HOME FRIES TRIESTE STYLE

Steps:

• Put the potatoes, whole and unpeeled, in a large pot, with cold water covering them by a few inches. Bring to a steady boil, and cook just until they are easily pierced with a fork or a sharp knife blade-don't let them get mushy or fall apart. Drain, cool, and peel the potatoes. Break them up into irregular chunks, roughly 1 inch or larger, with a sharp utensil. I use a large serving spoon with a thin edge, so the pieces have curved surfaces; avoid forking them apart, as the potatoes tend to crumble.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in the skillet over moderate heat. Stir in the onion and heat until sizzling gently. Gather it on one side of the pan to cook and soften in a small area, and spread the cut bacon in the rest of the skillet. Fry the bacon, tossing and spreading it out, until the fat is rendered and the pieces are getting crisp, while the onion wilts and starts to color, 5 minutes or more.
• Stir onion and bacon together, spill the potato chunks in the pan, and toss to mix everything. Raise the heat slightly, season with the salt and freshly ground pepper, and drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil all over. Keep tumbling and tossing until the potatoes are hot and sizzling, spread them to fill the pan in an even layer, and press the top flat with a spatula.
• Lower the heat, and cook without disturbing until the underside of the potato disk is caramelized and crispy, 5 minutes or longer. With the spatula, lift and turn the potatoes, breaking up the disk and bringing the crusty bits to the top. Stir and spread the potato chunks, and press flat, as before, and cook until the bottom is golden.
• Repeat the sequence of turning the potatoes, pressing them into a flat disk or cake, caramelizing the bottom for a few minutes, then tumbling it over, about a half-dozen times.
• After 40 minutes, or longer, when the potatoes have been crusted all over-and there are browned bits in every bite-season with salt and pepper to taste, press flat, and crisp the bottom well for a couple of minutes over medium heat. Place a large plate on top of the skillet and invert, dropping the cake out of the pan, then slide it back into the skillet for a final crusting.
• Slide or invert onto the plate, and serve right away.
• Garden vegetables are very important in Trieste, especially salads. Radicchio zuccherino, a small, green, leafy cluster from the chicory family, might as well be on the local flag, it is so popular; it is enjoyed with just some wine vinegar and olive oil tossed in a bowl that has been rubbed with garlic. The first cut, or primo taglio, is the most prized, each leaf being no bigger than a thumbnail. As the season progresses, the radicchio grows dense like grass and is recut at the root four or five times, each time becoming a little tougher and a little more complex and bitter. I love it at that stage, but I also love when it gets older and is mixed with hard-boiled eggs and cooked cannellini beans to soften it.
• Radicchio goes well with fish preparations such as grilled branzino (Mediterranean sea bass) or grilled orata (gilded bass) as well as grilled or fried calamari or seppia (cuttlefish) braised in a sauce and served with polenta. So try some of these dishes at the local eating places when you are in Trieste.
• You'll also find mussels doused with white wine and finished with some bread crumbs (Steamed Mussels Trieste Style, page 43) in bowls on trattoria tables. And in season there are mackerel and sardines in saor (Sardines in Onion-Wine Marinade, page 45), an onionand- wine-vinegar marinade. It is all good, straightforward eating that you'll get in Trieste.