Italian regional cooking | All Things Sicilian and more

Rationale – CULINARY TRADITIONS

We cannot expect recipes to remain exactly the same, but there are some culinary traditions when it comes to Italian food. These may influence our thinking.

Just like food has evolved in Australia (and elsewhere) cooks are influenced by new ingredients, the wide exposure to the cooking of others (media, travel, migration/immigration, eating away from home) and perhaps the wider acceptance of not sticking to the rules, except perhaps as do the nonne (plural of nonna) and in my case, it was also the zie (plural of zia=aunt).

One simple example of how traditional recipes have evolved is to consider the range of toppings with Pizza. Once, there was Margheria, Marinara, Quattro Stagioni, Napoletana and Pugliese (if you were lucky.) Modern combination of ingredients are now extensive and I consider some to be excellent and keeping with my tastes (ingredients like – stracciatella, gorgozola, roquette, roasted pumpkin etc), but somehow I can’t come to accept a BBQ PIZZA as described on the web (with smoked cheese, diced chicken breast, peppers, onions, baby plum tomatoes and barbecue sauce) or a TIKKA MASALA PIZZA (spiced chicken, green peppers, natural yogurt, mango chutney and coriander).

My knowledge about Italian cuisine and ingredients just doesn’t allow it.

I like to experiment in the kitchen, but I tend to stick with ingredients that I think are acceptable within tradition and regional culture. I base my cooking of my knowledge and experience. For example, I have seen recipes suggesting fish sauce as a substitute for anchovies in Italian recipes (by chefs and not necessarily Italian). And why not? But not me. Part of me still sticks some culinary regulations.

The following is an account of my thinking before I cooked dinner on a week night (not special).

I had some fennel and some zucchini in the fridge that needed using.

I needed to make some culinary decisions.

I felt like making a pasta dish but knew that I needed to add something else to these vegetables to pep up the flavour. I consider both these vegetables sweet tasting, and because my sweet marjoram plant is doing extremely well on my balcony, I decided to add this, too. Parsley always pairs with both vegetables as does a splash of white wine or/and stock. I could sauté either onion or garlic before adding the vegetables and I could cook them in butter as well as extra virgin olive oil; I would add a large amount of grated Parmesan at the end. Perhaps also a grind of nutmeg which would complement the marjoram and the sweet tastes of the vegetables. This set me thinking about adding a few walnuts too (influenced by the Ligurian pesto made with marjoram and walnuts). Such a recipe would result in a dish with northern Italian flavours.

If I wanted something spicier, I would need to add some of the following ingredients: olives (either black or green), capers, chilli, anchovies, tomatoes or better still tomato paste. Red wine is stronger than white wine and Pernod would complement the fennel in the ingredients.Either Italian pork sausages (with fennel or chilli,) or pancetta would be good, too. Borlotti or cannellini beans would enhance the taste and textures and add protein to the dish. Adding a contrasting bitter tasting vegetable could also work – radicchio, if I wanted to keep with northern Italian influences, chicory or endives, perhaps, would be more southern and wild fennel would be Sicilian or Calabrese.

I decided on anchovies, olives and a dash of white wine.

With strong flavours Pecorino is better than Parmesan. I always have feta marinating in my fridge (in extra virgin olive oil, fennel seeds, dried oregano, fresh bay leaves and peppercorns) and this would be suitable too. Ricotta would be a sweet contrast to the stronger flavours, but perhaps it would be better as a topping to the milder northern Italian influenced version. And least we forget pan fried dry breadcrumbs as a topping, popular in Sicily and Calabria.

Once I decided on the ingredients, cooking was simple.

INGREDIENTS

4 zucchini (in cubes), 1 head of fennel (cut into smaller cubes), 1 onion (sliced) – I only had a red onion, but because of the strong colour I would have preferred a white/ brown one), about 8 – 10 chopped anchovies (to taste), olives (mine were a mixture of green and black), cut parsley and marjoram and a splash of white wine. I used no salt because of the anchovies and olives. Extra virgin olive oil for the cooking.

Different shapes of pasta hold the sauce and ingredients in a different way. An oily, creamy, thin sauce sticks better to long pasta, whereas a short pasta shape is more suited to a sauce where the bits of meat or vegetables can nestle within, for example, shapes that have a hole (penne, rigatoni, shells) or a ridge or twists (farfalle, casarecce, spiralli) I opted for short casarecce pasta to go with this sauce.

METHOD

Work out at what stage of cooking the sauce, you will need to cook the pasta. This will depend on your speed as a cook.

