The food in my 'hood

I have written at length about the well-known food stores and markets in my fancy Parioli neighborhood, these are places which get constant attention from blogs and press. But it's the small, unpretentious businesses on my block that I find the most charming. Still managing to resist through the bad economy are a handful of small family owned businesses that manage to combat the growth and popularity of larger convenience stores and supermarkets. These tiny shops scattered on my block is where I buy most of my food.

New, younger businesses have taken over as older generations have retired or passed away, sadly changing the last remaining authenticity and character of this old part of town. This means that where the old tabaccaio used to be – selling cigarettes, lottery tickets and boxes of sea salt – now is a tattoo parlor. In place of a boutique where residents knew to find elegant interior design items and vintage wallpaper now is a hipster clothing store that I don't think is doing very well (it's always empty).
The Bangladeshi mini market that occupies the space once managed by a family-run photo developing studio (obsolete, the landlord branded it) is ok for quick emergency cleaning supply runs, but given their not-so-competitive prices, it's not really worth it.

Fortunately the best, more historical places still hold fast and provide us residents of the block with the best, most reliable service and constant product quality. And a good bit of neighborly conversation.

My shoe repair man Francesco, for example, where I take my boots and best leather shoes for a good buff or to fix a broken heel, is holding on by the teeth to keep his little shop open, because less and less clients prefer to fix rather than buy new shoes. But, boy does he know how to live: every year he takes the luxury of closing his business down for a week to go with his wife for "cure termali" at a spa town in northern Italy where he detoxes drinking special spring water.

Rosalba, the lady that sews hems and fixes zippers in her little workshop just up the road is a chain smoker, but her needle work is unrivaled. If I need a good replica of a designer item she can do that too, at an affordable price.

Then there's GioFerCas, a small family owned store that is a little bit of everything haberdasher-type place: a cross between a giocattolaio (toy store), a ferramenta (hardware store that also makes copies of keys), and a casalinghi – the place where you can get home supplies, from brooms and shaving cream to alkaline batteries and stainless steel pots. Patrizia, who now helps her retired parents, put on the best store front decorations on Halloween this year, and all the Italian neighborhood kids got heaps of candy.

The little "Pica Pica Porro" specialty store is where I get my exotic fruit fix. If I want avocado and dates, sweet mango and proper papaya, this is where I go. The sales are managed by the father and daughter in law, while the son (owner) is always out and about delivering groceries with his 1974 Moto Guzzi which I can hear roaring in the street even with my windows closed.

Antonio is the neighborhood fruttivendolo and his shop – once dubbed by us residents 'Bulgari' for what he used to charge for fruit and vegetables – has drastically reduced prices to reclaim customers back from the new Bangladeshi minimart competition. Antonio boasts the area's best seasonal produce (his clementines for example are the juiciest) sweetest on the planet. He's serious about seasonality and doesn't give in to the haywire primizia trend of selling produce out of season, therefore his fruit and vegetables are always top-notch. He also sells beers, a few bottles of average wine, fresh eggs, a few kinds of pasta and small choice of canned foods and bottled goods. When I get home late after work, it's great to pick up some rinsed and trimmed salad or pre-chopped minestrone, cubed pumpkin and cauliflower florets, which Antonio prepares himself. In case of bigger emergencies, his sweet Slav assistant delivers the groceries to your doorstep, for free.

My favorite neighborhood store is however Forno Nonno Franco.
As I approach my neighborhood bakery, attracted by the aroma of freshly baked bread, I know I'm in for a sensory overload and a long wait in line.

I'm here every morning to get bread and there's always a crowd elbowing to the front of the small counter. The bread is baked around the clock from dawn 'til sunset, and store opening hours reflect that. In the oven area works the young and passionate heir of retired baker Franco Fiorentino who opened the shop in 1994. His two sisters manage the front end dealing with customers. The three communicate, fight and laugh through a window that connects the bakery ovens and the actual shop, and through which the products are fed on large hot pans before everyone's eyes.

After 10 a.m. is when the place gets the busiest since that's when the hot loaves of Lariano, Altamura and Pane della Salute are ready, and sell still warm, in a matter of minutes. A thick crunchy crust conceals a fluffy, airy wholegrain crumb studded with assorted seeds. A large loaf of this 'bread of health', if properly stored, can last 4-5 days. In my house, it only lasts a few hours. As soon as I buy it, I break off the end and eat it in the street, still warm.

Besides the various types of sourdough, farro and grano tenero bread, the Fiorentino brothers also bake and sell different products, like breadsticks or low-hydration bread pockets filled with an ever changing selection of fillings that range from sautéed dandelion greens to pumpkin & gorgonzola. Their focaccia pugliese is award winning, as is the crisp "scrocchiarella" cracker-like pita, plus buns, savory croissants and ciabattas of every size.

