Category: Italian Regional

LA VIGILIA (Christmas Eve revisited)

I prefer the Christmas celebration to be on Christmas Eve, it is called La Vigilia (the Vigil) in Italian.

In Sicily, as in many parts of Italy, the Christmas Eve celebration is deeply rooted in Catholicism and tradition, of fasting and abstaining from meat. One of the most cherished customs is sharing a festive meal with family and friends on La Vigilia. This meal features fish, and/ or vegetarian content.

IMG_3148

I originally wrote this post on December 20, 2012, to share the types of Sicilian fish dishes I might cook here in Australia on Christmas Eve (or during the festive period).

The traditions and recipes are just as relevant today and I still cook them, so I’m bringing it back to the spotlight for another festive season!

CHRISTMAS RECIPES with a Sicilian theme and “Feast of the Seven Fishes.”

The photos below are from Fish Markets in Sicily – Catania, Syracuse and Palermo.  Three of these photos were included in my book, Sicilian Seafood Cooking (Published 2011).

Below are some excellent photographs of the food I cooked in my very small kitchen. The credit goes to the New Holland photographer, Graeme Gillies, and the food stylist Fiona Rigg – their team work and attention to detail is obvious when you look at the photos of the food.

The link below includes many Sicilian recipes of fish. See recipes for:

TONNO CUNZATO – Raw Marinated Tuna

RAVIOLI DI RICOTTA CU NIURU DI SICCI – Ricotta Ravioli With Black Ink Sauce

RISO CON GLI ANGELI – Rice with angels

SPAGHETTI CON L ’ARAGOSTA – Spaghetti with crayfish

CALAMARETTI RIPIENI CON MARSALA E MANDORLE – Stuffed calamari with fresh cheese, almonds and nutmeg braised in marsala

PESCE INFORNATO CON PATATE – Baked fish with potatoes, vinegar and anchovies

A SEAFOOD CHRISTMAS Feast with Fran Kelly; RADIO NATIONAL BREAKFAST PROGRAMME

 

UNVEILING KOHLRABI, a BRASSICA

Kohlrabi is a odd looking vegetable that has remained relatively unknown. It belongs to the Brassica family, which includes more favoured vegetables like broccoli, kale, and cabbage. It has a round, bulbous shape that can be green, purple, or white, and grows above ground on a thick stem; it has an unconventional appearance that seems to deter home cooks.

Kohlrabi has a mild, slightly sweet taste and a crisp texture similar to a turnip or radish. It tastes like a cross between cabbage (sweetness, and maybe just a little bit of sharp heat) and a mild radish (spicy, peppery, like mustard and horseradish).

The bulb of kohlrabi can be eaten raw and cooked, is low in calories packed with vitamins and antioxidants. The leaves can be cooked, the young leaves can be added to salads.

But despite its nutritional pedigree and potential appeal, kohlrabi an underappreciated vegetable in many kitchens.

I was recently asked to write about kohlrabi by Lindsay Marie Morris, a novelist and journalist based in Los Angeles, California. Her work spans multiple topics and she has a strong passion for Sicilian culture and cuisine.

Lindsay Marie Morris found kohlrabi recipes on my blog.

In Ragusa (south eastern Sicily) is where my father’s family lives and  they cook the bulb and leaves with homemade pasta called Causunedda. The  water that the vegetables are cooked in (broth) is enriched with fresh pork rind and the pasta is also cooked in the broth. It may not sound appealing, but this wet pasta dish is very  unique and steeped in family tradition.

The Ragusani are known for their straightforward, flavourful dishes that focus on local produce, rich meats—especially pork—and seasonal vegetables. This emphasis on simplicity has profoundly shaped my understanding of cooking, showing me that the best meals often come from the freshest ingredients and strong traditions.

Below, photo of the homemade Causunedda as made by one of the elderly aunt and helped by the family. Unfortunately she is deceased and probably the younger faily members no longer make them.

My cousin in Ragusa mixing the Causanedda. It is usually a family affair.

In Augusta (just south of Catania), a cousin from my mother’s side of the family treats its bulb and leaves as many Italians treat green, leafy vegetables. The vegetables are cooked – boiled, then drained and sautéed in extra virgin olive oil, garlic and anchovies. Chillies are optional, but adding chillies in Sicily is very common. The sautéd vegetables are then used to dress. and like when cooking pasta with broccoli, the pasta is cooked in the flavoured water that has been used to cook the broccoli.

The recipes about kohlrabi on my blog:

KOHLRABI with pasta (Causunnedda)

KOHLRABI, as eaten in Sicily

A WET PASTA DISH WITH KOHLRABI

This is a very special post of the pasta making in Ragusa:

GNUCCHITEDDI (Making small gnocchi shapes using my great grandmother’s device)

Lindsay Marie Morris

My interview as published on Lindsay Marie Morris’s blog:

https://www.lindsaymariemorris.com/blog/posts/45183

Follow Lindsay Marie Morris’s author journey and explore her writing about Sicilian culture at lindsaymorris.com/blog.

A very early photograth of me holding bunches of Kohlrabi in Ragusa. You can see how the size of the bulbs are smaller and there are many more leaves than the ones I see and buy in Australia and have seen in other  European countries and in Vietnam.

IL FRUTTIVENDOLO

I am writing a tribute to Gus and Carmel, owners of IL Fruttivendolo.

In 2009, I first wrote a post about Gus and Carmel Bressi’s enthralling seasonal, heirloom produce at the Queen Victoria Market on my blog, Sicilian Seafood Cooking. But my shopping at their vibrant stall began long before that.

When I moved from Adelaide to Melbourne in early 2002, I stumbled upon a hidden gem nestled in the QVM— a fruit and vegetable stall that felt like my own slice of Italy. I live just a stone’s throw away from the market and I found a profusion of seasonal delights that was reminiscent of my Italian background.

Gus and Carmel’s stall became my one destination for all things fresh. Here, I found a bounty of ingredients that were nearly impossible to find elsewhere in the QVM: the first cime di rapa, artichokes and cardoons (Carmel holding a cardoon).

Carmel was certainly very original and inspiring when displaying vegetables. Those brussels came from her.

Their shelves overflowed with fragrant herbs, crunchy fennel (both bulb and bunch), kohlrabi, and wild greens like nettles, milk thistle and amaranth that added adventurous variations to my cooking.

Endives, frisée and chicory were alongside bunches of puntarelle and senape – and I question if any shopper had seen this leafy green vegetable before (Senape is the middle photo).

There was an array of cauliflowers in every imaginable shape and colour and for many, much of the produce was uncommon. Above – Gus being enchanting to Mary Taylor Simeti who was visiting Melbourne from Sicily at the time. Although I had told him about her, when I introduced him to her, I dont think he realized just how much she knew!!! Mary is the queen of Sicilian Food writing. (Pomp and Sustanance, Bitter Almonds, Sicilian Summer – Cooking with my grandsons).

I marvelled at their diverse colours of eggplants, pink, white, violet and even striped eggplants, varieties that I had not seen since Sicily, crisp witlof of two different colours, and types of radicchio that I had not encountered since Trieste and Venice where radicchio reigns supreme (In the regions Friuli Venezia Giulia and the Veneto).

Fresh borlotti beans, broad beans, and the asparagus in colours and thicknesses, the thick white variety that was everywhere in Paris in Spring. The purple variety surprised me because it lost its colour when cooked.

