Category Archives: Mangiamo!

Hostaria Antica Roma~Eat like an Ancient Roman

26 Friday Sep 2025

Posted by in Mangiamo!, Roma

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What do you do when a planned daytrip from Roma is cancelled because of pouring rain?  Go and have a meal like the ancient Romans! My friend and I went to Via Appia Antica-the Ancient Appian Way, a road from Roma to Brindisi. Close to the Catacombs of Domitilla, and almost right below the cylindrical Tomba di Cecilia Metella is Hostaria Antica Roma. Here, at his family’s ristorante, Paolo Magnanimi, an amateur gastronomic archeologist, has researched and is reviving 2,000 year old ancient Roman recipes. We enjoyed a delicious meal, enriched by explanation and commentary from Paolo.  It was an educational culinary journey into the past.

The restaurant serves traditional ‘modern’ Roman cuisine, but also a tasting menu called ‘A Tavola con Apicio’ (At the table with Apicius) closely based on the recipes in the 1st Century AD ‘De Re Coquinaria’ /On the subject of Cooking’, the only surviving cookbook from Ancient Roma. It is thought to have been compiled by Apicio -Marcus Gavius Apicius, a wealthy epicure/food lover. He was described by Pliny the Elder as ‘the most gluttonous gorger of all spendthrifts’.  Ouch! Just like Nonna’s, the ancient recipes only include ingredients, not quantities, proportions or instructions.  Paolo recreates the dishes using -as much as possible-only ingredients available at the time.  Ingredients inclucing sugar, chocolate, basil and tomato were not available in the 1stCentury.

We started off with ‘Gustum’ an antipasto platter consisting of a selection of everyday ancient snacks made with local products.  I believe this menu item usually needs to be ordered in advance.  Fortunately for us, a table had reserved for 6 people, but only 5 were there, so we were able to take the extra one!  Clockwise from the top of the photo:

Libum di Catone a bread described by Cato as a sacred symbol of devotion.  It was made with wheat flour, sheep milk ricotta, eggs and honey, and baked on a layer of bay laurel leaves. Now I know what I will do with my extra bay leaves!

Moretum was described by the poet Virgil as an everyday dish of the ancient Romans. This is the ancestor of Pesto, but named after the mortar instead of the pestle.  Moretum is made with pecorino-fresh sheep milk cheese, garlic, herbs such as coriander and celery seed, salt, nuts and olive oil. It can be eaten on its own or spread onto libum.  Paolo grinds together his ingredients with the mortar and pestle, just as described by Virgil.

Prosciutto cotto (ham) with honey and fresh pecorino

Epityrium a spread, similar to a tapenade, of olives and herbs, including cumin, fennel, coriander and sometimes mint. It was served on bread

For our primo or first course, we had the ancestor of modern lasagne, Patina Cotidiana, which is Latin for ‘daily dish’.  The pasta sheets are called laganum.  If any of you believe Marco Polo brought pasta to Italy from China in the 13th Century, that is ‘leggenda metropolitana’, an urban myth.  Boiled laganum are layered with ground beef, fennel and pecorino.  It is ‘in bianco’, meaning no tomato, since the tomato did not arrive in Europe until the 1500’s, and was not even an edible product at that time. Click on Il Pomodoro for the history of the modern tomato.

Our secondo or second course was Pollum Oxizomum, chicken cooked with pieces of leek, olive oil, vinegar and garum.  Garum was a fermented fish sauce that was a staple condiment in the ancient Roman kitchen.  75% of the recipes in De re Coquinaria include garum!  At the archeological site of Ostia Antica, one of the market stalls with fish mosaics likely sold the intensely flavoured Garum!  Today, colatura di alici di Cetara is the best substitute for garum.  Colatura di alici means anchovy drippings and this can be considered the ‘Italian version’ of an Asian fish sauce.

In the small Amalfi Coast fishing village of Cetara, they have been making colatura di alici the same way for centuries.  Anchovy fillets and sea salt are layered in small chestnut wood barrels called terzigni with a heavy weight on top. The anchovies are left to ferment for a long time-up to 3 years!  This process produces a clear amber liquid with an intense flavour that floats to the top.  A hole is made in the bottom of the barrel to collect the colatura after it passes through the layers of anchovies.  Online, a 50 ml bottle is about $25 (USD).  Surprisingly, our pollo did not taste fishy or overly salty.  It was delicious!

Finally, for dessert /dolce we had Tiropatina a predecessor of custard or crème caramel.  It was made with whole milk, eggs and honey, with a drizzle of honey and a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper on top.  The ancient Romans believed pepper to be an aphrodisiac.

A few other items on the ancient menu that we did not try include: Pulsa con copadia, rustic polenta with an aromatic beef stew, Isicia Omentata, pork polpette (meatballs) in grape sauce and La Cassata di Oplontis, a dessert made with almond flour, sheep milk ricotta, honey, dried and candied fruit.

I absolutely recommend a visit to Hostaria Antica Roma, especially if you are fascinated by the history of ancient Roma and gastronomic history.  The fact that everything was delicious does not hurt either!  The week after our visit in July, Paolo was being interviewed by the BBC.

De Re Coquinaria 2021 edition, translated by Terra Nectare corrects previously incorrect translations

Hostaria Antica Roma, Via Appia Antica 176Open Tuesday-Saturday 12:30-1500 and 19:30-22:30, Sun 12-3, Monday closed.

Grazie to to my amica Anna for joining me.  Buon appetito!