The pizza romana stuffed with porchetta or mortadella is weighed, cut and wrapped in €1 squares ready at 7 a.m. for kids to stuff in their school backpacks for merenda (mid morning snack time). They even make a whole wheat or plain version without yeast called "suolo". The quality of their other types of pizza al taglio (sold by weight) is nothing short in terms of quality compared to the one sold in the more famous centrally located bakeries. Crisp yet chewy, it comes topped with good quality homemade tomato sauce, select cheese and fresh charcuterie. The choice is not ample but turnaround is rather fast.
And this is just the savory offer.

There's a whole universe of pastry that Forno Nonno Franco excels at, in which the strudel and artisan cookie galaxies shine the brightest. The other day I nearly threw a tantrum in the middle of the small store because they had run out of their cinnamon sablé biscotti. Mini crostatas filled with homemade jam; custard and pine nut torta della nonna cakes; lemon curd tartlettes, fried donuts and flaky sublime cornetti (forget the crappy industrial 'croissants' you find at coffee bars in the morning) are sold fresh daily. And there's always something baked new every day, so it's fun to walk in just to see what they've come up that morning. Oh, and the fridge in the entrance near the cookie shelf is stocked with bottles of fresh milk... and chocolate milk. Help!

The secret ingredient that makes the products taste better at this little neighborhood establishment is not a flavor enhancer – there's been lots of controversy around how commercially sold bread in larger Italian wholesale bakeries has been known to be spiked with a "miglioratore", a chemically obtained flavor improving agent. No, what makes this place really special is the courteous, friendly service. The girls are always smiling and crack jokes with customers, despite the frantic crowds pushing at the counter and lined up in the street. You can call ahead of time to reserve your bread should you be running other errands, and they will bake cakes and other typical Italian party food (mini pizzas, bite sized stuffed sandwiches, quiche and other snacks) on request.

Low prices, constant quality, wide variety of products and friendly service.
No wonder the cue outside is so long.

Opening image romasparita.eu - All other photos in this post © Eleonora Baldwin

Recipe for "Focaccia Pugliese"

There are some dishes that improve overnight.

Focaccia Pugliese – a summer spongy, feather light and tasty baked specialty from the region of Puglia (Apulia) in southern Italy – is one of such dishes. Baked fresh, this particular focaccia is fantastic, but the day after... it's even better!

Round, fluffy with it's typically crisp edges and caramelized topping, Focaccia Pugliese (also known as "ruota di focaccia barese") is quintessential street food and the perfect picnic item. When I make it for my son, we always try to leave some for the next day and pack the leftovers in the beach bag for post-swimming munchies.

Focaccia Pugliese's secret is in the dough, which includes boiled potatoes. This gives it a unique soft, springy texture and a beautiful aroma.

Ingredients:
500 g (2 cups) 00-type flour
2 large potatoes, boiled and peeled
25 g (<1 oz) brewer's yeast
1 tsp sea salt, plus more to taste
250 ml (1 cup) lukewarm water
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
10 black olives, pitted
1 tbsp dried oregano
Extra virgin olive oil

Method:
Let the boiled potatoes cool before peeling, and set them aside.
Place flour in a large mixing bowl, and using a ricer, add the potatoes.

Dissolve brewer's yeast in the lukewarm water and add that to the mix as well. Fold in a small pinch of sea salt and begin kneading to obtain a sticky, firm ball.
Wrap in cling film and leave the dough to rise for 2 hours in a warm, dry place.

Preheat your ventilated oven at 240° C (428° F), or set it at 260° C (500° F) if static.
Use olive oil to generously grease a large round baking dish (9 or 11-inch) and stretch the dough to fill it evenly.

Press the halved tomatoes in the dough, cut side down, add the olives, a good dusting of oregano and lashings of sea salt.
Drizzle the surface with more olive oil and bake in the hot oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the surface appears evenly browned and tomatoes are caramelized.

Buon appetito.

Gluten-free Rome

Please read my 2018 update! 

Not many gluten-free travelers realize that coeliacs exist in Italy too.

The boot-shaped peninsula seems like the last place where you'd enjoy a gluten-free meal, what with all the pasta, pizza, bread, focaccia, salumi and other Italian specialties and staples. But celiacs in Italy can enjoy a large variety of gluten-free foods at every meal.

