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Cook’s Tour of Italy Menu 40 (Pgs. 128 – 132): Bachelor Party with Romeo, Verona

Menu 40 (Pgs. 128 – 132): Bachelor Party with Romeo, Verona

Region: Veneto

Menu: Shrimp and Radicchio with a Sweet and Sour Sauce, Fried “Soft-Shell Crabs,” Asparagus with Oil, Vinegar, and Fried Eggs on Radicchio, Sweet Semolina Cookies with Grana and Honey

Recommended Wine: Frontego (Soave, bright yellow with citrus aroma)

            If you’ve ever read Romeo and Juliet, you’ll know that the title characters’ secret wedding did not allow for a bachelor party, but here we can imagine one. Pizza, hot wings, and lots of beer seem more likely fare for such a party, but maybe Romeo preferred the specialties of the Veneto region. These include fish, shellfish, and cephalopods of all sorts, including soft-shell crabs and cuttlefish, a variety of sweet and sour sauces, and radicchio. While this menu does not match up to the story’s Medieval origins very well, it was tasty and interesting.

            Note that I did make a few substitutions for economy, convenience, and personal preference. The recipe called for using smoked salmon to form a “cornucopia” for the shrimp and vegetable pieces, but with all the other flavors in the mix it would be hard for the fish to shine. While the smoky flavor probably would have been a nice contrast with the sweet corn, peas, and sauce, the benefit didn’t justify the added cost. The contrast was provided by radicchio instead. Its bitter flavor worked well with the other ingredients, and it looked pretty on the plate. Even though I care more about how food tastes, having it look good is a nice bonus.

            Soft-shell crabs are hard to come by when you live several states away from the nearest ocean. The two options are 1) have them delivered (which is impractical unless buying a large quantity of items) or 2) drive three hours to one of the fish markets in Chicago (possibly at night to accommodate their early hours). As neither option was feasible, I decided to make crab cakes instead. Specifically, imitation crab cakes, because frozen crab was too expensive and I didn’t trust the canned variety. So I combined chopped imitation crab, bread crumbs, and eggs, shaped them into cakes about the width of a palm (roughly the size of actual soft-shell crabs), and made those the main course. They were delicious.

            The asparagus was closer to the recipe in the book. I cooked and marinated it as directed and plated it on radicchio. The difference was in the topping. The recipe calls for working chopped hard-boiled egg into the sauce. Since I don’t like hard-boiled eggs, I used another common method mentioned in the recipe: topping the asparagus with butter, fried eggs, and parmesan cheese. This all worked very well together and isn’t as weird for a bachelor party as it might seem.

            Asparagus has been viewed as an aphrodisiac since the days of Ancient Rome. After falling out of favor for several centuries, it became popular again in the Renaissance. There was even a way to tell if someone was eating it in secret: by the distinctive odor it left in their chamber pot. People have noticed for centuries that asparagus made their urine smell funny. Both Benjamin Franklin and Marcel Proust mention it at least once in their writings, and one 18th Century club insisted that gentlemen not urinate in the coat rack during asparagus season. Why that was too much to ask for during the rest of the year is unclear, but it was a different time.

            Moving on from aphrodisiacs and asparagus pee, we have dessert. These cookies are made crunchy and slightly gritty with semolina flour, flavored with rum and raisins, and served with parmesan-like grana cheese and honey. I’m not usually a raisin fan, but they were a good match with the light sweetness of the cookie and texture from the semolina. There is actually a Medieval connection here. At the end of a feast, it was common to serve wafers and cookie-like sweets, along with aged cheese, dried fruit, and spiced wine sweetened with honey. While the idea that this helped close the stomach and aid digestion was incorrect, the cookies, cheese, and honey worked surprisingly well together for a treat that stands the test of time.

