Food Lover's Odyssey

Cheese of Puglia: Making and Eating Fresh Cheese in Salento

 

 

I say Italian cheese. What cheese comes to mind?  Parmigiano Regiano, mozzarella and ricotta might be three of the handful of Italian cheeses that are household names, but Italy actually makes over 200 cheeses.  Like the rest of the food products in the bel paese, cheesemaking is just as regional.

Tasting the local cheeses in Italy is a treat I enjoy in each region I visit.  Experiencing the making of some of these cheeses and tasting them, only seconds after they've been made, is a truly special experience.  One I got to do during my recent trip to Salento.

 

 
 Luciano from Azienda Padulano

 

 

Ylenia and Claudia took me to Azienda Padulano in the Salento countryside, just outside of Lecce.  Luciano took us on a tour of his cheese-making facilities, where they make a variety of cow's milk cheeses.  During our tour of the land, we saw the cow's, lounging in the field and some being fed. We also toured the pasture and milking facilities.  As Luciano explained the entire procedure, he spoke passionately about the cows, the pasture, the milking process, and reminisced about when his grandfather made cheese. 

After our tour, we had a special cheesemaking demonstration of some of Padulano's fresh cheeses: giuncata, primo sale and ricotta.  Giuncata and primo sale are two fresh Salentino cheeses that are similar in tastes.  Made with fresh milk curds, the primo sale (pree-moh  sah-lay) is placed in traditional cheese baskets right after the cheesemaking process, in order to drain off any excess liquid.  The giuncata (joon-kah-tah), made with the same fresh milk curds, is tightly wrapped in dried giunchi (rush branches).  This cheese, which gets its name from the giunchi in which it's wrapped, takes on the shape of its wrapping.  

 

 

 

The first step in the process is to separate the milk into curds and whey.  Rennet (caglio in Italian), an enzyme coming from an animal's stomach, (Padulano uses rennet from lambs) is added to the milk to curdle the milk and separate the curds and whey.  Heating the mixture, they stirred the milk as it separated.  They then poured the mixture through a strainer to drain off the whey. 

 

 

 
 

 They placed the curds into a cheese basket to let the remaining whey run out, leaving us with a dense fresh cheese.  The texture was a little firmer than cream cheese. 

 

 

 

Giuncata wrapped in Giunchi and then Being Unwrapped

For the giuncata, they placed the curds onto the dried rush leaves and wrapped it tightly, securing it with rubber bands.  Once almost all the liquid drained from the cheese, they unwrapped it from the giunchi.

 

 

 

While letting both these cheeses rest, they moved onto ricotta making.  Using the whey that remained and recooking it (ricotta in Italian literally means re-cooked).  They added salt, and  a little more milk, and reheated the whey to around 85 C.  The cheesemaker told me the ending temperature depended mainly on the acidity of the milk.

 

 

Still slightly warm, and only seconds after it had been made, we got to taste the creamy ricotta at its freshest.

 

Azienda Padulano makes a wide range of cheeses, including mozzarella, burrata, provolone, and aged cheeses.  Luciano brought out a few of the aged cheeses for us to try, along with his superb yogurt.  The yogurt was all natural, so pure and creamy with just a touch of tanginess, that now I can't eat any other yogurt. 

All these cheeses were delicious on their own. Being the pastry person that I am, I have visions of the creamy cheese dessert I'll be making on my next trip to Salento, using some of the fresh Azienda Padulano cheese and their yogurt!

 

 

 

 

 

They packaged all the freshly made cheese up for us, and it was part of our lunch at Masseria L'Astore later in the day.  During our lunch, I also tried another regional cheese, ricotta forte (meaning strong ricotta).  This sounds like an oxymoron at first.  How could something so mild and creamy be strong, right?  Well, think again.  They basically let the ricotta sour, under controlled conditions.  Leaving you with something stronger than sour cream, as stinky as the stinkiest of French cheeses, and with a sourness that can be tongue numbing and face curling, if you're not careful. 

 

 

 

Spread a VERY thin layer of ricotta forte on bread or crostini and its sourness blends nicely with the bread.  Place a whopping American-sized dollop on top of  the bread, and the cheese will have your face more twisted and contorted than a mouthful of those sour gummy candies ever could.

 

 

 

 

 

Related Posts:

Tour of Masseria L'Astore and a Frantoio Ipogeo in Salento

Lunch Salento Style at Cantine Menhir

The Art of Making Pasta by Hand: A Pugliese Pasta Lesson with Nonna Vata

A Tour of Lecce - The Baroque Beauty in Puglia

The Pastries of Lecce with Pastry Chef Luca Capilungo

Pugliese Pasta: Handmade Sagne Ncannulate with Schiattariciati Sauce

Classic Salentino Cuisine Reinvented at Sette di Sette in Lecce

The Dish from Puglia: Friselle with Tomatoes

The Dish from Puglia: Ricci di Mare (sea urchins) from Porto Badisco

The Dish from Lecce: Rustico Leccese

 

 

Italy on a Plate - The Week in Italian Food: April 24, 2011

 
 

 

Happy Easter everyone!  Almost all the recipes in this week's top ten are Italian Easter recipes, and all of them are the flavors of spring. Eating Italy has information on wines of Italy, food in Rome: gelato, pastries and restaurants. There's also gelato in Turin, a photo essay on making pasta by hand, and the best Easter sweets in Italy.

Enjoy this week's Italy on a Plate, and Buona Pasqua a Tutti!

 

 

 

 

My Choice for This Week's Top 10 Recipes from Around the Web:

Artichoke Tart - Juls Kitchen 

Torta Pasqualina and a little about Easter rituals in Sorrento - Z Tasty Life

Pizza Rustica (aka Easter Pie) - Domenica shares her mother's recipe for this Easter dish AND there's a book giveaway - Chronicle Books Blog

Fiadoni - Cheese filled baked Easter pastries - Life in Abruzzo

Casatiello Napoletano - The savory Easter bread from Napoli - Napoli Unplugged

Risotto with Spinach - Scordo

Coratella di Abbacchio con Carciofi (Lamb Pluck/innards with Artichokes) - In "The Offal Truth About Easter," Elizabeth shares one of her favorite spring dishes - Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome

Pastiera Napoletana - The traditional Easter cake of Naples - Emiko Davies

Colomba Pasquale - Italian sweet Easter bread in the shape of a dove - Ciao Chow Linda

Cuzzupe di Pasqua - Michelle makes this Calabrian Easter Bread with Zia Vincenzina - Bleeding Espresso

 

 

 

 

Eating Italy:

Eating Well in the Golf of Poets - Megan dishes on where the good eats are in the towns around the Golf of Poets in Liguria - Bella Vita In Liguria

Tour del Gelato: Rivareno in Turin - Turin Love

A Week in Italy: 7 Wine Finds from Vinitaly - On the Wine Trail in Italy

Easter Egg Central in one of Rome's oldest chocolate shops - Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome

Eating and Drinking in Monteverde - Restaurant suggestions for the Monteverde area in Rome - Parla Food

Three Italian Wines that Get it Right - Vintrospective

Handmade Pasta: A Picture is Worth 1000 Words - Photo essay of making pasta by hand - Flavor of Italy Blog

Pasticceria Zio - Dolce Tradizionale nel Cuore di Testaccio - A look into a pasticceria in the Testaccio neighborhood of Rome - Tavole Romane (in Italian but there is a translation to English available for each post)

I Migliori 10 Dolci Tipici di Pasqua - Ten Best Typical Italian Easter Desserts - with links to the pastry shops where you can find them - Italiasquisita.net (in Italian)

 

 

 
 

 

Upcoming Food and Wine Festivals in Italy:

Sapori delle Crete Senesi (Flavors of Crete Senesi) - April 16 to May 8 - in Tuscany, near Siena - Food and Wine festival with emphasis on  the Pecorino cheese of the area and artichokes of Chisure - (Experience Tuscany has details about the Festival in English)

Festa della Fragola Cassibile (Strawberry Festival in Cassibile, Sicily) - April 30 & May 1 and May 7 & 8 - For two weekends, the town of Cassibile (near Syracuse) celebrates strawberries

Cortildivino - April 30 - Lecce - Lecce's Baroque historic center comes alive with good music and the best wines of Puglia on the evening of April 30 (See photo below)

DiteCheese (Say Cheese) Cheese Festival - April 28 to May 1 - Perugia

Riberella Days - April 30 to May 1 - Orange Festival in Ribera, Sicily

Festa della Fragola Terriciola (Strawberry Festival) - Each Saturday and Sunday from May 7 to 22 - Near Pisa in the city of Terriciola - Tuscany Pass has information in English: Strawberry Festival

Wine and the City - May 18 to 21 - Naples - 100 locations throughout the city wine will be the focus of an event and and there will be wine to taste - Napoli Unplugged has information about Wine in the City in English

Vitigno Italia - May 22 to 24 - 7th Annual Wine Festival in Naples at the Castel dell' Ovo - Napoli Unplugged has  information about the Wine Festival in English

Firenze Gelato Festival 2011 - May 25 to 29 - Florence - Throughout Florence, they will be celebrating the world of gelato

Le Strada della Mozzarella - May 27 to 30 - Paestum - Festival of Mozzarella di Bufala and also other wine and food of the Paestum area - Check the brochure for program details

Slow Fish 2011 - May 27 to 30 - Fiera di Genova - 5th edition of the International fair dedicated to sustainable fishing

Melodia del Vino - June 28 to July 8 - Festival where Tuscan wines and classical music meet - Various locations in Tuscany (For a description of the Melodia del Vino festival in English - Tuscanycious)

Sagra della Porchetta di Arricia - September 4 - The town Arricia, near Rome, most famous for the roasted suckling pig starts porchetta celebrations on the first Sunday in Septmeber

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

EuroChocolate - October 14 to 23 - Perugia - The biggest chcolate festival in Italy

 

 

 

 

Related Posts:

Scenes from CioccolaTo - Chocolate Festival in Turin 

Torta Setteveli - Seven Veils Cake from Palermo

Strawberry and Rhubarb Galette

Cantucci - Biscotti from Tuscany

Dining Around Naples with Napoli Unplugged

A Pizza Lover's Odyssey in Naples Italy

Lunch Salento Style at Cantine Menhir

The Art of Making Pasta by Hand: Pugliese Pasta Lesson with Nonna Vata

Best Picnic Spots and Picnic Fare in Rome

Tasting Venice - A Food Tour with Monica Cesarato

Easter Chocolates in Paris Windows

 

 

Paris shop windows of any kind are always so fabulous.  The windows of patisseries and chocolatiers are the ones I love the best.  I finished up my latest travels in Italy with a few days in Paris.  As it was Easter season, many of the chocolatiers had their windows decked out in Easter chocolates.

To kick off Easter weekend, this Friday in photos are all about the Easter chocolates of Paris chocolatiers.  Come take a peek in the windows with me.  They look almost too pretty to eat, don't they?

 

From the windows of Hediard (21, Place de la Madeleine, 8th arr.) -

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Michel Cluizel (201, rue Saint-Honore, 1st arr.) -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Pierre Marcolini (89, rue de Seine, 6th arr.) -

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gerard Mulot (76, rue de Seine, 6th arr.) -

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

Fauchon (Place de la Madeleine, 8th arr.) -

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

  

Weiss (62, rue de Seine, 6th arr.) -

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chocolat De Neuville (108, rue Mouffetard, 5th arr.) -

 

 

 

 

 

 

Georges Larnicol (132, Blvd. Saint-Germain, 6th arr.) -

 

 

 

 

Happy weekend everyone and here's to a chocolate filled Easter! 

 

 

Related Posts:

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

Scenes from CioccolaTo - Chocolate Festival in Turin

Italy in Chocolate at Turin's CioccolaTo Festival

Eurochocolate in Perugia - Italy's Biggest Chocolate Festival

Buying Easter Chocolates in French

Chocolate Shops Abound in the 6th Arrondissement

French Pastries and Ten Top Patisseries in Paris

Torta Setteveli - Seven Veils Cake from Palermo

Italian Hot Chocolate at Carnival in Venice

The Dish from Paris: Mini Macarons and Ice Cream at LaDuree

Torta Caprese - Flourless Chocolate Cake from Capri

Gianduia Budino and a Chocolate Pass in Turin

Best Chocolate and Other Sweet Memories of 2010

Gianduia - Nutella Cheesecake

Nutella Love Cake with Nutella & Chocolate Ganache

Cooking Classes for the Culinary Traveler in Paris

 

Pugliese Pasta: Sagne Ncannulate con Sugo Schiattariciati ("Squished" Tomato Sauce)

 

Behind almost every dish I make is a story. The dishes I like best have the most memorable stories behind them. Sometimes it's a long story, a chunk of someone's life. When I make meat ragu, I always think of my mom. I recount part of her life in each four-hour meat sauce. Those of our times cooking together, our weekly spaghetti and meat sauce dinners while growing up (and afterwards), and even the holiday dinners, when she would use her meat sauce with my nonna's ravioli.

Sometimes the dish tells a story of brief events all linked together through one dish. La Coda alla Vaccinara makes me think of the chef in Rome who told me how he makes it, and the GranTourismo competition I entered and won with that recipe and story. I think of Testaccio, my apartment there, and of Rome.

Either in my mind or aloud, I retell the story of the dish each time I make it. I relive those special events, and recall the friends and family who shared the meal with me. If I make a dish for you, know you will hear its story as we eat it.

In this dish I've made today, is a story of a day in Salento. I've shared much of the day with you in previous posts, the morning making pasta with Debora's Nonna Vata and the afternoon in the kitchen with Pina, Claudia and Ylenia.

