albiston

To be completely honest with you, I don't know that many people that make their pesto at home in Italy either, except foodies. But then you can get really nice pesto from good groceries, so you tend to become lazy and enjoy what you can buy . It's not as good as self made, but close. Getting back to using really good Parm in pesto or similar sauces, I think you hit the nail on the head when you say "If you can taste the difference". Pesto is one of these sauces were it would be hard to distinguish one made from a good Parmigiano or an incredibly good one. There's simply too many other flavors there, basil and garlic in particular will and should be the main aroma/taste one notices. It would be different with a different sauce centered on milder tastes. Sure, if you use crap cheese, that will show through even in pesto as wannabechef noted. Maybe it would be good to define what we are talking about. In Italy a good 2 year old Parmigiano Reggiano is sold at around 10-12 € per kilo. Older ones (3 years) become slightly more expensive, around 14-18€ and becomes more and more pricey and rare as age increases. For me the 12€ 2 year old cheese is a very good product, tastes nice and I definitely use it in cooking (heck, I do that almost every day!). On the other hand if I'm lucky enough to find a five year old Parmigiano I will use it only in very simple dishes where it can shine through or eat it as is, the same way I wouldn't use caviar to make a mousse. It is not really a matter of cost for me, even if I shop with a eye on my wallet, it's simply a matter of respecting the ingredient and the work that went into making this by employing it the way which will do it justice. Also, the choice of which Parmigiano to use for cooking also depends on its characteristics on heating. For example, if you want to use Parmigiano for cooking it is better to use younger 1-2 year old cheese because it melts better. Last month I was in a pretty good restaurant near Parma, Al Vedel, talking to the chef after a very nice meal. They use Parmigiano in almost every savory dish they made, using it both as flavoring and salting agent. We talked a while about what cheese they use and he confessed they chose very good but strictly young mountain Parmigiano. Tastes great (and you do notice the difference) and is just right for cooking.

You'll excuse me if I'll disagree and keep thinking that the best lasagne and canneloni (rolled up as monavano explained) are made with fresh home-made pasta. "Never" seems a bit far fetched, rather: you can absolutely cook the directly with the sauce (at least if you're doing an oven baked pasta dish), but it won't necessarily work better. There is a very simple reason for par-boiling lasagne and cannelloni first. If your pasta is cooked almost all the way, it will absorb only a minimal amount of sauce and eventual cheese moisture - and that only if you use a fresh cheese- so you can control how wet or dry you want your dish to be while you assemble it. A mistake here would be cooking too much pasta at once often increases the chance of having such a problem. Ideally one should use between one and one and a half liters of water for every hundred grams of pasta. If you cook the pasta directly in the sauce, and have little experience in doing so, you might use too little or too much ending with dry or soupy cannelloni. In Italy too much sauce is seen as a mistake, much more than it is elsewhere and for this reason par-cooking gives IMO better results. I'm well aware that this is not necessarily the view elsewhere . I think easternsun's problem lies in something not related to the cooking method. When large pasta like cannelloni break apart like described, usually it simply means that the pasta has been damaged during transport. It doesn't need to be broken, a few paper-thin cracks are enough. Had the problem myself once.

You mean, excluding the cheese itself on its own as something one would eat? Jokes apart, I would use it, but, as with any expensive and "rare" ingredient, I do think its part in a dish deserves to be highlighted, that's what I meant with "showcasing". Simple dishes like "pasta burro e parmigiano" described before or a simple risotto "alla Parmigiana" (white risotto with plenty of Parmigiano), as DTBarton suggests, work IMO best. Still I would prefer to eat the cheeese "as is". Let me put it like this: if you have say a 5 year old Parmigiano Reggiano, it will have developed certain nuances in its aroma, just like a good aged wine. If you cook it, you'll loose some of the aroma, since most of the molecules responsible for this are volatile. Using it for topping is fine, yet I find (and this is really only a personal preference) that you can enjoy mature cheeses better when their aroma and flavour is undisturbed by other ingredients.

Sorry, I guess I didn't manage to make my thoughts clear. I would definitely use Parmigiano Reggiano o Grana Padano for pesto, along with Pecorino. Although the traditional recipe probably called fro Pecorino only in the distant past, almost everyone today uses a mix of the two cheeses changing proportions to obtain a stornger or more delicate pesto. On the other hand, if I had really good Parmigiano like a 4 or 5 year old cheese, like wannabechef's seems to be, I would use it in cooking only if I could find a way to showcase it. If I had to choose according to my tastes I would just eat it "as is", but I'm a cheese junky .

