Today was a fruit & veggie day. After all the sampling & trials for the asparagus pasta, I was ready to detox.
Breakfast was 1 banana, 1 organic grapefruit and one organic apple sliced and shopped into a refreshing fruit salad for 1.9$
For lunch I had a big serving of the freshly picked, local & organic arugula salad, tossed with a little of Guido’s Balsamic for 1.5$
Dinner was a mistake. Or not. Better: it was a temptation I could not resist. I had seen a very delicious recipe on the fabulous blog “Lucullian Delights” (see in navigation: Other blogs I like) for potato bread with chives. Turns out I had a bunch of local, organic chives in my fridge, which came in my weekly produce box. Plus, some old organic local yams – testimonies of a winter that finally passed (although Michigan did have frost last week, which unfortunately destroyed some of the fruit already blossoming). So, I was wondering, could potatoes be substituted with yams? How about the starch content? Was it similar? I decided to take the risk, using the Lucullian Delights recipe, adding another cup of organic whole wheat flour and more chives. What can I say. It was delicious. And so was dinner: I almost ate 1 quarter of my bread, slathered with butter. And just to be precise: we are not talking about a small loaf of bunny bread, but a large wheel! The taste of the chives mingled with the slight sweetness the yams brought to the bread. And the dough was perfect. Fluffy, moist – soooo yummy. Baking bread yourself is really not that difficult. The two important things to have are: a) patience – you need to give the dough time to rise. I had it sitting for five hours before baking it; b) make sure you have an oven thermometer, so you can finetune the temperature. The exact temperature is very important for bread baking! So, now how much did this dinner cost me? 1.49$ for organic dry yeast, 1.8$ organic flour, 1.2$ for Cosimo’s EVOO, 0.2$ organic raw cane sugar, 0.6$ for the yams, 0.4$ organic Castle Rock milk, 0.3$ chives = 5.99 for the bread overall. Let me have eaten 1.50$ of it with 0.4$ of butter = 1.90$ and a lot of happiness for dinner.
Total food cost for today: 5.30$
Showing posts with label Recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recipes. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Friday, April 30, 2010
RUNNY EGG YOLK ASPARAGUS RAVIOLI
Now that asparagus has even hit the farmstands in the Midwest, how about a scrumptious celebration of Spring, with some easy to prepare home-made ravioli.
No need to be afraid of the term “home-made pasta” – it is much less difficult that it sounds and you do not need a pasta machine either. Just some elbow grease to roll out that dough!
The following recipe is the result of several trials (varying the preparation if the asparagus for the best asparagus taste!), which I photographed step by step for easier instructions. Of course, this final version saw the camera break down. So, you have to imagine the pictures! But I figured I better share the recipe now, than wait for my new camera to come around! You wanna enjoy that asparagus ravioli while you can!
Why this one is called runny egg yolk ravioli, well, that is the beauty of this dish: you form a crater of your filling (in our case ricotta and asparagus) on a sheet of pasta dough, and nestle an egg yolk inside. As the fresh pasta cooks really quick (about three minutes), your ravioli will contain a warmed, but still runny egg yolk, perfecting the taste of the asparagus!
For the pasta dough (makes ca. six –eight large ravioli)
1.5 cups pastry flour
2 eggs
2 tbsp. Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil (from The Scrumptious Pantry)
Method: (forgive me that I believe in working dough with your hands will get better results!) 1.) Mount the flour on an even surface, forming a crater inside, 2.) Whisk the two eggs and 1 tbsp. of Cosimo’s EVOO, 3.) Put liquid in the crater and start mixing in the flour using a fork, 4.) Knead the dough for about five minutes, adding some more EVOO if necessary. 5.) Set aside to rest in refrigerator
For the filling
1 bunch green asparagus (ca. 15 stalks)
1 cup fresh ricotta (if you can get sheep ricotta that is grand, but cow’s milk works just as well!)
2 tsp. of Roberta’s Herbed All-Purpose Salt (from The Scrumptious Pantry)
2 tbsp. of Cosimo’s EVOO (from The Scrumptious Pantry)
six egg yolks
four egg whites
1 tbsp. of Guido’s Balsamic Dressing Sauce (from The Scrumptious Pantry)
Method:
1.) Cook asparagus in boiling water until tender. Do not throw out the water afterwards – you want to cook the ravioli in it! 2) Mix ricotta, asparagus, herbed salt and EVOO quickly in a food processor. 3) Separate the eggs, as you want four of the whites to go into your filling! “park” the yolks separately in espresso cups. 4) Beat egg white till stiff and slowly mix with ricotta filling. 5) Add in a tablespoon of Guido’s Balsamic for little more complexity.
At this point you are ready to roll – literally. Roll out the dough thinly and cut into pasta sheets 4 inches high and 8 inches wide (you are gonna flip them over!). You should have somewhere between 6 and eight pasta sheets. I personally prefer smaller ravioli over lager ones, but feel free to make them in any size you want. Just be reminded that the size of the ravioli will increase in the pot – fresh pasta dough does that.
Put two tablespoons of the filling onto each sheet, forming a crater in the middle. Put egg yolk into crater. Flip over pasta sheet and firmly press edges together (attention! It is not a Danish Pastry, you do not want thick sides!).
Gently place in the boiling water and let cook for about two to three minutes. Serve with a drizzle of Cosimo’s EVVO and a sprinkle of freshly ground pepper.
Enjoy spring!
Monday, March 29, 2010
The traditional Easter Feast: Spring Lamb
The traditional Easter dinner in the United States typically revolves around ham, in European it is typically lamb. Spring being a moment in which everyone celebrates the new cycle of nature lamb became the classic Easter meal to celebrate the beginning of spring and the new life (before intensive animal farming, lambs were born in autumn and ready to market in the spring). Plus, the lamb has become a symbol of innocence and has special connotation at the Easter dinner table.
I hope you enjoy this recipe using our Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Roasting&Grilling Salt for a Mediterranean flair!
Spring Lamb with fresh Asparagus
Leg of Lamb
Ingredients
1 (5 pound) leg of lamb
3 cloves garlic, cut into slivers
3 tablespoon Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil (from The Scrumptious Pantry)
2 tablespoon Roberta’s Roasting & Grilling Salt (from The Scrumptious Pantry)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Method (1) Preheat oven to 325°F. (2) Puncture the leg of lamb with the tip of a knife just far enough to insert slivers of garlic into the holes. (3) Gently massage 2 tablespoons of olive oil onto meat. (4) Rub salt over the leg of lamb. (5) Place the lamb, fatty side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. (6) Roast uncovered for 2 to 2 1/2 hours in the preheated oven, to an internal temperature of 155°F for medium. (7) Tent with aluminum foil and let stand for 15 to 20 minutes before carving. The lamb will continue to cook a little bit, and the juices will set up better for carving.
To carve the leg of lamb, for stability, (1) place the roast on its side on the cutting board with the shank bone facing away from you. Cut two or three lengthwise slices from the section of the meat facing you. This will allow the meat to sit flat on the cutting board. (2) Turn the roast up so that it sits on the cut area. Hold the roast steady with a long-handled meat fork inserted into the meat opposite the shank bone. Holding the knife perpendicular to the cutting board and starting by the shank bone, cut across the grain into uniform, thin slices. Cut the slices between 1/4- to 1/2-inches thick. (3) When you reach the bone, release the slices by cutting under them along the leg bone. Place slices on a warmed serving platter. (4) Drizzle the lamb with Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Serve immediately.
Asparagus
Ingredients
1½ pounds fresh green asparagus
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil (from The Scrumptious Pantry)
Method (1) Fill a large stock pot with cold water, bring to a rolling boil and add one teaspoon of kosher salt. (2) Wash asparagus to remove any dirt and trim ends. (3) Add asparagus to boiling water and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until tender. (4) Drain and place on warm serving platter, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Serve immediately.
Enjoy a lovely meal with family & friends!
I hope you enjoy this recipe using our Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Roasting&Grilling Salt for a Mediterranean flair!
Spring Lamb with fresh Asparagus
Leg of Lamb
Ingredients
1 (5 pound) leg of lamb
3 cloves garlic, cut into slivers
3 tablespoon Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil (from The Scrumptious Pantry)
2 tablespoon Roberta’s Roasting & Grilling Salt (from The Scrumptious Pantry)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Method (1) Preheat oven to 325°F. (2) Puncture the leg of lamb with the tip of a knife just far enough to insert slivers of garlic into the holes. (3) Gently massage 2 tablespoons of olive oil onto meat. (4) Rub salt over the leg of lamb. (5) Place the lamb, fatty side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. (6) Roast uncovered for 2 to 2 1/2 hours in the preheated oven, to an internal temperature of 155°F for medium. (7) Tent with aluminum foil and let stand for 15 to 20 minutes before carving. The lamb will continue to cook a little bit, and the juices will set up better for carving.
To carve the leg of lamb, for stability, (1) place the roast on its side on the cutting board with the shank bone facing away from you. Cut two or three lengthwise slices from the section of the meat facing you. This will allow the meat to sit flat on the cutting board. (2) Turn the roast up so that it sits on the cut area. Hold the roast steady with a long-handled meat fork inserted into the meat opposite the shank bone. Holding the knife perpendicular to the cutting board and starting by the shank bone, cut across the grain into uniform, thin slices. Cut the slices between 1/4- to 1/2-inches thick. (3) When you reach the bone, release the slices by cutting under them along the leg bone. Place slices on a warmed serving platter. (4) Drizzle the lamb with Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Serve immediately.
Asparagus
Ingredients
1½ pounds fresh green asparagus
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil (from The Scrumptious Pantry)
Method (1) Fill a large stock pot with cold water, bring to a rolling boil and add one teaspoon of kosher salt. (2) Wash asparagus to remove any dirt and trim ends. (3) Add asparagus to boiling water and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until tender. (4) Drain and place on warm serving platter, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Serve immediately.
Enjoy a lovely meal with family & friends!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Day 31 - Value Eating on 02/22/2010
Horrah for another dinner party! What can be better than dinner with friends??
Brunch was the last piece of cake and another cappuccino… 1.55$
Now that the cake is finished, I am looking forward to having something else to start the day with … living alone and hence cooking for one person only (meaning that one cake lasts basically two weeks… yikes…) is really not the biggest driver to spend extended playtime in the kitchen. It is hard to cook from scratch every day, needing a variety of ingredients, spices etc to be able to create different dishes day by day. And when you are living by yourself, it might take a while to finish a 4lb bag of flour. So, to all you none cooks out there, I understand where you are coming from, but I urge you nevertheless to try. The best way is to cook a little more and freeze meal size portions for those crazy days in which you are just too busy to think about cooking or have had no time to do your groceries.
