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September 19, 2011 by Gina Stipo Leave a Comment

Fried Zucchini Flowers

The summer is winding down but the garden is still pumping out zucchini flowers. My neighbor had a bumper crop after returning from vacation and she gave me a bunch this morning. As the Tuscans say “Even a slipper is good fried,” so I fried them up and managed to take a picture just before we devoured them for lunch! While the flowers themselves don’t have a lot of flavor, once batter dipped and fried in hot oil, they’re delicious!

Make a simple batter with flour, sea salt and white wine. The alcohol in the wine ties up the gluten in the flour and helps to add a nice crunch. We fry so much in Italy that there are special flours for an extra crunchy exterior. The ingredients include wheat and rice flour, baking soda and corn starch and it really does make the flowers so crunchy you can’t hear table conversation!

Use peanut oil to fry, it gets hottest without smoking. I generally add a little extra virgin olive oil for flavor.

Grandma always sprinkled her fried zucchini blossoms with grated parmigiano which I think adds a nice touch.

Buon Appetito! Gina

September 16, 2011 by Gina Stipo Leave a Comment

Anchovies and Colatura – Italian Umami

They eat a lot of anchovies in Italy, in fact, they love them. Abundant, delicious and versatile, the anchovy is high in omegas and essential fatty acids and is easy to cook or to preserve in salt or oil. The fresh anchovies, or alici, are eaten deep-fried and crunchy or soaked in vinegar and dressed with olive oil and parsley for antipasti.

Cured anchovies, or acciughe, are made by salting and curing the fish for several months and are widely used for pizza and pasta. Tuscans like the strong flavors of anchovy and capers together, and many dishes finish with both ingredients for a powerful and salty punch.

However, anchovies really shine in the cuisine of the south, where both fresh and preserved anchovies are used abundantly. Anchovies are preserved by gutting and removing the head then salting the fish, pressing it down with a weight for 4 or 5 months. They are then washed with brine and either salt- or oil- packed until ready to be eaten.

Down on the Amalfi coast, in the towns of Cetara and Vietri, they make an unusual condiment that could be called Italian umami, the fifth flavor sense behind salty, sweet, sour and bitter: colatura.

Colatura is an amber-colored essence of anchovy used to add complexity and nuance to a number of dishes in the area along the southern coast. The ancient Romans made a condiment out of fermented anchovies and salt called garum and used it to flavor many of their foods. It is a lovely thought of continuity, tasting something the ancient Romans would have eaten.

I went to visit the folks at Delfino who are 3rd generation curers of colatura. They have a small production facility under the arched bridge that’s just outside of Vietri on the way to Cetara. If you’ve ever driven to Amalfi, you’ve gone right over it.

anchovies curing in salt — Anchovies Curing in Salt

Colatura is made in the summer by layering the anchovies with sea salt in a wooden barrel, then weighting and pressing them for several months. In the winter, when the colatura is ready, they open a hole in the bottom of the barrel and let the liquid drip out. More delicate than Chinese fish sauce but still pungent, it adds a punch to any dish. My favorite is spaghetti tossed with lots of minced parsley, garlic and gentle southern Italian olive oil with a few drops of colatura and some fat anchovy fillets.

You can order colatura and really great anchovies from Gustiamo, an import company out of New York, check them out at www.gustiamo.com.

Buon Appetito! Gina

September 7, 2011 by Gina Stipo Leave a Comment

Preserving Summer’s Bounty: jams, pickles and chutney

No one loves the abundance of summer more than I do, but I gotta say, sometimes it really kicks me around! When those figs, plums, eggplants and tomatoes are ready to be cooked down, made into marmalade, preserved or pickled, there is no waiting around.

I came back from my trek to Campania in the southern part of Italy with a huge sack of lemons to make limoncello, along with a crate of eggplants that I practically got for a song, to my home in Tuscany where the fig tree in the yard is loaded with figs and I haven’t had time to eat them much less preserve them, and I still have plums and peaches in the fridge since before I went away that at this point are only good for jam. See what I mean?

So I took a deep breath, cleaned the kitchen and got right into it. I bought some more jars and new lids at the Caccia Pesca (local hunting and tackle shop that also sells household goods) and spent the evening peeling lemons for limoncello, slicing and salting eggplants for pickles, cooking figs for jam and plums, peaches and tomatoes for chutney.

Ah the abundance of summer! It will be so satisfying to see the rows of jars on the shelf and know that I’ve preserved in time a little of the warmth and joy that is summer.

Simple Fruit Jam

2 lb fruit, preferably fresh picked or locally stolen
juice of one lemon
1 lb sugar
1 wild apple, chopped or grated, skin on

If using plums or anything with a stone, cut the fruit in half and stone it. Otherwise use the whole fruit. Wash it and put it into a large pot along with the lemon juice, apple and sugar. Put it on a medium burner and allow to cook, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Allow the jam to cook at a slow boil, the fruit will give up juice and you must allow it to cook off without letting it burn. Take some of the juice a put it on a small plate, allowing it to cool so you can check the consistency. You want it to be jelled when cool.

Take canning jars and their lids, wash them well and rinse them with hot water. Spoon the jam into the jars, put the lids on tight and allow them to cool by themselves. The seal will form as the jar cools. Line them up on your shelf and enjoy looking at them until it’s time to open and eat them!

Buon Appetito! Gina

September 4, 2011 by Gina Stipo Leave a Comment

San Marzano Tomatoes and Sabato’s Miracolo

Sabato Abagnale is a passionate man. Like so many people I know here in Italy who are passionate about the food and artisan products they make, he is open, full of information and bubbling over with enthusiasm for the products of his region, especially the San Marzano and Piennello tomatoes.

I spend a few days with Sabatino and his family every August during tomato canning time and every year I come away with a tranquil sense that if these people and this food exists, all is right with the world.

Concetta, Sabato’s wife, washing the tomatoes

He sells his tomatoes under two name brands, “Il Miracolo di San Gennaro” and “Terra, Sapore e Fantasia”; the first you can get through Gustiamo at gustiamo.com, the second is sold at Eataly stores, not only in New York City, but also throughout Italy. (Yes, Eataly existed in Italy before the Batali partnership brought it to NY. It’s owned by Oscar Farenetti.)

ladies at work — Concetta & Michaela, Sabato’s mom

The tomato harvest and canning is an intensive process and takes place during 3-4 weeks in August. At Sabatino’s it’s all done by hand with industrial equipment, on a small scale in what is basically his backyard, with friends, family and neighbors gathering to help get the work done.

Michaele cooks the tomatoes for 15 minutes

michaele — then they’re put through the machine…

…which separates the skins & seeds from the pulp & juice

perfect, raw tomatoes are added to the jars

stacked into the cage to lower into the sterilizer

They’ll work 18 hour days, breaking for lunch and dinner, of course, until all the tomatoes are canned, processed and loaded to age for a month in the storage facility he’s built below the house.

One of the reasons Sabatino’s sauce is so great is the amount of time he allows it to age before releasing it. Look at the layer in the bottom of the jar, it looks like water but it’s actually the life blood of the sauce. That is allowed to concentrate and separate out, and then every jar is turned by hand to allow the lifeblood to be reabsorbed into the tomato puree. This year he estimates they’ll do 33,000 jars of San Marzano DOP, and I am proud to say I helped bring it in!