Food Lover's Odyssey

Market Day in Aix-en-Provence ~ New Cooking Classes and a Giveaway

 

 

I've landed in Provence, Aix-in-Provence to be exact. For the rest of the Summer and the Fall, you'll find me at the market early every morning and in the kitchen almost daily. I so hope you'll come and cook with me that I'm having a giveaway. You could win a cooking class for two with me in Provence!

 

 

 

There's a food market in Aix every day of the week at Place Richelme. Big market days are Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays when it seems the old city center is just one big market.  In addition to the daily produce market, there's a flower market in front of the Hotel de Ville, another food market and a marchè  aux puces (flea market) at Place des Prêcheurs and Place de Verdun. And each side of the grand Cours Mirabeau is flanked with vendor after vendor selling clothes and/or textiles. The bright and bold colors, the scents and the sun are bound to fill you with joy, and feed any shopping addictions you might have.

 

Vendors pile perfectly ripe fruits and vegetables high and offer samples!  Tablecloths (my weakness) boast vivid images of lavendar, grapes, oranges, lemons, olives and cicadas. Ceramics, in sizes and shapes to fill every kitchen need, carry the same shades of reds, yellows, orange, purples and greens as their neighboring fruits and vegetables. Look up and plane trees fill the sky with all shades of green along with providing shelter from the hot summer sun.

As varied as the colors are before your eyes, so are the scents that fill the air. One moment the aroma of salty pork products lingers in the breeze. Then you sniff out the dirty-feet odor of the cheese vendor. Sweet scents of strawberries and melons chase away the stinky-cheese smell and the toasty trail from the bread stand of cooked yeast and crusty baguettes leads you to the tapinade and olive stand to find something to slather on that bread. Finally, you come upon the spice vendor, whose wares fill your head with sultry scents from the East. One thing is certain; at the end of a visit to Aix's market, you're ready to eat.

 

A Provencal market is absolutely an outing not-to-miss. There are few others that you should check out, too: an apéro hour (or 2), long leisurely lunches, and French pastries (that goes for travel anywhere in France) round out my short list of must-dos, so I'm offering classes that address all of these.

I'll be giving cooking classes every day of the week except Sunday, and the choices cover a wide variety of topics: Market-to-table, full meals, classic French dishes, French pastries and an apéro party!

For the entire line-up, check out the new Cook in Provence page, but below I've given you a little bite about each new class.

 

Market Day Full-Meal Cooking Class ~

We'll take a tour through Aix's food market and purchase the freshest ingredients to prepare our day's meal. In our private kitchen, just a few minutes from the market, we'll make a full four-course meal with those ingredients - an entrée (starter), plat, cheese platter and dessert, with wine. This is an all-day class where you'll learn and practice many cooking skills and techniques. Classes are limited to a maximum of 6 people to ensure that everyone gets individual attention and a truly hands-on experience.

To read more or book this class....

 

Plat du Jour (Classic French Dish) Cooking Class ~

This half-day class will focus on a restaurant-style French and/or Provencal composed dish. Based on fresh and seasonal ingredients from the market, we'll create all components of the dish - the protein,  an accompanying vegetable/side and a sauce. You'll get creative in plating and we'll discuss plating techniques.  Then together we'll sit and enjoy our plat du jour with wine.

To read more or book this class....

 

French Pastry-Making Workshop ~

The sweet life in Provence exists not only because of the sun and nearby sea. There are those magnificent French pastries, too. Each half-day class will have its own focus, on a particular pastry skill: Pâte à choux, macarons, seasonal fruit tarts and creams, and the "classics." We'll demystify the art of the French pâtissier. You'll not only go home with a whole new set of dessert-making skills, but you'll also leave with your own box of freshly-made French pastries.

To read more or book this class....

 

 Apéro Party and Wine Tasting ~

You've heard of the  L’heure de l’apéro, right?!  The fabulously French version of what an American might call "happy hour," consists an array of tapinades, olives, cheeses and precisely-prepared finger foods, and some bubbly, wine, or various aperitifs to wash it all down. Apéro hour is a rite of being in France and a pre-dinner must, especially in the south of France. During this late afternoon class, which includes a glass of Pastis and a tasting of 3 French wines, we will create and nibble on many easy-yet-elegant apéros (appetizers/finger foods). Afterwards, you'll never want to start dinner without your own apéro party, and you'll have the recipes and the know-how to do it.

To read more or book this class....

 

Are you ready to cook with me in Provence? Send me an email at chefkathyayer [at] yahoo[dot]com and book your class today! Booking instructions are detailed on the main Cook With Me in Provence page.

 

THE GIVEAWAY (and two chances to enter) ~

Yes, to kick-off this Cook in Provence party, I'm throwing a giveaway: a chance to win a Market Day Full-Meal Cooking Class for two. To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment telling me what dish, dessert or entrée (starter) you'd like to cook with me in Provence. The giveaway ends at 9am Provence time on Tuesday, June 25, 2013. I'll randomly draw the winning comment using www.random.org and announce the winner in a post Tuesday. The winning commenter can claim his/her prize for a class this Summer/Fall 2013 or for a class in 2014.

I'm giving you more than once chance to win. Cook in Provence has it's own Facebook page. Like our page on Facebook, and then come back and leave a second comment letting me know you've liked us. That's your second entry into the contest.  Good Luck, or maybe I should say bonne chance!

**Note: Transportation to/from Aix-en-Provence and lodging are not part of the giveaway prize.

An Aperitivo to Whet Your Appetite for Puglia

 

 

“Benvenuti in Italia!” That’s what Ylenia said to me, not when she picked me up at the airport. No, she said this as I smirked down at my so-called small plate of “nibbles” and gave her a look that we both recognized as “so much for the diet!“ Sfizirie are what the snacks are called here in Lecce. Also known as sfizzi and stuzzichini these nibbles/finger food/snacks/appetizers are meant to wash down your aperitivo. Even they come in abundance here. Yes, I’m back in Italy, Puglia to be more specific, to kick off the first of what I hope to be many food and wine lovers’ culinary tours in Italy. In just 2 days, we’ll be COOKING IN PUGLIA! 

We’ll be cooking with Italian mammas and chefs, exploring the food and culture of the Salento area, doing a lot of dining al fresco, amidst fig & olive groves, vineyards, and even poolside. Of course, Ylenia & I have left a little time for everyone to dip our toes into the cobalt blue sea, too. Want to join us? You can! Join us virtually as I’ll be back daily during the tour with highlights from each day’s food and other adventures. You might think of these posts as an aperitivo of sorts, as I'm certain each will whet your desire to actually join us next year. We’re already talking about more Cook in Puglia tours for 2013. 

A great welcome to Italy and way to kick any party off is with aperitivi. This "happy hour" is one of my favorite things to enjoy during an Italian vacation, especially a summer one.  Every city in Italy does it a little differently, but basically you buy a drink and along with the price of the drink, you get a nice plateful of food (see above) or have access to a buffet of finger foods. During the hot and humid days of an Italian summer, when a full meal of primi, secondo, contorno & dolce are just too much, one can make a meal off a few cocktails/aperitivi.  (And for those traveling on a very tight, let’s say backpackers’ budget, might I suggest this instead of going to the supermarket for dinner.)

