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Cook’s Tour of Italy Menu 37 (Pgs. 117 – 121): Doge’s Menu, Venetian Countryside

Menu: Rice and Pea Risotto, Fried Marinated “Sole” in Sweet and Sour Sauce, Stewed Sweet Peppers, Venetian Nut Cake

Recommended Wine: Soave (white wine from near Verona)

            This menu here includes two Venetian classics; rice and peas (risi e bisi) and fried fish, topped with golden raisins, pine nuts, and a sprinkle of spices, marinated in a vinegary, sweet and sour sauce. Alongside these dishes are sweet yellow peppers stewed with tomatoes and a Venetian cake popular around Carnival time, loaded with nuts, golden raisins, and candied peel. All of the dishes except for the risotto can be made ahead, and the fish is in fact served cold after two days of marinating. For reasons of cost and convenience, I replaced the fish with halved chicken breast pieces.

            The fish dish is historically quite interesting. As mentioned in previous posts, sweet and sour sauces have a long ancient and medieval history, and vinegar, the main component in the sauce, is both a flavoring agent and a preservative. Historically, the fish would be fried, then covered in vinegar. According to late 18th and early 19th century British cookbook authors (this method of preservation was quite widely used), fish could be preserved for up to a year this way. While I am not sure if this would actually work, I have no intention of finding out one way or the other. Thankfully, the fish here is just marinated for two days to gain flavor.

            To be completely honest, I was not a big fan of the flavor. The vinegar was very strong, and the sweetness of the raisins was not quite enough to cut through it. The almonds sprinkled over the top (as a replacement for pine nuts, which are a lot more expensive) provided a nice crunch, but the coating on the chicken pieces became a soggy, sour, sponge-like layer, rather than having the crispy texture characteristic of frying. This must be an acquired taste, because seafood dishes with sweet and sour sauces are very popular in the Venice region.

            The risotto has an entirely different flavor. Made with short-grain rice, sweet green peas, pancetta, parmesan cheese, and a mixture of chicken and beef broth, it is much milder. The sweet green peas, a favorite across Italy in the springtime, were a novelty in 17th Century France. When they arrived in Venice is not clear, but regardless, the risotto is a springtime classic, and on tasting it, the reason is obvious. When fresh peas are not in season (or if you don’t want to bother shelling them), frozen peas can be used, though many Venetians would say that is inauthentic.

            For another dish with a sweet and sour flavor but different from the fish dish, sweet yellow peppers are sliced thin and sauteed with tomatoes and garlic. This was much more balanced than the “fish” and quite good. The flavor was somewhat reminiscent of fajita vegetables, interestingly enough. Any leftovers would definitely be good on tacos, fajitas, burritos, or the like.

            The cake was a really interesting mix of sponge cake crumbs, almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, golden raisins, and candied peel, held together by a sugar syrup. The base is a genoise sponge. In this recipe, as in the original version, no baking powder or baking soda is used. The rise comes solely from air beaten into the eggs. The trick is to avoid forcing the air out upon folding in the flour. I have not yet mastered this and ended up with a cross between a cake and a pancake, but it was a rather tasty pancake. Since it was to be used as crumbs, the lack of rise was not a big deal.

            The final product was flavorful, but between the cake crumbs, candied peel, and sugar syrup, was overly sweet. In addition, the sugar syrup was not a particularly strong binder at room temperature, so the cake was very crumbly. A solution for this was found by accident. As the cake is so rich and sweet, it is difficult for two people to finish before it would go bad, so I stored the extra in the freezer. This firmed up the syrup and made the cake easier to eat, and the optional unsweetened whipped cream helped balance the sweetness.

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Cook’s Tour of Italy Menu 2 (Pgs. 18 – 21): Meal at Home, Monteporzio (Just Outside Rome)

Menu: Roman Minestrone, “Sole” Fillets Wrapped in Leeks with Brussels Sprouts, Orange Panna Cotta with Blueberry Sauce

Recommended Wine: Verdicchio from near Rome or Virtu Romane

            Returning to the Eternal City, we have a menu enjoyed at the home of two of Mr. Famularo’s friends, who both happen to be chefs. The first course is a minestrone typical of the Rome/Lazio region, with beef broth, chopped cooked beef, red beans, red wine, assorted vegetables, and a small pasta called pastina. The friends’ restaurant, which features updated and reinvented Roman cuisine, provides the inspiration for the second course: pieces of sole filet, wrapped in leek leaves and tied with string, braised and served with buttery sauce and brussels sprouts. Dessert is a classic originally from the Piedmont region and now found all over Italy: panna cotta, in this case lightly flavored with orange and served with a blueberry-orange sauce.

            The really nice thing about this menu is that the soup, panna cotta, and blueberry sauce can be made ahead. In fact, as is often the case with soups, it is best to make the minestrone ahead by a day or two to allow time for the flavors to meld. This is especially useful here, since the process of assembling the fish dish is somewhat time-consuming. The leeks need to be cleaned and blanched, the fish cut into pieces that can be wrapped by the leek leaves, and the fish and leeks assembled and tied into “packets,” that can then be braised in the skillet. The final effect is really pretty, but it does take time.

