A Childhood Favorite Dave Tanis Style

If you're  full Piedmontese or even a fraction of the nationality, you grew up with bollito misto. It was spoken in  almost mystical tones by my Mom and her aunts, my great aunts.It's a variety of different boiled meats and veggies topped off with salsa verde, parsley sauce. Now David Tanis takes one of my family recipes and updates it.

Bollito misto or boiled mix is a big deal.It's usually served at both Christmas and New Year's along with special occasions like baptisms , confirmations and engagement parties. it's a melange of both sausages and various cuts of beef. There are also veggies involved and of course, the most important part bagnet vert , Piemontese for green bath, the parsley sauce. Mr. Tanis received most of the recipes from Chef Danielle Glantz's friend and home chef, Gaia Bonaden , a food and beverage consultant from Torino, Italy. grew up, as I did with the recipe. Her family used a tail to snout philosophy , If you make this you can start with several beef cuts along with veal cheek and tongue along with oxtail. Sausage stuffed pig's feet and cotechino sausage ,a fennel laced mix of pork and red wine are also served. A stewing hen or capon is sometimes added too (my family never added any poultry) It wouldn't be a Piedmontese dish without the veggies. Mr. Tanis includes carrots , fennel bulbs ,golden beets, turnips, rutabagas and Yukon Gold potatoes. I would use Swiss chard if I could find it now too along with cardoons.


Of course bollito misto is nothing without the sauce. This is one heavy on the parsley. There's also basil, which my family recipe doesn't include. ( I  plan on making a vegan version and I am debating about using the basil or just amping up the parsley). Salt brined capers along with a pinch of red peppers are added for more flavor and a zing of heat. There is also horseradish and vinegar added. I remember that we served the horseradish on the side because not everyone liked its' strong taste. Will I add it to my salsa verde? Debatable. There are also scallions which also are a debatable point.Mr. Tanis includes Ms.  Bonaden's salsa rossa.bread soaked in vinegar laced with garlic cloves, tomato paste and two cooked bell peppers. Cayenne and paprika are also added for fire which will also liven up the flavors of the meat and veggies.Mr. Tanis serves all of this buffet style , but it's great family style with people reaching here and there for what they want. He also starts with small cups of broth - brodo with what seems to be tortallini. There's also an endive salad with hard boiled eggs and another Piemontese must have anchovies. I don't know if I would make this . To me it seems a bit much. He ends with a pear and frangipane crostini tart. It sounds and looks delicious but  after bollito misto, dessert is kind of redundant. I'd probably just serve  espresso with grappa and maybe a fresh fruit platter

It's amazing to see this childhood recipe again, especily in the NY Times Food section I intend on making my version to celebrate it. Try bollito misto for a different take on a buffet dinner. You'll enjoy it, guaranteed.

Polenta A Winter Favorite

Polenta is one of those dishes that signifies winter. It can accompany any main dish from chicken cacciatore to a good hunter's gravy filled with pork bits. One of the best aspects of it is that it's super easy to make  and like a fashion basic can go with anything. It's also versatile, going from steamed to grilled, the perfect all around ingredient.

This Northern Italian staple was the star of an article in yesterday's New York Times Dining section A City Kitchen. Dave Tanis, the column's author really wrote a valentine to this simple dish made only from ground corn mush. He gives really good advice (that I ,even growing up with it, didn;t even know)>Polenta comes in three types of fineness. course, medium and fine. Also the longer you cook it the better tasting it will be. The mush becomes too bitter of you take it away from the flame too early on. The longer in the pot th sweeter it will be because the cornmeal swells and basically burst with flavor.

Mr. Tanis gives some pretty good recipes aw well. He grills the polenta into squares and serves it with tomatoes and eggs. The last is classic Piedmontese, adding the polenta gives ti a new twist. He also stuffs it with spinach along with ricotta and fontina, letting the mash  have a crunchy top. For me the best is either stuffed in Savoy cabbage, popular in northwestern Torino where my great grandfather came from or reheated and served as a base with sunny side up eggs. This last is a great way of using leftover polenta (along with the heavenly taste of egg yolk mixing with the corn flavor)

Polenta is a great winter dish anyone can make. Try it a variety of different way to discovers it's creamy texture and taste. Once you;re hooked, that's it. You're a polenta affectionado for life.