Food Lover's Odyssey

Lemon and Olive Oil Cake from Puglia ~ And a Giveaway

 

 

Although I've been spending a lot of time in the kitchen with our Italian mammas, many of whom we'll meet on the Food Lover's Tour in Puglia, I was lucky enough to also spend some time in the kitchen with a few handsome Italian men, one of whom is Donato of the olive oil company Agricola Taurino. 

During the course of the food lover's tour, Taurino's olive grove will be the site of our picnic and their extra virgin olive oil and pates will garnish salads, grilled vegetables and slices of bread for our picnic feast. We'll join Donato and Valentino for a guided olive oil tasting and fun & informative tour of the "farm" and olive oil mill.  After our visit to Taurino, you'll know how to taste and slurp olive oil like the experts and understand the qualities they look for in distinguishing a good extra virgin olive oil. You'll also get great tips on storing and cooking with olive oil and taste lots of dishes prepared with Taurino's olive oil as it is the official olive oil on our tour.

 

Picnic under the Olive Trees at Agricola Taurino

 
Donato and his Parents, Maria & Pino of Agricola Taurino

 

Agricola Taurino is a family-run business. Founded by Donato's parents, Pino and Maria, Donato and his sister now run the "farm," as they call it. Pino and Maria are still an active and visible part of the business and pop in to meet guests daily. Donato takes great care in his guests' happiness, making sure we're full and happy when we leave. Donato and his sister take the same care in every detail of olive oil production, from the manner in which they water the olive trees down to the packaging and shipping of the oil and other products. The care they take in its production ends with an extra virgin olive oil of the finest quality.

 

Along with two types of extra virgin olive oil, the mildly flavored silver-labeled Polaris and the robustly flavored gold-labeled Sirius, Taurino makes pâtes with their olives and other of the many flavorful vegetables of Puglia; artichokes from Brindisi, local bell peppers and sun dried tomatoes. During my recent visit to Puglia, I have to admit I've went through jars and jars of the artichoke and bell pepper pâtes, slathering copious amounts on slices on Pugliese bread.

 

 

 

DISCOUNT ON OLIVE OIL FOR FOOD LOVER'S ODYSSEY READERS:

You can buy Taurino extra virgin olive oil and have it shipped directly to you! Via Taurino's website, purchase Taurino's extra virgin olive oil and olive oil products directly from them AND Donato is extending a discount to you, readers of Food Lover's Odyssey. Order any of their products from their online shop, here, use the code "FOOD LOVERS OLIVE OIL"and receive a 5% discount on all of Taurino's products, including their adopt an olive tree program.

 

THE OLIVE OIL GIVEAWAY:

Taurino is giving away two bottles of their extra virgin olive oil to one lucky reader of this blog.

To win the two bottles of Azienda Agricola Extra Virgin Olive Oil, one bottle of the delicate Polaris and one bottle of the more robust Sirius, all you have to do is leave a comment below telling me how you like to use olive oil when cooking and what you'd like to see Donato cook the next time I visit him in the kitchen.

Second chance to enter: "Like" the Food Lover's Odyssey Facebook page; come back here and leave a comment telling me you've done so for a second entry in this giveaway. (If you've already "liked" my Facebook page prior to this giveaway, you can leave a second comment here letting me know as your other entry.)

A third chance to enter: "Like Azienda Agricola Taurino on Facebook and come back here and leave a comment telling me you've done so.

Leave your comments by Friday, April 26 at Midnight Pacific Time, when the giveaway closes. I'll pick a winner randomly using www.random.org and announce the winner in a post the next day.

NOTE: The contest is open to anyone worldwide!

 

UPDATE: Congratulations to Dee S. Her comment #27 was randomly chosen and she is the winner of the 2 bottles of Taurino Olive Oil. Donato will be shipping you your prize shortly!

 

 

 

Lemon & Taurino Olive Oil Cake:

We cooked and ate many savory dishes using Taurino's olive oil. On my last visit, I made a sweet dish with their mild (Polaris) extra virgin olive oil, this lemon & olive oil cake. Many people use melted butter when making cakes, but I believe that olive oil gives you a moister cake. This lemon cake I made with Donato is light but decadently dense and moist with a vibrant lemon flavor and the olive oil is a subtle secondary flavor. The cake is just sweet enough and so tasty it is that it doesn't need an elaborate garnish. I've simply dusted it with some powder sugar.

 

 

Lemon and Olive Oil Cake
(makes one 9 ½-inch cake)

For the cake:
1 3/4 cups (225 g) “00” flour  or cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
Zest of 4 organic lemons
3 eggs
1/4 cup (60 ml) lemon juice (from 1-2 lemons)
Scant 1 cup (250 g) whole-milk plain yogurt
2/3 cup (150 ml) Agricola Taurino Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Polaris brand)

About ¼ cup powdered sugar to sprinkle on top of the cake
Strawberries or raspberries to garnish (optional)



Preheat the oven to 375°F and grease a 9 1/2 cake pan with olive oil, then dust it with flour.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. Add the zest to the granulated sugar and rub together to infuse the sugar with the zest’s lemon flavor. Using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat on medium-high speed the sugar and eggs until the mixture has lightened in color and doubled in size, 2-3 minutes. On low speed, whisk in the lemon juice and yogurt. Add the olive oil, pouring slowly so that flows in a stream. Mix in until it is combined. On the lowest speed, stir in the flour mixture only until combined.  Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 40-50 minutes. (A toothpick inserted in the middle will come out with a few moist crumbs.)

Remove from the oven and cool for 20 minutes. Remove from the cake pan and cool completely.  Dust with powdered sugar and garnish with strawberries and/or raspberries. Buon Appetito!

 

 

Join me in Puglia in 2013!  Along with all the great cooking and eating we'll do on this Food Lover's Tour, we'll also meet Donato, Valentino and Pino, learn how to professionally taste olive oil, sample Taurino's delicious products and picnic in their olive grove!  

For tour details, check out this page: Culinary Tour in Puglia 2013!