 

What could be better than aperitivo hour? How about two a day?  Yes, ours started right after Noon. After church bells chime throughout the city, an aria plays from the main piazza, Sant' Oronzo serving notice to all that it's time for an aperitivo...and then lunch, if you still have room. Right before dinner, aperitivo hour begins again. Our Cocktail San Pellegrino, which very much resembles a Venetian Spritz, is a mix of the bitter Aperol and frizzante San Pellegrino water.

 

The beach at San Cataldo

 

After lunch aperitivi, we set up office at the beach in San Cataldo to finalize tour details and reconfirm all our reservations. Next we met with Mamma Anna, one of our Italian mammas in the kitchen, for a gelato and review of each day's menu. One thing is certain; the menu alone is enough to have you on the next plane to this delicious part of Italy! 

See you tomorrow with more from Puglia....

 

Gelato with Ylenia and Mamma Anna - one of our Italian Mamme in Cucina

 

 

Join me in Puglia in 2013! For this food lover's culinary tour, we'll be cooking with our beautiful Italian mamme and professional chefs. We'll also be eating and exploring our way through the region.  There are four tour dates available from which to choose! For tour details, check out this page: Culinary Tours in Puglia 2013! 

 

Related Posts:

Orecchiette and Salentine Breads - Cooking with Mamma Giulia in Salento

Under the Salento Sun - The Masserie of Salento

Wedding in Puglia

Cheese in Puglia - Making and Eating Fresh Cheese in Salento

Artisanal Cheese at Masseria CinqueSanti in Puglia

Lecce: The Baroque Beauty of Puglia

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

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

Lunch Salento Style at Cantine Menhir

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Cooking with Mamma Agata on the Amalfi Coast and a Cookbook Giveaway

 

The scent of garlic simmering in olive oil beckons you from the doorway of this hidden Amalfi treasure. The aroma, one Chiara calls the "Chanel of the kitchen" leads you directly to the source of one of the most fundamental fragrances in an Italian kitchen. Mamma Agata and Gennaro give a boisterous buon giorno from behind the stove, and Chiara gives you a hug with one arm and a turn with the other putting you face to face with a plate full of eggplant rolls and a glass of red wine.

Prompted to taste before I could even reply to my greeters, I savored one, or two, of Mamma Agata's involtini di melanzane. Fried and meaty melanzane rolled around provolone & arugula, and another, this time rolled around a soft creamy cheese and sun-dried tomotoes.  An appropriate start to a most fabulous day cooking, eating, drinking and lapping up all the flavors that this sensory playground had to offer. I was on the Amalfi Coast and cooking with Mamma Agata at her cooking school in Ravello.

 

 

Our amazing view - looking down from the terrace

From the kitchen Chiara led me to the terrace, a lush garden and dining area where a long table dressed in white linen and Amalfi lemons led out to the garden.  The garden is a thing of beauty in its own right, greenery & flowers crawl up trelisses that line one side and the other side has a mouth-dropping mezmerizing view of the blue Amalfi sea and its coastline. We spent the afternoon there dining on the terrace, perched high atop the hillside with the family's fruit & vegetable gardens and then the deep blue sea below us. And we ate, and ate, and ate, dish after dish of Mamma Agata's specialties.

 

The Amalfi Coastline ~  View from our terrace dining table

Chiara Lima, Mamma Agata's daughter, had invited me as their guest for a day at their cooking school. The cooking school is entirely a family affair. Chiara was our hostess/translator/storyteller. Mamma Agata and Chiara's husband Gennaro, also a sommelier, handled the cooking demonstration part of the class. Chiara translated and added many family stories, anecdotes and Mamma's secret tips for each dish.  All the fruit and vegetables we used came from the family's garden located on the terraces right below the house. The fruit & vegetable garden is managed by Salvatore, Mamma Agata's husband and Chiara's father. Mamma Agata has been cooking for others since she was 8 years old! Many of her specialties are family recipes handed down to her from her mother and her aunts.

 

In the kitchen with Chiara and Gennaro

Class starts at 10:30am when guests are greeted with food, of course, upon arrival, a huge slice of Mamma Agata's treasured lemon cake. (I arrived a little later, thus the reason I had the just-made eggplant roll appetizers.) You cook, with Mamma Agata overseeing it all, and recreate a many-course meal of her famous dishes, some of them served and loved by the likes of Humphrey Bogart, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Pierce Brosnan, just to name a few. Mamma Agata's knowledge and experience is evident in the way she knows exactly how to coax the most flavor from each ingredient. She has a secret for perfecting every one of her dishes, and throughout the course of the day, she shares each of them with you.

 

  Our meal was one flavorful and perfectly cooked dish after another. Mamma Agata's cooking philosophy is based on simplicity, quality ingredients and love. Each dish used only a few quality ingredients - all the fruits and vegetables came from their garden.

 

Here's our meal, in photos:

***We also had one of the best eggplant parmigiano dishes I've ever eaten. I gobbled it up before remembering to take a photo.

 

Mamma Agata's Coccoli {Herb Fritters}

 

Spaghetti al Contadino {Farmer's Spaghetti} with tomatoes from their garden, olives, capers & arugula leaves

 

Pappardelle with bell peppers and sausage

The extra sausage & bell peppers served as a secondo

 

Mamma Agata's pollo al limone (chicken with lemon) - Lemon juice from the garden's lemons added just before serving

 

Mamma Agata's Lemon Cake adored by Humphrey Bogart

 

Mamma Agata's home-made limoncello ~ How any meal on the Amalfi Coast should end!

 

 

Chiara has created a cookbook of Mamma Agata's recipes - both a great gift for those who can't make it to the cooking class and a special souvenir for those who have enjoyed cooking with her. Each of the dishes we made and more are included in Mamma Agata's cookbook. Along with each recipe, there are step-by-step photo instructions and Mamma Agata's tips. For example, when making her pollo al limone, she advises that you add the lemon juice at the very end of cooking to get the best lemon flavor. Adding it at the beginning causes the lemon juice to have a bitter taste. The instructions and the tips are so clear it's extremely easy to create dishes as delicious as if Mamma Agata had made them for you. 

 

 

Chiara showing us the well-illustrated instructions in the cookbook

 

The cookbook is in English and full of all the recipes above, yes even the limoncello! There are so many others; many of Mamma Agata's take on the traditional dishes of the Campania region and some of her own creation. All look delicious, but some of my favorites include: the risotto al limone, stuffed and fried zucchini flowers, gnocchi alla sorrentina, the veal roast, stuffed squid (totani imbottiti), fried pizza, and Mamma Agata's zeppole (doughnuts)! In addition to the easy-to-follow recipes, there are stories about each family member, family photos and stunning photos of their home, the hidden treasure, and the Amalfi Coast.

I definitely recommend both the class and the cookbook; both would make fabulous Christmas gifts for that food-loving Italophile in your life! The book is 29,50 euros plus shipping. You can order it directly from Mamma Agata online here: Mamma Agata Simple and Genuine Cookbook. You can also book a class directly on Mamma Agata's website.

