Tag Archives: Italian food

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!

Olio d’Oliva

15 Friday Nov 2019

Posted by in Italian life, Mangiamo!

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Olive oil section of supermercatoOlio d’oliva-olive oil has been essential to Mediterranean life for over 4,000 years.   It has been a major trading resource, is one of the main nutritional components of the Mediterranean diet and the healthiest source of fat, produced without the use of chemicals or industrial refining. Olive oil has also been used as a medication, soap, moisturizer and terra cotta lamp fuel.Pouring Famiglia Creanza Extra virgin olive oil

15 ml (1 tablespoon) of olive oil has 120 calories, 14g fat and no cholesterol. 75% of the fat is monounsaturated (MUFA-the good kind), 11% polyunsaturated (PUFA), 14% vegetable saturated fat and 0% trans fats.

Extra Virgin olive oil EVOO may be the healthiest thing in the kitchen. It has been associated with health benefits including protection from heart and blood vessel disease, decreased blood clotting, decreased risk of chronic diseases, improvement in bone and digestive health, stabilizing blood sugar and improved brain function.  These benefits are due to 2 main properties: Oleic acid and antioxidants.  Oleic acid, the main fat in olive oil is a MUFA with cholesterol lowering and antiinflammatory effects.La raccolta delle olive www.unpodipepe.ca

EVOO contains large amounts of antioxidants including tocopherols (vitamin E) and polyphenols (tyrosol, hydrotyrosol and oleocanthal) which protect against oxidation and spoilage in the oil—and also in the body ingesting the oil! That means you!  Antioxidants decrease oxidative damage caused by free radicals, which are believed to cause cell damage and contribute to cancer. Antioxidants also have antiinflammatory properties, especially oleocanthal which is nature’s ibuprofen.Olive, Casa Berti www.unpodipepe.ca

La Raccolta delle olive, the olive harvest is late October to early November, before the first frost. To produce the best quality oil, the olives are taken to il frantoio, the olive mill, within 24 hours of harvest.  My previous post La Raccolta delle Olive has a detailed explanation and photos of the entire harvest process, including the italian words for all of the steps.

The terms ‘first press’ and ‘cold pressed’ are outdated, and mainly used for marketing, since hydraulic presses are no longer used. Olives are crushed or ground-only once, then oil and water are separated from the olive paste using a centrifuge.  The colour of the oil ranges from grassy green to yellow gold, depending on the ripeness and type of olives and the amount of chlorophyll in the leaves. Oil is stored in stainless steel vats until it is bottled, to preserve nutrients, colour and flavour.

This fresh, pure olive juice is ‘virgin olive oil’ as it has not been refined or extracted using chemicals or heat. It can be considered ‘extra virgin olive oil’ if the acidity is less than 0.8%, with superior taste and aroma.  This is mostly related to the quality and freshness of the olives.

‘Pure’ ‘Fino’ or ‘Light’ are marketing terms for refined olive oil-not calorie or fat reduced oil. It is refined using solvents and high heat to neutralize the taste of the oil.  A small amount of EVOO is added for taste.  This allows the use of lower quality olives and blending oils from many sources, possibly increasing the shelf life and smoke point. Refining and heating destroys the antioxidants and vitamins in the oil, but it is still high in MUFA’s and has no trans fats.

Pomace olive oil is made from the pits, skin and sediment and removed using chemicals. It should not be eaten and is only used for deep frying or polishing furniture.

Fresh EVOO should taste clean, fresh and peppery and smell of olives, with a spicy/bitter ‘bite’ when it hits the back of the throat. This spiciness is the polyphenols!  Old or refined olive oil will not have this sensation.Ricotta fatta in casa

EVOO is used for pouring and drizzling directly on food crudo –raw, and for salads, vegetables, sauces, pasta, bread, soups.  There seems to be a notion-mostly in North America, that you cannot cook with olive oil.  This is not true!  Like most Mediterranean cooks, I use it almost exclusively.  In fact, I don’t think I knew other oils existed until I was in my 20’s!  The smoke point of olive oil is about 200°C (375-400°F) which is great for sautéing or shallow frying. Vegetables cooked in olive oil absorb the polyphenols from the oil, making them double antioxidanted!  Excessive heating such as deep frying destroys the antioxidant benefits, so only use older or lower quality olive oil. I have several different olive oils in my kitchen; a few decent ones for cooking and baking and a really good quality one for salads and drizzling.