Pina and the pasta schiattariciati we had at lunch

Nonna Vata making pasta

While making the sagne ncannulate for this post, I remembered that day again. Meeting Nonna Vata, her lesson and advice, her saying "vai, vai, vai" (go, go, go) when I was doing things correctly. I thought of Pina, and the stories she had about the Salentino food. Each vegetable and spice had a story behind it that she told me as she added the ingredient to the pot. I remember the table at Cantine Menhir and all of us gathered around, the jokes, the conversation. Each time I make this dish, I'll repeat the story in my head, think of the people with which I shared the meal, and share the story with whomever is with me.

Through my previous posts, you know the stories behind the dish. Now, I share the recipe with you.

The pasta is a truly regional one, Pugliese. Food is still very regional in Italy, so much so that even many pasta shapes have their own regions. In the stores in Salento, I saw only sagne ncannulate, orecchiette and maccheroni (known as minchiareddhri in Pugliese dialect). There might have been spaghetti or penne somewhere, but it was hidden behind the many packages of these regional pasta shapes. The sauce, schiattariciati, which means squished, is easy to make and oh so good. Fresh tomatoes explode in a generous amount of olive oil. There's a little garlic and a lot of fresh basil. To finish, the regional cheese, cacioricotta, is tossed through the dish to add a creaminess to each strand of pasta.

Step by step instructions for making and rolling out this pasta are on my post: A Pasta Making Lesson with Nonna Vata. If you don't want to roll out the pasta by hand, you can use a pasta machine. Roll it out to the #5 level of thickness.

With Nonna Vata, we made sagne similar to the middle photo below, just thinner. I also saw sagne curved like a horseshoe. Either way, you should cut the strips to about 15 inches in length. The thinner sagne ncannulate are made with strips 1/4-inch in width (on the left in the photo below) and with the thicker ones, cut the strips 1/2-inch in width (on the right in the photo below).

Here are a few more notes on shaping the pasta:

It takes a lot of practice to get the motion down and a perfectly twirled sagne ncannulate like Nonna Vata's. (At first you'll get one side tightly twirled and the other loosely twirled.)

Let the pasta dry, at least 4 hours, before cooking.

For me, the thinner strips (1/4-inch wide) are harder to make more uniform than the thicker ones.

 

I still need to master Nonna Vata's way of shaping the sagne ncannulate. In the meantime, I found that it was easier to make a more uniform twirl if I rolled the pasta around my index finger, and then pulled the roll out on the board. From there, I created a tighter twirl by lightly rolling it on the board, with one hand over the top of the pasta and another holding an edge of the pasta.

 

*Make Sagne Ncannulate and other delicious Pugliese dishes on this Food & Wine Lover's Journey in Puglia!

 

 

 

Sagne Ncannulate con Pomodorini Schiattariciati

Serves 4 people

1 pound (450 grams) dried sagne ncannulate pasta (you can substitute spaghetti or linguine)

For making Sagne Ncannulate Pasta:

(adapted from my lesson with Nonna Vata)

1 pound (450 grams) durham wheat flour

About 1/2 cup warm water

Note: The amount of water you will need varies by day and by area depending on the climate, and especially the humidity. I used 1/2 cup of water on a typically arid California day. In the summer in, say Texas, you will certainly need less water.

For the Schiattariciati Sauce:

(adapted from Pina's schiattariciati sauce)

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves, whole with the skins on

2 pounds (900 grams) cherry tomatoes, with stems removed

1 tablespoon kosher salt

20 to 25 basil leaves, plus more for garnish

About 3/4 cup grated cacioricotta cheese*

In a large sauce pot, bring about 8 cups of water to a rolling boil. Once the water has boiled add a generous amount of salt and let it come back to a boil.

In another deep sauce pot, add the olive oil and whole garlic. Over medium heat, heat the oil until it starts to bubble. Gently place the whole cherry tomatoes in the oil. Cover the saucepan with its lid and leave for 5 to 7 minutes, letting the tomatoes "explode" under the lid. Add the salt and basil leaves, and cover until you're ready to add the pasta.

Once the tomatoes have burst, put the pasta in the boiling water. If you're using home made sagne ncannulate, boil for 3 to 4 minutes (depending on the size of the pasta). Then place into the squished tomato sauce and combine. If you are using boxed pasta, cook only half the cooking time that are on the cooking instructions. (Because the pasta cooks in the sauce, it should be extremely al dente when you remove it from the water.) Off the heat add the grated cheese and toss until the cheese has coated all the pasta. Garnish with fresh basil. Serve.

*Cacioricotta is a Salento cheese that is a combination of cheese and ricotta. I'm still searching for an adequate substitute in case you can't find it in your area. (I tried ricotta salata, but it's not the right substitute.)

 

Related Posts:

The Art of Making Pugliese Pasta by Hand - A Lesson with Nonna Vata

Cheese of Puglia: Making and Eating Fresh Cheese in Salento

Tour of Masseria L'Astore and a Frantoio Ipogeo in Salento

A Tour of Lecce - The Baroque Beauty in Puglia

Lunch Salento Style at Cantine Menhir

Classic Salentino Cuisine Reinvented at Sette di Sette in Lecce

The Pastries of Lecce with Pastry Chef Luca Capilungo

The Dish from Puglia: Friselle with Tomatoes

The Dish from Puglia: Ricci di Mare (sea urchins) from Porto Badisco

The Dish from Lecce: Rustico Leccese

Artichoke and Spinach Ravioli in a Brown Butter Sauce

Slow-Cooked Meat Ragu to Honor Mom

Pasta all'Amatriciana - A Roman Treat

Cacio e Pepe in a Parmesan Cup inspired by Roma Sparita

Pasta con le Sarde and Cooking in Palermo

 

Pugliese Pasta and the Art of Making Pasta by Hand: A Lesson with Nonna Vata

 

When I was a little girl, I remember sitting on a stool in the corner of my nonna's kitchen watching her teach my mom how to roll out pasta by hand.  In minutes, my grandmother could roll dough around a rolling pin and spin out a thin sheet of pasta; one that almost covered her 8-person table.  She never taught me.  Her goal was to teach my mom first, and my mom could teach me.  My mom never really learned before my nonna passed away.  One of my dreams has always been to have an Italian nonna teach me to roll out pasta dough by hand.

This trip to Puglia, I got the chance.  Debora, a friend of Ylenia's, brought me to her Nonna Vata's house to make pasta.  Nonna Vata is a petite lady, who barely reached my shoulders.  Don't be fooled by her small stature.  Her feistiness and energy surpassed all four of ours. 

When it came to making pasta, though, she was all business.  I had my camera out ready to take photos.  She asked, "Are you going to make pasta or take photos?"  Head bowed in shame, I handed my camera to Ylenia, who took photos for me.  "Before you do anything, wash your hands."  "Si, nonna," I replied recalling all the "oui, chefs" I've uttered in the same submissive manner.

