Tag: varieties

Asparagus: varieties and shopping tips – Italian Cuisine

Buonissimi asparagus! Usually they are harvested in late March, so we are almost at the height of their seasonality.

The edible part of the asparagus is called turion, sprout that develops from an underground stem said rhizome, and is colored White until it comes to the surface. In contact with the light the turion becomes green, more or less intense, rosy is Violet, depending on variety and cultivation technique. For example, white shoots are generally obtained from green varieties that are not exposed to light. The turion, the edible part of asparagus, it is usually tender and fleshy, with a pleasant sweetish taste.

Between whites, the best known are those of Pescia, Cesena, Bibione, Terlano, Rivoli Veronese, di Bassano Dop, of Cimadolmo (IGP). Among those with a very lightened tip, the white of Holland, Germany, Sile and the big Erfurt.

Among the green turione varieties are the so-called asparagus Californian, as the Mary Washington and the Brock-Imperial 84, very common and also used for freezing. Also green is the asparagus that is grown in the Bolognese plain of Altedo and that obtained the Igp.

The variety it produces has a more rustic flavor violet shoots such as the early Tuscan and the Early and Late of Argenteuil, a city in northern France famous for its asparagus since the days of the Sun King; with an inimitable perfume and flavor, buttery and soft violet of Albenga – Slow Food Presidium, recognizable by the very large shoots and the intense color that fades down towards the base – and the Neapolitan, the latter completely purplish.

Among the spontaneous species, thefield asparagus, also called wild is that of wood. Field asparagus sprouts are quite common and are harvested from April to May. I'm thin, dark green with purple tips, with an intense, almost bitterish flavor; therefore they are ideal ingredients for the preparation of risotto, lasagna, quiche oe even Pancake.
L'forest asparagus it grows in the maquis and is included in the set of shoots called in the Veneto with the name of bruscandoli.

Asparagus are ideal for the preparation of soups, soups, creams, omelettes, omelets, risotto, but they are also simply delicious boiled or sauteed with butter, seasoned with a drizzle of olive oil and lemon or served with fried eggs.
The tips, if very fresh and thinly cut, they can also be eaten raw in carpaccio and salads.

Tips for buying and storing:

• 1 Asparagus must be hard, the tips they must not have scales at the base but they must be sodas and well closed; if they are bellied it means that the asparagus is not fresh.

2 • Also stems they must turn out well firm, must not be empty or broken, and must have a round and never flattened section; if they are soft to the touch, it means that they have already been collected for some time.

3 • Great importance also has final part of the stems, where the asparagus have been cut: this section must not appear too woody or dry otherwise it means that they are not fresh.

4 • To find out if the asparagus are fresh, smell them: as soon as they are picked they have no smell

5 • For store better, immediately after the purchase you have the asparagus in a bowl with cold water, covered with a wet cloth, and transfer them to a cool place or to the less cold compartment of the refrigerator.

Cleaning and cooking

The size of the asparagus also determines cleaning and cooking: if they are a lot thin just gently scrape the stems and then rinse well under cold running water before cooking.

If not, if they are thick, you have to scrape them with a potato peeler starting from 3-4 cm below the tips; then they must be aligned on the work surface and the wood end of the stem must be cut at the same height.

Yes wash then under cold running water and yes they cook "standing" in special high and round pots, where they are positioned tied to bunches and with the tips riots upward, in boiling and slightly salted water which must not exceed three quarters of the stems. You can also blanch them in a saucepan or, better, cook them in the pan vapor.
Watch out for cooking times determined by the thickness of the asparagus – usually it should not exceed 10 minutes – bearing in mind that they must be firm, al dente and not too yielding.

Don't throw the pieces cut from the stems, the broken parts or excessively large and scaly shoots, but fry them in a pan with a drizzle of oil and leek, bathing them with a little boiling vegetable broth or water; therefore frullateli and keep the mousse in a glass jar in the refrigerator or in closed trays in the freezer: it will be an excellent base for countless preparations.

of Monica Pilotto
March 10, 2016
updated on March 18 2020
by Barbara Roncarolo

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The varieties of Italian peppers – Italian Cuisine

Not only the green, yellow and red color: the shape, the taste and the preservation methods are also changing. From the Lucanian bell peppers to the Neapolitan papacelle up to the Piedmontese variants, a small journey into the summer treasures of our territory

We will also be back from holiday but in front of us we have another month of summer. And so the kingdom of gods still shines in the kitchen pepperoni. Together with tomatoes, courgettes and aubergines, he is the real summer vegetable, to be eaten raw or cooked, stuffed or grilled. But what are the main types of peppers in circulation and which Italian peppers exist?

Yellow, red and green peppers: different twins

The first difference concerns the colors: red, yellow and green. The Red pepper it has a crisp and firm flesh and a strong flavor, ideal for preparing bruschetta or side dishes. what yellow it is more meaty and juicy, with a sweeter taste and greater tenderness: perfect for sweet and sour peppers or for chicken with peppers. The peppers greens they are nothing but the specimens not yet fully developed of the red and yellow variants. The slightly sour taste makes it perfect for salads, even raw.

Horns and more

Among the most valuable variants of our country is the pepper of Pontecorvo Dop, shaped like a horn and the red and thin skin, known since the beginning of the 1800s. Or the Lucan pepper of Senise IGP, also red and horn-shaped, used since the sixteenth century for the production of the famous bran peppers: ie dried in the sun and then eaten fried in extra virgin olive oil. Note that the pepper plant, Capsicum annuum, is the same as almost all chili Peppers, from which they are distinguished only by the shape and the sweet rather than spicy taste. Also of great quality red Nocera pepper, among the most tasty large types.

Peppers: surprises between Asti and Cuneo

It is distinguished by the flattened shape instead of the Pat. Cuneo pepper, with a flesh that is firm, fleshy, crisp, consistent, with a thickness of about 10 mm. Features very similar also to the square of Asti. Unsuspected land of peppers, Piedmont, thanks to the torrid summers that these plants suffer much less than the tomato. Testimony is also the Carmagnola pepper, in turn divided into four types: the square of Carmagnola, yellow or red, suitable to be eaten raw, stuffed or baked; the long or ox horn (yellow or red), ideal for peperonata and preserves thanks to the compact pulp; there spinning top (yellow or red), with the characteristic flattened shape; and the tomaticot (yellow or red), a roundish hybrid with a tomato-like shape, perfect for appetizers but also for bagna cauda and as a side dish for boiled meats. Instead it represents a real treat Capriglio pepper, in Monferrato, selected and cultivated for over two centuries and handed down from generation to generation by local farmers. Like other varieties of peppers grown in the Asti area, it is a natural cross between ancient small cultivars and larger ones from the Cuneo area. It is distinguished by a delicately sweet taste as well as a thick and fleshy skin that makes it particularly suitable for preservation, traditionally under pomace.

Neapolitan triumphs

In short, a real connoisseur's stuff, like the Neapolitan papacella, pepper with small crushed and ribbed berries, very fleshy and with a strong flavor, ideal for traditional Neapolitan pickled preparations. The reason? The sweetness of its pulp, perfect ingredient of the famous ones reinforcement salads Christmas, to say nothing of the e mbuttunate papaccelle. The name probably derives from the gardens of the Nolanum where papaccella (le parule) was once cultivated, which were found in particular in the vicinity of Brusciano, where many inhabitants have the surname "Papaccio". Last chapter of the saga of the Italian pepper? We stay in Campania with i friggitelli (or friarelli or puparuoli friarelli or chilli peppers). For which, given their goodness, we should open a separate chapter …

The varieties of olives and the recipe of Ascoli olives – Italian Cuisine

In brine, in oil, stuffed, fried: there are many ways to taste olives, an indispensable ingredient for a perfect aperitif. And can you listen to those from Ascoli?

They are like cherries, one leads to another. The olives they are the fruit of the olive tree, a very long-lived plant native to Asia that lives in warm and sunny places, with a Mediterranean climate, which in Italy is cultivated above all in Liguria, Tuscany and the southern regions.

Olives: a rich fruit

The olives are fleshy berries, with a green or black color, different in size and taste, with a typically ovoid shape. In Italy there are about 50 varieties, divided between table olives and olive oil. The first are harvested at the end of full ripening, in winter (especially the black ones) or in late summer (the green ones). The others, on the other hand, are picked a little before they are completely ripe, in order to obtain a low-acid oil with specific organoleptic characteristics. Some olives, such as the Oliva Bella della Daunia (produced in the Foggia area) and the Oliva Ascolana del Piceno (produced in Ascoli Piceno and Teramo), have received the protected designation of origin. The olives must be treated before being consumed: they cannot be used immediately after harvesting. Normally they undergo a fermentation process and are then immersed in a brine enriched with lactic acid. Some green varieties are instead sweetened with lime and caustic soda treatments. Or they are sweetened, kept in salt and finally washed and left to dry in the oven for a short time. On appearance they appear dry and wrinkled.

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Delicious on the table

In brine, in oil, baked, stuffed: there are many ways to serve olives, excellent as an aperitif or for a mid-day snack. There are some on the market different qualities, each with its own sensory profile. The blacks of Gaeta they are small, light brown in color and have a slightly bitter and slightly acid taste; those called "from Greece", are large, dark purple, are put in brine with the addition of vinegar and have a sharp taste. They are perfect in salads. The most famous greens are those of Cerignola, large, sweet and with a crunchy pulp. Instead, they are smaller than Naples, of a bright green, sweet and soft. Then there are the white olives, typical of Sicily, which are left in a strong brine to lose color and then placed in water to sweeten.

Ascoli olives

They are always very welcome. It is not impossible to do them. Below recipe.

In a saucepan, fry 80 g of lard with a little oil. Once melted add 100 g of beef and 100 g of pork meat. Fry for a few minutes, add 1 tablespoon of double tomato paste and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes. Add 40 g of veal liver, leave on the heat for another 5 minutes and then mix everything until you get a coarsely chopped mixture. Add to the mixture 1 egg, 3 tablespoons of grated Parmesan and the squeezed molllica of a sandwich soaked in water. Season with salt, add cinnamon and nutmeg and with this filling stuffed forty green Ascolane olives (the sweet variety) pitted. Once stuffed flour them, pass them in a beaten egg and then in the breadcrumbs. In a large saucepan, heat peanut oil and then fry the stuffed olives. When they are golden, dab them with absorbent paper and serve hot.

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