For example, mornings can have a sunny start with gluten-free croissants (cornetti senza glutine) along with steaming cappuccino. Midday snacks and main meals can include gluten-free panini, gluten-free pasta, gluten-free beer, gluten-free pizza, and even gluten-free gelato, served in a flour-less cone.

gluten: substance present in cereal grains, especially wheat, that is responsible for the elastic tissue of dough. A mixture of two proteins, it causes disorders in people with celiac disease and gluten sensitivities.

Prompted by a celiac friend skeptical of traveling to Italy, I did a little research, tried various products and after a number of wheat-less meals, I came up with this little list of gluten-free dining options in Rome.

Baiamonti Lounge Bar - Charming pizzeria, cafe and tavola calda (informal, cafeteria-style) that caters exclusively to celiacs. Via Baiamonti, 12 (Prati) - Tel. +39 0637351954

Hotel Diana Roof Garden - Dine sans wheat on a breathtaking terrace with sweeping views of the Vatican and tiled rooftops. Via Principe Amedeo, 4 (Esquilino) - Tel. +39 06478681

Il Capriccio di Trastevere - This fun trattoria offers a large number of gluten-free options along with their regular menu of Sicilian specialties. Via Roma Libera, 19 (Trastevere) - Tel. +39 065816469

Polenta (slow-cooked cornmeal) is a typical northern Italian staple, and totally gluten-free.

Il Viaggio - Sitting in the pastel rooms of Il Viaggio, celiacs can pick from an impressive list of wheat-less dishes, from antipasto through dessert, and choose between 3 variegated tasting menus. Via Isonzo, 14 (Nomentano) - Tel. +39 0697997043

Insomnia - Great seafood and homemade desserts in this restaurant and pizzeria that has prides in providing numerous gluten-free preparations, including pizza, pasta and fried goodies since 2007. Via Portuense, 469 - Tel. +39 0655389376

Giancarlone al 19 - Giancarlone cooks up some of the city's best homestyle Roman cuisine, with an eye for celiac pizza-lovers. Via Durazzo, 19 (Prati) - Tel. +39 0666014164

'O Masto - Pizzeria in EUR that serves Napoli-style thick crust pizzas, receives daily deliveries of mozzarella di bufala and limoncello from Naples, and coats its ambrosial fritti with celiac-approved breadcrumbs. Largo Salinari, 8/16 (Tre Fontane) - Tel. +39 065413448

Mama! Eat - Appealing joint that serves up a plethora of delicious gluten-free options, including pizza, several pasta dishes, tasty grilled panini, desserts and beer. Via di San Cosimato, 7 (Trastevere) - Tel. +39 065806222

Renovatio | La Soffitta - Home to some of the best gluten-free cuisine in town. Specialties include antipasti, thin crust pizza, Roman pastas classics like carbonara, and homemade desserts. Piazza Risorgimento 46a (Vatican) - Tel. +39 0668892977

Tramvì - Within the compound of the children's museum Explora, celiacs can enjoy palatable dishes in a colorful setting. And free parking in a virtually carless zone. Via Flaminia 82 (Piazza del Popolo) - Tel. +39 0632600432

Universale Caffè - Wheat-less pastries and sweets are served along side freshly brewed espresso and exotic teas, as well as gluten-free appetizers with drinks. The place is located at a stone's throw from Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. Via delle Coppelle, 16/a (Pantheon) - Tel. +39 0668392065

Voglia di Pizza - Bakes flour-less pies, served with gluten-free beer, both at deliciously small prices in otherwise costly surroundings. Via dei Giubbonari, 33 (Campo de' Fiori) - Tel. +39 066875293

Beyond the city center:

Agriturismo Santa Anastasia - In the lovely setting of this rustic working farm and B+B minutes away from the center of town, the wood-fired brick oven and grill churn steaks and gluten-free pizzas until late at night. Via Torre Sant'Anastasia, 83 (Ardeatina) - Tel. +39 0671350361 - temporarily closed for renovation (2018)

Al Colle - Besides the delightful wheat-less pizzas, this place rocks a lush garden and a romantic terrace overlooking the Tuscolo winelands. Via di Passolombardo, 212 (Romanina) - Tel +39 067201032

Stella Marina - The special gluten-free menu includes wheat-less ravioli, potato gnocchi, and fettuccine, all dressed with delicious seafood condiments, plus stellar homemade breads, cakes, crostate, tiramisù, and sorbets. Via Nino Taranto, 29 (Acilia) - Tel. +39 0652440215

Favorable facts for celiacs in Italy:

• In Italy celiacs receive a monthly allowance from the government for gluten-free foods.
• By law gluten-free foods must be available to celiacs in schools, hospitals, and public places, like malls and cinemas.
• All pharmacy products are required to indicate the presence of gluten on labels.
• All food labels must indicate the presence of gluten.

