From My Italian Kitchen: A Simple Dessert

It’s easy to find good (and decadent) desserts in Italy - it seems as though there is a pasticceria on every corner. Their windows and display cases are filled with tarts, cakes, sweet breads, and cookies - all of which are sure to taste delicious. Think rich ricotta, pastry cream, chocolate, and jam-filled delicacies (the ones pictured below are from the wonderful Pasticceria Sandra L’Angolo Dolce in Lucca)..

As wonderful as these are, sometimes I want to serve a dessert that is homemade and a little less rich. That was certainly true the first time I entertained friends after the hubbub (and feasting) of the holidays. The lunch I served was simple - a pasta with spinach and ricotta and oven-roasted chicken.  For dessert I wanted to continue the simplicity of the meal but also wanted something really tasty to brighten up the cold winter afternoon. I think berry desserts are perfect in any season and so that is what I made.

No fancy ingredients needed for this dessert, just berries, cream, mascarpone, powered sugar. and a balsamic glaze.

My first task was shopping for the ingredients - zucchero al velo (powdered sugar), panna fresca (not quite whipping cream, but a close substitute) and crema all’aceto balsamico (a thick glaze made of balsamic vinegar). I had to search for the powdered sugar as not every store carries it (and some comes flavored with added vanilla, which wasn’t what I needed). Grocery shopping here is still an adventure for me and part of the joy of learning to live in Italy. I didn’t even mind going to three grocery stores to gather the ingredients.

To prepare this dessert, start by making the topping. Once prepared it will hold in the fridge for about 12 hours (after that it begins to separate). It works best when made with a metal bowl and whisk (or beaters from an electric mixer) that are really cold - a couple of hours in the fridge is perfect. There are just three ingredients:

250 gms mascarpone (about 4.5 oz)

125 ml (1/2 cup) of panna fresca (whipping cream)

2 Tablespoons of zucchero al velo (powered sugar)

Let the mascarpone sit out for about 15 minutes and then soften with a spoon.

Place mascarpone in the chilled bowl along with the panna fresca and the powdered sugar.

Whip until thickened (thick, creamy, and very soft peaks).  I used a whisk, but an electric mixer works well too. Don’t over beat it though.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until just before serving.  This mixture would be plenty for six servings.

Next, prepare the berries, which are the base of this dessert.  You will need:

A mixture of berries ( any combination will work or use a single type of berry); adjust quantities as needed for the amount of servings you’d like to make, one half to three quarters of a cup per serving.

Crema all’aceto Balsamico (Balsamic Glaze)

Slice strawberries and combine with whole blackberries and raspberries (I used about 10 large strawberries, a large handful of blackberries, and a large handful of raspberries to make 3 servings).

Since off-season berries are not the most flavorful, about an hour before serving, put the berries in small serving bowls and drizzle them with the balsamic glaze. A little drizzle is all that is needed. Were I more ambitious, I would have made the glaze by reducing balsamic vinegar and adding a bit of sugar and lemon juice, but in the name of keeping things simple, I just picked up a store-bought ready-made glaze. Shh. Don’t tell Martha Stewart. The balsamic glaze really adds a flavor punch to less than perfect berries.

Berries drizzled with the balsamic glaze

Let the berries sit for an hour (either at room temperature or in the fridge) before topping them with a generous spoonful of the whipped topping. Serve right away after adding the topping.

This dessert is easy to make, looks pretty in clear glass bowls or wine glasses, and tastes delicious. My guests gave it a big thumbs up! - post by JMB

A Ligurian Pasta

A market in Porto Venere, Liguria, selling pesto and trofie along with other local specialties

How many pasta shapes can you name? Spaghetti, linguine, tagliatelle, fettucine, farfalle, pici, pappardelle, fusilli, lasagna, and orzo all come to mind - and those are just some of the many solid pasta forms. In Italy, there is a seemingly endless variety of shapes and sizes of pasta. One shape that is found in northern Italy, especially in Liguria, is trofie. I was less familiar with this type of pasta, but recently encountered it at a market in Porto Venere. When I saw it again a few days later in a restaurant in Lucca I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try it. 

Trofie is a simple eggless pasta, made with just three ingredients - flour, salt, and water. After mixing, a little kneading, and a short rest, the dough is rolled into long thin strands (as if making pici) and then cut into smaller pieces. It's the shaping of these small bits of dough that is key to making trofie. Each small piece is rolled between the palms of the hand in a downward motion, allowing them to fall off the end of the hands (picture a good Ligurian cook doing this in one very quick motion). This gives them their characteristic shape - short thin twists of pasta, a bit thicker in the middle and tapered at the ends.

Trofie are best when fatto a mano (made by hand). The commercial varieties have a more structured twist to them, and are more dense than the lighter, roughly shaped hand-rolled ones.

