Category: recipes of Italian cuisine

the pumpkin as an ingredient of beauty – Italian Cuisine

170334 Pumpkins of all shapes, magic, good and beautiful pumpkins. And even pumpkins to do beauty masks and give back to the skin the lost elasticity, the right hydration and the necessary nutrients. In short, forget the old and obsolete cucumbers on your face. Now the queen of the skin is the pumpkin pulp, skilfully mixed with yogurt or olive oil, enriched with Manuka honey or cane sugar. That the pumpkin does well, inside and out, and that it is simply sublime to taste is therefore a truth out of the question. Rich in vitamin A and C and enzymes, it also seems to have powers in restoring the circadian rhythm and acting as anti stress. And besides being able to use it from breakfast to dinner, you can also spread it on your face, body or hair.

A classicone of masks

If we want a good mask, of those to hold all night (maybe if you are single or if the husband / boyfriend is out) to get absorbed well by the skin, you must first blend the pulp of our pumpkin. At that point a white yogurt, a little olive oil, a handful of ground almonds and a teaspoon of Manuka honey (a sort of New Zealand elixir) is added to the mixture. The consistency obtained should be creamy enough to spread it on the skin before going to bed. And when you wake up, look at yourself in the mirror, after having removed it for good.

Go with the scrub

Another use is the scrub, or exfoliating gel. If the goal is to remove the dead skin cells and restore the shine to the skin, the expert advice is to blend the pulp of the pumpkin and, once obtained a creamy mixture, add brown sugar and cinnamon. Massage the skin by smearing the scrub and then rinse with warm water.

Variations on the theme

For those who want a refreshing mask for irritated skin, it is suggested to boil the pumpkin pulp mixing it with clay and infusion of mint or lavender. While a cremino made from pumpkin seeds crushed with olive oil is ideal for soothing freckles (assuming it is advisable). If you want to use it as a moisturizer for the body it is recommended to mix it with coconut milk (a half glass) and a teaspoon of cinnamon, leaving it to act for about fifteen minutes before rinsing.

Last but not least

Finally, if the problem is oily skin, all that is left is to blend the pulp, add a jar of white yogurt and lemon juice and apply the mixture on the face. With a tablespoon of honey, one of argan oil and the usual pumpkin pulp you can finally get a hair pack off.

Emanuela Di Pasqua,
February 2019

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The wine of the week: Lugana Orestilla 2017 Montonale – Italian Cuisine

A beautiful area, which invites to relaxing weekends by the lake, and a great white to make people talk about themselves.

There are landscapes, experiences and scents that bewitch you as a child and do not leave you anymore. It happened so to Girelli brothers, Claudio, Roberto and Valentino, which represent the fourth generation of a family of winemakers, active in the territory of Lugana since 1911.

To start the adventure in the wine field was Francesco Girelli, who tilled two hectares of land and planted the typical vine of the area, the turbiana, and some international, such as merlot and cabernet. The company grew during the twentieth century, with Luciano Girelli who enlarged the property with almost 70 hectares of land, but hereditary beginnings end its end in 1998. The dream seemed to have disappeared, without the possibility of starting again. Two years later, however, a great-uncle ceded two hectares of vineyards to Luciano and Roberto, the second of the three Girelli brothers, told his father that he wanted to carry on the family tradition. He enrolled in the Faculty of Viticulture and Oenology of Verona, after having studied agrarian, against the paternal will. After years of microscopic wine production, sold mostly to friends, in 2008 the Montonale brand was born, which takes its name from the locality where the winery is located: Roberto is the winemaker of the company, the eldest son Claudio follows the administrative part and Valentino takes care of the vineyards. We are in the production area of Lugana, an area of Lombardy, in the immediate vicinity of the Lake Garda, blessed with an exceptional microclimate, so much so that it is among the most northerly places in the world where it is still possible to grow crops citrus fruits and the olive tree.

