The Cooking and Cuisine of Umbria

[legourmet]

We went to yet another castagne festival this weekend. This time we biked  up to Preggio....and I do mean up! These guys are not as possessed as the Morra chestnut people.

But for a little, bitty town, they must have had 6 or 7 little tavernas.

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We made our own castagne and autumn festival at home as every year.

[hathor]

Heinz, that is one gorgeous meal....with extra-gorgeous chestnuts!!

Hey Kevin and NYCMike, I asked around about umbricelli...just wanted to reconfirm, umbricelli or picci isn't twisted like the Pugliese sagne, it's a straight 'noodle' of varying widths. I don't have the cookbook you are looking at, but around here, it usually just means a fat spaghetti. Strange, huh? Not at all sure why there is this discrepancy.

Kevin...that is a fantastic looking fritatta!! I've been on a sage kick, actually I'm always on a sage kick, but that fritatta looks very tempting.

And Franci, as usual, you are dead on about the breads! Piadini is from E-R, but it's filtered on down to Umbria.

[FoodMan]

Fantastic food everyone. I have to say Umbria has been as much of a pleasant surprise as Liguria was to me. Unfortunatly, I just have a little less time to throroughly cook Umbrian as I did Ligurian.

My latest Umbrian meal was inspired by the Testa bread recipe and sandwich picture in the Della Croce book and by Hathor's post a page or so back.

I made my own take on an Umbrian sausage-cheese-greens torta. I think my bread needed to be a bit thinner maybe.

I used homemade sweet Italian sausage, based on the recipe from Charcuterie by Ruhlman and Polcyn. Here are the links frying in the pan, you'll notice that I did not bother stuffing them in casings in order to save some time. These are light years better than any store bought links that pass for Italian sausage in my local store and are so easy to make (well, honestly grinding/cleanup is a bit of a hassle, but it is so worth it adnI did that the night before)

For greens I used Rapini sauteed in olive oil and garlic with lemon. For cheese, a provolone.

And here is the Testa bread from Della Croce's book cooking on my Testa aka heavy nonstick skillet.

This meal was fantastic and I could not believe I put it all together, including mixing the sausage and making the bread, in about an hour on a weeknight! My wife already has plans for me to make a quick version of pizza using this bread. The possibilities are endless.

BTW, what region are we doing next? I won a new copy of Ada Boni's book on eBay for $4 (great deal huh?) and I am expecting it this week. I sure would love to use it next month.

[NYC Mike]

WoW Elie that looks like a great sandwich! I've been dipping into the Charcuterie book a little but haven't gotten to sausage making yet..did you just shape the links in your hands and store just like that sans casings?

-mike

[FoodMan]

Mike-

I made about half a recipe, shaped them roughly by hand and I cooked most of them that same night. There was about a half pound left, that I formed into one thick Jimmi Dean-like sausage, wrapped well and froze for future use.

[Kevin72]

Tuscany is up next.

Spectacular looking as always, Elie! I had mentally marked that recipe myself but I don't think I'll be able to get to it this month.

When we do Emilia Romagna in December, you should try making piadine as well. I'd be interested to hear your comparisons on the two.

[FoodMan]

Tuscany is up next. 

Spectacular looking as always, Elie! I had mentally marked that recipe myself but I don't think I'll be able to get to it this month.

When we do Emilia Romagna in December, you should try making piadine as well.  I'd be interested to hear your comparisons on the two.

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Great finale for the year!

I have had the Splendid Table book for a while but have not used it as much as I would like because we have been cooking other regions this year. The Piadina certainly caught my eye along with that cheese mixture she creates for it.

The Ada Boni book has a Tuscany chapter (not sure how extensive since I still have not recieved the book) and the weather is cooler so it should be perfect next month.

[Franci]

Fantastic food everyone. I have to say Umbria has been as much of a pleasant surprise as Liguria was to me. Unfortunatly, I just have a little less time to throroughly cook Umbrian as I did Ligurian.

My latest Umbrian meal was inspired by the Testa bread recipe and sandwich picture in the Della Croce book and by Hathor's post a page or so back.

I made my own take on an Umbrian sausage-cheese-greens torta. I think my bread needed to be a bit thinner maybe.

