Valentine's day pasta special

A perfect pasta valentine. The pasta shape is called "zucchette." It is an artisinal, hand-made pasta, from Marella. The name means "small squash". With its rough, ribbed exterior, and hollow insides, it is perfect for many sauces -- holding them like no other pasta does.

Here is granddaughter Zoe, in appropriate Valentine costume, digging in to the serving. For our Valentine's Day menu, we simply used the zucchette and some of the wonderful sauce we made this fall from fresh tomatoes. The sauce, always one of our favorites, can be found at www.classicpasta.com, click on "pasta sauces" and then on "fresh tomato". This is the sauce called "Benedetta and basil".

Perfecto, and Zoe's bowl was empty within minutes!

This is a photo from the Marella web site showing the pasta, a Pugliese pasta, that we used.

Happy Valentine's Day from Zoe and Pietro.

Molise

To continue our tour of the less-visited regions of the south, we next go to Molise (#14 on the map) the smallest of the Italian regions, about half the size of Rhode Island.

Molise is mostly mountains, with high plains and valleys that go down to the sea. An agrarian world, farmers have grown grapes, olives and tended sheep in Molise for centuries. It has well-preserved churches, is famous for making bells, has many ancient ruins, and some of ther most natural settings in Italy.

The villages of Venafro, and Isernia, are medieval delights. Campobasso is known for creating knives, and Termoli is a lively and colorful seaside port.

The small region presents a captivating sense of ancient architecture, with castles, churches, and winding streets in the villages.

Molise cuisine:

Similar to its neighbors of Abruzzo and Puglia, Molise features seafood with local vegetables, cheeses, sausages and their own pastas, especially crejoli, similar to maccheroni all chitarra. But their signature pasta dish is a rustic spaghetti, with as many variations as there are Molise cooks. Here is one:

Rustic spaghetti:

for the sauce:

two garlic cloves, peeled and minced
one-half ounce mushrooms, diced
one-half cup chicken broth
one-half cup extra virgin olive oil
one cup chopped onions
one cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in olive oil; drained and chopped
three teaspoons tomato paste
pinch of red pepper flakes
one-quarter cup red wine
one-quarter cup chopped parsley
salt and pepper
one-half cup grated pecorino

for the pasta:

one pound semolina spaghetti

In a bowl, soak the mushrooms in the chicken broth for ten minutes. In a saute pan, heat the olive oil over a medium heat. Add the garlic. Thirty seconds later add the onions. Cook for three minutes. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, the tomato paste, the mushroom mixture, a pinch of red pepper flakes, the wine, a few twists of the pepper mill, a half teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil and then simmer for ten minutes.

In a pot with four quarts boiling water, add a tablespoon of salt, and then the spaghetti. Cook until al dente. Reserve a cup of the pasta water. Drain.

Add the spaghetti to the heated sauce. Stir, adding enough reserved water to keep moist. Add the parsely and cheese. Stir. Taste for salt and serve.

Puglia (and trulli)

Welcome to Puglia (#16 below), one of the most beautiful and still somewhat undiscovered regions of Italy

Puglia has more coastline than any other region in Italy, running down the Adriatic, through Bari amd Brindisi, to the heel of the boot, and then back up the instep to Taranto, with beautiful villages and harbors such as Trani (above). The coastal region is dotted with sandy beaches and grottos. The interior is stark and rugged, a chiseled landscape, with fields of grain and secolari, the wonderful one hundred-year-old olive trees planted in perfectly straight long lines.

The other landmarks of Puglia are the trulli (below), the conical, drystone buildings used for living and for storage (and for vacation houses).

The wonderful and special orrecchiette, the little ears, are the pasta staple of Puglia. Hand-made (and crafted), from the semolina of the region, they have an unusual almost-fresh-pasta flavor. A natural pasta shape for cauliflower, broccoli rabe, or just greens, they are also perfect for beans.

And so here is a variation with chickpeas.

for the sauce:

• two nineteen-ounce cans of chickpeas (with liquid)
• one-half cup extra virgin olive oil
• two cloves of garlic, chopped fine
• one red onion, minced
• two celery ribs, finely chopped
• one medium carrot, finely chopped
• pinch (or two) red pepper flakes
• salt
• sprig of rosemary
• one-quarter cup chopped parsley

for the pasta

• one pound orrecchiette

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic. When it sizzles, add the onion, celery, carrot and red pepper flakes. Cook three minutes, until the vegetables start to soften. Add the chickpeas and their liquid and the sprig of rosemary. Cook for about ten minutes. You should have a lovely sauce, not too liquid. Add the parsley and remove the rosemary. Taste for salt.

