briciole

savoy cabbage and radicchio / cavolo verza e radicchio

a brilliant flavor behind subdued color (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO) A few pages into The Patriarch by Martin Walker, the current selection of our Cook the Books Club, I had this image of Bruno, the protagonist, as a head of cabbage and Pamela, his girlfriend (who in the course of the novel becomes his ex) as a head of radicchio1. Bruno reminded me of a head of cabbage because, although he is a pleasant and sensitive person, a smart and conscientious policeman, a gardener, a cook, a horseback rider and dog owner, you'd probably overlook him at a party... Read more →

roasted cauliflower with za'atar / cavolfiore arrosto con za'atar

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] it looks plain, it tastes deep When I walk or ride my bike around Berkeley, I stop at some of the Little Free Libraries on my way. In one of them I found The Cost of Living: Early and Uncollected Stories1 by Mavis Gallant2. I didn't know the author, but the blurb on the back cover made me curious, so I put the book in my backpack. The short stories have a common characteristic: tension, sometimes quite high, runs just under the surface and reveals itself in geysers of emotion. I enjoyed... Read more →

sweet peppers with onion and zucchini / peperoni dolci con cipolle e zucchine

a skillet of goodies (tablecloth by La FABBRICA del LINO) In the bookstore ostensibly to get a guidebook, I stumbled on Norwegian by Night by Derek. B. Miller1. Anything related to Norway (Norvegia) gets my attention. A quick look at the book jacket made me decide to purchase it. I started reading it and the story grabbed me right away. One one level it is a crime story, set in Oslo. On another level it is the story of an elderly man coming to terms with his life, in particular the death of his only son in the Vietnam War. And... Read more →

broccoli al Parmigiano-Reggiano (à la Angelo Pellegrini)

a simple, flavorful side dish (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO) The current selection of our Cook the Books Club is The Unprejudiced Palate: Classic Thoughts on Food and the Good Life by Angelo Pellegrini1 (1948). At the beginning, the author declares what his book is about: I concluded that what America needs is not another cookbook, but a book on bread and wine in relation to life. As Greg Atkinson states in his West Coast Soup: [Pellegrini's] book did not provide any recipes per se. Instead, it provided an alternate perspective on cooking. Such perspective is profoundly influenced by his... Read more →

red-cooked tofu with mushrooms / tofu marinato con funghi

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] I served my red-cooked tofu with quinoa (runner by La FABBRICA del LINO) The 24th country of our World Culinary ABC1 is China (Cina). I have never been to China so I don't have any first-hand experience of the food there. However, the theme of LongHouse Food Revival 2015 was Chop Stick Nation and there, I learned a few things about the incredible variety of Chinese cuisine. I also tasted some delicious dishes and tried my hands at making dumplings. This is a postcard from that special event: the dumpling shack, construction... Read more →

eggplant caviar (ikra) / caviale di melanzane

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] help yourself: it won't last long (tablecloth by La FABBRICA del LINO) The 22nd country of our World Culinary ABC1 is Russia (Russia). In researching dishes from that country I happened upon an interesting cookbook Please to the Table: The Russian Cookbook by Anya Von Bremzen, John Welchman2 where I read about Vegetable Caviars: "The Russians adore caviar and they love vegetables. So, voilà! the perfect culinary hybrid. These vegetable caviars have a terrific reputation." I was intrigued by that with eggplant (ikra), of which, I soon discovered, there are countless versions.... Read more →

vegetarian tsuivan (Mongolian stew) / tsuivan vegetariano (stufato mongolo)

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] Strands of pasta (tasalsan guril), purple cabbage and purple carrots The 21st country of our World Culinary ABC1 is Mongolia (Mongolia). In researching dishes from the country in the heart of Asia, I found out about tasalsan guril, fried noodles.2 These are short strands of pasta cut from a rolled sheet previously pan-fried. How could I not try to make them? And make them I did. I cooked the first batch in some of my homemade chicken broth and the resulting soup was excellent. I then read that tasalsan guril may be... Read more →

pumpkin and parsnip curry / curry di zucca e pastinaca

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] cheerful color and cheering flavor Every story starts somewhere and today's story started an early October day in this beautiful place: pumpkins as far as the eye can see (zucche a perdita d'occhio) I honestly don't care for Halloween, but I love pumpkin patches and every year I look forward to our visit. While my husband thinks about carving in mind, I think about cooking. In meditative silence, we walk up and down the vast field, stopping every now and then to take a closer look at a specimen that has caught... Read more →

radicchio and sweet corn / radicchio e mais dolce

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] a little bitter and a little sweet A short motoscafo1 ride from the Fondamente Nove of Venezia brings you to the island of Murano. Most visitors go there for a day visit. We stayed there during our most recent visit to Venice, renting a small apartment on Fondamenta dei Vetrai, a short walk from the Murano Colonna stop. Fondamenta da Mula, Murano We had never been to Murano before and enjoyed its quiet, especially early in the morning and late in the afternoon, when day visitors left, leaving a peaceful stillness in... Read more →

Kenyan vegetable curry / curry di verdure keniano

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] beginning (right) and end (left) of first rendition The fourteenth country of our World Culinary ABC1 is Kenya (Kenia). To celebrate this stop, I chose to make my version of Kenyan vegetable curry. There are multiple recipes online for this dish2. The one that inspired me includes baking the vegetables3. Fresh vegetables from the farmers' market and my CSA box and some kale from my vegetable garden went into this dish, together with a number of spices from my collection. To accommodate household's preferences, I made a dish that is mildly hot... Read more →