Category Archives: My culinary tradition

A Still Life of Primavera

May 16, 2022 By in Cooking with an Italian attiude, My culinary tradition Tags: , , Leave a comment

It’s the time of abundance. When green leaves burst open, and glorious artichokes, peas, fave and asparagus make their way from the fields to local markets, from market crates to pantry shelves, and ultimately to the kitchen table. Did I forget to mention the wild garlic known as “aglio orsino” (translated from Italian meaning ‘bear’s garlic’)? If you go for a walk in the hills or even in your local park, you just might still find some, complete with beautiful white blossoms.

I’m in heaven in the kitchen at the moment, experimenting with new flavors and textures. Mostly I am feeling exhilarated and filled with new ideas brought about by a recent visit to the Veneto. This is truly the place I can call home, the place where my heart lives.

I promise to post a recipe soon for oven-baked white asparagus on top of smashed lemon and garlic new potatoes. This is a dish I created a few days ago, which still needs a bit more work on some specifics in preparation. Although this recipe just might be an innovation that not everyone in my extended family in the Veneto countryside will agree with . . . . . . asparagus are absolutely delicious when blanching or boiling is replaced with quick, warm oven heat!

Meanwhile I will take temporary leave from this diary, by posting an image I hope both captures and inspires a deep-rooted appreciation for simple, pure and fresh ingredients.

Radicchio and blood orange salad

March 11, 2021 By in Authentic Italian, Cooking with an Italian attiude, My culinary tradition Tags: , , , Leave a comment

 . Radicchio Variegato di Castelfranco Inspired . 

As the month of March comes around, I notice that my enthusiasm for root vegetables has deteriorated into something similar to lukewarm acceptance.

Meanwhile, my days fade one into another covered by a blanket of quietening grey skies. Although these words might sound melancholy, they are simply a reflection of the times. Actually, I am grateful for the arrival of late winter and for the goodness of crisp, bitter leaves. This is the season for gathering ideas about the beautiful radicchio.

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Polenta . part v . Veneto-inspired pasticcio with mushrooms

February 20, 2021 By in Authentic Italian, My culinary tradition Tags: , , , 4 Comments

Ask anyone from the Veneto, and they will tell you that mushrooms are as essential to  winter  as golden cornmeal itself. It is fitting that a polenta-inspired recipe includes two traditional ingredients, that fit together like the perfect married couple.

Before moving on to the recipe, allow me to tell you a bit about the Italian word pasticcio. This term is most readily translated by the culinary terms pie, pastry or even casserole.   A pasticcio is used in the Veneto to describe any type of layered, oven-baked dish made from pasta or other grains. A savory pasticcio invariably includes layers of cooked vegetables, thick sauces or both. Last but not least, it almost always involves the use of dairy.

This dish takes some time to make, so find a meditative moment to slow cook. If you need some kitchen encouragement, just imagine aromatic mushrooms layered between creamy layers of polenta, laced with ground white pepper. Add melting Parmigiano cheese and butter to the story and an amber-colored ode to comfort food is born.

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Fig and pine nut zaleti : Veneto-inspired biscotti

February 10, 2021 By in Cooking with an Italian attiude, My culinary tradition Tags: , , , Leave a comment

In the last few years, I find myself coming back more and more to my friend Luisa’s vast kitchen and gardening wisdom . Our exchanges on family memories fixed in the Veneto countryside, has led to a renewed fascination for a simple ingredient, namely cornmeal. When not consulting my mother’s handwritten recipe notes on the subject of food, I turn the pages of cookbook favorites for culinary inspiration. By the way, I readily admit I adore books, old, new and out of print. . . In the name of research, it makes for the perfect excuse to collect printed wisdom on food and other essentials in life. . .

The list of some of my favorite books on Italian cooking,  particularly of the Veneto, are listed below in my notes. Like old diaries, my books are often dog-eared and blemished by the signs of time; others are filled with pencil-written notes, recording various changes or observations about the original cooking instructions.

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Polenta . part i . minestra de farina zala

February 5, 2021 By in Authentic Italian, Cooking with an Italian attiude, Cupboard essentials, My culinary tradition Tags: , , , , , , , 1 Comment

With winter in full swing, now is the perfect time to bring up the subject of polenta. It is an ingredient that sparks highly conflicting opinions. Many adore it, while others are convinced it is tasteless. That being said, I grew up in the Veneto. In this part of the world, polenta and risotto are not only food staples, they are food icons.

So to those who say polenta is inedible, I can only promise that they must try a bowl made by someone who understands how to make it. To those who love it, I feel a recognizable connection. All opinions aside, as with many foods it is a question of texture. Think of polenta as a soft, silky mash that replaces the potato for example; imagine it as the comforting neutral base to stews and thick, chunky minestrone style soups. I am convinced that like me, you will jump at the chance to have some.

Read the nostalgic recipe below, to learn how to make a creamy, pale yellow soup, known as minestra di farina zala, in Vicentino dialect. I believe it is the perfect starting point in the appreciation of simplicity.

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Citrus-Infused Cream Tart

February 1, 2021 By in My culinary tradition Tags: , 3 Comments

This is a recipe for baked cream infused with citrus, wrapped in a crumbly pastry crust. It is the kind of tart that reminds me of wandering through Paris without a purpose. Envision narrow streets filled with cafés spilling out onto the sidewalk . . . . . . bookstore window-shopping and artfully arranged pastry shops worthy of a starring role in a romantic movie . . . . . . and you are at the exact place that inspired this dessert.

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Pumpkin Spice Cake for Breakfast

December 19, 2020 By in American Heritage, My culinary tradition Tags: , , , , 2 Comments

This is a decidedly uncomplicated cake. More like a bread than a dessert, it fits in the category of simple cakes made with vegetables like carrot and zucchini bread.

The title of this recipe reveals its story . . . it goes well with the kind of breakfast that promises a day-long stay in your pajamas. It is that comforting.

Like day-old bread,  it makes for the perfect piece of toast.

Make this pumpkin spiced cake a day before you want to cut a thick, nonchalant slice from the baking tin, so you can get back to the woolen blanket and exaggeratedly long book you have been saving for a perfectly quiet day at home.

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Roasted tomato and plum tart

August 16, 2020 By in Cooking with an Italian attiude, My culinary tradition Tags: , , , , 2 Comments

This tart was born by coincidence.  In the midst of the steamy (some say unbearable) heat of August, plums and tomatoes compete for attention. When I go to the farmers market I am absolutely inspired.  I choose color first, shape and texture later . . . and so as you might imagine, I end up with brown paper bags bursting at the seams with ripe fruit and vegetables every time I go!

Once in my kitchen, I arrange my edible treasures in bowls and turn my refrigerator into a topsy-turvy puzzle of ingredients. (Honestly, opening my refrigerator carelessly can involve multiple sorts of vegetables rolling out on to the floor, but that’s another story. . . )

As luck would have it, I decided to roast plums and tomatoes together one day,  just to create some space on my shelves. This is when the tart happened. It was a question of chance meeting destiny I think . . .

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Savory oregano pastry

July 15, 2020 By in Cupboard essentials, My culinary tradition Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

This pastry has earned a prominent place in my kitchen repertoire because it is quicker to make than pizza dough . . . which by the way is a source of continuous experimentation at my house . . .

It forms the base to many a colorful vegetable torta, and even shapes the crust for my interpretation of the famous chard filled erbazzone. It is also the type of pastry I use to make savory crackers, flavored with anything from fresh rosemary and slivers of garlic, to grated Parmesan and coarse black pepper.

To make this pretty pastry only two things are needed:  good flour and butter, preferably organic and produced close to home

Mixing the cold butter through the flour with a gentle hand helps the end result to be perfectly crumbly and delicious.

Oh . . . did I say you can replace the butter with extra virgin olive oil ? See my notes for the explanation how to replace butter with olive oil.

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Sweet crumbly pastry

June 28, 2020 By in Cupboard essentials, My culinary tradition Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

When I started to cook for a living, baking was not my preference. Absorbed as I was with herbs and vegetables, working with sweet ingredients was an absolute afterthought. My desserts were simple and bowls of fresh fruit were invariably at the center of the table. In the summer, I topped fresh fruit (especially strawberries) with Marsala and honey mascarpone. In colder seasons, oven-baked fruits and homemade biscotti were an effortless alternative to cake.

My shortcrust pastry efforts failed on a regular basis, thus confirming an old bias that cooks are generally skilled in either the sweet or the savory. One day, I discovered the beauty of patience and of flour!

The process of mixing cool finely ground grains with cold butter and the richness of egg yolks became a fascination as well as an early morning ritual (because baking somehow still turns out best when it’s my first task of the day . . .)

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