 

Inside the cookbook - photo instructions for making Mamma's chicken cacciatore

 

The Cookbook Giveaway:  For the holidays, Chiara and Mamma Agata have been so generous as to offer you an autographed copy of Mamma Agata's Simple and Genuine cookbook.  All you need to do to win is leave a comment below telling us what your favorite Italian dish (or dessert) is. The contest will end at Midnight P.S.T. on Wednesday, December 19, 2012. I'll randomnly draw a name from the comments using www.random.org and will announce the winner on Thursday, December 20, 2012. Each person may enter the giveaway only once.

Good Luck and Happy Holidays!

The Amalfi Coastline

 

UPDATE on Dec 20, 2012: We have a winner and she is Janie (comment #29)!!! Congratulations Janie, an autographed Mamma Agata's Simple & Genuine cookbook is on its way to you! 

Thank you all for your commments and letting me know what your favorite Italian dishes are. And yes, I understand how very difficult it was to choose.  Every dish each of you chose, ranks among my tops. I was also so touched to see the comment from Lydia, one of our guests on the Food Lover's Tour in Puglia, and that now some of the Pugliese foods she had on the tour are her favorites!

 

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Pizza Makers for a Night in Puglia

I know not all Italian food lovers are the same, but I'm pretty sure there is one thing all of us love: PIZZA.  Whether you prefer the soft & chewy crust of a Neapolitan pizza, the thin crunchy crust of a Roman pizza or some of the other styles & forms of Italian pizza, one thing is certain: there's no better place to eat pizza than in Italy. A night at a pizzeria was certainly part of our Puglia culinary tour itinerary, but we had an even better experience than just eating pizza, we were pizzaioli for a night!

 

Yes, we donned our "Cook in Puglia" aprons and pizza maker's caps, got on the pizza maker's side of the floured work table, caressed dough into thin round disks, topped each pizza according to each person's taste, and ever-so-carefully slid pizza onto peel and into oven. We even got a lesson in working the pizza oven and rotating the pizza so it would cook quickly and evenly. It was definitely a bucket-list experience! 

 

Del took on the pizzaiolo persona as soon as he put on his cap

 

The pizza-making part wasn't actually on our official itinerary. Oronzino, the pizzaiolo & owner of La Pagghiara in Lecce, suggested that it might be fun if each guest made his or her own pizza. A big, "SI!" came out of my mouth before he finished asking. This is just one example where one of our hosts in Puglia went above and beyond to make us feel so welcome and part of the community; it was one of the many memorable moments of the tour.

 

 

Pizza in Lecce is a thin and crunchy-crusted pizza, similar to that of Rome.  Oronzino explained how he prepares the dough and then he took each guest on a private pizza-making lesson alongside him at his work bench. Each person worked with him as he guided him/her through the process of coaxing a thick round ball of dough into a flat circular disk. Each person made a pizza, worked the peel and the oven. As pizzas came out of the oven, we tasted the others' in what was to be a taste competition. I don't think we ever determined a winner, though, as we all got lost in enjoying the experience and eating.

 

 

As usual with meals on this tour, there wasn't only pizza. We started with yet another onslaught of assorted antipasti. The fried treats - pittule (fried dough), arancini, vegetables in pastella (fried vegetables in batter - think Italian tempura) -  made by Oronzino's mamma were some of the best I've had in Salento, and Italy. 

 

Our pizzaioli in action & pizza-making steps in photos:

 

Oronzino showing Gloria how to work the dough

 

Topping the pizza

With just one try, Lydia mastered sliding the pizza onto the peel

Working the pizza oven - placing the pizza inside, turning it & removing it when ready

Eva slicing up her double cheese pizza (note: Slicing pizzia is not usually done in Italy - each pizza is for one person - but because we were tasting one another's, we sliced ours up)

 

 

Helen's pizza gets a thumbs up from Oronzino

Gloria and Eva proudly displaying their finished pizzas

 
Looks like Oronzino has declared Helen the pizza-making champ!

 

Everyone had such a great time making pizza, that we've officially added it to the 2013 itinerary. Want to join us and be a pizzaiolo for a night? You can! There are four tour dates throughout 2013 from which you can choose: Food Lovers' Culinary Tour in Puglia 2013

 

 

 

 

La Pagghiara Trattoria Pizzeria
Via Taranto, 64
Lecce
Phone: +39 0832 240659

 

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Food Lovers in Puglia - Day 3: Lecce, Pastry Lessons and Cooking with Italian Mammas

 

Day three of the food lovers' tour began and ended with much swooning, and it wasn't only for the food but also for the many masters in the kitchen we met - pastry chefs, Italian mammas and chef/restauranteurs. Yes, this is a food & wine lovers' tour, but we also soaked up a little bit of culture during the day. We had a guided walk through the baroque historical center of Lecce and a carta pesta (paper-mache) demonstration.

 

Pastry Making with Chef Luca Capilungo ~

 

 

I think all the ladies, and maybe even Dell, were head-over-hells with our Leccese pastry lesson of  pasticiotto and fruttone with the very handsome and charismatic chef Luca Capilungo. He took us into his pastry kitchen where we were again behind the scenes and making the typical pastry of Lecce, pasticciotto.  Everyone made a batch, and whenever one of us needed a little help with technique, Luca was quick to take our hands and show us the proper way to work the dough or pipe the lemony pastry cream into the molds. 

 

Chef Luca showing Gloria exactly how to pipe the pastry cream into the pasticciotto

 

Chef Luca demonstrating how to make fruttone

Luca also gave us a demonstration on making fruttone, another typical pastry of Puglia. It starts out with pasta frolla (short crust pastry) in a mold, just like the pasticcioto. Instead of pastry cream, the pastry is filled with pear marmalata and marzipan, baked and then topped with a chocolate icing. We sampled the finished fruttone and many other of his delicious cookies. He even brought out a sweet wine to dip our quaresimali ("Lenten" biscotti) into. As if the group didn't already adore chef Luca and his pastries, he made many of us happy by posing for a photo with each person in the group. We took the pasticiotti we made with us, and it was dessert after our evening meal.

 

Gloria and chef Luca

 

 

A Tour of Lecce and a Carta Pesta Lesson ~

 

The girls with our driver Antonio

The group in Piazza del Duomo with Fabiola

Taking a break in between pastries and lunch, we took a giro around Lecce in an antique car - 1935 to be exact. Afterwards we had a guided-walking tour of Lecce where we learned a little about the cities history and its baroque-style facades.

 

The tour ended with a carta pesta demonstration where the group learned all about how the paper-making technique arrived in Italy, how paper is made, and how the carta pesta figurines of Lecce are crafted. Some of the group also got to make a few sheets of paper themselves.

 

Nuncia demonstrating how they make carta pesta

 

Luigi showing the final touches made to the carta pesta before they are painted

Helen making paper

 

The finished carta pesta figurines

 

 

Lunch with Antonella at Locanda Rivoli ~

Lunch was in Lecce at the very delicious Locanda Rivoli where Antonella greeted all of us with a big smile and countless plates of antipasti. Although we were quite satisfied with the never-ending plates of antipasti, we couldn't leave without having a pasta course, or two. We delighted in the traditional dish of ceci & tria (chickpeas and pasta) with a twist. Antonella adds mussels to the dish. Our other pasta was sagne ncannulate (the pasta that I made with Nonna Vata) in a sauce of fresh tomatoes & ricotta forte. The ricotta forte added a nice tang to the sweet tomato sauce. The meal ended with little cookies shaped in the form of wrapped candies and filled with marmalata. And if we weren't already in love with Antonella and her food, she also gave each of us a gift of olive oil and autographed her recipe that we found in the Puglia recipe book each of us had purchased.