Soy–, yeast– and gluten–free "occhi di bue" cookies

Useful resources:

Associazione Italiana Celiachia ~ Italian celiac disease association
Cose dell'Altro Pane ~ Artisan GF products
Celiachiamo.com ~ Intolerance-awareness website, has now opened 2 shops in Rome
Glutenfree Roads ~ GF travel website
Celiacando ~ GF grocery store

Canederli recipe

Imagine lying on a flowery Alpine meadow while inhaling the resinous scent of mountain pine, and enjoying the salubrious effect of a chalice of local wine. This is a typical relaxation treatment in one of many wellness centers scattered in the mystical Alto Adige territory, and where for an entire summer week I took some time off to embrace the power of the mountains and nature.

In seven days of pure bliss my tense body was wrapped in damp hay, massaged from head to toe with balsamic ointments, emulsions made from freshly pressed apple juice and wrapped in cotton sheets soaked in salt and apple vinegar. An entire week of bathing in mountain pine waters and lazy soaking in tubs of whey sourced from the farmstead just around the corner. The renovation phase was finally topped with a "Vinotherapy" wine bath. This local – and now very popular – pamper supreme begins with an initial body scrub using crushed grape skins, followed by a brief nap wrapped in a crisp linen sheet, followed by a hot bath, a glass of red wine and a massage with grape-seed oil. Not to mention the food that comes with it all.

I'm a lover of all soups, whatever the season, and in the seven days of spa heaven, I OD'd on Knödel, or Canederli. These scrumptious dumplings made with leftover bread, are tremendously similar to Jewish matzah balls, likewise cooked and served in stock, and consumed preferably in front of a blazing fireplace.

200 g (1 cup) stale bread
1 egg
20 g (2 tbsp) butter
80 g (5 tbsp) speck, diced (Optional)
1 small white onion
1 tbsp chives
50 g (1/4 cup) unbleached flour
100 ml (3 fl oz) boiling hot milk
1 sprig fresh marjoram
1 pinch of nutmeg
Salt and pepper

Prepare good meat stock, important for best results. No bouillon cube this time, sorry.

Dice the bread and soak it in the boiling hot milk, allowing the crumb to absorb milk for 2 hours. It should bloat but still remain sufficiently pliable, not completely melt.

Finely chop the speck (if you're using it), onion and cut the chives and marjoram.

Wilt the onion in some butter, simmering it gently for a few minutes. Let it cool.

Mash the pulpy bread with the tines of a fork or in a food mill. Add the onions, flour, the chopped speck, part of the chives and marjoram, and the egg. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and knead well with your wet hands, shaping the mixture into several dumplings the size of golf balls, and set aside.

In a large pot, heat the skimmed meat stock with the remaining chives and marjoram. Toss in the canederli and cook for 6-7 minutes. Serve 4-5 balls in each individual deep soup bowl, swimming in the steaming clear broth.

Pair with a stuctured red.

At the above-mentioned spa in Val di Non where I was pampered for that divine week of nourishing treatments, the chef (who happened to be the chief masseuse’s husband) made his knödel as one single fist-sized orb instead of the usual several per bowl.

Bruschetta recipe

The first thing to know before making this genius antipasto staple and its creative variations is how to pronounce its name correctly.

Not 'brushetta,' please. That's mortifying. It's bru–SKET–tah. An onomatopoeic homage to the sharp sound made when digging your teeth in the crisp charcoal baked sourdough bread, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with sea salt. Sk! Sk! Think skyscraper! Basket! Skipper! Helter Skelter! Brusketta! Yeah, that's it.

In Tuscany, bruschetta is more commonly called fettunta, a contraction of two words (fetta unta) meaning oiled slice. When olives are taken to the local frantoio mill for pressing in late November, the growers typically take some country casereccio bread with them. There is usually a small fireplace burning in the corner of the pressing room, and when the fragrant liquid gold emerges from the press spout, the grower toasts a bit of the bread on the fire to sample the oil.

The meaning of the noun bruschetta has changed so that now some use the word bruschetta incorrectly to refer to the topping instead of the dish. Many grocery store chains worldwide sell bottled bruschetta, which is simply a mix of tomatoes, onion, garlic and oregano, usually cooked!

For original "red" bruschetta, only fresh tomatoes are used and never a sauce. And allow me to say this one more time, we Italians limit the use of oregano to few special dishes: common pizza toppings, Costata alla Pizzaiola and very few other applications. Any other use is a distortion of Italian flavor and a cliché.

All this said, here's my way of making delicious messy slabs of heaven.