Or: throw a dinner party! It does not have to be a fancy one. Just invite some friends over to share the pleasures of a home cooked meal. Which was what I did today.
Funnily enough, no matter in which country I am, people ask me to cook Sauerkraut.
Now, not that we Germans eat Sauerkraut every day. Very far from it. Rather the opposite, as a good Sauerkraut takes a lot of time to prepare. Truly not an option for a last minute dish. So, here I was again, cooking Sauerkraut (for those interested, recipe below!). Luckily I live in Chicago with an abundance of German heritage food places, so I bought a smoked pork loin, which was totally delicious, at Gene’s on Lincoln Avenue. As a side I prepared bohemian dumplings (which – as one of my guests rightly said- look like breaded baked potatoes: they are fairly long and then served sliced up). For dessert it was Apfelstrudel with Vanilla cream. As always, I had prepared more that was eaten (I wonder, is it me or my dinner guests?), so all food expenses can pretty much be divided by 8 servings:
2 large jars of imported Sauerkraut (5.78$), 1.5 onions (0.75c), potato (0.46c), 1.5 apples (1$), olive oil (25c), Bay leaves (70c). Smoked pork loin (11.71$). For the dumplings: a day old baguette (1$), 2 tbsp butter (60c), 2 eggs (67c), 1 cup whole wheat flour (30c). For the dessert: flour (30c), cooking oil (25c), 4 apples (2$), ¼ cup sugar (40c,) raisins (60c) and almonds (25c). For the vanilla sauce: flour (5c), 2 cups milk (1$), 3 egg yolks (50c), sugar (40c). = 3.30 for entrée’ and dessert! And except for the Sauerkraut, all ingredients were organic or at least artisan prepared (in the case of the pork)
Total Food Cost of Today: 4.85$
For those of you interested in the secret of good sauerkraut:
Ingredients
1 tbsp. of cooking oil
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
1.5 sour apples, peeled and cut into small cubes
2 bay leaves
1 medium size potato, shredded
1 jar of Sauerkraut (fermented white cabbage)
Method:
1) sautee a finely chopped onion, 2) add the apples cut into small cubes, 3) add a couple of bay leaves, 4) add large jar of Sauerkraut (attention: white cabbage will not do, you need Sauerkraut – the fermented fare!), 5) shred one potato into the Sauerkraut. 6) cook over a low flame for at least two hours, the longer the better. All of that best do a day before you are planning to serve your sauerkraut. 7) 20 min before dinner, slowly reheat the sauerkraut with the smoked pork loin nestled in the kraut – that way the sauerkraut will take on some of the meaty flavor.
Best served with dumplings, cause they can nicely absorb the kraut’s liquid.
Brunch was the last piece of cake and another cappuccino… 1.55$
Now that the cake is finished, I am looking forward to having something else to start the day with … living alone and hence cooking for one person only (meaning that one cake lasts basically two weeks… yikes…) is really not the biggest driver to spend extended playtime in the kitchen. It is hard to cook from scratch every day, needing a variety of ingredients, spices etc to be able to create different dishes day by day. And when you are living by yourself, it might take a while to finish a 4lb bag of flour. So, to all you none cooks out there, I understand where you are coming from, but I urge you nevertheless to try. The best way is to cook a little more and freeze meal size portions for those crazy days in which you are just too busy to think about cooking or have had no time to do your groceries.
Or: throw a dinner party! It does not have to be a fancy one. Just invite some friends over to share the pleasures of a home cooked meal. Which was what I did today.
Funnily enough, no matter in which country I am, people ask me to cook Sauerkraut.
Now, not that we Germans eat Sauerkraut every day. Very far from it. Rather the opposite, as a good Sauerkraut takes a lot of time to prepare. Truly not an option for a last minute dish. So, here I was again, cooking Sauerkraut (for those interested, recipe below!). Luckily I live in Chicago with an abundance of German heritage food places, so I bought a smoked pork loin, which was totally delicious, at Gene’s on Lincoln Avenue. As a side I prepared bohemian dumplings (which – as one of my guests rightly said- look like breaded baked potatoes: they are fairly long and then served sliced up). For dessert it was Apfelstrudel with Vanilla cream. As always, I had prepared more that was eaten (I wonder, is it me or my dinner guests?), so all food expenses can pretty much be divided by 8 servings:
2 large jars of imported Sauerkraut (5.78$), 1.5 onions (0.75c), potato (0.46c), 1.5 apples (1$), olive oil (25c), Bay leaves (70c). Smoked pork loin (11.71$). For the dumplings: a day old baguette (1$), 2 tbsp butter (60c), 2 eggs (67c), 1 cup whole wheat flour (30c). For the dessert: flour (30c), cooking oil (25c), 4 apples (2$), ¼ cup sugar (40c,) raisins (60c) and almonds (25c). For the vanilla sauce: flour (5c), 2 cups milk (1$), 3 egg yolks (50c), sugar (40c). = 3.30 for entrée’ and dessert! And except for the Sauerkraut, all ingredients were organic or at least artisan prepared (in the case of the pork)
Total Food Cost of Today: 4.85$
For those of you interested in the secret of good sauerkraut:
Ingredients
1 tbsp. of cooking oil
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
1.5 sour apples, peeled and cut into small cubes
2 bay leaves
1 medium size potato, shredded
1 jar of Sauerkraut (fermented white cabbage)
Method:
1) sautee a finely chopped onion, 2) add the apples cut into small cubes, 3) add a couple of bay leaves, 4) add large jar of Sauerkraut (attention: white cabbage will not do, you need Sauerkraut – the fermented fare!), 5) shred one potato into the Sauerkraut. 6) cook over a low flame for at least two hours, the longer the better. All of that best do a day before you are planning to serve your sauerkraut. 7) 20 min before dinner, slowly reheat the sauerkraut with the smoked pork loin nestled in the kraut – that way the sauerkraut will take on some of the meaty flavor.
Best served with dumplings, cause they can nicely absorb the kraut’s liquid.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Pumpkin & Black Olive Pasta
Being February most of you are most probably fed up of root vegetables and pumpkin and squash by now... No need to be! There are so many great recipes still out there! Try this one: Pasta with pumpkin & black olives. It is Carlo's fav pasta dish in autumn and winter - works best with short pasta, I recommend the shell shape (Conchiglie), because it allows the sauce to nicely nestle in the shells...
Ingredients
2 oz pitted and chopped black olives
½ box Carlo’s Conchiglie Pasta from The Scrumptious Pantry
14 oz pumpkin cut into small cubes
1 tbsp capers
1/4 chopped onion
3/8 cups warm vegetable broth
rosemary
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive oil from The Scrumptious Pantry
salt and pepper
Method
In a large pan heat the butter with the olive oil. Add the rosemary and the onion and saute’ until transparent. Add the pumpkin, stir and cover the pan, cook on a moderate flame for 15 minutes, adding the vegetable broth from time to time until the pumpkin is tender, add salt and pepper to taste. Add the black olives and the capers and cook for 3 minutes. Cook Conchiglie pasta in boiling and salted water till al dente. Drain and into the pan, stir well. Serve in warm plates, sprinkle with pepper. (Note: do not rinse the pasta with water!)
Enjoy!
Ingredients
2 oz pitted and chopped black olives
½ box Carlo’s Conchiglie Pasta from The Scrumptious Pantry
14 oz pumpkin cut into small cubes
1 tbsp capers
1/4 chopped onion
3/8 cups warm vegetable broth
rosemary
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive oil from The Scrumptious Pantry
salt and pepper
Method
In a large pan heat the butter with the olive oil. Add the rosemary and the onion and saute’ until transparent. Add the pumpkin, stir and cover the pan, cook on a moderate flame for 15 minutes, adding the vegetable broth from time to time until the pumpkin is tender, add salt and pepper to taste. Add the black olives and the capers and cook for 3 minutes. Cook Conchiglie pasta in boiling and salted water till al dente. Drain and into the pan, stir well. Serve in warm plates, sprinkle with pepper. (Note: do not rinse the pasta with water!)
Enjoy!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Day 27 - Value Eating on 02/18/2010
When I have too much on my mind, I desert to the kitchen. “Cooking relaxes me” is a quote I have heard often. I wonder why that is the case? Does cooking remind you of your childhood days, the smell of home cooked meals dancing through the house? Or is it the warmth of the kitchen stove and oven that makes one feel protected? Or is it the creative part? The fact that you have to concentrate on getting things right? The feeling of achieving something? It would be interesting to see if there is any research on this issue…. Anyways, I love cooking to get my mind of things, and I love baking. So yesterday’s evening ended with me baking a very simple pear cake: 2 sticks of butter, ½ lb. cane sugar, 4 eggs, a tsp. baking powder, a tsp. cinnamon and a little less than a lb. of whole wheat flour. One sliced pear and 45 min later I had my all-organic cake that makes 12 nice big pieces for total cost of 7.24$, that is ca. 60c a piece. Not only is it much cheaper than most of the mass-produced “cakes” in the various café chains, it actually tastes like real food. It certainly made a great breakfast with a glass of Castle Rock Farm’s milk (50c). = 1.10$
Late morning snack was an organic blood orange for 50c.
For lunch I wanted to stay on the light side, cause I had guests coming for dinner and I wanted to be hungry! Nothing worse than a dinner party where no one is eating, right? The quintessence of food is to enjoy company and spend time together. So better have a healthy appetite (which does not mean one has to be starved). I enjoyed another of the yummy multigrain rolls from Cook Au Vin with a simple salad of three shredded carrots (3x20c) and 1 shredded beet (60c) = 1.30$.
As often, I was only drinking hot water. I like tea in between meals, but with my food I like plain tasting drinks. As you can guess, I am not the girl that drinks sodas with her food. Wine is another story, as it allows you to elevate the taste of the food. Just as you can ruin a great meal with the wrong wine (and a great wine with the wrong food). Often, I am asked what my favorite wine is. In my opinion, there is no such thing. Almost every wine has a perfect food match out there, waiting to create a brilliant unison. It is the STYLE of wine, that I might personally disagree with (think over-oaked, jam-like wines that do not speak of the terroir in which the vines were grown, but of some new & fancy winemaking technique in the laboratory (oops, did I just write that? Of course, I meant to say “cellar” Better drink a great wine once in a while than something cheap)….
