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As many of you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month worldwide.

The annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities and organizations every October works toward increasing awareness of the disease and raising funds for research into its cause, prevention and cure. Charities like Pink Ribbon aim to create a global community to support breast cancer patients, survivors and their families.

As well as providing a platform for breast cancer charities to raise awareness of their work and of the disease, this is also a prime opportunity to remind women to test with mammography and ultrasound for early detection.

Many native Italian and expat bloggers in Italy–as part of the 17th Nastro Rosa campaign–are blogging in pink today.

Our gracious hosts Barbara, Chiara and Carolina were the minds behind this important joint blog event. I am honored to participate, and I thank Rosa at Bell’Avventura for letting me know of this opportunity. Please visit Mamma Felice for a complete list of participants.

My contribution for today's worldwide effort to spread the word about breast cancer awareness is... you guessed it, a recipe!

Blushing Pink Strawberry Risotto

Ingredients
2 tablespoons minced onion (I use shallot)
3 tablespoons celery, julienned
50 g (1/4 cup) butter
400 g (2 cups) Arborio or Carnaroli rice
250 ml (1 cup) good quality dry sparkling wine, or prosecco
Simmering vegetable broth (chicken broth is OK too)
300 g (1 1/2 cups) firm strawberries, calyx removed and finely sliced
4 tablespoons Parmigiano, grated

Sauté the onion and celery until translucent in 2/3 of the butter, then remove with a slotted spoon and set them aside.

Toast the rice in the butter and cook over a moderate heat, stirring with a wooden spoon for 5 minutes. Return the bruised onion and celery back into the rice, mixing to heat through, and add the bubbly. Continue stirring until the sparkling wine is completely evaporated; then start adding the broth, one ladle at a time.

The rice should be done in about 15 minutes: this is when you add the strawberries.

Cook stirring gently for one more minute, turn off the heat, and fold in the remaining butter and the cheese. Cover for a minute, and then serve in individual portions, with the four prettiest heart-shaped strawberries, placed on each. You can also garnish each bowl of risotto with a sprig of mint or fresh basil leaves.

Image © thechefisonthetable

Raise your pink champagne glasses with me and let's toast: SALUTE! To our health!

VERSIONE ITALIANA

Come molte di voi sanno, ottobre è il mese della prevenzione del tumore al seno.

La campagna annuale organizzata da istituzioni benefiche nel mese di ottobre è volta a sensibilizzare la consapevolezza riguardo a questa malattia; e nella raccolta fondi per la ricerca, prevenzione e cura del tumore alla mammella.

La campagna mondiale è anche un'opportunità per ricordare a tutte noi donne di sottoporsi a regolari controlli ed esami di diagnosi precoce quali mammografia e ecografia, per sconfiggere sul tempo eventuali insorgenze.

In Italia, la campagna Nastro Rosa è organizzata dalla LILT, che da anni si dedica alla prevenzione del tumore al seno. La campagna non opera unicamente come raccolta fondi e nello svolgimento di varie attività benefiche, ma anche a sostegno attivo nell'offrire informazioni a donne affette da tumore al seno, alle sopravvissute e alle loro famiglie.

In occasione della 17esima edizione della campagna Nastro Rosa, molti blogger Italiani e stranieri della Penisola oggi si tingono di rosa. Grazie alle generose Barbara di Mamma Felice con Chiara di Ma Che Davvero e Carolina di Semplicemente Pepe Rosa–le tre menti dietro all'iniziativa del post collettivo–per averci dato modo di partecipare a questo evento internazionale di straordinaria importanza. Ringrazio inoltre Rosa di Bell'Avventura per avermi invitato a partecipare.

Il mio contributo per la campagna è una ricetta... tutta in rosa!

Risotto alle Fragole

Ingredienti
2 cucchiai di cipolle tritate (io uso lo scalogno)
3 cucchiai di sedano, affettato a julienne
50 g burro
400 g riso Arborio o Carnaroli
250 ml buon vino frizzante secco, o prosecco
Brodo vegetale (ma anche quello di pollo va bene)
300 g fragole, private della corolla, e affettate sottilmente
4 cucchiai di Parmigiano grattugiato

Salta la cipolla e il sedano in 3/4 del burro fino a farli appassire. Togli dalla pentola e tieni da parte. Tosta il riso nel burro e cuoci a fuoco moderato, mescolando per 5 minuti. Aggiungi la cipolla e il sedano appassiti e riscalda. A questo punto versa il prosecco, mescolando fino a farlo evaporare del tutto. Un mestolo alla volta, aggiungi il brodo caldo, man mano che il risotto lo assorbe in cottura.

