Category: Italian style food

Pork Hock, Polish Wedding Sausage, Borlotti and Sauerkraut =IOTA (a lean version)

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Iota is made with Pork Hock, Polish Wedding Sausage, Borlotti and Sauerkraut = IOTA (a lean version) sounds very complicated, but it is not.

Iota (also known as Jota) is one of those dishes that always brings a smile to the table—not just because it’s delicious, but because it sparks great conversation. Many of my friends are genuinely surprised to learn that this hearty, rustic soup is actually an Italian traditional dish from Trieste, in the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, just north of Venice.

Classic Iota can be quite rich, especially when made with fatty cuts of pork. But it doesn’t have to be a heavy dish at all. With just a few tweaks—mostly in the choice of meat and how you handle the broth—you can make a beautifully fragrant, deeply satisfying lean version without losing any of its soul.

Beans to start: Borlotti

Begin with borlotti beans—those gorgeous pink-flecked beans that turn creamy and chestnut-like once cooked. Soak them overnight so they soften up, and then simmer them until tender. Their earthy sweetness is one of the foundations of a good Iota.

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Borlotti beans soaked and ready—creamy, earthy, and essential for a good Iota.

The pork element: Hock for flavour, not fat

Instead of adding fatty cuts, use a pork hock. It still gives you that deep, savoury flavour but with much less richness. Place the hock in a pot of cold water and let it come to a gentle simmer. Slow cooking is key here—let it bubble away until the meat is soft and ready to fall off the bone.

About half an hour before the hock is done, drop in some peeled potatoes. They’ll cook in the porky broth and help thicken the soup later. Once everything is tender, lift out the hock, pick off the lean meat, and set it aside. The broth will have a layer of fat on top—skim this off to keep the dish light.

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Lean pork hock simmering slowly to create a rich, flavourful broth without the heaviness.

Sauerkraut in IOTA

Sauerkraut is what gives Iota its distinctive zing. Cook it gently in the skimmed pork broth—it softens, mellows, and absorbs a lovely depth of flavour. When the sauerkraut is tender, stir in roughly half the cooked borlotti beans and some of the potatoes. Use a potato masher to lightly mash this mixture. You’re not aiming for a purée—just enough to create body and texture.

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Assembling your Iota

Now for the satisfying part: bringing everything together.

Add the remaining whole borlotti beans, the rest of the cubed potatoes, the chunks of lean pork hock meat, and slices of Polish Wedding Sausage. I love using this particular sausage because it’s traditionally made from lean cuts, lightly smoked, and subtly seasoned. It adds protein and flavour without making the dish greasy or heavy.

Stir it all together, let it warm through, and enjoy how the flavours mingle—tangy, smoky, earthy, comforting.

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Wedding sausage.

And there you have it: a lighter, leaner version of traditional Iota that still feels like it has been simmering on a Triestine family stove for generations.

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Sauerkraut cooking gently in the skimmed pork broth, adding tang and depth to the IOTA.

There are other posts for making Iota and these include quantities of ingredients:

IOTA (Recipe, a very thick soup from Trieste) Post 1

IOTA FROM TRIESTE, Italy, made with smoked pork, sauerkraut, borlotti beans – Post 2

PUMARORU CA CIPUDDA (Tomatoes with onions). INSALATA DI POMODORO (Tomato salad)

POMURORU is the Sicilian word for tomatoes, POMODORO is the Italian, and simple tomato salads feature very frequently in my kitchen.

This is not surprising as local tomatoes and basil in summer are at their best.

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ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS in Tomato Salad

When I say simple, I mean made with basic ingredients – in season tasty tomatoes, fresh basil, spring onion, the inside part of the celery, salt and extra virgin olive oil. In fact, so simple that I have not written the recipe for a tomato salad in my blog.

Just writing about tomato salad makes me want to have some – I can taste the fresh bread that I particularly like to use to mop up the juices. Good, extra virgin olive oil is as important as the quality of the tomatoes.

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SO many types of tomatoes

A SIMPLE FAMILY AFFAIR

I have inherited my like of tomato salads from my father; it is one of the things my father made well and my parents, especially when they were elderly would eat a tomato salad almost every day for lunch (accompanied with some sort of cheese, smallgoods, frittata, or left over meat or fish from the night before). This sort of tomato salad  was not considered special enough to present to guests – it was family, simple, every-day food and to a certain extent it has remained so in my present home.

