Jason is back on the podcast for one last, final episode! Yes, Thoughts on the Table ends today as it hits its 100th episode with the biggest topic we could think of: the meta of food, i.e. anything that has to do with food besides the physical sensations of actually eating it. Join us in our journey through this fascinating subject as we touch on the concept of authenticity and on how culture influences our appreciation of flavor.
Conversely, in the second part of the episode, Jason and I discuss some cooking trends that affect the flavor of food. These include the tendency to finish cooking pasta in its sauce and to alter traditional recipes to make them visually pleasing for sharing on social media, more so than with our guests!
Butter and Sage sauce is often what comes to mind when showcasing ricotta-filled ravioli, and especially spinach and ricotta ravioli. In Italy, meatless preparations like this are sometimes called “di magro” (literally, “of lean”), with reference to the foods that are allowed during lent according to the Christian tradition. Really, though, this dish is anything but lean – it’s a decadent buttery and cheesy delicacy that is technically not even vegetarian due to the presence of Parmigiano (made with rennet).
As a gentle twist to the common spinach flavoring, this herb and ricotta ravioli recipe makes use of Swiss chard (“bietola” in Italian), which is slightly more bitter, flavored with more sage, parsley, and a touch of garlic.
As for the origin of ravioli themselves, we need to go all the way back to the Middle Ages. Over the centuries, these early preparations have produced several regional staples, from Anolini and Cappelletti, to Tortelli, Tortellini, Tortelloni, Agnolotti, and Casoncelli, just to name a few!
Ingredients for two servings
For the dough
– 100 g flour
– 1 egg
– pinch of salt
– bit of water
For the filling
– 125 g ricotta, drained
– 1 egg yolk
– 20 g Parmigiano, grated
– 150 g Swiss chard
– 25 g fresh sage
– some parsley (optional)
– 1 clove garlic (optional)
– some olive oil
– pinch of salt
To boil
– 2 Tbsp coarse salt
For the sauce
– 30 g butter
– 10 sage leaves
For the plating
– More grated Parmigiano
Preparation
Let’s start with the dough! Put the egg, the flour, and a pinch of salt into a mixing bowl. Mix into a dry crumble, then add a tiny bit of water – just enough so you can knead it into a firm but elastic ball. Cover and let it rest for 1/2 hour.
Meanwhile, wash the chard and put it into a large pan. Put the lid on and cook at high heat, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes until it almost disappears!
Next, put the cooked chard into a potato ricer and squeeze out as much water as you can. Then, chop it coarsely.
Now, wash and dry sage and parsley and chop them finely. Heat up some olive oil in a frying pan. Roast the sage and parsley for a couple of minutes, then discard the garlic.
In a mixing bowl, add the well-drained ricotta, the egg yolk, the grated Parmigiano, the cooked chard, and the crispy sage and parsley. Mix well.
Once a half-hour has elapsed, roll the dough until very thin (max 1 mm thick). Using a sharp round container (about 5-6 cm diameter), cut circles out of the dough. Re-knead the offcuts and re-roll the remaining dough to cut more circles. This is also a good time to start bringing a large pan of water to a boil.
Fill each raviolo with a teaspoon of ricotta mix. Fold the dough onto itself and press around the edge. Continue until all ravioli are filled. Lay them out on a wooden surface or on a floured tray.
Then make the sauce by melting the butter and adding fresh sage leaves. Let it simmer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, boil the ravioli in plenty of salty water for about 4 minutes.
At this point, plate the ravioli on preheated dishes. Drizzle them with the sage butter sauce, and sprinkle them with some more Parmigiano.
Herb and Ricotta Ravioli with Sage Butter Sauce
Yield: 2 portions
Total Time: 1 hour
Prep Time: 50 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
For the dough
100 g flour
1 egg
pinch of salt
bit of water
For the filling
125 g ricotta
1 egg yolk
20 g Parmigiano, grated
150 g chard, can also use spinach
25 g sage
some parsley (optional)
1 clove garlic
some olive oil
pinch of salt
To boil
2 Tbsp coarse salt
For the sauce
30 g butter
10 sage leaves
For the plating
More grated Parmigiano
Preparation
Put the egg, the flour, and a pinch of salt into a mixing bowl. Mix into a dry crumble, then add a tiny bit of water – just enough so you can knead it into a firm but elastic ball. Cover and let it rest for 1/2 hour.
Meanwhile, wash the chard and put it into a large pan. Put the lid on and cook at high heat, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes until it almost disappears!