 

Il Bicerin

23 Saturday Nov 2024

Posted by in Italia, Mangiamo!, Recipes

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November weather is dark and dreary, and has me craving a nice warm Bicerin. Bicerin (bee • SHEH • reen) is the official, historic drink of Torino.  The Bicerin was invented in 1763, at the newly opened Caffè Confetteria Al Bicerin in Piazza della Consolata.

Al Bicerin’s strategic location opposite the Santuario della Consolata, where the King and Royal Family attended Mass on Sundays, made it a popular spot and the beverage became well-known.

The secret recipe is made with local dark chocolate, espresso and frothed fior di latte, and served in a small stemmed glass.  The drink is actually named after the glass, Bicerin being local dialetto for bicchierino, meaning small glass. The glass is clear so that all 3 layers are visible.  A Bicerin is not supposed to be stirred, so that the temperature and texture of each layer can be tasted separately and blend on the palate.

The facade of Al Bicerin is still original and stepping inside is like travelling back in time. The counter, the cabinet filled with glass jars of Confetti and the woodwork is from the 19th Century.

I went to Al Bicerin twice while I was in Torino.  Since the weather was nice, I sat outside both times, but the inside is inviting and cozy.  Perfect for a cold, wet November day. The photo below was taken just before closing.

Count Camillo Cavour, the first Italian Prime Minister always sat in the same corner on his daily visit to Al Bicerin. Now there is a photo of him in his angolo. Other famous patrons include Picasso, Puccini, Nietzsche, Alexandre Dumas, Umberto Eco, and Ernest Hemingway, who apparently called the Bicerin one of the 100 things in the world worth saving!

A fun fact about Caffè Confetteria Al Bicerin is that since 1763, it has always been managed by women!

In 2001, the Bicerin was finally recognized by the region of Piemonte as a traditional Piemontese beverage. Order with a plate of local cookies, which can include canestrelli, torcetti, krumiri, savoiardi and baci di dama.

Bicerin is now served in all of the historic caffè places in Torino but it will be slightly different than the original recipe at Caffè Confetteria Al Bicerin, located at Piazza della Consolata 5 in the Quadrilatero area.

Other historic places to have Bicerin in Torino include:

Baratti e Milano- Piazza Castello 29

Caffè Torino- Piazza San Carlo 29

Caffè Fiorio- Via Po 8/C

Farmacia del Cambio- Piazza Carignano 2

Pepino Piazza Carignano- 8

Pfatish Via Paolo Scacchi- 42

I did some experimenting at home to try and reproduce a Bicerin.  My final product did not taste or look exactly the same, but it was delicious, and the taste-testing ‘research’ was fun.  It takes a bit of juggling to have all 3 layers ready to assemble at once, so do not get discouraged if the first attempt does not look pretty.

Cristina’s attempt at Bicerin

Ingredients:

  • 60 ml (2 oz) light cream*
  • 60 ml (2 oz) chopped 70% dark chocolate, ideally Venchi or other quality brand**
  • 60 ml (2 oz) freshly made espresso doppio/double shot
  • 60 ml (2 oz) frothed whole milk or light cream (must be cold)*

A 300-360 ml (10-12 oz) clear, heat-proof stemmed glass

Instructions:

  • Prepare heat-proof glass by warming with hot water
  • Prepare caffettiera for espresso
  • Pour light cream* and chopped chocolate into a small pan over low heat and whisk until thick.  Meanwhile, make espresso
  • Shake milk/cream in a small jar for 2-3 minutes

Assemble the Bicerin:

  • Pour hot chocolate into warm glass
  • Using the back of a spoon, carefully pour espresso towards the side of glass
  • Carefully add shaken milk/cream
  • Do not stir!

*Consistency wise, there is no North American equivalent to Italian fior di latte (milk cream) or panna (cream).  I experimented using combinations of whipping cream and milk.  My best results were using a mixture of half whipping cream and half whole milk (3%).  This is what I recommend using for both the hot chocolate and the topping. 1 part whipping cream and 2 parts whole milk also works.

**A Torino produced chocolate such as Venchi is best to use.  I used Guillard as it was the best good quality chocolate I had available.

Espresso cookies go perfectly with Bicerin.  Buon appetito, Cristina

Panzerotti

26 Sunday May 2024

Posted by in Mangiamo!, Puglia, Recipes

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Panzerotti are a popular Pugliese street food.  In the spirit of ‘cucina povera’ where nothing is wasted, they came about from using leftover bread or pizza dough to make small, fried stuffed pizze. They are crispy outside, fluffy inside and mezzaluna (half moon) shaped.  Panzerotti can have a simple tomato and mozzarella filling, or prosciutto, prosciutto cotto (ham), or fresh sausage cut out of its casing and fried can be added.  Other common fillings include onion, olive, capers anchovies and tomato, and spicy pork, similar to a porchetta.

Panzerotto (singular) is the diminutive form of panza, dialetto for pancia, which means belly, because the dough swells up like a bloated belly when fried in oil!

Panzerotti Recipe:

Dough:

500 g total of flour:  -250g 00 flour (1¾ cups)

                                     -250g semola rimacinata*(2 cups)

10g (2 teaspoons) instant dried yeast

250 ml warm water

Pinch of sugar

60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil, plus more to grease the bowl

125 ml (½ cup) milk

5g (1 tsp) salt

Filling:

250 g passata di pomodoro or a tin of Mutti Polpa, which may need to be strained

Mozzarella -if using fresh mozzarella, drain first to decrease moisture

Prosciutto

Oregano or basil

My favourite ingredient-un po’ di pepe-a bit of pepper!

