POTATO GNOCCHI, A GIFT FROM AMERICAS

Potato gnocchi recipe is relatively recent in the Italian tradition, compared to the other ones.

Gnocchi is spread in all regions of Italy, and with all possible ingredients, depending on where it comes from: flour, corn, semolina, bread, chestnut flour, ricotta, or vegetables – from squash to spinach to classic potato.

The potato was discovered by chance by the conquistadores of Spain, who rode over the tubers in pursuit of the Inca leader, Atahualpa, and his riches. They almost literally “stumbled upon” this precious tuber in the first decades of 15th century.

The story of the conquest by the humble potato of the rest of the world was slow and full of misunderstandings, particularly in Italy. Imported from Spain, it appeared in botanical gardens of Padua and Verona as a scientific “curiosity” in 1591 and 1608. In 1565, King Philip II had gifted the Vatican court with some sample of tubers which were mistaken for truffles, and of course, used improperly. This episode and some other related to food poisoning (potatoes can develop toxicity in certain conditions), prevented a fast growth of its popularity.

While other countries realized the nutritious potential and resiliency in conditions often hostile to the cultivation of cereals, in Italy, the extensive cultivation of potatoes appeared only in the second half of the 19th century.  Probably the political divisions of Italy in so many small kingdoms prevented modern agricultural development.

POTATO GNOCCHI

  • 2,5 pounds (1 kg) white, russet or other starchy potatoes, steamed and peeled
  • 1 + 1/4 cups (300 gr.) “00” flour, plus more as needed
  • 1 large egg
  1. Push the potatoes (while still tepid/warm) through a food mill or potato ricer, onto a lightly floured work surface. In case the potatoes are too humid (moist) bake them for 5 minutes in the oven, before mashing them.
  2. Gather the potatoes into a mound and make a well in the center. Sprinkle ¾ of the flour into the well and add in the egg. Mix the ingredients by hand until a soft dough forms. If necessary, add more flour, a little at a time, until the dough has a smooth, evenly moistened consistency.
  3. Lightly flour your work surface and divide the dough into at least eight portions. Roll the portions into 1-inch-thick ropes and cut the ropes into 1-inch pieces. Roll the gnocchi over a fork to shape them, if desired.
  4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the gnocchi and stir a few times with a wooden spoon to submerge and separate them. Cook at a gentle boil until the gnocchi are tender and just beginning to float, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the gnocchi and serve with the sauce.

Gnocchi must be eaten within 2 hours from their preparation or frozen on a paper tray covered by parchment lightly sprinkled with flour. They must be carefully separated so that they do not stick together. After 3-4 hours they can be put in a bag. NEVER THAW frozen pasta, just boil it as it is, just add 2-3 minutes to the cooking time.



RABBIT TUNA

Tuna and rabbit, together? Why this odd name?

A legend says that in 19th century the rules about fasting were particularly strict, and the friars in a convent of Avigliana, near Turin, decided to circumvent them by baptising their chickens and rabbits and calling them ‘tuna’ in order to eat them without sinning.

In spite of its country origin and simplicity, it is an elegant and delicious dish, perfect in every season, but particularly appreciated in summer. It was created in Piedmont, in a time where even the most modest families had barnyard animals and because it was necessary to find a way to preserve their meat, given there were no freezers, they started imitating the techniques used for tuna.

Rabbit meat is white and light, perfect for kids and all those who want or need to be careful with red meats. It is healthy and delicious – far from the sadness of eating kale or other depressing vegetables.

RABBIT TUNA

  • 1 (3-lb) rabbit carcass, cleaned with no head
  • 4-5 stems of fresh sage
  • 2 bulbs of garlic
  • sea salt and pepper for seasoning
  • 1 bottle delicate olive oil, possibly Ligurian (extra virgin)

For the broth

  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 medium carrot, chopped
  • 2 celery ribs, chopped
  • 1 cup light dry white wine
  • 70 fl. oz. water
  • 4-5 black peppercorns
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4-5 fresh basil leaves
  • 1 stem fresh thyme
  • 3 stems of fresh parsley
  • 2 cloves
  1. Prepare an aromatic broth with basil, peppercorns, celery, onion, carrot, rosemary, bay leaves, cloves, salt, parsley, wine, and water. Let it simmer for 30 minutes and then carefully place the rabbit in the broth.
  2. Cook for 90 minutes, letting it simmer until the meat comes off the bones.
  3. In the meanwhile, wash and dry the sage leaves and clean the cloves of garlic.
  4. Take the rabbit out of the broth and when it is at room temperature bone it by hand, removing the smallest bones and gristle (cartilage). As you do it, season the meat with marine salt and freshly grounded black pepper.
  5. Prepare 4 small jars or a container, pour a bit of oil, add some meat, a clove of garlic, a couple of sage leaves, more oil, meat, garlic and sage and so on until the jar is full. Finish the last layer with garlic, sage and ¼ inch oil.
  6. Wait 2 days before serving it so the flavours have the time to blend beautifully.
  7. Serving suggestion: I highly recommend steaming 3-4 potatoes, slicing and seasoning them, and serving rabbit pieces on them with its aromatic oil.
  8. The jars can be preserved like this for a week, or frozen.

