The Cooking and Cuisine of Tuscany

[Kevin72]

Saturday night's meal:

Started with a primo of crema di carciofi, artichoke "cream" as a take-off on the sweet pepper cream recipe in Guliano Bugiali's Foods of Tuscany cookbook. Artichokes, potatoes, and onion are cooked until they are collapsing, then get coaxed further along by a whir from the immersion blender:

We then had Tuscan pot roast, made with an emormous ribeye steak our Central Market sells as a "Cowboy Steak". Braised with red wine, tomato paste, mushrooms, and the usual base aromatics. Served over mascarpone polenta:

Yawn. Nothing new to report here. As I mentioned in the Piemonte thread at the start of the year, Italian beef braises for the most part are beginning to bore me; they all wind up tasting the same no matter what you throw in there. And yet, pork braises are all gloriously different and new to me almost every time. Weird.

Sunday night we began with something my wife starts inquiring about as soon as it hits fall: bruschetta with kale:

Go for broke with a robust olive oil and top with soft, young pecorino and this is deliriously addictive.

Then another favorite: papardelle con pollo "alla lepre". After my disappointment with rabbit last year (and seeing other's similar experiences), I've decided to stick to skinless chicken legs and thighs to replicate the flavor of rabbit. No way I'd be able to track down hare here.

The papardelle:

The chicken legs get marinated in red wine and juniper overnight, browned off, then aromatics are added, along with the strained marinade, a few crushed tomatotes, and stock, then braised until falling apart. I fork-shred the meat and don't chop it as fine as others upthread directed. Also, I'm a total barbarian and do go ahead with the cheese on this one. It is just chicken, after all!

Dessert was an apple crostata:

Crostate, by the way, are another culinary kryptonite for me. It seems that I've seen simpler, more straightforward recipes for the dough, but I use the one in Field's Italan Baker which is a pastry crust. Maybe I'm not remembering the name right: aren't crostate what you bake free-form in an oven? Roll out the dough into a circle, heap fruit in the middle, fold the edges up and around the filling, leaving it open? With the pastry dough it immediately collapses in the oven and oozes the filling out.

[Pontormo]

Magnificent array of seasonal dishes, Kevin. The artichoke and potato purée looks especially different and good.

I don't know if I've ever seen a specific term for "free-form" fruit tarts in Tuscany. Franci could fill you in on the Italian word for what I call galettes (buckwheat crepes in Brittany go by same name) if there is a specific term.

Crostate often are topped with criss-crossing strands of pastry that reveal a jam or marmelade-like fruit filling. I always thought "crostata" to be a generalized word used for pies or tarts, distinguished from "torte" or cakes.

Was the recipe for the pastry called "pasta frolla"?

Edited November 7, 2006 by Pontormo (log)

[divina]

I adore Crostate!

the pasta frolla recipe I use is 3/2/1

300 gram pastry flour

200 butter

100 grams sugar

cut the butter into the sugar and flour, I use my hands and can take forever doing this. It will not make it tough

then, bind with

one whole egg and one yolk.

This should be done quickly, squeezing together.

Let rest and then roll out.

This is a very forgiving dough.. and the only one I make now!

It is divided into half. then filled with a jar of jam and then the rest of the dough is rolled out flat and cut into strips to create the cross-hatching .

Bake until golden.

the variation is that the Butter and Sugar can be equal.. 150 butter and 150 sugar.

think about the difference between butter cookies and sugar cookies!

May have to make this tomorrow and then post foto's!

We get a great fig and almond jam made by Chiaverini... that is my favorite.

[divina]

FYI this week the students i have have asked to make gnocchi with wild boar sauce and tuscan beans.. as well as minestrone.

Recipes and foto's to come on my egblog

[hathor]

Elie, that's a gorgeous meal!

Kevin, your dinner looks pretty spectacular as well. Love the soup idea...I'm thinking cardoons...

Saltless bread is an acquired taste. I hated it for the first 5 years....now, I kinda like it. Kinda. It has its place...the best bread for crostini or bruschetta, but to sit down and just eat a slice plain...you may need to be born here.

Still messing with the grill, bistecca con tartuffo bianco.

[Kevin72]

Someone's going to make a fiorentina, right?

ETA: What cut of meat is that there, Judith? And it looks like it's got a second crust just of truffles. I'll bet it smelled amazing.

Edited November 7, 2006 by Kevin72 (log)

[FoodMan]

great looking food Kevin. Why did you use a Ribeye for a braise rather than a cut like chuck? The latter would make it taste much better.

I see what you mean about Crostatas, but the true name for these free form pies I think is gallete. Corstatas I believe in Italian are more or less tarts.

[Pontormo]

Elie & Kevin: Cf. post number 43 above.