            The soup was another excellent one. While it was good immediately after cooking, it really came into its own upon reheating the next day. I had been a bit worried about the pastina getting mushy, but it maintained a good texture while soaking up the flavor of the broth. As discussed on Pages 18 – 19, each region has its own typical style of minestrone and each cook has their own variation. They all have a variety of vegetables, a starch and/or legume to add substance (which could be rice, pasta, or a few different types of beans), and various flavoring agents. Sometimes meat is added, particularly leftover. Regardless of the particular variation, minestrone is a great historical example of peasant ingenuity in the kitchen. The other ingredients allowed the cook to stretch the more expensive meat, while providing a nutritious, satisfying meal.

Roman minestrone

            Sea fish was not particularly important in Early Rome. The city is located about 15 miles inland, so providing fresh seafood was a bit of a logistical challenge. Shipping it up the Tiber from the port at Ostia, presumably kept alive in tanks of water, was possible but expensive. During the Early Republic, even the rich ate a largely vegetarian diet. Much of the limited animal protein came from eggs, cheese, freshwater fish, and a variety of pork products. During the Late Republic, saltwater fish and especially shellfish became fashionable. Sources from the era describe banquets featuring mountains of oysters and sea urchins as starters, and aristocrats were known to spend fortunes on a single particularly fine red mullet. While some of these accounts were probably exaggerated for comic or shock value, parody often has at least some basis in reality.

            The fish dish here was very tasty, though dealing with the tied packets on the plate was a bit of a hassle. Due to the price and difficulty finding sole, I used farmed catfish, which is apparently a reasonable substitute. It cooked up mild and flaky but tender, enhanced by the leeks and buttery, shallot-flavored sauce. The brussels sprouts were a great accompaniment, their flavor boosted by being cooked in the water the leeks were braised in.

Panna cotta and sauce

            Panna cotta is in the same family of desserts as pudding and custard. What makes it unique is that it is set with gelatin rather than thickened with egg or cornstarch. As a result, despite the name meaning “cooked cream,” the ingredients don’t have to be cooked for long. The cream or half-and-half just needs to be heated enough to dissolve the gelatin and sugar. At its simplest, panna cotta consists of just half-and-half or milk and cream, sugar, and gelatin. Vanilla is usually included as well, and fresh fruit or fruit-based sauce are the most common toppings. Here, the custard includes sour cream, cream cheese, and a touch of orange, giving it a cheesecake-like quality. The desserts are served topped with a blueberry-orange sauce. The combined flavors were very good, and there was a fair amount of extra sauce left over. Fortunately, these kinds of sauces freeze and thaw well. The leftovers would be worth trying over pancakes, waffles, or ice cream.

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Cook’s Tour of Italy Menu 66 (Pgs. 211 – 214): Menu for 4, Apulia (Adriatic South)

Menu: Potato and Zucchini Soup, Shrimp in Olive Oil and Lemon Juice with Rosemary, Red Bell Peppers Stuffed with Pine Nuts and Golden Raisins, Roasted Figs with Almonds and Chocolate

Recommended Wine: Terradora Di Paolo, Fiano Di Avellino from Campania

            Heading south again, we enter the region of Apulia, now called Puglia, in the Southeast along the Adriatic Coast. Despite being across the Apennines on the other side of the peninsula, the food here has a lot of similarities to that from the Naples region (Campania). In both places, pasta, vegetables, olive oil, and fruit are staples, supplemented with smaller amounts of meat, dairy, and seafood. These ingredients are often prepared differently, however. While bold, exuberant flavors dominate around Naples, Puglia tends to favor more clear, straightforward flavors. (Text, pg. 211)

            Like much of Southern Italy, Apulia was part of Magna Graecia and had a number of Greek colonies from the 7th to 3rd Centuries BC. As discussed on page 210, the Greek influence is stronger here than in Naples. At first this seems surprising, since Naples was also a Greek colony. In fact, its original Greek name, Neapolis, roughly translates as “New City.” I suspect, but cannot be sure, that geography had something to do with the difference. The coast of Apulia is more or less directly across a strait from the Greek mainland, while Naples is on the opposite side of the peninsula and only about 120 miles from Rome over relatively flat terrain. As a result, though Apulia did eventually Romanize to a degree, the process was slower and less thorough, with more lingering Greek influences.

            Many elements of this menu have a long history. Seafood has been an essential element in the diet in most coastal regions since before agriculture. Olive oil was essential in the Ancient Mediterranean, and the recipes of the Roman gourmet Apicius frequently contain anchovies or fish sauce. Raisins and pine nuts were frequent additions to sauces and stuffings both in the Ancient and Medieval world. Other fruits and nuts, including almonds and figs, have always been popular desserts.

