193 replies to this topic

[Kevin72]

I jumped the gun and began "Tuscan" cooking last night with a bowl of pumpkin soup. On the side, we had crostini with mascarpone, rosemary, and black pepper.



We've been discussing pumpkin varieties lately, and I'd like to offer a plug for the Red Kuri variety. They are quite sweet and have a much more pronounced presence than the standard sugar or pie pumpkin. They're dark orange or reddish orange, kind of bumpy, and have tapered ends with a bulging, round middle. I'll try and get a pic of one posted if I use more this month.

[Pontormo]

Ummmm...

As you can see, I had plenty to choose from:

Until your next trip, this will do: red kuri's in the fourth basket (from upper left in background) in this photograph. Cooked one last night myself. Wonderful, smooth texture right in between butternut and buttercup, denser than the former but not as dry as the latter.

This month I am determined to use Ada Boni's book since I've only prepared a recipe or two. Looking through it a few days ago, I noticed that there are at least four recipes for soup. I'm also interested in Lucca now that we've referred to the city's specialties in this forum a few times.

P.S. Budini di riso !!!!

Edited by Pontormo, 01 November 2006 - 06:55 AM.

[NYC Mike]

Nice Soup Kevin!

A few months back I bought a lot of 40 cookbooks on ebay for $100. Aside from the assorted "Use only your blender" cookbooks were a few real gems. One of them is "Food alla Florentine" by Naomi Barry and Beppe Bellini the book is geared to entertaining and arranged in menus, the recipes look great so I can't wait to try!

-Mike

[Franci]

Kevin, thanks for the nice introduction. Your soup looks very nice.

This is a region I am not very comfortable with, for a very unreasonable and shameful reason...but there are good recipes anyway.


This need to be fixed a little. Barbotta



I love these rustic savory tarts. With variations they are similar in Emilia/Liguria and Toscana.
For this barbotta I followed the recipe from the link above, it is made with polenta, some milk and onions slowly saute' in oil. At home I had only polenta bramata and thinking it would be more suitable a finer ground, like fioretto, I tried to ground the bramata. A coarse polenta is trickier to manage in relation to the liquid needed. I felt I should have kept the mixture more runny, it was missing water...
Once I made a similar torta from Liguria called Baciocca, for which I used a very fine indian cornmeal, it came out so much nicer than this Barbotta.

Edited by Franci, 01 November 2006 - 07:28 AM.

[Kevin72]

Your comments on Tuscan cooking are interesting, Franci, since I find both Tuscan and Pugliese cooking appealing for similar reasons: their straightforward, comforting, homey style.

Mike's post reminds me of yet another good book: the Florence cookbook from the Williams-Sonoma series on dining cities.

Edited by Kevin72, 01 November 2006 - 11:26 AM.

[divina]

Home sweet home... since 1984!
I will be here when things calm down a little! just got back from Salone del Gusto! and have a convivium here from Kansas City...

Dinner at solociccia tonight and then I am back to normal!

the weather right now is SOOOO warm still.

Had a fabulous grilled porcini for lunch today!!!

the new oil is out!!! and all is great in paradise.

Edited by divina, 02 November 2006 - 07:30 AM.

[hathor]

Woo-hoo! Having Divina around this month will be a treat!!
I don't think I'll be able to concentrate until I have a bistecca florentine...I keep thinking about juicy red, bloody steak......
Nice soup Kevin! This should be a very fun month!

[JasonZ]

Guess what is on the "closeouts" list at Jessica's Biscuit, item 04729?

04729 La Mia Cucina Toscana :
A Tuscan Cooks in America
by Luongo, Pino
Published: October 2003

2004 James Beard Award Nominee for Photography


Price: $12.98
List: $40.00
You Save:
$27.02 (67%)

Pino Luongo has written a number of books on growing up in Tuscany.  I have A Tuscan In the Kitchen and enjoy it immensely, but all of the other books of his I’ve looked at have appeal as well.  As with many cookbooks I enjoy, he gives stories and histories at the start of his recipes, including an eye-opening account as a child of seeing a mushroom forager getting bit by a poisonous snake.  Without hesitation, the forager grabbed an axe and lopped off the fingers he was bitten on to prevent the poison from spreading! Another amusing trait is that he, in true Italian form, doesn’t give precise amounts: he merely lists the ingredients and lets the cook decide what proportions to add to make it taste right.

