Divers Sausages with Lentils

Salsiccie diverse con le lenticchie / cianfotta
Embutidos diversos con las lentejas / alboronía
Salsitxes diverses amb les llentilles / xamfaina


Back in December of 2004 I was wondering where one could find cotechino around here, which I wanted to make for New Year’s Day dinner. This year, Gary came across some at Riviera for New Year’s but unfortunately found it bland; some others in the thread seemed to express a similar feeling about this northern Italian pork product. It is a simple sausage but I like it very much and cannot help but wonder whether the version sold at Riviera this year was not the best representative of the genre.

Be that as it may, I was unaware of the availability of cotechino in the area and decided to create my own sausage and lentils dish to usher in the New Year. Each element of the meal bore symbolic meaning.

The first course featured cianfotta/alboronía/xamfaina:


The second course featured lentils (made with a battuto and a touch of tomato) and four different kinds of sausage, namely, Riojano chorizo, morcilla (blood sausage, in this case Argentine), Catalan botifarra and Italian fennel-flavoured sausage:


Served along with some equally symbolic accompaniments, to wit, salad, fresh bread from maestro Frank Masi and vino niro, this was a fine way to greet the New Year, especially since we could share it with mi carnal de Nuevo Chersi, Hungryrabbi (d'erudito, poeta, músico y loco tenemos ambos un poco):


'A carna fa carna, 'o vino fa sango e 'a fatica fa jettà 'o sango.

Antonius


Links to other recipes and cooking notes by this writer: http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=55649#55649

Antonius,

Looks delicious! Interesting, not to mention diverse, mix of Wurstchen!

One question: those lentils appear to have a *lot* of structural integrity. How did you DO that? Mine always evanesce into mush, somehow.

Geo

Antonius, the dishes look fabulous! Would you please share the source of your sausages - particularly the mortilla and botifarra, so I may (attempt to) reproduce your sumptious spread?

Cheers!

(All apologies to that Jersey-born man of few words, William C. Williams... strange that two of my idols should come from Rutherford...)

So much depends
upon

a dish of
delicious lentils

topped with
scrapple-like Morcilla

beside the award-winning
Mediterranean vegetable stew

-- Hungry "Carlos" Rabbi

Keine Ideen aber in den Dingen...

Nice lines, Rabbi “Carlos”…

That New Year’s dinner was indeed most enjoyable, not only for the dishes pictured above (there was also another first course, which Antonius deliberately hasn’t mentioned since he plans a separate post about it, and mini-flans from BomBon for dessert, plus another dish that had been planned to follow the lentils and sausages but which we all agreed would be beyond even GWivian excess and which ended up being our dinner the next day). By the way, I hope you Southerners out there note that while I didn’t exactly consume the traditional hog jowl, blackeyed peas, and greens for New Year’s, the pork sausages, lentils, and mesclun came pretty close. (Though, if the greens are supposed to represent paper money coming in during the new year while the legumes stand for coins, we should have been piling a lot more salad onto our plates. Oh well…)

Between the lentils/sausages and the mini-flans, we took a long break and were treated to an advance screening of Pizza: The Movie. Faithful readers of LTHForum already know that our own hungryrabbi appears in this film, explaining what makes Chicago style pizza unique. But the movie explores the passions of pizzadom far beyond any dispute over regional styles and tastes: the conflict between corporate vs. artisanal approaches, arguments over who invented what in the California style, and – perhaps most entertaining – the amazing, cut-throat world of competitive pizza teams. (Not familiar with pizza team events like “Freestyle Dough Tossing”? I wasn’t either, before hungryrabbi brought over the DVD. Here’s a link: www.uspizzateam.com )

Best of all, of course, was the chance to catch up with the peripatetic hungryrabbi on his way from New York to Las Vegas. Isn’t it time to move back to Chicago, rebbe?

Amata

Geo:

Yes, those were very fine lentils, holding up quite well despite slightly excessive cooking, patiently maintaining their integrity while the cook was off drinking and schwätzing. As a legume addict, I make lentils quite often and, of course, use different kinds for different dishes. In an application such as the one pictured above, I do like ones that are a little bigger than most but of high quality. The ones I prefer then are imported Italian lenticchie giganti, which actually aren't all that big. They are available at a reasonable price from Italian specialty shops. The brand I have is 'Saggese' and they cost ca. $1.80 for a pound.