            In fact, in his bestselling book Guns, Germs, and Steel, the anthropologist Jared Diamond discusses how figs were domesticated thousands of years before apples. Basically, fig trees can self-pollinate and produce seeds yielding identical offspring, making breeding the trees fairly straightforward for early farmers. Apple trees, on the other hand, tend to pollinate other apple trees, usually producing offspring different from the parent. To ensure identical offspring, the much more complicated technique of grafting is required. This process was not mastered until the Classical Period around 500 BC, so until then, apple trees remained more or less wild, though widespread. Meanwhile, the ancients had been feasting on domesticated figs, both fresh and dried, for millennia.

            A few elements, such as the lemon and rosemary in the shrimp, are Medieval introductions, but most of this menu would not be possible without ingredients originally from the Americas. Potatoes, zucchini, peppers, and chocolate were brought to Europe by the Spanish in the 16th Century but took a while to catch on. By the end of the century, hot chocolate was fairly common among the wealthy in Spain, and in the next century spread throughout Europe. Since the historic Kingdom of Naples, which included pretty much all of Italy south of Rome, was controlled by Spain for most of the Early Modern Period, these New World ingredients may have been arrived sooner in Puglia than in many parts of Europe. Still, with the exception of chocolate, they were not widely consumed until the 18th Century.

            Since peppers and potatoes (and tomatoes, for that matter) are in the same family as deadly nightshade, they were viewed with suspicion at first and only eaten out of necessity. As author Ken Albala explains in Food in Early Modern Europe, their high yields helped peppers and especially tomatoes catch on throughout Southern Europe, but for some reason, potatoes took even longer. Despite their hardiness, yield, and versatility, most Europeans were only starting to accept them in the late 18th Century.

            Now, let’s look at the menu. It features a number of southern Italian staples, including zucchini, dried pasta, seafood, olive oil, citrus fruit, peppers, and figs. Due to a timing miscalculation, the shrimp and peppers were eaten before the soup. The shrimp were cooked for a few minutes in boiling water, then cooled and marinated in lemon juice, olive oil, and rosemary. After being roasted and peeled, the peppers were stuffed with a mixture of breadcrumbs, raisins, pine nuts, parsley, and a bit of anchovy, then baked. This was all good, but pretty salty. As in most of the book’s recipes, salt and pepper are to taste, but I seem to have used a bit much, especially for the peppers. Plus, the anchovy flavor in the peppers was a bit strong. The raisins in the stuffing helped cut through this, but if I were to make them again, I think I would not only be more careful with the salt, but also reduce the amount of anchovy.

Shrimp and stuffed peppers

            After the salty, strong flavors, the soup was really nice contrast. It’s simply a mix of potatoes, zucchini and vermicelli, cooked in salted water with a little olive oil, topped with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and black pepper. On page 211, Mr. Famularo describes a friend’s skepticism upon being told about the soup, wondering how it had any flavor, but then enjoying it to the point of it becoming a favorite. Upon reading the recipe, I had a similar initial reaction. I thought that without at least a bit of onion, it would be extremely bland, but it all worked together. The flavor is mild, but the large quantity of vegetables for the amount of water ensures that the broth doesn’t taste like water. The vermicelli and olive oil add body, while the cheese and pepper add another layer of depth. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

Potato and zucchini soup

            The stuffed, roasted figs were a bit time-consuming to make, but they can be made ahead and last for several days in an airtight container. Each dried fig has a pocket cut in the side, which is then stuffed with a roasted almond, a small piece of dark chocolate, a few fennel seeds, and a few small pieces of candied peel. After baking, they are rolled in a mix of cocoa powder and powdered sugar while still hot and stored in an airtight container with bay leaves. These were definitely different, but quite enjoyable. The figs and candied peel are quite sweet, but the fennel and dark chocolate help balance that, while the almonds provide a nice crunch. Overall, this was a tasty and balanced dinner.

Stuffed roasted figs
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Cook’s Tour of Italy Menu 11 (Pgs. 45 – 48): Florentine Steak Dinner, Florence (Tuscany)

Menu: Tuscan Style Kale Soup, Grilled Porterhouse Steak, Grilled Chicory and Smoked Mozzarella, Praline Mousse Cake

Recommended Wine: Brunello di Montalcino or other big Italian red

            Here we have a number of Tuscan specialties: bread, olive oil, green vegetables, and the famous Florentine steak. Mentioned as far back as the Middle Ages, these steaks are cooked very rare and served simply, with just salt, pepper, a brushing of olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon, to avoid interfering with their natural taste. They are basically a thick-cut porterhouse, sourced from a special breed of cattle called Chianina. These are massive white beasts, with exquisite marbling and flavor. Unlike other grilled and roasted meats, Florentine steaks are not common everyday fare, but a favorite treat, both for native Florentines and visitors alike. While Chianina beef is hard to find in the US, this menu features a similar steak, served with kale soup, grilled chicory, and what is essentially a flourless chocolate cake with a layer of mousse.

