Category: recipes of Italian cuisine

Abruzzo, where Montepulciano is born. And not only – Italian Cuisine

Abruzzo it is, by morphology, a unique land. On the one hand, it offers the visitor the mountain: the real one, high, which in winter is covered with snow. Going down into the valley, past woods and agricultural plots, here is the sea, the blue Adriatic, which shows its best along the Costa dei Trabocchi, dotted with ancient fishing structures now partly transformed into restaurants with a unique charm.

The excellence of Montepulciano
The belt that connects one area to another is a succession of hilly terrain and lush plateaus. Here, the most representative grape of the region, the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, present since the eighteenth century and today the pride of local enology especially in the areas of Chieti, where there are over 70 percent of the vineyards, Pescara and Teramo. From these grapes comes one Doc with a strong international vocation (Montepulciano d'Abruzzo is one of the most sold Italian red wines abroad) and is increasingly appreciated also on the Italian market, with large bottles resulting from the incessant work of companies and oenologists, but also of the Consorzio Tutela Vini di Abruzzo who, born in the early 2000s, has never stopped looking ahead and promoting local excellence.

From pink to white
Among the champions of Abruzzo viticulture also stands the Cerasuolo, the first denomination of Italy dedicated to a pinkish, which shows a strong character, far from some pale and fashionable rosé, to be discovered.

Moving on to whites, it is increasingly surprising Trebbiano, another native vine that in recent years has been expressing DOC bottles of unquestionable value. Somehow emerging grapes, but already favored by those who love fruity and floral whites, are the Pecorino cheese and the Passerina. To conclude with the outsiders, less known but definitely interesting, Cococciola is Montonico, from grapes that are a rare Slow Food presidium.

Taste paths
On the initiative of the Consortium, a beautiful one was also born app (for iOS and Android): it's called "paths"and the subtitle,"Discover Abruzzo Wine", introduces to a world of wines, of course, but also of cultural, naturalistic, artistic and gastronomic itineraries. 15 the roads proposed to the users of the app and over 200 points of interest between hermitages and castles, springs and lakes, villages and churches medieval, beaches and walks along the coast, without forgetting the most delightful indications: those of restaurants and wine cellars where it is possible to experience the best Abruzzo specialties and taste, for example, the very famous skewers, small skewers of sheep meat, or the pallotte cacio e ova, "poor" and delicious meatballs with cheese and bread. To accompany, ça va sans dire, with a good glass "made in Abruzzo".

Francesca Romana Mezzadri
July 2019

DISCOVER THE SALT AND PEPPER COOKING COURSES

How to make zucchini meatballs: recipe and advice – Italian Cuisine

Light and full of taste, the zucchini balls are a perfect dish to be enjoyed as an appetizer or as a second course. And you will love them even if you are not a vegetarian!

A vegetarian version of a classic of Italian cuisine: le Aubergine Meatballs they are ideal to prepare in this period, when these vegetables grow sweet and firm and give their best. Combine with ricotta or potatoes, can also be prepared the day before and serve cold: as appetizer or main course, accompanied by a salad of sprouts or a fragrant sauce.

Aubergine Meatballs

There is not just one of zucchini!

Rich of potassium and of C vitamin, the courgettes are not all the same. Among the most used varieties there are those black women of Milan, with a dark green color and compact flesh; the trumpet, originating in Liguria, with a curved shape and light green skin; those round of Nice, perfect to serve stuffed; the Tuscany, long and thin; those white wines of Trieste with a very delicate taste; the Bologna, rather tasty and compact. Whichever variety you decide to use, prefer zucchini from medium-small cut and avoid the huge ones: they will be firmer, with less seeds and will keep cooking better.

The recipe for zucchini balls

Take 300 g of zucchini, wash them, cut them and slice them with a mandolin or grate them. In a saucepan, boil in plenty of salted water 300 g of potatoes with the peel and when they are soft, drain and peel them. Crush them and add them to the courgettes. Mix well, season with salt, add a sprinkling of pepper, a bunch of chives chopped, 100 g of Parmesan cheese grated and a egg. Knead everything, make meatballs the size of a golf ball and pass them in breadcrumbs. In a saucepan heat abundantly peanut oil. When it is hot fry the meatballs, turning them often. Once golden, drain them on a sheet of absorbent paper and serve immediately. If you prefer, you can let them cool before bringing them to the table.