I used homemade sweet Italian sausage, based on the recipe from Charcuterie by Ruhlman and Polcyn. Here are the links frying in the pan, you'll notice that I did not bother stuffing them in casings in order to save some time. These are light years better than any store bought links that pass for Italian sausage in my local store and are so easy to make (well, honestly grinding/cleanup is a bit of a hassle, but it is so worth it adnI did that the night before)

For greens I used Rapini sauteed in olive oil and garlic with lemon. For cheese, a provolone.

And here is the Testa bread from Della Croce's book cooking on my Testa aka heavy nonstick skillet.

This meal was fantastic and I could not believe I put it all together, including mixing the sausage and making the bread, in about an hour on a weeknight! My wife already has plans for me to make a quick version of pizza using this bread. The possibilities are endless.

BTW, what region are we doing next? I won a new copy of Ada Boni's book on eBay for $4 (great deal huh?) and I am expecting it this week. I sure would love to use it next month.

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Elie, I wish I had a neighbour like you

Your torta al testo looks great!

[ludja]

...

But for a little, bitty town, they must have had 6 or 7 little tavernas. Here is the menu from one of the tavernas.

These autumn festas are really fun, each town has a totally different spirit. Next weekend, we have our big shin-dig.

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Are there some popular ways to eat chestnuts/chestnut puree in desserts in Umbria? I see "dolce" on the menu but my Italian is pretty weak to decipher more. I've heard of the chestnut flour cake from Tuscany; castagnaccio. It looks like that was an offering at your festa also.

edited to add: Is another word in Italian for chestnut, "Maroni"? In southern Austria, "Maroni" or "Kastanien" are used for chestnuts.

Edited October 26, 2006 by ludja (log)

[hathor]

Around our house, we call torto all testa, "spit sandwiches" because they are really dry and you need to have a lot of spit to eat them. Hmmm....nice image, huh??

Foodman, yours are gorgeous!!! Absolutely delicious, I can smell them from here!!

Remember the roasted fennel/potato dish you made awhile back? Last night I had some wild fennel branches and seeds so I used them on the roast potatoes...mmmmm....highly recommend it. Jeff thought the potatoes took on a chocolate note. We had it with some panfried pancetta and sauteed peppers.

The other night was roast stuff squash. The guy at the market really talked up this squash, but it left both of us unimpressed. Pretty to look at, but not very flavorful.

[FoodMan]

the squash does look great. Why did u not like it? taste or texture?

I've found that these larger dark green squashes could be very starchy and are more suitable for stuff like gnocchi or puree or soup or a dessert. As opposed to the sublime smooth butternut squash.

BTW: my torta was very nice and juice...probably due to the fat in the sausage .

[Franci]

Are there some popular ways to eat chestnuts/chestnut puree in desserts in Umbria?  I see "dolce" on the menu but my Italian is pretty weak to decipher more.  I've heard of the chestnut flour cake from Tuscany; castagnaccio.  It looks like that was an offering at your festa also.

edited to add: Is another word in Italian for chestnut, "Maroni"?  In southern Austria, "Maroni" or "Kastanien" are used for chestnuts.

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Marroni are not exactly the same as castagne. The castagno three is wild and in each husk there are about 3 chestnuts, the marrone is cultivated and in they are bigger than chestnuts, that's why they are preferred in making marron glace' .

In the poster they talk about marzapane of chestnuts, never heard, but I know chestnusts made with marzapane , frittelle di castagne, dolce del drago (I never heard), panzerotti (probably they are some cookies with a chestnut filling (there are different kind and names all over Italy). Castagnaccio is easy to find in many regions, I discoverd that in Emilia Romagna, in Modena area, with that name they mean a ciambella.

[Franci]

The other night was roast stuff squash. The guy at the market really talked up this squash, but it left both of us unimpressed. Pretty to look at, but not very flavorful.

It is a common believe that good squashes in Italy can be found only in North. If you want a mantovana variety, the more floury, it's very hard to find in the South...

[Nishla]

The first time I heard of cardoons was in hathor's blog a few weeks back...since then I've seen them numerous times in this thread. When I went to the store last weekend (wholesale produce place), what did I find? .....cardoons!

I cooked them with onion and tomato for ~30 minutes. They were more bitter than I expected (probably not a great selection here in New England), but quite tasty.

