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Cruise the Cobblestones Without Ever Leaving Your Kitchen"The Southern Italian Table" by Arthur Schwartz (Clarkson Potter, $32.50) If you can't attend Arthur Schwartz's longtime cooking school in Southern Italy, reading and cooking from his "The Southern Italian Table" is a close second. Not only has award-winning cookbook author Schwartz owned the school for more than 20 years, he's traveled every nook and cranny of the Southern part of the country. Where many others are happy to just identify recipes as Southern Italian, Schwartz gets much more specific than that, identifying street corners and ingredients that make tiny, yet important, nuances in flavor. This kind of attention to detail — and the unique recipes it reveals — is at least as much of a treat as Schwartz's extensive "Dolci" (Sweets) chapter. From Sicily's most popular astringent orange salad studded with scallions and oil-cured black olives, to a flat pasta and chickpeas traditional dish straight from a peasant's kitchen, no trendy or traditional cobblestone goes unturned. After cooking from the book — pro Schwartz makes all the recipes extremely concise and straightforward — you'll undoubtedly feel like an expert about the extremely seasonal fare (basil, for instance, is only used at the height of freshness and never dried) and local quirks (like mixing potatoes and pasta in some dishes; or combining ground meat and melted chocolate in a centuries'-old turnover). The only question will be if a real trip will result in as delicious cooking as you've learned. ORANGE AND ONION SALAD WITH OLIVES 3 large navel oranges 4 scallions, cut crosswise into thin slices, using all the white and just the palest green of the stem, or about 1/4 cup diced red onion or sweet onion 2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Freshly ground black pepper, to taste At least 8 oil-cured black olives Yields 4 servings. Peel the oranges the Sicilian way; carefully score the rind with the tip of a small sharp knife, cutting from pole to pole and all the way down, but just to the pulp. Then, peel down each segment of the rind. Cut the peeled oranges crosswise into 1/4-to-1/2-inch slices or into cubes.
Serve within an hour or two, chilled in the refrigerator or at room temperature. FLAT PASTA AND CHICKPEAS 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or 1/2 to 1 fresh or dried hot red pepper (see Note) 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, coarsely chopped 2 (15- to 16-ounce) cans chickpeas 8 ounces dried small pasta, such as lagane, ditali, pennette or broken lasagne 1 heaping tablespoon salt Condiment-quality extra-virgin olive oil, for serving Yields 4 or 5 servings. In a small saucepan, combine garlic, oil, red pepper flakes and rosemary. Over low heat, let the garlic sizzle until it barely begins to brown. Add chickpeas with all of their liquid. Simmer gently, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Boil the pasta in at least 3 quarts of water with 1 heaping tablespoon of salt. Just before pasta is done, with a potato masher or the bottom of a tumbler (or more carefully with an immersion blender), mash about half the chickpeas, right in the pot. When the pasta is done, drain well, but carefully scoop out a cup of pasta cooking water first, in case you want to loosen the sauce. Combine pasta with chickpeas in a large serving bowl. Toss well. Add a little of the reserved pasta cooking water if the pasta is too dry. (It should not be soupy, however.) Serve very hot with condiment-quality extra-virgin olive oil to drizzle over the top. Note: Experts recommend wearing rubber gloves when handling peppers and not touching your eyes during or afterward.
Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the author of seven food books, including "Mrs. Cubbison's Best Stuffing Cookbook" and "The Sourdough Bread Bowl Cookbook." She also writes the Creators News Service "After-Work Gourmet" column. To find out more about Lisa Messinger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS.COM
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