A Book in Progress:
"From Table to Table"

                     Stories of Italian Culture, Food and Friendship

                                                 To

                      Everyone whose lives have touched mine

.

                                             Thanks to:

 Kersti

The Amici dell'Ambrosia who’ve shared their knowledge and insights with me.

 Nunzia, Giancarlo, Lucia and Pino, Antonio and Cristina,

Donato and Carla, Anna and Stefano, Nora, Patrizia, Giana and Franco

 And

 All the Vastese that have shared their stories.

The Authors of all the books that I’ve read, that this one won’t measure up to.

All the cooks that have opened their kitchens and let me look over their shoulders.

         “When the moon hits your eye,  like a big pizza pie,

           That’s amore

           When the world seems to shine, like you’ve had too much wine,

            That’s amore”

Disclaimer

To be on the safe side, I am going to begin this book with a disclaimer. Most of what I have written are my subjective opinions and observations on subjects that interest me. I expect them to be, countered, corrected, contested, contradicted, questioned, repudiated, refuted, elaborated on and hopefully, in some respect, met with approbation, the sum of which, means that they are genuinely Italian.

 Prologue 

This book, “From Table to Table," is aptly named, considering that the table is the central point of life in Italy. It is a collection of stories, essays, musings, anecdotes and recipes, with some tips thrown in, on how to avoid a few of the mistakes that we foreigners make in this remarkable country’s maze of unspoken customs, and etiquette. Much of the advice in it is learned empirically ( i.e. the hard way ) or gleaned from conversations at countless meals, at home and in restaurants, in kitchens, on outings and long walks on the beach with my fine souled Italian friends, whom I affectionately call, " Amici Dell'Ambrosia."

The essence of every culture is in the sum of its parts, the vast universe of Italian traditions, food and wine, more so than most. The Italian’s love and loyalty to family, the country’s climate, geography and history are all woven inseparably into the same cloth, and I realize that it’s impossible to include an accurate description of it in one book, or one hundred books.

Most of the stories that follow are centered in and around Vasto, where I share a second home with my wife. Vasto is a town on the southernmost coast of the Abruzzo Region, nestled on hills overlooking the Adriatic sea to the east, and bordered by the high peaks of the Apennine Mountains to the west.  The town dates back to 800 B.C. and was once a thriving Roman municipality.

We often travel from point A to point B occupied by thoughts of where we are going or where we have been, and not necessarily what we pass along the way. Sometimes, we need the unveiled eyes and curiosity of the visitor, to enable us to see the small pools of uniqueness that are the touchstones of a country’s identity.

Fran Mola

Nyköping Sweden and Vasto Italy, 2025

Part I

Vasto

Discovering Vasto

Many years ago, my wife Kersti and I were on a leisurely trip through Southern Italy, with the intent of eventually finding a second home. Over the years, we had traveled through Tuscany and the Mediterranean coast from Cinque Terra to Sicily and from Puglia up to Marche on the Adriatic, and had always appreciated the Italian’s charm and their success in preserving a way of life that valued tradition. We also found that delicate and incongruous balance between the ancient and the modern, the secular and the religious. Italy was a country where the well-worn and the grand coexisted and complimented each other. The seeds of a hurried, impersonal society seemed to grow more slowly there, and the sun and sea would make our Scandinavian  winters more bearable.  

On our hunt, we drove through the Apennines and their valleys, with villages clinging tenuously to the mountain sides. The houses that perched precariously on one another seemed suspended in time, their facades gracefully aged by the sun and the wind.

We followed our whims and our map and stopped often. Looking back, I think that Vasto, perched on a hill high above the glistening Adriatic, had found us, rather than we found it, proof that that it is the insignificant decisions that influence our lives more than the monumental ones:  a theoretical flapping of a sparrow’s wings that change the course of the winds. In this case the course of our lives changed by turning off the highway in order to find a place to eat.

We were travelling on the Adriatic Highway, SS16, the two-lane road that passes through Vasto, and follows the Abruzzo coast connecting the northern and southern parts of the country. When you are traveling, it is usually the rumblings in your stomach that tell you when to stop. Heeding ours, we parked on a public lot with a magnificent view of Vasto’s long stretch of beach and the open sea below. Kersti, wondering if it was okay to leave our car there while we explored the town, struck up a conversation with a parking guard who was on her daily route, and who seemed as interested in the view, and greeting friends, as she was in checking for parking violations. When she returned, thinking about the reputation that parking guards have, I remarked, “Unbelievable! If the parking guards are this friendly in Vasto, how nice are the other people?

After lunch, as I remember it was my favorite, “spaghetti alle vongole” spaghetti and clams, we walked through the Old Town’s lanes and alleys, under its arched passages and along its panoramic paths.  Wandering through the “Centro Storico” the historical center of the city, we were smitten by its genuine character, atmosphere, and charm.

When we walked across Vasto’s main square, Piazzi Rosetti, built over a Roman amphitheater that in the time of the Empire’s greatness could hold 20,000 people, she remarked, “I’m going to love this town. “The piazza has a statue of a poet in its center, instead of a soldier or a king.”

That afternoon, we not only ate a good lunch; we walked through two thousand years of history. We strolled through a city of museums, archeological sites, restaurants, cafes, magnificent churches and interesting architecture, a short walk from one of the best beaches on the Adriatic coast. As fate and chance would have it, that afternoon, we also found a home.

After many years in Vasto, my feelings from that first day have been confirmed. Our meeting with the parking guard wasn’t an exception. Whether I greet people on the street, talk to shopkeepers, or need a helping hand, I am met with courtesy, a kind word and a smile, proof that the Vastese truly embody the motto of Abruzzo, “Forte e Gentile” – strong and kind.  

The beaches -photo Punta

Vasto, Déjà Vu

A circle had closed.

The sun rose from the sea over Vasto into a cloudless sky, as though the bells from the town’s ancient churches had woken it from its slumber. I kept my eyes closed, as much to hold onto the dream I was having, as to keep out the blinding light. The high-pitched clang that came from the nearby steeple of Chiesa di San Giuseppe on the town square, called the devout to mass. Our house shook as the great bass bells of the nearby Cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore, chimed in as if in competition for the souls of the faithful. When they quieted, only the muffled ringing from other, lesser chapels and churches that dot the town, could be heard in the distance.

I was still in that indistinct realm between sleep and waking, when the mind can play tricks, and wondered if I hadn’t been in this place before. Was it the gravitational pull from the gnarled roots of my family tree, or was it my Italian ancestors calling to me after all these years?

A circle had closed. My father’s family fled from the brutal poverty of their village on the Amalfi Coast in Southern Italy, with a dream of finding a better life in America. I returned a hundred years later, following a different dream.

Often, that while searching for one thing, you stumble across another. We went in search of a house. In the end, we found not only a house. We found an alternative lifestyle and new friends who generously shared their rich culture with us.

Vasto, Casa Giardini in the Old Town

Vasto is a town on the Abruzzo coast, with a three-thousand-year history. It is bordered by the sea on one side and shielded by the high peaks of the Apennine Mountains on the other.

Our house, Casa Giardini, “The House in the Garden” bordering the park of the Palazzo D’Avalos in Vasto's “Centro Storico”, the medieval old town, is surrounded by a twisted warren of narrow alleys, arches and ancient passages. If you stretch out your arms when you walk through the stone paved lanes, you can touch the walls of the buildings on both sides, some of which are built on the reticulated stone foundations where Roman houses once stood, and over aqueducts and tunnels that date back 2000 years. As you walk past the archeological remains of marble pillars and the intricate mosaics of the well-preserved baths on the Via Adriatica, you might hear the echoes of the footsteps and whispers of those who have gone there before you. If you let your imagination recreate the past, you might feel the shapes and shadows of thousands of years of history.

In the mornings, I wake up to the clang of church bells and the seductive aroma of espresso coming from the kitchen, and the smell of salt air drifting through my open windows. In the evenings, I watch the acrobatics of the swallows flying over the Giardini D’Avalos, nimbly darting and swooping in the half-light. When I look out from my window over the bay at night, I see the lights from the fishing boats floating in the darkness, like a band of pearls that is indistinguishable from the stars.

Vasto’s Historical Connection to the Sea ( include photo of Punta Penna)

Vasto’s long coast and beautiful beaches haven’t always been the peaceful refuge for bathers and holiday makers that they are today. If you had a time machine that took you back 3000 years to the age of Homer’s Iliad, this is what you might see: the hero Diomedes and his soldiers sailing the Bay of Vasto, looking for a place to make land, perhaps to replenish supplies and water, perhaps to plunder and pillage.

The beaches along the Gulf of Vasto have witnessed the ebb and flow of time. The Sirocco winds, that blow north from the Sahara, continually alter them. Storms and wind change the contours of their shores, pile sand into dunes and then tear them down in a continual cycle of change and renewal, much like the towns and villages along its shores that have been destroyed and rebuilt through the centuries.

Every place holds echoes of the past. If you stroll along the panoramic walk Loggia Amblingh, above the steep hillside that leads down to the beach, and wander back through history in an imaginary time machine, you might see the warships of the Greek hero Diomedes sailing the bay and making landfall. A legend recorded in Homer’s epic poems “The Iliad and Odessey” says that 3000 years ago, Diomedes on one of his voyages, came and established the town that would be called Istonia.

The Adriatic Sea, its dangers, beauty and bounty, have always been inseparable from Vasto’s identity. Historically the coastal villages of Abruzzo were isolated and cut off from the rest of Italy by the rugged Apennines that formed the ridged backbone of the Abruzzo Region. In the 1970´s a modern highway was built connecting Abruzzo to the Mediterranean provinces. Historically, because of the difficulty of crossing the high mountains, trade and travel were carried out primarily by sea, but it was also from the sea, in earlier centuries, that invading armies, pirates and marauders made their landfall. Vasto was no exception, and until the 18th century the town was plundered, destroyed, and rebuilt several times. To guard them from attacks, cities and villages were established either on high cliffs or several kilometers inland.  On the Loggia Amblingh, you can see the Porta Catena, an entrance into old Vasto through the remains of the ancient wall that protected it from attacks from the sea.

It wasn’t only the heroes from the epic the “Iliad and the Odessey” that crossed the long, sandy beaches along the Gulf of Vasto, but in the millennia that followed, there were Roman soldiers and merchants, pirates, and Turkish invaders. The tide and waves still wash up shards of brick and pottery from the Roman port of Punta Penna, reminders of a past, where merchant vessels loaded their cargos of Abruzzo oil and grain to be freighted to other parts of the Imperial Empire. The remains of Roman baths and buildings can be seen along Vasto’s archeological walk, The Via Adriatica.

photos

 Vasto Landmarks                                   

Palazzo D’Avalos and Castello Calderesco: A Look into a Past Age

If you were to ask any resident of Vasto, what the most significant symbol of their city was, Palazzo D’Avalos would probably be their answer.  If any building or place is synonymous with Vasto, it is the Palazzo D’Avalos.

The palazzo’s panoramic position overlooking the sea, makes it the central and most visible landmark in Vasto’s Centro Storico. Seen from the beach below, or the coastal highway, the former home of the noble family D’Avalos, that ruled Vasto from 1440 until the late 1700s, dominates the silhouette of the old town.

This palace from the 14th century, built with the symmetry and proportions of Renaissance architecture, was a colossal structure by the standards of the time. It was not only a residence for the ruling nobility, but a symbol of their wealth and power, meant to imbue admiration and respect in their serfs, underlings and their enemies. The walls of the southern façade still have remnants of the original decorative embellishments, windows and masonry.

Today the town of Vasto, is a more than three hundred years removed from the harsh conditions of the feudal society that dominated rural life in Italy. Palazzo D’Avalos, once a seat of power and aristocratic opulence, is now the center of the cultural and historical life of his part of Abruzzo.

The palazzo, and its well-tended Neopolitan garden that was typical of the time, now provides the picturesque hub for the majority of cultural events in Vasto. There is a continual agenda of conferences, weddings, civic meetings, book presentations, recitals and international engagements.

Besides being the heart of the historical center of Vasto, the palazzo is an archeological museum that highlights the town’s past as a Roman municipality and houses a collection of art and artifacts from Vasto and Abruzzo’s various historical periods.

Note: Surrounding the palazzo on two sides is a brick and stone wall that is seven hundred years old. Does anyone build with bricks now? Will these sheet metal and poured concrete buildings of the 21st century be standing seventy years from now, let alone seven hundred ?

Castello Calderesco

 A fortress that protected Vasto from invasion from land and sea.

The medieval walls and turrets of Castello Calderesco, from the 14th century, like the Palazzo D’Avalos are entwined with the historical identity of Vasto.

Medieval Europe was a continent of monarchs and noblemen, whose realms were divided into principalities and city states. These areas both large and small, ruled by kings or local lords, had their own set of laws, and taxes. Instead land being divided by fixed lines, borders were often marked by natural features. Rivers, mountains, or the sea, separated territories or countries whose boundaries were a cause of continual strife, raids and plundering. For protection, towns grew up around castles that were often fortified by walls and armaments to repel invaders. The Caldora Castle was built both for protection, and as a palatial residence by the Marquis Jacobo Caldora, and then added on to by the D’Avalos dynasty, when Vasto came under their rule. 

Today, along with the castle and its turrets, and its three remaining towers, the ancient gates though the city wall, Porta Catena and Porta Nuova, remain as they were five hundred years ago.

 The castle is now privately owned and the towers are used as private residences.

Whispers of Revolution in the Narrow Alleys of the Centro Storico

An important chapter of Italian history was written in the in the labyrinth of lanes and alleys that lead from the Church of Santa Maria Maggiori to the nearby Belvedere Loggia Amblingh. When I step out from my house onto the Via San Gaetanello, a narrow passage from the middle ages, and walk a few steps under the arch called Porte Panzotto, I am following the footsteps of the men who were members of the forbidden society called the Carbonari, revolutionaries whose ideas and work in the late 18th early 19th century led to the unification of the Italian States. Their meeting place was the vaulted cellar opposite the Panzotto Arch in the building where the Ristorante Panzotto is located.