With the turban grapes, our wines produce three labels, a classic method, the Lugana Montunal which, with 75 thousand bottles produced on a total of 100 thousand, represents the company's flag, and the Lugana Orestilla, which Roberto has thought of as a white of great evolutionary ability, taking the Burgundy wines as a model. Elegant and dry, it comes from a single vineyard to which it owes its name: Orestilla was perhaps the owner of these lands, as demonstrated by a marble stele from the Roman period found here. Uncorked young, it is a wine that enchants with the aromas of exotic fruit, sweet citrus and saffron; over time, acquires hints of flint that blend well with intense minerality. That of Roberto is a bet won, because this wine is so good that in 2017 the jury of the most prestigious wine contest in the world, the Decanter World Wine Awards, awarded the Lugana Orestilla 2015 as best monovarietal white wine in the world: the dream of those three children is again a reality.

Why now: the new year is about to come out and, after the prize of Decanter, it runs out quickly: it's the right time to make a good escort.
As did: after soft pressing in the absence of oxygen, the must ferments for 10 days in steel tanks, then matures on the lees for 8 months with constant bâtonnage and, finally, refines in the bottle for 10 months.
To combine with: vegetable soups, onion soup, crustaceans and stewed fish, white meats.
Serve it to: 10-12 ° C.
Price: 18 euros.
montonale.it

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Where is and how the Library of the Mother Yeast works – Italian Cuisine

Renato Bosco's mother yeast enters the library of mother yeast. Let's see what it is.

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"I am proud that my Pasta Madre Viva becomes part of the Library of Mother Yeast, a magical place where the fascination of history and ancient techniques is combined with the most advanced technologies and scientific research ": this is the declaration of Renato Bosco, fresh from recognition, during the moment of delivery of the official certificate by Karl De Smedt, guardian of the Library of the Mother Yeast of Saint-Vith, in Belgium. In fact, in the world there is a library of mother yeast, a place where different types of this fascinating ingredient are collected and safeguarded. Each yeast, in fact, guarantees a unique result and can be preserved forever, provided that it lends itself due attention: new water and new flour from time to time and a fresh environment.

Number 108

Tagged with the number 108 in the "caveu" of the Library, the Pasta Madre Viva di Bosco was studied and analyzed by a team of scientists, who defined the exact composition in terms of microorganisms, lactic bacteria, yeast and degree of acidity. "Pizza is my insatiable energy, bread is the simplicity of memories, passion is my best part ": and in this philosophy intrtohe also obviously sees that of his living creation.

Long live Italy and live the mother yeast

In short, a victory for Italy, but also for the Mother Yeast, a micro-world of biodiversity. Renato Bosco obviously preserves his first mother dough (made with his master from Aosta Rolando Morandin), but over time he has elaborated the magic formula to produce it. At its first creation it also gave a name: live mother paste. And in fact its mother dough is definitely alive and vital and should be nourished every day, protected from heat and cold, cared for, loved.

More than a hundred varieties

THEto «Mother Yeast Library in the Center for Bread Flavor in Saint-Vith, in Belgium it was designed in 2013 by Puratos, a multinational Belgian company specialized in the supply of food products. THE'target it's that to preserve the biodiversity of yeast agents and know-how on the use of natural yeast in bakeries. The center contains a genuine collection of yeasts with different flavors and aromas from all over the world and guards the legacy of bakers and consumers all over the world in order to enhance and conserve it. Currently in this place of care and collection The types of yeast kept are more than one hundred (while initially there were 43), coming from all over the world and from the shops of the best masters. Each year the activity of the Saint-Vith Library focuses on a country or a region. And this year he looked in our direction.

The dilemma of the Annivoro

"The gathering of wild yeasts turned out to be easier than expected. The air is full of their spores, which are everywhere, and to capture them it is enough to provide them with a place to rest and something to eat. Not all species have the same taste, however, and therefore we must keep in mind the geography and the luck factor … I prepared a thick pappata of organic flour and spring water (because you have to avoid all those chemicals that could hurt the yeast) and I exposed it briefly on the sill of an open window. Then I closed it in an airtight container … ". So he writes Michael Pollan in his food writing bible, The omnivorous dilemma. Where, of course, there could not be a chapter on mother yeast, praise for the simple spontaneity of nature. Behind him there is a world, between the rediscovery of traditions and techniques to refresh our living creation.

Emanuela Di Pasqua,
February 2019

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