Tuscan cooking

Castagnaccio

Posted March 19, 2014 by Sharon 5 Comments

In Tuscany, chestnut pancakes are a sweet taste of surviving through hard times.

In a recent Italian language conversation meeting, talk turned to castagnaccio. Daniele, our born-and-bred Tuscan from Siena, recalled snacking on this cake. He remembered it in detail. It was made from ground chestnuts and olive oil embellished with raisins, rosemary, and pine nuts.

To my American ears, such an austere combination of ingredients didn’t sound much like any cake I knew. But since I had never sampled a castagnaccio, I decided to bake one.

I ordered chestnut flour on nuts.com and while waiting for it to arrive, I started researching recipes.

Pamela Sheldon Johns’ Cucina Povera seemed like a good starting point since this “cake” was clearly food of the poor. She shared a recipe but the head note gave me pause. “This dense cake is an acquired taste, and it has taken me almost twenty years to acquire it. But its musky chewiness is much loved by Tuscans.”

Patrizia Chen in Rosemary and Bitter Oranges was more encouraging. “Semisweet, tender, and distinctively nutty, castagnaccio is in itself worth a trip to Tuscany in fall or winter.” She also refers to the preparation as a pancake which seems a more accurate descriptor than cake.

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A Perfect Day

Posted March 24, 2011 by Guest Author 8 Comments

Jessica Schlener

By Jessica Schlener

Guest Writer and Photographer

Last summer I decided to go on the adventure of a lifetime -– a 30-day tour of Europe with 48 people I’ve never met before. Nothing could have prepared me for the experience that was in store. We started in London and ended in Spain, but my heart will forever be in Italy.

The day began with a trip to the Leather Market in Florence. What a sensory overload. Beautiful handbags and coats were carefully hung throughout the market with that glorious fresh leather smell wafting through the air. I found myself falling in love with a caramel-colored briefcase.

My fingers blissfully explored the beautifully polished bag with its glossy finish and my heart knew this bag had to find its way back to the States. Something that fabulous just couldn’t be left on a stand. It needed to be shown off! I left the market, borderline skipping down the streets with pure joy, thrilled that this tiny piece of Italian perfection would be coming home with me.

The Arno River in Florence.

I met my friends back at our hotel for the next adventure of the day. We all hopped onto our bus and headed to the hills of Tuscany. The bus slowed as we became surrounded with rolling hills covered with luscious grapes ripening in the warm summer sun. Our group was welcomed into a family vineyard owned by an Italian count. At each table was a beautiful antipasto platter. Every few moments, the count’s mother entered holding a tray filled with a new sampling of their wine. Each sip seemed better than the last as the wine swirled through my mouth with flavors bursting on my very grateful tongue.

Handmade lasagna drizzled with white truffle oil.

Once we sipped and sampled several glasses of wine, the count’s grandmother came to say hello. With her she brought homemade lasagna drenched in white truffle oil made right there on the vineyard. With each bite this heavenly oil glided over my lips and onto my tongue. My eyes closed as I slipped into complete ecstasy. At this point, I was pretty sure I had found heaven. Only in Italy do you bite into dinner and savor each individual flavor as it introduces itself to your taste buds. Eating is not just an activity, it is a sensory experience to be relished, enjoyed, and appreciated.

As we bid farewell to the count and his family the sun began to say goodnight. The bus set off for our final destination. I sat in my seat dreaming out the window of how life could not possibly get any more wonderful. However, God was not done impressing me with the beauty His world has to offer. We hopped off the bus excited to learn what our new location would bring. Our guide showed us to a gelateria on our way through the town of San Gimignano. Let me tell you, I could live and die sitting in this gelateria and be completely content with my life.

The sunset view from the medieval hill town of San Gimignano.

My flavor of choice was raspberry rosemary. I sat on this beautiful fortified hill, watching the sun kiss Tuscany goodnight, filling the summer sky with the beautiful colors of fire, enjoying each bit of my gelato as the fresh summer raspberries burst in my mouth. The sweet fruit coupled with the wonderful herbal rosemary was heavenly.

