The Cooking and Cuisine of Lazio

[Kevin72]

With a number of new (and hopefully ongoing) contributors having joined us this month, I think it would be a good time to reiterate the regions we'll be covering next: Liguria in May, and then Sardinia in June.

In mid-May or therabouts, I'll "open the polls" so we can start voting on the next three regions we want to cover for July-September. Voting is done via PM to me, and I'll announce the results sometime in the first couple weeks of June.

Glad to have to many new contributors this month, and please stick around for future months!

[hathor]

Hathor, that whole meal looks perfect! I so want some lamb on a spit now. Did you say those fried beuaties are called "carcofi alla romana"? Shouldn't they be "carcofi alla Guida"? The Romana ones are the braised ones, right? Am I being nit picky? I go back to work now....

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I thought the same thing, but 'Ricette d'Oro" listed it as carciofi romana so that was good enough for me!

Ciao Natasha and Calimero!! Bienvenuti! Calimero, right now I'm in NY and I can barely find ANY edible artichokes. Its torture not to have access to all the varieties all artichokes that are commonly available in Italy. (Not to mention this week's obssession: fava beans).

Mike: you just started cooking? Bravo!!!! Keep those kids in the kitchen, I can't tell you how cool it is to now have my college son call me up and get refinements on a recipe that we've made together. Its all good. Very, very good.

[Pontormo]

Calimero: Your ravioli is inspiring. It's wonderful to have someone contribute to the thread from Rome. Would you be willing to indulge us with a few pictures of what's available at the Campo de' Fiori or your local market now?

[natasha1270]

Thank you all for the welcome!

Tonight I started off making fave fresche al guanciale (based loosely on Julia Della Croce's recipe in her Roma cookbook) but somehow it transformed into something else entirely... possibly after I added some dungeness crab and tossed it all with pasta.

Well, I'm not sure if it still qualifies as cuisine of lazio/rome anymore... but there you have it.

Pasta con fave e pancetta

Please feel free to remove my post if I've moved beyond the scope of this thread!

enjoy!

N.

[Kevin72]

It sounds delicious anyways, Natasha. If I'd pin it to a region, maybe Venice? But I can't imagine a Roman wouldn't enjoy it, too!

And why would we want to boot anybody's posts who has a quote from Mario Batali in their sig?

Edited April 21, 2006 by Kevin72 (log)

[Kevin72]

My own regional aberrations should make Natasha feel better.

An absolute favorite meal I make in the springtime is a liberal modification of the Italian springtime rite of passage: the dish of raw fava beans and a hunk of pecorino. I do it a little more salad like and toss in shaved raw fennel, fennel fronds, mint, olive oil, and lemon juice.

I had recently found a Middle Eastern grocer across the street from my work and they sell, miracle of miracles, frozen peeled fava beans. However, I was running late after work this day, and still had to shop at the regular store for supplies for that night's dinner, so I relied on (avert your eyes, hide the children, native Italians!) frozen shucked edamame.

But it was really good, I swear!

To accompany, two wedges of sheep's milk cheese: caccio and Pecorino di Muggino, a younger and somewhat softer cheese. And, also, a loaf of non-Roman focaccia:

Just think of it as a pizza bianca that got out of hand!

Anyways, I love how you can combine different elements together in this meal, and I don't know what combo I like best: cutting a small piece of cheese off and then eating it with a forkful of the salad? Spooning some of the salad on a still-warm hunk of the bread? Or a piece of the cheese on the bread? Or all three together? Or sopping up some of the minty, vegetal olive oil at the bottom of the bowl with the bread?

[FoodMan]

I had recently found a Middle Eastern grocer across the street from my work and they sell, miracle of miracles, frozen peeled fava beans. However, I was running late after work this day, and still had to shop at the regular store for supplies for that night's dinner, so I relied on (avert your eyes, hide the children, native Italians!) frozen shucked edamame.

Man, I checked my local Middle Eastern grocer for those and they have non. I still have a couple of different ones to visit and see if they carry them. I just have not been able to bring myself to use edamame yet!

BTW, what is the difference between Pizza Bianca and Focaccia? They seem more or less the same to me based on several recipe I've seen.

[Pontormo]

I believe focaccia is poofier; you can split it in two to use for sandwiches.

The salad is beautiful.

Edited April 21, 2006 by Pontormo (log)

[Kevin72]

That's my read as well; the focaccia rises a little more. Downie's recipe has milk I think in it, and rises a little longer since it has very little yeast.

That said, however, having both made it myself and eaten it in Rome, I don't find them to be that much different and actually prefer focaccia.

I just chased away our Roman poster Calimero, didn't I?

[azureus]

That's my read as well; the focaccia rises a little more.  Downie's recipe has milk I think in it, and rises a little longer since it has very little yeast. 

