Food Lover's Odyssey

Italy on a Plate - The Week in Italian Food: Feb 27, 2011

 

 

Welcome to this week's round up.  It's filled with good eats from around the boot.  The ten Italian recipes this week include soups, gnocchi cacio e pepe, a grass frittata,  pork chops with a mushroom cream sauce, and just a few desserts.  Eating Italy is again packed, with much information on eating in Venice (Carnevale started this weekend!), and also which pasta shapes go best with pesto sauce, more from Pizzarium in Rome, wines and markets in Umbria, where to find all the sweet shops in Rome, and more. 

After this week, Italy on a Plate will be taking a four-week hiatus.  The round up will return on Sunday April 3rd.  I'm thinking of doing a March review of recipes and Eating Italy for that round up, if it will all fit into one post.  In case you haven't read it here on the blog already, I'm going to Italy in March!  Although you won't get a Sunday dose of Italy on a Plate, I promise you almost daily dishes of food and travel in the country we all love so much. 

Enjoy this week's round up and Buon Appetito! 

 

My Choices for Top 10 Italian Recipes from Around the Web:

Meatball Soup or Cioarba di Perisoare - Ciao Florentina

Zuppa di Cavolfiore e Zucca Delicata (Cauliflower and Squash Soup) - Briciole

Hearty Farro Soup - Cucina Panzano

Eating Grass: Agretti Frittata - Elizabeth makes even grass look delicious - Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome

Cacio e Pepe Gnocchi with Dried Jewish Prosciutto - Fabiolous Cooking Day 

Costolette di Maiale ai Funghi (Pork Chops with Mushrooms) - Pork chops, cream and mushrooms, enough said - Memorie di Angelina

Italian Carnival Fritters with Ricotta and Chocolate - Bristol Warren Patch

Torta di Rose (Cake of the Roses) - Aurelio Barattini 

Alessandra's Crostata - Touching farewell and classic recipe - Ciao Chow Linda

Plum Wine Tiramisu Masquerading as a Pavlova - Emiko answers Jul's Kitchen's question, "If you were a recipe, what recipe would you be?" - Emiko Davies

 

 
 

  

Eating Italy:

Ligurian Pasta Style with Genoese Pesto - The best pasta shapes to serve with Pesto from Liguria - Beautiful Liguria

Falling in Love with Italian Gelato - Information on Italian Gelato and a book giveaway - Becoming Italian Word by Word

Venice's Back Alley Wine Bars - BBC Travel with Lonely Planet

The Rialto Fish Market in Venice in Photos - Gourmantic

Venice City Break: An Insider's Guide to Restaurants in Venice - Telegraph

Dulcet Tones - Where to find all the sweets in Rome - Eleonora for The American in Italia 

Pizzarium 2 Il Ritorno - A trip to the reopened Pizzarium in Rome with mouthwatering photos - Senza Panna (in Italian)

Mostra Mercato - Winter Food Market in Umbria - Italian Notebook

Seeing Umbria Chiaramente - Great piece on Umbria and its wines - Tom's Wine Line

Top 10 Traditional Foods of Sardinia - Charming Italy

Maiale in Pentola (Pork in a Pot) - Rowena gives a photo taste from a pork festival in Northern Italy - Rubber Slippers in Italy

 

 

 

Upcoming Food and Wine Festivals in Italy:

Taste in Viaggio con la Diversita del Gusto - March 12 to 14 - Florence - Stazione Leopolda will hold the 6th annual food festival.  Also during the week, Fuoriditaste will be held in other locations throughout the city of Florence

Sagra della Seppia - March 13 to 20 - Pinarella di Cervia - The seaside town near Ravenna celebrates seppia

Cioccolosita (Chocolate Festival in Tuscany) - March 11 to 13, 2011 - The town of  Monsummano Terme, near Pistoia, hosts a chocolate festival and brings chocolatiers from all over Italy with samples!

Carnevale di Venezia  - February 26 to March 8, 2011 - A magical event that I would recommend attending at least once in your life, the entire city of Venice becomes a stage

CioccolaTo 2011 - March 25 to April 3 - Chocolate festival in Turin

Cisterna Wine Expo - April 16 to 17 - The town of Cisterna di Latina outside of Rome hosts the wine-expo and tastings

Vinitaly 2011 - April 7 to 11, 2011 - International wine festival in Verona

CousCous Festival - September 20 - 25 - San Vito Lo Capo, Sicily

 

 

 

Related Posts:

Chiacchiere for Carnevale - Guest post for Napoli Unplugged

Italian Hot Chocolate and Carnevale in Venice

Braciole di Maiale (Stuffed Pork Roll) for a Sicilian Inspired Dinner

Sfogi in Saor (Venetian Style Sole in Agrodolce)

Tiramisu

Gianduja Budino and a Chocolate Pass in Turin

Cicchetti and Ombra - Little Tastes of Venice

Foods Not to Miss in Sicily

Italy in Books Review for February - Sacred Hearts

  
 

Imagine you are one of two daughters in a nobile, but not so wealthy, Italian family in the 1500s.  Dowry prices to fetch a "respectable" husband, with the proper family name and influence, were on a steep rise.  For families that didn't have the funds to pay dowries for more than one daughter, it was common practice to raise one of the daughters for marriage and the other for a life in a convent. 

An arranged marriage or convent life, which might be worse?  I'm already trying to figure out how I would have been able to escape either. Add to this, the Catholic Reformation was also on the rise, and the few freedoms that nuns had within the convent were being stripped away.

Such was the case for Serafina, the young character in the novel, Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant.  The only problem was that Serafina had been raised for marriage.  However, she suddenly found herself locked up in the convent of Santa Caterina in Ferrara, a far away place from her family in Milan.  The story starts here with Serafina howling in her cell. The dispensary nurse, Suora Zuana, comes to drug her, if not into submission, at least into sleep.

