On Superbowl Sunday three years ago, I was on my way to LA to compete for an apron and a spot in the kitchen on Season 9 of Masterchef on Fox with Gordon Ramsay. So I couldn't think of a better game day snack than my Roasted Porchetta Sliders, the dish that brought me this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
One random Saturday, while sitting around the house, scrolling through the internet, I stumbled upon an advertisement for home cooks to audition for a chance to compete in the Masterchef kitchen and win $200,000. At the time, I couldn't think of a better way to pursue my culinary dream. After a few weeks, I received a call from a casting producer who invited me out to their last day of auditions being held in Nashville in two days’ time. As soon as I hung up the phone, I quickly booked my flight from NYC to Nashville. According to the judging rules written in fine print, the dish would be judged based on taste, technique and presentation, and I had under a minute to plate it.
I wanted to make a dish that not only represented who I was as a home cook and told a story but also something that would taste delicious and plate well after traveling for six hours from NYC to Nashville with a layover in DC. I had less than 48 hours to shop for the ingredients, cook it, and pack... The pressure was on! But that was all part of the excitement!
Every summer since I was a baby, my family and I have vacationed in Italy, spending at least two weeks in August in my dad's hometown, Boville Ernica, Frosinone in the Lazio region of Italy. Our trip is always planned around the most celebrated day of the summer in Italy called “Ferragosto,” and around the week of our town's biggest festival, “San Rocco.” It is tradition that at least two or three nights of the week-long festival we stroll through the ancient cobblestone town where vendors are all lined up along the festive lit-up street so you can stop for a porchetta sandwich (or panino as we call it in Italian). Porchetta is a typical Italian-style street food. It is basically made up of an exterior layer of crisp pork fat and a wonderful blend of garlic, rosemary, thyme, fennel and sage, encased in pancetta followed by moist tender pork butt, all wrapped up together for a succulent pork roll. Much like hot dog vendors on the NYC sidewalks, in most touristy towns and cities in Italy, you will find vendors selling porchetta. But unlike NYC hotdogs, when you bite into this sandwich, you get a phenomenal combination of flavors all at once, some crunch from the outside layer of pork fat mixed in with a slight bitterness from the broccoli rabe, saltiness from the pancetta, plus a garlicky and tender porchetta. And let's not forget the sharp melted provolone cheese!
Which is precisely why I was confident this dish would blow the judges’ minds, and I was pretty sure it would be the only “Porchetta & Broccoli Rabe Slider” at the audition. The dish not only represented my roots and heritage (considering that I grew up working in my dad's authentic Italian Deli in New York); it also proved I was quite the “Sandwich Guru.”
Broccoli rabe – also known as rapini – is broccoli with a bite to it. The vegetable is very common in the Umbria and Lazio regions of Italy. It belongs to the spicy turnip tribe since it’s grown underground. And it's a slightly acquired taste due to the bitterness, but when cooked properly, with just a few essential ingredients – water, salt, plenty of good extra-virgin olive oil, crushed red pepper and plenty of garlic! The greens should be cooked until almost tender so that they’ll soak up the garlicky broth.
I've spent the majority of my life smelling like a combination of garlic, stinky imported provolone cheese, and broccoli rabe, so I wasn't phased by all the weird stares I got from people passing by as I lugged my tupperware through the crowded airport that day. In fact, it was to my advantage because I got a whole empty row on the plane to myself! If you ever want to speed through TSA lines at the airport, just carry a tupperware full of garlicky broccoli rabe, porchetta and provolone cheese!
This award-winning Porchetta Slider not only moved me up into the next casting phase that day but it will certainly be a “winning” dish at your Superbowl Sunday! A definite crowd pleaser – whether you’re at home with your partner or hanging with the family. No matter what team you’re cheering for that day, one thing you and your guests can all agree on is that this Porchetta Slider deserves to take home a championship trophy – I mean, it’s even Gordon Ramsay approved!
