Batali Mario - Italian Grill

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO
LEO, BENNO, AND SUSI,
THE HOTTEST COALS ON MY GRILL

Contents

The words Italian and grilling go together like the verse and refrain in a love song by Lennon and McCartneythey seem as if they were made for each other. Anyone who has spent any time at all in the real Italy knows that many of the most evocative and fragrant moments are sniffed at someones house, or in a vineyard, or at a trattoria where something delicious is cooking on a grill over hot coals. The kiss of the fire and iron grate can transform even the most quotidian vegetables or meats or fish into that hauntingly elusive perfect bite where the flavor of the natural product is enhanced, not masked, and the garden or the sea or the butcher shop and the flame unite to create an aria of flavor that renders worthy any effort it takes to get to the very point of enjoying it.

Yet America is a wild world of grill experts. We practically invented the backyard cookout, and we certainly invented the complex national fabric of real barbecue in its infinite permutations across our back roads and small towns from the Carolinas to California, from Texas to Toronto. Everything from weenie roasts to clambakes forms the vernacular of the American grill and the regional variations that make it our specialty. We all know how to grillwe were born with it; it is ours.

Still, Italian grilling is not so different from ours in its intention. The Italian grill is all about nuance and minimal interference with the flavor of the primary ingredient. There is no thick sweet barbecue sauce, no sweet-and-sour glaze, nothing kicked up a notch or two, and minimal basting (if any) in the Italian kitchen. Marinades are important, but they are lighter and certainly have no soy or teriyaki, or Tabasco and buttermilk baths. There is rarely anything more to them than good olive oil, citrus, wine, herbs, garlic, and hot chili flakes.

The recipes I offer in the following pages are not exactly 100 percent Italian. I celebrate the idea of the American mastery of the backyard grill, and I do love a kick-ass barbecue sauce. I will use a slightly sweet glaze on porchetta, that Italian icon, and there is a little zip in the dry rub for my rib eye. But the true Italian ideology is neither obfuscated nor watered down. What you will find here is my take on the Italian grill, just as I have always passed the world of Italian cooking through my rose-colored glasses, through my own culinary prism.

Choosing wines for grilled foods offers the wine guy a rare opportunity to be macho. Most of the time we are sniffing for subtleties, cooing over complexity, babbling about balance. The barbecue is a time to be boldto fight fire with fire, or, as the Italians would put it, fuoco al fuoco.

Even when he isnt grilling, of course, Mario brings the heat. When I was the sommelier at Babbo, I once had the temerity to request less chili flake in a pasta dish to make it more wine-friendly (hot spices amplify the heat of alcohol and tannin). I dont remember his response exactly, but I think he threw a pinch more peperoncini into the pan, planted a defiant fist on his hip, and let loose a menacing cackle, like a pirate.

The lesson? Be bold, or stay out of the way. This is how Ive come to approach most wine-and-food pairings, but it is an especially good mantra when firing up the grill. Whether its a blast of lemon juice on a swordfish steak or some serious fat marbling in a rib eyenot to mention the smoky, sharp taste of char, which is to be your constant companion as you work through this bookthe typical grill preparation has strong flavors and textures, and the wine should offer the same in return.

Lets start with vini bianchi. Grilling presents an opportunity to break out some fatter, barrel-fermented Italian whitesa super-white Friulian blend, perhaps, or maybe a big-name Chardonnay from Tuscany or Piedmont. You may have been saving such wines to show off at a fussier, more special occasion, but they might actually show their best around the grill. Think of how well a big Chardonnay-based white such as Antinoris Cervaro della Sala or Joe Bastianichs Vespa Bianco would complement the toasty, bready flavors of grilled polenta or pizza. Youll also crave some vinous viscosity with richer seafoods like lobster, salmon, and especially monkfish. These days its fashionable to dismiss oaky wines as being overpowering, but add some grill char and other big flavors to the equation, and suddenly a little wood toast and weight is just what you need.

More than anything else, however, what youll need from whites is acidity. Theres a lot of citrus in these recipesFennel with Sambuca and Grapefruit, Baby Octopus with Olive-Orange Vinaigrette, Lobster with Lemon Oilso while its nice to have a wine with big flavor, it cant be flabby. It needs to have grip, if for no other reason than to battle all that lemon or other citrus juice, and, of course, theres a difference between a white wine that is simply acidic and one that has actual flavor and structure. When Im looking for bold flavor combined with a good backbone of acidity, I look to Vermentino di Sardegna (lots of pungent green-herb notes for all the mint and thyme youll find in these recipes); Pinot Bianco from the Alto Adige (a nice, rich, almost Chardonnay-like feel, but usually without the oak); Tocai Friulano from Friuli (great minerality and Sauvignon-like grassiness, perfect for the likes of Calamari Spiedini in Lemon Leaves and the Warm Shrimp Salad, among others); and Fiano di Avellino from Campania (also a little minty and herbal, with a jolt of citrus).

On the red side, my go-to barbecue wine is Montepulciano dAbruzzo. Its big and bold, with a satisfyingly deep color and tons of rich fruit, yet the tannins are nice and soft, so as not to fight with the charor the black pepper, or the chili pepper flakes, or whatever heat-inducing item Mario chooses to throw at you. Although there are many instances where Id go with some blunt-force tanninswhat else but a burly, tannic Brunello di Montalcino with bistecca alla fiorentinathere are plenty of big, meaty Italian reds with softer contours. If you havent yet turned on to the tarry Teroldegos of Trentino, or to the exceedingly funky Lagreins of Alto Adige, there is no better time to do so than when youre grilling meat; these wines actually taste a little charred around the edges (Im not kidding).

Other good all-purpose grilling reds would include Carignano del Sulcis, from Sardegna (Id pair this rustic red with the Spit-Roasted Leg of Lamb and sit down in the grass and eat like a Sardinian shepherd); Barbera dAlba, from Piedmont (a little more acidic tang and brightness and thus workable with lots of the poultry preparations); and any number of bold, fruity rosatos from all over the boot, which are great for taming peppery heat but counterpunching with flavor. (Marios wife, Susi, is partial to the fey, copper-colored ross of Bandol in France, and she has hated every single gutsy Italian ros Ive served her over the years, but I remain undaunted in my support for Italian rosato, especially in this char-broiled context!)