I would simply serve it as such in a cheese course, in chunks with some vegetable jam on the side. A good idea is also to serve shavings topped with just a drop of real Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena. If you definitely want to cook with it buy some great artisanal pasta or make some fresh one yourself, the best butter you can find and make pasta burro e parmiggiano, ehm.. pasta butter and Parmesan (well Reggiano in your case). As simple as it is, it can be one of the most delicious pasta dishes I can think of.

According to the latest news Gennaro Esposito should close la Torre del Saracino in the next few weeks to open a new restaurant in the Crowne Plaza Stabiae - Sorrento Coast Hotel, outside Castellamare di Stabia. The hotel is on the highway that connects Sorrento to the Napoli-Reggio Calabria motorway.

Well, I want royalties. Guess what I saw at Central Market today? And from Mozarella Co., no less? Didn't buy it: my wife's going out of town this week and me alone in the house with a one-pound ball of cream-filled cheese is not a good idea. ← I thought you knew that there's people reading every word you tip here on eGullet, with us being trend setters and all that. It either makes you feel really cool or completely paranoi . I don't think you can get royalties, neither did the guy who invented Burrata in the 1920's in Puglia. I would try to get a free sample though. Maybe you should try asking for a donation owed to you as cheese muse.

Given that the use of chickpeas and their flour is quite widespread in Mediterranean countries I wonder if there really has been an influence from one side of the Mediterranean coast to the other or if it's just an example of natural culinary evolution running on the same tracks due to the common ingredients available. You have pasta e ceci almost everywhere in Italy, though more common in the South. I don't know of many other chickpea flour products (apart in Indian cuisine); Farinata and Panissa in Liguria and Soccà and Panisse in Provence are the only ones that come to mind. Are these more common in the Southern Mediterranean? Except for the spices and sultanas, pasta with nuts (hazelnuts and walnuts especially) is not uncommon in the Apennine areas of Campania and Calabria, though there it was often seen as an "emergency" dish for times of food shortage. The addition of raisins and pine nuts (plus capers, olives and anchovies) is very common in Naples too where it is the main feature of all the dishes "di scammaro" (consumed during the christian fasting times, Christmas Eve and Lent being traditional). Today raisins and to a lesser extent pinenuts are often kept out of the recipe, but the older versions always add them. Intriguing to think this is an Arab influence.

it's a big book, but it's not THAT big. ← Even if it were in microfilm format I'd have no place left for it; reading eGullet has had the same effect on my book collection as a blackout on NYC birth's rate. Clifford, thanks for the door-stop tip, but Larousse Gastronomique is heavily reliable in that role.

oh, you big cassata-teaser. ← True, but at least now I found out who archestratus is. Probably I was the last one to do so, right ? Seems like Mediterranean Feast will have to be in my next book order... but I need to buy a new bookshelf first !

Cervellata is today a sausage from Milan made or pork sirloin, pork and veal fat, pork brains, Parmesan cheese, saffron, nutmeg and maybe some other spices and I imagine it's pretty much close to how it was made 500 years ago. ← Almost like 500 years ago, but not exactly. It is still made in Milan, though it is not that common anymore. As far as I know Peck in Milan still sells it. According to the sources I could find, today's recipe only contains meat, cheese and saffron (and maybe a little spices). Brain is not used anymore in this or other recipes, quite common in some parts of Southern Italy, that carry a similar name. Going back to the Arabic influences in Sicily, I was wondering what people think of the explanation of cassata comming from q'sat, which I take means round earthenware bowl. This is the only explanation I've ever heard but it always made me wonder if there's any sweet in Nothern African lands that resambles cassata. The use of ricotta, closer to Central and Southern Italy's pastoral culture than to the Arabic one, would make think it is not the case, but you never know. If somebody knows about it, then the eGullet forums are the right place to find out .

But definitely not the Italian ones . Cecchino dal 1887, a place serving good Roman fare, preceding Pinchiorri and Gambero Rosso, constantly judged as two of the best establishments in Italy by every Italian guide and journalist, by over 20 places is already causing some discussion on Italian web sites dedicated to gastronomy. I think quite a lot of people will be shaking their heads in Italy now.