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Beautiful tomato produce
ABOUT SQUEEZED ONION

Apart from the simple tomato salad made with spring onion, my father excelled in the salad his mother used to make (NONNA Rosa lived in Ragusa, Sicily). this salad  was made with squeezed onions or as he used to call  it – cipolla dolce (sweet onion) – the onion is made sweet by having the bitter juices squeezed out of it before it is used.

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Tmatoes in California. I found so many varieties

The squeezed onion makes the taste of the salad unique and my children and nephews still mention this legendary version of a nonno-tomato salad. When they were in season the large, fresh, salad onions were his favourites (sold in bunches with the bulbs and part of the green stalk still attached) but the ordinary white or the red onions sufficed at other times.

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Tomatoes I bought in South of France

HOW TO MAKE squeezed  CIPPUDDA (onion) for salad

Cipudda is the Sicilian word for onion and cipolla the Italian.

Probably because it is used extensively in Calabria, red onion is called cipolla calabrese or cipolla di Tropea in Italian, Tropea is a very picturesque, old fortified town built on a cliff overlooking a spectacular beach in Calabria.

I now have the old colander my father used to use to strain the onion – this was one of the very few, kitchen implements that came with us from Trieste where we lived before coming to Australia.

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In Italian a colander or strainer is called a scolapasta

Amusing: in Italian a colander or strainer is called a scolapasta – scola means strain…and where would Italians be without an implement to drain their pasta!

 RECIPE for PUMARORU CA CIPUDDA (Tomatoes with onions)

To sweeten onion: Expect to shed tears during this process.

Place 2 large, thinly sliced onions in a colander, sprinkle with about 2 heaped tablespoons of salt and leave it for about 30 minutes. Do not be concerned about the quantity of salt, it will draw out the onions’ strong juices. If fresh onions are in season, leave the sliced onions with the salt for about 15 minutes.

Use your fingers and palms to squeeze the onions inside the colander – the juices and the salt will just dribble through the perforations.

My parents have always made tomato salad with firm, slightly golden, unripe tomatoes. Interestingly in Italy, tomatoes (pomodoro) were first called pomo d’oro, apples of gold and these early specimens were not necessarily red in colour.

My father was making salad well before the heirloom varieties of tomatoes were available – he would have enjoyed using these tomatoes that come in a multitude of colours and variety of shapes. Interestingly, not all are coloured red.

In most parts of Sicily, the most common tomato salad is as follows:

6-8 tomatoes
extra virgin olive oil at least ½ cup
fresh basil (or dried oregano)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 stalk of celery from the inside part of the celery and include some of the pale green leaves – all sliced thinly
1 spring onion sliced thinly or replace the spring onion with the sweetened onions

Cut the tomatoes into bite size pieces and add everything else and serve.

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My son’s Alex’s tomatoes

REGIONAL VARIATIONS by other Sicilians

From Comiso and Vittoria (towns south of Ragusa) and popular inland (in Enna and Caltanissetta) it is common to cut large tomatoes called (cuore di bue — ox heart), horizontally into halves, remove the seeds and stuff each crevice with chopped garlic, salt and extra virgin olive oil. On visits to the South of France I found that these tomatoes are popular and eaten in the same way. Surprise, surprise!

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In my last post I made reference to Sicilian tomato salad. See post:

RICOTTA, TOMATOES and Basil. A perfect summer dish.

These little beauties below were left by a neighbour at my door.

I feel a tomato salad coming on.

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Yellow Tomatoes
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So many excellent varieties of tomatoes

RICOTTA, TOMATOES and Basil. A perfect summer dish.

GREEN TOMATOES: Pickled under oil

TOMATO SALAD WITH GORGONZOLA (INSALATA DI POMODORI E GORGONZOLA)

BURRATA, MOZARELLA, STRACCIATELLA

Burrata, mozzarella and stracciatella are among Italy’s culinary pleasures. These fresh cheese are simple and beautifully made, proving that outstanding ingredients need very little to please.

Whenever I travel through Italy, I make the most of every opportunity to eat these fresh cheeses.

During a recent visit to Venice and Trieste I enjoyed as much mozzarella, burrata and stracciatella as I could, accompanied by magnificent summer tomatoes that were at their seasonal best.

Fortunately, we now have those fresh cheeses in Australia, but maybe some makers are not as good as they could be.

Three Fresh Cheeses, Three Different Experiences

Fresh mozzarella, whether made from cow’s milk (fior di latte) or buffalo milk (mozzarella di bufala), has become widely available outside Italy. Burrata, however, remained relatively unknown for many years, although it has now become one of the most sought-after cheeses on restaurant menus around the world.