And who could forget the first heirloom tomatoes, strikingly different carrots, and the sweetness of fresh figs and prickly pears?

While you might spot a few of these treasures at other stalls, Gus and Carmel were the true pioneers. Their passion for produce was profound, and they were more than happy to share tips on how to prepare even the most unfamiliar vegetables, turning every shopping trip into a culinary lesson. They were innovators, always one step ahead, knowing exactly what was in  and who to source it from. Others, like John from Tomato City specialises in tomatoes, he does have eggplants, radicchio and artichokes, as Italian stallholders generally do, but Il Fruttivendolo specialised in the uncommon, a great range of varieties of the same vegetables, those not usually seen in other greengrocers.

Below, broadbeans. notice how relatively small they are. theis is how they should be sold, not like the briadbeans that are generally found in other places that are picked far too mature.

Their stall was filled with vibrant colour and fragrances and each vegetable, fruit and herb was meticulously labelled and beautifully arranged in baskets and boxes.

It was no wonder that their display often attracted the attention of photographers and TV crews, even if their contributions went unrecognized.

Gus and Carmel were initially located in B Shed, Stall 61-65, their space later transformed into the beloved Il Fruttivendolo—a name that elegantly summarises their dual role as sellers of both fruit and vegetables.

 Il = the, frutti = fruit + vendolo = seller = fruitseller.

Just as greengrocers also sell fruit, fruit sellers also sell vegetables.

When the Queen Victoria Market underwent its redevelopment, they were relocated to a couple of temporary stalls before being housed in A Shed, where they continued to enthral customers.

Sadly, when I returned from a three-month trip away and I found that Il Fruttivendolo was no longer there. The operation of the stall came to an abrupt end early one morning when Carmel, alone and carefully organizing her produce, was threatened by an assailant at knife point. Fortunately, another stallholder intervened, chasing the assailant away. But the incident left its mark, prompting Gus and Carmel to accelerate their timing to retire.

Gus and Carmel Bressi were not just suppliers of fruits and vegetables; they were large contributors to the vibrancy of the Queen Victoria Market. Their absence is felt deeply by their customers and the other stall holders, especially those who just like Carmel and Gus have been there for a very long time.

They are remembered for their legacy, the flavours they brought to many kitchens, and their dedication and commitment to source quality produce.

There are many vegetable recipies in this blog – All Things Sicilian amd more.

Here are a few recipes, but if you use the search botton you will be able to find many more.

SENAPE, a new type of mustard green vegetable

CIME DI RAPE (A winter green)

ASPARAGUS and ARTICHOKES

NETTLES (Ortiche), Culinary uses and gnocchi

PASTA RIMESTATA COI CAVOFIORI; Pasta with cauliflower, sultanas, pine nuts and anchovies

FENNEL; male and female shapes

STUFFED BAKED FENNEL WITH PANGRATTATO; FINOCCHI RIPIENI

Melbourne; August: Winter Artichokes in risotto and stuffed

CAPONATA FROM PALERMO (made with eggplants)

SICILIAN CAPONATA DI MELANZANE as made in Palermo (Eggplant caponata and Eggplant caponata with chocolate)

MARY TAYLOR SIMETI and her new book:SICILIAN SUMMER An adventure in cooking with my grandsons

CARDOONS, What are they? (Cardoni or Cardi in Italian)

PASTA CON FINOCCHIO (Pasta and fennel; preferably wild). This is a recipe Gus gave me.

Below, a tribute from The Friends Of The Queen Victoria Market.

.

 

NORTHERN ITALY, rye and buckwheat pasta and PIZZOCCHERI, REVISITED

I first wrote this post many years ago. It has a recipe for making buckwheat and rye pasta. Buckwheat spiralli are commercially available and are obviously a very easy choice. The post also contains information about some of the mountainous regions of northern Italy.
Potatoes cabbage and buckwheat pasta when cooked by themselves are not particularly flavourful. The distinctive flavour of this dish is enhanced by butter, garlic and sage and the alpine cheeses that the region is renowned for producing such as Bitto and Valtellina Casera (DOP cheeses – Protected Designation of Origin). Alternatively use Fontina or Gruyère, Emmental, Edam, or Gouda.
### Tap the link above for recipe
 

CIME DI RAPA and pasta

This is the season for Cime di rapa and I can’t get enough of them.

Unfortunately this green leafy vegetable that is in season now (winter) can be hard to find, even at the Queen Victoria Market (Melbourne). Gus and Carmel who have a stall at the QVM called Il Fruttivendelo (Frutti+ vendelo= fruit+ seller) have bunches of Cime di rapa. A fruttivendolo doesn’t only sell fruit, and as this well stocked stall attests, they have a wide range of seasonal fruit and vegetables; some that you will have trouble to find anywhere else, for example, I buy prickly pears, chicory, endives and much more.

The only other person who sometimes has Cime di rapa is John from Tomato City.

And by the way, another vegetable that is difficult to source is artichoke and both of these stalls sell them, in season of course.

I have seen bunches of Cime di rapa in greengrocers in the suburbs, at least those that have Italian proprietors. You won’t have any trouble finding them in Adelaide as most greengrocers are owned by Italians.

Italians mostly refer to them as Cime (tops or tips). A rapa is a turnip, Cime di rapa are turnip tips or tops, perhaps they are called this because this green leafy vegetable is a mustard tasting green, like turnips. As you see they look a bit like broccoli and they have a yellow flower.

As for my recent jaunt to the Dandenong Market, while Cime may have eluded me, the diversity of fresh produce on display was nothing short of mesmerizing The quality was superb, and the prices were amazingly cheap. Not surprisingly, there were very good looking, high quality, fresh zucchini, eggplants and okra at all the stalls.

Amidst the chatter of countless languages, the market’s vibrancy was enormous. I say not surprisingly, as the produce vendors and shoppers reflected the rich tapestry of cultures that live in Dandenong.

The City of Greater Dandenong is the most culturally diverse community in Australia, with residents from 157 birth places and 64 per cent of its population born overseas.

Among the more than 130 different languages spoken are Vietnamese, Khmer, Chinese, Greek, Albanian, a large Indian population especially Punjabi, Pakistani, Afghan, Sri Lankan and Sinhalese.

When it comes to sourcing ingredients, I’m no stranger to the busy streets of Melbourne’s CBD and I have no problems finding Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese and Chinese ingredients, but I go to Dandenong mainly for the array of Indian hard to source treasures. That recent excursion yielded spices, dhal, and pickles;each ingredient an undertaking of culinary endeavours to come.

I was really keen to cook Cime that night and came home via a greengrocer that would have them, and they did.

Cime di rapa

Most cooks who are familiar with this green leafy vegetable are also familiar with the most popular and common ways of cooking them to dress short pasta, especially orecchiette – (little ears shaped pasta, photo above). The greens are usually softened/cooked first and then tossed in extra virgin olive oil, garlic and chilli. It is a Southern Italian dish (made popular in Puglia, Bari is the capital city). Cows are widespread in the North, sheep in the South and therefore it is fitting that the grated cheese to top the pasta is Pecorino, made from sheep’s milk. Parmigiano is made from cow’s milk, leave that for Northern pasta dishes.