There was no written recipe, and she measured nothing.  She said she used "around 800 grams" of durham wheat flour, the traditional flour used for pasta in Puglia.  She added as much water as the flour needed (the most popular measurement amount in Italian, called quanto basta or q.b.).  She knew when to stop adding water and when to stop kneading solely by the feel of the dough.  She's been making pasta for over 70 years.  Her hands and eyes are far better than scales and temperature gauges.

 

 

 
 

How to make pasta dough according to Nonna Vata:

Sift the durham wheat flour through a tamis.  Make a well in the center of the flour.  Before you add the warm water, make the sign of the cross over the flour.  As Nonna explained, while shooting her hand skyward,"Without the hand of God, you can't do anything!"

Add warm water, "not cold and not hot," little by little to the flour.  She worked it in with her hands until the dough was the right consistency.  She let me help so I could also feel the dough as we added the water.  Once the mixture was combined together, she started kneading. 

She kneaded the dough for less than five minutes until it was the right consistency. The dough was soft, not damp, and you could easily make an impression in it with your fingers.  Notice how she pressed her thumbs into the dough as she kneaded it, rolling it away from her on the board.  She formed a ball, made another sign of the cross on the dough, and wrapped it in a towel to rest for 30 minutes.  She covered the dough in a big blanket, calling this its penance.

 

 
Pasta dough resting under blankets

 

When the dough was ready, she took it out, made another sign of the cross on top of the pasta dough, and she began rolling it out into a perfect circle.  Now, I know that you must turn the dough 1/4 turn after each roll to keep a perfect circle, but her hands moved so quickly, I never saw her do it.  Once the dough was thin enough, she rolled it around the rolling pin and continued rolling to get the thin sheet of pasta. (This is the part I could never figure out on my own.  The dough would always stick together.) 

 

 

 

What I learned from Nonna Vata was first to sprinkle a little flour on the dough each time you roll the dough around the pin.  Place your hands on the rolling pin along the edges of the dough, not on the dough itself.  And, only make 2 or 3 pushes of the rolling pin at a time, then unroll the dough, turn it a 1/4 turn, sprinkle flour over it again, and roll it back up around the pin. Repeat until the dough is paper thin. With Nonna Vata's help, and also her doing most of the rolling, the dough became a thin sheet in less than 10 minutes!

 

 

 

With this sheet we made two pasta shapes:

Sagne ncannulate is a Pugliese pasta.  This shape along with orecchiette and minchiareddhri are the main pasta shapes you'll find in stores in the region.  The name is in Pugliese dialect, and as Claudia told me, there is no Italian translation.  They are long strands of twirled pasta.  They resemble curled ribbons on a wrapped Christmas or birthday present.

 

 
 Nonna Vata making sagne ncannulate

 

We made them by cutting pasta into thin strips, about 1/4-inch in width.  Then, holding one end of the strand in the air, and rolling the other end of the strand with your hand, you curled the pasta up.  You placed the bottom part of your palm on a pinched end of the dough, and bringing your hand towards you on the board, rolled the pasta between the board and your hand. 

 

 

 Learning to shape the sagne ncannulate

 

Nonna Vata whipped out a few of these tightly twirled pasta strands and then let me try.  After screwing up several, I finally made one!  Woohoo!  I made a few more, and did get better with each try, but believe me, they're not easy to make.  None of mine were as tightly twisted as Nonna Vata's were.  She emphasized it takes practice.  She also said that you can make bigger sagne ncannulate, cutting pasta strips about 1/2-inch in width. The bigger size is what I saw at all the pasta shops and food markets in Lecce and Salento.

 

 

 

We also made massa (also called lasagne in the region), which I had seen the previous day during our visit to The Tables of San Giussepe (my day visiting these tables will be another post).  This pasta shape was much easier to make.  Nonna cut half the sheet of pasta, rolled the sheet up into a log, and cut thin (about 1/8-inch) slices.  Then she opened up the small strands of massa by fluttering her hands through it.

 

 
 Making the massa pasta shape

No recipe, cookbook, nor even a video, can ever teach you what an 85 year-old woman, who's been making pasta her whole life, can teach you in one day.  She helped me get a feel for the dough, noticed and corrected me when I did something wrong, and placed her hands over mine to help me understand how to move my hands to roll out and shape the pasta. 

 

 

 
Claudia modeling the apron sent to Nonna Vata by other grateful American students

 

I know nowadays we all have pasta machines, but I believe this is an important art in the tradition of pasta making and in Italian food.  If for no other reason than to appreciate the amount of work nonne, like Nonna Vata, did before machines, you should see how it's done. 

If you haven't yet had a lesson from an Italian nonna, I hope you seek one out and take the opportunity to learn.  In the meantime, besides the "tricks" I noted above, here are a few more I learned for rolling pasta out by hand: 

 

1. Know when to stop adding water to the pasta (this varies due to humidity and room temperature) so the pasta is the right consistency. 

 

2. You need a rolling pin that's thin in diameter (about 1 to 1 1/2 inches). Nonna Vata gave me one as a gift, but she said you could also cut the end of a wooden broom stick.

 

3. You need an extra large wood board, larger than what the rolled out sheet of pasta will be.

4. Most importantly of all - you need to practice. 

 

Grazie tantissimo Nonna Vata!  Thank you also Ylenia for taking these photos while I learned to make pasta!

 

 

Since my lesson with Nonna Vata, I've been doing a little practicing with the rolling pin she gave me.  Come back tomorrow when I'll have a recipe for the schiattariciati sauce that Pina made to go along with sagne ncannulate pasta.

 

*Join me in 2012 - Make Pugliese pasta and so much more on this Food & Wine Lover's Culinary Tour in Puglia.

 

Related Posts:

A Tour of Lecce - The Baroque Beauty of Puglia

The Pastries of Lecce with Pastry Chef Luca Capilungo

Cheese of Puglia: Making and Eating Fresh Cheese in Salento 

Tour of Masseria L'Astore and a Frantoio Ipogeo in Salento

Lunch Salento Style at Cantine Menhir

Classic Salentino Cuisine Reinvented at Sette di Sette in Lecce

Sagne Ncannulate con Sugo Schiattariciati ("Squished" tomato sauce)

The Dish from Puglia: Ricci di Mare (sea urchins) from Porto Badisco

The Dish from Puglia: Friselle with Tomatoes

The Dish from Lecce: Rustico Leccese

The Dish from Rome: Coda alla Vaccinara

Cassatelle alla Siciliana - (fried sweet ricotta cream filled ravioli)

Slow-Cooked Meat Ragu to Honor Mom

 

 

 

 

 

Italy on a Plate - The Week in Italian Food: April 17, 2011

 

 

Welcome to the week in Italian food.  Spring vegetables are one of the highlights to this week's top 10 recipes.  Also on the list is a Easter/Spring lamb dish from Abruzzo, and Easter bread and a few other pastries from the south of Italy, Naples and Sicily.  In Eating Italy, there are many posts on the food of Puglia, along with wine tasting along Lake Maggiore, beer and  more gelato in Rome, and 20 reasons we love Italy (most of them food related).  Enjoy this week's selections and buon appetito!