Put the cooked chard into a potato ricer and squeeze out as much water as you can. Then, chop it coarsely.
Wash and dry sage and parsley and chop them finely. Heat up some olive oil in a frying pan. Roast the sage and parsley for a couple of minutes, then discard the garlic.
In a mixing bowl, add the well-drained ricotta, the egg yolk, the grated Parmigiano, the cooked chard, and the crispy sage and parsley. Mix well.
Once a half-hour has elapsed, roll the dough until very thin (max 1 mm thick). Using a sharp round container (about 5-6 cm diameter), cut circles out of the dough. Re-knead the offcuts and re-roll the remaining dough to cut more circles. This is also a good time to start bringing a large pan of water to a boil.
Fill each raviolo with a teaspoon of ricotta mix. Fold the dough onto itself and press around the edge. Continue until all ravioli are filled. Lay them out on a wooden surface or on a floured tray.
Then make the sauce by melting the butter and adding fresh sage leaves. Let it simmer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, boil the ravioli in plenty of salty water for about 4 minutes.
Plate the ravioli on preheated dishes. Drizzle them with the sage butter sauce, and sprinkle them with some more Parmigiano.
Battered deep-fried cauliflower (‘cavolfiore in pastella,’ in Italian) is an appetizing side dish which originates in Sicily but can be found in many variations all around Italy.
Out of the various kinds of batter, this recipe describes one that is quite opaque—without being too thick—especially suitable for vegetables (including zucchini flowers, which are fantastic, by-the-way!)
Deep-fried batter has a bad reputation for being heavy. However, if the oil is at the proper temperature, it sears immediately and any excess hot oil (with its lower viscosity) drips right off with draining. Still, the resulting dish is relatively high in calories and generally served in small amounts as a side, or as a vegetarian entrée.
The use of olive oil for deep-frying is somewhat controversial due to its relatively low smoke point. However, if you can control the temperature, olive oil is suitable for frying vegetables (which don’t need to reach extremely high temperatures) and brings an amazing extra flavor to the dish. Out of the different kinds of olive oil, non-extra virgin (or even non-vergin) olive oils are preferred for frying since they have a relatively higher smoke point at a lower price point!
Battered Deep Fried Cauliflower
Yield: 4-6 servings
Total Time: 45 minutes
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
1 medium cauliflower (about 800 g), divided in florets
75 g (2/3 cup) all-purpose flour
30 g (2 Tbsp) butter, melted
100 ml (scant 1/2 cup) milk
1 egg white
salt
1 l olive oil (use a non-extra virgin oil for a higher smoke point)
Preparation
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and the melted butter obtaining a crumbly texture.
Incorporate just enough milk to create a thick cream, then gradually whisk in the rest of the milk.
Whip the egg white until firm (for best results, use an egg at room temperature).
Gently incorporate the whipped egg white, a tablespoon at a time, mixing from the bottom to the top. Season with a pinch of table salt.
Boil the cauliflower florets for 10 minutes until cooked but still firm.
Bring olive oil to frying temperature (if you have a thermometer, reach 150 °C; if you don't, wait 3-4 minutes at medium heat then test the oil with a drop of batter.) Dip a few florets at a time in the batter, shaking off any excess. Then deep-fry the battered florets until golden brown.
Allow the fried florets to dry for 5 minutes on a sheet of paper towel before serving them.
Restaurateur and Italian food ambassador Simon Pagotto is back for another great chat!
In the first part of the episode, Simon talks about commercial kitchens and how they differ with respect to domestic kitchens. For instance, he discusses timing, the benefits of professional equipment, dealing with large quantities, and achieving a consistent product.
In the second part, Simon goes through a list of 12 questions he’s been asking other Italian food ambassadors to test their knowledge. You can read the question below, join our chat to hear my answers! Do you agree? 🙂
Questions for Italian food ambassadors
What dairy is in a pasta Carbonara?
Is chicken acceptable in a pasta and if not, why not?
Is there a right way to eat spaghetti? Is the use of a spoon acceptable?
Why do they call Parmigiano Reggiano the king of cheeses?
What’s your favourite pizza excluding a Margherita?
Name another rice dish that doesn’t have the words risotto, arancini or suppli in the name.
Does the word Ragu belong to just one plate or place?
Do you know of a seafood dish that is served with cheese, if so what is it?
Do you consider an area of Italy food more pure than any others?
Do have a favourite region for food and what makes that region so special to you?
Do you know some of the other regions of food as well as your favourite region?