For authentic bruschetta you will need:

Good, thick-crust preferably wood oven-baked bread: whole wheat, sourdough (with its typical chip structure and characteristic aroma) or delicious home-style pane casareccio bread. Bruschetta is a good way of recycling day old, or stale bread too.
Organic, cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil. The finest quality is key, particularly for this dish.
Numerous cloves of garlic, peeled
Sea or Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Optional:
Cherry tomatoes, chopped
Fresh basil leaves, hand-torn (cutting with a metal blade alters the flavor)

The term bruschetta comes from the word bruscare, which means to toast on the fire. So this is a procedure to be carried out on any red-hot surface, be it a barbecue grill, a wood burning oven or fireplace. Pop in a tosater if all else fails. The important thing is the degree of crunch.

While you wait for the coals or logs to reach meat-cooking temperature, place bread slices (max 1 inch thick) on the grill and keep a close watch. Turn with a pair of tongs and remove when lightly charred on the surface.

On a large serving platter place the hot slices and begin rubbing with the peeled garlic cloves to flavor the bread. The more vigorous the scrub, the more intense the taste will be.

Drizzle with abundant olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

You can dress with chopped tomatoes and basil, or any other interesting variation you may wish to invent. I personally love bruschetta plain, but in the summer when I have guest over for a barbecue, I always like to present them with a variety of choices. Some favorite sample bruschettas include: slices of Prosciutto and a thin wafer slices of mild Nero di Pienza Pecorino cheese, sundried tomatoes and Gaeta olives, veggie spreads like olive or artichoke paste or a dollop of pesto sauce mixed with cream cheese. A very successful coastal bruschetta topping is a spoonful of shelled wedge clams stewed in garlic and olive oil, sprinkled with (very little) parsley.

Food shops in Rome

I'm in list mode.

I've shared the contents of my pantry, logged Italy's favorite cheeses, assembled a salumi primer and itemized popular pasta types. I recently wrote a post on where to find raw milk, listed covert croissant dealers, and provided a full index of Rome's neighborhood and farmer's markets.

As part of my alimentary-obsessed research, I have now compiled a list of Rome's best specialty stores and local foodie shrines, divided by the items on which they focus.Continue Reading...

Focaccia al formaggio recipe

Much of the cuisine of Liguria has origins in the historical port of Genoa and the many nearby businesses that offered quick meals for the camalli, the local dock workers. Liguria street food devotees flock to the sciamadde, which were typical streetside shops with wood-fired ovens in back, where you can still sample the local fainà, a slang twist of the word farinata, a pancake-type flatbread made with chickpea flour (regional shift on Cecina).

Tasty deep-fried treats served in a paper cone include frisceu, tasty sage, borage, and lettuce fritters (depending on the season), fried battered fish, strips of panissa (fried codfish), zucchini blossoms and sgabei (fried bread pieces). Other portable foods that are easy to eat on the go are Liguria's traditional vegetable pies: in Genoa there's pasqualina–a paper-thin crust stuffed with collard greens, eggs and local prescinseua cheese; with a variety of different fillings, from seasonal artichokes, zucchini, pumpkin, and onions to mention a few.

But the flagbearer of Ligurian street food is focaccia. Here this delightful flatbread – and don't call it pizza, for heaven's sake! – is eaten at all hours: with espresso or cappuccino for breakfast, or as an aperitivo snack, along side frosted glasses of Sciacchetrà or Pigato wine. A number of tasty variations on the original focaccia can be found all along the Ligurian eastern and western rivieras: in the province of Imperia there's pissallandrea, made from bread dough and topped with sautéed onions, Taggiasche olives and anchovies; in Sanremo there's sardenaira, made with tomatoes, basil, marjoram and thyme, garlic and onions, and the punchy machetto, a paste made with salted sardines and local olive oil. Another wood-fired speciality typical of Ligurian portable food is fugassa, a soft foccaccia made from wheat flour, left to rise for many hours and then served hot from the oven, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with grains of sea salt.

It is the town of Recco however that claims paternal origin of the most decadent, messy and flavorful of Liguria's focaccias: the unique Focaccia al Formaggio.

500 g (2 1/2 cups) all purpose flour
400 g (2 cups) soft cheese, like Crescenza or Stracchino (or any mild and creamy cheese that will melt)
5 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Lukewarm water
Salt

Preheat oven at 200° C (390° F).

Add a pinch of salt to a hollow mound of flour, and slowly add the oil and small amounts of lukewarm water to obtain a firm, satiny dough. Shape it into a small loaf, wrap it in a clean cloth, and let it rest for an hour.

Divide the loaf in 2 equal parts and roll out the dough in 2 flat disks, about 1/8-inch thick.

