Tag: Virtues

The virtues of Teramo – Italian Cuisine – Italian Cuisine

The virtues of Teramo - Italian Cuisine


250 different ingredients and a territory so rich that you have created a dish that requires as many as 120 ingredients. Here is the pearl of Abruzzo

Did you know that there are 250 different dishes in Teramo? It will be easier for you to imagine it if you think that in only one, the Teramo virtues, there are more than 120 ingredients; or that a 130-course meal is served for a wedding dinner. Yet, the province of Teramo is one of the lesser-known areas of Abruzzo, despite being an incredible area where nothing is missing, with products coming from the sea, hills and mountains such as the Gran Sasso or Monte Piselli. To tell us with full eyes of love is Luigi Valori, a special man, producer of a wine that is the maximum expression of his region: Call me when it rains.

Hints of Teramo cuisine

Teramo cuisine has an immense variety of dishes: ranging from fish classics to meat traditions, up to many (lots of!) Vegetables and fresh pastas, especially eggs and strictly handmade. Among these, the symbol par excellence of gastronomy in general, including Abruzzo, is la guitar with pellets to teramana, a pasta prepared with guitar, a special rectangular wooden frame, seasoned with meat balls. A classic from Teramo, however, is the neratese goat, from the municipality of Nereto, which is cooked in a pan for at least four hours, along with tomatoes and peppers. Yet another delight of the province, to try in one of the times of the local cuisine, the Zenobi restaurant, is the fricandò or fregantò, in which the vegetables are "fried" to rub Antonio who did not eat them, hence the name. And then, being in Abruzzo, they are omnipresent in any province skewers, Strictly of sheep. But in the tradition of Teramo, there is a truly unique dish, which is prepared for three days with more than 120 ingredients.

Virtues, more than 120 ingredients

In the countryside, the worst month is May: there are no longer the fruits of winter, there are still no summer ones. Thus, in the past it was customary to clean barns to take whatever was left over and cook for a long time in a large pot: 120 vegetables cooked separately, to which are then added legumes, meats, cheeses and other ingredients depending on availability. This is the origin of the Teramo virtues, which are celebrated every May 1st: "today it seems an interesting dish from a gastronomic point of view, even to celebrate, but in reality for us teramani virtue means black hunger , tells us Luigi Valori. In fact, this preparation of peasant ingenuity should make us reflect on all that we throw away instead of recovering, so on the importance of the issue of waste and the reuse of leftovers. What is certain is that in combination with the virtues we need a wine like Cerasuolo, light, table wine, typical of the Abruzzi peasants and ideal for refreshing the mouth; or a classic local like Montepulciano, king of the tables in Abruzzo. Obviously, better if by Luigi Valori.

Call me when it rains

When the great Gianni Masciarelli tasted Luigi Valori's wines during a tasting, he said: "this is the only wine you can drink". From there they became inseparable friends and his wines became part of Masciarelli Distribuzione, today "Gianni’s Selection". Luigi Valori is first and foremost a real person, one of those who remain attached to the heart, as authentic as his wines. Two degrees, one in Agriculture, the other in Theology and a past from soccer player in Serie A, in Ascoli. It is during the years around playing football that Luigi begins to know and drink quality wines, becoming a passionate drinker. Until, at the end of the Nineties, he decided to abandon his football career and dedicate himself to the production of wines from his land, always alongside his wife: "I love her as the first time I saw her, I would choose her again among a thousand and I would remand her every day". The idea of ​​his label Call me when it rains it is not only beautiful and brilliant, but it has a very specific meaning: "when there is the sun we farmer peasants work, while when it rains you can call us because we don't work in the rain". Five of his wines, soon all organic: above all his Organic DOC Pecorino, a wine of character, tense, energetic; then there is the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, always elegant, both the Organic DOC and the Reserve Vigna Sant’Angelo DOCG Colline Teramane; not least, in its only apparent modesty, is the Cerasuolo d'Albruzzo Organic DOC, while more challenging but soft and welcoming than its other reserve, Inkiostro Merlot IGT Colli Aprutini. "There is so much work, so much effort behind every bottle, that I wouldn't sell even one!"For this reason, we must consider ourselves fortunate: instead, we can taste its wines, along with Teramo cuisine, exploring through all the senses a territory that is still to be discovered.

How to use peas? Here are their virtues – Italian Cuisine

How to use peas? Here are their virtues


May, June, July, August and almost almost even September, plus April for the former if spring is early: these are the months in which to harvest the fresh peas and find them in the fruit and vegetable stalls. In particular, late spring is their natural harvesting period in Italy: peas in fact – for those who have a piece of land in which to try their hand – are planted in early spring and after less than two months the garden offers its fruits, ready to feed us. In the other months of the year, they remain excellent to taste even frozen foods: this is why peas become a useful food 12 months a year.

Substantial, inviting, simple and versatile, the fresh peas protagonists of this season are brought to the table between appetizers, side dishes, first courses. But you really know all of them secrets and their properties? The first, not trivial, is that peas I'm not a vegetable. It is instead a legume, and this feature makes them a great source of energy: legumes are now considered a real superfood. And in fact the peas, when combined with cereals like rice – the famous "risi e bisi"! – return one to the organism protein mixture of comparable value to that of animal proteins.

They are in fact composed of carbohydrates (14 grams per 100), fiber, protein, and even vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium. They strengthen the body due to the high presence of vitamin C and fortunately they do not contain cholesterol.

Their origin it comes from far away: from Mesopotamia, and then spread in the diet of Greeks and Romans reaching us. The pea fruit is composed of the pod, which hides and protects up to 12 seeds, which is the edible part we know. There are many species and varieties, used according to the type of consumption for which the product is intended (drying, canning, fresh etc).

The taste it is quite inviting: slightly sweet, it is ideal for convincing children to vary foods, it has a caloric content to keep under control in case of low-calorie dietary regimes (80 calories per 100 grams) but not excessively high, it provides essential nutrients to fuel our body. Plus, they give a fort sense of satiety, an interesting element for those who are thinking about getting into shape and find it hard to resist at the table.

Caution in cases of low-content diets carbohydrates, not to be confused with vegetables: in this case consumption must be limited. The second risk is that of those suffering from allergies or favismo: in the latter case the consumption of peas, such as broad beans and verbena, is prohibited.

Once purchased fresh, and after having patiently shelled them from their pods, here they are ready for their best quality: the taste! Remember, in the purchase, to choose those from smaller dimensions if you love them tender and sweeter, and once purchased, it is good not to keep them more than a day in fridge.

A taste note: peas, the first, freshly picked, very fine and very tender, I'm really delicious eaten raw. Their sweetness is incomparable! Fantastic if paired with cheeses not too seasoned, such as pecorino primosale or feta and also cold cuts such as prosciutto (both cooked and raw) and salami. Like all foods, they retain their nutritional properties intact. Peas though they also contain anti-digestive factors, which are destroyed during cooking. This does not mean that you cannot eat them raw, but that you have to do it without exaggerating in quantity. Who already has digestion problems should instead to avoid raw consumption – and even cooked eat them preferably in the form of purée. For all others, the consumption of cooked peas is recommended at will: they are real bowel scavengers, which free from waste.

Finally, here are the first tips for use, starting with appetizers: quiche, perhaps with bacon, is a good choice, but also flans, or meatballs with feta. Arriving at first dishes, here they are protagonists of velvety creams, soups, or as a condiment for pasta dishes (look at this recipe with spicy salami!). And again, in the second: curious at the top of the Genoese, but also with fish, in the tortilla. The side dish it is soon done: it will be enough to make them jump in the pan garnishing them at will … while for the experimenters, here is the additional idea: to make them protagonists of a dessert like madeleine with baby peas, taking advantage of the sweet taste of freshly picked peas to commit a small sin of gluttony.

Eva Perasso
May 2017
updated in March 2019
from Aurora Quinto

DISCOVER THE COOKING COURSES SALT & PEPE

Rocket, bitter salad with many virtues that conquers everyone – Italian Cuisine

Rocket, bitter salad with many virtues that conquers everyone


Until the 1980s it was one vegetable humble and unpretentious. Then it became "Trendy" and soon it became so ubiquitous as to transform the "Arugula" in an emblem of Italian cuisine known throughout the world. "Resized" excesses of some years ago, when there was no dish in which it was not inserted, today the rocket salad still remains one of the most popular "salads", so much so that every year the Italian spend over 3 million euros to buy it. And the first rocket could soon arrive protected from the EU: it is the one cultivated in the plain of the Sele who requested the PGI (Protected Geographical Indication). From this area of ​​Salerno comes the 73% of all the rocket produced in Italy: 400 thousand tons per year, purchased from over 18 million of consumers and 40% destined for theexports. To confirm that the "arugula" also likes out of theItaly.

The bitter that conquers
But why is rocket so successful? For many reasons. The first is the flavor: its bitter note gives a decisive touch to the "usual" mixed salads, manages to "degrease" meat dishes (as shown by a great classic such as bresaola with rocket and grain), contrasts in a very pleasant way the sweetness of the fresh cheeses (an example: the piadina with stracchino or squacquerone and rocket), and it ennobles even the simplest of Capri or pizzas. Beyond taste, there are many others good reasons to choose the rocket. Like the environmental ones: compared to others crops, requires less water and fewer treatments in the field. And also on the front nutritional offers many benefits.

Many virtues (often unknown)
If the science today it has not yet confirmed those effects aphrodisiacs that they attributed the ancients, however it brought to light other properties of the rocket. Consuming this salad with a slightly taste spicy many benefits are obtained: being rich in minerals, of vitamins and di fibers, has a diuretic, mineralizing, anti-aging and detoxifying effect. Between vitamins stand out TO, precious for the health of the eyes, and the C, which boosts the immune system and is antioxidant. This last effect is enhanced by the presence of chlorophyll, which fights free radicals, in addition to favoring the production of Red blood cells. Instead among the minerals stands the potassium : how many know that a pound of rocket contains more than the same amount of banana (470 and 350 mg respectively)? The rocket can even contain twice as much footballof milk, but the high presence of phytates reduces its absorption, making it less available for l'body . In any case it can be considered an aid to reach the daily doserecommended of this important mineral. Like all vegetables with taste bitter, also the rocket is beneficial for the liver : favors the release of a greater quantity of bile and facilitates the elimination of salts that could determine obstructions or liver fatigue. The effect detoxalso extends to the intestine: being rich in a prebiotic fiber, theinulin, counteracts the proliferation of bad bacteria that favor, even the increase of weight. All with very few calories : only 28 per ounce.

A wild ingredient (even in a sweet version)
Visas i benefitsof the rocket, it is worth consuming more often . Which is not at all difficult (or unpleasant) since it is an ingredient jolly which can be added to many recipes, from salads to pasta or spelled, with sandwiches. It is very pleasant combined with vegetables and sweet tubers, like carrots, peas and potatoes. Freshly cooked it is perfect on carpaccio and salads, strips of meator fish, and is enhanced by a lemon and pepper vinaigrette White , or with a sauce of yogurt and garlic. The rocket can also be used as a basis for an unusual pesto and for detox smoothies. Try the centrifuged obtained with 2 handfuls of rocket, 2 failures of shoots of wheat and two oranges. To increase its effects benefits on the line and on the intestine the rocket is consumed along with foods rich in probiotics like fermented milks: so the number of bacteria increases "Good" and its effectiveness is strengthened. A fresh and original idea? There fruit saladof watermelon and rocket to be seasoned with lemon, mint and a few drops of balsamic vinegar.

Manuela Soressi
March 2019

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