In the tutorial some suggestions for a more appealing result

Speck: the smoky taste of South Tyrol – Italian Cuisine

There are products intimately linked to the territory and to the population that inhabits it, born of ancient traditions that still survive today, almost unchanged. The South Tyrolean speck is one of these products. It is easy to define it: speck is a boneless, spicy, smoked and seasoned pork leg. However, each of these steps must be performed in a workmanlike manner so that the mark of the sausage can be stamped on the meat Protection Consortium which, for over twenty years, identifies it as Speck dell'Alto Adige Igp.

An ancient history
Like many typical products, speck comes from the need to be able to consume a food, in this case pork, even months after slaughtering the animal. The technique originates in the farms of Dolomiti: small self-sufficient microcosms where the farmers cultivated and raised all that was necessary for their livelihood. Next to cows and chickens, pigs were never missing, animals that were not expensive to maintain and of which, as is well known, every part can be exploited. Salting, spicing and smoking were the easiest way to keep the cuts for a long time, especially the prized part of the leg. Thus, each family had its own recipe and its secret ingredients. The extra touch was given by the surrounding environment, the fresh alpine air, the microclimate that was created in the cellars and, not least, the woods collected in the woods, in particular those of Beech tree, little resinous and ideal for obtaining a delicate smoke, but effective for conservation.

A modern product
Even today, the inhabitants of the valleys often slaughter their animals and produce their meats in a traditional way (not only bacon, but also other cuts, such as belly and back). They are joined by the industrial sausage factories that still maintain i traditional procedures, only updated with the help of modern technologies. Faithful to the dictates of the Consortium, they produce for local and national markets, but also for foreign ones (especially Austria and Germany). A visit to one of these establishments, such as the one in Soprabolzano (BZ) which is part of the group Citterio (here we work the classic Tagliofresco and the Speck Bio), confirms that the production process does not differ much from what the farmers of these areas did 100 or more years ago.

The basic rules
The selection of the raw material is fundamental. To respect the criteria of the Consortium, open and boneless pork legs, which are called "baffe", must respect precise values concerning thepig breeding, the ratio between fat and lean, even the pH of the meat (which, if too high, would compromise drying). Once trimmed according to a traditional technique, the thighs come salted and corned using a "tanning" that can vary from one producer to another but generally includes pepper, laurel, juniper, coriander, rosemary, garlic and other aromas such as pimento (also called peppercorn or Jamaica pepper) and marjoram.

After a first rest (it takes even 3 weeks for the tanning to penetrate well into the meat), and a second passage of a few weeks in special refrigerated rooms, it is time forcold smoking, 5 days during which the smoke of beech wood, which never exceeds 20 °, aromatizes and contributes to the preservation process. Finally, it's time for seasoning which, according to the initial weight of the baffe, can last from 18-20 weeks up to over 30. In this phase, a natural layer of mold is formed on the outside of the speck that rounds off the taste and is removed at the end of the seasoning.

On the table and in the kitchen
The cycle is complete: the speck is ready to be sold whole, in slices or in slices. In the case of slices, the typical cut is the counter-fiber one that allows to obtain slices with a right amount of fat, which is essential to balance and sweeten the flavor of the salami. Thus presented, it is the protagonist of the typical South Tyrolean snack with Schuttelbrot (low and crunchy rye bread) and red wine, while the classic slices, cut in the sense of the fiber, make up cutting boards with valerian, pickles, black bread and horseradish sauce.

The cubes are inevitable in the dough of the dumplings, the large spherical bread dumplings with chives and parsley that can be enjoyed in broth or simply seasoned with butter and sage. Lastly, strips and matches are perfect in barley soups and risottos: whether combined with the sautéed or added at the end of cooking, cut very finely, so that the fat melts in contact with the heat of the dish and the speck releases all its scents, remaining soft. As tradition wants.

Francesca Romana Mezzadri
July 2019

DISCOVER THE SALT AND PEPPER COOKING COURSES