Radicchioblog

Urban Wineries: La Vineria In Milan

April 20, 2010

The urban winery has become part of city life in many parts of the world, including New York City with City Winery. At City Winery, you can learn how to make wine with winemaker David Lecomte.

In Milan, La Vineria has taken the concept a step further and has reproduced what many Italians grew up with, vino sfuso (wine from the tap) in containers to bring home in the city.

La Vineria is located in a side street off of the Navigli, the canals of Milan. They offer wines in large tanks which can be put into your own containers or they will bottle it for you. La Vineria also sells olive oil. Both the wines and the olive oil are offered at farm prices just as if you went to the winery to buy it out in the country. This was the idea of the founder of La Vineria, Aaron Brussolo, and the experience that he wanted to recreate.

To give you an idea of the difference in price, most supermarket wines in Italy are sold at 3 euro and up for a 750 ml bottle of wine. La Vineria sells its Vino Sfuso at 1.80 euro per liter. They also deliver wine to your home and sell it in a Bag in the Box.

1 Comment | Ingredients, Lombardy, olive oil, Wining | Tagged: Aaron Brussolo, Bag in the Box, City Winery, David Lecomte, Farm wines, La Vineria, Milan, olive oil, Urban Wineries, Vino Sfuso | Permalink
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Gualtiero Marchesi Exhibit In Milan Until June

April 19, 2010

Milan has become quite an international city thanks to its’ stylish fashion shows, design fairs and museums. The city is in tumult and looks more like Shanghai than its previous incarnation as construction companies create skyscrapers, new industrial parks and public architecture. Much of the new construction is in anticipation of the Expo 2015. A large part of the Expo is going to be dedicated to food, according to panels in an exhibit about famed Chef Gualtiero Marchesi at the Castello Sforzesco. The Castello itself which sits smack in the center of the city has undergone many renovations and now is a hot tourist stop with many exhibits, among them one on Gualtiero Marchesi. Marchesi is perhaps the most famous of all Italian chefs with two restaurants, one in Milan and one in Franciacorta in a town called Erbusco. Early on, Marchesi was experimenting with different cuisines such as the Japanese one and mixing traditional Italian dishes with new oriental accents. He is also the first to place gold leaf in risotto and many other innovative tricks. A new exhibit dedicated to the Chef opened Saturday, April 17 and runs until June 2010. Marchesi himself will be on hand for a few cooking demonstrations. Don’t miss it if you are in Milan.

Leave a Comment » | Cooking, Lombardy, Uncategorized | Tagged: Castello Sforzesco, Citta della Moda, Erbusco, Expo 2015, fashion in Milan, Franciacorta, Gualtiero Marchesi, Italian Chefs, Milan, Salone del Mobile | Permalink
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What Do You Need In The Kitchen To Make An Authentic Italian Meal?

March 18, 2010

What should you have in your pantry at all times in order to be able to whip up an Italian meal? Many cooks have an opinion on this one but there are some basic staples that they all seem to agree upon: dried pasta, olive oil, tomatoes, parmigiano reggiano and/or grana padana. These four items make up the base. Some cooks then add things that are less basic such as Sicilian Sea Salt while others included canned Tuna and Italian fruit preserves.

For years, this writer would have included pepperoncino but a friend rightly pointed out that that spice could be used in many different cuisines not just in the Italian one. Some people say that garlic should be included but that is not the opinion of others and in fact, Italian cuisine doesn’t always use garlic just some of the Italian cuisines….This was another good point that my friend made, Italian cuisine is regional and not all of the regions have the same types of foods so it is hard to discuss an all encompassing Italian cuisine. That said, it seems fairly common to find the first four items on every regional table.

