Tag: Italian cuisine

Celeriac and Kohlrabi: Italian recipes for Two Unusual Vegetables

As the season of spring arrives in Melbourne, I’m still enjoying celeriac and kohlrabi, two unusual vegetables that are still available in September and October at the Queen Victoria Market.

Celeriac and Kohlrabi: Strange-Looking but Delicious

Celeriac and kohlrabi could be described as particularly beautiful. Celeriac is knobbly, tangled and earthy; kohlrabi has a swollen round stem with leaf stalks projecting from it, but these rather inhospitable exteriors are two versatile and delicious vegetables.

Not the prettiest vegetables at the market, but celeriac and kohlrabi reward the cook who looks beyond appearances.

The specimens in my photographs are particularly rugged. A careful grower or more selective retailer might have rejected them before they have reached this  mature end of season stage.

Kohlrabi is best harvested young because large, mature plants can become tough and woody. Celeriac is more forgiving and can grow to a considerable size while remaining perfectly good to eat.

A younger looking kohlrabi as usually sold at the beginning of their season
When Are Celeriac and Kohlrabi in Season?

Celeriac is very much a vegetable of the cooler months and has a long growing season. In the Northern Hemisphere it is generally harvested from autumn through winter and into early spring; in UK, for example, the main season extends roughly from October to March.In Italy kohlrabi grows during two main seasonal cycles: a spring crop from May to June and an autumn-to-winter crop from October to November.

 In the southern part of Australia the seasons are reversed, making celeriac predominantly an autumn and winter vegetable, although local climate and growing conditions can extend its availability.

Kohlrabi is a member of the brassica family. It grows quickly and also prefers cool conditions. When harvested young, its swollen stem is crisp, juicy and mildly sweet, with flavours reminiscent of cabbage stem, broccoli and turnip. It can be eaten raw, steamed, sautéed, roasted, stuffed or added to soups and stews.

In Europe, successive crops can provide young kohlrabi from late spring through autumn and into early winter in milder regions. In temperate parts of the Southern Hemisphere, spring and autumn provide particularly favourable growing conditions but too much heat or dry weather can encourage older specimens to become tough and woody.

Green coloured Kohlrabi sold with substantial amounts of leaves that I bought in Vietnam!

The leaves of kohlrabi are edible too and can be cooked like other leafy brassicas.

A much younger me holding a bunch of leafy Kohlrabi (cavolo rapa) that my relatives in Ragusa use to make with pasta (Causunnedda )

My relatives in Ragusa use them in a delicious, rather soupy pasta dish. I was always intrigued by the kohlrabi they bought there: very leafy, with relatively small swollen stems, and invariably beautifully tender. The violet varieties of kohlrabi are prominent in Italy and eventually they will also be common in Australia.

Kohlrabi in the Market in Syracuse. Bought young has crisp, juicy flesh, but the leaves are valuable too—something Sicilian cooks have long understood.
Versatility of CELERIAC and Kohlrabi

Perhaps because of their uncompromising appearance, celeriac and kohlrabi are easily overlooked, but European cooks have long recognised their value. Both can move comfortably between raw and cooked dishes and take well to strong flavours as well as simple preparations.

They are also suited to preserving. In Central and Eastern European food traditions, firm vegetables have long been preserved in vinegar, brine or through fermentation, sometimes with herbs, mustard seeds and spices. Kohlrabi and celeriac lend themselves particularly well to pickling because of their firm texture and ability to retain some crunch.

I have written about both vegetables before, with recipes and examples of how they are prepared in different parts of Italy. Use the links to see those earlier posts.

Two northern Italian recipes that demonstrate Celeriac and Kohlrabi recipes

Two distinct recipes from Northern Italy are here: a hearty Veronese minestra with celeriac, borlotti beans, sausage, and tagliatelle, and a Trentino–Alto Adige preparation of kohlrabi slowly cooked with butter and cream until tender.

Recipe: Minestra di Sedano Rapa Tagliatelle –Veronese Celeriac, Borlotti Bean and Tagliatelle Soup

This substantial minestra from Verona is made with celeriac, borlotti beans, fresh pork sausage and egg tagliatelle. The celeriac softens during the long cooking and contributes the distinctive celery-like fragrance, while the beans give the soup body and the fresh sausage adds richness.