Sunflower oil for frying

Instructions:  Disolve the yeast in 1 cup water and a pinch of sugar or honey and let sit for 10 minutes.  Add all the flour(s) to a large mixing bowl or on a spianatoia (pasta board).  Make a hole in the center and add the milk, oil and water /yeast.  Mix together with a fork, slowly incorporating more flour.  Add salt last, then knead on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add more flour if it is too wet, and more milk if it is too dry.

Lightly oil the bowl and place the dough back in.  Cover with a damp tea towel/cloth so it does not dry out, and let rise 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Roll out 14-15 balls (~ 50g each) and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Cover with a damp tea towel/cloth and let rise for 1 hour. The panzerotti will cook more evenly if they are all about the same size.

Add oregano or basil, and pepper to the tomato passata or polpa.  I do not add salt if using an already salty filling like prosciutto. Drain mozzarella to avoid extra moisture if using fresh.

One at a time, roll a ball of dough into a thin circle.  Add ½ to 1 tablespoon tomato mixture in the center and smooth it around with a spoon.  Do NOT go too close to the edges, and add more in the bottom half of circle.  Add other ingredients to the bottom half of the circle.  Fold in half, pressing edges firmly together, then double seal by folding the edge over again and pinch with fingers to make a fancy design. You do not want the panzerotti to open during frying.  This will make a mess of the oil.  Too much filling and /or too much moisture will also cause them to open.

Keep aside a small piece of dough to test the oil to see if it is hot enough. Fry in sunflower oil in batches of 2-3 panzerotti for 2-3 minutes per side or until golden and puffy.  You can spoon a bit of oil over the top to prevent bubbles-although I like the bubbles!  Drain on paper towels so they stay crispy and do not get soggy.  Fry right away, as if they sit, the dough continues to rise, making them more likely to open.  It is best to make panzerottiwith 2 people-1 to assemble and 1 to fry.  If you do not have 4 hands, put the filled panzerotti in the fridge as you make them, until ready to fry them all.  They are best served soon after frying. Makes about 14-15 panzerotti.  I usually double this recipe and freeze them.

Raw, stuffed panzerotti can also be frozen.  Fry them still frozen, as defrosting may turn them into soup.  Place a splash screen on top of the pan in case the oil spatters!

Panzerotti can also be baked at 200°C (295°F) for 20 minutes, although technically this makes them calzone. Brush the top with egg yolk or oil before baking or they may be dry.

*Semola or semolina is the yellow durum wheat endosperm.  Semola rimacinata has been ground once more.  It gives the dough more of a bite to it.  You can just use 500 g All Purpose flour, but I find the best results using a combination of 00 and semola rimacinata.  It is also common to just use simple pizza or bread dough to make panzerotti, but those are more like stuffed pizze fritte.

**as with all recipes involving flour, it is always best to weigh with a scale rather than measure with cups.

Buon appetito!  Cristina

In my Kitchen in Puglia, 2023

12 Tuesday Sep 2023

Posted by in Amici e Famiglia, Italian life, Mangiamo!, Orsara di Puglia, Puglia

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I recently returned from 6 weeks at our little casa in Orsara di Puglia.  As usual, there was a lot of activity in the kitchen. Cucina povera, literally ‘food of the poor’, is what you will mostly find in Puglia.  Simple foods made with fresh local ingredients. Here are just a few of the things my family and I were up to in our tiny but functional summer kitchen in Orsara di Puglia. Since I have so much material to write about, I have kept it to gifts of food received from amici, parenti e vicini di casa -friends, relatives and neighbours.

About the space, the whole place is only 40m² (about 450 square feet) including a bedroom and bathroom.  That is about the size of a double garage.  The room with the cucina is also the living room, guest room (aka my room) and art studio. The highlight of the room is the amazing barrel vaulted stone ceiling, which is hard to fit in a photo. There is even the face of a Madonnina on one of the stones.We had a lot of visitors, many who came bearing gifts.  This lovely cestino, filled with locally grown vegetables was dropped off by one of our neighbours.

The melanzane (eggplant, or aubergine for the Brits) were stuffed and baked. The pulp was fried up with a bit of ground beef and pork, garlic, breadcrumbs and parmigiano, then stuffed and topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella. They were soooo yummy, but we only made them once, as it was so hot that having the oven on was painful!The long green and red peperoni or peppers in the cestino are called friarill’. They are sweet tasting, and as the name implies, are usually fried. Friarill’ on fresh bread taste heavenly!The gift of fresh eggs is amazing.  I used half of them to make fresh egg pasta for ravioli di ricotta e spinaci.  I froze them for the festa della Madonna della Neve Aug 5th. Freezing them was hard, as the freezer is so tiny. I make these often in Vancouver, and they are good-but the goat milk ricotta here is so incredibly good that they taste better.I was happy to use my spianatoia one more time.  That is the wooden pasta rolling board. It has a lip on one end so it stays put on the table and a handy carrying handle, just like the chair.

Mamma and I used the rest of the eggs to make Torta di mela, an apple cake.  We made it to bring to our family grigliata -BBQ- at the olive grove that was my Nonno’s. It had to be baked at 1 am as it was just too painful to turn the oven on during the day.La torta looked a bit plain, so I placed a clean crochet doily over the top and sprinkled icing sugar all over. The fancy shmancy design was left on the cake. I often have to do this to my Torta Caprese because the top always collapses a bit. Fiori di zucca are one of my favourite summer foods-and my favourite bouquet of flowers. My Zio brought over a LOT of them one day, an hour before we were going to be eating.  I stuffed some of them with what I had available. There were a few trecce-fresh, braided mozzarella, in the fridge and basilico growing out on the tiny terrazza. Once they were stuffed, I battered them in flour and mineral water with a few bonus ingredients like parmigiano and basilico, and then fried them.

