Il Mercato e l'Orto

Hi everybody!

I'm still in Italy, my flight has been cancelled for strike!, and so I have decided to write a post about my Italian habits for what concerns the ingredients I use in the kitchen. In fact, just stop a minute reflecting about the huge amount of foodstuffs that everyday is used by each of us while creating wonderful dishes. Most of the time we just think at the final result, losing the most important thing: the FOOD and its ORIGIN.

I have always been educated to the importance of knowing WHO, HOW and WHERE produce what I buy. As far as I remember me and my family have always buy products at the local market (Mercato) where local producers sell seasonal products. I have always eat meat coming from local farmers (except for when I was vegetarian, of course...!). Above all I have always had the luck of have a wonderful vegetable pot (Orto), lovely grown by the wisdom of my grandparents and my father. I know I am absolutely lucky from this point of view, and it's for this reason that in those "Italian days" I have decided to dedicate a particular importance to this subject once back in New York.

In Manhattan I use to go to the farmer's market but where does what I buy come from? How does they grow the plants? Do we reflect about the importance of LOCAL food? And about the importance of the biodiversity? And what about the rhythms of the nature? Do you ever think about this when you see hundreds of perfectly identical tomatoes shown during all the year on the shelves of a market? Sometimes I use to go to Whole Foods where lots of products are local, but what does this really means? What I really know about their being "organic". Too often the world ORGANIC or GREEN are just a smart marketing idea, behind which there is nothing more than a way to calm our conscience. But what else?

I think that we are all strongly request to reflect about those problems...I want to reflect about this, and I will look for books about this subject to share with you. If you have any suggestion ...

In the meanwhile here are some pictures, about this subject, I took in Italy!

First of all the vegetable pot of my grandfather:

Than the market where I buy cheese, fish, vegetable and fruits since I was a child. The market is located in Giaveno, a village next to the mountains in Piemonte, where I passed the first years of my life and where my father was born.

While here I have cooked some amazing Italian dishes with my mom: I have the pictures and I will post all of this very soon! I have been so busy, sorry!

A presto!

Moi, je ... cuisine!

I'm in complete linguistic confusion, I spoke french those days in Provence (I have lived one year in France, did I mentioned?!), and now I can't stop thinking in French, a language I love, so please forgive my mistakes!

Saint-Tropez was amazing, really amazing. The weather just perfect, the people deliciously french, and the food ... mmmmh!

I have been there four days. The first one I visited Saint Paul and Port Grimaud, two amazing and little villages of the South.

For what concerns Saint Tropez, it was fortunately, a little less "vip" than usual because of the "Bravade":

This is a Provençal traditional ceremony during which the Tropezians remember their saint patron: Saint-Tropez. All the village takes part to the celebrations which last three days and consist of religious ceremonies and long parades during which 500 kg of gun powder are burst! You can't imagine the noise!

During the four days of holiday, je me suis promenèe on the coast foot path, from Saint-Tropez, toward Cap Camarat, as far as l'Escalet. Wonderful landscape. I missed so much that wild nature, the smell of the sea and of the Mediterranean scrub. The plants were in flower and the colors so bright!

Other than walk, enjoy the village and the traditions, obviously, I ate! Fish, of course. So fresh and tasty. The typical recipe for the fish in this French region is the "Bourride", but in Saint-Tropez I found a Bourride façon Bouillabaisse, with saffron, and pieces of fish. Bourride and Bouillabasse are different kind of fish soup, with a strong presence of garlic and spices.

If you want to try them, here I propose you the BOURRIDE recipe as written in "La cuisine Provençale et Niçoise" by Dominique Compas. It's a wonderful recipe.

• 1/2 baudroie
• 1 loup
• un demi merlan
• 1 oignon émincé
• thym, fenouil, laurier
• 1 jaune d'oeuf par personne
• une dizaines de tranches the pain
• un aioli (sauce made with garlic, mayonnaise and spices)

Couper en tronçons le poisson et le disposer dans une casserole avec l'oignon émincé, le thym, le laurier.

Mouiller à couvert d'eau chaude. Saler et poivrer et laisser cuire un quart d'heure environ. Pendant ce temps, placer dans un plat légèrement creux les tranches de pain rassi d'un centimétre d'épaisseur. Une fois le posson cuit, imbiber avec le bouillon les tranches de pain sans le détremper. Utiliser une partie de l'aioli, le reste étant mis dans une saucière. Il faut compter deux cuillères à entremets d'aioli et un jaune d'oeuf par personne. Y verser le boiullon de poisson, bine délayer. Remettre sur feu (doux) et à l'aide d'une cuillère de bois remuer jusqu'à epaissement, comme pour une crème anglaise. La crème aura obtenu une consistence idéale lorsqu'elle nappera entièrement la cuillère de bois. Retire du feu immédiatement et en arroser les tranches de pain. Presenter le poisson à part ainsi que l'aioli réservé.

