A Dozen Things We Learned from Sara Jenkins About Mediterranean Cooking and Culture
Sara Jenkins is the chef/owner of two popular NYC restaurants, Porchetta and Porsena, and the author of Olives and Oranges and The Four Seasons of Pasta, which she wrote in collaboration with her mother, the celebrated food writer Nancy Harmon Jenkins. She also happens to be one of our favorite chefs and food writers here at Alta Editions.
Olives and Oranges was the first non-Alta Editions published cookbook we brought onto our service earlier this year. The book is filled with delightful stories of Sara’s coming of age in and around the Mediterranean. Although her cooking and recipes are heavily influenced by her time growing up in Tuscany, Sara weaves lessons and tips from Spain, Lebanon, France and Cyprus throughout the book. Like all great cookbooks, it’s a joy to read cover to cover. Here are a few of the things we learned while reading it.
1. Salting steak *after* it’s cooked will give you a nicer flavor contrast between salty crust and tender interior
This is an Italian technique that helps produce a drier sear than presalting the beef, and it makes the contrast between the salty, crisp outside and the tender rare unsalted interior all the more pronounced. This goes against the advice of every American and French chef I’ve ever met, but I truly believe it produces a superior result.
Give this technique a try with Sara’s Bistecca Chianina recipe.
2. In Italy, olive oil is so infused throughout the culture, it’s even used to massage babies
Olive oil still makes an appearance in important rites of passage from cradle to grave. Newborn babies are bathed in it, teething children gnaw on crusts of bread dipped in it, and it is used to perform the last rites.
3. To adhere to religious customs, lemon juice is preferred over vinegar in Middle Eastern cuisine
The choice of acid separates the western (Italy, Spain, and France) and Middle Eastern Mediterranean (Turkey, Lebanon, and northern Africa). Because of the Islamic prohibition against alcohol, vinegar, which is commonly made from wine, is not often found in the varied cuisines of the Muslim world. Lemon juice, and a lot of it, is used instead.
Read more in Sara’s chapter on how to keep a well stocked pantry.
4. The balsamic vinegar most often found in the U.S. is not true balsamic
True traditional balsamic, aceto balsamico tradizionale, whose production is tightly controlled by a consortium of producers, is aged in a series of wood casks — juniper, cherry, oak, and chestnut — for at least twelve years, and often many more. Each bottle is affixed with a numbered seal and packaged in a distinct orange and white box; prices range from about $110 to $300 for 3.5 ounces. It is a condiment designed for drizzling on strawberries or a chunk of aged Parmesan cheese. In such simple combinations, I like it very much, but the flavor of aceto balsamico is too complex for salads and cooking. [continue reading]
Because of the cost and difficulty of obtaining aceto balsamico tradizionale, Sara doesn’t call for it in any of her recipes in the book. Find out which vinegars she does recommend in her My Flavor Pantry chapter, and where to buy them in the Sources section.
5. How to achieve “exquisitely-crisp” salads. Easily and every time.
I begin by washing the greens in several changes of cold water, letting any dirt fall to the bottom of the bowl. Gently lifting the greens out of the water, I let them drain in a colander. Then I transfer them to a bowl lined with a clean dry cloth, fold the edges over the greens, turn them so the wet cloth is on top, and chill them for at least an hour in the fridge so they become exquisitely crisp.
Read more in the introduction to Sara’s chapter on salads.
6. Soup for breakfast isn’t as crazy as it sounds
Odd as it may sound to most Americans, soup is my favorite dish to eat for breakfast. I lightly brown a little garlic in olive oil in a small saucepan and add some chopped cooking greens; a scoop of leftover beans, chickpeas, or lentils; and a ladleful of homemade chicken stock. Once it’s heated through, I finish it with a squirt of lemon or lime juice, a drizzle of olive oil, and maybe a sprinkle of Aleppo pepper or slivered fresh hot chili. Poured over a thick piece of grilled bread or eaten just as is, this nutritious dish is an energy booster at any time.
Read more in the introduction to Sara’s chapter on soups.
7. Paying a little bit extra for artisanal pasta is worth the expense
Artisanal pastas are made from select grains, extruded through bronze rather than Teflon dies, and slow-dried for as long as seventy-two hours, as opposed to being blast-heat-dried for five minutes. The bronze dies give a rougher texture to the surface of the pasta, which allows it to hold on to and absorb sauces better than the smoother mass-produced types. The long drying process enhances flavor and makes for a sturdier pasta with a truer al dente texture when cooked properly.
Read more in the introduction to Sara’s chapter on pasta.
8. In Italy, not eating food when it’s placed in front of you is considered rude
In Italy, you’re expected to start eating your food, especially if it is a hot dish, the moment it lands on the table in front of you. Waiting until everyone is served or the cook sits down is considered an insult, so throw away your mannerly notions and start eating.
Learn why in Sara’s chapter on pasta.
9. Categorizing fish into “flavor families” helps make seasonal substitutions a breeze
Generally, in terms of preparation, fish can be grouped into what I like to think of as “flavor families.” Italians talk about pesce azzurro, dark oily fish such as sardines, anchovies, mackerel, eel, and tuna. Then there are what I consider the meaty white contingent: black bass, striped bass, and snapper, all fairly interchangeable; the flaky white fish, such as cod, hake, haddock, and halibut; and delicate white fish like sole, flounder, and fluke.
Read more in the introduction to Sara’s chapter on fish.
10. Add oyster stuffing to your chicken and you’ll have two kinds of “oysters” in your bird.
I love the way oysters so effortlessly turn a humble chicken into a magnificently luxurious dish. Oyster and chicken may seem a strange combination, but it really works. Seasoning the outside of the bird with fennel pollen complements the sage in the stuffing, though it is still delicious without.
Try it out in Sara’s recipe for Roast Chicken with Oyster-Sage Stuffing.
11. Simple desserts, like this four ingredient Plum Sorbetto, are often the most satisfying
When fruit is wonderfully abundant and you want a simple homemade dessert, sorbet is perfect. Here the plum skins add both texture and beautiful specks of color. Add more sugar if you like a sweeter sorbet or if your fruit is not very sweet.
12. For those mornings when you’re not having soup for breakfast, cake, especially the Lemon Olive Oil Cake pictured at the top of this post, is a perfectly acceptable option
Versions of this simple cake are made all over Italy, to be eaten at breakfast with coffee or tea.
Did *you* learn something from this post? If you did, we’d love it if you’d recommend it below. That will help other cooks find it more easily on Medium.
To keep reading Olives and Oranges, and to try out some of Sara’s excellent recipes go to the Alta Editions bookshelf.
This post was inspired by Tren Griffin’s excellent blog posts on investing on his blog, 25IQ.
