Tajarin – Rich Egg Pasta from Piedmont

tajarin_plated_private_italy_tour_piedmont

We are eagerly anticipating our return to Italy this fall with our Italiaoutdoors Food and Wine tours. In October we are leading a private group on a Barolo Walk and Wine tour in the spectacular Piedmont region. A week devoted exploring the lovely Langhe hills, home to the renowned Barolo and Barbaresco wines, as well as some of Italy’s most mouthwatering cuisine. On our list to experience, the local “spaghetti”, tajarin.

tajarin_piedmont_private_italy_tour_piedmont
Tajarin in Piedmont

Tajarin, the Piedmontese dialect word for Tagliolini or Tagliarini, is a long, thin noodle, similar to spaghetti. But the shape is where the resemblance ends. Spaghetti is typically a “poor” dish, made from just flour and water. Tajarin is much richer, made not from water but egg yolks and a touch of olive oil. I recall the first time I ordered it, and received a dish of pasta that was a vibrant orange color. Egg yolks in Italy are a bright orange, (Eggs in Italy – Why is the Yolk Orange?) giving this pasta a distinctive hue.

tajarin_ingredients_private_italy_tour_piedmont

Tajarin pasta is made only with egg yolks, preferably “red egg yolks” to give it this characteristic color, using a very high ratio of yolks to flour – between 30 to 40 egg yolks to one kilogram flour. Traditionally, this fresh egg pasta is rolled out very thinly using a rolling pin and cut into strips with a maximum width of 1/5 to 1/4 inch using a knife.

view-fontanafredda-italiaoutdoors-italy-private-tours
Fontanafredda Estate

King Victor Emmanuel II was reputed to be a fan of this pasta. At Mirafiore, an estate just outside of Serralunga which served then as a hunting lodge for Victor’s father, Charles Albert, King of Sardinia and Duke of Savoy, fourteen-year-old Rosa Vercellana, a farmer’s daughter and unofficial cook for the estate, met then Crown Prince Victor Emmanuel. Her tajarin was reputed to be a family favorite. The two eventually began a long affair, as Victor Emmanuel was at the time married to Queen Adelaide, an Austrian archduchess. The affair resulted in two children, Emanuele Alberto and Vittoria. When his Queen died in 1855, the King named Rosa Countess of Mirafiore and Fontanafredda by royal decree in 1858, and recognized their two children. King Victor Emanuel II bequeathed his Mirafiore estate to his son and in 1878 Casa di E. Mirafiore was founded. Today, the estate known now as Fontanafredda, is a leading producer in the Barolo region, we will certainly enjoy tasting tajarin along with some of the amazing wines of Fontanafredda during our stay at this historic estate on our tour in October!

barrell-mirafiore-italiaoutdoors-italy-private-tours

In the meantime, as we wait for our return to Italy, I adapted a traditional tajarin recipe to be a little more approachable, using modern equipment. This high-protein egg based recipe results in a very stiff dough that is challenging to work with. One recipe advised that beginners knead the dough for a least 40 to 50 minutes to achieve the right consistency. I put my KitchenAid mixer to work on the kneading instead, and used a pasta machine to roll it out and cut it. I bow to the expertise of the Italian nonnas – and Rosa Vercellana – who made this pasta by hand!

tajarin_mixing_eggs_private_italy_tour_piedmont

Give the amount of eggs used – which in the past would have been an expensive ingredient – this would have been a dish reserved for special occasions. Special occasions in Piedmont call for the “The King of Wines, the Wine of Kings,” a Barolo. But a Nebbiolo or a Barbera would work well too! This Briccotondo Barbera is a Fontanafredda wine.

tajarin_wine_private_italy_tour_piedmont

Tajarin with Brown Butter Sage Sauce

2 cups all-purpose flour
8 egg yolks, “red” yolks if possible
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 pinch of salt

Mound flour on a clean flat surface and create a well in the center, pushing the flour to all sides to make a ring with sides about 1-inch wide. Make sure that the well is wide enough to hold all the eggs without spilling.

