Cucina Pugliese

[hathor]

Stevarino, I use the Kevin method and they fall apart after an hour, pretty simple. Your recipe sounds really good, but I wonder if the soaking was necessary. Maybe we can find Rancho Gordo and get his take, he's the bean expert.

Pontormo: yes, please. I'll take whatever is left. Grazie mille!

[Pontormo]

Stevarino, I use the Kevin method and they fall apart after an hour, pretty simple.  Your recipe sounds really good, but I wonder if the soaking was necessary.

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I soaked simply because the skins start separating from the beans within hours and it makes peeling easier if time-consuming. I literally did watch a movie during the process; you should have seen the pile of empty hulls building... Probably the only reason for soaking. I had also been wondering about aromatics and read about adding potato, so Stevarino, I appreciate your input!

[Stevarino]

Kevin, it is a sheep's milk cheese.

As quoted from Cooperativa Caseificio Pugliese, "the "Canestrato Pugiese" D.O.P. is a typical half cooked, hard paste cheese produced in a limited area of Puglia. It is entirely made from sheep's milk bred in the north west of Murge. It's organoleptic characteristics are strictly related to the cattle's feeding, which consists of chemical free vegetation.It is a rennet coagulated cheese, and after ripening for 3 to 4 months, the white-creamy paste is elastic and compact, with a slight savory taste. Successively, the cheese is treated with extra virgin olive oil, and after 10-12 months, it is ready for tasting. The paste becomes friable (?) with rere eyes (?), straw-colored, with a sharp taste and fragrant flavor."

Puglia Cheese Cooperative

Sorry, heres the right link

If Puglia had Greco di Tufo, things may definitely turned out differently!

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Thanks for the additional points there. Now I'm really intrigued about this cheese. Is it sheep or cow's milk?

And your wine point brings up a whole other area of concern of such a strong red not working well with seafood . . .

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[Stevarino]

Thanks Kevin!

I tend to over complicate things sometimes with my formal training.

Just like you said; one hour.

Pontormo, heres what they look like without this skins. They are called Habas on my box.

Put em in the pot with 4 cups plain old water to one cup favas.

Simmer on low heat for one hour, and some start to crumble way before then.

Kinda mash em up and add a liitle more water if needed.

Grill some bread over a wood fire if you got one

Pour your beans in a bowl, drizzle on some EVOO and sea salt

Let's go!

Hey, pretty tasty, cant wait to do it with the dandelions!

[mrbigjas]

any of you know why this stuff is called ncapriata? etymologically speaking, i mean?

[Kevin72]

There's a strong Greek and Spanish influence in Puglia and it has left its mark on their language. I'd bet its roots are with one of those two.

[Pontormo]

Always dangerous to guess, but "capriata" means "truss" according to my Garzantini and "'ncapriata" is a contraction of the word "incapriata". So, how do you figure out what's in a truss or if the word derives from something utterly different, related to goats or Capri?

"Truss" can refer to bundles of hay or "a compact cluster of fruit or flowers growing on one stalk".

In March in Puglia when fave first ripen, fieldworkers uproot a number of the young plants and just leave them there on the ground to dry, according to Anna Del Conte. Come June, the fields are a sea of straw hats with women in the hot sun, bent over all day long, picking them up. Looking like bundles of hay themselves? Doubtful.

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Stevarino--Trust me, I know what shelled fave look like now, I really do!

[mrbigjas]

There's a strong Greek and Spanish influence in Puglia and it has left its mark on their language.  I'd bet its roots are with one of those two.

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i was reading about the puglian dialect yesterday and ended up learning about neapolitan pronunciation on a southern italian separatist website. these threads have been a real adventure...

[Pontormo]

FYI, here's the same purée, only presented with its Sicilian name, macco which one of Gennarino's members says may derive from the Latin for crushing, kneading or mashing (macerare) which eventually became an Italian word "maccare".