 

Food Lover's Culinary Tour Picnic at Agricola Taurino

 

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Celebrating Saint Joseph's Day in Italy - Devotion, Hospitality and Always Food

Easter Food and Traditions in Puglia

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Easter Food and Traditions in Puglia

 

 

 

Italy does many things well, and one of them is knowing how to stretch out a holiday. For example, Easter, a one-day holiday in the U.S. is at least four days of feasting here. They began Friday evening in Lecce, where I'm staying. Family, friends and visitors met and mingled in the piazze. Groups gathered and flowed out of the city's wine bars, caffes and eateries chatting, laughing and enjoying each other's company until late in the night.Chocolate eggs wrapped in an assortment of pastel colors brightened every shop windows. The partying doesn't end until Tuesday morning. Easter Monday, known as Pasquetta (little Easter) is the final day of feasting before everyone has to go back to work.

 

I've spent most of the four-day holiday with my friend Ylenia eating many of the traditional holiday dishes of the region, and yes, the chocolate eggs, too, and learned a little about some of the other Easter traditions of Salento. I like that many of the Easter holiday food "musts" are sweets. Of course lamb, usually with potatoes, is the usual main dish of the day, but it wouldn't be considered Easter without the special bread speckled with cubes of pancetta; it's made similarly to the Neapolitan Casatiello. In the sweet category, Almond paste lambs are a must. Two types of cookies are also part of the dessert table. One, known only in Pugliese dialect as cudduri, is shaped into various forms (hens, women, baskets or hearts) and then baked with a boiled egg attached to the "pouch." The other are called pittedde (also dialect) and are little baskets filled with jam. Rounding out the sweet table are the chocolate eggs. They were traditionally given to the children and filled with a little surprise, but now they are elaborately designed and wrapped and gifts for those special to you, of any age.

 

Il Pane di Pasqua

 

Easter Lamb made with Almond Paste

 

I Cudduri - Biscotti cooked with a hard-boiled egg

Pittedde - Pugliese dialect for these star or basket shaped cookies filled with jam

 

 

 

Is your mouth watering yet? If not, below I'm giving you a glimpse of the rest of our Saturday feast. Once again I was speechless about the spread of food Luigina and Tommaso greeted us with as they welcomed us to their home for a pre-Easter feast. After we were completely sated with course after course of one scrumptious dish after another, Tommasso pulled out bottles of his home made digestivi. I lost count after the fourth.

 

Our hosts Luigina and Tommaso

 

The Meal included three types of bread cooked in their wood burning oven. Tommaso manned the oven, entertaining the children and letting them help. Inside, Luigina started us with fried pittule and chicory in pastella. Our first course was a traditional dish, La tria with wild broccoli. The pasta, which you could say was like a wide-cut fettuccine, was made two ways, boiled and fried. The fried pasta goes on top of the dish to give a nice contrast of textures. Our second course included meatballs which we sopped up (known as fare la scarpetta in Italian) with the Easter bread.

 

Tommaso's collection of digestivi

 

On Easter Sunday, I spent the morning at the seaside town of Gallipoli. The sun came out in full force, only emphasizing the pastel blue of the sky and the deep turquoise of the Ionian Sea that surrounds Gallipoli's historic center. Most of the people dressed in their best church-going dresses and suits and strolled the streets after mass. Streamers of balloons in primary colors hung above us. People offered us glasses of sparkling wine and tastes of the cuduri, a cookie baked with a hard boiled egg nestled on top.

 

We witnessed a village tradition, "the burning of the witch." I have to say I'm not too comfortable with this tradition. I have red hair, am left handed, have a sixth sense that is always right (if only I'd listen to it more) and know this would have been my fate had I lived during the time of Savonarola. In Gallipoli and small villages in Puglia, starting on Ash Wednesday they hang dolls that look like witches. These witches represent our sins. Via our repentance during the 40 days of Lent (Although St. Joseph's Day and eating zeppole don't sound like much repentance to me), the witch gathers all our sins and they consume her. After mass on Easter, she is burned. The burning symbolizes a washing away of our sins and a rebirth.

 

Gallipoli on the Ionian Coast of Puglia

 

 
The Lenten Witch in Gallipoli

 

Easter Monday, rolls around and it's still a holiday and another day focused around food. Known as Pasquetta (little Easter), friends and family gather for a picnic, either seaside or in the countryside. After a food-focused weekend like this and then a serene picnic under the olive groves, how can you not fall in love with Puglia, minus the witch burning, I guess?!!

 

 

 

Join me in Puglia in 2013!  For a food lover's culinary tour, we'll cook with Italian mammas, with chefs, and with families like Luigina's. We'll also be eating and exploring our way through the region, its traditions - both food & cultural, and making delicioius dishes like those above! 

For tour details, check out this page: Culinary Tours in Puglia 2013!

 

 

Other Posts on Puglia and its Food You Might Like:

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

Orecchiette and Salentine Breads - Cooking with Mamma Giulia in Salento

Gorgeous Italian Men of Puglia on the Food Lover's Culinary Tour

Pizza Makers for a Night in Puglia - Food Lover's Culinary Tour

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

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

Lunch Salento Style at Cantine Menhir

 

 

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Herb Bread Wreath - Cooking with Maria Grazia in Puglia

 

 

"When making bread, the dough needs to be cared for just as you'd care for your baby in your womb. It needs love and care in order to come out well. You need to listen to the dough. It will tell you when it's ready and has risen enough. The scent, the little "bollincini" wholes, the size and the dough's softness are the ways in which the bread tells you it has risen enough." This and other cooking philosophies I learned, along with recipes for a perfect Salentine lunch, I learned during my afternoon with Maria Grazia in Puglia.

I met Maria Grazia at her family's home, an exclusive masseria. She and her husband, Pugliese natives, had originally purchased it solely to entertain their friends from Milan and Northern Italy, where they live for much of the year. Their original plans were to have five guest rooms, but they ended up adding a few more and welcome a select group of guests along with friends. Maria personally greets every guest, friend or first-time visitor, and creates mouth-watering breads, marmalades, desserts and savory dishes for all those that visit. More than a restored ancient country house, their home seems like a movie set, where the story of a dream vacation in Southern Italy takes place.