Again, I was convinced the day could not possibly get any sweeter. I called my parents when we arrived home to tell them about the most amazing day I had ever had in my young life. When my mom answered, her voice sounded like she had been crying. I asked her what was wrong.

You see, my 41-year-old Uncle John had been diagnosed with a brain tumor right before I left. Throughout my travels I had prayed for him at every church we visited. In Rome, I had a special rosary blessed in his honor. That evening I learned that my uncle’s tumor, diagnosed as untreatable, had significantly shrunk while I was away.

Tears of pure joy started streaming down my face. This unforgettable day ended with the news that I would be able to spend more time with one of the most beautiful, warm-hearted people who has ever graced this earth. I am convinced that my day in Tuscany will remain one of the best days I will ever experience. Each day I leave for work, I pick up my beautiful caramel-colored briefcase and think of how blessed I was to experience Italy in all of its splendor. This hills of Tuscany and the town of San Gimignano will always hold a special place in my heart. My next trip to Italy will be more of a welcoming home of a long-lost friend.

Jessica dedicates this article to her uncle, John Klucsarits, Jr. “You are the man with a loving heart who taught me to see the beauty and good in everything. I love you!”

Panzanella

Posted August 5, 2010 by Sharon 6 Comments

I crave panzanella in August. This home-spun jumble of stale bread, succulent tomatoes, aromatic basil, olive oil, wine vinegar, cucumber and onion is restorative. Each refreshing bite perks me up, makes me feel more like a budding flower and less like a scorched weed.

I first tasted panzanella in the countryside outside of Florence. Friends told me that the dish evolved as thrifty country cooks combined stale bread with juicy seasonal produce to create a quick, inexpensive salad.

These days, the challenge to putting together a good panzanella is in obtaining ingredients that will give the dish a genuine flavor and the proper texture. The keys are the bread, the tomatoes, and the olive oil.

Bread

Panzanella requires a rustic whole-grain loaf–with no fat or sweeteners–that won’t dissolve into goo when moistened. (LaBrea Bakery whole grain loaf is one commercially-produced example. To find a store near you, go to La Brea Bakery.) Many so-called Italian breads are made from white flour and dough enhancers and are just too fluffy to hold their crumb. If you’re a baker, you can prepare the Italian Wheat Berry Bread for the panzanella. If you think your bread won’t hold up to the water bath, I recommend skipping that process. Instead, simple toast the bread lightly and then cut it into cubes before tossing with the vegetables and dressing.

Tomatoes

Choose very ripe fruit that’s grown in your area. I like heirloom varieties which are like tomato-juice machines.

Olive oil
The fruity taste of extra-virgin oil is essential. When it’s mixed with the vegetables and basil, it produces a seasonal elixir.

While I prefer the classic simplicity of the following recipe, you can add protein or other vegetables to a panzanella to make it a one-dish meal. Add-ins include lettuce, radishes, celery, fennel, prosciutto, canned tuna, Parmigiano Reggiano, Gruyère, capers, artichoke hearts, hard-cooked eggs and roasted red peppers.

Panzanella (Tuscan Bread and Tomato Salad)

Makes 6 to 8 servings

1 loaf (about 1 pound) rustic Italian Wheat Berry Bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, dried

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar

Salt and pepper

1 1/2 pounds ripe locally-grown tomatoes, cut into chunks

1 medium cucumber, peeled, quartered lengthwise, sliced

1/2 medium red onion (about 4 ounces), halved and thinly sliced

1/2 cup slivered fresh basil

Place the bread in a large bowl. Cover with cold water. Allow to soak for 30 to 60 seconds until bread is saturated. Test by squashing a piece between thumb and finger. Drain. Scoop the bread in cupped handfuls, squeezing out excess water but taking care not to pulverize the bread. Transfer to a platter. Continue until all the bread is squeezed.

In a large bowl, whisk the oil, vinegar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, and basil. Toss. Add the bread and toss. Season to taste with pepper and more salt, if needed.

