Internet craze apple roses

These super easy "apple roses" are all over the internet lately.

Everyone's making them, my son and I even crafted some at the latest cooking school session we attended together.

This got me thinking that I absolutely have to get my baking act together. This recipe is a great way for begginners to approach baking.

The thought that organically followed was, "This classic flaky dough wrapped around apple slices "glued" together with apricot jam can be transformed into fun variations."

In addition to the ubiquitous apple rose recipe, I'm adding a few savory suggestions to up your aperitivo game or your children's merenda snacks.


Internet craze apple roses

Preheat oven to 200° C (390° F)
Cut 2 apples in half and core. Do not peel. As a matter of fact, choose Gala or Red Delicious varieties whose red skin creates a beautiful color contrast with the cream colored pulp.
Slice the apple halves thinly and drop in acidulated water.
Prepare a basic syrup (2 parts sugar and 1 part water) and soften the apple slices in it for 2 minutes.
Dust with 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, toss to coat evenly and allow to cool.
Using a pastry cutter, cut a rectangular sheet of puff pastry into 2-inch strips.

Brush the strips with warmed apricot jam and lay the apple slices on the top half of the strip, slightly overlapping them.

Fold up the bottom half of the strip and starting from one end, roll the strip on itself.

Place each rolled "rose" in buttered ramekins or paper lined muffin molds.

Sprinkle a little brown sugar on the surface of each rose.

Bake in hot oven for approximately 20 minutes.

Dust with confectioner's sugar before serving.


Sweet & savory spin-offs using the puff pastry as a base

• Use pears instead of apples, and spread white or dark chocolate instead of jam, sprinkle chocolate chips as garnish
• Use celery slices, spread peanut butter, garnish with coarsely ground peanuts or slivered almonds
• Strawberries and ricotta
• Pancetta and smoked cheese
• Pears and gorgonzola
• Peaches and nutella
• Grilled zucchini and goat cheese
• Salami and stracchino cheese
• Roast pumpkin and brie
• Lox and cream cheese garnished with arugula
• Roast potato and caramelized leek...

I can keep going if you like.

Image © Giorgia Di Sabatino – Elliot Baldwin – dlicedorient.blogspot.it 

Saturn Peach Gingersnap Tartlets

No, I'm not baking, are you kidding?! Italy is suffering the worst heatwave in 135 years. Nope, not a typo: one-hundred-and-thirty-five years. It's so hot I hardly have the energy to cook, let alone bake.

But every now and then, I allow myself a small digression from the "eating plan" and make something sweet. I make dessert, even in the middle of this crazy Italian summer (See what I did there? I called it an eating plan, I didn't use the D-word).

Plus, taking advantage of the season's amazing fruit, I convince myself that these desserts don't even constitute a danger for said diet eating plan. A great solution for eating sweet yet healthy in summer is making large batches of fruit smoothies. The best employment of the smoothie? Mixing in 1 tbsp of sugarless jam (of the same fruit you pureed), pouring it in plastic cups and stacking them in the freezer. Hello, healthy homemade popsicles.

If ice lollies are not your thing, and need something a little more substantial to chew on, you could always make my failsafe "tartellette alle pesche saturnine". Saturn (or donut) peaches – also locally called tabacchiere because they resemble tobacco snuff boxes – are my favorite stone fruit. If you've been reading this blog long enough you may remember how I even made tiramisu with Saturn peaches. Today's recipe is an ode to sloth and laziness. No cooking, no baking, just putting together great seasonal ingredients for a sweet summer cuddle.

These particular tartlets combine the aromatic, succulent pinkish flesh of the Saturn peach, with the spiced kick of ginger contained in the base, and the cold, creamy middle. I use ricotta, but you could use mascarpone, gelato, cream cheese, Greek yogurt or – if you're feeling particularly sinful – gorgonzola. Or even burrata.

Yes, I said burrata, stop salivating.

There's no need to turn on the oven to enjoy these Saturn peach tartlets. Just start with a great cookie to begin with, and assemble your way up. I'm using Pepparkakor biscuits, known outside of Sweden as ginger snaps, or ginger thins.

Quantity of units is up to you. I put out all the ingredients and eat as I build, while binge-watching my favorite Netflix series.

Ingredients, in liberal amounts
Ginger thins
Ricotta cheese (or gelato, mascarpone, cream cheese, Greek yogurt, gorgonzola or burrata)
Saturn peaches, rinsed and sliced

Slather your dairy cream of choice on cookie. Top with sliced peaches. Devour.
Repeat.

Buon appetito!

Frozen Campari and Raspberry

It started perfect, but I can't say the vacation ended on a high note.



The empty city streets after the holiday exodus; sandy feet and suntanned shoulders; the joys of rustic country living in a beautiful Renaissance villa; my Dad's impromptu visit; the romantic whistling train, the lull of mid-afternoon poolside naps whose tempo was kept by cicada song... all vanished when my entire family was taken ill with a dreadful gastrointestinal virus caught during the last week of our stay in the Tuscan idyll.

We adults all bounced back quickly, having only shed a few timely pounds. Unfortunately my little boy of 7 years and only 30 kilos, had a harder time. He struggled with vomit and other nether end liquid loss for eighteen never-ending days. These were dotted with rushed emergency room visits, intravenous drips, risk of dehydration, many many sleepless nights and copious electrolyte intake. The poor child just could not keep anything solid down. My nerves drawn very thin, I managed to keep my head only thanks to the advice of friends and family, and their reassuring words of parenting wisdom.

We are now out of the tunnel. In order to regain some color on our cheeks we stole to the beach on the weekend, and a wholesome diet of white fish, boiled carrots and potatoes – assisted by lots of seaside splashing and beach activities – brought appetite and energy back to my boy's frail and weakened organism. He lost a total of 4 kilos (that's 8.8 lbs) which on a child is monumental.

The little guy started school two weeks ago and seems to have finally regained all his natural stamina. I can finally breathe.

