LA CASA E IL GIARDINO: Casalbordino

Showing posts with label Casalbordino. Show all posts

Thursday, February 2, 2017

"Poor" Dishes of my Childhood Continue onto my Adulthood

When I was growing up in Abruzzo, the cooking was simple cooking or referred to as ‘la cucina povera’ (poor kitchen). The vegetables and fruits of the region allowed for the simplicity. There was no need to hide or disguise the vibrant ingredients in our dishes. The lands produced vegetables whose savor cannot be equaled and needed no lavish sauce to disguise the taste.

Many of the foods I grew up eating have become my favorite foods and I realize how fortunate I am to never have to transition to eating healthier foods, as I was already there from childhood. Today, freshness is the first rule of my cooking. I demand that my produce be fresh, fresh, and that cooking not hide the taste.

Here is a sample of a "poor" dish. It's called (Verdure con Pizza di Granturco) or (Pizz di Grandenie - dialect Abruzzese). Simply, it's a cornbread served with mixed greens.

Cornbread cooked over hot ashes

In Italy, we cooked this pizza on a burning fireplace. The pizza was placed on the hot stones and covered with a cup (coppa) and in turn covered with ash, embers and moderate heat.

Cornbread

1 lb. cornmeal
4 cups of boiling water
Pinch of salt

Poor the cornmeal on the counter and make a well. Add salt. Poor the boiling water slowly into the well and mix with a fork until all the water if finished and a soft mixture is obtained. Place the cornmeal mixture on a greased baking pan and flatten it to 1" thick. If mixture is hot, dampen your hands in cold water to flatten the pizza. (I prefer thin rather than thick). Cook in a preheated oven at 450 degrees for 50 minutes. Once cooked it will be crunchy outside and softer inside.

Cooked cornbread or pizza

Serve with Garlic Broccoli Rape: Cook 1 bunch broccoli rape in boiling water 1 minute; drain well. Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 3 sliced garlic cloves; saute 1 minute. Add broccoli rape and ¼ teaspoon salt; cook 5 to 10 minutes.

Any kind of greens may be used. In this recipe, I used swiss chard and dandelions.

Pizze e Fui

Cut cornbread in chunks and mix with greens

Our favorite is mixed greens and cornbread served with a side dish of fried sardines and dry peppers.

Pizz, fui e sardell

Enjoy the music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtV3HokEGQQ

http://www.wsj.com/articles/want-great-longevity-and-health-it-takes-a-village-1432304395

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

POLPETTE DI CACIO e UOVA (Meatless balls made with cheese and eggs)

Or as known in my birthplace "Pallotte Cace e Ove". This is a typical dish which flavors bring me back to my childhood in Casalbordino, (Abruzzo): A time when meat was scarce and only seasonal products were used. A time when dishes were marked by the rhythm of the season and modified only by the arrival of Sundays and religious holidays.

Eggs, cheese and day-old bread are mixed together, shaped into balls and fried, then simmered in sugo semplice (meatless tomato sauce).

Sauce or Sugo semplice

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 lb. ripe tomatoes finally chopped (alternate 2 cans good San Marzano canned tomatoes)
Sprigs of parsley and basil
Hot pepper (optional)
Salt and Pepper

Heat the oil in saucepan over moderate heat, add the onion and cook until golden. Add the tomatoes and remaining ingredients. Simmer over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes.

Ingredients for Pallotte:

2 cups of mixed grated cheeses (my choice Gran Padano, Parmigiano e Pecorino)
4 eggs
1 cup of stale, artisan bread, crusts removed and soaked in water and squeezed dried
1 or 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic
A few sprigs of finely chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup olive oil for frying

Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl. Let the mixture rest for a while.

Use damp hands to form 1 1/2-to-2-inch balls. (I like them oval or egg shaped).

Shallow fry in olive oil until golden brown, turning the balls as needed so they brown evenly.

Once all of the pallotte are fried, transfer them to the tomato sauce (sugo semplice) and let them simmer for a good 30 minutes. The pallotte will swell as they cook and resemble sponges.