Il riso sarà cotto in circa 15 minuti: a questo punto aggiungi le fragole affettate.

Ultima la cottura mescolando dolcemente per un altro minuto appena, togli dalla fiamma, e incorpora il restante burro e il Parmigiano grattuggiato. Fai riposare coperto per un minuto e poi servi in porzioni individuali decorate con spicchi di fragola (tieni da parte le 4 più belle a forma di cuore) ed eventuale fogliolina di menta o basilico fresche.

In alto i calici di champagne rosé e brindate con me: ALLA NOSTRA SALUTE!

 

Chocolate ravioli recipe

Yes, chocolate.

While lazily shopping for staples in a new supermarket a few days ago, I came across a famous Italian brand of commercially sold fresh pasta–not the dried variety, nor the kind extruded through precious metal dies–but one that actually fulfills one of my biggest fantasies. Chocolate pasta.

I'm not talking about a vague flavoring, or a slight a beige hue, no. This is serious choco-mania material. Large percentage of fair trade cacao mixed into the dough, and a decadent chunky hazelnut chocolate filling.

The term ravioli just went up a notch.

What follows may not be a crowd pleaser. But my name is Eleonora and I am a chocoholic. So bear with me on this one.

The manufacturer calls these "tortelli" given their exotic filling, even if in this particular case they're square-shaped and stuffed, like what I'm more comfortable calling 'ravioli.' For more on pasta shapes and types, please read my La pasta! post.

The box suggested the pasta be served as a quirky dessert, and offered a number of original cooking ideas. But I had to experiment with flavors, and take my chocofantasy all the way.

So I boiled the ravioli in salted water.

I prepared a basic dressing. What you normally do when employing star ingredients that need to shine, like white truffles, garden sage or a special stuffed pasta, like in this case.

This every day elemental dressing is salted butter and very good quality, aged Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Fresh pasta needs very little cooking, the box said 2 minutes.

I drained the ravioli, saving a little starchy cooking water. I poured them into my bowl with 1/2 stick of butter and generous fistful of grated Parmigiano, and stirred gently to coat evenly. I then added a splash of cooking water for creaminess.

As a final touch, I dusted a minimal amount (about a tablespoon) of chocolate caviar, another sinful item I picked up some time ago and cannot seem to do without lately. I normally use it over gelato, fruit salad or tiramisu; but I've had days when it was perfect sprinkled over pizza bianca, or dropped liberally in my morning cappuccino and evening Irish Coffee.

Chocolate is so versatile, that it can very well be used in savory preparations. The soft smoothness of the chocolate elements, and the salty notes of the grated cheese and melted butter offered a very interesting flavor combination. The glass of full-bodied and voluptuous Amarone I drank with it also contributed.

sweet~savory chocolate ravioli for lunch

This post is is one of many submitted worldwide for Wanderfood Wednesday at Wanderlust & Lipstick.

Head over to Beth's to learn more about ethnic (and unconventional) cuisine from around the world.

Pizza di Scarola rustic pie recipe

Originally a Christmas dish, this savory Neapolitan vegetable pie is an Italian mealtime classic. In the Napoli hometown, the stuffed pie crust has a hint of sweetness and needs yeast and lard. I use regular bread dough for a lighter outcome. It's a different way of eating greens, puts smiles on children's faces and gratifies your taste buds with a piquant filling surprise.

Image © giallozafferano.it

For the crust:
500 g (2 1/2 cups) flour
125 ml (1/2 cup) milk
60 g (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
125 ml (1/2 cup) lukewarm water
12 g (1 tsp) active dry, or brewer's yeast
1 pinch of salt
1 tsp sugar
40 g (2 tbps) extra virgin olive oil
1 egg yolk stirred with a little milk for brushing


For the filling:
1 large or 2 medium heads of escarole (broad-leaved endive) washed and chopped
A fistful of Gaeta olives (or small purple Kalamata olives) pitted
A pinch of salted capers, rinsed
2 garlic cloves, halved
1 spicy red peperoncino
1 oil-packed anchovy (optional)
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt

To make the crust, first melt the yeast in a small vessel with the milk, lukewarm water, very little salt and a tsp of sugar.

Now place the flour in a large mixing bowl with the softened butter, olive oil and incorporate the yeasty blend. Mix well with a wooden spoon to obtain a moist ball, pouring the lukewarm water in slowly.

Turn the oily dough onto a clean surface, and knead briefly, just until it becomes smoother, about a minute. Cut the dough into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other. Wrap each piece in plastic, and let rest in a warm place, for about 2 hours. The dough pieces will double in volume.

Preheat oven at 180° C (350° F).