 

The stark white of the masseria's walls, beams, pergolas, tables and curtains create such a contrast against the sage green of the olive trees and the big blue Salento sky that every color seems that much more intense. Maria Grazia added her personal touch to every room. Just as she has given a little of herself in each room, she adds much of herself into every dish that flows from her kitchen.

 

Although her "real job" was the law, she worked as a lawyer and law professor, she has always spent many hours daily in the kitchen. When we first met, food was the first topic of conversation as she immediately showed me her hands, stained from fruits and olives. Proof of the numbers of hours she spends working with the ingredients her native land Salento offers. In her kitchen, surrounded the a mix of the aromatic herbs she has on a wood block, and an almost rainbow array of seasonal vegetables just purchased at the market, we spent the afternoon cooking some of Maria Grazia's favorite dishes.

 

 

"Amore, passione e generosita' (love, passion and generosity), all are necessary when cooking and you can never be tired in the kitchen." This philosophy and her love for the herbs, vegetables and grano duro flour are at the base of all the dishes Maria Grazia creates. Breads are her specialty, but she adds herbs to everything she cooks, even desserts. She presents them in the most creative and elegant ways, like the mounds of ricotta she topped with her homemade peperoncino jam and then wrapped in raffia. 

 

 

Bread was the first food on the day's menu. With the durham wheat flour, Maria made the bread wreath for which I've given you the recipe below, an herb focaccia, and also pasta: orecchiette which she used to make one of the quintessential dishes of Puglia, orecchiette con le cima di rape.

Along with those dishes, she shared her recipe for a beautiful and tasty vegetable cake, she called tortino di verdure, and also a most delicious stuffed calimari dish. The grand finale was a decadent dessert, a ricotta torte with a layer of orange marmellata in the center of the creamy ricotta. Like almost everything else that comes from the masseria's kitchen, Maria Grazia made the orange marmellata herself.

 

 

Maria Grazia knows her way around bread dough solely by feel, she explained to me her bread-making process and philosophy. She made to swift slits at the top of the bread dough before leaving it to rise. "Here in Italy, the cross I make on the top of the dough serves two purposes. The first is to bless the bread and the second helps let me know when the dough is ready." The dough is ready when the cross has spread and opened up.

 

With the well-cared for dough, we made the wreath bread that had a nice crunchy and herb-flavored crust and a pillow-soft center that was light as air. With her permission, I've given you Maria Grazia's recipe bread recipe below.

 

 

 

Herb Wreath Bread
(makes one 11-inch wreath)


8 ounces (250 ml) warm water (90°F - 100°F), plus more if needed
½ ounce fresh yeast
3 cups (380 g) “00” flour
1 cup (130 g) Durham wheat or semolina flour
1 tablespoon salt, plus more for garnish
About 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more if needed and for forming the wreath

2-3 tablespoons poppy seeds
2-3 tablespoons sesame seeds
2-3 tablespoons chopped rosemary
4 bay leaves, optional

 

Break the yeast into smaller pieces and dissolve in the warm water. Mix together both types of flour and the salt. Make a well with the flour mixture. In the center of the well, pour about 1/3 of the yeast/water mixture and combine some of the flour into the center of the well to mix with the liquid. Continue adding the water mixture into the well and mixing with flour from the sides of the well (the water should not run out of the sides) until the mixture is the right consistency. The consistency should be a very soft and slightly wet dough, but one that does not stick to your hands. (You may need to add more water depending on the flour and the amount of humidity.)

Once the dough is the right consistency, begin kneading by holding one end with one hand and stretching the other end out with the palm of your other hand. Once you’ve stretched the dough out, roll it back in towards you and the hand anchoring the other end of the dough. Turn the dough 95 degrees and repeat this motion. Continue kneading the dough until it is smooth and more elastic, about 7 minutes. Form the dough into a ball. With a sharp knife, score the top of the ball of dough with a cross. Cover with a towel, and as Maria Grazia does, a warm blanket and let rise until it is at least 2 times the size and has small balls of air inside, about 2 hours.

When the dough has risen enough, place it back on the working board and knead out the air. Separate the dough into 3 pieces and roll each piece out into a rope about 1 ½-inches in diameter and equal sizes in length. Spread the poppy seeds out the length of the rope of dough. Wet your hands with a little olive oil and roll one rope in the poppy seeds turning it until  the rope of dough is well covered with poppy seeds. Repeat this with the second and third ropes of dough, using sesame seeds to cover one rope and the chopped rosemary for the other.

Take the three ropes of dough, line up and attach them at one end. Form the three ropes of dough into one braid and bring around to form a wreath. Attach both ends. If you're using the bay leaves, place each in the space where the braids come together. Place the wreath on the baking sheet. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt. Let rise again for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until it has doubled in size again.  Bake the wreath at 375°F for 20-30 minutes, until the wreath has a nice hard crust and when you tap it, it sounds hollow. Buon Appetito!

 

Join me in Puglia where we'll dine with bellisimme views like these!

 

Join me in Puglia in 2013! For this food lover's culinary tour, we'll be making bread like this and cooking with both Italian mamme and professional chefs. We'll also be eating and exploring our way through the region and making delicioius dishes like those above!

For tour details, check out this page: Culinary Tours in Puglia 2013!

 

Other Posts on Puglia and its Food You Might Like:

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

Orecchiette and Salentine Breads - Cooking with Mamma Giulia in Salento

Gorgeous Italian Men of Puglia on the Food Lover's Culinary Tour

Pizza Makers for a Night in Puglia - Food Lover's Culinary Tour

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

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

Lunch Salento Style at Cantine Menhir

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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:

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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

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Lunch Salento Style at Cantine Menhir

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Celebrating Saint Joseph's Day in Italy - Devotion, Hospitality and Always Food

 

 

 

All over Italy today, Italians are celebrating St. Joseph's Day. They honor both Joseph, the "earthly" father of Jesus, and also all fathers. In Southern Italy, and especially some villages in Puglia, parades and grand events are being held to honor San Giuseppe. As with all celebrations in Italy, food plays a huge part, and with food in Italy, there are always food rules that must be followed.