In Liguria, it is typical to top trofie with pesto (another local Ligurian specialty). In Lucca, my lunch was trofie with tonno (tuna), fiori di zucca (squash blossoms), pomodoro (tomato) and pan grattato (toasted bread crumbs) .

It was a light and tasty dish, perfect with a glass of local vino bianco di Montecarlo (white wine from the Montecarlo region). Delizioso!   

I'm looking forward to making some trofie at home in New Mexico  - I think my grandchildren will enjoy trying to hand shape them with me.                                  -post by JMB

A Farewell Luncheon (and a Recipe for Farro Salad)

Moving to Italy is something that I daydream about all the time. I haven’t yet managed it, but that is not the case for my friends Jim and Rod. After many trips to Italy, and two recent trips to Lucca, they have decided to make the big move. On their latest trip, they rented an apartment just steps outside of Lucca’s walls in a quiet neighborhood (giving me a bad case of apartment envy, not to mention envy of their two gorgeous balconies). Then they came home to New Mexico, sold their house, gave up years of collected belongings, and packed their essentials. How exciting is that?

Recently, I had Rod and Jim over for a going-away lunch. It is quite hot in New Mexico at this time of year, so I fixed an Italian-inspired lunch that involved little actual cooking. On the menu was a cold farro salad with shrimp (more about farro in a minute), sliced tomatoes with burrata (topped with basil, salt, and olive oil), and a simple bruschetta of bread topped with olive oil and salt. The wine was a Gavi, my favorite light Italian white, perfect for a hot summer day. Dessert came from Whole Foods and wasn’t the least bit Italian – Key lime tartlets.

Whole grain farro

Are you familiar with farro? It’s an ancient form of wheat; some say it is the grain from which all modern wheats are descended.  Farro is an important part of the Lucchese culinary tradition, found mostly in soups that also feature beans or vegetables. 

Farro is high in fiber, has good protein and vitamin content, and is lower in gluten than modern wheat. Farro can be found in three forms: whole grain, semi-pearled (polished to remove some of the tougher outer husk) and pearled (all the husk polished away). The form influences both nutritional value (highest in the whole grain) and cooking time (quicker with pearled forms). I tend to use the semi-pearled variety when I can find it, but also like the whole grain, which maintains a chewier texture even after the longer cooking time.

The farro salad that I make uses a base of 1 ½ cups uncooked farro, covered in water (about 3 ½ cups but the exact amount isn’t critical – just cover the farro at least 1 inch deep and drain off any extra water at the end of cooking), and ½ tsp salt. Bring to a boil, turn heat down to simmer, and cook until tender.  Cooking time varies depending on type of farro used and altitude. I live at about 5,000 feet; my whole grain farro took about an hour. Pearled farro can cook in as little as 20 to 30 minutes. If using whole grain, the cooking time is shorter if it is soaked overnight before cooking. When done, drain off any extra water and cool the farro before preparing the salad.

To make the salad, add the following to the cooked and cooled farro and toss:

½ of an English cucumber, seeded and cut into small cubes

1/3 c. finely diced red onion

4-5 oz. of crumbled feta cheese

¾ tsp coarsely ground black pepper

½ - 1 tsp sea salt (I use Penzey’s French Gray Sea Salt)

5 tbl. fresh lemon juice

5 tbl. good olive oil

Mix together and chill for an hour or two before serving.

The farro salad goes well with steamed shrimp, 1 to 1.5 pounds marinated several hours in 4 tbl olive oil, 4 tbl fresh lemon juice, 1 tbl chopped fresh mint leaves, and ½ tsp coarsely ground pepper. Sprinkle with sea salt before serving.

After a wonderful lunch, I'm sending Jim and Rod off on their Italian adventure with big hugs and a “Ci vediamo a Lucca in Settembre” (see you in Lucca in September).  

They've even promised to cook for me in their new kitchen.

-post by JMB

Agretti - A Taste of Spring in Italy

The springtime markets in Italy are full of wonderful vegetables - asparagus, little purple artichokes, and fava beans, to name a few. I have a strong memory of my first taste of fresh spring fava beans, eaten raw with a little bit of pecorino as I sat on a bench outside a neighborhood market in Rome. Heaven! Big piles of spring artichokes look like art to me, and taste amazing when used as the filling for a light-as-air lasagna. And asparagus in a delicate pasta primavera? Is there a better way to celebrate spring vegetables?

Along with these more common vegetables, the spring markets in Italy also have bunches of what look like thick grass or chives. They are dark green with long, thin tapered leaves and are often wrapped in wet paper to keep the intact roots moist. The appearance of these in the markets is a cause for excitement in Italy. They are only around for a short time in spring and are considered a delicacy. So what are these mysterious grassy bundles?

They go by several names. In Italy they are most commonly known as agretti or barba di frate (frair’s beard). In English, saltwort. The proper Latin name is Salsola soda, a member of the Chenopodiaceae (Amaranth or Goosefoot) family, which includes spinach, beets, and chard.