Is your bottle of EVOO 100% real?  Unlike Europe, North American regulations do not require strict labeling of olive oil.  A 2010 report called ‘Oil Imposters’ from the UC Davis Olive Center stated that 69% of imported oil labeled as ‘Extra Virgin’ in California failed IOC standards.  Their lab found:

Poor quality oil-made with poor quality or improperly stored/processed olives

Oxidation- oil exposed to too much heat, light or age

Adulteration-oil cut with cheaper refined olive oil and soybean or canola oil

Tim Mueller discusses fraud in the olive oil market in his 2012 book Extra Virginity: The sublime and scandalous world of olive oil. I believe there has been a lot of improvement since 2012, but olive oil fraud still happens. It probably started in 4000 BC! In addition to the labeling, another problem is that most North American consumers do not know what real, fresh EVOO tastes like, and are used to poor quality oil.

How can you tell if your EVOO is the real? Here are some tips:

  • Taste-The oil should taste fruity, like olives and be peppery with a slight burn when it hits the back of the throat. The bitterness/spiciness is the polyphenols! This sensation decreases as the oil gets older or exposed to air and light.  Bitter is better!
  • Aroma. The oil should smell like olives or fruity. It should not smell moldy, or like hay, vinegar, sweaty gym socks or old salame.
  • Best before date and harvest date. Oxidation starts when the oil is produced. It is usually good for 18-24 months after extraction, if stored properly. Buy only amounts that will be consumed in a few months. Like wine, half full bottles of oil spoil faster. Unlike wine, olive oil does not age well! Keep bottles tightly capped.
  • Origins (same country, region, estate) ‘packaged in’ or ‘bottled in’ means the olives are not grown in that country. By the time of bottling and importing, the olives or oil is likely already 4-6 months old.
  • Marketing-Avoid products labelled ‘pure’, ‘fino’ or ‘light’.
  • Packaging Olive oil should be packaged in dark glass bottles or large tins which block UV light. Do not buy olive oil in plastic bottles.
  • Cost-EVOO should not be cheap. Producing quality oil takes time, labour and expense. 1L of olive oil requires 2,000 olives!
  • Buy from the farmer, or from someone who buys from the farmer. This is not easy outside of Mediterranean countries, California or Australia, but it is possible to find good quality olive oil. For example, here in Vancouver I know of 2 vendors who import oil directly from their family olive groves in Italia.

Olive oil limoncello cakePs If you love EVOO, try my Olive Oil Limoncello Cake

Ciao e buon appetito, Cristina

Sapori d’Autunno

22 Tuesday Oct 2019

Posted by in Italia, Italian language, Mangiamo!

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La Cupa, Orsara di Puglia, cachi, noceDalla terra alla tavola, farm to table cooking has always been a thing in Italia.  Food is prepared using local, seasonal ingredients which are at their optimum flavor.  Each season features its own specialties.  I sapori d’autunno, the flavours of autumn, feature the fruits of the harvest. Visiting Italia in the autumn will not leave you hungry or thirsty!  This is also a time to seek out sagre-wonderful food festivals dedicated to local specialties. There are regional differences, and specialties are prepared according to local tradition, but I will provide a general review of what you might find on your piatto. I am also including links to related previous posts and recipes.roasted chestnuts, castagne in campagna