7 Comments | Ingredients | Tagged: Authentic Italian Ingredients, Italian cuisine | Permalink
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Sardinia Bread & Pasta: Not Just Pane Carasau & Fregola

March 16, 2010

Most people have heard of the famous thin bread from Sardinia known as Pane Carasau or Carta Musica. You can find it in many places in the United States as well. This bread is the traditional flat crispy bread that one associates with Sardinia and is made from Sardinian flour, yeast and water. The dough is left to rise for half a day and then it is kneaded again and left to rise again, like Lazarus. The dough is then split into balls and rolled ou thinly. It is left to stand for several hours and then is baked.Once it rises, the bread is taken out of the oven and is cut horizontally through the middle. The new halves are baked again.

The bread can be stored for up to one year. In addition to Pane Carasau, Sardinian bakeries make Pane Pintatu which is a tad thicker and Pane Guttiatu, a bread flavored with olive oil and salt. This website gives recipes for a variety of interesting Sardinian breads.

Many pastas are also made in Sardinia. The most famous or well known is fregola made from durum wheat semolina but gnocchetti sardi and malloreddus are other pastas which shouldn’t be forgotten. Despite the fact that Sardinia is an island, the cuisine is not particularly seafood based but is more of a mountain cuisine. Traditionally, many Sardinians lived in the interior and have worked as shepards and the like, tending to a flock of sheep, hence the long tradition of pecorino cheese, roasted lamb and pork.

Getting back to pasta, Malloreddus, is a small, gnocchi-like pasta with some saffron in the dough. Traditionally it is cooked with a tomato or meat sauce. Another speciaty is their version of ravioli called culingiones, which is oval or round and stuffed with spinach and pecorino cheese. Still another dish which abounds is spaghetti with bottarga. Bottarga are dried roe of the grey mullet or Mediterranean tuna. The Sardinian version is a bit different than the Sicilian. Both are delicious but can be an acquired taste.

3 Comments | Cheeses, Cooking, Fresh Pasta, Italian Regions, Sardinia | Tagged: Fregola, Malloreddus, Pane Carasau, pecorino, Sardinia | Permalink
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Italian Mortadella Bologna, An IGT Product

March 11, 2010

Mortadella Bologna is a close relative to what many American’s think of as Bologna. An Oscar Mayer commercial from the 1970s made Bologna famous but that product, despite this adorable commercial, has little to do with Mortadella from Italy.

Mortadella is made from a mix of finely ground pork, pork fat, salt and pepper. It is somewhat spicy and very compact. It is delicate and light and is almost sweet. The product has a long history and has been called Mortadella Bologna since 1661 the year in which Cardinal Farnese set out the standard rules of making the product. The word Mortadella is instead from the Roman era and comes from the word for a kitchen utensil called a mortarium in latin or mortaio which was used to press pork meat.

The process to make Mortadella starts with a mixture of the above mentioned ingredients. This blend is then put into a skin and is cooked in the oven with dry heat. After cooking, the product is left to cool.

Mortadella can be eaten at anytime. Here is a great recipe which uses Mortadella on Crostini.

Ingredients:

300 grams of Mortadella
Panna da Cucina (cooking cream)
40 grams of Ricotta
30 grams of grated Parmigiano
1 tbs of Brandy
4 slices of thick bread

Put the Mortadella in the blender and whip until you get a fine mixture, adding the brandy, the ricotta cheese and blend a tad more. Whip the cream (panna) and blend it in with the mixture together with some parmigiano cheese. Put this mousse in the refrigerator and let it rest. When you are ready, spread it on slices of toasted bread.

This dish can be paired with a light and fruity red wine such as a Dolcetto d’Alba or a young Barbera d’Asti. Check out what is happening with the Barbera grape at this website Barbera2010.

1 Comment | Cooking, Emilia Romagna | Permalink
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Italian Dolci – Primo Amore

March 10, 2010

Italian meals usually end with some kind of a dessert, be it a crostata or tart usually made with fruit, a dry crumbling cake such as Sbrisolona or something richer like profiteroles, almost all meals end with desserts. These desserts are not always elaborate nor are the portions given out the type that you would see in an American diner. Instead they tend to be somewhat restrained and not quite as sugary as one might expect.

