Tag: Southern

Surprise wonders and goodness, a trip to Southern Italy – Italian Cuisine

The gastronomic fields of the south and of the major islands ensure memorable discoveries. Today as in the time of the Grand Tour

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Like travelers of the Grand Tour that, after having explored Northern Italy, began in the late eighteenth century to go to the South, so also Sale & Pepe closes its journey by celebrating the beauty and goodness of the South and the two major islands. A path that he saw as our exceptional partner Destination Gusto, an initiative of Intesa Sanpaolo designed to promote Italian food and wine excellences. A large online store, run by B2X, which offers over 350 small and medium-sized Italian agri-food producers (presented one by one with exhaustive data sheets) a digital commercial channel to raise awareness of the quality of their products in Italy and around the world. Over 3000 references including cured meats, cheeses, oils, wines, beers, preserves, pasta, desserts and much more all made in Italy. By entering the Destination Gusto website and reading our latest episode, you can immerse yourself in the immense gastronomic heritage that the generous Mezzogiorno gives us. Products of the earth or of human processing that at the time of the Grand Tour were not those of today, however some travelers of the time had already guessed what the territory could offer.

Goethe's Journey to Italy
For example, Goethe in his book Viaggio in Italia writes that in the Campania capital there is a large consumption of vegetables: "The whole countryside that surrounds Naples is a single vegetable garden and it is a pleasure to see the incredible quantities of legumes that flow into the market days", or Charles de Brosses, duke, French politician and writer observes: "It is here (Naples ) after all that is cooked in the best way, excellent wines … excellent beef, grapes as you can imagine and melons in the middle of winter ". Yet for a long time this part of Italy was by no means a destination: the final stage of the journey was Rome. Only after the discovery of Herculaneum (1738) and Pompeii (1748), the rediscovery of the temples of Paestum, the fame of Goethe's journey (1786-1788) and his book shifted the interests of foreign travelers to Naples and Sicily.

But getting to the south of the peninsula was not easy
The roads between the Tyrrhenian, Adriatic and Ionian Seas were very bad and only one major artery, the Strada Regia delle Calabrie that the Bourbons began to build in 1778, led from Rome to Reggio Calabria. The shortcomings of the road system concerned both long-distance roads and connections with small towns, as well as the nature of the territory was impervious and to this was added the problem of brigandage. Those who traveled to the South did so only for institutional, military or study reasons, aware of the risks and the long distances to be covered on foot or on horseback. For the same reason Sardinia was excluded from the first part of the Grand Tour until the beginning of the 19th century, when the construction of the Strada Reale Carlo Felice facilitated the presence of travelers. But those who managed to get to Puglia, Calabria or elsewhere were delighted.
One of the first was the Irish philosopher in 1717 George Berkeley who in a letter to a Scottish friend writes: "I have just returned from a trip through the most remote and unknown parts of Italy … but perhaps you don't know that the most beautiful city in Italy (Lecce ed) is in a corner remote of the heel …. The season of the year and the many splendid landscapes of Puglia, Peucezia and ancient Calabria made this trip really pleasant ".

October2021
by Laura Maragliano
photo above Alessandro Saffo / Simephoto
portrait Gian Marco Folcolini

The special dedicated to Southern Italy is on newsstands in the October 2021 issue of Sale & Pepe.

Posted on 08/10/2021

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In southern China there is a soup made with winter melon – Italian Cuisine

In southern China and Hong Kong it is traditional to eat a particular winter soup whose main ingredient is winter melon

If for us Westerners the idea of having fruit among the main ingredients of a hot winter soup may seem unusual, in Chinese cuisine the combination of soup and sweet flavors it is an established habit, so much so that some of these recipes are real desserts. Between traditional soups more characteristics and representative of the south of China a particular preparation based on stands out winter melon (dong gua). There are more or less rich versions of this dish, depending on whether it is cooked at home as a popular food and comfort food, or whether it is part of the banquet and ceremonial menu, as well as more modern and revisited versions. So let's discover the characteristics of the classic variant, from the properties to the most used ingredients.

The recipe for winter melon soup and some of its variations

The home-made and poor version of this recipe includes a few simple ingredients, all commonly used in China. In addition to the winter melon, the other main ingredient is pork meat and, more precisely, the hock, or the end of the shin bone. More modern variants involve the use of pork ribs, meatballs, Chinese ham or chicken instead. For the broth, on the other hand, various ingredients and aromas are generally used, including ginger, dried tangerine peel and Chinese dates. To prepare the soup, simply pour all the ingredients into a large pot full of water, adding the last cubes of winter melon, and let it boil for about two hours. The soup is then served in a bowl, with or without the piece of meat or bone. This dish can also be eaten in summer at room temperature, as a tasty, thirst-quenching and refreshing remedy for the heat. In modern Chinese cuisine and in restaurant menus, winter melon soup it is often enriched with other ingredients, including carrots, shiitake mushrooms, dried shrimp or anchovies, crabmeat, lotus seeds, and kombu seaweed.

The winter melon: sweet, nutritious and low-calorie fruit

As we have seen, the main ingredient of this soup is the winter melon, also called yellow or winter melon. Characterized by an elongated shape, a rather smooth yellow skin and a light and sugary pulp whose consistency recalls that of melon, this melon is harvested in summer but, as the name suggests, it can be kept until December / January. Bringing this fruit to the table during the colder months means not only being able to appreciate its pleasant summer aroma out of season, but also benefiting from its beneficial and nutritional properties. The winter melon is in fact low-calorie (less than 30 calories for about 100 grams), as it consists of over 90% water, and is also a good source of iron, calcium, phosphorus, B vitamins and antioxidants. . The Asian variety of this fruit has a very thin green skin, e it is used both in Chinese cuisine in addition to soups and fried foods, both in the Traditional Chinese Medicine as a natural diuretic, laxative and to regulate blood pressure and metabolism.

Photo: Chinese winter melon soup_500_Pixabay.
Photo: Chinese winter melon soup Wintermelonsoup 800_Wikimedia commons.jpg.

Hush puppies, the corn fritters of the southern United States – Italian Cuisine

Corn pancakes with the unusual name hush puppies (silence, puppies!), Are a traditional dish of soul food, the cuisine of the African American community typical of the southern United States

The hush puppies are a famous traditional dish of the so-called "kitchen of the soul" (soul food), or the cuisine of the Afro-American community of southern United States. The recipe consists of soft round-shaped corn fritters prepared with corn flour and a few other ingredients and generally served as an accompaniment to fish dishes (above all fried catfish) or seafood or the classic fried chicken. Like other dishes of the soul culinary tradition, these corn fritters have distant origins, and are a poor and simple dish to prepare and at the same time rich in taste and history.

Recipe and characteristics of hush puppies

The main ingredient of these pancakes is corn flour, an ingredient historically used in many traditional dishes of the so-called poor kitchen, just think of our local polenta or Mexican tortillas. It is no coincidence that this poor and versatile ingredient is used in many popular soul food recipes. As the Corn bread which is widespread in the southern United States and which is generally prepared with a batter containing corn flour, wheat flour, eggs, milk and animal fat. The ingredients used for the traditional basic recipe of hush puppies instead are corn flour, wheat flour, milk or buttermilk, eggs, salt, a pinch of baking soda and onion, but spices or other seasonings can also be added, including garlic, chopped fresh onion, peppers, black pepper, chili or corn kernels. To prepare the pancakes, simply mix the liquid ingredients (eggs and milk) and add them to the previously mixed dry ones; once the creamy batter is ready, simply shape it with a spoon to make small balls the size of a golf ball and then proceed with frying in hot oil or preheated fat. The result must be golden, fragrant and pleasantly crunchy.

The story of small "dog silences" pancakes

The unusual name of this dish, which can be translated as "silence, puppies!" it is closely linked to the story that is told about its origin. In fact, it would seem that the birth of corn fritters dates back to period of the Civil War. It is said that at the time the Confederate soldiers ate large quantities of it, as it was easy and quick to prepare during the camps, and that they threw it at the dogs to keep them at bay and stop them barking, particularly during attacks by the side. of enemy troops. There are also similar versions of the story whose protagonists, instead of soldiers, are hunters, fishermen or slaves on the run. Whatever the origin of the name and the dish, what we know is that nowadays there are several local and regional variants (including those that involve baking or different shapes and ingredients) and that there are several countries in the south of the United States that claim its origin.

Photo: Hush_puppies_frittelle_Commons Wikipedia.jpg
Photo: Hush_puppies_cornmeal pancakes_Flickr_Dan.jpg

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