Food Lover's Odyssey

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.

 

 

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 A Drive Along the Amalfi Coast

 

 

 

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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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Zeppole di San Giuseppe

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A year ago, almost to the day, I arrived in Lecce for the first time.  I think you never forget your first impressions of a city, especially those cities that are close to your heart.  I remember stepping off the train late in the afternoon.  The streets of the historic center were so quiet, almost deserted.  The only sound I heard were the wheels of my suitcase click-clacking against the cobblestone street. As I made my first stroll through the baroque historic center, I felt a bit lonely.  The only eyes I met were those of the strange characters carved out of stone and hanging from buildings, churches and doorways.  They stared down at me with smirks that felt like recriminations for coming to Salento solo.

 

 

Then I met up with Ylenia and Claudia who introduced me to Antonella, Pina, Antonella, and Debora.  We gathered in Piazza St. Oronzo for the Italian unification celebration.  Most of Lecce's population came out for the celebration, too, and it seemed that these ladies knew everyone in town.  More and more people joined our group, as we popped in and out of cafes, wine bars, bread shops, and pastry shops, meeting proprietors and even more people of the city. Those strange stone characters on the buildings no longer laughed at me, and I have never again felt alone in Lecce or Salento.

Another thing that stands out about this trip, and all trips to Salento since, was that everyone I met either gave me some kind of food gift or offered me something to eat.  As it was almost March 19th, St. Joseph's day in Italy, zeppole di San Giuseppe were the most offered gift.  In the same way one might offer to get you a coffee, I was offered a zeppola everywhere I went.  I remember the first zeppola I had in Puglia with my new friends, and how they waited with baited breath as I chose between the fried and baked version.  I can still hear their collective exhale of relief when I chose the fried one.  Whenever I see or eat a zeppola di San Giuseppe, I think of my first day in Lecce and all those that I met, who I now call friends.

Fried dough, with an crunchy crust and airy in the center.  There's a generous topping of pastry cream flavored ever-so-slightly with lemon and that little bit of chocolate to add even more decadence to the whole thing.  If you're in Italy, you're obliged to have at least one of these over the holiday.

 

Zeppole di San Giuseppe in the pastry case (these are the baked version)

 

On March 19, Italy celebrates St. Joseph's Day, a day dedicated to Joseph the husband of Mary the mother of Jesus.  The saint is honored with feasts and parades, especially in the south of Italy. It is the onomastico (Saint's "name day" ~ a second birthday of sorts) for all those named Giuseppe or Giuseppina.  Since 1968, the day is also father's day in Italy. Basically, there's a reason for everyone in Italy to celebrate. 

 

Besides the feast, zeppole di San Giuseppe are a huge part of the holiday celebrations. I saw the zeppole in pastry windows at least a week before the actual holiday, but on the actual day, le zeppole fill almost the entire pastry case.  The pastry is choux paste fried in the shape of a ring (ciambella) and topped with pastry cream. In Naples, where the first historic account of zeppole di San Giuseppe was recorded in 1837, they add amarena cherries to the top of the pastry cream.  The zeppole I've made to celebrate San Giuseppe are the Pugliese version I had on my first day in Salento, topped with a swirl of chocolate ganache or pastry cream.

 

UPDATE March 19, 2013: As I'm back in Lecce & Puglia during this holiday, I've had the chance to sample many more zeppole. I've realized that most pastry shops here in Lecce actually top off the lemon-infused pastry cream with a generous dollop of chocolate pastry cream. I've changed the recipe a little, allowing for a chocolate pastry cream top.

I'm also certain that they use a little to all lard (depending on the pasticceria) instead of butter in the choux paste and maybe also in the frying. However, I'm going to stick with butter in the recipe. The lard gives the zeppole a denser interior. If you'd like that in your zeppole, you can substitute 2 tablespoons of butter with lard.

 

 

Zeppole di San Giuseppe
(makes about 12)


For the dough (choux paste):

1 ½ cups (350 ml) water
6 tablespoons (80 grams) butter, cubed
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 1/3 (180 grams) cup all-purpose flour
5 eggs

6 to 8 cups of peanut oil for frying


For the pastry cream:

3 ¼ cups (750 ml) whole milk
Rind of one lemon (only the rind, not the pith)
8 egg yolks
2/3 cup (160 grams) granulated sugar
Scan 1/2 cup (50 grams) cornstarch
3 1/2 tablespoons (25 grams) all purpose flour
4 tablespoons (55 grams) butter, cubed

 

For the chocolate pastry cream:

4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped in tiny shreds

 

 

To make the choux paste:  In a saucepan, bring the water, butter, sugar and salt to a rolling boil. (It's important that the butter is in small cubes, so it melts and combines with the water before the mixture comes to a boil.)  Add the flour all at once, and remove from the heat.  Stir until all the flour is combined.  Place back the mixture back on the stove and stir over medium heat for about 5 minutes to dry out the mixture.  Remove from the heat and, after allowing the mixture to cool for 10 minutes, add the eggs one at a time.  Stir in each egg completely before adding the next.

In a deep pot, heat the oil to 360° F (180° C).  Place the choux paste into a piping bag attached with a 14mm star tip (the tip opening should be about 1/2 inch in diameter).  Cut 4X4-inch squares of parchment paper.  Pipe the choux paste onto the parchment paper, making rings that are little smaller than the paper, 3 1/2 inches in diameter.  (I actually piped little "snails" filling the center, but it wasn't necessary as the dough rises quite a bit as it fries, leaving only a small hole in the center.)  Place the choux paste and parchment paper into the oil.  Once the dough starts frying, the paper will fall away easily; then remove it from the pan.  Fry the zeppole about 4 minutes on each side. Depending on the pan size, fry only 2 or 3 zeppole at a time, so you don't lower the temperature of the oil.  Once the zeppole are cooked through, place on paper towels to drain.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar once they've cooled slightly.

