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August 22, 2011 by Gina Stipo

Yodeling our way through Alto Adige

When I was in the Alto Adige (pronounced awd- ee- jay) region of Italy a few weeks ago, in what used to be the Sud Tirol of Austria, I found myself walking in alpine meadows, listening to the wind in the pines and the lovely music of cow bells clanging softly, feeling very much like Maria Von Trapp in landscape that was decidedly not Italian. Nor was the food, the language or the way they dressed.

Typical costume for those working in a shop

but I'm pretty sure she's not going to work...

our waitress up on the alpine meadow! Not a costume.

The Sud Tirol was a part of Austria until 1919, when Italy annexed it after the Austrians lost WWI. The people hoped to be re-annexed by Austria after WWII but they lost that one as well and the Allies left the region to Italy.

The majority of the people there relate more to their Germanic roots with some lingering resentment over being forced to be Italian, and most of the Italians I met were up from the south on vacation, just like me. Occasionally we found people who spoke no Italian at all, just English, German or the local dialect, Ladino. It definitely has more of an Austrian feeling than an Italian one, even now.

We were in the area around the quaint town of Ortisei, just east of Bolzano and an hour north of Verona, known as the Siusi Alps. The food is strongly influenced by Austria, almost every menu boasted schnitzel, wurst and knudel, or dumplings, and the bakeries had seedy German bread and soft pretzels.

knudels, dumplings flavored with spinach and tomato

They raise a lot of dairy cows in the Alps, summering them on the high meadows and wintering them down below in the foothills. The cheeses from this area are all cows’ milk and very swiss-like and the people will happily melt it on bread for you for a cheese toast right out of “Heidi”!

Walking through the alpine meadows, you can stop for lunch at a little baita, or mountain hut, where they serve a hearty beef stew with dumplings or their own freshly made cheese and butter, spread on dense, salted bread and sprinkled with local edible mountain flowers.

cheese from Franz and the above cows sprinkled with mountain flowers

: Two pounds of butter that I carried down the mountain!

The libations were fantastic too! For a refreshing drink on a hot afternoon, especially just coming off a hike in the mountains, they mix elderflower syrup with cold sparkling water, and later on for a cocktail they just add some prosecco to that with a sprig of mint. The wines from the region are fresh and crisp, and they have a strong tradition of making grappa and eau di vie, many of them flavored with pine or pine cones.

cirmolo, an eau di vie flavored with pine cones

The next trip you plan to Italy, keep in mind this beautiful mountain region north of Venice and have a grappa and some melted cheese for me!

August 14, 2011 by Gina Stipo

Mosaics of Byzantium in Ravenna

As a side trip to the salt flats of Cervia a few weeks ago, we drove north along the Adriatic coast to the town of Ravenna to see its famous mosaics and eat some fabulous pasta from that region. Now a quiet city in Emilia-Romagna, in the 400’s Ravenna was the capitol of the Western Roman Empire, and from the mid 500’s to late 700’s it was the seat of the Byzantine government in Italy. It is one old city and the Byzantine mosaics that remain to adorn the churches and basilicas are simply breathtaking.

(*All of the images in this blog are mosaic, not paintings)

Mosaics are pictures or images done with small pieces of colored tile, glass or stone and were widely used to adorn floors, churches and homes in the ancient world. They date from as early as 1500 BC and excellent examples can still be found in Roman ruins throughout Europe and Asia.

During the Renaissance mosaic work took a back seat to frescoes, but the 1800’s brought a renewed interest in mosaic art. The Vatican in Rome has long had a museum and workshop. I remember visiting it when I was a little girl and being astounded even then at the detail the artists could achieve with little pieces of colored tiles. From far away many mosaics look like beautiful paintings and it’s only when you get up close that you see the artist has used thousands of tiny tiles to “paint” the picture.

The chapel at Castello Brolio has some amazing examples on either sides of the altar.

If you are lucky enough to be in Emilia Romagna, don’t forget to order whatever homemade pasta is on the menu and plan a day to see the incredible mosaics of this once important city.

August 12, 2011 by Gina Stipo

Summer Capers

Summer is the time in Tuscany for picking and brining capers. Traveling around Tuscany in the summer, you see the bushes growing wild on the old walls of cities, towns and ancient buildings. They’re free for the picking, provided you have a ladder tall enough. Capers are widely used in Tuscan cuisine to give a bright flavor to simple dishes like baked chicken or salsa verde, and the preserved caper berries, with their long stems, are excellent with aperitivi at the end of the day.