Anyways, dinner was a delicious fish that was local (fished in Lake Superior). Shoot me, but I forgot the name. Will call Dirk’s Fish tomorrow and find out (also because my dinner guests loved it and want to know what they ate). I briefly turned the fillets in a mix of organic flour and Roberta’s “insanely aromatic” (quoting Daily Candy here) Roasting & Grilling salt. Off it went to be briefly pan-seared in olive oil to form a delicious crust. As a side I had prepared a rice pilaf with Fabio’s & Nicoletta’s Fragrance rice, broccoli, slithered almonds, a pinch of chili peppers and some onion. Finished off with a drizzle of Cosimo’s Extra-Virgin Olive Oil premium blend it was perfect (btw, I paired it with a Chardonnay from a small vineyard in California called Girasole). Cost for one person (all sustainable/organic ingredients): 2$ (fish), 0.2$ (flour, roasting & grilling salt, EVOO), almonds (0.13$), 0.8c (rice), broccoli (0.18c – it was a lot of broccoli, but it was also really inexpensive when I bought it on sale at the Green Grocer: 99c a bunch!), 0.06c for spices, 0.15 for finishing oil = 3.51$. The wine was 3.5$ per person.
For dessert, I served ½ slice of the pear cake topped off with a tablespoon of organic greek style yoghurt in which I had blended a hint of cinnamon. Drizzled with a teaspoon of local honey and sprinkled with roasted pumpkin seed it was the perfect finishing to a perfect dinner (which, as already pointed out in other posts, does rely as much on the company and conversation as it does on the quality of the food!) = 0.3$ (cake), 0.1$ (yoghurt & cinnamon), 0.1$ (honey), 0.15$ pumpkin seeds = 0.65$
Total Food Cost for a Very Happy Day of Eating: 10.56$ including wine
Late morning snack was an organic blood orange for 50c.
For lunch I wanted to stay on the light side, cause I had guests coming for dinner and I wanted to be hungry! Nothing worse than a dinner party where no one is eating, right? The quintessence of food is to enjoy company and spend time together. So better have a healthy appetite (which does not mean one has to be starved). I enjoyed another of the yummy multigrain rolls from Cook Au Vin with a simple salad of three shredded carrots (3x20c) and 1 shredded beet (60c) = 1.30$.
As often, I was only drinking hot water. I like tea in between meals, but with my food I like plain tasting drinks. As you can guess, I am not the girl that drinks sodas with her food. Wine is another story, as it allows you to elevate the taste of the food. Just as you can ruin a great meal with the wrong wine (and a great wine with the wrong food). Often, I am asked what my favorite wine is. In my opinion, there is no such thing. Almost every wine has a perfect food match out there, waiting to create a brilliant unison. It is the STYLE of wine, that I might personally disagree with (think over-oaked, jam-like wines that do not speak of the terroir in which the vines were grown, but of some new & fancy winemaking technique in the laboratory (oops, did I just write that? Of course, I meant to say “cellar” Better drink a great wine once in a while than something cheap)….
Anyways, dinner was a delicious fish that was local (fished in Lake Superior). Shoot me, but I forgot the name. Will call Dirk’s Fish tomorrow and find out (also because my dinner guests loved it and want to know what they ate). I briefly turned the fillets in a mix of organic flour and Roberta’s “insanely aromatic” (quoting Daily Candy here) Roasting & Grilling salt. Off it went to be briefly pan-seared in olive oil to form a delicious crust. As a side I had prepared a rice pilaf with Fabio’s & Nicoletta’s Fragrance rice, broccoli, slithered almonds, a pinch of chili peppers and some onion. Finished off with a drizzle of Cosimo’s Extra-Virgin Olive Oil premium blend it was perfect (btw, I paired it with a Chardonnay from a small vineyard in California called Girasole). Cost for one person (all sustainable/organic ingredients): 2$ (fish), 0.2$ (flour, roasting & grilling salt, EVOO), almonds (0.13$), 0.8c (rice), broccoli (0.18c – it was a lot of broccoli, but it was also really inexpensive when I bought it on sale at the Green Grocer: 99c a bunch!), 0.06c for spices, 0.15 for finishing oil = 3.51$. The wine was 3.5$ per person.
For dessert, I served ½ slice of the pear cake topped off with a tablespoon of organic greek style yoghurt in which I had blended a hint of cinnamon. Drizzled with a teaspoon of local honey and sprinkled with roasted pumpkin seed it was the perfect finishing to a perfect dinner (which, as already pointed out in other posts, does rely as much on the company and conversation as it does on the quality of the food!) = 0.3$ (cake), 0.1$ (yoghurt & cinnamon), 0.1$ (honey), 0.15$ pumpkin seeds = 0.65$
Total Food Cost for a Very Happy Day of Eating: 10.56$ including wine
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Day 13 - Value Eating on 02/03/2010
As I said, my kitchen has arrived. I am behaving like a little Duracell rabbit, zooming around the kitchen and wanting to cook, bake, braise, fry… as if I had been deprived of my favorite toys and now wanted to make up time using all of them at once.
Actually, the more I think about it, the more I feel that this is exactly the case. Plus, a fully furnished kitchen with an inviting space to sit and eat does bring back an appetite!
So today I had:
Breakfast: no surprises: 1 cup organic yoghurt, ½ organic apple and 1 organic orange: 1.99$
Lunch: are you Italian? If the answer is “yes”, ignore this paragraph and continue reading starting with “snack”. Cause Italians are religious to their traditional recipes and even more traditional when it comes to pasta and I do not want to hurt anyone’s feelings. I did attack my tastebuds. I really like Yams, their sweet taste and their consistency when they are sautéed… so as I was getting (maybe overly) creative in the kitchen, I thought: why not use Yams in a pasta dish inspired by carbonara? Substitute the (sweet & salty tasting) bacon cubes with sautéed yams. And that is what I did. Three slices of yams were sautéed in olive oil, Carlo’s Durum Wheat Pasta from The Scrumptious Pantry was boiled, two happy eggs were beaten together in a bowl, the sautéed yams were mixed unter the eggs, the pasta was added, as were salt and pepper and that was it (classic carbonara recipe would read: sautee bacon cubes, boil pasta, beat two eggs, slide drained and warm pasta into egg mix, add bacon cubes and equal parts of grated Parmeggiano-Reggiano and aged Pecorino cheese). Mix well, add salt & pepper and enjoy). I did not add cheese, cause I was not sure about the pungent taste of aged cheeses with the yams. I liked the idea of the sweet tasting yam cubes as a substitute for the bacon, though. This is by no means a ready recipe, but I will not shelf it immediately, it might have potential… Costwise we were at pasta (1$), 2 eggs (82c), ¼ organic yam from grocery coop (15c), 29c for olive oil, salt & pepper = 2.26$
Afternoon snack: one cup of organic green tea (6c) and two of Niccolina’s Brutti ma Buoni Hazelnut Cookies from The Scrumptious Pantry (1.70$) = 1.76$
Dinner: I grated a beet (78c) and ½ apple (25c, all organic) to go with two slices of artisan bread (60c) and farmstead blue cheese (32c)= 1.95$
Total Food Cost for today: 7.96$
Actually, the more I think about it, the more I feel that this is exactly the case. Plus, a fully furnished kitchen with an inviting space to sit and eat does bring back an appetite!
So today I had:
Breakfast: no surprises: 1 cup organic yoghurt, ½ organic apple and 1 organic orange: 1.99$
Lunch: are you Italian? If the answer is “yes”, ignore this paragraph and continue reading starting with “snack”. Cause Italians are religious to their traditional recipes and even more traditional when it comes to pasta and I do not want to hurt anyone’s feelings. I did attack my tastebuds. I really like Yams, their sweet taste and their consistency when they are sautéed… so as I was getting (maybe overly) creative in the kitchen, I thought: why not use Yams in a pasta dish inspired by carbonara? Substitute the (sweet & salty tasting) bacon cubes with sautéed yams. And that is what I did. Three slices of yams were sautéed in olive oil, Carlo’s Durum Wheat Pasta from The Scrumptious Pantry was boiled, two happy eggs were beaten together in a bowl, the sautéed yams were mixed unter the eggs, the pasta was added, as were salt and pepper and that was it (classic carbonara recipe would read: sautee bacon cubes, boil pasta, beat two eggs, slide drained and warm pasta into egg mix, add bacon cubes and equal parts of grated Parmeggiano-Reggiano and aged Pecorino cheese). Mix well, add salt & pepper and enjoy). I did not add cheese, cause I was not sure about the pungent taste of aged cheeses with the yams. I liked the idea of the sweet tasting yam cubes as a substitute for the bacon, though. This is by no means a ready recipe, but I will not shelf it immediately, it might have potential… Costwise we were at pasta (1$), 2 eggs (82c), ¼ organic yam from grocery coop (15c), 29c for olive oil, salt & pepper = 2.26$
Afternoon snack: one cup of organic green tea (6c) and two of Niccolina’s Brutti ma Buoni Hazelnut Cookies from The Scrumptious Pantry (1.70$) = 1.76$
Dinner: I grated a beet (78c) and ½ apple (25c, all organic) to go with two slices of artisan bread (60c) and farmstead blue cheese (32c)= 1.95$
Total Food Cost for today: 7.96$
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Day 7 - Value Eating on 01/26/10
After the first week of “value eating” I have to say there was not a meal I was not happy. I savored the tastes of beautifully crafted foods, like the superb organic lamb bratwurst or the fantastic artisan baguette. I had tasty eggs from happy chickens. Yummy milk with cream on top! And a whole lot I ate from The Scrumptious Pantry. Cosimo’s Olive Oil, Fabio’s & Nicoletta’s Rice & Cornmeal. Roberta’s Roasting & Grilling Salt and Spreads gave a special twist to my meals.
So were these cheap meals? Probably not. You could have probably spent less on milk, eggs, rice. Would the taste have been the same? Probably not. I enjoyed every bite, eating slowly as to keep the tastes alive as long as possible. As a result, I ate fairly small quantities (at least to my understanding). And the average food cost per day was about 5$! I admit two dinners are not included in this calculation, cause they were not eaten at home. But 5$ per day for a food that nourished body and soul does not seem exaggerated to me! How much is a Value Meal at the Golden Arches these days?? Guess I have to stop by tomorrow to find out!
So, this was week 1. Curious to see if and how the pricing changes once I can cook more elaborate meals.