Castagne (cas·TAH·nyeh). Chestnut trees have been growing in Italia since at least 2000 BC, the oldest ones being in Calabria.  Pushcarts selling castagne calde in paper cones will be found all over the country.  Everyone I know has an old pan at home with holes punched out the bottom to use for roasting castagne.  Don’t you have one?  Castagne can also be boiled with bay leaves or made into soup or chestnut honey, miele di castagne.  Chestnut flour is used to make pasta which is eaten with pesto in Liguria, and Castagnaccio, a chestnut flour cake with olive oil, raisins, pine nuts, rosemary and orange rind.  This cake is originally Tuscan, but can be found in other areas too.  I tasted some in Roma, but it did not last long enough for a photo. Below is a poster for a Sagra della Castagna this weekend in Potenza, Basilicata.Basilicata Sagra della Castagna poster Zucca (ZOO·kah)  Zucca and zucca gialla are pumpkin and squash.  I adore zucca!Zucca Orsara di PugliaIt is used to make delicacies such as risotto di zucca, gnocchi di zucca and tortellini, ravioli or agnelotti stuffed with zucca, cheese, nutmeg and amaretti.  Mmmm.  No food goes to waste, so any leftover zucca goes to feed the pigs! gnocchi di zuccaSpeaking of decreasing waste, I like to recycle my Hallowe’en pumpkin into gnocchi.  Here you will find my recipe for gnocchi di zucca.Albero di cachi orsara di Puglia, Persimmon treeCachi (KAH•kee) are called persimmons in English.  There are 2 kinds, hard and soft and both delicious.  They are mostly eaten raw on their own or in salads.  Cachi La Cupa Orsara di PugliaI picked these ones from the tree in the upper photo.  It is in the olive grove that belonged to my Nonno.  Papà has 2 trees full of cachi in Vancouver.  We will pick them all in about a week and let them ripen in the garage.The incredibly gorgeous colour of cachi make them equally desirable as a painting subject.Cachi persimmon painting Casa Berti Lucca

Funghi (FOON·gee) e tartufi (tar·TOO·fee). Funghi porcini are available dried all year, but only in autunno can you find the fresh meaty fungus. I also love funghi cardoncelli and any other kind of funghi on pasta or in risotto.funghi porcini RomaTartufi are truffles- but not the chocolate covered kind!  Autunno is truffle foraging season. They are like underground funghi and are an expensive seasonal delicacy shaved onto pasta, eggs and risotto. I find too much tartufo gives food a moldy taste, so luckily you need a delicate hand and do not need to use much.  They are only fresh from October to December, otherwise they are frozen or preserved in oil.Cestino di fichi

Fichi (FEE·kee).  The second harvest of figs is ready in September/October, depending on the weather. Other fruits of the autumn harvest include bitter, spicy radicchio, mostly used in salads, but also cooked alla griglia and added to risotto and rapini which is used to make the Pugliese favourite orechiette con cime di rapa.  Trees are full of noce – walnuts and nocciole-hazelnuts.  Stay tuned for Corzetti with walnut and mushroom sauce recipe in an upcoming post about my new Corzetti stamp from Vernazza.  Insalata Purtuall, Orange and fennel saladMy favourite winter salad is Insalata Purtuall’ made with finocchio-fennel, oranges and black olives with a drizzle of olive oil and salt.  Read about my interesting history with this salad in the link.  Melograna-pomegranate adds extra flavour and colour.Grapes in the wine press Vino nel torchioUva (OO·vah).  La vendemmia, the grape harvest, usually happens in September and then it is vino making time! A glossary of viniculture terms in Italiano can be found in this post on vino. Each region has their own traditional dishes made during this time, including schiacciata con l’uva, a focaccia made with grapes.Schiacciata con l'uvaI made this schiacciata from a recipe on Luca’s blog. It was delicious, but I would recommend using a smaller, seedless grape! Vino cotto, which is technically actually mosto cotto is grape must boiled down to a sweet molasses type syrup.  Vino cotto, mosto cottoVino cotto is used for Christmas dolci, sweetening snow cones, and poured on cooked wheat berries with walnuts and pomegranate to make muscitaglia for All Saints’ Day November 1st.muscitagliaOlive (o•LEE•veh).  Late October and November is la raccolta delle olive-the olive harvest. This is an incredible experience, if you ever have a chance to participate. Everyone who lives in a rural area participates and it usually involves a picnic with many of the ingredients I have mentioned.  I wrote a post describing the entire olive harvesting/oil extraction process-La Raccolta delle Olive.Nothing compares to the flavour and aroma of olio novello, fresh pressed olive oil.  It is ‘liquid gold’.  Even if you do not have access to freshly pressed oil, you can make the Olive oil limoncello cake that I made at Casa Berti in Lucca after harvesting olives.Olive oil limoncello cakeNovember is also hunting season, which means pappardelle al cinghiale and pappardelle al lepere, pasta with a wild boar sauce and pasta with wild rabbit sauce. As the temperature drops, warm comfort foods increase.  Polenta is found mostly in Northern Italia, but in the cold months, it is made in homes all over the country.  Polenta, Casa Berti, LuccaOther autumn comfort foods include pancotto e patate, pasta e fagioli and risotto made with almost any of the ingredients mentioned in this post-even radicchio. Drool over my November street food-fire baked caciocavallo in its own little terracotta dish.  Mmmm!baked caciocavallo

