The Early Show

Italian-American Feast

By Ellen Crean

June 7, 2002 / 1:04 PM EDT / CBS

Chef on a Shoestring is Lidia Bastianich is well known by millions of Americans for her two popular television series, "Lidia's Italian Table" and "Lidia's Italian-American Table." Her knowledge and enthusiasm for Italian cooking earned her this year's James Beard Award for Best National Chef. She is the first female to win in 10 years.

The Menu:
Arugula And White Bean Salad
Linguine With Clams And Broccoli Sauce
Roasted Pears And Grapes

The menu is derived from Lidia's latest publication, "Lidia's Italian-American Cookbook," which she wrote as a homage to the food she first encountered when her family moved to the United States when she was a teen-ager. It was a type of cooking that she did not recognize, even though when she moved to the U.S., they described it as "Italian."

She realizes now that Italian-American cooking was developed by a people who came with a rich collection of memories from their homeland -- and tried to recreate them but had to incorporate different ingredients and cooking techniques that were native to America.

Lidia grew up around food. Her grandparents owned a trattoria, and they grew most of the food they sold and ate, produced their own olive oil, and cured their own meat.

Lidia recognizes that food is not static, so she revels in learning something new every time she visits Italy. She believes that Italian-American food should not be dismissed because it is not true to regional Italian cooking, but instead Italian-American food should be celebrated because it is the perfect symbol of the people who made their lives in a new country. It incorporates the new and the old -- and reflects the adaptable spirit of the people who came here.

Lidia Matticchio Bastianich is the author of two previous books, "La Cucina di Lidia" and "Lidia's Italian Table." She is also the co-owner of three New York City restaurants, Felidia, Becco, and Esca.

Arugula And White Bean Salad

Ingredients:
3/4 cup braised cannellini *Recipe is below
2 large bunches arugula (about 1 pound)
1 small red onion, sliced thin
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, or to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, or to taste

Method:

Fish the right amount of beans out of the cooking liquid and let them cool completely on a baking pan.
Meanwhile, pluck off the protruding stem ends of the arugula and discard any wilted or yellow leaves.
Wash the arugula in a large bowl or sink full of water to remove all sand and grit.
Dry the arugula well (preferably in a salad spinner) and transfer it to a large mixing bowl.
Scatter the cooled beans and the onion over the greens and season everything with salt and pepper.
Pour enough of the olive oil over the salad to coat the leaves lightly, toss to coat, then repeat with the vinegar.
Check the seasoning, adding more salt, pepper oil, or vinegar as you like.
Serve immediately.

Lidia's Notes: You don't have to use cannellini beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, or just about any beans you like can go into this salad. Whichever beans you use, cut the onion thin and at the last minute so it stays crunchy.

For The Braised Cannellini:

Ingredients:
1/2 pound (about 1 1/4 cups) dried cannellini or other small white
beans, such as Great Northern or baby limas
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt

Method:

Pour the beans into a deep bowl and pour in enough cold water to cover them by 4 inches. Let soak in a cool place or in the refrigerator at least 8 hours or overnight.
Drain the beans and transfer them to a 2-quart saucepan. Pour in enough water to cover by two fingers and drop in two of the rosemary sprigs. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat so the water is at a bare simmer. Cook until the beans are tender but not mushy, with just enough liquid to cover them, 30 to 40 minutes. If necessary, add more water a tablespoon at a time to keep the beans covered as they simmer.
Remove the beans from the heat and gently stir in the oil, salt to taste and the remaining 2 rosemary sprigs. Let stand to cool and absorb the cooking liquid. The end result should be tender beans with a creamy consistency in just enough liquid to coat them. Taste the beans occasionally as they cool and stir in more salt if necessary.

Lidia likes to braise the beans before adding them to the salad. In her book, she writes, "By being simmered slowly and allowed to absorb their cooking liquid gradually, these beans take on a creamy consistency and wonderful flavor."

Linguine With White Clam And Broccoli Sauce

Ingredients:
3 cups broccoli florets
36 littleneck clams
1 pound linguine
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1/2 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Method:

Cook the broccoli in a large saucepan of boiling salted water just until it is softened a little bit, about 2 minutes. Drain it well and cool under cold running water. Drain completely, then chop the broccoli coarsely.
Scrub and shuck the clams, reserving the liquid. Strain the liquid, chop the clams and combine them with the liquid.
Bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil in an 8-quart pot over high heat. Stir the linguine into the boiling water. Return to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook the pasta, semi-covered, stirring occasionally, until not quite done al dente--about 6 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Scatter the garlic over the oil and cook, shaking the pan, until golden, about 2 minutes.
Add the blanched broccoli and crushed red pepper and cook until the broccoli is sizzling, about 2 minutes.
Pour in the clams and their liquid and bring to a boil.
Ladle about 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water into the skillet. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat so the sauce is at a lively simmer. Cook until the broccoli is tender, about 4 minutes.
If the skillet is large enough to accommodate the sauce and pasta, fish the pasta out of the boiling water with a large wire skimmer and drop it directly into the sauce in the skillet. If not, drain the pasta, return it to the pot, and pour in the sauce.
Bring the sauce and pasta to a boil, stir in the parsley and check the seasoning, adding salt and crushed red pepper if necessary. Cook, stirring, until the pasta is done and there is enough sauce to coat the pasta generously but still form a small pool in the bottom of the pan, 1 to 2 minutes.
Divide the pasta among warmed bowls, spooning some of the sauce from the pan and drizzling some of the remaining olive oil over each serving.

Lidia's Notes On Clams:

To open clams, you will need a clam knife. Don't use a paring knife or you will do damage to the blade and can cut yourself.
Place the clams in a large bowl of cold water and swish them to clean the shells.
With a stiff brush, scrub the shells, including the joints.
Dump the cleaned clams into a colander and when all are scrubbed, rinse them under cold water. Drain thoroughly.
Spread the clams out in a baking pan and put them in the freezer for 20 minutes.
With your hands over a bowl to catch the juices, place a clam in the palm of your non-knife wielding hand so the hinge and the smooth side of the shell rest against the fleshy part of your palm at the base of your thumb.
Insert the blade of the knife between the two shells against the little protrusion and while applying firm pressure, wiggle the blade between the shells.
Once the shells are pried apart, work the blade of the knife along the top shell, freeing the clam, and cutting through the two muscles that hold the shells together. Twist off and discard the top shell.
Run the knife along the bottom shell, cutting through the two muscles and completely freeing the clam. Flick any bits of shell out of the clam with the tip of the clam knife. You can rinse the clams to remove all traces of shell, but you'll lose a lot flavor.
Drain the reserved liquid through cheesecloth.

More Notes From Lidia: "You can chop the garlic if you like, but I prefer slices. They are mellower in flavor and become part of the texture of the dish. In most pasta dishes the idea is to make just enough sauce to coat the pasta lightly. When clam sauce is served with linguine, however, there should be a little extra broth. Other hard-shelled clams, such as Manila or butter clams, make a good substitute, but I love littleneck clams for this sauce. I prefer to cook the pasta al dente -- very -- and then finish it in the sauce. It's a balancing act -- determining when the pasta is ready and the sauce is the right consistency but you can always hold the pasta or the sauce for a minute or two, while the other one catches up."

Roasted Pears And Grapes:

Ingredients:
2 cups seedless red grapes
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup Moscato or other fruit white wine
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tablespoons apricot jam
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
3 ripe but firm Bosc pears

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Place the grapes in an 11 x 7 inch baking dish.
Stir the sugar, Moscato, lemon juice, apricot jam and vanilla bean together in a bowl until blended. Pour over the grapes.
Cut the pears in half through the core and remove the stems, cores and seeds. Nestle the pear halves, cut side up, into the grapes.
Bake, uncovered, until the pears are tender and the liquid around the grapes is thick and syrupy, about 50 minutes to 1 hour.
Remove the pears and let stand until the pan syrup thickens, about 10 minutes.
Serve the pears hot or warm with some of the grapes and their pan syrup spooned around them.

Food Terms:

Cannellini bean: a white Italian kidney bean, which is available both in dry and canned forms. Cannellini beans are particularly popular in salads and soups.

Braise: A cooking method by which food (usually meat or vegetables) is first browned in fat, then cooked, tightly covered, in a small amount of liquid at low heat for a lengthy period of time. The long, slow cooking develops flavor and tenderizes foods by gently breaking down their fibers. Braising can be done on top of the range or in the oven. A tight-fitting lid is very important to prevent the liquid from evaporating.