Before I forget, the calculations for day seven of “Value Eating”:
Late Breakfast: a slice of Pumpernickel which I bought at Aldi, yes, yes, I know not the source for the most sustainable food, but Aldi for us ex-pat Germans is like a delicatessen, as we can get some food there not available in other markets (at least I have not found a source for artisan pumpernickel in the Windy City). Anyhow. From The Scrumptious Pantry I took a Roberta’s Sun-dried Tomato Spread and dolloped it on the pumpernickel (about 1 tablespoon. It is so rich in taste, you really only need a little for full sunny tomato taste), I topped the yummy-ness with two farm fresh eggs sunny side up (advice on a side note: eggs sunny side up are really difficult to fry in a pot. When you do not have a pan, boil your eggs...) fried in organic olive oil and then sprinkled some of Roberta’s Roasting & Grilling Salt on top. This came with a cup of organic green tea. Cost: 16c bread, 79c tomato spread, 82c for two eggs fried in 25c of olive oil and 5 cents for the herbed salt (248 pinches to go!), tea bag 6c = 2.13$
As afternoon snack I heated a cup of the farmstead’s milk (31c) and dissolved a piece of dark chocolate (35c) for a soothing hot drink. The chocolate I bought at Aldi, as well. They have my favorite German chocolate brand. I just love the way Europeans do their chocolate. Over Christmas I had a long discussion with my family over which chocolate to buy given the child labor in the cocoa plantings… Should we stop buying brands which are not clearly marked “fair trade”? We decided to continue buying the chocolate we always buy, but to write letters to the company’s customer service asking them about the labor practices in the plantings they buy from. I firmly believe that you as a critical consumer can stimulate change when asking questions. Boycotts though are not the right thing. What are these kids to do, if they have no more work in the plantations? Yes, the conditions there suck. It is heartbreaking. It has to be changed. But remember when years ago the rug industry started the fair trade mark on rugs? It is proven that the biggest part of those kids that lost their job in the rug workshops ended up prostituting themselves. Sometimes, we have to think what results we really want to achieve and what side effects our chosen path can have. So I dissolved my chocolate in my milk and hoped that my letter to the producer would maybe maybe start a process somehow.
Dinner was a nice spicy chili. I totally love chili. Could have it every day. What I love most about it, is how the intonations of the various chili peppers intermingle with the sweetness of the tomato. Sigh… For real great sweet tomato in your chili you really need tomatoes canned at the perfect moment. Really something you would want to remember to do in summer. Now, given that I had to leave the contents of my pantry behind in Italy (thanks, FDA, what harm could my canned tomatoes have done to the USA?), I had to use store bought. Where another level of difficulty was added – the current lack of a can opener. So I bought a ready sauce cause that comes with a twist cap. Marinara sauce (what the hell that is I did not understand. There are Marinara sauces in the store which have “Parmesan Cheese” on their ingredient list?? Gracious, I do not even want to start discuss Parmesan & Parmeggiano at this point, but how can you cook a cheese in a tomato sauce that is to be canned?). It was organic Marinara sauce though, and the less adulterated kind I could find. Came with a price tag of 2.29 for 25 oz. and was the most acid, unbalanced tomato sauce I can remember tasting. But then again, I have not tasted ready made sauces for a long time. A can of diced organic tomatos at 1.49 for 30 oz would certainly have been the better deal taste wise, but as I said: no can opener. Blame US customs for having pulled my container for inspection. Well, this is what I did with it: browned 1.5 organic onions in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Added organic beans (1.5 cups in their dried state, but of course they had been soaked and pre-cooked a while) and half of the sauce. Chilli pepper, cumin, salt. And had it simmer for 90 minutes. Served on Fabio’s & Nicoletta’s rice from The Scrumptious Pantry very yummy and very filling and very nutritious and will last also tomorrow at only 75c (onions), 50c (olive oil), 84c (beans), 25c for spices and 1$ for rice = 3.34$
Total food cost for today: 4.46$ (assuming that half of the chilli will be eaten tomorrow).
So were these cheap meals? Probably not. You could have probably spent less on milk, eggs, rice. Would the taste have been the same? Probably not. I enjoyed every bite, eating slowly as to keep the tastes alive as long as possible. As a result, I ate fairly small quantities (at least to my understanding). And the average food cost per day was about 5$! I admit two dinners are not included in this calculation, cause they were not eaten at home. But 5$ per day for a food that nourished body and soul does not seem exaggerated to me! How much is a Value Meal at the Golden Arches these days?? Guess I have to stop by tomorrow to find out!
So, this was week 1. Curious to see if and how the pricing changes once I can cook more elaborate meals.
Before I forget, the calculations for day seven of “Value Eating”:
Late Breakfast: a slice of Pumpernickel which I bought at Aldi, yes, yes, I know not the source for the most sustainable food, but Aldi for us ex-pat Germans is like a delicatessen, as we can get some food there not available in other markets (at least I have not found a source for artisan pumpernickel in the Windy City). Anyhow. From The Scrumptious Pantry I took a Roberta’s Sun-dried Tomato Spread and dolloped it on the pumpernickel (about 1 tablespoon. It is so rich in taste, you really only need a little for full sunny tomato taste), I topped the yummy-ness with two farm fresh eggs sunny side up (advice on a side note: eggs sunny side up are really difficult to fry in a pot. When you do not have a pan, boil your eggs...) fried in organic olive oil and then sprinkled some of Roberta’s Roasting & Grilling Salt on top. This came with a cup of organic green tea. Cost: 16c bread, 79c tomato spread, 82c for two eggs fried in 25c of olive oil and 5 cents for the herbed salt (248 pinches to go!), tea bag 6c = 2.13$
As afternoon snack I heated a cup of the farmstead’s milk (31c) and dissolved a piece of dark chocolate (35c) for a soothing hot drink. The chocolate I bought at Aldi, as well. They have my favorite German chocolate brand. I just love the way Europeans do their chocolate. Over Christmas I had a long discussion with my family over which chocolate to buy given the child labor in the cocoa plantings… Should we stop buying brands which are not clearly marked “fair trade”? We decided to continue buying the chocolate we always buy, but to write letters to the company’s customer service asking them about the labor practices in the plantings they buy from. I firmly believe that you as a critical consumer can stimulate change when asking questions. Boycotts though are not the right thing. What are these kids to do, if they have no more work in the plantations? Yes, the conditions there suck. It is heartbreaking. It has to be changed. But remember when years ago the rug industry started the fair trade mark on rugs? It is proven that the biggest part of those kids that lost their job in the rug workshops ended up prostituting themselves. Sometimes, we have to think what results we really want to achieve and what side effects our chosen path can have. So I dissolved my chocolate in my milk and hoped that my letter to the producer would maybe maybe start a process somehow.
Dinner was a nice spicy chili. I totally love chili. Could have it every day. What I love most about it, is how the intonations of the various chili peppers intermingle with the sweetness of the tomato. Sigh… For real great sweet tomato in your chili you really need tomatoes canned at the perfect moment. Really something you would want to remember to do in summer. Now, given that I had to leave the contents of my pantry behind in Italy (thanks, FDA, what harm could my canned tomatoes have done to the USA?), I had to use store bought. Where another level of difficulty was added – the current lack of a can opener. So I bought a ready sauce cause that comes with a twist cap. Marinara sauce (what the hell that is I did not understand. There are Marinara sauces in the store which have “Parmesan Cheese” on their ingredient list?? Gracious, I do not even want to start discuss Parmesan & Parmeggiano at this point, but how can you cook a cheese in a tomato sauce that is to be canned?). It was organic Marinara sauce though, and the less adulterated kind I could find. Came with a price tag of 2.29 for 25 oz. and was the most acid, unbalanced tomato sauce I can remember tasting. But then again, I have not tasted ready made sauces for a long time. A can of diced organic tomatos at 1.49 for 30 oz would certainly have been the better deal taste wise, but as I said: no can opener. Blame US customs for having pulled my container for inspection. Well, this is what I did with it: browned 1.5 organic onions in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Added organic beans (1.5 cups in their dried state, but of course they had been soaked and pre-cooked a while) and half of the sauce. Chilli pepper, cumin, salt. And had it simmer for 90 minutes. Served on Fabio’s & Nicoletta’s rice from The Scrumptious Pantry very yummy and very filling and very nutritious and will last also tomorrow at only 75c (onions), 50c (olive oil), 84c (beans), 25c for spices and 1$ for rice = 3.34$
Total food cost for today: 4.46$ (assuming that half of the chilli will be eaten tomorrow).
Try the "Love Apple" Menu for Valentine's!
When the tomato arrived into Europe it was slow to catch on, the red color became associated with poison. However the French and Italians dismissed this myth and the tomato became known as poma amoris or pomme d’amour. It subsequently became known as a symbol for the aphrodisiac qualities of food and was labeled as the Love Apple. Every cook knows the way to the heart is through the mouth, so we have created an easy-to-make, tempting and light three-course Valentine’s Day dinner that includes several tomato-based foods.
Start with antipasti with our sun-dried tomato spread and a green tomato jam. Next, enjoy the primo with a heart-warming tomato sauce served over farfalle made from durum wheat. Finish the delectable meal with dolce served with tomato jam with grappa. The Love Apple is the secret ingredient to the heart, so there’s no need for cupid’s arrow! Adding The Scrumptious Pantry’s sweet and savory tomato ingredients of love to your romantic Valentine’s Day dinner is guaranteed to woo the apple of your eye.
The “Love Apple” Menu
Antipasti: Heart-shaped crostini with Roberta’s Sun-dried Tomato Spread (or Roberta’s Eggplant Spread) served with cheese nibbles with Barbara’s Green Tomato Jam as a condiment
Ingredients
2/3 cup cream cheese
1/3 cup Roberta’s Sun-dried Tomato Spread (or 1/3 cup Roberta’s Eggplant Spread)
Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil “Premium Blend”, as needed
1 loaf of bread, cut into heart shapes (use a cookie cutter to make heart shapes)
Method: 1) Mix cream cheese and sun-dried tomato spread (or eggplant spread). 2) Spread mixture on breads hearts. 3) Drizzle with olive oil.
Cheese nibbles: Serve aged sheep cheeses, Parmeggiano-Reggiano, Grana Padana or fresh mozzarella. Break chunks of cheese out of the Parmeggiano or Grana using the tip of a knife. Cut aged sheep cheeses first in slices and each slice in to three triangle shaped bites. Cut mozzarella in slices and cut each slice in four bite-size pieces. The mozzarella also can be briefly grilled on a slice of bread in the oven, with a layer of green tomato jam between bread and cheese! Serve condiments on the side in small dessert bowls or shot glasses with small spoons. You also can use honey or Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil as cheese condiments.