Many times the meal will finish with the ubiquitous biscotti that come from Tuscany and have been replicated throughout the world although the American version is about four times as large as the cantucci you find in Tuscany.

Not all Italian desserts are contained though. La Cassata Siciliana comes to mind. Many meals also end with Panna Cotta or other types of puddings. Another family of desserts are the Ciambelle or large donut like rings.

Here’s an easy recipe for a Ciambella.

Ingredients:

Three eggs
300 grams of sugar
300 grams of fine flour
100 grams of butter
1 packet of yeast
1 cup of milk
Grated lemon rind

Preparation:

Beat the eggs and the sugar together added the melted butter and the lemon rind. Then add the flour, the milk and last but not least, the yeast. Cook in the oven in a buttered and floured pan for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

To go with this delicious cake, you can have a semi sweet sparkling wine, such as Asti DOCG made with the Moscato grape or any recioto, passito or late harvest dessert wine. Italy has numerous dessert wines although they are not quite as famous as their dry counterparts. Sweet wines have been somewhat ignored in the past but wine lists are increasing adding variety and many of these come from Italy.

-SG

Leave a Comment » | Baking, Cooking, Dessert, Dining | Tagged: Ciambelle, Italian desserts | Permalink
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Italian Cooking With Rabbit

March 4, 2010

Yesterday the New York Times ran an article about cooking with rabbit. A very cute bunny was shown on the cover of the Dining In section and what followed was a series of recipes which used rabbit. There was also a part of the article that spoke about how to kill a rabbit and a school where people are taught that skill. Being somewhat hypocritical, I won’t eat cute animals and Rabbit because it reminds me of my cat. Hypocritical, I say, because I eat other cute animals. That said, I seem to be in the minority these days.

Italians have been raising and eating rabbits (coniglio) since time immemorial. Rabbits are a year round food as well and dishes range from summer delights to winter stews. Rabbit is also prevalent throughout the country.

Here’s a recipe from About.com’s Kyle Philips who has been writing about Italian food and wine for years.

Ingredients:

* 1 rabbit
* 3/4 cup (100 g) black olives packed in brine, ideally Ligurian
* A small onion, finely sliced
* A rib celery, about 4 inches (10 cm) long, minced
* The needles from a sprig of rosemary, chopped
* A bay leaf, crumbled
* A sprig of thyme, chopped
* 5-6 walnut meats, ground
* 1/2 cup (125 ml) excellent red wine
* One dozen zucchino blossoms
* An egg
* 1 cup (110 g) flour
* 1/2 cup beer
* Olive oil
* Salt and pepper to taste
* Oil for deep fat frying

Preparation:
When you buy the rabbit, have the butcher sever its head, split it, and give it to you separately, along with its liver. Come time to prepare the dish, wash and pat dry the rabbit, and cut it into pieces.

Pour 3-4 tablespoons of oil in a terracotta casserole, and sauté the onion and celery with the herbs. When the onion has browned lightly, add the rabbit and cook over a brisk flame. When the meat has browned, stir in the nutmeats and the wine, and reduce the heat to a simmer.

Meanwhile, boil the rabbit head and liver (after carefully removing the gall bladder) in lightly salted water for about 20 minutes. Once the meat has boiled, pick all the flesh from the head of the rabbit (reserve the broth), grind it with the liver, and stir the paste into the casserole with the rabbit.

Continue simmering the rabbit for another hour, adding rabbit broth to it as necessary to keep it from drying out; keep in mind that the sauce should be abundant and fairly thick. When the rabbit is half done, drain the olives and stir them in.Meanwhile, make a batter with the egg, flour, beer, and a pinch of salt. Carefully wash the zucchino blossoms and pat them dry, then dip them in the batter and fry them in hot oil until they are golden brown. Serve the rabbit with its sauce, and the fried blossoms on the side.

2 Comments | Cooking | Tagged: Coniglio, Rabbit | Permalink
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