Simplicity & Balance: Cacio e Pepe

TRAVEL FOOD JOURNAL: TUSCANY

Take Home Lesson #1 Simplicity & Balance

Italian Version

One of the many joys of traveling is re-introducing yourself to dishes you thought you knew, cooked by the people who originally made them. I am not debating good or bad, better or worse here; I’m thinking about how our own palates alter the interpretation of the dishes and the myriad of reasons this happens.

Pici cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper) is the simplest of dishes and thus, difficult to make perfectly. Classically a dish from Rome, where the cheese used is pecorino romano, the Tuscan version can use parmagiano regiano, as the city of Parma is not too far away, or pecorino toscano. The pasta type, pici, which a chubby cousin of spaghetti, hails from Siena, and is the perfect size and thickness to hold and balance the minimalist sauce. This must be cooked and served at once for the true deliciousness to be savored. If you are using fresh pici, and I’m trying to find the right die to make it, the first bite of pasta may seem a little undercooked, but the rest will be perfect as it continues to cook and absorb the sauce. Fresh pasta makes a big difference here, as its stickiness and starchiness helps create the creaminess of the sauce, as well as absorbing the flavors.

American Version

The pici cacio e pepe I had recently in Florence was masterfully done. I had a version in Houston the week before, which was also delicious, but my new experience begs me to reconsider our version-perhaps the added mound of cheese and and extra cracked pepper is gilding the lily. By comparison, the Italian version would seem totally naked, unadorned. But, this is how we in America view our pasta: under a sea of sauce and a mound of cheese. It’s what we expect when we order pasta, and this is perfectly fine. This may be derived from the Italian American experience as immigrants brought the food of their origins into a new world, adapting to what was available, the amount of time they had to cook, and changing it in the process. Many other factors also played roles, including big changes in how and why Americans eat.

We eat with our eyes first, so there has to be an adjustment in our view, a change in the expectation of what deliciousness looks like. Minimalist, modern, sophisticated food is delicious, and served on a beautiful plate the visual affect is stunning.

Until I figure out how to make pici, or talk the pasta man into making it for me, I’ll get really good fresh spaghetti from the farmers market, and remember to cook it very al dente as I mix the sauce.

I’m going to try to incorporate this lesson into my cooking and eating. Using great ingredients remains the key to all great food. To balance them in simple perfection, to create a harmonious dish is not easy, but well worth the practice. I will try to visualize food differently as well, looking not for embellishment, but simplicity, balance and sophistication. Less is more in many things, and this dish is a perfect example.

The recipe below is more of a process and you should change the amounts and combinations of cheese and pepper to your taste. It’s so quick to make, you can love several versions and make what you like. The key is the pan sauce, using just the right amount of water; so add it in small quantities for the perfect creaminess.

Most recipes for this add butter and oil, which are fine, but this is the simplest of versions.

Have a high sided pan to build the sauce and pasta. Get all the ingredients ready and have them at hand, as this goes quickly!

RECIPE: Pasta Cacio e Pepe

INGREDIENTS

• 8oz fresh pasta (spaghetti, or pici if you can get it)
• Kosher or sea salt
• 1-2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 to 1-1/2 C grated pecorino (or 1/2 each pecorino and paramgiano)

PROCESS

1. Bring water to boil in a pot and add salt.
2. Add pasta to the pot and cook per instructions to al dente.
3. Warm the pan over low heat.
4. Drain pasta, reserving 1 C pasta water.
5. Put pasta into the pan and immediately add the cheese mixing quickly and adding small amounts of the reserved pasta water to create a creamy dressing. Add desired amount of pepper so that it has a sharpness and spice, but is not too hot, and mix again.
6. Serve immediately and enjoy.

Serves 2-4.

Almost Meatless Monday

Instead of meatless, I think of all meals as Mostly Vegetables with a small amount of protein.  I eat meat, but it's not usually the focus of my food desires. I find this approach helps me get closer to the daily goal of 4-5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Using seasonal produce keeps it fresh and nutritious and gives me a sense of time and place as the year progresses.

Monday nights are always hectic when it comes to getting the evening meal ready.  What's in the fridge? What can I cook without too much time.  Good news! The fridge is filled with winter vegetables and a pork tenderloin from the farmers market.  I always have some curry paste and coconut milk on hand.  A stash of basmati lives in the freezer.

I think being unconstrained by specific recipes, and using a method,  choosing the ingredients on hand, is a much better way for me.  But that does require knowing a few methods.  This is an easy one and I go back to it often. It's a one pot approach, which I seem to have embraced in the past few years as I have been cooking much more regularly.

