I'm browsing through my new Silver Spoon cookbook and there are things in there I've never heard of. What in the heck is corn salad? I assume it's a green because it calls for 1 bunch trimmed.

What is bresaola and what are cardoons?

Ginger

Corn salad: Sometimes called Lamb's lettuce. It is used in salads or can be cooked like spinach.

That was hard to google - got lots of great recipes for the other type though!

Bresaola - Cured raw beef similar in appearance to prosciutto. A specialty of Lombardy, but enjoyed across Italy. Most often it is served as an appetizer, sliced very thin and drizzled with olive oil and lemon.

Tutti Matti a great Tuscan restaurany here in TO uses it in a couple of their dishes.

Cardoons are a vegetable of the thistle family and related to artichokes. They are cultivated for their leafstalk which looks something like celery. Young, tender leafstalks may be eaten raw like celery, but are usually boiled or steamed together with the small leaves.

quote:

Originally posted by JDeQ:
Bresaola - Cured raw beef similar in appearance to prosciutto. A specialty of Lombardy, but enjoyed across Italy. Most often it is served as an appetizer, sliced very thin and drizzled with olive oil and lemon.

I that what Carpaccio is made from??

Ginger

Not really - because bresaola is cured it like a smoked sausage. Carpaccio is a dish made with thin slices of raw meat.

Thanks Jerry,

I promise I'm not as much of a food hick as I appear. I thought Carpaccio was sliced raw beef but I wasn't sure. Suffice to say we do not have any of those ingredients at my local super market. I wonder if you can substitute spinach for corn salad and celery for cardoons? (I really like that word.)

Ginger

Ginger - I don't know about the corn salad substiture, but I can't imagine substituting celery for cardoon - the structure may be similar but they are totally different in flavor. My memory (and I haven't had any in several years) is that they taste more like artichoke bottoms.

See this web page for more information on cardoons, and links to other recipes.

Jufy

In my books a food hick is someone who is a regular at the local Hooters. You own a cookbook and you are asking questions - you are no food hick!

I don't think that you can use celery because it would have no flavour. I have never had cardoons but understand that their flavour is similar to artichokes. Perhaps that may be a substitute - it would depend upon the recipe.

Some websites suggest substituting prosciutto for bresola. In a pinch that might work.

Re the corn salad AKA lamb's lettuce - the grocery store near me carries it but calls it lamb's lettuce. I think spinach would alter the flavour too much.

Do you have a good Italian grocery store near you? I bet they could assist you. I have also gone to one of my favourite local Italian restaurants when searching for an obscure ingredient. Once they put me on to a supplier, once they just gave me what I needed.

If you love artichokes, which I do, you'll love cardoons. They might look similiar to celery but that's where the similiarity ends. I boil them dip in egg wash then Italian breadcrumbs and fry in EVOO. They're hard to find here in SoCal but if I remember correctly from the East Coast they are available toward the end of summer/early fall.

Carole

quote:

Originally posted by suncoast:

quote:

Originally posted by JDeQ:
Bresaola - Cured raw beef similar in appearance to prosciutto. A specialty of Lombardy, but enjoyed across Italy. Most often it is served as an appetizer, sliced very thin and drizzled with olive oil and lemon.

I that what Carpaccio is made from??

Ginger

In SIena yes but true carpaccio is as Jerry writes. I remember the first time my MIL was making a big meal and said she would make carpaccio. I was a happy camper thinking it was as I had always had growing up but nope, it was bresaola, topped with arugula and shaved parm and then drizzled with olive oil. It is a great first course but not what I would prefer.

Cardoons are one of my favorite veggies. If you can't find them, you could sub with artchoke hearts but it won't be the same.