Serafina, rumored to have one of the most beautiful singing voices, has been sent to Santa Caterina to join their already well-recognized choir of nuns.  Sent so far away from her home and obviously not raised for convent life, Serafina's arrival is fodder for gossip. Whispers spread that some scandal is the real reason for her arrival.  Her disobedience and refusal to sing, only adds to the gossip and disruption in the convent.  Of course, there was a scandal, which plays a part in the plot.  A life-sentence in prison, that is convent life depicted through Serafina's eyes.  The main story involves how she does or doesn't cope and adapt to convent life.  She eventually sings, only as part of her plot to escape. Will she succeed?

The story also shows how life within convent walls was indeed just like a city.  Each nun had her specific duties.  The bigger her dowry and the better her family name, the better "job" she had in the convent.  The convent had the same problems, financial issues, jealousies, gossip, cliques, and political maneuvers of any city or state.

Besides Serafina's story, there is a substory which involves three other main characters and a play for power over the convent.  There is the Machiavellian abbess, Madonna Chiara, who comes from one of the ruling families of Ferrara.  How far will she go to keep her place in charge of the convent and to keep any news of scandal in the convent from getting out past its walls? 

There is the fanatic, Suora Umiliana, who wants to purge the convent of all joy, frivolities, and freedoms, including those surrounding the convent's choir.  She continually questions the abbess's deciscions and finally openly challenges the abbess's authority.  Both she and the abbess use Serafina as a pawn in their power play over the convent.  Will Serafina's disruption help Umiliana in her scheme to usurp the abbess?

Then there is Suora Zuana, the dispensary nun.  Not of nobility, she was neither raised for marriage nor for the convent.  Instead, her apothecary father let her learn his work beside him until he died.  If Zuana had been a man, she would have continued her father's work in Ferrara.  However, that was strictly forbidden to women. Left with nowhere else to go after her father's death, Zuana took her father's medical books into the convent and practiced medicine there.  The abbess had always been a supporter of Zuana's work.  Umiliana instead believed that healing should only be done by God. 

Serafina becomes Zuana's helper, and they become friends.  Only concerned with her potions, herbs and healing, Zuana has little interest in the politics of the convent, and has avoided them during her 16 years there.  She is the character most balanced between the extremes represented in the abbess and Suora Umiliana.  Although Zuana has always been a friend to and an ally for the abbess, she begins to question the abbess's actions in regards to Serafina.  Will she involve herself in the power play and change alliances?  Will she help Serafina?

 

 

 

I can't tell you the answers, you'll have to read the book to find out. 

This is the fourth book that I've read by Sarah Dunant. (The others being The Birth of Venus, In the Company of a Courtesan, and Mapping the Edge.)  I am a fan of her writing and love how she uses even the most subtle details, like chin whiskers or curls peeking out of nuns' headdresses, to develop characters' personalities.  It's obvious that she has researched convent life and sympathizes with those who lived that life during those times, especially those forced to against their will. (The author dedicates the novel to these women.)  Both the good and bad of convent life are explored in Sacred Hearts.

Overall, I enjoyed the book.  I do have to say it wasn't my favorite of hers.  Possibly because I'd rather read about a courtesan's life than a nun's, but also because I felt the story dragged a bit in many places.  I frequently felt myself tempted to pass over some of the pages, those detailing convent life or Zuana's work in medicine, and fast forward to the action.  There is plenty of action with Serafina and her plans to escape and with the power play between the abbess and Umiliana, but it was dulled by the descriptions of convent life.  I continued reading through those pages because I wanted to find out what happened to Serafina and Zuana - my favorite character in the novel.  The last 200 pages moved along more easily and interestingly than the first.  One thing is certain, the book left me grateful that I am free to choose my own path in life.

 

This post is part of the Italy in Books 2011 Reading Challenge.  Check out other reviews on books based in Italy: February's Italy in Books Challenge. 

If you'd like to join the reading challenge, it isn't too late: Italy in Books Reading Challenge 2011.  There are prizes involved!  Each month the reviews are included in a random drawing.  Last month, my review was picked, and I won an autographed copy of Ask Me if I'm Happy by Kimbery Menozzi.  I will be reading it and reviewing it shortly.

 

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Have you read Sacred Hearts?  What did you think of the book?  What would you do if your only options were an arranged marriage or convent life?  Which option sounds less dreadful to you?

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Related Posts:

Italy in Books January Book Review: The Glassblower of Murano

Italy in Books - Favorite Books Based in Italy and a Challenge for 2011

Villa d'Este in Photos - A Day Trip from Rome

Italian Hot Chocolate and Carnevale in Venice

Chiacchiere - Fried Treats for Carnival in Italy

Chiacchiere - Ready for Carnival in Italy

 

 

Are you ready for Carnevale? I certainly am.  As with every celebration that happens in Italy, food is a huge part of the festivities.  Carnevale is no exception.  I've fried up some sweet treats, an essential food for any Carnival celebration, for my post at Napoli Unplugged.  These fried treats are as much a Carnival tradition in Italy as are masks, costumes, parades and pranks.

They start popping up in pastry shops right after the Epiphany. Although you will find them throughout Italy, their name and shape differs throughout the boot.  Never have I seen so many names for such a simple treat:  Called chiacchiere (meaning chatter - gossip - chit chat) in the south of Italy, they also go by other names in other areas: frappe (tassels) in Rome, cenci - (rags) in Tuscany, bugie (lies) in Piedmont, sfrappe in Le Marche, sfrappole in Emilia, nastri (ribbons), lattughe (lettuce), guanti (gloves), fritole, crostoli, galani, cioffe.  These are the names I've seen for them, but I'm certain there are even more.  If you've heard them called by any other name, please add it in the comments below.

 

 

For as many different names as these treats have, they might have as many variations in forms.  I've seen squares, sheets, strips, diamonds, knots and twisted ribbon like shapes. Sweet fried dough with the requisite dusting of powdered sugar, they are a sweet and simple indulgence, both delicious and addictive.  It's impossible to eat just one.