In "The Etymology of 'Macaroni', 'Macaroon'", Edward A. Stephenson turns to a "consideration of semantics and Greek religious rites" to "clarify the...debated etymology." Cf. American Speech, 39 (1964): 75-77.

ETA: According to Wikipedia, in the 14th century "maccum" was used for a siimilar dish of cooked fava "polenta" or minestra. The same entry interprets the etymology of Puglia's "'ncapriata'":

It resembles the Greek "kaporidia" which Aristophanes serves Herakles in "The Frogs". Click.

Cf. this where it's noted that chicory used to be mixed into the fava purée, though I can't tell if the implication is that the beans were therefore "in capiata" in the same way that fave mixed with bread is "inpanate". (okay, i'm done.)

Edited June 8, 2007 by Pontormo (log)

[mrbigjas]

i had a feeling that might get you started!

i made some tonight. good stuff. i didn't realize how it would seem so liquid and then pastify as it cooled. with loads of good olive oil and salt and about the freshest dandelions that i ever got at the farmers market yesterday, this was a great meal (edited: see?)

(also tomatoes, and green beans with onions. and one solitary piece of jamon serrano)

Edited June 9, 2007 by mrbigjas (log)

[Stevarino]

Shrimp with cardoncello mushrooms

An interesting combination of flavors; shrimp, mushrooms, and Mandarin orange.

Chef Nicola peels the oranges & dries them near a fire to firm them, so they dont fall apart when they cook in the sauce.

Like with everything else, he starts with EVOO...

and he adds the cardoncello mushrooms.

He added the shrimp, and tomato product, now he's adding the orange segments.

[Stevarino]

Shrimp & Mushrooms over ceci puree

Chef Nicola starts out with chick peas, potato, EVOO, and boils it in plain old water.

Most of it gets pureed, but some is reserved for contrast

This way, you get creamy, with bits of potato & chick pea in the creamy puree.

Chef Nicola starts off with that garlic in oil mixture in the pan, and adds a variety of sliced mushrooms...

followed by the shrimp.

As the water releases from the mushrooms & shrimp, it forms the sauce, to which a little water was added as well. (and probably salt) When the shrimp turn pink, its done.

Spoon it over the chick pea...

garnish with some pane di Altamura croutons, and drizzle with EVOO.

Yummm.

[Stevarino]

Stevarino--Trust me, I know what shelled fave look like now, I really do!

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Before, when they didn't have a TV to watch, things like peeling fava beans, brought people closer to the food, and each other, leaving them with a greater understanding & respect for both. No? I hope you weren't peeling all those fave by yourself. That would be a shame.

[hathor]

Stevarino, did you ever get people to volunteer to peel fave? Sure, they're good for the first pod or two, then the whining starts. My approach is to keep pouring wine, if they whine, no wine or fave for them. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. It's rare to find happy prep help among normal citizenry. That's why we sometimes watch a movie while peeling those fave!

I love the etymology discussion. This is sort of off topic, but perhaps one of you scholars can point me in the right direction. Something has been bugging me....what is the origin of the word "Italia"?

The word crops up as a geographical name long before it become political, but I've never come across an explanation for this.

'nd' shows up a lot in Puglia, at the beginning of food words. Maybe in other Puglia words, but I only know about food!

Oh, and Stevarino, is that you in the background of one of those photos, holding a camera around your neck? I would never think to put mushrooms, oranges and shrimp together. Was it one of those more than the sum of its parts dishes, or were the flavors distinct?

[docsconz]

The orange with mushrooms and shrimp, though not intuitive is that much of a stretch. I don't think any of us would have been too surprised had the citrus been lemon or lime rather than orange. I suppose the orange adds a little sweetness beyond its citric acid depth. Nevertheless, it is intriguing.

In the other mushroom and shrimp dish (nice variation on "mare e montagne") you say, Stevarino, that the shrimp was added after the mushrooms, but the dish was done as soon as the shrimp turned pink. I would have to think that the mushrooms cooked for some time prior to the addition of the shrimp. That is the shrimp did not immediately follow the mushrooms?