Agretti grows well in salty water, which means that the Mediterranean coast is the perfect place for it to thrive. It also means that it has become a rather unwelcome and invasive species following its import to coastal California - perhaps because we Americans don’t eat it often enough! And although agretti leaves look like chives or spring onions, they are not related to onions at all and the flavor is completely different.

As an interesting historical note, agretti were originally grown to be burned to ash. The result was soda ash, used in making soap and glass. Imagine how useful this was to the Venetians - why eat a product that could be used to make beautiful Venetian glass? Today, however, there are better ways to make glass and agretti is raised as a food crop.

Agretti can be eaten raw (it’s crunchy and tangy, with a slightly bitter mineral taste). Raw, it’s a good addition to salads. It’s also healthy - high in fiber, low in calories, and a good source of vitamins (A, B, and C) and minerals (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron).

More commonly, agretti is served cooked, either as a contorni (side vegetable) or incorporated into a frittata or a pasta dish . Can you say spaghetti con agretti five times fast? 

There are two basic cooking methods. The most simple is to drop the cleaned agretti briefly into boiling water until crisp tender, and then drain and sprinkle with olive oil and lemon. It can also be sautéed with olive oil and garlic (and perhaps pancetta or anchiovies) and topped with a squeeze of lemon juice. The lemon juice is key to bringing balance to the slightly sharp, spinach taste and bringing out the bright, fresh-as-spring taste of the agretti.

I had seen agretti in the markets on previous trips to Italy, but never knew exactly what they were or how to cook them. After a discussion with friends who recently moved to Lucca and were experimenting with cooking local produce, I bought my first bunch of agretti in one of Italy’s spring markets. After trimming the roots and washing it well (it can be pretty sandy), I sautéed the agretti for about 10 minutes in olive oil along with 2 cloves of garlic. A little salt (it doesn’t need much), several grinds of black pepper, and a generous squeeze of lemon juice later and it was just right as a side dish to a lemony chicken fillet and some rice.

I can’t wait to try it in a frittata next!

-post by JMB

Sautéed agretti alongside pan-sautéed lemon chicken and rice.

Castelli e Cipolle (Castles and Onions) in Bagnone, Italy

 Some of my favorite travel experiences are the result of serendipity - happy accidents that result in the discovery of something wonderful. Though I am by nature a planner, I have learned the joy of leaving some things to chance and grabbing opportunities that arise during the course of travel.

The river in Bagnone

Such an opportunity recently presented itself in the form of an invitation to accompany a fellow language student on a day trip to the small town of Bagnone for its annual spring onion sagra (festival). I knew nothing about Bagnone, or what made its onions worth celebrating, so some research was in order prior to this trip.

Bagnone lies in the province of Massa - Carrara, Tuscany, about 60 minutes from Lucca by car. This area is known as the Lunigiana, a historical designation from before the unification of Italy, crossing the border between Tuscany and Liguria. Importantly, it is home to a large number of Medieval-era castles/fortresses, about 30 of which are intact. Many others are visible as ruins, dotting hillsides and small hamlets throughout the Lunigiana.

Bagnone is charming, with a small branch of the Magra river flowing through the middle of town. There is also a 14th century castle that encloses a still-occupied Medieval village. This is not a town with many tourists. Strolling along its quiet streets (pictured below) was a pleasure, as was wandering through the village surrounding the castle, which lies up a hill above the center of Bagnone.

As for the onions - Bagnone includes an even smaller borgo (neighborhood) just up the hill from Bagnone proper and called Treschietto. A recent local census lists 96 inhabitants, most over the age of 65. Looming over Treschietto is the ruin of a castle, complete with a tall, round tower.

The tower and castle ruin in Treschietto, Bagnone.

Treschietto is famous for a small, round onion (cipolla) that is red on the outside and white on the inside. The Cipolla di Treschietto is mild and sweet. It is said that the onion “non fa lacrimare”  (doesn’t make you cry). The onion is grown in fields in and around Treschietto and each year, at the end of April and beginning of May, the community hosts a festival where everyone gathers to eat piatti tipici (local specialty dishes) made with the famous onions. These dishes were a good example of cucina povera, simple foods eaten in rural areas where resources are limited.

Sitting under a large tent, at a communal table, we sampled Barbotta (a soft onion, cornmeal, and cheese torte), torta di cipolle (a crispy onion pie with the white and green parts of the onion and a spinach-like taste), and a pasta with sugo di cipolle (onion sauce). 

We also saw many people eating the onions raw, dipped in a little bit of olive oil.

As a bonus, no one at our table spoke English and the meal was accompanied by lively Italian conversation with friendly locals, a spontaneous language lesson and a delightful cultural experience. Serendipity indeed.

-post by JMB