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Arrigo Cipriani
The Harry's Bar Cookbook
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 I guess you could say that I'm just wild about Harry. Harry's Bar in Venice, that is. I was taken to Harry's Bar for lunch the first time I visited Venice many years ago, and it's always the first place I stop any time I return. As you push your way past the (unmarked) swinging doors, just like those of the old-time saloons, the first person you see is the cashier, always smiling, and just behind her the welcoming face of Claudio, the barman. "Oooooooooh," he always says, "Bentornata, Signora Logan," and immediately I feel at home, for the feeling is almost that of a private club.
Despite its casual atmosphere, at Harry's Bar the devil is in the details, as they say. Nothing happens by chance, and even something like the heating under the floor in the winter ("The dogs love it," says Arrigo) contributes to the comfortable, relaxed abience. The dishes are scaled down to be in proportion with the small tables, and when it's time to repaint and refurbish everything is replicated lovingly down the the last detail. Arrigo told me once that they tried moving the kitchen upstairs in order to lessen the noise and bustle downstairs, but it turned out that the din was what contributed to the unique atmosphere of Harry's Bar, so the kitchen was restored downstairs. The waiters are also something very special, quick, efficient, and friendly without being intrusive.
Of course none of this would happen were it not for the watchful eye of Arrigo Cipriani, son of the founder. He could be off rambling somewhere in his Ferrari or sitting under a palm tree on a desert island, but no, his presence is constant, cordial, calm, unhurried, the twinkling eyes not missing a detail, attentive but not obsequious to his clients. Over the years I had never, ever, seen Arrigo sitting at a table in his restaurant, but recently, while doing research for this web, while eating there with friends one of them, a Venetian, pointed out that Arrigo was sitting at a nearby table with his friends from his Karate club.
My Venetian friend Roberta di Camerino for years had warned me that if you asked Arrigo for a recipe he would always leave out some ingredient or detail, so you could never exactly replicate the mouth-watering dish you ate in his restaurant, so I approached his book with trepidation. I treasure my copy, as I found it in a book stall in Turin last year for 20,000 lire (about $14), although you can buy a copy of this plus others Arrigo has written on the premises. Well, I tried the tagliolini gratinati and the chocolate cake, and if my versions were not as good as the originals I'm sure I have only myself to blame. "The Harry's Bar Cookbook" is one of those cookbooks that makes great reading even for those who don't know how to boil water. Actually, I've been told by book editors that many people never try the recipes in the cookbooks they buy, they just like to read them. If you're one of those, Arrigo's book is great in that he's very opinonated and he gives you his ideas on everything from caviar to buying fish at the market. There's much more to the book then just the recipes and explanations.
With his permission, we bring you two of my absolute favorites, the tagliolini gratinati and the humble chicken sandwich. Even a sandwich is special at Harry's, and when Claudio the barman makes it then it is really special. Venice can be very tiring, because you walk and you walk and you walk, and unless you're very rich you can't just call a taxi to take you home ($60 at least) so if I'm in the neighborhood I often stop in for a glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice and a chicken sandwich. You can make any of these recipes at home, but it well never taste exacly the same, because you won't have it perfumed with the special air of Harry's Bar.
Logan Bentley Lessona
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Some Recipes from the Book
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Tagliolini with shrimp and zucchini
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Ingredients:
- 1/2 pound fresh young zucchini cut into 1-inch by 1/4 inch strips
- 1 pound (about 30) medium shrimp, shelled, deveined and cut in half
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper
- salt
- 3/4 pound dried white tagliolini or tagliatelle (egg pasta)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus extra to pass at the table
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Put a large pot of water to boil while preparing the sauce. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, let it cook until golden, about 30 seconds, and discard it. Add the zucchini and cook for two minutes. Add the shrimp, the pepper flakes, and some salt and cook for three minutes, tossing constantly, until the shrimp are bright pink and firm to the touch. Reserve 1/4 cup of the mixture for garnish. Set aside. Salt the boiling water, add the pasta, and cook for 2 minutes or until "al dente". Drain well in a colander. Toss the pasta with the zucchini-and-shrimp mixture, add the butter and the Parmesan, and toss well. Transfer to a heated serving platter dish and garnish with the reserved shrimp-and-zucchini mixture. Pass around a small bowl of grated Parmesan cheese.
WINE NOTES: Italian: Pinot Grigio - Marco Felluga, American: Chardonnay - Carneros Creek
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Chicken Sandwich
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Ingredients:
- 12 thin slices homemade-style unsweetened white bread, largest available slices (NB: Try Pepperidge or Arnold's Bakery) 6 cups chicken stock
- 1 celery rib, cut into chunks
- 1 small onion, halved
- 1 carrot, trimmed and cut into chunks
- 1 bay leaf
- salt
- 2 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts, split and trimmed
- 3/4 cup homemade mayonaise
- 1/2 head romaine lettuce, coarsely shredded
- Worcestershire sauce
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To make a really good chicken sandwich you must use freshly cooked chicken. If you want to use leftover chicken, you will need about 3 cups for 6 sandwiches.
Poach the chicken: Put the stock, celery, onion, carrot, bay leaf, and some salt in a large saucepan. Heat to a boil and boil, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add the chicken breasts, lower the heat, and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes on each side. Remove the pan from the heat and let the chicken cool in the broth for 30 minutes. Remove the chicken to a cutting board and cut it into julienne strips.
Strain the double-rich chicken stock and save it to use in a soup or sauce.
Assemble the sandwiches: Spread some mayonnaise generously over one side of each slice of bread. Mound half the lettuce on half the bread slices, leaving a 1-inch margin of bread. Mound the chicken on top of the lettuce and season with salt and a little Worcestershire sauce. Cover with the remaining lettuce, then another slice of bread. Press firmly on the edges to seal the sandwiches. Trim the crusts if you wish. When you cut the sandwiches in half, they will have the characteristic Harry's Bar shape shown in the photograph. Serve immediately.
WINE NOTES: Italian: Tocai - Volpe Pasini, American: Chardonnay - Colbertson
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