‘Italy in the Autumn’ is the topic for the final Dolce Vita Bloggers linkup.  Since I already published a post about travelling to Italia in the autumn called Autunno in Italia, I wrote about the wonderful food available in autumn instead!Cachi Casa Berti Lucca

Grazie mille to Kelly, Jasmine and Kristy for hosting the Dolcevitabloggers linkup for the past 2 years.  It has been fun participating!  Check out the rest of the posts here.

Hopefully I made you hungry!  Buon appetite e buon viaggio, Cristina

Limoncello Ricotta Cookies

19 Thursday Jul 2018

Posted by in Mangiamo!, Recipes

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Last week I had a bancarella at the Italian summer outdoor market. I like to bring dolci for friends who come to visit, or anyone who stops by to chat. Buy a card… get a cookie. It was an unusually hot day, and my espresso cookies would melt and make a mess all over the place, so I made refreshing, sweet and tangy limoncello ricotta cookies.  Limoncello and ricotta are 2 of my favourite ingredients.

When I was growing up, our Abruzzesi neighbours often made these soft cakey cookies-minus the limoncello. They used Anice (ah·Nee·cheh), a liqueur similar to Sambuca, and topped them with multi-coloured sprinkles.  The ricotta makes them soft, moist and chewy. If fresh is not available***, make your own ricotta!

Limoncello Ricotta Cookies:

350g flour (2½ cups)

5 g salt (1 tsp)

8g Pane degli Angeli (½ bustina/envelope, 2 teaspoons) *

100 g olive oil (½ cup) **

400 g sugar (2 cups)

2 eggs

450 g fresh ricotta (1 lb)

30g limoncello (30 ml, 2 tablespoons)

15 g freshly squeezed lemon juice (15 ml, 1 tablespoon)

Grated peel of 1 lemon

Glaze: same as for Casa Berti Olive Oil Limoncello Cake

200 g (1½ cups) powdered sugar/icing sugar

30g limoncello (30ml, 2 tablespoons)

15g freshly squeezed lemon juice (15 ml, 1 tablespoon)

Grated peel of 1 organic lemon

Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F)

Mix the 3 dry ingredients together. In another bowl, mix sugar and grated lemon peel together with the back of a spoon until the sugar becomes fragrant.  Add eggs, 1 at a time.  Add oil, then ricotta and limoncello. Stir in dry ingredients.

The dough is quite sticky. Use 2 tablespoons or a small cookie scoop to measure the dough onto a cookie sheet.  The dough may be easier to work with if it is left in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.  Bake for 15 minutes, being careful not to burn the edges.  Let cool.

To make glaze, mix the all ingredients except lemon peel in a small bowl until smooth.  If it is too thick and sticky, add more limoncello or lemon juice.  Add lemon peel last.  Use a teaspoon to spread glaze onto each cookie.  Leave glaze to harden and set for 1-2 hours.

Makes 40-60 cookies, depending on the size.  Store in a covered container.

* If Pane degli Angeli is not available, substitute 2 tsp baking powder and a tiny splash of vanilla extract

**if you prefer to use 125g unsalted butter (½ cup), mix the sugar and butter together first with a mixer, then add eggs one at a time, followed by the other ingredients

  ***Cottage cheese is NOT an appropriate substitute for ricotta!

Friends and customers often tell me I should be selling the cookies. I am not sure how to take that.  Are they trying to tell me my baking is more appealing than my artwork?  Hmmmm, I had better not overthink this one!

