Stracciatella I Food

FRESH STRACCIATELLA

Steps:

• Making mozzarella: In a large pot, bring 2 quarts water and the kosher salt to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool to 180 degrees F.
• Add mozzarella curd to a large bowl and bring to room temperature. When the water has cooled to 180 degrees F, ladle it onto the curd. The curd will begin to look like shaggy mozzarella. Using a wooden spoon, stir and stretch the cheese until it forms a cohesive ball and takes on a "plastic" texture.
• Shaping mozzarella: Place half of the whey water (the salted water that turned the cheese curd into mozzarella) in another large bowl and chill to 80 degrees F. Meanwhile, work the mozzarella that's in the remaining warm whey water into 1 large ball. Knead and stretch the ball of cheese until there are no more lumps. Once the cheese is smooth, pull off a 4-inch section and put it into the second bowl containing the cooled whey water. Repeat this process with the remaining cheese.
• Making stracciatella: Take each of the sections of the mozzarella out of the cooled water and pull apart the strands (like string cheese). Put all of the pulled strands of cheese into a mixing bowl and add the heavy cream. Gently stir to make stracciatella. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place baguette slices on a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over the slices and place in the oven to toast, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and, while still warm, rub cut side of garlic over the toasted bread. Then rub the bread with the cut side of tomato while gently squeezing the tomato halves. Top slices with a generous spoonful of stracciatella followed by a drizzle of olive oil, flaky sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

STRACCIATELLA SOUP

Steps:

• Bring the broth to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, cheese, parsley, and basil to blend. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir the broth in a circular motion. Gradually drizzle the egg mixture into the moving broth, stirring gently with a fork to form thin strands of egg, about 1 minute. Stir in the spinach, then season the soup, to taste, with salt and pepper.
• Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.

STRACCIATELLA

Steps:

• Bring 3 cups stock to a boil over medium-high heat in a 6- to 8-cup saucepan. Beat the remaining stock with the eggs, the cheese, the nutmeg and the parsley until they are well blended.
• When stock is boiling, adjust heat so it bubbles frequently but not furiously. Add egg mixture in a steady stream, stirring occasionally until eggs gather together in small curds, 2 or 3 minutes.
• Taste, and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve, garnishing with a little more Parmesan if you like.

STRACCIATELLA II

Steps:

• Cut up chicken into large pieces and place in a large soup pot with the water. Chop 8 carrots, 3 stalks of celery and 1 onion and place them in the pot as well. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes, until chicken is tender. Remove chicken and reserve stock. When cool enough to handle, bone chicken and cut meat into bite-size pieces.
• Process reserved stock in a blender or food processor or using an immersion blender and return it to the pot with the chicken meat. Chop the remaining 3 carrots, 3 stalks of celery and 1 onion and stir into the chicken mixture with the rice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until rice is tender, about 20 minutes.
• Remove chicken mixture from heat and stir in spinach, Romano, salt, pepper, lemon juice and oregano. Set aside.
• In large saucepan, bring chicken broth to a boil. Pour the eggs into the boiling broth, slowly, in a thin stream. Remove the broth from the heat and stir it into the chicken mixture. Serve hot.

STRACCIATELLA GELATO

Steps:

• Fill a large bowl with ice water and set a smaller bowl inside. Set a fine-mesh strainer in the smaller bowl. Whisk the cornstarch and 1 cup of the milk together in a medium bowl until the cornstarch dissolves. Combine the sugar, milk powder, corn syrup, salt, and the remaining 3 cups of milk in a medium (4-quart) saucepan over high heat. Whisk to break up and dissolve the milk powder and heat the milk until it just begins to bubble. Turn off the heat and gradually add the milk-cornstarch mixture, whisking constantly. Return the heat to high and bring the milk back to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium high and cook, stirring constantly with the whisk, until the gelato base thickens slightly, 4 to 5 minutes. It will get viscous but will not thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon.
• Pour the gelato base through the strainer into the bowl set over the ice water and set aside to cool to room temperature. Transfer the base to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least several hours and up to three days.
• Place a medium stainless steel bowl in the freezer. Remove the base from the refrigerator, pour it into a separate bowl, and stir in the cream. Pour the base into the bowl of an ice cream maker and spin it according to the machine instructions.
• Set a stainless steel bowl over a pot of water or fill the bottom of a double boiler with water, making sure the water doesn't touch the top vessel, and bring the water to a simmer over medium heat. Add the chocolate to the bowl or double boiler and let it melt, without stirring. Turn off the heat.
• Take the stainless steel bowl out of the refrigerator. Spoon the gelato out of the ice cream maker into the bowl. Use a spoon to drizzle one-quarter of the melted chocolate over the gelato in thin strands. Use a large metal spoon or metal spatula to break up the chocolate strands and fold them into the gelato. Drizzle another quarter of the chocolate over the gelato and cut it into the gelato in the same way. Continue until you've used all of the chocolate. Cover the bowl and return the gelato to the freezer to firm slightly before serving. Serve it within a few hours of spinning it, before it hardens.

STRACCIATELLA SOUP

Steps:

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Bring the broth to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
• In a bowl, whisk the eggs, cheese, parsley, and basil to blend.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir the broth in a circular motion. Gradually drizzle the egg mixture into the moving broth, stirring gently with a fork to form thin strands of egg, about 1 minute.
• Stir in the spinach, then season the soup, to taste, with salt and pepper.
• Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.

STRACCIATELLE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring the stock to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low; keep at a gentle simmer.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and parsley. Using a fork, stir stock in a quick circular motion, creating a whirlpool; pour in the egg mixture in a steady stream. Sprinkle in cheese; season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls; garnish with parsley and cheese.