Boil the chopped escarole for 2 minutes in plenty of water. Drain and wring away excess water.

Meanwhile, lightly film a large pan with olive oil, and heat over medium-high. Brown the garlic and peperoncino to release their flavors, and discard when the garlic begins to brown. According to your taste you can decide to leave in the peperoncino. The original recipe calls for an added oil-preserved anchovy too, you're free to omit it but it does give the whole recipe a punch without ever noticing the actual anchovy flavor.

Sauté the parboiled escarole for 5 minutes in the flavored olive oil with the pitted olives, capers and a pinch of salt. Let it cool 10 minutes before the next step.

Roll the two dough disks or squares out; given the greasiness of the dough, no flour is needed, but just in case, you can line your baking pan with some parchment paper.

The larger dough piece should be bigger than your 9-inch pie shell. Drape the larger rolled dough over the lined pie shell leaving some overhang all around.

Fill with the cooked greens and cover with the second dough piece.

Trim away a little of the excess dough, crimp the edge all the way around to seal the pie, and cut 4 small slits in the top, or pierce the surface with the tines of a fork.

Brush the surface with some egg wash and bake 20-30 minutes (depending on oven vigor).

Let the pie rest on a wire rack for about 15 minutes before serving.

Cut generous slices and serve paired with the rest of your meal, generously washed down by big Aglianico wine. Otherwise you can enjoy it cold the next day, with a chilled beer.

Amatriciana recipe

After a section on the myriad types of pasta available in Italy, I just couldn't stop myself from posting the recipe for one of my favorite starchy dishes.

The famous Amatriciana sauce––made with guanciale, tomato and Pecorino––is commonly associated with Lazio and Rome, but is actually from the town of Amatrice, that, after the unification of Italy, was initially part of Abruzzo, and then annexed to the Lazio region only in 1927.

"Amatrice" is also an adjective meaning, 'expert lover woman.' You draw your own conclusions as you savor the assertive gusto of these killer bucatini.


200 g (1 cup) guanciale (or unsmoked pancetta), diced
400 g (14 oz) whole canned tomatoes, crushed
1 small white onion, finely chopped (yes, I make mine with onion – big debate will ensue among my Amatriciana-fundamentalist friends)
1 peperoncino (or 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes)
1 glass of dry, white wine
3 fistfuls Pecorino Romano, grated
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
500 g (1.1 lb) bucatini type pasta

Render the guanciale in a pan, over low heat until golden and crisp.

Add the onion, and sprinkle the peperoncino flakes. When the onion is translucent, splash with the wine and boil to evaporate it. Add the tomatoes and cook uncovered for 10 minutes, and set the heat to low to keep the sauce warm while the pasta boils.

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, add some salt and plunge the bucatini (or the thickest spaghetti available, if you have trouble finding bucatini). Shortly before the pasta is ready, scoop up a little bit of starchy pasta cooking water.

I tend to go easy on the salt, given the flavorful punch lent by both the guanciale and Pecorino, but do adjust seasoning to your taste.

Drain the pasta while it's still quite al dente and pour it in the tomato sauce skillet, add the grated cheeses and a demitasse of pasta cooking water. Cook a few minutes more, mixing and rocking the skillet to coat the pasta evenly. Serve piping hot with more grated Pecorino if necessary.

Buon appetito!

Note: This recipe derives from a much older sauce called Gricia. Shepherds in isolated pastures used to make Gricia by gently sautéeing diced guanciale, and adding freshly boiled pasta, a healthy dusting of black pepper, and grated Pecorino Romano. This would result in a creamy grayish sauce, hence the recipes name, gricia, which is a Roman dialectal switch on the word "grigia" (gray).

Image credits Andrea Di Lorenzo

La pasta!

Popular pasta shapes and types

It’s a vast world beyond fettuccine. Eclectic starchy carbo-nutrient and key meal staple in the Italian diet–whether home made or store bought–offers a mammoth choice in terms of different variations, sizes, colors, textures and shapes.

Regarded as a whole, pasta can be divided into three broad categories: pasta di semola di grano duro, made from durum wheat flour, water, and salt. Dried hard wheat pasta is the one most commonly sold in grocery retail stores. Then there's pasta all’uovo, which is made by mixing eggs and regular flour; and homemade pasta.

Homemade pasta is generally made with cake flour (which has less gluten) and eggs. Therefore, since durum wheat flour is not being used, the cooking time of homemade pasta is critical; if you leave it in the water to boil for too long, it will become wallpaper glue.

Extruded pasta all'uovo is made in smaller (usually neighborhood) factories by artisans whose chief concern is quality. The golden yellow pasta all'uovo is made with all purpose flour and eggs of corn-fed free range chickens.

