Jewish communities have existed in the Italian peninsula for more than 2,000 years. Long before the Christian era and the time of the Ceasars, Rome was home to many Jews. Later, in the decades after 1492 when Jews and Muslims were expelled from Spain and Portugal, thousands settled in the Italian city-states. Today, most Italian Jews refer to themselves as Sephardi and trace their heritage back to that Iberian exodus. Their cucina ebraica, as Jewish-Italian cooking is called, includes many dishes still served throughout Iberia and, indeed, around the Mediterranean.
Because it’s Hanukkah, we would love to claim that our recipe below is both Italian AND Jewish, one with a long Sephardic tradition. But the truth is that it’s our own invention, inspired by a singular Italian pasta shape. You could say it’s almost Jewish… and maybe, just maybe, aspirationally Italian. Allow us to explain:
Stelle, Star-shaped Pasta
Copyright © 2012, Skip Lombardi
Ordinarily, Italian cooks use, stelle, extremely tiny pasta stars, to embellish clear broth in just the same way that they use other miniscule forms like alphabeti, seme di melone, and acini di pepe. We are not aware of any other traditional use for stelle in the Italian kitchen.
However, we do know that a very nice orzata can be made using the rice-shaped pasta, orzo. (Orzata is made the same way as risotto, except that the cook uses pasta rather than grains of rice.) So we thought about using the stelle rather than orzo. Unfortunately, unlike the orzo, the flat stars tend to stick to each other. But then we remembered the classic eastern European combination of pasta and buckwheat—the Ashkenazi Jewish deli staple known as kasha varnishkes, which is simply a buckwheat pilaf enlivened with carmelized onions and pasta, most often with the bow-ties Italians call farfalle (butterflies).
Kasha with Stars or Grano Saraceno con Stelle
Copyright © 2012, Skip Lombardi
Why not an Italian take on that? One of us has Sephardic ancestors, so the six-pointed stelle made the challenge irresistible. Besides, we rationalized, cooks in both northern and southern Italy do include buckwheat in many recipes for polenta and pasta. Grano saraceno (Saracen grain, the centuries-old, and politically incorrect Italian name referring to the swarthy color of buckwheat) grows best in cool, damp regions less favorable to the cultivation of winter and summer wheat.
Delicious as a vegetarian main dish or pilaf contorno for your brisket or roast chicken—Kasha with Stars, Kasha mit Sternen—our Almost Italo-ebraico Grano Saraceno con Stelle will light up your table. Leftovers are delicious cold or gently microwaved.
Ingredients:
1 1/4 Cups buckwheat groats
1 large egg
Olive oil
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, sliced into 1/8-inch half-moon slivers
1 bay leaf
1 stalk celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 teaspoon peperoncino (dry red pepper flakes, optional)
2-3 Cups warm water or broth
1 Cup stelle, tiny pasta stars– or other tiny shape
A few teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil, to finish
3/4 cup chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley
3/4 cup toasted walnut pieces, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup crumbled ricotta salata or feta cheese*
*Optional, but nice if you are serving this as a main dish
Preparation:
In a small bowl, beat the egg lightly with a fork. Stir all the buckwheat into the beaten egg and continue to stir until the egg has evenly coated all the grains. Don’t worry if there is a little extra egg or if the mixture is very stiff.
Heat a dry 12″ sauté pan over medium heat. Do NOT add any oil at this time.
Add all the egg-coated buckwheat to the pan and spread it out. The grain will become fragrant as it begins to toast. Stir it with a fork or wooden spoon to break up any lumps and when all the grains are separate, reduce the heat to medium-low. Keep stirring and toasting for 5-7 minutes. Some grains will begin to darken. Remove the toasted buckwheat to a bowl and set aside.
NOTE: These steps are essential to keep the buckwheat grains separate.
To the same toasting pan, add the olive oil, seasonings, garlic, onion, and celery. Sauté over medium heat for 7-10 minutes or until the onion is lightly caramelized.
Meanwhile, in a separate, 1-quart saucepan with a lid, bring 3 cups of water to a boil for the pasta stars.
When it comes to a boil, add 1 teaspoon of salt and stir in 1 cup of stars. Turn off the heat under the pot and cover it. Set the timer for 2 minutes.
After 2 minutes gently stir the pasta with a fork or chopstick. Cover and set the timer for 2 more minutes. Next, test the pasta; it should be slightly less than al dente. Drain the pasta and slide it into a small bowl. Drizzle the cooked stars with a teaspoon of extra virgin oil and gently stir it into the pasta to keep the shapes from sticking together. Set the bowl aside.
Stir the toasted buckwheat into the caramelized onions and seasonings in the sauté pan. Raise the heat to medium and add 1 cup of warm water or broth to the pan. Stir the grain gently as the water will be quickly absorbed. Add another 1/2 cup of warm liquid and stir until it is nearly absorbed. Add one more 1/2 cup of liquid, reduce the heat to low, and cover the pan.
After 5 minutes, check to see that the grain is not sticking. Stir in a little more more water or broth if the grain is still too hard for your taste. The buckwheat should be light and slightly chewy. When you like the texture, turn off the burner and gently fold in the reserved pasta. Taste for salt and pepper. Drizzle a couple of teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil over the pilaf and fluff with a fork. Cover the pan to keep it warm.
To serve: Divide the buckwheat pilaf into portions. Sprinkle the chopped parsley, toasted walnuts and (optional) cheese over each serving.
Serves 4 as a main dish or 6-8 as a farinaceous side
Buon appetito e auguri per La Festa delle Luci!
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