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Cook’s Tour of Italy Menu 45 (Pgs. 139 – 140): Turkey Breast Baked with Prosciutto and Cheese to Resemble a Cardinal’s Hat

Region: Veneto

Menu: Prosciutto-Wrapped Turkey Breast with Cheese, Marinated Tomatoes

            Compared to most other forms of poultry, turkeys are a recent arrival in Europe. Native to North America, they were first brought back to Europe by Columbus at some point during the 1490s. Unlike tomatoes, potatoes, and chocolate, which took decades or even centuries to become widespread, the turkey caught on pretty much right away. Turkeys were being raised in Spain within 20 years and were popular in England by Shakespeare’s time.

            The reason for this is probably due to Medieval and Renaissance dining customs. At the time, the “noblest” foods were the various types of fowl, and the variety consumed was astounding. Along with chickens, geese, and ducks, kings and nobles raised pigeons on their estates, hunted pheasants and quails, and even ate things like larks, cranes, and herons. For banquets, the centerpiece would be the biggest, showiest bird they could find, often a swan or peacock. While these displays were impressive, particularly when the roasted birds were sewn back into their feathers to arrive at the table looking alive, most sources suggest that neither of them tasted particularly good. When another impressively-sized bird that did taste good became available, it’s hardly surprising that it became popular immediately.

            Contrary to what most people think of when they hear the phrase “Italian food,” roast turkey is actually a popular Christmas dish in many parts of the country. Here is a simpler preparation, where a slice of turkey breast is wrapped in prosciutto, topped with cheese, broiled, then topped with marinated tomatoes or beets. This is supposed to resemble a Cardinal’s hat, but admittedly, I’m having trouble seeing it. I’m not sure if this played a role, but I did make a minor adjustment. The recipe called for slices of raw turkey breast, but since I had leftover roast turkey, that was what I used. I was a little worried about it drying out, but the prosciutto and cheese kept that from happening. It was pretty good, but I’m not sure if I’d make this again, given all of the other dishes that can be made with leftover turkey.

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Cook’s Tour of Italy Menu 43 (Pgs. 137 – 138): Shrimp and “Bass” Risotto with Saffron

            With its abundance of seafood and rice, it is no surprise that Venetian cuisine would feature a number of seafood risottos. Here things are kept simple with shrimp and pieces of bass or other white fish, enhanced with zucchini, shallots and parmesan cheese, but in Venice the options are nearly limitless. One especially interesting example, called risotto nero, is colored black with squid or cuttlefish ink. For this recipe, the color is a surprisingly bright yellow, courtesy of saffron.

            Saffron has a fascinating history. Grown around the Mediterranean since ancient times, its prestige was nonetheless on the level of “exotic” spices from Asia. There were two reasons for this. First, it is really labor-intensive, with each saffron crocus yielding a few strands of the spice. It’s true allure, however, is its color. When added to a bit of liquid, it produces a brilliant golden hue. During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, it was often used to create “gilded” dishes for banquets. While stirring the threads and their steeping liquid into the dish, the color showed itself by degrees, starting with a pale, creamy yellow, gradually deepening into the color shown in the picture.

            Historically, saffron was considered to have medicinal qualities. Unfortunately, in this recipe it gave a distinct medicinal edge to the flavor. In addition, the fish broth used in the recipe is enhanced by simmering with shrimp shells. I’m not sure if it was the brand of broth I used (since I opted not to make my own) or the shrimp shells, but it gave off a powerful fishy aroma while simmering that lingered in the kitchen. Before adding it to the risotto I diluted it to compensate for what boiled off and reduce the strength, but the taste was still strongly fishy and medicinal.

            You might be thinking that fish is supposed to taste fishy, but many white fish like what I used (I think it was haddock, but I can’t remember for sure. It was on sale in the freezer section) have a fairly mild taste. I personally prefer it on the relatively rare occasions that I eat seafood, but that is a matter of personal taste. Unlike many Italian cooks, who view it as culinary heresy, Mr. Famularo has no issue with combining seafood and dairy. The addition of parmesan cheese and butter really helped balance things out. The shrimp weren’t overcooked, the fish cooked up nice and flaky, and the finished dish was actually quite enjoyable once I got used to the strong flavors. That said, if I made this again I’d reduce the amount of saffron. And probably skip the fish broth altogether.