Great link! Thank you Adam. I must admit I've had a hard time finding articles on the subject written with such a rigorous scientific approach. I'll have to take back what I wrote in the previous post... and burn a few books for making me appear like a fool !

Interesting. I'll have to look more into that. The articles I read on cous cous from Trapani, did not mention the fact at all. Thanks for the tip. While there is no doubt that the arabic origins applies to dried semolina pasta, I suppose the use of durum wheat was already widespread. If I recall correctly hard wheat was introduced in Sicily by the Romans. It adapted better to southern Italian climate than the soft kind and became a quite common ingredient in the area, togetehr with other grains lost or pushed into a tiny niche today. It would not surprise me if it was used to make the fresh hand shaped (essentially gnocchi at the time) or hand rolled pasta (like laganae) eaten at the time.

The results for the 2005 Best Restaurant in the World awards organized by British Restaurant Magazine have been announced. The top three places go to Heston Blumenthal and The Fat Duck in Bray, UK; Ferran Adrià and El Bulli in Monitjoi, Spain (chef's choice); and Thomas Keller and The French Laundry in Yountville, USA. An impressive 14 British restaurants in the list... slightly Anglocentric ? The complete list can be seen here

I don't know how I managed to miss this thread up to now! Thanks for starting this interesting topic Farid. What I find incredibly fascinating about the Arab influence in Sicily is how the Christian religious orders, especially nuns, were responsible for spreading these on to areas less directly influenced by the Arabic rule. While I do agree with Paula that the influence is stronger in the Trapani and Palermo areas, you can find evidences of the arabic culture pretty much everywhere on the island, especially if you look at Sicilian pastries. The love for almonds, rose and orange blossom waters stems, as far as I know, from those times: it became a fundamental part of the monastic sweet making industry (as it was and in part still is) especially in the Palermo area and likely spread from there pushed by the fame of the local sweets. I can't believe nobody mentioned the most important influence the Arabs have had not only on Sicilian cuisine, but on that of the whole of Italy: dried pasta! Although Italian researchers still argue if this was invented in Sicily or Northern Africa (I personally think the latter is much more convincing) there is no doubt that the evolution of pasta from fresh to dried happened under the Arab culture. In some Italian regions, take Puglia, you can still find the old name for pasta in use Tria, which comes directly from the arabic ytria (forgive any spelling mistakes please). We Italians just invented the pasta press to make all those hundreds of shapes that still baffle foreigners today . Regarding cous cous: all he Italian sources I read pretty much agree that the Trapanese tradition of cuscussu di pesce is pretty recent and was probably brought to Italy by the North Africans working as fisherman on Sicilian ships at the beginning of last century.

I haven't eaten out in Rome in the last few years, so I'll leave you to suggestions from those with more recent experiences. There are on the other hand a few pizzerie and gelaterie my local friends keep strongly suggesting, and knowing their tastes I'm sure they're good tips. For pizza everyone I know keeps telling me the best pizza "al taglio" - i.e. pizza baked in rectangualr pans, cut into pieces and served to go - in the city is made by Gabriele Bonci (former line cook at Il Convivio if I remember correctly) at Pizzarium (Via della Meloria 43 ). He does both classic and somewhat more creative toppings: i've heard great things of his carbonara inspired pizza. He also teaches in Gambero Rosso's città del gusto schools and I've met a few of his pupils who consider him a "mad" genius completely in love with yeatsed doughs. The same people swear the best "standard" Pizza in Rome is that of "La Gatta Mangiona" (Via Ozanam 30, Monteverde area); the pizza is an hybrid of Neapolitan and Roman style and the toppings often quite creative, using only the best ingredients. Nice selection of wine and Italian micro brewery beers, especially those from Zago in Piedmont, like Hy inspired by Belgian trappist beers. As far as ice goes the two addresses that keep popping up are Fata Morgana in Piazza Lago di Lesina (a brief description from Slow Travel here), and San Crispino.

Very nice report on Bologna, and interesting to read your comments on Godot Wine Bar. I hope your marriage survived driving in Rome, though that is only half as bad as driving in Naples!

