Sunday, November 28, 2010

Green Speck

Because my parents know me so well (and because I am not a subtle hinter), they recently returned from three weeks in Italy with a bag full of cured meats, just for me. Nice work, parents.


A dark, meaty, almost hamburgery salami; a darling little wild boar sausage; a hard fennel salami, to name a few. And a big hunk of Italian Speck.

The speck is strong, fatty, difficult to slice, and a special treat. It is very good sliced thinly with rosé. However, my favorite way to eat the speck—a fact which I have learned retrospectively—is pan fried with greens. I think I have eaten speck with greens at least six times in the last two weeks. On pasta, with white beans, under eggs, with garlic, and alone, speck with greens has officially entered my repertoire as a simple, front running, fall favorite.

A happy companion of the many tasty root vegetables that are still around this time of year is their tops. I bring home turnips, beets and radishes from the farmers' market, and I end up with a pile of yummy greens. Greens with which to eat my speck.

Tonight, because it’s Sunday, I’m tired, and I still remember declaring yesterday that I would never eat again after a Thanksgiving weekend full of pie-based gluttony, I will have speck and greens alone. Perhaps I'll add a shave or two of Parmigiano Reggiano.

Tomorrow, maybe I'll deep fry it.

3 comments:

Kathryn said...

Looks wonderful! So fresh, so healthy, so Italian, so not turkey and warmed over mashed potatoes.

alexandroid said...

How did they smuggle it in?

Pleasant Company said...

LA: it was yum!
Kathryn: I really needed something not turkey, and this was it! And still is.
Alexandroid: My parents are not the law breaking kind, so I just called and asked. Apparently, if you vacuum-pack the cured meat, you can bring it in. This may not hold up in court, but they seem to think it was enough to ocover them.