In my Kitchen in Puglia, 2022

13 Saturday Aug 2022

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Italian life, Mangiamo!, Orsara di Puglia, Puglia

Tags

Amarena, Cucina Pugliese, Fiori di zucca, In my kitchen, Mozzarella di bufala, Orecchiette, Parmigiana di melanzane, Polpo, Pugliese Traditions, Ravioli

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!Last 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!

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?

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.This is the insalata di polpo that she made. No leftovers. Sorry, not sorry!

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 in Puglia, 2019

07 Saturday Sep 2019

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Italian life, Mangiamo!, Orsara di Puglia, Puglia

≈ 36 Comments

Tags

Cavatelli, Fiori di zucca, In my kitchen, Nero di Troia, Orecchiette, Pancotto e patate, Pesto Genovese

August is always a busy month. I am usually in Orsara di Puglia for at least half of it, and there is a lot of activity in my kitchen. Here are just a few of the things my family and I were up to in our tiny but functional summer kitchen in Puglia.

Starting with the space itself, the whole casa is 40m² (about 450 square feet) including a bedroom and bathroom. 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 barrel vaulted stone ceiling. It is hard to get a photo of the whole thing, but this one gives you an idea what it looks like. Amazing, isn’t it?

August 5th is a feast day in Orsara. It is la festa della Madonna della Neve which you can read about here. My parents and I invited 7 family members over for pranzo, the 1pm meal. Luckily we have a total of 10 chairs!

I had recently 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. Mamma and I decided to make orecchiette and cavatelli, even though both of us were out of practice. These are the most typical pasta shapes found in Puglia. They was served with sugo made with braciole which are thin cuts of meat rolled with prosciutto, parmigiano, parsley and garlic.

There are no fancy appliances in this kitchen. I was given a bouquet of basilico and garlic from a friend’s garden and we made pesto ‘old school’ with her ancient and very heavy stone mortaio-mortar.

Vino is plentiful in Puglia. Nero di Troia is a nice, full-bodied local wine. Read more about it in Vini di Puglia, the first of a 3 part blog series. It is available at the grocery store in a 3L plastic container for less than €6! It is very good! We bring it home and Papà transfers it to 4 750ml glass bottles. Sure, you can spend more money, but even the inexpensive vino is good. I love to drink pesche in vino -peaches in wine with pranzo. Yum! In summer red wine is often served chilled.

The cheese products in Puglia and Campania are drool-worthy! Orsara has its own DOP cheese called cacioricotta, a goat cheese, but it never stays around long enough to be photographed! Here is a lovely white on white trio of burrata, ricotta and mozzarella di bufala.

Fiori di zucca are one of my favourite summer foods. Luckily they are readily available here. These ones were grown by a friend. They are stuffed with caciocavallo and basilico, ready to be baked or grilled. More recipe and harvesting tips can be found in the post Fiori di zucca. I grow them in my garden in Vancouver as well, but they are not that plentiful.

Cucina povera, literally ‘food of the poor’, is what you will find in Puglia. Simple foods made with fresh local ingredients. My favourite comfort food, very typical of Orsara di Puglia is pancotto e patate. It is made with stale bread, boiled potatoes, oil and garlic. Beans and rucola or other greens can also be added. I will have to write a post on how to make it!I took the train down to Lecce and Nardò for a few days and found this cute ceramic gratta aglio, a garlic grater. Of course the peperoncini attracted me! I hope this post has made you either hungry and drooling or wishing you could visit Puglia yourself. Maybe it has done both? Buon appetito e buon viaggio, CristinaThanks Sherry from Australia for hosting the monthly food blogging event, In My Kitchen (IMK). Read about other world kitchens by clicking the link to Sherry’s Pickings . Buon appetito, Cristina

In My Kitchen, September 2018

04 Tuesday Sep 2018

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Mangiamo!

≈ 32 Comments

Tags

Basilico, Fiori di zucca, In my kitchen, Oregano, Passata di pomodoro, Pesto Genovese, Pomodori, Pomodori secchi

Late August/early September is a busy time in my kitchen, and even busier in my parents’ garage. The garage has a sink and propane burner, so it counts as a kitchen too! Mid August, I am usually just getting home from 3-4 weeks in Italia and am right back to work the next day for a jet-lag infused reality check.

My garden is thirsty for water and full of erbacce-weeds that need to be pulled. The fruits of the garden are ripe for picking. This was a good year for pomodori-4 different varieties. My favourite are the ciliegine or cherry tomatoes. I eat them like candy, and freeze some for making brodo-broth for the winter. My parents get back from Italia at the end of August, then we make passata di pomodoro to can for the year. We use whatever is ripe enough from our gardens, and purchase a lot more. This is a major production involving the whole family, but is totally worth the effort. I like to call it ‘Salsapalooza’. Read more about our passata di pomodoro making in this post.

The origano-oregano was picked about a month ago and hung to dry in bundles. It is ready to be crumbled and stored in jars.

My Mamma brings home pomodori secchi, sun-dried tomatoes from the mercato in Orsara di Puglia. We put them in jars under oil with garlic, parsley and capers. Yum!