[Pontormo]

Franci, we won't pry, but I do hope that whatever caused your disdain for this region can be overcome.

While we're waiting for Divina to eat her marrow with Dario and sit down a spell, might I invite you to try this Tuscan salad?

Kevin mentioned how important beans and soups are in this region and Shaya photographed some gorgeous Tuscan kale in the thread about soups.

Something else I associate strongly with this part of Central Italy is the habit of eating little crostini while you're waiting for the kitchen of your favorite nearby bar to finish making that day's pasta at lunchtime. A good, strong chopped chicken liver spread is mandatory at this time of year, maybe a salty, garlicky spinach--chopped tomatoes with basil in the summer.

ETA: thanks for the info about the sale, JasonZ.

Edited by Pontormo, 02 November 2006 - 09:02 AM.

[FoodMan]

Guess what is on the "closeouts" list at Jessica's Biscuit, item 04729?

04729    La Mia Cucina Toscana :   
A Tuscan Cooks in America
by Luongo, Pino
Published: October 2003

2004 James Beard Award Nominee for Photography


Price: $12.98
List: $40.00
You Save:
$27.02 (67%)

Pino Luongo has written a number of books on growing up in Tuscany.  I have A Tuscan In the Kitchen and enjoy it immensely, but all of the other books of his I’ve looked at have appeal as well.  As with many cookbooks I enjoy, he gives stories and histories at the start of his recipes, including an eye-opening account as a child of seeing a mushroom forager getting bit by a poisonous snake.  Without hesitation, the forager grabbed an axe and lopped off the fingers he was bitten on to prevent the poison from spreading! Another amusing trait is that he, in true Italian form, doesn’t give precise amounts: he merely lists the ingredients and lets the cook decide what proportions to add to make it taste right.

Jason-
FYI, this is NOT the same book as "A Tuscan in the Kitchen". I've seen this one for sale at Half Price Books several times for under $10 but never bought it. You can say it is more of a modernized-Tuscan-inspired recipe collection. It looks very pretty and fancy, but I just was not too interested.

Thought you'd like to know before buying it...Anyone has this book and cares to comment?

[FoodMan]

A quick pasta dish to kick off Tuscany in my home. I did not follow any particular recipe, like Kevin Tuscan cooking is pretty intuitive to me..or at least what I think of as simple Tuscan. The dish consisted of a wide dried pasta (it had frilly edges...Ricciatelli or something like that) dressed with sauteed mushrooms, swiss chard, homemade Italian sausage, parmesan cheese and chili flakes. Tasted great, was ready in under 30 minutes and it seems Tuscan.






As I type a few loaves of saltless Tuscan bread are proofing...

[Kevin72]

Looking good, got your trademark chili blanket on the dish, I see!

I just remembered this morning that I wanted to do Tuscan saltless this weekend, and now I'm worried it's too late since I usually give the sponge a day to age.

[Pontormo]

I would rarely turn down a slice of fresh, homemade bread, but I would were it pane Toscana.

I'm all for the impulse that led Elie to sprinkle his pasta with chili flakes.

Fat, white beans with salt, pepper and a good olive oil, straight, yes, even if slightly scorched. Same with grilled porcini.

But saltless bread with unsalted butter and sicky-sweet preserves for breakfast? The butter is great, but give me fiocchi di mais, a banana, milk and a cereal bowl instead, please. Or go to the bar for a warm bombolino alla crema covered with sugar and filled with vanilla custard.

[divina]

In the saltless bread list...

when toasted of course with the new oil ( already out!) salted and a touch of black pepper, Fettunta or then topped with tuscan beans, zolifni from the val d'arno my all time favorite!... or really over cooked Tuscan Kale, cavolo nero... and some of it's cooking liquid.

same bread on the bottom of a soup bowl with Tuscan white beans on top... and their broth,Zuppa Lombada

and I must say... the saltless bread hold up for both the young and old... with Nutella for breakfast or merenda!