They were crunchy and delicious, but I only had time to use up less than half of my precious fiori.  Fiori di zucca are extremely delicate.  They only last a day 2 and do not freeze well.  Not wanting to waste them, once I finished the dishes, I drizzled olive oil on a baking pan, borrowed some caciocavallo from my neighbour, and stuffed a bunch more.  The stuffed fiori were placed in the pan, which went straight into the freezer to use a 4 days later.  Great idea, no?  Well-yes and no.  They had to be baked, since attempting to fry these beauties after freezing would turn them into mush. Baking them at 1am was not an option. We had to endure the heat but they were worth the sweat!A few fiori were saved to make risotto the next day.  This was a new thing for me, as I have never had so many fiori that I could make risotto.  More recipe ideas and harvesting tips can be found in the post Fiori di zucca. My amico Peppe Zullo gave me a few bottles of his vino rosato Amarosa.  Apparently the name Amarosa has been trademarked by someone else, so the vino is getting a name change.  It will now be named after Orsara’s women’s soccer (or football for the Brits) team….Orsarosa!Mercoledi/Wednesday is mozzarella di bufala day.  I came home from Procida on a Thursday and a friend had left me these melt in your mouth ones. They are from Masseria Li Gatti near Torremaggiore, SanSevero (FG). The mozzarella are in the new Pugliese serving bowls my sister brought from Polignano a Mare. The piattaia is full so I will need to find somewhere to display them.I hope this post has made you either hungry and drooling or wishing you could visit Puglia yourself.  Perhaps it has done both? Perché no?  I am already planning my next visit!  Buon appetito e buon viaggio, Cristina

Thanks Sherry from Australia for hosting the monthly food blogging event, In My Kitchen (IMK). Click the link to Sherry’s Pickings to read about other world kitchens this month. Buon appetito, Cristina

Polpo e patate

20 Tuesday Jun 2023

Posted by in Italia, Mangiamo!, Photography, Puglia, Recipes, Travel

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Polpo is one of the joys of visiting the Adriatic in summer.  Polpo or polipo is octopus, from the ancient Greek polypous, meaning ‘many footed.’  In Italiano, polpo and polipo are both correct terms for octopus! It is one of my favourite foods…I love it grilled, or in a summer salad, especially polpo e patate, a cold potato and octopus salad.  Last year, between camping on the beach in Mattinata, a family wedding, a side trip to Santorini, and mamma’s kitchen, there was a lot of polpo in my life.  In this post, I will share some of my polpo photos, instructions for cooking, and how to make polpo e patate.

I had polpo each of the 5 days I was in Santorini.  There it is called Octapodi χταπόδι, meaning ‘eight footed’. The view from the landing outside my hotel room in Thira was the perfect place to sketch.  When I finished sketching, it was too nice to leave.  Instead of going out to dinner, I walked to a restaurant and got takeout octapodi with couscous.  I brought my feast back and ate it at my sketching spot while watching the sunset.  Yiasou!

In Imerovigli, I had this orgasmic fava bean puree with grilled polpo, caramelized onions and capers. I have to try making this some time. Also in Imerovigli, I had a late night dinner of grilled octopodi on potatoes.

Santorini’s small port has a few seafood restaurants, where I had this very Greek grilled octopodi with oregano.

This photo was taken at the outlet mall in Molfetta.  Yes, polpo is mall food in Puglia!

The day after the matrimonio in Puglia we had a long table dinner in an olive grove by the beach in Mattinata.  This is the gorgeous polpo e patate!  #cookinggoals!

When camping on the beach with my cugini, we often grill polpo and then make a salad with it. The mobile fishmonger il pescivendolo  (pesh·ee·ven·DOH·loh) drives around to the different campsites selling fresh seafood. More about this in Campeggio sul Gargano.  We also have polpo on the grill when we go to my nonno’s olive grove for a grigliata.

This photo of mamma washing polpo in our tiny kitchen in Orsara di Puglia was popular on Instagram.  She made a salad, without potatoes but still yummy! The second one was cooked in a tomato sauce the following day.washing octopus

Octopus saladPeople apparently do all sorts of crazy things to tenderize polpo.  It does not need to be beaten against rocks, bashed with a meat tenderizer, or hung on the clothesline!  It just needs to cook in water long enough to tenderize the tough chewy collagen, which is about 1 hour per kg.  Once cooked, it can be eaten, grilled, pan seared in olive oil or saved to use later.  Freezing also helps tenderize, so previously frozen polpo does not need to cook for as long.

Polpo is hard to find in Canada!  I bought a pack of 4 legs/tentacles from Spain, but then had to freeze it as I could not use it right away.  Here is my ‘measurements optional’, flexible recipe for polpo e patate.  It is made with the legs only, as I am not as adventurous as mamma!

