Fagiolini Verde

I admit it, I'm a food nerd. I love reading recipes. I find mountains of purple artichokes or eggplant stunningly beautiful. The scent of good (some might say stinky) cheese is like perfume to me. And the first salty bite of a fresh focaccia is a sensual delight. Yes, I'm a food nerd.

One of the things I love most about Italy is that it is heaven on earth for food nerds like me. The "slow food" atmosphere, the focus on quality over shelf life, the regional specialties, the artisanal bakers, cheese makers, and producers of salumi -  all these things contribute to the fact that I love shopping, cooking, and dining here. It's also one of the reasons I like to have an apartment - apartments come with kitchens and kitchens are the pathway to experimenting with the use of local ingredients to make simple, seasonal, and tasty dishes. 

Colorful eggplant at the Ortofrutta.

My favorite place to buy fruits and vegetables in Lucca is the Ortofrutta in Piazza Salvatore. I love the eye-catching colors of the produce, the artful way they are arranged, the changing selection based on season and freshness, the friendly staff, and the whole process of purchasing here - pick out the fruits and veggies, put them in little paper bags, bring them to the counter to be weighed and priced, and then take your receipt to the cassa  (cash register) to pay. No grocery store can compare!

Another view of the Ortofrutta, so much more charming than my local grocery store at home!

In addition to produce, the Ortofrutta has flavorful foods to go (think homemade pesto and other sauces, cooked spinach, little trays of lasagna, olives), along with basics - milk, eggs, dried pasta, jams, olive oils, canned tuna, wine.

Prepared foods to go.

Recently I went to the Ortofrutta without a clear idea of what I wanted to cook. I found beautiful, tiny fagiolini verde (the kind of green beans we would call by their French name, haricot vert) and pretty lemons. Together, they inspired me to make marinated green beans - a perfect accompaniment to the chicken I roasted for dinner. 

Here's how I prepared them (amounts are approximate and based on kitchen spoons, not measuring spoons).  Experiment! 

Simple ingredients for the marinade.

Marinated Green Beans

Start with 2 big handfuls of fagiolini verde (using tiny green beans is key), cooked in boiling water until just fork tender (about 6 - 7 minutes). Rinse in cold water, let cool a few minutes, and then toss with marinade while beans are still warm. 

Marinade:  

1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard  (use more or less to taste)

Juice of 1/2 medium lemon

A few shakes of good sea salt and black pepper (taste finished marinade and correct to taste)

Whisk well and slowly drizzle in about 4 tablespoons of good olive oil, whisking to emulsify

Pour half of the marinade over the cooked green beans, toss, and let sit at room temperature for 1 - 2 hours. Toss again before serving. 

Finished marinated green beans.

Save the other half of the marinade to use on a salad or to pour over steamed asparagus - that's what I did a couple of days later when I found beautiful asparagus at the market.

Same marinade, different veggie.

That's it!  When you start with great ingredients and blend in a little creativity, you end with great taste.  

-post by JB                          

An Ordinary, Extraordinary Day

"What do you do for six weeks all by yourself in Italy? Don't you get bored? Lonely?" I have to laugh when I hear these questions, because nothing could be further from the truth. It might help to describe a "typical" day here in Lucca.

 On a recent morning I had breakfast at my apartment and then headed off to my morning class at Lucca Italian School (LIS), which starts at 9:15. The next four hours were spent studying Italian with my small class of five students (one New Zealander, one Australian, one Brazilian, one from the US Virgin Islands, and me).

A class in session at Lucca Italian School with my wonderful instructor Silvia. 

Though we are different ages, nationalities, and have somewhat varied linguistic skills, we all feel that the lessons are "fatto su misura" (tailor made) for us. That this is true is because our instructor, Silvia, is perceptive, flexible, and very, very talented. We have quickly coalesced into a friendly and supportive group and today, over "pausa" (break) we made plans to go out to lunch together one day next week. 

After a break of a couple of hours for lunch, I returned to school for an afternoon olive oil class with Antonella, who is both a language instructor and a Maestrod'olio.

The table is set for olive oil tasting.  

We learned about the history of olive cultivation and oil production in Italy, especially in Tuscany and the area around Lucca (Tuscany is the No. 2 olive oil producing region in Italy, second only to Puglia). We talked about methods of olive oil production (both traditional and modern), the characteristics of a superior oil, as well as how to taste oils and evaluate color, scent, flavor, and uncover possible defects.

We did a comparison tasting of three oils (with apple slices to cleanse the palate between tastings) and then sampled all three in a typical Tuscan dish, accompanied by local wines, of course. The class was informative, fun, social, and we got to practice our Italian!

Although I usually eat dinners at home during the week, which gives me a chance to shop the local markets and experiment with preparing simple meals full of local flavor, this night I enjoyed dinner at a nearby restaurant - Osteria da Pasqualino Gubitosa (commonly known as da Pasquiale).

Osteria da Pasquale 

Shrimp appetizer

I'd heard wonderful things about the restaurant but this was my first time eating there, joining another student from LIS. It wasn't a typical Lucchese menu; the chef and the owner are both from southern Italy. It was fun to try something new, the pesce (fish) appetizer and risotto were exquisite, and the company was great.  

Three-bite dark chocolate dessert at da Pasquale

Walking home, the sound of a jazz band playing at an outdoor cafe followed me as I wandered through quiet streets. A perfect end to an ordinary, extraordinary day here in Lucca. 

Lonely? Bored? Not a chance!

