Stitt: Southern chef's Mediterranean heart

Chef Frank Stitt has a reputation that extends way beyond his hometown of Birmingham, Ala.

One problem: The reputation isn't quite right.

"I think it's convenient for the media to put me in the cubbyhole of Southern chef. I'm OK with that," Stitt said in a telephone interview.

But the food that he has cooked in his Birmingham restaurants for more than 20 years has always reflected his love of the Mediterranean.

"I started out as a French chef. Then I became comfortable with the purity and rusticity of Italian food," Stitt said.

It's Italian food that is featured in Stitt's second book, Frank Stitt's Bottega Favorita (Artisan, 2008, $40), which follows Frank Stitt's Southern Table, 2004. The recipes come from Bottega Restaurant and Café. Bottega and his other two restaurants, Highlands Bar and Grill and Chez Fonfon, have collectively been a highlight of the Birmingham restaurant scene for years.

Highlands focuses on Provencal cooking, and Chez Fonfon is set up as a French bistro.

The South, though, does come into Stitt's kitchens by way of the many local Southern ingredients. "Locavore" is a trendy word, but Stitt is a farm-loving Southerner who takes it to heart -- and has been for years.

When he first visited European markets, he said, he was "totally captivated and transported."

"And when you look at it, it comes from the small farmers who provide the tremendous ingredients. That time in Europe really wowed me. And it made me think of my grandmother's farm in Cullman (Ala.)."

Stitt also found common ground between the cooking in Italy and the American South.

"With Italian and Southern," he said, "there is a natural affinity for the cooking of the poor and for humble ingredients, whether it is cannellini beans or pink-eyed peas. There's a reliance on the rustic, farm-based cooking. It's not a fancy French thing."

Just as Southerners love their grits, Italians love their polenta. Just as Southerners love bacon and ham, Italians love their pancetta and prosciutto.

"We have this pork chop we roast in the oven and serve with polenta and Venetian spinach and tomato chutney aioli -- it's not far off from pork with grits and maybe turnip greens," Stitt said. "It still resonates with a Southerner's heart."

Bottega Favorita has plenty of classic Italian dishes, such as lasagna, risotto, veal Milanese and tiramisu. But often Southern touches creep into the recipes. Butter beans show up in a mint pilaf. Field peas substitute for cannellini or borlotti beans in a shrimp and crab salad. A zabaglione meringue cake is a kissing cousin to many Southern layer cakes.

"We get inspiration from Italian food, but then weave in our local Southern ingredients," Stitt said.

"I am totally this Mediterranean-based Southern guy."

Capellini Gratin

Recipe from Frank Stitt's Bottega Favorita (Artisan, 2008). Capellini is similar to angel-hair pasta, but it slightly thicker. It is often sold in "nests," rather than in straight lengths. Angel hair certainly would work in this dish. Stitt emphasizes the need for a shallow pan to make this thin and crispy. A jellyroll pan about 1-inch deep is just right. Stitt said that an additional ¼ cup heavy cream can be added to make this even richer. At his restaurant, Stitt serves this as a side dish with roasted or grilled meats.

½ tablespoon unsalted butter

1 pound capellini

½ cup heavy cream

1½ cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease a 12-by-17-inch baking sheet (half sheet pan) with the butter.

2. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook al dente. Drain it reserving about ½ cup of the pasta water.

3. Combine the cream and ¾ cup of the cheese in a large bowl. Add the pasta and enough of the reserved pasta water to loosen the consistency slightly. Season with salt and pepper, and toss thoroughly to combine. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet, evenly spreading out the pasta. Scatter the remaining ¾ cup cheese on top.

4. Bake until golden and crisp around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. (If you have a convection feature on your oven, use it.) Let gratin cool 10 to 15 minutes to set up, then cut into 8 to 12 rectangles.