Food!

August 23, 2008

Today was very fun! After being “recognized” by the police, in which I had to wake up early, only to show my passport to some woman who just checked off my name after looking at my passport, I went shopping!! We strolled around the Piazza dei Republica , went to the Post Office, browsed through the market ( one of the many) and bought a few things here and there. The market is so full of life and interesting things. It is like a visit to the United Nations! There are immigrants from all over selling things, tourists from everywhere and of course the occasional American. It is full of color and conversation and bargaining, it is almost overwhelming. It smells like leather because of the many, many leather stands, and there are beautiful glass sculptures, jewelry, and trinkets. I bought a couple of things there and we continued to look around the Piazza in various other stores. After shopping we had a class with Professor Marijke ( who is Belgian) about how to cook a simple Italian meal.

Marijke has been in Italy for 17 years. Although she seems very nice, she is not very friendly. I smiled at her one day and she did not smile back, and me being American, assumed she was mean, but I am being open minded about my Italian experience, so I will reserve my judgment. Anyways, she brought with her, a few basic ingredients for the typical Italian meal: tomatoes, garlic, sea salt, pasta, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, basil, parsley and parmesan ( a big fresh chunk). Now, of course all of these items are bought at the market and are basically fresh daily so they are especially delicious. I found this session to be particularly interesting and useful and wanted to pass it on to my American friends and family!

First, you must decide what type of pasta you want. Pasta cotta (cut pasta) is small , like bowties, macaroni, penne, etc…pasta lunghi (long pasta) is long pasta such as spaghetti, fettucini, spaghetini, etc… When choosing pasta one must keep in mind a few things:

1. What kind of sauce?

-If it is a thick and creamy/chunky sauce (ie very hearty, good for wintertime) one would choose a pasta cotta. This is a good choice because there are nooks and crannies for the sauce to get into and it becomes a very hearty and comforting meal.

-If it is a light sauce (olive oil and parmesan, good for warmer weather) one would choose pasta lunghi because it doesn’t absorb the sauce as much and is only lightly coated.

2. Always look for grano duro or durable grain, usually a more expensive type pasta only because better grains are used.

Next we want to decide on the sauce, below are several recipes that Marijke gave us:

1. Spicy pasta:

Pasta lunghi

Olive oil

Minced garlic

Peppercini ( ie red pepper flakes)

Fresh parmesan cheese

Boil pasta to al dente and then toss in remaining ingredients. Very light and delicious meal. A little spicy.

2. Light, buttery pasta:

Pasta lunghi

Butter

Freshly chopped parsley

Fresh parmesan cheese

Boil pasta to al dente and then melt butter in a sauté pan. Toss ingredients. Very light

3. Cheesy, Broccoli Pasta:

Gorgonzola

Broccoli

Milk or Cream

Pasta cotta

Boil past to al dente. Crumble the gorgonzola into saucepan and melt. Mix with milk or cream until creamy. Cook broccoli and put into food processor to puree (maybe not puree all the way, but chop thoroughly.). Mix broccoli puree with cheese mixture and toss with pasta. Great for colder months.

Cooking with Tomatoes:

When choosing a tomato for a sauce, always choose tomatoes that are deep red in color. They are called San Marrano or Pomodore tomatoes here, not sure if they are the same in the US.

When you start your sauce, either squeeze the tomatoes to remove the water from the meat or chop into very small pieces and drain. Either way, chop into small pieces and add a dash of salt. From there you can simply add pasta and olive oil and that is the ffirst tomato recipe!

2. Basic Sauce:

Tomatoes

Clove of Garlic

1 tbspn olive oil per person being served

pasta lunghi

Fresh parmesan

Salt

Any fresh herb: basil, parsley, etc…

Boil pasta, set aside. Cut tomatoes into small pieces, mince garlic and put garlic into sauce pan. Add olive oil . Sautee a little but never brown the garlic! Add tomatoes and add salt to taste. Remove from heat and add herbs. Toss pasta with sauce and top with parmesan

3. Pasta alla ponarolla:

Celery

Red onion

Carrot

Tomatoes

Pasta lunghi

Boil Pasta and set aside. Chop onion first, celery second and then the carrot. Keep separate. Add olive oil to sauce pan, again 1 tbspn per person and sautee onions until they are transparent. Add celery and carrot and sautee for 1-2 more minutes. Add tomatoes and sautee until mixed. Puree mixture and toss with pasta

4. Tuna with fresh tomatoes:

Olive Oil

Garlic

Tuna (if in can, DRAIN OIL)

Tomatoes

Pepper flakes if desired

Boil pasta, set aside. Add olive oil and garlic (and pepper flakes) to sauce pan. Sautee. Add tomatoes (squeezed and chopped). Cook for 10 mnutes. Remove from heat and add tuna. Toss with pasta. No cheese on this dish, because they do not mix cheese and fish in Italy.

5. Saltimbocca Roma:

Strips of veal

Ham

Sage leaves

Flour

White wine

Take strips of veal and place ham and sage leaf on them. Roll the veal and fix with toothpick. Olive oil in sautee pan. Place veal in pan until crusty. Add flour and white wine to remaining juices and cover veal with mixture and serve.

These are just a few of the recipes that I am sure she knows. I think h tey all sound so good and I cannot wait to make them all. I hope you try them as well!! She also gave us several tips when shopping for ingredients:

-Olive oil, the greener the better. It also gets a bit spicier with age. A very good bottle could run up to $75, but as long as its Extra Virgin, it is good.

-When using parmesan cheese, don’t buy any that has already been grated. Buy a block of it, shred when needed and wrap it in a tea towel and store in fridge. It should not be stored in the coldest part and if a little bit of mold grows,scrape it off this is a normal process of the cheese.

-When cooking garlic, never brown it. It should just change color slightly and then it is done.

-You will know when the pasta is done by looking at it or tasting it. It should be al dente , which will be slightly crispier than Americans normally cook (or overcook) their pasta. If you bite into it, it should be soft but the middle should have a little dot in it. The color will go from a yellowish color, to a pale color.

Well, these are all of the cooking tips I learned, I will write again later!

Ciao

~K