The reason is easy to understand. Burrata offers the delicate freshness of mozzarella with an indulgent creamy centre that transforms even the simplest dish into something memorable.

What is Stracciatella?

Stracciatella is the luscious filling found inside traditional burrata. It is made by combining finely shredded strands of fresh mozzarella with rich cream, creating a soft, almost spoonable cheese.

Its name comes from the Italian verb stracciare, meaning “to tear” or “to shred,” referring to the torn strands of mozzarella curd that are folded through the cream.

It is delicious served on its own with crusty bread, but inside burrata it becomes something even more irresistible.

Burrata: Puglia’s Creamy TreaT

Burrata originates in Puglia, the region of southern Italy famous for its olive groves, beautiful coastline and handmade orecchiette pasta.

The outer shell is made from stretched mozzarella curd, while the centre is filled with creamy stracciatella. As soon as you cut through the delicate casing, the creamy filling gently spills onto the plate.

It is one of those foods that never fails to impress.

The name burrata comes from burro—the Italian word for butter—a reference to its rich, buttery texture. Traditionally, some versions were filled with fresh cream rather than stracciatella, making the connection even more obvious.

Freshness Matters

Like all fresh cheeses, burrata is best eaten as soon as possible after it is made—ideally within 24 hours.

It is usually sold immersed in lightly salted whey or water, which helps preserve its freshness and delicate texture. Unlike aged cheeses, burrata is all about freshness, softness and clean dairy flavours.

Two traditional styles of burrata—the classic round burrata and the hand-tied version, both filled with creamy stracciatella.

Burrata with knot on top

Both burrate delicious and both enveloping the creamy filling.

Burrata with a sealed sphere
Heirloom tomatoes
Heirloom tomatoes
 Burrata and Tomato Salad

When beautiful tomatoes are in season, burrata needs almost nothing else.

Combine ripe heirloom tomatoes with sweet cherry tomatoes, fragrant basil leaves, a drizzle of exceptional extra virgin olive oil and perhaps a few slices of mild red onion. Finish with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

The combination is extraordinary: the sweetness and gentle acidity of the tomatoes, the perfume of basil, the richness of the creamy cheese and the peppery fruitiness of the olive oil create perfect balance.

An Italian Meal in Paris

I purchased ingredients and assembled this salad in Paris.

Burrata salad I made in Paris

The tomatoes, basil and red onion came from markets around the Mediterranean, while the burrata itself was Italian.

Italian Burrata bought in Paris

It was a reminder that wonderful cooking is often less about complicated recipes and more about choosing excellent ingredients and allowing each one to speak for itself.

Sometimes the simplest meals are the most memorable.

the friends made it for expressed that the mild acidity of tomatoes, basil, super-duper good quality extra virgin olive oil was ecstasy.

Paris

A SAVOURY COEUR À LA CRÈME to accompany a summer fresh tomato salad or summer vegetables

PUMARORU CA CIPUDDA (Tomatoes with onions). INSALATA DI POMODORO (Tomato salad)

 

ANTIPASTO – GRILLED SUMMER VEGETABLES AND A SCOOP OF SALADS

An antipasto of grilled summer vegetables and a scoop of salads are one of the simplest and most satisfying meals. When eggplants and peppers are abundant in summer and autumn, there is little that can rival a generous platter of beautifully grilled seasonal vegetables dressed with excellent extra virgin olive oil or some of the sauces I have listed below.

They are equally at home as a light starter, part of an antipasto spread or alongside grilled meat, fish or cheese as part of the main meal.

Grilled vegetables are a classic Italian antipasto, especially when summer eggplants, zucchini and peppers are at their best
Choose the Best Seasonal Vegetables

Eggplants and peppers are favourites, but zucchini deserve a place on the platter too. Depending on the season, I also like to include asparagus, broccolini or green beans. Even leftover cooked vegetables from the previous evening can be transformed into something special.

The vegetables can be cooked over a barbecue, on a grill plate or in the oven. The important thing is to cook them until they are tender and lightly charred, bringing out their natural sweetness.

Once grilled, all they need is a drizzle of good-quality extra virgin olive oil, finely chopped garlic, fresh parsley and perhaps a squeeze of lemon juice.

Charring peppers on the BBQ

The vegetables can be grilled on a BBQ or Grill press or in the oven.

