ITALIAN FOODIES

I was in Dunnes the other day and couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw “San Marzano” tomatoes grown in Ireland in stock. These are one of the most famous tomatoes in Italy, they are grown in the region of Campania where Naples is and as a result of the mineral rich volcanic soil and mediterranean sun are astonishingly deep red and have a characteristic long shape with a pointed teat at the bottom. They have thinner skins than most tomatoes so therefore have more pulp - making them ideal for making your own homemade tomato sauce.

While I was there, I saw a couple doing their shopping, I have a habit of observing people doing their shopping, I find it fascinating (I know, It doesn’t take much to fascinate me) but I did a subject on it in college and I’ve always had a keen interest in the consumer mind. They were trying to decide which tomatoes to buy, they picked up the San Marzano tomatoes which were a really vibrant red and looked so delicious but they put them back down and picked up a box of really pale cherry tomatoes, I wanted to scream “buy the other ones” but of course I didn’t, I’m not that bad yet!!!.

Anyway it prompted me to do a post on tomatoes because I think they are quite misunderstood in Ireland. The amount of people who don’t like tomatoes astonishes me, I see it in La Cucina everyday, people always ask for things without tomato and as I’ve said before tomato based dishes are not that popular. I think the problem is people are so used to tasting bland, pale, tasteless tomatoes and if they tasted good quality tomatoes they might change their minds. Even the San Marzano were half price because they obviously weren’t selling!! 

The Italian word for tomato is “pomodoro” which means “golden apple and is probably the most important ingredient in Italian cooking. The Italians consume approx 50kg(110lb) of tomatoes per head per year, most of this in the form of sauces and purees. The San Marzano, Roma, Napoli and Marena varieties are mostly used for canning or bottling, the “pomodorino” (cherry tomato or vine tomato) grown mainly in the south in Sicily, Puglia and Calabria are used in salads and quick pasta sauces.

As you can probably tell from previous posts we are tomato mad- caprese, tinned tomato sauce, cherry tomato sauce, bruschetta pomodoro!! There is always a box of vine tomatoes in our fridge, I have to say Irish tomatoes are very good at the moment, I’ve bought them in Dunnes and Superquinn. When tomatoes are good quality they are so tasty you can just eat a cherry tomato like a grape!! We often have a simple cherry tomato salad with red onion and basil with a simple balsamic dressing. It goes great with everything, steak, fish, chicken! So my message to the people is “manga piu pomodori”!!!

WHAT YOU NEED:

• punnet of vine cherry tomatoes cut in1/4
• 1/2 red onion diced
• 6 basil leaves roughly chopped
• olive oil
• sea salt
• balsamic vinegar
• crusty bread to mop up the juices.

Just mix all the ingredients in a bowl, season and add olive oil and balsamic vinegar to personal taste.

Buon Apetitto!!

p.s. I have to say a big congrats to our good friends at Halo who are responsible for the keeping the players and their wives looking good at the Irish Open Golf tournament in Adare this week. I wonder if they need someone to brush the floor????

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”.