 

 

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 boiled, cook for another 2 minutes, again stirring the entiring time.  Remove from the heat and strain through a fine-mesh seive. 

To make the chocolate pastry cream: As soon as you've strained the pastry cream through the fine-mesh sleeve and while it is still hot, take 1 1/4 cups of the pastry cream and pour over the chopped chocolate. Let sit for about 1 minutes then whisk the melted chocolate and the pastry cream together until all the ingredients are combined and smooth.

Add the butter to the top of both flavors of pastry cream, stirring in once the butter has melted. Place the bowls into an ice bath and let cool for 10 minutes.  Spread each flavor of the pastry cream into its own glass dish (9x13 for the lemon-infused and 8x8 for the chocolate) 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.

 

To assemble the zeppole:  Place the pastry cream into a piping bag fitted with a 12mm star tip.  Into the center of each zeppole, pipe the pastry cream.  I piped a generous two "snail-shaped" circles of pastry cream, one on top of the other.  Place the ganache into a piping bag fitted with a 10mm star tip.  Pipe a small ring of ganache on the top center of each zeppole.  They are best minutes after they've been garnished, and should be eaten the day they've been made.  Enjoy!

NOTE:  To make the Neapolitan version, with a cherry topping instead of the chocolate one, you need a jar of amarena cherries, or another type of sour cherries, in syrup.  Drain some of the syrup from the cherries, and top each zeppole with one or two cherries.

 

Zeppole di San Giuseppe from Scaturchio in Napoli

 

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.  We'll be making these zepppole, too!

 There are four tour dates available from which to choose! 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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Christmas Around Italy - Christmas Traditions in Naples

 

Christmas Around Italy travels to one of my favorite Italian cities, Napoli!  Huge welcome to Bonnie of Napoli Unplugged.  Bonnie, an American expat, has been living in and loving Naples for many years.   Her love for the city is what inspired her site, Napoli Unplugged.  It's the place to go if you want to know "what's on" in Naples.  Also, via the site, Bonnie blogs about various escapades and strolls she takes in and around Naples.  She also maintains a photo blog where she shares a daily photo from Naples.  Even though she does all this, I'm so happy she found time to stop here and share a few Neapolitan Christmas traditions with us. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Christmas. In the immortal words of Andy Williams "It's the most wonderful time of the year." Filled with the joy of the season I am transported to my youth, as visions of snow-covered houses, blazing fires and horse-drawn sleighs dance in my head. Classic Currier and Ives Christmas scenes that are interminably rooted in my DNA.

Of course Christmas in the Mediterranean, Christmas in Napoli is slightly different. It's unlikely we'd ever see a white Christmas (although there was snow on Vesuvius today) and Jack Frost is not likely to be nipping at my nose. And what of the commercial Christmas bling my inner child so desperately craves? Well that has only recently started to creep onto the scene.

 

But Christmas in Naples is every bit as magical as the Currier and Ives pictures I have in my mind. And perhaps more so, because time-honored traditions remain the star, while everything else is just trimming on the tree. The tree, which by the way only plays a supporting role to the world-renowned Presepe Napoletano, the Neapolitan Christmas Nativity.

A centuries old tradition, by early December Neapolitan Presepe collections are on display all over the city. There are so many in fact, that I've made an annual treasure hunt out of trying to find them all. They are in every Neapolitan home, most of the city's churches, on display in all variety of public buildings, and there are permanent displays like those at San Martino and Santa Chiara.

 

Presipio Napoletano

And of course, along Via San Gregorio Armeno, Naples premier Christmas Market, where you'll find everything to create your own Nativity Scene. Open year round, during the holiday season tourists flock in from all over the world just for the chance to wander this magical Christmas alley.

 

 

Not far from San Gregorio Armeno, is Porta Nolana, Naples second most important Christmas Market. But don't head there expecting to find mulled wine, Christmas ornaments or nut crackers. This isn't a Christmas market in the traditional sense. Home to the freshest seafood in town, it is THE place to stock up on everything you need to make the traditional Cena della Vigilia di Natale, the Neapolitan Christmas Eve dinner.

 

 

The live clams, le vongole veraci for the Vermicelli or Spaghetti alle Vongole that is served as the primo piatto.

 

The salt cod, il baccalà, served fried, in vapore or baked as the secondo.

 

And the obligatory Christmas Eel, il capitone. Definitely an acquired taste, it is typically fried and seems to find its way onto the Christmas Eve table whether it is eaten or not.

 

 

 

You can also find fresh cauliflower, le papaccelle, hot peppers conserved in vinegar and olives for the Insalata di Rinforzo.

 

But if it's Neapolitan Christmas sweets you are in search of, you will either have to make them yourself or do like most Neapolitans do these days, pick them up at a Pasticceria. What to buy? Honey soaked Struffoli, chocolate dipped Mustaccioli, nutty and crispy Roccocò, and the S-shaped Susamielli.

 

There are other Neapolitan Christmas traditions to be sure. Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and Minestra Maritata for the Christmas Day lunch. Gli Zampognari, bag pipers who magically arrive in December to entertain the residents of the city for a bit of food or change. Tombola, a game played during the holidays that is similar to bingo, except it uses the numbers from 1 through 90, and each has a meaning based on La Smorfia Napoletana.

 

 

And of course the one universal tradition of the season, sharing the holiday with friends and family.

From our home in Napoli to yours wherever you may be, Merry Christmas to all and to all a Very Happy New Year!