Grilling eggplants the Grill Press

Vegetables – Add Freshness and Crunch

One of the pleasures of a grilled vegetable platter is that it can be different every time.

For contrast, add finely sliced celery, fennel, cucumber or even crisp apple. Tomatoes, spring onions and fresh basil also work beautifully. These fresh ingredients add colour, texture and brightness while the olive oil ties everything together with its fragrance and richness.

Simple ingredients, thoughtfully combined, rarely disappoint.

Grilled vegetables with other ingredients
Romesco Sauce – A flavourful Accompaniment

Recently, I noticed the same idea in two different restaurants. Both served grilled vegetables with generous dollops of Romesco sauce on the side.

One dish featured grilled asparagus topped with crisp fried breadcrumbs. The other showcased grilled eggplant, cooked until soft and then roughly mashed rather than served in slices. The creamy eggplant paired beautifully with the smoky, nutty Romesco.

A slice of rustic bread was all that was needed to scoop up the vegetables and every last spoonful of the sauce.

And, of course, another drizzle of excellent extra virgin olive oil completed the dish.

Summer tomatoes and basil
SALSA ROMESCO (Romesco Sauce with Roasted Peppers, Tomatoes and Almonds)

Romesco is a rich, smoky sauce that pairs beautifully with grilled vegetables, seafood and meats. This version combines roasted peppers, tomatoes, garlic and almonds, resulting in a sauce that is full of flavour and wonderfully versatile.

Char-grill or barbecue the peppers whole until the skins are blackened. Peel away the skins, remove the seeds and tear the flesh into strips. If using fresh tomatoes, cut them into large pieces and grill them alongside the peppers. Roast or grill the garlic until soft.

Blend the roasted vegetables with the almonds and the remaining ingredients until you achieve the texture you prefer—either smooth or slightly coarse.

Romesco Sauce with Hazelnuts

Hazelnuts are a traditional alternative to almonds and give the sauce a richer, deeper flavour. In this version, all of the vegetables are roasted in the oven rather than grilled.

Use the same ingredients as the recipe above, substituting hazelnuts for the almonds.

Place the tomatoes, peppers and a whole head of garlic in a lightly oiled roasting tray and roast in a preheated 190°C oven. Remove each vegetable as it becomes tender: the tomatoes will take about 10 minutes, while the peppers and garlic will need approximately 30–40 minutes. Once cooled, peel the peppers and garlic, then blend with the remaining ingredients to your preferred consistency.

Sauces, see also:

SALSA ROMESCO (Romesco sauce, this recipe is made with roasted peppers, tomatoes and almonds)

SALAMURRIGGHIU – SALMORIGLIO (Dressing made with oil, lemon and oregano)

SAUCES for meat, fish and vegetables to brighten up your Christmas

SARSA DI CHIAPPAREDDI (King George Whiting presented with a sauce made with capers and anchovies)

Other recipes for grilled Peppers:

ROASTED CHARRED PEPPERS

PEPPERS WITH BREADCRUMBS- PIPI CA MUDDICA – PEPERONI CON LA MOLLICA

 

 

 

 

 

COSTOLETTE DI VITELLO (Veal chops – baked)

I like the taste of veal and veal chop bones are great for chewing, so when I saw Costolette di Vitello (veal chops) at the Queen Victoria Market, I bought them, marinaded them and baked them with potatoes.

I really like the gristly bits around bones, for example I like to chew around the ends of Chicken bones, shins and I particularly like pork hocks. Rather than gristle, perhaps it is the tendons or sinews– the bit that connects muscle tissue together and breaks down with cooking and turns semi-transparent and tender. I think it is flavourful, but many do not.

Living in Australia when I say ‘veal’ I do not mean the ‘white veal’ as in Europe, i.e. calves 18-20 weeks old, reared in small pens indoors and fed only milk. This Australian veal was quite pink – evidence that as in accordance with Australian regulations it should have been reared in open pens and fed a diet of milk and grass or grain and produced from dairy calves weighing less than 70kg or beef calves weighing up to 150kg.

Veal can be bland so the most usual way to cook veal with bone is to make a spezzatino –a braise or stew. Veal benefits from the added liquid (could be from stock/ wine/ tomatoes) and herbs for flavour.

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I chose to bake my veal chops, but unlike lamb or goat (kid), veal has little or no fat so it needs more oil if you choose to bake them.

I marinated the chops overnight in a bowl and baked them the next day.