In May, I planted basilico seeds in every available pot I could find and the crop was a good one, so I am making a lot of pesto this year. I bought a stash of pine nuts while I was in Italia. My recipe for Pesto Genovese can be found here.

I am sad to pick the last of my fiori di zucca. They are too delicate to keep or freeze. I make them battered and fried, stuffed, battered and fried, or stuffed and baked. Sometimes I use the broken bits to make frittelle or a frittata. I am always shocked that so many people do not know these delicate morsels are edible! To learn how to pick them and what to do with them, check out my post Fiori di zucca.

Some of my zucchine grew too big while I was away, so I have put those aside to make chocolate zucchini cake. You would never know there is a lot of vegetable in it! Sorry, it did not last long enough for a photo!

My raspberry bushes were producing a bowlful a day in June and July. Now there are just 5-10 berries per day. I have been hoarding them until I had just enough for one last batch of jam!

Rucola gets put in and on everything! In my salad, on my pizza, on my thin cut sautéed beef. Some even goes into the freezer for making pasta patate e rucola, on of my favourite comfort foods in the winter.

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

Ciao, Cristina

Fiori di Zucca

12 Sunday Oct 2014

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Mangiamo!, Recipes

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

Fiori di zucca, Fritelle di zucca, Italian cooking, Pastella, Peppe Zullo, Traditional recipes

È davvero finita l’estate! Summer is really over. I just picked the last fiori di zucca in my garden and I’ll have to wait a long time to taste them again. Fiori di zucca are a real delicacy and one of my favourite foods. They are ‘i fiori maschili della zucchina’ the male flowers of the zucchina plant. The flowers growing off of long, thin stems are male. The ones growing off the end of a future zucchina are female (femminile). The female flowers are edible too, but if you pick them there will be no crop of zucchine! If you pick too many of the male flowers, you will also have no zucchine!

Fiori di zucca maschile e femminile-male flowers grow off of long thin stems and female flowers grow off the end of future zucchine.

To clarify, zucca is Italiano for squash or pumpkin. ‘Zucchina’ (given a sex change and called zucchini in North America) means little squash. The flowers of all 3 can be called fiori di zucca, but it is usually the flowers of zucchine (zucchina is singular and zucchine is plural) that are used in cooking. Squash and pumpkin flowers can also be used, but they can have a bittery taste.

Fiori di zucca are extremely delicate and will only last a few days after picking. They are even too delicate to freeze. In Italia it isn’t hard to find fiori di zucca in season. I recently bought a ‘bouquet’ of them at a market in Foggia for 1 Euro. Sometimes you can even buy small zucchine with the flowers still attached. I’ve only seen fiori di zucca for sale once in North America, several years ago at a farmer’s market in Seattle. I won’t even mention how much they cost! So, if you want to eat fiori di zucca you really need to grow your own-or find a friend who grows them and doesn’t know how good they taste!

Fiori di zucca have a beautiful, delicate taste. I like to cook them a few different ways, but my favourite is in a simple ‘pastella’. I whisk cold fizzy mineral water (acqua frizzante) with flour or semolino (durum wheat semolina) a drop of olive oil and pepper until it is not too thick or thin-like the consistency of pancake batter. If it is too thin, it won’t stick, but if it’s too thick, the fiori can be damaged. Gently clean fiori and remove the sepals-those green leaves at the base near the stem. Some people remove the stamens inside, but I usually leave them. Dip them in pastella (batter) and fry in hot oil. I usually use grapeseed oil. When they are done, place on a plate with‘carta assorbente’ (paper towel) and add salt. The bubbles in the mineral water make this pastella light and crispy. The batter doesn’t overpower delicate taste of the fiori like a heavy egg and flour batter would.

Fiori can also be stuffed with ricotta before frying (remember the ricotta fatta in casa post) or ‘farciti con mozzarella e prosciutto’-stuffed with mozzarella and prosciutto. Gnam, gnam, gnam (English translation…yum, yum, yum).

Lately I have also been making my fiori di zucca into frittelle (little fritters). This is a good way to stretch out your fiori and use broken and torn ones or include some larger pumpkin flowers. Measurements are not too important here. I mix some 00 flour and baking powder, then mix in 1 peeled, grated zucchina until it is coated with flour. Add some fresh torn basil leaves if you have them and some freshly grated parmigiano or asiago and 1 large or 2 small eggs. Once this is all mixed, add enough water to give it the consistency of pancake batter. You will need more water than you think!

Gently dip the intact fiori in batter and fry in hot oil. When they are finished, chop up the broken ones and add to the rest of the batter. Drop about 1 tablespoon of batter at a time into the oil to make ‘frittelle. Place on paper towel and add salt. They are delicious hot or cold. For those of you who absolutely, positively can’t manage without measurements….here is a link to a recipe that is fairly similar.

My friend Peppe Zullo in Orsara di Puglia, il ‘cuoco contadino’ www.peppezullo.it picks hundreds of fiori a day in his orto (vegetable garden) when they are in season. His ristorante serves ‘fiori di zucca al forno, ripiene con caciocavallo’ (baked and stuffed with caciocavallo). Gnam, gnam, gnam!!!