Primo: Carlo’s Durum Wheat Pasta with heart-warming tomato sauce
Ingredients
1/2 bag (9 ounces) of Carlo’s Durum Wheat Pasta—Farfalle
1 garlic clove, slightly crushed
3 tablespoons Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil “Blend”
1 chilli pepper, small
1 ½ lb. canned and diced tomatoes
1 Tablespoon Roberta’s Sun-dried Tomato Spread
2 teaspoons Guido’s Balsamic Dressing Sauce
Method: Note: Tomato-based sauces are more flavorful after simmering at least one hour. They can also be made a day ahead to enhance its flavor and save time on Valentine’s Day. 1) To make the sauce, in a frying pan, heat crushed garlic glove in olive oil until the garlic is slightly browned. 2) Take garlic out of oil, add one small hot chilli pepper and tomatoes. 3) Add the sun-dried tomato spread. Sauce should simmer on medium heat for at least one hour. (Note: If a meat sauce is preferred, add 8 ounces of ground beef, 3 ounces of finely chopped prosciutto and 3 ounces of finely chopped bacon. Brown meats in olive oil before adding the tomato and chilli pepper) 4) Bring salted water to boil for the pasta. Do not add oil to the water. 5) Add pasta to the boiling water. When the pasta is almost al dente (after 9 to 10 minutes), drain and put the pasta in the pan with the sauce. (Note: Do not rinse the pasta because you will wash away the starch needed to have the sauce stick to the noodle.) 6) Add balsamic dressing sauce and let stand for two minutes. Serve on warmed plates/bowls.
Dolce: Ricotta with Barbara’s Tomato Jam with Grappa
Ingredients
½ pound (8 ounces) fresh ricotta
1 shot glass of grappa, dark rum (aged for a minimum of 7 years) or pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of sugar
Barbara’s Tomato Jam with Grappa, as needed (or another jam of your choosing)
Nutmeg, freshly ground, as needed.
Method: 1) Mix ricotta, sugar and grappa/rum/vanilla until well combined. 2) Spoon mixture into small glass bowls (or tall shot glasses). 3) Top with a thin layer of tomato jam with grappa. 4) Garnish with freshly ground nutmeg.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Day 6 - Value Eating on 01/25/10
The first week of Value Eating is almost done and I am really curious what the weekly expenses will have been. For today, having enjoyed a late breakfast and “lunner” (lunch&dinner at 5.30pm), I ran up the following costs:
Breakfast: 1 cup of organic yoghurt which I bought at Trader Joes, with ½ apple and ½ pear, both organic. The yoghurt was 74c, apple and pear 25c each = 1.24$
For “lunner” I used the last ¼ of broccoli still in my fridge to prepare a “zuppa” – a thick Italian bean & grain soup. I am a soup and stew girl. If I have to choose between caviar and a nice pumpkin soup or chilli, I will most probably ignore the caviar. Anyways. I first steamed the broccoli and then used the water to cook the soaked beans. I had actually found a “17 beans & barley” mix at Trader Joe’s, which I tried in this occasion. A mix like that is in every Tuscan household. Italian convenience food, so to speak. I was happy to find this mix at Trader Joe’s, cause having to buy 18 different beans seems quite a hassle to me – even when bought at a natural food store in the bulk aisle, still they need to be weighted individually etc. The Trader Joe’s mix seemed a bit short on grain, so I added some of Fabio’s and Nicoletta’s Originario rice. Being a short grain ice, it is perfect for soups!
Once the bean & grain mix was cooked, I added the broccoli back into the soup (which is supposed to have a dense consistency, pretty much like chilli), added salt and pepper and drizzled a tablespoon of Cosimo’s Olive Oil on top for a perfect finishing! Voila – broccoli 40c, 21c for the beans & barley (1.69/lb), 15c for the rice, 40c for the olive oil and 4c for salt & pepper = 1.20$
With it I had another glass of the totally delicious Kilgus Farmstead milk @ 31c
Total food cost for today: 2.75$ and I am stuffed!!
Breakfast: 1 cup of organic yoghurt which I bought at Trader Joes, with ½ apple and ½ pear, both organic. The yoghurt was 74c, apple and pear 25c each = 1.24$
For “lunner” I used the last ¼ of broccoli still in my fridge to prepare a “zuppa” – a thick Italian bean & grain soup. I am a soup and stew girl. If I have to choose between caviar and a nice pumpkin soup or chilli, I will most probably ignore the caviar. Anyways. I first steamed the broccoli and then used the water to cook the soaked beans. I had actually found a “17 beans & barley” mix at Trader Joe’s, which I tried in this occasion. A mix like that is in every Tuscan household. Italian convenience food, so to speak. I was happy to find this mix at Trader Joe’s, cause having to buy 18 different beans seems quite a hassle to me – even when bought at a natural food store in the bulk aisle, still they need to be weighted individually etc. The Trader Joe’s mix seemed a bit short on grain, so I added some of Fabio’s and Nicoletta’s Originario rice. Being a short grain ice, it is perfect for soups!
Once the bean & grain mix was cooked, I added the broccoli back into the soup (which is supposed to have a dense consistency, pretty much like chilli), added salt and pepper and drizzled a tablespoon of Cosimo’s Olive Oil on top for a perfect finishing! Voila – broccoli 40c, 21c for the beans & barley (1.69/lb), 15c for the rice, 40c for the olive oil and 4c for salt & pepper = 1.20$
With it I had another glass of the totally delicious Kilgus Farmstead milk @ 31c
Total food cost for today: 2.75$ and I am stuffed!!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Pasta you can see the wheat in (with porcini mushrooms)
Comparing Carlo’s pasta to another artisan Italian pasta widely available in the US during a comparative tasting last week, one taster had comment, which I want to share with you today: “you can really see the wheat”, she said.
I always put a standard pasta next to Carlo’s pasta when doing tastings and in store demos, just because the texture looks different, the color is richer – the pasta looks more alive to me. But I never came up with these simple words. Yes, you can see the wheat!
So today, as Carlo and his staff are shelling this year’s grain harvest (which by the way was great in quality but not really satisfactory in quantity due to the heavy rains in early spring and the dessert like temperatures in summer. Side note: it amazes me how what is celebrated as the perfect climate by one crop farmer can be deadly for the other. In this case, the weather conditions were absolutely perfect for the vines, a notion not shared by Carlo and fellow grain farmers…), let me talk pasta.
Carlo’s pasta is made with a richer form of flour, the so called “semolato”, rather than the “semolina” which is the typical white flour. To explain the difference, let me remind you the composition of a grain kernel (from the outside to the inside)
- the protective skin is called the husk (or hull)
- then comes a layer of bran, which mainly contains fibers
- next is the endosperm, divided into two layers, of which the outer one contains proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins and enzymes. The inner part of the endosperm (which is ca. 80-85% of the kernel) is composed of starch and gluten, a protein.
- protected by all these layers is the germ, the living cell of the kernel, and it contains antioxidants, vitamins E and B, minerals and proteins.
The classic white flour (“semolina”) is milled to separate the inner layer of the endosperm from all the other components, using only 60-64% of the actual kernel and loosing many of the positive properties of bran and germ in the process.
The semolato Carlo uses for his pasta is the result of stone-milling the grain and significant amounts of the bran, the germ and the outer layers of the endosperm.
The results are more complex taste profile of the pasta, which is easier to digest, contains more nutrients and shows off the wheat in the pasta itself! It is NOT a whole wheat pasta though, because it does not contain ALL the kernel. Speaking among us, we use the term “semi-integrale”, which could be translated into “partly whole wheat”. In any case wholesome, especially as Carlo follows strict organic agricultural procedures on his farm and also respects organic regulations during the actual production of the pasta: it is dried at low temperatures in order to maintain the proteins, vitamins and amino acids, which are heat sensitive.
Having said all that, how about a nice plate of pasta with porcini mushrooms, while they are still in season (for four people)
1 box of Carlo’s Durum Wheat Pasta Farfalle Shape
½ stick butter
Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 garlic cloves
2 cups sliced porcini mushrooms (make sure the gills are white and not yellowish-greenish, which is an indicator that they are old!)
½ cup white wine
¼ cup chopped parsley
freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt & pepper
Melt half of the butter in a saucepan with a dash of olive oil, at low temperature add the slightly crushed garlic cloves to extract their aroma. Add the mushrooms, but be careful not to fry them! Add salt, pepper and white wine. Let simmer for a couple of minutes.
Cook the pasta in a separate pot (contrary to popular belief you do not need to put oil in the water, nor should you rinse the pasta with cold water. The latter would wash away the starch that is needed to have the sauce stick better to the pasta), when al dente drain, take garlic cloves out of the sauce, add the pasta, stir and let sit for one minute, adding the remaining butter and the parsley. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese to your liking.
I always put a standard pasta next to Carlo’s pasta when doing tastings and in store demos, just because the texture looks different, the color is richer – the pasta looks more alive to me. But I never came up with these simple words. Yes, you can see the wheat!
So today, as Carlo and his staff are shelling this year’s grain harvest (which by the way was great in quality but not really satisfactory in quantity due to the heavy rains in early spring and the dessert like temperatures in summer. Side note: it amazes me how what is celebrated as the perfect climate by one crop farmer can be deadly for the other. In this case, the weather conditions were absolutely perfect for the vines, a notion not shared by Carlo and fellow grain farmers…), let me talk pasta.
Carlo’s pasta is made with a richer form of flour, the so called “semolato”, rather than the “semolina” which is the typical white flour. To explain the difference, let me remind you the composition of a grain kernel (from the outside to the inside)
- the protective skin is called the husk (or hull)
- then comes a layer of bran, which mainly contains fibers
- next is the endosperm, divided into two layers, of which the outer one contains proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins and enzymes. The inner part of the endosperm (which is ca. 80-85% of the kernel) is composed of starch and gluten, a protein.
- protected by all these layers is the germ, the living cell of the kernel, and it contains antioxidants, vitamins E and B, minerals and proteins.
The classic white flour (“semolina”) is milled to separate the inner layer of the endosperm from all the other components, using only 60-64% of the actual kernel and loosing many of the positive properties of bran and germ in the process.
The semolato Carlo uses for his pasta is the result of stone-milling the grain and significant amounts of the bran, the germ and the outer layers of the endosperm.
The results are more complex taste profile of the pasta, which is easier to digest, contains more nutrients and shows off the wheat in the pasta itself! It is NOT a whole wheat pasta though, because it does not contain ALL the kernel. Speaking among us, we use the term “semi-integrale”, which could be translated into “partly whole wheat”. In any case wholesome, especially as Carlo follows strict organic agricultural procedures on his farm and also respects organic regulations during the actual production of the pasta: it is dried at low temperatures in order to maintain the proteins, vitamins and amino acids, which are heat sensitive.