 

 

 

My Choice for Top 10 Italian Food Recipes This Week:

Wild Greens Crostata - Ciao Chow Linda

Spaghettini with Fish Sauce, Clams, Scallops and Squid - Scordo

Risotto alle Zucchine e olio alla menta (Zucchini Risotto and Mint Oil) - Volevo Fare Lo Chef (in Italian)

Agnello Cacio e Ovo (Lamb in a Lemon, Egg & Cheese Sauce) - an Abruzzo Sprintime Easter traditon - Life in Abruzzo

Saltimbocca alla Romana - The Italian Chef

Potato Timbale (Tummalu di patati) - I Sicilian

Cicoria Ripassata - Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome

Italian Easter Bread, Revisted - The Italian Dish

Sfogliatelle Frolle - Un Dejeuner du Soleil (In Italian and French)

Genovesi Ericine - Manu makes these Sicilian sweets from the Medieval town of Erice - Mad About Macarons

 

 

 
 

Eating Italy:

My Olive Bread Gas Station Epiphany in Puglia - Jeremy starts his Puglia Week series with this post, but I would recommend reading (and seeing all the food photos) his other posts on Puglia: Awesome Stuff I Ate in Puglia (Part 1),   More Awesome Stuff I Ate in Puglia (Part II) and  A Year in Southern Italian Wine and the Unknown Etymology of Puglia - DoBianchi

Making Bread in Puglia - Wandering Italy

Il Gelato di Claudio Torce' Rome - Katie takes us through her gelato tastings at this gelateria in Rome - Parla Food 

A Do-It-Mostly-Yourself Wine Tasting at La Cambusa - Wine tasting at an Enoteca in Stresa - Stresa Sights

Home on the Range in Maremma - Food and photos from the Maremma countryside in Tuscany - Over the Tuscan Stove

Open Baladin, Rome - Craft Beers in Rome - Pencil and Spoon

20 Reasons Why We Love Italy - A Photo slideshow and almost all of them are food related - Bon Appetit

 

 

 

Upcoming Food and Wine Festivals in Italy:

Sapori delle Crete Senesi (Flavors of Crete Senesi) - April 16 to May 8 - in Tuscany, near Siena - Food and Wine festival with emphasis on  the Pecorino cheese of the area and artichokes of Chisure - (Experience Tuscany has details about the Festival in English)

Cortildivino - April 30 - Lecce - Lecce's Baroque historic center comes alive with good music and the best wines of Puglia on the evening of April 30 (See photo below)

DiteCheese (Say Cheese) Cheese Festival - April 28 to May 1 - Perugia

Riberella Days - April 30 to May 1 - Orange Festival in Ribera, Sicily

Firenze Gelato Festival 2011 - May 25 to 29 - Florence - Throughout Florence, they will be celebrating the world of gelato

Le Strada della Mozzarella - May 27 to 30 - Paestum - Festival of Mozzarella di Bufala and also other wine and food of the Paestum area - Check the brochure for program details

Slow Fish 2011 - May 27 to 30 - Fiera di Genova - 5th edition of the International fair dedicated to sustainable fishing

Melodia del Vino - June 28 to July 8 - Festival where Tuscan wines and classical music meet - Various locations in Tuscany (For a description of the Melodia del Vino festival in English - Tuscanycious)

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

EuroChocolate - October 14 to 23 - Perugia - The biggest chcolate festival in Italy

 

 

 

Related Posts: 

Lunch Salento Style at Cantina Menhir

Journey Through the Pastries of Naples

Pizza Lover's Odyssey in Naples

Best Picnic Spots and Picnic Fare in Rome

The Dish from Rome: Coda alla Vaccinara (Roman-Style Braised Oxtail)

Asparagus and Lemon Risotto

Sfogi in Saor (Venetian Style Sole in Agrodolce Sauce)

 

Lunch Salento Style at Cantine Menhir

I knew little about the Salento region of Puglia when I planned my trip last winter. I knew it was at the bottom tip of Italy's heel. I had heard it's known as the "California of Italy" and that the sea, surrounding three sides of Salento, was rumored to be one the most beautiful in Italy.

During my five-day visit, I learned so much more, thanks to the people I met while there. Laura from Ciao Laura's Culinary Vacations put me in contact with the ladies who run culinary tours for her in Lecce and Puglia. They showed me around, filling my head with a wealth of information about the food, culture, history and more. Not only that, but they also welcomed me into their homes and kitchens, so much so, I felt like family. The last day of my visit I looked over my notes and couldn't believe all that I had seen, done, learned, and eaten in such a short time.

Leccese stone, menhir, dolmen, muretti a secco, masseria, frantoio ipogeo, friselle, sagne ncannulate, i maritati, pasticciotto, Albanegra, giuncata, cacioricotta, rustico, The Tables of San Giuseppe, Grecia Salentina, Otranto, Gallipoli. Only a month ago, most of these words meant nothing to me.

These words were only letters strung together on a page. Some having unclear textbook definitions; others not a bit of meaning. Now the words have meanings and images attached to them, of specific places and events and with people I will never forget. The words are as clear in meaning as the first words I ever spoke. They are a part of me, and I am a part of them. I hope to bring these and more Salentino words to life for you as I recount my adventures and introduce you to the people I met during my time with Ylenia and Claudia.

Pina Cooking and Claudia Explaining (photo courtesy of Ylenia)

Pina, personal chef and culinary instructor, cooked for us a Salentino lunch at Cantine Menhir. I had met her two days earlier, and we bonded over food, of course. She told me much about the Salento cuisine, which leans heavily on vegetables, cheese, and seafood. A cuisine born of farmers and peasants, it's light on meat. We exchanged cooking ideas and methods. I shared an American recipe with her, and Claudia, my cheesecake recipe. One evening we popped into Pina's mother's home to warm up with some tea. Mamma sent me back to my B&B with a shopping bag filled with pasta, two bottles of tomato sauce, two types of bread and jam. ALL of it homemade!

The day at the cantina, Pina cooked five dishes. Vegetables were the shining star in each dish. I joined her in the kitchen. I would like to say that I helped, but that wasn't the case. Pina and Claudia cooked. Ylenia took many of the photos. I listened. Hopefully I listened well as Pina explained, in sometimes rapid-fire Italian, how to prepare each dish. Whenever a lost look of panic appeared on my face, Ylenia and Claudia translated.

Here's what Pina cooked:

 

Frittura Salentina - A sort of tempura, Salento style. The batter was flour and sparkling water. Pina tossed vegetables, broccoli rape and fennel to name two, along with apples into the batter. She flavored the frying oil with lemon and orange zest and bay leaves. Crunchy outside and soft inside, these fried treats were devoured almost faster than I could snap a photo.