For the recipe and a tidbit on another Carnival traditon, make sure to check out my post on NapoliUnplugged: Chiacchiere for Carnival

 

 
 

Related Posts:

Italian Hot Chocolate and Carnevale in Venice

Cassatelle alla Siciliana - Sweet Fried "Ravioli" filled with Ricotta Cream

One Cannolo - Two Cannoli

A Lesson in Venetian Mask Making

Gnocchi alla Sorrentina: A Taste of Sorrento - my post for Napoli Unplugged

 

 

Italy on a Plate - The Week in Italian Food: Feb 20, 2011

 

 

Welcome back to this week's Italy on a Plate.  I hope all of you had an extra sweet Valentine's Day this past week.  In case you didn't get your fill of desserts, there are four on this week's Top 10 Recipes.  Eating Italy is packed full of great links.  There's a beautiful video of pizza making in Naples, more restaurants in Rome, a journey through the breads of Liguria, foods of Umbria, a recap of the chocolate festival in Florence, and much more.  Enjoy and Buon Appetito!

 

 

My Choice for Top 10 Italian Food Recipes from Around the Web:

Baccala Mantecato - A classic Venetian dish - Salt Cod whisked with olive oil into creamy deliciousness - Memorie di Angelina

Carciofi alla Romana: Cleaning and Cooking Artichokes  - Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome

Grissini - The Panini Girl

Zuppa di Verdure Miste (Vegetable Medley Soup) - Briciole 

Cappesante in Salsa di Zafferano (Sea Scallops in Saffron Sauce) - Bellalimento

Agnello alle Olive (Lamb with Olives) - Italian Notes

Panna Cotta al Nocino - Bella Baita View

Valentine's Day Strawberry Gelato Recipe - Educated Palate

Dark Chocolate Chunk Almond Biscotti - Italian Food Forever

Apple Frangipane Galette - Inspired by summers in Italy with mamma-in-law - Cake Duchess

 

 

 

 

Eating Italy:

Pizza Celebration - This video is a beautiful thing. Pizzaiolo in Naples' Sorbillo Pizzeria stretching dough and topping pizze with amazing finesse - qoca on YouTube

San Valentino a modo nostro - 10 "grandi assenti" che amiamo - In honor of Valentine's Day Tavole Romane lists 10 "illustrious" restaurants, not yet mentioned in their blog, but which are close to their hearts - They've also provided links to other blogs that have reviewed each restaurant, many are in Italian & some are in English - Tavole Romane (The post is in Italian, but websites - where available - and addresses are useful to any traveler to Rome)

Update: Tavole Romane now has an English version of the above post - 10 Restaurants Not To Be Missed in Rome

The Scent of the Ligurian Bread - Delicious journey through the different breads of Liguria - Beautiful Liguria

A Visit to a Sicilian Food Market - Video - Huffington Post

La Fiera del Cioccolato: Florence - Report from the chocolate festival in Florence - Charming Italy

Bonci, Gabriele: cuoco, pizzaiolo, alchimista, inventore - Write up on Gabriele Bonci and the reopening of Pizzarium - Paperogiallo.net (In Italian, but the pizza photos are universal - also a rating of each slice of pizza tried)

Colonnata, The City of Lardo - What do lardo and marble have in common? Find out in this story by Jessica for Under the Tuscan Gun

Eating Responsibly and Deliciously at Trattoria La Madia in Northern Italy - Cellar Tours

New "old" Restaurant in Monti: L'Asino d'Oro - Review and fab food photos from a Roman restaurant - Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome 

Marchesi de' Frescobaldi - Tuscan wine family with 700 years of wine history - EatItalian

The Cuisine of Umbria - Italian Food Forever

Gluten-Free Food and Restaurants in Italy - Ms Adventures in Italy 

Fritz Haeg's Edible Roman Rooftop Homestead - Parla Food 

Going Whole Hog - Adventures in Meat and Italian Butchering - Faith Willinger recounts her and Dario Cecchini's Adventures in Italian Butchering in the U.S. - Atlantic Food Channel

The Making of Grana Padano Cheese - Video showing how the Grana Padano cheese is made - NascitaGranaPadano on YouTube

 

 

 

Upcoming Food and Wine Festivals in Italy:

Sagra del Chiodo di Maiale (Pork Sausage Festival) - February 25 to 27 - Massa Carrara celebrates pork sausage from the old recipe of farmers served during the yearly slaughter of the pig.  Ciao Lunigiana has information about the Festival in English

Sagra della Seppia - March 13 to 20 - Pinarella di Cervia - The seaside town near Ravenna celebrates seppia

Cioccolosita (Chocolate Festival in Tuscany) - March 11 to 13, 2011 - The town of  Monsummano Terme, near Pistoia, hosts a chocolate festival and brings chocolatiers from all over Italy with samples!

Carnevale di Venezia  - February 26 to March 8, 2011 - A magical event that I would recommend attending at least once in your life, the entire city of Venice becomes a stage

CioccolaTo 2011 - March 25 to April 3 - Chocolate festival in Turin

Cisterna Wine Expo - April 16 to 17 - The town of Cisterna di Latina outside of Rome hosts the wine-expo and tastings

Vinitaly 2011 - April 7 to 11, 2011 - International wine festival in Verona

CousCous Festival - September 20 - 25 - San Vito Lo Capo, Sicily

 

 

 

Related Posts:

Italian Hot Chocolate and Carnevale in Venice

Sfogi in Saor (Venetian Style Sole in Agrodolce Sauce)

Cozze alla Marinara - Neapolitan Style Mussels

Coda alla Vaccinara - Roman Style Braised Oxtail

Torta Setteveli - Seven Veils Cake from Palermo

Cantucci - Biscotti from Tuscany 

A Taste of Napoli - 15 Favorite Dishes for the Food Lover in Naples

Seven Sensational Gelaterie in Turin - 100 Scoops Later

Caramel Gelato and Five Favorite Gelaterie in Rome

Italy on a Plate - The Week in Italian Food: Feb 6, 2011

Italy on a Plate - The Week in Italian Food: Jan 30, 2011

Villa d'Este in Photos - A Day Trip from Rome

Although the eccentricities of the immensely rich completely baffle me most of the time, I have to admit that their crazy creations leave me in awe, as much for the beauty of what they've left behind as for the absurdity of their antics.  This again was the case when I saw Villa d'Este in Tivoli, just outside of Rome.