Ingredients:      1 kg (2.2 lbs) polpo

                         500 g (1.1 lb) potatoes

                         Good quality extra virgin olive oil

                         10 ml (2 tsp) lemon juice, freshly squeezed

                         10 ml (2 tsp) chopped prezzemolo-Italian parsley

                         2-3 cherry tomatoes

                         1 bay leaf

                         Splash of vinegar

                         100g chopped celery and/or carrots

                         15 ml (1 tsp) capers

                         1 garlic clove, finely chopped (optional)

                         Peperoncino (optional)

                         sale, black pepper

Instructions:

  • Wash and rinse the polpo. I had already done this before freezing it.
  • In a pan, add salt, bay leaf, cherry tomatoes, lemon slices and a splash of vinegar. Cover with water
  • Bring to boil, then lower heat and cook 1 hour. It should be tender enough so that a knife can pierce the polpo with little resistance.
  • Turn off heat and let sit in the cooking water to cool
  • Pick up and immerse 3 times in the hot water if you want the tentacles to curl.
  • When cooled, polpo can either be grilled, pan seared, made into a salad, or stored in the fridge for up to 3 days
  • While cooling, cook potatoes in boiling salted water. Peel and cut into pieces
  • Cut cooled polpo into rounds or pieces. Add to a bowl with potatoes, olive oil, pepper, lemon juice and prezzemolo. You can also add finely chopped garlic and capers, or peperoncino for a little spice.  Add celery, carrots and cherry tomatoes and mix. Add extra prezzemolo and lemon slices for garnish

I didn’t have any celery and was out of capers.  Use whichever of these ingredients you have at the time.  The photos weren’t taken in the best light, but it was delicious! My next one will look like the one I had in Mattinata!

Are you a polpo fan too?  Have you ever cooked it yourself? Let me know in the comments.  Buon appetito, Cristina

Appuntamento con la Daunia

18 Wednesday Jan 2023

Posted by in Amici e Famiglia, Mangiamo!, Orsara di Puglia, Puglia

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On October 17th, I attended the 27th edition of Appuntmento con la Daunia, hosted by my amico Peppe Zullo. Every year I receive an invitation, but this was the first time I was actually in Italia in October.   La Daunia is the modern day Provincia di Foggia, named after the people who lived there under King Daunus.

Held at Villa Jamele in Orsara di Puglia, the event featured local food and wine, focusing on the biodiversity of the area.  It was attended by journalists, food writers, and those involved in the local enogastronomic industry. There were various site tours, then a round table discussion with 6 speakers from the enogastronomic industry and the Director of tourism for the Regione Puglia.  There was discussion and sharing of information and research for growth, development and sustainability concerning local food and culture.

New research was presented from the University of Foggia further confirming that the soil in the Monti Dauni area is rich in the antioxidant Selenium.  This is likely why there are a higher than usual number of centenarians in the area. Nature, nutrients and culture…ingredients of the Daunia.

The event concluded with a meal made entirely with locally sourced, seasonal ingredients. Dalla terra alla tavola-from the earth to the table-you won’t get any fresher than this!

‘Ostriche di montagna’ which means ‘mountain oysters’.  They are actually fried borragine/borage leaves, served with lampascione con pecorino (fried wild onion on pecorino) and crostino di salsiccia e fico (sausage and fig crostino)Parmigiana di borragine, similar to parmigiana di melanzane, but layered with borage leaves instead of eggplant.

Pancotto e patate con verdure e pomodorini (cooked bread and potatoes with wild greens and tomatoes). Pancotto e patate is Cucina Povera at its best-my favourite comfort food.

Troccoli con zucca, cicerchi e cime di rapa (Handmade Troccoli with squash, local chick peas and rapini)

Maiale con zucchine e uva fragole e patate fritte (Pork with zucchine and sweet grapes topped with fried potatoesSemifreddo di zucca, torta con crema e biscottini di grano arso (pumpkin semifreddo with pomegranate seeds, cream cake and tiny biscotti made with grano arso, a burnt wheat flour

To drink, we had Peppe’s Amarosa vino rosato / Amorosa rosé.  It is made from the Nero di Troia grape, which according to legend was brought by Diomedes who settled in the Daunia area after the Trojan War. Read more in Vini di Puglia.

Peppe Zullo was recently voted one of the 10 best local restaurants in Italia and the best in Puglia by the online gastronomic guide TasteAtlas!  Here is a link to an article in Italian in Rec24 and in Corriere.it. Tantissimi auguri Peppe!!!!

Ciao, Cristina

In my Kitchen in Puglia, 2022

13 Saturday Aug 2022

Posted by in Italian life, Mangiamo!, Orsara di Puglia, Puglia

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I recently returned from a long trip to Italia, after an unplanned 3 year ‘pandemic break’. We missed our little casa in Orsara di Puglia.  Once we cleaned up a bit, there was a lot of activity in the kitchen. Cucina povera, literally ‘food of the poor’, is what you mostly find in Puglia.  Simple foods made with fresh local ingredients. Here are just a few of the things my family and I were up to in our tiny but functional summer kitchen in Orsara di Puglia.

Starting with the space itself, the whole casa is 40m² (about 450 square feet) including a bedroom and bathroom.  That is about the size of a double garage.  The room with the cucina is also the living room, guest room (aka my room) and art studio. The highlight of the room is the amazing barrel vaulted stone ceiling, which is hard to fit in a photo.

We had a lot of visitors who came bearing gifts.  My favourite gift was the anguria -the huge watermelon on the counter.  It was grown by a friend and was delicious!  He also grew the cipolle.

Melanzane (eggplant, or aubergine for the Brits) and zucchine are plentiful in summer.  We made Parmigiana di melanzane e zucchine.  It was soooo yummy, but we only made it once as cooking it was painful.  It was too hot to have the oven on! Now this is my idea of a bouquet of flowers! Fiori di zucca are one of my favourite summer foods. I stuffed them with caciocavallo and basilico, then battered and fried them.  It was too hot to bake them in the oven.  They were eaten before I could take a photo.  Luckily they are easy to find here. I grow fiori di zucca in my garden in Vancouver, because they are impossible to find. Recipes and harvesting tips can be found in the post Fiori di zucca. 