Vin conseillé: Bandol rouge.

In the Bourride I ate, there were also some potatoes (boiled together with the fish) and the saffron, maybe also some tomatoes, but i'm not sure!

And than there were Loup Grillé, Daurade a la Méeridionale, Creme brulée, Moulleux au chocolat...

I warmly suggest you to have a trip there, if you have the chance!

To say à bien tot I choose this picture trés gourmande: croissants et brioches PUR BEURRE!...to enjoy, please, with this music as background!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uqq-jHV5huI

à bientot!

Hazelnuts dressing and poached eggs

Another rainy day here ... argh!

Tomorrow I'm going to go in France, Saint-Tropez!, where I hope to find some nice and warm weather.

In the meanwhile voilà an easy salad recipe I made today for me and my dad (Can you see him in the picture below, working in our vegetable pot!?). I have decided to use some hazelnuts, considering that they are an important product of my region. So ... enjoy! And "see" you when I will come back from France!

Salad with hazelnuts dressing and poached eggs

TOOLS:

• 1 frying pan
• 1 pot
• 1 mixer

TIMING:

• 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• green salad, I used the one of my vegetable pot, so tender! (insalata verde)
• 1/2 ounce hazelnuts, fresh or toasted (10 grammi di nocciole)
• 1 egg/person (un uovo per persona)
• a slice of "pancetta"; pancetta is thiker than bacon, not smoked, more meaty than bacon, I'm sorry, but I have never find anything similar in New York ... (una fetta di pancetta tagliata spessa circa mezzo cm)
• some marjoram leaves (alcune foglie di maggiorana)
• salt
• oil
• vinegar

FIRST STEP:

• Clean and wash carefully the green salad. Gently dry it.

pulire e lavare l'insalata quindi scolarla

• Toast the hazelnuts for few minutes in a large pan, moving them often so that they will not burn. When they are done let them cool

tostare le nocciole, se già non sono tostate, per alcuni minuti in una padella. Muovere costantemente così che non brucino. Quando sono pronte lasciarle raffreddare

• Put them in a mixer and mix. Just few seconds! What you need is to chop them, not to reduce them in a powder

quindi passarle in un mixer per alcuni secondi. Ciò che vogliamo ottenere è una granella, non una farina di nocciole...

• put the hazelnuts in a little bowl, add 5 tbsp of oil and a pinch of salt to prepare the dressing

mettere la granella in una scodellina e aggiungere 5 cucchiai di buon olio d'oliva e il sale per preparare il condimento

SECOND STEP:

• warm a frying pan and cook the "pancetta" cut in little slices without any other seasoning. Cook on medium heat until the fat will melt and the "pancetta" will golden. When you turn off the heat, add some leaves of marjoram, cover with a lid and let rest for some minutes. Dry pancetta from the fat and set apart.

scaldare una padella quindi aggiungere la padella tagliata in piccoli pezzi. non aggiungere altro condimento. cuocere a fuoco medio finchè il grasso della pancetta non sarà sciolto e la pancetta dorata. Quando il fuoco è spento aggiungere alcune foglie di maggiorana, coprire con uncoperchio e lasciar riposare alcuni minuti, quindi scolare la pancetta dal grasso

THIRD STEP:

• Boil some water with two spoons of vinegar and a pinch of salt

bollire dell'acqua con due cucchiai di aceto e un pizzico di sale

• shell a fresh egg in a bowl

sgusciare un uovo in una ciotola

• when water is boiling turn it with a tablespoon, so to create a sort of whirlpool, and then slide the egg into the water. Cook the egg for three minutes on low heat. Gently dry.

quando l'acqua bolle, girarla con un cucchiaio creando una sorta di mulinello, quindi aggiungre delicatamente l'uovo. cuocere 3 minuti su fuoco basso, quindi scolare

FOURTH STEP:

• Arrange the salad on a plate, dress with the hazelnuts oil and spread with marjoram pancetta

sistemare l'insalata su un piatto, condire con l'olio alle nocciole e cospargere con la pancetta alla maggiorana

• next to the salad dispose the poached egg spread with some pepper and the hazelnuts chopped

vicino all'insalata mettere l'uovo in camicia cosparso con un pò di pepe e nocciole.

Enjoy!

Buon appetito!

Gianduiotti in Torino

Rainy day in Turin, a typical "torinese" weather... I wandered around with a dear friend visiting my favorites places in the city. I have been in New York for two months and it was so wired to walk in the peaceful streets of my Italian city... wired but also so pleasant and reassuring.