Grande Enciclopedia Illustrata della Gastronomia

I found this recipe in my 1990 edition of Grande Enciclopedia Illustrata della Gastronomia, where it is attributed to Giovanni Capnist’s La cucina veronese.

The accompanying text written in Italian makes an interesting distinction: although celeriac has essentially the same aroma as ordinary celery, it is not used simply as an aromatic but treated as a vegetable in its own right, both raw and cooked.

This minestra demonstrates that particularly well. Celeriac is not hiding in the background as we do with celery stalks,  it is one of the substantial ingredients around which the dish is built.

Serves 6–8

Ingredients
  • 400 g dried borlotti beans
  • 1 celeriac, about 500–600 g before trimming
  • 1 large onion
  • 1 carrot
  • 4 small fresh pork sausages
  • 1.5 litres beef broth
  • 200 g dried egg tagliatelle
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Extra virgin olive oil, to serve — the original suggests olive oil from Lake Garda

METHOD

Soak the borlotti beans overnight, then drain.

Peel and trim the celeriac and cut it into small pieces. Roughly chop the onion and carrot and remove the sausage meat from its casings.

Place the beans, celeriac, onion, carrot and sausage meat in a large saucepan. Add the beef broth and bring gently to a simmer.

Cook over low heat for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally so that the ingredients do not catch on the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper.

About 20 minutes before the end of cooking, add the dried egg tagliatelle. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is al dente.

Remove from the heat and allow the minestra to settle and cool slightly before serving. For a thicker consistency, mash some of the tender borlotti beans against the side of the pot and stir them back through the soup.

If desired, finish each serving with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil*

 An Interesting point: *The original Italian recipe finishes with:

“Servire, condendo se piace con un filo di olio d’oliva del Garda.” – If desired, serve, with a drizzle of  olive oil from Grada.

That reference to Lake Garda olive oil is not an incidental detail. Verona lies just east of Lake Garda, where the moderating influence of the lake has allowed olives to be cultivated unusually far north. A final thread of local olive oil therefore gives the dish an unmistakable local,  geographical connection.

Recipe: Cavolo Rapa Soffocato – An Alto Adige Way with Kohlrabi

I have found versions of this traditional Alto Adige dish in two of my cookery books. In my 1990 Grande Enciclopedia Illustrata della Gastronomia it appears as Cavolo rapa stufato, while Osteria: 1,000 Generous and Simple Recipes from Italy’s Best Local Restaurants, published by Slow Food Editore, calls it Cavolo rapa soffocato – smothered kohlrabi.

Osteria: 1,000 Generous and Simple Recipes from Italy’s Best Local Restaurants,Slow Food Editore

The recipes are essentially the same, but I much prefer the straightforward, simple instructions in Osteria.

What makes the recipe particularly interesting is that it treats kohlrabi quite differently from the crisp vegetable we might expect in a salad or pickle. Here there is no attempt to preserve its crunch. The kohlrabi is deliberately cooked for an hour until very tender, with butter, a little sugar and flour, before being finished with cream. The sugar encourages browning and enhances the vegetable’s natural sweetness, while the flour and cream turn the cooking juices into a light sauce.

It is rich, comforting and distinctly Alpine in character and an excellent example of what northern Italian cooks can do with this rather austere-looking vegetable. The cream and butter are also characteristic of this very northern Italian Cuisine.

The recipe in Osteria is attributed to Klaus Mayr of Renon–Ritten, in Bolzano–Bozen, Trentino–Alto Adige.

I have not made this recipe yet, but although it is a side dish, I rather like the idea of presenting it as a hot dip with warm bread. I doubt very much it the Bolzano crew would be impressed!

Cavolo Rapa Soffocato — Smothered Kohlrabi

Serves 4

Ingredients
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 4 kohlrabi, diced
  • 1 tablespoon plain flour
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ cup cream
Method

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar begins to caramelise.

Add the diced kohlrabi, sprinkle with the flour and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring so that it does not stick, until the kohlrabi begins to brown.

Add ½ cup cold water, cover and cook over low heat for about 1 hour. Check occasionally and add a little more water if the pan becomes too dry.

Uncover, stir in the cream and cook for a few more minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce has thickened. Serve warm.