Capers are actually the buds of the flower of the caper bush and are picked before they can open.

If left alone to grow, the flower will open and then fall off, leaving a caper berry that grows in its turn on a long stem. If you look closely at a single branch of the caper bush, it’s possible to see all stages of the caper’s growth: small, new capers on the end of the branch, the flowers blooming in the middle and the caper berries from old flowers hanging on their stems farther up the branch.

Another excellent example of the hidden health benefits of the Mediterranean diet, capers are a good source of the mineral selenium and have a high concentration of the antioxidants rutin and quercetin.

Typically in Tuscany we brine, or pickle, the capers and their berries with salt and vinegar, but in Sicily they are cured by covering them in sea salt from Trapani. These are usually smaller and have a finer flavor, so if you ever see them in the store or on your travels, buy them, and be sure to rinse them well before using.

Most white meats such as veal, chicken or turkey go beautifully with capers, but I like them best in the summer with fish. “Piccata” is a typical Italian dish featuring capers as a main component in a lemon butter sauce and can be used with skate as well as chicken. It’s light and easy to cook, quick and fresh at the end of a long hot day. Capers are a key ingredient in Napolitano pasta puttanesca and are paired frequently with salted anchovies. Mixing capers with sun dried tomatoes and parsley is very fresh and summery and makes a flavorful salsa that goes great with any fatty fish like tuna or halibut or little fried fresh anchovies. It’s the heart and soul of Italy in the hot summer sun!

Salsa Mediterraneo

½ cup capers, drained
½ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes, packed in olive oil
¼ cup chopped purple onion
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Extra virgin olive oil
zest of lemon or orange
Mix together and serve at room temperature with grilled or pan-fried tuna or halibut. Or dredge some fresh anchovies or sardines in flour and salt, fry them quickly in hot oil and top with this amazing salsa. Buon Appetito!

August 7, 2011 by Gina Stipo Leave a Comment

Making Limoncello!!

One of the liquors that is most popular with visitors to Italy is limoncello, a delightful after dinner drink that originated on the Sorrento coast, where the landscape is abundant with olive and lemon trees and the cuisine relies heavily on fish and seafood from surrounding waters. At best it refreshes the palate and leaves a bright lemony taste in your mouth, while warming you all the way to your toes. At worst it is often an industrial product packed with artificial coloring and flavoring, tasting heavily of alcohol.

I recently returned from a trip to Naples and came back with the car loaded with lemons. We have a saying in Tuscany: “The best fruit is stolen fruit” and while I didn’t steal the lemons for this particular batch of limoncello, I have to say that the two best batches I ever made I had stolen the fruit from a tree in some garden. It’s important that the lemons you get aren’t treated so either grow your own or get organic. Or…

Most of the stuff you buy in the stores is mass produced with lots of sugar syrup and artificial lemon flavoring. But if you can get your hands on the right lemons, making up a batch is quick and easy. It does need to age for a few months, so this is not something you’re going to whip up for dinner next Saturday night.

There are only four ingredients: lemons, alcohol, water and sugar, the most important ingredient being obviously the lemons. In Napoli and the Sorrento coast, as well as the northern region of Liguria, there is a particular variety of lemon that is double the size of a normal fruit with a thick skin that has large pockets of oil. Only the peel is used and it is very important the fruit hasn’t been treated with anything.

First the lemons: wash the fruit, lightly brushing any dirt away. Next take a paring knife and remove the peel, putting as many peels as will fit in a large jar covered completely with alcohol. I use 4 large lemons to one liter of alcohol. Leave the lemon peel soaking in the alcohol for 4-7 days.

Second the alcohol: in Italy they sell 95% alcohol in the grocery store for making liquors. Get a 100% grain alcohol rather than a vodka as there is no flavor to affect the final result.

Then the sugar syrup: make a simple syrup of 1:1 sugar to water (ie. 4 cups sugar to 4 cups water). Combine both in a pan and bring to a boil, boil the mixture for one minute then turn off, remove from heat and allow to completely cool.

Strain the lemon/alcohol mix into a container large enough to hold twice the amount of liquid. Add an equal amount of the simple syrup, mix together and place into bottles with secure tops. Leave the limoncello to age for at least 3 months, the longer it ages in the bottle the smoother it becomes.
Chill the limoncello before serving and enjoy! This stuff goes down easy, a little too easy, and it is high alcohol so beware!