A top American chef keeps it simple
By Samantha Critchell
Associated Press
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| Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, named the nation's outstanding chef by the James Beard Foundation, says it's a luxury to prepare meals using ingredients from the garden.
Associated Press |
With a busy schedule that includes running five restaurants, starring in a TV cooking show and writing cookbooks (including this year's "Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen" from Knopf, based on her 52-part PBS series), a dinner using ingredients from the garden is a true luxury, says Bastianich.
"I'm known for straightforward, unpretentious, home-style cooking," she says. For this reason, Bastianich was a departure for the Beard Awards program and a surprise winner among more trendy names.
However, judging from the menu at New York City's Felidia Ristorante, the restaurant for which she won the Beard award, this chef's version of a quickie pasta dinner takes a little more skill than boiling water. The offerings include: scialatielli pasta with Cape Cod butter clams and Maine rock shrimp in a light cherry tomato sauce; quill-shaped pasta with shredded duck braised in red wine; and Istrian wedding pillows filled with fontina, asiago and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, citrus rind and rum in a savory reduction.
Bastianich says she doesn't do the bulk of the cooking at the restaurants — she leaves that to her talented executive chefs — but she's still the primary force behind the flavors. She shares her recipes and food philosophies with the kitchen staffs at Felidia, Becco and Esca, in New York, and the Lidia's restaurants in Pittsburgh and Kansas City, Mo.
"I get behind the ranges to play, test and finalize recipes — or in an emergency," she says with a laugh.
Bastianich says her mother, children and grandchildren are her greatest fans and toughest critics — especially little Olivia, 4; Miles, 2; and Lorenzo, 3. (Her 6-month-old grandson Ethan isn't quite ready to do the sampling.)
Her son, Joseph, is a successful restaurateur in his own right. He opened Babbo and Lupa with chef Mario Batali and is a partner at all of Bastianich's restaurants except Felidia. Daughter Tanya is working on a book with her mother.
Bringing several generations to the table sometimes requires culinary sacrifices, including too many french fries and peanut-butter sandwiches, but, she says, they're worth it.
"The table has always been a bonding place for us."
When she arrived in 1958 from her native Istria, a former region of Italy that is now part of Croatia, Bastianich says her family didn't have any friends or family in the United States, which at times left them sad and lonely.
But the family's "dining experiences," even if only bread and milk were served, always lifted their spirits.
"Your guard is down when you eat. That's why there are business lunches and people are seduced over a meal. You allow yourself to enjoy," Bastianich says.
When Bastianich opened her first restaurant in New York in 1971, her culinary training consisted primarily of doing odd jobs in other people's restaurants while she was in high school.
At first, she followed the American tradition of serving watered-downed versions of southern Italian food. But when Felidia opened in 1981, she dedicated the restaurant to serving the fresh ingredients she recalled from her childhood in Italy's northeast.
(Bastianich also gives free cooking lessons to young adults of Istrian heritage to help preserve the traditions.)
Bastianich says her version of comfort food, what she'd cook for herself if she had a few minutes to spare, is deeply rooted in her garden, filled with traditional Italian vegetables and herbs.
Here's an example from "Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen" (Knopf, hardback, $35).
Asparagus with Garlic and Oil
- 1 pound asparagus
- Salt to taste
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper paste, to taste
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
Snap off tough ends of the stems and peel remaining part of the stalks, if desired. Blanch asparagus in abundant boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Drain.
Heat the olive oil in a wide skillet over medium heat. Whack the garlic cloves with the flat side of the knife and toss them into the olive oil. Cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add the broccoli and season lightly with salt and crushed red pepper. Turn in the oil until coated. Pour in the stock; cover the skillet tightly and cook until tender, about 8 minutes, checking to be sure pan isn't dry. Add a little chicken broth if the pan is dry and asparagus not yet cooked.
Taste and add a little more salt and pepper, as desired.
Serve immediately.
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