In a crazy attempt to cling on the last shreds of summer – rain is drizzling down my window panes as I type this – and in order to nullify the down-pointed end of our disastrous vacation, I'm celebrating my child's overall success by posting a super summery treat. It involves booze and raspberries, both much needed and effective rescue remedies for us caregivers and single moms in distress.

Frozen Campari and Raspberry
1 kg (5 cups) wild raspberries
200 gr (1 cup) sugar
50 ml (1/4 cup) water
5 tablespoons straight Campari
The zest from 1 orange, freshly grated
Sea or Kosher salt

In a blender combine the raspberries, sugar, water and the Campari, blitzing on medium speed until the raspberries are completely pureed, this should take no more than 1 minute.

Pour the resulting puree through a fine mesh strainer into a mixing bowl, pressing with a spoon to separate the juice from the seeds.

Stir in a teaspoon of orange zest, then add a pinch of salt.

If you have a gelato machine, you can do this easily, following the manufacturer's instructions. I did it by hand. Yes, but don't panic. All you do is transfer the puree to the freezer, placed in a shallow tray, and stir with a wire whisk every 30 minutes for two hours. This prevents crystallization.

Move the slushy mixture to a deeper air tight container, like Tupperware or a loaf tin covered with foil, and allow it to freeze overnight. If you leave it in the shallow tray there's the risk it can harden and become a big popsicle. What you want instead is a soft, granita sludge-like consistency.

Scoop out and serve your frozen delight in individual bowls garnished with an orange wedge and a straw. Or eat straight out of the freezer with a large spoon.

Popular Italian Desserts

Many Italian desserts sound delicious, but few know all of them by name. So, here's a handy guide to some of the more common Italian meal-ending treats, with a few tips on where to find them at their best in Rome.
Continue Reading ➔

Seadas recipe

Seadas, or Sebadas, are traditional cheese filled fritters particular to the island of Sardinia.

They are the region's most famous dessert, but originally seadas were enjoyed as a main course, especially by shepherds.

The recipe for these remarkably original cheese fritter calls for a final drizzle of bittersweet corbezzolo honey. Corbezzolo is Italian for strawberry tree, an evergreen Mediterranean shrub whose flower nectar lends the signature bittersweet flavor to this specific honey.

Corbezzolo ~ Strawberry Tree

The pairing of these salty, crunchy, sweet and melty elements provides very interesting flavor and texture combinations.

Here's the recipe for sensational seadas:

200 g (1 cup) semolina flour
500 g (1.1 lb) all purpose flour
500 g (1.1 lbs) Fiore Sardo or fresh Pecorino (not too aged)
Zest from 2 large organic lemons
250 ml (1 cup) water, warmed
3 tbsp white wine
50 g (1/4 cup) butter, softened (ideally rendered lard)
2 tsp salt
1 egg white
Vegetable oil for frying
Organic corbezzolo honey

Dissolve the salt in the warm water, and in a large bowl, add it to semolina, flour, wine, butter (or lard, if you're using it) and knead well. Final result should be a soft and springy ball of satiny dough. Let it rest covered with a kitchen towel while you prepare the filling.

Blend the grated cheese with the lemon zest. This ingredient is what gives this traditional dish its siganture aroma.

Roll the dough flat with a rolling pin, or with a pasta machine, about 1/8-inch thin. Using a saucer or a cookie cutter, obtain 3-inch discs. Depending on how thin you manage to roll the dough, I'd say you'll come up with about 10-15 discs.

Divvy up 3 tablespoons of the cheese and lemon mixture onto half of your discs.

Wet the outer rim of each prepared disc with some egg white and lay the remaining discs to cover. Crimp down the edges with the tines of a fork or with a crinkled pastry wheel.

Fill a large cast iron skillet with vegetable oil for frying, and heat. Fry 2 seadas at a time until slightly golden. To make the floating pastry pocket puff up, carefully ladle some of the boiling oil on it.

When the first bubbles appear on the surface of the fried dough, remove with a slotted spoon and rest on paper towel to blot.

Warm the corbezzolo honey (I take the metal cap off and nuke the jar in the microwave for 30 seconds), drizzle on the seadas, and serve at once.

Buon appetito.

Peach Tiramisu recipe

For some they're called Saturn, an Australian friend names them "donut;" here in Italy they're tabacchiere, because they resemble snuff boxes. Whatever their moniker, the small, flat and white perfumy peaches are the star ingredient in today's particularly droolsome summer tiramisu. Light, quick and easy to make, this particular dessert is magic: it has the power to disappear seconds after landing on your plate.

Ingredients for a 9' x 12' baking dish:

1 lb plain yogurt
1 lb mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 family-pack of Pavesini cookies (or lady fingers)
10 Saturn peaches (or 4-5 regular round, white peaches), peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup peach nectar

In a mixing bowl, combine yogurt, mascarpone and sugar with a wire whip, until well blended.

Quicky dip the cookies in the peach nectar (I didn't say soak, just quickly wet them, they should not go all soggy on you) and line the bottom of the baking dish with the moist cookies.

Slather a thin layer of creamy yogurt + mascarpone mixture, and cover with peach slices.

Spread another coating of creamy mixture, and continue layering moist cookies, cream, peaches, cream, moist cookies, cream, peaches... and so forth, completing with a final blanket of cookies.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least two hours before diving in.

Budino di Riso recipe

Rice pudding––as we know it in Toscana––is one of those quintessential family type desserts – you feed it to kids for afternoon snack, or to perk them up when they're sick. They're sold in both pastry shops and bakeries, and are available all year round. The name "budino" actually means pudding, but there's no resemblance to the classic rice pudding. These are small baked rice pastries, the closest we Italians get to cupcakes!

Whenever I bite into one, the texture and flavor swing me back to my childhood. "Budino di riso" recalls Sunday morning passeggiatas in the Villa Borghese with my friends Margherita and Isabella, picking pine nuts and chasing butterflies, chaperoned by their nonna, the late Suso Cecchi d'Amico––world known screenwriter for Fellini and other cinema icons––accompanied by her gluttonous golden retriever Porto (who never missed a fountain for a dive).