For the sauce: Dissolve anchovies in a saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil, then add the onion and sauté until it has wilted. Add the fennel and the anchovies and at the same time as sautéing the ingredients try to dissolve the anchovies. The darker colour in the photo above is red onion. Cook for about 5 minutes until the fennel has softened.

Add zucchini, chopped herbs and olives. Sauté again and perhaps cover with a lid until the vegetables have softened to your liking (I didn’t have to)

Add a splash of white wine to deglaze.

Dress the pasta. Present with grated cheese. I selected Pecorino.

And I wasn’t to miss out about Radicchio and Borlotti, so I made a salad. I used celery rather than fennel because I had used fennel in the sauce, used spring onion and aa vinaigrette dressing.

Some examples of recipes that may have influenced my thinking:

PESTO DI NOCI (Walnut pesto/ sauce for pasta)

PASTA CON FINOCCHIO (Pasta and fennel; preferably wild)

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

PASTA CON LE SARDE (SARDINES)

RADICCHIO and Borlotti salad

AND BORLOTTI SALAD and BRAISED FENNEL WITH TAPENADE

IOTA recipe for SBS ITALIAN (a thick soup from Trieste)

Those who read Italian can tap into the link below for SBS Italian. The link also allows anyone who would like to listen to me discussing the recipe briefly with the SBS Presenter Massimigliano/Max Gugole). This is also spoken in Italian.

Recipe and podcast SBS Italian:

https://rb.gy/50uxy

The following is a rough translation of what is on the SBS Italian website and what Max and I discussed.

Jota /Iota is a very ancient preparation much appreciated in Trieste (Friuli-Venezia Giulia), a territory with a complex history, it was first part of of the Austrian Empire and later of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

When you look at a map of Italy and find Trieste, you see that the location of this city is close to Slovenia, Croatia and further north is Austria and the cuisine of Trieste has been influenced by these countries.

This thick soup is made with borlotti beans, “capuzi garbi” (the local name for sauerkraut), potatoes and smoked pork. For the latter component, sausages or a piece of cooked ham can be used. For meat on the bone, you can use ribs, a hock or ham on the bone.

It is a typical winter dish, rustic and full-bodied, which is eaten as a stand alone dish.

Jota is typical and is eaten not only in Trieste but throughout Friuli.

Like all ancient recipes, every family has its own recipe and there are many variations. Some put barley, polenta or a soffritto of a little oil sautéed with a little flour to make it thicker. Many also add a teaspoon of German cumin seeds (caraway seeds in English) and not to be confused with what we call cumin.

Experiment with this recipe. Feel free to add more meat or more beans or more sauerkraut, depending on your taste! And with a few more potatoes, the soup will be even thicker.

Ingredients (6 people)

400g sauerkraut, drained
400g of dried borlotti beans
400g of potatoes
4 – 6 bay leaves
2 cloves of garlic
Smoked pork: 2-3 sausages or a whole piece of cooked ham (about 400g), or a hock (about 1k) or ribs, or bone-in ham
extra virgin olive oil or lardpepper and salt to taste2 tablespoons flour (optional)

The night before, put the well-covered beans in a bowl to soak in cold water.

The next day, cook the beans in a saucepan with 2 bay leaves over low heat for about 40 – 50 minutes. Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces, add them to the broth with the beans and continue cooking for 20 – 30 minutes until everything is cooked.

Place half the potatoes and beans in a bowl with the broth, reducing everything to a puree/ mash. Then add the rest of the whole beans and pieces of potatoes.

In another pot, brown the crushed garlic cloves in a little oil or lard. When they are golden, add the sauerkraut and cover them with water. If you want you can add some bay leaves and/or caraway seeds.

Add the hock and/or smoked meat on the bone, and when it is almost fully cooked, add the whole sausages and cook for another 15-20 minutes. Remove the sausages and meat from the pot and slice everything, removing the bones.

Combine the vegetable broth with the beans and potatoes with the sauerkraut, the sliced smoked meat and its broth.Season with salt and pepper to taste.

OPTIONAL: In a small separate pan put two tablespoons of oil or lard, adding a little flour. Stir to avoid lumps. Once the flour has been toasted, add this sautéed mixture to the rest of the soup, mixing carefully.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

This soup should be quite thick. Add more broth or water if it is too thick.

It is even better if prepared a day in advance.

The beans and potatoes can be cooked days beforehand and kept in the fridge.