[Chufi]

I'm planning to make pappardelle alla (sulla?) lepre tomorrow. Recipes online seem to vary quite a bit. Does anyone have a good one? Oh, and should I serve with or without parmesan?

[Franci]

I'm planning to make pappardelle alla (sulla?) lepre tomorrow. Recipes online seem to vary quite a bit. Does anyone have a good one? Oh, and should I serve with or without parmesan?

Sulla lepre. It is a toscal dialect expression
I am sure Divina has good tips, but reading this recipe should not turn bad

Pappardelle sulla lepre

P.S.: If I had the time I'd prefer a real stock. No cheese.

Edited by Franci, 04 November 2006 - 04:18 AM.

[Pontormo]

Klary: If it's not too late, let me add that you should save the liver.

If your butcher cleans the rabbits for customers, ask him or her to reserve several. I have a recipe at home. I'll have to figure out the source, but the instructions say that chicken livers can be used, but rabbit is better.

ETA: It would have to be for another day since it's another primo. However, given the recommended substitutions, I imagine rabbit liver could be used for a crostino-spread.

Carol Field's In Nonna's Kitchen has a recipe for spinach pasta sauced with fresh sage, grappa, only 5 ounces of the livers, onion, and a couple of tomatoes. Serves 2-3 as main dish. Looks good.

Edited by Pontormo, 04 November 2006 - 09:24 AM.

[divina]

The Alessi recipe listed above is a bit complex.
We always start with the soffritto, carrot, onion and celery, minced finely and sauteed in oil until golden ( ok.. I really get it close to burning.. loke the carmelization)
then I brown the lepre ( wild hare) or wild boar..etc.. and splash with red wine.
Add tomato sauce ( if you like) salt to taste.. season with any other flavors( juniper, bay leaves salt pepper...etc.)
cover and cook.
When the hare is tender it will fall off the bone...
Take the hare off the bone and chop finely ( really mince) and put back into the sauce and finish cooking.

IF you have the rabbit liver, you would also mince that up and add now. otherwise the liver makes it bitter.

It is served without cheese as to not hide the flavor of the hare.
Grated lemon zest is always a nice touch in ragu.

[Chufi]

Thanks divina! the hare ( 1 huge leg) is simmering away as we speak and I did it almost as you decribed (before reading your post!). The house smells great No liver though. btw wouldn't hare liver be better than the rabbit liver? assuming one could get that?

Edited by Chufi, 05 November 2006 - 08:59 AM.

[Chufi]

Dinner:


pappardelle sulla lepre. Homemade pasta!

I pretty much did what divina described above. Flavorings were juniper, thyme, rosemary, fennel seeds, nutmeg. Braised the meat in red wine and porcini stock until really tender. A tiny bit of lemon zest at the end. Oh, and I forgot to buy celery, so I added some chopped up celeriac.
I have to admit.. I was sorely tempted to add cheese. I do love pasta with a meatsauce and cheese! But, I let Dennis taste the sauce, and his verdict was: no cheese! The man can't cook, but he sure has a good palate and he was so right. The cheese would have really drowned the beautiful complex flavor of the sauce. The sauce is actually a kind of chopped up game-stew, with the deep and sweet and mellow flavors of fall.

[Pontormo]

Looks absolutely wonderful, Klary!

As for livers, I am making due with chicken. Also picked up juniper berries. I don't know the difference between rabbits and hares, especially when it comes to eating their visceral matter. Please explain.

[Franci]

Dinner:


pappardelle sulla lepre. Homemade pasta!

Really nice job Chufi!

[Pontormo]

Tonight, I made the crostini di fegatini that I mentioned earlier as a typical Tuscan antipasto. I am linking a report in Daniel's Cookbook Roulette thread given its source.

Rest of dinner was not exactly assembled in traditional fashion and probably the only other Florentine quality was the sautéed spinach. Does anyone know why dishes prepared with spinach are called "a la Florentine"? Anyway, it was my first spinach after the recent scare and it was also quite good.

[Pan]

I love Tuscany and Tuscan food and will enjoy watching everyone's efforts.