Suso was a tireless nanny, great story-teller and awesome goal-keeper when it came to impromptu games of field soccer. During our playtime, we'd always stop at the Casina dell'Orologio cafe for a treat, and our order was always the same: a portion of budino di riso.

This recipe yields about 10-12 pastries, according to shape.

For the filling:
150 g (3/4 cup) of rice (I use the kind that will give off starch, like Vialone Nano)
400 g (2 cups) whole milk
100 g (1/2 cup) sugar + some confectioner's sugar for dusting
50 g (1/4 cup) unsalted butter + more for greasing the molds
A pinch of salt
2 egg yolks
A shot glass of rum, or cognac
A dash of cinnamon
1 vanilla pod, slit open and scraped (or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
The zest of 1 orange and of 1/2 lemon

For the pastry crust:
200 g (1 cup) "00" flour + more for dredging
150 g (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, chilled
A pinch of salt
1 egg yolk


Preheat oven at 180°C (350°F).

Use whatever muffin pans or ramekins you have at home, but ideally you'd need oval molds to make these typical Tuscan rice puddings.

Prepare the pastry first.

Quickly work the ingredients for the shortcrust with your fingertips (run them under cold water first) away from the oven or hot stove: remember, shortcrust pastry dough is tricky.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour and a pinch of salt, and using two knives, cut the butter into the flour. Roll up your sleeves, remove any rings and bracelets, and get in there pinching and breaking up the butter chunks further with your fingertips until the texture resembles coarse oatmeal, and the butter pieces are no larger than peas.

Drop in the yolk, and knead just until the dough pulls together. You want to obtain a silky texture, so don't be tempted to add flour.

Transfer the dough to a work surface, pat into a ball and flatten into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Then roll the dough down to 4 mm (1/8 inch).

Butter and dredge your muffin pans or molds with flour, line each with some pastry dough, and return to the fridge.

Bring 2/3 of the milk to a simmer and add the rice. Cook stirring until it's half done, then fold in the sugar, a pinch of salt, and the butter. Continue to cook, stirring and adding milk as the rice absorbs it, until the rice grains are quite soft.

Remove the mixture from the stove, let it cool until it is hot but not boiling, and stir in the eggs, liquor, cinnamon, vanilla and zest, mixing well.

Pour the mixture, divvying it among the prepared dough-lined molds, and bake for 15 minutes or until a light brown crust forms. Cover with foil and finish baking for another 10-15 minutes.

Remove the pastries from the oven, gently dislodge from the molds and let them cool on a rack. Dust with confectioner's sugar and serve at room temperature, with a nice cuppa.

Images © NatadiMarzo

 ...

Pesche al vino recipe

lacocinadebender.com

Peaches and wine make a fine pair. A sliced white peach soaking in chilled Chardonnay is almost as sweet as a lover' first kiss. Bold red wine, yellow flesh peaches and orange wedges bobbing in a bowl of soda and a shot of cognac Sangria are a terrific drink. Peach nectar and Champagne make bubbly Bellini. The duo is dynamic and downright divine. Applying these same pairing principles, you may wish for an equally inspired dessert. Feel free to vary quantities, proportions and ingredients; all you really need is your peaches and vino.

4 very ripe peaches
Robust red wine
Icing sugar
A cinnamon stick
Lemon rind

Remove the peach pits, and peel the fruits. (To make peeling easier, carve a small cross-shaped incision at the tip. Then blanche and shock them in water and ice, after 10 minutes peels will slip right off).

Arrange peeled peaches in a bowl and set aside. In a saucepan over a medium heat, pour one glass of red wine, two tablespoons of powdered sugar, a stick of cinnamon, and a piece of lemon rind.

Simmer these together for 3 minutes over medium heat, and then pour the hot liquid over the peaches in the bowl.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to stand for at least 2 hours. Remove lemon rind and cinnamon stick, and serve chilled presented in smaller serving bowls, plain or à la mode.

Ricotta and cacao recipe

After snuggly morning wishes, a sloppy kiss and a wonderful drawing of the two of us, my son informed me that, "Mother's Day is also Childrens' Day."

I wouldn't be a mother if it weren't for him, so the kid did have a point.

I'm assuming the battery operated dump truck he's been coveting for the past week had something to do with his statement.

With the lovely Mother's Day celebrations behind us, I'm making a treat for my dad. He's not been feeling well lately, and there's always a sense of helplessness that comes with living on the other side of the world from him.

So tonight I'm making him virtual dessert. He never says no to the meal's sweet endings, and ricotta and cacao is one of his favorites.

Image © lacucinadicalycanthus.net

This dessert is refreshing and chocolaty, not too fattening, and essentially one that can be easily made at home, in a moment.


250 g (1 cup) fresh sheep's ricotta
5 tbsp. Dutch cocoa powder
2 tbsp. sugar
A pinch of ground cinnamon (optional)

Work the cocoa powder and sugar into the ricotta with a fork to obtain an even blend. The provided quantities depend greatly on individual taste, so go ahead and tweak as you wish.

Fill dessert goblets, champagne flutes or Martini glasses with the flavored cheese, dust the surface with more cocoa powder or chocolate sprinkles, add a dash of cinnamon, or garnish with finger biscuits, if you like.

If at all possible, use genuine, fresh sheep's ricotta. It's not always easy to find, but the natural flavor, aroma and softness of this product, paired with the bitter cocoa, is una meraviglia.

Get well soon, daddy.

Panna Cotta recipe

The other day, when I pointed out panna cotta to one of my clients during a foodie walk, he returned a puzzled look.

Panna Cotta is a silky, light textured dessert from Northern Italy. It is served chilled and usually drizzled with wild berry sauce, caramel or melted dark chocolate.

The name literally translates to, "cooked cream," it's ridiculously easy to make and can be prepared up to two days ahead, as long as kept well-covered and chilled. Some suggest to actually make ahead for added flavor.