One of the prominent leaders of the Carbonari, was the Vasto born scholar Gabriele Rosetti, who played a key role in the political movement that challenged the rule of Italy by foreigners and the noble classes.

Rosetti was sentenced to death for his outspoken criticism of the King of Naples and active support of the movement for a united Italy. He was forced into hiding, and in 1824 fled to England.

Vasto’s town square bears his name and has a statue in his  honor.

Note:

The Rosetti family heritage left its mark on art and literature. Gabriele was a Dante scholar, and poet. His children born in England, all gifted, followed suit influencing both art and literature. Gabriele’s son Dante Gabriele Rosetti was both an acclaimed and innovative painter and poet. His daughter Christina Rosetti, was one of the 19th centuries most well-known English language poets. His two other children were both authors.

Photos

Porta Nuova

Porta Nuova is another one of Vasto’s iconic landmarks and dates back to Roman times, when Vasto was known as Histonium.  Later, during medieval times, the gate that is located on the ancient  border of the city, was rebuilt and became a part of the defensive walls surrounding the Caldoresco Castle.

Photo – Porta Nuova, Porta Catena

Chiesa  San Michele Arcangelo

Veneration of St. Michael the Archangel, Patron Saint and Protector of Vasto is interwoven with the town’s history and cultural identity.

In the years of 1817 to1818 a cholera epidemic ravaged Europe and the coastal cities. It is believed, that thanks to the miraculous intercession of the Arch Angel Michael, Vasto was spared the widespread death caused by the plague.

In 1827, the town’s residents, grateful for the Saint’s help, built the church of Saint Michael the Arch Angel, “Chiesa San Michele Arcangelo”, in his honor.

The Chiesa San Michele overlooking the Gulf of Vasto stands unique in the ecclesiastical world, housing not only the statue of the archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, but the other lesser known archangels in the Catholic tradition Uriel, Raguel, Serachiel and Remiel.

Every year, at the end of September Vasto celebrates the feast of Saint Michael with three days of masses, processions, and cultural events.

During the celebration, the statue of the Arch Angel is carried by the clergy, and church officials, followed by hundreds of townspeople from Chiesa San Michele to the Cathedral of San Giuseppe on Piazza Pudente. After the days of masses and ceremonies, there is another procession when it is returned to its pedestal in the church that is dedicated to him.

Photo St. Michael, Chiesa San Michele Arcangelo

 Trabocci =Ancient Fishing Piers

A trabocco is a utilitarian construction that turned farmers and land-dwellers into fisherman.

A striking sight on Vasto’s long stretch of coast, are the historic trabocci, ancient fishing platforms built on stilts and extending out into the sea. These rickety fishing piers resemble modernistic driftwood sculptures with long wooden arms reaching out into the deep, fish rich pools of the coastal waters. The arms were used to lower and raise large nets by an intricate system of pulleys and ropes, and have withstood the pounding of the Adriatic’s waves for hundreds of years.

The trabocci enabled people from the villages and farms along the coast, to supplement their diets and incomes by fishing, without having to own a boat or expose themselves to the unpredictability of the weather and dangers of the open sea. When you pass a trabocco, it’s easy to let your imagination take you back to a time before fish farms and the indiscriminate plundering of the world’s oceans by factory boats.

Many of the trabocci have been restored and repurposed into upscale restaurants that serve delicacies from the bounty of the Adriatic, and wine from nearby vineyards, accompanied by swooping gulls and the swell of the sea. If you pass a trabocco, or are visiting one for a meal, take a moment to think of the people who used them for a vital part of their sustenance. 

Amphora: A Link to Ancient Vasto

Cylindrical clay urns called amphora, played a small but essential role in the transport of grains, olive oil, and wine throughout the Roman Empire. Transport of these goods was important for the function of Roman rule and the economic stability that sustained the Empire.

Olive oil was a vital commodity in the Roman Empire that stretched from North Africa, the Mediterranean provinces, and even across the North Sea to England, and was used not only for cooking, but for lamp oil and medicines.

Oil and wine were transported from the Roman port in Vasto throughout the Empire in two handled clay vessels called amphora, sturdy terracotta urns that were antiquity's packaging. Their egg shaped form gave them strength and was the ideal shape for transport in the holds of ships. The handles on the sides facilitated lifting. Their conical construction not only made the clay vessels more durable, it also allowed the sediment in wine and oil to settle and be confined to their tapered bottom.

To prevent the oil and wine from being tainted and souring, an amphora could be used only once. When it had served its purpose, it was discarded, sometimes by being thrown overboard. Through the centuries cargo ships ran aground or sank, depositing thousands of them on the sea floor. Two thousand years later, some of these amphora would end up as an additional catch in the nets of the trawlers that fished the waters around Vasto.

Usually, when the nets were hauled on board and the catch released, the urns would follow, crashing on the deck and breaking. However, this one was removed from the net before it was emptied and remained intact. When the trawler docked, it was purchased from the boat’s captain by a passerby that recognized it as an important link in the ancient chain of Vasto’s history, and donated it to Vasto’s Musei Civica’s archeological exhibits.

Note:

*Amphora donated by a local patron, Remo Salvatorelli

* There is a man-made hill in Rome, Monte Testaccio, now an archeological site, containing approximately 25 million discarded amphorae. The hill is 35 meters high and has a circumference of 1500 m.

Photo, Amphora

The Burden of Preserving Landmarks for Future Generations

Think of a Ferrari parked in a medieval village, or an office building in chrome and glass alongside a Roman wall from the first century. The Italian culture manages to preserve its past without shuttering itself from the modern.

Among Italy’s gifts to the world are its architecturally unique buildings, renaissance art, Roman mosaics, sculptures and frescoes, but their beauty and historical worth is also a burden for local, regional and federal governments. This wealth of cultural treasure presents them with some of their greatest financial challenges.

When we reflect on Italy’s abundance of ancient art and architecture, we think of Pompei and Venice, the cities of Florence, Rome, Naples and Bologna, the picturesque towns on the Amalfi coast, and the works of the masters Michael Angelo, DaVinci and Caravaggio. But the overwhelmingly amount of Italy’s cultural inheritance is not only housed in its world-famous museums and magnificent cities, but found in its hundred thousand churches, and its exquisite fountains and sculptures on the piazzas and in the parks of its smallest cities. Wherever you might look in unexpected places, you can find the forgotten art and embellishments that are hidden in narrow alleys and the nooks of ancient walls.

Italians have  a sophisticated relationship and pride in their country’s archeological sites and the vast artistic accomplishments that are inseparable from the nation’s self-image and soul. The magnitude and quality of Italy’s art is unique in the world, and a short walk in the historical center of any village or town, reveals treasures, that in any other country or place, would be worth a special visit. Italy has more UNESCO Heritage sites than any country in the world, and with them, comes a heavy financial burden. Along with these extensive, and priceless works of art, historical buildings and towns, follows a responsibility to maintain and conserve them for future generations of Italians, and the peoples of the world.

These treasures, the scale of which are enormous, require vast sums of money for their upkeep. The dilemma of the Italian government, is finding a way to prioritize them, when the pressing needs of a modern society and repairing an aging infrastructure, outweigh the financial benefits that tourism brings to the country.

Photo – Giuseppe Church from the thirteenth century

Abruzzo

The Province of Abruzzo. Forte e Gentile

Traditionally Apennine shepherds and Adriatic fishermen, the people of Abruzzo are known as being both strong and kind.

Abruzzo stretches from the provinces of Marche in the north to Molise in the south. To the west, Abruzzo has a natural border to the province of Lazio, that is a shield created by the formidable peaks of the Apennine Mountains. The Adriatic Sea forms its eastern border. Outside influences came late, and for centuries Abruzzo was one of Italy’s most isolated regions, until the 1970's, when an autostrada was built by incorporating a series of tunnels and viaducts through the mountains. 

The motto of Abruzzo,“Forte e Gentile” Strong and Kind, could be an expression used, not only to describe its people, the hearty Abruzzese mountain dwellers that supported themselves by raising sheep, but also its fishermen and farmers, and the snowcapped peaks and sea that shaped them.

The identity of Abruzzo, that traditionally brings to mind its mountains and alpine landscapes, and long, sandy beaches, is also one of fertile fields and an expansive agriculture, where olive groves and vineyards stretch from the sea to the foothills of the Apennines. Abruzzo is one of Italy’s major producers of wine and oil, and through its earlier isolation has kept much of its traditional life intact.

From the Mountains to the Sea, the Transhumance

The transhumance, from the verb transumare in Latin, meaning to cross or transit over land, was part of the Apennine Mountain culture, history and geography in Abruzzo.

The Transhumance, that can be traced back to Roman times, was the seasonal migration of sheep from their summer grazing grounds on the slopes of the mountainous Gran Sasso area of Abruzzo, to winter grazing on the lowland pastures of Molise and Puglia. In the spring, the shepherds and their flocks returned to their mountain habitat. This annual movement of livestock has now been replaced by modern animal husbandry. What remains are some stretches of the traturri, (*the historical drovers trails) and the food of the shepherds that has become some of Abruzzo’s local specialties.  

On the arduous 200-kilometer journey through Abruzzo, the sheep that were too weak for the trip, became the proviant of these rugged mountain people. They grilled arrosticini, small cubes of skewered mutton or cooked a savory lamb stew seasoned with salvia, rosemary and thyme, herbs that grew wild along the trail, and made ricotta and pecorino cheeses from sheep’s milk, that they traded for other foods and goods as they made their way south.

*Sepino is an Archaeological site in Molise near the town of Campo Basso. It was once a thriving Roman meeting place on the traturro (sheep migration trail). Its stone paved streets, the foundations and walls of its buildings, majestic gates, mason work and Roman amphitheater are all well preserved and maintained, and worth a visit.

Part III

Amici                 

Amici Dell' Ambrosia

Ambrosia is the nectar of the  Gods, something I think of whenever I share a meal with my friends.

My group of friends, the people who have inspired this book, who I collectively call “The Amici Dell’Ambrosia,” have a casually affectionate relationship with each other, and most of them have known one another since childhood, or their student days. I came upon that name for them, the first time we ate a meal together and I saw that the occasion was a seamless melding of comradery and pleasure, and an everyday homage to life, food and friendship.

I also learned that the Italians love of food comes not simply from what they eat, but the ritual of how they eat it. Food is a way of life in Italy, far more than mere sustenance, and sitting with family or friends at the table is the most important part of the day.                         

The Amici are all excellent cooks and gourmands, and after many shared meals with them, my survival instinct dictates that I abide by the rule, “eat a little of

 a lot.” A meal in their company begins around eight-thirty or nine in the evening, and could take two to three hours, so I have learned to pace my eating. Dinner usually follows the classical menu of four or five courses that may include antipasti de mare, antipasti de terra, primo, secondo, insalata, formaggio, dolce, frutta, white and red wine, amaro, grappa or limoncello. 

At the table, there is never any reference to empty calories or nutrition. We always eat what is in season with fresh, high quality olive oil. Surprisingly, people in general are slim and in good form. You might think that their bodies would be a testament to their love of food, but they are more a reinforcement of the soundness of the Mediterranean diet.  

The Heart is Next to the  Stomach

Despite Italy’s enormous treasure of historical monuments, archeological sites, poets and artists, it is the cuisine and the variation of its regional dishes, that is synonymous with the soul of the country. 

Anatomically speaking the heart is next to the stomach, and when you sit down to a meal with my friends, the stomach was the heart. I call them “The Amici dell’ Ambrosia” because many of our meetings are in some way a celebration of cooking and the good things in life. The international restaurant bible, “Le Guide Rouge de Michelin” is very prestigious and its recommendation and stars sought after, but when we shopped or went out to eat together, I asked how many stars the restaurant or shop had in the Guide d’Amici di Ambrosia. The recommendation of my discerning and knowledgeable friends was, in my eyes, the most reliable.

The "Amici" are bound together by the undefinable chemistry of friendship and the moments of conviviality that are central at the table. They are people who consider good food and good wine, not only sustenance, but an homage to their  culture and way of life.  

You don’t have to look any farther than their kitchens to find the ethos of Italian gastronomy. Despite Italy’s enormous treasure of historical monuments, archeological sites, poets and artists, it is the cuisine and the variation of its regional dishes that is synonymous with the soul of the country. 

If you are having a conversation with any Italian, it seems that the subject of food will quickly arise. And it is no different when my friends meet.  I have always found their love of food and all that it symbolizes appealing, and admired the fact that they met often, for no other reason, than to enjoy a meal and be in each other’s company.                        

Part IV

Food 

Olive Oil 

For many Italians, the trifecta of fresh olive oil, a slice of good bread and a sun warmed tomato, directly off the vine, is their unadorned favorite, and maybe the essence of the simplicity of the Italian kitchen. 

On my way down to the beach every day, I pass the twisted and gnarled trunks of olive trees, some of them hollowed out and split by time and weather, as if they are standing on two legs in the sloping, fertile soil that reward their ancient roots with nutrients and water. I imagine that these trees might have been planted four or five generations ago, and have been carefully pruned and tended over time to produce fruit as bountiful as they did 150 years ago.

On a nearby hillside called Monte Vecchio, The Old Mountain, my good friend Giancarlo has a grove that faces the morning and afternoon sun, and is cooled by the salt breezes that blow in from the sea. This climatic combination produces an exceptional oil, of the type that is favored in Vasto. The Vastese prefer the bitter, spiciness and sweet aroma of oil from the traditional olive varieties that grow in these older groves, as opposed to the milder types that are cultivated commercially, and give the abundant harvests that are the corner stone of the region’s agricultural economy.  

Olive trees are the oldest cultivated trees known to man and there are at least 700 known varieties in the world, 80 of which are cultivated in Abruzzo. Each type has a distinct aroma and flavor.  Abruzzo is one of Italy’s most productive olive regions, thanks to its geography and environment. The hills that gently slope to the sea from the snow-capped peaks of the Apennine Mountains, are ideal for the cultivation of olives, and has fostered one of Italy’s richest olive-growing heritages.