            The soup is a fine example of the rustic simplicity of many Tuscan dishes. The kale, in this case harvested a few hours before from a pot on the deck, is cooked in a mixture of chicken and beef broth. Meanwhile, slices of Italian bread are toasted under the broiler and rubbed with garlic. Pieces of toast are then placed in the soup bowls, given a sprinkling of salt, pepper, and olive oil, topped with the cooked kale, and given a bit more salt, pepper and oil before being finished with the broth and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. The layered effect this gave the soup was both interesting and pretty, and it tasted as good as it looked.

            The second course was also fairly easy to make. For the steak, the recipe provides directions for using a charcoal grill, but provides an alternative on a gas grill. First, the meat is seared close to the coals, then moved further away to cook for a few minutes, with the procedure repeated for the second side. Since the gas grill I have access to does not have a way to move the meat closer or further from the heat, I had to improvise. To have better control of the temperature, I used a skillet instead, raising and lowering the heat. This worked pretty well. Though the meat ended up more medium than rare, it remained tender and had a nice sear on the outside. Topped with garlic-infused olive oil (which is really quick and easy to make in a small skillet or saucepan) and a squeeze of fresh lemon, it was delicious.

            On a side note, the recipe may have been affected further by using a smaller steak. Though it looked to be at least an inch thick, as was needed, it was just under 1 ½ pounds, rather than the 3-pound monster steak the recipe called for. Since the original recipe is designed to serve six and I was only serving three people, this seemed reasonable, plus the 1.3 or 1.4 pounder was the largest steak available at the supermarket. While I made the full batch of soup in order to have leftovers, steak does not reheat particularly well, so I didn’t make a second one. When the really good sale price is $10.49/lb, you want to make sure you enjoy it at its best.

            Since the steak needed time to rest before slicing, I used the already-hot skillet to cook the chicory. Also called curly endive, it is a slightly bitter green. The darker, more bitter outer leaves are removed and either reserved for another use or discarded, while the lighter yellow and white hearts are seared briefly over very high heat with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Once removed from the heat source, a thin slice of smoked mozzarella is added on top to melt. The store didn’t have smoked mozzarella, so I got a deli pack of lightly smoked provolone. I only needed one slice, but provolone makes really good grilled cheese, the perfect accompaniment to leftover soup or a salad of the leftover chicory leaves.

            I wouldn’t have thought of cooking greens in the skillet, but the chicory turned out really well. The quick sear cuts the bitterness and imparts a bit of a roasted flavor while creating a perfect crisp-tender texture, soft enough to cut easily but with a bit of crunch. The bit of melty smoked cheese was a nice finishing touch, but if unavailable, the dish would still be fantastic without it.

            The cake was one of the best desserts from the book. It contains no flour, rather it is held together by ground almonds. The volume comes from adequately beating the butter, sugar, and egg yolks, then, after adding the almonds and melted bittersweet chocolate, carefully folding in the beaten egg whites. Half of the mixture is baked and cooled, acquiring a brownie-like texture. The other half is then spread over the top. After chilling overnight to firm up the mousse, the cake is served. The flavor is perfect, with just the right balance of sweet and bitter. Though excellent as is, a bit of almond extract, some whipped cream, and/or fresh berries to cut through the intensity and richness would be nice additions. But as with the rest of this menu, it’s really hard to go wrong.

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Cook’s Tour of Italy Menu 36 (Pg. 115): Genovese-Style Vegetable Soup

The raw ingredients

Menu: Genovese-Style Vegetable Soup, Bread

            Now its’s time to consider healthy food and fresh summer vegetables. This soup and those like it are frequently enjoyed by the residents of Lombardy while vacationing on the Ligurian Coast. Loaded with potatoes, beans, peas, zucchini, tomatoes, and several other vegetables, it contains no meat, meat broth, butter, or cheese. It’s just vegetables, water, salt, and olive oil, designed to be eaten with bread. These two foods, bread or some other starch and soup, are some of the most ancient and traditional dishes in numerous cultures across the globe. The reason for this is fairly simple. Since the rise of agriculture, most humans’ diet has been starch-based. Furthermore, cooking other foods in pottery or later metal vessels made sure all their calories and most of their nutrients went into the broth that would be consumed, rather than dripping into the embers and being wasted. Plus, soup can be made of pretty much anything available.

            In the case of Liguria, this has historically been lots of vegetables, herbs, and olive oil. The mild maritime climate allows vegetables to grow for a large part of the year and lets olive trees flourish north of where they ordinarily could (Liguria is north of Tuscany, their typical northern limit). Meanwhile the narrow coastal plain limits how much space can be dedicated to raising livestock. Hence, fish, vegetables, and olive oil have historically been more common than meat and butter and are still essential elements in the local cuisine. 