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Meat and Marinade

For 4 people:

1.5k veal chops (there is little meat on them)
2 garlic cloves, sliced
½ cup dry Marsala or white wine
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
rosemary sprigs and bay leaves

Marinate the meat with the above ingredients for at least 2+ hours (can be done overnight). Drain the meat and solids from the marinade when you are ready to cook it. Reserve the liquid.

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For Cooking

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, cut into large slices
salt
pepper
4 large potatoes
more rosemary (or sage )

Prepare the potatoes and cut into large pieces. Put them in a bowl and dress with half the oil, add seasoning and more rosemary.

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Heat the oven at 180C.

Place a little more oil in a baking dish. Position the meat in the tray, arrange the slices of onions and between the meat. Add seasoning and drizzle the rest of the oil on top of the meat.

Bake the meat for 15 minutes. Turn the meat and add the potatoes (with the oil). Cook for about 40 minutes then add the drained marinade – try to pour it over the meat rather than the potatoes. Bake for another 15-20 minutes till the potatoes are cooked and the meat is coloured.

If you are wondering what the green blobs are on top of the baked veal in the main photo, they are spoons of chopped parsley which I keep in the fridge topped with extra virgin olive oil…… more for decoration, but it is also flavourful.

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I guess everyone liked them.

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See recipe:  VITELLO ARROSTO (Roast Veal)

NOT QUITE PORCHETTA – Rolled belly pork

 This recipe is not quite Porchetta, as a traditional Porchetta is a whole baby pig that has been boned, stuffed and roasted.

Porchetta is common in certain parts of central Italy and those of you who have travelled to Umbria, Lazio, Abruzzo and the Marche may have had slices of Porchetta in a panino or between two slices of rustic bread and it is common fare in regional fairs or markets; it is eaten hot or cold.

In Italian, a fair is called a Fiera and a market is a Mercato or a Mercatino, that is a small market.

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Porchetta sliced

But this recipe uses belly pork and although it called Porchetta, you now know that it is not, except for the stuffing. You would also know that there are always many variations in all Italian regional cooking, but rosemary, garlic and fennel are a must in this recipe.

I did not cook the following Porchetta and it is not my recipe, it is a Tobie Puttock recipe published in a New Idea magazine.  The cook and host was my brother. The photographs are mine and hopefully they will help to explain the method of preparing the belly pork for cooking.

In the original recipe the skin is left on and honey is rubbed over the meat once it is out of the oven (I really cannot imagine why you would want to do this, but go ahead if you wish). My host and brother removed the skin and cooked the meat on a roasting rack, this would also be my preference, as I do not like too much fat.

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Placing the herbs under the crackling, then rolling it and tying it with string

One roll of meat was really enough for 4 people and weighed 1.5 kg.

Below it the ideal size of a piglet used for making a real Porchetta.

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Roast baby pig as presented in a Melbourne restaurant

The recipe below is yet another adaptation of the original Tobie Puttock recipe called Porchetta that was published in the New Idea magazine, but was later published in a Delicious Magazine.

I cannot supply dates because I don’t have them, but this updated recipe in Delicious is better than the original and is called  Porchetta with Salsa Verde.

But  sorry Tobie,  salsa verde is not something I would add to a serve of Porchetta  as it competes with the flavours of the stuffing that are the highlight of the dish. For that amount of meat, I would use double the amount of herbs and reduce the amount of garlic. And make sure that they are fresh herbs.

And as mentioned before, NO Honey!

Porchetta with Salsa verde
Ingredients
  • 4-5kg piece pork belly*, boned, skin and excess fat removed, skin reserved (ask your butcher to do this for you)
  • 1/2 cup sage leaves, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup rosemary leaves, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbs fennel seeds
  • 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 5 tbs (100ml) good-quality honey
salsa verde (makes about 1 cup)
  • 2 garlic cloves, fi nely chopped
  • 3-6 anchovies
  • 1 tbs salted capers, rinsed, roughly chopped
  • Small handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves
  • Small handful of basil leaves
  • 5 mint leaves, sliced
  • Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • Extra virgin olive oil
method
Preheat the oven to 250˚C and oil a large roasting pan. Lay the pork belly flat on a work surface. Sprinkle with 2 tsp coarse sea salt and 2 tbs freshly ground black pepper, then massage the seasoning into the meat. Stand for 5 minutes, then sprinkle the meat with the sage, rosemary, fennel seeds and garlic. Starting from one long side, roll up the pork firmly. Wrap the roll in the reserved pork skin, so the ends meet under the roll. Use kitchen string to tie first around the centre, then 2cm from each end. Add a few more ties along the roll to secure well. Massage the olive oil into the skin, followed by 2 tsp coarse sea salt and 2 tbs black pepper.

