A year of Italian cooking

[hathor]

woo-hoo!! Sicilia!!!

I'm with you on the spices and anything goes kinda thing...everybody seems to have inhabited Sicily at one time or another. I'm wondering, can you find real Sicilian cous cous in Dallas? Its much grainer than the refined stuff I remember finding in the States. And if I could, I'd get you some real gamberi rossi. Ahhhh.... Sicily....sex and spices !

Your gelato looks delicious! What about trying some almond milk? Weirdly refreshing... I thought it was too cloying and then decided it was just about perfect.

Perfect timing...Sicily in July!

[Kevin72]

I was going to ask if there was anything specifically different about Sicilian couscous. We have the small, standard kind and then the large Israeli pearl couscous--is it more similar to that? I've also seen it made by hand by Lidia Bastianich on her show; not sure I'm ready for that undertaking!

I'd assume "real gamberi rossi" are shrimp, right?

I am intrigued by doing almond milk and thought about making some sort of cocktail with it later this month. I went to a Middle Eastern store on Saturday (where I got the sardines) and loaded up on whole, blanched almonds, so they will play a large role in the coming month.

[Kevin72]

Regarding the ricotta: I woke up early this morning worrying about my still-unused ricotta going bad and partitioned it up and tossed it in the freezer. Probably not going to aid the flavor/texture much but after all that work I'd hate to see it go bad. The top layer already had a taste that was heading that way.

[Kevin72]

As it was the Fourth of July yesterday, I would have my citizenship (and possibly manhood) revoked if I didn't grill something, so I did a little Sicilian cookout. (Relax, we had burgers and hot dogs the night before!)

Started with pan-seared cheese. Dust some thick-cut slabs of cheese--I used aged provolone to stand in for cacciocavallo--in flour. Get a pan screeching hot, add oil, then put the cheese in there and crust it on one side, then flip and brown the other side. Remove and set aside. Pour red wine vinegar into the pan (stand back!) then when it stops fussing, sprinkle dried oregano flowers ( ) into the emulsion and pour over the cheese. Serve with bread. Sex on a plate.

Next up was a last-minute addition to the menu. I was buying supplies yesterday and passed by some artichokes with the longest stems on them I've yet seen in the U.S. Had to buy them. So I smeared them with a paste of almonds, garlic, green olives, chilies, orange and lemon juice, and tossed them, whole, on the grill. After they came off you peel away the blackened outer leaves and go to town. Unfortunately, the whole reason I bought them, the long stem, was charred beyond possible usage. I left them whole as I've seen most recipes direct, but dealing with the choke and the spiny inner leaves right above it was a pain--when I've grilled them before (see the Easter meal a few pages back) I halved them and scooped out the chokes first, which is what I'll stick to.

Served them with a second paste of mint, rosemary, garlic and olive oil.

The main were some grilled lamb "steaks" from Mario Batali's shows. He used a whole leg of lamb (and another time, a goat's leg). Our market started selling these "steaks" which were cross-sections of the leg, bone-in, and they've always intrigued me so I gave them a spin.

This is a reversal of the artichoke recipe, where now I smeared the meat with the mint and rosemary paste, grilled it, and served it with the almond-olive-orange "pesto" as a dipping sauce.

As a contorno it was a tossed salad of arugula, lemon, and orange segments. Nice tart accompaniment to cut the meat's flavors.

Dessert was "virgin's breasts", a Sicilian pastry/cookie filled with chocolate custard, candied pumpkin, and orange zest. My wife thought it tasted almost like figs.

Hope I don't get banned for posting lewd images!

[albiston]

I'd assume "real gamberi rossi" are shrimp, right?

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They're a particular sort of shrimps common in the Mediterranean sea, which are bright red even when raw. I have a picture I posted over a year ago on my blog here.

Big meaty shrimps should be a good substitute.

[Kevin72]

They're a particular sort of shrimps common in the Mediterranean sea, which are bright red even when raw. I have a picture I posted over a year ago on my blog here.

Big meaty shrimps should be a good substitute.

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Just making sure it wasn't some sort of dialect term I was clueless on (again).

[Adam Balic]

Let's build up a Sicilian pantry!

Two Siclian pantry items I won't have access to:

Malvasia, a sweetened Sicilian (white?) wine.  Dallas is really funky about its liquor laws and so only items with a certain ABV limit can be sold as "wine".  I suspect, as a dessert wine, Malvasia has a higher alcohol content which would then limit its sale here.  This is only in theory, but I've been looking at my usual sources so far and have turned up nothing, and I had similar results when I went looking for other dessert wines before.

Bottarga, the cured and pressed tuna roe.  Not available, and while I'm sure I could readily order it online, I suspect it's prohibitively expensive.