I hadn't really researched Villa d'Este and wasn't prepared for what I would see.  Roman friends told me to go, "There are fountains and cool breezes."  It's located in Tivoli, a hilltop city, outside of Rome.  I was sold.  A breeze and fresh air in Rome during late July is more impossible to find than sane kings and emperors.

Villa d'Este was developed by Cardinal Ippolito d'Este in 1550, son of the imfamous Lucrezia Borgia. As the story goes,  Cardinal Ippolito became governer of Tipoli after a failed attempt at the papacy.  To boost his wounded pride, he comissioned the Villa d'Este and its gardens. Using the nearby Villa Adriana (Emperor Hadrian's Villa) as inspiration, and designed by the architect Pirro Ligorio, the gardens tell the story of Tivoli and Rome and glorify the family d'Este, Ippolito's powerful family from Ferrara. 

Whatever Ippolito's motives were, one thing is certain this cooky cardinal left us with spectacular lush gardens filled with trees and plants in every shade of greens and yellows.  Even more spectacular are the fountains, many of them bursting high into the air like geysers.  The garden is now a UNESCO World Heritage site and many of the beginning scenes from "Three Coins in a Fountain" are from this garden.

We spent an entire afternoon wandering through the terraced gardens, looking at the story of Tivoli and Rome told through sculpture, greenery and fountains.  We cooled off next to the fountains' spray, and lingered as long as possible in the refreshing grottoes.  Below are photos from our day of wandering the gardens of Villa d'Este.

 

Organ and Neptune Fountains - The Baroque Structure to the back of the terrace is the Organ Fountain.  Created by the Frenchman Claude Venard the organ sounds are determined by the fall of water.  To the front, is Neptune's Fountain.  Around 1930, Attilo Rossi created this fountain by restoring Bernini's waterfall and adding the water jets.

 

 

 

 

 

Avenue of the Hundred Fountains - The 100 fountains is constructed on three levels. On each level runs waters that symbolize one of the rivers of Tivoli. The 100 shapes of lillies, obelisks, eagles and small boats fill the area, all connected to the Este family's coat of arms. The Avenue of the 100 Fountains joins the Oval Fountain to the Rometta Fountain.

 

 

 

 

The Oval Fountain (also the Fountain of Tivoli) - Representing the Tiburtine Mountains and falls, from which come the three rivers of Tivoli - the Aniene, Ercolaneo and Albuneo.

 

 

 

 

The Rometta Fountain - "Little Rome" fountain complex represents the eternal city.  Miniature buildings representing ancient Roman landmarks (some have been demolished) surround the area.  At the center of "little Rome" is the godess of Rome, the she-wolf with Romulus and Remus, and the boat representing the Island Tibertina - the place of the first Roman inhabitants.

 
 

 

 

The Dragon's Fountain - Representing the 11th feat of Hercules, who killed the hundred-heads dragon, the fountain has four winged dragons spitting water into the pool.  A jet of water in the center varies its water expulsion to sometimes sound like a cannon and, other times, like gun fire.

 
 

 

 The Gardens and Fishpond -

 

 

 

 
Fountain of Diana

 

 

 

 

 

Useful Information:

Villa d' Este Website

Getting there by train - Take the train on the Rome-Pescara line and get off at Stazione Tivoli.  From there you can catch a bus to the city center or walk.

Getting there by Metro & Bus - Take Metro Line B (the red line) in the direction of Rebibbia, exit at Ponte Mammolo.  From there catch the Blue Cotral Bus to Tivoli.  To purchase the tickets, go downstairs first, then back up to catch the bus.  The screens will tell you the schedule and which platform to go to to pick up the bus. It's about a 50 minute ride to Tivoli. The bus will stop at the Tivoli's main square, and from there it is a short walk. This is the way we went to Tivoli.

 

 

 

Related Links:

Rome at Night in Photos

Rome with a View - Five Favorite Spots for Photo Ops in Rome

Taste of Testaccio - Food Tour with Eating Italy in Rome

Roman Pasta Dishes and Ten Places to Eat Them in Rome

Food in Rome - Taste of Testaccio is Offal

Best Picnic Spots and Picnic Fare in Rome

Pizza al Taglio at Pizzarium in Rome

Caramel Gelato and Five Favorite Gelaterie in Rome

Cacio e Pepe in a Parmesan Bowl - Inspired by Roma Sparita

Pasta all' Amatriciana - A Roman Treat

Potato Gnocchi for Gnocchi Giovedi

Best Places to Kiss in Italy

Sfogi in Saor - Venetian Style Sole in Agrodolce Sauce

 

 

For me, there aren't many flavors I like more than sweet and sour.  The sweet and sour I'm talking about is Italian agrodolce. The literal translation from Italian is sour sweet.  Those are the two necessary components to the sauce.  The sour is usually white wine vinegar, and the sweet is usually sugar.  Caponata, a Sicilian dish, is probably the most popular one using this sauce, but the sauce also matches marvelously with fish and meat.  It could be that I had an overdose of sweets for Valentine's Day and needed a little sour in my food.  Like a child counts the hours until Santa's arrival, I'm also counting the days to my upcoming trip to Venice.  With visions of gondole floating on canals, Carnevale costumes & masks, and seafood dishes dancing in my head, I was impatient to have a taste of Venice.

 

 
Bridge of Sighs

 

 
Carnevale Costumes in St. Mark's Square

 

 
Seafood Antipasti - with one sardine in saor in the center

 

 

  

Saor is Venetian dialect for sapore (flavor).  The saor, a combination of sweet onions and vinegar, is the marinade for the fish.  Venetians have been marinating food with onions as far back as the 14th century.  The sauce helped to preserve the fish for long voyages at sea and also helped to ward off scurvy during those same voyages.  There were no long journeys at sea or fear of scurvy for me, yet I've still managed to eat my share of saor during my past visits to Venice.

 

 
 

Although it's served year round, this dish, either with Sarde (large sardines) or Sfogi (sole) is part of the traditional feast of the Redentore festival in Venice, held the third Saturday every July.  At dusk on the night of the celebration, little boats festooned in brightly colored decorations, lanterns and baloons float out into Saint Mark's Bay and Giudecca to enjoy the fireworks display.  They moor alongside each other, and, before the fireworks start, enjoy a feast of Venetian specialties, including a saor dish, be it sarde or sfogi.

