Simple Italy

Celebrating Your Inner Italian

Marcella Hazan

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I never met Marcella Hazan but we spent many an hour together in my kitchen.

Hazan, 89, died Sunday at her home in Longboat Key, Fla. Her beloved husband, Victor Hazan, was with her.

Authenticity and simplicity were the foundations of Marcella Hazan's cookbooks.

Authenticity and simplicity were the foundations of Marcella Hazan’s cookbooks.

The title of her 2008 memoir Amarcord (“I remember” in the dialect of her native Romagna) sums up her career: Marcella Remembers: The Remarkable Life Story of the Woman Who Started Out Teaching Science in a Small Town in Italy, but Ended up Teaching America How to Cook Italian. And teach she did with her first volume The Classic Italian Cookbook and six subsequent titles.

She received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the James Beard Foundation in 2000 and the International Association of Culinary Professionals in 2004, as well as an Italian knighthood. Victor was her inspiration, lifelong collaborator, and writing partner (she wrote in Italian and he translated), himself an authority on Italian food and wine.

Love was at the heart of all she did. When she met Victor, an American who had been born in Italy and lived there as a child, he had returned to Italy to write and to eat. She was a scientist with no interest in food or cooking.

As she told Linda Wertheimer in this 2010 NPR interview, “He was always talking about food. For me, a young woman, you think that someone who courts you would talk about other things, not food. Especially when you’re not interested in food.”

We all thank Victor for his ardor and persistence. Marcella and Victor’s son, Giuliano Hazan, is stirring the pot for the next generation.

Do you have memories of Marcella, her cookbooks, or classes?

Passato di Pomodoro

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In September, when you can buy 20 pounds of pomodori pelati (plum tomatoes) for $15, you’ll know what to do.

Simmer the pelati in a big non-aluminum pot until they fall apart. Pass the contents through a food mill which purees the fruit but screens out the skin and seeds.

Passato di pomodoro in the freezer will make the change of seasons a little sweeter.

Reduce the passato (puree) in a large pot until excess water evaporates and  it thickens to just the right consistency to cling to strands of pasta.

Cool and freeze in 1 cup bags.

In January, you’ll say, I did the right thing.

Passato di Pomodoro
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Cuisine: Italian
Author:
Serves: 12 cups
Adding some vodka to the passato brings out the sweetness of the fruit. The alcohol, which evaporates during cooking, dissolves certain flavor compounds that neither oil nor water can release. If using vodka, add ½ cup to the puree (step 4) as it reduces.
Ingredients
  • 10 pounds very ripe plum tomatoes, cut in into lengthwise quarters
Instructions
  1. Pack a large non-aluminum pot with as many tomatoes as will fit, pressing with clean hands or a large spoon to squash the tomatoes to release some juice. Set on medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 12 minutes or until the tomatoes start to release more juice.
  2. With the back of a large spoon, press the tomatoes. Gradually add the remaining tomatoes until they all fit in the pot. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 25 to 30 minutes or until tomatoes are very soft.
  3. Set a food mill over a large non-aluminum pot. Working in batches, ladle the tomatoes and juice into the food mill. Pass the tomatoes through the mill to puree. With a silicone spatula, lift out and discard the skin and seeds after each batch.
  4. Set the puree over high heat. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat to medium and cook at a brisk simmer for 5 minutes. If the puree is too thin, continue to cook until it is reduced to the desired thickness. Skim and discard any light-colored foam that rises to the surface. Cool to room temperature then refrigerate for several hours to chill thoroughly.
  5. To freeze, ladle into 1 cup containers. Store in the freezer for up to 6 months. To use the sauce, thaw the amount needed overnight in the refrigerator or microwave on the defrost setting for 10 minutes. Heat the sauce in the microwave for 6 to 8 minutes or transfer to a saucepan set over medium heat.

 

On the Truffle Trail in Le Marche

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This article first appeared in the November 2011 issue
 of the award-winning subscription travel newsletter Dream of Italy

By Sharon Sanders

Acqualagna truffle hunter Giorgio Remedia assesses his treasure.

Acqualagna truffle hunter Giorgio Remedia assesses his treasure.

Acqualagna, Italy–Two dozen miles southwest of the Adriatic coastal city of Pesaro, the placid plain morphs into picturesque hills near Acqualagna with 5,000-foot-high Monte Nerone and other peaks in the distance. The terrain gets rugged quickly.

