You would think a trip to Italy for a food lover would send her
\nscrambling for guides to the endless trattorias, ristorantes, and
\nosterias. When cooking is your passion, however, what can be
\nbetter than staying in a house with a kitchen? My family recently
\ntook a house in the small town of Magliano in the Maremma in
\nsouthwest Tuscany. Here, with the sea on one side and the
\nochre-colored hills on the other, we had a daily choice of fresh fish
\nor the regional specialty, wild boar. A large picnic table with a grand
\nview from a tiled terrace became the setting for all meals.<\/p>\n
There is a certain excitement when the familiar suddenly isn’t and
\nthe hunt for food yields such a delicious bounty. Trips to the outdoor
\nmarkets for fresh produce and herbs, shopping in neighborhood
\ngroceries, learning how to match a pasta shape to a sauce,
\ndiscovering the local wines, cheeses, olive oil, and vinegars at a
\nfarmers’ cooperative were each an adventure.<\/p>\n
Armed with very little Italian and a large vocabulary of gestures, I
\nmanaged to make it home with the ingredients for lots of interesting
\nmeals. Shopping etiquette was a challenge. You have to weigh and
\nlabel your own produce, something I learned one day at the grocery
\nas the line was growing behind me, and the check-out clerk was
\nloudly repeating instructions to me in Italian. Some kindly person
\ntook my hand, brought me and my vegetables back to a scale, and
\nshowed me what to do. When I returned, red-faced and grateful,
\nsomeone else had put through my groceries and bagged them. All I
\nneeded to do was pay.<\/p>\n
An invitation from Andrea Aparo, an old friend, for dinner at his
\nhome was a wonderful window on how the freshest ingredients
\nprepared simply can marry the informal to the elegant. Simmering
\non the stove was his basic, spicy, tomato sauce, soon to host a
\nhandful of fresh prawns and mussels. The smell of rosemary
\nfollowed his friend Sylvana’s focaccia straight from the oven.<\/p>\n
A large pot of heavily salted water was put to boil for the pasta.
\nMeasuring pasta is not left to chance, even in Italy. Italians always
\nweigh their pasta before cooking it; scales are standard equipment.
\nTheir rule of thumb is 100 grams, about 4 ounces, of dried pasta
\nper person. Andrea lifts a strand of pasta from the pot. It hangs
\nover the end of his wooden spoon and forms a ”C.” Still minutes
\nfrom being done, he drains the pasta and reserves about a cup of
\nthe cooking liquid. The pasta goes back into the pot on medium heat
\nas small amounts of cooking liquid are poured over it. He gently
\ntosses the pasta until all the liquid is absorbed and the pasta is
\ngleaming.<\/p>\n
”Perfetto,” he proclaims.<\/p>\n
When asked for her focaccia recipe, Sylvana offered to
\ndemonstrate. She piled flour (again measured by weight) onto a
\nwooden board, dissolved yeast in warm water, and poured olive oil.
\nShe dipped her hand into a glass jar to sprinkle an aromatic
\nhomemade mixture of sea salt, chopped fresh rosemary, and sage.
\nQuestioned on proportions, Sylvana shrugged.<\/p>\n
”As you like it,” she said.<\/p>\n
Using only her left hand to mix, fold, and knead, in minutes the
\ndough was left to rest and rise. A half-hour later, it was stretched
\nonto a cookie sheet, dimpled, and seasoned again with the salt
\nmixture for a second rising, then put into the oven.<\/p>\n
The local, regional red wine – Morellino di Scansano – was poured
\ninto pitchers. After marinating a whole fish for half an hour in lemon juice and olive oil,
\nAndrea cut rosemary from bushes surrounding his patio, and lay the
\nsprigs inside the splayed fish. Italian meals are generally served one
\ncourse following the other. Just as we finished the pasta, the fish
\nwas taken from the grill. A simple salad of greens, and fresh figs for
\ndessert, concluded the dinner.<\/p>\n
Antipasto<\/p>\n
Serves 8<\/p>\n
16 slices of prosciutto (less than half a pound)
\n1\/4 pound Italian salami
\n2 cans artichoke hearts in water
\n1 can white beans
\n1 can tuna in olive oil, drained
\n1 cup mixed Italian olives
\n1\/2 cup fennel, shaved with a vegetable peeler
\n1 small jar roasted red peppers, cut into thick strips
\n1 tablespoon lemon juice
\n1\/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped
\n1 clove minced garlic
\nsalt and pepper
\nextra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar<\/p>\n
1. Drain the artichoke hearts, cut into quarters, and place in a bowl.
\nDrizzle with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with 1\/4 cup parsley, salt, and
\npepper.
\n2. Drain beans. In a bowl, toss the beans with olive oil, remaining
\n1\/4 cup parsley, minced garlic, salt, and pepper.
