briciole

minestra d'orzo / barley soup

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] barley soup The second region we are visiting as part of the Italian tour recently started in Valle d'Aosta, is Trentino Alto-Adige. This time, I cannot rely on personal memories to say something, because I have been to Trentino Alto-Adige only once, many years ago and have no photos to share. I am also not knowledgeable about the cuisine of this region beyond a dish I described twice on the blog (here and here): canederli, or knödel, which are gnocchi made with pane raffermo (bread that is a day or two old).... Read more →

zuppa di verza e cavolo riccio per Anna / Savoy cabbage and kale soup for Anna

Savoy cabbage and kale soup Since I started writing (mostly about food), I look at memories and memoirs with a different eye. I grew up with a father who was constantly narrating stories and a mother who basically never did. When I was a kid, I listened to my father, but I was not fully aware of how important such transfer of information was. Now I have a different perspective. A little voice inside me has been saying that I should record my father's stories. The voice grew firmer after I read Anna, Heart of a Peasant, by Carol Marie Davis.... Read more →

zuppa di porri, barbabietola rossa e sedano rapa / leek, red beet and celeriac soup

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] The soup started with the purchase of some beautiful leeks and celeriac at the farmers' market. My first experiment was to make my leek and potato soup (zuppa di porri e patate) substituting some of the potatoes with celeriac. The result was nice, but I didn't feel like I had made something new, so for the next try I chose to remove potatoes altogether from the equation and add a roasted red beet (barbabietola rossa). I find celeriac (also called celery root and a few other names) fascinating and I realized it... Read more →

crema di mais e peperoni Ancho Magnifico arrosto / corn soup with roasted Ancho Magnifico peppers

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] Two years ago, I wrote three posts on a corn soup. The reason for the multiple entries was the search for a specific texture in the tofu that went with the soup. This is the last post, which describes the end of my quest. I made this soup again last year, any time I could get fresh corn at the farmers' market or in my CSA box. Then, at some point, I had the idea of adding to the roasted corn some roasted peppers. A short detour about peppers. My knowledge of... Read more →

zuppa di broccoli e zucchine / broccoli and zucchini soup

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] Hot soup in the summer? Not a surprising menu item, if you are along the California coast, home of the natural air conditioning system called "the fog." Denizens of the areas affected by this fascinating natural phenomenon know how to handle it. For example, if you are outside in the late afternoon and evening, you need to have something warm to put on, or you won't be comfortable. I know this and dress accordingly. However, last week, one afternoon, I went to an outdoor event, and although I was wearing my warm... Read more →

zuppa di zucca e carote / winter squash and carrot soup

I told you I still have some winter squashes in my storage room, so here is another great soup I made with them and with carrots, of which I bought a bunch, greens and all, from the Temescal farmers' market in Oakland, a relatively small market that has interesting vendors and, most importantly, runs year-round. I actually made this soup twice. The first time (photo above), I used a butternut squash, but did not weigh any of the ingredients, which is not a problem until you want to share the recipe. I liked the soup a lot, so it was easy... Read more →

zuppa di cavolfiore e zucca "delicata" / roasted cauliflower and delicata squash soup

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] Another soup? You bet! For two good reasons. First of all, it is cold (fa freddo). In case you are wondering why we are getting a freezing-cold snap at the end of February, here is the reason: because Simona has planted pea seedlings. I put off planting peas for three weeks, though we had nice weather and working in the garden would have been pleasant. When I finally gave in, thinking that the danger of frost was behind us, bam! the temperature has plummeted. The second reason is that I have a... Read more →

zuppa di verdure miste / vegetable medley soup

(a.k.a. "vegetables you have in the fridge" soup) [cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] Before owning an immersion blender, I rarely made soup. My first attempt at using the food processor to purée a soup ended in a spill of hot liquid that I did not want to encore. Enter the immersion blender, and I now make soup at least once a week. In winter, it's more like twice a week. I have a nice supply of homemade stock, mostly chicken, but also vegetable. I make chicken stock according to Julia Child's recipe every time I roast a... Read more →

zuppa di fagiolina del Trasimeno / cowpea of Lake Trasimeno soup

Fagiolina del Lago Trasimeno, or, commonly, fagiolina del Trasimeno, is one of the Slow Food presidia in Italy. I first talked about this special legume from Umbria, my home region, in this post. From the Slow Food page on fagiolina: È un fagiolo con forma ovale e minuscola e può essere di vari colori: dal crema al nero passando per il salmone e per tutte le tonalità del marrone, anche screziato. In bocca è tenero, burroso e particolarmente saporito. This tiny, oval bean,... exists in colors ranging from ivory white to salmon pink to brown to black. Soft, buttery and flavourful...... Read more →

macco di fave / fava bean purée

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] In a recent post, I wrote about cooking fave secche (dried fava beans) for the first time. For my second experience, I decided to realize a dish from Calabria (a region in southern Italy), whose recipe I had seen on the Accademia Italiana della Cucina site a while back: macco di fave (fava bean purée). The English version of the recipe is available in the book by the Academy called La Cucina: The Regional Cooking of Italy. I soaked one cup of dried fava beans in plenty of water overnight (16 hours... Read more →