 

Lampascioni - Pronounced (lam-pah-show-nee) - On the way home from lunch, they laughed because I kept talking about the lampascioni, verifying and reverifying the recipe. This dish is agrodolce (sweet & sour) sauce at its best. Lampascioni are small onions of the region, a littler bigger than pearl onions and pinkish in color. In a little olive oil, lampascioni and scallions are cooked, with garlic and bay leaves, until they are soft. A few cherry tomatoes and vincotto are added and cooked down until it's the right consistency and flavor. Vincotto is cooked grape must. The must is slowly reduced to produce a dense, more sweet but also sour, syrup-like liquid. The dish was To. Die. For. (Dopo l'ho mangiato, potrei morire.)

Verdure al forno - Pina boiled greens, chicory, broccoli rape, sliced artichokes, to start. She said you could use any vegetables you'd like or have in the house. Once they were cooked, she drained them and then sauteed them, the traditional way, in only a little olive oil. Nowadays people will saute a little pancetta with the vegetables. It tastes better, but is not necessary. Then the vegetables get layered into a casserole dish. In between the vegetable layers are a layer of grated grano padano cheese. To the top layer she also added bread crumbs, and baked it until the top was golden brown.

 

Pasta schiattariciati - Pasta with a sauce of squished (schiattariciati) cherry tomatoes. The tomatoes are "squished" while exploding in a covered pan of hot olive oil, and then basil leaves are added. After dressing the pasta with the squished tomato sauce, add finely grated cacioricotta (cheese and ricotta combined). The cacioricotta melts and gives each strand of pasta a creamy coating.

 

We finished with a colorful salad of roasted beets, blood oranges, tomatoes, and fennel that was tossed in a lemon and olive oil dressing. Clearly, I was busy eating at this point, as I have no photo of it.

 

Wine-tasting break (photo courtesy of Ylenia)

 

Cantine Menhir provided their dining area, the food and their wines. The cantina, surrounded by an infinite stretch of olive groves, symbolic of the Salento area, has the appearance of a cozy stone cottage. Behind the dining area, is a lounge area open during the evenings with live entertainment.

Gaetano, the owner of Cantine Menhir, is pouring wines in the photo above. (Menhir is the name of the prehistoric structures found in the area, but that's for another post.) All of us worked casually in the kitchen, taking a few wine tasting breaks along the way. Our tasting started with a white wine, Pass-o Fiano Minutolo. Someone made mention of a Chardonnay while we were drinking it, but I think mainly to give a nod to my home region. For me the wine was fruitier than a Chardonnay, I tasted peaches, and was perfect before a meal. From there we moved on to the reds of Puglia, Primitivo and Negroamaro. With lunch we had another red, Albanegra. It was a blend of Aleatico, Primitivo e Malvasia grapes. It was lighter than the Primitivo and went well with our lunch. I adored it almost as much as the lampascioni.

Lingering at the table - sure sign of a much enjoyed meal (photo courtesy of Ylenia)

Claudia, Pina and I still chatting about the meal

An idealic afternoon in the kitchen and a delicious and leisurely meal. Grazie ancora Pina, Gaetano, and of course, Ylenia and Claudia!

 

 

 

The photo at the top of this post and some of the other photos used (they are noted), are from Ylenia at YLTours Congressi and used with her permission. All other photos in the piece are mine, All Rights Reserved.

Related Posts:

Pugliese Pasta and The Art of Making Pasta by Hand: A Lesson with Nonna Vata

A Tour of Lecce - The Baroque Beauty of Puglia

The Pastries of Lecce with Pastry Chef Luca Capilungo

Cheese of Puglia: Making and Eating Fresh Cheese in Salento

Tour of Masseria L'Astore and a Frantoio Ipogeo in Salento

Classic Salentino Cuisine Reinvented at Sette di Sette in Lecce

Sagne Ncannulate con Sugo Schiattariciati ("Squished tomato sauce)

The Dish from Puglia: Ricci di Mare (sea urchins) from Porto Badisco

The Dish from Puglia: Friselle with Tomatoes

The Dish from Lecce: Rustico Leccese

Eggplant Caponata and Sicilian Market Etiquette

Dining Around Naples with Napoli Unplugged

Pasta con le Sarde and Cooking in Palermo

Cozze alla Marinara (Neapolitan-Style Mussels)

The Itaian Teacher, the Friend and a Magical Chocolate Kahlua Budino

Bella Napoli - Neapolitans Warm My Heart Like Their Food Warms My Stomach

Scenes from CioccolaTo - Chocolate Festival in Turin

 

 

As you know from my recent post Italy in Chocolate, I spent several days in Turin at CioccolaTo, Turin's chocolate festival.  Actually, my month in Italy was planned specifically for two things: Carnival in Venice and CioccolaTo in Turin. All the amazing other things that happened during my Italy travels between these 2 events were just chocolate ganache on the torta cioccolata! 

For two weeks in March, Piazza Vittorio Veneto was transformed into a chocoholic's (called ciocco-dipendenti in Italian) paradise.  Hundreds of chocolate makers in Turin and Piedmont participated, and also those from all parts of Italy and Europe, selling chocolate and giving out samples. A lot in the way of chocolate education was also available to those interested in more than sampling. 

 

 
 

 

 

There was the tent that housed Italy and 20 of its monuments in chocolate.  Also in the tent, highlights of Italy's united 150-year history and the history of chocolate in Italy were displayed on storyboards that lined the tent walls.  

There was a chocolate demonstration booth, where various Piemontese chocolatiers and pastry chefs showed the audience chocolate making, baking, decorating and tempering techniques. Chocolatier Silvio Bessone sponsored a booth that had chocolate-making machines, in operation, during the festival. There was an interactive chocolate education area designed for children, although I saw some adults playing the learning games.  A photo exhibition of chocolate-making and chocolate wear were also on display.

 

 

 

 

The cinema in the piazza, Cinema Empire, showed chocolate films from around the world (Chocolat, Like Water for Chocolate, Bianca, Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, and more).  If you were exhausted after eating all that chocolate, you could recline at Spalm Beach - a play on Palm Beach and Spalmabile, the generic term for the spreadable chocolate & hazelnut goodness many know as Nutella.  If you needed even more pampering, a spa, Cocoon Center, in the piazza offered free chocolate beauty & wellbeing services.