The first place I have to visit when I come in Turin is an historic cafè in Piazza San Carlo, the Caval d'Brons (wich means bronze horse, referring to the bronze statue of Emanuele Filiberto in the middle of the piazza). I love this café and the piazza where it's set. Everything is so elegant, and quite, and so XIX siècle.

In the picture below you can see the café window with the symbol of Turin: il Gianduiotto! It's a chocolate made with cocoa and ...guess what? hazelnuts! The name comes from a mask of the commedia dell'arte Gianduia, the mask which represents Piemonte!

... and here is the REAL caffè (per me macchiato, grazie!). I mean, the american one is not that bad, but let me say that this is the only coffee which can wake me up and gives me the sense of "break"... :)

Another amazing shop in this piazza is Paissa, a well known nineteenth century food shop of the city where you can find unique delicatessens, Lenticchie di Castelluccio, Barolo Chinato, ... and of course Pasta!

Salvia Fritta and Baci di Dama!

The party was amazing, but I haven't took so many pictures because I was directly involved in helping with the guests and the food :) and I'm still completely confused by the jet leg!!! ... anyway here are some!

In the picture below you can see some of the most famous "desserts" of Piemonte. The round ones are called BACI DI DAMA (Lady's kisses). They consist in two buttery biscuits made with local hazelnuts with, in the middle, a fill of chocolate.

The lightly brown and irregular ones are called BRUT&BUN (this is Piedmont dialect! It means Ugly&Good) and are made of an hazelnuts meringue.

Hazelnuts, Nocciole Piemontesi, are a typlical product of Piemonte. I'm sure you all know very well one of the most famous food made with them: Nutella! (Ferrero is, in fact, a Piedmont brand). A part of Nutella you can find delicious hazelnuts and cocoa spread in several patisseries all around the region...gnumm!

Here is a picture of one of the dishes my mom cooked for the party. It's Sage and Borage deep fried in batter. The sage and Borage are from our vegetable pot! I love them, so crunchy and delicate...

For the moment that's it, but tomorrow I'm going to take some pictures of my favorites places in Turin!

Oh my ... I'm so drowsy .... zzzzzz .... poor me!

A presto...!

In Italy!

Hello!

Just few words to say that I'm in Italy! I will stay at home, in the countryside next to Torino, for two weeks. These means that I'm going to write lots of new posts with pictures and recipes directly from my mom's kitchen! Wonderful occasion, isnt'it?

Now I have to hurry up because we are planning a party for my father's birthday (don't worry, I'm taking pictures of the gastronomic side of the event!) :)

Have a wonderful day and:

AUGURI A TUTTE LE MAMME!

p.s. in this picture my wonderful cat Dalì...! Martin (my other cat) is, as usual, wandering around!

Chicken and bacon rolls

Hi everybody!

Today I'm in a "deep" Italian mood: I shopped at Di Palo's, I'm looking a Nanni Moretti movie and I have knead the pizza! I think to write soon a post about pizza, because is much more easier than one can imagine, and, above all, here in New York it's too much easy to find "pizza" which is not pizza. Maybe some explanations could be useful...!

In the meanwhile here I am with a very easy and super fast recipe with chicken! Enjoy!

Involtini di Pollo e Bacon

TOOLS:

• 1 frying pan

TIMING:

• 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 10 ounces slices of chicken breast (300 grammi di fettine di pollo)
• 2 ounces bacon (the smoked one works perfectly!) (50 grammi di bacon, anche l'affumicato va bene!)
• mustard, the one with the grains (senape, il tipo rustico con grani interi)
• 1/2 onion (mezza cipolla)
• 1/2 glass of white wine (mezzo bicchiere di vino)
• oil (olio)

FIRST STEP:

• cut the chicken in slices of about 1, 1 1/2 inches

tagliate il pollo in strisce di dirca 3, 4 cm di larghezza

SECOND STEP:

• spread the mustard in one side of the chicken slices

spalmate la senape su un lato delle fette di pollo

• arrange over it a bacon slice than roll so that the bacon will remain outwards. If you wish you can use a stick to hold the roll, but it works also without it!

disponete il bacon su lato con la senape e arrotolate in modo che il bacon resti all'esterno. Se volete fermate con uno stuzzichino, ma ho visto che va bene anche senza!