If you conduct a google image search for Italian sites with the words "crostata" and "mele" you'll see justification for Kevin's original question. I am used to seeing crostate lattice-topped with jammy fillings, but galettes are called crostate sometimes on English-language sites. Ecco (Italian sites). One site in English.

P.S. Cf. Dinner thread for Hathor's steak, raw, posted there for Daniel.

Edited November 7, 2006 by Pontormo (log)

[Franci]

Elie & Kevin: Cf. post number 43 above.

If you conduct a google image search for Italian sites with the words "crostata" and "mele" you'll see justification for Kevin's original question.  I am used to seeing crostate lattice-topped with jammy fillings, but galettes are called crostate, and on at least one site, torte.  Ecco.

P.S.  Cf. Dinner thread for Hathor's steak, raw.

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Crostata doesn't mean necessary a lattice-top and jam filling.

To me crostata means only that pasta frolla (or brise') has been used. All crostate are baked in a mold, free standing gallette style tarts are not common in Italy.

For crostata you can use one of the fluted tart pans with removable bottom, or the most of the people use for crostata the same baking pan they use for a torta.

Edited November 7, 2006 by Franci (log)

[Kevin72]

great looking food Kevin. Why did you use a Ribeye for a braise rather than a cut like chuck? The latter would make it taste much better.

I see what you mean about Crostatas, but the true name for these free form pies I think is gallete. Corstatas I believe in Italian are more or less tarts.

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Pontormo's right; a google search leads to exactly what I was mentally picturing at sites like this one. Whether it's Tuscan is another matter . . .

You know, I was really half-*ssed about that meal with the ribeye. I'd always seen those bad boys at CM and thought that with all their fat they might make a great braise and so bought one on a lark. Certainly for the price they were I probably should've reconsidered.

[FoodMan]

great looking food Kevin. Why did you use a Ribeye for a braise rather than a cut like chuck? The latter would make it taste much better.

I see what you mean about Crostatas, but the true name for these free form pies I think is gallete. Corstatas I believe in Italian are more or less tarts.

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Pontormo's right; a google search leads to exactly what I was mentally picturing at sites like this one. Whether it's Tuscan is another matter . . .

You know, I was really half-*ssed about that meal with the ribeye. I'd always seen those bad boys at CM and thought that with all their fat they might make a great braise and so bought one on a lark. Certainly for the price they were I probably should've reconsidered.

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I know exactly what "bad boys" you are talking about . They are still a ribeye though and braising is not a good idea. I would think they would fare much much better as a Fiorentina (since they are so thick) cooked rare and sliced thin, even though they are not the trditional T-bone one should use.

BTW, now I am really craving a sweet crostata...er...I mean tart...

[Kevin72]

I tried doing them "fiorentina style" before and they were just way too fatty to go even medium rare. What about like a very slow roast?

[FoodMan]

I tried doing them "fiorentina style" before and they were just way too fatty to go even medium rare.  What about like a very slow roast?

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I stan d corrected then. Don't know if a slow roast would work, but it might. I think you still have to keep them medium rare though. Cooking a tender cut like ribeye to well done will render it tough and tasteless because it has very little connective tissue. So, a dry slow heat to render some of the fat out but not cook the meat all the way through might work.

[Pan]

Is this Adam thread recent, or is it the one from 05?  Did I miss another Adam travel thread?!

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I was referring to the '05 one.

[Pontormo]

"E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle." --Dante, Inferno XXXIV

Regarding crostate and galettes, perhaps there are so many English-language references to free-form fruit tarts that use either the Italian or the French term because of Northern California and the influence of both Italy ahd France on the development of its cuisine.

At any rate, at the height of the season, I made Judy Rodger's free-form peach crostata (Zuni Cafe) with the most incredible pastry ever. She waxes poetic about Divina's beloved Central Market whereas Deborah Madison follows Alice Waters in calling these things by a French name.

* * *

Just a note to say that tonight I continued in the bean-eating traditions of Tuscany by making a minestra di ceci that was quite good. Usually I rely on Marcella Hazan, but instead, returned to the book by Danny Meyer and Michael Romano. They require chopped up cheese rinds in the cheesecloth bundle of herbs, by the way. Can't see a nonna out in the Tuscan hills counting out six peppercorns to pack into a piece of loosely woven cotton while sheep bleat in the background. Excellent texture when puréed, not too thick. Sun-dried tomatoes provided the acid, turning quite light and pleasant after a long cooking and made the soup a lovely, warm color. Drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with Romano. Rainy night. Stars in the sky clouded over but there they were, little tiny ones instead of ditalini in my bowl.

Trans.: And so we left to see again the stars

[FoodMan]

How could Kale, bread and beans be so damn good? I used the saltless bread I made to prepare Tuscan Kale and bread soup using a recipe form Paula Wolfert's "Mediterranean Grains and Greens". She asks for Cavollo Negro of course, but the regular organic kale was on sale at Whole Foods and looked in a much better shape than it's much more pricy Cavollo cousin, so I used it. This was our dinner on Monday.