Although Turin is most noted for its Gianduia (chocolate and hazelnut bars), there was plenty of other kinds of chocolate available - dark, milk, white, hot chocolate, chocolate liqueur, chocolate gelato and more.  Here are scenes from CioccolaTo 2011:

 

 
 
Caffarel Gianduia Stand in the shape of a Gianduia Bar

 

 
Ziccat Chocolate

 

 
Melted Chocolate - Gianduia Cream Liqueur - and Chocolates

 

 
Chocolate Rochers

 

 
Guido Gobino Booth

 

 
La Perla Chocolate Booth

 

 
Chocolate Truffles and Chocolate-Coated Candied Citrus

 

 
Spalm Beach

 

 
Chocolate Wear

 

 
Cremino Nocciolato Gianduia & Gianduoitti in the Tricolore of the Italian Flag

 

 
 Chocolate Making in Progress

 

 
Chocolate and Gianduia Making Process Displayed in Photos

 

CioccolaTo 2012 is already scheduled!  It's from March 2 to 11, 2012   (And, Carnevale di Venezia will be from February 11 to 21, 2012.) Just a few reasons to visit Italy in winter!

 

This post is part of Wanderfood Wednesday - Head on over there and see what other food lover's that travel are writing about!

 

Related Posts:

Italy in Chocolate at Turin's CioccolaTo Festival

History of Chocolate in Turin - Gianduja and Much More

Eurochocolate Perugia - Italy's Biggest Chocolate Festival

Gianduja Budino and a Chocolate Pass in Turin

Seven Sensational Gelaterie in Turin - After Over 100 Scoops

Everyone Should Eataly

Italian Hot Chocolate at Carnevale in Venice

Torta Setteveli - Seven Veils Cake from Palermo

Gianduja - Nutella Cheesecake for World Nutella Day 2010

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

Torta Caprese - Flourless Chocolate Cake from Capri

Easter Chocolates in Paris Windows

 

 

 

 

Dining Around Naples with Napoli Unplugged

 

 

More tales of food for you from Napoli.  About now, you're probably saying, "All she did there was eat!"  Well, you're almost right. Between bites, I actually did walk around much of the city (so much so I still have a blister on the ball of my foot) and saw some of Napoli's churches, museums and castles. 

Many of my evenings in Napoli, and a few afternoons, were spent with, Bonnie and Steve, the couple behind Napoli Unplugged.  They write about all things Neapolitan on their site, and share beautiful photos of the city on their photoblog.  Their site and writing shows their love for Naples, which they have called home for about 5 years.  During my visit to Naples last summer, I had the pleasure of meeting them.  We met for dinner, and then Bonnie took me on her stroll of the Centro Storico.  This trip we spent more time together, a lot of it eating (and drinking Campania wines) at some of their favorite places in their neighborhood, the swanky Chiaia district of Naples.

After many of my walks in and around the Chiaia district, I would meet up with Bonnie and Steve.  During our meals, they would share tidbits and stories from their life in Naples.  Steve, who has a dry and sarcastic wit, also shared many of his views on some of the food rules in Italy (sometimes he even created his own).  Their stories and Steve's rules had me laughing through all of my meals.

 

 
Naples Coastline along Via Partenope

 

 
Fountain at Piazza Trento e Trieste

 

 

 

 

This post is mainly about the Neapolitan cuisine I ate with Steve and Bonnie, but I've added little snippets from what I'm calling, Steve's Food Rules for Italy: 

 

The restaurant: Umberto Ristorante and Pizzeria.  It has a casual feel instead of a more formal one that the term ristorante implies.  You see the pizzaioli and the big pizza oven as soon as you walk in the door. The large seating area and red tablecloths , however, do set a more formal tone. 

Antipasti included melanzane alla parmigiana and typical fried treats of, mozzarella in carozze (fried mozzarella sandwiches, arancini (fried rice balls), and crocche (fried mashed potatoes). The mozzarella was sinfully spectacular with cheese oozing out of its crispy bread "carriage."  The crocche potatoes included ham and parsley, also good.  I had their pizza Margherita and tried some of the lasagna Napoletana (Lasagne made with Neapolitan ragu and little meatballs added to the layers of cheese).  For dessert, Bonnie and Steve opted for Sicilian Torta Setteveli, and I for the Neapolitan Ricotta e Pera (sweetened ricotta, whipped cream and poached pears sandwiched between two slices of pan di spagna cake).  I don't remember a meal in Naples that didn't end with a digestivo, almost always limoncello.

Onto our first of Steve's Food Rules for Italy #1: "Real men don't drink limoncello!"

Yes, Steve insists that limoncello is only for the ladies and "real men drink grappa," or in his case aged grappa.  It's so strong that after a sniff of it, I'm sure my blood alcohol level shot way past .10!  I don't know about this rule, as I've seen plenty of men sipping on a shot glass of limoncello.  However, when the waiter tried to confirm that we wanted 3 limoncelli for the table, Steve quickly corrected him. The waiter and Steve shared some conspiratory laugh in a way that added a only little plausibility to Steve's rule.

 

 
Melanzane alla Parmigiana (Eggplant Parmigiana)

 

 
Neapolitan Lasagne

 

 
Pizza Margherita

 
Ricotta e Pera

 

Osteria Don Maccarone: The next night, I dined alone at the osteria recommended by Bonnie and Steve.   It was a rainy Sunday evening and the Napoli soccer team was playing against Parma.  I was practically the only person outside that night, and I was the only person in the small 8 table osteria. 

At first, I thought maybe I should have stayed at the hotel and watched the soccer match. As I was soon to find out, it was completely unnecessary.  Everytime Napoli scored, one of the cooks would run out into the street and yell, "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLL" so loud and so many times that I think they heard him in Parma.  While he was yelling, others in the neighborhood were doing the same, and also blaring horns and other various noisemakers from their windows. Napoli won that night 3-1.

I had zucchini alla parmigiana and spaghetti con le vongole. I loved the zucchini so much, I'm making it tonight.  It's simply fried zucchini slices layered with trace amounts of fior di latte (cow's milk mozzarella) and parmigiano cheese. It is baked until the cheese melts and the top becomes golden and crunchy.  The spaghetti con le vongole was also good, and I liked the addition of cherry tomatoes, which added color, acidity & a little sweetness to the dish.

As I was the only one in the restaurant, I quickly made friends with the waiter, Pippo, who is also one of the owners.  He invited me back on Tuesday for pasta e fagioli con le cozze (pasta and beans with mussels) and promised to have a pastiera (Neapolitan Easter dessert) without the candied citrus (I had mentioned that I don't like candied citrus). 

Bonnie and I went back for lunch.  I really liked the soupiness of the pasta e fagioli with cozze, and especially loved the mussels.  Bonnie is more of purist in this area, and likes the fagioli to outweigh the pasta, creating a less soupy dish and a denser sauce that has been thickened from the starch in the beans.

Steve's Food Rules in Italy #2, "Men can't drink cappucino after 10:00am." Well, since we were women, we could still end our meal with a cappucino, right?  I actually thought that rule applied to all genders, but, hey, it's Steve's rule.  In any case, we ended with Pippo's house specialty digestivo of 7 herbs.  A family secret, he wouldn't tell me which herbs were in it, but it was almost as potent as the grappa. 

