Simplicity lies in gathering with gratitude the scents and flavors that the ingredient gives us in its natural form. I think about this phrase when I develop my recipes. I try to create simple dishes that allows you to savor the single ingredients in their purity, letting their flavors guide your memory to the past and to their place of origin.
Sometimes I forget that I live in Italy, a country with such incredible origins. How much history is in every grain of dirt as I walk across the lawn towards the vegetable garden? How many words were spoken throughout the centuries under the archways where I walk to get a café macchiato with my girlfriends?
In Italy, everything has a history…especially food. Throughout these seven years that I have lived here, I have learned just how much good food is rooted in the minds of Italians, as daily nourishment and as a cure for illness. For instance, often times the first baby food for Italian children has grated Parmigiano Reggiano mixed into it. And, here in the region of Emilia where I live, when someone is sick they eat “risotto in bianco”, or “white rice” with Parmigiano Reggiano and extra virgin olive oil.
You might be wondering what that weird foreign word is in the title. It’s the variety of one of my favorite Italian olives and is pronounced taj-jas-kay. These small greenish-purplish-brownish olives are cultivated on the rocky mountain slopes ::pendenze of the Italian Riviera in Liguria.
Taggiasche olives have a meaty texture and a slightly tart salty flavor. They are perfect ground up in this pesto or just plopped into various salads or entrees, especially with white fish like rockfish :: loscorfano.
If there is one thing I beg of you, it’s to use a good rustic bread, not the store bought sliced kind. Mr. Italicano and I shot a video this weekend at our favorite bakery :: forno, Forno di Mario, located in Correggio. The video will be coming soon but in the meantime we took home a loaf of miracle bread made with natural yeast and antique grains. This bread was perfect for a light and crunchy bruschetta.
This appetizer :: antipasto is perfect for last minute guests as you can whip it together in just 5 minutes. It helps to have a jar of good quality taggiasche olives in the cupboard for occasions like this.
This appetizer is perfect for last minute guests as you can whip it together in just 5 minutes.
Serves: 10-12 bruschette
Ingredients
6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
12 ounces (340g) taggiasche olives, drained
2 tablespoons lemon juice (about half a lemon)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup (10g) loosely packed Italian flat leaf parsley
1 loaf of rustic bread, sliced
Crumbled feta, as needed
Instructions
Put the oil, olives, lemon juice, garlic, capers and parsley in a food processor or blender and mix until slightly chunky. Add more extra virgin olive oil if needed to arrive at the desired consistency.
Serve with toasted bread, some crumbled feta and parsley.
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Here’s some other great recipe to try with taggiasche olives:
Whenever I travel to a new country, I make it a rule to eat only local food. I see it as a chance for me to learn, discover and explore a culture through its gastronomy :: gastronomia. After all, I never know if I will be back. I fear that I might miss out on some spectacular dish or some new flavor sensation that will push my tastebuds to a new level.
Years ago, when I was traveling with my friend Suzanne in South East Asia, we stuck to this rule. From what I recall, we only cheated a few times: Mexican food in Vietnam (it was just too irresistable); and, maybe a Starbuck’s coffee in an airport or two. Apart from those few occasions, we spent six months together traveling to over nine countries, eating like locals. We shopped at rowdy markets, ate street food ::il cibo venduto per strada every chance we could, participated in cooking classes and arranged home stays so we could stay and dine in some local’s homes and get a real authentic experience of the culture.
For me, food is not just a way to nourish :: nutrire my body, but a way for me to satisfy my curiosity and, more importantly, a way for me to remember. A lot of my memories of a country are associated with food. That is just how my brain works. After month or even years have passed after a trip, I usually can never remember the historical sites or famous works of art in museums, but I can remember the memorable food that I ate.
These spring rolls bring back great memories of Thailand. I am on Railay Island. It is dark out, but Suzanne, Brian (another friend who was traveling with us for a few weeks) and I use our head lamps to keep from tripping on the dirt and stone path leading to an open air restaurant tucked a hundred yards inland. We walk up the stairs and find a table by a railing on the expansive porch. We sit on dark wooden stools and look out towards the Andaman Sea where we can faintly make out the waves crashing on the beach. Wafts of mosquito spray, sweet flowers and thai spices fill the air. Oh, that sticky air that makes your face shiny and your clothes cling to you. We order our food and shortly afterwards, our appetizer ::antipasto arrives: fresh spring rolls. I take a bite.
Now I find myself back in my kitchen. I am alone…no friends, sea or humid air; but, for a fleeting moment I was there. With a bite of these spring rolls :: involtini primavera I had been transported back in time to a country thousands of miles away. I had been sitting with my dear friends and enjoying an incredible meal in a foreign place. I never knew when I would have gone back to Thailand, but today for a moment, I did.
These spring rolls are a light and easy-to-prepare appetizer; perfect for spring and summer.