A finishing comment: There is something very appealing about these two recipes sitting together. Celeriac and kohlrabi may be awkward-looking vegetables, but neither is treated timidly in these northern Italian dishes. In Verona, celeriac becomes part of a substantial minestra with beans, sausage and pasta; in Alto Adige, kohlrabi is slowly smothered with butter and cream. Both recipes make a convincing case for looking beyond appearances—and perhaps for giving these vegetables a little more space in our kitchens.

Other recipes on the blog:

UNVEILING KOHLRABI, a BRASSICA

KOHLRABI with pasta (Causunnedda )

KOHLRABI, as eaten in Sicily

Kohlrabi, Fennel, Celeriac and Daikon make a good salad (and other recipes)

A WET PASTA DISH WITH KOHLRABI

KOHLRABI and TENERUMI, shared between cultures of Sicily and Vietnam

SEDANO RAPA (Celeriac and how to eat it) 

I am surprised that there is only one post about celeriac as I use it quite a bit, however you will find a number of different ways to prepare it in the above link.

OVEN COOKED KID (capretto)

I am writing about kid, not goat. Unlike goat, there was very little fat and the meat did not exude that characteristic, heavy smell of game that is present when cutting goat and mutton.

Capretto, Italians call it and it is a meat that is not cooked regularly, but is often cooked on special occasions. I bought it from an Italian butcher. I went in to buy  some pork sausages but when I saw what the Italian customers that were lining up at the counter were all buying, I did the same. I bought capretto.

The Italian word for goat is capra and like mutton, goat is not generally eaten in Italy.

I marinaded it overnight with extra virgin olive oil, red wine, fennel seeds, bay leaves, rosemary, onion and sage. As you can see in the photo there is plenty of marinade; I wanted the meat to be quite well covered and intended to use the marinade in the cooking.

Nothing is wasted, the herbs are discarded and replaced with fresh herbs. This is because I have herbs growing on my balcony and I can afford to do this. I added garlic when i ws ready to cook the meat.

The important thing to do in this recipe is to cook the usual soffritto base that is omnipresent in Italian cooking – onion, carrot and celery – in extra virgin olive oil and make sure that the soffritto vegetables are caramilised before combining it with the drained marinaded meat.The meat does not need to be browned before hand making the cooking process easier and quicker. I have a cast iron baking pan that is very convenient for putting directly onto the stove.

The soffritto took about 15 minutes to soften and caramilise the vegetables ad this process adds a much enriched flavour to the dish. A dash of passata or some peeled red tomatoes also adds to the taste and colour to the braise.

Once you have drained the meat  and removed the old herbs use the marinade to the capretto. Add fresh herbs and some stock. As you can see in the photo there is enough liquid to almost cover the meat.

Cover the pan with some foil or a lid and leave it to cook in a slow oven. Mine was set at 170C degrees  and because I have two similar baking trays the spare one made a good lid.

Remove the foil after an hour. Move the meat around and add more broth or water and cook it uncovered until the meat is separated from the bones. I baked mine for about two hours without the foil, but made sure that if I needed to add more liquid, I had some stock to use.

The results were delicious. The vegetables almost melted, the meat was easily detached from the bone, it smelled great and tasted even better. And yes, it was a special meal.

I presented it with baked potatoes and braised endives sautéed with anchovies.

The kid weighed 2 kilos. as you can see there was very little fat.

This is not the first time I have cooked capretto – kid/goat

BRAISED KID (capretto) in a simple marinade of red wine, extra virgin olive oil and herbs

RICETTE per capretto (e capra); Recipes for slow cooked kid and goat

RAGU` DI CAPRETTO; Goat/ kid ragout as a dressing for pasta

SPEZZATINO DI CAPRETTO (Italian Goat/ Kid stew)

KID/GOAT WITH ALMONDS (SPRING IN SICILY, CAPRETTO CON LE MANDORLE)

SLOW COOKED LEG OF GOAT WITH HOT MINT SAUCE

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

 

CUCINA POVERA – REDISCOVERING SOUP

Cucina Povera is steeped in culture and tradition.

I have a friend who once said to me “Soup is for poor people”. I must have looked stunned, so he clarified: “Only poor people eat soup.”

Coming from an Italian background, and he from a Brazilian, I understand where he’s coming from. In Italy, we refer to it as Cucina Povera, or poor cuisine/peasant cookery that is deeply rooted in heritage and customs.

Soups were traditionally the sustenance of the peasant class, utilizing what was inexpensive or accessible. The motto – In the kitchen, nothing is thrown away – resonates deeply with this tradition.

