Thursday, January 22, 2009

Cold Weather Warmers- Gratin of Tripe, Penne and Cabbage



So lets say you made the tripe recipe that I posted on the 3rd. Its great on pasta or polenta, but at some point just like everything else you need something to do with the leftovers. Again, I'm turning to the great Paul Bertolli and the "Chez Panisse Cooking" cookbook. Once you've made the tripe recipe earlier, you can reserve 1/2 the recipe to make this dish. Its perfect on a cold January night when you need something warm and comforting. I'd pair this with a nice Zinfandel or another chianti myself.

Gratin of Tripe, Penne and Cabbage
2 quarts water
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 c dry penne (I used DeCecco with great results)
1 tblsp olive oil
2 c thinly sliced savoy cabbage (I subbed regular cabbage, it works just fine)
1 1/2 c breadcrumbs (I used store bought, it saved me having to toast them)
2 tblsp butter
2 c Braised Tripe (see my earlier post)
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (don't go cheap here, really Reggiano is the key)

1) Preheat oven to 375
2) Bring the water to a boil, add a pinch of salt and the penne and cook al dente. Drain the noodles in a colander and cool briefly under running water.
3) Brown the onion in a bit of olive oil (use a good pot for this, I used a Le Creuset dutch oven), add cabbage, the remaining pinch of salt, grind a bit of fresh black pepper and cook over medium heat for 8 minutes or so until the cabbage is wilted. Make sure to stir often.
4) Combine noodles, braised tripe (if straight out of the fridge, rewarm first), cabbage, and onion and 2 tblsp of the parmesan and stir together. You are looking to coat the noodles in sauce here.
5) Put the mixture in an 8x10 baking dish, top with remaining parmesan and then breadcrumbs and bake for 30 minutes.

This is one of those dishes that I really enjoy. Tripe is one of those things that I think more people would enjoy if they ever had it cooked properly. As it is, I think a certain squeamishness sets in if you've never eaten tripe and then its presented to you in adulthood. Its really too bad, as this is a dish that I would love to share with more friends and family.

So as you can see, I've decided to expand my blog from just cocktails and liquor reviews to some of my favorite recipes and the occasional wine review. I'm a bit of a failed chef, but cooking remains a passion of mine and I'd love to share more of this passion with you.

2 comments:

Rumela said...

Great recipe!! The combination is truly fascinating. penne and cabbage both are nutritious and good for health. So a twice combination is likely to be tasty and healthy alike. thank you for shearing your post.

Anonymous said...

I'm sure aBuy Diablo 3 items particular squeamishness shows cheap D3 Gold its head issues by no means ingested tripe and then the offered to a person with their adult years. Their really really cheap D3 items bad, since this is a meal that we would like to tell far more family and friends.