I canceled my cable subscription a few years ago so you will not find me sitting in front of TV watching chefs doing their best star imspersonations.
Should I feel bad for not knowing that Yahoo! was taking part in star as chef craze.
I discovered my ignorance when I received Fabio's Italian Kitchen (Hyperion- April 24, 2013) by Fabio Viviani.
Cover describes him as star of Chow Ciao! a 'show (in season 3) on Yahoo! Y!Screen.
Fabio is the first chef I read mentioning how many girlfriends he lost to soccer(futbol) players.
Getting back to Fabio's Italian Kitchen the book, it offers dishes many Italians eat at home, no sous vide here.
ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP
Zuppa del Matrimonio
This traditional southern Italian recipe celebrates the marriage of vegetables with meatballs in a heaven of soup. So it pretty much has nothing to do with a real wedding. Nobody who gets married in Italy eats this soup at the wedding. “Hey, let’s get married! I can’t wait to have meatballs!” Are you nuts?
Serves 6–8
½ cup olive oil
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup yellow onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 lb. lean ground beef
2 eggs
1⁄3 cup panko breadcrumbs
3 tbsp. Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper
3 cups fresh baby spinach
3 quarts chicken stock (see recipe on page 260)
2 cups orzo pasta
Preheat the oven to 375˚F.
Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot and cook the carrots, onion, and celery until soft and starting to caramelize, about 15 minutes.
While the vegetables sauté, make the meatballs. Mix the beef, eggs, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl. Form into 1⁄2-inch balls and set on a baking sheet. Bake for 12–15 minutes.
Add the spinach to the sautéing vegetables and let it wilt. Then add the chicken stock to the vegetables and cook over high heat until it is somewhat reduced. Add the pasta to cook, and when the meatballs are ready, add them to the pot, too.
Boil 5 minutes and season with salt and pepper.
(* Recipe from Fabio's Italian Kitchen by Fabio Viviani. Copyright © 2013 VF Legacy, LLC. Published by Hyperion in April 2013. Available wherever books are sold. All Rights Reserved. Photography by Matt Armendariz)