\n3. On a large plate, arrange the above ingredients in separate
\nsections.
\n4. Sprinkle on the fennel.
\n5. Drizzle olive oil over entire surface.
\n6. Serve with olive oil and balsamic vinegar on the side. This is the
\ndressing.<\/p>\n
Andrea Aparo’s Fresh Tomato Sauce
\nMakes about 5 cups<\/p>\n
4 pounds Italian plum tomatoes or two 26-ounce cartons of
\nParmalat chopped tomatoes
\n4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
\n3-4 cloves garlic
\n1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
\n1\/2 teaspoon black pepper
\n2 dried red peppers or 1\/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
\n1 tablespoon tomato paste (the Italian tomato paste in a tube is
\nvery convenient)
\n1\/2 cup fresh basil
\na dash of sugar if the tomatoes have too much acid<\/p>\n
1. Wash the tomatoes, and cut off and discard a small bit of each
\nend.
\n2. Cut each tomato into about 4 chunks directly into the pot, so as
\nnot to lose any juice
\n3. Turn the heat to high and bring the tomatoes to just under a boil.
\n4. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and stir.
\n5. Put the garlic through a garlic press, or chop it finely, and add to
\nthe tomatoes.
\n6. Add salt, pepper, crumbled dried peppers, and the tomato paste.
\n7. Cook sauce on a low flame for 10 minutes.<\/p>\n
Focaccia with Rosemary and Sage<\/p>\n
3 cups flour
\n2 teaspoons fast-acting yeast
\n2 tablespoons olive oil
\n1\/4 teaspoon sugar
\n1 cup warm water
\n2 teaspoons Sylvana’s sea salt mixture (see accompanying recipe)
\nor 2 teaspoons kosher salt
\nadditional sea salt mixture for sprinkling<\/p>\n
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees and turn off.
\n2. Place flour in the bowl of food processor fitted with metal blade.
\n3. Add the salt mixture, yeast, and sugar. Process briefly.
\n4. Through the feed tube, pour in the hot water and olive oil.
\n5. You will have a sticky dough. Place about 1\/4 cup of flour on a
\nsurface. Add the dough and begin to knead until it is smooth and no
\nlonger sticky.
\n6. Oil a bowl and place dough in the bowl. Cover with a clean dish
\ntowel and place in the warmed oven for 45 minutes.
\n7. Remove dough from the oven and punch down. Lightly grease a
\njelly roll pan, or cookie sheet with sides, with olive oil. Place the
\ndough on the cookie sheet and begin to gently push it into a
\nrectangle. Carefully stretch the dough to fit the pan. Do not force it.
\nIf it doesn’t go to the corners don’t worry.
\n8. Cover the dough with the towel and set back in the oven for
\nanother 30 minutes.
\n9. Remove the pan and heat the oven to 400 degrees.
\n10. Drizzle olive oil on the dough and sprinkle on sea salt mixture to
\ncover the surface.
\n11. With the tips of your fingers, gently press ”dimples” into the
\nentire surface of the focaccia.
\n12. Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden.<\/p>\n
Sylvana’s Rosemary and Sage Sea Salt<\/p>\n
3\/4 cup sea salt (not coarse)
\n4 sprigs fresh rosemary
\n1\/2 cup loosely packed sage<\/p>\n
1. Wash herbs and dry thoroughly between paper towels.
\n2. Put sea salt in a bowl.
\n3. Remove rosemary leaves from 3 sprigs. Finely chop rosemary
\nleaves and sage. Add to salt and mix well.
\n4. Store mixture in a glass or plastic container. Bury one whole
\nrosemary sprig in the salt mixture.
\n5. Use to season meat, poultry, fish, and focaccia.<\/p>\n
Fresh Ricotta Cheese and Pears
\nServes 8<\/p>\n
2 cups fresh ricotta cheese
\n4 pears
\nsugar<\/p>\n
1. Place 1\/4 cup of ricotta cheese on each plate.
\n2. Cut pears into slices and arrange next to cheese.
\n3. Sprinkle sugar over all and serve.
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
You would think a trip to Italy for a food lover would send her scrambling for guides to the endless trattorias, ristorantes, and osterias. When cooking is your passion, however, what can be better than staying in a house with a kitchen? My family recently took a house in the small town of Magliano in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[111,96,85,51,133,97,69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bread","category-breads-and-pizza","category-fooding-around","category-italian","category-italy","category-rice-noodles-pasta","category-feature-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cookingatdebras.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cookingatdebras.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cookingatdebras.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cookingatdebras.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cookingatdebras.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=538"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.cookingatdebras.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1158,"href":"https:\/\/www.cookingatdebras.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538\/revisions\/1158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cookingatdebras.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cookingatdebras.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cookingatdebras.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}