The Cooking and Cuisine of Emilia-Romagna

[hathor]

Just beautiful Shaya!!

Those Emilia-Romangnaians (sp?? ) sure do like their butter! Almost as much as the Lombardians.

That sounds like a great sugo.

Shaya, you're the pasta queen, do you have a preference between Tipo '0' or Tipo '00'? Our wheat is just being harvested, and 90% of it shows up as Tipo '0'. So, that's what I usually use. But, I was curious if you liked one better than the other.

[Shaya]

Thanks Pontormo, Hathor...it's nice that someone in this world considers me royalty.

Hathor, I buy the "00" because it is the only tipo I have ever found here. Curious that the majority of flour available to you is "0". I wonder what the difference is?

Yes, the sugo was really great. I loved the use of butter, because - as you know by now - I like to use veal a lot, and find it loves butter on a long slow cooking.

[Maureen B. Fant]

Just beautiful Shaya!!

Those Emilia-Romangnaians (sp?? )

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Emiliani and Romagnoli. You are one or the other. Marcella Hazan is romagnola (from Cesanatico), despite her association with Bologna and bolognese cooking.

[hathor]

Just beautiful Shaya!!

Those Emilia-Romangnaians (sp?? )

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Emiliani and Romagnoli. You are one or the other. Marcella Hazan is romagnola (from Cesanatico), despite her association with Bologna and bolognese cooking.

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Maureen, will you be my fairy-editor?? I cannot spell or proofread to save my life!

Do you know, is there any truth to the story that Mussolini moved the border of E-R so that he could say he was born there? We were told this story by the gentleman that runs the Gambero Rosso trattoria in E-R, and I've always wondered if it was really true.

[Ling]

I just finished making an enormous pot of ragu bolognese (6 lbs. veal, 6 lbs. pork!) and I was wondering if I can keep some of the leftovers in the fridge until Sunday (which will be a full 4 days from the day I cooked it.) Or should I freeze the leftovers?

[Pontormo]

Lorna: Should be fine...I've made batches that I've kept in the fridge for well over a week. Only gets better in a few days. You can always reheat it and let it cool again if you want to play safe. Please post your cache when over should you have the energy...

[Ling]

I have no time to take pictures before serving dinner, but I took a picture of the ragu bolognese and tagliatelle that I had for lunch (leftovers) just for you.

I'll try to take a picture of the antipasto platter before tomorrow's dinner (last night's antipasto platter was heaped oh-so-high with roasted zucchini, asparagus, red peppers, Cerignola olives, Leporati prosciutto, Parmigiano Reggiano, grilled radicchio and Cherry Gold balsamic vinegar!)

Here is what each diner had at their place setting:

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Caché presents the cuisine of Emilia Romagna

assorted cured meats from Salumi

Prosciutto di Parma with grilled vegetables, Cherry Gold balsamic, and Parmigiano Reggiano

Traditional Ragu Bolognese with veal, pork, and pancetta

Cotechino con Lenticchie

Castagnaccio

Oftentimes when cooking for Caché, I lament that there is just not enough time to explain all the research that went into the preparation of the meal before we must urge our diners to begin eating before the food cools. So beginning this week, I will be leaving our diners with a bit of a written explanation for those who are perhaps as food-obsessed as we are. For those who are just here to enjoy the evening, please don’t feel obligated to read further.

Since we started Caché in February, it’s been a bit of a personal project for me to expand my cooking horizons. Tonight’s meal is possibly the best example of this, as I had little knowledge of regional Italian cooking. Today’s menu is a product of many hours spent online, sifting through different recipes from native Italian home cooks and professional Italian chefs alike.

The prosciutto we are serving tonight has been a home favourite for months. This particular one, from Leporati in Pastorello, Italy, was the winner of our own little blind-taste test. On top is a the Cherry Gold 12 year balsamic that we use as a finishing vinegar at Caché. This particular Parmigiano Reggiano is made from the cows used to make the original cheese (as opposed to other, cheaper Parmigiano Reggianos) and is fruitier with larger salt crystals. These three ingredients are partly why the Emilia Romagna region is regarded to have the best food in Italy.