 

*All photos in this post are courtesy of Napoli Unplugged

 

 

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

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

 

On my recent trip to Naples, I certainly ate my way through the city on a lot of pizza and pastries and even more Neapolitan cuisine.  Somehow I also found the time to take a cooking class on Neapolitan sauces.  Bonnie from Napoli Unplugged and I took the class at Citta del Gusto. It covered three classic Neapolitan sauces, but the star of the evening was definitely La Genovese.  It's a rich, slow-cooked Sunday sauce that you should not even think about cooking less than 8 hours. 

The class was conducted in rapid Italian, with a Neapolitan accent, and much of the time I felt like I was bumbling my way through.  Thankfully with the help of Bonnie, the five very kind and patient chef's assistants, and many of my fellow classmates (all locals), I learned the Neapolitan way of making the sauces, their history, and a few new Italian food words.

 

Our Chef giving up-close instruction

Citta del Gusto is located on the outer edge of Naples, at the foot of the Posillipo hill.  The facility is part of Gambero Rosso; they have another cooking facility in Rome.   Along with a state of the art demonstration & hands-on kitchen (the only thing that was missing was an overhead mirror above the chef's work station), the Naples location offers professional courses, wine courses and has a wine bar, pizzeria, osteria, and hosts tastings and events throughout the year.  There were ten of us in the class, all in groups of two.  Each station had two burners, an oven, workspace and sink.  White wine and water was available throughout duration of the class.

For the first two sauces, the chef deomonstrated how each sauce was made, talked a little about its history and walked us through how we were to make it ourselves, which we did right afterward. For the Genovese Sauce that takes at least 8 hours to prepare, the chefs had already started it and it was simmering on the stove, long before the class started.  Whenever an up-close look at something was important, he invited us up to his station.  Whenever we needed a little extra help, one of the assistants was happy to help and answer questions. 

 

 

 Two of our chef's assistants

 

THE SAUCES -

 

Aglio, Olio & Peperoncino:  Garlic, olive oil & chile peppers, this dish is so easy, it's said even every Italian man knows how to make it.  Its origins are actually traced to Abruzzo, near Rome, but it is a staple of Southern Italian home cooking, and the base for many Neapolitan sauces, like the Pizzaiola. 

Basically you infuse garlic flavor into the sauce, or olive oil, by throwing whole cloves of garlic, skin still on, into olive oil & heat it slowly until the garlic turns golden. Then you let the garlic sit in the oil, all day if you'd like, as it cools.  Add broken dried chile peppers, the amount of which equal to your heat liking/tolerance, and then toss in the pasta.  If you would like to leave the garlic in the dish, remove the germ in the center and gently slice it.  (NOTE:  Breaking up the garlic by smashing it with the flat of your chef's knife causes looks from both your classmates and the chefs like you were some alien from another planet.)  I now flavor almost all my olive oil for pasta by heating 3 or 4 cloves of garlic in the olive oil & leaving it until I'm ready to use it. It gives the oil and the pasta a subtle taste of garlic.

 

 

Lightly Dressed Mafaldine and Veal Chop with Pizzaiola Sauce

 

Pizzaiola Sauce:  The pizza maker's sauce is another simple, 5 ingredient sauce, that should be tasted with the proper Vesuvian tomatoes.  As the chef went on about the importance of using the pomodorini del piennolo di Vesuvius, I began to wish California had its own active vulcano.  From the same soil that produces the beautiful San Marzano tomatoes, come these.  These pomodorini (little tomatoes), are much sweeter, less acidic, and have more pulp than other tomatoes. Cultivated in July and August, they can be conserved until January by dangling them on a rounded strap that hangs from a wall, where they get the name piennolo.  Chef also pointed out that you know the pomodorini are from the area around Mt. Vesuvius because of the tomato's point at the end.  No point at the end, means their not Vesuvian.

For the rest of us, whose tomatoes don't grow in the sulphur and mineral rich soil from vulcano lava, tasting the tomatoes and sauces made with Vesuvian tomatoes while in Naples is a must.  Besides on pasta, you'll find this sauce dresses various meat and fish dishes throughout Napoli and the Campania region.

We made Pizzaiola sauce by dropping the little tomatoes in boiling water for a short amout of time, removing them, squishing them by hand, and running them through a food mill. We saved a few of the squished tomatoes to add to the finished dish.  We added the tomato sauce to the already simmering aglio, olio & origano (oregano), added salt and dressed both a veal chop and some mafaldine pasta with the dish.

 

 

Paccheri with Genovese Sauce

 

La Genovese:  Some call it the "king" (or should it be the "queen") of Neapolitan cuisine .  How does a sauce that is one of the quintessential sauces of the Naples kitchen get the name from a city in Northern Italy?  Of course, there are varying legends on the origins of the name. One being that the Genovese who owned taverns along the Port of Naples in the 1400s made this sauce.  Whatever the case, it's a fabulous dish from Naples that came about even before the arrival of the tomato. 

Initially, the meat in the sauce was removed after cooking and served as the second course.  Now, and especially in restaurants, the oh so tender pieces of meat dress the pasta along with the dense sauce.  It's a transformation of  a whole lot of onions, aromatics, some meat, bones & pork rind into a rich and flavorful sauce.  By low and slow cooking, the onions dissolve, the tough meat becomes "falling off the bone" tender, and the sauce changes to an amber color.  Like anything that's cooked with patience and passion, the sauce is outstanding.  Savory, meaty (even when the meat is taken out), and hints of sweetness from the dissolved onions, it is as intense as the Neapolitans are.

 

 

La Genovese - At the beginning of cooking time and at the end of it

 

The Meat for the Sauce - Before cooking and after it's cooked

 

Bonnie told me that she was familiar with a few variations on the recipe, ones that used different parts of meat.  Like most Italian dishes, recipes vary from house to house.  To test my theory, I went into three different macellerie (butchers) while in Naples.  I asked which parts of meat I should buy if I wanted to make La Genovese.  Of course, I had three different answers.