Ingredients
2 oz (100g) vermicelli noodles
2 carrots, cut into julienne
1 cucumber, cut into julienne
Avocado, cut into julienne
Basil, roughly chopped
12 rice papers
1 bowl warm water
Instructions
Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Put the vermicelli noodles in a large bowl. Once the water is boiling, pour it onto the noodles and let them soak for 4-5 minutes. Drain and let cool.
Set up your work station with the noodles, carrots, cucumber, avocado, basil and warm water. You’ll also need a cutting board to roll and cut each spring roll.
Soak one rice paper at a time for about 10 seconds then place it on the cutting board. It should be pliable but not too wet it tears. Load the rice paper with a small amount of rice noodles, carrots, cucumber, avocado and basil. Fold the sides in and then roll tightly. Cut in half. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
Serve with soy sauce, peanut sauce or chili sauce.
When you’re shopping for produce, red cabbage is often a vegetable that gets overlooked. Besides the famous coleslaw and some stir fry recipes what can you do with this large slightly bitter ball? Make pesto!
With a combination of tart and sweet notes, this creamy red cabbage pesto is the perfect compliment to a variety of dishes. Add it to grains, legumes and pasta to give the dish a bright vibrant color and kick of flavor. Use it as a sauce for this quinoa flatbread or homemade pizza. Or, eat is as a dip with vegetables, pita chips or whole wheat crackers and bread.
Pestos are easy to prepare by scratch and you can use them throughout a few days with different dishes. There is no reason to buy store bought sauces and dips that are often filled with yucky preservatives and chemicals when you can easily make your own. Here are some other yummy options:
Skip the store bought pestos and sauces filled with preservatives and easily make your own! With a combination of tart and sweet notes, this creamy red cabbage pesto is the perfect compliment to a variety of dishes.
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
1 clove garlic
¼ red cabbage
2 tablespoons apple vinegar
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup (50g) gorgonzola
Instructions
In a large skillet, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and chopped garlic. Sauté for one minute over medium heat, then add the red cabbage and cook for another 12 minutes.
Pour the red cabbage into a food processor and add the apple vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and gorgonzola. Blend until smooth and creamy. Adjust the consistency to your desire by adding more extra virgin olive oil or water. Conserve the pesto in a covered container in the refrigerator until it’s served.
This baked goat cheese with tomato and olives is ridiculously easy to prepare, looks fancy and is absolutely delicious. This is the perfect appetizer for when unexpected guests stop by or when you don’t have a lot of time (or desire) to cook an elaborate appetizer, but want to avoid using processed foods.
When I said that this baked goat cheese was easy to prepare, I wasn’t joking. All you need is 5 minutes to throw the ingredients in a baking dish then let the oven work away for 15 minutes. The result is creamy goat cheese that you can slather onto toasted artisanal Italian bread topped with mouthwatering roasted tomatoes and flavorful taggiasche olives.
For those of you interested in learning a few cooking words in Italian so you can read the menu on your next trip to Italy, here is a quick recap of the words seen in the video:
goat cheese :: formaggio di capra
tomatoes :: pomodori
parsley :: prezzemolo
olives :: olive
oregano :: origano
sea salt :: sale marino
black pepper :: pepe nero
extra virgin olive oil :: olio extra vergine di oliva
This baked goat cheese with tomato and olives is easy to prepare and the perfect appetizer for when unexpected guests stop by or when you don’t have a lot of time (or desire) to cook a elaborate appetizer, but want to avoid using processed foods.
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 goat cheese log (6 ounces/180g)
10 grape or datterini tomatoes, quartered
2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
¼ cup Taggiasche olives (or kalamata olives)
2 pinches of dried oregano
1 pinch of sea salt
A few cracks of black pepper
A good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Fresh artisanal Italian bread
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Cut the goat cheese in half and place it in a small baking dish. Top with tomatoes, parsley, olives, oregano, salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes.
In the meantime slice the bread and toast in the toaster or stick in the oven for a 1-2 minutes, flip the slices and bake for another minute or two.
Serve the baked goat cheese with the toasted bread. Buon appetito!
Simplicity lies in gathering with gratitude the scents and flavors that the ingredient gives us in its natural form. I think about this phrase when I develop my recipes. I try to create simple dishes that allows you to savor the single ingredients in their purity, letting their flavors guide your memory to the past and to their place of origin.
In Italy, everything has a history…especially food. Throughout these seven years that I have lived here, I have learned just how much good food is rooted in the minds of Italians, as daily nourishment and as a cure for illness. For instance, often times the first baby food for Italian children has grated Parmigiano Reggiano mixed into it. And, here in the region of Emilia where I live, when someone is sick they eat “risotto in bianco”, or “white rice” with Parmigiano Reggiano and extra virgin olive oil.