 

Some of the too-many-to-count plates of antipasti included: tiella, friselle, peperonata, ricotta mouse, spinach & ricotta focaccia, focaccia di patate, grilled eggplant, fagioli in tomato sauce, carpaccio of zucchini

 

Antonella autographing her recipe for sagne ncannulate schiattariciati

 

 

Cooking with Mamma Giulia ~

 

In the kitchen with Mamma Giulia (photo courtesy of Ylenia)

Del and Gloria frying up the eggplant for our involtini

 

After only a few days, everyone realized that food never really stops coming on this tour. We had a short break to rest or sit poolside at the masseria, and then we were back in the kitchen for our first hands-on cooking lesson with mamma Giulia who is a quite a wizard in the kitchen. Now, the menu was supposed to be three plates: Pomordori Schiattariciati for the antipasto, penne with a cream of bell pepper sauce for the primo, and involtini (rolls) of eggplant for the secondo. Instead we learned a favorite phrase of mamma Giulia's, "Non buttiamo niente." (We don't throw anything away.) With leftover ingredients and those that others might think of as scraps, she made three other dishes. Take a look at our meal:

 

Pomodori Schiattariciati (tomatoes bursted in olive oil) and fried green bell peppers

With the left over tomatoes and bell peppers, Mamma Giulia added olives, olive oil & a little vinegar for another antipasto

With the eggplant skins (what most people would throw out), she fried them and added olive oil & vinegar for yet another antipasti

 

Cream of bell pepper sauce with penne pasta was a favorite of all

 

Involtini di Melanzane - eggplant rolls filled with tuna and capers

 

Our dessert was the pasticciotti from our lesson with Luca

 

If you'd like to see more photos from this tour,  you can view them on the Food Lover's Odyssey Facebook page. 

Join us in Puglia in 2013! We'll be cooking with our beautiful Italian mamme and professional chefs, and we'll also be eating and exploring our way through the region.  There are four tour dates available from which to choose! For more information check out this page: Culinary Tours in Puglia 2013! 

***Early booking discount: Book and pay by check by January 31, 2013 and receive a $200 discount off the tour price.****

 

 

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Food Lovers in Puglia - Day 1 & 2: Gelato, Feasts, Otranto, Olive Groves and More

 

 

After much anticipation, the day came and the guests of the Food Lovers' Tour in Puglia have arrived!  They enjoyed a relaxing travel day at what will be our home for the next 9 days, Masseria Provenzani. We had a poolside lunch and time to lounge by the pool and/or wander around the grounds of the masseria.  Their official welcome came as we kicked off the tour with a private oil and pate tasting from Azienda Taurino and a dinner of typical Salentine dishes.

 

Dinner included traditional Pugliese dishes: Orecchiette, Fava bean puree with chicory, Fagioli with tuna and onions in agrodolce, focaccia Salentina, potato salad with tomato and basil, and grilled eggplant

 

The first full day of the tour started off with our group going crazy over a behind-the-scenes gelato-making and tasting demonstration at Gelateria Tentazioni in Lecce. Chef Antonio, who has been making gelato for 35 years, opened up his kitchen to us and gave us a look at how they make gelato and sorbetto in Italy. Antonio also shared his recipe for one of his latest gelato creations: a vincotto sorbetto.  We sampled chocolate, pistachio, hazelnut, vincotto, fior di latte and another creation from Antonio called the Fiesta. Inspired by many popular candy bars in Italy, Antonio made the Fiesta and other gelato bars using gelato flavor combinations similar to the candy bars. The Fiesta is a pairing of chocolate and orange.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a group of grown ups get so excited.  There were squeals, ooohs, aaahhs, and moans of satisfaction with every spoonful of gelato we tasted.

 

Chef Antonio sharing his gelato creations inspired by popular "candy bars"

Gabriele of Gelateria Tentazioni (temptations) making chocolate gelato

Making Chocolate and hazelnut spumoni at the gelateria

 

 

 

Food Lovers' Tour at Porto Badisco

 

There was a short pause between gelato and lunch with a photo op stop at Porto Badisco.  Those who’ve been following Food Lover’s Odyssey, might remember my story of Porto Badisco and tasting sea urchin. Although we didn’t taste any of the sea urchin fresh from the sea, we were able to see the beach at its bluest under the bright summer sun.

 

Our table at La Fattoria in Otranto

 

On this tour, you can bet that the next meal is right around the corner. And it was. Lunch was at La Fattoria, a trattoria that embraces the Zero Kilometro philosophy, the term Italy uses for its movement of eating local and seasonal. Almost all ingredients come from the trattoria's farm and garden, and those that don’t come from no farther than 100 kilometers away. We dined on countless plates of traditional Salentine antipasti that included pittole (fried batter), fried zucchini flowers, bruschetta and tomatoes, freshly-made ricotta, peperonata, carpaccio di zucchine and grilled eggplant and zucchini. The primi (pasta dishes) included more traditional flavors of Salento: cavatelli with zucchini and massa (a Salentine pasta) with cabbage and chickpeas. On the tour with us is Eva, a master gardener, and she and her husband Del brilliantly detected a hint of cinnamon in the massa pasta dish.

 

Pittole - fried bread was one of our many antipasti

Massa pasta with cabbage and chick peas

 

To walk off lunch we took a leisurely stroll through Otranto, located on the eastern coast of Salento, entering through the ancient castle walls that were built as a protection against invaders from the east. Our visit included one to Otranto’s cathedral, where everyone stood in awe of the Tree of Life mosaic that covered the church’s entire main floor and the crypt that holds the bones of the 800 martyrs of townspeople who refused to denounce their religion after Otranto fell to the Turks in 1480.

 

Port at Otranto

Tree of Life mosaic in the Otranto Cathedral

Enjoying the view of the sea at Otranto

 

The day was far from over. Imagine wine tasting and listening to music under hundred-year old olive trees, under the stars, with the scents from candles wafting through the air and illuminating the olive orchard and then listening to music in the same olive grove.  Our amazing first day ended with us doing just that at  Masseria Terre dei Padri.   

 

Wine tasting in the olive grove at Masseria Terre dei Padri

 

Before the piano concert, chef Alessandro invited us for yet another behind-the-scenes look into his kitchen where he showed us the steps involved in creating one of his most popular antipasti, a platter of smoked swordfish, shrimp and a marinated salmon roll. 

 

Smoked swordfish, marinated tuna involtini and shrimp from Gallipoli at Masseria Terra dei Padri

 

Our group in the kitchen with chef Alessandro

 

Dinner was also at Masseria Terre dei Padri where chef Alessandro’s dishes were loved and devoured by all. Chef Alessandro started with traditional dishes of the area and reinvented and recreated them to fit the very upscale setting of the four-star masseria. We paired our meal with two of our favorite wines from our earlier tasting, a rosato and Salice Salentino, made by the masseria. 