Fichi-figs-were everywhere.  Green, purple, small, big…even ginormous like this one in my hand.More fichi!basket of figsLast time I was here, I bought a spianatoia, although I only knew what is was called in dialetto.  It is a pasta rolling board with a lip on one end so it stays put on the table.  This one also has a handy carrying handle. I was only able to use it once in 2019, so I wanted to get some use out of it. I made ravioli di ricotta e spinaci a few times and filled the freezer.  I make them often in Vancouver, and they are good-but the goat milk ricotta here is so incredibly good that they taste better.

I did not get a chance to make my own orecchiette as I was too busy socializing, but we did eat them often.  I need to practice my technique!

Orecchiette con sugo

The cheese products in Puglia and Campania are drool-worthy!  Orsara has its own DOP cheese called cacioricotta, made with goat milk, but it never stays around long enough to be photographed!  Wednesday is mozzarella di bufala day. These melt in your mouth ones are from Masseria Li Gatti near Torremaggiore, SanSevero (FG).  

June is amarena season.  Amarene are sour wild cherries.  The word amaro means sour or bitter.  Everyone is busy picking them, making jam, canning them and making crostate.  I went amarena picking in my cousin’s olive grove.  Aren’t they gorgeous?Amarena cherries on the tree

Friends and relatives gave us amarene in syrup.  The absolute best place to use it is on top of gelato! I ate a lot of polpo or polipo on this trip.  They both mean Octopus and it is one of my favourite foods.  I will have to publish a post with all of my polpo photos.  This one of Mamma washing polpo in the kitchen sink was popular on instagram.washing octopusThis is the insalata di polpo that she made.  No leftovers.  Sorry, not sorry!Octopus salad

Cooking fish needs to be coordinated with umido day which is 3 times a week, otherwise the entire house will be puzzolente -stinky. Orsara now does la raccolta differenziata for garbage and recycling and it is extremely efficient!  Roma, are you listening?  The town has never looked so clean.  I will have to write a post about this.  Here is a sunny photo of l’umido pickup day.  This is not the kitchen, but these stairs do lead to it!

We went to a post-wedding meal in Alberona and stopped off at the caciocavallo store on the way home.  It was actually a farm and it was super-puzzolente!

Fresh caciocavallo needs to hang to dry.  The kitchen stone ceiling has a catnill’.  This is a metal ring like the ones outside that were used to tie up your donkey.  We couldn’t reach it to hang the caciocavallo, plus they tend to ‘sweat’ and leak a small amount of fluid until they dry.  Yuck.  who wants caciocavallo sweat to fall on their head?  It was hung from the fridge, next to the piattaia full of Pugliese plates.

I will leave you with one last photo of the cute little Ichnusa Sardinian beer bottle I brought home from camping in Mattinata.  I hope this post has made you either hungry and drooling or wishing you could visit Puglia yourself.  Maybe it has done both? Perché no?  I am already planning my next visit!  Buon appetito e buon viaggio, Cristina
Thanks Sherry from Australia for hosting the monthly food blogging event, In My Kitchen (IMK). Click the link to Sherry’s Pickings to read about other world kitchens. Buon appetito, Cristina

In my Kitchen-Summer 2021

05 Sunday Sep 2021

Posted by in Blogging, Mangiamo!

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For the second year in a row, I am missing my kitchen in Puglia due to the plague and pestilence of this global pandemic. Hopefully we will see each other again next year. You can see why I miss it by checking out the IMK post I wrote the last time I was there In my Kitchen in Puglia.

Since I had to stay home again this summer, I invited friends over in my backyard a few times. I would usually make pizza for this type of gathering, but my 23 year old oven had been unpredictable and slowly dying. One time my crust would be nice and crispy, another time barely cooked. For a change, I was very Pugliese and made panzerotti. They were delicious, but messy to fry.  Next time I will do it outside on my portable induction burner, but this wasn’t possible by myself. Making panzerotti is really a 2 person thing. They need to be fried soon after being formed, or else they continue to rise, and the tomato sauce starts to seep through the dough. Both of these things can cause them to open and then the oil splatters and gets very messy. I did finally get a new stove last month. Isn’t it beautiful? Now my appliances are the same colour and my pizza crust is evenly cooked.  Yeah!

The pomodori in my garden have been happy. I grew all the plants from seeds, harvested from last year’s crop. Mamma and I have already dried seeds for next year.

My pomodori come in all shapes and sizes.  They have been eaten every day, in every possible way. The cherry ones taste like candy. I walk outside and eat them straight off the vine.

Speaking of pomodori, a few weeks ago, my parents’ cantina had only 3 litres of pasta left on the shelf! That has never happened before. Luckily, my family got together for our 2 day ‘salsapalooza’ and made 273 litres of passata di pomodoro. The cantina is restocked, as you can see!  The whole process can be found in the post Passata di Pomodoro. Most of the tomatoes were purchased, since the ones in our gardens are not all ripe at the same time. We are usually making our passata while jet lagged, right after getting back from Italia, so we supposedly had extra energy this year-although it didn’t feel like it!

Once the pomodori were canned, the rest of the basilico was used for making Pesto Genovese. Now I need to make some Corzetti to serve the pesto with.  I can pour myself a glass of white wine and pretend I am in the Cinque Terre.