[Kevin72]

Welcome, Nishla!

Alot of the time, cardoons are separately blanched, then cooked a second time in the finishing sauce. I thought it was to soften them (they can be fibrous), but it may also serve the purpose of getting rid of their bitter edges, as well.

Edited October 27, 2006 by Kevin72 (log)

[hathor]

Foodman, the squash was starchy without any discernible flavor. I've had other zuccas that were just delicious, delicate and uniquely flavored. Franci, those northern Italians just don't have the lock on good zucca!

Beautiful cardoons Nishia!!

Kevin, I think you hit the nail on the head with the double cooking....that first boil elimimates or mitigates bitterness.

And once again...thank you Franci for clearing up the castagne/marrone issue! It was bugging me!

We are in last minute prep mode before the festa begins in town. We helped S.Monni (Sardinian cheese man) set up his stand last night and town is just packed with people setting up their stands. These HUGE Pugliese type breads just came in a little while ago. I'll post some pics when I get a chance.

Ciao!!

[ghostrider]

I'm not sure how strictly Umbrian this is, but since I recall hathor talking about pasta amatriciana early in her wonderful blog, I'll just add this here. I was craving the stuff last night, so I grabbed some pancetta and, on a sudden whim, Creste di gallo pasta from the Italian shop where I work. I have a nice stash of fresh Jersey plum tomatoes and onions at home, from this week's final farmers' market of the year in my little town. You know the rest.

I thought the pasta worked wonderfully as a base for an amatriciana dish, had the right combination of absorbency and heartiness to complement the other ingredients.

And drat, I was so hungry, and so eager to watch the Cardinals finish off the Tigers, that I forgot to photograph the dish! Not that my cell-cam phone (my only digital facility right now) is very good with closeups, but it would have been something.

Ah well. It's been a delight following this thread and roaming through Umbria's cuisine. So much great input here.

[Pontormo]

Ghostrider, this must be your favorite time of year! Glad you enjoy the thread where so many of us have been inspired by Hathor's posts, and Eli's incredible skills with dough and chaucuterie, et al. I hope you're also looking for Franci's contributions in other forums, such as her rabbit's head and ricotta torta up in the Dinner thread this weekend.

As for your pasta, one refrain throughout this year has been how frustrating it is that so many Italian cookbooks neglect to mention the regional origins of recipes. The trend to publish books devoted to a single region is fairly recent. However, the internet helps. For your amatriciana, you don't need many other search terms to discover it's associated closely with Rome, immediately to the south on a map, where Lazio resembles a cornucopia with Umbria spilling forth from the opening.

Another head's up for All Soul's Day, or Ognissanti. Anyone baking the Bones of the Dead? Are there special Umbrian (or Tuscan) ways of making these treats--or other traditional things to eat on this festa?

Edited October 29, 2006 by Pontormo (log)

[Franci]

Another head's up for All Soul's Day, or Ognissanti.  Anyone baking the Bones of the Dead?  Are there special Umbrian (or Tuscan) ways of making these treats--or other traditional things to eat at for this festa?

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On traditional Umbrian, I had something saved from the Cucina Italian forum.

Valentina Barbanera from Palazzo di Assisi talks about maccheroni or pasta dolce. It is traditionally served the night before Ognisanti, so on October 31. This dish along with baccala', no meat.

Usually the pasta is tagliatelle with no egg (there is a sweet pasta also in puglia, dress with vincotto).

The sauce would be

-1 kg di walnuts (I guess she referres to the total weight with the shell...)

-5 hg of breadcrumbs

-5 hg sugar

-1 lemon zest

sweetened cocoa powder.

Chop walnuts and mix with the other ingredients. Cook the tagliatelle and make layers of tagliatelle and the mixture above.

Optional sprinkling with a little Alchermes.

Valentina said that one of her grandmothers used sedani rigati instead of tagliatelle and she liked it more. Also the Alchermes makes the dish less dry.

I usually have a bottle of Alchermes...but this time with all the liquid restriction coming to London I didn't bother.

For Toscana, instead for i morti, traditional is Pan co' santi

Maybe we should open a thread....

Edited October 30, 2006 by Franci (log)

[Kevin72]

Final Umbrian meal.

