briciole

insalata di fragole

I have recently written about strawberries, since I used them in a cobbler, and in a Danish braid. I also wrote about fragola a while ago. Today, I will describe a way of using the beloved berry in a savory setting. A typical savory use for strawberries is as an ingredient of risotto. However, since I have developed a recipe for risotto with another berry, I am putting off elaboration of this topic until a later date.

A few nights ago, I concocted an alliterative salad. However, the alliteration works only in Italian: insalata di fragole, fave e finocchi (strawberry, fava bean and fennel salad). This fusion was the result of random acts of purchase. I got the three ingredients with different ideas in mind, then decided to hijack them into a salad. The result worked well and I realized that the color combination, which was not at all part of my concerns, matches that of the Italian flag: bianco, rosso e verde (white, red and green), contributed by fennel, strawberries and fava beans, respectively. The Italian flag is a tricolore (tricolor) and sometimes referred to by that name. The green of fava beans is not the same green as that of the Italian flag, so I added basilico (basil) to strengthen the green component of the salad.

I prepared each element separately, then combined them:

• fragole: wash, hull and slice 1/2 lb of strawberries, then season them with a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. Toss and set aside to marinate for a little while.
• fave: get the beans out of 1 lb of pods and blanch them briefly. Let cool, then remove the tough outer layer. Set aside.
• finocchi: wash carefully one big or two small fennel bulbs and slice thinly, possibly using a mandoline.

Bring the ingredients together in a serving bowl and mix. Season as desired. I tend to stay very close to the tradition I grew up with, i.e., olive oil and vinegar. Make the first good quality and the second balsamic and you cannot go wrong. Add salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste and toss. Add a few leaves of fresh basil, finely shred, toss again and serve. The combination of textures is another interesting characteristic of this simple summer salad.

This is my contribution to Fresh Produce of the Month, a fun event organized by Marta of An Italian in the US. There is time until July 21 to contribute to il mese delle fragole (strawberry month).

Hear me pronounce the words on the fragola audio file [mp3] or go to the fragola audio page for more listening options.

Cartolina da Orvieto: formaggio con le pere

Postcard from Orvieto: cheese and pears
Orvieto is a lovely town in my home region of Umbria. It is most famous for several reasons, including its gorgeous duomo (cathedral), its prized white wine (appropriately called Orvieto) and il Pozzo di San Patrizio (Saint Patrick's Well).

My husband and I visited Orvieto during our recent trip to Italy and we had lunch there in a place just off the square dominated by the cathedral (along the road to the left of the clock tower in the photo), whose name I cannot remember and have not been able to find out (if that changes, I will update the post accordingly). I ordered a simple plate of cheese and pears and enjoyed it a lot.

There is a strange Italian saying that goes like this: al contadino non far sapere quanto è buono il formaggio con le pere (literally: don't let the peasant know how good cheese is with pears). The explanation I knew for this discriminatory information-withholding recommendation was that if the peasant finds out the delight of pairing cheese and pears, s/he would stop selling those products and keep them for personal consumption. Prompted by a comment by Anna Maria of Pia & Co., I did some research and found an interview with food historian Massimo Montanari, who reads the saying in terms of social divisions. Cheese, historically a peasant's and shepherd's food, in the Middle Ages gets socially promoted and is appreciated by the upper class. At the same time, the perishable pear becomes a luxury food, associated with the upper class and therefore the lower class should not be allowed to partake of it. So the saying exemplifies class divisions that, in time, social evolution has fortunately changed. In any case, the saying is widely known, also in the variant that uses cacio instead of formaggio: al contadino non far sapere quanto è buono il cacio con le pere.

I am convinced that peasants have known for a long time that cheese and pears are a marriage made in heaven, so this is un segreto di Pulcinella (an open secret). It is interesting to look at the words. Cacio comes from the Latin word caseus, meaning cheese, while formaggio is rooted in the word forma, meaning shape, a reference to the cheese that is shaped into a wheel (we say una forma di formaggio).

Il Pozzo di San Patrizio was my husband's favorite destination of the day. During lunch it started to rain and by the time we approached the entrance to the well, it was pouring. The end result was that it was quite dark inside (even though it was only 3 pm) and there were only a couple of tourists, so we had the place almost to ourselves. As we started the long descent (the well is 62 meters deep), a lightning stuck nearby and the thunder echoed in the well and made it shake. That scared a young woman ahead of us and thrilled my husband. Looking up from the arched openings (there are 70 of them) towards the sky, we could see rain pouring down. Once we reached the bottom, we crossed (the well has a diameter of 13 meters) and started on our ascent without retracing our steps, because the downward and upward stairwells are parallel and completely independent, so that people and mules going in opposite direction would not hinder each other. Built between 1527 and 1537, the well was a feat of engineering and it was meant to ensure a supply of water in case of siege.

To admire the golden-facaded cathedral and the elegant well, you really need to travel to Orvieto. To taste the wine you may be able to simply go to your favorite wine store. Easiest of all should be to taste some formaggio con le pere. Just make sure you get some freshly-cut, good quality cheese (pecorino or aged goat cheese are just two possible options) and some fresh pears at the right level of ripeness. Place the twain on a plate and enjoy placing a morsel of each in your mouth, possibly accompanied by some chilled Orvieto (but don't quote me on this, since I am the ultimate wine illiterate)¹. And don't worry about spreading this well-known secret far and wide, to both farming and non-farming listeners.

¹ As Carolina of Gastrolinguistica suggests in her comment, a touch of miele (honey) is a possible, delightful complement to formaggio con le pere.

This is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, the world-famous food blogging event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, hosted this week by the founder herself. Here's the roundup of WHB #111. And, please, note that next week I will have the high honor of hosting the event.

Hear me pronounce the words and expression on the formaggio con le pere audio file [mp3] or go to the formaggio con le pere audio page for more listening options.

macedonia

fruit salad, macédoine
Macedonia is the name of a European country located in the Balkans. The word macedonia¹ derived from it probably² as a reference to the mixture of peoples in the Empire of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great.

Macedonia is also used figuratively to describe a medley of different items. In particular, a parola macedonia (portmanteau word) is a word that results from blending the sounds and meanings of two others. An example is brunch, which comes from blending breakfast and lunch.

My mother used to make macedonia fairly often in the summer. She would use a bit of sugar and some freshly-squeezed lemon juice to season the fruit, never any alcohol, though the latter is certainly an option. Both my father and my brother have problems handling the fuzzy skin of peaches, so making macedonia is a way of providing them with the fruit they like minus the pesky part. In fact, the most common version of macedonia my mother makes has only peaches, apricots and bananas.

Macedonia can be turned into a sumptuous dessert with the addition of whipped cream (macedonia con la panna) or ice cream (macedonia col gelato).

¹ The coinage is French: the Italian word derived from the French word macédoine.
² The qualifier is in the dictionary I consulted and I accidentally omitted it in the original version of the post: apologies to the early readers.

Hear me pronounce the words on the macedonia audio file [mp3] or go to the macedonia audio page for more listening options.