Here are just a few of our favorites from this fantastic meal:

 

Antipasto plate of capocollo from the Itria Valley, burrata and an eggplant flan

Antipasto plate of Acqua Sale with Seafood

I Maritati (orecchiette and maccheroni) with little meatballs (polpettini)

Tiella alla Barase - A casserole (tiella) of potatoes, rice, tomatoes and mussels

 

And this was just day one. I'll be back soon with highlights from Day 2!  

 

If you'd like to see more photos of all the fun and food we're having here in Puglia, check them out in the tour's album on the Food Lover's Odyssey Facebook Page.

 

Join me in Puglia in 2013! For this food lover's culinary tour, we'll be cooking with our beautiful Italian mamme and professional chefs. We'll also be eating and exploring our way through the region.  There are four tour dates available from which to choose! For tour details, check out this page: Culinary Tours in Puglia 2013! 

***Early booking discount: Book and pay by check by January 31, 2013 and receive a $200 discount off the tour price.****

 

Related Posts:

An Aperitivo to Whet Your Appetite for Puglia

The Pastries of Lecce with Pastry Chef Luca Capilungo

Olivotto: The Sweet Side of Olives

Zeppole di San Giuseppe

Seafood and More with Chef Lino at Ristorante Donna Lisa

Orecchiette and Salentine Breads - Cooking with Mamma Giulia in Salento

Under the Salento Sun - The Masserie of Salento

Wedding in Puglia

Cheese in Puglia - Making and Eating Fresh Cheese in Salento

Artisanal Cheese at Masseria CinqueSanti in Puglia

Lecce: The Baroque Beauty of Puglia

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

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

Lunch Salento Style at Cantine Menhir

Dining in Rome: Flavio al Velavevodetto with Tavole Romane

 

What could be better than having classic Roman cuisine in Rome? Well, add to that being at Osteria Flavio al Velavevodetto, currently one of the most-loved places by Romans, and then dining with four food-savvy Romans. Just when I thought the night was perfect it got even better! We ended on a most splendidly sweet note, with an out-of-this-world tiramisu.

I met up with the couple behind the site Tavole Romane. Their food posts about good eats in Rome have been a part of many Italy on a Plate round ups (and they also wrote this sweet guest post for FLO about Christmas in Rome). They invited me to join them for a private version of their Roman Cuisine Sit-Down Meal Tour.  Also at dinner with us was Giovanna and Joanne, the ladies who lead these tours. Giovanna publishes the Italian food blog Burro e Alici and has Roman ancestry as far back as she can find. Joanne is an Italian-American by birth and Roman by adoption. She's a sommelier who has lived in Rome for around 30 years.

Their knowledge of Roman cuisine was exceptional, but even more impressive was how passionately they talked about each dish, the process of making it correctly (there are many rules, you know), and the dish's place in the history of Rome and its cuisine.

It became clear I was with a group of purists as heated discussions, although very good-natured, arose over recipes and techniques. For instance, onions do not belong in L'amatriciana - which, by the way, is not really Roman; it comes from Amatrice. And oil in cacio e pepe is cheating. Butter in cacio e pepe is completely out of the question! "WHO would put butter in cacio e pepe!?" They asked. "Uhm, well, uhm I saw them do it at Roma Sparita," was my whispered response while making a mental note to adjust my recipe. Food was at the center of every conversation, even when every now and then the conversation veered off into Roman emperors and to the Italian language and the best word to use to say melt.

 

Monte Testaccio

 

The wall of cocci (olive oil amphorae) at Osteria Flavio al Velavevodetto

The osteria is even on a historical sight. Flavio al Velavevodetto is set into Monte Testaccio. The approximately 115 foot "mountain" is more like a hill, or even a heap, created by discarded olive oil amphorae dating back to at least 200 AD and possibly even the 1st century BC.

This was so much more than a guided tasting. In addition to the great meal, from this dining experience I took away a little Roman history, more knowledge of the Italian language, and insight into Roman culture as it was and is. And just as special, I got to break bread with a great group of passionate, food-savvy people and through these conversations that started and ended with the food we got to know each other better.

 

The Menu:

Antipasti ~ Fried Seasonal Vegetables or "The garden on a plate" (L'orto nel piatto):

 

Fried in pastella (batter), we had perfectly fried and seasoned mushroom, eggplant and zucchini to whet our appetites for the huge meal ahead.

 

 

The pasta dishes (i primi piatti):

 

Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe

The pasta course consisted of two of Rome's classic dishes. Our first plate of pasta, (and it was about the same size as the size of the pasta plate above) was rigatoni alla carbonara. But, as I said earlier, there are rules. When the carbonara sauce is at its perfect consistency - a creamy yellowy emulsion of cheese and egg yolk, there is no time to waste taking pictures. You must eat it while it's hot and quickly! The second plate of pasta was tonnarelli pasta, made in-house (long spaghetti-like pasta but much fatter in diameter) with cacio e pepe (cheese and ground pepper).

Both these dishes seem easy to make, but timing and coordination are everything. Add the cheese and/or the egg yolks at the wrong time and don't mix it quickly enough and instead of a silky sauce you have a lumpy mess. A mistake in timing, temperature and coordination with the carbonara and you get scrambled eggs. At Flavio al Velavevodetto, they executed each dish perfectly.

 

 

The meat course (i secondi piatti) ~ "Il Macellaio in Tavola" (The butcher on the table):

 

Polpette di Bollito

 

Herbs, bread or breadcrumbs, eggs etc. are added to meat that was previously used to make stock and/or broth. These square version of meatballs were then breaded and fried and served with seasonal vegetables, roasted potatoes and escarole sauteed with pinenuts and raisins. This was my favorite dish of the night. Whenver I hear boiled (bollito), I immediately imagine something bland with all the flavor absorbed away by the water. Flavio put all the flavor and then some back into these polpette.

 

Misto Umido - Polpette & Involtini cooked in tomato sauce

A mix of meat cooked in a sauce. This sauce was the flavor of the sweet and intense tomatoes, the likes of which that are so hard to find outside of Italy. We had polpette (meatballs) and involtini (rolled & stuffed meat) stuffed with mortadella. They also brought la coda (oxtail) cooked in the same sauce.

 

The grande finale ~ dessert:

 

Tiramisu con un squaglio di cioccolato

Probably the best tiramisu I'll ever have. It's a variation on the classic dessert and in a cup. Flavio makes a crunchy cookie in house that stays crunchy even while floating in all that cream. There are pieces of choclate in the mascarpone cream. And on top is the squaglio di cioccolato (melted chocolate). In between spoonfuls of an oh-so-decadent mascarpone cream, you get chocolate pieces and melted chocolate along with the crunch of the cookie for a really nice textural contrast. Joanne tried to hide hers under a napkin "tent" so she would stop eating it. I don't think it worked, though I was too busy devouring my cupful. Yes, we were all very full from the meal, but just couldn't stop taking spoonful after spoonful of the tiramisu. Yes, I asked for the recipe, but I'm pretty sure Flavio's not sharing it. Be sure that the first kitchen I'm in during my travels, I'll be trying to replicate this dessert.