Really funny. Actually here in the East older generations still keep the eating habits they developed during DDR times which usually means a quite minimal breakfast at home around 5-6 AM, breakfast at work around 9AM, lunch around 12, supper between 5 and 6 PM. Coffe and cake are usually reserved for week-end days.

Don't get me wrong, I just went a little hard on the book because I think that it is not the first name I would pick for the average cook today. I love the book all the same, especially the health bits. If you read the intro to the broth recipes you notice how Artusi knows very well what medics thought of these (not much) yet decides to ignore, the "scientific evidence" and give his opinion, implying that he knew better . All the fritters recipes are great; I use them every Carnevale to prepare cenci and co. Those just cannot get better.

Artusi's book is a milestone in the history of Italian cookbooks and a great hstoric document, something that should not be missing on the bookshelves of anyone interested in Italy's gastronomy, but not necessairly for its recipes. The myth painting it as the first real Italian cookbooks is largely an overestimation and inaccurate. It is a book strongly rooted in Central and Northern Italian cuisine, especially the ones from Tuscany and Emilia Romagna (respectively Artusi's region of residence and his place of origin). Southern Italian cuisine is underepressented to say the least. Also, if you look at Italian late Middle Age and Renaissance texts you can see how the cookbooks of the time were far more Italian than regional food cookbooks. Still it is fascinating to read it and see how much Italian cuisine has changed in just over a century. For this reason, many recipes are quite fatty compared to today's standards and some of the ingredients Artusi used back then are not exactly the same as they are today. I usually take the recipes as a guideline and modify them slightly.

Just one thing to say to your book collection Wendy. WOW!!!

Since I live here, let me be the East: Klösse, potato dumplings from Thuringia and Franken (the region around Nürnberg), especially those made with raw potatoes and Wickelklösse, made by of cutting a fried breadcrumbs filled potato dumpling dough strudel into sections. Possibly served with a nice side of game. Bratwürst, but only the real ones from Thuringia, eaten in the region. Even the real Thuringians you find elsewhere in Germany seldom are the real thing, since these do not keep long they also do not travel well. I'm generally not a regionalist but I've been completely converted to these by my wife's family, there's no match with those puny tiny sausages from Nürnberg (any Frankish around here ). If you're on diet, walking around a Thuringian city on a warm summer evening can be a real endurance test: everywhere you can smell people grilling bratwürst in their backyards. Blechkuchen, i.e. usually flat cake, normally made using a yeasted dough base baked in trays (Kuchenblech). Topping can vary greatly, but seasonal fruit with Streussel is a must. A favorite of mine is cake made with streussel and Pflaumenmuss from Mühlhausen, in Thuringia (a delicious plum jam made using sweet spices and kept lightly tart). Kassler and Königsberger Klöpse are on my favorites list too. Currywürst on the other hand is something I pick only when I feel like having hardcore junk food. Otherwise my opinion on it is best summed up by the German expression of disgust: Iggit!

There's three major wine guides in Italy: -The Gambero Rosso-Slow Food Vini d'Italia guide. Probably the best known, published in Italian, German and English. The coverage is the most thorough of the lot with descriptions for over 2000 producers and their wines. It's definitely the most sold in Italy and the trend setter. It also has a number of hard critics, because of its supposed liking of international style wines. -Veronelli is the oldest one, founded by Italian gourmet father-figuer Luigi Veronelli, who sadly died last year. Since his passing away there's been some expectation to see what will happen with the guide in the next edition (2006, Veronelli still helped in the 2005 one). - Espresso is the newest one on the block (three years old I believe). I've heard very contrasting opinions on the guide and the general picture I could make is that while some regions are reported with care and knowledge, this is not always the case. Other guides are bibenda (published by the Italian Sommelier Association), Luca Maroni's guide (Maroni is a sort of Italian wine guru obsessed with fruitiness of wines). Hope this helps, I would go for the Gambero Rosso-Slow Food one and take the grades they give with a pinch of salt.

Mortadella mousse mystery solved. The "sauce" used for the dish is by no means a classic mousse, as not too rarely the case in Italy, rather a sort of slightly whipped (my guess) cream based on mortadella with a tiny amount of mascarpone (just enough to stabilize it). Cream and garganelli are the sauteed together shortly and the dish has to be served immediately since the cream texture would otherwise go from velvety to dryish. It's not on the menu this month, so no picture, but should it get back there there#ll be a special place for it in my imageGullet gallery.