Polipo Alla Triestina Recipes

STEAK ALLA PIZZIAOLA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Heat oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Season beef on both sides with salt and pepper. Saute beef until browned. Flip over and brown other side. Transfer steak to oven-proof dish. Add crushed tomatoes, potatoes, onions, peppers, oregano and red hot pepper flakes. Braise in oven, uncovered, for about 1 hour or until beef is tender. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, if needed.

KETTLE GULYAS

Steps:

• Peel onions and chop into coarse pieces. Melt lard in a heavy 6 to 8-quart Dutch oven. Add the beef cubes to the oil and brown. Work in batches if necessary, removing cubes as they are browned. Don't overcrowd the pan. Add onions to the pot. Heat should be low in order not to brown the onions. When onions become glossy, add back the seared beef. Stir.
• Meanwhile, chop and crush the garlic with the caraway seeds and a little salt; use the flat side of a heavy knife.
• Take kettle from heat. Stir in paprika and the garlic mixture. Stir rapidly with a wooden spoon. Immediately after paprika is absorbed, add 2 1/2 quarts warm water. (Cool water toughens meat if you add it with the meat is frying.)
• Replace covered kettle over low heat and cook for about 1 hour.
• While the braising is going on, peel the tomato, then cut into 1-inch pieces. Core green peppers and slice into rings. Peel potatoes and cut into 3/4-inch dice.
• After the meat has been braised for about 1 hour (the time depends on the cut of the meat), add the tomato and green peppers and enough water to give a soup consistency. Add a little salt. Simmer slowly for another 30 minutes.
• Add potatoes and cook the gulyas till done. Adjust salt. Add hot cherry pepper pods if you want to make the stew spicy hot.
• Cook the dumplings in the stew.
• Serve the gulyas steaming hot in large, extra-deep bowls. The meat should be tender, but not falling apart.
• Mix the egg with flour and salt.
• Spoon the mixture into boiling soup, using 1/4 teaspoon at a time. Cook in the soup for 2 or 3 minutes just before serving.

MUSSELS TRIESTINA

Steps:

• Heat 4 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sliced garlic, and cook until garlic is sizzling and just golden around the edges, about 2 minutes. Add the onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in the bay leaves and salt. Push the vegetables aside and make a dry "hot spot," then add the peperoncino and let it toast for a minute. Pour the white wine into the pot. Bring to a boil, and cook until the wine is reduced by half, about 3 to 4 minutes.
• Once the wine has reduced, add the mussels and scallions. Stir, and adjust the heat so the sauce is simmering. Cover, and simmer until the mussels open, about 5 minutes.
• Most of the mussels should have opened (discard any that have not). Sprinkle with the parsley and bread crumbs. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil, and toss well. Transfer the mussels to a serving bowl, and pour the juices over the top. Serve immediately.

GOULASH TRIESTINO

Steps:

• Pour the olive oil into a small saucepan (about 6 cup capacity), set over medium-low heat, and drop in the onion wedges. Toss to coat in oil, season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook gently for 3-4 minutes until sizzling and softening.
• Spread onions in the bottom of a heavy-bottomed 9 or 10-inch saucepan (such as an enameled cast-iron French oven with a tight-fitting cover) and drop the beef cubes on top of the onions, filling the pan in one layer. Sprinkle another 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, all the paprika, and the oregano over the meat and drop in the rosemary. Without stirring or turning the meat chunks, cover the pan tightly. Heat the meat, with the seasonings on top and the onions below, so it starts to release its juices and stew. Check once or twice to see that the pan liquid is bubbling and the onions are melting (not burning) but don't stir.
• After 30 minutes or so, set the cover ajar a couple of inches and adjust the heat to keep the juices bubbling and slowly reducing. As they thicken, stir up the onions so they don't burn and tumble the meat in the pan.
• Continue cooking, partially covered, for another 1/2 hour or so. When the juices are concentrated and thick in the pan bottom, prepare the goulash sauce:.
• Pour 3 cups cold water in the small pan and whisk in the flour. Set over low heat and continue whisking until the flour is dispersed with no lumps, then whisk in the tomato paste. Heat gradually, whisking often, until the tomato-flour water just comes to a bubbling boil. Pour into the big saucepan and stir well, turning the meat chunks over--they should be nearly covered in sauce.
• Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer, put on the cover slightly ajar, and cook 45 minutes to an hour, until the meat is quite tender and the sauce is somewhat reduced. Season with more salt to taste. Turn off the heat and let the goulash cool in the pan for several hours before serving or refrigerate overnight.
• Reheat slowly, stirring now and then, until the meat is thoroughly heated. Thin the sauce with water if it has thickened too much. Serve hot. (Though not part of the original recipe, I like to garnish mine with a dollop of sour cream.).

STEAMED MUSSELS TRIESTE STYLE (LIDIA BASTIANICH)

Steps:

• Add 6 tablespoons olive oil to a saucepan; drop in the crushed garlic, and set over medium heat; when the garlic is fragrant and sizzling, stir in the onion slices, bay leaves, salt, and pepper flakes.
• Cook for a couple of minutes, tossing and stirring, just until the onions begin to wilt but still have some crunch.
• Pour in the wine, and bring to a boil; immediately dump all the mussels into the pan, tumble them over quickly; cover tightly, and turn the heat up to high.
• Steam the mussels for 3 minutes, frequently shaking the covered pan, then toss them over, with a wire spider or wide slotted spoon.
• If the mussel shells have already opened (or almost all are open), leave the pan uncovered--otherwise, replace the cover and steam a bit longer.
• As soon as the mussels have steamed open, sprinkle 1/4 cup bread crumbs all over the pan; quickly tumble the mussels over and over, still on high heat, so their liquor and the crumbs fall into the bubbling pan juices and create a sauce( if the pan sauce is still thin after a minute of bubbling, sprinkle in more bread crumbs).
• Finally, drizzle 2 more tablespoons oil and sprinkle the chopped parsley on top, and toss briefly to distribute the seasonings.
• Turn off the heat, set the pan in the center of the table, and let people scoop mussels and sauce into their own warm soup bowls (and remember to put out extra bowls for the shells).
• Serve with good crusty bread for mopping up the sauce.

EDUARDO GIURICI'S BRODETTO ALLA TRIESTINA (TRIESTE-STYLE FISH STEW)

Steps:

• Put the sea bass on a flat surface and cut it crosswise into one-and-one-half-inch pieces. Repeat with the striped bass. Set both fish aside.
• Cut the cleaned squid into one-inch lengths. Set aside.
• Cut each lobster tail crosswise into three or four pieces.
• Heat the oil in a very large casserole with a heavy bottom and, when it is hot and almost smoking, add the onions. Cook, stirring constantly, until the onions are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Take care not to burn.
• Arrange the pieces of sea bass, striped bass and lobster tails in the casserole. Cook, turning the pieces occasionally, over high heat about three minutes. Add the vinegar and stir. Cover and cook about one minute.
• Add the fish stock and bring to the simmer. Cover. Cook about five minutes.
• Add the marinara sauce and cover. Cook three minutes.
• Add the squid, salt and pepper to taste and partly cover. Let cook eight minutes.
• Add the shrimp, clams and mussels and cook five minutes longer, or just until the mussels and clams open. Serve with portions of polenta.