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His recipe does have milk, and he calls it

a leavened flatbread varying in thickness from 1/4 to 3/4 inches

I'm hoping to try it this weekend. Any idea why "the real thing" is supposed to be made in 100lb batches? I'm going to have to settle for Downie's much smaller recipe, baked on a round stone, but I am curious as to how the batch size could affect flavor or texture.

I have been completely unable to locate pancetta, prosciutto, fava beans, or even edamame. I picked up some frozen lima beans to use a substitute for favas instead.

I succumbed to everyone's seductive carbonara photos and made some last night with locally made bacon and turkey eggs. It's all I can do to keep myself from running out to the kitchen and making another batch. It's that addictive.

April

[Pontormo]

Are turkey eggs just bigger than the ones your chickens produce, or is the taste distinctive?

[azureus]

Are turkey eggs just bigger than the ones your chickens produce, or is the taste distinctive?

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They are larger, and they taste "richer" to me, though my chicken eggs are "richer" than store-bought ones, so it could just be due to diet.

The turkey eggs act "drier" when used in baking, as the yolk is thicker, and smaller in proportion to the white when compared to chicken eggs. The whites are tougher if you hard-boil them. I need to revisit the Val d'Aosta thread now that I have so many eggs!

April

[FoodMan]

I had recently found a Middle Eastern grocer across the street from my work and they sell, miracle of miracles, frozen peeled fava beans. However, I was running late after work this day, and still had to shop at the regular store for supplies for that night's dinner, so I relied on (avert your eyes, hide the children, native Italians!) frozen shucked edamame.

Man, I checked my local Middle Eastern grocer for those and they have non. I still have a couple of different ones to visit and see if they carry them. I just have not been able to bring myself to use edamame yet!

BTW, what is the difference between Pizza Bianca and Focaccia? They seem more or less the same to me based on several recipe I've seen.

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I just caqme back from lunch and I stopped by another middle eastern store on my way back. They DO have frozen favas! They carry a brand called Sadaf, and it is available in "single peeled" (with the thin membrane around each bean intact) and "double peeled" (the individual beans have no skin oin them). the "double peeled" ones looked a little freezer-burned to me, so I picked up a bag of the other ones. I should give them a try this weekend and see how they work out.

[mrbigjas]

, prosciutto, fava beans, or even edamame.   I picked up some frozen lima beans to use a substitute for favas instead. 

if they're frozen baby limas i don't see why that wouldn't be a perfectly acceptable substitute. sure it'll be a little starchier and less sweet, but what the hey, a green bean is a green bean...

[Kevin72]

Urgh, no, I hate limas.

[mrbigjas]

Urgh, no, I hate limas. 

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i always have too, but then two things happened:

1. i had some fresh little baby limas, and they were much sweeter and less pasty than the full-grown things.

2. i had a hoagie from a place that was reconstituted dried limas, which were marinated in vinegar and oil and herbs to make kind of a bean salad, and it was on a hoagie roll with lots of grated well-aged provolone on it... i posted about it here.

[FoodMan]

, prosciutto, fava beans, or even edamame.    I picked up some frozen lima beans to use a substitute for favas instead. 

if they're frozen baby limas i don't see why that wouldn't be a perfectly acceptable substitute. sure it'll be a little starchier and less sweet, but what the hey, a green bean is a green bean...

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Well, I have to disagree with the "green bean is a green bean" comment. Fava beans have a very distinctive flavor, a pungent one like nothing else. On the other hand, if Edamame that taste nothing like Fava are ok, I see no problem using Lima.

[Chufi]

Well, I know I am not being very oroginal here, but believe it or not, I had never made amatriciana sauce so for me, this was a first..

Here it is, with bucatini and pecorino.. a very satisfying bowl of pasta!

[Shaya]

Looks great Klary.

I am feeling badly for all you cooks who are not able to procure fresh favas. My city is lacking in many many ways, culinarily speaking, but I can usually find favas for 3 months of the year, and I buy them every time I see them.

[Chufi]

I am feeling badly for all you cooks who are not able to procure fresh favas.  My city is lacking in many many ways, culinarily speaking, but I can usually find favas for 3 months of the year, and I buy them every time I see them.

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I can find fresh favas at my market, but they are usually in pretty bad shape - old and mealy.

I get a nice supply from an aunt with a large vegetable garden. She picks, blanches and freezes the beans within a couple of hours. I feel that those frozen ones are infinitely superior to the old and wrinkled 'fresh' ones I can buy!

If only I lived closer to my aunt, I could have really fresh ones one day..

[Pontormo]

Klary: Your pasta looks wonderful; I'm so glad you liked your first amatriciana as much as you did. I've never eaten sweetbreads before. There are always firsts (and nevers) out there.

Me, I just prepared Vignarola for the first time. Has anyone else made this dish?

