ITALIAN FOODIES

 Marion from Limerick's lifestyle blog www.styletreaty.com asked me recently for an original "Italian Mamma" recipe for spaghetti bolognese. To be honest we rarely eat bolognese at home as we cook it in such large quantities in La Cucina and just bring some home when we need it. We obviously do a catering version in La Cucina as we are cooking for the masses but it is still quite traditional. It amazes me how popular this dish still is, we make a HUGE pot of it 3-4 times a week.

There are so many different recipes for "ragu bolognese", especially between the north and south of Italy. In the south they don't really eat it with spaghetti, they prefer to eat it with rigatoni as it is easier to eat as the meat lodges in the tubes, in the north they might prefer to eat it with fresh tagliatelle. I find it difficult to eat with spaghetti myself as the meat falls off the spaghetti and is always left at the bottom of the plate. This is where "scarpetta" comes in, where you clean the sauce on the plate with some bread. Not great manners but as they say "when in Rome.........." 

What you need for basic ragu:

55g butter or margarine

olive oil

1 carrot finely chopped

1 celery stick finely chopped

1 onion finely chopped

1 bayleaf finely chopped

250g minced beef ( some Italians use a mixture of minced veal and pork)

 1 glass red wine

2 - 3 tbsp tomato puree

salt and pepper

optional - Bru's mother also uses cooked ham and parma ham(couple of slices of each finely chopped), other recipes use pancetta about 55g.

How to make it:

Heat the butter and olive oil in a frying pan and add your carrot, celery, onion, bayleaf and your pancetta or parma ham if you are using it.

Fry gently for about 10 mins until the vegetables have softened

Add the minced meat  and season with salt & pepper , use a wooden spoon to break up the meat so that you have no big chunks .

Cook for about 15 minutes to brown the meat, then add the wine and cook for a few minutes to let the alcohol evaporate.

Stir in the tomato puree, you can add some water or stock here or a can of Italian tomatoes to make it a bit more saucy if you like.

Leave to simmer for about an hour and a half. Add more stock or hot water if your mixture becomes dry.

Cook your spaghetti in a pot of salted boiling water.

Mix together and serve and don't forget your baguettes for "scarpetta". 

 BUON APPETTITO

FORMAGGIO - CHEESE

There are at least 451 different kinds of cheese in Italy, there are even controlling bodies (Consorzi) to safeguard the good quality and the origin of the best cheeses. They ensure that the best local milk is used and cheeses are made according to methods that have been used for centuries. No Easi Singles then!!! You can only source a limited amount of Italian cheese here, the main ones being mozzarella, parmesan, pecorino, gorgonzola, dolcelatte, mascarpone.

MOZZARELLA - There are 2 types of mozzarella: cow's and buffalo. Mozzarella originated in the south of Italy, anyone who has been to Naples or the Amalfi coast would have tasted the best mozzarella. We went to Positano 2 years ago and had a caprese salad everyday for lunch because the buffalo mozzarella was so creamy and of course the tomatoes were so sweet. We saw the beach cafe getting their order one day and realised it was the same one we had in La Cucina but somehow in these surroundings it just tasted so much better.

Authentic buffalo mozzarella is produced by only a few specialists as there is not enough buffalo milk to meet the demand of commercial production so a lot of it is now mixed with cow's milk. Ladies., you'll be delighted to know that mozzarella has a very low fat content, only 7 to 7.5% so get eating!! Mozzarella is mostly known in Ireland as the main ingredient in Caprese and on pizza. We also use it ourselves in Pasta al Forno(oven) and have it nearly everyday in a toasted ciabatta with just parma ham or salami. There is also a smoked version of mozzarella called Scamorza which we always eat in Atina, this is made with whole cow's milk and pasteurized sheep's cheese.

When using mozzarella, drain the liquid and rinse under cold water.

PARMIGIANO - PARMESAN

There are 2 types of parmesan: Grana Padano and Reggiano. Both cheeses are actually made in the exact same way but there is a distinct difference in flavour. Basically the cow's that produce the milk for reggiano can only be fed on grass and hay whereas the cows producing the milk for grana padano can be fed other foods aswell. In general it takes longer to age reggiano and it doesn't contain any additives to aid fermentation. This is why it's more expensive.

Reggiano can only be made in the Emilia-Romagna region whereas Grana Padano can be made in a few different regions- Piedmont, Lombardy, Trentino etc. We mostly use parmesan here sprinkled over pasta, it shouldn't be used for fish pasta dishes. It can also be used sprinkled over salads (there is no such thing as caesar salad in Italy) or eaten with fruit such as pears, figs or nuts like hazlenuts or walnuts. I love it on it's own with a few drops of balsamic vinegar. some breadsticks, olives and a big juicy glass of vino rosso!!

Parmesan is produced in huge wheels and are worth so much money, I read recently that the mafia have started robbing delivery trucks when the drivers pull into the Autogrills on the motorways because one truck of parmesan would be worth tens of thousands.

In Italy parmesan is considered a very important cheese for children, the princess gets it in all her dinners, baby rice etc. Them bones, them bones need...........!!!!