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Kevin - I look forward to this as I enjoyed the food of Sicily very much (apart from the shitty tourist stuff that seemed more common then I would have hope).

Malvasia is a type of grape and the wine it makes is named after it (it is also the 'Malmsey' wine of English lit, and is used to produce Malmsey Maderia). It is a white grape and is funny in that it produces a wide range of wines styles, from sweet dessert wines, to fairly dry styles. You could substitute Muscat type wines or other aromatic styles. Don't use the maderia made from this grape, as the style is radically different.

As for the Bottarga. Yes the Italian stuff is very expensive. But the Spanish product is quite cheap and the stuff I saw in Andalucia was good quality. You might try this

Amazon dried mullet roe

Also, this book is quite interesting.

Sicilian Food: Recipes from Italy's Abundant Isle (Paperback)

by Mary Taylor Simeti

Amazon book link

Are you going to make couscous?

[hathor]

Here you go, "gambero rosso" from when we were studying Sicily. We ate them raw, but with two different sauces: one with a sauce of raw, uhmmm, head juice, I suppose you would call it, and the other version was cooked head juice. I'm sure there is a proper culinary term for the stuff you squish out of the head part of the shrimp, but I dont' know what it is!. When we were in Palermo a few weeks ago, they were served everywhere (cooked) and they were fantastic!

The cous cous we had in Sicily almost resembled a bulgur wheat, it was irregularly shaped and dark wheat grain color. Not the pale, sort of pasta like crumble you normally have in the states, and nothing like Israeli cous cous at all. Now you have me wondering why they are such different variations on 'cous cous'. Our chef at Ital.ccok tried to make cous cous in a blender at school, taking the whole wheat grain, but it didn't work, just made a racket and bounced the wheat around. Apparently he has a mill at his restaurant that he uses.

By the way, that sex on plate cheese dish looks pretty damn sexy! I'm going to the mercato tommorow and getting some cashcavallo! My oregano has already gone to flower so I'm all set! See, you cannot talk about Sicily without mentioning sex. Its simply impossible.

Oh, forgot to mention to you! The mint/roasted eggplant dish was a hit with the crew! Thanks. Next up is the sott'ollio.

[Kevin72]

Kevin - I look forward to this as I enjoyed the food of Sicily very much (apart from the shitty tourist stuff that seemed more common then I would have hope).

Malvasia is a type of grape and the wine it makes is named after it (it is also the 'Malmsey' wine of English lit, and is used to produce Malmsey Maderia). It is a white grape and is funny in that it produces a wide range of wines styles, from sweet dessert wines, to fairly dry styles. You could substitute Muscat type wines or other aromatic styles. Don't use the maderia made from this grape, as the style is radically different.

As for the Bottarga. Yes the Italian stuff is very expensive. But the Spanish product is quite cheap and the stuff I saw in Andalucia was good quality. You might try this

Amazon dried mullet roe

Also, this book is quite interesting.

Sicilian Food: Recipes from Italy's Abundant Isle (Paperback)

by Mary Taylor Simeti

Amazon book link

Are you going to make couscous?

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Thanks for both of the references. Unfortunately, $25 is currently the "prohibitively expensive" boundary right now for a food item. But that book's pretty much what I was looking for!

I'll be making a couscous dish, but I will not be making actual couscous (sprinkling water over semolina, sieving it, baking it, etc)

Edited July 5, 2005 by Kevin72 (log)

[Kevin72]

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*goes to lunch early*

Edited July 5, 2005 by Kevin72 (log)

[Adam Balic]

Kevin - I look forward to this as I enjoyed the food of Sicily very much (apart from the shitty tourist stuff that seemed more common then I would have hope).

Malvasia is a type of grape and the wine it makes is named after it (it is also the 'Malmsey' wine of English lit, and is used to produce Malmsey Maderia). It is a white grape and is funny in that it produces a wide range of wines styles, from sweet dessert wines, to fairly dry styles. You could substitute Muscat type wines or other aromatic styles. Don't use the maderia made from this grape, as the style is radically different.

As for the Bottarga. Yes the Italian stuff is very expensive. But the Spanish product is quite cheap and the stuff I saw in Andalucia was good quality. You might try this

Amazon dried mullet roe

Also, this book is quite interesting.

Sicilian Food: Recipes from Italy's Abundant Isle (Paperback)

by Mary Taylor Simeti

Amazon book link

Are you going to make couscous?

←

Thanks for both of the references. Unfortunately, $25 is currently the "prohibitively expensive" boundary right now for a food item. But that book's pretty much what I was looking for!

I'll be making a couscous dish, but I will not be making actual couscous (sprinkling water over semolina, sieving it, baking it, etc)

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I understand. I actually don't like it, but a month ago I could have posted you a supply. Never mind, another time.