What I liked about the recipe from Citta del Gusto was that they used the pork ribs so the bones added a depth of flavor. The pork rind (cotica) rolls added another level of flavor along with increasing the density and richness of the sauce.  As the chef explained, their version also had more meat to it than was traditionally made during poorer times in the city.

Below is the recipe for La Genovese based on how they made it at Citta del Gusto:

 

 

Pasta alla Genovese
(adapted from the Citta del Gusto recipe)
Serves 10-12 people


100 grams delicate extra virgin olive oil**
1 tablespoon of lard
1 pound of meat shanks, one type or a combination of pork, veal & beef
2-3 pork ribs
1 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 bay leaves
6 pounds of white onions, sliced very thin
120 grams whole milk
1 tablespoon salt, plus more to taste
1 pork rind “involtini” rolls, optional (see below)
Grated pecorino cheese for garnish, plus more for the pork rind rolls
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese for garnish plus more for the pork rind rolls

 

** Chef pointed out that olive oils from Calabria, Puglia and Basilicata were too strong for this dish.

 

Pork Rind Roll (Involtini di cotica di maiale):

1 pork rind
1 clove of garlic, sliced
7-8 leaves of flat parsley
About 1 tablespoon grated pecorino cheese
Salt, enough to cover the pork rind
Freshly ground black pepper, enough to cover the pork rind

To Make the pork rind roll: Stretch out the slab of pork rind. Sprinkle the slab with the garlic, parsley, cheese, salt and pepper. Roll up and tie with twine.


To Make the Sauce:

In a large saucepan heat the oil and lard and brown the meat.  Deglaze with the wine over high heat, scraping any bits from the bottom of the pan.  Lower the heat to medium and add the tomatoe paste and bay leaves. Cook for a few minutes to lightly toast the tomato paste.  Add the onions and the milk. Add the pork rind roll if using.  Stir until everything is mixed together.  Cover with foil and cook on low heat until the onions no longer release any liquid. Lower to a simmer and cook until the mixture becomes a thick sauce and the color becomes amber, 8-10 hours.  Remove the meat and slice/shred.  Add back to the sauce and dress paccheri, ziti or penne pasta.  Garnish with a mix of grated parmigiano and pecorino cheeses.  If you would like to serve the meat as a second course, don’t add it back to the Genovese sauce, and serve after the pasta course.  Buon Appetito!

 

 

 

Along with a take-home packet with the recipes, we received a Citta del Gusto apron.  I thoroughly enjoyed the class and would recommend it to anyone who understands Italian or has a friend that can help you with translations.  Thanks Bonnie for organizing our cooking class and for helping with the translation.  Be sure to check out Bonnie's post of our Neapolitan Sauces Cooking Class, too! She has a great video on pomodorini del piennolo di Vesuvio.

 

 

 

Getting there:

Bonnie and I took a cab.  We picked up a taxi at the taxi stand in Piazza dei Martiri, in the Chiaia district, and it dropped us off right in front of the school.  When class was over Bonnie called for a cab, which dropped us along Via Chiaia.  Going there, the cab cost 15 euros and the return trip was 13 euros.  The cab ride took around 20 minutes each way.  As our class let out about 10:30pm and the streets were empty at the time, I was happy to get door to door service.

With a little extra effort, you can get there by public transportation:  From Naples Stazione Centrale, take the Metro Line 2 and exit at Campi Flegrei.  Near the Metro exit is Piazzale Tecchio.  From there take buses C1 or R7 and exit the bus at via Coroglio. The stop is Citta della Scienza-Fondazione Idis. You can always ask the bus driver to let you know when you arrive at the stop. (Public transportation directions are according to Citta del Gusto.)

 

 

 

Related Posts:

Pizza Lover's Odyssey in Naples

Journey Through the Pastries of Napoli

Dining Around Naples with Napoli Unplugged

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

Torta Caprese - Flourless Chocolate Cake from Capri

Cozze alla Marinara - Neapolitan Style Mussels

Dish from Naples: Pizza Margherita

A Drive Along the Amalfi Coast

Photo Tour of Spaccanapoli and Napoli's Historic Center

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

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

Best Places to Kiss in Italy

Gnocchi alla Sorrentina (Guest Post for Napoli Unplugged)

Dining Around Naples with Napoli Unplugged

 

 

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

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

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

 

 
Naples Coastline along Via Partenope

 

 
Fountain at Piazza Trento e Trieste

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

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

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

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

 

 
Melanzane alla Parmigiana (Eggplant Parmigiana)

 

 
Neapolitan Lasagne

 

 
Pizza Margherita

 
Ricotta e Pera

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 
Zucchini alla Parmigiana

 

 
Spaghetti con le Vongole (spaghetti and clams)

 

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

 

 

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

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

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

 

 
Fritti Napoletani

 

 
Spaghetti con le Cozze (Spaghetti with Mussels)

 

 
Bonnie's Mixed Grilled Fish

 

 
Pastiera (Neapolitan Easter Dessert)

 

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

 

 

Restaurant Information:

Umberto Ristorante & Pizzeria - Via Alabardieri 30/31

Osteria Don Maccarone - Via Gradoni Di Chiaia 12

Antica Latteria - Vico Alabardieri 30 

 

 

Related Posts:

Journey through the Pastries of Napoli

Pizza Lover's Odyssey in Naples Italy

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

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

Torta Caprese - Flourless Chocolate Cake from Capri

Cozze alla Marinara - Neapolitan-Style Mussels

Photo Tour of Spaccanapoli and Napoli's Historic Center

Gnocchi alla Sorrentina (my guest post for Napoli Unplugged)

A Drive Along the Amalfi Coast

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

 

Journey through the Pastries of Napoli

  

 

My trip to Naples wasn't only about the pizza.  With delicious food that ranges from fried treats to decadent desserts, the food of Naples can satisfy any food lover.  This trip I wanted to be sure and sample as much of it as possible.  Before delving into a few Neapolitan sauces I learned to make or my adventures in Neapolitan dining with Napoli Unplugged, let's start with my favorite course: the desserts.