Porchetta Slider Recipe
*You’ll need 6 ciabatta rolls and 12 slices of provolone cheese to assemble the sliders
Garlicky Sautéed Broccoli Rabe
Prep & cook time: 30 minutes
Serving size: Makes about 6 sliders
Ingredients:
1 whole bushel (bunch) of broccoli rabe/rapini
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Extra-vrgin olive oil
Crushed red pepper
Sea salt
Ground black pepper
Method:
Trim 1 to 2 inches off of the stem; wash and pat dry.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Then cook the broccoli rabe until tender (approximately 5 to 7 minutes). Drain and squeeze it to remove as much water as possible.
*After the broccoli rabe has been boiled and completely drained, sauté them immediately. This process is called 'ripassare' in Italian – meaning it’s passed once more through the frying pan.
Coat a large skillet with extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the minced garlic, broccoli rabe and a pinch or two of crushed red pepper flakes (depending on how much spice you want) for 3-5 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and season with a few pinches of sea salt, a pinch of black pepper, and sprinkle on the grated cheese. Using tongs, toss the broccoli rabe to meld all the flavors together, allowing the cheese to melt into the garlic, olive oil and other seasonings for a creamy texture.
Roasted Porchetta
Prep time: 30 Minutes
*Once prepped and assembled, allow the porchetta to marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
*Ask your butcher to debone the pork rump and butterfly it. You will need butcher twine to tie and hold the porchetta roll together.
*If you choose to debone and butterfly it yourself, be sure to keep all the fat intact.
Cook time: 3 Hours
Ingredients:
4 lbs. pork butt meat with fat and skin on (remove the bone and butterfly)
6 to 7 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 cup of fresh sage leaves
1 cup of fresh parsley
3/4 cup fresh thyme
3 tbsp fennel seeds
8 cloves garlic
3 tbsp salt
2 tbsp black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
15 slices of pancetta, thinly sliced
1 bushel of fresh poultry blend herbs (for the stock at the bottom of the roaster pan)
3 large carrots
3 celery ribs
1/2 large vidalia onion
3 cups of chicken stock
Method:
In a food processor, add all the fresh herbs and dry seasonings (thyme, fennel, rosemary, sage, garlic, salt and pepper) Add 2-3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil and blend together until a paste consistency is reached; place in bowl and set aside.
With a knife, draw criss-cross lines on the meat side (not on the fatty skin side).
With a cooking brush, spread the blended herb mixture evenly over the cut side of the meat, brushing generously. (If you do not have a cooking brush handy, you can make a brush using the fresh rosemary sprigs.)
Lay the pancetta slices over the flattened pork & herbs like a blanket, covering the meat.
Roll the pork all together (from the longer side) like a snug sleeping bag; tie the porchetta together tightly with butcher's twine so it forms a log. (Be sure to tie the twine evenly around the ends and middle of the porchetta log to hold it all together.)
Place the porchetta log in a sealed zip-lock plastic bag or wrap with saran wrap and refrigerate overnight for at least 24 hours, allowing the pork to seal in all the flavor.
*Once the porchetta has marinated overnight, remove it and let it sit at room temperature before roasting it in the oven.
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Add the carrots, celery, onion, a bushel of fresh poultry herbs, 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil and 2 cups of chicken stock to the bottom of a large roasting pan.
Place the porchetta in the middle of the roasting rack. Season the top with salt, pepper and olive oil, massaging the seasoning all over the surface.
Roast in the oven at 450°F for the first 30 minutes, then reduce the temperature. Cook for 3 hours, basting the top of the meat with the pan juices every 30 minutes until golden brown and crisp on the outside.
Once the porchetta is cooked, remove from the oven and let it rest for 20 minutes on a cutting board, allowing all the juices to distribute evenly throughout the porchetta. Remove the butcher’s twine, cutting it with kitchen scissors and discard. With a serrated knife, cut 1/4 inch-thick round slices.
To assemble the porchetta sliders, lightly toast the ciabatta rolls, lay a slice of provolone cheese on both the top and bottom of the roll, lay 2 slices of porchetta in the middle with a forkful of broccoli rabe.
Cut each slider in half, stick a decorative toothpick through each half and serve on a platter just in time for kick-off time!