My relatives in Sicily (and most likely in other Italian regions) boil the greens in quite a bit of salted water and once the greens are drained they reserve the water to cook the pasta.

The drained greens are sautéed in extra virgin olive oil, chilli and garlic. The vegetable water flavours the pasta and sometimes tinges that pasta green. It is a nice touch, but I prefer to sauté the cleaned greens without cooking them first. I like to concentrate the flavour of the vegetables and keep a little bit of crunch – not Italian at all.

Most of the time I add anchovies to the hot oil before adding the chilli and garlic. The anchovies dissolve easily in the hot oil before I add and sauté the chilli and garlic, and finally. Omit the salt if you are adding anchovies.

Cime cooked the same way are great as a side vegetable, so forget the cavolo nero, silverbeet, kale and spinach, try Cime instead.

There are other ways to cook Cime as an accompaniment to pasta. Popular is the addition of good pork and fennel Italian sausages, but most of the time I like to cook the Cime (with or without the pork sausages) with pulses – particularly chickpeas, cannellini or borlotti beans. With the pork sausages I tend to favour borlotti, they taste more meaty.

Sometimes I use feta instead of grated cheese. It is much creamier and definitely not Italian. One of the highlights of residing in a multicultural country is that one can mix and match without having a Italian looking over your shoulder.

I keep the feta in extra virgin olive oil and herbs in my fridge. Use tough herbs like Bay leaves and Thyme. Dried Oregano, fennel seeds, peppercorn or chilli flakes ate good but not soft herbs or fresh garlic… these oxidise and  rot.

Red tomatoes are also a good addition. In winter tomatoes are out of season, so if you are not able to use fresh tomatoes one tin is sufficient – toss chopped tomatoes and their juice in a saucepan, add a glug of extra virgin olive oil, 1-2 garlic cloves some fresh basil (seems to be for sale all year round) or some oregano (fresh or dried), a little salt and reduce it as you would to make a tomato salsa to dress pasta. Add the tomato salsa to the sautéed Cime cooked with or without anchovy. If you are using pomodorini as I am in the photos below , you may prefer to just sauté the tomatoes. I rather like the explosion of flavour that pomodorini provide.

Leave the above sauce as it is or add a cup or so of chickpeas, cannellini or borlotti.

 

There is very little waste (if any) because the larger stems that can be tough can be stripped of their outer peel.

Whether served as a comforting pasta dish or as a humble side, Cime di rapa with their depth of flavour do it for me every time.

Other information and recipes about Cime di Rapa (also referred to in the plural as Cime di rape).

CIME DI RAPE (or Rapa) with pasta, anchovies and lemon peel

ONE OF MY FAVOURITE VEGETABLES Cime di Rape

PASTA with ‘NDUJA, CIME DI RAPA and PORK SAUSAGES

EDIBLE WEEDS: Orecchiette e Broccoletti Selvatici (and cime di rape)

CIME DI RAPE (A winter green)

DELVING INTO EGG PASTA

The diversity of Italian regional cuisine, continues to inspire me and in this post I am unraveling some of the intricacies of Italian egg pasta, from tagliatelle to tortelli.

I really like the texture and taste of pasta made with eggs; the number of eggs in the dough can significantly influence the texture, with a higher egg count often resulting in a firmer bite.

When we think of egg pasta, what may immediately come to mind are the classics: tagliatelle, pappardelle, fettucine, and lasagne. These are all variations on the theme of ribbons or squares or rectangular sheets of pasta, each with its own story and preferred accompaniments.

 

Pappardelle, slightly broader than tagliatelle, and are widely used in Tuscan kitchens. They’re frequently paired with strong meaty sauces – usually tomatoes and herbs slow cooked with beef, pork or lamb. Celebrated across the region of Tuscany is the classic dish of pappardelle with cinghiale (wild boar) and in season, pappardelle with porcini mushrooms.

Fettucine are more narrow than tagliatelle. Both tagliatelle and fettucine are usually sold as nidi (nests). These delicate ribbons are more fragile than their broader counterparts and the strands are coiled in the shape of small nests and nestled snugly in their packaging.

Tagliatelle are from the cuisines of somewhere from Bologna or Modena (Emilia Romagna), or in the Marche region. The dough is generally made with less eggs. Ragú alla Bolognese is the renowned dressing for tagliatelle but once again traditionally there were meat based sauces but this is now changing.

Small shapes or thin strips of egg pasta are also excellent in broth – take the very fine egg noodles called fillini (fili means threads) and tagliolini are fine strips of pasta (or tajerin in Piedmontese). Quadretti/quadrini are little squares and this shape is popular all over Italy. It is usually made with the bits of fresh pasta that are left over from making pasta ribbons and lasagna rectangles. Oddly cut pasta is also popular.

Cannelloni, like lasagne, are made with rectangular shaped cuts of pasta, with the pasta folded over the filling.

But egg pasta isn’t only cut into ribbons and sheets; it’s also about the crafting of the varieties of pasta ripiena (filled/stuffed pasta) usually filled with a combination of meat, cheese and/or vegetables. Each variety, with its distinct shape, character and sauce, tells a story of the region where it is made.

There are many shapes of filled pasta mainly from the regions of Emilia Romagna, Lombardy, Liguria and Piedmont. The most widely known type of filled pasta are the ravioli, mainly from Liguria. Ravioli come in various sizes and are made with various fillings and are common all over Italy.

Depending on how familiar you are with eating in various parts of Italy or eateries in your home country that have regional Italian, stuffed pasta specialties, you may be familiar with tortellini, tortelli, (larger version), cappelletti cappellacci (larger version) anolini/agnolini and agnolotti (larger version).

And as you would expect, there are regional variations in the shapes, size and fillings.  For example, the classic filling for tortelli in Parma and Piacenza (Emiglia Romagna) includes ricotta and herbs, but you can also find them filled with meat. In Mantua (Lombardy) it is pumpkin, with amaretti and mustard. Most of these tortelli are the usually formed by cutting a circle of pasta,  placing the stuffing on one side and folding the other half of pasta over the stuffing. I call this moon shaped. But in Maremma (Tuscany) the tortello is square shaped and larger than ravioli, and stuffed with ricotta, spinach, nutmeg and cheese. In Mugello and Casentino (Tuscany) the usual filling is potato, parmesan and nutmeg and is dressed with a strong meat sauce.

In the very norther region of Val D’Aosta the tortelli are square or rectangular and stuffed with spinach or minced veal, but in the Marche region the filling is a combination of mountain herbs.

The one tortello that sticks in my mind is the very unusual Cremasco tortello:(Republic of Venice) filled with amaretti (almond biscuits) and mostaccini (spiced biscuits) egg yolk, raisins, candied fruit and grated cheese. This makes so much sense to me because Venezia was the centre of the spice trade. These Venetian tortelli are dressed with brown butter and sage dressing.

In South Tyrol, schlutzkrapfen are traditionally made with a mix of barley or rye flour and stuffed with a mixture of spinach and ricotta or with turnips and potatoes, depending on availability. Sometimes smoked pork is added.  It is not a big surprise that the region has an Austrian culinary influence.

Although most of these stuffed pasta types I have mentioned are found in Northern Italy, I will include the ricotta ravioli as made in the southern east corner of Sicily. My zia Niluzza who lived in Ragusa made the best traditional, large ravioli filled with ricotta and served with a strong tomato and a pork based sugo. The ravioli are also exquisite dressed with black ink sauce.