Traditional Bolognese, I learned this week, is not the herb, and tomato-heavy dish that we see so often in Italian-American restaurants. In actuality, none of the more popular recipes I came across featured any herbs whatsoever, and tomatoes (and sometimes tomato paste) are used sparingly. Marcella Hazan’s recipe, arguably the most authentic of the published recipes out there, uses a ratio of two parts ground beef to one part ground pork. I’ve instead decided to use equal parts ground veal and pork for better texture. This dish, like all Italian pastas, is lightly sauced as the tagliatelli (here, an artisan variety air-dried for 56 hours) is the main event.

Cotechino con Lenticchie is, according to Mario Batali: “the most traditional dish for New Year’s Eve supper.” Mario’s sister and brother-in-law, Gina and Brian at Salumi, prepared this cotechino. The puy lentils have been simmered with sage and garlic, then dressed with extra virgin olive oil and a red wine vinegar that’s been aged in oak and chestnut barrels. The lentils symbols the coins that will rain on diners who eat this before midnight.

Castagnaccio is a dessert from the Emilia Romagna region. The earliest form of this cake was moreso a bread that Roman soldiers carried, and is an acquired taste. This version is more accessible to modern palates, and includes pinenuts, walnuts, candied orange, golden raisins, dried cherries, chestnut honey, and homemade vin de noix.

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wine pairings we provided:

antipasto: I Cedri di Villa Pattono '05

ragu and cotechino course: Pain del Ciampolo '04 (90% Sangiovese, 5% Canaiolo and 5% Colorino grapes)

dessert: Felsina Berardenga vin santo '98

Of course, people brought a ton of other wine to serve...I didn't pay much attention to the labels because I was busy cooking, but I liked the La Luna Labrusco.

Edited September 15, 2007 by Ling (log)

[tupac17616]

Brava, Ling! Sounds wonderful. Sounds to me like your comfort zone as a cook is larger than you might think it is!

How old was your parmigiano-reggiano?

[Ling]

^Yes, I've been trying to venture out of my comfort zone lately a bit more because I'm getting more confident in the kitchen.

The cheesemonger only said that it was aged a minimum of 18 months, so I don't know the exact age of the cheese, but I'll ask.

BTW, I read through your incredible Italy adventure. How I wish I could experience something like that!

Pontormo: The castagnaccio just came out of the oven!

Edited September 15, 2007 by Ling (log)

[Pontormo]

Ling: That is gorgeous!!!!! Yum.

BTW, I came across an interesting post recently that you wrote less than three years ago:

Free-form tarts are much better than the frozen shells. I'm not a particularly experienced baker but I do free-form ones all the time. I'm sure you'll do just great. 

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Now, it's got to be one of the funniest things here.

[Ling]

^The wonderful, talented people on EG taught me a lot over the years.

Here is the antipasto platter without the prosciutto, parm and balsamic. You can't see the colourful veggies much after I put the prosciutto on top, so I decided to post this picture instead. Just imagine it with rosy slices of prosciutto and a heavy grating of Parm on top!

The lighting will be poor for pictures when I do the cotechino and lentils tonight, so they're be no photo of that. I really enjoyed reading through this thread and learned a lot this week. I'll have to study another region in Italy and put together a dinner for that very soon.

[hathor]

Brava Ling! Brava for doing all the research, and brava for doing all the cooking!

[kellytree]

Looks great!

In fact I have all the ingredients in my fridge so now I know what to make for dinner!

[Mottmott]

^Yes, I've been trying to venture out of my comfort zone lately a bit more because I'm getting more confident in the kitchen. 

The cheesemonger only said that it was aged a minimum of 18 months, so I don't know the exact age of the cheese, but I'll ask.