To impress your guests with authentic panna cotta, here's what you need to do with:

500 ml (2 cups) heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp. unflavored gelatin (I find it in sheets. I use 3, the equivalent of 6 grams)
150 g (3/4 cup) confectioner's sugar, sifted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Ramekins, parfait or custard cups, muffin pans, Martini glasses, or shot glasses

Heat the heavy cream and sugar in a saucepan. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove the saucepan from the stove, and stir in the vanilla extract. Purists can on the other hand scrape the inside of a vanilla bean.

Soak the gelatin in a medium bowl with cold water for 5-10 minutes.

Pour the hot cream mixture over the gelatin, and stir until dissolved. If you're using sheet gelatin, first soften the sheets in 4 cups of cold water for 5-10 minutes. Wring the sheets out, discard the water and stir the softened sheets into the hot panna cotta mixture, whisking until blended.

Pour the mixture in individual serving containers, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 4 hours or until set.

When ready to serve, dip the bottom of each container into a bowl of very hot water for a few seconds. Place a serving plate on top and turn over to easily dislodge.

Decorate your panna cotta with mint leaves and either a thin raspberry coulis, warmed caramel sauce or melted dark chocolate. 

If you're in a rush, pour the panna cotta mixture into Martini goblets so you can serve them without unmolding; sprinkled with only a few chocolate shavings and a dash of cinnamon.

Fruttini

 

Don't you love these?

They're called fruttini, and they're a clever little dessert. The concept is easy, fruit pulp gets scooped out, made into sherbet or gelato, which then returns back in the empty fruit peel, in the form of delicious, chilled filling!

The one portrayed above is a typical citrus display of fruttini, but the seasonal selection is virtually boundless. I've seen fresh frozen and gelato-filled pears, strawberries, whole pineapples, melons, figs, grapes, apricots, bananas, papayas, a huge watermelon at a party, and then chestnuts, walnuts... and even fennel, radishes and onions!

The futtini-mania has picked up momentum over the years, and I'm sure they've become popular overseas too. There's an artisan gelateria, Matteo Napoli (fruttini's presumed inventor) that sells them online–but ships to Italy and Europe only.

There are plenty of sherbet recipes on the web, I found this one particularly easy, that's of course if you own an ice cream maker. I don't, so what I do for "homemade" fruttini is even better.

I purchase the best quality artisan gelato I can find in flavors corresponding to what fruits I have in the house. I then scoop out the pulp from my fresh fruits and use it for fruit salads or marmalades. All I have to do then is simply fill the emptied fruits with the purchased gelato. It's easier to do with fruits that have a thicker rind, and I'm not trying this trick with kiwi fruits ever again.

I store the self-assembled homemade fruttini in the freezer and take them out 10 minutes before serving.

Furba, eh?

Crostata di Nutella recipe

Every year I anxiously await February 5th to break open my giant tub of Nutella and celebrate with fellow hazelnut-chocolate addicts in what many feel is the year’s sweetest occasion. But don’t be fooled into thinking I only eat Nutella on this date. No. I consume indecent amounts of Nutella, eaten straight off my finger all year round, and guilt never factors in any of these episodes.

A big grazie from the Nutellaholics of the world goes to Michelle from Bleeding Espresso and Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy for annually hosting my favorite blog party at World Nutella Day, and providing us with many creative tributes to the dreamy spread.

As this year’s contribution, I made crostata. Calling it an open-top tart is offensive, mainly because baked Nutella tends to dry out and burn. At least in my crazy oven. The cookie-like crust is pastafrolla–which is the Italian version of shortcrust pastry, or the French pâte sucrée–and the filling is usually jam, sliced fruit or custard with pine nuts.

I love the appealing chewy crunch of coconut and the enveloping, sexy embrace of Nutella, it was only natural the two should become one in my flaky crusted, sliky smooth

Crostata Cocco & Nutella ~ Coconut and Nutella Tart

Ingredients

350 g (1 3/4 cups) flour
150 g (3/4 cup) coconut flour
200 g (1 cup) confectioner’s sugar
300 g (1 1/2 cups) salted butter
4 egg yolks
A pinch of salt (only if you're using unsalted butter)
The star ingredient, Nutella


Preheat oven to 180° C (350° F).


Shortcrust pastry is somewhat of a challenge. If the dough is overkneaded and too cold, it will be too firm to roll; if too warm and soft, the dough could fall apart during baking. Temperature is key, so work away from the hot stove, possibly on a marble surface and using chilled bowls and utensils. I run my hands under the cold water before kneading the ingredients together. Ready?

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the regular flour and the coconut flour. Add the sugar and, using two knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture. Roll up your sleeves, remove any rings and bracelets, and get in there pinching and breaking up the butter chunks further with your fingers until the texture resembles coarse oatmeal, and the butter pieces are no larger than peas.

Drop in the yolks, and knead just until the dough pulls together. You want to obtain a silky texture, so don’t be tempted to add flour.

Transfer the dough to a work surface, pat into a ball and flatten into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Butter and dredge a 12-inch tart pan (or you can line it with parchment paper like I did). Lightly dust your rolling pin with a suspicion of flour, and roll the dough out to about 1/8 inch in thickness. Use a paring knife to cut away excess dough, and save extra bits for decoration or cookies.

Blanket the tart pan with the flattened dough, push well into the edges of the pan, and poke with the tines of a fork, so it will not deform during baking. Another way to avoid forming of uneven air pockets in the crust is to cover the raw dough with parchment paper and use weights to keep it from rising. I scatter two fistfuls of dried beans to cover the entire surface, but I’ve heard of many other weights, like marbles, uncooked rice, bearing balls, or washed pebbles.

Pop the crust plus any spare bits in the hot oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until golden (my oven bakes it in just under 10 minutes). Remove weights and let the crust cool briefly.

Enter the diva. Warm the jar in a pot of hot water before liberally slathering a generous layer of Nutella on the baked crust (don’t be afraid to overdo) and decorate with leftover dough shapes, if you like. Licking the instruments clean is greatly encouraged.

Cut large slices, serve with champagne and field marriage proposals as needed.

How do you enjoy your Nutella?