In a pot with four quarts of salted water, cook the orrecchiette until just short of al dente. Test by occasional tasting. Drain, reserving a cup of the pasta liquid.

Add the pasta to the sauce. Stir. Add some pasta liquid if needed. Serve.

Basilicata (part two)

Welcom back to Basilicata -- #17, below, the arch of the boot, between Calabria to the south and Puglia to the north, with waterfront on both seas, east and west. The key to the culinary pleasures -- the pasta -- of Basilicata is the nature of the flour: this is the finely ground semolina durum wheat flour that is the prize ingredient in so much of the pasta in the south. One of the most common shapes, of course, is the classic orecchiette, the ear-shaped. One of the more unusual and site-specific pastas of the region, is that shown below. This is the scorze de mandorle, shown below. This is almond-shaped pasta, made in a similar manner as orecchiette by creating hand-made rolls of pasta; then cutting the roll into one-inch wide pieces, and molding the pieces to the shape one wants. This pasta can be either just the semolina durum, or it can have almond flakes added to the pasta dough. Very special!

Another specialty of Basilicata is the Senise pepper (below). Writing in a Gourmet magazine article on Basilicata in 2006 (from which the pepper photo is taken), Evan Kleiman describes the pepperone de Senise: "named from one of the southern towns in which it is grown, it is long, thin-walled, and deep red when mature. Even the sweetest among them have the depth of flavor associated with a spicy pepper. In season, they are used fresh, bu the dried version, the paprika, is used in many of the regional dishes. When they are dried they are also made into crunchy cruschi peppers, which are quickly deep-fried, then cooled." You can't eat just one, he says.

All of the fresh pastas are normally served with a tomato-based sauce (peppery, frequently, as above), and topped with a regional pecorino.

An excellent regional dish can be found at http://www.classicpasta.com/, just click on "pasta" then on "orecchiette" and on "orecchiette with cauliflower and tomato". This is a classic.

Here is an unusual combination, adapted from the same Eric Kleiman in Gourmet:

Pasta with an arugula pesto and cherry-tomato sauce

Prepare the pesto:

• six cups of roughly chopped arugula
• two tablespoons of pine nuts, lightly toasted
• one-half cup extra virgin olive oil
• four tablespoons freshly grated pecorino
  
  Put the pine nuts in a blender or food processor, and pulse until finely ground, but not too fine. Add the arugula, the olive oil, the pecorino, a teaspoon of salt, and pulse again until almost smooth.

the tomato sauce:

• three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• three garlic cloves, peeled and chopped fine
• six cups of cherry tomatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• one teaspoon salt

Heat the oil in a saute pan over moderate heat, add the garlic and cook until the garlic just starts to sizzle. Add the tomatoes and the salt, and cook over light heat, stirring regularly, for about fifteen minutes. The tomatoes should just be starting to break down.

For the pasta: one pound of the aforementioned scorze di mandorie, if one can find it, or make it; or orecchiette; or, most usually, a fettuccine of the south -- dried -- made by hand with just water and semolina. Cook the fettuccine in five quarts of boiling water (with a tablespoon of salt) until al dente. Drain, reserving a cup of the pasta liquid. Return the pasta to the pot, add the arugula pesto and stir to get well-coated. Add some reserved liquid if too dry.

Transfer to pre-heated bowls or plates, top with the tomato sauce and some extra pecorino, and serve.

another of the less well-known Italian paths: Basilicata (#17)

Welcome to Basilicata . . .

This is one of the twenty-two guest rooms of the Locanda di San Martino, in Matera, the major city in the southern province of Basilicata. Basilicata is wedged between Campania, Puglia and Calabria. It is known as one region, two seas and a gastronomic melting pot. And it is also well known as the region chronicled in that masterpiece of Italian literature: Christ Stopped at Eboli, by Carlo Levi.

The Locanda lies in the heart of the "Sassi" (stones) historical district of Matera, and it provides an experience unlike any other. Inhabitants of this region, for perhaps thousands of years, lived in cave dwellings, carved into the hills. The rooms of the Locanda are also basically caves carved into the rock, but, obviously from above, they are beautifully adapted to the comforts of modern living. Another inn, the Locanda del Palazzo, in nearby Barile, is also a cave-hotel.

For a better understanding of this region, I commend you to Carlos Levi's classic. Levi, exiled to this region by The Fascists in the mid '30's, described the poverty, hardships of living and the topography of this incredible malaria-infested country in heart-breaking detail.