            The soup is really good, just make sure to add adequate salt. Since all the vegetables are fresh or, if necessary, frozen rather than canned and no broth is used, the only salt is whatever the cook adds. I thought I added plenty, but upon tasting the broth I thought it to be almost flavorless. Adding more salt changed my perspective entirely. It didn’t make the soup taste like salt, rather it brought out the vegetable flavors in the broth. While it is even better with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and might benefit from a bit of vegetable soup base/bouillon, overall this recipe can be thought of as a tasty vegetarian minestrone.

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Cook’s Tour of Italy Menu 13 (Pgs. 52 – 57): Menu for 4, Lucca (Tuscany)

Menu: Lucca-Style Penne Pasta in Timbale, “Veal” Scallops with Ham and Sage, Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower, Peach “Cobbler,” Purple Plum Ice Cream

Recommended Wine: Tuscan Chianti

            Back in Tuscany, this time in Lucca, we have another interesting menu, based on dishes served at the home of two of Mr. Famularo’s American friends who live there. It starts with a mix of pasta with meat sauce, topped with bechamel and parmesan, and encased in a sweet pastry crust flavored with lemon peel. This is followed by “veal” scallops, pounded thin, rolled with ham and sage, and braised in a mix of vegetables, white wine, and tomatoes. To the side is oven-roasted broccoli and cauliflower, topped with breadcrumbs. For dessert, there is a peach cobbler-type dish and purple plum gelato.

            The pie was really interesting. The pre-cooked penne pasta is combined with a tomato meat sauce, placed in a pastry shell, topped with a nutmeg-scented bechamel sauce, sprinkled with parmesan cheese, sealed with a second piece of pastry on top, and baked. The tomato sauce recipe makes a bit more than needed, but if the recipe is doubled you can get a second meal out of it with some extra pasta. Though I forgot to add the parmesan until after I’d already sealed the pie, it tasted just fine without. The crust was sweet, almost cookie-like, but it worked with everything else, the bechamel seemingly tying everything together. This crust recipe would be even better with a fruit filling.

            After flattening and rolling the boneless pork chops (in place of veal scallops), the second course came together without difficulty. The carrots, onions, and celery flavored the braising liquid and pork. I’m not sure I would bother making the meat rolls again, though. They were good, but the vegetables and braising liquid would give just as good a flavor to plain pork or chicken pieces without the hassle of pounding and rolling. The broccoli and cauliflower, oven-roasted with just salt, pepper, and olive oil, then topped with toasted breadcrumbs, is simple and delicious. Just make sure that if the breadcrumbs are pre-made and frozen that they are brought to room temperature before sprinkling.

            Dessert was not quite as good as the other courses, though there was certainly nothing wrong with it. The issue was that the cobbler dish was a bit too sugary, both in the peaches and the topping, overwhelming the other flavors. The “crust” did end up with a nice angel food-like texture and the ice cream helped cut the sweetness, but I think fresh peaches would be better in a regular crust or, better yet, the pastry from which the pie was made. Made with just sweetened plum puree and milk, the ice cream had a flavor between sorbet and frozen yogurt. It was an interesting change of pace, but not as sweet or creamy as one might expect. Still, this all made for a highly enjoyable dinner.

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Cook’s Tour of Italy Menu 21 (Pgs. 75 – 77): Dinner in Portofino (on the Ligurian Coast)

Menu: Spaghetti with Basil Pesto, Ligurian Vegetable Salad, Ice Cream with “Sambuca” and Espresso

Recommended Wine: Fresh, delicate white like Vermentino, and/or spicy red

Northwest of Tuscany is the coastal region of Liguria. Situated on a narrow plain between mountains and the sea, the cities there have long turned to maritime enterprises. Foremost among them is Genoa, rival of Venice for centuries, from the High Middle Ages (and possibly even before) into the Early Modern Era. During a series of wars in the 13th and 14th Centuries the Genoese usually seemed to come out second-best but were always able to give the Venetians a run for their money. They wrestled over trading rights in Constantinople, Alexandria, the Levant, Cyprus, and the Black Sea. In the 14th Century, the Genoese even launched ships on the landlocked Caspian Sea and established trading colonies in Northern Europe as far east as Poland. During one battle in 1298, Genoa triumphed and captured several thousand Venetian prisoners, including Marco Polo. While imprisoned awaiting ransom, Polo began telling stories to entertain his fellow prisoners, including a chivalric romance author with whom he would later collaborate.

By the end of the 14th Century, defeats at sea and internal strife led to Genoa becoming a satellite of its neighbors, alternatively France and Milan, while the Venetian trading (and later territorial) empire approached its zenith. Despite this loss of independence, Genoa’s trade and shipping remained vibrant. Genoese navigators, including Christopher Columbus, were instrumental in many of the Spanish and Portuguese voyages of exploration. A revival in Genoese banking brought renewed prosperity in the 16th Century, and a Genoese contingent was part of the Holy League’s fleet at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. While the Ottoman Empire quickly rebuilt its fleet, the morale boost the victory gave to the European powers was substantial. Even in the 16th Century, though, rivalry between the Genoese and Venetian contingents led to significant tension.

