CHOCOLATE BREAD PARFAIT
Pane e Cioccolata al Cucchiaio
Serves 6
Th is recalls for me the chocolate- and- bread sandwiches that sometimes were my lunch, and always a
special treat. And it is another inventive way surplus is used in Umbrian cuisine, with leftover country
bread serving as the foundation of an elegant layered dessert. Th ough it is soaked with chocolate and
espresso sauce and buried in whipped cream, the bread doesn’t disintegrate, and provides a pleasing
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textural contrast in every heavenly spoonful.
8 ounces
chocolate,
8 ounces
bittersweet or semisweetfi nely choppedcountry- style white bread,
crusts removed
. cup freshly brewed
espresso
2 tablespoons
dark rum
2 tablespoons
sugar
1. cups chilled
heavy cream
1 cup sliced
almonds, toasted
recommended equipment:
(12 by 18 inches); a spouted measuring cup, 1 pint or larger; 6 parfait glasses or wineglasses,
preferably balloon- shaped
A large rimmed tray or baking sheet, such as a half- sheet pan
begins to melt, stir until completely smooth. Keep it warm, over the water, off the heat.
Put the chopped chocolate in a bowl set in a pan of hot (not boiling) water. When the chocolate
baking sheet.
Slice the bread into .- inch- thick slices, and lay them fl at in one layer, close together, on the tray or
stir in half the melted chocolate. Pour the sauce all over the bread slices, then fl ip them over and turn them
on the tray, to make sure all the surfaces are coated. Let the bread absorb the sauce for a few minutes.
Pour the warm espresso into a spouted measuring cup, stir in the rum and sugar until sugar dissolves, then
Meanwhile, whip the cream until soft peaks form, by hand or with an electric mixer.
parfait layer in the six serving glasses, dropping an equal amount of chocolatey bread into each. Scrape
up some of the unabsorbed chocolate sauce that remains on the baking sheet, and drizzle a bit over the
bread layers. Next, drop a layer of whipped cream in the glasses, using up half the cream. Top the cream
layer with toasted almonds, using half the nuts
Repeat the layering sequence: drop more soaked bread into each glass, drizzle over it the chocolate
sauce from the tray and the remaining melted chocolate. Dollop another layer of whipped cream in the
glasses, using it all up, and sprinkle the remaining almonds on top of each parfait. Th is dessert is best
when served immediately, while the melted chocolate is still warm and runny.
To assemble the parfaits: Break the bread into 1- inch pieces. Use half the pieces to make the bottom
S
AUSAGES IN THE SKILLET WITH GRAPES
Salsicce all’Uva
Serves 6
Th e Umbrian town of Norcia is, among other distinctions, so famous for the skill of its pork butchers
and the quality of their products that the term
purveys pork and pork specialties of the highest quality—and nothing else.
Th is is one of the memorable pork dishes that I discovered in Umbria recently. And though there are
no sausages better than those made by an Umbrian Norcino in his hometown, this will be wonderful
with any good- quality sweet sausage available in yours. Th e name—Sausages in the Skillet with
Grapes—describes the ingredients and cooking method perfectly. Just keep in mind that the cooking
here is slow and gentle, not high- temperature grilling as one usually does with sausages.
norcineria throughout Italy designates a shop that
. cup
extra- virgin olive oil
8 plump
2. pounds
garlic cloves, crushed and peeledsweet Italian sausages,
preferably without fennel seeds (8 or more
sausages, depending on size)
. teaspoon
1. pounds
peperoncino fl akes, or to tasteseedless green grapes,
picked from the stem and washed
(about 3 cups)
recommended equipment:
with a cover
A heavy- bottomed skillet or saute pan, 12- inch diameter or larger,
is sizzling, lay in all the sausages in one layer, and cover the pan. Cook the sausages slowly, turning
and moving them around the skillet occasionally; after 10 minutes or so, sprinkle the peperoncino in
between the sausages. Continue low and slow cooking for 25 to 30 minutes in all, until the sausages
are cooked through and nicely browned all over. Remove the pan from the burner, tilt it, and carefully
spoon out excess fat.
Pour the olive oil into the skillet, toss in the garlic cloves, and set it over low heat. When the garlic
bottom, moistening them with meat juices. Cover, and cook for 10 minutes or so, until the grapes
begin to soften, wrinkle, and release their own juices. Remove the cover, turn the heat to high, and
boil the pan juices to concentrate them to a syrupy consistency, stirring and turning the sausages
and grapes frequently to glaze them.
Set the skillet back over low heat, and scatter in the grapes. Stir and tumble them in the pan
juices. Or serve them right from the pan (cut in half, if large), spooning grapes and thickened
juices over each portion.
To serve family- style: arrange the sausages on a warm platter, topped with the grapes and pan