Having said all that, how about a nice plate of pasta with porcini mushrooms, while they are still in season (for four people)
1 box of Carlo’s Durum Wheat Pasta Farfalle Shape
½ stick butter
Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 garlic cloves
2 cups sliced porcini mushrooms (make sure the gills are white and not yellowish-greenish, which is an indicator that they are old!)
½ cup white wine
¼ cup chopped parsley
freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt & pepper
Melt half of the butter in a saucepan with a dash of olive oil, at low temperature add the slightly crushed garlic cloves to extract their aroma. Add the mushrooms, but be careful not to fry them! Add salt, pepper and white wine. Let simmer for a couple of minutes.
Cook the pasta in a separate pot (contrary to popular belief you do not need to put oil in the water, nor should you rinse the pasta with cold water. The latter would wash away the starch that is needed to have the sauce stick better to the pasta), when al dente drain, take garlic cloves out of the sauce, add the pasta, stir and let sit for one minute, adding the remaining butter and the parsley. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese to your liking.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Autumn is here - let's have Polenta!
First, I need to apologize for being absent so long, but I was traveling all over the US for five weeks presenting the wonderful foods and wines of Italy and had no time left to write something worth your time. But now I am back and I promise that posting frequency will be back to normal asap!
When I left Italy, it was still summer: nice and warm, eating ice cream outside at 1am and wearing light summer dresses. I returned to a walk-in fridge. It is cold, foggy and absolutely no summer anymore. I am not even sure that this is even autumn - which would be in line with my earlier post about the loss of seasons. From not knowing how to create a breeze in our heat drenched apartments to turning on the heating - all in six weeks. Pretty impressive.
With colder weather comes the quest for all those nice autumn and winter dishes - risotto with porcini mushrooms! With white truffles! Or some nice, hearty polenta. Polenta is my favorite comfort food. I love the creaminess of the polenta (Italian for cornmeal), which goes hand in hand with a nice structure of the stone milled corn. This is important. Instant cornmeal is nothing I believe in. Too finely ground cornmeal is nothing I believe in either. My polenta needs to have a bite to it. And if that means that I have to stir it over a low flame for 50 minutes, than that is what I happily do. Plus, there is nothing more relaxing than zipping a nice glass of wine while observing at the bubbles in the polenta alining their tunes.
Try yourself with my favorite polenta recipe:
1/2 lb. Il Covone Cornmeal
10 fresh Italian style Sausages
2 cups mixed fresh mushrooms
1 shallot
1 cup dry white wine
½ cup parsley
2 leaves of sage
2 tbsp. of Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper
Peel the sausage and cook the meat in an on olive oil lined pan over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Chop the shallot and sauté it in an olive oil in a separate pan. When the shallot is transparent, add chopped parsley, mushrooms. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once the mushrooms are soft, add the sausage and the wine, cooking over a medium-high temperature for about an hour.
To prepare the polenta, bringing 2 liters of salted water to boil. Gradually add the cornmeal, whisking it for five minutes. Continue to stir every four - five minutes with a wooden spoon at medium-low temperature until done (ca. 50 minutes).
Serve the polenta in a deep dish and the sauce in the middle (serves six)
When I left Italy, it was still summer: nice and warm, eating ice cream outside at 1am and wearing light summer dresses. I returned to a walk-in fridge. It is cold, foggy and absolutely no summer anymore. I am not even sure that this is even autumn - which would be in line with my earlier post about the loss of seasons. From not knowing how to create a breeze in our heat drenched apartments to turning on the heating - all in six weeks. Pretty impressive.
With colder weather comes the quest for all those nice autumn and winter dishes - risotto with porcini mushrooms! With white truffles! Or some nice, hearty polenta. Polenta is my favorite comfort food. I love the creaminess of the polenta (Italian for cornmeal), which goes hand in hand with a nice structure of the stone milled corn. This is important. Instant cornmeal is nothing I believe in. Too finely ground cornmeal is nothing I believe in either. My polenta needs to have a bite to it. And if that means that I have to stir it over a low flame for 50 minutes, than that is what I happily do. Plus, there is nothing more relaxing than zipping a nice glass of wine while observing at the bubbles in the polenta alining their tunes.
Try yourself with my favorite polenta recipe:1/2 lb. Il Covone Cornmeal
10 fresh Italian style Sausages
2 cups mixed fresh mushrooms
1 shallot
1 cup dry white wine
½ cup parsley
2 leaves of sage
2 tbsp. of Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper
Peel the sausage and cook the meat in an on olive oil lined pan over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Chop the shallot and sauté it in an olive oil in a separate pan. When the shallot is transparent, add chopped parsley, mushrooms. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once the mushrooms are soft, add the sausage and the wine, cooking over a medium-high temperature for about an hour.
To prepare the polenta, bringing 2 liters of salted water to boil. Gradually add the cornmeal, whisking it for five minutes. Continue to stir every four - five minutes with a wooden spoon at medium-low temperature until done (ca. 50 minutes).
Serve the polenta in a deep dish and the sauce in the middle (serves six)
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Espresso Wars
The „Caffé“ – what in the US would be called espresso – seems to be a simple drink, but it is not. It is a religion, and its preparation a religious ceremony. The „Caffé“ is what moves the Italian nation. The fist staggering steps every morning are directed into the kitchen, to prepare the dense, black, strong liquid. No lunch, no dinner without „Caffé“ to celebrate the closing of a meal. Classically, the „Caffé“ at home is prepared in a “mokka” – a little coffeemaker which is sat on the stove. And this is where – as with every religion – differences begin. How to prepare a good „Caffé“? After five years of living in Italy and hearing my own „Caffé“ preparations being accompanied by frantic “mai che cavolo fai?” (“what the heck are you doing”) from my Italian friends every time I thought that I had resolved the puzzle, I called for a „Caffé“ summit. To decide on the issue once and for all.
The only thing not debated, are the ingredients water (bottled, not from the tap, as not to interfere with the pure taste of the „Caffé“) and ground coffee beans (from a bag of beans or ready ground coffee that is not open for longer than 3 weeks).
When it came to water levels, emotions started to run high. Discussion if the water container must be filled exactly below the little valve, exactly to its middle or rather filled completely led to loud voices waging back and forth and at a point I was wondering if tonight would be the end of some lifelong friendships. Through all the heat, no one was able to give me a reason for their choice – no explanations about physics and water pressure, but simply “e più buono” (“it tastes better”).
And the coffee? Press it firmly into its little strainer? Yes, said one. It becomes denser and stronger! Yes, but only if you take a toothpick and make three holes into it, added the next. Nooooo, interfered the rest. Pressing makes it too bitter, you have to fill the strainer loosely. Yes, said the next, but fill it over the top. You have to heap a little mountain of coffee on top – loosely. The remaining heads present around the table nodded. Yes, yes, a small mountain. I gave them an astonished look: would this mountain not be pressed down by the upper part of the mokka? Would that not be the same then pressing from the beginning? No, was the answer: that way it is “più buono”
And the cooking process? Have the water pass slowly to get denser and stronger, everyone agreed with that. But how could that be achieved? Well, turn the flame on its lowest, with the lid closed, said one. Noooo, said the other, turn the flame high, with the lid open, so the cold air can get into the mokka, and turn down the flame the moment the coffee starts to flow. Almooost said the third group: turn the flame on low, with the lid open and close it as soon as the coffee starts to flow.
I sat around the table and was desperate. Because over the discussion we had finished the meal, enjoyed the sweets and it was time to prepare the “Caffé”. Beaten, I pushed back my chair, got up and reached to my mokka. My hand was shaking when I picked up the water bottle. I poured, and sure enough, when I put down the bottle, I heard voices rising: “Ma nooooooooooo, che cavolo fai”?
The only thing not debated, are the ingredients water (bottled, not from the tap, as not to interfere with the pure taste of the „Caffé“) and ground coffee beans (from a bag of beans or ready ground coffee that is not open for longer than 3 weeks).
When it came to water levels, emotions started to run high. Discussion if the water container must be filled exactly below the little valve, exactly to its middle or rather filled completely led to loud voices waging back and forth and at a point I was wondering if tonight would be the end of some lifelong friendships. Through all the heat, no one was able to give me a reason for their choice – no explanations about physics and water pressure, but simply “e più buono” (“it tastes better”).
And the coffee? Press it firmly into its little strainer? Yes, said one. It becomes denser and stronger! Yes, but only if you take a toothpick and make three holes into it, added the next. Nooooo, interfered the rest. Pressing makes it too bitter, you have to fill the strainer loosely. Yes, said the next, but fill it over the top. You have to heap a little mountain of coffee on top – loosely. The remaining heads present around the table nodded. Yes, yes, a small mountain. I gave them an astonished look: would this mountain not be pressed down by the upper part of the mokka? Would that not be the same then pressing from the beginning? No, was the answer: that way it is “più buono”
And the cooking process? Have the water pass slowly to get denser and stronger, everyone agreed with that. But how could that be achieved? Well, turn the flame on its lowest, with the lid closed, said one. Noooo, said the other, turn the flame high, with the lid open, so the cold air can get into the mokka, and turn down the flame the moment the coffee starts to flow. Almooost said the third group: turn the flame on low, with the lid open and close it as soon as the coffee starts to flow.
I sat around the table and was desperate. Because over the discussion we had finished the meal, enjoyed the sweets and it was time to prepare the “Caffé”. Beaten, I pushed back my chair, got up and reached to my mokka. My hand was shaking when I picked up the water bottle. I poured, and sure enough, when I put down the bottle, I heard voices rising: “Ma nooooooooooo, che cavolo fai”?
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Nutty Fig Cake
I love the late summer, when the fig trees are loaded with their sweet fruit, tempting me with a delicious ready to pick snack outside my window. And I could swear that there are much more of them this year than last. At least I have been eating them for breakfast, lunch (with gorgonzola on a sandwich) and dinner (caramelized over panna cotta or ice cream for desert) and the tree is still presenting me with more. Two solutions: many jars of fig jam for cold and dark winters (homemade jam and preserves also always make a very thoughtful and lovely hostess gift!) and ....
...a nutty fig cake!
And it is easy as 1-2-3
250 g flour
50 g ground pecan nuts or almonds
100 g sugar
200 g butter
1 egg
3 lb. ripe figs
Quickly mix all the ingredients in a porcelain bowl until the dough stops sticking to the sides. The less you actually work the dough, the better. Put to rest in the fridge for 15 min. In the meantime decide how high you want the crust to be: I use the above quantities for two cakes of 10 inches (25 cm) each in diameter, but I am a thin crust kind of girl (you can easily freeze the second batch for later use).