Culurgiones are from Sardinia and their filling consists of boiled potatoes, onions and mint, some also add pecorino others ricotta.

Except for the small tortellini that are cooked in broth (capon, beef, chicken), all of the filled pasta shapes are cooked like pasta in boiling water and dressed with various sauces typical of the region where they originate.

The possibilities for sauces are many, for example there are various combinations that could be based on cheese, cream, butter, ham/prosciutto,  peas, mushroom, brown sage butter, walnut or simple tomato/ tomato and meat sugo, including pork sausages.

There are stuffings made with fish, fish and vegetables: crab is popular. And of course there are light fish sauces to dress the fish stuffed pasta, these are usually butter and fish fumet based. Black ink sauce is marvellous.

And what is still interesting that in Italy, a local would respect and mostly protect the tradition, even though in recent years, there’s been a shift towards lighter vegetable-based sauces that are so popular now in modern cuisine.

One very simple sauce that is  very common in dressing egg pasta of all shapes and packages is the brown butter and sage sauce.

Some of you may know brown butter sauce as the traditional beurre noisette (hazelnut butter), a French sauce made simply by heating unsalted butter (salted butter tends to foam more and has more sediment).

Brown butter has a rich, nutty flavour and with the addition of fresh sage, it is used to dress egg pasta in northern Italy. It is a popular autumnal dressing that complements ingredients such as mushroom, pumpkin and potato.

Brownt butter and sage dressing for egg pasta (4 people):

50 g of butter

15-20 sage leaves

Melt the butter over low heat in a pan. Add the sage leaves letting them sizzle gently for a few minutes. Ensure to constantly stir the butter being careful not to burn it.  When you have done this, take the pan off the heat and transfer the butter to a separate bowl. This will ensure that it doesn’t burn due to residual heat.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain the pasta, empty the pot and put the pasta back inside. Remove some of the leaves from the butter (optional) before dressing the pasta.

Stir gently to coat the pasta. At this stage I also like to add black pepper.

Grated Parmesan is a must.

One of my aunts was Piedmontese and was an excellent cook. Her daughter (my cousin Rosadele) and my Sicilian uncle lived in Genova (Liguria). The two women were champions for making Piemontese and Ligurian specialties especially stuffed pasta – agnolotti in soft fresh cheese sauces and pansoti in walnut and marjoram pesto were two favourites.

My parents and I visited the relatives in Genova every year on our habitual yearly summer trip from Trieste to Sicily. We ate very well.

Having lived in Trieste and with relatives spanning from Piedmont to Sicily (Ragusa and Augusta, quite different cooking), I count myself lucky to have this culinary heritage that I enjoy exploring  .

PESTO DI NOCI (Walnut pesto/ sauce for pasta)

SWEET MARJORAM AND WALNUT PESTO

RICOTTA RAVIOLI and STONE GROUND FLOUR

TORTELLI DI ZUCCA (Large tortellini stuffed with pumpkin) Ristorante Cartoccia in Mantova

PAPPARDELLE (Pasta with Hare or game ragù)

PAPPARDELLE Continued…..

SQUID BLACK INK sauce: Montalbano’s pasta with black ink sauce

QUADRUCCI IN BRODO, Squares of home-made Pasta in Broth

TORTELLINI, how made in Bologna

EMIGLIA ROMAGNA and their love of stuffed pasta

MUSSELS IN TRIESTE and Mussel recipes

In the Italian language mussels are known as cozze. Those of you who have travelled to Italy or like Italian food would know that mussels are enjoyed in all regions of Italy.

Trieste, Ponte Rosso

In Trieste, mussels are called pedoci in the Triestino dialect.

The people in Trieste have a sense of humour, because pedoci (slang for the Italian word pedochi) in English are lice/parasites. The Venetians must have also shared the joke because in the Veneziano dialect they call them peoci.

As a child I was always amused by this term because parasites (head lice) were only found on those who did not bathe. Because they were contageous, all had to keep away.

In the 50 years before World War I, Trieste was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and because of’ its seaside the location it was the empire’s only international port. Following the 1954 London Memorandum, Trieste was appropriated by Italy and since 1963 it has been the capital of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

Mussels have been bred in the Gulf of Trieste for a very long time and were an offshoot enterprise from a successful and profitable international oyster trade. Some archaeological evidence shows that oyster farming and the exploitation of natural oyster beds were distinct features of the Roman era in various parts of the empire. Trieste was under Roman control from the 2nd century BC until the collapse of the empire.

The success of the modern oyster industry motivated the Austrian Marine Fishing and Fish Farming Society to develop new oyster cultivation systems. This indirectly increased the abundance of mussels and well before the end of the nineteen century, mussels achieved significant, economic importance.

The location of Trieste on the northern most shores of the Adriatic meant the city was always a rich mix of Mediterranean cultures along with peoples from Central Europe and the Balkans. This blend of cultures and cuisines influenced the culinary popularity of both oysters and mussels in Trieste.

Mussel farms are still abundant and popular in Trieste and in the nearby municipalities of Muggia and Duino-Aurisina. Muggia is the first town on the Istrian peninsula and the last coastal town before the border between Italy with Slovenia. Duino is a picturesque settlement on the steep Karst cliffs of the Gulf of Trieste and is famous for its castle.

I have been thinking about why the Triestini and Veneziani referred to mussels as lice/parasites. and thought that perhaps it was because early fishermen were successful in implementing the growth of mussels on poles in the seabed where oysters were bred. So, figurately, the mussels are like lice/parasites freeloading on the expanding oyster beds. The fact that mussels are also considered to be unattractive and to spread very easily, added to the impression of being like parasites.

In Trieste the most common way to cook mussels is to steam them with a little white wine and, as you would expect, parsley and garlic. What I find unusual and appetising in this regional recipe is the addition of fresh/day-old breadcrumbs to the juices to thicken the sauce. Trieste has a few old recipes that add breadcrumbs to soups as a thickening agent. I remember my mother making pappa di pane (bread soup) when my brother was a baby.

When you open mussel shells and look inside some will be orange or yellow. Orange is the female specimen, yellow is a male. Usually, the females are the tastiest mussels. It is true of fennel, too.

So why was I suddenly inspired to cook mussels?

I saw an article recently about the mussel industry in Victoria and I was excited by what I read. The mussels came from the Queen Victoria Market from Happy Tuna and are from Mount Martha.

The article was written by Benjamin Preiss and is from the May 4 issue of The Age Digital Edition.

Here are a few quotes from the article:

They sow crops over vast areas and harvest when the size and season is right. But these farmers work the sea, not the soil, feeding Australia’s growing appetite for fresh and locally grown mussels.

Thirty-five years ago this industry was tiny, with few Victorians interested in eating the shellfish. But now the industry is poised for further expansion. Some mussel farmers say they need more room to grow as the government prepares to release additional areas within existing aquaculture reserves.

Phil Lamb, managing director of the Victorian Shellfish Hatchery and partner of Sea Bounty mussel-growing company, said: ‘‘Portarlington mussels are renowned in Victoria. I’d like to see them gain a similar reputation internationally.