 

 

 

First, it is not a festa di San Giuseppe without the very decadent zeppole. Everywhere I looked this morning it seemed that someone was ordering a zeppola or eating one. Pastry shops and even the gelaterie flooded their pastry cases with the ring-shaped doughnut. In Lecce, where I am now, these fried treats are topped off with generous amounts of two kinds of pastry cream - a lemon-infused one and then a "dollop" of chocolate. In Naples, amarena cherries replace the chocolate pastry cream, and in Sicily, they slather their famous ricotta cream over the top of the zeppole.

 

 
Find the recipe here: Le Zeppole di San Giuseppe

 

 

Another food-focused feast happens in the villages near Otranto in Puglia where hundread of homes still practice the tradition of preparing a feast to show hospitality to others in St. Joseph's honor; this feast is known as Le Tavole di San Giuseppe.  There are several renditions of how this feast started. Some say it was transformed from a pagan celebration to celebrate the end of Winter and beginning of Spring. Others say that it started when noble families chose one day to offer banquets to feed the poor. Whatever the origins, families in these villages prepare elaborately decorated tables filled with 13 different dishes (13 symbolizing the number that attended the last supper). At the main table is an "altar" to St. Joseph. There you'll find a statue of St. Joseph, his flower-covered staff, and the large rounds of bread, each having an orange in the center. The other tables are filled with meticulously plated dishes, all of which are typical farmers' or peasant's dishes of Puglia.

 

 
The tables set for the Feast of St. Joseph and his staff

On March 18th, the night before St. Joseph's day, these families open their doors to all who want to make this pilgrimage; friends, strangers, foreigners, tourists, and even enemies. At each house, those who enter say a prayer at the altar created for St. Joseph.  Families start preparing for this feast weeks in advance, and many homes expect more than 400 visitors during the night. During this eve of St. Joseph, no one eats the 13 dishes. Instead the families usually prepare a pasta dish, called massa for the visitors. One house we visited had used hundreds of kilograms of flour to make the massa for their expected visitors. 

 

 

 

On St. Joseph's day, in the afternoon after mass, the priest goes around to each of the houses in his village and blesses the tables. Then the banquet starts and the guests, some of dressed to represent St. Joseph, the holy family, the apostles and other saints, eat the 13 dishes of the feast. They consist of the following:

The bread - shaped in the form of a circle (or taralli as they say in Puglia) with decorations on top that symbolize the holy family (Mary, Joseph & Jesus) and with an orange placed in the middle. There are also the fried fish, stoccafisso (a salted cod stew), boiled lampasconi (wild hyacinth bulbs), chickpeas - which are sometimes served with the massa (pasta), pasta with breadcrumbs, pittule (fried dough), cauliflower fried in pastella, le cime di rape (broccoli rabe), puccedruzzi (Puglia's version of the more popularly known struffoli), carteddate (another sweet fried dough with honey drizzled over the top), and wine.

 

Some of the dishes from the Feast of St. Joseph: The bread, stoccafisso, fried fish & boiled lampasconi

What a lot of food and what a feast!! And then to add one or two zeppole to the day's eats! One of the families we visited in addition to the pasta, even prepared extra gifts of sweets, little cups of various types of cookies, to give to the pilgrims who would come on the eve of March 18th. Whatever your religious beliefs are, or are not, this is quite a thing to witness. The amount of work and love these families put into every detail and how truly generous and hospitable they are to everyone who comes to their doors is astounding and would bring a tear to the eyes of even the most cynical of people.

 

 

 

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 and making zepppole like those above, and many other traditional Pugliese dishes,too!

For tour details, check out this page: Culinary Tours in Puglia 2013!

Read more about the food and beauty of Puglia - Puglia section here on the blog.

 

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Pizza Makers for a Night in Lecce - Food Lover's Tour in Puglia

Under the Salento Sun - The Masserie of Salento

Crostata di Marmellata from Mamma Giulia

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

Seafood and More with Chef Lino at Ristorante Donna Lisa

Lunch Salento Style at Cantine Menhir

 

 

 

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Gorgeous Italian Men of Puglia on the Food Lovers' Culinary Tour

Gorgeous Italian Men of Puglia on the Food Lovers' Culinary Tour

 

 At first glance this post appears to have absolutely nothing to do with food & wine. I realize about half of you are asking yourselves why you should read this post at all (be patient though). The other half of you are saying, "It's about time the girl has finally come to her senses and realized the real reason one goes to Italy!" 

If you take a closer look, you will see that EVERY one of these very gorgeous men of Puglia have something to do with food & wine and the region's culture. Yes, they are physical beauties, but even more beautiful than what's on the outside is their love, passion & generosity for what they do, Puglia & sharing their lives and culture with visitors. If you join us on the Food Lover's Tour in Puglia, you'll meet them and get to know them as I have, and some even give baci e abbracci, kisses & hugs!

Let me introduce to you just some of the gorgeous men of this year's Food Lover's Tour in Puglia:

 

 

Michael ~ Our local guide and driver for the entire tour

From the very beginning of your trip, you can look forward to seeing Michael (he'll greet you in Brindisi) until the very end. He's part of our two-person team of local guides that will be with us for the entire tour, and he is also our driver. Originally from Naples, Michael's been living in Lecce for the last 20 years and knows the area, the food and the quickest way to get there very well. He speaks English, too. I'd say George Clooney has nothing on him; what do you think?

 

 

Gabriel ~ Gelateria Tentazioni

One of the first food images that comes to mind when one says Italy is gelato. We'll not only have a behind-the-scenes gelato-making demonstrationn AND tasting, but at Gelateria Tentazioni (that's temptations in English) Gabriel will hand you taste after taste of the cold creamy sweet. Gelato is not the only temptation in this place.