In addition to their historic rivalry, Venice and Genoa seem to have very different food traditions. From a historical and geographic perspective, this is surprising. Both cities were main points of import for “exotic” Asian goods like spices and sugar during the Middle Ages. Due to their coastal locations and maritime background, both regions’ cuisines feature a variety of seafood. But while Venetian cuisine featured and still features spices, sweet and sour sauces, seafood, rice, and polenta, Ligurian cuisine favors green herbs, vegetables, bread, particularly focaccia, pasta, olives and olive oil, and lower levels of seafood. The last part of this might be due to Venice’s location on a group of islands in a shallow, productive lagoon, while the seafloor near Genoa drops sharply, leading to lower levels of productivity. Why the Genoese tend to prefer herbs over spices is unclear, but as a result, the cities’ cuisines are distinct and unique.

This menu demonstrates the some of the highlights of Ligurian cuisine: pesto, fresh vegetables, olives, seafood, and lots of olive oil. Unlike the Umbrian pesto in a previous post, this pesto has parmesan and pecorino Romano cheese along with the basil, garlic, pine nuts, and olive oil, making it slightly richer. It comes together quickly in a food processor. Once the spaghetti is cooked, it is added to the prepared pesto and served immediately. Unsurprisingly, it was excellent. Really, it’s hard to go wrong with pasta and pesto, especially when the basil comes from your own plants. The sauce left a fair amount of oil on the plates, but if some bread is added alongside it can be a nice dipping oil.

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The salad was an interesting mix of cucumbers, peppers, olives, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs (that I omitted), and tuna in olive oil. It is dressed with olive oil but no vinegar, flavored with basil and a bit of anchovy. It was good, but I liked most of the other salads better. I liked the dressing on the peppers and cucumbers, but since I’m not a big fan of olives or tomatoes on their own I found the rest of the salad was not really to my taste. Plus, a lot of oil in the pesto, followed by a lot of oil in the salad seemed a bit much, especially without an acidic contrast from vinegar or lemon juice. Still, a smaller amount of dressing on some peppers and cucumbers would be worth trying.

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Dessert was an interesting surprise. The recipe calls for pouring sambuca over vanilla ice cream and sprinkling it with instant coffee granules. Since I didn’t want to buy an entire bottle of sambuca, especially when I didn’t think I cared for the anise flavor, I improvised by mixing a bit of anise extract into some half-and-half to pour over the ice cream. To my surprise, I really liked the flavor. The bit of anise blends with the coffee and vanilla to create an excellent palate cleanser. As discussed in the text, it is a super-simple but elegant dessert. Now that I have the anise extract, I would definitely make this again.

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Cook’s Tour of Italy Menu 10 (Pgs. 41 – 44): Dinner in Radda-in-Chianti (Tuscany)

Menu: A Country Spinach Pie, Fettuccine with Smoked Salmon, Sugared Red and White Grapes, Almond Biscotti without Vin Santo

Recommended Wine: Dry White like Vernaccia di San Gimignano

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Due to a number of good summer menus, we remain in Tuscany for a meal in a pretty village in the Chianti region. Featuring a crustless, quiche-like spinach tart, something like fettuccine alfredo with smoked salmon, grapes with a crackly sugar coating, and biscotti, this menu demonstrates both Tuscan specialties and more national dishes. As stated in the text on page 43, the pasta dish is found across Italy. Grapes are as well, and not just in wine. The tart and the biscotti are more regional, as is the Vin Santo frequently served with the biscotti.

The crustless spinach tart seems to be a direct descendent of the Ancient Roman patina, something between an omelet or custard. There are several recipes for patinas in Apicius, often with pureed vegetables or vegetable juice mixed in with the eggs. The taste for green vegetables also goes back to Ancient times. While the spinach, basil, and nutmeg are Medieval introductions, similar recipes in Apicius feature lettuce or asparagus, almost always with pepper, and sometimes with ricotta cheese. Favorite vegetables in Tuscany today include spinach, chard, and especially black kale. (Text, Pg. 41 and 46) The optional mushrooms in the topping were another favorite of the Romans.

The biscotti is a more recent addition to the region’s cuisine and the cream sauce much more recent, but fruit and wine for dessert has a long history. A variety of ancient sources make clear that fresh and/or dried fruit were favorite desserts, and raisin wine similar to Vin Santo, pressed from partially dried grapes, is a frequent addition to sauces in Apicius. Vin Santo itself, along with sugared fruit, has been known since the Renaissance.

The tart was pretty good, though the texture was slightly odd. With only two eggs and an egg white to a pound of ricotta and 12 oz of spinach, it had a creamy texture but wasn’t quite like a quiche. It held together kind of like a cheesecake, but it was rather soft. The flavor was good, with onions, basil, and a bit of nutmeg, but the tart would have been better with a crust. The garnish of mushrooms (leftover stems from the last menu, mostly) and red bell pepper, dressed in olive oil and lemon juice, provided a flavor and texture contrast.