Spread the dough in the cake pan, cut the figs in half (make sure there are no bugs inside) and place them tightly on the dough. If your figs are not super ripe and sugary, you want to briefly caramelize them in a pan beforehand, in order to reduce their water content.
Bake at 375°F (175°C) for 20 minutes, about 5 - 10 minutes more if you choose a thick crust.
Buon Appetito!
...a nutty fig cake!
And it is easy as 1-2-3
250 g flour
50 g ground pecan nuts or almonds
100 g sugar
200 g butter
1 egg
3 lb. ripe figs
Quickly mix all the ingredients in a porcelain bowl until the dough stops sticking to the sides. The less you actually work the dough, the better. Put to rest in the fridge for 15 min. In the meantime decide how high you want the crust to be: I use the above quantities for two cakes of 10 inches (25 cm) each in diameter, but I am a thin crust kind of girl (you can easily freeze the second batch for later use).
Spread the dough in the cake pan, cut the figs in half (make sure there are no bugs inside) and place them tightly on the dough. If your figs are not super ripe and sugary, you want to briefly caramelize them in a pan beforehand, in order to reduce their water content.
Bake at 375°F (175°C) for 20 minutes, about 5 - 10 minutes more if you choose a thick crust.
Buon Appetito!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Stuffed Eggplant with a Cinnamon Twist
Summer, short for: abundant supply of zucchini, tomatos and eggplants. I have to admit, I like summer, but I am a bit tired of always the same zucchini, tomato and eggplant recipes. Plus, today I had this really strong desire to indulge in spices, so I went creative in the kitchen.
Taking the classic Calabrian stuffed eggplant, which my good friend Domenico’s mum taught me (eggplant, minced meat, cheese, capers, anchovies, tomato, bread crumbs, mint, chili peppers, oregano, olive oil), I went a couple of additional km further south towards the Arabic world and used cinnamon. And as I am not the biggest meat eater in a hot summer, I substituted the minced meat with brown rice. The outcome was a very juicy eggplant “da forno”, with a lot of fruity and fresh flavors – the cinnamon really brought out the fruity taste of the tomato and the freshness of the zucchini. Even my Italian (!) roommate approved… so here you go (quantities for four people)
Two large eggplants
Two small zucchini
Two medium-sized tomatos
1 small onion
2 minced garlic cloves
1 cup steamed brown rice
½ cup loosely packed grated cheese (I used salted ricotta, but you can also use an middle-aged pecorino)
2 teaspoons minced salted capers (not those stored in brine!)
5 tablespoons of Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 small hot chilli peppers
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350°F. Shave out most of the eggplant’s flesh, leaving a shell ca. ½ inch thick. Place in baking dish. Sprinkle one tablespoon of Cosimo’s olive oil onto the eggplant shells and bake in the oven for ca. 10 min.
Cut the eggplant’s flesh into small cubes, grate zucchini into mix, add minced onion and garlic, as well as tomatos cut in cubes. Mix in one tablespoon of Cosimo’s olive oil. Add in steamed rice, cheese, capers, chili peppers and cinnamon. Add two more tablespoons of Cosimo’s olive oil and mix well. Take eggplant shells out of the oven and fill with the mix, making sure the shells are densely packed.
Add a dash of olive oil on the stuffed eggplants and bake for 30 min at 350°F.
If you are looking for a wine match, try a fruity, un-oaked white, for example a Chardonnay.
Taking the classic Calabrian stuffed eggplant, which my good friend Domenico’s mum taught me (eggplant, minced meat, cheese, capers, anchovies, tomato, bread crumbs, mint, chili peppers, oregano, olive oil), I went a couple of additional km further south towards the Arabic world and used cinnamon. And as I am not the biggest meat eater in a hot summer, I substituted the minced meat with brown rice. The outcome was a very juicy eggplant “da forno”, with a lot of fruity and fresh flavors – the cinnamon really brought out the fruity taste of the tomato and the freshness of the zucchini. Even my Italian (!) roommate approved… so here you go (quantities for four people)
Two large eggplants
Two small zucchini
Two medium-sized tomatos
1 small onion
2 minced garlic cloves
1 cup steamed brown rice
½ cup loosely packed grated cheese (I used salted ricotta, but you can also use an middle-aged pecorino)
2 teaspoons minced salted capers (not those stored in brine!)
5 tablespoons of Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 small hot chilli peppers
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350°F. Shave out most of the eggplant’s flesh, leaving a shell ca. ½ inch thick. Place in baking dish. Sprinkle one tablespoon of Cosimo’s olive oil onto the eggplant shells and bake in the oven for ca. 10 min.
Cut the eggplant’s flesh into small cubes, grate zucchini into mix, add minced onion and garlic, as well as tomatos cut in cubes. Mix in one tablespoon of Cosimo’s olive oil. Add in steamed rice, cheese, capers, chili peppers and cinnamon. Add two more tablespoons of Cosimo’s olive oil and mix well. Take eggplant shells out of the oven and fill with the mix, making sure the shells are densely packed.
Add a dash of olive oil on the stuffed eggplants and bake for 30 min at 350°F.
If you are looking for a wine match, try a fruity, un-oaked white, for example a Chardonnay.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
A trip to the heel of Italy - Eating in Apulia
Orecchiette (the ear shaped pasta), burrata (cream stuffed mozzarella), taralli (salty circle shaped snack) are the products the Italian Region Puglia (Apulia) is best known for outside of Italy. But these three yummy treats are just the tip of the iceberg! During a brief two-day visit I ate my way through the area –
Apulia is the “heel” of Italy: it borders on the sea, looking towards Croatia and Albania. Which means fish and seafood in abundance, and the most curious varieties.
As I stayed by the seaside, I jumped on the opportunity to indulge in the rich offerings of the sea every dinner. Raw fish, just briefly steamed prawns, marinated octopus – it all was delicious and so fresh, you could taste the sea! A local raw fish specialty is the octopus. Although there was a slice of lemon on my plate, my Apulian friends (aka food consultants) voted against “diluting” the taste with it.
This story showed me: Apulians are purists when it comes to food. They like the unadulterated taste of the ingredients. “Wait a moment”, you think right now, “Is it not the Italian style of cooking in general to use only a few ingredients of the best quality and have their tastes stand out?” And you are right. Italians are purists, but Apulians are the ueberpurists. Let me give you another example: there was not a drop of olive oil on the foods that were served. Not the raw fish, not the grilled one, not the cheeses. All were served plain. Tuscans would have, well, maybe not exactly drowned their food in olive oil, but they would have used is as a finishing touch. Not so in Puglia, where they shake their heads in disbelief at the Tuscans and their weird tastes. What I found interesting, as Puglia is well known for its olive oil. But in contrast to Tuscany, they use their olive oil for texture, not for taste. They quite frankly admitted that they found the pungent taste of Tuscan oils unbearable. They want their oil slightly fruity, but in no way dominant in its taste. An oil for every occasion, blending perfectly with the dishes it is used to prepare.
While driving through Puglia, with olive trees steched till the horizon, I wondered if this demand for a more basic taste profile of oil results from the fact that Apulian agriculture is not set up for individual, small scale quality production. Those were literally forests of olive trees, which are impossible to pick by hand, no matter how much cheap labour is available. Talking to some elders in a village, I was told that most of the times the olives are picked off the ground once they have fallen off the tree. Which would mean that the olives are harvested in a state of deteriorate – not the most promising start for great olive oil.
But Puglia is vast, and agriculture is the predominant sector. Most of the farms are focused on quantity production, not quality. Organic agriculture is mostly unheard of. When I asked a sales veteran for Apulian food about where could I find small quality focused organic farms, he just looked at me in disbelief. Some farms are slowly moving towards this new “lifestyle” (cause it is more than a production method, it is a different approach to agriculture and how we see nature as such), but it will take years, until we will see a substantial shift from quantity to quality production in Apulian agriculture.
The main crops in Apulia are table grapes, grain (hence also famous for its pasta, such as the one made with the grain of Gargano), artichoke, and grapes for winemaking. Then there is the lifestock, which lays the ground for the fabulous cheesemaking Apulia is famed for: fior di latte (mozzarella made of cow’s milk), burrata (think fior di latte stuffed with little pieces of mozzarella and heavy cream), ricotta, scamorza, caciaricotta (of sheep’s milk)… and so much more!
Every little, better: tiny, town has there “Caseificio”: cheesemaker.
Cheeses are produced in the morning, around 10 am, and – as I had to find out the hard way - are usually sold out by 12am… It took me three stops at three Caseificios in the small town of Noicattero (Bari Province) to finally get my hands on a burrata. I assure you, it was worth the wait! Ohho… how the heavy cream slowly pouring out of the burrata was glittering in the summer sun, when I finally was in my B&B and digged my fork into the shiny white ball shaped goodness… I was an Apulian that moment: burrata, just burrata and nothing to go with it. Pure and simple deliciousness.
If you feel hungry by now, I brought you a souvenir: the recipe of
Grano alla marinara (Whole grain with seafood)
1lb. whole durum wheat
11 oz. mussels (cleaned)
11 oz. shrimp
11 oz. clams (cleaned)
1 lb. peeled tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (yes, you can use Cosimo’s!)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Black pepper
2 chopped garlic cloves
Bring to boil five quarts of water. Add the wheat and cook for 30 minutes without stirring.
In the meantime, in a big frying pan, sauté the garlic and the parsley briefly in the olive oil until slightly browned. Add the shrimp and fry for another couple of minutes. Add tomatoes and a pinch of salt and cook for 20 minutes. Add clams and mussels and let simmer for another 10 minutes.
Drain the wheat and put in a big serving bowl. Put two mussels aside for decoration. Add the sauce and mix briefly. Finish with some fresh parsley and some black pepper sprinkled on top. Add mussels on top and serve.
Apulia is the “heel” of Italy: it borders on the sea, looking towards Croatia and Albania. Which means fish and seafood in abundance, and the most curious varieties.
As I stayed by the seaside, I jumped on the opportunity to indulge in the rich offerings of the sea every dinner. Raw fish, just briefly steamed prawns, marinated octopus – it all was delicious and so fresh, you could taste the sea! A local raw fish specialty is the octopus. Although there was a slice of lemon on my plate, my Apulian friends (aka food consultants) voted against “diluting” the taste with it.