(Optional) Have you ever had a slightly warmed (so the fat just goes clear) salami sandwich on bread with an egg fried in the fat? Or a googy egg (just boiled eggs mashed with olive oil, s & p and fresh chopped parsley) bruschetta for breakfast? No need to answer that one, just try it sometime. LOL.
If you missed it, check out Simon’s first episode here.
Crespelle are the relatively unknown Italian equivalent of the world-famous French crepes. Although very similar to crepes, crespelle are often baked in the oven with other ingredients.
Both in crepes and in crespelle, the batter is mainly made of milk, flour, and egg. The proportions, however, can vary considerably from recipe to recipe. The version I’m presenting is light in the egg and flour, making for a batter that is quite runny and which turns into a thin disc. The resulting crespelle are more brittle than those made with higher proportions of egg and flour, but they are strong enough to be handled and are more similar in flavor and texture to fresh pasta. This makes them a great vessel to hold the filling without overpowering the dish.
The result is a decadent first course that is perfect for a festive meal as an alternative to other baked dishes like lasagna or cannelloni.
Mushrooms and Cheese Crespelle, the Italian Crepes
Yield: 2-3 servings
Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
For the crespelle
1 egg
75 g flour (5 tablespoons)
250 ml milk (1 cup)
1/8 tsp salt
Butter to grease the pan
For the filling
400 g mushrooms (e.g. chestnut), sliced
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
200 g fontina, raclette, or gouda
For the bechamel
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp flour
pinch of salt
300 ml milk
To assemble the dish
Butter to grease the baking pan
2 Tbsp grated Parmigiano
Preparation
Make the batter by working the egg into the flour, then add the salt.
Gradually, whisk in the milk - small amounts at first, then more until all of it is incorporated. The batter will appear quite thin.
Preheat a 6-8 inch (15-20 cm) non-stick pan at medium heat, and brush it evenly with melted butter.
Pour 1 tablespoon of batter into the pan, then quickly swirl it around by tipping the pan until it spreads to cover the entire pan. (Adjust the batter amount if necessary.)
Let the crespella dry and cook undisturbed until you see it browning slightly on the edges.
Using a spatula, lift the crespella at the edge slightly, then continue lifting it using two fingers and fully slide the spatula underneath it.
Move the crespella onto a plate. As you make more of them, stack them on - they won't stick to one another. You should be able to make 8 to 12 crespelle (depending on the size of the pan).
Set the crespelle aside. Roast the sliced mushrooms in a large non-stick pan in a mix of oil and butter at high heat. Make sure not to crowd the mushrooms (you may need to roast them in two batches). When the mushrooms start to soften, add a pinch of salt and pepper. If the mushrooms release water, continue cooking at a high temperature until it reduces substantially.
Make the bechamel sauce in a small pot. Start by bringing water and butter to a boil. Then add the flour and mix vigorously.
When the mix makes a sizzling sound, reduce the heat and gradually pour in the milk until fully absorbed. Then, allow the mix to boil for one full minute for the flour to cook - mix constantly preventing it from boiling over. In the end, the bechamel will appear quite thick and creamy. Set it aside and let it cool down a bit.
As you preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F), fill each crespella with a heaping tablespoon of mushrooms, part of the cheese (the size of a finger), and a tablespoon of bechamel. Roll the crespella gently.
Continue rolling the crespelle placing them side by side in a buttered baking pan. (I used an 8-inch square pan.)
Once the baking pan is filled, drizzle it with the remaining bechamel and cover it with grated Parmigiano.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden.
Note: Instead of using bechamel, the crespelle can be baked with butter and sage. After rolling, cover with sage leaves and butter drops, then bake in the oven until golden.
Passatelli are a variation of “stracciatella”, an ancient soup that can be found in various parts of Italy. To make stracciatella, a mix of egg, cheese and (optional) breadcrumbs is whisked into boiling broth, resulting in bits of ripped dough that resemble small tore rags (“straccetti”). To make passatelli, instead, the dough is forced through a heavy perforated iron, resulting in irregularly shaped short noodles of variable thickness (their name comes from “passare” = to go through). You can see the passatelli iron in action in this youtube video produced by a local television in the Romagna area. Passatelli are a classic dish of the Emilia-Romagna, Marche, and Umbria regions, where they are traditionally boiled in broth and served as a soup.
Since the passatelli iron is nowadays hard to find (even in Italy), some suggest using a potato ricer with large holes. You can see it demonstrated in the second part of the same video. While this can be effective, it produces noodles of uniform thickness, removing that irregularity that is characteristic of the dish.
For my interpretation of passatelli, I made use of a spaetzle maker, which is fairly common in kitchen stores (and on amazon.com). The resulting passatelli are slightly shorter and thinner than they should be, but I found that they work especially well when served dry, as opposed to in a soup.
As for the proportions between the ingredients, I went with the original recipe presented by Pellegrino Artusi in his famous recipe book: Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well, which was first published in 1891. This differs from modern day passatelli which generally feature equal amounts (in weight) of breadcrumbs and Parmigiano. Also, Artusi calls for a small quantity of bone marrow “for extra softness,” which is no longer used. Instead, I kept the idea, but replaced the bone marrow with softened butter.
Even though I followed Artusi’s proportions for the dough, I served the passatelli according to a more modern tradition. Particularly, I tried to replicate the presentation suggested in the video mentioned above, in which boiled passatelli are drained and sauteed in butter with a small amount of radicchio, and then served over a light cheese fondue. The result was truly amazing! A very successful dish that can totally be the star of the show in a rustic and cozy meal.
Spätzle-style Passatelli Sauteed with Radicchio on Cheese Fondue
Yield: 2 servings
Total Time: 40 minutes
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
For the dough
100 g (3 ½ oz) breadcrumbs (made from plain stale bread, without oils or additional ingredients)
40 g (1 ½ oz) Parmigiano, grated
20 g (¾ oz) unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
Sprinkle of grated nutmeg
2 liters (½ gallon) of vegetable stock
For sauteeing
1 ½ Tbsp unsalted butter
¼ of a small radicchio, sliced
Salt and pepper
For the cheese fondue
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Tbsp white flour
½ cup milk
20 g (¾ oz) Parmigiano, grated
40 g (1 ½ oz) Fontina, (or Swiss cheese), diced
Preparation
For the dough
Mix all ingredients except for some of the breadcrumbs.
Kneed for a few minutes until obtaining a soft dough that is not too sticky, adding the remaining breadcrumbs as needed to obtain a workable consistency.
Squeeze the dough through the holes of the spaetzle grater. See here for the video.
Bring the broth to a gentle boil, then toss in the passatelli.
Continue boiling until the passatelli will float, then drain them gently.
For sauteeing
Sautee the radicchio in butter until softened. Adjust with salt and pepper.
Add the boiled and drained passatelli. Toss them gently to lightly sautee them.
For the cheese fondue
Place the butter and a tablespoon of water in a small pan at medium heat to prepare a light bechamel.
When the butter melts add the flour and mix vigorously until you hear a sizzling sound.
Gradually add the milk, starting with a very small amount and mixing until completely absorbed.
Continue until all milk is incorporated. Allow it boil for a minute to complete the bechamel.
Add the Parmigiano and the Fontina, mix until they’re fully melted.
Assemble the dish by placing the cheese fondue in the bowls, then lay the sauteed passatelli over top.
Thoughts on the Table is back! Join me to meet Hannah Solomon, a marketing consultant who is doing an internship at SZ Tartufi, a company that produces truffles and truffle-based preparations in the Abruzzo region of Italy.
During the episode Hannah talks about the fascinating process of cultivating truffles, as well as the fact that the best truffles cannot be cultivated at all(!), but need to be hunted with the use of dogs (as co-founder Ugo Serafini shows in this truffle hunting video).
Hannah was also kind enough to send a small sample of their products – which of course I was super excited to try! Below you can find a delicious use of them, a recipe recommended by Hannah herself. Enjoy!
Bring a large pot of water to a very gentle simmer, add the vinegar.
Boil the asparagus for 5 minutes and set aside. Trim off the bottom part, only leaving the top 4 to 5 inches.
Crack one egg into a small bowl, then slide it slowly into the water. Let the eggs sink to the bottom on one side of the pot. Repeat with the second egg making it land on the other side. Leave the eggs undisturbed for 4 to 5 minutes until the white feels solid.
Meanwhile, toast the bread. Spread the White Truffle Cream on it, then lay the asparagus over top.
Lift the eggs from the water with a slotted spoon to drain any excess liquid. Lay them over the asparagus.
Going through my old recipe book, I stumbled upon this delicious dish – true comfort food, Italian style! An amazing entree where soft and creamy potato bignès, covered in nutty poppy seeds and deep fried are laid to rest on a bed of braised leeks and Taleggio! The dish is absolutely simple to make and a guaranteed success. The only challenge lies in finishing the two components more or less at the same time.
This recipe has been adapted from La Cucina Italiana (November 1997, page 58).
Poppy Seed Potato Bignès
Yield: 2-3 servings
Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
For the sauce
1 Tbsp butter
1 big leek (or 2 smaller ones)
1 cup (250 ml) milk (for the sauce)
1/2 cup (125 ml) heavy cream (for the sauce)
10 oz (300 g) Taleggio cheese (for the sauce)
salt to taste (for the sauce)
For the bignè
1 small Russet potato (250 g)
1/2 cup (50 g) flour
1/4 cup (50 g) butter
1/4 cup (50 g) water
1/8 of a teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup poppy seeds
2 cups (0.5 l) olive oil for deep-frying
Preparation
Boil the potato. Let it cool until lukewarm.
Meanwhile, start preparing the sauce.
Slice the leek in thin rings (fig. a) and sauté them in butter for 10 minutes (fig. b).
Add the milk and cream (fig. c), and stew slowly for 30-45 minutes until thick (at that point take off the heat but keep warm).
While the sauce cooks, start preparing the bignè.
Put the water and butter into a small pan (fig. 1) and bring to a boil (fig. 2).
Add the flour and stir constantly (fig. 3).
Keep the mix on the heat until sizzling, and the mix detaches itself from the pot (fig. 4).
Move the mix into a bowl, let cool.
Add the egg and salt (fig. 5). Mix (fig. 6).
Mash the potato with the ricer and add it to the mix (fig. 7).
Mix everything until smooth, then stir in 1 Tbsp of poppy seeds (fig. 8).
With your hands, make walnut-sized balls, roll them over poppy seeds until completely covered (fig. 9). You should be able to make 8-10 of them (fig. 10).
Deep fry the bignès in olive oil (fig. 11) keeping the temperature at constant 180 degrees Celsius.
When golden-brown, remove balls and put them to dry onto paper-towel (fig. 12).
Finish preparing the sauce by adding the diced Taleggio to it (fig. d). Stir until the cheese melts completely. Adjust the salt.
Serve the bignè while still hot on a bed of sauce.
Chicken eggs are one of the world’s most popular foods and have a significant presence in the diet of both Italians and North Americans. However, their aspect and the way they are consumed are substantially different between Italy and North America. In this article, I will list 5 of these differences, while also describing why eggs are an essential ingredient in cooking and a marvel of nutrition.
Color and nutritional/culinary properties
The first most obvious difference is in the color of the shell. In Italy eggs are prevalently brown; in North America, prevalently white (difference #1). What causes this difference? The color of the shell comes entirely from the breed of the chicken: white hens make white eggs, red and brown hens make brown eggs. So are Italian chickens indigenously brown? No, they are chosen by the breeders according to the preference of the market.
It’s interesting to see how the shell color preference varies around the world. As illustrated in the map below, it doesn’t have any obvious correlation to the geographical location – it varies more based on culture.
What about the color of the yolk instead? That depends entirely on the hen’s diet. If the hen is fed plants rich in xanthophylls (such as alfalfa or yellow corn), the yolk acquires a darker color. So, is Italian feed more conducive to producing orange yolks? Not really, similarly to the breed, the choice of the feed is driven by the preference of the customers: North America seems to prefer lemony-gold yolks, whereas Italy and most of Europe goes for deep orange yolks.
A dark yellow yolk and a lemony yellow yolk.
When eggs with pale yellow yolks and eggs with orange yolks are both available on the market, matching shell color is generally chosen to distinguish between the two: white for pale yellow yolks, brown for orange yolks.
Nutritionally speaking, all eggs are identical being designed to nourish the embryo until the chick hatches after 21 days of incubation.
Within the egg, the yolk and the white have substantially different properties and nutritional values, however. The yolk weighs about 1/3rd of the whole egg and contains ¾ of its calories in the form of proteins and aggregates of proteins-fat-lecithin. These aggregates give eggs their emulsifying properties: the amazing capacity to bind with both fat and water to create wonders like mayonnaise and Hollandaise sauce.
The egg’s white (or albumen) contains a similar amount of protein as the yolk, but the majority of those proteins actually have anti-nutritional value when eaten raw. While they are nourishing for the embryo, they inhibit digestive enzymes and prevent the absorption of vitamins and iron. The egg white also contains ovomucin, a protein with thickening and binding properties meant to protect the developing bird. Ovomucin is also very valuable in cooking: it helps keep together cakes and certain kinds of pasta (e.g. tagliatelle and lasagna), stabilize foams, and give a shiny finish to pastries.
Salmonella
Eating raw eggs is discouraged in North America. This isn’t because of the anti-nutritional properties of raw egg white, but because of the fear of Salmonella, a bacterial infection that can have serious health consequences.
An egg in the UK, with its British Lion mark.
Both Europe and North America have been exposed to Salmonella outbreaks, but they have adopted different strategies to counteract them. In 1998, the UK introduced a program called the “British Lion Code of Practice“. The initiative certifies egg farms that adhere to a stringent code of practice, which includes: vaccination for the hens, complete traceability of the animals’ origins, and complete traceability of their feed. It also mandates that each egg is individually marked with a code identifying the expiry date, the farm of origin, and the keeping of the hens (free-range, barn, or cage).
Since 2004, egg marking has been adopted by the European Union.
An egg in Italy. On the carton, a legend explains how to read the mark.
Despite overall improvements in the conditions in which hens are kept, North America still doesn’t apply the same stringent regulations and Salmonella infections are still quite common. As a result, North Americans are wary of raw eggs and the US FDA strongly recommends cooking eggs through or using pasteurized eggs. In Italy and in the rest of Europe such fear is much less prevalent (difference #2). Raw eggs are also traditionally part of popular preparations, such as homemade mayonnaise and Tiramisu, which makes them more culturally accepted.
Refrigeration
The fear of Salmonella also causes the next difference (difference #3). By law, in the USA and Canada eggs must be refrigerated in supermarkets and grocery stores. This policy is motivated by the fact that a contaminated egg is mainly harmless until the bacteria have had a chance to multiply and colonize the egg, a process that is slower at low temperatures.
Italy, the UK, and other parts of Europe don’t have mandatory refrigeration. As a matter of fact, they have the opposite policy: refrigeration is forbidden until the eggs reach their final storage destination (the home fridge). The reason for the different policy lies in another important difference: in Italy eggs are unwashed! (difference #4) When eggs are laid, they are naturally covered with a thin film that makes the shell less porous and isolates it from bacteria that are present in the hen’s intestinal tract. This film helps preserve the egg by maintaining more of its water content, by avoiding CO2 perspiration (a byproduct of the loss of acidity that occurs when the egg ages), and by isolating the egg from off-flavors that it could absorb from the environment (e.g. the smell of other foods in the fridge). This protective film can easily be washed away by the natural condensation of the moisture in the air as it comes into contact with the cold surface of a refrigerated egg. Condensation is particularly harmful because it won’t just wash off the protective film, it will actually melt it in place and allow any bacteria that is present on the surface of the egg to get inside. It’s customary for Italians to wash eggs before using them should the shell comes into contact with the egg’s content during cracking.
Uses
Despite the differences in the hens’ breed and feed, eggs taste the same in Italy as they do in North America. However, traditionally, their role in the diet differs substantially. In Italy, eggs can be found, in various preparations, as lunch or dinner options. In North America, instead, they are mostly associated with breakfast (difference #5).
The names of the different cooking styles have creative translations in Italian:
– Sunny-side up → ‘occhio di bue’ (literally “bull’s eye”). – Scrambled eggs → ‘uova strapazzate’ (literally “overworked” eggs). – Hardboiled egg → ‘uovo sodo’ (literally “firm” egg). – Soft boiled → ‘alla coque’ (from the French word for “shell”). – Poached → ‘in camicia’ (literally “in a shirt”).
IncredibleEgg.org has excellent instructions on how to properly cook eggs in any of these styles, and others too.
As described in the article “Breakfast or Colazione?“, Italians prefer to start their day with something baked, along with coffee or cappuccino. Fried eggs, instead, are seen as an informal meal, often prepared in a frittata (from ‘fritto’, fried, generically indicating a dish in which eggs are cooked in a pan on a layer of fat). To prepare a frittata, the eggs are beaten with salt and pepper, and sometimes a small amount of milk or water. Often, additional ingredients are mixed in, either individually or in combination. Common add-ons include vegetables (e.g. onions, mushrooms, zucchini, asparagus – all sautéed in advance), cheese (e.g. Provolone, Taleggio, Fontina, grated Parmigiano), and meat (prosciutto cotto – the Italian ham -, salame, sausage). In a frittata, the eggs can either be scrambled or set. When set, the thickness can vary between a few millimeters (like in a French omelet), and a few centimeters (like in a Spanish omelet).
Other than in frittata, eggs are the main component of a number of other Italian dishes:
Zucchini Frittata
Spaghetti alla Carbonara, a dish from the Rome region, where eggs are the main component of the sauce.
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