verdure in pastella

Ingredienti per 10 persone:

Verdure in pastella

Farina 300g,/ flour

Sale fino un pizzico,/ solt

4 uova,/eggs

Birra 1/4 di litro,/ beer

olio si semi / vegable oil

1 kg di zucchine/ zucchini

1kg di melanzane/ eggplants

3 carciofi/ artichokes

200ml latte/mlk

400 gr. Caciocavallo cheese

It is Italian tradition, I would say more' in the Lazio, that for Christmas Eve is used to prepare the vegetables in batter. Since Christmas Eve it is vigilia where we can not eat meat so it is typical to serve vegetables in batter as a starter, followed by a dish of fish.

Merry Christmas and a happy appetite at all

Preparazione:
Cominciamo con l’approntare la pastella,unendo in una terrina la farina con il sale, le 4 uova intere e il latte.Far riposare per circa 1/2ora.Nel frattempo lavare e spuntare le zucchine e le altre verdure tagliandole poi longitudinalmente o come richiedete dalla vostra verdura, spargere del sale fino;Prendete una padella e versate l’olio di semi e mettetela su un fuoco alto;

Nel mentre mettere nella pastella in sequenza le zucchine ed le altre verdure e infine le melanzane, friggendoli via via nell’olio profondo.Prelevate quando siano ben dorati e deponetele su carta assorbente da cucina;Trasferire gli ortaggi fritti nel piatto di portata e solo allora salare;

Spargere sul fritto le scaglie di caciocavallo piccante e mandare in tavola.La frittura e’ ottima calda, ma resta buona e gustosa anche da fredda.

Preparation

Let's start with the preparation of pastella, mixing the flour into a bowl with salt, 4 whole eggs and milk. Let stand for about 1/2ora.Meanwhile, wash and trim the zucchini and other vegetables, then cutting them lengthwise and sprink with salt;Take a pan and pour the vegetable oil and place it on a high heat, keep the tempature high.Meanwhile make inside the pastelle in sequence: zucchini and other vegetables and then at the end eggplants, deep frying it in oil gradually;Taken when they are golden brown and dispose them on paper towels;Transfer the fried vegetables in a dish and only then add salt;Pour over slices of spicy cheese called caciocavallo and serve them.Le Verdure in pastella are good warm, but still they are good and tasty even cold

Note: Note

Alcuni fanno la pastella eliminando le uova (intere e chiare) ed in luogo del ¼ di birra, usano un piccolo panetto di lievito di birra sciolto in ½ bicchiere d’acqua tiepido ed amalgamato alla farina ed agli altri ingredienti

Some make the pastella by removing the eggs (whole and clear) and place ¼ of beer, use a small packet of yeast dissolved in ½ cup of warm water and mixed with flour and other ingredients

Se ne ottiene ugualmente una buona pastella , ma è certamente meno ricca e perciò meno gustosa; del resto in cucina, come nella vita, le mezze misure non pagano o pagano poco: essere o non essere; tertium non datur!
It also gets a good pastella, but it is certainly less rich and therefore less tasty, the rest in the kitchen as in life, half-measures do not pay or pay little. To be or not to be: tertium non datur!

Vini: ovviamente Corposi vini rossi campani (Solopaca, Aglianico, Piedirosso, Taurasi) serviti a temperatura ambiente, se la preparazione è di contorno a pietanze di carni;

Wines: Red wines from Campania ,bodied such as Solopaca, Aglianico, Piedirosso, Taurasi

The red wine must serve at room temperature, if the preparation of frittura in pastella comes as side dish to the red meat.

Invece Vini secchi e profunati bianchi campani (Solopaca, Capri, Ischia, Falanghina, Fiano)

Instead dry white wine profunati from Campania such as Solopaca, Capri, Ischia, Falanghina, Fiano)

freddi di frigo, qualora la preparazione accompagni formaggi freschi o sia usata come antipasto.

White wine as usually must serve cold if the preparation of frittura in pastella comes as side dish to cheese or as appetizer .

punarelle con acciughe

La Puntarella in salsa di acciughe.

The "puntarella", is a chicory of Orto. Apparently these are a kind of sprout that only grows near Roma at this time and that region's typical seasonal dishes. It has a pleasant taste to uses particularly to make it a salad very appetizing. Clean the puntarelle long (vertical) to achieve two, three or four parties, according to the size of the shaft. If it is too long, you should shorten, it but not below 12-15 centimeters. Wash and put them in fresh water and hold them for about a couple of hours and then well. In the meantime prepare a composed of garlic, diced anchovies, vinegar and oil extra-virgine olive oil. Make it in a food processor to obtain a sauce homogeneous. Seasoned the Puntarelle with the sauce.