Antonius

sazerac wrote:Antonius, the dishes look fabulous! Would you please share the source of your sausages - particularly the mortilla and botifarra, so I may (attempt to) reproduce your sumptious spread?

Sazerac:

The chorizo and the botifarra I get at Deliberico:
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=53916#53916

The morcilla I purchased from the Argentine El Mercado, next to Tango Sur up on Southport.

The source for the Italian sausage I think I should not mention here but I will gladly p.m. you about it. I would also recommend the Italian sausage sold at Conte di Savoia on Taylor by Bishop, which is consistently quite good and one of the best around here.

Antonius

Tnx Antonius--

I must admit to definite lentil envy/lust. But: We have a *superb* Italian grocery here in Montreal, "Milano" , on Saint-Laurent, right in the heart of Little Italy. I'll be there, probably on Wednesday, and I'll look for your brand.

I'm also a big fan of Norddeutschlander clear lentil soup, made with a few veggies and frankfurter—I've had it in Hannover a number of times. I think your lentils might hold up for that, as well. The soup is an absolute disaster when the lentils are mushy...

I'll report back.

Geo

Geo wrote:Tnx Antonius--

I must admit to definite lentil envy/lust. But: We have a *superb* Italian grocery here in Montreal, "Milano" , on Saint-Laurent, right in the heart of Little Italy. I'll be there, probably on Wednesday, and I'll look for your brand.

I'd love to explore Montreal's Little Italy... I'm jealous!

I'm also a big fan of Norddeutschlander clear lentil soup, made with a few veggies and frankfurter—I've had it in Hannover a number of times. I think your lentils might hold up for that, as well. The soup is an absolute disaster when the lentils are mushy...

I haven't made that German style of lentil soup in some time and will do so this weak. Thanks for the reminder! Great stuff...

I'll report back.

Please do... I'm curious about Little Italy chez vous.

Antonius

Amata wrote:Nice lines, Rabbi “Carlos”…

That New Year’s dinner was indeed most enjoyable, not only for the dishes pictured above (there was also another first course, which Antonius deliberately hasn’t mentioned since he plans a separate post about it, and mini-flans from BomBon for dessert, plus another dish that had been planned to follow the lentils and sausages but which we all agreed would be beyond even GWivian excess and which ended up being our dinner the next day). By the way, I hope you Southerners out there note that while I didn’t exactly consume the traditional hog jowl, blackeyed peas, and greens for New Year’s, the pork sausages, lentils, and mesclun came pretty close. (Though, if the greens are supposed to represent paper money coming in during the new year while the legumes stand for coins, we should have been piling a lot more salad onto our plates. Oh well…)

Between the lentils/sausages and the mini-flans, we took a long break and were treated to an advance screening of Pizza: The Movie. Faithful readers of LTHForum already know that our own hungryrabbi appears in this film, explaining what makes Chicago style pizza unique. But the movie explores the passions of pizzadom far beyond any dispute over regional styles and tastes: the conflict between corporate vs. artisanal approaches, arguments over who invented what in the California style, and – perhaps most entertaining – the amazing, cut-throat world of competitive pizza teams. (Not familiar with pizza team events like “Freestyle Dough Tossing”? I wasn’t either, before hungryrabbi brought over the DVD. Here’s a link: www.uspizzateam.com )

Best of all, of course, was the chance to catch up with the peripatetic hungryrabbi on his way from New York to Las Vegas. Isn’t it time to move back to Chicago, rebbe?

Amata

Amatissima,

This is just to say

I have eaten
the mystery dish of
which you speak

and which I
hope to eat again
very soon when Antonius
gets more dough

forgive me
it was delicious
so crispy yet simple
and full of mozzarella di bufala