Filter the broth and freeze in 2-3 jars, it is excellent for rabbit stews or rabbit paella.

 



CARMELA’S STUFFED EGGPLANT

This recipe of stuffed eggplant was generously given me by Carmela, a very sweet woman from Puglia.

In Calabria they boil the eggplant whole and then scoop out the flesh. Of course there are many variations: stuffed with stockfish, with or without tomato, with meat…And of course each family claims its own version is the best one, and if I were you I would agree with them – just saying…

I love this one because it is vegetarian and really enhances the sweetness of ripe eggplant: capers and the herbs are totally Mediterranean.

We cannot help again to thank the Arabs who imported eggplant and gave us all these wonderful recipes that enrich the cuisine of the Mediterranean, from Lebanon to Spain.

It is a very rich dish, my advice is avoiding it for dinner, digestion is very demanding. Accompanied by a green salad, it is a perfect main course.

Carmela’s stuffed eggplant

These stuffed eggplant are a symbol of Southern Italy and summer, the season in which eggplants are ripe and sweet.

  • For tomato sauce
  • 1 (28-oz) can whole tomato purée ((preferably Italian))
  • 2 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin)
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 small onion finely chopped
  • 1 cup water
  • 6 basil leaves
  • sea salt for seasoning
  • 1 pinch chili

• In case you do not find an Italian purée you might need to add 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1 teaspoon sugar to add taste.

  • For eggplant and stuffing
  • 8 round eggplants
  • 1 oz. finely grated Parmesan
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
  • 2 cups vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp salted capers carefully washed
  • 3 slices firm white bread Ciabatta style, torn into 1-inch piece (about 3 oz.)
  1. Make sauce:
  2. In a saucepan brown softly garlic and onion in olive oil, add the tomato purée, basil, a pinch of chili and season with salt. Add water, you need a sauce not too concentrated. Make it simmer for at least 20-25 minutes, until the tomato sauce turns sweet.
  3. Fry eggplants and make filling while sauce simmers:
  4. Cut the stem of the eggplants, halve them lengthwise. With a small sharp knife or a spoon, scoop out and reserve flesh, leaving 1/4-inch-thick shells. Chop flesh and transfer to a bowl.
  5. Fry the eggplants, turning over once using 2 slotted spoons, until pale brown, 3 to 5 minutes total, then transfer, stuffing sides down, to paper towels to drain.
  6. Fry the flesh in the remaining oil in the skillet, if needed add more olive oil. Strain it, squeezing the oil out of the flesh with a spoon against the strainer.
  7. When the flesh is cold, pour it in an electric mixer with chopped bread, capers, basil, celery tops, garlic, parsley, eggs and a tablespoon of tomato sauce.
  8. Spread some olive oil and 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce in a backing pan.
  9. Firmly pack the eggplant stuffing into each eggplant shell and lay them in the backing pan, stuffing sides up.
  10. With a spoon, spread the tomato sauce on the eggplants.
  11. Sprinkle generously the Parmesan on the eggplants, and bake, until Parmesan is light brown, about 40 minutes at 350 F.

 



CARNEVALE FRITTERS – A REGIONAL DELIGHT CELEBRATED ACROSS ITALY

These are typical fritters made for Carnevale. They are extremely simple and very popular all over Italy. Of course, each region has its own slight variations in the name and ingredients.
In most recipes, there is the possible addition of liquor (grappa, Sambuca) and butter, but I prefer my grandmother’s recipe.
Replacing the liquor with vinegar is a touch of pure genius, even if it seems quite odd. Adding liquors helps the dough not absorb the oil during the frying, but vinegar works even more efficiently, and the taste evaporates during the cooking. This is a recipe that, in spite of being a fried food, is much lighter than its official version.

The most popular and simple fritters in Italy, my granmother’s variation of the standard recipe makes them even lighter and yummy.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cooking Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Yield: Makes 4  servings.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup 00 flour (130 gr.)
  • 1 medium size egg
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar (15 ml.)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil (15 ml.)
  • 1 tbsp white sugar (15 gr.)
  • icing sugar (for sprinkling the fritters)
  • peanut oil (for frying)

Instructions

 

On a wooden pastry board pour the flour in a mound, make a hole at its center and pour the egg.

Add sugar, vinegar and olive oil in it to the mound.

Starting with a fork, slowly add the flour to the liquid in the middle, gradually adding more flour all the time. Mix well.

When all the flour is mixed in, start to knead the dough.

When smooth, roll out by hand using a rolling pin, turning as you work.

Roll the dough into a sheet about 2 mm thick. If using a pasta machine, continue to feed dough through rollers once at each setting, without folding, until you reach the second to narrowest setting.

Cut the dough in diamonds, to about 10cm (4”) long.

Carefully place the pieces into the oil. Fry the diamonds a few pieces at a time, turning carefully with two forks to gently lift each piece. The dough will bubble as it cooks.

When light brown, remove and let cool on paper towel. Sprinkle the icing sugar while still warm, and serve.