Potential Gold

Smothered Zucchini

I picked up some really great Zucchini from the Farmer's Market.  The farmer said they were similar to the 'Zucchini Bolognese' variety but that they were from Mexican origin.  I am not gonna chase the tail but they were very tasty.

This recipe is super simple and the results are always grand.

Paccheri Con Funghi Porcini e Salsa di Pomodoro

The theme ingredient tonight was Paccheri di Gragnano.  I purchased this pasta up the road from my flat on Solano in Berkeley at A.G. Ferrari (an overpriced Italian market that sometimes has the perfect specialty ingredient).

I first was introduced to Paccheri while on stage in Nusco (Avellino area of the Campania region in Italy).  There, my chef at the time, Antonio Pisaniello would make them with the most seasonal ingredient available.  Often for me it was with crema di zucca (gourd or pumpkin) and sometimes with a black truffle sauce.

Paccheri are really great and through my experiences this pasta is best enjoyed when not fully cooked and more on the al dente side.  Often times the pasta is layed out into a bowl and usually tossed with the sauce or even finished to cook with the sauce it is served with.

In my preperation I left the sauce off of the pasta and only mixed it through once I started to enjoy my plate.

Rasta Porc...UPDATE

So...now that we know the Rasta Porc will be transformed into Cicciolata, the kind Sous Chef and his gang over at Al Vedel sent the follow-up photos. 

Like I mentioned in previous posts, the Cicciolata is a form of 'head cheese' which is specifically famous in the area around Parma, Italy.  Sure, there are literally thousands of variations on any given recipe, but in the area of Parma, they will be close to this version.

(please click on photo to enlarge)

As you can see, this block is formed in layers.  The meat from the pig head (Rasta Porc!) along with the tongue, heart and skin is cooked for hours.  It is then all chopped up and spices are added, including Bay Leaf, but no zest in this recipe, or nuts (see for yourself in the photo).

The meat from the parts mentioned above is the red/gray color in the 'head cheese'.  The yellowish pieces within the block or Ciccioli, the close equivalent of what the US would call Pork Rinds.  The Ciccioli are large pieces of pork fat that also are cooked slowly.  After many hours the large pot is drained, the liquid fat, the lard, is packed for the nearby bakery which makes the bread for Al Vedel (see photo again for Panne Parmigianna).  The chunks of rendered fat are pressed and made into Ciccioli by adding salt and spices after pressed. 

These Ciccioli are added into the chopped head, heart and tongue to make the Cicciolata.  Follow!?!

Good!

Here, the gang from Vedole is saying hello...be nice and say hi back!

Stracciata w/ Red Cannara Onions

Another favorite recipe from Italy, that I made very often while living in Italy, is this recipe for Stracciata - or - Scrambled Eggs.

This version of scrambled eggs has a local Umbrian red onion added into the mix.  The red onion of Cannara becomes very sweet when sweated slowly and bleeds a brilliant dark purple color.  This recipe is from the Slow Food school in Jesi and was brought forward to us by the amazing talents of a young chef named Enea Barbanera who cooks in the region of Umbria.

"In the Spring there was nothing better than an excellent stracciata (scrambled eggs) with onion and also the tender new leaves added in. This custom is gradually dying out, although in the area of Norcia this practise was still in use up until just after WWII. Scrambled eggs with fresh onion and leaves are in my opinion, exquisite (to make it - just blanch the leaves for a couple of minutes in boiling water, squeeze out and cut up; then make the usual stracciata).

It used to be that every home always had an abundant supply of onions, but those who didn’t could always buy them from the street vendors who would pass by periodically (they still did this up until the 60’s) with their wooden carts laden with long braids of onions, pearl onions and garlic."

Ingredients:

10 eggs
2 large onion (depending on how much onion you like)
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
a pinch of grated cheese
toasted bread

Preparation:

Peel the onion and slice thinly; put in a skillet with some oil.
Cook to soften but it should not brown;
Add the lightly beaten eggs, salt and pepper;
Cook until just set and serve with toasted bread slices.