tajarin_eggs_private_italy_tour_piedmont

Pour the egg yolks, egg, oil and milk into the well. Use your fingers or a fork to break the eggs up. Still using a fork or your fingers, begin turning the eggs in a circular motion, keeping them within the well and not allowing them to spill over the sides. Using this circular motion, gradually pull in flour from the sides of the well; it is important that the flour not be incorporated into the eggs too rapidly, or dough will be lumpy. Keep moving the eggs while slowly incorporating the flour. Using a pastry scraper, occasionally push the flour toward the eggs; the flour should be moved only enough to maintain the gradual incorporation of the flour, and the eggs should continue to be contained within the well. The mixture will thicken and eventually get too tight to keep turning with your fingers.

tajarin_eggs_flour_private_italy_tour_piedmont

When the dough begins thickening and starts lifting itself from the board, begin incorporating the remaining flour with the pastry scraper by lifting the flour up and over the dough that’s beginning to form and cutting it into the dough. When the remaining flour from the sides of the well has been cut into the dough, the dough will still look shaggy. Bring the dough together with the palms of your hands and form it into a ball. It will look flaky but will hold together.

Knead the dough by pressing it, bit by bit, in a forward motion with the heels of your hands rather than folding it over on itself as you would with a bread dough. Re-form the dough into a ball and repeat the process several times. The dough should feel moist but not sticky. Let the dough rest for a few minutes while you clean the work surface.

tajarin_forming_dough_private_italy_tour_piedmont

To Hand Knead:

Dust the clean work surface with a little flour. Knead the dough by pushing against it in a forward motion with the heels of your hands. Form the dough into a ball again and knead it again. Keep kneading in this forward motion until the dough becomes silky smooth. The dough is ready when you can poke or pull the dough, and it wants to snap back into place. The kneading process can take a long time, as mentioned before, even up to 40 – 50 minutes for beginners.

Even if you think you are finished kneading, knead it for an extra 10 minutes; you cannot over knead this dough. It is important to work the dough long enough to pass the pull test; otherwise, when it rests, it will collapse.

To Knead with a mixer:

Place the dough in the bowl of a heavy duty mixer. Using a dough hook, knead at medium speed for 20 minutes, adding a bit of flour if the dough starts to stick to the sides, or a little water if the ball of dough begins to crumble and fall apart. The dough is ready when you can poke or pull the dough, and it wants to snap back into place.

Double-wrap the dough in plastic wrap to ensure that it does not dry out. Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour before rolling it through a pasta machine.

To roll out the pasta using a pasta machine, divide the dough into 4 – 6 pieces. You will roll out one piece at a time, while rolling keep the remainder covered with plastic wrap so it does not dry out. Lightly flour the machine rollers, the work surface around the machine, and the first piece of dough. Set the rollers at the widest setting. Flatten the dough into a disc, sprinkle with flour, then feed the disc into the space between the two rollers. Feed the dough through with one hand, while holding the upturned palm of your hand under the sheet emerging from the rollers. Keep your palm flat to protect the dough from punctures by your fingers.

tajarin_rolling_pasta_above_private_italy_tour_piedmont

As the sheet emerges from the rollers, guide it away from the machine with your palm. Pass the dough through the rollers five to six times, folding it into thirds and flouring it each time. Then set the rollers at the next narrower setting and pass the dough through three times, folding it in half each time. Repeat, passing it through three times at each successively narrower setting. Repeated stretching and thinning builds up elasticity making especially light pasta. If the sheet becomes too long to handle comfortably, cut it in half or thirds and work the pieces in tandem.

tajarin-rolling-sheets-back-italiaoutdoors-italy-private-tours

Don’t worry if at first the dough tears, has holes, is lumpy, or is very moist. Just lightly flour it by pulling the dough over the floured work surface. Take care not to overdo the flouring, or the dough may get too stiff. As you keep putting it through the rollers, it will be transformed from slightly lumpy and possibly torn to a smooth, satiny sheet with fine elasticity.