Our bus struggled up a winding dirt road to deliver us to truffle hunter Giorgio Remedia’s azienda. Although we’d been advised to have proper footware, the sight of Remedia’s knee-high rubber waders gave some of us pause. He had a no-nonsense demeanor that could perhaps be attributed to his other job as chief-of-police in Acqualagna.

Remedia explained that this area is rich in truffles. He said that they’re a symbiotic fungus that grow on the roots of oak and poplar trees. The Acqualagna area yields different varieties of tartufo bianco (white truffle) and tartufo nero (black truffle) almost year round.

This community is seriously all about truffles. It’s said that one-fourth of the residents are qualified truffle hunters and 70 percent of Italy’s truffle dogs are trained here. The white truffle is celebrated each autumn with the Fiera Nazionale del Tartufo Bianco. This year’s event begins at the end of October.

[Read more…]

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.

 

Semifreddo for Summer

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Lush lemon semifreddo is the next best thing to being in Amalfi.

Lush lemon semifreddo is the next best thing to being in Amalfi.

 

Semifreddo translates as “half frozen.”

But its literal moniker underplays the lush nature of this Italian spoon dessert.

I’d rather call it Fresco Com’una Nuvola–“Cool as a Cloud.”

Sort of a cross between a frozen soufflé and gelato, a semifreddo delivers the plush mouthfeel of frozen meringue with the luxurious richness of cream.

Why is semifreddo so dreamy? Because air is whipped into the egg whites and the cream prior to freezing. Gelato, on the other hand, is denser because air is whipped into the gelato base as it freezes. So, semifreddo results in a softer, more sensual sweet.

Semifreddo is so right for summer. It can be prepared hours or days in advance. Berries and peaches are its seasonal friends.

Italians like to play around with textural contrasts and frequently add layers of crumbled crisp cookies or chopped nuts between layers of semifreddo. Sauces are also a fun option. Caramel sauce with lemon or coffee. Chocolate  sauce with raspberry or strawberry. You get the idea.

Make a semifreddo soon and you’ll be on nuvola numero nove.

Click here for information about egg cooking safety.

Lemon Semifreddo
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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
  • ½ tablespoon butter, at room temperature
  • ½ cup granulated sugar plus sugar for coating the dish
  • 1½ tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
  • 6 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 egg, beaten (see note above)
  • 2 cups heavy or whipping cream
  • ¼ cup confectioners' sugar
  • 1 pint raspberries
Instructions
  1. Coat the inside of a 6-cup soufflé dish or other casserole with butter. Coat with granulated sugar. Set aside.
  2. In a medium saucepan, whisk ½ cup granulated sugar with cornstarch until blended. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and egg. Whisk to combine. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, for about 5 minutes until mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and whisk briskly. Set aside to cool, whisking occasionally.
  3. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar. Whip until peaks hold their shape. Fold one-third of the cream into the lemon mixture. Fold the lemon mixture into the remaining cream. Spoon into the prepared dish. Sprinkle with granulated sugar. Place in the freezer for 12 hours or up to 3 days.
  4. To serve, remove the semifreddo from the freezer and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Scoop onto dessert dishes. Serve with the raspberries.

Next time: Coffee Semifreddo

 

Palazzo Donati Italian Holiday Tours

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At Palazzo Donati, you'll experience the gracious architecture of a seventeenth-century palazzo with modern amenities.

At Palazzo Donati, you’ll experience the gracious architecture of a seventeenth-century palazzo with modern amenities.

By Walter Sanders

My friend Luisa Donati emailed the other day with delightful stories about a group of Texans whom she’d hosted at Palazzo Donati. I envy those Lone Star ladies.

Last autumn, I stayed at the seventeenth-century Palazzo Donati and felt instantly at home. Not because of any noble lineage but because the town of Mercatello sul Metauro, where the Palazzo anchors part of the main piazza, welcomes visitors while maintaining its own rich authenticity.  The town serves a thriving agricultural area in the off-the-beaten-tourist-track region of Le Marche east of Tuscany.  From Lina, the pasta queen who took down British TV chef Jamie Oliver, to the (not-so) amateur chefs who comprise the cooking club Academia del Padlot, good food and good times thrive in Mercatello sul Metauro.

Luisa works with small groups to create customized itineraries. No two groups have the exact same experience. Here’s a sampling of what she can create for you. Contact Lusia and tell her SimpleItaly sent you!