On my first day in the city, I got a rather impromptu pastry lesson on the streets of Naples.  I was patiently waiting for the walk sign before crossing the street.  While waiting and holding my first Neapolitan pastry (of this trip) carefully in front of me, I saw two guys cross the street, AGAINST the light!  I laughed at myself while watching them, realizing I'd be much safer crossing when there were no cars then waiting for a light to give me a false sense of security. 

One of the guys mistook my laughing and smile as flirtation, and stopped to talk.  First question, "Di dove sei?" (Where are you from?).  I'm not sure which made me more foreign, my red hair and pale skin or the fact that I was actually waiting for a traffic light before walking.  After I answered, California.  He called out to his friend, "Ay, Oh, lei e Amerigahna!" 

His Neapolitan accent, pronouncing "Americana" with the hard g and the "Ay" and "Oh" to get his friend's attention, made me laugh even more.  This, of course, only encouraged them.  I continued to chat for a while, mainly because I love to hear the Neapolitan accent, in Italian. (Neapolitan dialect is different and a language where I am completely lost and unable to understand even one word.)

While talking we got on the subject of pastries. They peeked into my bag and proceeded to school me on the make up of Zeppole di San Giuseppe, which is what I had in my hand.  While they might have been the most unlikely source of information, what they said was similar to the information those in the pastry shops gave me. Besides, they were a fun intro to my pastry-eating adventures in Napoli.

 

  

 

 

 

Below are photos and descriptions of my journey through the pastries of Napoli:

 

 

 
 

Sfogliatelle (Riccia) - To thoroughly appreciate this pastry, you need to eat it right out of the oven while it's still warm.  (Like Parisian croissants and other viennoiserie, sfogliatella loses its deliciousness after a few hours.) The crust is crunchy and flaky and the filling creamy and not overly sweet.  The crust is a sort of puff pastry, where thin layers of pastry are rolled into a cylinder.  Between each layer of pastry is a thin layer of lard.  The pastry is formed into its famous clam-like shell and filled with a custard-like mixture of semolina, ricotta, eggs, sugar, candied citrus and a pinch of cinnamon.   

 

 

 

Sfogliatelle Frolla - The sister to the riccia (curly), the frolla uses pasta frolla (shortbread crust) instead of the flaky sfoglia crust.  The filling is the same; a mixture of semolina, ricotta, eggs, sugar, candied citrus and cinnamon.

 

 

 

 

 

Baba au Rhum - A yeast-levened cake soaked in a rum simple syrup, these and the sfogliatelle are the sweet symbols of Napoli.  You can find baba (bah-BAH) plain, like the one above, or filled with fruit and sweetened whipped cream, Nutella, pastry cream, and even ricotta cream. I prefer the ones filled to offset the rum in the syrup.

 

 

 
 Zeppole di San Giuseppe fried (at left) and baked (at right) 

Zeppole di San Giuseppe - These pastries are in abundance in pastry shops all over the city during the days surrounding il giorno di San Giuseppe (St. Joseph's Day), March 19th.  It's a choux paste piped in a ring shape.  The paste/dough is either fried or baked, and then filled with a lemon pastry cream and topped with macerated Amarena cherries.   

As I stated, they come in two forms, fried and baked. At the first pastry shop I asked the clerk which was better.  I got a look from him that said, "It's obvious, Amerigana" as he told me, "I fritti."  At the second pastry shop, when I specifically asked for the one "al forno," I again got a look from the clerk, letting me know that I obviously chose the wrong one. I had to try both, and both were quite good.  Yes, the fried one is better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Torta Caprese - This is a flourless chocolate cake from the Isle of Capri. There are many versions depending on how fine you chop the almonds. I prefer that the almonds are finely chopped, creating a denser and moister cake.  At Pasticceria Scaturchio they used more coarsely chopped almonds, but the cake was still quite moist due to a bit of liqueur included in the recipe.   

 

 

 

Torta Caprese al Limone - This is the lemon version to the chocolate cake from Capri.  White chocolate and lemon, lemon rind, and limoncello replace the dark chocolate and cocoa powder to give you a dense cake full of lemon flavor.  Also flourless, this cake uses ground almonds.  Like the chocolate version, much of the texture depends on how finely you chop the almonds.

 

 

 

Delizia al Limone - As its name says, it's a lemon delight.  Lemon sponge cake imbibed with a limoncello spiked simple syrup, filled with lemon pastry cream and iced with lemon flavored whipped cream.  If you love the lemons, especially the lemons from the Amalfi coast, this is your dessert.

 

 

 
Ricotta e Pera with Pan di Spagna (sponge cake)

 

 
Ricotta e Pera with Biscotti (hazelnut cookies)

 

Ricotta e Pera - Ricotta cream and whipped cream together with poached pears are sandwiched between a hazelnut biscotti, and sometimes two layers of sponge cake.  I found that restaurants usually serve this dessert with the sponge cake, probably to make it easier to eat.  Pastry shops usually serve it with the biscotti.  While the crunchy biscotti pushes out the soft center when you're eating it, causing a bit of mess when eating, I still prefer it for the contrast in textures.

 

 

 

Pastiera - "Non puo mancare sulla tavola di Pasqua" (It can't be missing on the Easter table) - This is the saying I saw and heard whenever the subject of Pastiera came up.  Because I was in Naples during the "Easter season" (which seems to start immediately after Carnevale), I sampled several.  It was in every pastry shop and on every restaurant menu while I was there in March. 