Italian gelato 101

Gelato is among Italy's most loved and consumed foods, but where do its origins reside? And exactly how is it produced? Grab a scoop and discover the evolution and characteristics of Italy's most popular product.

The history behind gelato is uncertain. There are two theories, and the first asserts that the inventor of Italian ice was a Renaissance artist who lived off his sculptures, paintings and set designs for the sumptuous parties Cosimo I de’ Medici would throw at the Florence court. Bernardo Buontalenti was his name, and, according to a legendary tale, his frosty invention happened during the majestic plans for a banquet honoring very important Spanish guests. On the night of the event, he managed to astound his VIP audience with a curiously chilled concoction made with bergamot oranges and lemons, obtained through a clever use of ice and rotating barrels.

Before Bernardo's engineering inventions, the only chilled foods in existence had been "sorbet" hailing from the Middle East, imported to Italy by the Crusaders. Astonishing how a foodstuff made with crushed ice mixed with citrus-based beverages could survive the Arabian Peninsula's climate. Today we call that miracle granita.

The second theory on the birth of gelato relies on the figure of Francesco Procopio de’ Coltelli, a Sicilian who invented a machine specifically intended to blend cream, fruit and ice into a homogeneous mix.

Francesco knocked at the Versailles doors of the Sun King Louis XIV, bearing tubfuls of the new food which immediately fascinated the monarch, and the royal entourage in his wake.

With the king's endorsement, in 1686 Francesco opened a cafe on Rue de la Comédie Française, in Paris. His creamy chilled specialty became the leading attraction, with Parisians flocking in droves just to taste the Sun King's ice cream.

Whether it was indeed Buontalenti or Procopio who invented gelato is still open to question.

Fortunately, the first true chronicled gelati we know of were those created by Italian immigrants from Veneto and Friuli, who at the turn of the century, established in Austria and Germany–two of Europe's leading industrial ice cream manufacturing countries.

The turning point in the ice cream industry came when, in 1927, a gentleman from Bologna–Otello Cattabriga–invented the first automated gelato machine, thus making the product available to a wider public.

So its precise origin may still be debatable, but one thing is for sure, gelato was invented by Italians.

What is the difference between gelato and ice cream?

I get asked this question a lot.

Gelato is not simply an Italian word for ice cream. It is, in fact, an entirely different and unique product, separate and distinct from ice cream. Gelato contains many ingredients as ice cream–water, milk, sugar, flavorings and air–but in uniquely different proportions.

The three most distinctive differences between gelato and ice cream are low butterfat content, low overrun, and extreme freshness.

Butterfat content

In many jurisdictions, a frozen dessert cannot be called "ice cream" if it does not have at least a certain percentage butterfat content. Gelato butterfat content is typically one tenth of regular ice cream. The majority of gelato flavors are made with whole milk instead of cream.

Overrun

Overrun is a measure of air which is injected into the ice cream during production. A high overrun means a lot of air is added to the ice cream during the making, low overrun means there is not much air added. Typical North American-style ice cream can have an overrun of 100% or more. This literally means that half of the ice cream by volume is composed of air. In contrast, artisan gelato has a much smaller overrun, around 30-40%. But some less scrupulous Italian gelato makers have figured out that a higher overrun can cut ingredient and raw material costs. So steer clear of frothy, excessively sculpted and over abundant gelato: it's mostly all air.

Freshness

At an authentic gelateria, the gelato is made from scratch daily. Unlike many overseas ice cream parlors, the gelato here is made on the premises. True Italian gelato is not produced in large quantities and then stored. There are no preservatives added to create an artificially long shelf life, so typically, gelato is made fresh for consumption within a day or two.

The combination of extreme freshness, low butterfat and low overrun results in a product that is denser, creamier and more intense than traditional ice cream. Gelato is served at a warmer temperature than ice cream and has a cleaner, more smooth perception on the palate.

The best artisan gelato can be divided in two greater families: those which are egg/cream-based (chocolate, vanilla, pistachio, hazelnut, zabaglione, etc.) and those that employ fruit as their main component.

The blend that will eventually end up in a generous scoop in your wafer cone, usually starts with the mixture of liquid components, like water and milk. Next are added the slightly thicker components, like evaporated milk, eggs (obviously only in the "creams" category, not in fruit gelato), and glucose.

At this point this blend is heated to maximize homogenization (process in which the fat droplets are emulsified and the cream does not separate). When the heated blend reaches 40° C (104° F), the solid components are added, like sugar, natural thickeners (like agar-agar, or carob flour), ground coffee and cacao powder. This blend is then further pasteurized to guarantee absence of bacteria.

The following stages of production involve vigorous mechanic agitation and brisk stirring; churning in low temperatures, and maturing. These are two very important steps. By resting, the proteins in the milk and eggs absorb the moisture present, which stops the forming of irksome ice crystals, a veritable gelato no-no. Gelato should be velvety, smooth and creamy. If it's sandy and tooth-gritting because of grainy ice in its texture, it definitely is not gelato. This is also the delicate stage at which perfect gelato is whisked just enough and not pumped with too much air to obtain low overrun.

During the churning at low temperatures, gelato finally ices and becomes the creamy frozen delight that we know. At this point the water present in the blend changes from liquid to solid state, and most importantly, this is when artisan gelato makers add the typical ingredients which will define their gelato flavor: freshly squeezed fruit juices, fruit chunks, cacao, gianduja, vanilla, hazelnuts, pistachios, etc.

The final stage of the gelato production is when it is set to harden. The mixture is refrigerated at lower temperatures (-20° C/-4° F), and will be stored like that until beautifully dollopped on a wafer cone or in a coppetta, the typical Italian 3 to 8-oz tub.

Although gelato can be a year-round treat, strolling the avenues of the Eternal City in summer, we always discover newly elected ice cream shrines, where coppette and cones come filled with unconventional new glacial flavors.