 -post by JMB

contacts:  

dapasquale-lucca.com

luccaitalianschool.com

For Want of the Perfect Risotto

I have been craving a certain dish – risotto alla faraona - for exactly one year, ever since I returned from Italy last spring. Not just any risotto will do; it is the one from Gigi Trattoria in Lucca that I long for. It’s a straightforward dish with captivating flavor; tender short-grain rice cooked in a fragrant stock with little bits of guinea fowl throughout, served piping hot. Unlike so many risottos served in the United States it is not gummed up with cheese or overloaded with added ingredients. Forgive the oxymoron when I say it has a simple complexity of flavor. It is the perfect comfort food and there is nothing better on a cool or rainy spring day.

There are, however, two problems here. The first is distance - I live 5,702 miles from Lucca so I can’t exactly run out for dinner at Gigi Trattoria to indulge my craving. Second, Italian cooking is seasonal, which is only a problem in this case (otherwise it's one of the great strengths of food in Italy). Even though I’ve returned to Lucca twice since last spring, I have not found this dish on the menu. Imagine me, returning to my much-loved Gigi Trattoria in September after months away, all set to order my favorite risotto, only to find that it was simply not considered a fall dish and so not on the menu. Same story when I returned again in December – guinea fowl is an early spring food the trattoria owner told me; in winter one eats dark meats and heavier foods. Come back in spring!

A great pasta dish at Gigi Trattoria - but not my risotto!

The Torre Guinigi, topped with trees, as seen from the patio of Gigi Trattoria,

 

A craving that goes unfulfilled for so long grows and grows and becomes a monster. Is risotto addictive? I need this risotto, I dream about this risotto. I dare not try to recreate it as I know my attempts will simply not satisfy. I want the real deal, ideally eaten while dining fuori (outside) on the patio at Gigi Trattoria with a great view of the Torre Guinigi in Lucca. 

I have just arrived back in Lucca - will my craving finally be fulfilled?  Not yet as it turns out.  But I was told that come the first of April risotto alla faraona will be back on the menu.  Stay tuned.

-post by JB

Pranzo con Amici (Lunch with Friends)

Today's post is all about pranzo (lunch). Judy and I are still in Lucca and we've invited friends to our apartment for lunch. These are really special friends - Angelo, Daniela and Eva are the trio behind Lucca Italian School, a wonderful language school and a place where I have spent many happy weeks over the past few years. They are, as I tend to think of them, the holy trinity of Italian teachers. Eva is also the school's master cooking teacher, but hey, no pressure!

The table is set for pranzo with amici, Lucca, January 2017.

I love to cook, especially for friends. It's a way of being creative, of welcoming others, of sharing a bit of myself. Conversation and laughter always surface when people share a meal. Often when I've hosted a meal in Lucca it's been for friends visiting from the United States. Today Judy and I are hosting Italian friends, so there is the added bonus of speaking in Italian and catching up on news from Lucca and the Italian School.

On the menu today:

Insalata mista, a simple mixed salad served with olive oil, lemon and a balsamic glaze.  

A simple salad, Lucca, January 2016.

Caprini aromatiche (an herb and olive oil marinated soft cheese). I could write a whole blog post on my love for this cheese and my attempts to recreate it at home; sadly I have not yet gotten it just right. Luckily in Lucca we can walk five minutes down to Il Mercantino on Via San Paolino and buy some.

Focaccia, soft inside with a beautiful salted crust. Fresh from Amadeo Giusti.

Caprini and focaccia.

For the main course, a frittata with onions and zucchini (recipe below, adapted from Marcella Hazan).  

Many of the frittata ingredients.

Wine (this is Italy after all - wine with lunch is "normale"). Our friends arrived with a bottle of Sangiovese from the Lucca hills, which went perfectly with the meal. 

For dessert a fruit crostata (or two) from a nearby pasticceria and a torta (cake) brought by Daniela, Eva and Angelo, filled with cream and raspberries. This came from what must be the most heavenly place on Earth, Pasticerria Sandra, L'angolo Dolce (the sweet corner), which is outside the walls of old Lucca in the Borgo Giannotti neighborhood. At L'angolo Dolce, pastry is art.  

Heavenly pastry from a local pasticceria, Lucca, January 2016.

Coffee brewed stovetop in the Moka to round out the afternoon. Moka brewing is an essential skill and one both Judy and I have been practicing. We've just about perfected our technique. 

A Moka, a coffee-brewing essential in Italy.

Pranzo today was "perfetto." Great company, conversation in a mix of Italian and English across a range of topics, and a chance to welcome friends into my Italian home (even if it's only a rented apartment for a couple of weeks). It's all a piece of my part-time but very real Italian life.                                    -post by JB

The end of a lovely lunch with Daniela, Angelo and Eva, Lucca, January 2017.

Frittata with Zucchini and Onions (serves 5-6) 

2 small or 1 medium zucchini, cut into thin rounds

1/2 of a large onion, diced

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup grated Parmesan  

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

10 large eggs

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a 12-inch sauté pan over low-moderate heat. Add zucchini rounds in a single layer and cook on one side until slightly browned. Turn and cook a couple more minutes on the other side. Remove from pan and place in a large bowl.  

Sauté onion in the oil remaining in the pan until golden and soft. Remove from pan and add to zucchini. Cool to room temperature. (Can be done several hours ahead of time.)

Add to cooled veggies: chopped parsley, grated Parmesan, salt and pepper, eggs. Mix well to combine.  

Preheat oven broiler.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 12-inch non-stick skillet and pour egg/vegetable mixture into pan. Cook over low heat, pulling up the edges as they set to allow liquid to flow underneath. When nearly cooked through and just wet on top, place under broiler for a couple of minutes to set top and lightly brown.    

Slide from pan onto a plate and serve hot.

A finished frittata.

Note: This is not a fussy recipe, It can easily be cut in half (just cook in a smaller pan). Try swapping out the zucchini for small rounds of parboiled red potato, or add roasted red pepper and use soft goat cheese instead of Parmesan. Experiment!