 

 
The Grand Canal and the domes of Santa Maria della Salute

 

 
 
 

 

My nearing trip to Venice is for another celebration (Carnevale), but that didn't stop my craving for this classic Venetian dish.  You can bet I'll be sampling as much sarde & sfogi in saor that I can find.  In the meantime, I thought I'd share this recipe with you. 

It's important to let the fish marinate in the saor for a minimum of 10 hours, but 2 days is better.  Because we only have sardines (little sarde) here in California, and they're not always easy to find,  I made the dish with sole instead.

 

 

 

Sfogi in Saor - Sole in Agrodolce Sauce

(adapted from the Sarde in Saor recipe in Venice Tradition and Food by Pino Agostini & Alvise Zorzi)

Serves 6 for a main course and 8 for an antipasti

 

2 pounds sole, filleted

About 1 cup all-purpose flour

About 1/2 cup olive oil, for frying, divided in half

2 teaspoons sea salt, plus more to taste

2 medium sweet white onions, thinly sliced (about 2 cups sliced)

1/3 cup white wine vinegar

1/3 cup sultanas, soaked in white wine

1/3 cup pine nuts

Lightly dredge the fillets in the flour.  Heat the olive oil in a saute pan, and saute the fillets over medium heat until both sides are golden, 3 to 4 minutes on each side.  Remove from the heat onto a paper towel to drain & sprinkle both sides with salt. 

In another saute pan, heat more olive oil.  Saute the onions on medium low heat until soft, about 10 minutes.  The onions should not change color.  Add the vinegar, sultanas, and pine nuts and cook until the vinegar has been absorbed by the onions, about 5 minutes.  Let both the sole and the saor cool.

When they both have cooled, place a layer of the sole in a glass dish.  Add a layer of the saor on top of the sole.  Add another layer of sole on top of the saor.  Continue layering the sole then saor until all the sole and saor have been used.  (You should end with a layer of saor).  Refrigerate for two days.  Serve at room temperature.  Buon Appetito!

 

This post is part of Wanderfood Wednesdays, other food-loving travelers who blog. 

 

 

 

Related Posts:

Cicheti and Ombra - Little Tastes of Venice

Best Ways to Savor Venice

Italian Hot Chocolate at Carnevale in Venice

Chiacchiere - Ready for Carnevale in Italy

The Italian Teacher, The Friend and a Magical Chocolate Kahlua Budino

A Morning at the Rialto Market

Burano - The Jewel of the Lagoon

La Bottega ai Promessi ai Sposi

Nero di Seppie - Traditional Venetian Dish

Lo Spritz - Happy Hour in Venice

A Lesson in Venetian Mask Making 

Eggplant Caponata and Sicilian Market Etiquette

A Twist on a Venetian Spritz and Embracing Italian Culture

Italy on a Plate - The Week in Italian Food: Feb 13, 2011

 

 

 

Welcome to this week's edition of Italy on a Plate.  There is a nice roundup of recipes this week include seafood, angry chicken, porchetta, panna cotta, cannoli and Nutella.  As promised last week, I've included the two recipe roundups from the hosts of Nutella Day. Those roundups include hundreds of Nutella dishes to quench any craving.  Eating Italy includes some beautiful food shots from a food lovers vacation in Venice, cooking at an Agriturismo in Basilicata, wine in Friuli, making soppressata and more.  Enjoy and Buon Appetito!

My Choice for Top 10 Italian Food Recipes from Around the Web:

Seafood Antipasto - Beautiful Liguria

Artusi's February: Agnolotti - Emiko Davies 

Red Wine Risotto - Madonna del Piatto

Pasta con le Lenticchie (Pasta with Lentils) - Viaggi e Sapori

Porchetta for Beginners - The Panini Girl

Capesante alla Veneziana (Venetian Style Scallops) - Aglio, Olio & Peperoncino 

Pollo all' Arrabbiata (Chicken in a Spicy Tomato Sauce) - Italian Food Forever

Blood Orange Panna Cotta - The Front Burner

Sicilian Cannoli - Recipe No. 1 - Sharing one of three of her nonna's cannoli recipe -  Love Sicily

World Nutella Day Roundup Part 1 - Ms Adventures in Italy and World Nutella Day 2011 Roundup Part 2 - Bleeding Espresso - As many of you know, last Saturday was World Nutella Day.  Many of us Nutella lovers made recipes using Nutella to celebrate (that's my Nutella Love Cake below).  The hosts of Nutella Day have provided roundups, in two parts, of all the Nutella Day creations

 

 

 
 

Eating in Italy:

Italy's Brokedown Palace by the Sea - Fabulous post about food in Venice with lots of mouthwatering photos - Blissful Glutton

On Authenticity: Varieties of Italian Cooking (Part 1) and On Authenticity: Learning to Tell Real from Fake (Part 2) - Memorie di Angelina

Basilicata: Agriturismo Acaccia and Angela Scuteri - Video of Angela cooking up some delicious-looking food from her Agriturismo in Basilicata - Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome

Top 10 Budget Eats in Verona - The Guardian

Tasting 42 Tocai - Jeremy's tasting notes after many sips of wine in the Friuli region of Italy - DoBianchi

22nd Sagra di Biligocc - Information and photos from a Chestnut Festival near Bergamo - Rubber Slippers in Italy

Homemade Soppressata in Pennsylvania - Scordo.com 

Rome's Top 5 Romantic Restaurants for Valentine's Day - Nile Guide Rome

 

 
 

Upcoming Food & Wine Festivals in Italy:

Sagra della Seppia - March 13 to 20 - Pinarella di Cervia - The seaside town near Ravenna celebrates seppia

Cioccolosita (Chocolate Festival in Tuscany) - March 11 to 13, 2011 - The town of  Monsummano Terme, near Pistoia, hosts a chocolate festival and brings chocolatiers from all over Italy with samples!