The whim and talent of genuine Italian gelatai are beyond measure. Here are a few personally tried and tested fashionable flavor combinations:

Nero d'Avola Sicilian red wine and dark chocolate
Wild strawberries and spumante
Raspberry and sage
Basil, honey and walnut
Ginger, cardamom and almonds
Provençal lavender
Gorgonzola and pears
Poppy seeds
Wasabi, made with dark chocolate and horseradish
Kentucky, which is a blend of chocolate, tobacco, coconut-ricotta, and a splash of pure zabaglione
Candied rose petals
Rice and cinnamon
Saffron and ricotta

The list goes on...

Pastiera recipe

Pastiera is the quintessential Neapolitan Easter cake.

Legend has it that pastiera was invented in a Neapolitan convent. An unidentified novice wanted her Easter cake to be a symbol of the Resurrection, and to be redolent of the spring flowers growing in the convent’s orange grove.

So she mixed a handful of wheat grains (abundance) to some mild ricotta cheese (sustenance), added some eggs (symbol of new life), some orange-fragranced water, citron and a mix of aromatic Asian spices.

The ingredients used in making Pastiera closely, suggest a more pagan spring-welcoming Dionysian type ceremony rather than an enlightened nun’s experiment: wheat kernels, goat milk’s cheese, floral water, eggs, spices and candied fruit? I say definitely mundane.

Be that as it may, Pastiera is commonly consumed during Italian Easter festivities, an intensely religious moment of the calendar.

The name "pastiera" appears to come from the consolidated habit of using cooked pasta instead of buckwheat; there are still some who make pastiera using spaghetti and angel hair.

There are two different ways of preparing Pastiera: in an older method, the ricotta was mixed with the eggs; in the newer version, a thick pastry cream mixture is added, resulting in a softer amalgam. This recipe innovation was introduced by Signor Giovanni Scaturchio, a Neapolitan genius confectioner whose little shop of miracles still occupies a corner in Piazza San Domenico Maggiore.

A deli in Rome sells these mini 3.5 oz pastierine from Napoli's Scaturchio, and when I got one as a present the other day I squealed with delight. They are the best.

Here's the orignal recipe, handed down by a 100% true Neapolitan. Complex and time consuming, but oh, so worth it.

Ingredients for the shortbread/shortcrust pastry shell:

3 yolks
500 g (2 1/2 cups) all purpose flour
200 g (1 cup) sugar
200 g (1 cup) lard (cough) or butter

Ingredients for the filling:

700 g (3 1/2 cups) sheep's milk ricotta
400 g (2 cups) cooked buckwheat (can be substituted with pearl barley soaked overnight and boiled for 30 minutes; or round rice boiled for 20 minutes)
400 g (2 cups) sugar
1 lemon
1 heaped tbsp. candied citron fruit, cubed
1 heaped tbsp. candied orange, cubed
1 heaped tbsp. candied pumpkin (locally called "cucuzzata") last 3 items can be substituted by assorted candied fruits
100 ml (1/2 cup) milk
30 g (1 oz) butter
5 eggs + 2 yolks
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. orange blossom water (if you can't find it, use the zest of 1 orange)
A pinch of powdered cinnamon

If you were unable to find cooked and canned buckwheat, you'll have to cook the raw kind, or substitute it with the other grains and cooking procedures mentioned above.

Soak the raw buckwheat in water. Drain and rinse well under running water before cooking in plenty cold unsalted water. When the water boils, reduce the heat and cook at a gentle simmer for 90 minutes undisturbed (no stirring).

In the meantime, if you decide not to use prepackaged and frozen pastry dough, combine flour sugar and softened butter in a mixing bowl. Drop in the yolks one at a time, and work into an even dough. Otherwise thaw the frozen pastry.

When the ingredients are well mixed, work the dough by quickly folding it over a few times. Beware: the more you work shortbread the less it will be soft and supple!

Let the dough rest 30 minutes, covered by a damp kitchen towel.

Mix the cooked buckwheat, milk, butter and the zest of 1 lemon in a saucepan, and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Stir often, and cook until the mixture is quite creamy.

Whip the ricotta in the blender with the eggs and yolks, the sugar, vanillin, floral water and cinnamon. Once this is well blended and fluffy, fold in the candied fruits and cooked buckwheat mix, and stir until fully blended.

If you are using the frozen shortcrust pastry dough, once it is thawed soft, unroll it. Now whether packaged or homemade, the dough needs to be flattened. Use a rolling pin and work the dough to 1/4 of an inch in thickness. Line a 9-inch buttered pie shell with the pastry. With the excess dough cuttings, you can make some lattice strips for decoration.

Pour the filling mixture in the prepared pie shell, fold the brim inwards and decorate the top part with the strips of extra dough. Brush the criss cross lattice with egg yolk or melted butter mixed with sugar if you like. This will make it shine.

Bake in the oven at 180° C (350° F) for 90 minutes, or until amber in color.

Let the cake cool completely and dust it with icing sugar before serving.

It's hard work, I know.
Pastiera is best cooked a few days in advance, in order to allow the fragrances to mix properly and result in that unique flavor, but I never manage to resist more than a few hours.

A mouthful of pastiera, followed by a sip of dry red wine is known to bring springtime in your mouth, la Primavera in bocca.

Buona Pasqua!

Torta al cioccolato recipe

Straightforward chocolate cake is the Marvin Gaye of desserts: classy, smooth, sensual. This particular treat conceived after many delicious variations and tastings, features rich crusty chocolate with a moist heart, and a touch of bittersweet. Just like romance.

Image © Buttalapasta

100 g (1/2 cup) cake flour
100 g (1/2 cup) all-purpose flour
50 g (1/4 cup) pure cocoa powder (don't use Dutch processed cocoa in this case)
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
50 g (1/4 cup) 70% dark chocolate, broken into pieces
200 g (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
4 regular eggs (or 3 large), separated
300 ml (1 1/4 cups) drinking water
300 g (1 1/2 cup) packed dark brown sugar
100 g (1/2 cup) sour cream
5 ml (1 teaspoon) pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
A pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 180°C (356°F).
Butter and flour a 12-inch springform pan (best if with 2-inch high sides).

In a bowl, sift together the 2 flours, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Break up the chocolate into 1/2-inch pieces and combine with the cacao powder and espresso powder.