Ahem... I'm glad you enjoyed Pizza!: The Movie (sic) as much as I did (and continue to). It actually gets better upon repeated viewings, much like a slice coming to life from a minute or two in the oven. Michael Dorian, as I said, did a tremendous amount of research, travel, and filming (hundreds upon hundreds of hours of footage and interviews over an 18 month period) and the fact that he decided to include me in the final cut was certainly an honor. The film's focus, or main thread, perhaps, that is followed from beginning to end, is the evolution of and drama within the US Pizza Team and the subsequent showdown at the Mondiale della Pizza in Italy. In all fairness, I think I should give the website of the secessionists, the breakaway team formed from the old US Pizza Team, the self-dubbed World Pizza Champions:

www.worldpizzachampions.com

They are led by the inimitable Tony Gemignani, the 5-time world freestyle dough tossing champion and co-owner of Pyzano's Pizza in Castro Valley, Calif (very close to your near and dear Berkeley, Amata). Truly, this film deserves a wide audience (it holds interest for chowists, featuring such luminaries as Mario Batali, Domenico DeMarco, Chris Bianco, Pepe Miele, Lou Malnati's widow Jeanne, Rocco DiSpirito (who once was a good chef, honestly), and Dr. Francesco Condurro, co-owner of Da Michele in Naples, not to mention some big loudmouth Jew who thinks he's an authority on Chicago pizza after living there for a few years.) It's also of interest to people interested in peculiar subcultures - let's just say that the Pizza biz has its share of characters. Think "Best in Show" or "Waiting for Guffman" with the notable exception that these people are for real.

As for my peripateticism, I really don't like to move. Travel, yes, but I like to have a comfortable spot to call home when the day is done. That being said, my days in Vegas (as several other people on this board already know) are numbered, and Chicago is calling me yet again. When I return and get settled, I think one of the first things to do is arrange an LTHforum-sanctioned, public screening of Pizza!: The Movie, perhaps with the director present, even. It could be arranged; it should be arranged; it WILL be arranged, by Jove. If I shall survive the current trials which advance upon me, I believe that Chicago shall soon be home yet again. And isn't everyone on LTHforum just thrilled about that? Heh heh.... I'll probably have it in me for one, massive Vegas chow report before I go, so stay tuned.

Reb

Rebbe:

If I were a dog
I'd sit down on a cold pavement
in the rain
to wait for a friend (and so would you)...


- - - - - - - - - - - WCW

A

Antonius wrote:The chorizo and the botifarra I get at Deliberico:
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=53916#53916

The morcilla I purchased from the Argentine El Mercado, next to Tango Sur up on Southport.

The source for the Italian sausage I think I should not mention here but I will gladly p.m. you about it. I would also recommend the Italian sausage sold at Conte di Savoia on Taylor by Bishop, which is consistently quite good and one of the best around here.

Antonius

Thanks for the sausage, um, links
I haven't been to Argentinian stores. I was recently told of one - Che Rodolfo.
Does the El Mercado carry duche de leche? (I'm still not sure I want to do the boil the can thing)

sazerac wrote:Thanks for the sausage, um, links
I haven't been to Argentinian stores. I was recently told of one - Che Rodolfo.
Does the El Mercado carry duche de leche? (I'm still not sure I want to do the boil the can thing)

Where is Che Rudolfo?

Re: El Mercado... Do you mean dulce de leche? In any event, I don't know offhand if they have it --- maybe JeffB can say. It's from him we heard of this place and I bet he knows what all they stock.

On our one visit there this winter we had a swell time buying various items from Argentina, Peru, Portugal... Nice empanadas, the house-made chimichurri... All in all, a great little shop... And, oh yeah, the morcilla are really good...

Antonius

Antonius wrote:Where is Che Rudolfo?

Re: El Mercado... Do you mean dulce de leche? In any event, I don't know offhand if they have it --- maybe JeffB can say. It's from him we heard of this place and I bet he knows what all they stock.

I did mean dulche de leche. Many years ago I tasted then ate half the can from an Argentinian friend. I love the stuff.
I was recently visiting another city and met with an Argentinian gentleman who used to call Chicago home till 2000 or late nineties. He mentioned Che Rodolfo (his spelling) in the North (Chicago, Skokie, Evanston?) as his preferred store (also source for DdL).
He did mention also that I could approximate it by boiling a sealed can of condensed milk submerged in water for two hours. I think I'd prefer to find Che Rodolofo (if it's still there) or go to El Mercado.

I have seen DdL in Sur La Table, but it seemed (for some reason - maybe consistency; IIRC it was in a transparent jar) not very authentic, not to mention exhorbitant.

El Mercado
3767 N. Southport Avenue
Chicago, IL 60613
(correct?)

Thanks!

I think you want dulce de leche, which goes by maybe more names for the same thing than most any Latin staple (other than tamales).