Baking and confections haven't been mentioned much yet, except inasmuch as breads are saltless. Tuscany, or specifically, the city of Prato, is the home of the famous canticcini, aka biscotti di Prato. Siena is the wellspring of the wonderful panforte, which come in several types; and also ricciarelli, which are essentially marzipane cookies. Wonderful focaccie of various kinds are also to be found in Tuscany. Crostate (little tarts) are a traditional way to end a meal if dessert is not in the form of ripe fruit or biscotti and Vin Santo. I also enjoyed torrone and various other pastries in Tuscany.

[fortedei]

I love Tuscany and Tuscan food and will enjoy watching everyone's efforts.

Baking and confections haven't been mentioned much yet, except inasmuch as breads are saltless. Tuscany, or specifically, the city of Prato, is the home of the famous canticcini, aka biscotti di Prato. Siena is the wellspring of the wonderful panforte, which come in several types; and also ricciarelli, which are essentially marzipane cookies. Wonderful focaccie of various kinds are also to be found in Tuscany. Crostate (little tarts) are a traditional way to end a meal if dessert is not in the form of ripe fruit or biscotti and Vin Santo. I also enjoyed torrone and various other pastries in Tuscany.

Canticcini? What is that?

[Pan]

I love Tuscany and Tuscan food and will enjoy watching everyone's efforts.

Baking and confections haven't been mentioned much yet, except inasmuch as breads are saltless. Tuscany, or specifically, the city of Prato, is the home of the famous canticcini, aka biscotti di Prato. Siena is the wellspring of the wonderful panforte, which come in several types; and also ricciarelli, which are essentially marzipane cookies. Wonderful focaccie of various kinds are also to be found in Tuscany. Crostate (little tarts) are a traditional way to end a meal if dessert is not in the form of ripe fruit or biscotti and Vin Santo. I also enjoyed torrone and various other pastries in Tuscany.

Canticcini? What is that?

A typo! I mean cantuccini! I also made a grammar mistake: Panforte is singular (plural=panforti), so panforte comes in several varieties. The ones I remember are tipo margherita, tipo cioccolato, tipo marzapane, and there's another one that I didn't like as much and don't recall the name of, which as I recall tasted more obviously of spices.

Edited by Pan, 05 November 2006 - 10:24 PM.

[Chufi]

  I don't know the difference between rabbits and hares, especially when it comes to eating their visceral matter.  Please explain.

wikipedia on rabbit

wikipedia on hare

edited to add, divina is blogging this week, check out her blog in General Food Topics here!

Edited by Chufi, 06 November 2006 - 12:24 AM.

[hathor]

I've seen hare in the woods around here....and they are big enough that you go, "Whoa!! What the h*ll was that???" as it hops away.

Lunch included a grilled chicken...or pollo alla brace...or polo allo ferro. Grilling meats is a core prepartion in both Umbria and Tuscany. This one was particularly tasty. You know when the taste matches expectations?

[divina]

Whoppee I am the guest egblogger this week. so join me... I am working this week so will be three days of classes.

Dreaming about new oil, white truffles, wild boar.... and my desserts too!
on my site there are TONS of recipes for you to try!
Minestrone Ribolitta... even panforte and riccarelli!!!

[Pontormo]

Chufi: The word "lepre" simply didn't register as hare for me since I was thinking of "lapin" vs. "coniglio." In any respect, I don't know if Carol Field's recipe for a Tuscan grandmother's sauce calls for the livers of rabbit (not to be found inside hares, true, unless they're terribly aggressive) as a substitute for ones from hares.

In her book on Tuscan food, Nancy Harmon Jenkins includes a recipe for pappardelle all'anatra since she says the dish you prepared is difficult for most home cooks since it's hard to find hares, let alone follow the instructions of most old, original recipes which begin "'first catch your hare'" (p. 89) and then go on calling for the blood, lungs, heart, etc. NHJ lists simply the duck's liver, saying the dish is associated with Hathor's nearby Arezzo.

* * *
As for my crostini, turns out the use of anchovies and capers is not uncommon.

* * *
And Pan, since you like biscotti di Prato so much, if you haven't seen it before, check out Adam Balic's Tuscan thread on a visit to his in-laws.