Although one doesn't find this combination in a traditional Panag curry, it's perfect for the time. Fennel is bountiful where I am, so I used it,  along with a gorgeous cauliflower, a slightly dried daikon, two sweet potatoes, and a bunch of rainbow chard. I like the cauliflower with some crunch, so I cut the pieces a little larger than the rest of the veggies.  I cut the pork tenderloin into small cubes.  I used a canned curry paste, just because it's easy.  I like Maseri brand.  The amounts of vegetables should be about 3 to 4 times the volume of the protein.  You can substitute, chick peas, tofu or paneer to keep it meatless.  Add chicken, another meat, shrimp, or a meaty fish.

This is a particularly delicious combination, but I encourage you to mix and match vegetables that you like.   You can use this method with any of the Thai curry pastes.

I have not added salt as the curry paste is high in sodium.   You can also make your own curry paste, lower the sodium and keep it in the freezer.

This makes a large pot of curry and serves 6-8. It's great for a left over lunch as well. I freeze it as well, making sure to thaw slowly in the fridge to keep a better texture of the ingredients .

Recipe: Vegetable and Pork Curry

INGREDIENTS: 

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin or expeller-pressed canola oil
• 1 medium cauliflower, cut into florets (about 3 cups)
• 2 small sweet potatoes (about 2 cups) 
• 1 medium fennel bulb, chopped (about 2 cups)
• 1 daikon (about 1 cup)
• 1 bunch rainbow chard, leaves and stems, chopped (about 2 cups) 
• 1 pork tenderloin (about 1-1/2 pound) 
• 1-4 oz can Maesri Penang Curry Paste
• 8oz coconut milk
• 8oz water
• 1/4 C cilantro leaves for garnish  
• Lime wedges for serving

PROCESS

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick pan with high sides.
2. Add all vegetables and sautée over medium high heat until sweet potatoes are just cooked through.  (If using chick peas, add them with the vegetables).
3. Add pork and curry paste and sautee for 3-4 minutes.
4. Add water and coconut milk, mix well. 
5. Cover and simmer for 6-8 minutes. 
6. Serve with a little basmati rice or enjoy on its own. 
7. Garnish with cilantro and a lime wedge if you like. 

Is Your Steak Safe?

Its grilling season! How safe is our steak? 

With the multiple outbreaks of E. Coli infections in the last decade, you'd think we'd want to lower the risk of E. Coli in our food. The most notorious E. Coli 0157:H7, causes 100,000 illnesses, 3,000 hospitalizations and 90 deaths annually in the United States.  Most people thought that avoiding ground meat was enough, as that's what was implicated in the previous outbreaks of contamination. The stories about E. Coli infection highlighted ground meat and gave the impression that steaks and whole cuts were safe.  Even FoodSafety.gov only mentions ground meats on its E. Coli page. So I thought whole cuts of meat were safe. I was wrong.

I first learned about this from one of my professors from medical school that I have kept in touch with.  He's a retired infectious disease specialist and very well educated about the the ills of our current food safety.   I was giving a community lecture on healthy lifestyles and he asked if I'd include mechanically tenderized meats in my next talk.  I didn't know anything about it. And so, my education into this fascinating and hardly talked about process began. Thanks, Dr. Satterwhite.

Steaks are not as safe as you'd think.  Whole cuts of meat have the same risk as ground meats of contamination by E. Coli, if they are mechanically tenderized.  What is "mechanical tenderization" or "blade tenderization"?  This means that the meat has been punctured by several blades or needles to break down the muscle fibers and make the meat more tender and easier to chew.  It also means that if E. Coli and other harmful bacteria are present on the surface, are driven into the meat.  So cooking the meat to internal temperatures under 160 degrees will not kill the harmful bacteria and could make us sick.  That means rare (130-140 degrees), medium rare (145 degrees) and medium (160 degrees) steaks could make us ill, and a piece of blade tenderized meat is only safe if its cooked to well done.  

Whole cuts that are not blade tenderized have a lower risk of contamination, as the bacteria on the surface are destroyed through the cooking process. 

The National Cattleman's Beef Association and the American Meat Institute have recognized this for over a decade and have put out notices for "Best Practices: Pathogen Control During Tenderizing/Enhancing of Whole Meat Cuts" which recognize the risk of these meats not being cooked to 160 degrees.  But nothing in my grocery store tells me any of this.  

Costco has been labeling its meat labels with "blade tenderized" since 2012 after an outbreak of E. Coli was linked to it's mechanically tenderized meat in Canada. It's in tiny print on the label and the cooking temperatures are also not easily seen.  