Carnevale di Venezia  - February 26 to March 8, 2011 - A magical event that I would recommend attending at least once in your life, the entire city of Venice becomes a stage

CioccolaTo 2011 - March 25 to April 3 - Chocolate festival in Turin

Cisterna Wine Expo - April 16 to 17 - The town of Cisterna di Latina outside of Rome hosts the wine-expo and tastings

Vinitaly 2011 - April 7 to 11, 2011 - International wine festival in Verona

 

 

 

Related Posts:

Gianduja Budino and a Chocolate Pass in Turin

Gianduja - Nutella Cheesecake for World Nutella Day 2010

Best Places to Kiss in Italy

A Drive Along the Amalfi Coast

Foods Not to Miss in Sicily

Best Ways to Savor Venice

The Cinque Terre - My Happy Place

Italy on a Plate - The Week in Italian Food: Feb 6, 2011

 
Pasta Cinta Senese (Pork Ragu from Sienese Pork) 

 
 

Now that you've stuffed yourself on Nutella for yesterday's Nutella celebration, Italy on a Plate has 10 other great Italian recipes for you to try.  There's no Nutella recipe (I'll add Monday's roundup of recipe links to next week's post), but there are ricotta bread, plenty of pasta dishes, sea bass baked in salt, veal scaloppine, a dessert and a Carnival treat that, believe it or not, isn't fried.  Eating Italy is packed with links to fabulous food and wine posts.  As fall is the season for the harvest, these winter months are the season for Carnival treats and pork.  This is the third week in a row where I've included Carnival treats and curing pork. Enjoy and Buon Appetito! 

 

My Choice for 10 Best Italian Recipes from Around the Web:

Ricotta Bread - Italian Food Forever

Maccu - Sicilian Dry Fava Bean Soup and a story about dad - I Sicilian

Cappelletti with Parmesan and Breadcrumbs - Juls Kitchen

Spicy Spinach Ricotta Ravioli with Chickpea Puree - La Cucina Italiana

Pappardelle with Ragu alla Bolognese - Florentina shares her family's version of Bolognese - Ciao Florentina

Gemelli with Cauliflower and Saffron - Italicious

Branzino al Sale (Sea Bass cooked in Salt) - Memorie di Angelina

Scaloppine Pasticciate (Veal Scaloppine) - Bellalimento

Schiacciata alla Fiorentina - A Carnival sweet from Tuscany (and it isn't fried) - Tuscanycious

Orange and Rosemary Cake (Torta all' Arancia e Rosmarino) - Dulcis in Furno (In Italian and English)

 

 
Cacio e Pepe Inspired by Roma Sparita

 

Eating Italy:

La Tegamata - Celebration of a Family Tradition - Emiko Davies

Charcuterie in Italy: Curing 150 Pounds of Salami and Sausage in Le Marche - La Tavola Marche

It was impossible trying to pick only one or two of Jeremy's food and wine posts from his travels in Italy - Here are some of the more hunger inducing ones - Anniversary Dinner at Al Covo in Venice and Le Calandre in Padua (a 3 Michelin-starred restaurant some say is the best in Italy) and New Wave of Italian Pizza at I Tigli  - Do Bianchi 

Italy - A mouth watering photo essay of a food lover's trip to Italy - The Purple Foodie

Trattorie Romane - Great post about the trattorie in Rome and their picks for Top 10 Trattorie in Rome where you can get a meal of bread, primo, secondo, dessert, water & coffee for 40 euros or less  (actually 11 trattorie because they add Felice a Testaccio) - Tavole Romane (in Italian but links to and gives price range for each trattoria)

Update: Tavole Romane has since published the above post in English titling it: Cheap Roman Eats and, in this new post, have added additional trattorie from the comments to the Italian post.

A Venetian Frittelle Eating Marathon - Monica takes us throught the pasticcerie of Venice on a little binge of Carnival fried treats - Monica Cesarato

A Slice of Rome: Pizza al Taglio - Tavole Romane names their top 10 places for pizza by the slice in Rome - NileGuide Rome

What Kind of Pasta is on My Plate? - This handy pasta flowchart helps you distinguish the several hundred types of pasta shapes - Charming Italy

Vino 2011 NYC - Pure Language of Wine - Joel recounts some of the most memorable wines from Italian Wine Week - Vintrospective

The Seabed Wine "Abysses - Marine Reserve of Portofino - Aging wine in the Ligurian Sea - Beautiful Liguria

Asparagus - Is it Spring Yet? - A story and a book giveaway - Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome 

Culinary Workshops with the Best Italian and International Chefs - A glimpse into the Festival Identita Golose in Milan - Stile Mediterraneo

I Vini Dolci Pugliesi (Sweet Wines of Puglia) - Terronia

Amalfi - When Fate Hands You Lemons - Nice photo essay on the lemons of the Amalfi Coast - Cobalt Violet

D'Alessandro: Traditional Wines of Sicily - EatItalian

 

 

 

Upcoming Food and Wine Festivals in Italy:

Fiera del Cioccolato - February 4 to 13 - Florence - In Piazza Santa Croce and in an early celebration of Carnevale, the city celebrates artisanal chocolate

Cioccolosita (Chocolate Festival in Tuscany) - March 11 to 13, 2011 - The town of  Monsummano Terme, near Pistoia, hosts a chocolate festival and brings chocolatiers from all over Italy with samples!

Cioccolandia (Chocolate Festival) - February 11 to 13 - Livorno in Piazza Attias and Piazza Cavour - The sixth edition of this festival celebrates chocolate in all its forms with Demonstrations, recipes and tastings

Sagra del Mandorlo in Fiore (Almond Blossom Festival) - February 2 to 11, 2011 - The town of Agrigento celebrates spring and almond blossoms with this festival featuring typical Sicilian foods

Carnevale di Venezia  - February 26 to March 8, 2011 - A magical event that I would recommend attending at least once in your life, the entire city of Venice becomes a stage

CioccolaTo 2011 - March 25 - April 3 - Chocolate festival in Turin

Vinitaly 2011 - April 7 to 11, 2011 - International wine festival in Verona

 

 

 

Related Posts:

Best Ways to Savor Venice

Taste of Napoli - Fifteen Favorite Dishes for the Food Lover in Naples

Gianduja Budino and a Chocolate Pass in Turin

Tiramisu

Braciola di Maiale (Braised Stuffed Pork Roll)

Nutella Love Cake with Nutella & Chocolate Ganache for World Nutella Day 2011

 

 

 

It's World Nutella Day! Five years ago Michelle from Bleeding Espresso and Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy declared February 5th as World Nutella Day, the official day to celebrate their and the world's love for Nutella.  The love has spread and this celebration has certainly taken off. There are almost 19,000 fans of World Nutella Day on Facebook.  Last year I joined in the love, sharing my first taste of Nutella (in Florence) with you and my recipe for Gianduja - Nutella Cheesecake. 