NOTE:  I want to point out the last step of this recipe                   - Cook Until Just Set -

This recipe is very different if you thoroughly cook the eggs and if you leave them runny (like in the photo below).  Try them on the runnier side and see how much more you may enjoy this dish.  Dont overcook the eggs - they don't deserve it!

Cavatelli e Orecchiette di GRANO ARSO

The hot weather in LA + the news of brush fires and their warnings brought back a quick memory of a peculiar pasta dish made in the Italian region of Puglia.

Grano Arso:

It was and still is the custom on the Tavoliere Plain, which extends from the Ofanto River all the way to Molise, to burn the wheat stubble after reaping. The remaining burnt grains of wheat were gathered and ground into a black flour. It is difficult to find anymore but can be made by roasting grains of wheat. This dish is rooted in the traditions of the poorest rural families.

The recipe below is for the cavatelli with a tomato sauce.  This recipe is the exacto one made at the Slow Food School in Jesi, but remember a recipe is just writing on some paper (or a computer screen now) - it may need a little extra love on your side!

CAVATELLI DI GRANO ARSO CON POMODORO E RICOTTA DURA
(Burnt Wheat Cavatelli with Tomato and Hard Ricotta)

Ingredients:

300g. burnt wheat flour
400g. puréed tomatoes
100g. extra virgin olive oil 
2 cloves garlic
200g. hard ricotta
salt and water

Preparation:

For the pasta:
Combine the burnt wheat flour and water to obtain a soft dough. Make small ropes, 1cm wide and 2-3cm long and hollow them out with two fingers.

For the tomato:
Sauté the garlic in a pan with some olive oil and add the puréed tomatoes.

Cook the cavatelli in plenty of boiling salted water. When done, serve with the tomato sauce and a handful of grated hard ricotta.

Wine recommendation:
This dish has the strong decisive flavours of the burnt wheat as well as of the tomato and hard ricotta. It will therefore need a young red wine with a good structure such as a San Severo Rosso.

Variation:
Given the difficulty in finding the burnt wheat flour, white flour may be substituted.
If instead of making the pasta pieces 2-3 cm long, they were made only 1cm long, they would then be called “cicatelli”.

::::::::NOTE::::::::

When I made the pasta using the Grano Arso, the Arso flavor was so intense that we had to cut it with normal flour - I recall a 250 g. ARSO to 150 g. "OO"

Also, we made Orecchiette from the pasta as well.  All you need is a table knife...

Toscana - The Pappa al Pomodoro

Region: Toscana

Chef: Andrea Alimenti

Restaurant: Acquamatta

Pappa al Pomodoro Two Ways

Andrea was one of the guest chefs while I was at Ital.Cook. – (Slow Food School) – This recipe is straight from his hand...here is a photo of what it should look like – IMHO, it tastes much better than it looks – but you can make it nice by serving it in terra cotta or the copper pot it calls for.  Have fun with it – it is an easy way to do something with that old, GOOD bread.

This dish is particularly representative of the cuisine at the very heart of Tuscany. It was made when the basil was at the height of its pungency and the tomatoes were fully ripe, in the classic copper cauldron, where it would be left to cook slowly and stirred often to yield a homogeneous and creamy consistency. There exist an infinite number of territorial variations.

Ingredients:

Garlic

Peeled Tomatoes

Basil

Olive Oil, Extra Virgin

Tuscan Bread (Saltless, or Anything Else!)

Water or Vegetable Stock

Preparation:

In a pan sauté a whole clove of garlic in olive oil; add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.

Cut the bread into ¾ inch cubes and deep fry in EVOO till a nice golden brown.  Drain on absorbent paper and add it to the tomato and cook until it becomes very soft; continue cooking and stir with a whisk so the mixture is perfectly blended.

Add the basil and extra virgin olive oil.

This is served as a thick soup.

variation:

Serve the very thick “pappa” wrapped in pork caul and  sprinkled with parmigiano cheese, then put in the oven to gratin for about 10 minutes.

Have fun - leave questions in COMMENT area.