Bring the water to a boil and measure out 1 1/4 cup. Pour over the chocolate and whisk gently until the chocolate has completely dissolved. Using water heightens the chocolate flavor of the mixture as opposed to milk. (Try tasting chocolate melted in warm milk and compare it to the taste of chocolate melted in water. The milk-based hot chocolate will feel thicker and richer, but the water-based hot chocolate will have a surprisingly strong chocolate flavor. Hence the Laura Esquivel novel/film title "Like Water for Chocolate.").

Once the flour has been sifted and the chocolate melted into boiling water, you must cream the unsalted butter with a flat beater. Add the sugar and mix until butter and sugar are evenly mixed.

One at a time, add the egg yolks and beat on medium-high until fully incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Mix in sour cream and vanilla extract.

On low speed, mix in one third of the flour mixture followed by half of the chocolate liquid. Repeat with another third of the flour and the rest of the chocolate. Finally, mix in the last third of the flour. Stop the mixer once the batter has just combined, resisting the temptation to lick the batter.

In another large bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Initially pour only 1/4 of the whites into the batter, then fold in the remaining whites until just incorporated. After that, the trick is to gently stir the egg whites, folding them over with a spatula in the same direction, and with a sweet smile on your face.

Pour the combined batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the top is risen and crusty, 25-30 minutes according to oven, or until a toothpick or a dry spaghetti strand thrust into the center of the cake and withdrawn comes out clean, or covered in dry crumbs. The center should be decadently soft and moist.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let it cool for 10-15 minutes. The top will fall a bit, but go ahead and remove the pan sides. To do this, loosen the cake’s edges by running a knife along the circumference of the round to release the cake from the pan, unbuckle the spring and sensually slide the torta onto a serving plate. Dust the warm cake with confectioners’ sugar, cut into messy slices, top with optional whipped cream and prepare to find religion.

Image © Celiachiamo

I won't wish you happy "lucrative-greeting-card-business" day because I don't believe in it. You may remember how last year I put forward my arguable reasons for this aversion. Every day is Valentine's Day in my home, not just today.

♥

Castagnaccio recipe

Castagnaccio is a typical Apennine region non-sweet dessert made with chestnut flour and love. During a particularly difficult shoot in Garfagnana where long working days were spent immersed up to the waist in a tumultuous river, the thought of returning to the hotel and munching on foot-long slabs of castagnaccio in front of the fireplace, made conquering the Serchio river bank effortless.

Image © Fraenzi

500 g (2 1/2 cups) sweet chestnut flour (the cheaper kind is lumpy and bland)
750 ml (3 3/4 cups) water
A pinch of salt
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
A pinch of fresh Rosemary needles
100 g (1/2 cup) Pine nuts
50 g (1/4 cup) Raisins

Preheat oven at 180° C (350° F).

Soak the raisins in a glass of lukewarm water and set aside. Pour the olive oil in the water and set aside. Sift the chestnut flour in a large mixing bowl and add the salt. Slowly drizzle the water and oil “emulsion” over the flour and keep mixing with a wire whisk to avoid lumps. The blend will turn out quite liquid, but do not worry.

Pour the mixture in a well-oiled cake pan. Don’t mind the uneven composition swimming in the pan, the recipe requires it to be that way, trust me.

Sprinkle with pine nuts, raisins and rosemary needles. Drizzle with one more thread of oil and bake in the oven for about 30-40 minutes. I like my castagnaccio soft with a lightly crisp crust. Mind you, the pie doesn’t rise, so the thickness shouldn’t be more than a 1/2-inch.

Tip: Don’t sink your teeth in your castagnaccio before it has cooled down completely. The oil will comfortably be absorbed during cooling and you won’t scorch your mouth.

Oh, one more thing: castagnaccio loves Chianti.

Clementine sciroppate recipe

The marketplace these days is a beautiful winter palette. If you've visited my photoblog Tuesday Jan. 12, you'll have noticed the gorgeous abundance of this season's produce: different kinds of artichokes, broccoli, cauliflower, puntarelle, crisp fennel bulbs, ribbony radicchio, cavolo nero, pumpkins and parsnips; and also wonderful wild kiwi fruits, blood Tarocco oranges, juicy apples and clementines.


Clementines are a very popular smooth and glossy citrus fruit. Initially imported from Spain, Morocco, and other parts of North Africa, Clementines are a cross between a sweet orange and a Chinese mandarin. They are small, very sweet, and usually seedless. Many think of Clementines as small tangerines, but they're a different variety entirely, with a distinctive taste. The y produce a delicious fresh-squeezed juice, but Clementines are mainly an eating fruit. Its small size and lack of seeds make it particularly popular with kids.
They appear on market stalls in the northern hemisphere around November, and they are available for 4-5 months.

Canning them is an excellent way to carry the flavors of winter over into the summer months. The zesty citrus and their syrup are quite pleasant over plain vanilla ice cream, or fresh ricotta, Asiago or goat cheese; or as a topping for spongy chocolate cake.

1 kg (2.2 lbs) small unwaxed, organic clementines
200 g (1 cup) sugar
1 lt (1 quart) non-sparkling mineral water (I use Evian)
4 to 6 10-oz capacity mason jars and capsule screw caps*

Sterilize the marmalade jars and by boiling them in plenty unsalted water for 10 minutes.

During this time, soak the clementines in water and a fistful of baking soda to remove any outer substances from the rind–though very easy to peel, in this recipe the clems keep their skin on.

Put the whole fruits in a large stew pot in plenty mineral water and bring to a boil. Lower the flame and keep at a medium simmer for 15 minutes. Fish out the fruits with a slotted spoon and set aside; saving the water.

Stir in the sugar and resume the boil, at which point add the clementines back to the pot; and boil for 30 more minutes. The sugary water will thicken and become a syrup.

Spoon out the fruits and divide them among the sterilized jars, pouring in just enough syrup to cover them (depending on jar size, you should get 5 or 6 fruits in each).