If you love limoncello and ricotta as much as I do, check out some of my other posts: Limoncello Cheesecake, Casa Berti Olive Oil Limoncello Cake, Ricotta fatta in casa, Tortelloni di Ricotta.

Read more about the mercato here.

Buon appetito, Cristina

Tortelloni di Ricotta in a Snowstorm

18 Sunday Feb 2018

Posted by in Mangiamo!

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It snowed again last night.  Shoveling snow and picking ice cubes off of my poor olive tree is not my idea of a relaxing Sunday morning.  Yesterday, facebook sent me one of those ‘your memories from one year ago’ messages with this black and white photo.  It snowed a LOT last year, and this particular Saturday night, I was bloccato dalla neve -snowed in.  I decided this was a good time to do my recipe testing for Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s cookbook Ostro.  Ostro is also the name of Julia’s website.  The recipe was for Ricotta tortelloni with butter, sage and hazelnuts.  Tortelloni are super-size tortellini and I had not made them before.  Filling and shaping them was fun and easier than I thought.

I had to use a beer glass to cut the circles, so they came out quite big.  Once I was done making the tortelloni, I made the butter sage and hazelnut sauce-except I had to improvise.   It was dark outside and still snowing heavily.  The sage was growing in the backyard.  I had to dress like an Eskimo and go out with my flashlight to forage for sage under a foot of snow!  Brrrr.  I did not have any hazelnuts, and had even run out of butter making cookies.  Grocery shopping was not an option at this point, so I ended up making an olive oil, sage and toasted almond sauce instead. It was so delicious I did not even have a chance to take a decent photo of the finished dish!

I have made these ricotta tortelloni a few more times, even with ricotta fatta in casa.  Ostro is now out in print and is Gourmet Traveller Australia’s 2017 book of the year.  Auguri Julia!   I believe Ostro is available only in Australia for now.  In Canada, it is only available on kindle so far, so I have not seen it yet.  You can find the recipe here.More about my adventures in (and complaining about) the snow along with snowy photos can be found in Bloccato dalla neve.

Another recipe from Julia and a review of Ostro can be found on Emiko Davies’ blog here.

Ciao e buon appetito, Cristina

Olive Oil Limoncello Cake

25 Thursday Jan 2018

Posted by in Mangiamo!, Recipes

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In November I attended an art retreat, surrounded by 900 olive trees!  It was at Casa Berti near Gugliano, about 40 minutes outside of Lucca. There were also lemon trees in giant terra cotta pots on the terrace, not yet ready to be moved into the limonaia for the winter. Many of the lemons become limoncello.  I was so inspired and distracted by the olive trees that I took several breaks from art making to pick olives.  I could not help it-they were calling to me!  Every day or two, when there were enough picked, they would be taken to the frantoio or olive press and then return to Casa Berti as lush, fragrant oil.  Green gold as a friend calls it. The Casa Berti cucina had a stainless steel bidone full of new oil with a little spout for pouring.

Being surrounded by olives, freshly pressed oil, fresh lemons and limoncello, I had the urge to make an olive oil limoncello cake.  I have been making this cake for years, but I did not have the recipe with me.  I also left my art making to bake just when Ben, the owner of Casa Berti, had gone on another run to the frantoio with olives. I searched the kitchen but could not find any measuring utensils or a scale, so the measurements were all a big guess. ??? Luckily I knew where the limoncello was!

The cake came out better than usual, probably due to the quality and freshness of the ingredients.  I usually just dust it simply with zucchero in polvere-icing sugar.  For a fancier look, make a limoncello glaze with icing sugar and limoncello.  The cake is also nice with fresh fruit, especially raspberries or blueberries.  It goes equally well with a cup of espresso or a glass of limoncello and is also very easy to make-you don’t even need a mixer-just a wooden spoon and a whisk.  I adjusted some of the amounts to the recipe based on the Casa Berti cake, but if your measurements are not exact, non ti preoccupare, it will probably still taste good!