[dockhl]

Steverino~

These are intriguing. I espescailly am fascinated by the orange with mushrooms and shrimp. What type of "tomato product" was added? Any additional seasonings? Were the oranges simply cut in half or segmented?

So many questions........

[Stevarino]

Questions regarding the Shrimp with orange & mushrooms.

To answer Dockhl & Docsconz,

Chef Nicola described this as like a sweet & sour dish, whereby combining the tomato product & the orange.

Chef Nicola did break apart some segments, and also cut the orange in half accross the segments, and added that as well. I do have a much better still photo, but I cant seem to upload them for whatever reason.

I have the instructions here in front me; chop garlic clove and brown it in EVOO. Add the cardoncelli together with the shrimp. Cook for a few minutes.

Add pulped tomatoes and peeled tangerine wedges, season with salt & pepper, and cook until done.

Dress with raw EVOO and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve grilled bread on the side.

And for the other dish Docsconz, brown the mushrooms in EVOO, add the shrimp, season with salt & pepper, finish with chopped parsley.

Chef Nicola mentioned that the mushrooms should be sorta al dente, so dont over cook them.

[Stevarino]

That isn't me in the background in the photos. One guy is from Brazil, and the Asian guys are from Taiwan. I will let you know when I pop up

You know, I'd love to have a fave picking party some time. Maybe I could also get em to sign up for making orecchiettte!!!

Stevarino, did you ever get people to volunteer to peel fave? Sure, they're good for the first pod or two, then the whining starts.  My approach is to keep pouring wine, if they whine, no wine or fave for them. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.  It's rare to find happy prep help among normal citizenry.  That's why we sometimes watch a movie while peeling those fave!

I love the etymology discussion.  This is sort of off topic, but perhaps one of you scholars can point me in the right direction. Something has been bugging me....what is the origin of the word "Italia"?

The word crops up as a geographical name long before it become political, but I've never come across an explanation for this. 

'nd' shows up a lot in Puglia, at the beginning of food words. Maybe in other Puglia words, but I only know about food!

Oh, and Stevarino, is that you in the background of one of those photos, holding a camera around your neck?  I would never think to put mushrooms, oranges and shrimp together. Was it one of those more than the sum of its parts dishes, or were the flavors distinct?

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[Stevarino]

Chef Modugno's Octopus Tenacles with Potato wedges, olives & red onions

First, the octopus is boiled in heavily salted water with cloves, then rinsed. How much salt? Like the sea. In the background are the other components to the dish; pre cooked (but still firm) potatoes, red onion, cherry tomatoes, "Pasole" olives, chopped parsley, EVOO, white wine, salt & pepper.

Chef Modugno starts out with EVOO & sliced red onion. He cooks them on relatively high heat to lightly brown them.

He adds the octopus & potatoes to the onion, and wets it with dry white wine, and seasoned with salt & pepper.

The pan gets covered, and allowed to cook for a time, until the potatoes are cooked through. The starch from the potato will slightly thicken the sauce

Next, he adds the cherry tomatoes, and cooks briefly...

followed by chopped parsley, and the olives (which are not in this picture?)

It's drizzled with EVOO and served with grilled bread.

[Franci]

Stevarino, great report! I am so glad to hear that you appreciated so much the food from my region.

I couldn't refrain to add some comments.

And I am taking advantage of this post to say hi to the affezionati of the italian subsection! I hope everybody is fine.

This is Chef Giacomo Giancaspro! He is the Dean of a Hospitality progam in Molfetta. He is also is involved with the Cuochi Barese, a chapter of the Federation of Italian Chefs. He is holding up a vegetable called "Punterella" which is related to chickory?

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Yes, puntarelle belongs to the family of chicory, there are different varieties, this in the picture and another kind where you have a "smaller" head and long leaves of greens, looking like dandelion, we call it "catalogna" and the head of catalogna is also served with other crudita' (celery, radishes, carrots, pagnottelle or caroselli a kind of very sweat round cucumber resemling a small green melon), this plate is called also spingituro (something similar is served in middleastern restaurants), spingituro means "that pushes", helps you eating more.....