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The pasta was also enjoyable, though the smoky flavor of the fish took some getting used to. Part of this may have been due to the type I used. The recipe called for thinly sliced smoked salmon cut into squares, but the only type I could find was in a small chunk. I adapted by flaking it with my fingers and continuing with the recipe, but maybe that kind is smoked more heavily. Or maybe I’m just not used to the taste of smoked fish. Regardless, it worked really well with the pasta, half and half, and parmesan cheese, and the flavor grew on me as I kept eating it.

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My favorite part, however, was dessert: sugared red and white grapes and almond biscotti. The grapes turned out to be quite a revelation. They are first dipped in beaten egg whites, then sugar to coat. The end product is just gorgeous, with a frosted, sparkly look. After a few hours, the sugar becomes like a crackly crust, and the grapes are even better the next day. While this is certainly not the healthiest way to enjoy fruit, it is a nice treat and would look beautiful on a cheese tray. The biscotti had a great flavor from the almonds, which got nice and toasty during the baking, and were quite addictive. Just be forewarned that the dough is really thick and takes a long time to come together if you mix it with a wooden spoon and knead it by hand. It even gave my stand mixer, which can handle just about anything, a bit of a workout.

In Tuscany, the biscotti are often served with Vin Santo, a sweet dessert wine with some similar flavors to marsala. As I didn’t want to go multiple places to try and find it, I made a custard with a small amount of marsala to dip it into. I also make a cup each of hot cocoa and coffee in case I didn’t like the custard. As it turned out, I’m glad I did. Even with a small amount of wine, added at the start to cook off the alcohol, and a fair amount of milk, I just can’t get used to the taste of wine custard. I much prefer the biscotti with coffee or cocoa. They retained a nice crunch even after dipping. It’s clear why these are so popular.

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Cook’s Tour of Italy Menu 14 (Pgs.57 – 62): Tuscan Picnic in Pienza

Menu: Bacon Frittata with Parsley, Fresh Beans with Tuna, Herbed Chicken on the Grill, Baked Mushrooms with Hazelnuts, Marinated Swiss Chard Stalks Wrapped in the Leaves, Sienese Ricciarelli Cookies

Recommended Wines: Terre di Tufi (straw-yellow, fruity white), Chianti Classico (red)

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Now imagine a Tuscan picnic, in the shade of a chestnut tree, near a Renaissance Papal residence. (Text, pg. 58) That is what we are to think of when enjoying this spread, which can be made entirely ahead of time. This would be quite a bit to make on one day, so spreading it out and bringing everything to room temperature before serving makes sense. I made the cookies and the biscotti for the next menu a few days beforehand, both at the same time to avoid wasting egg whites or yolks. The day before I put the chicken in to marinate, mixed together the beans and tuna, and made the swiss chard wraps. That just left the frittata and stuffed mushrooms to make the day of, plus grilling the chicken.

There were a few bumps in the road with this. I was under the impression that the herb/oil marinade would be more paste-like, rather than with visible pieces in the oil, but since the herbs were supposed to be minced, not put in the food processor, I stuck with it. The recipe also called for weighting the chicken down with a foil-wrapped brick or similar, which I did not have, so it went onto the grill without. This may have been a good thing, since that could have potentially forced out more of the oil, worsening the mini flare-ups that kept occurring. Due to this, I didn’t drizzle on a mix of olive oil and lemon juice periodically while cooking, just added a few splashes of lemon juice. While the chicken didn’t develop the herb “crust” it was supposed to, it was still tender and had a good flavor.

The marinated beans and tuna was an interesting and surprisingly good combination. In the past, the image of canned tuna I had in my mind was of a cat food-like homogeneous mass, but in reality it was flakes and bits of fish in a little bit of olive oil. I haven’t fully overcome the old mental image, but having it in dishes like this helps. The beans, tuna, vinegar, oil, onion, and herbs combine and balance each other out quite well.

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Perhaps the most interesting dish was the Swiss chard wraps, with a mix of lightly cooked stems, sautéed potatoes and onions, and a vinaigrette dressing wrapped in blanched Swiss chard leaves. The combination of potatoes, onions, and lightly sweetened dressing tasted a bit like German potato salad without the bacon. Wrapped in chard leaves with different colored veins, it was so pretty. I liked them best the first evening when still slightly warm, but they were still good when brought back to room temperature from the refrigerator the second day.

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I think my favorite of the dishes was the baked mushrooms with hazelnuts. They’re basically mushroom caps sprinkled with lemon juice, salt, and pepper, filled with finely chopped hazelnuts sautéed in butter, topped with breadcrumbs, and baked. Since I had extra mushrooms and had made a big batch of breadcrumbs, I doubled the recipe. On tasting them, I was really glad I did. They take a little bit of time to assemble, but the taste is nothing short of incredible. With the meaty-tasting mushrooms and rich hazelnuts, they might even make a good vegetarian entrée.

