As for the more specific question: Should you know what Gremolata is, well I can’t answer that - too many variables go unmentioned. Should you have asked when the restaurant’s server queried if you had any questions about the menu? Probably, but waiters don’t always inspire the confidence when they ask vague, rote open-ended questions. Besides, Saucyman feels he can accurately answer your question.
In the same way the definition of a common word in a dictionary has a longer entry than the rarely used word - the one you are extra proud of placing on the scrabble board, Gremolata has some extra archival information to go with a rather short list of ingredients - garlic, lemon peel and the often abused, rarely appreciated, parsley.
We’ll let the entertaining and informative Waverly Root articulate:
“…gremalada (Milanese) or gremalata (Italian) [is a] sauce, but there are seven different opinions on how gremalada is made. The only ingredient on which everyone agrees is grated lemon peel. Parsley is so common that one would expect all the recipes to include that too, but only five of them do. Most Milanese would include crushed anchovy fillets, but four of the seven omit it.”
From The Food of Italy (1971, Vintage).
The one thing most people agree on, is Gremolata is usually served with Osso Buco, added to the pot shortly before service. Expect when they don’t, Marcella Hazan, claims to bypass Gremolata in her preparation of shanks braised in wine, but dutifully includes a recipe; she instructs using lemon, garlic and parsley.
Saucyman is no traditionalist - having added Gremolata to artichokes sautéed in butter earlier this week, but I object the need to ‘improve' traditional recipes with trendy ingredients or co-opt a name for a here to fore untried, untested and untrue mélange of foodstuffs. It grates a little. The words Mango & Salsa appearing next to each other still raises hackles and it has been like 20 years for that one. Eggplant Caviar, Beet Sashimi, Chutney of really expensive exotic things; all annoy - Something good doesn’t miraculously improve because it gets described in fancier terms.
In the Art of Simple Food, Alice Waters recommends Gremolata and its Franco (sans lemon peel) cousin, Persillade, to accompany “roasted and braised meats, pastas, and anything grilled”. On the pedestrian side of the street, Rachel Ray, wisely suggests Gremolata with asparagus. And the thoughtful and creative Becks & Posh, not only explains how to make Gremolata, but what to do with it, here. Sam, who took the lovely picture above, is more open minded and even includes links to some of the more pernicious nouveau Gremolata combinations.
Saucyman will return early next week with the first of a two-parter on the difference between Bourbon and Scotch.
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