For last night I followed Wolfert's recommendation in the same book and made Ribollita in the style of Siena. Basically the leftover thick soup is placed in a baking dish, topped with red onions (shallots in my case), drizzeld with olive oil and baked. The top turns nice a crispy wile the interior remains fluffy and moist. I love those meals that keep on giving for a very small investment. I served this topped with grated Romano.

[Pontormo]

Looks great, Elie. Picked up the cookbook on Tuscan food by Nancy Harmon Jenkins this weekend which I really like. She outlines a similar process for making ribollita in four different stages, starting with just the beans (soaked for two days, why?) and ending up one stage beyond your baked dish: the brothy stove-top soup. There are lots of homey dishes of a similar nature. One, involving mashed potatoes and would be perfect for your homemade sausages.

[Kevin72]

That does look awesome, Elie. And what a great idea to turn it into a casserole. Turns it into something else entirely instead of just reconstituting the same soup over and over again (as I'm still doing with the pumpkin soup from last week . . . )

[FoodMan]

One, involving mashed potatoes and would be perfect for your homemade sausages.

mmmmm...bangers and mash huh? . Can you give us more details?

[fortedei]

How could Kale, bread and beans be so damn good? I used the saltless bread I made to prepare Tuscan Kale and bread soup using a recipe form Paula Wolfert's "Mediterranean Grains and Greens". She asks for Cavollo Negro of course, but the regular organic kale was on sale at Whole Foods and looked in a much better shape than it's much more pricy Cavollo cousin, so I used it. This was our dinner on Monday.

For last night I followed Wolfert's recommendation in the same book and made Ribollita in the style of Siena. Basically the leftover thick soup is placed in a baking dish, topped with red onions (shallots in my case), drizzeld with olive oil and baked. The top turns nice a crispy wile the interior remains fluffy and moist. I love those meals that keep on giving for a very small investment. I served this topped with grated Romano.

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Just out of curiosity... when you say "She asks for Cavollo Negro of course, but the regular organic kale was on sale at Whole Foods and looked in a much better shape than it's much more pricy Cavollo cousin", what exactly is the pricy Cavollo cousin (sic) that you are referring to?

[Pontormo]

Since Cavalo Nero is a type of kale, I believe Elie felt it would be fine to use a different, less costly type of kale to prepare his dish. Frugality is in the spirit of preparing ribollita, no?

[FoodMan]

Since Cavalo Nero is a type of kale, I believe Elie felt it would be fine to use a different, less costly type of kale to prepare his dish.  Frugality is in the spirit of preparing ribollita, no?

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yeap, basically the Tuscan Kale (Cavollo Nero) costs about $3.99 a bunch, the regular kale was on sale, 2 bunches for $2.99 AND it was in a much better condition than the pricier one (looked fresher, the leaves nice and perky...). So I went with regular kale.

[jmolinari]

I'm goign to try making this soup with a mixture of kale and mustard greens...that is what my CSA gave me, so that is what i'll use. Looks very good Elie!

[fortedei]

Since Cavalo Nero is a type of kale, I believe Elie felt it would be fine to use a different, less costly type of kale to prepare his dish.  Frugality is in the spirit of preparing ribollita, no?

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yeap, basically the Tuscan Kale (Cavollo Nero) costs about $3.99 a bunch, the regular kale was on sale, 2 bunches for $2.99 AND it was in a much better condition than the pricier one (looked fresher, the leaves nice and perky...). So I went with regular kale.

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I don't understand. What is the difference between the "regular kale" and the "Tuscan kale"?

[Pontormo]

But of course you wouldn't know that what you consider "regular" we consider exotic and vice versa.

Wikipedia in English illustrates what is most common here in the U.S. as the first, large picture on the right, here. Even this is exotic to many of us since I never ate kale as a child growing up in the Northeast, nor out in the midwest later. It wasn't until fairly recently, that is, in the 1990s that grocery shoppers could expect to find the vegetable in large supermarket chains, in part, due to the so-called "natural foods" movement and the availability of kale in counter-culture food co-ops (where shoppers joined as members and worked in the store) or farmers markets. A variety of large-leaf sturdy greens were more prevalent in the South than elsewhere, though ornamental kale has always been grown in flower beds during cold months.

Tuscan kale is one name for what we even call cavalo nero, lacinato and dinosaur kale in the U.S. In the farmers market where I shop, it can be less costly than at Whole Foods, but still, organic bunches weighing around 1/2 a kilo go for $2.25 a bunch, $1.75 a bunch for 2. It is becomng more and more popular, but I doubt a majority of Americans would recognize it--or "regular kale" at this point in culinary history.

Edited November 8, 2006 by Pontormo (log)