My good friends from Sooke came to visit and I made a cake for Susanne’s birthday. Using my most popular recipe, I made Torta Caprese all’ Arancia. The margherite (daisies) design were made with almonds.  I sprinkled the entire cake with icing sugar, then removed the almonds. Ta-da!

The fig crop this year was unbelievable. My family ate all the figs we could, but there were way too many to eat #italianproblems. We made fig jam and even extra fig crostata to freeze. Next year I will have to try drying some too.

That is about all from my cucina (and my parents’ garage) for now.  What is happening in your cucina?  Let me know in the comments.  This post is part of the monthly ‘In my Kitchen’ linkup hosted by Sherry.  To read the other posts in this linkup, click this link to her blog Sherry’s Pickings.

Ciao, Cristina

Tiramisù

20 Saturday Mar 2021

Posted by in Mangiamo!, Recipes

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Tiramisu'

Buon Primavera!  It is the first day of spring and March 21st is also Giornata Mondiale del Tiramisù-World Tiramisù Day.  Tiramisù, made up of espresso dipped Savoiardi layered with a cream of whipped eggs and mascarpone, topped with cocoa-is thought to be a rather ‘modern’ creation.  It is widely believed to have been invented in Treviso in the late 1970’s and has been popular worldwide since the 1990’s.  The basis of it has actually existed for a long time, and Tiramisù as we know it today is an evolution of traditional local desserts, aphrodisiacs and energy drinks.  It has quite a controversial history, with at least 6 restaurants in 2 regions claiming to have invented it.  Definitely too many cooks stirring this pot!Tiramisu'

In the ‘dolci al cucchiaio’ (puddings/spoon desserts) section of Pellegrino Artusi’s 1861 book ‘La Scienza in Cucina e l’Arte di Mangiar Bene’ recipe #649 Dolce Torino sounds similar to Tiramisù.  It is made with savoiardidipped in a spicy liqueur layered with a cream made of eggs, butter, icing sugar, milk, vanilla and chocolate, topped with ground hazelnuts and pistachios.

Zabaione, made of raw egg yolks whipped with sugar with marsala or sometimes espresso, was considered a restorative energy drink for newlyweds, new mothers and the sick.  It also often served as a breakfast for children.  In Veneto, it was called sbattutino, meaning little beaten one.

In Treviso, they say the madama at a local brothel served a dish inspired by sbattutino, made with eggs, sugar, caffè and savoiardi to patrons and staff to restore their energy.  Sounds like an early Viagra?  It was called Tireme su, meaning lift me up in dialetto Veneto.  While this is likely leggenda metropolitana– an urban legend, I believe there may be some fact to it!

In his 1968 memoir, Giovanni Comisso (1895-1969), a writer from Treviso wrote about his nonna making a dessert called Tirame-sospiro-su in the early 1900’s and how she remembered it from her childhood.  (Note-I tried but was not able to locate his memoir).

The claim for inventing Tiramisù as we know it today is made in both Veneto and Friuli by at least 6 restaurants!  Owner Alba Campeol and chef Roberto Linguanotto both claim to have invented it around 1969 at the former Ristorante alle Beccherie in Treviso, as well as Carminantonio Iannaccone, a baker who claims he made and delivered the Tiramisú served at the restaurant!  Other Treviso restaurants staking a claim wereAl Camin, El Toula and Le Celeste.  In Friuli Mario Cosolo at Al Vetturino in Pieris and Norma Pielli at Albergo Roma in Tolmezzo both claim to have invented Tiremesù in the 1950’s.  Mannaggia!

Veneto is definitely responsible for popularizing Tiramisù, after the first published recipe appeared in Vin Veneto magazine in 1981. In the US, it became popular after being mentioned by Tom Hanks in the 1993 movie Sleepless in Seattle as being a mysterious dessert that women love.

In 2013, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano requested it as a special menu item at the International Space Station……dehydrated Tiramisù.  Uh…no, grazie! Tiramisu ingredients

My Tiramisù recipe is classic and simple.  A few notes on the ingredients:

Mascarpone is a product of Lombardia.  Often called a cheese, it is actually a cream, like clotted cream.  It can not be replaced with whipping cream and definitely not with cream cheese!

Eggs are raw in Tiramisù.  If possible, use farm fresh eggs, kept in the fridge until needed.  When separating the eggs, crack the whole eggs into a bowl, then scoop the yolks out by hand and put them in another bowl, rather than using the eggshell to separate them.  Make sure there is no yolk mixed in with the whites.

Caffè = espresso, preferably made in a stovetop Moka pot.  Decaf espresso is fine and will not change the taste.  Do not use North American brewed coffee or instant coffee!

Alcohol is optional.  Marsala is the most traditional alcohol to use.  My family has always treated caffè and Sambuca as a package deal, so this is what I use and I believe it is the yummiest option. 

Savoiardi are usually called Lady Finger Biscuits in English.  They are named after the House of Savoia, the ruling family of Italia.  In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, savoiardi were considered patriotic.  Read more in the post Margherita di Savoia.  I also like to make Tiramisù with Pavesini. They are smaller, crunchier and much thinner than savoiardi and have a light vanilla taste to them.  This results in an elegant looking Tiramisù with multiple thin layers, as in the photo below.Tiramisu' with Pavesini

Dish-a dish with straight sides rather than flared works best.  I use a 20cm X 30 cm glass baking dish (8 inch X 12 inch) with a plastic lid and it works well for a 2 layer Tiramisú.  If you want a 3rd layer, use a smaller dish.