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Cook’s Tour of Italy Menu 41 (Pgs. 132 – 135): Trattoria Menu, Near Vicenza (Veneto)

Menu: Fresh Asparagus Soup, Ricotta Gnocchi with a Light Picante Tomato Shrimp Sauce, Cubes of Butternut Squash with Cinnamon, Stewed Figs with Ice Cream

Recommended Wine: Muller-Thurgau from Trento, a Yellowish Fruity White

            We now return to the mainland of the Veneto region, famous for a variety of fruits and vegetables (text, page 132). Fitting with that theme, this menu features asparagus, butternut squash, and figs, prepared in interesting ways. Asparagus soup is thickened with semolina flour, and steamed squash is served with butter and cinnamon. In the original recipe, fresh figs are drizzled in kirsch, but since I could not find either of those items, I adapted by stewing dried figs in cherry juice and serving them over ice cream. While not like the original, this adaptation retained the flavors of figs and cherries.

            The soup is composed of just five ingredients: chicken and beef broth, semolina flour, thinly sliced asparagus, and grated parmesan cheese. Just bring the broth to boiling, add the semolina and let it cook, stirring occasionally. Once that’s thickened, add the sliced asparagus stems, and after a few more minutes, add the tips. Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and the recommended piece of garlic-rubbed toast. The squash is even simpler: just cube, steam, drizzle with melted butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon.

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            The gnocchi were a bit more complicated to make, but not overly so. It’s possible to mix up the dough ahead of time, then just roll it out and cut it just before cooking. Contrary to its name, the sauce is not very spicy. A creamy base is flavored with a bit of onion, garlic, and red pepper, with a bit of tomato paste providing a lovely color. In an attempt to appeal to pickier diners, I did modify the recipe somewhat. The actual recipe calls for adding some fish broth and bouillon to the cream sauce, along with chopped cooked shrimp. For convenience and broader appeal, I used chicken broth and leftover rotisserie chicken. The pickier diner still didn’t care for it, but it was worth a try.

Squash and gnocchi

            None of this was difficult to make, and with the exception of gnocchi, it was not particularly time-consuming either. While the soup simmered and squash steamed, there was plenty of time to cook the gnocchi and make the sauce. Even better, this time I managed to time things right and we could enjoy the food in the order it’s supposed to be eaten in.

Stewed figs and ice cream

            I’ve never seen a soup thickened with semolina before, but it worked really well to add a bit of extra body without diluting the asparagus flavor. The gnocchi tasted kind of like homemade mac and cheese in little dumplings, with a creamy, chickeny sauce. These were especially good alongside the sweet, buttery squash. The figs were a nice closing to the dinner. The tartness from the cherry juice acted as a bit of a palate cleanser, while the sweetness from the figs and ice cream kept it from being overwhelming. This was yet another excellent dinner.

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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 39 (Pgs. 125 – 128): Lunch with Juliet, Verona (Veneto)

Menu: Roasted Pepper and Eggplant Puree Appetizer, Pasta Bows with Fresh Spinach, Mushrooms, and Cream, Fruit Compote with Citrus Sauce

Recommended Wine: Chardonnay from Ronc di Juri in Friuli

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The Veneto region is not just Venice. Perhaps the most well-known of the region’s mainland cities is Verona, famous as the setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. While it is unclear exactly when the story was supposed to take place and Shakespeare probably never visited Italy, the feuding families really did exist and their mansions, now tourist attractions, still stand in the city today. It seems the story evolved over a few centuries, so perhaps the precise date is not important. For Shakespeare, the focus was always on the characters.

Variants of the tale of star-crossed lovers have existed for centuries if not millennia and the names Romeo and Giulietta/Juliet are used from around 1300 all the way to Shakespeare’s time in the late 16th/early 17th centuries (he probably wrote his version in the 1590s). If you want a semi-specific timeframe, I would place the story between 1349 and 1405, and here’s why. The mansions that supposedly belonged to the two families are late medieval, built in the 13th and 14th centuries (Text, pgs. 126 and 128). In addition, “Prince Escalus” is typically assumed to be a member of the Della Scala family, who ruled the city until 1405, when it was conquered by Venice. As the text implies him to be a ruler of an independent city-state with feuding aristocratic factions, it could therefore not be set later than 1405.