Lamb said the mussel sector had been increasing steadily for the past 20 years. ‘‘ It was a cottage industry, and it’s been slowly growing every year.’’ He said local mussels compared ‘‘ very favourably’ ’ to those regarded as the best internationally, including those grown in Spain and France.

Michael ‘‘Harry Mussel” Harris began working in the industry in 1993 and later started his own farming business in the water off Flinders on the Mornington Peninsula.

He described mussels as a superfood — healthy to eat and environmentally friendly to grow. ‘‘They’re the canaries of the sea,’’ he said. ‘‘If the waters aren’t good enough for the mussels and bivalves to grow, it’s not good enough to swim in either.’’

In total, there are more than 2480 hectares of area reserved for aquaculture in Victoria — most of that in Port Phillip Bay, although there are sites in Western Port and some on land.

Victorian Fisheries Authority aquaculture manager David Kramer confirmed 330 hectares of vacant water within aquaculture reserves would be released for tender in coming months.
Kramer said the authority expected the mussel industry to grow between 10 per cent and 20 per cent in coming years.
He said the government had committed to grow the industry. ‘‘We want to do everything we can to allow that industry to grow.’’

Melbourne University honorary fellow, John Ford, who specialises in sustainable seafood, said mussel farming required little physical infrastructure — all of which could be removed. ‘‘Mussel farming tends to be a win for pretty much everyone, the environment included,’’ he said.

Mussels in Trieste are cooked in simple home recipes. As a child I remember stalls that sold mussels and mussoli (other type of molluscs) on street corners, just like roasted chestnuts used to be sold.

I have several books on the cooking of Trieste and there are some small variations in the ingredients and cooking procedures, but all are cooked plain with garlic, parsley and breadcrumbs.

I like the use of bread to lightly thicken the juices. Some recipes omit the breadcrumbs and just mop up the juices with slices of bread, but I am in favour of this very ancient way to thicken liquids (rather than using flour). Some recipes do not add wine, but wine has always been popular in my cooking. I also found some recipes that suggest adding a tablespoon of tomato paste, but this does not resonate with my memories of eating mussels in Trieste. Also tomato was introduced much later in the cooking of Trieste as they were grown Southern Italy.

In some recipes the name of this dish is Pedoci a Scotadeo, (cozze alla scottadito), ie burn your finger… cooked quickly, eaten hot.

As I said, it is a very simple recipe. Adjust amounts of ingredients to your liking.

Ingredients for 4 people (two of us comfortably ate 1.5 kg)

 2 kg of mussels

4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, a couple of handfuls of parsley, 2 cloves of chopped garlic, black pepper, 75-100 ml of white wine

2 handfuls of grated bread – fresh or from the day before, no crusts, in fine/small pieces to give it a chance to break down

lemon wedges/juice (optional)

Remove the beards and wash mussels quickly.

In a large pan over medium heat, add about half of the extra virgin olive oil with the garlic. Stir it until it is slightly fragrant but be careful not to burn it. Add the wine and bread. Stir a couple of times to mix everything together, the wine will partly evaporate.

Add the parsley and black pepper, then the mussels .

Cover with the lid and bring to the boil. The mussels should open in about 5- 8 minutes. Don’t overcook them because no one likes rubbery mussels. Some mussels take longer to open. These are fresh healthy mussels, cook them until they too open.

Lift the mussels out and put them into a serving bowl. Check the sauce to see if the bread has broken down in the liquid. If you would prefer it to be more softened bring the liquid to the boil and stir it a little longer.

Pour the liquid over the mussels. Drizzle with the remaining extra virgin olive oil and toss well.

They need to be hot (remember? Pedoci a Scotadeo). Sprinkle a little lemon or some lemon cut into quarters.

You can see I like Mussels:

MUSSELS, three ways: in brodetto, with spaghetti and in a risotto with saffron

MUSSELS (Cozze) IN BRODETTO (Mussels in a little broth)

SPAGHETTINI E COZZE; Spaghettini with mussels

MUSSELS WITH CHICKPEAS

MUSSELS (Cozze) IN BRODETTO (Mussels in a little broth)

COZZE CON SAMBUCA (Mussels with Sambuca- anice flavoured liqueur)

COZZE (Mussels) GREEN LIPPED MUSSELS WITH TOMATO AND CANNELLINI BEANS

SAFFRON RISOTTO WITH MUSSELS (Risu cu Zaffaranu e Cozzuli is the Sicilian, Riso con Zafferano e Cozze is the Italian)

MUSSELS WITH FRENCH FLAVOURS (Provencale)

 

LASAGNA OR LASAGNE? RECIPE FOR LASAGNA AL RADICCHIO

This post contains details about the use of the term Lasagna and Lasagne. In this post there is also a recipe for a Lasagna al Radicchio.

In Italian, baked pasta can be Pasta al forno, Pasta imbottita (stuffed pasta), Lasagna/ Lasagne or Pasticcio, (as it was called where we lived in Trieste, in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region.)

When my parents and I came to Australia we used to invite guests for Sunday lunch. Often on the menu, the finished baked dish was a Lasagna Bolognese. It consisted of layers of cooked green or white sheets of pasta (lasagne), interspersed with a slow-cooked ragù, béchamel, and Parmigiano.

But the Emilian Romanian people where the Bolognese version of this baked pasta dish originates, refer to the finished dish as Lasagne Bolognese.

A single, wide sheet of pasta is called a lasagna, the plural is lasagne. When we speak about the type and shape of pasta, it is always in the plural – spaghetti, penne, rigatoni, fettuccine etc. so lasagne is no different.

So, when we refer to the cooked dish, is it Lasagna or Lasagne?

 Recently I made a Lasagna from the Veneto region (stuffed with red radicchio, béchamel, ricotta and parmesan) and I intended to use the correct grammar. I have completed quite a bit of reading to research this issue.

It appears that over the centuries, the two usages have always alternated, but the plural (Lasagne) was more common. There are many theories about where the term comes from. There are various theories about the word lasagna and how it originated, one common and simple explanation is that it could have derived from the course Latin lasanum for cooking pot, or the ancient Greek and Roman laganum, the name for their flat pieces of dough.

Dictionaries are more likely to use Lasagne and because of this, recipes on the web also use Lasagne. Modern publishers because of the dictionary use of the term also prefer Lasagne, unless they are publishing traditional regional recipes from menus of local restaurants that have called their dish Lasagna. There appear not to be any set rules about the lexicon. This is confirmed in my three comprehensive Slow Food Editions of traditional, regional dishes that in total has 2,260 recipes from the Italian Osterie (local eateries).

Pellegrino Artusi has no references of Lasagna or Lasagne. His book is about home cooking and this baked form of pasta was rather lavish and not considered an everyday cooking dish. His book L’Artusi was first published in 1910, my edition is from 1978.

When I looked at the numerous books I have about Italian cuisine both in the Italian and English language I did not find many recipes for either Lasagne or Lasagna, but then I realized that when we are discussing traditional recipes of baked pasta from different regions (either layered or not) they use a variety of shapes of pasta and not sheets of lasagne and therefore cannot be called Lasana/Lasagne.

For example, some traditional Sicilian recipes for baked pasta are (language -Sicilian/ Italian / English):

Maccarona di zitu astufati/ Maccheroni di zite stufate/Baked pasta made with the zite shaped pasta.