Casa Berti

Casa Berti Olive Oil Limoncello Cake

400g (~3 cups) flour

200g (almost 1 cup) sugar

4 medium sized eggs or 3 large eggs

160ml (~ ¾ cup) extra virgin olive oil

130 ml (~½ cup) milk

60 ml (¼ cup, 4 tablespoons) limoncello

Grated zest/peel of 2 organic lemons

16g packet Pane degli Angeli (or 15 ml/1 tablespoon baking powder)

  1. Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F)
  2. Butter and flour a 23 cm (9 inch) pan
  3. In a small bowl, add the lemon peel to the sugar and mix with fingers or the back of a spoon until they are well mixed and the sugar looks damp
  4. Whisk the eggs and add the sugar/peel mixture
  5. Add the olive oil, milk and limoncello
  6. Add flour a bit at a time and stir with a wooden spoon just until the flour is mixed in.  Do not over mix
  7. Add Pane degli Angeli
  8. Spoon into the pan and bake for 40-45 minutes.  Be careful not to overbake or it may come out dry
  9. Cool and dust with icing sugar
  10. For a fancier topping, make a limoncello glaze with 1 cup icing sugar and 30 ml (2 tablespoons) limoncello.  If it is too dry, add another 15 ml (1 tablespoon) limoncello or milk.  Mix together and drizzle onto cake.

Buon appetito, Cristina

Panettone Fatto in Casa

20 Wednesday Dec 2017

Posted by in Mangiamo!, Recipes

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I started experimenting with panettone last year. I did not do it intentionally… it was an act of desperation.  I had made lievito madre– mother yeast or bread starter that I was keeping for months, and needed to feed at least once or twice a week.  I had to do something with the part you need to give away or throw out.  It was invading my cucina! I ran out of people to give it to, and did not like throwing it away.  Then I found out I could use my lievito madre to make panettone. Yeast still had to be added, but the lievito madre added flavour and texture to the dough and helped it stay fresh longer.  I adapted this overnight panettone recipe, replacing 1 cup of flour with 1 cup of my starter.  It was pretty good.  This year, I no longer have my starter, plus I lost all of my recipe experimentation notes. Mannaggia!  So I had to start all over, but luckily my panettone turned out better.  This time I used a biga (BEE•gah), a sort of ‘mini starter’ that ferments overnight.  After trying a lot of different things, I can finally post the recipe, just in time for Natale.  Traditionally, panettone is made with uvetta and canditi-raisins and candied citrus peel.  I love panettone, and canditi, but I usually end up picking out the raisins, so I used dried figs soaked in grappa instead.  If you like raisins, they do grappa well too!  Panettone dough needs to rise 3 times, so this recipe is not recommended for the inpatient or inexperienced bread baker.  Be sure to read my notes at the bottom.  My previous post Panettone details the history of this lovely dolce.

Panettone con Fichi, Noci e Arancia/Panettone with Figs,Walnuts and Orange:

Make a biga the night before:

  • 100 g 00 flour or all-purpose flour (200 ml, ~¾cup)
  • 100 ml milk (85g, a bit more than ⅓ cup) at room temperature
  • 1 (7 g) package active dry yeast (not quick rise or instant) Lievito di birra is what I used*
  • 15 g honey (10 ml, 2 tsp)

In a glass bowl or measuring cup, dissolve the yeast in the milk.  Add honey, then flour.  Cover with a tea towel and leave overnight or longer. It should be bubbly and doubled in size

Soak fruit: 250-500 ml (1-2 cups) chopped dried figs (or apricots, cranberries, raisins or other mixed dried fruits).  Cover with 30ml (2 tablespoons or 1 ‘shot’) of grappa and soak overnight.