Grease a cake pan and lay one of the disks. Sprinkle the surface with the cheese, and blanket with the second layer of dough. Jab the entire surface with the tines of a fork, but don’t pierce it through. Baste with a little olive oil and season with (very little) salt.

Bake in the hot oven for 40 minutes and apply to face.

Taralli pugliesi recipe

Deciding to move away from the chaos of the city and retiring in one of Alberobello’s trulli cone houses–typical whitewashed dry-stone dwellings of the Valle d’Itria– has always been a dream of mine. This has however recently become a very trendy choice. Tangible proof of this are the price listings of the original edifices: sums well over €250,000 can be payed for the smaller units.

But there's far more to Puglia than lucrative real estate and picturesque olive groves. Puglia is a ridiculously beautiful region. And a very powerful magnet.

The Tremiti Islands, for example. The Adriatic Sea archipelago, north of the Gargano Peninsula (the stirrup of the boot) is divers' and beach lovers' paradise. It forms part of the impressive Gargano national marine park, the Parco Nazionale del Gargano.

The name of the islands is linked to their seismic activity, and their long history of earthquakes–the word tremiti aptly translates to "tremors."

Legend has it that the Tremiti isles were created by Diomede. As mentioned in the Iliad, she was one of Achilles’ mistresses. One of many. Upon her hero's return home back from Troy, Diomede discovered Aphrodite's charm and younger age had replaced her in her lover's bed. In a temper tantrum, she hurled the rocks Achilles had brought back from Thrace as a sheepish gift right into the sea. Those rocks are now the tremor islands.

The best diving spots on the islands' coasts are the Punta del Vuccolo and Cala degli Inglesi, but the Torrione dei Cavalieri di San Nicola, where the remains of a shipwrecked roman vessel with her intact cargo still sitting at the bottom of the sea 30 meters deep, wins first place.

Other things worth doing and that should not be missed when visiting Puglia:

• Visiting the Bari harbor at 10 am, where local fishermen feed early bird clients raw octopus, clams and mussels with warm bread and chilled beer for breakfast; between loud, barking rounds of zumparidde (the vehement version of morra, a numerical grown-up version of "rock, paper, scissors").

• Spending time in the towns of Vieste and Peschici on the Gargano peninsula to watch the wooden trabucchi fishing implements stretched out at sea from decks perched on steep rocky walls. The complex structured and spider-like "machines" are entirely hand operated–the long, slender pinewood arms couldn't bear the weight of a heavy motorized winch–by 2 to 4 trabuccolanti anglers, who spot the schools of fish, drop the netting and haul up the catch with a series of coordinated agile moves.

• Staying the night in a masseria, one of the many remodeled rural farms that dot the Canale di Pirro valley, in the municipality of Fasano. A few miles from intact Roman aqueducts, or a prehistoric menhir, 5-star b&bs inhabit the old farm buildings. These facilities usually boast high standards of comfort, spas, wifi, private beaches with dinghies for rent and sometimes 9-hole golf courses. On windy days, paragliding classes are held upon request.

• Shopping for tableware and majolica handicrafts in the small town of Grottaglie, in the province of Taranto, the original home of terracotta.

• Visiting Castel del Monte, a spectacular 13th century castle resting on an isolated hilltop, that dominates a vast plateau. Eight sides, eight rooms on each floor, eight eight-sided towers, the impressive stone structure stands inland from Barletta, in the middle of the countryside.

The abundance of red clay in the area promoted the production of pottery––mostly functional vessels, like large jars, pitchers, urn and pots––as early as the 8th century BC. Over time an increasing number of pottery artisans settled in the area, setting up their studios and kilns in natural caves. This "District of Terracotta" is still intact and absolutely worth a visit.

My beloved Emperor Frederick II built Castel del Monte around 1240. It was one of 200 fortresses that the Norman genius erected, but the only one with such an elaborate floor plan. Its shape is compliant to all manner of esoteric, astrological and geometric interpretations. Then again, it could have been just a geometrically pleasing hunting lodge. It doesn’t seem to have had a serious military raison d'être, although its location on top of the only high hill on a vast flat plain certainly gave it a commanding presence. Castel del Monte is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and you can find it pictured on the obverse face of the Italian Euro cent.

• Dancing pizzica in Salento. The remains of Greek and Roman temples, medieval castles and Arabian-style monuments are scattered all over the dry campagna, popping up amid cacti, olive groves and mill farms. And then there is Salento, a small rural area on the coast, unlike the rest of the region, where you can be liberated of all sorrows by a type of music therapy called pizzica tarantata.

La pizzica is a traditional healing trance dance, originally born in the southernmost part of the Puglian peninsula (Lecce in particular) and later spread throughout the entire Salento area. It is a fast and compelling rhythmic dance done to the accompaniment of a tambourine, or accordion and violin. Pizzica is danced to all summer long, in small beachside village festas or the mega annual Notte della Taranta event held in Melpignano, with guest musicians and massive crowds.

Besides the dishes I have written about, Orecchiette with turnip tops, Altamura bread and fave e cicoria, another Puglia must is at least once making (and then eating) the region's typical taralli.

Wheat flour, olive oil, fennel seeds and salt, are baked into small crunchy loop-shaped crackers, which are poached and then baked to a crisp. Traditional taralli Pugliesi are a snack that can easily pair with your antipasto platter, or become your favorite addictive munchies food.

1 kg (2.2 lbs) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 glass of dry, white wine
1 tbsp. salt + 1 pinch
Extra virgin olive oil
Lots of santa pazienza (patience)

Arrange flour in a volcano mound on your work surface. Pour the oil in the crater, add the wine and a pinch of salt. Knead with your hands until the dough reaches a homogeneous, smooth and elastic texture. Do not over-knead.

Let the obtained ball of dough rest for 20 minutes, covered with a kitchen towel somewhere not too cool and drafty.

In a large pot, bring about 8 cups of water to a boil with the remaining salt (about 1 tablespoon) while you preheat the oven to 200° C (390° F).

Shape the taralli from the dough by forming ropes about 1/2-inch thick and 3 inches long. Bend each rope to form a ring, overlap the ends and press down with a finger to clasp them. Some like their taralli bent in a figure-8 or in a horseshoe shape, that's entirely up to you.

Boil the taralli in batches of ten, fishing them out with a slotted spoon as they surface in the salted boiling water.

Rest the drained taralli on a clean kitchen towel to dry for a few minutes.

Grease a baking sheet with some olive oil and position the taralli so they don't touch one another. Bake for 40 minutes, or until they become light brown. It depends on the oven, it may take less. Don't worry if the taralli feel soggy once baked, they'll become crisp once completely cooled down. 

Taralli can be flavored in many ways. During the initial ingredient mixture, you can add 1 or 2 tablespoons of either: fennel seeds, sesame or poppy seeds, dehydrated onion flakes, chopped rosemary, peperoncino, black pepper or a squirt of tomato concentrate, etc.


Note: For 1 kg (2.2 lbs) of flour, your oven's capacity most probably will not contain all the obtained taralli in one single batch. Calculate how many to boil before baking according to sheet size, as the poached dough needs to be toasted right away, within a few minutes.

Torta al Testo recipe

If you're planning on visiting the Umbrian town of Perugia or its surroundings, this is a dish that I particularly recommend you try.

Image © Zyance

Although torta usually means cake, this particular bread is more like a focaccia or a piadina: a simple water and flour dough, which rears a slightly leavened flatbread baked on the testo, which is a round slab of refractory stone heated over burning coals.  I've seen torta al testo also baked on a flat, round iron griddle with legs that's placed over the coals.

This is very much a bread staple belonging to local cucina casareccia, family-style cooking, so remember how this means different families have their own recipes with slightly different variations. Here's one from downtown Perugia:

500 g (1.1 lb) unbleached flour
1 glass of water
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil
1 leveled teaspoon baking soda (or brewer's yeast)


After building your heaped mound of flour, pour all the ingredients in the crater, and knead while singing softly. Never mind the sticky, messy onset. Once formed, both you and the obtained ball of dough will need a quick rest under cool linen sheets for 15 minutes.

Flatten out the risen dough into 9-inch disks, about 1/4-inch thick, and lightly jab with the tines of a fork.

The traditional recipe establishes cooking the torta on the heated namesake testo in the fireplace, but a fine nonstick pan or griddle will do, provided you flip the torta every so often.

If you don't own a wide enough pan, cook your torta in two or more batches. It mustn't char, so remove it when just lightly browned and serve hot.

My dear friend and gourmet consultant for Umbria, author and journalist Enrico Vaime states that "è la su morte"––in his own Perugia argot, meaning that torta al testo's dignified death can only be achieved–by eating it right off the stone, cut into wedges while still hot, and stuffed with hand-carved slices of prosciutto.

The heat of the torta warms the prosciutto's porky goodness whose fat, as a result, melts a bit and becomes translucent. The combination is delicious beyond words. Add a nice bottle of red Torgiano, and you'll remain speechless.

I'll be attending a dear friend's wedding in Umbria this weekend, which means lots of torta al testo for lucky me!