 

 

 

Along with the dinner, Tavole Romane gave me their tradition tour gift bag with another sweet that was almost as addictive as the tiramisu. In the bag were Roman cookies, ciambelline al vino, little crunchy cookies with a little wine added and shaped like a ring. In addition to the sit down food tour they offer at Flavio al Velavevodetto, Tavole Romane also offers another sit down food tour at Asino d'Oro focussing on the creative cuisine of the city and offer walking food tours in many districts throughout Rome. If you're going to be in or around Rome on June 23, 2012, Tavole Romane is offering a special food tour where they combine Rafael paintings with a tasting lunch at the Michelin-starred Glass Hostaria for a really great price of 65 euros.

 

Flavio al Velavevodetto
Via Monte Testaccio, 97-98
Rome
Phone: +39 06 574 4194
Open daily for lunch and dinner

 

 

Travel with me to Puglia for a Food & Wine Lover's Culinary Tour - We'll enjoy dinners and food conversations like these in one of the most tranquil parts of Italy

 

Related Posts:

Da Danillo - Delicious Dining in Rome

Food in Rome - The Taste of Testaccio is Offal

Roman Pasta Dishes and Ten Places to Eat Them in Rome

Best Picnic Spots and Picnic Fare in Rome

Rome at Night in Photos

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

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

Pizza al Taglio at Pizzarium in Rome

Pasta all' Amatriciana - A Roman Treat

Cacio e Pepe in a Parmigiano Bowl Inspired by Roma Sparita

Potato Gnocchi for Gnocchi Giovedi

Fettuccine ai Funghi and Autumn in Rome

Coda alla Vaccinara - Roman Style Oxtail Stew

 

 

Making Pasticciotto in Puglia

 

 

 

In Salento, dessert is all about the pasticciotto! The pastry from Lecce & the Salento region is as much a symbol to this part of Italy as the croissant is to France. Whether it be pastry shop, bar, or restaurant menu, you can be sure to find pasticciotto. It was the first gift I received upon arriving in Lecce. I was also able to see them being made at several of the Salento pastry shops I visited. The pastry consists of a short crust pastry filled with pastry cream. The classic pasticciotto uses your basic egg-yolky pastry cream, but once in a while the chefs get creative. Chef Luca Capilungo has two variations, the basic and one with chocolate pastry cream as the filling. And when I visited Bar Castello, they made pasticciotto with purple Olivotto flavored pastry cream. I've also had an all-chocolate, inside and out, pasticciotto.

 

 

Inside the classic Pasticciotto Leccese

 

 

The pastry was first created in Galatina in 1745 at Pasticceria Ascalone. Galatina is a small town south of Lecce, and Ascalone is still open and still making pasticciotto. In fact many say the current chef makes the best pasticciotto in Salento. Massimo, who grew up in Galatina, gave us a tour of the town and told me the legend of pasticciotto's creation. In 1745 Galatina was most widely known for the trance-like dance called the pizzica. At the time, the dance was looked down upon by those outside Galatina and its citizens weren't well regarded outside the city walls. Galatina wanted to find something to improve its reputation and make its citizens well-liked. What better to make people like you than pastry, right? Signor Ascalone created the pasticciotto to solve the problem.

At the pastry shop, Il Golosone Prato, a few minutes from Lecce in Novoli, I saw production of pasticciotto on a grand scale. The chefs even let me participate; I piped pastry cream into the molds.

 

 
A whole lot of pasticciotti just filled with pastry cream

 

Alessandro of Il Golosone forming the tops of the pasticciotti

 

I pasticciotti ready for their egg wash and then into the oven

 

Salvatore of Il Golosone with pasticciotti right out of the oven

 

The crust is traditionally made with lard, or strutto in Italian. I kind of anticipated the freak out that would happen if I posted a recipe that calls for lard, so I asked a few of the pastry chefs about substituting butter. Using butter changes the texture of the crust to one that is harder and crunchier, making the pastry harder to eat because the center is a cream. Using lard creates a moister and softer crust, so you don't have pastry cream splattering out everywhere when you bite into the pasticciotto.  However, in the recipe that follows, I've given you the option to use either lard or butter.

 

Pasticciotto
(Makes about 20)


For the Pasta Frolla (the pasta frolla recipe is adapted from Chef Luca Capilungo's recipe):

3 3/4 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons (3 grams) baking powder
1 cup plus 2 tablespoon (250 g) lard (you can substitute the same amout of butter, at room temperature)
1 1/4 cups (250 g) granulated sugar
5 egg yolks

For the Pastry Cream:

3 ¼ cup (750 ml) whole milk
Rind of 1 lemon
8 egg yolks
2/3 cup (160 g) sugar
Scant ½ cup (50 g) cornstarch
3 ½ tablespoons (25 g) all-purpose flour

1 egg, beaten (for the egg wash)

20 oval molds for pasticciotto, each buttered and floured

To make the pasta frolla (short crust pastry dough):  In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix together on low speed the flour, baking powder, lard (or butter) and sugar until the mixture is the consistency of peas.  Add the egg yolks and stir together just until the mixture is combined.  Divide in half and create two round disks of pasta frolla. Wrap each disk with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours before rolling out.

To make the pastry cream:  Place the milk and the lemon rind in a nonreactive heavy bottom sauce pot and leave for 20 minutes. Then bring the milk to a scald.  Let the lemon rind steep in the milk for 10 minutes.  In the meantime, in another bowl, whisk together the sugar and egg yolks until the mixture becomes pale.  (The whisk must be nonreactive also.) Add the cornstarch and flour and whisk to combine.

Strain the lemon rind out of the milk, and slowly pour the warmed milk into the egg yolk mixture.  Whisking together as you pour.  Once all the milk and egg yolk mixtures are combined, place back into the saucepot and over medium-high heat.  Bring to a boil, whisking vigorously the entire time.  Once the mixture has become dense and just started to boil, remove from the heat and strain through a fine-mesh seive into bowl over an ice bath and let cool for 10 minutes.  Spread the pastry cream into a 9x13-inch glass dish and cover with plastic wrap.  The plastic wrap should be touching the pastry cream to keep the cream from developing a film.  Refrigerate until cold.

 

Vladimiro of Bar Castello forming the dough into the molds

To assemble the pasticciotto: On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the disks of pasta frolla into a square until the dough is about 3/8-inch thick.  Line your pasticciotto baking molds so that when you place the sheet of pastry dough over them, it will cover all molds. Run the rolling pin over the dough to "cut" the dough into the necessary oval form. With your fingertips, press the dough into the mold, so that the dough sits against the bottom of the mold and completely up the sides.

Using a pastry bag fit with a large star tip, at least 3/4-inch in diameter, pipe the pastry cream into the molds. The pastry cream should reach the top of the mold. Roll out the second disk of pasta frolla in the same way you rolled out the first, but to 1/4-inch in thickness. Lay the pastry dough over the tops of the filled molds. This time using your fingers instead of the rolling pin, press around the top edge of each mold to make a cut in the dough. Along the edges of the mold, press down with your fingers to seal the pastry and to create a little "mound" in the center of each pasticciotto.  Brush the tops of each with egg wash and bake at 375 F for 15 minutes. The tops should be golden brown. Cool and serve. Enjoy!

 

Inside a pasticciotto with Olivotto-filled pastry cream

If you'd like to fill your pasticciotto with chocolate pastry cream, you can find a recipe for it here. And if you'd like to fill them with Olivotto-flavored pastry cream, you should join me in Puglia and pick up some Olivotto while you're there.

