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Cavolo
con Salsa d'Acciughe
(Green Cabbage with Anchovy Sauce)
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One
of the benefits of living in the hamlet of America dei Boschi was
that it is just
two and a half miles from Bra, which happens to be the national headquarters
of Italy's extra-ordinary food organization, Arcigola.
Arcigola
has its own public restaurant next to its offices. The name says
it all: Boccondivino, the divine mouth.
It surely is the world's finest executive dining room.
Boccondivino's chef, Maria Pagliasso, looks like everybody's fantasized
(or real) Italian grandmother.
One of her dishes, which Piedmontese food authority Sandro Doglio
says is peculiar to Bra, is this captivatingly simple antipasto,
which combines fresh cabbage with a sauce of vinegar-brightened
pureed anchovies.
At Boccondivino, it is served alongside a portion of.
This dish can be made days in advance if desired, but do not add
the anchovy sauce to the cabbage shreds until just before serving,
or the cabbage will become soggy.
Makes
4 servings
4
whole salted anchovies, rinsed,
filleted, soaked briefly in cold water,
and drained
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
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1
tablespoon white wine vinegar
¼ head green cabbage, core
removed and very thinly shredded
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To
make the dressing, put the anchovies, oil, and vinegar in a food processor
or blender and process until very smooth.
Place a small handful of the thinly shredded cabbage on each plate
and spoon about 1 tablespoon of the dressing in a band across the
midsection of the cabbage shreds.
Serve cool but not cold.
Copyright: Matt Kramer, "A Passion for Piedmont
- Italy's Most Glorious Regional Table"
William Morrow & Company Inc. NY, 1997 |