La "puntarella"; è una cicoria di orto (catalogna) dal sapore gradevole di cui si utilizza particolarmente il fusto ancora tenero, fino alla cima, prima della fioritura, per farne un'insalata molto appetitosa. Capare le "puntarelle" togliendo sempre dal basso la corteccia, piuttosto dura, infine tagliarle per lungo (in senso verticale) ricavandone due, tre o quattro parti, secondo la grossezza del fusto. se sono molte lunghe, vanno accorciate, ma non al di sotto di dodici-quindici centimetri. lavarle e metterle in acqua fresca e tenerle a bagno, per farle arricciare, circa un paio di ore e poi sgocciolarle bene. nel frattempo preparare in un mortaio, preferibilmente di legno, un pesto composto di aglio, pezzettini di alici spinate, aceto e olio extravergine d'oliva. farne tutta una poltiglia per ottenere una salsa omogenea piuttosto liquida con cui condire le puntarelle e tenere a macerare in un recipiente coperto per almeno un'ora. servire in una zuppiera, versarvi sopra ancora un poco di salsina e mescolare bene.

Melanzane alla Parmigiana un sogno vegetariano

An Italian friend tells me that eggplant parmigiana originates in Naples (where it's known as parmigiana di melanzane), and that it's impossible to find the genuine article outside that city. That may be true, but according to my aunts from Sicily that they used to make the best melanzane alla parmigiana ever, they swore that the Parmigiana originates in Sicily.The more important now is that It's not at all difficult to make an excellent parmigiana at home, and while the result might lack the authentic flavor of Italy, it should certainly please your family and dinner guests. The secret is as usually on the quality of ingredients.

Ingredients/ Ingredienti

• 2 large or 8 small eggplants /2 grandi o 8 piccole melanzane
• Salt/ Sale
• A little flour/ Un po di farina
• Olive oil for frying/ Olio per friggerle
• 3 cups (12 fl oz, 360 ml) tomato sauce; or (500 g) can of tomatoes
• 3 tazze di sugo di pomodoro o 500 grammi di salsa
• 7 oz (200 g) mozzarella cheese, cut into thin slices
• 7 once o 200 grammi di mozzarella tagliata a fettine
• 1 cup (4oz, 100 g) parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 1 tazza 0 4 once, 100 grammi di parmigiano finemente grattato
• A few leaves of fresh basil (optional)
• Alcune foglie di basilico
• Salt and pepper for seasoning
• Sale e pepe

Method/ Metodo

Oven: Pre-heat to 375F, 190C./ orno a 375F, o 190C

Start by salting and pressing the eggplant. You need to do this several hours before you start the main part of the preparation. Cut the eggplant into ¼-inch (½ cm) slices, and arrange these on a large plate. Sprinkle with a generous amount of salt. Place another plate on top, and then place something heavy on top of that (I use three or four heavy books).

When you are ready to start cooking, wash the eggplant thoroughly and dry with a paper towel. Coat each slice with a little flour, and fry it for a few minutes in the heated olive oil.

Next, arrange half the slices of eggplant at the bottom of an oven-proof dish. Pour on half the tomato sauce along with the basil, then add a layer of half of each of the cheeses. Repeat the process with another layer of eggplant, tomato and cheese, ending with a sprinkling of salt and pepper.

Cook in the oven for about 45 minutes, removing the lid about ten minutes before serving.

Alcuni consigliano di mettere le melanzane sotto sale per qualche ora, poi di risciacquarle, ma ora con le nuove melanzane coltivate queste operazioni sono inutili. E’ importante scegliere bene le melanzane. Lavate e asciugate le melanzane, privatele del gambo. Sbucciatele e tagliatele in fette sottili nel verso della lunghezza e friggetele subito nell’olio inarinandole. Ungete di burro una teglia, e quando tutte le melanzane saranno fritte, incominciate col disporle uno strato nella teglia. Condite questo strato con sugo d’umido o anche con una buona salsa di pomodoro, parmigiano grattato, nel quale avrete mescolato qualche foglia di basilico fresco tagliuzzata, e qualche fettina di mozzarella. Continuate cosi a disporre le melanzane a strati. Finche ne avrete, e ultimatelo col sugo.

Mettere al forno per circa 45 minuti.

SAPER SCEGLIERE

When buying eggplant, look for vegetables that are uniformly smooth and colored, without bruises. Squeeze the eggplant gently with a finger and then let go: The eggplant will reform smoothly again if it is fresh. The eggplant should feel heavy. Store eggplant in the refrigerator on a middle shelf, not in the crisper drawer. Our receipt call for salting the slices of eggplant before cooking to leech it of bitter juices. Modern eggplant cultivation has removed its bitterness so it's not absolutely necessary to do this. On the other hand, I salt eggplant out of habit.

Pinzimonio

In the last Italian cooking class at Chicca we tasted three different kinds of extra-virgin olive oil. One from Tuscany, one from Umbria and one from Sicily. We used the Pinzimonio. The name Pinzimonio is a combination of the word pinze, or tweezer and matrimonio, or mariage, refering to how to pinch the vegetable two fingers and merry it to the seasoned oil. ( molto romantico )

We cut the carrots, celery, fannel and radish in the shape of matchsticks and we dip it in extra-vergin oil seassoned with salt and pepper. Everybody agreed that the best combination was with the Sicilian extra-virgin oil. After some reasech I found out that the extra-virgin oil from Sicily is used the most with salad dressing, fresh vegetables and filled vegetables.

Brave mi complimento con voi senza saperlo avete scelto l'olio giusto per il giusto condimento.

The quality of oil depends on the type of pressing and the quality of extra-virgin olive oil is the finest grade. It is the resolt of the first pressing. In Italy they use the cold pressing above 60 degrees (F) because the heat destroy the antioxidants. A good extra-virgin olive oil has to have acid below 4%. The color goes from bright green to gloden - green.

San Marzano

Fumata bianca, White smoke emerged for the cooking class. Every Tuesday at 7:00 PM in a little village called New York a NYU professor and his wife a speech therapist, an advertising agent a professional fashion photographer and such and such meet at Chicca restaurant to share the one thing they have in common. Their passions of food, Italian language , and cooking. If you like to be part of these group join our Tuesday night class.

Last week we discussed why we should use San Marzano tomatoes for make a special tomato sauce.

San Marzano come from a small town of the same name near Naples, and were first grown in volcanic soil in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. Compared to the Roma Tomatoes with which most people are familiar, Marzano tomatoes are thinner and pointier in shape. The flesh is much thicker with fewer seeds, and the taste is much stronger, more sweet and less acidic.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil / ¼ di tazza di olio
• 1 can of pomodori San Marzano / 1 scatola di pomodori San Marzano
• 1 onions, minced / 1 cippola tagliata
• 1 cloves garlic, minced/ 1 spicchio d’aglio schiacciato
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat; add tomatoes, onions, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste.

2. Mix ingredients well; cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve.

Procedimento

1. mettere una padella a fuoco medio e aggiungere la cipolla e l’aglio. Fare rosolore il tutto e aggiungere la scatola di pomodori San Marzano. Lasciare cuocere a fuoco lento per circa 30 minuti.

tips:

Never cut the garlic in little pieces but smack it

l'aglio non si taglia ma si schiaccia

After you have saute it put it away and use the oil to saute the onions

Dopo averlo fritto si toglie e si usa l'olio per friggere la cipolla

METTERE LE MANI IN PASTA

METTERE LE MANI IN PASTA

In Italian “Mettere le mani in pasta “ is an expression that means to get involve in something, but in reality it means that you put your hands in the dough. Oh, how much my sisters and I loved spends Sunday mornings at my grandma’s house and gets dirty making the dough. We made our famous tagliatelle al ragu di carne with homemade pasta and then spent the rest of the morning preparing it all into a Sunday supper. My goal on Tuesday night at my Italian cooking class is to re-create the same ambience and learn how to make dough without recipe book. We don’t have to be intimated by rolling dough and stirring a ragu’. La chiave, e’ smplice, the key is simplicity: the impeccable ingredients: flour, water and, eggs. Then mettiamo le mani in pasta.

Ingredients

1 lb “O” flour, home made pasta is traditionally made with fine Type “O” pasta flour in Italy. This light white flour is high in protein and can also be used for pizza and bread making.

Pinch of salt, 1 cup of cold water 1 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil 1 egg

1 Libra di farina tipo “0”, un pizzico di sale, 1 tazza di acqua fredda , 1 cucchiaio di olio extra-vergine di oliva , 1 uovo.

Recipe

Sit the flour and salt onto a wood cutting board. Shape into a mound and make a well in the center. Carefully pour the egg, water and oil into the well. Stir with the fork to incorporate the flour, a little at a time, into the water and oil until you have dough. Knead the dough pressing down on it with your palms until it is very firm. Cut the rolled-out pasta pasta sfoglia into narrow strips.

Mettere la farina e in sale nel centro su una tavoletta di legno. Ammucchiatela per poi aggiungere l’uovo nel centro. Iniziare ad aggiungere l’acuqua fino a creare la pasta per poi massaggiarla con le palme delle mani fino a che diventa una palla manleabile. Stenderla sulla tavoletta di legno con il mattarello per poi tagliare la sfoglia di pasta a striscioline possibilmente uguali

Modi di dire

L’acqua quardata non bolle mai

Don’t look at the simmer water, it will never boil.

Atlas pasta machine by Marcato $75 www.surlatable.com

Do follow up a dream (Seguire un desiderio )

In Italy we have an expression: Segui il tuo sogno nel cassetto (follow your dream inside the drawer). It means follow your dream. Il mio sogno nel cassetto it was created as a space to share my passion for cooking, eating, and speaking the language of love.
My outrageous goal is to be able to pass on to you the kind of conversation that would come up over a dinner party in Italy and love the way it makes you feel.
Feeel comfort to say simple expression such "Un amaro per favore" or referring our next appointment as "Alla prossima ragazzi" .
Mirco can't wait to show you not only how to make fresh Tagliatelle all uovo but also how to color them red, green or black and of course much more....
I would like to start Italian cooking class with fun e divertimento as my intention. The time we will spend together, you will feel like you have ran off to Italy. See you all in my class.

Il bel far Niente (The beauty of doing nothing)

August is over and with it " Il bel far niente " The beauty of doing nothing goes away with it, at least for Italians. August is the month of vacation. During my bel far niente I got the time to go to see Eat Pray Love. Even though I enjoyed the book more than the movie I was still very happy to se my hometown, Rome. The great fountains, the beautiful people, and the amazing food. Elizabeth Gilbert wants to learn not the language but how the Italians speak, how they enjoy life and food.
" The first meal I ate in Rome was Spaghetti alla Carbonara.. after I tried the veal." She did not mention which veal but I am pretty sure that it was Saltimbocca alla Romana. She ended with Tiramisu for desset. It sounded so delicious and I am very proud that everything she ate while she was in Rome is in our menu. As an Italian I can easily relate to Elizabeth Gilbert in her food/cultural journey, and as a restaurateur I have been dreaming about creating a class where the combination of fabulous elements of Italian cuisine is connected with Italian language. www.chiccanyc.com is the website for the Italian cooking classes.
From the menu of Chicca I introduce to you the Spaghetti alla carbonara:

Ingredients Ingredienti
1 pound spaghetti 1 pound di Spaghetti
2 Tbs butter 2 cucchiai di burro
3 Tbs extra-vergin oil 3 cucchiai di olio extra vergine
4 ounces di pancetta 4 once di pancetta
1/3 cup dry white wine 1/3 bicchiere di vino bianco secco
2 eggs 2 uova
4 Tbs pecorino cheese, freshly grated 4 cucchiai di pecorino grattugiato fresco
1 Tbs of flat-leaf parsley 1 cucchiaio prezzemolo tagliato
1/4 cup onion finely diced 1/4 di cipolla tagliata a pezzettini
Salt Sale
Ground black pepper Pepe nero machinato