Another pasta commonly extruded at local artisan pasta makers is the casareccia kind, (homestyle) which employs durum wheat flour, water, and salt (no egg).

Pasta that’s extruded is essentially forced through a bronze die, and then cut to the proper length and dried. The bronze die leaves helpful microstriations on the pasta dough, and the good thing about the rough surface of organic home produced or artisanal extruded pasta is that sauce and dressings will literally cling to the grain. Extra ridges, ripples and grooves are often added by commercial manufacturers to their pasta products to create that very same sauce-capturing effect. Conversely, smooth Penne and Ziti, for example, are intended for richer, chunkier sauces that don’t necessarily need to stick to the pasta.

Italians divide la pasta semantically into two basic groups: "long" pasta and "short" pasta. The long category includes Spaghetti, Spaghettini, Capelli d’angelo (literally, angel hair), Linguine, Fettuccine, Tagliatelle, Bucatini etc., intending all those foot-long strand, ribbon or noodle-type pastas.

The short pasta class includes Penne, Rigatoni, Gnocchi, Farfalle, Fusilli, Tubetti and so on.

Some shapes, that don't qualify for either of the long or short categories, are large enough to be stuffed and baked, and others, like soft egg Ravioli or Agnolotti, Tortelli, Cappelletti and Tortellini, come already stuffed.

Regional pastas would deserve a chapter of their own. Allow me to mention however that some regional pasta types have become enormously famous worldwide, like for example Orecchiette from Puglia, buckwheat Pizzoccheri of the Dolomites, Liguria's Trofie and the copious production from the Gragnano realm (near Naples). Some of the more modern varieties of regional pasta, like Scialatielli, and Paccheri (both hailing from Campania) are also quite popular.

Pasta normally is white-yellow or bright golden (depending on egg quantity) but other colors exist. By adding tomato, pumpkin, beetroot or spinach (or in some daring cases, squid ink) in the dough, the rainbow of colors available is virtually endless.

In some very kitsch Italian grocery/souvenir stores you can even purchase sex-themed short pasta shapes for aphrodisiac Isabel Allende-style orgy dinners or for dinner guests with an extravagant sense of humor. The choices are boundless, multicolor selections and variety male/female packs. I once brought penises in zucchini & basil sauce at a girls' night company potluck dinner and never got invited back.

Soup pasta is another sub category of short pasta and it features Stelline, Corallo, Semini, Tempestina (a close bleb relative of tapioca), Farfalline, Anellini, Quadrucci, etc. These perform their best in chicken soups, vegetable broths and Minestrone. On a cold night, the next best antidepressant to chocolate, is a steaming bowl of clarified chicken stock with a fistful of any of these, loads of Parmigiano and a warm blanket.

"Italians have only two things on their mind. The other is spaghetti."

–– Catherine Deneuve (at the time when she was married to Marcello Mastroianni)

Pasta is the pinnacle of the Italian food pyramid and Mediterranean diet. The miriad varieties of pasta are therefore not surprising. Of the 650 plus existing pasta varieties, I have illustrated only the few pivotal examples of Italian home-style cuisine. Here they are:

Agnolotti, Ravioli – Pockets of pasta dough stuffed with ground meats and/or vegetables. Can be round, squared or crescent shape, and each in different sizes.

Bavette, Trenette, Linguine – flattened long strand pasta, whose section is a rather flat ellipse. They love pesto.

Bigoli – extruded tube-like pasta similar to bucatini. The implement used to make them (bigolaro) is a beautiful object that the bigolatore sits on while extruding.

Bucatini – hollow spaghetti-like strands, part of the spaghetti extended family, which are commonly used with moderately thick sauces. Amatriciana defines bucatini. And viceversa.

Cannelloni, Crespelle – large sheet, tube or rolled crêpe-shaped pasta usually stuffed with condiments, béchamel, meat and vegetables. Used primarily in baked pasta dishes. Often, but not always all’uovo, i.e. with eggs.

Capelli d'Angelo, Capellini – Angel hair describes the long, delicate, extremely thin noodles. Because they are so fine, capelli d’angelo must be served either in a very light sauce or in a simple broth.

Cappelletti, Tortellini – Cappelletti is Italian for "priests' caps," while Tortellini were inspired by a sexy belly button. Whatever their name, these are small, twisted or crescent-shaped stuffed pasta filled with a cheese and prosciutto mixture. And they are to die for with Ragù alla Bolognese, with heavy cream & prosciutto, or–like tradition requires–mostly swimming in broth.

Cavatelli, Conchiglie, Pipe, Lumache – short, narrow, ripple-edged and seashell/snail shaped.

Ditali, Tubetti – thimble, stout tube-shaped soup pasta. Ideal for Pasta e Patate soup.

Eliche – round pinwheel shaped pasta, literally "propellers". Kids worship them.

Farfalle – bowtie shaped pasta. Due to their particular bunched up shape, they take forever to cook, about 16 minutes.

Fettuccine – long ribbon pasta, usually egg-based. Lovely and chewy, I love fettuccine...

Fusilli – corkscrew twists, "short" type pasta, excellent with a sautéed zucchini & pesto sauce.

Garganelli – rolled up, thin tube section pasta from Emilia Romagna. Divine when paired with a sausage, black pepper and cream sauce.

Gnocchi – hand made potato pillows. The rubbery commercial kind, I don’t like.

Gnocchi di Semolino – flat hockey puck-sized tapioca and cornmeal dumplings. Delish.

Lasagne – rectangular shaped sheets of pasta. Layered with ragù and grated Parmigiano, or pesto and béchamel then baked in the oven for 10 minutes and you’ll be moaning with pleasure.

Maccheroni – medium tubular "short" type pasta. A neverending love affair.

Malloreddus – Sardinian cavatelli-like pasta. Again the best are handmade.

Maltagliati – unevenly mix-matched broken shapes of assorted pasta.

Mafalde – ripple edged, large ribbon pasta named after Princess Mafalda of Savoy, which work quite well with rich sauces, like a braised wine and beef sauce.

Mezze Maniche – (literally, half sleeves) are stubby, fairly broad tubes that work quite well with chunky ragù, and mixed ortolana vegetable sauce (a simplified ratatouille). I own several necklaces made by my son with these.

Orecchiette – rough, ear shaped round shells, the size of a fingernail. The only truly viable ones are the homemade ones from Bari, but the store-bought kind, boasting the Puglia quality control stamp are OK too...

Paglia e Fieno – green and yellow colored fettuccine (the color is obtained with spinach and extra eggs added respectively to the dough).

Pansotti – meatless triangular shaped ravioli from Liguria. Stuffings include ricotta & spinach, mixed greens and shine when dressed in a creamy walnut sauce. Mmm...

Pappardelle – wide ribbon Fettuccine-type pasta. These broader strips are generally used for chunky sauces, like wild boar or hare ragùs. Most pappardelle are made with egg.

Penne – sharp edged tube section "short" pasta. Everybody loves penne.

Perciatelli – another (Neapolitan) name for bucatini.

Pici – Tuscan version of Venetian bigoli, again the best are home made. The most delicious I ever had were dressed in a rich boar sauce, served at a delightful restaurant in Siena called Gallo Nero.

Pizzoccheri – 3" long buckwheat tagliatelle. In Valtellina, home of Pizzoccheri, they are commonly boiled along with Swiss chard (Savoy cabbage) and cubed potatoes. This mixture is then drained and layered with chunks of local Casera cheese and grated Parmigiano, and then dressed with garlic and sage previously sautéed in browned butter.

Rigatoni, Sedani, Tortiglioni – large tube section "short" pasta, always ribbed. I make my spectacular Pasta alla Norma with these.

Spaghetti, Spaghetti alla chitarra, Spaghettini – long strand noodle-type pasta. The rulers of the pasta roost. The name of this blog is tightly connected to spaghetti...

Strozzapreti, Strangozzi – literally 'Priest Chokers,' are a hand-made cross between gnocchi, malloreddus and cavatelli.

Tagliatelle, Taglierini, Tonnarelli – thinner ribbon pasta than pappardelle, but thicker than fettuccine. These are obtained by flattening homemade pasta dough to a thin layer, then rolling like a giant burrito and consequently cutting it into curly tagliatelle ribbons.

Tortelli – Same shape as tortellini and cappelletti (see above), but in this case filled with either erbette (spinach or Swiss chard), potatoes, pumpkin; and most usually dressed in a simple browned butter and sage drizzle, or–only in the pumpkin tortelli case–pancetta fat drippings.

Trofie – hand rolled, chewy and slender squiggles. Usually boiled along with potato chunks and string beans and then tossed in with Ligurian pesto sauce. More mmm...

Vermicelli – thinner spaghetti, they cook in 5 minutes.

Ziti – long pipe-shaped pasta, broken by hand before cooking and usually topped with Ragù alla Genovese.

Each pasta shape has an ideal dressing. That much should be considered when choosing one particular type of pasta over another.

Go make some, hurry. I know you want it.

Image credits: riscossa.it - rachel eats - algont@wikimedia commons - sagrapappardella.net - buttalapasta.it - valeria verini - circleofmisse.com