Place the pork in the roasting pan and roast for 10 minutes, then turn and roast for a further 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 140°C, cover pan with foil and roast for 3 hours or until the meat is meltingly tender.

My Traditional Recipe for Salsa Verve:

SALSA VERDE; ITALIAN GREEN SAUCE

SALSA VERDE ( Green Sauce serve with boiled meats and corned beef)

Other posts about Porchetta:

MAIALINO ARROSTO (Roast, suckling pig)

PORK, SALUMI (Smallgoods). Tasting Australia

 

PASTA WITH BREADCRUMBS, anchovies and fennel (Pasta cca muddica)

pasta with baby fennel

This very simple but very impressive and tasty recipe for Pasta with breadcrumbs,  anchovies and fennel is eaten in Calabria and in Sicily

GUS AND CARMEL AT THE QVM

I live in an apartment in Melbourne and have a balcony where I  can only grow herbs. Fortunately I am very close to the Queen Victoria Market – it is my stamping ground. I am able to buy bulb fennel and bunches of leafy fennel (fronds attached) at one of my favourite stalls: B Shed, Stall 61- 63) in the Queen Victoria Market.

The stall is owned by Gus and Carmel and they grow some of their produce. Gus is Calabrese. He knows that I cook Sicilian food and I like to use this type of fennel for my Sicilian Pasta con le sarde that includes wild fennel as one of the ingredients. It is frequently used in Sicilian food to add a particular aniseed taste to many dishes.

We are not able to buy bunches of wild fennel (finucchiu sarvaggiu in Sicilian) in Australia and not everybody can go out and forage for it – you will recognise the plants by the strong aniseed smell and taste, strong green colour and fine fern like fronds. I collect the soft, young shoots of this plant, recognised by their  lighter colour. This fennel is unlike the Florentine fennel and has no bulb. Because of its strong smell and taste, animals and insects tend not to eat it, so it can be prolific. I always ensure that the plant looks healthy before I collect it, after all it is a weed and it could have been sprayed. If I were to grow wild fennel in my garden I would collect the seeds (yellow flower heads) which when dry develop into seeds and plant them.

baby fennel

But for those of you who cannot get wild fennel there is some salvation. At the end of the fennel season the fennel plant produces some flat bulbs, which never mature.

GUS’S Recipe for PASTA WITH BREADCRUMBS, ANCHOVIES AND FENNEL

Gus has given me his recipe for one of his favourite pasta recipes. It is cooked with anchovies, fennel fronds and topped with fried breadcrumbs. He tells me it is Calabrese (from Calabria).

I say that it is also Sicilian and in Sicilian it is called ‘Pasta cca muddica’.

But Gus forgets that he has already given me this recipe, he gives it to me every year when I buy the immature bunches of fennel from him.

For recipe see:Pasta con Finocchio

EXCELLENT ADDITIONS TO PASTA CON FINOCCHIO

What I do not tell Gus is that in some parts of Sicily they add grated lemon peel and in the Aeolian islands they add capers and in Siracusa green olives. There are also versions where it is made without the fennel. Simple, but all good.
Very Good.

CASSATA DECONSTRUCTED – a postmodernist take on Sicilian Cassata

Deconstructed Cassata.

Cassata Deconstructed is my postmodernist take on the Iconic Siciliandessert – Cassata.

But can there be such a thing? Probably not in Sicily.

While I strive for precision and authenticity, I occasionally employ a shortcut  and this one has proven effective. This dessert, that I have since refined, I have made multiple times.

ONE CANNOT ALWAYS BE AUTHENTIC

I always want to be Authentic.

When my children were young they used to refer to me as the Food Police; everything had to be just right and particularly when we went to a restaurant I often seemed to find fault.  .This is not the case in my later years!

But the often seen as the less important side of authenticity is that making things that are not particularly “authentic” can actually be a lot of fun. 

CASSATA DECONSTRUCTED 

As you will see I have remained faithful to Traditional Sicilian Ingredients and Ingredients that I have used when making Cassata.

I used sponge fingers, dipped in Cointreau. These formed the casing of the sweet – the  bottom and top layers.

In between I used a sweet ricotta filling, in fact it a similar ricotta filling that I use when making a cassata.

I then covered the top layer of sponge fingers with a whipped cream with a little ricotta, topped it with summer strawberries and leaves made from marzipan.