[Chufi]

Glad you liked my blog Kevin

I was wondering, will you be doing Panelle? I made some today, only instead of frying the pieces I baked them in the oven with a little bit of parmesan sprinkled on top. I loved the texture and the faint chickpea-flavor.

[Kevin72]

Man, what am I going to do with all this food you're all requesting?

Yeah, panelle are another dish I'm considering. The Middle Eastern Market I mentioned earlier is normally my chickpea flour resource, but they didn't have any--only farina? I thought farina had something to do with chickpeas (although I'm aware that the Italian translation is just "flour"). So, if I can't come by any this month they'll have to sit this one out.

[hathor]

I got some killer cacciocavallo at the market today, can't wait to try that fried cheese plate tonight. But when I was at the cheese guy this morning, and I asked for cacciocavallo, his wife gave me this blank look, they talked it over in Italian that was too rapid for me to catch and then the guy said oh yes, we have it. So, I asked what was the other name that he just called the cheese...and he said 'provolone'. hmmm..... He insisted it was the same thing. All the I've ever seen cacciocavallo comes in that round ball shape, but this was a wheel, but who am I to argue with a man who's apron says "I am the king of parmgiana".

I also got some un-smoked scormoza, so it does come un-smoked, or naturale, but apparently that is the exception. And that was this morning's cheese adventure.

So, Kevin, what's for dinner tonight??

[Kevin72]

Actually, for tonight's dinner we're meeting fellow eG'er Richard Kilgore at a Thai place here in Dallas.

From everything I've heard about cacciocavallo and provolone, it would appear that they are similar enough to each other. But does cacciocavallo get that sharp as it ages? My only concern with using provolone instead is that whenever it's aged it's invariably "extra sharp" so I'm wondering how accurate to cacciocavallo it is . . .

[hathor]

The provo-cavallo wasn't sharp at all, it was just perfect. Nice anitpasto dish! Thanks!

[albiston]

From everything I've heard about cacciocavallo and provolone, it would appear that they are similar enough to each other.  But does cacciocavallo get that sharp as it ages?  My only concern with using provolone instead is that whenever it's aged it's invariably "extra sharp" so I'm wondering how accurate to cacciocavallo it is . . .

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Caciocavallo and provolone definitely are pretty much the same thing. There are minor differences in the production process but that's also the case between different sorts of caciocavalli: milk from special animal breeds, different fermentation temperatures for the curd, different rennets and so on.

I find that apart from age, which changes both texture and taste, what makes a real difference is the kind of rennet used. Standard aged provolone is practically always made with kid rennet, which gives a more piquant aroma than lamb, calf or vegetable rennet (in decreasing order of sharpness). Provolone dolce, i.e. the sweet kind usually sold and eaten young, is often made with calf rennet. A nice experiment, if one had access to a nearby chees maker producing provolone, would be to buy one of each kind, age then for say 3-6 months and compare the tastes.

Most Provolone and Caciocavallo are indeed made with kid rennet, but there are a few exceptions. Caciocavallo Podolico for example -a caciocavallo made from the milk of the Podolica breed cows in Campania Basilicata and Puglia- is made with calf rennet. Another determining factor is how much rennet goes in the milk. Cheeses that are made in the traditional way, for example Caciocavallo Ragusano, usually benefit from longer coagulation times and lower amounts of rennet compared to industrial or semi-industrial products (Auricchio's provolone is a good example, if you get that in the US). An aged Auricchio provolone will be really sharp, with this taste dominating completely the cheese's aroma. An aged Ragusano on the other hand, especially if made from the milk of free ranging cows of the Modicana breed, will be sharp too, but in a more subtle way and you will still be able to notice the complex aroma of mediterranean herbs coming from the cow's diet.

[hathor]

Alberto, I was hoping you would have some input here. I was rather counting oon you! Slow Food has an excellent reference book on Italian cheeses that I want to get my hands on. In the meantime, we are lucky to have you!

[albiston]

The slow food book on Italian cheese is nice, with good information and nice pictures and definitely worth the purchase.

Another good source, more technical but also more complete, is Istituto Nationale di Sociologia Rurale's "Atlante dei prodotti tipici. I formaggi" (Atlas of Typical Products: Cheese). It reviews Italy's 403 cheeses. The interesting information is often hidden between the technical stuff, which is a pity.On the other hand, if one reads between the lines the comments on cheese politics (be it EU or Italian) are even more critical than Slow Food's one, and that's something I really appreciate

Edited July 7, 2005 by albiston (log)

[hathor]

Grazie Alberto! I just put that on my 'to buy' list.

[Kevin72]

Friday night was a Sicilian antipasto spread (can you tell I like these kinds of meals?).

