divina
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Posts posted by divina
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no was last year!!!
not many places to eat... we went by train, was going to try to rent a car and drive around. no luck!
Next time will drive down and around to explore more.. Tropea.. over to Matera.
There is the Accademia del Peperoncino, chili academy, based here and the festival is held in September
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Usually we crumble the broken chili's into oil and saute with garlic, for Italian cooking.
I soak in hot water and puree to make harissa.
OR use a coffee grinder to turn to powder...
Be careful breathing when you open the jar!
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Here are some of my images from the festival.
Held at night.... it was one large food orgy!
stands with chili pepper rasta's, and products with chili from savory to sweet, stands with pasta, meats, breads, shops with jewelery, chandeleers, chili eating contests, and more.
the town itself did not have much to offer, using the internet was a desk in a guys shop for 15 euro for the hour!
Selection of chili's for sale from a friend that was raising the chili's as part of a project from the University of Pisa.. the took back the land they delegated to him, and now Dario Cecchini has donated land to help the professor in his studies.
A proud chili grower
One of the pork products, Capocollo, bound and tied with small sticks to keep it shape
A Savory cornmeal and green olive chili infused "bread", more like a savory cookie
Woman rolling gnocchi on typical "basket" made from wheat stalks. ( potato gnocchi)
Mother and son frying potato bread.. with anchovy ( his name was Gianni ( John) Travolta)
The fried dough!
Chili granita and ice cream
Citron granita ( cedro)
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I have been to the Chili festival in Diamante, was fabulous and everything had chili!
had fabulous chili granita and also pastry cream!
My favorite food was a fried bread dough with anchovies kneaded in.
I will also post a fotograph when I am back in Florence for the basket I have for putting ridges in the gnocchi I picked up when at the festival.
My FAVORITE product from Calabria is N'duja, a soft porkfat/chili that is put in a sauage casing and smoked!
We had it tossed on pasta,where it melts like butter.. with a kick!
Diamante is also know for their Citron.... called the Citron Coast, Riviera dei Cedri, producing most of the citron for the jewish populations needs in the mediterranean.
Of course Granita from the Citron was popular too!
Pork is also king in calabria.. and with the added chili kick... one of my favorites!
Chewy hard wheat pastas.. laden with ragu!
long way to go.. and when I went by train there were problems with"bugs" on the trains!
So watch out for the bed bugs!
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Saba is what traditional balsamic vinegar is made from!
the cooked grape juice..
then aged in 5 wooden barrels for 12 years minimum.
so it gives the the idea of what REAL balsamic tastes like!
Great anywhere from salads, grilled meat of fish, cheeses.. grilled figs with gorgonzola.... duck!!! ice cream!
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it is called mustard essence here in Italy and is liquid.
people start off with 10 drops for a kilo, but I like a kick in my mostarda!
here in Florence I buy it at Bizzarri, downtown.
in the north they buy it in pharmacies.
Hold it away from you when you work with it.. DO NOT INHALE
I found some new stuff where people are making a very thick simple syrup.. and adding the essence to it...
have had berries and chestnuts done this way.WOW
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I think it is against the law in AMerica... but I hear Indian stores may have it.
It is very expensive, because it takes forever to make!
considering how much one eats... it is not expensive..
in a cost per serving way!
I will surf around some for you and see what I can find.
It takes about 3 days to make it.
Like the french fruits preserved in syrup, but with a kick!
in peoples homes the make a simple cooked fruit, more like applesauce..
not as special I think.
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I have also seen a thick enough to cut SABA which is made usually from Grapes
as mentioned above, usually eaten with cheeses, mostly pecorino.
Mostarda di cremona is also served with bollito misto, boiled meat dinner.. or the fatty cotechino, boiled sausage.
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Ciao.. have been offline!
In tuscany the quince paste is called cotognata and you can also buy a norther version with the mustard essence in it called Senapata ( senape is mustard)
the process for making the candied mustard fruits is long. most families make more of a jam version and the Essenza di Senape is available at any farmacy.