The crust is a pasta frolla, traditionally made with lard (strutto) instead of butter.  The filling is a ricotta cream and egg mixture that is lightly flavored with rose flower water an studded with cooked hulled wheatberries (grano precotto) and sometimes candied citrus fruit.  (I thought the candied citrus fruit was a must, but a Neapolitan restauranteur told me they are optional - and even made a special Pastiera without the candied citrus for me).  

  

 

Scaturchio's - Napoli's oldest pasticceria 

 

The chocolate disk in the top photo isn't a pastry you'll find throughout Naples, but it is the specialty of Scaturchio's.  It's their Ministeriale, a chocolate medallion filled with a chocolate and liqueur cream.  It was very good and very rich, with a potent punch of liqueur.  I may have been a little drunk after eating it.

 

 
Scaturchio's Ministeriale - Chocolate Medallion

 

 

 
 Pastries from the Gran Caffe Cimmino

 

Most of the pastries in these photos came from Scaturchio's (the oldest pastry shop in Naples) or the Gran Caffe Cimmino.   

Scaturchio - Piazza San Domenico Maggiore, 19 

Gran Caffe Cimmino - via Gaetano Filangeri, 12 

 

 

This post is part of Wanderfood Wednesdays - To see what other travelling foodies are eating, head on over to the Wanderfood Wednesdays site!  

 

Related Posts:

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

Pizza Lover's Odyssey in Naples Italy

Torta Caprese - Recipe for the flourless chocolate cake from Capri

Pasta alla Genovese and Other Neapolitan Sauces at Citta del Gusto

The Pastries of Lecce with Pastry Chef Luca Capilungo

Photo Tour of Spaccanapoli and Napoli's Historic Center

Dining Around Naples with Napoli Unplugged

Italy in Chocolate at Turin's CioccolaTo Festival

French Pastries and 10 Top Patisseries in Paris

Journey through the Pastries of Paris (Part 1)

Journey through the Pastries of Paris (Part 2)

Chiacchiere for Carnevale (my post on Napoli Unplugged)

Gnocchi alla Sorrentina (my post on Napoli Unplugged)

 

 

Pizza Lover's Odyssey in Naples, Italy

 
 
 

Five days in Napoli and five pizze Napoletane. There are many reasons why I love Naples - the people, the chaos, the pastries, and yes, the food.  Especially the pizza.  This trip I dedicated part of each day to pizza.  Yes, each day I ate a pizza, a classic margherita or Margherita D.O.C. at five different pizzerie in Naples, my own little pizza lover's odyssey.  

All five of these pizzerie make a VPN pizza (Verace Pizza Napoletana) and must follow the VPN pizza-making guidelines laid out by the AVPN (Association of Verace Pizza Napoletana).  Although these pizzerie follow the same guidelines and basically use the same ingredients, the pizza varied at each place.  As the people at Starita a Martedei explained to me, it really depends on the pizzaiolo.  It's the skill and knowledge of this artisan pizzamaker, to first create a dough and then stretch it into the base of the pizza, that determines the characteristics of his pizza.

Those pizzaioli that follow the guidelines set forth by the AVPN and have passed the association's pizzaiolo test, can display the sign of a Verace Pizza Napoletana, one that has Pulcinella as pizzamaker on it.

 

 

 

VPN guidelines: The guidelines cover more than just the ingredients.  There are rules about oven temperature (surface temperature must be 905 F), how long the pizza should cook (60-90 seconds) and even what type of pizza peel can be used.  Many might find this tedious, but I see it as a love and dedication these artisans have for what they do.  Below are some details on making the dough and making one of the classics - the pizza Margherita. 

 

The dough - For the VPN dough, there are four ingredients: water, salt, yeast, flour (type "00" and up to 20% may be type "0").  I'm a little confused about a 5th ingredient because the guidelines state that "all types of fat must be excluded from the dough;" however, it is widely accepted and admitted that lard is a key ingredient in the dough.  The VPN also gives suggestions for quantities to be used for each ingredient, but each pizzaiolo can and does determine his unique recipe. 

The dough must go through two rising stages, the first lasting 2 hours.  The second happens after the dough has been formed into balls (called panetti) of 250 grams each, and the rising period must be between 4 to 6 hours in a temperature of 25 C.  Then the dough can be used to make the pizza "base," and must be used within the next 6 hours. 

 

Pizza Margherita - A classic Neapolitan pizza, this pizza with the tricolore of the Italian flag was made in 1889 to honor Queen Margherita, who was visiting Naples.  A classic Margherita has sauce from San Marzano tomatoes, fior di latte (cow's milk "mozzarella" cheese), olive oil, sea salt, and fresh basil.  There are also guidelines as to the amounts of each ingredient and how it is applied to the pizza "base" (the dough). 

Usually each pizzeria has another version of the classic, which they call a D.O.C., where they use mozzarella di bufala (Buffalo milk mozzarella) and fresh tomatoes instead of sauce.  I actually prefer this version because I think the sauce can tend to make the pizza too wet.

 

 

 

 

Here are the pizze from my pizza lover's odyssey in Naples.  I've listed them in order of my preference.

 

 

 

Pizzeria Starita a Martedei  (via Martedei 27/28)

This pizzeria, first famous for being the pizzeria in the 1954 movie "L'oro di Napoli" starring Sophie Loren as a pizzaiolo at Starita, now makes one of the best pizze in Napoli.  The D.O.C. (pronounced "dock") at Starita was pure magic for me.  The crust might be a little thicker than those at Da Michele and Sorbillo, but much of it is from its bubbling up while in the oven.  It was really quite light in texture and "elastic" accordig to VPN regulations, or as I would say, nice and chewy.  I also tried a few of their fried treats, the zucchini flowers and crocche (pototoes with cheese), which were also delicious. 

