Garlic Knot Deconstruction

Nodini Fritti (Garlic Knots)

(lol I found this pic on Pinterest)

What’s in a name?

Nodini fritti translates literally to “fried knots”.  Ours, as you know, happen to be of the garlic variety.  This, of course, is an American twist (pun intended) on some delectable Italian flavors. So let’s break it down, starting with some history!

Italian-American Cuisine

Through the years, Italian cuisine has been adapted here in the states due to various waves of immigration.  Most immigrants came from Sicily and Naples, and chose to settle in large US cities, such as New York, San Francisco, and Boston.  Restaurants began popping up, and most would identify with their region of origin.  Classic “red sauce” Italian (pasta-, tomato-, and oil-centric dishes) are traditionally Southern Italian, whereas risotto, polenta and white sauce dishes are associated with the north. Here at The Salty Pig, we like to do a little of both, and I like to think we do them all well.

Now let’s dive more specifically into the world of knots…beginning with dat dough doe…

The secrets to perfect pizza dough:

Ingredients:

• 00 pizza flour—widely considered to be the best for making pizza
• very finely ground→flour is rated on a scale from 00-1, 00 being the most fine, and 1 being the most course (dayyumm flour, you fine!)
• lower gluten content—means lower elasticity in the dough
• water—also known by its molecular name “H20”
• sugar—it’s the sweet stuff that monsters, like myself, put in coffee
• brewer’s yeast—made from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a single-celled fungus
• its purpose is to increase the volume in the dough through fermentation—yeast essentially eats sugar and releases carbon dioxide (and alcohol)
• this particular yeast is a great source of protein, digestive aids, and b-vitamins (and who said pizza wasn’t good for you?)
• it is also used in brewing beer…who would have thought?
• oil—not like the stuff for your car
• salt—the salty stuff that some monsters, UNLIKE myself, put on grapefruit

The process:

1. Combine the water, yeast, sugar, and oil.
2. Then add the flour.
3. Then add the salt.  This order is important because salt will interfere with the yeast if it is not already properly integrated into the dough.
4. Use our gigantic KitchenAid to mix for 10 minutes on low.
5. Then mix for 10 minutes on high.
6. Separate into 10oz portions.
7. Roll into ball-like shape.
8. Cover with oil and plastic wrap. It is important to put the oil on before the plastic wrap.
9. Refrigerate for 24 hours. This allows the yeast to work slowly, providing both flavor and texture!
10. For the purpose of the knots, ruin the ball-like structure by cutting the dough into ten 1oz portions.
11. Roll out into a long cylinder, then tie into a knot.
12. Voila! You’re almost there!

What makes these knots so tasty? Obviously, it is more than just the dough.  There are some important additions that must be considered, post-order fire and fry.

Beurre monte—put simply, an emulsified butter sauce.  But what does that mean? Well…think of the composition of butter.  It traditionally consists of about 80% milk fats, 2% milk solids, and 18% water.  Typically, at 158F, butter will break down into its individual components.  However, with a beurre monte, the butter gets heated in a way that allows it to stay emulsified at a higher temperature, usually around 180-190F.  The key is this: start with a small amount of boiling water, and slowly add in cold butter to melt it.  

Once the first little bit is melted, continue adding more butter in small amounts, whisking continuously until you have the desired amount.  The sauce then must be held warm in order to avoid it breaking down again.

Parmigiano-reggiano—aka the lifeblood of Italians.  This is a very firm, unpasteurized cow’s milk cheese produced in one of five Italian Provinces (Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, and Mantua).  It must be aged a minimum of 12 months, but some varieties can be aged for as many as 36 months.  

How’s it made?  The process is quite specific!

1. Whole milk from a morning milking is mixed with naturally skimmed milk from the previous evening’s milking. (Sorry that “milking” sounds so creepy here.)
2. The mixture gets put into copper lined vats (copper is easily temperature controlled).
3. Whey gets added, and the temperature is set to around 95F.
4. Calf rennet (an enzyme that helps calves digest their mother’s milk) gets added.  The rennet causes the mixture to curdle, which is then allowed for 10-12 minutes.
5. The curd gets broken into pieces and the temperature gets raised again to 131F.
6. It then settles for about an hour, before being placed into molds.

*Fun fact! The whey that is left behind is traditionally used to feed the lovely pigs of Parma that eventually become the Prosciutto that we all know and love!*

7. Anyway, the cheese then gets put into a stainless steel, spring controlled form that helps it maintain the wheel shape.
8. The spring buckle gets released after a day or two, and the cheese gets imprinted with information such as: the name (duh), the plant number that its produced at, and the production date.
9. The cheese gets re-buckled to force the imprint on.  This takes about a day.
10. Then comes the brining…the cheese spends about 3 weeks in a brine bath designed to make the cheese absorb salt.
11. And finally aging! The cheese sits on wooden shelves for at least 12 months before being tested by a cheese master (I kid you not…these exist…how do I sign up???)

12. If the wheel passes the test, it gets the “Consorzio” logo printed on it to ensure consumer’s that they are receiving only the best Parmigiano-Reggiano.
13. For our purposes, this delicious, salty goodness gets grated up, and then tossed with the knots and the beurre monte.

But wait! There’s more cheese!

Pecorino Romano—this cheese is one of Italy’s oldest, and has a long history dating back to Ancient Rome.  There are records of its production going back as far as 2,000 years, as recorded by authors such as Hippocrates and Pliny the Elder.  Because it has such a long shelf life, it was often used for Roman legions’ rations.  This cheese literally kept people alive.

Pecorino Romano is a very firm, pasteurized sheep’s milk cheese.  It is most commonly produced in Sardinia. It must be aged for at least 5 months.  It is salty and sharp and delicious, and complements Parmigiano-Reggiano very well!

The final touch: crushed red pepper flakes—just some spice to keep things interesting.

And there you have it…Nodini Fritti!

TL;DR—knots that are made from our pizza dough are deep fried, then tossed in a garlic butter sauce with parmesan, pecorino, and chili flake.  They are delicious.