To cook a Jota with less fat you can cook the broth with the smoked meat in the water and the bay leaves. When the meat and the broth are cooked, if you have used meat on the bones, remove the bones and when the broth is cold remove the fat.

Sauerkraut can be bought either in jars or glass jars in delicatessen shops and supermarkets.

Smoked meat is part of German, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Slovenian and Croatian gastronomy.

Pork hocks, ribs and cooked ham are readily available and can be found in supermarkets. Sausages can be bought in produce markets, some continental delicatessens and butchers or food specialty shops. In some supermarkets you can find commercial sausages: Polish sausage, Kramsky, Cabonossi and Kabana. I keep away from those wrapped in plastic.

Commercial cooked bacon if cured and smoked properly is cooked first and then smoked, but unfortunately, some manufacturers inject the meat with liquid smoke. (Use a reputable brand).

N.B. There are smoked products that are made with free-range pork and smallgoods/charcuterie manufacturers that use no artificial additives or preservatives.

There are other recipes for making Iota on my blog. For the SBS recipe I thought that I would simplify the recipe and write it more in keeping with the many variations of how to cook Iota in Trieste, so I suggested using two saucepans, one to cook the beans and potatoes and in the other the sauerkraut and pork.

Other recipes on All Things Sicilian and More blog:

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

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

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

A RAVE ABOUT BORLOTTI BEANS

As much as I am enjoying the range of winter leafy greens (see previous post Seasonal Winter Vegetables in Melbourne Australia), I am also enjoying pulses, and at this time of year pulses seem very appropriate.

There are many types of beans that I cook, including Black, Kidney, Lima, Black-eyed, Broad/Fava, Azuki and Navy beans (also known as Haricot), but perhaps because I come from an Italian background the beans I use more often than others, are Cannellini and Borlotti.

In this post I have chosen to celebrate the versatility of Borlotti beans, both fresh and dried. It is a long rave.

When I say versatility, I am not just upholding their usage in soups and salads with many variations to the combination of ingredients, but I am endorsing their irrefutable contribution in the nutritional value and flavour to many vegetable, meat and fish dishes.

I cannot think of any vegetable that I have not combined with Borlotti.

Significant are the vegetables used in an Italian soffritto – a mix of finely chopped carrot, celery, and onion, sautéed in olive oil (or butter or other fats or a combination). Those ingredients are the basis for most sauces, soups, braises and stews in any Italian kitchen. Soffrigere (verb) means to slowly fry or sauté. Soffritto is the product/the sautéed end result.

I particularly like combining Borlotti with bitter, leafy vegetables. Probably the most bitter are radicchio, endives, chicory, but mustard greens like kale, cime di rapa/turnip greens, kohlrabi and to a lesser extent – broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, all types of cabbage, radish, swede and turnips.

Thyme, bay, sage, marjoram, rosemary, fennel and parsley are my favourite herbs. But I also often use chilli or pepper, and at the other end spectrum nutmeg, a spice that brings out the sweetness of Borlotti. Of course, in Italian cuisine there is also garlic.

Bean soups can be thin or thick. Pasta of all shapes and sizes including broken spaghetti are commonly added to bean soups. There are many regional variations to Pasta e Fagioli (Pasta and Beans) but overall it is a relatively thick composition, a wet pasta dish in many localities.

Rice, Orzo (Barley) Farro (an ancient variety of wheat related to spelt) and even polenta are also common, but probably less common than pasta. Barley, Borlotti and sauerkraut are the ingredients in the soup in the photo above. Chestnuts taste quite farinaceous and while pairing them with beans may sound like an odd combination, but they are added togetther in some Italian regional soup recipes. They are popular in the regions of Valle d’Aosta, Piemonte, Liguria, Emilia Romagna and Toscana. Of course, the beans can also be mashed. Bean soups are considered to be nourishing and even brothy bean soups are usually presented with crostini or thick slices of good bread.

A drizzle of good Extra Virgin Olive Oil at the time of serving is a must. The perfume of the oil hitting the hot soup does wonders for my appetite!

And not all soups nees to be presented with grated cheese. One of the things I like to do as a dressing for some soups once they are cooked, is to sauté crushed or chopped garlic and finely cut parsley (sometimes I include fresh rosemary leaves) in Extra Virgin Olive Oil and pour it over the soup just before serving. This, too, stimulates the olfactory organs.

I must mention Borlotti and its association with pork – fresh meat or smoked – for example hocks, pancetta, lardo, salame, sausages, rind and ribs.

