Nancy Silverton is rebelling a little later in life than most. At 52, the Los Angeles chef, who translated her training at Lenôtre into a widely respected career as a pastry chef, cook and business owner, has really gotten into prepared foods. “I’d forgotten how good V8 juice tastes!” said Silverton, who spent a year combing the aisles of supermarkets and specialty stores in search of kitchen catalysts for her seventh cookbook, “A Twist of the Wrist: Quick Flavorful Meals With Ingredients From Jars, Cans, Bags and Boxes” (Knopf). “I’m waiting to get the phone call from Alice ... ,” she said of her mentor, the world-renowned food purist Alice Waters.
Silverton’s goal is to bring lapsed home cooks back into the kitchen to make fast meals with “love and care.” “The way people are eating at home,” she said, “they’re not cooking, not preparing, not even dumping out of a container!” Her book lures them to the stove with such gateway ingredients as olive-oil-packed tuna, cannellini beans and tapenade — items familiar to those who have dined at Campanile, the restaurant she owned with the chef Mark Peel, then her husband, or have browsed the tightly edited shelves at La Brea Bakery, which she and Peel opened in 1989 and sold for a reported $55 million in 2001 (although she still consults on how to bring their parbaked artisan-style bread to the masses). “A Twist of the Wrist” green-lights prewashed salad, canned peas, jarred mayonnaise, boneless chicken breasts and more — a gigantic leap for someone for whom a chicken sandwich always involved roasting a chicken and making a batch of mayonnaise.
The chef admits that she was not familiar with Rachael Ray’s “30 Minute Meals” when she started the project, or at least she’s too polite to say that hers are 30-minute meals that would make Thomas Keller say yummo: orzo with dried porcini mushrooms, radicchio and aged balsamic vinegar; white asparagus in brown butter topped with a fried egg and capers; key lime custards with crème fraîche. Some of the recipes came from fellow food professionals, like Ruth Reichl, the editor of Gourmet magazine, whose recipe for blueberry pie calls for frozen berries and a store-bought crust. “You talk to a chef who works all day and comes home hungry, these are the things they make,” Silverton said. “You don’t come home and do a braise.”
Since December, Silverton has been too busy to open a jar. In partnership with Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich, she opened Pizzeria Mozza, where until recently she could be seen in her clogs and red lipstick manning the pizza station seven days a week. (It will be joined this summer by Osteria Mozza.)
Silverton is known for taking haute peasant food to L.A. cognoscenti: she institutionalized Grilled Cheese Night at Campanile; after leaving the restaurant, she toted her chef’s kit to the restaurant Jar for Mozzarella Mondays and set up an antipasto table at La Terza on Tuesdays — both without a fee. At Pizzeria Mozza, she elevates the humble pie, topping the bubbly crust with fennel-sausage meatballs, whipped cream and fennel pollen; or braised bacon, burrata and escarole. “I love being around food, and I love pleasing people,” she said, explaining her return to the fire. “And the easiest way to please someone is to give them something they enjoy eating” — even if it isn’t made from scratch. “I know I’ll get that phone call,” she said of Waters. “But I’ll remind her that she uses jarred capers.”
The following recipes are adapted from “A Twist of the Wrist,” by Nancy Silverton.
Fennel, Treviso and Prosciutto Salad With Anchovy-Date Vinaigrette
8 large, soft medjool dates, pitted, smashed with the flat side of a knife and finely chopped
6 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
Grated zest of 2 medium oranges
Grated zest of 2 large lemons
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar
4 heads treviso (radicchio may be substituted)
1 large fennel bulb
8 thin slices (about 4 ounces total) prosciutto
Chunk of Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper.
1. Make the vinaigrette by stirring the dates, anchovies, garlic and orange and lemon zests together in a large bowl. Stir in the oil and vinegar.
2. Remove and discard the outer leaves of the treviso. Carve out and discard the cores. Separate the leaves and add them to the bowl with the vinaigrette. Cut the fennel lengthwise into quarters. Core, stem and cut lengthwise into 1/16 -inch-thick slices. Add the fennel to the bowl and toss to mix and coat with the vinaigrette.
3. Divide half of the salad evenly among 4 plates. Lay a slice of prosciutto over each salad, rumpling it so that it doesn’t completely cover the treviso. Grate a thin layer of Parmesan over the prosciutto. Pile the remaining leaves on the salads, reserving some of the tiniest leaves to place on top. Rumple another slice of prosciutto over each salad and grate another thin layer of cheese on top. Top with the remaining leaves and freshly ground black pepper. Serves 4.
Egg Pappardelle With Bagna Cauda, Wilted Radicchio and an Olive-Oil-Fried Egg
For the pappardelle and bagna cauda:
1 stick ( ½ cup) unsalted butter
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
15 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
8 large garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
12 radicchio leaves, torn into small pieces
Grated zest and juice of half a lemon
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces egg pappardelle
For finishing the dish:
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 large eggs
Wedge of Parmesan cheese
Sea salt
1 heaping tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley.
1. To make the bagna cauda, place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter, olive oil, anchovies and garlic and cook, breaking up the anchovies with a fork and stirring constantly, until the anchovies dissolve and the garlic is soft and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, stir in the parsley, radicchio and lemon zest and juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Prepare the pasta by bringing a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add enough kosher salt until the water tastes salty and return to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente.
3. To finish the dish, heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat until the oil is almost smoking, about 2 minutes. Break 1 egg into a small bowl and pour into the skillet. When it just begins to set around the edges, break the second egg into the bowl and pour into the skillet. (By waiting a moment before adding the next egg, the eggs won’t stick together.) Repeat with the remaining 2 eggs. Cook until the edges are golden, the whites are set and the yolks are still runny.
4. Use tongs to lift the pasta out of the water and transfer it quickly, while it’s dripping with water, to the skillet with the bagna cauda. Place the skillet over high heat. Toss the pasta to combine the ingredients and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more.
5. Using tongs, divide the pasta among 4 plates, twisting it into mounds. Grate a generous layer of cheese over each. Place an egg over the cheese and season with sea salt. Sprinkle the parsley over the pasta and serve with more grated cheese and pepper. Serves 4.
For dessert: Caramelized Pears With Mascarpone Cream, Brandy-Raisin Brown Butter
and Biscotti
For the mascarpone cream:
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 vanilla bean (or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)
8 canned pear halves, drained, at room temperature
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup brandy
8 biscotti.
1. Make the mascarpone cream: combine the mascarpone, cream and sugar in a medium bowl. Beat the egg in a liquid measuring cup, read the measure, and pour out half to obtain half an egg. Add to the mascarpone and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until it forms stiff peaks. Be careful not to overbeat.
2. Melt the butter with the sugar in a large skillet over high heat. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape the seeds into the skillet and stir to combine. (Alternatively, stir in the vanilla extract.) When the butter starts to bubble, add the pears, cut side down, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until they're nicely browned. (The butter should brown but not burn. If necessary, lower the heat slightly.) Place 2 pear halves cut side up, side by side, on each of 4 soup or dessert plates, leaving the butter in the skillet.
3. Add the raisins and brandy to the skillet and simmer over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until the raisins are plump and the sauce has thickened slightly.
4. Spoon a dollop of the mascarpone cream over each pear half. Spoon the butter-raisin sauce over the mascarpone and serve with a plateful of biscotti in the center of the table. Serves 4.