Tiramisu'

Tiramisù

500g container of Mascarpone

1 400 g package Savoiardi

5 large eggs, separated

60g (¼ cup) sugar plus 10g (2 tsp) sugar

300ml (1½ cups) caffè

Sambuca or preferred alcohol

Cocoa powder or shaved chocolate for topping

Pinch of salt

  • Make caffè and stir in 10g (2 tsp) sugar while still hot, then add alcohol and let cool.
  • Mix yolks with sugar in electric mixer until frothy.  Add mascarpone and mix.
  • In a separate bowl, using clean whisk or beaters, whisk egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form.  Note-If you only have 1 mixer bowl and beater, it may be easier to mix the egg whites first.  If any bit of yolk gets into the whites, they will not become fluffy. 
  • Add egg whites to mascarpone mixture, stirring up from the bottom to keep it fluffy.  Do not overmix. Tiramisu' in progress
  • Spread a bit of mascarpone cream mixture to the bottom of the dish
  • Dip savoiardi one by one in caffè/sambuca mixture and arrange on bottom of dish.  Cover with half of the remaining cream mixture and repeat. Tiramisu'
  • Top with sifted cocoa powder or shaved chocolate. 
  • Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight, then cut and serve.  It is best to consume it all by the next day, which is not usually a problem!Tiramisu'

Happy World Tiramisù Day/Buon Giornata del Tiramisù! Do any of you readers, especially those from the Veneto- have Tiramisù origin stories? Buon Appetito, Cristina!

To listen to more about Tiramisú, check out Luca’s podcast on Luca’s Italy.

 

Ravioli Rossi

09 Tuesday Feb 2021

Posted by in Feste, Mangiamo!, Recipes

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La festa di San Valentino is coming up.  I love the colour red and any excuse to spread love. I also spent many years on a pediatric heart surgery unit-so hearts are a special shape for me!  My nipotine* and I made ravioli rossi a forma di cuore-heart shaped red ravioli so that the whole family can share a fun meal-even though we will not all be together.

Cutting out heart shaped beet ravioli

The pasta is coloured with beets-not food colouring.  This is something I have always wanted to try, even though the thought of staining myself and everything in the kitchen is scary.  We adapted my Ravioli con ricotta e spinaci recipe published in the fall.  I posted a photo of our ravioli on Facebook and Instagram, and had many requests for the instructions.  The adaptations are reviewed here, but you will need to refer to the original post -unless you are already a ravioli making machine.

Start by roasting 4 small or 2 medium beets with a drizzle of olive oil and salt in aluminum foil for at least an hour.   Before they cool, remove skin with a paper towel or gloved hands.  Chop then puree the beets in a food processor or with an immersion blender.  

We made 2 ‘half’ doses of my usual ravioli dough so we could make 2 different shades of red.  

2 eggs

125 ml (½ cup) roasted beet puree

250g (almost 2 cups) 00 flour, plus extra

For the lighter colour, we used about 60 ml (¼ cup) beet puree and added an extra egg yolk-although just using less flour is also an option.  

Mix the beets and eggs, then add in the middle of the flour, if kneading by hand.  I usually knead my dough by hand, but red stained hands did not sound appealing, so I started with the food processor.  When the dough is partially mixed and a uniform colour, transfer to a well-floured surface.  Knead for 10 min, adding extra flour as needed.  The amount of flour will depend on how much moisture is in the beets.  I had to add at least an extra 50g (~1/3 cup).  The dough should spring back when you stick a finger in it, but not stick to the work surface.  It will look and feel like pink play doh!  Cover with an upside down bowl and let sit for at least half an hour.  

We used the same ricotta filling as in the original post, omitting the spinach and adding the zest of half a lemon for extra flavour. This is enough filling for 2 ‘half’ doses of dough.

Heart shaped beet ravioli being shaped

When rolling the dough, flour the work surface as needed.  If the dough is still too moist to go through the pasta machine, sprinkle with flour before rolling it out-but be careful not to use too much.  If the dough is toodry, the 2 pasta sheets will not stick together and the ravioli will open while cooking.  Yuck!

Cutting out heart shaped beet ravioli

Roll the dough to the second thinnest setting on the pasta machine-usually this is a 6.  Use a heart shaped tagliabiscotti – a cookie cutter about 6-7 cm (2¼-2¾ inches) wide.  It is handy to have a slightly smaller size too, for places where there is not quite enough dough to cut the bigger size.  This decreases dough wastage! Press around the filling to remove air before cutting, and seal around the edges with fingers after cutting.  Egg white can be brushed along the edges to seal, but I have never found this necessary.  If the heart shape is not working for you, a traditional shape looks festive too.  

The colour lightens a lot when cooking, so make them as dark as possible!  If you do not like beets, not to worry, they add very little taste to the pasta dough.

Heart shaped beet ravioli boiling

Each half portion of dough will make about 45 ravioli.  Freeze and cook them as described in the original post.  Serve with a simple sauce.  I heat up olive oil with whole or chopped sage leaves and slivered almonds or hazelnuts.  Spoon it on top of the ravioli and sprinkle with Parmigiano Reggiano.  Aglio, olio e peperoncinoalso works well, or a light cream sauce with walnuts. 

Note-If my instructions are not clear or detailed enough you can link to 2 different, but similar heart shaped beet ravioli recipe posts. If you need a video, watch Gabri’s. It is in Italiano, the visuals are helpful even if you do not understand. For a more professionally presented printable recipe, check out Pina’s post.

Buon appetito e auguri per la festa di San Valentino!  Viva l’amore, Cristina

*nipotine means nieces or granddaughters.  In this case it means nieces! Grazie Isabella e Francesca!