I will definitely not omit to mention, JOTA/IOTA an emblematic dish soup from Trieste, a city in Friuli Venezia Giulia, north-eastwards from the Veneto region. It is the city of my childhood. Jota is a thick, hearty soup of sauerkraut, Borlotti Beans, potato and smoked pork. Pretty Marvellous!

Below is a pasta sauce I made with minced duck, mushrooms and Borlotti. I cooked the sauce like a Bolognese but used minced duck instead of pork and beef. I also added nutmeg as is common in a Bolognese. And I presented the pasta with grated Parmesan cheese.

Borlotti combined with fresh pork sausages make flavoursome pasta sauces either cooked with or without tomatoes (or passata, paste).

One of my favourite ways of eating polenta is with a generous topping of fresh sausages cooked as a sugo made with tomatoes/passata. Cooked Borlotti beans are added to the sugo towards the end of cooking; these impart extra depth to the flavours of this dish and certainly make it more homely. A topping of grated Parmigiano on top of this dish is a must.

Anchovies are excellent in salads and braises that contain Borlotti.

Try a salad of Borlotti, roasted peppers, anchovies and a strong-tasting bitter green, like radicchio, chicory, endives or puntarella dressed with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, wine vinegar or lemon juice, seasoning and a little garlic. The anchovies can be mashed into the dressing.

The season for fresh Borlotti in the Southern States in Australia is late summer. The season is not very long so if you see them buy them. I was recently in a very good vegetable shop called Toscano in Kew (a suburb of Melbourne) and saw fresh Borlotti. In the Victoria Market, at the stall called the Fruttivendolo you will also find fresh Borlotti but if you are concerned about food miles ask where they are grown. It is winter in Melbourne. Both of these greengrocers sell fresh Borlotti in season but the ones sold in Melbourne now are from Queensland.

Below is a photo of fresh Borlotti in Bologna. The word scozzezi on the sign adveertises them as being Scottish. I guess that when we think about food miles, Queensland is about as far from Melbourne, as Scotland is from Bologna.

Fresh borlotti beans can be enclosed in pink, purple or white speckled pods; either way the beans are the same attractive colour and look as if they have been coated with wax. They are shiny and bursting with flavour.

It is preferable to shell the fresh beans soon after purchase. The skins of the fresh beans harden if they are exposed in the air for too long. While fresh beans may be difficult to obtain, the dried beans are much easier to find, as are canned beans, and if you are lucky, you can buy them packed in a jar.

Borlotti beans are also called Cranberry beans, especially in North America. Their attractive colouring sets them apart from other beans, but once cooked, they fade to a light – mid brown colour. Pinto beans are similar to Borlotti in colour, but have more brown specks and are not as vibrantly coloured.

Dried beans are simple to cook; I leave them to soak overnight before cooking.

I usually cook beans (all types) in 1kg quantities and keep them in sealed containers covered with their broth/cooking juice (I like to use sealed glass jars). I keep some jars in the fridge to use during the week and some jars in the freezer. The beans in jars also come in very handy on our many camping trips.

This Pasta e Fagioli was made by two of my Sicilian aunts in Ragusa, south eastern Sicily. It consists of cooked, fresh Borlotti and homemade, finger-rolled pasta (called causineddi/cavatelli).

As you can see by the consistency of this dish, it cannot be classed as a soup. This combination of fresh Borlotti and pasta is a late summer, Sicilian favourite.

1 kg of fresh borlotti beans (will give about 300 g when shelled)
1 stick of celery
1 red tomato
1 onion
1 carrot
200 g of pasta or more

Being summer use basil in the broth and just before serving.

In a saucepan, preferably earthenware, put the beans, the finely chopped onion, the tomato, celery and carrot cut into very small pieces. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Put the lid on and simmer on low heat for about 1 hour. Season with salt and pepper or some chilli flakes – this is the soup part. Add more water if necessary (or stock) and bring to the boil before adding some pasta. As soon as the pasta is cooked pour a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive oil on top.

Links:

PASTA E FAGIOLI (Thick bean soup with pasta)

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

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

MINESTRA from Trieste; borlotti, pearl barley, Sauerkraut

Polenta and its magic

BIGOLI NOBILI (Bigoli pasta with red radicchio, borlotti and pork sausages)

RADICCHIO, TUNA AND BORLOTTI SALAD and BRAISED FENNEL WITH TAPENADE

SEASONAL WINTER VEGETABLES in Melbourne, Australia

CICORIA and Puntarelle (Chicory)

PASTA e FAVE (Pasta with broad beans – a wet or dry pasta dish)

Pasta e fave (broad beans) is a spring-time, Italian, rustic dish.