Make the dough the next morning:

  • Biga made the night before
  • 400g flour (~800 ml, 3 ¼cups)
  • 60 ml white wine (¼ cup, 4 tablespoons)
  • 100 g sugar (120 ml, ½ cup)
  • 100 g butter at room temperature (125 ml, ½ cup, 1 ‘stick’)
  • 6 g salt (1 tsp)
  • 3 eggs (plus one extra yolk if the eggs are small)
  • 5 ml (1tsp) Fiori di Sicilia (or 1 tsp vanilla extract or ⅓ a vanilla bean and 5 drops of orange oil) **

Make a well in the center of the flour. Add the biga and other ingredients.  Mix with a wooden spoon.  Knead by hand on a floured surface for 10-20 minutes or electric mixer 10 minutes followed by a few minutes by hand. Cover bowl with a tea towel and let rise for a minimum of 3 hours.  Longer is better*

Add fruit and canditi:

Deflate the dough and pull it into a rectangle. Top with:

  • Grated rind of 1 large orange
  • Drained figs or other dried fruit soaked in grappa
  • 125-250 ml (½ to 1 cup) Canditi-candied citrus peel
  • 125-250 ml (½-1 cup) chopped walnuts

Roll dough up into a log, then knead on a floured surface to evenly mix in the fruit, nuts, and canditi. Shape into a ball.

Place the ball in a 750g panettone paper mold, a metal coffee can lined with parchment paper, an 8 cup glass pyrex measuring cup lined with parchment paper, or a new terra cotta pot. Whatever you use, make sure the sides are tall enough to allow for the dough rising. Let rise 4-5 hours*** I had to let mine rise overnight in the oven-turned off with the light on.

Slash a cross on top of the panettone and place a small square of butter in the middle

Bake panettone in a preheated 190° C (375° F) oven for 45-50 minutes or until the top is done.  If the top is becoming too dark, cover with a piece of aluminum foil

Cool panettone upside down to prevent falling.  I could not find bamboo skewers, so I used my bamboo knitting needles to skewer the bottom then hung it upside down over a large pot. I don’t know if this step is really necessary, but after all this work, I am not willing to find out! It also looks cool.  See photo:

The panettone should keep fresh for 5 days in a plastic bag- if it lasts that long!

Notes:

Amounts can vary depending on temperature, humidity and type or size of ingredient.  I have included ml and cup measurements in brackets, but measuring ingredients by weight is the most accurate.

Fig and chocolate is also a nice panettone combination.  For best results, freeze the chocolate pieces before adding to the dough.

I made my own canditi-candied orange peels, using the instructions on Domenica’s post. It was easier than I thought and I won’t be buying canditi any more!

*Lievito di birra is beer yeast.  It is available from some Italian supermarkets in packets.  Use ‘active’ dry yeast, not instant or quick-rise.

**Fiori di Sicilia is a vanilla citrus mixture that smells like panettone in a bottle. It can be hard to find and expensive.  Vanilla extract and orange oil is a good substitute.

***Dough rising times are variable, especially in colder weather. If you are having difficulty getting your dough to rise, there are some things that can help.

  • Place the dough on the counter while a pot of water is simmering on the stove
  • Place the dough in the oven (turned off) with the light on
  • If really having difficulty, preheat the oven to a ‘keep warm’ setting, then turn it off and place the dough in there.
  • Abbia pazienza-Just be patient!

Buon appetito e Buon Natale, Cristina

Pomodoro Day!

27 Sunday Aug 2017

Posted by in Italian life, Mangiamo!

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Today was my famiglia‘s annual pomodoro day.  We turned 15 boxes of pomodori, plus more from our gardens into passata di pomodoro, or as we simply call it ‘la salsa’. The boxes were 18 kg each (40 lbs)! That is 272 kg of pomodori and we made 140 litres of passata. Siamo stanchi!

For new readers of Un po’ di pepe, or those of you who have not read my previous pomodoro related posts, here they are.  Click on the appropriately coloured red links!

Passata di pomodoro

Passata di Pomodoro is a detailed description of my famiglia’s annual passata making day.  There is a lot of red in photos in this post! Rosso come un pomodoro, but no one is blushing.

Il Pomodoro discusses the history of the pomodoro and how it came to Italia and eventually became edible. You read that correctly-pomodori originally tasted really gross and were used only for ornamental purposes.  You’ve come a long way, pomodoro.

Does your famiglia make passata di pomodoro? I’d love to hear about it.  Ciao, Cristina