In the next blog, we will visit the gastronomic specialties and delights of Basilica. For the moment, it is important to note that the region is the home to one of the new stars of Italian wines: aglianico. The Etruscans planted the first vines of the region (Ellenico) and today the wines from this grape are gaining, finally, International renown. The best of these wines come from the volcanic soils of Mount Vulture, in the northern section of Basilicata. Paternoster is one of the major producers.

According to Eric Asimov, writing in the New York Times, the aglianico grape is somewhat tannic, but not as much so as nebbiola. The wines can, therefore, improve with five or more years of aging. According to Asimov: the subtlety of the fruit and the fact that the wine can be dry and intense without being heavy, makes it a good companion to a variety of meat, poultry and pasta dishes.

Next: the pasta (and other food delights) from Basilicata.

less well-known Italian paths -- four in the south

True, it is fall. Travel time is generally past. However it is, perhaps, the perfect time to do a little armchair traveling -- to prepare for next year. So off we go: in the somewhat out-of-the-way category, here are four lovely regions in the south of Italy that have recently been featured in major magazines, that we want to share. (The map above is not necessarily a test, but you can make it so if you wish).

The first stop is in Campania (#15).

The Campania region is certainly hardly unknown, as anyone challenging the cliff-side roads of the Amalfi coast will attest. It is the very frequented home of Positano, Ravello, the eponymous Amalfi, and friends.

Writing in the August issue of Travel + Leisure, T&L's European editor, Maria Schollenbarger, takes us to a much less well-known area of Campania: the Cilento coast -- 45 miles south of Amalfi, and a very much untouched world. "This part of Campania is unique," she says. "Everywhere we went, the locals made sure we knew how proud they were to have the clean ocean, the regional delicacies and the ancient Greek ruins."

The Cilento coast is generally perceived as starting in Paestum in the north, and going to the border of Basilicata in the south. The region reeks of its Greek heritage. Paestum has some of the best-preserved Greek temples in Italy. Maria also reports in the article that the Cilentran villages are some of the most historically intact and culturally unchanged in the mezzogiorno.

Michelin lists several hotels and restaurants near Castellabate, sort of the center of this part of the coast, and of course at historic Paestum. Check the Travel + Leisure article for Maria's special recommendations, and a more complete tour of this delightful coastal region.

For us gastronomies, there is even a more special reason for visiting the Cilento coast. This is the home -- the denominazione -- for mozzarella di bufalo. In theory only the cheese made from buffalo should be called mozzarella. (Cow's milk is fior di latte). Mozarrella di bufalo ideally should be eaten within 24 hours of being made, dripping with its own buttermilk. It is pure white with a wonderful taste all its own -- delicate and fragrant, and very fresh. It will squeak when you cut it. After the mozzarella? the wonderfrul figs of the region.

Our recipe for the region? Very simple. The best, most flavorful tomatoes you can find this year. Slice them. Add slices of mozzarella di bufalo, topped with some basil and drops of olive oil. Perfecto!

Next visits: Basilicata, Puglia and Molise.

a parmesan appetizer

We had the pleasure of working with our good friends, Ron and Nina, to create an Italian dinner they would serve as a fund-raiser for their church. The centerpiece, so to speak, would be the pork loin brased in milk, Bolognese style (see Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan)

The prima, the pasta, would be: mezzaluna with a rich meat filling. Go to www.classicpasta.com and click on pasta, and then ravioli, to find this terrific dish.

For color, the verdura, we chose zucchini with onion. Also in www.classicpasta.com. Go to extra pantry, click on verdura, for this (and other) great zucchini presentations. In the presentation, we centered the sliced pork loin in the middle of the serving plate, and put a small portion of the zucchini above and below it. Gorgeous.

The appetizer was something new for us. We found what we thought would be a wonderful, light, and contrasting appetizer: parmesan onion puffs. It was all we had hoped, and more. Herewith (this makes about twenty):

ingredients:

• one-quarter cup mayonnaise
• two ounces, about three-quarter of a cup, of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• one tablespoon minced onion
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• ten slices of good, firm, white bread
  
  
  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put rack in upper third of oven. Stir together the parmesan, mayonnaise, onion and cayenne. Cut out two circles from each slice of bread, using a circular cookie cutter, and arrange the circles of bread on a baking sheet. Bake the toasts until the tops are crisp and just golden, about five minutes. Take the sheet out of the oven and let the toasts cool. Keep the oven on.
  
  When the toasts are cooled slightly (just slightly), top each toast with a mound of the cheese mixture, probably using just short of a teaspoon of the filling on each toast. Spread the mixture with a knife so that it goes to the edge of the toasts.
  
  Bake the toasts until the topping is puffed and golden, about six minutes. Wow!