Firmly close the lid of each jar, turn the jars cap side down and wrap them close together in a warm fleece or woolly blanket in a dimly lit room, away from drafts, overnight. This rather mysterious-sounding procedure is the technique that guarantees pasteurization. Thanks to the heat, jars are hermetically sealed, and through natural vacuum, air is expelled. The result will be that the capsule in the lids of the jars will no longer "pop" when pressed down. If the capsule still pops, repeat pasteurization process with a new lid. Once the jars are vacuum sealed, they can be stored in your pantry for 10-13 months.

Tip: Stir some of the citrusy syrup in one or two tablespoons of mustard (according to taste) as a rascally piquant condiment for bollito misto, cotechino or grilled meats.

*Safe and hygienic preserving is obtained by using new jars and special lids with soft rubber gaskets that ensure a "venting" effect during pasteurization, and that provide an effective, long-lasting vacuum seal. Furthermore, the paint must be suitable for contact with the foods on the inside. The jars and lids I use are The Quattro Stagioni Line by the Italian manufacturer Bormioli Rocco. 

To learn more about the technical features on their website, click HERE

Ciambelline al Vino recipe

I like finishing dinner with something sweet. But sometimes dessert is too much, especially after a hearty meal. In that case, dipping dried biscuits in the leftover red wine in my glass is the best way to end the evening.


The most famous dipping biscotti are the Tuscan Cantucci, known for their jaw-breaking hardness and their toasted almond surprise. Cantucci's liquor of choice is Tuscan vin santo, an auburn sweet dessert wine made with Trebbiano or Malvasia grapes. My thing are instead ciambelline al vino. Dry, crunchy sugar biscuits made WITH wine, and made FOR wine. The recipe to prepare them is absurdly easy, and the result is obscenely tasty. Try it.
800 gr (4 cups) all purpose flour, sifted

300 g (1 1/2 cups) sugar
250 ml (1 cup) good red wine
200 ml (7 fl oz) olive oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pastry yeast
A pinch of salt

Preheat oven at 180° C (350° F).

In a bowl, mix the liquids and the sugar with a wooden spoon. Add the sifted flour, yeast and vanilla extract with the salt little by little, to obtain a firm and slightly wet, yet not sticky mixture. Knead into a soft, supple dough and allow it to rest for about 30 minutes, covered. Cut the dough and roll into foot-long ropes, about 1/2 inch thick. Cut each rope into 20 cm sections and shape them into rings, clasping the ends with a little pressure. You can also use a cookie-cutter to form your ciambelline (which is a diminutive of ciambelle–"life savers").

Press the ciambelline in the sugar to coat, and bake in the oven on a greased cookie sheet for 20-30 minutes, or until golden.

Cool completely before serving after dinner, dipping them liberally in your wine glass. Sucking on the ciambelline, making noises and moaning while eating is encouraged. Kids are allowed a taste too, but only on special occasions.

Images courtesy of Forchettina.it, Gnocchettoalpomodoro.it

Ferragosto: Gelo di Anguria recipe

The way we Italians honor any sort of festivity, activity or event celebrating a special occasion is through the glorification of food. Cooking and gathering for a meal, however sumptuous or modest, is the final solemnization of a series of acts duly performed for religious or ceremonial reasons. The triumph of opulence over poverty, sacrifice and abstinence. An offering, an act of gratitude, of praise. Greek mythology sums it up in one single spilling cornucopia, the symbol of plenty consisting of a goat’s horn endlessly overflowing with flowers, fruit, and grains.

It's Ferragosto today: big Italian holiday. Originally, it was the day marking the middle of summer and the end of hard harvesting labor in the fields. In time, the Church adopted this date to commemorate the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

Before the Roman Catholic Church came into existence, however, this holiday was celebrated in the Roman Empire to honor the gods, in particular lunar Diana (the Roman equivalent of the Greek Artemis) and the cycle of fertility and ripening.

Typical Ferragosto food revolves around fresh, raw vegetables and fruit to ward off the heat. Cold beverages, fruit salads, cold pasta and Pomodori al Riso are almost always on the menu.

Roadside stands selling whole watermelons and/or chilled slices of the fruit are a summer feature throughout Italy. The hand painted signs on country roadside stalls may read the word "anguria," but the dialectal term cocomero is watermelon's name in Rome and its vicinities.

Ferraugustine tradition imposes mammoth consumption of the everpresent cocomero, usually kept cold bobbing in a nearby marble fountain in absence of portable coolers.

My stepfather Sergio likes to engage in pre-purchase cocomero appraisal, a complex activity that includes bargaining and the cutting of a small wedge, called tassello, for the definitive quality assurance evaluation. Cocomero and Panzanella are more classic Ferragosto food items on our summer outings. Since panzanella has olive oil among its ingredients, which inevitably ends up dribbling everywhere, including one’s hands and face, cocomero in that context works also as a refreshing cleanser. Hence the memorable Roman slogan Cocomero: Magni, bevi e te lavi 'a faccia, which translates to "watermelon: with it you eat, drink and wash your face all in one go".


Today we make dessert, fresh and lovely Gelo di Cocomero

Like many other Sicilian fruit "gelos," this chilled delight is typical of Palermo's culinary tradition of cornstarch-based puddings. Its best application is - in my humble opinion - with watermelon as it's fresh base.

1 liter (4 cups) ripe watermelon pulp, seeded
80 g (1/3 cups) sugar
5 tablespoons of cornstarch
100 g (1/2 cup) Pistachio nuts, finely ground
50 g (1/4 cup) dark chocolate, finely ground
Jasmine flowers
A pinch of cinnamon

Whir the watermelon in the blender and remove excess liquid, by passing the puree through a sieve. Mix all the ingredients - save for the jasmine, chocolate and cinnamon - placing them in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat.

As the elements simmer, the cornstarch will begin to thicken the sauce. Remove from the stove and allow it to cool once well blended and quite thick.

Pour the creamy watermelon mixture in Martini glasses or muffin molds. Dust the top with powdered pistachio, a dash of cinnamon and garnish with chocolate shavings and the jasmine flower. Serve chilled and prepare for the applause.