There are many Italian, regional combinations of pasta e fave, some add chicory or wild fennel, or tomatoes. Guanciale is an Italian cured meat made from pork’s cheek (guancia – cheek) and it is also a favourite flavouring. Thick bacon can be substituted, but somehow this is not produce I associate with fresh spring flavours and I always omit it. In keeping with the theme of spring, on this occasion I added a couple of zucchini. Fresh mint leaves can be added at the time of serving the pasta.

Peas are also in season in spring and the same dish can be prepared with peas or a combination of broad beans and peas.

Depending on which part of Italy you favour, you can add Pecorino or Parmigiano, but once again, I prefer to keep the taste “clean” and the drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, fresh mint and freshly ground black pepper is enough for me.

Short to medium sized pasta that is suitable for zuppa or minestra (soup) is used in this dish and the pasta can be presented with the broad beans, served either wet or dry. You can choose whether to obtain a rather dry or slightly brothy dish – I always like it wet, just as I like a wet pasta e fagioli (borlotti beans).

I like to cook my pasta in with the beans, however, the pasta can be cooked separately, drained and then added to the beans. If this is your preferred method, cook the broad beans for 20-30 minutes, until soft, cook the pasta until al dente, then drain and dress the pasta with the broad beans and the broth.

1.5 kg fresh broad beans

2 spring onions
1 or 2 fresh garlic cloves
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and to taste pepper to taste
2 zucchini (optional)
chopped parsley
1 litre or more of chicken or vegetable broth (or water)
short pasta, a couple of handfuls or more, depending on how much pasta you prefer
your best and fruitiest, extra virgin olive oil to drizzle on top

Heat extra virgin olive oil and sauté the onions and garlic.
Add the shelled beans, zucchini and parsley and sauté briefly. Add broth, season with salt and pepper, cover, and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes. Make sure that the liquid is boiling before adding the pasta. Add more hot broth or water if needed.

When the pasta is , turn off the heat and serve, but remember to drizzle your best extra virgin olive oil on top….it will be very fragrant!

Add more black pepper and/or fresh mint leaves when serving.

Grated cheese is optional.

Other Recipes with broad beans:

FAVE ( Broad beans)

Two Sicilian favourites:

PASTA ALLA FAVORITA (Pasta with artichokes, broad beans, peas alla favorita)

FRITTEDDA (A sauté of spring vegetables)

And for those of you in the Northern hemisphere, a Sicilian specialty:

MACCU (a thick, broad bean soup, made at the end of winter to celebrate spring)

PIEDMONTESE favourites

Two of my friends have been spending time in Piemonte (Piedmont) and as a welcome home dinner I made three Piedmontese favourites:
Bagna Cauda with an array of fresh vegetables cut into batons for dipping,
Vitello Tonnato,
Hazelnut cake with a homemade and delicately flavoured, vanilla ice cream.

I too visited Piedmont a few years ago and have very fond memories of of driving around Piemonte and Valle D’Osta. I stayed in Stresa, Lake Maggiore, Asti, Bra and Alba.

Bagna Cauda
I make it different ways but this time I poached the garlic cloves in cream, using low heat. This process softens the taste of the garlic. Notice the tall sided pan…this prevents the cream from boiling over. You can use milk instead.

I added the extra virgin olive oil, heated it and added the anchovies. They soon dissolve with the heat. (Photo below)

Then the butter and mixed the ingredients with a hand whisk. The sauce is kept hot.

Vitello Tonnato

I bought a cut of yearling girello. This is a lean, round strip of meat….giro=one of the words for “round” in Italian.

I always seal (lightly brown) my girello in some extra virgin olive oil, add some onion, carrot, celery and herbs.These are referred to as “odori” in Italian. Always dry white wine and chicken stock and I poach the meat for a short time. This is the same method and ingredients I use when I make Vitello Arrosto…a pot roast.

I want the meat to stay a little bit pink. Some recipes suggest not sealing the meat but poaching it in water or stock. I much prefer my method, the flavour is stronger and I do not do it this way just because my mother did.

I make an egg mayonnaise, add drained tuna packed in olive oil, hard boiled eggs, some lemon juice, capers, anchovies and a few of the poached vegetables that were used in the poaching of the meat. I blend all this and use it to make a stack ….about three layers of sliced meat interspersed with the tuna sauce.