Actually, I am still eating it right now with a glass of amber-colored wine from Pays D'Oc. It is so, so good that I had to turn my computer on and urge you to track down the ingredients and make it if you have the chance. I am sure one of the links in this thread has the recipe; if not, try epicurious.com since I know it's been in Gourmet before.

Today was the absolutely perfect day to eat this vegetable stew: cloudy and cool after a day of drizzle and rainstorms, perfect for a long walk down to the farmers's market, for reading the Sunday paper and standing over the stove watching the sun come out and dapple the leaves on the trees. Yes, snort, this is corny, but this dish really is like spring in a bowl . For that reason, I am preparing a rhubarb dessert next.

I followed Downie's recipe for the most part, braising slivers of medium-sized purple artichokes* in olive oil, mint, garlic and white wine, separately. Shellling over two pounds of fava beans was a bit of a chore, but I blanched the larger ones to remove the skins and they just popped out. These went into the enameled Dutch oven with tiny red-skinned potatoes, onions, olive oil, water and the last of the peas in the freezer. Contents of both pots were combined, reserving the liquid from the Dutch oven for another use, and then simmered some more before checking seasoning, adding parsely and a drizzle of olive oil. Umm!

Fresh lima beans straight from the farm were a revelation after a childhood of miserable succotash. I am sure any similar substitute for fava beans would be wonderful. Lidia Bastianich cautions us to think of recipes as inspiration, not doctrine. Next time, I will try the stew with pancetta or as a side dish for lamb or poultry.

*****

A friend once told me that on average, home cooks prepare seven recipes in each cookbook on their shelves. Granted, eGullet attracts a more obsessed crowd, but I have to say that this project has made me consult what I own more conscientiously. I'm up to thirteen recipes in Cooking the Roman Way after a long time of picking it up just to make a handful of pastas.

*Hathor, you inspired me not to waste the leaves and other trimmed parts. I cooked them in 2 cups of chicken stock that I will use to make a risotto. I even dipped some of the ones fished out of the stock in melted butter.

Edited April 24, 2006 by Pontormo (log)

[Kevin72]

Saturday night, some Roman trattoria standards, all of which have been made already by others on this thread and need no introduction.

Carciofi alla Giudea:

Pasta Carobonara:

Yeah, the eggs curdled a little. I like penne for this preparation, each nub of pasta perfectly captures the essence of the sauce and the bacon.

Pollo en padella:

Downie gives a great and evocative description of making this dish after strolling through a Roman garden and absconding with a few bay leaves, the principle ingredient in this dish. Unfortunately in my version, the rosemary won out over the bay leaves.

Spicy broccoli with frascati:

My brother was staying with us over the weekend. I remembered at the last minute that he doesn't normally like broccoli, but he was really impressed by this dish. Again, there seems to be few green vegetables that do not benefit from being slowly braised in olive oil until they are unctuously soft and then finishing with blankets of mint.

Budino di ricotta tart:

Ricotta mixed with eggs to set up while it bakes. I topped it with some sour cherry jam. I really need to remember to take the pic of the pie before I hit it with powdered sugar.

[FoodMan]

I can find fresh favas at my market, but they are usually in pretty bad shape - old and mealy.

I get a nice supply from an aunt with a large vegetable garden. She picks, blanches and freezes the beans within a couple of hours. I feel that those frozen ones are infinitely superior to the old and wrinkled 'fresh' ones I can buy!

If only I lived closer to my aunt, I could have really fresh ones one day..

I could not agree more. I DO find the crappy limp mealy ones here, but they are not worth the money. On another note a friend of mine who shops at Whole Foods frequently told me that they do carry frozen shucked Fava beans in the frozen food section under their 365 lable. Unfortunatly he forgot to check how much they sell them for, but he said they looked very good. So, I might chek them out soon.

Those carciofi look great Kevin, that might be my dinner for tonight accompanied by a couple other fried trattoria items.

[mrbigjas]

just this weekend i found frozen shucked favas at a local asian grocery store (vietnamese). i don't know that i've seen them in any dishes i've had at the vietnamese places, but they must be used for something. they were over with the frozen pandan leaves and horseradish leaves and turmeric.

anyway, that's another source, if any of you have an asian grocer nearby.

i think i'm gonna follow pontormo's lead and make vignarola this week, with the bag i picked up.

[lexy]

I am feeling badly for all you cooks who are not able to procure fresh favas.  My city is lacking in many many ways, culinarily speaking, but I can usually find favas for 3 months of the year, and I buy them every time I see them.

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It's odd, but your comment's just made me remember the buckloads of fresh lovely favas my grandmother (who lives in Halifax) always seems to have on hand. I've never lived anywhere where they seem that readily available - do you have any idea why favas are so available in Halifax? (I'm pretty certain my grandmother buys them at the farmer's market - perhaps there's a local farmer who specializes in them?)