tajarin_dusting_sheets_private_italy_tour_piedmont

Different machines have different numbers of settings. Pasta that is cut into noodles, like tajarin, use a setting 1 or 2 down from the highest setting; my machine has a highest, or thinnest setting of 7, I stopped at 5 for the tajarin. Brush the sheet with flour.

tajarin_cutting_pasta_private_italy_tour_piedmont

Switch to the cutting roller, and feed your sheet through to cut into narrow strips. Place on a floured sheets pan, dusting if necessary with more flour so the tajarin do not stick together. Cover with a slightly damp towel or plastic wrap while you make the sauce.

tajarin_cutting_pasta_below_private_italy_tour_piedmont

Brown Butter Sage Sauce

4 oz./1 stick unsalted butter
Small bunch of sage, leaves picked
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts, toasted
Grated Parmiggiano-Reggiano cheese

 In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sage and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the sage is slightly browned and crispy. Remove the sage and set aside on a paper towel to dry.

Continue to allow the butter to cook, as it goes from white, to gold, to brown (“noisette”). When browned and displaying a nutty aroma, remove the pan from the heat.

When ready to serve, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the tajarin until al dente, this should only be a couple of minutes. Reserve about 1 cup of the cooking water and then drain the tajarin.

Add the tajarin to the saute pan with the browned butter. Stir to mix, adding a little of the reserved cooking water to lighten up the sauce, if needed. Sprinkle the lemon zest and lemon juice over the tajarin, and toss gently to coat. Serve tajarin warm, topped with the hazelnuts, sage leaves and grated cheese.

Posted in Eggs, Pasta, Piedmont, Vegetarian, Wine, Wine Pairings | 1 Comment

Risotto al Limone e Gamberetti – Risotto with Lemon and Shrimp

risotto-shrimp-above-italiaoutdoors-italy-private-tours

Wherever in Italy we explore on our Italiaoutdoors Food and Wine tours, we find risotto on the menu. Grown primarily in Northern Italy, mainly in the marshy areas of the Po River Valley, rice found a natural habitat. The result is a wide array of risotto dishes found across the peninsula, reflecting the traditional cuisines and seasonal products of each area, from Risotto alla Milanese in Lombardia to Risotto con Funghi in Trentino-Alto Adige to Risotto with White Asparagus from Bassano del Grappa.

The following risotto – Risotto al Limone e Gamberetti – I’ve enjoyed in two regions, one in the north, one south; but in both locations it showcases the seasonal local specialties of the region.

risotto-shrimp-ingredients-italiaoutdoors-italy-private-tours

Gamberetti (small shrimp) are widespread and abundant. There are thousands of species adapted to a wide range of habitats, including both saltwater and fresh. They can be found feeding near the seafloor on most coasts, as well as in rivers and lakes.

cafe-lake-garda-italiaoutdoors-italy-private-tours

In the north, the perfect place to experience this dish would be in a lakeside cafe on the western shore of Lake Garda. Here, freshwater shrimp right out of the lake; a local olive oil – this is the northernmost point where you will find olive trees in Italy; Vialone Nano risotto rice from the plains just south of nearby Verona; local lemons, available this far north due to the special greenhouses developed for growing citrus on the shores of the lake.

limonaia-lake-garda-italiaoutdoors-italy-private-tours
Limonaia – Citrus Greenhouse on Lake Garda

Limone del Garda is a small picturesque village perched on the northern shore of Lake Garda, the easternmost lake in Lombardy’s lake districts. As its name suggests, you will discover many citrus trees here, growing against the rocks facing over the lake. Hundreds of years ago, Ligurian monks created special greenhouses designed to work with these rock terraces to trap heat and make the cultivation of citrus trees possible this far north, almost at the Trentino border. Today these citrus are mainly used for confectionery or distilling purposes, but they are also found as an ingredient in many local dishes.

Positano

In the south, I suggest enjoying this dish seaside on the Amalfi coast in the region of Campania. A nice restaurant in Positano, or lunch during an excursion to Capri. Here, shrimp plucked fresh from the Tyrrhenian Sea, paired with the renowned Amalfi lemons.

On the Amalfi coast, look for variations featuring the “sfusato” lemon, il limone sfusato. Large in size, with a thick yellow peel and intense smell. Juicy flesh, few seeds. Delicious even enjoyed uncooked, but ideal for the preparation of fresh recipes. Grown here since the 11th century, an essential foods for this community of navigators, to take with them on their travels to ward off scurvy. From the 1400s, a flourishing maritime trade of this prized citrus began from the town of Minori to Italian and European ports. Today the sfusato lemon enjoys protected IGP status.

My wine recommendation here depends on where you wish to transport yourself with this dish. If you are envisioning a lakeside retreat in the Lake District, pair with a crisp white from the Lugana wine zone located on the southern coast of Lake Garda. These Lugana white wines must consist of at least 90% Trebbiano di Lugana, locally called Turbiana. Originally, this grape was thought to be a variant of Trebbiano (the Cognac grape), hence the name Trebbiano di Lugana. In 2008, DNA profiling showed that Turbiana is in fact Verdicchio, which usually appears on Italy’s central-eastern coast in the region of Marche.

On the Amalfi coast, I’d select a glass of Falanghina, an indigenous white grape from the Amalfi coast, produced in DOC regions such as Campi Flegrei, Falerno Massico, Capri, Sorrento, and Amalfi Coast.

risotto-shrimp-ingredients-italiaoutdoors-italy-private-tours

Risotto al Limone e Gamberetti

Serves 4

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 pound freshwater shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 sprigs fresh oregano, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 rib celery, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 small onion, finely chopped
12 ounces risotto rice – Vialone nano, Carnaroli, Arbrorio
1/2 cup dry white wine
6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
Juice and grated peel of 1 lemon
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or grana cheese
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the clove of garlic to the pan. Saute the garlic clove until brown, remove from pan. Add the shrimp to the pan and saute until just cooked through, just a couple of minutes, depending on the size. Remove from pan and place in a bowl. Season with the oregano, salt and pepper, set aside.

Put the broth in a saucepan and heat.

Add remaining tablespoon of oil to the saute pan, still over medium heat. Add the celery, carrot and onion, and cook until tender and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the rice to the saute pan and cook about 1-2 minutes.

Add the wine, and cook to reduce. When it has evaporated almost completely, begin to stir in the hot broth. Add a ladleful of the hot stock and simmer, stirring gently, until the stock is absorbed. Continue adding the stock a ladleful at a time, stirring and waiting until the stock is absorbed before the next addition of stock. Continue until the rice is al dente. The stock may not all be used. Add the lemon juice and lemon peel, stir to combined.

When the risotto is done, stir in the grated cheese and parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Carefully stir in the reserved shrimp, and serve immediately.

Posted in Gluten Free, Lombardy, Shrimp, Travel, Uncategorized, Wine, Wine Pairings | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Trota Two Ways – Recipes from Italy’s Lake District

trota-pan-fried-above-italiaoutdoors-lake-district-private-tours

Just north of Milan, nestled in the foothills of the Alps, is the Italian Lake district. Here five lovely lakes – Maggiore, Lugano, Como, Iseo and Garda – together offer an amazing backdrop for our Italiaoutdoors Food and Wine private Italy tours. Stunning scenery, with deep lakes surrounded by majestic mountains; picturesque towns and villages perched on the water’s edge; rolling green hills covered with woodlands and olive trees; elegant palazzi surrounded by formal gardens. With the help of boat travel and cable cars, we can cover a lot of ground without a lot of time in the car, from island hopping to visiting elegant palazzi and gardens, or enjoying a trail hike followed by lunch on a mountain top.

The lakes touch on several regions, so we experience dishes from Piedmont, Lombardy, Trentino, and the Veneto during our adventures. This area offers many delicacies, and a relatively mild climate supports many products you wouldn’t expect to find this far north, including excellent olive oil from Lake Garda, and lemons grown in a limonaia – green houses specifically designed for citrus. Wonderful fresh water fish is easy to find, and simple to prepare back at home.

trota-ingredients-italiaoutdoors-lake-district-private-tours

I found the following recipe in Osteria: 1,000 Generous and Simple Recipes from Italy’s Best Local Restaurants, by the Editors of Slow Food. Then, a very similar recipe from Jamie Oliver. So I stole parts for each, and the following are two ways of preparing your favorite fresh water fish as you might find it prepared on Lakes Garda, Como, or Maggiore – the first roasted in parchment paper, the second pan-fried.

trota-cartoccio-plated-italiaoutdoors-lake-district-private-tours

Enjoy with a glass of white wine from the Lugana zone on the south end of Lake Garda, or a sparkling Franciacorta from the shores of Lake Iseo.

Trota in Cartoccio

Trattoria Campagna, Arona (Novara), Lombardia

trota-cartoccio-prep-italiaoutdoors-lake-district-private-tours

Serves 4

1 head fennel, herby tops reserved
4 whole trout, about 7 ounces each, scaled and gutted or 4 pieces trout or salmon fillets, 6 – 8 ounces each
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 teaspoons fennel seeds, toasted and ground
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1 shallot, minced
8 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and finely chopped
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon dry vermouth
Extra-virgin olive oil

Using a slicer, or your best knife skills, slice the fennel bulbs lengthwise very very finely and put in a bowl of iced water for 10 minutes or so until the slices go crispy and curly.

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Season the fish with salt and pepper, ground fennel seeds and pepper flakes. Place a sprig of fennel and some of the thinly sliced fennel in the cavity of each one, or on top of the fillet piece. Prepare 4 pieces of parchment paper 12 inches long. Arrange one fish on each piece of parchment. Scatter on the shallot and sun dried tomatoes. Top each fillet with a lemon slice and sprinkle on the vermouth and a generous drizzle of olive oil. Fold up the parchment packet envelope style, folding the top and folding the ends under the fish to seal. Place them on a baking sheet and cook in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Carefully open one packet (steam will escape) and check that the flesh is opaque. Garnish the fish with lemon slices and serve.

Pan-Roasted Trout with Crispy Fennel Salad

Adapted from “Cook with Jaime” by Jamie Oliver

trota-pan-fried-close-italiaoutdoors-lake-district-private-tours

2 fennel bulbs, herby tops reserved
Small bunch of fresh oregano
Juice of 1 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil
8 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and finely chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

4 pieces trout or salmon fillets, 6 – 8 ounces each
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons fennel seeds, toasted and ground
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
Extra virgin olive oil
Good quality thick balsamic vinegar

Using a slicer, or your best knife skills, slice the fennel bulbs lengthwise very very finely and put in a bowl of iced water for 10 minutes or so until the slices go crispy and curly.

Lay the fish fillets on a board, skin side up, then lightly pinch the skin of each one and score it at an angle, about 1/4 inch deep, about 6 times. This will allow the fish not only to cook quicker but to take in the flavors of the seasoning – and it looks pretty too! Sprinkle the fillets with salt, pepper, the fennel seeds and pepper flakes and pat with a little olive oil so all the flavors stick to the fish. Heat a large frying pan and place the fillets in the pan, skin-side down. Fry over medium heat for about 4 minutes, turning them over when the skin is golden and crisp. Fry them on the other side for a minute or so.

While the fish is cooking, you can finish your fennel salad. Drain and dry the fennel and mix in a bowl with the herby fennel tops. Add the oregano leaves, and mix with the fennel. When the fish are cooked, divide them between your plates. Dress the fennel salad with the lemon juice, some extra virgin olive oil, the sun-dried tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle the fish with balsamic vinegar and serve with some salad piled on top.

Posted in fennel, Fish, Gluten Free, Lombardy, Travel, Trout, Uncategorized, Wine Pairings | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Coccoli – Comfort Street Food from Florence

coccoli-private-tours-italy-tuscany

Every region we explore in Italy on our Italiaoutdoors Food and Wine walking tours has its favorite street foods to nourish us along the way. In Sicily, arancini; in Cinque Terre, fried fish cones and farinata; in Venice, frittelle; in Naples, frittatina. Notice a similarity? Our favorite street foods tend to be salty deep-fried bites, most of which we would never attempt at home. But one of my favorites, which I did just try at home, are from Florence – coccoli fritti.

coccoli-florence-private-tours-italy-tuscany

Coccoli are simply fried bread balls, salty, oily and highly enjoyable. Small in size, these bite size treats are perfect comfort food, which may have had a role in their moniker, coccola, Italian for cuddle or pamper. You can find them served in paper cones for a to-go snack, and many trattorie in Florence offer these as a perfect bar snack to enjoy with a glass of Chianti or Vermentino, accompanied by stracciatella cheese and prosciutto – preferably on a piazza in Florence, while watching the sun set over the Duomo, or Santa Maria Novella, or Ponte Vecchio.

sunset-duomo-private-tours-italy-tuscany

I found several different recipes for this snack, some with milk, others not. My favorite was basically a pizza dough, with a good amount of salt and olive oil in the dough. The recipe below is from Jody Adams cookbook, “In the Hands of a Chef”, A great pizza dough I’ve been making for years. I’ll make extra dough and keep in the refrigerator for up to a week, making a few coccoli when the mood strikes. Most pizza chefs agree that the secret to a flavorful pizza crust is an extended rise, so it would seem to me that this would only improve your coccoli as well.

coccoli-wine-private-tours-italy-tuscany

Coccoli (or Pizza) Dough

Makes dough for two 12-inch pizzas

3/4 cup warm water
1/2 package yeast (scant 1 teaspoon)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
Frying oil – vegetable, canola, peanut
Stracciatella, stracchino or other soft fresh cheese – burrata, fresh mozzarella
Prosciutto
Salami
Pecorino cheese

If you haven’t used your yeast in a while, begin by proofing the yeast to make sure it is still active. Combine the yeast and warm water in a large bowl. After a few minutes, bubbles should form. If nothing happens after 10 or 15 minutes, discard and begin again with fresh yeast.

By hand:

Add the salt and olive oil and mix well. Stir in the flour, 1/2 cup at a time. As you incorporate the last 1/2 cup of flour, the dough should become to stiff to stir. Turn it out onto a floured counter and begin to knead. Continue kneading until smooth and elastic, about 7 minutes or so. Try to use as little flour as possible during  the kneading process; the less flour you use, the lighter the dough. The dough should be tacky, even sticky. You can do this in a stand mixer if you prefer.

Food processor version:

Place the water, yeast, salt, olive oil and 1/2 cup flour into tne bowl of your food processor. Pulse a couple of times until combined. Add 1 cup of flour, and pulse a few more times – the dough should come together into a ball that does not stick to the sides of the bowl. Add the last 1/4 cup flour if it does not come together, and pulse again a few more times. Once it is in a ball, put the processor on “Start” and allow to run for 2 minutes. Watch as it processes; you may need to add a bit more flour if the ball falls apart into a sticky dough, and some food processors have a tendency to ‘walk’ along the counter top a bit while processing a heavier dough. You don’t want it taking a tumble.

All versions:

Divide the dough into 2 or 3 pieces – maybe some for pizza, some for coccoli? Sprinkle flour over the dough, flour your hands and shape each piece into a ball. Place each ball in a medium bowl, drizzle with olive oil and turn the ball to coat it in the oil. Place each in a large plastic bag and put in the refrigerator to rest overnight, or up to 5 days. Note, at this point you can freeze any extra dough just as they are in the plastic bag for up to 3 months.

To fry the Coccoli:

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to warm up a bit, maybe an hour or so. Flour your fingers and begin making balls about the size of a walnut. Work with the dough gently so that you don’t knock the air out of it. Fill a heavy, medium-sized saucepan 4 inches deep with frying oil and heat. Test the oil by dropping in a small piece of dough

When the oil is fry-ready, carefully ladle the coccoli balls into the oil. You will need to work in 2 or 3 batches. The coccoli will puff up after a few seconds. Fry for 5 minutes or until they are a light golden brown. Use chopsticks or a spoon to rotate the balls ensuring a nice even color

Scoop out the coccoli with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels. Lightly sprinkle with salt and, while still warm, break them open and fill each with a scoop of stracciatella and a prosciutto crudo.

sunset-florence-private-tours-italy-tuscany
Posted in antipasti, Mozzarella, Travel, Tuscany, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Insalata di Arance – Fresh Orange Salad from Sicily

insalata-arancia-italiaoutdoors-private-sicily-tours

Exploring the lovely countryside of Sicily under sunny skies, we find the perfect ‘sunny’ delicacy to refresh us along the way – sweet, red-fleshed blood oranges. Citrus fruits arrived in Italy around 850 AD during an Arab invasion. Initially these oranges were bitter and yellow, but the mild, warm climate of Sicily allowed for the development of the sweeter, red varieties we see today.

arance-rosse-cavasenna-private-sicily-tours-italiaoutdoors

The blood orange is actually a natural mutation of the orange, which is itself a hybrid between the pomelo and the tangerine. It’s distinctive dark red flesh color is due to the presence of anthocyanins, a powerful antioxidant which develops when hot daytime temperatures give way to chilly nights. The Catania plain, near the Mount Etna volcano, provides the exact conditions for these oranges to flourish and develop their deep red hue. Cultivation of these oranges has been an important economic activity for this area since the 18th century. Each year in late February, when orange production reaches its peak, the local community in Palagonia, a small province near Catania, hold a festival to celebrate their favorite citrus, The Sagra dell’Arancia Rossa. Other areas for cultivation include the Siracusa area, and also Enna in central Sicily. The Arancia Rossa di Sicilia (red orange of Sicily) has now earned Protected Geographical Status (PGI) from the European Union.There are three varieties of blood oranges:

blood-oranges-orchard-sicily-private-italy-tours-italiaoutdoors

Moro: Dark red pulp, with a slightly oval shape. It is a flavorful table orange, good for juice, rich in minerals and low-fat, with a high content of citric acid. It is the  very first blood orange to ripen and it is available on the market  from December to February.

Tarocco: This table fruit, considered the queen of oranges, is spherical, seedless and easy to peel. At the beginning of the production season its pulp is somewhat clearer, but, as the snow appears on Mount Etna, it becomes more and more red. It can be enjoyed from December to April.

Sanguinello: Seedless with a vinous red pulp and quite juicy. It ripens in February, but can remain on the plants until April.

insalata-arancia-ingredients-italiaoutdoors-private-sicily-tours

In Sicily, blood oranges make their way to our table every meal, from a glass of juice with breakfast to savory salads and citrus flavored fresh fish to fruit desserts. Blood orange granita is a perfect refreshment after our daily trek or bike ride during our Italiaoutdoors Food and Wine adventures in Sicily. Here is a traditional Sicilian dish, a fresh salad with oranges, fennel and olives. Unfortunately, blood oranges are harder to find here in the US, but still a tasty salad with our native oranges, which is what I used here.

Insalata di Arance

Serves 8

3 – 4 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced, fronds reserved
8 oranges
3.5 ounces roasted olives
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon, strained
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
Reserved fennel fronds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
Kosher slat and freshly ground pepper

Make the dressing. In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, fennel fronds and fennel seeds, if using. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cut off the peel from the oranges, removing all traces of the bitter white pith. Cut the flesh into rounds, put them into a large salad bowl and add the fennel and olives. Drizzle the dressing over the salad, mix well and serve immediately.

Posted in antipasti, fennel, Fruit, Gluten Free, sicily, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment