Tag: history

Fillo dough: history, secrets and unusual recipes – Italian Cuisine

Originally from Turkey, more precisely from the kitchens of the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, phyllo dough is a highly versatile and delicious ingredient

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Ancient, exotic, mysterious
There phyllo dough, Greek cousin of our puff pastry, has its roots in the past aristocratic it is far. It was created, in fact, in the kitchens of the Topkapi Palace, a Istanbul, in the form of a very sweet baklava (a layered dessert) filled with honey and pistachios intended for the sultan. The name, which in Greek means "leaf", immediately suggests its minimum thickness and all its fragility. Exact deduction, since this type of pasta, whose home preparation is reserved for the most experienced, not only must be pulled to the extreme limit (and even beyond), but is susceptible to air and, if not protected, it dries quickly. In return it offers exceptional versatility, an excellent one taste neutral able to enhance sweet fillings as much as salty, spicy or spicy ones, the possibility of being baked in the oven or fried in a pan and aesthetic results of great effect: with the phyllo it is enough to create a simple spiral, a distracted crumple and the dish is transformed in a precious lace or in a bouquet of roses. Not only that: unlike our pastry, where a substantial stick of butter is part of the ingredients and is rolled with a rolling pin together with the rest of the dough, phyllo contains no fat, which makes it by far the lightest and most digestible pasta in its family.

How should the phyllo dough be treated?
Finally, among the many advantages, the fact that this laborious preparation can be purchased should not be underestimated already ready in some frozen food chains or ethnic specialty shops. Its use therefore becomes quite simple, as long as you take care to thaw the pasta very slowly, even for a whole day, first keeping it in the refrigerator and then at room temperature (for about 2 hours) and grease it with a little oil or melted butter. Also, while carrying out the operations required by the recipe with one or more sheets, remember to keep the others under a damp cloth. You will preserve its freshness and elasticity.

Roses of phyllo dough with dried fruit (doses for 12 people)
Very crunchy, golden at the right point and very sweet. Get yourself: 1 package of filo pastry – 100 g of butter – 100 g of toasted hazelnuts – 100 g of pistachios – 360 g of sugar – peel of 1 untreated orange

First step: for the roses, line the pan with parchment paper. Chop hazelnuts and pistachios e bring them together in a bowl with 60 g of sugar.
Second step: open the phyllo dough on the work surface e keep it blanket with a wet and well wrung cloth. Dissolve butter in a saucepan. Take a sheet of phyllo dough, brush it lightly butter, fold it in half, grease it again and sprinkle the dough with a tablespoon of dried fruit. Curled the dough with your fingers and then wrap it in a turban. Place the turban upright in the pan. Continue in the same way with the other sheets.
Third step: do it syrup. Bring to boiling 300 g of sugar, 3 dl of water and julienned orange peel and simmer for 6-7 minutes. Meanwhile, bake the roses at 200 ° for 30 minutes. Turn off and let it rest for 10 minutes, still in the oven.
Fourth step: remove the pan, generously wet the turbans with the prepared orange syrup and leave to rest for a few hours before serving.

Drink right
The phyllo is more delicate than the pastry, of which it does not have the fat element; to safeguard its crunchiness it is advisable to use light and sparkling wines to keep any greasiness at bay.

October 2021
Daniela Falsitta

Posted on 14/10/2021

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New Year and traditions: history, recipes and rituals – Italian Cuisine

From red underwear to the typical dishes of the dinner, from the windows open at the stroke of midnight to the origins of the party: history and curiosities in view of the New Year's Eve

The year is now running out and the night of new Year's Eve – the latest of each year according to Gregorian calendar in use throughout much of the world – is upon us. But how are the last twelve months around Italy greeted? New Year and traditionshere is a brief history.

All looking for good luck

First, however, a clarification is necessary. New Year's Day does not mean the day of December 31, as many mistakenly think, but the January 1st. That is the day that begins, immediately after midnight, to the sound of cheers and with several rites good wishes, also with regard to food. Just think of the main courses: from lentils to the cotechino, give zampone all 'grapes, all ingredients that have maintained their aura of lucky charm and that for this reason continue to be great classics on the occasion of new Year's Eve dinner. On the first day of January, after the party (and in some cases even the hangover), on the tables of all Italy appear then meat (pork or lamb primarily), vegetables as chard is chicory is fruit dry. And the reason, needless to say, is always the same: according to some popular traditions, these are foods that favor a new year full of money, health and satisfactions a little in all sectors.

The New Year and its history

The story of the New Year, a holiday of pagan origin, has its roots in the era of Babylonians, which, however, usually celebrated the change from one year to the next at thespring equinox, returning the agricultural tools received on loan as a sign of good resolution for the new vintage. In 46 BC Julius Caesar he then dictated the transition to the Julian calendar and the feast, which for the ancient Romans had the purpose of celebrating the god Janus (probably the main deity of the pantheon in the archaic period) thus began to fall between 31 December and 1 January. From 1582, with the introduction of the current calendar by Pope Gregory XIII, the story then took a very specific direction, and here is the New Year as we know it.

Rituals and traditions from China to ancient Rome

The traditions linked to this festival have also endured over time: from the use of mistletoe, considered auspicious as a source of purification as well as a real elixir against sterility, ai fires of artifice, invented in China around the eighth century after Christ. Also from the ancient Celestial Empire comes the custom of wear something red to celebrate the beginning of the new year. According to Chinese tradition, in fact, red is the color that frightens Niàn, the devouring beast that, on New Year's Eve, comes out of the sea depths to feed on human flesh. But red was also considered a good omen in Rome imperial: during the celebrations for the new year, in fact, women dressed in purple, the color of courage, passion, power and fertility. Another auspicious tradition is that of leave the windows open at midnight or by throw away the old things to make room for new projects. In the past, in Italy and beyond, many decided to complete this propitiatory rite even throwing useless objects from their balcony.

Regional specialties related to the New Year

"What you do on New Year's Eve is done all year round": this is one of the most pronounced phrases during the celebrations, followed by the inevitable good intentions for the beginning of January, which however in most cases are rejected. One for all? That of getting to diet. Forgetting the scales for a moment, then, here is a short tour of New Year's regional dishes. It starts from Piedmont with the boiled and the marengo chicken, Served with shrimp and mushrooms. In the city of Naples at New Year they reign cod is capitone, also breaded. In Lombardy the panettone it is inevitable; in South Tyrol instead space a dumplings is tirtlan, large fried ravioli with a stuffing of cabbage or spinach, sometimes accompanied with a barley soup. The cotechino it is widespread at all latitudes, but it is theEmilia Romagna the true homeland, while in Puglia New Year's Eve parties rhyme with panzerotto fried, chicory, Calzone stuffed, cartellate is lamb with lampascioni. In Liguria, finally, the protagonist of the New Year's Eve dinner is the Cappon Magro, which despite its name is not a rooster, but a fish: the capon.

Brescia, between history and good food – Italian Cuisine

After long restorations, the Winged Victory, extraordinary bronze statue of the first century AD. And the Lioness of Italy (as Carducci called her) takes the opportunity to exhibit her treasures. Not everyone knows, in fact, but Brescia is a treasure trove of art and history: Roman vestiges and Lombard monasteries, Renaissance squares and Venetian-style architecture, prestigious museum collections (such as that of the Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo with the Raphael, Moretto, Canova and Hayez families) and even murals. Past and future coexist between the Castle that dominates the city and the former industrial structures ready to host the design or installations of SubBrixia (the project that is bringing art to metro stations). But let's go in order.

History and culture
The good salons of Brescia are Piazza della Loggia, which houses some of the most beautiful buildings in the city: the Loggia, of course, with its three arches and the hull-shaped dome, the Clock tower, famous for the Màcc de le Ure (the madmen of the hours), the two bronze statues that strike the bell every hour, and the pawnshop. A few steps and here is the medieval one Piazza del Duomo or Paul VI overlooked by the two cathedrals: the old cathedral, one of the most significant examples of Romanesque style and the new one with its record-breaking dome (it is the third in Italy after San Pietro and Santa Maria del Fiore). Last in chronological order, Victory Square, a metaphysical space where the inspiration of the architect Piacentini enjoyed, almost a century ago, building palaces, skyscrapers and towers in the name of the purest Rationalism. In a few minutes there is the archaeological park, ready to tell the centuries of Roman Brixia with the Forum, the imposing Capitolium (temple dedicated by Emperor Vespasian to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva) and the great Theater. A cloister, then a second, a third and here are the majestic spaces of Santa Giulia, the great monastery that testifies to the Lombard period of the city. Unesco World Heritage, today its churches, rooms and nuns' cells are occupied by art collections that tell the story of the city and its territory, from prehistoric times to the period of the Lords until the domination of the Serenissima.

Food of great tradition
Brescia, however, is also told through its food. The Brescia cuisine is a specialty, full of exclusive local products protected by DOP, IGP and DOCG. Furthermore, together with other Lombard capitals, the city adheres to East Lombardy, a brand that represents restaurateurs and producers who have made sustainability, biodiversity and quality a choice of life. At the table there will be casoncelli, among the tastiest examples of the great Italian tradition of stuffed pasta. They can be lean or fat: "the filling of ours", assure, for example, the centenary Pastificio Franzoni, "it is strictly braised meat!" But cheeses are also part of the golden register of city gastronomy: Brescia, in fact, is located at the confluence of three valleys (Valle Sabbia, Val Camonica and Val Trompia) from where the Bagòss, the Valtrompia Dop, the Silter. Without forgetting the goat cheeses, dal Fatulì to the Barbatass ("Strange first name", explains Cristina Peroni of the Val Persane farm, "due to the fact that it matures with noble molds that resemble badger fur"). And the desserts? The most traditional is, without a doubt, the Bossolà, a pumpkin-shaped cake with flour, sugar, milk and eggs, which became famous in the rest of Italy because the famous Brescia Iginio Massari he has been offering it for years in his pastry shop.

Travel notebook
Trattoria Porteri
IN THE LOCAL ALSO CUNSÌ (PEPPERS AND CHEESE), MALFATTI AL BAGÒSS, BEEF WITH OIL. TO VISIT THE ATTACHED CENTENARY SALUMERIA (IN THE PHOTO NEXT TO THE OWNERS WHO HOSTED THE SALE & PEPE SERVICE).
The Winery
IN THE FORMER MONTE DI PIETÀ, FRIED FRESH WATER FISH.
Fire Eaters
POLENTINE ON THE MENU, PREVOSTO DISH.
Osteria Zia Gabri
CREATIVE PROPOSALS: SMOKED MACKETTE WITH PLUM SORBET, GNOCCHI WITH SQUID AND TREBBIANO SAUCE.
Diameter eighteen
A FAST AND TASTY STOP WITH RICH WELL LEAVENED FOCACCE AND ARTISANAL BEERS.
Nineteen 19
THE BRESCIA TRENDY LOVES ITS SCAMPI IN TEMPURA.
Alps area
THIRTY BRESCIAN CHEESES.
Veneto pastry shop
DELICACIES SIGNED BY THE MASTER IGINIO MASSARI.
Food
LEAVENING, VASO COOKING AND FERMENTED LABORATORY.
A la Cave
SUPER SELECTED ALCOHOLIC.
Franzoni pasta factory
AMONG THE SPECIALTIES, THE CASONCELLI.
Val Persane Farm
SPECIALIZED IN GOATS.
Info: visitbrescia

Enrico Saravalle
photo by Francesca Moscheni

Originally from Turkey, more precisely from the kitchens of the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, phyllo dough is a highly versatile and delicious ingredient <! – send by email ->

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