 

 

 
Pizza D.O.C. from Starita 

 

 

 

 

 

Gino Sorbillo  (via Tribunali, 32)

 

I arrived in Naples on a sunny Saturday afternoon, and headed straight for Sorbillo, located on via Tribunali (also known as Spaccanapoli) in the Centro Storico.  I hadn't realized that Saturday afternoon's, especially sunny ones in March, meant it was pizza time in Napoli.  Many small groups, chatting in Neapolitan dialect, packed themselves around the entrance waiting for their name to be called.  After almost an hour, it was my turn to be called to an available table. 

I ordered the traditional pizza margherita, and it arrived at my table hot from the oven, evidenced by the smoke rising from the pizza, with scents of tomatoes and basil filling the air.  A VPN crust that was chewy around the border and paper thin in the center, the pizza hung over the plate.  This pizza had the thinnest crust of all the pizzerie in Naples that I have tried.  The amount of cheese on the pizza was perfect. The sauce was rich in flavor, although I would have preferred a little less to balance the cheese/sauce ratio.  Here I wish I had had an eating partner or an extra day to try another version, possibly their D.O.C. version. 

(Note: There is another "Sorbillo" on via Tribunali, so if you're wanting to go to Gino Sorbillo's pizzeria, make sure you go to 32 via Tribunali.)

 

 

 

 
Pizza Margherita from Sorbillo

 

 

 

Here you can watch a video of pizzaiolo Gino Sorbillo at work. How quickly and easily he stretches the dough amazes me each time I watch it.

 

Pizzeria Trianon da Ciro  (via Colletta Pietro 46)

 

Like my first kiss, I will always remember eating my first Neapolitan pizza.  The Margherita D.O.C. from Trianon da Ciro and the pizzeria will always hold a special place in my heart. 

This time I tried the classic pizza Margherita, with tomato sauce and fior di latte.  I think it might have been an off day (or the humidity from that day's rain messed with the dough), but this time the dough wasn't as light and bubbly as I've had during my previous times eating there.  I definitely prefer their D.O.C. version over the classic Margherita.

 

  

 

Pizza Margherita from Trianon da Ciro

 

 

Pizza Margherita D.O.C.

 

 

Working the oven at Trianon da Ciro

  

 

 
Pizzaiolo and Fornaiolo (and me) at Trianon da Ciro

 

 

 

 

 

L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele (via Cesare Sersale, 1)

As one Napoletano pointed out, this pizzeria is one of the oldest and is the most noted of all pizzerie in Napoli (possibly even before the film "Eat Pray Love" came out).  They make only two kinds of pizza, Margherita and Marinara.

I had the Margherita.  The dough at da Michele left me wanting a little more crunch and flavor when I compare it to the others.  The photo below is of the classic Margherita, but you can order the Margherita with "doppio" double cheese.  As you may have realized, I like my cheese to sauce ratio to be about equal, so I would definitely suggest getting the doppio here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Umberto Ristorante & Pizzeria - via Albardieri 31

 

Umberto is a restaurant that also serves VPN pizza.  It's located in the Chiaia district, right off of via Chiaia.  For me, this pizza resembled an American version of pizza more than the Neapolitan one.  The crust was the thickest and had a much crunchier shell than the others.  There was also much more sauce than cheese.  This pizza also looks too perfect and round.  One sign of a true Neapolitan pizza is that it is more oblong than round, it has black char marks, and the more bubbles in the pizza means the dough/crust will be lighter and more chewy. 

 

 

Pizza Margherita from Umberto

 

 

 

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A Drive along the Amalfi Coast

 

 

Torta Caprese - Flourless Chocolate Cake from Capri

 

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All over the Isle of Capri and along the Amalfi coast, I kept seeing these deep dark chocolate cakes.  More tempting than any siren, they called my name whenever I'd peep into pastry windows.  Being the devout chocoholic that I am, I had to have a sample, or two.  Like so many of the desserts of the Campania region, these are topped with a dusting of powdered sugar, just enough to brand my shirt or lap; the white insignia branding me a pastry lover.

 

 

Doing some research into the making of this cake and its history, I found that there are three different stories about how the Torta Caprese was invented. Two common threads of all the stories are that it was invented on the Isle of Capri, and the cake was an accident.  A women making the cake for American gangsters forgot to add flour, or a sous pastry chef working on no sleep mistook flour for cocoa powder.  The last of the legends has a baker completely messing up the recipe and adding the almonds instead of flour.  Whatever mistake was made to create it, we should all be glad it happened.   Almond flavor blends with the chocolate. It's dense, decadent and delicious. 

Restaurants serve it with a scoop of vanilla gelato, pastry shops serve it in a variety of ways.  The richest way I found was with a layer of ganache on top, then a sprinkling of the requisite powdered sugar.  Of my 15 favorite foods in Napoli (The plan is to recreate each one and share here on the blog.), this is one is by far the easiest to make, and it's also gluten-free.  I hope you make it and let me know what you think.

 

 

 

 

Torta Caprese
(makes one 9-inch cake)

9 ounces (255 g) good quality dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1 cup (225 g) butter
¼ cup (25 g) cocoa powder
1 tablespoon almond extract
1 ¼ cup (250 g) granulated sugar
1 ½ cups ground blanched and toasted almonds
6 eggs, room temperature

Preheat an oven to 310°F and line the bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan with parchment paper.

Slowly melt the chocolate and butter over a double-boiler.  In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk together the melted chocolate mixture, the cocoa powder, almond extract and sugar until combined.  Add the ground almonds and whisk until combined.  Add the eggs one at a time, adding each egg after the first has been incorporated into the mixture.  Pour the mixture into the spring form pan.  Make sure the mixture is level and smooth on top.  Bake for 50-60 minutes.  Cool and serve with chocolate spirals or shavings and powdered sugar.  Serve with gelato or whipped cream. Buon Appetito!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

The cuisine of Naples has a variety of dishes for any food lover.  With flavors from the sea, and ingredients enhanced from the sun and soil.  There's something for every taste; seafood, slow-cooked, succulent, sweet, simple, fussed-over, fried, and of course, pizza for the pizza lover.  Narrowing down 10 favorites and only 5 desserts was harder than I thought.  In fact, I would say the food of Naples and the Campania region rivals Sicily and Rome for the top regional food of Italy. 