Due to mention of the plague, which first struck Verona in 1348 and is described in a familiar way, I would place the story in 1349 at the absolute earliest. This is further supported by the statement that Juliet is an only surviving child out of what is implied to have been several. While this would have been a tragically common occurrence at any point before the medical advances of the 19th and 20th centuries, the chance would have been even higher in the immediate aftermath of the plague, which recurred several times in the 14thcentury after the first outbreak. Thus, we have a timeframe of 1349 to 1405.

The history lesson aside, let’s turn to the menu. There’s a pureed mix of eggplant, roasted red peppers, garlic, and lemon that’s sort of like a red pepper baba ghanoush, served on slices of cucumber to start, followed by pasta bows and spinach with a mushroom cream sauce. Dessert is a mix of sliced strawberries and bananas, chopped pears and pineapple, and blueberries, dressed in a syrup of sugar, lemon, and orange juice.

Returning to history, most of this would not have been possible during the most likely historical timeframe or likely to be served even during Shakespeare’s time. The red peppers and pineapple were imports from the New World. Like tomatoes, peppers took a while to catch on in Europe (though hot peppers quickly became popular in Africa and Asia), and pineapples were still centerpieces at royal banquets in the late 17thCentury. Likewise, cream sauces were uncommon until the later part of the 17th Century and mushrooms were viewed with suspicion. It is unclear when eggplants and bananas reached Northern Italy, though the former had been introduced to Sicily centuries before by the Arabs and a few 17th and 18th Century still life banquet scenes depict bananas.

What would match with either the 14th or 16th Century, however, are the citrus juices and sugar. Sugar was a status symbol, beloved by all who could afford it, whose number gradually increased over the centuries. During the Middle Ages it was so expensive it was used like a spice. Even as supply expanded from the 15thCentury onward, it remained a luxury for a few more centuries. As mentioned in a previous post, sugar and citrus fruit fit right in with the Medieval taste for sweet and sour, inherited from the Ancient Romans. The popularity of lemons and oranges also increased over time, especially near the Mediterranean, where shorter shipping times and fewer stops meant lower prices. All of the dishes in this menu contain lemon juice, and the sauce for the fruit is fragrant with both lemon and orange juice.

Regardless of historical accuracy, this was all very enjoyable. I managed to roast the peppers without setting off the smoke alarm this time, and after briefly struggling to stuff two halved garlic cloves into cuts made in the eggplant, the baking, combining, and pureeing went without difficulty. The mix was good on the cucumbers, but I think I liked the leftovers even better on crackers the next day.

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Once the prep work was done, the pasta was super simple: just make the sauce, cook the pasta to al dente, toss the cooked pasta with the spinach to wilt it slightly, add the sauce, and toss to coat. The sauce started with a base of garlic and mushrooms sautéed in butter, to which a bit of marsala and lemon juice were added and allowed to cook for ten minutes to evaporate the alcohol. Cream was then added and allowed to heat through before combining with the pasta. All was then topped with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. The pasta was excellent, though the sour taste from the lemon juice was maybe a little on the strong side. A slight reduction in lemon might benefit the sauce, but that would be a matter of personal taste. Mr. Famularo says on page 127 that he thinks Juliet would prefer this dish to potato gnocchi, and I am inclined to agree.

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The dessert was another treat. Though the mix here was strawberries, blueberries, pears, pineapple, and banana, anything in season would probably work. The lemon juice in the syrup prevents or slows browning, the sugar smooths out the taste of any especially tart fruit, and the juices combined add just a little more flavor. The recipe makes more syrup than is needed for the quantity of fruit, so any leftovers can be saved and used as needed. Just make sure not to add it too early, as sitting in the syrup too long can make the fruit turn soggy.