Yes, El Mercado has several brands from different places and producers, including the ultra-permium (and expensive) Havanna brand from BA. (The spelling is correct.) It's up front, by the register. Be sure to check the "best by" dates.

Dulce de leche (generally) is the same thing as manjar, arequipa (after the city in Peru), and cajeta (though Mexican cajeta is more likely to be based on goat's milk).

In looking around for the origins of what would seem to be a very straight-forward caramel sauce, I happened upon many references to the early-modern Spanish dish, manjar blanco, which calls for a sauce of almond paste, milk, sugar and ground chicken breast. The sauce is pressed through a sieve and poured onto chickens or game birds. As the recipes pre-date 1492, this would seem to be "proof" that certain traditional Mexican dishes such as chiles en nogada have Iberian (maybe better Andalusian) roots, at least as far as the nut sauce goes. Fusion cuisine.

http://www.historiaviva.org/recetas/manjar_blanco.shtml

I just can't shpell today. Dulce de leche. (*50). There, that should be enough practice.
Thanks JeffB, I'll check out El Mercado soon. I always have some cajeta in the fridge.

This is, as you mention, from goat's milk. Not the same as the Argentinian Dulce de leche (oooh, how 'bout that spelling ) that I can still taste after all these years. The closest to that has been that in Häagen-Dazs ice-cream (DdL flavour). But it's way too much trouble separating out all the dulce de leche from the ice-cream, not to mention messy and leads to an eye defect in A2Fay (spontaneous emission of ice-daggers).

That's a fairly industrial product (does Nestle own it?) but not bad. If you enjoy the tang of cajeta de cabra, look in the mexican groceries for some of the more artisinal, place-specific cajetas. Some towns take mole-like pride in their cajeta.

Note that your cajeta is the "burnt" variety. If you like that, you might really like Al Gelato's burnt caramel ice cream. It's really singed.

That also reminds me that I have to post pictures of a NYE quemada gallega (no relation), which is a flaming aguardiente (the Spanish version is like grappa) punch....

Antonius--

I finally got to Milano market in Little Italy yesterday, but they didn't have any of the lentils geant... The stock guy said that they'd recently changed wholesaler and no longer had them; so, they're in town, I'll just have to find them.

But among the 4 other kinds of lentils were some some dupuy--which I bought. Maybe with care I can keep them from mushing on me.

Found some absolutely fabuluous chouriço in a Portuguese butchershop to go along with it.

I'll report back.

Geo
PS. TODG spied some chestnut flour in the grocery, which appealed to the bakeress in her--what would you recommend as something basic and tasty for her to try with it?

Geo wrote:Antonius--

I finally got to Milano market in Little Italy yesterday, but they didn't have any of the lentils geant... The stock guy said that they'd recently changed wholesaler and no longer had them; so, they're in town, I'll just have to find them.

I'm sure you'll find them, especially since they are produced in Puglia and much of the recent immigration to North America in both countries whose Olympic hockey teams didn't make it to the medal round is from that region of Italy; Pugliese run stores tend naturally to have relatively more products from their home region.

But among the 4 other kinds of lentils were some some dupuy--which I bought. Maybe with care I can keep them from mushing on me.

Well, that's no hardship, having to eat those lentils. They and the little ones from Umbria are really great.

Found some absolutely fabuluous chouriço in a Portuguese butchershop to go along with it.

Now that's something I don't think we have here in Chicago, a Portuguese butcher shop. We need all kinds of Portuguese stuff here.

TODG spied some chestnut flour in the grocery, which appealed to the bakeress in her--what would you recommend as something basic and tasty for her to try with it?

I've been meaning for a while to post on chestnut flour -- up in the mountains behind the town where my family in Italy is from are beautiful chestnut groves. Especially in times of hardship -- e.g. during the wars -- chestnut flour was pressed into service in much of Italy to make up somewhat the shortage of wheat flour. I'll get back to you soon with some old recipes.

I hope the folks in Quebec are holding up despite the Olympic hockey tragedy...

Antonius

Antonius wrote:Where is Che Rudolfo?

My Argentinean friend clarified that he was talking about El Mercado. The owner and "Very good butcher" is said Ché Rodolfo, and the store is referred to as El Ché Rodolfo.
My friend now hankers for some morcilla