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The menu notes suggest making the frittata the morning of the picnic and keeping it at room temperature until ready to eat. While frittatas are frequently eaten at room temperature or cold, particularly for picnics, the idea of something like a cold omelet does not sound particularly appealing. To save time in the afternoon/evening I did make it in the late morning, but served it for lunch, since there would be plenty of food at dinner time. Like the other dishes, it was very tasty. Bacon and eggs always go well together, and the parsley and parmesan cheese mixed in added even more flavor. I did accidentally over-salt the eggs given the amount of salt in the pancetta cubes and parmesan, but it was still good. I would definitely make it again, just being careful with the salt.

The cookies, called ricciarelli in Siena, were quite a hit. The recipe makes 20 of them, but you may notice that there are a lot fewer on the plate in the image. That’s what tends to happen when you make baked goods ahead of time. Based on almond paste and flavored with a bit of orange zest, they are given a meringue-like quality from powdered sugar and egg whites. Best of all, they are not difficult to make and hold up well in an airtight container for a few days.

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An overall review is as follows. The frittata would be good at a picnic, but also makes an excellent lunch for two or three people. Beans and tuna work surprisingly well together. The chicken has a great flavor and would suit most people’s tastes, even picky eaters. Hazelnuts and mushrooms seem like an odd combination, but the soft mushrooms and crunchy hazelnuts are an incredible match. The Swiss chard wraps are beautiful and tasty. For a finale, the cookies are one of the best recipes in a while.

 

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Cook’s Tour of Italy Menu 55 (Pgs. 173 – 177): Dinner in Spoleto (in Umbria)

Menu: Pasta Stars with Two Sauces, Salmon in Parchment with Spinach and Carrots, Chocolate Truffle Roll

Recommended Wine: Orvieto (Dry and Light), optional Spumante with dessert

We now journey to Spoleto, a town in Umbria with a well-preserved Medieval center, to imagine a meal Mr. Famularo enjoyed there. In his recreation, he invites us to imagine the restaurant, housed in a 12th Century former convent, and the Medieval architecture and frescoes along the main street. With physical travel more or less suspended for at least a year, the book’s descriptions provide the mind a bit of a journey without risk. While we can only imagine the setting, we can cook and enjoy the food while we do so.

Dinner starts with pasta, served with both pesto and tomato sauce. The recipe calls for small pasta stars, but since I could not find these, I used orzo, since the restaurant in the description uses homemade pasta that is formed into rice-like shapes. Pesto has roots that stretch back to antiquity, made with a variety of herbs, spices, and other ingredients, though basil was not one of them until the Middle Ages. The most common variety today is made of basil, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic, and salt. Whether or not cheese is included depends on the region, in Liguria it is, is Umbria it is not. First, a bit of pesto is put onto the plate. This is followed by the pasta, which is then topped with tomato sauce. Finally, a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and scallions finishes the dish.

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The second dish was an interesting experiment. After precooking the carrots, spinach is placed in the center of one side of a parchment paper heart. This is topped with a piece of salmon, surrounded with carrots, and finished with butter, salt, pepper, fennel seeds, and a bit of white wine (I used pinot grigio from a mini-bottle, those both save money and reduce waste if you only need a little bit). This is then sealed and baked in a hot (475F in fact) oven for 15 minutes, then served from the parchment paper with a mixture of sour cream, lemon juice, and a bit of horseradish on the side.

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Dessert varied slightly from the book, where it is a chocolate roll with zabaglione sauce. I tried making the sauce as an experiment a few days beforehand and didn’t care for it, so I just served the roll plain. To describe its nature best, I am calling it a chocolate truffle roll, since the mix of bittersweet chocolate, butter, and a few egg yolks ends up having that consistency. Mixed into this are toasted almond slivers and vanilla wafer crumbs. The whole mix is then formed into a salami-like shape and allowed to chill and firm up. When ready to serve, it is rolled in more of the almonds and crumbs.

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Looks like a fine dining portion, but is very rich so you don’t need much.

This menu was another of my favorites. I wouldn’t have thought of putting two sauces on the same pasta dish, but the herbaceous, slightly rich pesto and the sweet, acidic tomato sauce complemented each other perfectly. The salmon was another remarkable dish. I didn’t think fish was supposed to be cooked at such high temperatures, but sealed in the parchment paper, it stayed buttery tender while being fully cooked and soaking up lots of flavor. The dessert was also fabulous. The soft, slightly bitter chocolate mix contrasted with the crunch and sweetness of the almonds and cookies. I might replace some of the bittersweet chocolate with semisweet next time, but the extra vanilla cookies on the outside definitely helped cut the bitterness. While very tasty regardless, it is best if taken out of the refrigerator half an hour or so before serving. This helps it soften up and have that truffle-like texture.

 

 

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