The result is very much like a summer cassata and very suitable for the Christmas season, or Easter, or anytime.

REFLECTION ON MY PROCESS

The flavours and process of dipping sponge fingers or sponge cake in liqueur and layering with a cream filling are very much Italian. After all, I have been making cassata, zuppa inglese and tiramisu for years.

I have maintained the Italian colours. The only problem is what do I call this dessert?

The marzipan can be made days beforehand, wrapped in cling wrap and left in the fridge. The leaves can also be made beforehand and placed in a sealed container with baking paper in between each leaf.

This dessert fed 6-8 people – the strawberries were huge and because of their large size they give a wrong sense of scale.

CASSATA DECONSTRUCTED RECIPE

INGREDIENTS
500 g fresh ricotta,
100 g caster sugar,
1 cup Cointreau or to taste
50g of chopped blanched almonds
vanilla concentrate
some orange and citron peel previously soaked in Cointreau for at least 1 hour
small pieces of dark chocolate
cream to cover the dessert, add as much as you like

PROCESSES
Arrange sponge biscuits in a square container lined with cling wrap. Sprinkle them with orange flavoured liqueur.
Beat 450g ricotta with a dash of cream, sugar and vanilla. The mixture should be creamy but stiff.
Fold in nuts, chocolate, and drained peel. Reserve the Cointreau.
Place this on the layer of sponge fingers and finish off with a top layer which you have sprinkled with more Cointreau – I used what I drained off the peel.
Leave it for at least 5 hours.
Close to serving, (I did this an hour before my guests arrived) decorate it with the whipped cream (mixed with a little vanilla, 50g of whipped ricotta and a little caster sugar to taste).
Place strawberries on top and decorate with leaves.

Marzipan leaves:
100g blanched almond meal
100g g icing sugar
1 egg white
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 drop green food dye

Mix contents together and use your fingers to knead the mixture; add more sugar of meal if the mixture is too wet.
Place the marzipan in between two sheets of baking paper and roll it out thinly. Cut it into shapes of leaves.

One of  the cassate (plural of cassata) I have made covered with green marzipan. Too much food colouring.

SICILIAN CASSATA and some background (perfect for an Australian Christmas)

PASTA DI MANDORLA (How to make Marzipan recipe)

MARZAPANE also called Pasta Reale (Marzipan)

SICILIAN SEAFOOD COOKING, ITALIANICIOUS and READER’S FEAST Bookstore. Recipe for Slow cooked goat in Nero D’Avola

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Magazine, a Melbourne publication called Italianicious
This is the cover of the January – February issue of 2012 Italianicious magazine.
It is a beautiful bi-monthly publication about food and wine, Italian regional recipes, travel stories and features on Italian restaurants and chefs and cultural events both in Italy and Australia. The photos are also stunning.
The current editor, Danielle Gullaci, is continuing to develop the quality and look of the publication established by previous editor, Jane O’Connor. In the January-February issue Danielle has written a feature about me.
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Marisa Raniolo Wilkins
FUELLED BY PASSION
And these are the two beginning paragraphs:
“Although Marisa Raniolo Wilkins spent most of her early childhood in Trieste before moving to Australia with her Sicilian parents, a love for Sicilian food and culture has remained close to her heart. Her first book, Sicilian Seafood Cooking, represents eight years of hard work and a lifetime of culinary experiences.
Despite the fact that her parents both hailed from Sicily, Marisa says that she was born on the Italian island “by accident”. Marisa’s mother had lived in Catania, Sicily, before moving to Trieste in northern Italy with her siblings; and her Sicilian father (from Ragusa) was stationed in Trieste during the war, learning to be a tailor. “ 