Maccheruna au furnu amuricana /Maccheroni al forno alla modicana/ Baked pasta from Modica made with short shaped pasta.

‘Ncasciata/Pasta incassata/Pasta that has been encased.  This is a favourite dish of Montalbano. There are different versions of this dish, as the most popular versions are as made in Messina, Ragusa and in Palermo. In Messina and Ragusa the maccheroni could be short pasta such as rigatoni, ditali, zite or penne, while in Palermo the pasta are anelli or anellini (ring shapes). Montalbano would be eating the one fro Modica.

In my Sicilian texts there are also recipes for:

Timbale/Timballo that is also made with maccheroni but encased in slices of fried eggplant (derived from the word drum, encased/shaped like a drum).

Gattó, derived from the French word gâteau, (food baked or served in the form of a cake) and used by the Sicilian monsu (derived from the French word monsieur –chefs who embraced the French cuisine in the homes of the well to do).

All of these Sicilian recipes of baked pasta mentioned above use short pasta shapes, a strong sugo and a variety of extras, for example – meatballs, salame, boiled eggs, eggplant and cheese. These combinations of various ingredients could also just as likely be called a Pasticcio (Greek Pastitsio) from pastiche – mixed styles, a mess. The names and combinations of ingredients are explicable as they fit with the cultural and culinary history of Sicily that was settled by various cultures – Greeks, Arabs, French, Spaniards.

In the more comprehensive collection of regional Italian recipe texts there are a couple of recipes that are referred to as Lasagne but they are made with lasagnette – narrow strips of pasta larger than fettucine; some types of lasagnette have curly edges.

And then there are recipes for Lagane/Laine, the traditional wide pasta strips  in Basilicata, Campania, Calabria and Puglia. It is traditionally served with legumes, mainly chick peas.

In my more modern Italian texts there are very few Lasagne recipes, but there are a few that are the Open Lasagne/ Lasagne deconstructed, i.e. the layers are constructed on the plate and and are not baked. Obviously the traditional Lasagna was out of favour.

My research tells me that in America, Lasagna is the more common usage, but in the UK the preferred usage is Lasagne. Once again I checked my books/web resources and this appeared to be true.

I also found it interesting that some references indicated that In Northern Italy the most common lexicon is Lasagne and in Southern Italy the preferred usage is Lasagna, but not so, the books/web resources I used did not reflect this. Although, every time I found the baked pasta from Napoli (in southern Italy), it was always called Lasagna, but one reference/example cannot apply to all of southern Italy.

After all of this (I am a sucker for punishment, it took me several days to research it), I can assume that the two forms are both still used and are equally correct. The terminology, whether in speech or in writing refers equivalently to the same thing:

Lasagna or Lasagne are both acceptable alternatives.

Lasagna al radicchio

*Cooked radicchio is much more intensely bitter than fresh radicchio. If you do not like bitter tastes don’t make this Lasagna.

The béchamel sweetens the taste and this is why I also used Ricotta. Nutmeg, for me, always adds a delicate sweetness to the taste, especially when used with milk.

I can only buy the round Radicchio at the Queen Victoria Market (Chioggia) and this is what I have used. Trevisano or Tardivo radicchio is used in Italy, both have narrow long leaves. All three are red radicchi (plural of radicchio).

I used a commercial pasta this time.

250 g lasagne. (9oz) fresh or dried

1 onion, chopped

2 -3 heads of radicchio,  cut into quarters and then sliced thickly

150g grated Parmesan and 350g of ricotta

Salt and black pepper to taste

4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and 3 tbs butter

100ml white wine

a few fresh bay leaves

For the béchamel:

110g butter

80 g corn flour

1litre whole milk milk, approx. 4 full cups (have some more on hand just in case the béchamel becomes too thick

 a little nutmeg, grated

Cook the radicchio

In a large frying pan, heat the extra virgin olive oil and butter, sauté the onion until it begins to soften. Add the radicchio and bay leaves and cook for about 10 minutes over gentle heat. Add salt and pepper and wine and evaporate the liquid. If there is too much liquid in the pan use tongs to pull out the radicchio and evaporate the wine further. (I like the taste of wine and therefore am prepared to use this process). Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Make the béchamel (white sauce)

Heat the milk but do not boil. Put the butter in a pan over a low heat, melt it, add the flour and mix until it forms a thick paste (roux). Remove it from the heat and slowly add the milk stirring continuously. Try to prevent lumps. Place the pan on heat and keep stirring constantly until it starts to thicken. It will take about 5 mins. If it is too thick add more milk (cold is fine as you won’t need much). Add grated nutmeg, add some salt. You may wish to taste it especially if you have used salted butter.

Pasta

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water. You may wish to cook half of the sheets per time to keep them from sticking together. Cook them till just before they are at the al dente stage as you will be baking them. Drain them and plunge them into cold water so that they do not stick together.

To Assemble

Begin the layering process in a baking tray.

Select a baking pan that will accomodate the contents. I played around with the baking trys i have and decided on one that was:  35x 25x 7 cm. Aim for 3 layers:  a little béchamel, a layer of pasta, radicchio, distribute some grated cheese, ricotta in small pieces. Begin again with the pasta, radicchio etc. Finish with a pasta layer and top with a little bechamel, some grated cheese and ricotta in small pieces. Grate more nutmeg on top.

Bake at 200°c degrees.

Cook for the first 20-25 mins covered with foil. Remove the foil and continue cooking for another 10 mins uncovered until the top is crisp, bubbly and golden on top). Remove from the oven, allow to rest for about 10 mins and serve.

COOKED RADICCHIO

RISOTTO AL RADICCHIO ROSSO

EMIGLIA ROMAGNA and their love of stuffed pasta

MONTALBANO’S FAVOURITE DISHES

 

MINESTRA MARITATA, 2

Minestra Maritata is from Calabria. Maritata in the Calabrese/Calabrian dialect means married.

It is an odd name for a soup and as Danielle Alvarez says in the introduction of her recipe, it has nothing to do with marriage. I was very happy to see a version of Danielle Alvarez’ s recipe for Minestra Maritata in The Age (March 30/2024 ). Not many people have written about this recipe and what Alvarez has written adds yet another layer to this mysterious traditional recipe. Alverez has added meatballs (polpette) and this seems appropriate and the version I ate in Adelaide a number of years ago was also presented with polpette that were served separately.

I too have written about Minestra Maritata after I ate it in a small restaurant called Minestra in Adelaide and I enjoyed researching it. Mine is more  based for a peasant culture and is different, but then again there are bound to be local variations in all traditional recipes.

The article and recipe from: Danielle Alvarez, The Age (March 30/2024 ).

ALSO KNOWN as “minestra maritata” , this soup actually isn’t served at weddings; instead, its name refers to the beautiful “marrying” of flavours contained in the meaty broth, savoury meatballs, sweet vegetables and, of course, the pasta. Traditionally, this dish is made by first concocting a flavourful broth using chicken, beef and/or pork bones, then adding very small meatballs, pasta and endive (escarole) towards the end. If you’re short of time, use bought stock but remember to brown the meatballs before poaching them to provide the umami kick that store-bought stock sometimes lacks. If you can’t find endive, just use spinach. You’ll be making this on repeat throughout winter.