BTW, I read through your incredible Italy adventure. How I wish I could experience something like that! 

Pontormo: The castagnaccio just came out of the oven!

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What a beautiful cake! Searching around on line, it looks a lot like Batali'se (which has different ingredients) as opposed to some that look dull and dry. Did you use a particular recipe you found or put one together yourself?

I make a simple chestnut cake based on one in Julia della Croce's Veneto, but will explore this decidedly more festive and richer cake.

[Kevin72]

Porcini Fest!

I got these from a local seller who caters to many of our restaurants in the area and who decided to recently open up to the public. He's now my weekly ritual since his storefront is right next door to the big Italian deli in Dallas as well. They were a third or more than the usual price and as you can see they were enormous. Yes, they weren't hills-of-Italy quality and were a little bruised and waterlogged. And maybe it's a mushroom buyer faux pas to get a porcino that big, but how could I not?

So we started with the standard grilled porcini salad:

I asked the dealer for some suitable greens and he obliged. His microgreens alone are worth the trek.

This was probably the most pure porcini flavor of the night. Meaty, smokey, and had that custardy texture in the interior when it's been grilled.

Then porcini with homemade pasta:

I've heard that parmgiano and mushrooms are looked at in a similar vein to parmigiano and fish: as a general rule, don't do it. But I can't help myself. It's pasta, dammit!

But then let me turn around and say that the porcini didn't really come through here. I've made this before with different more commonly available exotic mushrooms (chaunterelle, in particular) and they really shone through. It was still good, but then what wouldn't be when mixed with pasta, olive oil, butter, and parm?

The secondo was chicken braised with porcini:

Again, the flavor of the mushroom kind of lost out to an otherwise great dish.

Well, this is two in a row now where I splurged and got a seasonal exotic ingredient and made an entire meal. Last week I did a black truffle fest inspired by Umbria and the truffle flavors were nonexistent, even though they smelled powerful and divine when I was cooking with them.

Maybe I didn't use enough? This was 2 pounds of porcini, so I find that hard to believe.

[FoodMan]

Porcini Fest!

I got these from a local seller who caters to many of our restaurants in the area and who decided to recently open up to the public.  He's now my weekly ritual since his storefront is right next door to the big Italian deli in Dallas as well.  They were a third or more than the usual price and as you can see they were enormous. Yes, they weren't hills-of-Italy quality and were a little bruised and waterlogged.  And maybe it's a mushroom buyer faux pas to get a porcino that big, but how could I not?

So we started with the standard grilled porcini salad:

I asked the dealer for some suitable greens and he obliged.  His microgreens alone are worth the trek.

This was probably the most pure porcini flavor of the night. Meaty, smokey, and had that custardy texture in the interior when it's been grilled.

Then porcini with homemade pasta:

I've heard that parmgiano and mushrooms are looked at in a similar vein to parmigiano and fish: as a general rule, don't do it.  But I can't help myself.  It's pasta, dammit!

But then let me turn around and say that the porcini didn't really come through here. I've made this before with different more commonly available exotic mushrooms (chaunterelle, in particular) and they really shone through. It was still good, but then what wouldn't be when mixed with pasta, olive oil, butter, and parm?

The secondo was chicken braised with porcini:

Again, the flavor of the mushroom kind of lost out to an otherwise great dish.

Well, this is two in a row now where I splurged and got a seasonal exotic ingredient and made an entire meal. Last week I did a black truffle fest inspired by Umbria and the truffle flavors were nonexistent, even though they smelled powerful and divine when I was cooking with them. 

Maybe I didn't use enough? This was 2 pounds of porcini, so I find that hard to believe.

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Don't know about the missing flavor Kevin, but the chicken looks great. How much do you have to pay for Porcini in Dallas? I don't think I've ever seen them in Houston.