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From Left – Marisa Raniolo Wilkins, Marianna Di Bartolo (dolcetti Pasty shop), and queen of Sicilian Cooking – Mary Taylor Simeti
I was also featured in Italianicious magazine in the November-December issue when Mary Taylor Simeti and I discussed a Sicilian Christmas at Dolcetti, Melbourne’s little gem of a pastry shop. Naturally Pastry Chef Marianna Di Bartolo contributed to the discussion and we ate some of her delectable sweets. The editor was Jane O’Connor (now group editor of all Prime Media magazines), the three camera shy women and the photographer Patrick Varney of Raglan Images all had a grand old time.
Mary Taylor Simeti is one of my heroes – I think that sometimes it takes a “foreigner ‘ with a passion to rediscover and tease out the history behind the food ( not that she is a foreigner, she is part of Sicily, having dedicated so many years to it.).
Mary and I talked to Gus about his produce at the Queen Victoria Market.
Gus from the Queen Victoria Market showing Mary and I one of his special sculptured cauliflowers
The time before that Italianicious published an article and my recipe for Caponata, that was in December 2009 – February 2010 and the editor was Glynis Macri now Director/Editor of The Italian Traveller – Food, Wine and Travel Consultant.
Marisa in kitchen 3
Marisa Raniolo Wilkins
Mr Bianco’s recipe for Goat with Nero d’Avola (recipe from Italianicious)
2kg goat consisting of shoulder cut into 150g pieces and 4 shanks
1.5 litres Nero d’Avola wine
3 onions, chopped roughly
200ml red wine vinegar
3 carrots, chopped roughly
3 celery sticks, chopped roughly
1 garlic clove, peeled
200g prosciutto fat
5 whole tomatoes, chopped
2L reduced beef stock
20 crushed whole peppercorns
3 bay leaves
For the garnish:
12 baby carrots, peeled and roasted with olive oil, garlic and rosemary
4 potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters, then roasted with olive oil, garlic, sliced lemon and rosemary.
Reader’s Feast Bookstore
The Logo for Readers Feast Bookstore – my favourite bookshop
 
The other nice thing that happened this week is that I went into Reader’s Feast Bookstore. Sicilian Seafood Cooking has been featured in their Summer 2002 Book Guide and has been written by Helen.
Helen is only one of the helpful, knowledgeable and personable staff who has been working with Mary Dalmau at Reader’s Feast for a very long time.
“Our bookstore will be a place of interest and enjoyment, peopled by committed and enthusiastic staff, who present a range of books to suit all visitors” Mary Dalmau, 1991
Finally my cookbook of the year is Sicilian Seafood Cooking by Marisa Raniolo Wilkins.
This incredibly substantial cookbook takes
us on a culinary odyssey through Sicily; It is
a book of love celebrating seasonal produce,
traditional recipes, methods and techniques
while providing us non Sicilians with suitable
alternative ingredients. The food is delicious
and the advice is such that you are never
alone while preparing these recipes. It’s as if
the grandmothers and aunts are beside you.
Happy Holiday Reading and Feasting.
Helen

MA2SBAE8REVW

PATATE as a contorno (Two recipes for ‘squashed’ potatoes, Patate in tecia).

Last week’s post mentioned patate in teccia (potatoes in a pan), a perfect accompaniment for vitello arrosto (veal roast). In fact in Trieste where this recipe is common, it can be the perfect contorno to accompany many other hot main courses which have a little gravy or juice.

In teccia is triestino (dialect used in Trieste) for cooked in a pan.

Patate schiacciate,  means ‘squashed potatoes’. I was away with friends over the weekend and one of my friends cooked these potatoes (see photo). He was surprised that I too knew them as ‘squashed’ and that they are cooked in various parts of Italy.

Here are two recipes for ‘squashed’ potatoes.

PATATE IN TECCIA (Trieste)

INGREDIENTS

potatoes 600g
onion, 1 large
extra virgin olive oil, 6 tablespoon
salt and pepper to taste

PROCESSES

Place whole, un-peeled potatoes in cold water and boil until cooked. Drain them.
In Trieste the potatoes are peeled and squashed into smaller, uneven sections. I sauté the potatoes un-peeled (and not forgiven for doing this by Italians).
Sauté and soften the onion till they are a light golden colour. Use extra virgin oil.
Add the potatoes and cook on medium heat until they begin to colour (form a crust) on the bottom. Stir them continually so that they can continue to colour (this process will take about 10 minutes).
*Sometimes I have used duck fat, the render of having cooked duck – the taste is superb, but it is not traditional.
PATATE SCHIACCIATE

INGREDIENTS

potatoes 600g
extra virgin olive oil, 6 tablespoon
salt and pepper to taste
Heat the oven to 200 C
Place whole, un-peeled potatoes in cold water and boil until cooked. Drain them.
Position potatoes in a well-oiled baking pan (not-overlapping) and squash them with the palm of the hand (or a cup).
Dribble with the remaining oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake the potatoes for about 20 minutes till golden (have formed a crust) and serve.
*I often use duck fat instead of oilve oil, but this is not traditional.
See  recipe for Vitello Arrosto
Roast veal but cooked wet on the stove top rather than the oven.