 

 

Antonio ~ Owner and Chef of Gelateria Tentazioni

Antonio will take us on a tour of his kitchen, share some of his favorite recipes and creations with us, and dole out copious tastings. Handsome and generous, he was one of the ladies' favorites.

 

 

Lorenzo ~ Schola Sarmenti Winery

We'll take a guided tour of Lorenzo's winery and end in one of the comfy chairs at the wine bar. We'll sit, relax and drink glass after glass of Sarmenti's wines as Lorenzo pours and shares stories of the winery and his family. Lorenzo made us feel so at home that no one wanted to leave. He even gifted each of us with a bottle of Sarmenti's wine, our choice of Negroamaro or Primitivo. 

 

 

From left to right: Valentino, Nonno Pino and Donato

The men of Azienda Agricola Taurino ~ Our olive oil guides and hosts of our picnic in their olive grove

You can not find more charming men then all of the men of Taurino. We'll meet Valentino on our first night at the masseria where he'll join us right before our welcome dinner and guide us through a tasting of Taurino's quality olive oil. We'll also get a lesson on discerning the quality of olive oil and sample some of Taurino's amazing pates. Valentino will leave samples for our dinner and olive oil gifts for us. Then, we'll meet Valentino again later in the week for a picnic in Taurino's never-ending olive grove. We'll break bread and visit with Valentino, Donato & his father Pino, owners of this family-run olive oil farm. I have several photos of Donato opening bottles of wine as he loves to share wine with the group. You'll find cuddly Nonno Pino in front and behind the camera taking photos of and with all of us. These are gorgeous guys whose passion for their work and Puglia are as big and endless as their olive orchard. I'm still receiving emails from last year's guests about these guys and the picnic being one of the highlights of the tour.

 

 

 

Lucio ~ barista & bartender extrodanaire

During your free time in Lecce or for a break during our walk, we can pop in for a drink with Lucio. Whether he's at Bar 7 di 7 or his own bar making espresso or cocktails, who wouldn't want Lucio as their barista or bartender!

 

 

 

Ronzino ~ Owner & pizzaiolo at Pizzeria La Pagghiara

This is a chance to check two things off your Italy bucket list. First, you'll get to be pizza-makers for a night! Secondly, the handsome Ronzino will be your instructor. And, if you have a hard time massaging the pizza dough into the necessary thin round disk, Ronzino will place his hands on yours and coax you through the lesson. Hint: you might want to feign incompetence here.

 

 

 

Pastry Chef Luca Capilungo

"Luca, Luca, LUCA, was what we heard on the way home from our lesson at Chef Capilungo's pastry shop. The ladies of last year's tour LOVED Luca. It's obvious that Luca loves making pastries as much as we love him. His passion and patience radiates from his eyes and smile. He'll guide us through a hands-on pasticciotto-making lesson and might add another pastry to the lesson, too. After our afternoon with him, expect be filled up on Luca's creations and craving more. He gives baci & abbracci (hugs & kisses) as you leave!

 

 

Chef Alessandro ~ Masseria Terra dei Padri

I don't know what I loved more about Chef Alessandro, his modern twist on classic Pugliese cuisine and the meticulous way in which he prepared each dish or his classic Southern Italian good looks. In either case, we'll get to sample a little of both, getting another behind-the-scenes invitation into his kitchen to watch him prepare one of his specialties. 

 

Juet ~ Leccese carta pesta

It's not always about food, as there is plenty of culture on this culinary tour. During our guided walking tour of Lecce we'll see a carta pesta demonstration. Juet, son of the shop's owners, will place his hands on yours as he shows you how to make paper!

 

 

Antonio ~ Baker & Owner of Panificio La Panetteira

Antonio's love for his city is obvious. He shares all the hidden treasures of his city, Martano, and its surrounding area. We'll get a guided tour of a local monastery and have a liqueur tasting before we visit Antonio's panificio and sample some of his breads. If there's time, we might even get a peek into the city's ancient underground olive mill (frantoio ipogeo).

 

Andrea ~ Mamma Elvira Enoteca & Gourmet Food Shop

During our tour, we'll have several days of free time in Lecce. If you choose to do some food shopping or want to taste more wine, Mamma Elvira is the place to go. Andrea, the shop's owner who is fluent in English, can easily guide you through the high-quality products he has and his wine list. His smile is just as enchanting as the wine list.

 

 

Paolo Cantele ~ Cantele Wines

Another family-run business, where the family's love for Salento and wine is as beautiful as our guide Paolo. Paolo will guide us through the family's winery, and we'll finish with a tasting of his favorite wines and hear him tell us the stories behind each wine.

 

Along with our adorable Italian Mamme, these are just some of the beautiful locals we'll meet during the Food & Wine Lover's Culinary Tour. Amore, passione & generosita' is what it's all about with them. Don't you want to come along? Who would you most like to meet?

Space is still available for the May and October tours, but after word gets out about these gorgeous men, I don't know how long those spots will remain available!

 

 

Related Posts:

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

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

An Aperitivo to Whet Your Appetite or Puglia

Pizza Makers for a Night in Puglia

Crostata Marmellata {Jam Crostata} of Mamma Giulia

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

 

 

 

 

Fruttone Leccese with Chef Luca - Food Lovers Tour in Puglia

 

 

Bienvenuti in Puglia! My dear and faithful readers, I'm back. Not only am I back here on Food Lover's Odyssey (sorry for the absence which I'll explain soon), but I'm also back in Puglia! I'll be in Puflia for the rest of March and part of April sharing delicious dishes from our escapades on the Food Lover's Tour and my cooking adventures with the many awesome Italian mammas and chefs.

Let's start the posts from Puglia with this pastry recipe you've been requesting the most: Fruttone Leccese. This pastry, along with pasticciotto are the two quintessential pastries of the area. You're sure to find them in every pasticceria in Salento. At it's base is a crunchy shortbread crust, which is commonly made using lard. In this recipe, I've substituted the lard for butter, which will make the crust extra crunchy.  (Feel free to use lard if the purist in you wants to be very "authentic.") The sweet filling is a combination of pear marmalade and almond paste. And if that wasn't enough to entice you, the final touch is a topping of a sweet and shiny chocolate glaze. 

 

During our cooking class with Chef Luca, we made both pasticciotto and fruttone. Along with the recipe are step-by-step photos, from the class, for assembling the fruttone.  The fruttone are quite easy to make or maybe it was Chef Luca's flirtations and his filling us with all his sweets & wine that made them seem so easy. The hardest thing for you will probably be finding the oval molds. I purchased my tin molds here in Puglia, but you can find similar silicone molds here. Join us on the Food Lover's Tour in Puglia, and you'll get a set of molds in your gift bag!

 

Rolling out the pasta frolla with Chef Luca

 

 

 ********************

Fruttone Leccese
(Makes about 15)


For the Pasta Frolla:
2 ¼ cups cake flour
1 ½ cups  unbleached all-purpose flour
3 grams baking powder
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
5 egg yolks

For the filling:
About 1 ½ pounds almond paste (see recipe below)
About 16 ounces pear marmalade

For the almond paste:
8 ounces blanched almonds
8 ounces (1 ¾ cups) powdered sugar

For the chocolate glaze:
½ cup butter
¼ cup milk
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
5 ounces good quality dark chocolate
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups powdered sugar



To make the pasta frolla:  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 eggs yolks and stir together just until the mixture is combined.  Divide into two equal mounds and cover each with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours before rolling out.

To make the almond paste:   Place the almonds and half of the powdered sugar into a food processor. Process until the almonds are finely ground. Add the rest of the sugar and process until combined and the mixture is homogenous. Set aside for assembly of the fruttone.


To assemble the fruttone:  (Step-by-step photos on assembling the fruttone are below)
Roll the pasta frolla out into a rope about 2 inches in diameter. (You can do this in 2 or 3 parts if you’d like.) Cut the rope into 2-inch rolls. With the palm of your hand, flatten the dough into a round disk about 1/8-inch thick. Press each disk of dough into a mold of its own. The dough should just reach the top of the mold. If there is excess, you can remove it by running a knife along the edges.  Place about 1ounce of pear marmalade at the bottom of the mold. (The quickest and cleanest way to do this is by using a pastry bag and piping the pear marmalade into the molds.) On top of the pear marmalade, add the almond paste just to the top of the mold. Run a knife along the top of the mold to ensure that the almond paste is even and level with the top of the mold. Bake at 375°F for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and place each fruttone upside down on a flat surface until they are cool. (This will flatten out the tops of the fruttone for glazing.)

To make the chocolate glaze:  Make the glaze right before you want to use it. In a saucepan, heat the butter, milk and corn syrup until the butter melts. Add the chocolate and whisk until the chocolate melts. Take off the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract. Whisk in the powdered sugar and pour into a bowl wide enough to dip the fruttone in. Use immediately to glaze the fruttone. The glaze will set in 20-30 minutes.

To glaze the fruttone:  Once the fruttone are cool, dip the tops of them into the chocolate glaze and place right side up. Let the glaze set for approximately 20 minutes. Buon Appetito!

 

Step-by-step photos for assembling the fruttone:

 
Roll dough into logs & cut   ~   Flatten into disks & press into molds  ~  fill with pear marmalade

Molds filled with pear marmalade ~ fill with almond paste & bake ~ when cooled top with chocolate glaze

 

 ********************

Pastries in Puglia ~ Along with Fruttone we'll be making these on the Food Lover's Tour in Puglia

 

Join me in Puglia for the Food Lover's Culinary Tour!  We'll cook with Chef Luca, other chefs and our fabulous Mammas in the kitchen on the Food Lover's Culinary Tour of Puglia - Plenty of spaces are still available for tours in May and October.

 

Related Posts:

Gorgeous Italian Men of Puglia on the Food Lover's Culinary Tour

Pasticciotto Leccese

Zeppole di San Giuseppe

Crostata di Marmellata ~ Jam Crostata from Mamma Giulia

The Pastries of Lecce with Chef Luca Capilungo

Pizza Makers for a Night in Puglia

Mamma Agata's Herb Fritters {Coccoli} and the Winner is....

 

Thank you to all who participated in the Mamma Agata cookbook giveaway. Out of all the great comments about your favorite Italian dishes, I randomly chose #29, Janie's comment (her favorite dish is homemade ricotta ravioli with a simple tomato sauce to remind her of lunch with her grandparents). Janie will be receiving an autographed copy of Mamma Agata's Simple and Genuine Cookbook. And today, for everyone that would like a glimpse at the recipes in the cookbook, I'm sharing one of them, Mamma Agata's Coccoli.

These herb fritters were just one of the amazing antipasti that I tasted during my day cooking on the Amalfi Coast, a simple yet oh-so delicious fried treat. Versions of fritters are a classic starter to Italian meals, especially pizza, and as usual, their names change depending on the region. I've heard them called in pastella in Rome, pasta crescuita in Naples, and pittule in Puglia. Who doesn't love fried batter, golden, crunchy and salty outside with the softest pillow-like savory dough inside?

Mamma Agata takes them to another level adding fresh herbs, parmigiano and pancetta to the batter.  The herbs give them a pop of freshness, the parmigiano adds extra cheesiness and the pancetta is a subtle addition of the sweet pork fat flavor. They are perfect little starters to any special meal, even your holiday Christmas dinner, for example. The batter (pastella) can also be used as a dipping batter. Dip a mix of seasonal vegetables or shrimp in the batter; fry them and you will look like a god or goddess in the kitchen with this assortment of antipasti.

 

Mamma Agata adding the pancetta, parmigiano and herbs to the coccoli batter

The recipe and exactly how to make the batter and fry it is beautifully illustrated in Mamma Agata's cookbook. In the book you'll find all her secrets to making the coccoli flavorful and how she gets the pillow-like pefection inside while keeping things crunchy outside. She has also dedicated a full page in her book to share her frying secrets. Below is the recipe and then highlights from her frying instructions.

 

 

Frying the coccoli during my day cooking with Mamma Agata

If you'd like to order the book, you can order it directly from Mamma Agata's website.  Chiara and Mamma Agata share some fabulous family recipes and classics of Neapolitan cuisine. With those recipes, along with the stories and photos in the book, they will transport you to the family's Ravello terrace and views of the Amalfi coastline. It would make a beautiful gift for yourself or that special Italian food lover in your life.

 

Mamma Agata's Simple and Genuine Cookbook

 

The terrace at Mamma Agata's Cooking School 

 

 

Coccoli di Mamma Agata (Herb Fritters)
(from Mamma Agata’s Simple & Genuine Cookbook, recipe published here with her permission)

Mamma Agata’s Pastella:
2 cups (250 g) “00” flour, or white pastry flour
1 teaspoon (25 g) sugar
3/4 cup (100g) Parmigiano cheese, grated
1 egg
1 cup (200 ml) lukewarm water
1 3/4 tablespoons (25 g) yeast (dry or fresh cake yeast)
2 pinches sea salt
2 teaspoon vinegar

For the Coccoli:
1/2 cup (100g) Parmigiano Regiano cheese, grated
1/2 onion, grated
1 3/4 oz (50 g) pancetta or salami, finely chopped
1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
1 teaspoon finely chopped thyme
1 teaspoon finely chopped sage

1 quart (1 liter) peanut or grape seed oil for frying (or another oil with a high smoke point)

 

To make the pastella: In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar and cheese. Add the egg to the bowl and mix together thoroughly. In a separate bowl, dissolve the yeast into the water. Once the yeast is dissolved into the water, slowly add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture. Combine together with your hands until the mixture is the consistency of a thin pancake batter. (NOTE: If the batter is too thick, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water; if the batter is too thin, add a little more flour to thicken it.) There will be lumps in the batter, do not try to whisk them out; or you will overwork the dough and get tough fritters. Cover the bowl and set it aside in a warm, draft-free location for one hour.

After one hour, the batter will have risen. Add the vinegar and salt to the batter and stir. (The batter will deflate when stirred; this is normal.)

To make the Coccoli: In a bowl, mix togehter the cheese, onion, pancetta, and herbs.  Add this mixture to the pastella batter and mix together just until the ingredients are combined. (Do not overwork the dough.)

Follow Mamma Agata’s frying instructions: In a frying pan, heat the oil to 375°F (190°C). Using a tablespoon, gather a tablespoon of batter and place it in the oil, letting the batter slide off of the spoon into the oil. Continue this process until you have around 10 coccoli in the pan (Do not overcrowd the pan or it will reduce the ideal temperature of the oil and the coccoli will absorb too much of the oil and be greasy.) Fry the coccoli on each side for 1-2 minutes, until both sides are golden brown. Remove them from the oil and place on paper towels. These are best served hot. Continue frying the remaining batter in batches in the same manner until you fried all the batter. These are best served hot. Buon appettito!

 

 

"I Segreti della Frittura" (Secrets of the Fry)

 

Mamma Agata's secrets and tips for making Coccoli and for frying:

For the pastella batter and coccoli:

The batter will be lumpy - Don't try to dissolve the lumps or you will overwork the dough and get tough fritters.

The water for the yeast must be lukewarm to the touch. If it's too cold or too hot, it will kill the yeast. The batter will not rise and you will not have pillow-like fritters.
Whenever you make batter or dough with yeast, you must add sugar to activate the yeast.
Mamma Agata uses type "00" flour for all of her recipes. She suggests substituting it with white pastry flour if you can't find "00" flour.
Adding vinegar to the batter helps to inhibit the oil from penetrating during the frying process and preventing the coccoli from being greasy.

Mamma Agata's frying tips:

The best frying pans are ugly! She uses a pan that's about 3 to 4 inches deep and 10 inches across. And, she uses this pan and only this pan for frying, letting it get seasoned with each fry, and also uglier with each fry. Her ugly pan lasts at least 3 to 4 years.

Mamma Agata is generous with the quantity of oil and recommends at least 1 liter or quart for her type of pan. She keeps a space of about 1 inch from the oil leve and the top of the pan and never overcrowds the pan when frying. This can cause the oil temperature to drop and the fritters to take too long to cook and to absorb too much oil.

The temperature of the oil is very important. It should be 375 F or 190 C.

Quality of the oil is also important. Seed oils are best for frying because they have a high smoke point and have a neutral flavor that will not change the flavor of what you are frying. Mamma Agata uses peanut oil. She never uses olive oil for frying.

She always uses "clean" oil and never reuses oil from a previous day's or meal's frying.

 

 

Related Posts You Might Also Like:

Cook with Me and Italian Mammas in Puglia in 2013

Torta Caprese - Flourless Chocolate Cake from Capri

Zeppole di San Giuseppe

Nutella Filled Venetian Frittelle

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

Neapolitan-Style Mussels (Cozze alla Marinara)

 A Drive Along the Amalfi Coast

 

 

 

Related articles

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

Crostata Marmellata {Jam Crostata} from Mamma Giulia

Pizza Makers for a Night in Puglia

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!

 

Related Posts You Might Also Enjoy:

Cook with Me and Italian Mammas in Puglia in 2013

Orecchiette and Salentine Breads - Cooking with Mamma Giulia in Salento

A Drive along the Amalfi Coast (in photos)

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

Torta Caprese - Flourless Chocolate Cake from Capri

Pizza Lover's Odyssey in Naples

Neapolitan Style Mussels - Cozze alla Marinara

Journey Through the Pastries of Naples

Dining Around Naples with Napoli Unplugged

Crostata Marmellata {Jam Crostata} from Mamma Giulia

 

Christmas holiday baking has begun! Maybe it's because I love to bake and some of my first baking memories are of making Christmas cookies with my mom that Christmas is my favorite of all holidays. Besides all the lights, glitter, and shopping (what girl doesn't love those things), it was always a time when dessert for breakfast was ok, even encouraged!  My mom kept us from tearing up the house and terrorizing her over our Christmas vacation by having us "help" with cookie baking. She would start every day during the holidays with two biscotti, which she only made around Christmastime, and coffee. Because our kitchen was overflowing with cookies, she let us choose our favorite cookie or two to dip in milk for our breakfasts.

 

 

To kick off the season, I thought it best to share with you another sweet that had double duty as both both dessert and breakfast for me, the crostata marmellata. This is recipe comes from Mamma Giulia, one of our amazing "mamme in cucina" in Puglia.  Mamma Giulia is like the energizer bunny in the kitchen; she keeps on going and going and going from sun up to far past sundown. Not all she churns out in the masseria's kitchen is sweet, but it's all delicious. This crostata was the first thing she offered me when I first met her. It was also part of our daily breakfast spread during our Food Lover's Tour in Puglia.

 

Mamma Giulia making the crostata dough

 

Jam crostata is to Italy as apple pie is to the U.S. It's definitely a home-cooking kind of dessert, and probably every Italian mamma has her own recipe, but you see crostate in various shapes and sizes throughout Italy's pastry shops and biscotterie. It even ended my amazing meal at the fine dining restaurant Cibreo in Florence. Even though you can find a crostate throughout Italy, they can vary in quality. A crunchy, crumbly, buttery crust is what makes this simple and unpretentious dessert so delicious.

A few notes & tips:  The key to the crust is the butter, the flour and not too much kneading.  As there are basically only two components to the dessert, the pasta frolla and the jam, you want to make sure you also have a good quality jam - one where the fruit (and not only its juices) are used in making it.  Butter will give you the crunchy, crumbly and flavorful crust, but it's important to pay attention to its temperature. Ideally you should work with the butter at a temperature from 65 to 70 F, so its important to work quickly and and keep your hands from being in constant contact with the butter. Mamma Giulia uses the delicate double zero flour also used for pasta making. In the U.S. it's sometimes hard to find and can be expensive, so I tested the recipe using only all-purpose flour, only unbleached all-purpose flour and a mix of cake flour and unbleached all-purpose flour.  The mix of cake flour and unbleached all-purpose flour came closest to Mamma Giulia's.  If you can find it, I would suggest using 300 grams (2 1/2 cups) of double zero flour as it creates the most buttery crust.

 

Jam Crostate in pastry shops in Italy

 

Ingredients needed for pasta frolla: flour, sugar, salt, butter & egg yolks

 

This crostata is just the start to many holiday dessert recipes (both Italian and French) that I'll be sharing with you this month. And I have a little Christmas present for you, too, a thank you all for your support and following of Food Lover's Odyssey! In December I'll have a little Christmas giveaway of some of my favorite things and more. Check back here soon for the month's first giveaway!

 

 

Want to give that special Italian food lover something fabulous for Christmas? How about a delicious Food Lover's Journey to Puglia?  You can cook with me, Mamma Giulia, other Italian mammas and chefs while discovering and exploring the gorgeous Puglia countryside.  For tour details, check out the Culinary Tours in Puglia 2013 page.

****Book by January 31, 2013 and receive a $200 discount off of the tour price!****

 

 

 

Crostata Marmellata
(Makes One 9-inch crostata)

Pasta Frolla:

1 ½ cups (200 grams) cake flour
1 cup (100 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cups (175 grams) butter, ideal temperature is 65-70° F
½ cup plus 4 tablespoons (125 grams) sugar, plus more for the top of the crostata
3 egg yolks, mixed so the yolks are broken

2 ½ cups fruit preserves or best-quality jam (The fruit should be used to make the jam, not just the fruit’s juice)


To make the pasta frolla:  Stir together the flour, salt and sugar and form the mixture into a well.  With a pastry cutter cut the butter into the flour until the mixture is the consistency of peas.  Make another well of the new mixture and add the eggs yolks. Knead the mixture only until it is combined into a homogenous dough.  Divide the dough into two balls; with 2/3 of the dough for one ball and the remaining 1/3 for the other. Flatten each into a round disk, and cover each with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours before rolling out.

To assemble the crostata:  Roll out the bigger disk of dough between two sheets of wax paper until it’s ¼-inch thick. Place into a 9-inch tart mold and refrigerate while you roll out the second disk of dough, also rolling it out in between two sheets of wax paper until it is ¼-inch thick.  Using a fluted pastry ring, cut the dough into strips that are ½-inch in thickness. Remove the pastry dough that is in the tart mold from the refrigerator and spread the fruit preserves/jam out evenly on top of the pastry dough. 

Starting in the center, place the longest fluted strip of dough on top of the jam, then another across it, forming an X with the two strips. Working out from this center, add two more strips on each side of one of the center strips, spacing the strips about 1 1/2 inches apart. Then add to more strips on each side of the other center strip, again spacking each strip about 1 1/2 inches apart. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes. Before placing the tart into the oven, sprinkle to top strips of dough with granulated sugar.

Bake at 375 F for 20-25 minutes, until the crust is a golden brown. Cool and serve. Buon Appetito!

 

 

 

Other Dessert Recipes You Might Like:

Snowball Cookies and Christmas Baking Memories

Tiramisu Cheesecake

Torta Settevelli - Seven Veils Cake from Palermo

Meyer Lemon Tart with Lightened Lemon Cream Topping

Cassata Siciliana

Torta Caprese - Flourless Chocolate Cake from Capri

Gianduja - Nutella Cheesecake

Pasticciotto from Lecce

"Magical" Chocolate Kahlua Budino

Cantucci - Italian Biscotti from Tuscany

Meyer Lemon Cheesecake

Flaky Apple Tart from Gascony {Croustade aux Pommes}

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