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Overall, this was a great menu to appreciate the summer produce coming into the stores. Even if not necessarily historical to Shakespeare’s time, that doesn’t really matter here. If given access to the foods mentioned here, there is every reason to believe Juliet would have enjoyed them.

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Cook’s Tour of Italy Menu 42 (Pgs. 136 – 137): Layered, Baked Polenta, Venetian Style (Venice)

Menu: Polenta Layered with Vegetables, Salt Pork, and Parmesan

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Remaining in Venice, we now focus on another Venetian staple, polenta. As mentioned in the last post, polenta is at least as popular as pasta in various parts of Northern Italy. While evidence suggests that a form of polenta existed since at least Roman times, likely made of barley, millet or spelt, corn became the grain of choice after it was introduced in the 16th Century. Exactly why corn caught on in the North while pasta caught on sooner and more thoroughly in the South is unclear, but regardless, polenta is a Northern staple.

Though often a side dish, frequently served alongside meat, here it is a main course. After the corn mixture is cooked, it is poured into loaf pans to chill and firm up before being sliced. The slices are layered in a pan with a sauce made of salt pork (which looks and tastes a lot like unsmoked bacon), carrot, onion, celery, and rehydrated dried mushrooms with their soaking liquid. The three layers of polenta and two layers of sauce are topped with a layer of grated parmesan cheese.

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This wasn’t particularly difficult to make, but was a bit time-consuming and fiddly. It is necessary to stir really well as you are adding the polenta to the boiling water or it will get lumpy, and sometimes it still does. Meanwhile, you need to watch out for steam as the bubbles rise to the surface and pop. Finally, you need to slice the polenta really thin to get three layers in the pan. The sauce, which has a texture kind of like chunky salsa, came together without difficulty. Overall, it was pretty good; balanced and flavorful. I didn’t like it as much as some of the other recipes, but most of the other recipes set a pretty high bar.

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Cook’s Tour of Italy Menu 44 (Pgs. 138 – 139): Chicken Risotto with Vegetables, Venetian Style (Venice)

Menu: Risotto with Chicken and Vegetables

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Heading northeast, we cross Emilia-Romagna to the Veneto region, most well-known for Venice, but also home to Verona, Vicenza, Trieste, and other notable cities. Unlike Rome, Florence, Milan, Naples, or their historical rival Genoa, Venice was not an established city in the Roman era. Exact dates of foundation vary, but the most common story seems to be that the city was established in the 5th Century AD by those fleeing barbarian raids on the mainland. After a century and a half or so of Byzantine rule in the 6th and 7th Centuries, the first Doge was elected either at the end of the 7th or start of the 8th Century (the jury is still out on whether the first Doge was real or legendary) and the republic began its rise.

From its earliest days, Venice relied on trade, and in his work The Venetians, author Paul Strathearn explains why. Essentially, it boiled down to the fact that space was limited on the islands in the lagoon, limiting how much food could be grown and, to a lesser degree, how many goods could be produced. Trade both provided the necessary food and made the republic wealthy. For centuries, Venice was the main point of import for “exotic” goods from Asia, including spices, sugar, incense, and silk.

Another luxury import during the Middle Ages was rice, which gradually began to be cultivated in Italy as its popularity grew. The wealthy loved it, particularly cooked in almond milk. As supply expanded, the price dropped, making rice widely available to all classes. Today, in many parts of Northern Italy, risotto and polenta are more popular than pasta, and this includes Venice. Rice, polenta, vegetables, and seafood in various combinations are staples in Venetian cookery, which is very different from what is typically thought of as “Italian.”

The best way to think of this dish is probably “Venetian chicken and rice.” With a flavoring base of carrot, onion, and celery, which occurs in many recipes in the book, the risotto includes chicken, chicken broth, tomato puree, butter, and parmesan cheese. The end result is creamy but not too rich, and flavorful without being overpowering. The tomato flavor is present but not dominant, melding into all the other flavors. Additional virtues for this recipe are that it is not very difficult to make and uses easy to find, affordable ingredients. I would definitely make this again.

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