In the last decade soups and rustic cooking have made a remarkable comeback, evolving into main meals as cooks rediscover their versatility. Unlike in the past, when my parents served soups as the Primo (first course) and always followed by a Secondo (second course/main) today’s focus on minimizing waste aligns beautifully with the philosophy of  – fare qualcosa fuori di niente – making something out of nothing.

The ingredients for traditional Cucina Povera depended on local produce. As Patience Gray notes in Honey from a Weed: The fact that every crop is of short duration promotes a spirit of making the best of it while it lasts and conserving a part of it for future use.

The contadini, or peasants, often relied on less desirable cuts of meat, seasonal or discarded vegetables, wild herbs, grains, and pulses, the produce that they couldn’t sell. Despite their limited resources, these simple ingredients resulted in nutritious and flavourful soups. When cooking, they also had to take into account practical considerations, such as the size and number of pots and the methods of heating.

In many Italian households, it is still common to add stale bread to soups that originally was used for sustenance and as thickening. For example, Pappa al Pomodoro, a pureed tomato soup is thickened with bread. Pappa means pap. I also remember Pappa di Pane (bread), being a favourite and often the first solid food for babies.

A more perfect example of the ultimate zero-waste soup of Cucina Povera is is Ribollita, a thick, Tuscan soup made with cannellini beans, vegetables (including cavolo nero) and bread.

Ribollita means “reboiled” and the next batch of Ribollita sees the leftover soup being used to make the new batch. More vegetables are added, and it is once again thickened with stale bread.

Coastal regions also have a rich tradition of fish soups and many famous Italian fish soups originated from peasant cuisine, often made from discarded fish that were simmered to make a flavourful stock.

Elisabeth Laud highlights that: The limitations imposed by a single pot, a single heat source, local produce, and little or no access to imports are characteristic of peasant cooking, giving it a distinct identity.

Cucina Povera encompasses more than just soup, it includes a variety of regional pasta, polenta, and rice dishes, all made with frugal ingredients.

Growing up, my family enjoyed a multitude of Zuppe and Minestre. And you may wonder about the distinction between them.

A Zuppa refers to a soup or broth served over slices of bread, allowing the bread to soak up the delicious liquid. In contrast, a Minestra typically contains rice or pasta, making it heartier. The Oxford Companion of Italian Food by Gillian Riley notes that: a pureed vegetable soup is classified as a zuppa.

The term Zuppa is thought to derive from a Celtic word that translates as “slice of bread.” Historically, wealthy nobles would serve extravagant dishes on large pieces of bread, using the bread as a base for their meals. The leftover soaked bases of bread would often be given to servants, who would then cook the soaked bread with simple ingredients to create soups.

Minestre, on the other hand, comes from the Latin ministrare, meaning “to administer,” perhaps demonstrating what happened in family gatherings where a figure of authority (the father) would serve from a central pot.

The Minestra, therefore, could imply “a thicker soup” with rice or pasta or polenta or some other cereal as a thickener. So, what are we to make of Minestrone, which is signifies a big, hearty soup, implied by the ending –one as distinct from Minestrina, the -ina indicates a little light soup. Usually a Minestrina is fed to babies or young children, or sick people. It is never heavy.

And what about Vellutate? It derives from the word velluto – velvet. One could have a good time guessing.

The terminology has become increasingly ambiguous over time. There’s much more to explore, such as Brodo (broth) and wet pasta dishes that don’t fit neatly into the categories of soup or Pasta Asciutta – pasta dishes that are dressed but remain dry.

I consulted a number of resources and this book: Grande Enciclopedia Illustrata della Gostronamia. It is written in Italian and therefore it is probably not surprising that it has more clarification about Zuppa and Minestra.

I like this quote from this book:

Ma benché sia così radicata nella tradizione italiana oggi non è affatto semplice definire che cosa sia esattamente una minestra. (But although it (minestra and zuppa) are so rooted in the Italian tradition, today it is not at all easy to define what exactly a soup is)

I love the Italian language!

Moulinex for making vellutate (veloutés), baby food and Pappa al Pomodoro

CAVOLO NERO and three ways to cook it (Ribollita)

EGG PASTA WITH ZUCCHINI FLOWERS, ZUCCHINI, PINE NUTS and STRACCIATELLA (egg drop)

Zucchini are coming to the end of the season but in home gardens there still seem to be flowers.