PECORINO - SHEEP'S MILK CHEESE

This cheese is so popular in Italy that nearly every region makes it's own version each adapted to suit it's local ingredients and culinary traditions, but is made the same way in each region. By law pecorino romano can only be made in the Lazio region (where Rome is). It is a compact white cheese which is aged for at least 8 months before being eaten on it's own(it's quite strong) or grated over pastas like parmesan. It's lovely sprinkled over orecchiette con broccoli - I'll post the recipe.

GORGONZOLA

This is a full fat blue cow's milk cheese which originates from the town of Gorgonzola in Lombardy. The milk used to make it comes from herds that graze by the Alps. Gorgonzola is an excellent table cheese, but can also be used in sauces for pasta or gnocchi or simply with plain polenta. We often make a penne pasta dish with gorgonzola, cream and parmesan - I'll post this recipe too because it's soooo good if you like cheese.

Dolcelatte is a mild version of gorgonzola and is created by a commercial Italian cheese making company.

MASCARPONE -CREAM CHEESE

Marscarpone is rarely used as cheese but is famous for it's use in Tiramisu and other desserts. It is also used together with herbs in ravioli or as a thickner for sauces.

Carluccio's book -  Complete Italian Food  provided me with some of  my education on cheese. I'm afraid I don't know everything even though Bru would probably tell you "that I think I do".

 I thought I'd give you a little snippet into our eating habits when we are in Italy for any of you planning on going there this summer. In the south of Italy where we go they are very passionate about their food and very strict about their eating times, I remember sitting on the beach around 1 o'clock during one of my earlier visits and looking around wondering "where was everyone gone"?.It was like a mass exodus, they'd all gone for lunch. I think the heat of the day affects when people eat, 12-4 is the hottest part of the day so they have lunch then, unlike us where we just have it when we can,  normally driving the car or sitting at a desk.  There is no such thing as a quick sandwich either, it's the whole works. The longest lunch I ever had was for Bru's Zia(aunt) Franca' birthday, 1 to 6pm, I thought I was going to die!!!! i think we had 6 courses. I had a great excuse for my 10 limoncellos, I had to digest!!!!

As you know from previous posts we are addicted to our coffee so of course  when we are in Italy every morning starts with a cappucino and a cornetti(croissant). In Atina there is a little cafe called Cafe Del' Arco on the village square, it's just around the corner from the apartment so we go there for breakfast every morning. The village is really small so we usually end up meeting the whole family and sitting outside enjoying the sunshine. If we're at the beach we'll usually have breakfast in the hotel or find a Lido(beach bar).

The one thing I always notice about Italians is they don't pick, they save themselves for their next meal whereas here we think we're going to die from weakness and starvation if we don''t eat(well I do anyway). I've gotten better though when I realised I was eating more between meals than Bru and then could never finish my lunch or dinner!!

 Lunch in Italy is rarely served before 1pm and may begin as late as 2.30pm, a lot of the shops close for a siesta until 4 or 5pm but then they stay open till 7.30 or 8pm. If we're in Atina we always eat at Bru's cousins restaurant Il Viccolo and normally have just 2 courses, normally an "antipasto" and a "primo" which would probably be some cold meats and cheeses and then a pasta dish. If we're at the beach we'd go to the the lido again and just have a sandwich or a salad because it's always too hot. Of course vino would always be consumed, as they say"when in Italy........." we wouldn't want to be rude!!

One of the things I love about Italy is going to the bar for an aperitivo around 6pm and most bars are packed at this time as everybody does it. They always serve you olives or peanuts with your drink,  this is to keep you going until dinner because it's usually not until 8 or 9pm. Of course we always savage them down because we don't get it here and it's such a novelty for us. Once again I ruin my appetite! I always have a prosecco, bragetto or white wine as an apertif. The Italians drink a lot of Campari but I've never really liked it, it's very bitter. 

In Atina sometimes we go to one of the local restaurants for dinner or an agriturismo for a change!! Most restaurants in this area specalise in a particular food so you go to one restaurant for good meat, another one for fish, pizza etc which is great because you are getting fresh local produce in a family run establishment. Mamma or Nonna is normally in the kitchen cooking and Papa' or Nonno are on the floor serving the food and the local wine. We would normally have 3 courses for dinner; antipasto, primo, secondo(meat or fish) and a contorni(side dish)

There is great local wine in this area and in the summer there are loads of wine festivals. There is a big one in Gallinaro which is just 5 minutes from Atina, Paulo Tullio is from there. We went 2 years ago and it was one of the best nights ever.  You pay €5 and you get a wine glass and a holder for around your neck. There are about 30-40 "canteens", these are little rooms where they make their wine, you basically hold out your glass and they give you a sample of their wine. Yes, you can have as many samples as you want so you can imagine what you are like at canteen no. 40. Some of the canteens provide nibbles like parmesan cheese, breads, olives. It's amazing, it would never work here though, free wine, it would be gone in 5 minutes.  They had a local band in the square, I have never seen so many drunk Italians singing their heads off, it was brilliant. At the end of the night we had a porchetta(pork) sandwich and was served by a guy who had lived in Wexford for years and spoke with an Irish accent!!

Anyway after dinner we normally go to a local bar and have a coffee and limoncello. Dessert normally consists of a gelato and then a "passegiata" - which is a stroll to work off dinner. Up until now we would have went onto a few bars which normally serve until 3 or 4am but those days are gone with the arrival of the princess!!