June 21st is a
flurry of activity as we stir Summer of 2012 into C'est si Bon!
Summer is Very Stirring!
Mentally, emotionally, and bien sur, with pots of coffee at the ready we delight in the wonderful adventure of 9 weeks of Kid-Chef summer programs.
Simple Crostada with Custard and Blueberries
We’re in Southern Italy this second week. And many of our weeks are devoted to
plunging in with wooden spoons, cream, and fresh basil, to dishes from, yes, Italy. And so it is that I get to review our Italian recipe collection.
Festive
Sicilian marzipan fruits
Wild boar
Tuscan style
Tortellini
en brodo with winter greens and broccoli pesto
Tomato and
bread soup – pappa a pomodoro
Stracotta
alla fiorentina – stewed beef or meat sauce Florentine
Sformata di
zucchini flan
Lemon Ricotta Semolina Cake
During this
recipe exploration I was reminded of the time I spent absorbing, carrying
around, and alternately staining and turning the pages of The Tuscan Year, Life and Food in an Italian Valley. Now
this wasn’t a popular book by any stretch of the imagination, but like it's author, Elizabeth Romer, I too was
enamored of Silvana Cerotti, this older woman living in the rough hills of Tuscany and rejoiced her effort to take care and document the story of cold winter meals, summer bounty that required plentitude and fortitude, the holidays and the everyday meals Senora Cerotti made for her
family and friends.
Life was being preserved, cherished, and celebrated.
This rustic everyday spirit was April of 1998 on my first time in Tuscany with Caterina Migno and her family; rich with the spooning of warm ricotta cheese from Senor Dei's staccato stirrer, white truffled and stuffed guinea hens at La Rosa del Trinoro, listening to the tale's at long table at the Rignano's Cinghale Festa (at these wild boar feasts we ate every part long before snout to tail dinners became all the rage) and grinding out first gear as my rental car trampled the Sangiovese grapes spilling out over the Val di Chianti sunset.
Caterina Migno
We're doing our best to share the story of preserve cooking's life and tradition in our little C'est si Bon! kitchen in Chapel Hill. And to that end I want to tell you about the slew of talented people in the C'est si Bon! family kitchen who enrich the summer with adventures!
Next time....
But, what are
your favorite Italian dishes? I learned this one from Caterina's Momma, Leda.
Tomato and bread soup – pappa al
pomodoro
Tomato
season begins again, and the so the summer kitchen is fresh and new. I first
had this dish in April of 1998 when I stayed with Paolo Migno and his family,
including his daughter, Caterina Migno, in Rignano sul Arno. The dish was
created to use up stale bread it can be made with very ripe fresh or if in
winter perhaps some lovely “put up” ones from your or someone else’s garden.
Serves 4
6
tablespoons olive oil
small piece
of dried chili, crumbled (optional)
1 1/2 cups
stale coarse white bread, cut into 1 in cubes
1 medium
onion, finely chopped
2 cloves
garlic, finely chopped
1/1/2 lb
ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or 28 ounces “put up” peeled plum tomatoes,
chopped
3
tablespoons chopped fresh basil
6 1/4 cups
homemade stock or water, or a combination of both
Salt and
freshly ground black pepper
extra-virgin
olive oil, to serve (optional)
Heat 4
tablespoons of the oil in a large saucepan. Add the chili, if using, and stir
for 1-2 minutes. Add the bread cubes and cook until golden. Remove to a plate
and drain on paper towels.
Add the
remaining oil, the onion and garlic, and cook until the onion softens. Stir in
the tomatoes, bread and basil. Season with salt. Cook over moderate heat,
stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile,
heat the stock or water to simmering. Add it to the saucepan; with the tomato
mixture, and mix well. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat slightly and simmer for
20 minutes.
Remove the
soup from the heat. Use a fork to mash the tomatoes and the bread together.
Season with pepper, and more salt if necessary. Allow to stand for 10 minutes.
Just before serving swirl in a little extra-virgin olive oil, if desired.
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