A friend gave me some zucchini flowers; they are delicate and fragile and always a pleasure to receive.

The flowers have to be used quickly.

As you can see from the photo above I decided to make a quick pasta dish using zucchini and pine nuts. I have plenty of young rosemary twigs that are soft enough to chop finely.

If I had some stracciatella (a soft, fresh cheese) at home I would have added it after incorporating  the pasta with the zucchini. I  improvised and stirred 2 eggs with a fork and used this instead,  after all , the word means little, torn rags or shreds and  ‘Italian egg drop soup,’  is also called stracciatella. In this Roman soup , egg is stirred into the hot broth forming strands.

The  free range eggs were very fresh and yellow.

I used butter for the cooking, because butter would brown the zucchini more effectively. I also like the taste of butter in cooking.

I used egg ribbon pasta and because the pasta cooks quickly I put on the pasta to cook while I finished the zucchini component.

Once the zucchini slices were coloured I added the pine nuts to toast.

I quickly added the zucchini flowers; they soon softened in the heat and did not need any further cooking.

I also added the stirred eggs  and a ladle of  the cooking water from the pasta. The heat, plus the water will cook the eggs and make them creamy.

Drain the pasta and incorporate the two together.  I always add a blob of butter or a good drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil to any pasta I make.

The fresh taste of the ingredients is what I wanted and it was not necessary to add  parmesan cheese, however, each to their taste!

See:

STUFFED ZUCCHINI FLOWERS

PASTA CON ZUCCHINE FRITTE (Pasta and fried zucchini)

 

YEARNING FOR VITELLO TONNATO

Now and again I feel nostalgic for the “old” food from my childhood and I often hanker for Vitello Tonnato.

It is eaten cold, can be easily prepared beforehand and is a perfect dish as a starter or as a main meal. Left overs make a perfect panino.

There is an earlier post with the recipe for Vitello Tonnato,  but this time I will let the photos guide the cooking.

Ingredients for Vitello Tonnato.

I used a girello – the eye round steak. The vegetables are onion, celery, carrots, garlic and herbs. I have tied the herbs (bay, rosemary, thyme) with string so that they can be easily removed at the end of cooking. Usually I like to include sage, but I have none growing at the moment.

I insert slices of garlic into the meat.

Inserting garlic into meat.

Some recipes indicate that the vegetables and meat can be boiled. I do not always repeat what my mother did but like her I lightly brown the vegetables and meat and this does add to the taste.  I used a fish kettle for the cooking.

There is a bottle of white wine and some chicken stock ready to add. I added about 1 cup of wine and 2 cups of stock.

Lightly browned meat and ingredients.

The liquid will add flavour and keep the meat moist. I always evaporate the juices at the end to concentrate the flavours of the sauce. Add seasoning.

Cook the meat to your liking. My mother always cooked it till it was very well done – that is how the older generation cooked meat in those times. My meat is lightly pink, but could have been rarer –  on this occasion I had guests who prefer their meat well done.

Cool the meat and slice thinly.

Still pink when cut.

Now for the sauce: egg mayonnaise, drained tuna (packed in oil), capers, anchovies and some of the vegetables that were used in the cooking of the meat. If the reduced sauce has cooled and jellied, add a little of the sauce.

Ingredients for the sauce.

Blend  the ingredients. before adding the mayonnaise.

Add the mayonnaise and this is the sauce.

Build the layers – slices of meat, topped with the sauce. I made it the day before I served it. The sauce penetrates and softens the meat.

Layering meat and sauce.

I have had modern versions of this dish in a number of places, both in Australia and Italy and the preference seems to be to place the sauce on top of some slices without covering each layer of meat.

I  like the meat to be smothered with the tuna sauce.

Decorate it as you wish. This time was not my best, I used the left over carrots, topped them with strips of anchovies, stuffed olives cut in half and pink peppercorns. My mother probably would not have approved.

Decoration: carrot strips with anchovy, olives and ground pink peppercorns.

SEE:
VITELLO TONNATO

CHICKEN LAYERED WITH A TUNA AND EGG MAYONNAISE,  A cold Chicken dish

INSALATA RUSSA (Party time – Russian salad)

PESCE IN BIANCO (Plain fish). MAIONESE (Mayonnaise)

POLLO ALLA MESSINESE (A cold chicken dish similar to Vitello Tonnato from Messina)