SERVES 4 FOR THE MEATBALLS

250g pork mince 250g beef or veal mince 1 egg

cup grated parmesan cheese,

plus more for serving 1 tsp dried oregano ½ tsp fine sea salt 2 garlic cloves, peeled and

grated on a microplane ½ cup dried breadcrumbs black pepper

FOR THE SOUP

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 onion, peeled and diced 2 celery stalks, finely diced 3 large carrots, peeled and finely diced 4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped ¼ tsp dried chilli flakes (optional) pinch of salt ½ tsp fresh or dried rosemary leaves, finely chopped 1.5 litres chicken stock 1 parmesan rind ½ cup dried ditalini or orzo pasta 1 head endive, leaves separated and washed, or 280g baby spinach salt and black pepper

First, make your meatball mix by combining all the ingredients and mixing well. Use a teaspoon to scoop the mix (each ball is about a heaped teaspoon’s worth, so they’re quite small). Shape into balls and line up on a baking tray or large plate and keep shaping until all the mix is used up.

Heat a large soup pot or enamel-lined Dutch oven over medium/high heat. Add the olive oil and brown the meatballs on all sides. You will need to do this in a couple of batches so as not to overcrowd the pan. Remove the meatballs and set aside.

Next, add the chopped onion, celery, carrots, garlic and chilli flakes (if using). Add a good pinch of salt and cook over medium heat until the vegetables have softened and the onions are translucent (about 10-15 minutes). Add the rosemary and sizzle for a minute longer before you add the stock and parmesan rind. Bring to a simmer, then return the meatballs to the pot. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the dried pasta and cook until al dente (check the packet). When the pasta is al dente, add the endive or spinach and allow that to wilt into the soup (about 2 minutes). Discard the parmesan rind and check seasoning; adjust if necessary.

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve hot with extra grated parmesan cheese on top.

Marisa Raniolo Wilkins, All Things Sicilian and More, Post: Minestra Maritata, Date: 20/6/ 2018

Minesta in Italian means soup. But it does not stop there – minestrone is a thick soup and minestrina is a more delicate or thin soup.  All minestre (plural) may or may not have pasta (or pastina) or rice or grains added to thicken them.

Then there is zuppa and this Italian word shares the common root with soupe (French), suppe (German) and sopa (Spanish and Portuguese).  These days the differences between a minestra and a zuppa are probably interchangeable and there are always regional and cultural variations (as the Calabrese minestra below), but a zuppa relies on an accompaniment of a slice of bread; usually this is placed in the bowl and the zuppa is ladled on top. The bread soaks up the juice and therefore no pasta, or rice, or grains (barley, wheat) are needed.  Traditionally, a zuppa has a broth base, whereas the liquid in a minesta is more likely to be water and relies on the vegetables, pulses, fish, meat (or smoked meat) for flavour. In modern times, recipes for minestra may include the addition of water, stock or broth as the liquid base .

So why am I taking such an interest in the specific Calabrese minestra?

I was recently in Adelaide and ate at Minestra, a small home style eatery in Prospect (Adelaide) and ordered minestra with my pork and veal and eggplant polpette.

The minestra in this case was presented less soupy and more like a side for the polpette, but it could also be ordered unaccompanied as a one course dish – with a little more liquid and more a like soup.

Minestra in Calabria takes on a different significance and is a traditional, peasant dish suited to the people who were used to working very hard on the land.  And it does not use pasta in this dish … the Calabrese have a reputation for being different (I say this as a pun). This Calabrese minestra has a certain degree of austerity about it, it is not sophisticated or complicated and it is made from simple frugal ingredients – wild greens if possible, and if one was lucky, perhaps a little pork. It also contains beans – dried broad beans or borlotti or cannellini. Hence the description of this minestra being maritata (married in Calabrese dialect) – several green vegetables and the beans (and bits of pork) are ‘married’ or combined to produce a very thick, stew like soup.  Some variations include potatoes and as for the pork, it can be fresh meat ribs or rind. I have also seen a recipe that includes the rind of grating cheese (pecorino) for flavourings.

In Calabria, as in Sicily, wild foraged greens are much appreciated and not just due to necessity (as they once were). In Australia we may not be familiar with the range of edible plants available or have access to as many, but we do have some very good, green, leafy vegetables that provide contrasting and strong flavours.

A mixture of three or four of seasonal, green, leafy vegetables, is sufficient –  I am using  endives (or escarole) and chicory, that are both bitter, cime di rapa (a brassica) for the mustard taste and sow thistle that was sold to me as milk thistle and tastes mild and grassy.

Endives:

Cime di Rapa, Chicory, Sow Thistle:

Wild fennel, amaranth, nettles are also wild greens that could be accessible to you or you may be growing borage in your garden.

I am going to be Italian when I write this recipe. There are no measurements for the ingredients but my photos can give you an indication and it is ‘cucina povera‘- peasant cooking – that is, use what you can get, make it to your taste, add as much liquid as you wish, but keep it thick.

Use a variety of green leafy seasonal vegetables – whatever you can get – go for combinations of taste – bitter, sweet, peppery, grassy, aniseed taste (as in fennel).

RECIPE for Minestra

Soak, cook pulses (borlotti, cannellini, dried broad beans) … or buy tinned beans if that is what you do. In my photo you will see that Ii have used black-eyed beans – this is not an Italian bean, but it is what I had on hand at the time and I do not think that my breaking of tradition mattered. Drain the pulses you intend to use. Keep the liquid (broth) in case you want to add it as the liquid for the minestra.

Clean the greens, separate them from any tough stems but keep the softer ones.

Soften the greens – boil them in as much or as little salted water as you cook all your green leafy vegetables. Drain them but reserve some liquid for the minestra. I did not have to discard any because I did not use much water to cook my greens.

Chop garlic ( I used quite a bit), sauté the drained greens, add  beans. My ratio was about 2/3 greens and 1/3 beans. 

Add chopped chilli at the same time as the garlic if you wish or serve chopped chilli or chilli paste separately (Calabresi a fond of pepper paste). 

Add as much liquid as you wish, dish it up, drizzle some extra virgin oil on it and eat it with some good bread.

This post about Minestra Maritata was written much earlier and has more information, but mainly about the restaurant called Minestra. Unfortunately the restaurant is no longer there.

MINESTRA MARITATA, peasant soup from Calabria

Below, photo taken in Sicily and I was speaking to the gentleman collecting wild greens.

Collecting Sicilian edible wild greens in Agrigento

See recipe for the Sicilian Maccu – another of those peasant soups and this one has even more traditions than the Calabrese minestra.

This post has photos of wild greens in Sicily:

SICILIAN EDIBLE WEEDS and Greek VLITA

TORTA PASQUALINA?

I would not blame you if you thought that Torta Pasqualina could be a cake called Pasqualina or made by a woman called Pasqualina.

But a torta in Italian isn’t just the word for a torte or cake that’s associated with a dessert, it can also be used to describe a tart or a pie.

A torta is very often baked with a pastry shell and can be filled with sweet ingredients, but however, it is more likely to be filled with savory ingredients and mainly with vegetables. Sometimes to differentiate a savoury pastry/ torta from the sweet it is called a salty torta – torta salata. The torta may have an enclosed pastry lid or it may have a lattice top pastry covering. A small torta is called a tortino.