In the foreground is a salad of sliced oranges and fennel. Yes, you use the whole orange slice, pith, peel, and all, in there. Sounds too bitter? Sprinkle sugar over the slices! That's a little Sicilian-esque technique I picked up I think from Mario Batali.

In the lavendar bowl is a caponata of--get this--eggplant and canteloupe. This is from, of all places, actor Vincent Schiavelli's memoir, Many Beautiful Things and absolutely blew my mind when I saw it. Brown eggplant in olive oil, remove it from the pan and discard the oil, then start with more oil and get the pan very, very hot. Add slices of underripe (very important!) canteloupe and caramelize them. Return the eggplant to the pan and and a dash of vinegar and sugar stirred together, then cook it off. Let it cool to room temp and garnish with mint and chilies. Highly unusual flavors but man, does it work. This might be my only caponata this month, regrettably. I could use almost a whole other month on the infinite and all delicious-sounding caponate recipes I've run across: a variation with artichoke, the standard eggplant version, the more Spanish/Moorish variation with bitter chocolate, and, ahem, my own, not-too-shabby variation.

In the other two dishes are two fried items: arancine and sardine and ricotta balls.

The arancine, "little oranges" are balls of saffron rice stuffed with a meat ragu that are then rolled in breadcrumbs and fried.

The ricotta and sardine balls are sardines, ricotta, grated provolone/cacciocavallo, parsley, chives, almonds, raisins, breadcrumbs, and eggs. Even though the sardines weren't packed in salt, they added a sharp, saline bite to the whole thing that's almost too much if you eat a couple in a row. A bite here and there followed by the caponata was the way to go, though.

For a cocktail we had a "godfather", a not-Sicilian-but-hey-they're-from-Sicily-in-The-Godfather-right? drink of scotch and amaretto.

Dessert was toasted almond and honey gelato.

I think I should've ground the almonds finer, but my wife liked the coarse texture.

Edited July 10, 2005 by Kevin72 (log)

[Kevin72]

Last night we started with breaded fried cutlets of eggplant, topped with grated provolone and then a squeeze of orange over them.

It's the seemingly mundane difference of using orange instead of the standard lemon over something hot out of the fryer or off the grill that I love about Sicilian food. Just something I'd have never thought to reconsider and they just do it.

The main was spaghetti with a seafood ragu "en cartoccio".

As you can see, I used foil instead of the more standard parchment paper. In the ragu are squid, mussels, and clams, cooked in a spicy tomato sauce. The spaghetti is cooked to about 2/3rds of the package directions, tossed in the sauce, and then sealed in the foil and baked for 10 minutes in a very hot oven. The whole thing "roasts", concentrating and caremelizing the sauce into the pasta itself.

Edited July 10, 2005 by Kevin72 (log)

[Kevin72]

I said earlier that I could use a whole extra month just cooking caponata variations. Well I could use even a third month just doing all the Sicilian sweets. Here's the various pastries I've been making lately, all out of Sweet Siciliy.

"Bigne" are a baked pastry based on the pate choix (sp?) method. Pipe custard into the natural air pockets that form. If you use a chocolate or Nutella whipped cream, they're "lulus" which I made in June for a friend's birthday, and if you fry them instead of baking them they're sfinci.

I think I'm mangling all the plural endings here, so all apologies.

Almond "pillows" are made with a dough of just almond meal, eggs, and sugar, no flour except what you dust the work surface with, that are folded around a filling of quince paste and aniseseeds. In Sweet Sicily it's actually candied citron, but I've searched high and low to no avail and came up with this substitute filling instead.

So, yeah, they spread quite a bit when you cook them, and mine all got stuck together, so I had to break them apart, resulting in some pretty brutto pillows.

But they're some of our favorites so far.

I had some of the dough left over after making the pillows and mixed in some orange zest, shaped pieces of the dough into little balls and topped them with pine nuts.

Last are sweet taralli, a variation of the savory taralli I did to disastrous effect, in May when I was cooking from Puglia. These are not leavened, or rather they use eggs instead of yeast, but they are boiled and then baked as for the savory taralli. They're then topped with an orange-icing (orange zest and juice, powdered sugar).

[Chufi]

those arancini! Oh wow. I want them. I need them!

Is that an 'ordinary' ragu Bolognese, and saffron risotto? Could you use leftover saffron risotto for that?

The sweets also look amazing.

[Kevin72]

those arancini! Oh wow. I want them. I need them!

Is that an 'ordinary' ragu Bolognese, and saffron risotto? Could you use leftover saffron risotto for that?

The sweets also look amazing.

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Yes to both, though I just made standard long-grain rice simmered in saffron water and made a "quick" ragu out of ground pork and onion and it cooked maybe 30 minutes. Actually, risotto may work better: the long-grain rice was pretty loose and crumbly, as it should be.