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Title: Couscous and Veal
Categories: Veal Grain Jewish Mideast
Yield: 1 Servings
| 1 2/3 | lb | Breast of veal |
| 6 | oz | Lean boned veal |
| 3 1/3 | c | Coarse grained semolina |
| 1 | Chicken liver, minced | |
| 1 | Hard boiled egg, diced | |
| 1 | Yolk | |
| 1 | lg | Onion, diced |
| Various greens* |
*, such as savoy cabbage, onions, celery, carrots, spinach, and beet greens, julienned.
While Couscous is usually thought of as Arab, or perhaps Spanish, in Northern Italy it was considered Jewish at the turn of the century, because many of the Jews who fled the Inquisition settled in Italy. This recipe is from Pellegrino Artusi's Scienza in Cucina e l'Arte di Mangiar Bene (The Science of Cookery and the Art of Eating Well), and is very much like the couscous served on Friday and Saturday night by the Jewish restaurant next to the synagogue in Florence.
As for who Artusi was: born in 1820, he traded silks and got rich, retiring early. In 1891 he published his kitchen notes; the book became extremely popular and as a result helped lay the foundations for modern Italian cuisine. It's still selling briskly in Italy (the 1910 edition), and my translation, The Art of Eating Well, has just been released by Random House. This recipe gives a good idea of Artusi's tone; if you want to sample more, I have posted a sample menu that can be reached from the Food & Wine section of the Events in Florence and Tuscany website, http://firenze.net/events. Enjoy! Kyle
Couscous is an Arab dish that Moses and Jacobs descendants spread throughout the world during their wanderings. Who can say how many modifications it has undergone? It is presently used as a soup by Italian Jews, two of whom were kind enough to let me try it and see how it is prepared.
Set the semolina in a low sided, extremely wide vessel made of either terracotta or tinned copper. Season it with salt and pepper and slowly sprinkle it with 1/3 cup of water, spreading it around with the palm of your hand till the grains expand and separate. Once youUve added the water, add a tablespoon of oil in the same manner; it should take about a half hour to complete the two operations. Once the semolina is prepared, put it in a soup bowl and cover it with a cloth. Fold the excess fabric under the plate and tie it tightly with a string.
Boil the breast of veal in three quarts of water, so as to make broth, and, once youUve skimmed the pot, lower the heat and cover it with the bowl of semolina. Make sure there's some space between the broth and the bottom of the bowl, but also make sure that the bowl forms a tight seal, so that no vapor escapes (if you have a double boiler large enough, it will work well here). Steam the semolina like this for an hour and a quarter; when its half cooked, stir the semolina and retie the cloth.
Using a knife, mince the 6 ounces of veal, add to it some about two tablespoons of bread crumbs, and season the mixture with salt and pepper. Divide the mixture into meat balls about the size of a hazelnut and fry them in oil. Remove them when they are done, three to five minutes. Saute the onion in the oil first, and when it has turned translucent, add the remaining vegetables, season them with salt and pepper, stir them, and cook them until they reabsorb the water they give off. Once they are almost dry, dampen them either with meat sauce or broth and tomato sauce or paste, and cook them till done, adding the chicken liver and the meat balls. Remove the semolina from the bowl, set it in a pot over a low flame, and, without letting it come to a boil, stir in the egg yolk and some of the sauce from the vegetables. Mix well and transfer the semolina to a platter. It should be almost dry, so that it forms a mound, which you will decorate with the pieces of hard boiled egg. Mix the rest of the vegetables into the broth. Divvy the broth into as many bowls as there you have guests, and serve it with the semolina. In other words, each diner spoons some of the semolina onto his plate, and drinks the broth with a spoon while eating the semolina.
Serve the breast of veal later as boiled dinner.
From: Nacheroo@aol.com
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