What’s your go-to Italian summer dish? Tell us about it.

Piccolo Forno

Posted March 20, 2009 by Sharon 3 Comments

The Piccolo Forno oven consumes a cord of kiln-dried oak, cherry, and maple wood every three months.

I observed that Piccolo Forno was no run-of-the-mill Italian eatery before I even entered. As we stood on the threshold, a wait person, with the bearing of a dancer, stepped through the front door balancing a tray with a bowlful of steaming pasta e fagioli, complete with napkins and cutlery. She was delivering the fragrant bowl to a shopkeeper down the street, just as you still see waiters do in the small Italian towns or, even these days, in neighborhoods in the big cities.

Piccolo Forno is a Tuscan, or to be specific, Luccan, pizzeria that just happens to reside in the historic Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Owner and chef Domenic Branduzzi and his mother Carla create genuine Tuscan food that probably rivals his uncle’s pizzeria Bar Branduzzi in the village of Corsagna, a 30 minute drive north of Lucca in Tuscany.

Luccan chef Domenic Branduzzi.

When I meet Domenic after our lunch, I tease him about the butter that comes with the bread basket-something you would never see in Italy- but he takes it good naturedly. That is likely his only concession to American tastes. “I do what I can do. I try to stay Tuscan,” Domenic says. “I’m happy and privileged to do this. My Mom cooks her heart out. These things are passed down. My parents believed in this.”

For many years, his parents Carla and Antonio operated Il Piccolo Forno Bakery in the Strip District, before his father died three years ago. The bakery is now closed. The couple met in Tuscany when Carla, a Pennsylvanian born of Italian immigrants, traveled to Italy in her 20s to study cooking.

“I spent four years learning to cook. It’s the greatest thing Italy has to offer,” says Carla, whose youthful demeanor makes her seem more like Domenic’s older sister than his mother. “I encouraged Antonio to go to the state school for baking.” All the while she was working with Antonio in the Pittsburgh bakery she was also raising Domenic, who was born in Lucca, and Domenic’s teenaged sisters Angela and Anna Maria.

“I cook to fill up my soul,” says Carla, and after one bite of her Lasagna Toscana, you say a prayer of thanks. The creation literally melts on your tongue: twelve gossamer sheets of home-made pasta, meat ragú, and bechamel. Carla’s hunger for learning seems insatiable. Her next goal is to attend the Italian Institute for Advanced Culinary and Pastry Arts in Calabria.

Meanwhile, Domenic refines the skills he learned during summers at Bar Branduzzi in Tuscany, Regina Margherita (the pizzeria that was in the building he now occupies) and at his folks’ Il Piccolo Forno Bakery. He explains that his pizzas are Tuscan style, with a crisper crust than Neapolitan. “The Neapolitan pizza is baked at 1000 degrees so it’s softer because it doesn’t bake as long. The Tuscan pizza is baked at 650 degrees so it bakes longer and becomes more crisp.”

The Pizze menu choices made me nostalgic for Florence. Like the Quattro Stagioni which features tomatoes and fresh mozzarella with the pie divided into four quadrants, each ingredient representing a season-prosciutto, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, and artichokes.

<i>Insalata di Rucola</i> with baby rocket, cherry tomatoes, radicchio, toasted walnuts and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Insalata di Rucola with baby rocket, cherry tomatoes, radicchio, toasted walnuts and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

In addition to pizzas, you can order antipasti, insalate (like the Insalata di Rucola above), panini and dolci.

The pastas, as mentioned before, are all hand crafted by Carla and we were particularly enamored of the Cavatelli con Fagioli e Bietola (beans and chard). The ridged curls of soft dough are made with ricotta added to the egg/flour dough. Carla shared the recipe with me and as soon as the hand-cranked cavatelli machine arrives in the mail, I will try her recipe and share it with you.

As we sipped the last drops of our espresso, the shopkeeper who had lunched on the pasta e fagioli came in to return the plate. She seemed like just one more member of the happy Piccolo Forno family.