The stars that make up these dishes are the San Marzano tomatoes, frutti di mare, mozzarella di bufala, basil, and lemons. There are many other ingredients that play strong supporting roles including, eggplant, olives from Gaeta, walnuts, and salami. Some of the best of these dishes are found in the homes of the Napolitani where nonna and mamma make the family recipe that is decades, if not centuries, old (each family having their own version of the dish).  In some cases in Naples, mamma's cooking is so good that criminals on the run, can't even stay away.

My choice for the top 15 dishes not to miss when visiting Naples, and if you can find a nonna Napolitana to cook any of them for you, all the better:

 

Mozzarella in Carrozza - (Fried Mozzarella in a “carriage”) Instead of a grilled cheese sandwich, think fried cheese sandwich, and gooey goodness.  Originally, they made this from “left over” mozzarella.  The “carriage” is the bread, two slices cut into triangular shapes, encasing the mozzarella and keeping it together as it fries.

Crocchè di Patate -  (Fried potatoes, and oh so much more) Pronounced like the game, croquet, these are mashed potatoes with herbs, cheese, and sometimes salami mixed in. They are lightly coated in breadcrumbs and fried. You may never want a French fry again. Find them throughout the city at friggitorie (fry shops), especially in the centro storico (historic center).

Parmigiana di Melenzane  - (Eggplant Parmigiano) All the flavors of the region layered one upon the other; fried eggplant, tomato sauce, mozzarella, Parmesan and basil.  The dish has spread throughout Italy and the world, but you should try it here where it started and where the ingredients are some of the best.

Pasta e Fagioli - More from cucina povera. Two items that can stretch a dish to feed more on less, beans and pasta, combine to make one of the most famous dishes of Naples.  They even made a song about it.  This dish, made well, that's amore.

Pasta from Gragnano and Ragu - A four-hour ragu of meats (depending on who's cooking it--this could be beef, pork, veal, and maybe even some offal) and dried pasta from Gragnano, the town near Naples famous for its dried pasta.  My mom, not Napolitana but Siciliana, made ragu for us once a week, so for me, this dish is love.

Gnocchi alla Sorrentina - One of my favorite dishes in all of Italy.  Gnocchi made in the Sorrento style, are fluffy potato "knuckles" that float in a sweet tomato sauce with melted mozzarella all around. 

Ravioli Capresi - Everyone has heard of a Caprese salad, but these ravioli, just as popular in the area, are hard to find outside of the region.  The filling is cacciotta caprese (a soft cheese from Capri), parmigiano and an egg to bind it.  The sauce is a simple tomato one.  Basil and more parmesan finish the dish.

Cozze -  Mussels are a must when visiting Naples.  I like them alla marinara, cooked in a tomato sauce spiced up a bit with chile peppers (pepperoncini) and parsley and served on toasted bread to absorb all the juices.  Impepata di Cozze (mussels cooked in their own juices with black pepper) is also a good choice. 

Polpette - Meatballs are a Neapolitan specialty, but they are not served on top of spaghetti.  They are served as a secondo (second/main course) with tomato sauce, and, even better if you try them fried.

Pizza - Although pizza isn't the only great food in Naples, it's definitely a must eat while there.  In the centro storico you can find all the "best pizzerie in Naples," along with the famous Da Michele and, my favorite Trianon di Ciro. 

 

Now for i dolci (the sweets).  These are five of my favorite "everyday" pastries from Naples and the surrounding area. These, except the Torta Caprese, aren't the simplest to replicate at home, as they are pretty labor intensive. Just another reason they should be sampled again and again while you're in Naples.  There are also delicious holiday pastries, but I'll save those for another post.

Il Baba - Roots in Poland and named after Ali Baba, this dessert is somehow more Neapolitan; these little cakes are everywhere in the city.  The original is soaked in a rum- or limoncello-based syrup, but you can also find them sliced and filled with pastry cream, ricotta cream, cream chantilly and fruit, lemon cream or Nutella.

Sfogliatelle - The clam shaped flaky pastries filled with ricotta cream, and topped with powdered sugar.  Between the flakes of pastry and the sugar, don't plan on staying clean while you eat it.  A lot of work, and strutto, is involved in making this pastry. Sample, sample, and sample some more while you're there.

Delizie al Limone (Delicious Lemon) Its name says it all.  Delicious lemon flavors are in every part of this dessert.  Pan di Spagna soaked with lemon or limoncello simple syrup, lemon pastry cream is the filling, and it’s iced with a lemon infused whipped cream.  Pasticcierie (pastry shops) along the Amalfi Coast sell them in individual-sized domes.

Torta Ricotta e Pera - Also from the Amalfi coast, ricotta cream with bites of poached pears is sandwiched between two layers of almond and hazelnut biscotti.  Dusted with powdered sugar to ensure you make a big mess of yourself when biting through the hard cookie to get to the sweet and creamy center.  Like sfogliatella, it's worth the mess.

Torta Caprese - This is a dark chocolate, flourless cake.  It’s rich, dense and has a slight almond flavoring from the chopped almonds in the cake.  Always topped with powdered sugar, some pasticcerie also add chards of chocolate or a layer of rich ganache for a truly decadent dessert.

Here you have Reason #1 for visting Naples - the food.  In case you need another...Reason #2 - the people of Napoli - is my next post.

 

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What's your favorite Neapolitan Food? I know I haven't listed them all; what would you add to the list?

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Related Posts:

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