadcrumbs,

bacon, egg, remaining cup

of fi nely grated Grana Padano,

remaining 1 Tbs. garlic, fennel

seed, ½ tsp. salt, and ¼

tsp. pepper. Shape into small

meatballs, about 1½ inches

in diameter and drop into the

simmering sauce. Continue

cooking for an hour, until the

sauce is thickened and the

meatballs are cooked through.

Add more water as needed.

Serve the meatballs and

sauce with pasta and top with

shaved Grana Padano.

FINE COOKING • DEC 2016/JAN 2017

taste that equally suits it for

Try it in dishes ranging from

wines of moderate intensity

in texture, rich in flavor, and

Fabulous on a cheese platter,

soft red, intense, tannic wine

alcohol content and a linger-

ing and persistent flavor, but

In a large pot, add the olive oil

sauce with pasta and top with

shaved Grana Padano.

THREE DELICIOUS

Tagliatelle with

Broccolini Pesto

Serves 4

¾ cup plus 1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbs. fi nely chopped garlic

2 bunches (16 oz.) Broccolini, trimmed,

chopped, and blanched until just tender

(reserve ¼ cup buds for garnish)

2 oz. finely grated Grana Padano; more

grated or shaved for serving

½ cup toasted walnuts

¼ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

3 Tbs. honey

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes

Kosher salt and freshly ground black

pepper

12 oz. tagliatelle pasta, cooked to al dente,

some pasta water reserved

In a small skillet, heat 1 Tbs. oil and the gar-

lic over medium heat until the garlic begins

to sizzle. Transfer to a food processor, then

add the Broccolini, Grana Padano, walnuts,

sun-dried tomatoes, honey, pepper fl akes, ¾

tsp. salt, and ½ tsp. pepper and pulse. Add

the remaining oil in pulses until combined.

Toss the pasta and pesto with enough

pasta water to loosen. Divide the pasta

among four large shallow bowls and top

with some more Grana Padano.

Padano is a must for the weekly menu. An aged, hard cheese, Grana Padano is made with semi-skim milk

from the Po River valley of northern Italy, following a tradition created by monks in 1100 AD. Available in

three vintages (see below), Grana Padano has a remarkable taste and texture that guarantees it’s a

over medium high heat until

shimmering. Add 1 cup onions

and sauté until beginning to

brown. Add 2 Tbs. garlic, the

basil, oregano, and rosemary

and continue to sauté for

cups

tsp. salt,

tsp. pepper. Bring to a

boil, then reduce the heat to

In a medium bowl, com-

bine the beef, breadcrumbs,

bacon, egg, remaining cup

of fi nely grated Grana Padano,

remaining 1 Tbs. garlic, fennel

tsp. pepper. Shape into small

Tagliatelle with

Broccolini Pesto

12 REAL ITALIAN 2017