On Monday, February 7, 2011, Sara and Michelle will post links to ALL the recipes of those that created something and posted it on their blogs for World Nutella Day.  I'm guessing there are going to be a lot of recipes!  In the meantime, you can check out the Nutella Day Flickr Pool for photos of what's being created and eaten and to see how others are celebrating Nutella today.

 

 

 

 

This year, I thought I'd share the Nutella love with individual cakes shaped in the form of a heart.  The cake is a flourless chocolate and hazelnut cake.  There are two fillings; one a nutella ganache with chopped hazelnuts and on top of that is a whipped milk chocolate ganache.  Then the entire cake is slathered in Nutella ganache and finished with a garnish of roasted hazelnuts.  I had a very handy heart shapped cutter and made individual cakes, perfect for romantic Valentine's Day dinners for two or a big party, might I suggest a Nutella love fest. And this cake is also gluten free. 

 

 

 

While making this cake, scents of chocolate and roasted hazelnuts mingled together and filled the house.  I had a flashback to a day when I was in Alba, Italy.  We were there to check out the market and then take a bus to Barolo and sip some wine.  That same seductive scent filled the entire city.  At the time we didn't know that the Ferrero plant, the makers of Nutella, was located in Alba. We kept guessing what was being made and tried to follow the scent.  We wanted some of whatever that sweet aroma was.  We asked a guy at the osteria where we were eating.  He told us about the Ferrero plant.  All day I had been smelling the scents of Nutella being made.  No wonder I had been in such a good mood.

 

 

 

Below I've given the recipe for making the individual cakes, using a heart shaped cookie cutter.  The recipe will work if you'd also like to make one large 9-inch round cake.  Instead of baking the flourless cake on a sheet pan, divide the cake batter into two 9-inch spring form pans.  Follow the same assembly instructions, instead making only one cake.  Enjoy and Happy World Nutella Day!  Thanks again Michelle and Sara for sharing and continuing the Nutella love!

 

Nutella Love Cake

(makes about 10 individual heart cakes or one 9-inch round cake)
 

For the Flourless Chocolate and Hazelnut Cake:

9 ounces good quality dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1 cup butter
¼ cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
1 cup finely ground blanched and toasted hazelnuts
6 eggs, room temperature

Preheat an oven to 310°F and line the bottom of a 15x7 jelly roll pan with parchment paper.

Slowly melt the chocolate and butter over a double-boiler.  In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk together the melted chocolate mixture, the cocoa powder, vanilla extract and sugar until combined.  Add the ground hazelnuts and whisk until combined.  Add the eggs one at a time, adding each egg after the first has been incorporated into the mixture.  Pour the mixture into the spring form pan.  Make sure the mixture is level and smooth on top. Bake for about 15-20 minutes.  It is ready when you place a toothpick in the center and only a few moist crumbs attach to the toothpick. 

 

For the Whipped Milk Chocolate Ganache:

1 cup heavy cream

10 ounces good quality milk chocolate, finely chopped

Scald the cream.  Pour over the milk chocolate and let it sit for about 2 minutes.  Starting from the center of the bowl, slowly whisk the mixture until it comes together.  Pour into a 9x13-inch glass dish and refrigerate until it is chilled, 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove from the refrigerator.  In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whip to soft peaks.  Set aside until assembling the cake.

 

For the Nutella Ganache:

1 jar (13 oz) Nutella

3/4 cup heavy cream

2 1/3 cups blanched and toasted hazelnuts, finely chopped

In a saucepan over medium heat, heat the nutella and cream until they are combined. Pour 3/4 cup of the ganache in a bowl and combine it with 1/3 cup of the chopped hazelnuts. Set aside both mixtures until you're ready to assemble the cake.  The remaining 2 cups of hazelnuts will be used for the garnish.

 

For the Simple Syrup:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

Pour the sugar and water into a saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Remove from the heat, cool and refrigerate until ready to use.  It should be cold before using. 

 

To Assemble the Cake:

Cut out the heart forms for the individual cakes.  With a pastry brush, dab simple syrup onto the bottom layer of each cake, enough so that it soaks through.  Place about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the Nutella ganache with the hazelnuts onto each bottom layer of cake and spread it in an even layer out almost to the edge.  Using a piping bag with a round tip, pipe a layer of whipped ganache, about 3/8-inch in height on top of the Nutella ganache, covering the entire area of the heart.  Place the second layer of cake on top of the whipped ganache layer.  With a pastry brush, dab simple syrup onto the top layer of each cake until it has soaked through.  Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill.

Place a baking rack over a sheet pan. This is for icing the cake.  Once the cakes have chilled, remove them from the refrigerator and place them onto the rack.  Pour the Nutella ganache, the mixture that does not have nuts in it, over each cake to ice it completely.  If you need to, you can recuperate the icing in the sheet pan and do a second glazing.  Chill for about 10 minutes in the refrigerator.  Coat the sides with the chopped hazelnuts and serve.

 

 

 

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How are you celebrating World Nutella Day? What's you're favorite way to eat Nutella? 

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**The World Nutella Day Image is provided with permission by World Nutella Day.  All other photos, the recipe and all content are mine and may not be copied or reproduced without my permission.