Now that I have the torta issue, I am going to introduce you to another complication. Tarts in Italy are also called crostata . Think of a jam tart – crostata di marmellata (jam in Italian) or an apple tart. This tart consists of a filling over a pastry base with an open top or covered with a pastry latticed top. Crostata is the Italian word, and galette is the French.

I usually think of a torta as having a more substantial filling than a crostata. Picture the huge ornate pies served during the Renaissance banquets, that could be filled with live birds, hares and other creatures. Remember the nursery rhyme about four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie? Once the live creatures were released and the entertainment was over, there was an edible torta encased at the bottom that the guests feasted on.

There are even more different names for baked pastry relating to particular Italian regions, each with their own food culture and titles for particular dishes. And within each region there would be local variations both of the dish but also the local name of that particular dish. For example, I am familiar with the particular covered pastries in Sicily that are called impanate. An impanata is a wrapper of dough that contains a lamb meat filling. It is popular during Easter (Easter spring lamb). The Impanata is especially popular at Easter in Ragusa, an Iblean city in Southern Sicily, where my relatives live.

Sicily had Arab settlers and later French and Spaniards. These cultures have meat and/or vegetable filled pastries. Think empanadas (South American /Spanish speaking countries) and pastilla or bastilla (Morocco and countries with Arab influences) and the fine pastry made by the French. The Sicilians used the term monsù cuisine for a fusion of refined French food with agriculturally-based Sicilian produce and recipes. Monsù is derived from the word monsieur – a French or French-trained male cook employed in the homes of the wealthy in Sicily (and southern Italy) during the 18th and early 19th centuries.

There are more savoury pastries in Ragusa. My relatives make and eat Scacce for Easter. A Scaccia consists of two or more layers of leavened dough around a filling – vegetables, especially eggplant and tomato and ricotta and sausage.

By now you may have guessed that Pasqua means Easter, so a Torta Pasqualina is an Easter pie. It is also a Torta di Verdura/Verdure (vegetable/vegetables). There are many variations of these torte cooked all over Italy. They are usually made with a variety of green leafy vegetables – spinach, cavolo nero, endives, chicory etc. The vegetables are braised first and then bound with eggs. Some may have a little cheese, placed into a pastry base and fully or partially covered with pastry. All these pies are very regional and with variations. The Torta Pasqualina is a variation of a Torta di Verdure that comes from Liguria. Genova is in Liguria and some call the Torta Pasqualina, a Torta Pasqualina Genovese.

This regional specialty differs from the usual Torta di Verdure because apart from containing eggs to bind the vegetable filling there are also whole eggs (or whole egg yolks) embedded in the centre of the filling and baked inside the pie. Torta Pasqualina becomes more spectacular than a Torta di Verdure and sometimes even more so when the ricotta that is part of the filling is placed in a layer on top of the green vegetables rather than being mixed in with the greens. The greater visual display is due to the eggs embedded in the white ricotta layer. When the pie is cut you will see the egg sliced through the middle. It is after all Pasqua, a festive occasion.

The original recipe for Torta Pasqualina contained artichokes with or without green leafy vegetables – silverbeet/chard, spinach. The pie is now usually made with puff pastry made with extra virgin olive oil or a mixture of butter and oil. In the past it was made with thirty-three sheets of very thin pastry, one for every year of Christ’s life. Many recipes divide the dough into seven pieces and roll it into seven layers, each layer coated with oil before the next layer is placed on top. Usually there are four layers on the bottom (needs to be thicker than the top to hold the filling) and three on top. You could try using Phyllo pastry, but I would use more than seven layers of pastry especially if the filling is substantial.

What I particularly like in the Torta Pasqualina is the use of sweet marjoram, a herb that is quite common in Liguria, especially in Genova. Nutmeg compliments ricotta and spinach, so add this as well. I have seen many recipes that do not use either marjoram or nutmeg and I dismiss those recipes.

I usually don’t weigh ingredients when I cook but if you use the following quantities for a base and pastry, you will be OK.

It will not matter if you make the pastry before the filling. Thy both can be made in advance and rest.

The filling:

1kg of silverbeet/chard/ spinach green leafy vegetables – washed cut into small bits and well drained as you don’t want too much moisture when sauté them.

8 eggs – 2 to bind the greens and 6 to place inside for a visual effect chopped sweet marjoram – to taste but is like it and use about 8 sprigs one onion and a little garlic to taste – all finely sliced/chopped.

80g grated parmesan

700g of ricotta (not from a tub)

salt, pepper, a little nutmeg

extra virgin olive oil (½ cup) and a good sized lump of butter to braise the greens – I am always generous but you don’t have to be.

Cooking the filling:

Sauté the onions and garlic, add the greens and marjoram, some salt and pepper and braise them until they wilt – 15 – 20mins

Make sure that they are not wet or the pastry will be soggy. Either evaporate the liquid while cooking the greens or drain the vegetables and then evaporate the liquid.

Leave to cool.

When ready to assemble the pie combine the vegetables with ricotta, two eggs,  nutmeg and parmesan. Check the seasoning.

For the pastry:

I like to make my own pastry, but you may prefer to use a commercial variety. I also enjoy using my fingers, however food processors work well.

In this recipe I have used standard cup measurements and approximate weight, but let your intuition guide you and vary the amounts as needed. Different flours will absorb differing amounts of liquid I have estimated the approximate amount of water which could be used. Pastry making is also influenced by the weather, use cold water, and rinse your hands to cool them under the cold-water tap and keep the pastry in a cool place when you allow it to rest.

The pastry should be compact and may not need any extra liquid, but if you feel that you will not be able to roll it out, add more oil or a little water.

400g/3 cups and 1 tbsp ’extra.

quarter teaspoon of salt, to taste

4 tablespoons good quality virgin olive oil plus a few tablespoons for  glossing the top of the torta

half a glass of water

Process:

Sieve the flour into a big bowl and mix in the salt.

Make a well in the flour and add the oil and cold water gradually.

Stir till the pastry comes together (adding a little more liquid or flour depending on which is necessary).

Knead very quickly to make a light elastic ball of dough but don’t overwork.

Cover in clingfilm and let it rest half an hour in the fridge.

I also have satisfactory results with the recipe for Pasta Frolla Fatta Con Olio (Short pastry made with oil). This is a much richer pastry and it contains eggs. Link is at the bottom of this post.

Assembling the pie:

I like to sprinkle some breadcrumbs (fresh bread is OK) to help absorb some of the moisture from the vegetables.

Cover the pastry base with the filling. Dig 6 holes in the freshly placed filling at equal distances from each other, crack an egg into each hole and on each yolk add a pinch of salt and a dollop of butter.

Gently fold the edges of the pastry and seal the pie. Paint the top of the pie with oil (or some beaten egg). Score a pattern on the top of the pie with a sharp knife. You could also consider placing a mark on the pastry where the eggs are embedded so that when you cut the pie you will be successful in cutting through the baked egg.

Cook at 180° degrees for about an hour.

The pie is either eaten warm or cold. It makes fabulous picnic food., perhaps on Pasquetta – literally “little Easter,” but is taken to mean Easter Monday.

***The link below is for a Torta di Verdura with a mix of green leafy vegetables. It also has  the recipe for the short pastry.

TORTA DI VERDURA (A vegetable flan or pie)

SCACCE (focaccia-like stuffed bread)

‘MPANATA (A lamb pie, Easter treat)