Here's some of Chef Giacomo's ingredients for his demos. Cherry tomatoes were used exclusively. I'm not sure if they use other types of tomatoes, but we were there in Feb/March. Other ingredients are wild chickory, puntarelle, a bag of lampascione, and their go-to cheese, Canestrato Pugliese.

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If you walk around in small towns you will often see bunches of tomatoes hanging from the celings, those are called "winter tomatoes" because you could keep for very long time, they are not good for salads but used for cooking or spreading on friselle or bread.

Back to the seafood category, fresh is always best, and it comes out of the sea, they have it. Octopus, the really scampi, and the fish is call "Hen of the Sea".

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Gallinella di mare "hen" which I never seen in the US is pretty popular in the UK, known also as gurnard fish. Very good for soups.

That is a mantis shrimp on top, and those little red fish are called? I was afraid this was going to happen. Anybody know? I forget.

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The shrimp on top is called "cicala" or elsewhere in Italy pannocchia or canocchia, it's very cheap and we only buy live cicale, I prefer those to scampi for a quick linguine dish. I have only seen those in the US once at Chinatown in Brooklyn.

Actually, the Doc knows better.  He says that every time someone posts dishes in this forum that combine seafood and cheese!

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The evidence continues to mount against that old dictum. Perhaps I react strongly to it since I grew up with it.

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Although when we were dining in a restaurant in Rome we saw a couple ask for cheese for their pasta with shrimp, and were firmly and pointedly denied said cheese!

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Of course, but there is a difference. We'd never add cheese to a pasta dish with shrimps but sometimes, example when we do gratins, we often use a little pecorino to add to bread, It's just a matter of balancing flavors.....

Stevarino,

I am perusing thru your awesome pix's and enjoying them.

I have yet to work with Lampascione . I am planning to try to locate some thru the San Francisco produce market.

Has anybody grown them with success ?

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Sometimes you can find in markets in NY, Astoria. I am sure it grows wild in the US, look for the scientific name.

Edited June 10, 2007 by Franci (log)

[Franci]

Stevarino, this is so much fun!

No double cooking on the rapi? All of my neighbors insist that you boil once and then toss the water and cook again. This is supposed to get rid of the bitterness.

Great photos!

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No Hathor, they just boil it in salted water, add the pasta, and strain it. I took notice of the size of the flower head, and it seemed to be more developed than what I'm used to seeing. What they do is trim off the big leaves, which, I guess hold alot of bitterness. The yield is much less, but I had success doing it this way. Another trick I've tried with rapi is soaking it in salted wated BEFORE cooking it, which also seemed to do the trick in drawing out bitterness. That way, you don't lose all that love down the drain.

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Cime di rape pugliesi have more flowers and less leaves than the rapini you buy in the States, and of course are more bitter. We leave out the outer leaves because they are tough and will require more cooking time.

Hathor, some peole like to precook the cime di rape especially if they are very bitter. I love that bitterness. Cime di rapa are better with very cold weather, like other cabbages. The taste of cime di rapa or other wild herbs is very particular in puglia because of the chalkiness of the soil.

Stevarino, this thread is magnificent.  Thanks so much for sharing.  I know how timeconsuming it can be!

I would love to attend a course like this one.  It would be so much fun and so informative. We almost went to Puglia last year and I was going to do some coooking, but we had to change plans.  Funny enough, this morning my little guy decided that tonight we should have orechiette with peas and sausage.  I have been mulling over in my head the idea of making my own  - especially after seeing Foodman produce something similar on the Basilicata and Calabria thread.  Then this afternoon my little guy asked if we could make them by hand...he certainly keeps me on my toes!

So my question is...did you make orechiette while you were there?  If so, what flours did you use?  When I had them at Lupa in NYC last year (they were incredible) the waitress told me it's the one type of pasta that eludes her, even though she grew up making pasta at home with her parents.