 

Cook with me, Italian mammas and local chefs in Puglia in 2013 ~ Food & Wine Lovers' Culinary Tour in Puglia

Book before January 31, 2013 and receive $200 off per person!

 

Related Posts:

The Pastries of Lecce with Pastry Chef Luca Capilungo

Olivotto: The Sweet Side of Olives

Zeppole di San Giuseppe

Seafood and More with Chef Lino at Ristorante Donna Lisa

Orecchiette and Salentine Breads - Cooking with Mamma Giulia in Salento

Under the Salento Sun - The Masserie of Salento

Wedding in Puglia

Cheese in Puglia - Making and Eating Fresh Cheese in Salento

Artisanal Cheese at Masseria CinqueSanti in Puglia

Lecce: The Baroque Beauty of Puglia

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

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

Lunch Salento Style at Cantine Menhir

 

Seafood and More with Chef Lino at Ristorante Donna Lisa

 

I've written a lot about the pasta, the many vegetable dishes, and cheese of Puglia, but seafood is as big a part of Pugliese cuisine as those other dishes.  The heel of Italy's boot, the region of Puglia is a smaller peninsula of the larger peninsula that is the bel paese.  Salento is surrounded by water three sides, and the freshest fish and shellfish are only minutes away from any city. I spent an afternoon in the kitchen of, Ristorante Donna Lisa, where seafood dishes are their specialty. We watched the chef, Lino, cook up many of the restaurant's dishes, and sampled them, too.

 

Chef Lino at the stove

It's not all seafood, vegetarian and meat dishes are also on a long menu that consists of 30 primi piatti (pasta and risotto dishes), 20 secondi (main dishes), antipasti galore and a wine list that boasts over 100 wines, coming not only from Puglia but other parts of Italy and a few from France.

The Salento city of Maglie, as my friend Ylenia explained it, is the most chicest in all of Puglia. Both men and women are clad head to high-heeled toe in designer names, Italian designers that is. I watched fashionistas glide over the city's cobblestone and uneven walkways in, men in suits and shiny leather shoes and stiletto-heeled women in shades of black and grey. Not only a city for the stylish, Maglie is a food city, host to one of the most popular food & wine festivals in Salento, the Mercantino del Gusto every August. 

Not far from the piazza where the Mercantino del Gusto is held is the restaurant. The entrance is the 5th century courtyard of Leccese stone, that also doubles as the outdoor dining area.  The interior dining area is adorned in a contemporary palette of black, grey and white. Even the breakfast "caffetteria," a not-so traditional Italian coffee bar, has a crystal chandelier.

 

Courtyard dining at Donna Lisa

The indoor dining area at Donna Lisa

The hostess, Anna Lisa and chef Lino's daughter

 

It's a family-run restaurant that Chef Lino opened 4 years ago, after having worked at another restaurant for 20 years. His son, Vincenzo, is the main waiter and Anna Lisa, his daughter, the hostess. Chef Lino handles all orders for first and second courses and the antipasti plates that are cooked to order.  Besides his son and daughter, he had two ladies in the back that help with prep, plating, and dish washing. A small crew for the 100 cover restaurant, yet I was the only person frantic in the back of the kitchen, as I observed lunch service and scribbled down notes and between samples.

It was a live cooking demonstration of sorts, as we watched him prepare dish after dish, as the orders came in. As he cooked he explained ingredients that made up each dish and peppered in a few of his cooking tips as side notes.  One being that he liked to cook the pasta in water for only about 4 minutes, then added it to the sauce to let it finish cooking there. This allows the pasta to take on the flavor of the sauce. He made a penne pasta with radicchio and gorgonzola, explaining that the two strong flavors - the bitterness of the radicchio and the sharpness of the cheese - balance each other out. (This was the second time I'd seen radicchio paired with a strong cheese.)

 

There was antipasti galore that flew out of the kitchen - shellfish, fried sarde and other small fish, marinated anchovies, succulent salami platters, paper thin slices of grilled vegetables just to name a few. If you can't choose just one, they offer a selection of antipasti, wheeled out to your table on a fancy white cart. We tasted so many that it was impossible to get through three courses.  One of my favorites was the stuffed and fried mussels.  A cheese and herb stuffing surround the quickly fried mussels. The recipe for these will be in another post, coming soon.

 

The antipasti cart

Selection of salumi

Calamaretti Fritti (Fried miniature calamari)

 

A delicious stuffed and fried mussel

 

 

 

The menu at Donna Lisa includes 30 primi piatti, some a basic as a popular paccheri with julienned vegetables, one of the pasta dishes we tasted, and others more exotic like a risotto with saffron and gold leaf or another risotto with rose petals. Chef Lino made for us one of the seafood fish recipes that can only be found in Salento. It's made with gamberoni testa viola (a violet-headed large shrimp) from the fishing village of Gallipoli.   

 

Paccheri with sauteed  Julienne vegetables

Penne with radicchio and gorgonzola cheese

Gamberoni Testa Viola (Violet head shrimp) from Gallipoli used in our pasta dish

Spaghetti con gamberoni testa viola

 

 

We had no room for a secondo (main dish), but Donna Lisa offers 20 different secondi on their menu.  Grilled and fried fish makes up the majority of those 20. One non-fish dish that I found interesting was a fillet of steak cooked in the local Negromaro wine with onions. 

Steak in a Negromaro & onion sauce     ~     and     ~      Grilled Swordfish

 

If you're in Salento and want to taste some of the freshest fish cooked both simply and creatively, I suggest you visit Ristorante Donna Lisa.  You can see more of the restaurant and hear Anna Lisa talk about the restaurant (in Italian) in this video.

 

Join me in Puglia in 2013! For this food lover's culinary tour, we'll be cooking with our beautiful Italian mamme and professional chefs. We'll also be eating and exploring our way through the region.  There are four tour dates available from which to choose! For tour details, check out this page: Culinary Tours in Puglia 2013! 

***Early booking discount: Book and pay by check by January 31, 2013 and receive a $200 discount off the tour price.****

 

Ristorante Donna Lisa
Via Ospedale
73024 Maglie
Phone: +39 0836 311 865

Open 7 days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner, except Sunday for dinner.

The menu is a la carte, but a three-course meal averages 40 euros, without wine.

 

 

 

 

Related Posts:

Orecchiette and Salentine Breads - Cooking with Mamma Giulia in Salento

Under the Salento Sun - The Masserie of Salento

Wedding in Puglia

Cheese in Puglia - Making and Eating Fresh Cheese in Salento

Artisanal Cheese at Masseria CinqueSanti in Puglia

Orecchiette with Cauliflower, Sausage & Cheese - Cooking with Mamma Mariantonietta

Tradtional Salentine Dishes at Locanda Rivoli in Lecce

Lecce: The Baroque Beauty of Puglia

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

The Pastries of Lecce with Pastry Chef Luca Capilungo

Olivotto: The Sweet Side of Olives

Zeppole di San Giuseppe

Pugliese Pasta Dish: Sagne Ncannulate con Sugo Schiattariciati

Classic Salentino Cuisine Reinvented at Sette di Sette in Lecce

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

Lunch Salento Style at Cantine Menhir

Sagne Ncannulate Schiattariciati - Pugliese Pasta with Schiattariciati 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

Christmas Desserts in Salento

Food Finds in Aix-en-Provence with Tuula

 

One of the best things about blogging has been meeting others from all over the world, especially those who are as passionate about food, travel, Italy and France. Although much of this "meeting" is of the virtual type, I've been fortunate to meet in person many great food & travel bloggers in Italy and France. Last Fall, after much virtual "chatting," Tuula of Belle Provence Travels and I finally met in person! Tuula is as sweet and enthusiastic about France as her writing portrays. What I especially love about her blog is how she writes about the tiny tucked-away villages that many guidebooks miss. And she always seems to find the best food festivals in Provence!