Hazelnut cake

Roasted hazelnuts, skins rubbed off. Ground to resemble fine breadcrumbs, but not a powder.

A splash of Frangelico to accentuate the hazelnut taste.

Eggs and sugar, beaten (3 eggs, 180g of sugar)
Flour….SR or add baking powder to plain flour (200g)
Strong black coffee (1 small espresso cup). In the photo below, are some of my coffee making macchinette, the smallest is for making one small cup.

Butter, melted (150g).

A dash of milk if the mixture seems too dry. Mix all of the ingredients and place the batter in a buttered, spring-form tin.

Baked for 40 minutes (180 C)

TASMANIA, FOOD, ART, HOBART and Bagna Cauda

YEARNING FOR VITELLO TONNATO

VITELLO TONNATO

VITELLO ARROSTO (Roast Veal)

PESTO DI NOCI (Walnut pesto/ sauce for pasta)

I was discussing travelling in Italy and regional food (frequent topics of conversation) with an acquaintance, who told me that she and her daughter had really enjoyed travelling in Tuscany and had eaten a wonderful pasta dish with walnuts. She had no idea what it was; she had tried to work this out from recipe books but to no avail. She said that the sauce was very fragrant.

I think it must have been pesto di noci, very common in Liguria, home of pesto alla genovese (the one with pine nuts and basil).

I first ate this in Genova. My cousin Rosadele prepared this for me when I first visited her many years ago (to meet our respective, then husbands). Being autumn, she made this sauce to accompany agnolotti (pasta shaped like half moons/ hers were stuffed with ricotta and stracchino). She is a wonderful cook. Her mother, from Piedmont was also a very skilled cook, and between the two of them, there was always alchemy in their kitchens.

Although I promised this recipe to my acquaintance, I have been a little reluctant to post it in winter – it is made with fresh marjoram, and those of you who grow it and live in the colder states, will know that marjoram is dormant at this time of year. It hates hard winters and frost. However, if you have planted marjoram somewhere sheltered from the cold, and in a sunny location or even kept it indoors in a sunny spot, you may still have this herb. Taking one’s plant indoors is quite a common practice for people in England. My plant of marjoram, which was doing quite well on my balcony till about a month ago, now looks dead. I did check at The Queen Victoria Market this week to see if there were bunches of marjoram available, and there were.
Traditionally because it is a pesto, it is made with a mortar and pestle (see my recipe for Sicilian pesto), but I admit that with these ingredients a blender has worked well for me ( unlike basil which is likely to taste grassy if blended).

INGREDIENTS
walnuts, 500g
marjoram and parsley, 4 tablespoons of each, chopped
ricotta, 250 g
extra virgin olive oil, ¾ cup
garlic, 1-2 cloves
water, 1 tablespoon
salt, to taste
butter or thick cream, 2 tablespoons
grated nutmeg, a little
pasta, 400-500g (trofie – Ligurian, traditional shape)

PROCESSES
Blend walnuts, oil and garlic – add chopped herbs, salt and blend some more.
Add water and butter/ cream and pulse blender to the desired consistency.
Cook pasta.
Stir in the ricotta and nutmeg in the sauce.
Drain the pasta but reserve approx ½ cup of hot pasta water to stir into sauce just before serving (to warm the sauce).
Combine sauce with pasta and serve.

Grated parmigiano can be added – I prefer it without.

Do not get confused with oregano and marjoram (many do). The genus name for both is origanum. Marjoram (origanum majorana) is also called sweet marjoram or knotted marjoram. It has a softer leaf and stem, it is paler in colour, the flavour is milder, sweeter and it is very aromatic. Marjoram leaves are best when fresh.

Oregano is a very common herb in Sicily, but not marjoram – this herb is generally used only in the northern part of Italy.

Recipes for other Italian regional pesto:

MATAROCCU, a Sicilian pesto

PESTO GENOVESE CON TRIOFE, FAGGIOLINI E PATATE (Pesto with pasta, green beans and potatoes)

Tag: Italian regional cooking

Rationale – CULINARY TRADITIONS

Like this:

IOTA recipe for SBS ITALIAN (a thick soup from Trieste)

Like this:

A RAVE ABOUT BORLOTTI BEANS

Like this:

PASTA e FAVE (Pasta with broad beans – a wet or dry pasta dish)

Like this:

PIEDMONTESE favourites

Like this:

PESTO DI NOCI (Walnut pesto/ sauce for pasta)

Like this: