Tag: Italy

[Thoughts on the Table – 99] Taste and Flavor Flashbacks with Jason and Paolo

As Thoughts on the Table approaches 100 episodes, I chose to dedicate episode 99 to the series’ beginnings, dating back to August 2013. I was an avid podcast listener and, inspired by great productions like This American Life and Stuff You Should Know, I involved my friend and then-coworker, Jason, and branched off from my blog to try the more colloquial format of a podcast.

Today’s issue contains extracts from the first six episodes where Jason and I discuss taste and flavor, as well as cultural differences between Italy, North America, and Japan. Among other topics, we touched on why as an Italian I would never try to put salt on pasta, whether eating spicy food can damage our taste buds, the reason why desserts tend to end the meal, why many people learn to appreciate “spoiled” foods like Gorgonzola and Nattō, what exactly astringency is, and the path to appreciating subtle flavors. To wrap up the selection, I couldn’t help but include extracts from episode seven, a recording that took place right in the center of Milan on Jason’s impressions from visiting Italy for the first time.

After these seven episodes, Jason could no longer continue as a co-host. So I started looking for a new podcast partner by enlisting some of my dearest blogger friends as collaborators. This eventually gave me the idea to turn the podcast towards the format of the interview. I enjoyed it a lot. With practice, I learned to connect with my guests in a way that would capture their spontaneity in entertaining and informative chats, and I made many lasting connections as a result, for which I’m grateful. My guests included food bloggers, writers, cookbook authors, chefs, food professionals, food photographers, event organizers, cooking instructors, and fellow podcasters. Overall, in nearly nine years of activity, Thoughts on the Table saw a total of 65 collaborators for a combined playback time of 39 hours, 19 minutes, and 13 seconds.

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[Thoughts on the Table – 96] What makes a dish Italian? With Eva from Electric Blue Food

In this new episode of Thoughts on the Table, Eva from Electric Blue Food is back to help me break down a massive topic: What makes a dish Italian?

To non-Italians, Italian food may be what appears on the menus of Italian restaurants or anything tagged as Italian that goes viral on social networks, like Carbonara, Amatriciana, Neapolitan Pizza, egg-yolk ravioli. To the Italians, Italian food is what they naturally cook at home, and maybe the only thing they are able and equipped to cook. These are potentially two very different things!

With many cuisines, we see a set of iconic dishes that become famous around the world through some kind of selection (like Pad Thai, Chicken Vindaloo, Salmon Teriyaki). Despite helping to make those cuisines accessible to many, these dishes are really just a small sample of the foods originating in their native regions. Eva and I argue that the (often ill-formed) quest for “the original” or “the authentic” version of these recipes may contribute to weeding out all variations of those dishes except for their dominant ones. This is probably why abroad there tends to be only one kind of Tiramisu (the coffee/cocoa one), whereas in Italy important spin-offs happily co-exist.

Join us in this episode to hear more about the true cuisine of Italy by going over some unexpected Italian dishes, such as Mostarda, Bagna Cauda, Prosciutto and Cantaloupe, as well as evidence of many dishes sometimes labeled as “non-authentic” that are eaten daily all around the Peninsula, like Spaghetti alla Bolognese, Gnocchi al Pesto, Lasagne al Pesto, Carbonara with Pancetta, and Strawberry Tiramisu.

Finally, Eva describes her experience with the Polish cuisine of her grandmother and her encounter with Blueberry Pierogi, a sweet variation of the iconic potato dumpling that is equally unexpected outside of Poland.

You can learn more about Eva by visiting her website Electric Blue Food. You can also follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Please also check out Eva’s interview in episode 87!

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Making Basil Pesto in a Blender

This article is about basil pesto, the second most famous Italian pasta sauce, of course after tomato sauce.

However, this is not about the traditional way to make “Pesto Genovese” – using a mortar; there are plenty of good resources on that (as greatly summarized on Food Lover’s Odyssey). This article is about the more modern way to make pesto – using a blender, a method which is quite common also in Italy.

Technically the word “pesto” comes from the Italian ‘pestare’, to pound. Therefore, the purists would argue that this sauce should be called differently when made in a blender.

Aside from how it should be called, does the pesto made in a blender taste the same as the traditional one? Absolutely not. But it does get close, and it’s much better than any pesto that I could ever buy in a jar.

But before we start throwing basil leaves into the blender, it’s important to know that chopped basil is prone to oxidation – it turns dark and deteriorates in flavor when in contact with the oxygen in the air. Luckily oxidation can be countered by allowing the basil leaves to dry completely before blending them so that the oil can create a seal around the chopped leaves, keeping the oxygen away.

Basil also deteriorates and changes flavor when heated too much. To help counter this, the blender must be activated in pulses in order to limit the overall blending time and the corresponding friction produced by the blades. It also helps to chill the blender bowl and blade in the freezer before use.

Pesto sauce is traditionally used on trenette, trofie (pictured below), but also on linguini, spaghetti (as in this post’s feature image), and even gnocchi.

Making Basil Pesto in a Blender

Yield: 4 servings as pasta sauce

Total Time: 15 minutes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Making Basil Pesto in a Blender

Ingredients

  • 100 g fresh basil leaves (if you can find it, prefer the Genovese kind)
  • 50 g Parmigiano (or a mix of Parmigiano & Pecorino cheese)
  • 25 g pine nuts (possibly, from the Mediterranean)
  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon of coarse salt
  • 1 clove of garlic (optional)

Preparation

  1. Gently wash the basil under cold running water and then lay it on a towel and let it dry completely (fig. 1). Do not bend or crush the leaves.
  2. Meanwhile, put the blender's bowl and blade in the freezer for at least 10 minutes (fig. 2a).
  3. Pour all of the oil in the blender, then add the crushed garlic (if using it) and the basil. Give it a few pulses until the leaves are roughly chopped up (fig. 2b).
  4. Add the cheese, grated or cut in small bits, and the salt (fig. 2c). Give it a few more spins.
  5. Add the whole pine nuts (fig. 2d).
  6. Give a few last spins and extract from the blender (fig. 3).

Notes

If the sauce is not used immediately, it can be preserved in the fridge for up to two to three days. Store it in a tall and narrow container (e.g.: a glass) and top it up with an extra tablespoon of olive oil. Before using it, leave the sauce out of the fridge an hour - don't warm it up, or you'll cause the cheese to lump together and separate from the oil. Pesto can also be frozen, in that case some recommend not to add the cheese until the sauce is thawed.

https://www.disgracesonthemenu.com/2022/01/making-basil-pesto-in-a-blender.html

Paccheri with Mushrooms, Gorgonzola, and Mascarpone Cream

Paccheri are undoubtedly the most majestic kind of short pasta one can find! With a diameter of 1 ½ inch (4 cm), thick walls, and a rough surface, each guarantees an unbeatable bite, or two!

The Paccheri shape originates in the Campania region of Italy, which is also where you find Gragnano – a town near Naples recognized as the capital of dried pasta. As you can imagine, when I stumbled upon a box of Paccheri made in Gragnano, I couldn’t resist!

However, I was still waiting for inspiration for the right sauce that would bring out the fantastic character of this pasta. As a northern Italian, now that it’s colder outside, I naturally drifted towards creamy mushrooms. But that wasn’t enough. So I added Gorgonzola for a pleasant blue kick and Mascarpone for extra creaminess and depth. The resulting recipe is very straightforward, quick to make, and very forgiving in the amounts, even in the timing.

Ingredients for 2 servings

  • 5 oz Paccheri (150 g) (can also use Rigatoni or other short dried pasta of sufficient presence)
  • 1 Tbsp coarse salt
  • 5-6 chestnut mushrooms (about 100 g), sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp white wine
  • 2 Tbsp Mascarpone (about 75 g)
  • 2 Tbsp Gorgonzola (about 75 g)
  • 1/4 cup double cream
  • 1/4 cup Parmigiano, grated
  • table salt

Preparation

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a Tbsp of coarse salt per 2 liters of water.
2. In a large nonstick pan, heat up oil and butter, add the crushed garlic.

3. Add the sliced mushrooms to the pan and roast them at high heat.
4. Continue sautéing the mushrooms until they have softened.

5. Start boiling the pasta for the time written on the box (usually around 14 minutes), which corresponds to an al-dente cooking level.
6. Add a splash of white wine to the mushrooms and let evaporate completely.

7. When the pasta is 5 minutes from ready, go back to the mushrooms, remove the garlic, and season lightly with salt.
8. Add the Mascarpone, Gorgonzola, and cream.

9. Still keeping very low heat, add ½ of the grated Parmigiano and mix everything into a creamy sauce. Note: should the sauce become too thick, add some of the pasta water.
10. When the pasta is ready, drain it quickly and add it to the pan with the sauce. Note: save some of the pasta water by draining the pasta back into the pan where it was boiled.

11. Finish cooking the pasta in the sauce for a couple of minutes, adding some of the pasta water to ensure the sauce remains silky smooth. This won’t overcook the pasta.
12. Plate gently into preheated bowls, then sprinkle with the rest of the Parmigiano.

Paccheri with Mushrooms, Gorgonzola, and Mascarpone Cream

Yield: 2 servings

Total Time: 30 minutes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Paccheri with Mushrooms, Gorgonzola, and Mascarpone Cream

Ingredients

  • 5 oz Paccheri (150 g) (can also use Rigatoni or other short dried pasta of sufficient presence)
  • 1 Tbsp coarse salt
  • 5-6 chestnut mushrooms (about 100 g), sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp white wine
  • 2 Tbsp Mascarpone (about 75 g)
  • 2 Tbsp Gorgonzola (about 75 g)
  • 1/4 cup double cream
  • 1/4 cup Parmigiano, grated
  • table salt

Preparation

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a Tbsp of coarse salt per 2 liters of water.
  2. In a large nonstick pan, heat up oil and butter, add the crushed garlic.
  3. Add the sliced mushrooms to the pan and roast them at high heat.
  4. Continue until the mushrooms have softened.
  5. Start boiling the pasta for the time written on the box (usually around 14 minutes).
  6. Add a splash of white wine to the pan and let it evaporate completely.
  7. When the pasta is 5 minutes from ready, go back to the mushrooms pan, remove the garlic, and season them lightly with salt.
  8. Then add the Mascarpone, the Gorgonzola, and the cream.
  9. Still keeping very low heat, add 1/2 of the grated Parmigiano and mix everything into a creamy sauce. Note: should the sauce become too thick, add some of the pasta water.
  10. When the pasta is ready, drain it quickly and add it to the pan with the sauce. Note: save some of the pasta water by draining the pasta back into the pan where it was boiled.
  11. Finish cooking the pasta in the sauce for a couple of minutes, adding some of the pasta water to ensure the sauce remains silky smooth. This won't overcook the pasta.
  12. Plate gently into preheated bowls, then sprinkle with the rest of the Parmigiano.
https://www.disgracesonthemenu.com/2021/12/paccheri-with-mushrooms-gorgonzola-and-mascarpone-cream.html

Herb and Ricotta Ravioli with Sage Butter Sauce

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

Herb and Ricotta Ravioli with Sage Butter Sauce

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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!
  3. Put the cooked chard into a potato ricer and squeeze out as much water as you can. Then, chop it coarsely.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. Plate the ravioli on preheated dishes. Drizzle them with the sage butter sauce, and sprinkle them with some more Parmigiano.
https://www.disgracesonthemenu.com/2021/09/herb-and-ricotta-ravioli-with-sage-butter-sauce.html

Eleven years of blogging, eight of podcasting

Another year! The good news is that this blog is still active and luckily keeps being found by those searching for Italian specialties like pizzoccheri or canederli or Italian misconceptions like my 6 Italian myths. The bad news of course is that I haven’t posted any new articles or recipes this year. I know, it’s terrible – but it’s also okay, given that social media has taken the place of blogging in many ways.

But I did resume podcasting (yay!) and produced 16 new episodes with as many guests and collaborations this past year! This continues to be a lot of fun for me and I’ve already started to work on a new round of episodes to hopefully reach my dream milestone of 100 episodes very soon!

Here is a list of the episodes this year. Thanks again to all of my wonderful guests!

On a personal level, we keep well here in southern England, still working from home and enjoying plenty of homecooked food. We pretty much spend our time planning meals, cooking, cleaning the kitchen, and being grateful for having a dishwasher. As the government lifted all social distancing measures exactly two weeks ago, we are far from back to normal, unfortunately. Traveling is still not really possible, including to and from Italy which of course breaks our hearts. But we enjoy our area, which is wonderfully green after a very wet summer, and spending time with our cat Rascal, who just turned 19, overall doing great and still a great source of comfort and inspiration to us both.

I hope you’re all well, wherever you are, and please get in touch for collaborations, to be on the podcast, or just to say hi – I’d love that 🙂

[Thoughts on the Table – 91] Introducing Podcaster Wendy Holloway from Flavor of Italy

Cannolo Award winner Wendy Holloway shares her fascinating story on what brought her to Italy and how she started Flavor of Italy, a company offering bespoke travel and culinary experiences for over 25 years.

During the episode, we discuss becoming absorbed into a new culture by learning people’s language and their values. We also talk about the immense richness of the Italian food traditions and the importance of capturing them faithfully to make them more accessible to other cultures.

Finally, Wendy describes her current culinary projects and how podcasting has become such a central channel for her, with a new episode out every week and no intention to slow down!

You can follow Flavor of Italy also on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

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[Thoughts on the Table – 90] Italian Words Gone Wrong – Mistakes on the Menu

This unusual episode is the audio version of the article Italian Words Gone Wrong – 6 Mistakes Native Italians Don’t Make.

Despite the broad title, the post focuses on the types of mistakes that are commonly found on the menus of Italian restaurants outside of Italy.

This spoken version of course adds the pronunciation of the Italian words used as examples. I hope this can be useful to some readers, rather than more confusing 🙂 Thanks for listening!

The music in the episode is by www.purple-planet.com.

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[Thoughts on the Table – 88] Chinotto – The Other Way of Drinking Dark

This episode is dedicated to the soft drink Chinotto and it’s unusual in that, for once, I am not in the company of a guest (although I’d like to think that I still have a guest: you, the listener!)

In this episode, I try to break down Chinotto – from my memory of sipping it for the first time, to its presence while I was growing up in Italy, to the origin of its name, its flavor, and especially of its bitterness!

BTW, I’d really like to know… What is your experience with Chinotto? Have you tasted it? Do you love it as I do? Do you think it might not be as bitter as you remember it?

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