And finally, starting in June 2016, USDA has required that meats that have been mechanically tenderized be labeled and safe cooking instructions and temperatures should follow the statement on the label.   The label should read "Blade Tenderized" and that it be cooked to an internal temperature above 160 degrees. My question is why wasn't this process banned? Why is it acceptable to increase the risk of illness from our food?  Isn't the mission of our food regulators to keep us safe and healthy and reduce food borne illnesses?  Personally, I'd like to know that all the meat I'm buying is as safe as it can possibly be.  I don't think it's acceptable for someone who likes their steak rare to have a greater risk of getting infected with E. Coli.  Especially when the contamination and illness is avoidable.

Is there an alternative to this madness that still produces a tender and delicious steak?  Of course there is.  But it takes time and care.  Dry aging has been around forever, it's not hard to do and it produces tender, delicious steaks.  I followed Alton Brown's method on Good Eats several years ago with great results.  I now get my meat directly from farmers who don't blade tenderize.  But I'm fortunate enough to have a great farmers market in my neighborhood. That's not how most of us shop.  Maybe it's time to demand better food safety for ourselves and our families by asking our grocery stores to give us safer, non blade-tenderized meats.  It's worth a try. Otherwise, we'll all need to eat our steaks well done.

Fish Oil Is the New Snake Oil

I've been duped by the supplement industry.  I was sitting in the dark at 7am on Thursday, listening to the latest science about cholesterol and triglycerides. I have a strong family history of high cholesterol, and I want to give good advice to my patients to help prevent heart disease and strokes, so this is of great interest to me. With all the changes in medical and dietary guidelines, it's difficult to sort out what we're supposed to be doing.  Do I eat eggs, or not?  If I'm supposed to be eating seafood several times a weeks, does it matter what kind? Do shrimp, which are high in cholesterol, count as a seafood in the cholesterol lowering category? Must I eat sardines and salmon every week? If my high cholesterol is genetic, does it matter what I eat, if I'm going to have to take medications to lower my cholesterol anyway?

Here's what I came away with.  The biggest bombshell was how many fish oil and omega-3 supplements are sold in this country, approximately $1.5 billion in sales annually. They are doing us no good, and may be causing harm. I've been taking MegaRed Krill capsules for the past year.  Why?  Because my mother was convinced it helped her lower her cholesterol. My mother is an incredibly active and vital person. I have her genes, so whatever she's doing should be good for me as well. Right? A totally emotional, non-scientific reason for doing something for my health. I did it anyway.  It costs $20-30 for 100 capsules, depending on where you purchase.  I bought several bottles, of course.  I was going to be healthier.

Maybe we should change the term 'snake oil salesman' to 'fish oil salesman'. There is no truth in advertising and definitely not on the packaging. My bottle of MegaRed Krill states that there are 350mg of omega-3 krill oil in each capsule.  But on the back label, it states only 90mg of it is 'total omega-3 fatty acids'. The 50mg of EPA and 24mg of DHA, which are the key ingredients in lowering triglycerides and beneficial for health, only add up to 74mg.  Is this New Math? So where are the the other 276mg?  They may be other saturated fats, that  could be raising your cholesterol and harming your health, not to mention your weight.  No calorie facts are listed on the label, but all fats have calories. Most fish oil supplements that do list calories on their labels range from 10-20 calories per capsule. And, research done by LabDoor, a testing company, showed that the six top selling supplement brands had levels of omegs-3s that were, on average, 30% less than what was stated on the label. 

The scientific studies on omega-3 preparations used 2000mg to 4000mg as the daily intake. In addition, while EPA (Eicosapentaenoic acid) lowered triglycerides and LDL(low density lipoprotein = bad cholesterol), DHA (docosahexonoic acid) increased the LDL in some studies. So maybe we don't need both versions. 

I'd have to take 54 MegaRed Krill capsules daily to make it worthwhile. That's 600 to 1000 calories as well. The prescription brands, like Lovaza and Vacepa, cost hundreds of dollars a month.  Instead, I could eat a 5oz serving of salmon for 3982mg of omega-3 fatty acids, only 280 calories with only 1.9gm of saturated fat.  I can roast it, grill it, poach it or make a salmon salad.  All delicious and good for me, and I'll know what I'm eating.

I also learned that wild caught fish probably have more omega-3 fatty acids than farm-raised, as the farmed fish are not fed their natural phytochemical rich diet needed for developing omega-3s. Smaller wild caught fish tend to have less mercury. 

I know what I am choosing.  I have great recipes for salmon, sardines, mackerel and other fish and I'm adding them to my weekly diet. This won't take the place of any prescribed treatments from my doctor, but if I'm going to make healthy choices in my lifestyle, I'll do it with food and not supplements.

Something I knew all along.