Stuffed eggplant recipe

I'm on an eggplant binge. Some time ago I posted a recipe for eggplant crumble to which my readers responed with mixed emotions. This is a 100% southern Italian recipe for stuffed eggplant I learned to make in Calabria. It employs bread, mint leaves and Pecorino Romano cheese.

A Mediterranean summer solace.

Ingredients:
4-6 large eggplants
Day-old bread, crusts removed and crumbled (for amounts see below)
1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced
50 g (1/4 cup) Italian flatleaf parsley, finely chopped
A sprig of fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1/4 cup Pecorino Romano, grated
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Stem the eggplants but don't peel them, and blanch them briefly in salted water. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, and scoop out the pulp with a spoon, leaving about 1/2-inch from the skins.

Sliver the pulp–for each cup of chopped eggplant pulp you’ll need about 3/4 cup crumbled stale bread. Mix the slivered pulp with the bread, garlic, parsley, mint and cheese, a glug of olive oil and season the mixture to taste with salt and pepper.

Lightly grease the skins of the eggplant shells with a dab of olive oil, and place in a parchment paper-lined ovenproof dish.

Heap the shells with the mixture, drizzle with more olive oil, and bake at moderate temperature (190° C / 375° F) until done, roughly 45 minutes to 1 hour, oven depending.

Pop the cork off the chilled white Cirò and let the pleasure moans begin.

{Calabrian eye candy}

Pane Carasau recipe

Pane carasau is the traditional cracker-type bread from Sardinia. It's thin and very crisp, usually disk-shaped and nearly 2 feet wide. Traces of this bread were found in the nuraghi (traditional megalithic Sardinian stone structures) this means it existed before 1000 BC.

Image © Ars Alimentaria

Because of its long shelf life, pane carasau was used by shepherds during their long travels from place to place to find fresh pasture for their livestock. Properly baked carasau can last in the pantry for over a year.

Made from durum wheat flour (or semola di grano duro in Italian), salt, yeast and water, pane carasau is obtained through a complex process.

After kneading the dough, it has to be rolled out into very thin sheets that are then baked in a very hot oven (840 C° ~ 930° F) this makes the sheets puff up into a ball.

The puffed breads are then removed from the oven, and with great skill, cut along their circumference and divided into round leaves, which are then stacked one on top of the other, porous side up.

The sheets are then baked once again in order to obtain their hallmark crispiness and characteristic color, or carasatura. Finally the twice-baked pane carasau is left to rest covered by a linen sheet and held down by a brick or a heavy plank of wood, to avoid the rounds from curling as they cool.

Sardinians call carasau pane guttiau when sprinkled with salt and a thread of olive oil and then warmed on the grill for a few minutes. 

Another recipe employing carasau is pane frattau, in which the crisp disks are revived in boiling broth, served dressed with rich tomato or ragù sauce, dusted with grated goat cheese and topped with a poached egg.

These particular dressed carasau breads last very little. The minute after I serve them, they're already finished!

Zuppa Pavese recipe

According to tradition this dish was born in 1525, on the day King François I de Valois was defeated by Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire during the Battle of Pavia.

The king pronounced the historical phrase "Everything is lost but honor." According to legend, there was at least one other thing His Majesty hadn’t lost––his appetite.

He stormed the Pavese countryside, famished, in search of something to eat. Finally he arrived at a farm called Cascina Repentita, where a peasant woman was brewing a soup. The king told her who he was and that he was very hungry.

The woman placed a piece of old bread and some cheese in a bowl, covered it all with broth and then, thinking that this food was perhaps not noble enough for a king––even a defeated one––she went to the henhouse, picked up two eggs and broke them into his soup bowl.

After eating the peasant woman's Zuppa Pavese King François judged it "fit for kings," and upon his return to France had it included in the court's royal menu. How's that for an endorsement?

Ingredients for 6 serving:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoon olive oil
Italian style bread, cut in six 1-inch slices
6 cups rich chicken or beef broth
6 free-range eggs
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano, plus more on the table

Heat the butter and olive oil in a skillet and sauté the bread browning it on both sides, then remove and place on paper towels.

Meanwhile bring the broth to a vivacious simmer and keep it there.

Heat individual soup dishes or bowls in the oven, place a slice of bread in each bowl, and crack an egg onto each slice of bread, being very careful not to break the yolk.

Dust with Parmigiano, salt and pepper to taste; once all eggs are placed on the toast, carefully ladle the very hot broth in the bowls (not directly over the yolks, or they'll break). The heat of the stock will cook the eggs. 

If the eggs are not cooked to your taste, place bowls in a hot oven for a minute or two. 

What wine to pour with this dish? Pinot Nero dell'Oltrepò Pavese, of course.