Direction Procedimento

Bring 4 quart to boil in a large pot. Portare ad ebolizione una pentola piena di
add the salt acqua e aggiungere un pugno di sale grosso.
Put the butter and olive oil in a
skillet over a medium heat Mettere in una padella olio e burro a fuoco
medio.
When the butter is melted add the Quando il burro si e' sciolto aggiungere la
and onion and pancetta. la pancietta e la cipolla.
Cook the onion and pancietta is Fate rosolare la pancetta e la cipolla.
browned.
Add the wine until it has reduced Aggiungere il vino fino che si reduce della
by half and remove from the heat. meta e poi spegnete il fuoco.
When the water is boiling add the Quando l'acqua e' in ebolizione buttere la
pasta and let them cook for about pasta e fatela cucinare per circa 7 minuti.
7 minutes.
In a mixing bowl beat the eggs with In un recipiente sbattere le uova con il
cheese parsley, a pinch of salt and pecorino, prezzemolo e pepe.
black pepper.
When the pasta is cooked return the Scolare la pasta al dente e versatela sulla
skillet with the pancetta and onion padella dove avete soffritto la pancetta e
to a high heat. Drain the pasta on la cipolla e accendere il fuoco.
it, and add the bowl with the eggs Versate il recipiente con le ouva e il peco-
and cheese mixture. rino nella padella e amalgamate il tutto
Toss well, until the pasta is coated da formare una salsa cremosa e filante.
with the egg and cheese.
Serve immediately. Servite la pasta al momento.

Carbonara prende il nome da Carbone per il colore nero del pepe.
Carbonare get the name from Carbone (coal )The color of Black pepper.

The Italian Coffee Cultural Phenomenon

Un buon cafe is what I desiderata the most when I wake up in the morning. When I was in Italy I was woken up by good aroma of a coffee. And now it is printed in my memory. I loved the dark reddish-brown foam called crema or schiuma . The coffee made at home by Moka doesn't come out with that crema. Still there is a way to make it. Espresso coffee is a religion to Italians and they certainly know the difference between a good espresso and a not -so-good one. The flavor of stove top espresso coffee depends greatly on brand. Now in all United States you can easily find Lavazza or Illi brand . Lavazza is less expensive than Illi. Lavazza (250 gr.) costs $5.99 and Illi $13. If you decide for Lavazza the best choice is the black line made for espresso.
In any Italian home there is a moka pot better known as a macchinetta del cafe'. Bialetti made the first one. With moka machine it is easy to make a good Italian coffee.
Instruction/istruzioni per l'uso
1) Fill the boiler with water almost up to the safety release valve
2) Insert the funnel-shape metal filter and fill it up with coffee
3) Screwed the upper part on the base
4) Place the moka over medium heat
5) When the coffee is ready the Moka makes a characteristic gurgling noise
6) When the upper chamber has been filled removed it from the stove.
7) Espresso is ready and you can smell the aroma

Homemade reddish-brown foam
a) Prepare in advance a cup with sugar (8 coffee spoon )
b) Add the first few drop of coffee that come up from the funnel
c) Beat it until the cream become fluffy and soft
d) Put one coffee spoon of cream inside the tazzine da cafe and add the coffee
If we add at the espresso hot milk with foam we make a Cappuccino.

Curiosity/Curiosita'
Cappuccino is named after the Roman order of monks, the Capuchin, who wore a hood or Cappuccio. The color of the hood is a yellowish brown.

Different kind of espresso
Macchiato : A single shot of espresso with heated milk added
Affogato: A single shot of hot espresso with few drops of Sambuca
Doppio: A double shot of espresso

Detti Italiani/Italian expressions:
Il cafe' va bevuto caldo The coffee has to drink boiling
When you be helped by a friend usually you say:
Hai il cafe' pagato You have a prepaid coffee
Cafe sospeso Coffee in pending it means it is already paid

It is very common if you run into an Italian friend he will invite you to get a coffee at the bar
Ma dai prendiamoci un cafe insieme

Ricetta del giorno
Crema di zabaione al cafe' (for 2 people)
Zabaglione cream with coffee is a simple Italian dessert made of egg yolks, sugar, and coffee
2 Tuorli d'uovo 2 egg yolk
2 cucchiai di zucchero 2 table spoons of sugar
1 tazzina piena di cafe caldo 1 small cup of hot coffee

Beat the egg yolk and sugar with a wire whisk
Add the coffee without stopping to mix the batch
Set the sauce pan on the top of a double boiler
Beat the sauce for about 10 minutes
The zabaione is ready when the cream has doubled in volume and it is fluffy and soft.
P.S.
Un buon giorno si vede dal cafe'
Antonia

a nice place to share my passion

Dear friends,
this is my first time that I write and create a blog and I asked to myself why? I don't have already a lot of nightmares to take care during the day? But still I am here in front of my computer and try to write something.... original (maybe ) funny ....(difficult) real... (yes)
I like to create a nice blog where I can meet people who share my passion for:
Cooking, eat and Italian culture.
Antonia
P.S. (I am Italian so sorry for my English mistakes.)