[Kevin72]

Central carries them occasionally, more typically in the summer. Whole Foods very, very rarely has them. Price ranges from $36/lb all the way up to $69/lb. These, bless the man, were $15/lb.

I've looked online for source but keep getting hit with dried porcini instead.

[hathor]

WOW!!! That was one honkin' big porcini!!

Bruised? Waterlogged? Do you think it could have been frozen first?

We've had a terrible porcini season, no rain, no warm weather...maybe one good week. Bummer.

[Kevin72]

No; from my understanding porcini have an entirely different texture when frozen. These had that telltale fresh sponginess to them.

What's the truffle season been like, then, or has that even started out there?

[hathor]

Frozen porcini have a firmness to them, but they are certainly wetter than fresh. I've seen thawed out porcini that were ...almost.... hard to tell.

Truffles?? It's a bad, bad year for truffles. Scarce as hens teeth and costing an arm and a leg when you do find them....and they are crappy anyway. It was really hard for us this past weekend for our Festa del Bosco to find acceptable/affordable truffles. All the other restaurants were pricing them in the stratosphere and counting on no one ordering them! We got a few puny white ones to carry us thru....

[Ling]

What a beautiful cake! Searching around on line, it looks a lot like Batali'se (which has different ingredients) as opposed to some that look dull and dry. Did you use a particular recipe you found or put one together yourself?

I make a simple chestnut cake based on one in Julia della Croce's Veneto, but will explore this decidedly more festive and richer cake.

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Sorry for the late reply--yes, I believe I did basically follow the Batali recipe (except for things like baking time...I remember it taking quite a bit longer than the time specified in the recipe, and I even pulled it out of the oven when it was still a bit gooey in the center.)

[Chufi]

For our 'sort of Christmas' dinner on the 26th, I made 2 recipes from the Splendid Table:

lasagne with fresh and wild mushrooms

(the mushrooms are a mixture of dried porcini, and fresh chestnut mushrooms, chanterelles, portabellas and oystermushrooms)

The lasagne doesn't have a bechamel, but is topped with a mixture of cream, milk and cheese. It was incredibly delicious.

Certosino, one of the 'keeping cakes'. I made this a couple of days before Christmas. I actually used Kaspers recipe combined with Nigella Lawsons from her How to be a Domestic Goddess, mainly because I think Lawson has a point when she says that "Italians appreciate a dry cake in a way that we don't". Her recipe has 2 grated apples added to the batter. Anyway this was a wonderful cake, spicy and rich and fruity. If I make it again next year, I think I would increase the amount of chocloate and slightly decrease the amount of spice.

[hathor]

...........mmmmmmmmm............ I don't know about you guys, but I can smell that spice cake from here! Gorgeous!

And that lasagne seems just about perfect!

Buone Feste to all of us!

[Shaya]

Chufi what a beautiful meal. I want to eat that lasagna right now. That cake is gorgeous too, so pretty for the holidays.

Kevin, I still think that frozen or even soggy porcini are better than the dried variety. I've had a risotto with some locally picked porcini that were frozen to retain their freshness, and it blew the dried out of the water, for me.

Happy holidays, everyone, I hope to make it online more regularly in the new year.

[FoodMan]

New Years day dinner:

Started off with tortellini stuffed with butternut squash, then tossed with the traditional sage butter and topped with a grating of homemade amaretti cookies. I was going for the small 'bellybutton' shapes here and I was pretty happy with the result. The taste was fantastic as well. My wife pretty much ate only this and hardly any of the secondo.

Then we had Cotechino wrapped in Beef. Homemade Cotechino sausage par-cooked and wrapped in beef round then braised in red wine (recipe from Splendid Table). Served this with lentils. This was also a real winner of taste and different textures, also the fatty sausage works great with the lean beef.

Dessert was very simple. Some of those amaretti cookies with homemade gelato and raspberry sauce.

Sorry no pic of that, but here are the just baked cookies

Happy 2008 everyone!