Last October, Tuula and her very sweet, French, food-loving husband welcomed me into their home. It was such a treat to see Provence with these two food-loving locals.  Besides visting tiny seaside and hilltop villages, we had days filled with market visits, food fairs, long leisurely lunches, sauccison sampling, pastry nibbling, and we washed it all down with French wine.  As Tuula pointed out, this was all in the name of research, of course! We cooked toghether. At cafes under a mild Autumn sun or in cozy wine bars, we laughed together (a lot of time at my awful French pronunciation). And those Provençal views weren't bad either.

 

 

 

Aix-en-Provence is far from one of those undiscovered villages. Very well-known as Cezanne's birthplace, you can even follow in his steps, Aix is a city of art.  Thermal waters have flowed through the city since Roman times, so Aix is also a popular spa destination.  There are many reasons one might visit the city, but this a food lover's blog.  So we opted to wander through one of the many colorful markets of Aix, and enjoy a famous two-hour French lunch. Afterwards, under the guise of walking off our lunch, we found a few sweet treats of Provence. 

The Cours Mirabeau is one of the most beautiful boulevards in all of France. The trees line each side of the street and their leaves arch up and meet in the middle to create an arbor. Always bustling, the boulevard is the social center of the city. An outdoor seat at one of the restaurants along Cours Mirabeau, the Bastide du Cours, was our spot for lunch.  The menu formule, various combinations of starter/main dish/dessert or all three, is always a good value. With it you'll get good, not spectacular, bistrot and regional fare.  Of the restaurant's three menu formulas offered, we chose the "Gandolphe," a three-course meal for 19,50 euros.

Our starter was a religeuse of tomatoes and mozzarella. As it was the end of tomato season, this twist on the French pastry, was pretty but a bit bland.  Howerver, the braised jarret de porc (pork shank) with lentils from Puy was flavorful, falling-off-the-bone tender and belly warming.  We ended with a simple and classic, crème brûlée. The large dish of custard with a vane of burnt sugar on top gave the perfect textual contrast to the creamy custard.  Quite the opposite of a light lunch, we savored it slowly along with the surroundings and much girl-talk. The two-hour lunch, one of the best treats when traveling to France, actually flew by.

 

 

 

Our "foodie" day didn't end with the meal, either.  Walking through the streets that splinter off from Cours Mirabeau, we did a little wandering and found more!  Three sweets that popped up all day in Aix, and during my stay in Provece were calissons, navettes, and Tartes Tropéziennes.  So popular are they, that each has at least one interesting legend of its birth.

 

 

Calissons d'Aix - Made with equal parts blanched & ground almonds, sugar and candied fruit of orange peel & melons, they have a paper thin wafer at the bottom and are topped with royal icing. Legend has it that these almond shaped sweets were first introduced in 1454 at King Rene's second wedding in order to sweeten up his much younger, and possibly reluctant, bride Jeanne for their marriage. They are the specialty of the city and in every pastry window, candy shop, street market, everywhere. 

 

 

 

Navettes - A crunchy, barely sweet cookie, they are shaped like a boat to commemorate the arrival by boat of St. Lazarus, Mary Magdalene and Saint Martha to Provence over 2000 years ago.  A specialty of Marseille, they come in three traditional forms.  The navette traditionnel uses fleur d'oranger; the navette Marseillaise leaves out the orange flower water, and the navette Provençale has the fleur d'oranger and is also a little softer.  Nowadays you can find them with a variety of additions, like cinnamon, lavender, figs, etc.

 

 

 

 

Tarte Tropézienne - Actually a dessert of St. Tropez along the Côte d'Azur.  I think I saw more of this pastry in Provence than anywhere else outside of St. Tropez. As the story goes, the first Tarte Tropézienne was created by a Polish man, Alexandre Micka, who had a shop in St. Tropez.  He made this dessert along with pizzas and sandwiches for the crew filming, "And God Created Woman," starring Bridgitte Bardot. Bridgitte liked the dessert so much that she urged Alexandre to name it.  He did, the film was a success and is credited for making St. Tropez the popular resort town.

The tart is not really a tart but a big brioche bun. As Alexandre Micka's filling is a big secret, each pastry shop varies its version in an attempt to recreate his. Pastry cream and Kirsch liqueur are at the base of the filling. Some combination of butter, butter cream, meringue or whipped cream is added to the pastry cream and Kirsch. The top can vary, too.  I saw a dusting of powdered sugar with berries, a crumble, and also a pearl sugar on top.

Tartes Tropéziennes from Patisserie Bechard

 

 

 

There was also chocolate!  Puyricard chocolates, named after the village in Provence where a Belgian couple began their French chocolate making. Known as the chocolate company of Provence, Puyricard has 17 swanky shops - 13 in southern France and 4 in Paris.  Believe me it's hard to resist spending all your euros in the store. We got out of there quite cheaply, a 250-gram box of assorted (we picked them) chocolates were a mere 23 euros.  Along with delicious chocolates and calissons, they offer guided visits to their chocolate making facility in Puyricard and chocolate classes.

 

 

 

An MOF Patissier in Aix!  For those of you who've seen Kings of Pastry, you know the MOF, short for Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Worker in France) for pastry award isn't given out lightly.  Riederer's pastry chef, Phillipe Segond has the MOF title, and his pristine pastries are evidence of it.  The pastry shop is right on the Cours Mirabeau and full of so many pretty sweet things, I need to go back to try them all.

 

 

 

The oldest pastry shop in Aix. Patisserie Bechard, opened since 1870, was our first and last stop in Aix. Both times, it was packed with locals ordering their daily dose of French pastries. They had a huge selection of classic French and regional pastries and the place had a homey vibe. I could have spent all day in the shop. Their Tarte Tropézienne, a house specialty, was very good.

 

Join me in Provence for a French Pastry Culinary Vacation and learn how to create classic French pastries! I'm sure Tuula will make a guest appearance during the tour. Details here: Pastry-Making Vacation in Provence

 

 

 

Bastide du Cours
43/45/47 Cours Mirabeau
13100 Aix-en-Provence
Phone: +33 (0)4 42 26 10 06
Email: info@bastideducours.com

Riederer
67 Cours Mirabeau
13100, Aix-en-Provence
Phone: +33 (0)4 42 38 19 69

Puyricard
7-9, rue Rifle-Rafle
13100, Aix-en-Provence
Phone: +33 (0)4 42 21 13 26

Bechard
12 Cours Mirabeau
13100, Aix-en-Provence,
Phone: +33 (0)4 42 26 06 78

 

For information on dates and times of all the markets in Aix: Markets in Aix-en-Provence

 

 

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