I created the Mostarda Mediterranea that Dario Cecchini sells, which is a riff on the American Red pepper jelly and it is a huge hit in Italy for those that do not like the Mostarda di Cremona
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here is a little artichoke workshop with foto's on my site.
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Try the ricarelli cookie recipe on my site.
IMPORTANT is that it is made with ground almond flour, not ground in the cuisinart.
But in a nut grinder.. often called almond FLOUR in health food shops.
bake a trial one first as the ingredients in america are different than those in Italy.
Everyone ADORES them!
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Vecchia Bettola is owned by the same people that have Nerbone in the market and Nerbone in Greve in chianti. Good Tuscan food!
It is just beyond Piazza Tasso, ( where Tranvai is located, another favorite of locals)
Pandemonio is on via del leone.. as is Enoteca la Barrique ( fab wine bar)
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De rien.. ma granpere e di Soisson!
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ciao!
there are a ton of places on my dining guide online mentioned above..
but let me mention some secrets not on my site
I think if you are looking for REAL FOOD... Mario's for lunch.. or Da sergio...( both on my site) have been around for more than 50 years in the same families.
Da Caffaggio, on Via Faenza.. family owned forever .. fabulous food.
Dal Fagioli, corso Tintori
both open for dinner.
Sostanza.. on via porcellino... another oldie but goodie.
what happens though is that the food gets redundent.. roast pork and sugo!
but .... it is all tuscan soul food!
one step up is Da giovanni, giovanni Latini and his kids ( daughters) on via del Moro right around the corner from the original I latini , which his brother now runs.
I adore it!
Add Lucca and Siena.. and you are set!
I have some Siena on my site too ( Chianti)
in my newsletters are a winebar guide..and gelato too!
Enjoy!
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Thanks... glad to know you like my blog!
I am thinking of adding a market day next year.. like Monday...
when museums are closed and the market is slow!
I adore the market and have been shopping there since 1984!
home sweet home!
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I am 52 and have lived in italy since 1984, so going on 23 years now..almost half my life.
Although no italians in my heritage, I feel Florentine.
I married a Florentine...and was taught by him and his family and friends, the food and culture of Florence.
I must say..as mentioned above, that sure doesn't make me Italian, or give me any expertise on food from more than 20 miles away.
The excitement for me in Italian cooking and cuisine, is that recipes have remained untouched in certain areas. I have neighbors where I live in Certaldo ( near San Gimingnano) that have NEVER been to Florence.. NEVER seen the sea!
There are people here that lived through the second world war with NOTHING and remember well what that was like.
That Italy is dissappearing and a new generation with frozen foods and burgers is growing! International restaurants are taking over old trattoria's and foam is ever increasing in the" finer dining" restaurants.
The recipes which formed one's culinary history are dissappearing.
Very few families have any written records of food.
A very interesting project was published in Siena, in Italian, recipes collected at a old persons hospice.
Facinating!
Even here in Italy, without getting into the Italian -American problems.. noone can agree on a recipe.
The beauty of cooking!
I am in the progress of selfpublishing recipes I have gathered and teach here in Florence. I started in 1988, eavesdropping while shopping at the Cental MArket and writing down the variations on recipes that I got while shopping.
I would innocently ask my butcher for a recipe while a group of women were standing in line waiting to shop.
"How do I prepare that beef for stew?"
The butcher always defered to the clients..
" start by sauteeing red onion with carrot, add the beef, red wine and tomato cook till done."
When that lady left the next was quick to say" NEVER use red onions, noone uses tomato sauce, only wine and I add ( secret ingredient)."
If I chose my group well, I would end up with about 5 different recipes for the same dish.
Now I have My versions.. are they Italian.. I think so..
I also feel Italian, sometimes more than My Italian friends that don't cook often.
or haven't travelled..
Contaminated recipes.. ???
perhaps..
Isn't that what cooking is all about!
My culinary roots..
My mom was raised in Shanghai by a Russian mother and a father born in Paris to a Turkish father and an English mother who was then moved to America joined the Army and was stationed in Shanghai where he met my Grandmother.
My mother gave me no culinary roots..as she had grown up with cooks in her family.
I remember my grandmother making about 5 recipes.. borcht, piroski, pascha and kulich, bagels and halvah and Sukyaki.. for parties.
My mom beef stew and curry dinners..
but their American recipes were basically non existant!
Where did my mom learn to cook for us?
What is my culinary heritage?
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I have had versions of this, with Sausage..
a sort of saffron-ed Carbonara..
Restaurants often us a cooking cream called panna da cucina, a thick processed cream kept in the pantry and not the fridge.
I would say.. reduce some heavy cream by cooking it down to about 1/2, add your saffron to the cream, salt to taste.
in the skillet heat some pancetta, ham or sausage..till cooked
Drain your penne pasta into the pan with the ham. toss it to flavor.. then add the cream sauce.. and some parmesan!
Buon appetito
I have also had a lighter version where the pasta was cooked in saffron water!
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Judith.. sometimes Farina di frumento is to make sure readers know it isn't buckwheat flour which is often used.
Also I think your orecchie di lepre are ears.. not eyes!!!
I wonder if their "drugs" are like the tuscan ones for curing salami's?
And remember.. if you are driving down from the north to the south.. Alto Adige is really Sud Tirol!!! Viva Heidi!
Signs in the villages , are bilingual!
One of my favorte dishes was a fabulous large Gnocchi( I think the bread ricotta and herbs.. served with melted butter chives and cheese.
Paired with a lovely crisp white wine!
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Made pork in milk the other day.. delicate and moist.
My florentine husband liked it so it passed!!!
I sauted leeks and carrots as a base, when golden, add the meat.
Brown the boneless pork roast, I like the piece that is closer to the neck with two colors of meat.
When the meat is browned, cover with whole milk, salt to taste and cover to cook on low heat for an hour. I added some fresh thyme and orange zest ( not traditional)
( YOU MUST USE A LARGE PAN AS THE MILK WILL BOIL UP)
I turned the meat halfway through and stirred some during the cooking.
After the milk boils up, foams, it starts to curdle... don't worry!
When the meat is done, remove from the pan.
I used a mini primer... and pureed right in the pan.
Put the meat back in and let sit.
Slice and serve with the sauce on the side.
You are supposed to splash with white wine or vinegar when the meat is browned, but I didn't.
Enjoy!
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I love fotography...and so this year finally thanks to flickr, put some of my favorite characters from the Central MArket on a calendar.
Stop by My blog and you can download it for free.
I had fun.. and will next do a food one, then a Florence one..
Buon 2007.
As a hint.. one of my friends couldn't afford creat food art, in galleries, so hired a kid to replicate images for her in oil on canvas... got some great art..- cheap!
hire a local kid in college and give them a chance!
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I would email Mary Jane of manomagica, or suzanna trilling of seasons of my heart.
both are americans living in Oaxaca for a long time with businesses there.
Recently I heard from Suzanna ( I have gone twice and taken cooking classes from her) and she was saying that people were having to close due to the lack of tourism, not so much running away...
I adore Oaxaca and the area's surrounding it.
have a fabulous time..
and do contact mary Jane and or suzanna.. I am sure they would love to know that people are coming!
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Daniel.. once again.. you went whole hog!!!
can;t wait to see more!
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since zingerman's is importing it from Tuscany.. I can't tell you what a magical essence it is.
I ALWAYS have it in my kitchen..
add it to my ragu, on grilled pork, chicken and fish.
if you could smell it... it knocks your socks off!
you imagine curry... licorice... anice.... a deep ancient scent.. that reaches into your inner soul!
when I teach my classes, the most important part is the tasting at the market here in Florence... we use all our senses.. and the difference with dried herbs and spices here is amazing!
The sicilian oregano is also a miracle! SWEET and fragrant.
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I have eaten it fresh... when I get it.. just barely seared like foie.. fab!!!
never packaged....
I have had the canned monkfish liver.. which tasted like liver.. NOT high on my list!
Italian Artichoke Appetizer
in Italy: Cooking & Baking
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oops.. Here is the link to leo's artichoke's from my site..
there is a foto guide on the sidebar for cleaning them, and the recipe for fried on the side bar.. and then his recipe for "pickled" under the main text!