 

Related Posts:

Gianduja - Nutella Cheesecake for World Nutella Day 2010

Gianduja Budino and a Chocolate Pass in Turin

Torta Setteveli - Seven Veils Cake from Palermo

Eurochocolate Perugia - Italy's Biggest Chocolate Festival

Chocolate Eclairs: My Mom and Learning to Make Them

History of Chocolate in Turin - Gianduja and Much More

Scenes from CioccolaTo - Chocolate Festival in Turin

Italian Hot Chocolate at Carnevale in Venice

Italy in Chocolate at Turin's CioccolaTo Festival

Seven Sensational Gelaterie in Turin - After 100 Scoops

Torta Caprese - Flourless Chocolate Almond Cake from Capri

Say I Love You with Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

Romantic Italy - Best Places to Kiss in Italy

Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream and Berthillon in Paris

 

If you're a Paris food lover, especially if you love the sweets of Paris, you've probably heard about and tasted Berthillon ice creams. Berthillon is the famous Parisian glacier on the Ile Saint Louis. Popular with Parisians and tourists, there is almost always a long line at their main take away location on Rue Saint Louis en L'ile.  

I don't remember when I first found out about Berthillon, but while I lived in Paris it became my usual Sunday haunt.  Countless Sundays included a few boules (balls) of Berthillon ice cream after mornings at the Bastille Market, wandering through the Marais, or after a Sunday matinee.  We'd sit along the banks of the Seine or wander over the bridge and lap up our ice cream with the buttresses of Notre Dame in our view. 

 

  

 

 
 



My Parisian friend Richard, a Berthillon faithful, gave me many lessons in French ice cream etiquette.  See, I love the combination of chocolate and raspberry.  "Quelle catastrophe!"  He told me one day when he heard me order that combination.  Mixing sorbets and glace (ice cream), as I found out, is just not done.  It ranks up there in the faux pas world with cutting your lettuce with a knife, wearing sweats anywhere besides the gym, bright white tennis shoes and is possibly as bad as wearing a dreaded fanny pack. He also explained that one should never order less than 3 parfums, meaning 3 different parfums (flavors).  I still think the the three flavor minimum rule is one only he follows. Hating to be in the same category as a fanny pack wearer, I decided the chocolate and raspberry combo was out.  Once I did order chocolat, chocolat noir and chocolat blanc.  To Richard it was boring; for me the combination was pas mal. 

 

 

 

 

In an effort to avoid any ice cream faux pas and to avoid "boring" status, each Sunday I'd order different flavor combinations.  What happened was that I found two fabulous flavors I liked more than chocolat noir and even better than the triple chocolate combination: caramel beurre sale and pain d'epices. The salted butter caramel is a full dose of caramel flavor that includes a hint of bitterness, the caramel flavor both balanced and enhanced by the salt and butter.  The pain d'epices is a cream-based ice cream with quarte epice (four spices) added to the base and little chunks of gingerbread mixed into the ice cream.  Comfort food on a cone. 

Alas, I again became boring because from then on my order has always been the same: dark chocolate, salted butter caramel and spiced bread/gingerbread.

 

During my last trip to Paris, I made my usual stop at Berthillon.  I paid around 6 euros for my three boules. However, this trip to Berthillon I was left disappointed.  It seemed to me that the boules had shrunk. I felt each one was the size of a walnut.  The quality and taste of the ice cream was the same, I guess.  It was hard to tell with such a small little tease of a taste.  Maybe I made some faux pas, breaking one of the many and infinite French food rules? Maybe the lady scooping  my ice cream was having a bad day? 

Also part of the problem was that I had just spent the previous month in Italy with daily doses (or more) of gelato.  Instead of walnuts, scoops of gelato were closer to the size of tennis balls and prices were rarely over 3 euros for 3 flavors.  It's only natural that I made the comparison.  Yep, from my experience Italian balls are bigger than French ones......at least when it comes to ice cream. 

 

 

 

 Berthillon's Chocolat Noir and Caramel Beurre Sale

 

 
Chocolate and Pistachio Gelato in Italy

 

I still love the taste of Berthillon's ice cream, even though the size of my last scoop left me wanting more.  I came home craving salted butter caramel ice cream and worked on recreating the recipe from my taste memory.  One thing is certain, when you're in charge of the scooping, you can make the size of your boules as small or as big as you like. 

 

 

Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream
(makes about 2 quarts)

1 3/4 cups (375 grams) granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
2 cups (500 ml) whole milk
2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, scraped
10 egg yolks, at room temperature
½ cup (1 stick/115 grams) salted butter, room temperature and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
5 grams sea salt

 

In a copper or heavy bottom saucepan caramelize the sugar and water.  Do not stir the mixture with a spoon while it's cooking, or the sugar will crystalize and make the mixture grainy.  While the sugar is cooking, mix together the milk, cream, vanilla bean, and bean scrapings.  When the mixture starts to turn from a golden color to an amber one, immediately remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour in the cream mixture.  (Be careful because it will initially bubble up.)  Once you've poured all the milk/cream mixture in, place back on medium heat and stir until the caramel has dissolved into the mixture. 

In a very large bowl, that will hold the milk mixture and the egg yolks, whisk together the egg yolks.  Very slowly pour the milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly.  (Slowly pouring the milk mixture onto the egg yolks, will slowly bring the yolks up to temperature without them curdling.)  Pour the entire mixture back into the saucepan and heat to 170 F (82 C), stirring slowly and constantly.

Once the mixture has reached 170 F (82 C), remove from the heat and strain into a bowl that has been placed into an ice bath. Add in the butter and stir until all the butter has melted.  Cool completely.  Stir in the sea salt and place in the refrigerator.  It's best to leave the mixture in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours before churning.  Churn based on your ice cream maker's instructions. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

Related Posts:

 

Paris Walks for Food Lovers: Rue de Seine and Rue Bonaparte

Mini Macarons and Ice Cream from LaDuree

 

French Pastries and Ten Top Patisseries in Paris

Sunday at the Bastille Market in Paris

Fraisier for my Blog Birthday

Meyer Lemon Tart with Lightened Lemon Cream Topping

Four Spice Palmiers

Cooking Classes for the Culinary Traveler in Paris

Seven Sensational Gelaterie in Turin - After 100 Scoops