Simple Italy

Celebrating Your Inner Italian

Giddy about Garlic

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What Happens Underground Doesn’t Stay Underground
Freshly harvest viola Francese garlic bulbs will dry in a shady spot for a few weeks.

Newly harvested viola Francese garlic bulbs will dry in a shady spot for a few weeks.

Last fall I blogged about my foray into planting garlic. My procrastination in ordering bulbs on the Seeds from Italy website resulted in missing out on the desired rossa di Sulmona variety. I settled for viola Francese.

I separated the bulbs into cloves, planted them, and mulched them as instructed. They pushed their green shoots out this spring (full disclosure–a few started growing last fall). We savored the garlic scapes in salads and sautés. So good.

Then the whirl of summer took over. A morning glory vine from a planter box adjacent to my garlic patch spilled a thick green leaf quilt over the garlic leaves which were wilting and turning brown according to nature’s plan.

Hmmmm. Out of sight. Out of mind. When was I supposed to dig up those garlic bulbs?

I consulted my trusty copy of Step-by-Step Gardening Techniques Illustrated (Storey Communications) which told me, “When most of the leaves have turned brown (in mid-July to early August, depending on your climate), gently pull or dig up the bulbs, being careful not to bruise them. Don’t leave them in the ground too long, or they may begin to separate and will not store well.”

It’s the end of August! Carefully retrieving the bulbs with a trowel, I can see that although most of the bulbs are intact, the center stem connected to the root has died back, leaving the individual cloves more prone to separate from the bulb.

I don’t care. I’m still giddy about my bumper crop. Now that I can see the bounty, I promise myself to watch the calendar more closely next season.

 

Roasted Tomatoes

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Roasting tomatoes caramelizes the natural sugars for a sweet tart side dish.

Roasting tomatoes caramelizes the natural sugars for a sweet tart side dish.

 

Roasted Tomatoes
Print
Recipe type: Side Dish
Cuisine: Italian
Author:
Serves: 8
A medley of different tomato varieties--grape, cherry, heirlooms--is fine for this dish. Just make sure they are cut into equal sized chunks.
Ingredients
  • 4 pounds plum tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
  • ½ cup minced fresh mixed herbs such as parsley, rosemary, sage, and thyme
  • 3 large cloves garlic, slivered
  • Zest of 1 lemon, cut into thin strips
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Salt
  • Ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven or covered grill (indirect heat) to 400° F. In a lasagna pan or other large rectangular baking dish, toss the tomatoes, herbs, garlic, and lemon zest. Drizzle generously with oil and season with salt and pepper.
  2. Roast for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are very soft and the juices are thickened. Serve hot or room temperature as a side dish or a pasta sauce.

Il Postino

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The late Massimo Troisi with Il Postino co-star Maria Grazia Cucinotta who plays Beatrice.

The late Massimo Troisi with Il Postino co-star Maria Grazia Cucinotta who plays Beatrice.

Have you ever been convinced that you’ve seen a movie only to find out that you hadn’t?

That happened to me with the Academy Award-winning Il Postino. Recently watching the DVD from Netflix, I realized to my chagrin that I had probably seen the trailer but not the entire film. For years, I’ve catalogued it in my mind as a standard Italian sex romp (doubtless because of the voluptuous actress on the poster) but that’s not what it is.

The film was made in 1994 and released in the U.S. the following year. Directed by Brit Michael Radford, it is the story of Mario Ruoppolo, the postman who delivers letters to Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet Pablo Neruda who is exiled on an Aeolian island. The sweet story portrays poetry blossoming inside the soul of the simple postman. With Neruda’s inspiration, he wins his Beatrice.

Reading reviews and features about the film, I learned that Massimo Troisi, the Neapolitan comic actor and director who played the postman died only 12 hours after filming was completed.

Troisi was plagued by heart problems since childhood and doctors warned him when filming began that he needed a heart transplant. He chose to go ahead with the work. He had become captivated with the novel Burning Patience by Antonio Skarmeta on which the screenplay is based.

Maria Laurino reported in The New York Times, “Il Postino was the 12th film for Troisi, who also directed five of the movies he starred in, and his death shook Italy. His devoted public, who had no idea that he was seriously ill, showed up by the thousands at his funeral in San Giorgio a Cremano, the small town outside Naples where he was born.

“Troisi had this ability to express the theatrical form of living that Neapolitans have in general and then translate it to the theater,” said Giuliana Bruno, a professor at Harvard University and author of Street Walking on a Ruined Map, a study of Neapolitan film. “It’s not just acting out language, but using facial expressions and body language. The soul of the people comes out in his work.”

 

“Contact Us” Glitch Fixed

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Sorry we were out of touch.

Sorry we were out of touch.

We’re embarrassed.

Our “Contact Us” capability crashed at the worst possible time!

It went down just as we launched our wonderful “SimpleItaly Adventure in Tuscany Tour: A Celebration of the Senses.”

If you tried to reach us, we apologize for not getting back to you.

The “Contact Us” function is now working and we’d like to hear from you.

Grazie,

Sharon and Walter Sanders

Coffee Semifreddo

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Bold and bracing, a coffee semifreddo slices through summer humidity.

Bold and bracing, a coffee semifreddo slices through summer humidity.

If the Lemon Semifreddo in the previous post can be characterized as angelic, this Coffee Semifreddo is the devilish counterpart. It is the sweet weapon of choice when you want to go full throttle against the torpor of summer weather.

 

Coffee Semifreddo
Print
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Author:
Serves: 8
The USDA recommends that, due to possible danger from Salmonella contamination, pasteurized in-shell eggs should be used for any recipe calling for uncooked or undercooked eggs.
Ingredients
  • 3 large eggs, separated (see note above)
  • ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar, divided
  • ½ cup brewed espresso or very strong coffee
  • 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract or brandy
  • Pinch of salt
  • ¾ cup heavy or whipping cream
  • Cocoa powder, chocolate curls, or chocolate-covered coffee beans
Instructions
  1. Line a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap so excess hangs over the sides. Set aside.
  2. In a medium saucepan, combine the egg yolks and ¼ cup sugar. With a flat-bottom whisk, stir until well combined. Stir in the espresso or coffee. Set over medium-high heat and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan and set it in a larger container filled with ice water; whisk occasionally until cool about 15 minutes. Stir in the vanilla or brandy.
  3. Combine the egg whites and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until whites look foamy. Continue beating while gradually adding ¼ cup sugar, until stiff peaks form.
  4. In another mixing bowl, using the same beater, beat the cream with a mixer at high speed, adding the remaining ¼ cup sugar half way through, until doubled in volume.
  5. Fold the egg-white mixture into coffee mixture then gently fold in whipped cream. Pour and spread into the prepared pan. Bring the extra plastic wrap over the top to cover the semifreddo. Place in the freezer at least 12 hours or up to 3 days.
  6. To unmold, remove top plastic wrap. Set aside for about 10 minutes. Place the pan over a serving platter, and turn the semifreddo out of the pan. Slice with a sharp knife.
  7. Dust with cocoa powder or garnish with chocolate curls or chocolate-covered coffee beans.

 

Click here for information about egg cooking safety.

Click here for information about pasteurized in-shell eggs.