THIRD STEP:

• warm 2 tablespoons of oil and add the onion, when it's golden add the rolls. Cook at medium heat for 5 minutes turning now and then the rolls. They have to golden

scaldate un paio di cucchiai d'olio e aggiungete la cipolla, fate soffriggere. A questo punto aggiungete gli involtini e cuocete afuoco medio per 5 minuti girando di tanto in tanto finchè non sono dorati

• add the wine and let it evaporate for a couple of minutes

aggiungete il vino e lasciatelo evaporare per un paio di minuti

Enjoy! Buon appetito!

Snow peas salad with mint dressing and goat cheese croutons

As promised here I am with an easy recipe for days like this: very, very hot days!

It's a salad dressed with a fresh mint sauce. It's light, but complete, thanks to the goat cheese. If you don't like the taste of this kind of cheese you can use a creamy and fresh cow cheese and the result will be equally amazing!

The main ingredient is the snow pea. In Italy we use to call them "piselli mangiatutto", which means "eat-all peas" (hemmm I'm not sure about this translation!). In fact they are like peas but you eat everything, also the pod!

For what concerns the dried tomatoes, prepare them some days in advance with my recipe, so that they can be soft and tasty when you use them.

TOOLS:

• 1 pot
• 1 pan
• a mixer

TIMING:

• 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 oz snow peas (2 etti circa piselli mangiatutto)
• 4 1/2 oz fresh goat cheese (1 etto circa di formaggio di capra fresco)
• 6 dried tomatoes (pomodori secchi, vedi ricetta di questo blog)
• 2 celery stalks (2 gambe di sedano)
• 1 tablespoon of pine nuts (20 grammi di pinoli)
• 1/2 lemon (mezzo limone)
• extra-virgin olive oil
• 5 mint leaves (5 foglie di menta)
• a baguette (pane tipo baguette)
• salt

FIRST STEP:

• To clean the snow peas just cut the two edges. Than wash them.

per pulire i piselli basta tagliarne le due piccole estremità e poi lavarli

• Boil in boiling and lightly salted water the snow peas for about 10 minutes. Dry and let them cooler

cuocete i piselli mangiatutto in acqua bollente e salata per circa 10 minuti. Una volta scolati lasciateli raffreddare

• Clean and wash the celery

lavate e pulite le gambe di sedano

SECOND STEP:

• Prepare the bread croutons: cut a baguette in slices of about 1/2 cm (yes, cm! I hate inches!), toast them in a hot frying pan with just a drop of oil and some salt. When they become golden they are ready! Set apart

preparate i crostini: tagliate la baguette in fette di circa mezzo cm di spessore, tostatele in una padella bollente con qualche goccia d'olio e un pò di sale. quando diventano dorate sono pronte. tenetele da parte

THIRD STEP:

• prepare the dressing: put 3 spoons of lemon juice, 5 spoons of oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 5 mint leaves in a blender and mix until the dressing emulsifies and thickens.

preparate il condimento: mettete 3 cucchiai di succo di limone, 5 d'olio, 1/2 cucchiaino di sale e le foglie di menta in un frullatore ed emulsionate finchè il composto non si ispessisce

• Spread the top of the croûtons with the fresh goat cheese.

spalmate il formaggio di capra sopra i crostini

FORTH STEP:

• cut the celery in little pieces, and do the same with the dried tomatoes. Mix them with the snow peas, dressing with the mint sauce.

tagliate il sedano in piccoli pezzi e fate lo stesso con i pomodori secchi. Mescolateli con i piselli condendo con la salsa alla menta

• arrange the salad on a plate and decorate with some pine nuts. Dish with the goat cheese croûtons.

sistemate l'insalata su un piatto, decorate con i pinoli (eventualmente tostati). Servite con i crostini di formaggio di capra

Enjoy, Buon appetito!

Spring (or Summer?) !

This morning I woke up and felt the summer all around me. But what about the spring? Did we miss a season?

Anyway, at last our neighbors have been cast out, leaving behind them a wake of destruction (literally) and so this was our first night of a restorative and deep sleep...wow...Of course also my mood has enjoyed this amazing news and I promise that today I'm going to post a new and fresh recipe!

In the meanwhile an advice for whoever is in New York: go visiting the Community Gardens of the East Village! I've been there yesterday, the first day of open for this season, and I really enjoyed: the pictures here are from the Garden on the 6th street, between ave B and ave C. It's like entering in a different world, far away from Manhattan.

The Community Gardens are a wonderful idea, basically are gardens managed and maintained by gardeners belonging to the surrounding community. They are little oasis of beauty and peace in the middle of the city. You can also grow vegetables or other crops in them, according to the statement of the single Garden. I am literally fallen in love with those places.

To whoever is not here in New York, I am curious, does this exist also in your cities? As far as I remember unfortunately Torino doesn't have similar initiatives :-(

And now: some house cleaning and than let's cook! A presto!