While I have gotten not too bad at being able to build a meal from what's available at the store, I'm not so good at being able to make one out of stuff we already have. So, yesterday I was in a tizzy about making an antipasto for the final meal. Went to the store, up and down the aisles, trying to find something to inspire me. Finally, I gave up and headed home. Dinner took a while to cook and while we were waiting, my hungry wife dug into the fridge and pulled out some of the salami I used in last week's lentil soup and a wedge of caccio cheese. I can't believe I'd just overlook the most typical, standard of antipasto: good salumi and cheese. Going a step further, I wilted them in the oven over crostini along with a piece of sage leaf:

The main was another recipe from the inspiring Umbria en Bocca website posted at the beginning of this thread: Todi-style pigeon (er, quail). The birds are wrapped in pancetta, cooked over an open flame, then tossed in an aromatic red wine braise to cook for a while longer. To go with, I made polenta. I tried to use the several hour long technique in the book Heat but none of the transformations Buford talks about came to pass and it wound up tasting the same as it always does. I thought this was organic polenta I had, but maybe it's still instant.

[Shaya]

Nice looking dinner, Kevin. I have had that simple antipasto on the brain for tonight for the last of my saltless Tuscan loaves. I love the idea of the quail wrapped in pancetta and the open-flame cooking is a bonus. Do you manage to buy your quail fresh? I can only find frozen.

[Kevin72]

During the fall, our Central Market carries 4 to a package, fresh, sleeve boned quail. Rest of the year, they're frozen. Sometimes they do a bait and switch and give you these pre-marinated, brined kind, though.

I gotta say, I'm not sure how much flavor grilling them first gave the final product.

[Franci]

Kevin, I never heard of this method for cooking quails! So, what do you think? Go straight with the simple grilling? And maybe sacrifice an extra quail to make the sauce?

I love quails but my difficult other half not much

Yesterday I was invited for a lovely Austrian lunch: spaetzle , so I thought of bringing Rocciata di Assisi

Edited October 30, 2006 by Franci (log)

[Kevin72]

The recipe calls for them to be spit roasted but I don't have such an attachment. They smelled amazing coming off the grill, and so did the sauce, actually.

That's not a bad idea, to maybe keep them whole and just use one chopped up in the sauce maybe.

I've been wanting to make one of these great pastries you keep showing us but didn't get time this month. I saw one recently with an almond pastry crust that caught my eye.

[hathor]

Ciao! Our Festa del Bosco was a success, yet again. Apparently its the 23rd year they've been having the Festa and this year's had some very interesting walks and entertainment. It was exhausting however!

Kevin, that quail and polenta dish looks just beautiful. You know I have a soft spot for quail.

Who asked about chestnut recipes? Ludja? I'm desparate to find some other recipes...I've got chestnuts coming out of my ears. I've gone thru all my little local cook books and I'm not coming up with much. I did 'invent' a chestnut semifreddo with a mosto syrup that went over very well! Sorry, no photos. Mosto is the first pressing of the grapes, and then the wine has its fermentation blocked at a very early stage, resulting is a mildly alchoholic grape juice. I've got a 5L bottle of it, so if anyone has any mosto recipes, please! let me know!

Here is my favorite tartuffo guy. He has great tartufatti salsas and reasonably priced/good quality tartuffos. One of his truffles found its way as a garnish onto a duck consomme. Good combination.

This is Iva with some of her wares: biscotti, wine, ornamental gourds.

On Sunday, there was an organized hike that was part history and part truffle hunting. These dogs were so interesting, the way they would focus on the ground and sniff around and dig around. The hunter was tellling us that their noses are so sensitive that when they can't find a truffle nearby , they put their noses into the air, and can pick up the scent and then head off to find it. Apparently everyone is complaining that this is not a good truffle year, not enough rain. The hunter had a bag full when we arrived, but didn't find any while we were him. These guys are a little scary, if you ask me. There is quite a bit of money at stake, and there are plenty of stories of tire slashings, dog poisonings and the like to make me cautious about heading out into the woods to try my luck at truffle hunting.

So, Happy Halloween!! Day of the Dead. All Saints and whatever else gets celebrated the next few days. We're all meeting in Tuscany tomorrow, right??