Although the prices for this place are definitely in a range for "osterie" (our lunch bill was a little over 20 euros for two), the food is more sophisticated and creative than typical osteria fare.  And, Pippo is the quintessential Italian waiter - jovial, jokester, showman.  He invited us back another day to sample lasagna Napoletana. Bonnie also said that the pasta alla genovese is good, but I ran out of time in Naples......next trip.

 

 
Zucchini alla Parmigiana

 

 
Spaghetti con le Vongole (spaghetti and clams)

 

 
Pasta e Fagioli con le Cozze (pasta and beans with mussels)

 

 

Antica Latteria: My last meal with Bonnie and Steve was at the Antica Latteria, around the corner from where they live.  It's right across the street from Umberto's.  It's a small trattoria with only a few more tables than Don Maccarone.  We started off with a creamy ball of buffalo milk mozzarella and fried treats.  The mozzarella and all of the fried treats were exceptional; there were crocche (these fried potatoes were filled with cheese, my favorites of all I had tasted), arancini, fried broccoli, and little fried meatballs.  I had spaghetti con le cozze (mussels) and liked the spicy kick from the addition of peperoncino to the sauce.  I ended with a slice of pastiera and limoncello.

Steve's Food Rules in Italy #3: "You are allowed to order a dish in Naples, even if it's not Neapolitan."

I think I was driving Steve crazy with my quick dismissal of non-Neapolitan dishes at each restaurant and pasticceria. Even though I do agree with this rule, my dismissal wasn't because I thought they wouldn't be good. It was because I wanted to sample as many Neapolitan dishes as I could during my short stay in Naples, especially those I hadn't already tried. If I lived there, I wouldn't be as determined to eat Neapolitan every night. When one is there for only a short time, though, I believe you should try the regional/local cuisine over, say a carbonara. 

 

 
Fritti Napoletani

 

 
Spaghetti con le Cozze (Spaghetti with Mussels)

 

 
Bonnie's Mixed Grilled Fish

 

 
Pastiera (Neapolitan Easter Dessert)

 

As you can see, sample I did.  Thanks again to Napoli Unplugged for sharing their favorite neighborhood eateries with me!

 

 

Restaurant Information:

Umberto Ristorante & Pizzeria - Via Alabardieri 30/31

Osteria Don Maccarone - Via Gradoni Di Chiaia 12

Antica Latteria - Vico Alabardieri 30 

 

 

Related Posts:

Journey through the Pastries of Napoli

Pizza Lover's Odyssey in Naples Italy

Pasta alla Genovese and Other Classic Neapolitan Sauces at Citta del Gusto

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

Torta Caprese - Flourless Chocolate Cake from Capri

Cozze alla Marinara - Neapolitan-Style Mussels

Photo Tour of Spaccanapoli and Napoli's Historic Center

Gnocchi alla Sorrentina (my guest post for Napoli Unplugged)

A Drive Along the Amalfi Coast

Bella Napoli - Neapolitans Warm My Heart Like Their Food Warms My Belly

 

Italy on a Plate - The Week in Italian Food: April 10, 2011

 

 

Happy Sunday to all!  By the look of things around the web, Spring is in full bloom.  We have artichokes, asparagus, peas, spring onions, lamb and even gelato in the best recipes for the week.  In Eating Italy, you will find ways to eat your way through many of the regions - Umbria, Savory, Sweet & lots of gelato in Rome, gelato in Florence, dining and markets in Palermo, a restaurant in Florence and reports from the wine festival, VinItaly, in Verona.  Enjoy and Buon Appetito!

 

 

My Choice for this Week's Top 10 Italian Food Recipes from Around the Web:

Frittata con Bietola Novella e Ricotta Fatta in Casa (Frittata with Baby Chard and Homemade Ricotta) - Briciole 

Artichoke Risotto - La Tavola Marche

Pasta e Piselli con Uova (Pasta and Peas with Eggs) - A classic Neapolitan recipe - Napoli Unplugged

Agnello alla Cacciatora (Easter Lamb) - Tuscanycious

Wahoo with Citrus and Pistachios - A Sicilian fish-dish from the Slow Food book, "Ricette di Osterie d'Italia" - Italicious

Beef Straccetti with Asparagus and Spring Onions - Madonna del Piatto

Uova in Purgatorio (Neapolitan Eggs in Purgatory) - Memorie di Angelina

William Pear and Star Anise Gelato - Volevo Fare Lo Chef (in Italian)

Celli Ripieni: Jam Biscuits and Little Birds - Emiko Davies

When Life Gives You Mandarins, Make Mandarin Jam - Bleeding Espresso 

 

 

 
 

Eating Italy:

Rome: Sweet & Savory - Memories & Photos of a weekend eating in Rome - My Kugelhopf

Her Tuna Chapter - Stories from the Isola di San Pietro, near Sardinia - Bostom.com

Gelato in Florence - A list of Elizabeth's picks for best gelato in Florence - Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome

Il Panino dei Ricordi (The Panino of Memories) - Beautiful piece on Nonno's return to Sicily, the home of his parents, and searching for "guastedda" - Katie Parla on Scattidigusto.it (in Italian)

Wine, Lace and Truffles: A Journey Through Umbria - The Atlantic

The Hottest VinItaly in 40 Years - Report from Vinitaly Festival in Verona - On the Wine Trail in Italy

Abruzzo's King of Antipasti La Loggia Antica - Life in Abruzzo

Golden Day 50: Stroll Through Palermo Markets - Golden Days in Italy

Two great pieces from Katie this week: A Brief Guide to Dining in Palermo AND My Guides to Gelato in Rome - Parla Food

Edible Florence: Barbagarga A Restaurant in Florence - Over a Tuscan Stove

Pajama Tastings - Guide to Eating in Rome's Jewish Ghetto - The American in Italia

Wild Asparagus in Umbria - Umbria Blog

 

 

 

 

Upcoming Food and Wine Festivals in Italy:

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

Gelato di Marca - April 16 & 17 - Treviso in the Piazza dei Signori - Artisanal Gelato Festival with Tastings

Le Strada della Mozzarella - May 27 to 30 - Paestum - Festival of Mozzarella di Bufala and also other wine and food of the Paestum area - Check the brochure for program details

Slow Fish 2011 - May 27 to 30 - Fiera di Genova - 5th edition of the International fair dedicated to sustainable fishing

Melodia del Vino - June 28 to July 8 - Festival where Tuscan wines and classical music meet - Various locations in Tuscany (For a description of the Melodia del Vino festival in English - Tuscanycious)

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Related Posts:

Asparagus and Lemon Risotto

Pasta con le Sarde and Cooking in Palermo

Cantucci - Biscotti from Tuscany

Cozze alla Marinara - Neapolitan Style Mussels

Seven Sensational Gelaterie in Turin -After 100 Scoops

Pizza Lover's Odyssey in Naples Italy

Tasting Venice - A Food Tour with Monica Cesarato