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Shaya, it'd be durum flour, something a little less coarse than semolina flour and warm water. No resting time. I think it requires long training to get it right, they should be all of the same thickness and the outside should not be too thick, what you don't want basically is ending up eating raw and overcooked pasta. It's not easy to get it right.

Stevarino. gorgeous pictures! What an awesome experience. Puglia is seafood nirvana.

Mark Bauman, you won't have any trouble at all finding small family run trattoria's in Pulgia.

Here was one of our favorites. It was mostly raw shellfish, but it was outstanding, although their white wine packed a wallop....or maybe it was the abundant sunshine. Whatever, you are in for a treat.

Stevarino, did you go to any of the rotisserias? Not sure how to spell that. Rotisserie places? Incredibly good.

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Hathor, I did not see a rotisseria (?) while there. I was expecting to, but it didn't happen. One night out, at the pizzeria in Giovinazzo, someone in the group brought in gnumerelli for us to try. They were awesome. These are little pieces of the lamb offal, wrapped with a lamb casing, then grilled. They were very good, and I ate a bunch of them. I guess they are pretty labor intensive to make. In my Culinaria Italy book, they show a butcher shop in Martina Franca, that cooks meat on big skewers inside a wood fired oven.

One week wasn't enough, but a good start.

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Rosticcerie are actually called by locals also "fornello", the meat on the spit takes the name of carne al fornello. Almost every butcher have a brick oven next to the shop where at night meat is cooked. It's our take out food! Not bad......

Offal rolls, "gnumeridd" means little balls of thread there should be some pictures of mine around of step to step instruction on how to make the bigger versions of them: marretti.

My town is basically the next town to Martina Franca

[Franci]

kevin or anyone else who's made this, i have two questions:

1. is it served hot, traditionally, or room temp?

2. about how long does it take?  i have dried favas at home but i've only ever soaked them overnight and used them to make falafel.  so i'd need to plan for dinner but have no idea how long they'd take to cook to mush.

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Dry fava beans in Puglia is ALWAYS served hot. The rule is never stir during cooking, just when is soft and the water completely gone.

Always dangerous to guess, but "capriata" means "truss" according to my Garzantini and "'ncapriata" is a contraction of the word "incapriata".  So, how do you figure out what's in a truss or if the word derives from something utterly different, related to goats or Capri?

"Truss" can refer to bundles of hay or "a compact cluster of fruit or flowers growing on one stalk".

In March in Puglia when fave first ripen, fieldworkers uproot a number of the young plants and just leave them there on the ground to dry, according to Anna Del Conte.  Come June, the fields are a sea of straw hats with women in the hot sun, bent over all day long, picking them up. Looking like bundles of hay themselves?  Doubtful. 

*  *  *

Stevarino--Trust me, I know what shelled fave look like now, I really do!

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I asked my father, in dialect 'ncapriata referres to the mix, to combine the fava with the cicorie.

When I think of 'ncapriata it's much thicker, not as runny as the one I've seen in the pictures here. Sometimes pane casereccio in chunks is added to the fava and cicoria mix. It is usually served along witha an onion and tomato salad (with oil and vinegar!) and deep fried small sweet green peppers (in other parts of Italy called friggitelli, we call it diavulicchi in dialect)

This is the classic pignata used to cook fave on the fireplace, that is the best way, when they are done they are vigorously beaten with a long wooden spoon oil is added to make a thick homogeneous mash.

Edited June 10, 2007 by Franci (log)

[Peter Green]

This is great!

Now I'm torn.

On the one hand I want to rush off to Italy.

But on the other I want to rush off to my kitchen.

There are some great ideas here (as well as some drool-worthy photos).

Thanks!

Peter

[Stevarino]

Thank you Franci!

I'm very excited to have your input.

[divina]

When I was in puglia.. I adored the Tiella!

Tiella -clay pot cooking!!!

sorry but I am on a slow connection and cannot put all the step by step foto's here!