This story showed me: Apulians are purists when it comes to food. They like the unadulterated taste of the ingredients. “Wait a moment”, you think right now, “Is it not the Italian style of cooking in general to use only a few ingredients of the best quality and have their tastes stand out?” And you are right. Italians are purists, but Apulians are the ueberpurists. Let me give you another example: there was not a drop of olive oil on the foods that were served. Not the raw fish, not the grilled one, not the cheeses. All were served plain. Tuscans would have, well, maybe not exactly drowned their food in olive oil, but they would have used is as a finishing touch. Not so in Puglia, where they shake their heads in disbelief at the Tuscans and their weird tastes. What I found interesting, as Puglia is well known for its olive oil. But in contrast to Tuscany, they use their olive oil for texture, not for taste. They quite frankly admitted that they found the pungent taste of Tuscan oils unbearable. They want their oil slightly fruity, but in no way dominant in its taste. An oil for every occasion, blending perfectly with the dishes it is used to prepare.
While driving through Puglia, with olive trees steched till the horizon, I wondered if this demand for a more basic taste profile of oil results from the fact that Apulian agriculture is not set up for individual, small scale quality production. Those were literally forests of olive trees, which are impossible to pick by hand, no matter how much cheap labour is available. Talking to some elders in a village, I was told that most of the times the olives are picked off the ground once they have fallen off the tree. Which would mean that the olives are harvested in a state of deteriorate – not the most promising start for great olive oil.
But Puglia is vast, and agriculture is the predominant sector. Most of the farms are focused on quantity production, not quality. Organic agriculture is mostly unheard of. When I asked a sales veteran for Apulian food about where could I find small quality focused organic farms, he just looked at me in disbelief. Some farms are slowly moving towards this new “lifestyle” (cause it is more than a production method, it is a different approach to agriculture and how we see nature as such), but it will take years, until we will see a substantial shift from quantity to quality production in Apulian agriculture. The main crops in Apulia are table grapes, grain (hence also famous for its pasta, such as the one made with the grain of Gargano), artichoke, and grapes for winemaking. Then there is the lifestock, which lays the ground for the fabulous cheesemaking Apulia is famed for: fior di latte (mozzarella made of cow’s milk), burrata (think fior di latte stuffed with little pieces of mozzarella and heavy cream), ricotta, scamorza, caciaricotta (of sheep’s milk)… and so much more!
Every little, better: tiny, town has there “Caseificio”: cheesemaker.
Cheeses are produced in the morning, around 10 am, and – as I had to find out the hard way - are usually sold out by 12am… It took me three stops at three Caseificios in the small town of Noicattero (Bari Province) to finally get my hands on a burrata. I assure you, it was worth the wait! Ohho… how the heavy cream slowly pouring out of the burrata was glittering in the summer sun, when I finally was in my B&B and digged my fork into the shiny white ball shaped goodness… I was an Apulian that moment: burrata, just burrata and nothing to go with it. Pure and simple deliciousness.If you feel hungry by now, I brought you a souvenir: the recipe of
Grano alla marinara (Whole grain with seafood)
1lb. whole durum wheat
11 oz. mussels (cleaned)
11 oz. shrimp
11 oz. clams (cleaned)
1 lb. peeled tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (yes, you can use Cosimo’s!)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Black pepper
2 chopped garlic cloves
Bring to boil five quarts of water. Add the wheat and cook for 30 minutes without stirring.
In the meantime, in a big frying pan, sauté the garlic and the parsley briefly in the olive oil until slightly browned. Add the shrimp and fry for another couple of minutes. Add tomatoes and a pinch of salt and cook for 20 minutes. Add clams and mussels and let simmer for another 10 minutes.
Drain the wheat and put in a big serving bowl. Put two mussels aside for decoration. Add the sauce and mix briefly. Finish with some fresh parsley and some black pepper sprinkled on top. Add mussels on top and serve.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Fish on the gill!
Summer, sun, long nights out on the porch. What better way to cook your dinner than on the grill, gathering friends and family around the table and enjoying summer and your backyard! Surprise them with an delicous fish course, full of Italian flavors. And it's really easy to prepare, so you can join the outdoor fun, too!
1 whole sea bass, cleaned & w/o scales. (ca. 3 lb.)
1 untreated lemon, sliced
Fresh parsley
3 tbsp. of Roberta’s Roasting and Grilling Salt
6 tbsp. of Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Place the whole, cleaned fish on a piece of aluminium foil big enough to completely wrap it in foil. Stuff fish with parsley and slices of lemon. Rub it generously with Roberta's Roasting and Grilling Salt and drizzle Cosimo's Extra Virgin Olive Oil over the fish. Close aluminium wrap well and put on the grill for ca. 20 minutes, turning the package once.
1 whole sea bass, cleaned & w/o scales. (ca. 3 lb.)
1 untreated lemon, sliced
Fresh parsley
3 tbsp. of Roberta’s Roasting and Grilling Salt
6 tbsp. of Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Place the whole, cleaned fish on a piece of aluminium foil big enough to completely wrap it in foil. Stuff fish with parsley and slices of lemon. Rub it generously with Roberta's Roasting and Grilling Salt and drizzle Cosimo's Extra Virgin Olive Oil over the fish. Close aluminium wrap well and put on the grill for ca. 20 minutes, turning the package once.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Summertime - Zucchini Flower Recipe Competition!!
The huge vegetable garden on Cosimo's estate is my favorite indicator to define the season: huge artichokes: spring, ripe tomatoes: late summer, yellow zucchini flowers greeting every passerby: summer summer. Yes, looking out on that patch of land one can state without a doubt that summer has arrived.
And, oh so many yummy things can be cooked with those flowers ("fiori di zucca"). Deep fried as an appetizer, stuffed with ricotta and parmesan cheese and then baked in the oven, with pasta...
WHAT ARE YOUR ZUCCHINI FLOWER RECIPES?? Post them here as a comment and I promise I will try them all out with a trusted panel of Italian eaters to award a set of Cosimo's Extra Virgin Olive Oil to the one recipe that brings out best the authentic zucchini flower taste! Deadline July 10, 2009.
My two personal favorites: briefly fried in an olive oil lined pan with some parmesan cheese sprinkled over it, a hint of salt and black pepper. Nothing else.
Or a zucchini risotto with the flowers giving a colorful touch to the dish, carrying the warmth of the sun into your plate.
Easy risotto recipe:
2 cups of Carnaroli Rice from Il Covone (in The Scrumptious Pantry)
1 medium sized onion, diced
2 small zucchini
6 zucchini flowers
½ cup white wine - I personally recommend a good Chardonnay; do not try to save money using cheap wine, you can taste the difference. It is better to buy a nice bottle to also go with the meal!
4 cups broth (vegetable or chicken) – depending on altitude, weather etc. you might need a little less or more. Taste your way to your perfect quantity!
1 stick butter (8 tbsp.)
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Choose a low-rising and wide pot – you want to give the risotto lots of room to absorb the liquid evenly!
Sauté the diced onion and the grated zucchini in 4 tbsp. butter, add the rice and sauté until it becomes translucent. Add wine, stirring until the liquid is totally absorbed. Add finely sliced zucchini flowers. Add ½ cup of hot broth at a time, letting the rice absorb the liquid, stirring every 3-4 minutes. After about 15 minutes (the rice should be almost done), turn off the heat, add the remaining butter and the parmesan cheese, stir well and let sit with lid of the pot closed for another 5 minutes. NOTE: you can always substitute wine with broth, if you prefer!
And, oh so many yummy things can be cooked with those flowers ("fiori di zucca"). Deep fried as an appetizer, stuffed with ricotta and parmesan cheese and then baked in the oven, with pasta...
WHAT ARE YOUR ZUCCHINI FLOWER RECIPES?? Post them here as a comment and I promise I will try them all out with a trusted panel of Italian eaters to award a set of Cosimo's Extra Virgin Olive Oil to the one recipe that brings out best the authentic zucchini flower taste! Deadline July 10, 2009.
My two personal favorites: briefly fried in an olive oil lined pan with some parmesan cheese sprinkled over it, a hint of salt and black pepper. Nothing else.
Or a zucchini risotto with the flowers giving a colorful touch to the dish, carrying the warmth of the sun into your plate.
Easy risotto recipe:
2 cups of Carnaroli Rice from Il Covone (in The Scrumptious Pantry)
1 medium sized onion, diced
2 small zucchini
6 zucchini flowers
½ cup white wine - I personally recommend a good Chardonnay; do not try to save money using cheap wine, you can taste the difference. It is better to buy a nice bottle to also go with the meal!
4 cups broth (vegetable or chicken) – depending on altitude, weather etc. you might need a little less or more. Taste your way to your perfect quantity!
1 stick butter (8 tbsp.)
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Choose a low-rising and wide pot – you want to give the risotto lots of room to absorb the liquid evenly!
Sauté the diced onion and the grated zucchini in 4 tbsp. butter, add the rice and sauté until it becomes translucent. Add wine, stirring until the liquid is totally absorbed. Add finely sliced zucchini flowers. Add ½ cup of hot broth at a time, letting the rice absorb the liquid, stirring every 3-4 minutes. After about 15 minutes (the rice should be almost done), turn off the heat, add the remaining butter and the parmesan cheese, stir well and let sit with lid of the pot closed for another 5 minutes. NOTE: you can always substitute wine with broth, if you prefer!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Summertime - light soup time!
For a light meal in these last days of spring (or shall we say early days of summer), try the following bean soup. Delicious and easy to make!
1lb. dried Borlotti beans
1 small red onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stick, diced
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. of Roberta’s Roasting and Grilling Salt
5 tbsp. of Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil
White pepper
After soaking the beans in water for 24 hours, drain them, mix with two tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, add whole garlic cloves, cover with water and cook at low heat for 60 minutes until done.
In the meantime, sauté diced onion, celery and carrot in three tbsp. of olive oil for ca. five to ten minutes. The vegetables are supposed to be cooked, not browned. Mix with the tomato paste and add the cooked, drained beans. Cover with water and let simmer for 20 min. over low heat. Puree the mix, add some more water if the soup is too dense. Season with the herbed Roasting and Grilling salt. Serve with a dash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and freshly ground white pepper!
1lb. dried Borlotti beans
1 small red onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stick, diced
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. of Roberta’s Roasting and Grilling Salt
5 tbsp. of Cosimo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil
White pepper
After soaking the beans in water for 24 hours, drain them, mix with two tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, add whole garlic cloves, cover with water and cook at low heat for 60 minutes until done.
In the meantime, sauté diced onion, celery and carrot in three tbsp. of olive oil for ca. five to ten minutes. The vegetables are supposed to be cooked, not browned. Mix with the tomato paste and add the cooked, drained beans. Cover with water and let simmer for 20 min. over low heat. Puree the mix, add some more water if the soup is too dense. Season with the herbed Roasting and Grilling salt. Serve with a dash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and freshly ground white pepper!
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