A hundred kilos of olives give about 10 to 20 liters of oil, the taste of which is dependent on the stage of the fruit’s ripeness. The harvest season stretches from October to January. Olives that are harvested early are still green and give less, but tastier oil. Olives that are harvested later are darker in color and give a more abundant and mellower oil.

To understand the proportions of how much oil comes from each tree, my friend Cristina estimated that her family uses about sixty liters of olive oil a year. That amount is equal to the harvest of three or four productive trees.

Olive oil, unlike cheese or wine, doesn’t get better as it ages. The first pressing is titled Extra Virgin and meets strict requirement regarding taste, aroma and coloring. Oil that fails to meet any of those requirements is titled Virgin and is suitable for cooking. Any other quality is not suitable for culinary purposes.

Olive oil changes taste from farm to farm, season to season, but a rule is, the fresher the oil the better: the absolute tastiest within a few hours of pressing. Oil should be stored dark and cool. A typical extra virgin oil won't remain extra virgin grade for longer than a year after it's pressed. After one year it is not considered extra virgin, but is suitable for other culinary uses. 

Note:

Olive oil not only has health benefits. Among all the oils and fats that are used for the preparation and production of food, olive oil is at the top of the list ecologically.

Olive Oil: The Foundation of Italian Cooking.

Anna a good friend, was at the stove, hovering over a pot of soup made from the stems of the artichokes that she had stuffed and that she would serve as our meal’s second course. She is an exceptional cook and I’m always interested in her recipes.  Curios as usual, I asked how much oil she used in the broth. She made a gesture with her hand as though she was pouring. “This much,” she said, and then with a broad smile raised her hand again.  Holding her elbow up high she turned her head away and said, “and then this much.”  I understood that it was a lot, but never seemed to be too much. 

Some tips when you buy oil:

Ask which harvest, late or early. (early harvested olives give less, but spicier oil)

The fresher the better

Store it properly- dark and cool.

 A Caveat

Olive oil is the most falsified food commodity in the world, and at times, far from the liquid gold that the label promises. Beware of inexpensive oil in the supermarket that can be blended with low grades of oil from many different countries, or sometimes blended with cheaper vegetable oils, such as sunflower and rape seed.

The label on the bottle often says, "Oil from the European Union”, or specifically “from Italy, Spain or Greece", and is never dated. (The age of the oil is one of its most important aspects.) Inferior oil that crosses borders from non- EU countries are known to be mixed into these oils. There are also labeling frauds such as mistitling an inferior oil that doesn’t live up to the quality specifications of extra virgin or virgin. 

Some Olive Oil Facts

 An average Italian consumes about 15 liters of olive oil a year.

All oil for the table and cooking is cold pressed.

Extra Virgin oil passes all the tests for color, taste and aroma.

Extra Virgin is eaten with bread, on legumes and salads, and with fish.

The nutrients in Extra Virgin olive oil have been found to benefit numerous health conditions, including heart disease and diabetes.

The quality “Virgin” is also from the first pressing of the fruit, but of a lower quality.

The Virgin oil, which is of a slightly lower quality, has a higher tolerance for heat and is used in cooking. 

Green olives from an early harvest gives the oil a stronger flavor.

Later harvests, when the fruit darkens, gives a mellower oil.

Herbs and Spices

Hunger is the best spice.

In cooking, unlike carpentry or mechanics, a millimeter is not exactly a millimeter, or a gram is not specifically a gram. There are no fast measurements. Amounts in recipes should be seen as guidelines. Tomatoes taste different every day, salt is not always a consistent chemical depending on it type and origin, and all ingredients have different strengths and tastes. I’ve bought oregano in Calabria that is three times as strong as that I’ve bought neatly packaged in the supermarket, and the same goes for every other ingredient that might end up in one of your dishes.

The secret in the purity of tastes in Italian cuisine is no secret, but obvious and known to every Italian cook. Always use freshest ingredients of the highest quality and extra virgin olive oil. Spices must know their role and should never impinge on the main components, but instead, subtly accent or enhance them.

The quality of the ingredients and their tastes should be what highlights the dish. Spices should be tamed in the broth or the sauce.  The food is stripped to its essential ingredients and balanced to enhance dishes rather than overpower them.

The variation in Italian cuisine is not the result of elaborate spicing, but rather in the availability of a huge variety of vegetables, meats, cheeses, breads and pasta.

The most common spices in the Italian kitchen are parsley, rosemary, oregano, sage, bay leaves, black pepper, and thyme. Basil is perhaps the best known and most popular herb in Italian cuisine. There are misconceptions about garlic. It isn’t used as much in genuine Italian cooking as it is in Italian American cuisine. In the Italian kitchen a hint of garlic is always enough.

There is also a group of ingredients that are used throughout Italian cuisine as the base for many soups, stews, pasta sauces, and when braising meats and poultry. It is a flavor base called the sofrito or battuto (minced vegetables) and is composed of celery, parsley, onions and carrots, finely chopped and sauteed in olive oil. When you shop at the fruit and vegetable markets of Vasto, this combination also called odori, is given to you without charge, as a courtesy.

Tomatoes: Some Facts

It is said, that if an Italian cuts themselves, there comes a little blood mixed with tomato juice.

The tomato that is central in Italian cooking, came to Italy from the Peruvian Andes of South America, by way of the Spaniards in the 16th century.

The tomato was thought first thought to be an aphrodisiac. The French called it the pomme d’amour (love apple). 

The tomato is a fruit and not a vegetable, and at first was thought to be toxic.

Tomato plants thrived in the climate of Southern Italy, and in the 18th century, were incorporated into the region’s cuisine.

Naples was the birth place of tomato sauce and tomato-based recipes.

Because it was easy to grow, the tomato became an integral part of cucina povera, the food of the poor, whose diets were mostly vegetarian.

Your local supermarket might only have three or four types, but there are approximately 10,000 varieties worldwide.

The Cheese of Vasto and Abruzzo

In Italy the conservation of milk by adding bacteria or rennet to curdle it and process it into cheese in its various forms, is a craft that dates to pre- Roman times.  Of the thousand or so cheeses that are native to Italy’s mountains, plains and coastal regions, here are five of the most common artisanal types found in Abruzzo.

Caciocavallo, a semi-hard cheese that is often found on the table in Southern Italy. The name "Caciocavallo “cacio = cheese, cavallo = horse” in English. The traditional method of ageing the cheeses was by tying them together and hanging them over a beam, as you would saddlebags on a horse.

Pecorino (pecora = sheep) A hard cheese that was brought to the Abruzzo coast by mountain shepherds on the annual winter sheep migration to southern pastures.*

Scamorza- Akin to mozzarella a but a little firmer, another soft cheese that is typical of southern Italy. It is made from the same cow's milk base as mozzarella but is firmer and drier.

Ricotta di pecora, (pecorino ricotta) is a soft cheese made from sheep’s milk.

Caciotta d'Abruzzo: a soft cow's milk or sheep's milk cheese

For the Italophile – Here are some other common protected Italian cheeses that are well known internationally:  Provolone, Parmesano Reggiano, Grana Padanao, Gorgonzola, Mozzarella, Ricotta

*(the transhumance). photo chapel in Campo Imperatore a mass before the journey

A Few of the Local Wines of Vasto and Abruzzo

Wine shouldn’t be saved for a special occasion; a good wine is the occasion.

Wine isn’t reserved for special occasions, or a luxury in Italy. It is served with most meals, a part of everyday life, and inseparable from the cuisine and culture.

Like anything else, wine is only as good as the material you are starting with. The main variety used in the red wines of Abruzzo is the Montepulciano grape, which is also the base for many of the best Italian red wines, and grows and matures exceptionally well in the rolling Abruzzo terrain.

As much a part of the regional identity of Vasto as its relationship to the sea and its bounty, are the vineyards and olive groves that surround it and stretch from its long beaches on the Adriatic to the foothills of the Apennines.

Pecorino - A fruity white wine made from Pecorino grapes.

Trebbiano - A white wine made from Trebbiano grapes grown in the Abruzzo region.

Montepulchiano d Abruzzo, is a red wine made from the Montepulciano grape grown in the vineyards surrounding the Vasto region and nearby Chieti and is the most common grape in Abruzzo wine making.

Cerrasuola- is a little darker than a rose´. The name means cherry red. Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo is rose´ style wine made from the Montepulciano grape.

Wine from the Tuscan town of Montepulchiano made from the Sangiovese grape, is not to be confused with the wine from the Montepulciano grapes of Abruzzo.

Photo-Fontefico, and Jasci & Marchesani are two of Vasto’s well known wineries.

Cibo Mediterraneo, The Basics of the Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet is true slow food, unprocessed and representative of the Italian lifestyle. There is a focus on a diversity of seasonal legumes, vegetables, greens, beans, fruits, cheese, and in Vasto, what the sea has to give. The four P’s, pasta, potata, polenta and pane are the staple starches. Meat is eaten in smaller portions, and a glass of local wine accompanies most meals. Olive oil is the main source of fat used in the preparation of food and as a condiment, and has been proven to have significant health benefits. The Italians are consistently at the top, as are the other Mediterranean countries, of the W.H.O.’s statistics of health and longevity.

Sepino, Roman Ruins and a Memorable Lunch 

A good meal will hopefully not only fill your stomach, but give you an experience to look back on with satisfaction. 

We called ourselves “The Friends of Ambrosia” for a reason. Besides the common ground of our politics and philosophical similarities, we all had a love of food and cooking. We might take a Sunday outing together to a distant mountain village for no other reason than to eat arrosticini (lamb kebab) there, because it was the best in Italy, or travel an hour or two, to a town because the wine or cheese there was exceptional.

I reminded one of the Amici of a trip that we had made together a few years before to Sepino, an impressive Roman archeological site in the mountains on the ancient traturro, that was one of the main tracks used for the migration of sheep to summer pastures. She had difficulty in recalling the day, until I reminded her, that it was there we ate a magnificent “tagliatelli al tartufo" and then the memories flooded. The ruins of the ancient settlement were a marvel, but our lunch in the local trattoria more so.

Sepino is an Archaeological site in Molise near the town of Campo Basso. It was once a thriving Roman meeting place on the traturro (sheep migration trail) and its stone paved streets, the foundations and walls of its buildings, majestic gates, masonry work and amphitheater are all well preserved.

A Gas Station Italian Style

Most countries have some really good food, but you won’t find it at a gas station.

The first time that I stopped at an Auto Grill, was when I was crossing the Apennines on the autostrada that was the main road from Rome to Vasto. There I learned how Italians ate when they were on the road, and that they were discerning diners even when they were eating at a rest stop. Was the Auto Grill we stopped at a gas station, grocery store, or a restaurant? It was all of them.

Inside was a microcosm of Italy living up to its reputation as being culinarily obsessed. Lined up along the walls and in the aisles were racks of wine, beer, bottles of olive oil, pasta in all shapes and forms, salamis, sausages, prosciutto crudo, cotto and other salumi, oval balls of Provolone, wheels of Parmesano Reggiano, other diverse cheeses, jars of preserved fruits, pickled artichokes, coffee, limoncello, cantucci, amoretti, chocolate, nuts, candy, toys, stuffed animals and electronic paraphernalia.  This ordinary road stop was a composite of an Italian deli, enoteca, souvenir shop, café and quality restaurant. Oh yes; there were also a dozen gas and diesel pumps outside. 

Even at a road stop on a mountain highway in Italy, you could always expect to get an acceptable meal. It didn’t matter where or when. Once in the restaurant, we met travelers standing at the counter taking a hurried cup of coffee and passed a pizzaiolo as he was taking out a newly baked pizza from the oven. We   walked past stacks of freshly made panini with melodious names like Bufalino, Rusticella, and Reginella.

That day the restaurant was serving gnocchi al pomodoro, lasagna and two different types of pasta, several vegetable dishes, and if you were tempted, you could choose a chop or steak for grilling from a chilled display.  Of course, this was Italy, where if you wanted, wine was served with your meal.

While I was deciding whether or not to take one or both pasta dishes, maybe even a bit of lasagna too, because it looked so good, the woman in front of me who was deliberating with the server about the details of the pasta marinara that was on the menu, asked the cook to come out and show her the brand of pasta they were using before she placed her order.  This was Italy, the Italy I loved.

Thoughts On My Cooking and a Few Recipes

I have several meters of shelves devoted to cookbooks. They are often my bed-time reading before turning out the light. Cookbooks have been the standard gifts that friends and family give me, along with aprons, baking tins, knives and general cooking gear. I suppose, as well as they fuel one of my hobbies, the givers might expect a culinary return on their investments. If so, it’s a debt that I’d gladly repay with interest.

Everyone can eat, but learning how to cook requires some work. When you are proficient in the techniques, of cutting, slicing, dicing, frying, boiling and roasting, when you know your temperatures and combinations and are friends with your ingredients, learning the rest, like everything else, is dependent on the questions you ask, how you listen to the answers, and practice.  Consequently, I’m a curious and inquisitive student in other people’s kitchens and always enjoy having guests for dinner.

My cooking is eclectic. Swedish, American, Italian and a few Indian and Chinese dishes, as well as baking all of my own bread. I’m flexible, and rather than follow recipes as though they were written in stone, I use them as a guide. However, when it comes to Italian cooking, I improvise with caution. Italian cooking is regulated by unstated rules, understood by everyone.

The quote “To err is human,” is applicable to most situations, unless you are cooking for Italians, then to err can be embarrassing. I was a person used to taking risks, calculated ones that is, but when I cooked for my group of Italian friends for the first time, I wondered if the root of my confidence was experience or naivete.         

For me, a millimeter is a millimeter in carpentry or mechanics, but not always in cooking. There are no precise measurements. Spices have different strengths, no two salts have the same intensity, some meat is tough and some tomatoes are bitter. The rule is: keep it simple. Learn the techniques, and learn how to compensate and salvage a dish if you make a mistake.

Some of My Recipes

Some of my favorite food, wines and deserts, and some simple recipes for a good lunch or dinner.

My Grandmother Maria Agnello's Tomato Salsa

My grandmother Maria’s philosophy was that many personal faults and shortcomings could be forgiven if you knew how to make a good tomato sauce.

Tomato salsa, is a Southern Italian staple and the best known of the Italian pasta sauces. This is a Neopolitan salsa pomodoro, a marinara sauce with tomatoes, basil, garlic and onion, that my grandmother Maria taught my mother so that she could make it for my father.

The ingredients:

50 ml. olive oil

1.5 kilo seasonally ripe tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, chopped into centimeter squares 

1 large onion- finely chopped

3 cloves of crushed garlic

Fresh oregano

1 dec. chopped basil

2 bay leaves

Add water depending on cooking time.

Salt to taste

An alternative to fresh tomatoes is 1 kg. canned San Marzano tomatoes and 500g, tomato passata.

Do this:

Heat the oil in a in thick bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and fry them until they are soft. Add the tomatoes, basil, oregano bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes. Salt as needed.

To make a meat sauce, cube 1 kg. stew beef, spare ribs and pork.  Add them to the sauce with an additional 5dl. water or beef stock. Slow cook together for about one and a half hours or until the meat is tender.

Use the same procedure for meat balls, but add only 2dl. extra stock or water and cook for about 30 minutes in the sauce.

Do as the Italians. The pasta with tomato salsa is served as the first course, sprinkled with grated pecorino or parmesan cheese. The meat that was cooked in the sauce is always served after the pasta, as the second course. 

Polpette alle Nonna Maria 

Ingredients for the meatballs:

500 g. mixed chop meat, half beef, half pork

30 – 40 g. grated pecorino or parmesan cheese

1 dl. milk

1 medium egg

1 dl. fine bread crumbs

Chopped parsley or several tablespoons chopped onion, golden fried

A handful of raisins

Mix the milk and breadcrumbs with the beaten egg. Let the mixture swell.

Mix all the ingredients, form them into balls about 3 cm. in diameter. Fry them lightly, add to the sauce and cook them for about 30 minutes.

Note: The polpetti (meat balls) like other meats, are served as a separate course.

Buon Appetito

 Memories of the food that we ate as children stay with us throughout our life. This was often our meal in the days when Catholics were forbidden to eat meat on Fridays, a rustic Neopolitan dish that my Grandmother Maria, who came from Vietri Sul Mare, probably passed on to my mother. Every cook makes “pasta and potatoes” differently, depending on what ingredients are in their cupboards. This is basically how I remember the recipe and how I make it.

Ingredients for 4 servings:

350 g mixed or small sized pasta

750 g potatoes

150 g chopped celery

150 g chopped carrots

One medium onion, chopped

2 cloves of finely chopped garlic

½ dl. oil for frying

20 g tomato concentrate

A sprig of rosemary

Several spoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese

Extra virgin olive oil to taste

Salt

Ground black pepper

1L. liquid, water or vegetable stock

Optional: The rinds of the Parmesan cheese cut into small squares and added while cooking the potatoes.

The Procedure:

Peel and cut the potatoes into cubes.

Sauté the carrots, celery and onion in the oil.

Add the potatoes and fry for an additional 2 minutes.

Add the rosemary, and tomato concentrate.  Cover all the ingredients with 7 dl. of hot water, add salt and pepper and stir well.

Cook with the lid on, for approximately 20 minutes, or until the potatoes begin to soften.

Remove the rosemary sprig and mash some of the potatoes.

Mix in the  pasta with about hot 3 dl. water while stirring, .

Cook everything together until the the pasta is done and the sauce thickens. Serve with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan, ground pepper and a drizzle of  olive oil.                                                 

Pane Caserecccio from Casa Mola.

Mola, my surname, is the Latin and Italian word for the millstone used in the grinding of wheat to flour, maybe a fitting name for someone who enjoys baking like I do.

Bread, one of the most ancient of foods, has existed in some form for 12,000 years. Sixty-five percent of the world’s agriculture is devoted to grains. Bread is the center of Italian cuisine and there are hundreds of types that vary from region to region and from baker to baker.

In most of its forms, bread is just a simple combination of milled wheat, water and leavening.   I started baking more than fifty years ago when I had difficulty finding bread that was both healthy, satisfying and tasty. Instead of the “staff of life,” the only bread that I found on the grocery store shelves, wasn’t the nutritious staple that has sustained people through the millenniums, but something that resembled moist sponge cake wrapped in plastic.

What makes a good bread?  Quality flour, slow fermentation and an understanding of the process.  Learn the craft, practice, experiment, and you’ll be able to bake any type of yeast bread.

Here is a recipe that I use often.

Ingredients for one large loaf:

400 g. stone ground wheat flour with a high protein and gluten content (*hard winter wheat types have that, as opposed to softer spring wheat)

200 g. stone ground whole wheat or rye flour.

5 grams fresh yeast

400 g. water

20 g. salt

The Dough:

Dissolve the fresh yeast in the water.

Slowly blend the flour mixture and salt into the yeast -water mixture to make a dough. It will be somewhat sticky and loose. (The dough will come together as gluten forms during proofing.)

Cover the bowl with a damp cloth or plastic film and place it in the refrigerator for one hour.

Remove the dough from the fridge, stretch it and fold it under, repeating the process 5 or 6 times. Return it to the fridge for approximately 10 hours.

*After removal, repeat the folding procedure, form the dough into a ball and place it in a flour dusted proofing basket at room temperature for the final rise, until it doubles in volume. Approximately 4-5 hours.

Baking:

I bake this bread in a thick bottomed cast iron pot with a lid.

Preheat the oven including pot and lid at 250 degrees, including the pot and lid for about 30 minutes.

Flop the formed bread into the preheated pot. Score the bread across the top to facilitate an even rise, and bake for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes remove the lid, lower the oven temperature to 200 and bake for another 20 -25 minutes.

The loaf is ready when it is golden brown and when you tap it, it gives off a hollow sound.

*Winter wheat varieties have better baking properties. They hold more water during fermentation and proofing and make a loaf with better structure and volume. 

*Advantages of a long fermentation:  the bread will be easier to digest, be tastier, and its vitamins and minerals are more easily absorbed by the body.

 Some Useful terms:

Proofing basket- Helps a wet, high hydration dough maintain its shape during the final rise. 

The more yeast the shorter the fermentation time. Most cookbooks have bread recipes that use 25 to 50 grams of yeast for a bread with 600 grams of flour and 400 grams of water. These doughs are kneaded in a mixer in order to form the gluten strands that hold moisture and give the loaf structure. I use 10 grams and ferment the dough for six hours to ten hours.

Fermentation –The first rise

Proofing - The second rise after the dough is shaped into a loaf.

Pasta With Chanterelle Mushrooms, Casa Mola

From my experience, no one willingly reveals the exact place where they pick chanterelle mushrooms. People keep the location a secret as though they were guarding a hidden treasure, but if you want to find these “princes of the forest” a good tip is to walk through a stand of oak, beech or birch in late summer. If you are in luck, you can see them sticking their golden crowns up through the grass or moss.

To prepare a simple, but one of my favorite pasta dishes, clean the chantarelle (they should be fresh and firm) by lightly brushing them. Slice the larger ones into smaller pieces, and while you are boiling your pasta ( I like mezza penne), fry them in a mixture of butter and good olive oil together with touch of garlic and a little salt, until the moisture in the pan evaporates.

When your pasta is ready, cooked al dente of course, mix it lightly with a thin marinara sauce made from tomatoes, onion, basil, oregano and a touch of garlic.

Serve each portion individually. Mix the pasta into the sauce. Strew the fried chantarelles generously over the pasta, add a drizzle of olive oil, a little more salt and ground pepper to taste, and some grated parmesan.  Pour a glass of well-chilled Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, and mange.

Finferli, as chanterelles are called in Italian, can be found on the lower oak forested slopes of the Apennines, outside of Vasto. 

Cantucci di Casa Mola,  (my recipe)

They are great dipped in the red or white wine that’s left in your glass after dinner, or a sweet Vin Santo, Limoncello, or Amaro, or why not, together with your morning coffee.

Ingredients:

225 g. 00 white flour

2 medium eggs

100 g. sugar

100 g. almonds

35 g. butter

1tsp. baking soda

1tsp. vanilla extract or equivalent, or the zest of one orange

Procedure:

Beat the eggs and mix in the sugar, melted butter and vanilla extract.

Stir in the almonds.

Mix the baking powder with the flour and fold it into it the egg mixture.

Knead the dough until it comes together and divide it into three equal parts.

Roll them into lengths of approximately 25 cm.

Bake for 30 minutes at 175 c.

Remove from the oven and slice them diagonally into 1 cm. pieces.

while they are warm.

Bake the sliced cantucci for another 5 minutes at the same temperature.

Makes about 30 pieces.

Note: Another name for cantucci is biscotti, which means twice baked.

Some Tips on How to Make Pizza Like a Native Pizzaiolo

This is how I make “Casa Mola’s” Friday night pizza. I’ve done it this way for many years. Neapolitan style pizza isn’t complicated, but like learning any skill, it takes some practice and a little patience. Even if it doesn’t come out perfect every time, it will always be delicious.

The ingredients for two 30 cm. Pizza Margaritas

300 g. strong white flour 00 grind, 12% protein

200 g. water = 65% hydration

1.5 – 2dl. marinara sauce, fresh basil leaves, 250 grams mozzarella or other cheese

5 g. fresh yeast

5 g. salt

You need:

A bowl, a thick pizza stone or pizza steel, a pizza peel and dough scraper

The steps:

 Dissolve the yeast in the water. (28 – 30 degrees c.)

 Combine the flour and salt in a bowl.

Gradually add the flour to the dissolved yeast mixture, mixing it well until it comes together into a soft, sticky dough.

Cover the dough and put it in the refrigerator to rise slowly for about 12 hours (after 1 hour stretch and fold the dough several times)

After the first slow proofing, remove the dough from the refrigerator, stretch and fold it again 4 or 5 times, cover it and let it continue to rise at room temperature for an additional 6 to 8 hours. (When it is ready, the dough should have risen to 2-3 times its original volume)

Form the dough into two balls, place them in olive oil coated bowls and cover them with a damp cloth. Let the dough rest in a warm place for 20 to 30 minutes.

Sprinkle some flour (preferably semolina) onto your bench or baking board. Using your fingers press out each piece of dough into a round shape approx. (30 cm.) from the center outward creating a thin bottom and the cornice that will rise and become the outer crust.

Spread marinara sauce evenly over each bottom, distribute the mozzarella, drizzle a little olive oil over them.

To Bake:

Preheat the oven to its maximum temperature 275 c. - 300 c. with the pizza stone or steel high up under the grill element for at least ½ hour.

Bake each pizza under the grill for 5 minutes, then switch to the normal oven setting with top and bottom heat for approximately another five minutes.

Decorate with fresh basil leaves and serve.

The traditional Neapolitan pizza reflects the simplicity and tradition of Italian cookery. Don’t drown your pizza in too much sauce or laden it with too much, or too many toppings. Let a tasty bottom and a few choice ingredients shine through. 

Schwartzwald Tårta - A Rich Cake from the Black Forest

It was Kersti’s birthday and the bakeries didn’t have her favorite cake, so I learned how to bake it. My recipe uses traditional ingredients, but I form the nut- meringue bottoms a little thicker and a little softer than most recipes recommend.  This dessert from the Black Forest of Germany, takes some time to make, but anything good, is worth waiting for.

The ingredients:

Hazel nuts (250 gram)

Egg whites (6 medium eggs)

Whipping cream (7-8 dl.)

Bakers’ chocolate (125 gr.)

Icing sugar (2 dl.) for the meringue and  nut bottoms

Icing sugar (1.5dl.) for the whipped cream filling.

The Steps:

Set the oven to 175°C

Bottoms

Toast all the nuts (both for the bottoms and for the filling) on ​​a baking sheet in the middle of the oven for about 10 minutes. Rub the skins off the nuts with a towel.

Grind the nuts in an almond mill, even the nuts that will be used in the cream filling.

Beat the egg whites until they are stiff with an electric mixer to make a meringue. Towards the end, add the icing sugar, a little at a time.

Carefully fold the ground nuts into the meringue and spread a third of the batter on a buttered and floured cast iron pan 20 cm., or on baking paper cut to the same size, and bake for about 10 minutes, one at a time. The bottoms should have a slight golden color and be a bit soft. (makes 3)

Filling:

Whip the cream. Mix half of the whipped cream with the ground hazelnuts and additional icing sugar.

Spread a third of the nut cream on one base.  Place the next base on top and spread nut more nut cream, repeat for the third, and then place the fourth on top.

Topping:

Spread the remaining whipped cream (without nuts) on top and around the edges of the cake.

Sprinkle a few tablespoons of ground hazel nuts on the top.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave or in a bain-marie. Spread a thin layer of chocolate about 30x30 cm. on a sheet of baking paper.  Cool it and cut it into squares to decorate the sides, and form it into spires to place on the top, creating the image of mountain peaks in a bed of snow.

The Italian variation is called Torta Foresta Nera and is based on rich chocolate sponge cake instead of hazelnut meringue bottoms.

 DOC; DOCG; DOP

The Integrity of Italian Ingredients:

If wines, cheeses, breads and recipes aren’t protected by Italian and European Union law, they are protected and preserved by a fierce local loyalty to custom and tradition.

Can a tourist ever say that they have been to Italy and eaten Italian food?  It’s an impossibility to describe and do justice to the thousands of regional dishes that comprise Italian cuisine and the customs surrounding their preparation and presentation. Just as difficult a task, is to try and make an account of the virtually limitless number of sauces and vegetable preparations that vary from, town to town, village to village, and from family to family.

Italy has approximately 300 registered wines, and 350 registered types of cheese, and a few thousand other varieties of traditional cheeses, at least 400 different shapes of pasta, about 350 types of bread, at least a dozen protected and registered forms of prosciutto, countless types of other cured meats, salamis and sausages.

The rich traditions and diversity of Italian cuisine are easy to understand, if you consider the geography of Italy and its history. Italy is a country that is 1,300 kilometers long, bordered by the peaks of the Dolomite Alps in the north, and stretches to the island of Sicily in the south. It is a country surrounded by the sea on both sides, with the Apennine mountains in the middle, blessed with fertile plains, and a culture that dates back thousands of years.  

An Explanation of DOC, DOCG, and DOP.

DOC, DOCG, and DOP are national Italian Guarantees of Origin and Quality established by National Panels and enforced by the European Union.

DOC Wines

Controlled Designation of Origin (DOC): or in Italian Denominazione di Origine Controllata. guarantees that the wine in question is of high quality and meets strict production standards, including the variety of grape, where they are grown, and the wine making techniques.

DOCG: Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOGC), The wines with the label DOCG on the neck of the bottle are more exclusive than the DOC wines and are subjected to an additional set of strict regulations regarding their history, geographical area and quality.

DOP: 

Denominazione d'Origine Protetta | Protected Designation of Origin. The DOP label guarantees that cheese, prosciutto, olive oil, and a myriad of other products are produced, processed, and packaged in a specific area and made by traditional methods. Examples of the best-known products that have received D.O.P certification are Grana Padano cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, Aceto Balsamico ((balsamic vinegar), from Modena, Arancia di Ribera (oranges), Capocollo di Calabria (pork salumi), Culatello di Zibello ham, Fontina cheese, and Mozzarella di Bufala cheese.  

Prosciutto Crudo DOP (crudo=raw or cured)

Did you think that prosciutto crudo was synonymous with the city of Parma on the Po River? There are many different types of Italian cured ham, and there are millions of campaniles (local patriots) that would not hesitate to tell you that the prosciutto in their region is the best.

Prosciutto is a ham that is cured by thoroughly washing, salting, and slowly aging a leg of pork in an environment with controlled temperature and humidity. The process takes months and produces, a soft, rich ham (prosciutto) with a distinct flavor depending on its region of origin, the race of pig and its diet. Here are several of the most well-known types of prosciutto crudo, produced under the D.O.P. regulations, and a little of their history.

Prosciutto di Parma

Perhaps the most well-known prosciutto, is Prosciutto di Parma from the area of Parma along the Po River, in the province of Emilia Romagna.  This delicate ham has been made in the same way since the days of the Roman Empire, and represents one of the signature foods of the Italian culinary tradition, and sets the standard for Italian cured hams and meats. Only traditional breeds of pigs are used in the production of Prosciutto di Parma and must come from the northern and central Italian regions.

Parma ham’s special taste comes from their diet of grains and cereals and the whey that is left from the manufacture of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

Prosciutto San Danielle

Prosciutto San Danielle comes from the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia between the Dolemite Mountains and the Adriatic Sea in the hilly area around the town of San Daniele in the province of Udine.  Prosciutto di San Daniele is sweeter and darker in color with a more delicate flavor than other varieties of prosciutto crudo and is cured using only local sea salt.

Prosciutto di Norcia

In the province of Norcia in the mountainous regions of Umbria, the tradition of pig breeding and the curing of meat dates to Roman times.  The different types of prosciutto that are produced there are aged slowly, from twelve months up to two years and are famous for their delicately spiced flavor.

 Culatello di Zibello from Emilio Romagna

Regarded as the best of the of Italian hams, with a tradition dating back to the 14th century, Culatello di Zibello is one of the most prized products of Emilia Romagna. It is made only in Parma and in a few nearby villages, from pigs that are indigenous to the area. It is tender and rich in flavor, cut from the best part of the whole fresh ham, and cured with a mixture of salt, pepper, garlic and dry white wine. It is then packed into a pig’s bladder, and tied with twine like a salami. This careful and time-consuming process, combined with quality ingredients, contributes to its high price. 

An Understanding of the Bliss Point in Relation to Italian Cooking

The “Bliss Point” is created by an avalanche of carbohydrates, sugar and fat in processed food, fast food, and convenience food. It is a perfectly calibrated, calorie rich combination, that makes a food maximally appealing and encourages eaters to take more, even when their hunger is satisfied, leading to compulsive eating.

The addictive "bliss point" recipes that many Western restaurant chefs, industrial food producers and fast-food restaurants adhere to, incorporate the use of the perfect ratio of salt, sugar and fat. It’s a calorie rich combination tested and designed to stimulate the pleasure sensors of the brain, and give a feeling of immediate gratification, with the underlying philosophy that the mind knows what the tongue wants. This food is intentionally engineered to manipulate the eater by encouraging them to take more, even when their hunger is satisfied. The result is a health catastrophe for many people. Diabetes and obesity related illnesses have become major problems throughout the Western World.

In the industrial food industry, trained tasters and scientists work like drug dealers, whose job it is to get you hooked on their products, They carefully calibrate this tasty, but disastrous combination of salt, sugar and fat. The results are an increased craving and over consumption.

On the other hand, Italian cooking strives to preserve the tastes of the individual ingredients in its recipes. I’ve heard people that have visited Italy say, that “Italian food is bland.” This disappointment often lies in the comparison of the purity and simplicity of Italian cooking, with that of the Italian-American kitchen, or the food of other nationalities that use thick sauces, and an abundance of meat, salt, sugar and fat.

In contrast, traditional Italian food, and the Mediterranean diet in general, is considered “clean food," where a few high-quality ingredients are paired so that their separate tastes are preserved and high-lighted. In the cross-cultural collision between the intentional “bliss point” taste sensations where taste enhancers and carbohydrates dominate, some diners might not understand Italian cuisine, with its emphasis on maintaining the integrity of a few ingredients. 

To appreciate Italian cooking, a meal has to be experienced in its totality, from the quality of its bread and oil, to the anti pasti the primo, the secondo, the fromaggio, frutta and dolce, and naturally, with each course paired with an appropriate wine.

MacDonalds Photo

 Prosecco 

There are certain things that are synonymous with Italy, and they all begin with the letter P. Pasta, Pizza, Pane, Polenta, Parmesan, Prosciutto and Prosecco.

Ai scalzi” literally translated from Italian means “bare foot, “and is the name of a trattoria near Canal Grande in Venice.  I sat at a table under its awning and jotted down a story about shoes that was inspired by its name and some childhood memories.

The waiter, who a half hour before, had served me cappuccino, saw my note pad, smiled, and asked me what I was writing, and said that I was writing about shoes. Explaining the restaurant’s name, he said philosophically, Ai Scalzi is the right place to think about shoes,” and added, with a glint in his eye that I couldn’t interpret, “Shoes are like a window to the heart” as though I was sitting at an ashram meditating, and not a Venetian restaurant sipping a cappuccino.

“May I bring you something else” he offered, and added with Italian grace, “Now that it is almost noon, perhaps you would like some Prosecco?”   Who would say no to viewing Venice over the rim of a chilled flute of its famous sparkling wine.  I was enjoying a moment in the sun, and Prosecco is a wine for the moment.

The Signature Wine of Venice

If you are a serious drinker of Prosecco, a sparkling wine that is suitable for every occasion here are a few tips. In the event you have friends over for an aperitivo, or just a pre-dinner drink, impress them with your ability to serve your sparkling wine properly.

Firstly - Go up market.  Go to an enoteca and see that you buy DOCG, and then explain what DOCG is and its importance.

Second - Hold a little discourse on “la gabbietta, “the wire cage that prevents the cork from sliding out under pressure.)  It is the same on all sparkling wines and always takes exactly six counterclockwise twists to remove.

Third - Give a demonstration on how to open the bottle. Hold the cork in one hand and twist the bottle, holding it, at a 45-degree angle with your thumb over the cork. Never let the cork pop out and the wine run out of the bottle; let the gas out gently to preserve the bubbles.

Serve it well chilled (5 to 7 degrees C.)  in a stemmed glass, tipping it at an angle and filling it to about two thirds.

“Cin, Cin”

Prosecco- Some Trivia

The traditional grape used in Prosecco is “Glera,” and it’s use for wine dates back to Roman times. 

Glera grapes are pressed and then fermented into a base wine then fermented twice, the second with sugar and yeast to create its effervescence.

The origin of the sparkling wine was in a small town called Prosecco near Trieste, on the border of Croatia. 

The Prosecco Region surrounds Venice from the Adriatic Sea to the foot hills of The Dolemite Mountains.

Prosecco is the best-selling Italian wine in the world. More bottles of Prosecco are sold globally than French Champagne.

Good news for dieters: One glass of Prosecco has around 80-90 calories compared to red wine which has around 120-125 calories.

Thoughts on Wine: Swirl, Sniff, Sip and Slurp

To put the Italian’s casual and knowledgeable attitude to wine in its proper perspective, a friend tells the story of stepping off the school bus after a morning at kindergarten and running up the alley to their apartment. When she saw her mother waiting on the balcony, she cried out, “Mama I’m thirsty!  Vino e aqua!”

Italy is a country where wine is a beverage that accompanies every meal and is expected to be good. I’ve never heard a discussion of the nuances of a wine that was served at the table. If it was exceptional, or came from a friend, the only comment might be “buona,” good. I smile when I read all the influencer articles with recommendations about what to drink and what vintages are in fashion, because they're neither reliable nor relatable to individual tastes.

Besides recognizing wine’s basic chemical components, the question arises, is wine tasting a fact driven science based on data and evidence or a subjective experience influenced by assumptions, opinions and biases ? Everyone’s palate is different. Just as important as taste, is learning  and understanding other cultures. It's learning about geography and climate. It's about learning history, and learning and appreciating the food that it is served with.

One aspect of the discussions about the subtleties of fine wines is an implied  boast that says, I have the financial means that permits me to buy expensive wines. The obsession with wine and its exclusiveness, can be seen as a class marker, as though by spending enough you can buy sophistication. To some it might seem much classier to drink expensive wine with its overtones of the luxury and refinement of chateaus, and aristocratic, dusty wine cellars, rather than other alcoholic drinks, that hint of noisy pubs and rowdy bars.

Wine tasting is always a subject of contention. Again, is it a science, or a subjective analysis? A knowledgeable friend after tasting a wine I brought for a dinner we were eating together, sniffed it, sipped it, swirled it around in his glass to aerate it, then held it up to the light to judge its color. He took another small sip, rolled it around against the roof of his mouth, and took a short breath through his nose. I waited for his opinion. Surprisingly, instead of the expected initiated and knowledgeable evaluation of tannin, aroma, balance, body and finish, he asked, “How much did it cost?” When I told him the price, his only comment was, “It is an excellent wine.”

My host didn’t have a need to sound sophisticated. Like many men of his generation, his grandfather, according to family tradition, placed a drop of wine on his tongue while he was still an infant implying, “this drop is as important as the holy water that the priest will anoint you with at baptism.”

Judge the wine by what you like and its basic components. Everyone’s palate and expectations are different,” he explained. “If you like it, it is good.”  A lesson:  the price is not always related to quality.

However, one useful aspect of understanding and appreciating wine, is knowing how to pair the qualities of a specific type, with the food that it is being served, enhancing both. Drink your wine without pretense. More than anything else, it should symbolize the enjoyment and companionship of a meal, not how accurately you can describe its flavor.       

Restaurants      

Choosing a Restaurant, A Few Useful Suggestions 

Le Guide Rouge de Michelin was very prestigious and its recommendation sought after by gourmet chefs and high-end restaurateurs, but when we stopped at a cafe or went out to eat, I joked with my friends and asked how many stars the restaurant or shop had in the Guide d’Amici di Ambrosia. The recommendation and experience of my discerning friends was, in my eyes, the most reliable.

Sometimes a restaurant isn’t anything more than a place to eat. At its best, it's a place where we share and make memories, a place that not only nourishes the body but the spirit. If you have been to Italy and come home and say that the food was unimpressive, you might have had bad luck, or made bad choices. In search of the perfect restaurant? Use your eyes, nose and intuition, plus a little common sense. In every city, village or town, there are small trattorias and restaurants, with unremarkable exteriors, but where you can find remarkable food. 

Often, it’s a growling stomach that dictates where we eat. When we are hungry, human nature wants us to find food quickly. It can lead to bad decisions and to bad choices. Instead, look for a restaurant early in the day before you are hungry and will settle for almost anything. Book a table if you can, and then do your sightseeing and go back.  Walk a few blocks in from the tourist traps and away from the generic menus and rush of sightseers. Take a side street or back alley, and step away from the seafront or the majestic view.  It is not always the price of the meal you pay for.  A view or a central location means higher rent and increased prices. 

Follow some advice from the renowned chef Jaques Pepin: Go in and look around, are you pleasantly received, how are the tables set? Is the restaurant clean?  Are the bathrooms clean? Cleanliness is synonymous with pride, not only in the premises, but also in the meal. 

My personal preference is an osteria or trattoria, with a dozen or so tables, where the cook comes out and explains what dishes they are serving that day, or the menu is hand written on a blackboard. 

The Types of Italian Restaurants 

Osteria = An informal restaurant, usually with low prices

Trattoria = Also an informal restaurant similar to an osteria ,perhaps with more alternatives on the menu.

Ristorante = A more formal restaurant, more expensive with a broader menu.

Pizzeria = Pizza, many of which have other dishes on the menu.

Tavalo Calda = A self-service cafeteria. 

Note: If you are between meals, you can get a sandwich (panino) made at the deli section of most Italian grocery stores, and pizza by the slice, at many bakeries.    

From Street Food to Elite Food: Reflections on Fine Dining

In a country with upwards of 150,000 registered restaurants, Il Reale in Castel di Sangro is consistently rated as number one, and is considered to be among the ten best restaurants in the world. Those facts are intimidating for a person who is happiest when eating in a workingman’s trattoria, and when he does dine in a fine restaurant, feels as though he must get up and start cleaning off the table.

The memory of a great meal can last a lifetime, but if you go searching for the perfect meal, or the food of the Gods, you probably will never find it. With some luck though, there are other small, earthly pleasures that are waiting to be discovered. I found one at the three-star Michelin restaurant Il Reale, in Castel di Sangro, tucked into the foothills of the Apennines an hour’s drive from Vasto.

The famed chef, Anthony Bourdain said that “good food is very often, in fact most often simple food.” Il Reale proved his point. Usually, my restaurant of choice, is a neighborhood trattoria that serves traditional, robust, local cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere, where the kitchen has a touch of mamma or nonna. But my visit to the renowned restaurant Reale, consistently rated among the top ten best in the world, gave me the same feeling of being a welcome and special guest as I had at a local hostel, without the pretensions that often accompany the exclusivity of fine dining.

At first, I was skeptical about dining at Reale, despite its uncontested reputation for excellence. How can you improve on Italian cooking, with recipes that have been used and tested through generations, and how could I, in good conscience, wait three months for a reservation, and then pay ten times more for a meal than I would have paid at one of Vasto’s many excellent restaurants? However, my apprehensions were unfounded. Restaurant Reale, in the hands of one of the world’s most famous chefs, Nico Romito and his excellent staff, took me on an exquisite culinary journey.

Reale’s dining room was located in an impeccably restored 16th century convent. It was spacious and minimalistic, almost with the unspoken intention that the food was to be the center of the diner’s attention, and not the décor.

The dishes that came to the table, one after one, were prepared with a simplicity that highlighted the purity of the ingredients that came from the Convent’s surrounding gardens and fields. Reale is renowned for its bread, and we were served crusty loaves that were baked in its stone oven from strains of Abruzzo wheat that had a thousand-year history. The meal’s different courses were presented with flawless attention to detail, including explanations of their components and origin. Rather than being an intellectual exercise where I was a spectator, the server’s description of our different courses, was an opportunity for me to experience the meal’s individual elements, and how their flavor and texture, complemented each other.

At Reale, there was a focus on every aspect of the dining experience, where the techniques and the creativity of the chef, who like any gifted professional, made the complicated appear elegantly simple.

*The maximum number of Michelin stars awarded to a single restaurant is three. Internationally renowned Reale, has three.

Choosing a Restaurant, What to Look for Before You Go In

My friends, “The Amici”, are appreciative and knowledgeable gourmands, and on all subjects concerning food, they had their individual preferences and opinions. When they go out to eat, they want to eat food that's as good as or better than the traditional meals they have eaten all their lives. They understand the dishes that are being served and feel they know how they should be prepared and will not hesitate to give their opinions, if they feel that something does not come up to standard. Here are a few guidelines that I’ve learned from them.

Italian food is not national, but regional and local. If you have eaten in an Italian restaurant in England or the U.S., or any other country outside of Italy, the food can be classified as Italian inspired. As with most regional Italian dishes, there are as many recipes as there are cooks. 

Avoid places with plasticized menus, translated into different languages, and be especially wary if they have photos and too many choices. The risk is that the ingredients come from a freezer and not the local market.

Look for a menu that is posted outside the entrance door. It tells you much more about the restaurant than its location and its facade.

 A restaurant that serves only a half dozen primi and as many secondo is a safe bet, as that number is what the average restaurant kitchen can reasonably prepare from scratch.  

 A chalk board with a handwritten menu can be a good indicator of a restaurant with a selection that follows the seasons and availability.

And the best choice is when there is no menu at all, and the cook comes out and tells you what they are serving that day.

Ask someone to help you find a restaurant that serves local and regional dishes with seasonably available ingredients.

Choose a restaurant with Italian hours only usually 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm, and 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm. Restaurants that are open all day usually cater to tourists, and sacrifice quality for speed.   

House wine is usually local or regional and of good quality at a sensible price.

Avoid places with a hawker standing outside enticing tourists to come in.

Don’t trust the recommendations of Trip Adviser.

A good sign is when you walk past a restaurant at 7:00 PM., before it opens for customers, and see the personnel sitting together having dinner. It conveys the feeling of teamwork and conviviality.

And finally open your eyes and ears. Not only does the menu speak to you, if you see only Italians, the cuisine is more likely to be authentic. Local people won’t hesitate to criticize a meal, or service if they are dissatisfied.

 At the Table

There isn’t a dress code. A jacket and tie aren’t expected or required. It is the food that matters and it’s understood that everyone knows what appropriate dress is.

You aren’t required to order several courses.  

Eat your pasta when it comes to the table, even if the other members of your party haven't received theirs.

When you have booked, the table is yours for the evening. You won’t be rushed out after you’ve finished your meal.

You don’t have to ask for the bill. In most restaurants you pay the cashier, who has your table and bill noted and tallied, on the way out. 

Pay "A la Romana" It is common to divide the bill equally.

Credit cards are always accepted, but cash is everyone’s friend.

Tipping is not required and is included in the coperto - service charge.

Have you spilled oil or sauce on your blouse or shirt? In most restaurants you will find talcum powder and a brush in the lavatory or in its vicinity. 

After Dinner Gelato

Ice cream is one of those small earthly pleasures that Italy is so famous for, and you should take every chance you get to experience it.

Italians seem to have an unbreakable bond to ice cream. If there was a book titled,” The World According to Ice Cream Lovers,” the first chapter would be “A Day Without Ice Cream is a Day Lost.”

Of course, there is a lot more to life than ice cream. Life has relationships, children, joys and sorrows, work and rest, but what would life be without that creamy goodness.

So- Maybe after you’ve eaten that satisfying restaurant meal and that classical tiramisu, or crema catalana or that velvety panacotta doesn’t tempt you, finish up with an amaro or a chilled limoncello, and then go out into the seductive Italian night, listen to the pleasant chatter of the people as they take their passeggiata, and find a suitable gelateria.

If pasta is the fuel that keeps Italy moving, gelato is the elixir that nourishes its spirit. It is the universal feel- good food that transcends race, religion, politics and origin, and speaks a language that everyone, from toddlers taking their first steps, to centenarians nearing their last, understands. Whether you eat it cupped or coned, it is one of those undeniable Italian pleasures, and one of the few topics that everyone agrees upon. 

Some Tempting Flavors.

Vaniglia - vanilla

Cioccolato - chocolate

Fragola - strawberry

Limone - lemon

Melone - melon

Frutti di bosco - fruits of the forest

Focciola - hazelnut

Stracciatella - vanilla with chocolate pieces

Bacio -chocolate with whole hazelnuts, Nutella

Pistacchio - pistachio

And my favorite, ciliegia - cherry

If one flavor doesn't seem to be enough because there are so many to choose from, order a scoop on the bottom, a different in the middle, and a third on top.

Do like the Italians in the evening, 'Fare una passeggiata'. 

Take a walk through the town square, which is done more socially than for exercise, and translates roughly as, fare una passeggiata "take a leisurely stroll." Passeggiata is a traditional cultural institution throughout Italy, and is an opportunity to greet friends and acquaintances. If you take your walk after dinner, visit a gelataria and take it with an ice cream cone in hand, or with a cup of your favorite flavors, find a bench or someplace to sit, and enjoy the evening.

Small Scale, Local Products 

Ever since my first trip to Italy many years ago, I have been struck by the fact that the Italian people have managed to preserve the uniqueness and diversity of their culture, not only in a historical sense, but also in a culinary one. Wherever you are, from the cliffs and valleys of the Dolomite Mountains in the north, to Sicily in the South, or if you walk through the lanes of a remote hill village, or the alleys and streets of Milano, Naples or Rome, you can’t take more than a few hundred steps without seeing at least one bakery, salumeria, pescheria, fruit and vegetable stand, or any other number of small specialty food shops.

Fresh or artisanal ingredients are the vital core of Italian cookery.  You can’t expect to find them in a chain supermarket with vegetables and fruit shipped across oceans and continents, and then put in ripening chambers and wrapped in plastic, and where grocery store shelves are filled with tasteless meat from livestock and poultry that are fed artificial growth hormones.

What does the term “small scale” mean? It can be defined as consumption and trade based on personal relationships and the social interaction between the buyer and the seller. Small scale commerce strengthens the bond of respect, solidarity and pride in a community that comes from frequenting businesses that sell locally sourced products.

Small scale commerce also fosters an appreciation of the farmer who brings produce to the market, the butcher who supplies the meat you eat, and the satisfaction of using oil and drinking wine that comes from the groves and vineyards that surround your town. Small scale thrives by  purchasing bread from the neighborhood baker, and fruit and vegetables from the local market stalls, and also by supporting artisans and businesses that are the life blood of a city, town, or village.

Will the local production of the food stuffs, that give Italy the high-quality ingredients that are a staple of the country’s cuisine disappear when young Italians, that don’t have a connection to the land and fields of their parents and grandparents mature? If this happens, there is also the strong possibility that there will be an incremental change in traditional Italian agricultural practices as older generations recede, and trends and influences from other parts of the world seep in. 

Italian cuisine faces an existential crisis when international supermarket chains, with only industrial produced vegetables, cheeses and meats, replace the small scale artisanal ingredients that make Italian food exceptional.

Small scale is the key to preserving the Italian  way of life and the social values that we find so admirable.                                                                          

From the Farm to the Table

Compare a sun warmed tomato, fertilized naturally and ripened on the vine, with a hot house tomato fed by a nutrient solution and grown under lights, then de-greened and ripened in a warehouse chamber with ethylene gas, to understand the difference.  Tomatoes that are grown out of doors, are no longer bred for flavor, but to survive disease, insects and shipping. In the field, they must be able to withstand weather, from blistering heat to tropical downpours, and some varieties are bred, when sliced, to fit perfectly on a fast-food burger patty, or simply to look fresh in a display case for weeks.

Facing the reality that there are many foods that supermarkets overlook, because of a short shelf life and an inability for farmers to harvest them mechanically,  there could be a generation coming that won’t experience anything other than the tasteless food with low nutritional value, that comes from large, industrialized producers. 

A Snapshot of Vasto’s Centro Storico in the 1960’s

In the 1950’s, the trauma of the Second World War, was still fresh in the memory of every Abruzzese. Much of the Abruzzo coast was recovering from the intense bombing that led to the near total destruction of the towns of Pescara and Ortona, and the brutal occupation of the Maiella villages by the German Army. Fortunately, Vasto was not bombed and its historical center was undamaged. But after the war, unemployment was high and many of the town’s inhabitants emigrated to Australia or the Americas, in search of a better life.

A friend gave me a brief description of how life was, as she remembers it when she was a child. “Centro Storico wasn’t the scenic tourist area that it is today. It was still quite poor,” she said. “The apartments were small and lacked modern conveniences. We lived opposite the Santa Chiara market, and in the mornings, I watched the farmers bring in their produce on the backs of donkeys, and the fishermen unload the day’s catch to sell in the different stalls. People scraped by, and on the hillsides beyond the wall of the Loggia Amblingh, where there are now many luxurious homes, there was a patchwork orto, small kitchen gardens, that ran down to the sea, where the old town residents grew vegetables to help feed their families.” 

Santa Chiara Market

Santa Chiara Market in Vasto is built over the ruins of the ancient Santa Chiara Cloister, a fitting location, when you consider that the shopping there was done with a reverence bordering on the religious. The seafood came from nets that were hauled up from the nearby Adriatic a few hours before, fruit and vegetables came fresh from the fields and orchards that surround the town, wine and olive oil came from local vineyards and groves, and the cheese and meats that hung in the stalls were locally cured and butchered.

The market embodies every foreigner’s idea of how Italians shop for food. When I went through it for the first time, I got lost in the fragrances and colors of the summer’s fruits and vegetables, heaped up in piles in every stall. The colors were intensive – bright red tomatoes, dark purple eggplants, gleaming black olives, yellow pumpkin flowers, shiny green peppers, pink onions, polished apples, glossy plums and pears, furry peaches, orange hued persimmons, perfectly formed zucchinis, radishes and lettuces. I was filled with the smells of fresh bread, and cheese both fresh and aged from the milk of cows and sheep.  There were eggs that were gathered that morning, hams, sausages and salamis of every description, meats and fowl, honey, dried spices, pasta and grains. Every customer had their favorite stalls and every seller said that their products were the best.  

From Generation to Generation

Pizzeria La Tana: From Father to Sons

Small Businesses are the heart and soul of a community. Here are several examples of Vasto’s family-owned businesses.

1968

Nineteen sixty-eight was the year Francesco Tana brought pizza to Vasto’s Centro Storico. He was unemployed and had a pressing need to earn a living that would enable him to support his large family. Necessity is the mother of invention, and that struggle and his responsibility, gave birth to Vasto’s first pizzeria. 

Francesco Tana chose an unused wine cellar opposite Pallazzo D’Avalos and its garden for his new business.  He learned the craft of fermenting and kneading pizza dough from a friend who was a baker. There were a few shops that sold pizza by the slice in Vasto. Pizza was street food, or literally the fast food of the times, but the Pizzeria La Tana, would be the first where its patrons could sit and be served in an ordinary restaurant. 

In the nineteen-fifties, many Vastese migrated to the North of Italy, and to the Americas and Australia, primarily driven by economic hardship and unemployment, but by nineteen sixty-eight, there had begun an economic expansion in the region, and as the economy of Vasto improved, people began to leave their homes to enjoy an affordable evening at a restaurant. It is said, that for an Italian, Mama’s and Nonna’s cooking is always the golden standard, but Pizza was one dish that couldn’t be made at home. In order to make pizza as it should be, you need a special oven, either wood-fired, or electric to produce the high temperatures that are required for baking. 

Once isolated by the rugged landscape of the Apennines, Vasto became more accessible as a result of a motorway built across and under its peaks. As the decades of the sixties and seventies passed, Vasto with its rustic charm, ancient ruins, and coastal beauty, began to attract tourists that have benefited other local restaurants.  Through the years, as the city prospered and grew, there would be many pizzerias, trattorias, and restaurants that would come and go, but La Tana remains.

The years pass. 2025

The central point of Vasto’s old town, Piazza Lucio Pudente, surrounded by centuries old buildings, is near, but at the same time far, from the buzz of traffic on Vasto’s main street Via Garibaldi. The bells from Chiesa San Giuseppe, a reminder of the neighborhood’s thousand-year history, ring every hour, marking the passing of time, and punctuating the chatter of the steady stream of tourists and residents on their way to dinner, or to watch the night fall over the Adriatic. 

Walk across the piazza, past the intricately patterned iron gates of the Giardini D’Avalos, and go down the steps that lead to the cellar where Francesco Tana started his pizzeria. He passed away many years ago, but in the restaurant’s kitchen, you’ll find his two sons Peppino and Enzo, who have been baking pizza since they were in their teens, continuing a family business that echoes a past that is worth preserving. 

Ferramente Forte: From Generation to Generation 

The dozen wood screws, I bought were neatly wrapped in a sheet of newspaper, instead of packaged in a zip-lock plastic bag. That little packet was a memento from a frugal and less complicated past.

Even if it has been located at the same address since 1931, you might pass this small hardware store tucked into a corner of Vasto’s Piazza Rosetti without noticing it. The only hint that there is a business there is the unpretentious sign hanging alongside the door “Ferramente B. Forte”. When I walked into this store, it was as though I had wandered into a time warp that transported me back to an age before there were airport sized shopping malls, electronic transactions on the internet, or ready-to- assemble furniture at Ikea.

Having passed through three generations, Ferramente Forte is perhaps the oldest store in Vasto’s Centro Storico. It has witnessed and withstood all the changes that have taken place on the piazza and in town. Seemingly unchanged in the ninety-five years of its existence, all the available space in its dimly lit room is utilized from the floor to the ceiling, and lined with shelves and drawers full of everything you might need to build, fix, repair and maintain a house or garden. There are hand tools, plumbing and electrical supplies, fasteners, locks, latches, nails, screws and a thousand other things, all stacked and displayed in the same way as they might have been, when the current owner Vittorio Patriarchi’s  grandfather, on his mother’s side, Biagio Forte founded the store in the early 1930’s. A skilled woodworker and furniture maker, his idea was to supply the town’s many tradesmen and artisans with the supplies they needed for their work.

The responsibility and knowledge of the owners of businesses, that have been passed from generation to generation, represent the heart and soul of a community, but are disappearing throughout the Western World at an alarming rate. Italy lost upwards of 100,000 small businesses during the past decade, a trend that has a noticeable effect on local economies, especially in the historical town centers, where small shops keep the business district alive and attractive.

Their commerce creates tax revenues that fund basic services, and stimulate a sense of shared values and community pride, the intangible but important traits that are the touch stones of the Italian way of life.

A small family-owned business like Ferramente Forte, has a continuity and sense of responsibility to its customers, and like many small businesses echoes an age, when shopping was not only an occasion for a purchase, but also a chance for a social meeting between a buyer and seller that not only fills a commercial function, but a social and cultural one as well.

The town of Vasto is no different than towns and cities in other parts of the world, where there is a reluctance on the part of young people to take on the responsibility of entrepreneurship, but there is a glimmer of hope for the future. As the third-generation owner, Vitorio Patriarchi took the store Ferramente Forte into the 21st century.  Just a few years before the store’s 100th anniversary, the great granddaughter of Biagio Forte, Federica Patriarchi will take over when her father retires. It is not only a tribute to her great grandfather Biaggio Forte, but gives a youthful breath of life to Vasto’s historical town center.

The years pass, circumstances and demographics change, but one generation guiding the next, remains the lifeblood of a family and a successful society. 

Photo Caption Vittorio --This well- known store has been family owned for almost a century. Vittorio Patriarchi inherited it in 1981, after the death of his father Nicola, who in turn, inherited the store from his father-in-law Biagio Forte in 1945. Born into the hardware business, Vittorio a modest man with an easy smile, understands his products and his customers. 

Panificio Stanici Another Landmark in the Centro Storico

Artisanal bakeries are central to Italy’s gastronomy. They bake a variety of regional breads, focaccia, panini, pizza, sweets and other baked goods. 

Stanici’s bakery, in the old town, is another example of a family run small scale business that has served residents through the decades.

I doubt if there is a Vastese, old or young, that hasn’t stood outside the Stanici bakery or sat on the steps of the nearby church of Santa Maria Maggiore and eaten a slice of pizza or a cornetto. Stanici’s is also an early morning stop for workers or beach goers who pack the freshly baked slices to eat at lunch.

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Pane = Bread

"Give us this day our daily bread:” The Lord’s Prayer, from a time when bread was a nourishing staple, instead of a spongy filler wrapped in plastic.

No feeling can compare to that of setting foot in a small neighborhood bakery in the morning and breathing in the sweet scents of fresh bread!  

Good bread is a simple food with simple ingredients: flour, water, yeast and salt and it is said, that this simple food is the reason that civilization exists in the way we know it today. But in a supermarket in the Western World, it’s difficult to find a commercial loaf of bread that would sustain life for any amount of time.  The differences between an artisanal bakery’s bread made by traditional methods and an industrial loaf have to do with quality, taste and nutrition.

If you compare a list of ingredients for an industrial loaf of bread, to that of an artisanal loaf, you will inevitably notice a big difference in the length of the lists and the amount of chemicals used. Bread from artisanal bakeries is made from flour, water, sourdough and salt.  Industrial bread, on the other hand, contains about a dozen additives, including not only preservatives, but acid regulators, emulsifiers, flour improvers, flour treatment agents, bleaching agents, and sometimes coloring.  Add to that, the hard milling of the wheat to make the flour that is used in these breads, destroys the natural vitamins, so synthetic ones are added. Instead of twenty-four hours, an industrial loaf rises in twenty minutes.  Since the industrial method favors quantity and speed rather than quality, the dough needs help from a large portion of artificial gluten, which is known to cause allergies in many people. An artisanal loaf takes time. It ferments slowly and uses a better quality of wheat with natural gluten, which helps the bread rise and hold moisture. The superior nutrition and taste of a hearty artisanal bread is created during the long proofing time.  In this case simplicity is best! 

Carciofi from Cuppello- Local Produce

A vegetable that is undisputed for its versatility is the artichoke. In the spring when it is in season, it is an inseparable part of the culinary tradition of Vasto and the surrounding villages.

Every town across Italy has its own regional dishes that represent the very best of local produce and recipes. Try to find out what they are in the region or town that you are visiting. Ask what is in season, and where it is served. 

Regardless of the season, I am always amazed when I travel, whether it’s to a large city or a mountain village, when I stumble upon a festival honoring the region’s produce or delicacies. There always seems to be an event or holiday to celebrate them, or often, the specialties themselves are reason enough to celebrate.

Cuppello is a village a few kilometers inland from Vasto, whose fertile fields are famous for their prized artichokes. The local growers harvest and sell over three million every year throughout Italy, and every April the town’s chamber of commerce celebrate their produce with a festival that fills the streets with both residents and visitors. When artichokes are in season, you can eat pasta with carciofi ragu as well as one of the most popular local dishes, artichokes stuffed with a mix of cheese and eggs, carciofi ripiene. Local restaurants serve a soup with artichokes and beans, and in the street stalls during the festival, you can find them in omelets, grilled, boiled, baked or in lasagna or another soup, zuppa di cardo, made from the stems. ( Harvest Season – March to April)

Coffee        

Coffee came to Italy from Egypt and the middle east in the 16 th century and became so popular, that it was considered a Devil’s brew and condemned by the Catholic Church.  Legend has it, that the Pope Clement VIII tasted it, blessed it and exclaimed, “This drink is so delicious that it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it."

According to Catholic dogma, the Pope who is the leader of the Church, is infallible regarding statements concerning doctrine and Church law. In 1650 divine protection from making a mistake, was obviously even extended to such temporal issues as coffee. 

And since then, drinking coffee has been a special part of the Italian culture, to the extent that there are 15 billion cups of espresso brewed and served every year, by an estimated 250,00 professional baristas.

Coffee Etiquette – How to drink coffee like an Italian

The normal Italian coffee drinker stops at a café, orders a caffe’ normale, what we call espresso, mixes in a spoonful of sugar and downs it in three gulps standing at the bar, followed by a small glass of water.

There is an understated sophistication to the Italian way of brewing and drinking coffee. Like the cuisine, their attitude is, keep it uncomplicated. Let the quality of the ingredients speak for themselves. 

When you order coffee in Italy the term espresso isn’t used. You simply ask for caffe’ or caffe’ normale.  A macchiato is a caffe normale with a dollop of steamed milk. An americano or caffe’ longo is a caffe normale with a little hot water added. If you ask for a latte, the Italian word for milk, that is just what you are going to get, a cup full of milk. 

 Simple is best in the Italian culinary world and coffee is no exception. Italians are coffee purists, and there aren’t any alchemic short cuts that change poor ingredients to good ones.

The beans should be of good quality and darkly roasted, and the brew a little bitter with a brown froth or crema. If you drink coffee in Milan in the north, or in Palermo in Sicily, the quality and taste are the same. 

Italians turn up their noses at the idea of foreign coffee chains adulterating their coffee with spices and flavored syrups, something they consider a sacrilege.

Rather than standing for a quick cup at the bar, many cafes have a few small tables, inside or outside, where it is a pleasant and convenient way to meet friends. For a slightly higher price, patrons can sit for a while and relax while drinking their coffee.  When you order, you can go in, or a server will come out to you.  To make a perfect morning, order a cornetto with your cappuccino.

A small glass of water is usually served with your coffee. Do you drink it before or after your coffee? There are two schools of thought. Before- Water cleanses the palate, preparing it for the aromas and tastes that are to come. After - Caffe’ Normale is strong and bitter and drinking a glass of water afterward enhances and balances its flavor and cleans your teeth and breath.

For obvious reasons, your companions might prefer that you do the latter. When you are finished you pay the cashier. As in other restaurants, tips are not expected.

Note: After several unscientific surveys at local cafes, I’ve noticed that half of the coffee drinkers prefer their water before and the other half after. There is another group who divide their water in two portions, half before and half after. In Naples where it is reputed that the best coffee is made and drunk, the water is consumed first.

Aperitivo

Aperitivo (also called aperitif in France and many countries) is a small meal or snack eaten in the early evening. It is enjoyed by Italians everywhere, and comes in many forms, depending on where in Italy you are. 

The same cafes that serve coffee in the mornings and afternoons, often serve an inexpensive aperitivo between six and eight p.m., that consists of an alcoholic beverage, often with a small assortment of cheeses, bruschetta, crostini, small sandwiches, chips and antipasti. For a price that is a little more than what you would pay for a drink alone, you can sit an hour and watch passers-by as they slowly take their evening stroll, or passeggiata as is called in Italian.

The experience of taking an aperitivo isn’t only a cultural ritual, it is one of those social occasions that is meant to slow us down a bit after a hectic day and that makes an Italian evening so memorable. The word aperitivo is derived from the Latin aperire, (open) and the drink and small array of finger-food is meant “to open” the stomach before dining, or more simply put, it is an appetizer before your real dinner begins at eight or nine o’clock.

There is also a more substantial variation, and is a hybrid combining aperitivo and cena (dinner) a meal that is called an “apericena,” that includes more substantial dishes. 

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Pizza  

“Man shall not live by bread alone.” From the gospel of Matthew 4:4. 

Italy has given many gifts to the world, but the most known and loved is Pizza. Not Latin, the fundament on which many languages are built, not its Renaissance philosophers and masters in painting and music, not its world heritage treasures, sculpturers, inventors or explorers, but a simple flatbread that was made and eaten by the poor. 

If I were to generalize, I would say that the meal of choice when people go out in the evening with family or friends, is pizza.  It’s relatively inexpensive and difficult to make in a normal oven. Another reason is, with the exception of pizza, people feel that restaurant fare never quite measures up to what is prepared in most home kitchens.  

At the Table

Your server hands you a menu and then stands hunched over his or her order pad, waiting for you to make a decision. You pour over it for the third time, overwhelmed by at least a dozen choices. Hmmm. Would it be some type of pizza rosse, or maybe a quattro formaggi from the pizza bianchi column, or maybe a pizza speciali, with prosciutto, or maybe one with anchovie or salsice?  The perfect pizza though, is the one you like, and it’s different for everyone. 

A diner could be a bit overwhelmed with so much to choose from, but I never have to look at the menu. For me, it’s a classic Neopolitan Margherita, elegantly simple, with San Marzano tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil leaves, topping a supple bottom with a puffy, airy, crust.  

Margarita

The history of the simple pizza that is at the top of every Italian pizzeria’s menu.

In 1889 a Neopolitan pizzaiuolo baked three different pizzas for the visit of King Umberto and Queen Margarita to the city.

The Queen's favorite was one with the colors of the Italian flag—red from tomato sauce, white from mozzarella cheese and green from basil leaves. The story goes that this combination was named The Pizza Margherita in her honor.

Pizzeria Brandi, where the pizza  baker Raffaele Esposito, is said to have invented  the Margarita Pizza, is still located in the heart of Naples.

Beer: A Beverage That Compliments Pizza 

When you imagine Italian beverages, you might think of vineyards on rolling hills or glasses and carafes filled with rich red or shimmering white wine. However, when you are sitting in a crowded pizzeria, you'll probably see people drinking something that you didn't expect.

One thing that surprises a foreigner, is that Italians probably won't drink wine with their pizza, and it’s not unusual to see a pitcher of biera alla spina (beer from the tap) on the table. The crisp, tartness of the beer compliments the richness of the pizza's tomato and cheese, without compromising or detracting from their tastes. 

Another surprise might be, seeing diners while waiting for their orders to arrive, digging into a starter of French fries, or vegetables that have been lightly dredged in flour and deep fried. 

And one more surprise- If you ask for you pizza to be sliced, pizza is unsliced in Italy, your server might come to the table with a scissor or even a pruning shear. 

Pay the Check, Pagare alla Romana

Italian guests don't request the check at the table. That is one major difference between Italian restaurants and those in other countries. When you are finished eating in an Italian café, pizzeria, trattoria or restaurant, you are not rushed by the server to pay the bill and leave. When you've finished your meal, had your coffee and amaro or limoncello, and are ready to go, get up and on the way out, pay at the cash register. If you are with a group, you or someone in your party, goes to the cashier, usually the designated mathematician in the group, divides up the bill equally, and everyone chips in their part. Tipping isn't required, and is included in the service charge. 

Wood Fired Oven, or Electric. An expert opinion.

“When the moon in the sky hits your eye, like a big pizza pie, that’s amore.”-

There is a collective zest for food, and pride in its preparation, that is unique to the Italian spirit. I unexpectedly experienced that one evening at a pizzeria in a seaside village in Campania, where it seemed that the pizzaiola there was much more interested in giving me a proper memory of his village, than baking me a pizza. “My pizzas are good” he said, before I sat down, “but if you want the best, go to my friend across the square.” “He bakes his in a brick oven,” He poked his forefinger into his cheek and said, “They are ottimo.”

Imagine someone saying that while taking your order at a Pizza Hut. (American fast-food pizza chain)  

The Classical Neopolitan Pizza, From Neopolitan Street Food to Worldwide Cult.

Flour, salt, yeast, and throw in tradition and passion.

If you were to walk through any Italian city, town, or village, along its lanes and alleys, past shops and stores, bakeries and markets, it wouldn’t take you long to find a pizzeria. In Italy finding a good pizza is as easy as ABC, but finding a great pizza, one that’s worth eating down to that last bite of crust, and still want more, requires that you go to Naples. At least that’s what the il Napolitano will tell you.

In Naples, pizza isn’t just a food but a cultural symbol, a source of pride, and a part of its identity. Simple, like all Italian food, it is made from a handful of quality ingredients, and with its roots deep in its history. Accordingly in 2017, Neopolitan pizza was designated a *UNESCO "Intangible Cultural Heritage."

In order to make a true Neopolitan style pizza the list of requirements that help to preserve its traditions are stringent and overseen by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, AVPN, The True Neopolitan Pizza Association. 

Note: Pizza in Naples is taken seriously. The AVPN document for the making of a true Neopolitan pizza compromises 28 pages, meticulously covering size, preparation, ingredients, leavening and proofing, type of oven, and wood used to fire it, baking temperature, toppings etc. 

* The Intangible Cultural Heritage designation is regarded in Italy as an important factor in maintaining and preserving cultural diversity in a world of growing globalization. 

Some Tips on How to Eat Pizza Like a Native

One - Order a beer and some French fries while you look at the menu and choose a topping.

Two - Start eating as soon as your pizza is served.

Three – Cut your pizza into wedges. with a knife, scissors or yes, garden shears. (In Italy you get pizza unsliced.)

Four - Fold a slice inward from the outside corners or, eat it like a native; fold it from the middle, one side over the other.

Five - Tilt the slice so the toppings flow into your mouth. It’s okay to make appreciative noises, including slurping.

Six- Alternative to five. Bend the front corner and take a bite.

Seven – Enjoy!

Eight - Ask your dinner companion if he/she is going to leave that uneaten slice on the plate. 

 Pasta                     

La Pasta- The Alchemy of Combining Wheat Flour and Water 

What is simpler than harvesting wheat, milling it into flour and mixing it with water? Did Marco polo bring pasta to Italy from China where it had been eaten for centuries? Did Arab traders take it to Sicily from North Africa, or was it already eaten during the times of the Roman Empire? And does it matter who was first, and where this iconic food originated, because, we are all thankful to the Italians, who gave this magical fare to the rest of the world.       

What would a life, or a meal be without pasta.  If you asked an Italian, they might quote Federico Fellini, Italy’s renowned film maker. (La Dolce Vita - The Sweet Life)".  “Life is a combination of magic and pasta," he said.

Italian cuisine without pasta is unthinkable.  It's the fuel that keeps Italy going and it’s difficult to imagine an Italian meal without it in some form. The average Italian consumes an impressive 23 kilograms of pasta annually, fresh and dried, in countless shapes, sizes and textures with an innumerable variety of fillings and sauces.

When the pasta is of good quality, the rest of the magic is in pairing the right shape correctly with the appropriate sauce. Each type and shape of pasta, is designed for a specific kind of sauce. As an example, a heavy sauce clings better to the ridges on rigatoni. Thin strands of spaghetti do the same for lighter smoother types of sauces.  Here is a simple guide to some common pasta types and their sauce pairings, knowledge that an Italian nonna, housewife or cook imbibes with their mother’s milk, but we foreigners have to learn.   

Common Types

Long thin pasta = Thin lighter, smoother or delicate types of sauces like marina or oil-based sauces like mussel or vongole cling easily to the thin strands of spaghetti.

Long wide pasta = For Alfredo or creamy sauces, broad pasta shapes like tagliatelle or fettuccine are best. Pair long, ribbon pasta shapes such as tagliatelle, pappardelle or fettuccine, with rich, meaty sauces.

Tubular pasta = For example, penne, ziti, and rigatoni (ridged pasta) are versatile shapes that fit well with thick vegetable or meat sauces like Bolognese. They also go well together with creamy sauces.

Small pasta = Casarecce for light sauces. Orecchiette has a concave shape that is perfect for scooping up rich and creamy cheese sauces or chunky tomato sauces. 

Very small pasta = For example, pastine and orzo, are very small pasta shapes that disappear in a typical pasta sauce, but are ideal in soups and broths.

Pasta mista =There is one pasta type that stems from a time when dried pasta was sold in bulk, that combines all of the above. Before standardized packaging, pasta was sold by weight, and the broken and damaged bits that were less desirable, were offered as an inexpensive alternative. These broken scraps were used to fill out soups, bean, potato and vegetable dishes. Today different forms of pasta mista can be found packaged on supermarket shelves.      

Fresh Pasta   

Fresh pasta is easy to make or can be purchased at the local pastaficio. Even if dry pasta is most commonly used, fresh pasta that is rolled out, cut and pressed, into different shapes, is perfect with delicate sauces that accentuate its flavor and texture and coat its smooth surfaces. It is also used for pasta that is stuffed like ravioli and tortellini. In Vasto the most common fresh pasta is spaghetti alle chitarra.

Pasta from Abruzzo                                               

Pasta started out as a food from the cucina povera tradition predominately in the South where it was made without eggs and simply with flour and water. Traditionally pasta was a staple in the South, while people in the north ate rice and polenta. 

Spaghetti Chitarra is a Vasto favorite. It gets its name from a wooden frame that is strung with metal wires. Sheets of pasta are pressed down with a roller, and then the wires are "strummed" so the strands of pasta fall through. Spaghetti Chitarra is often served with vongole, olive oil, and pomodorini datterini (cherry tomatoes).

If there is one brand of pasta that is synonymous with Abruzzo and Vasto, it is Di Cecco from the town of Faro San Martino, called “La Casa Della Pasta” (The Home of Pasta), tucked into the foot of the Maiella Mountain. This world-famous pasta is made from two quality ingredients, high-gluten semolina wheat from the fields of the Abruzzo hillsides and the mineral rich water from the snow fed springs of the Maiella Massive. The dough is then pressed through bronze forms that give the finished product a slightly rough texture that helps the sauce cling to it.

However, pasta aficionados might enthusiastically point out that DiCecco pasta, excellent as it may be, is surpassed by another pasta from Fara San Martino.  Artisanally produced pasta from the small Cocco factory, is still made in the same way that its founder, the Pastai Mastri Domenico Cocco did a hundred and fifty years ago, and his knowledge has been passed on to his descendants, who have the same sense of pride in their product. 

There are going to be differing opinions on which pasta is the best depending on where you come from. One of Italy’s oldest and most renowned brands is the excellent pasta that comes from the town of Gragnano outside of Naples.  Dried pasta has been made in the village since the middle- ages and was said to be invented there.

Finally, cook all pasta al dente in lots of well salted water. An Italian cook will tell you, “That the pasta water should have the same salinity as the sea.” And importantly, the pasta is always mixed into the sauce to coat it well.

*Pasta or impasto is the literal translation of a dough mixture.  

 Cucina Povera

The Food of the Peasants, Farmers and Fisherman

Make do with what you have” is how the poor survive.

"Cucina Povera” the food of the poor, is not only a based on a simplicity of ingredients and a method of cooking.  It tells a story about, poverty, struggle, necessity and the food that sustained people through hard times, and its relationship between the past and the present. Today, when we eat these simple dishes that have made Italian cooking so famous, every bite is a reminder of this national history. 

Using what you had, the basis of cucina povere, was a means of survival in a society that was structured around a strict feudalistic system. Peasant farmers and serfs worked the land for the nobility and wealthy land owners. They paid their rent and debts with a large portion of their crops and produce.

The food from their kitchens was made from what the garden, fields and nature offered in all its unadulterated goodness and simplicity. There aren’t any clever culinary concepts in the tradition rich flora of their cooking.  “Cucina povera” is not only an homage to a simple cuisine and the people that cooked it. More than that, it tells the story of their daily struggle to secure food for the next meal.

Living under a system that was akin to slavery, the poor were forced to make do with the meagre resources that were available. Meat was not eaten much by the poor, as it was beyond their means. If they had any animals, they would have been used as valuable sources of milk or eggs that could be consumed in the home, turned over to the land owners, sold or bartered. If meat was used, it was mainly offal which the poor could afford, as these came from the parts of the animal rejected by the better classes.

The poor people’s cooking, is sprung from the underlying philosophy: use what you have, cook it with love and care, and turn what might otherwise be wasted into a meal. Its influence on Italian cuisine is characterized by the use of a few ingredients, allowing the natural flavors and freshness of each one to shine through.  “Cucina povera is not only an homage to rustic cuisine and the people who ate it. More than that, it tells the story of an impoverished people’s daily struggle to feed their families. Everyone who enjoys Italian food, owes a debt to the stone hearths and primitive kitchens of these people that worked the land and fished its waters.

Sustainability, Subsistence Farming

The essence of subsistence farming is being able to get the most from small parcels of land, and is the true basis of “cucina povera.”

Subsistence farming was not only producing enough food to use in the household, with a little left over to barter for other goods, but it was also essential to ensure that the land would be productive year after year. Every small farmer knew that different crops replenished the soil: for example, legumes: beans, lentils, peas and chickpeas, restored the nitrogen that was needed by other plants. Ideally, there was a continual mix of plants that complemented each other, either at the same time, or alternating over several harvests.

Peasant farmers followed practices that had been refined and passed down through generations. Crop diversity was an age-old method of sustainable agriculture. Farming methods that depleted the soil would have deprived new generations of a source of income and food to feed their families.

There was also a need to supplement the diet during, and after winter, until other vegetables and fruits ripened. Turnip greens, chicory, spinach and green beans are a fundamental part of Vasto’s traditional diet. They grew at lower temperatures, took up little space in a small kitchen garden, were a source of vitamins, and had the added benefit of replenishing the soil.

Even today, to many Italians, the trifecta of fresh olive oil, a slice of bread and a sun warmed tomato directly off the vine, are simple favorites that speak of their heritage, and are the essence of cucina povera. 

Even pasta has a logical beginning in the tradition of cucina povera. What was simpler for the poor than mixing wheat flour with water, shaping it by hand, and drying it in the sun?

The “ Five” Quarters of the Animal

The expression “waste not, want not,” is sprung from the frugality and resourcefulness that comes from poverty.

The meat dishes of cucina povera follow the tradition of making delicious food from what otherwise would be discarded. For the poor, every part of the animal had value. The blood and the brain, the feet, the tail, the tongue, the intestines, the trachea and spleen, the lungs and the heart were all utilized.

Historically, when animals were butchered in the Roman Empire, the division of the meat was made following a simple scheme. The first and best quarter was reserved for the patrician classes, the second one was for the clergy the third for the middle classes, and finally the fourth quarter was for the soldiers. The poor could afford only the offal and the waste that was euphemistically called the fifth quarter, and that with imagination and skill, they turned into delicious meals.

Sapori di Vasto

 From Nonna to Nonni

Italian cooks won’t make simple things complicated thinking that they will better.

These are tips about, what and how to eat, in a country where culinary tradition thrives, and people know what they like without any deviation. When driving in Italy, you can break the rules with a fair amount of forbearance, however, it is not advisable in the kitchen.

Love and respect for food is a thread that is woven throughout the culture. Sit at a table for more than ten minutes and you end up talking about food: it’s the vortex that pulls everyone in, and when I first heard the expression, “In Italy you don´t eat to live. You live to eat,” I never considered how seriously that could be taken.

Through years of eating the excellent home cooking of my friends, the “Amici”, I’ve found that there is an emphasis on ingredients, tastiness and variety, rather than polish and artistic refinement. Improvisation is frowned upon, sometimes quietly and sometimes not. The Amici's cuisine doesn’t wander too far from the past. Mama's cooking is still the golden standard.

That doesn’t mean that the fare is constrained by nostalgia. People feel that family and traditional recipes are perfect as they are and don't need improvement. The recipes are timeless and have been tested and passed down over the decades and centuries. 

Still, in different families and villages, it seems, that no two dishes are made in the same way, and everyone insists that their version is the right one, but with one thing in common. There is an underlying philosophy that simple food is the best food. Let a few well-chosen ingredients shine through.          

What are the qualities that make a good cook? Cooking well requires organization, attention to detail, patience, and just as important, the desire to bring people together. It is said that a good home cook is a nurturer and uses food to show affection, give comfort, and create a bond among family and friends.     

With a ten-kilometer stretch of beach along the Adriatic coast, and with a long tradition of fishing, seafood is a common staple in the local diet of Vasto, and the main ingredient in many dishes paired with a variety of vegetables, sauces and pasta.                                                            

The following dishes are a tiny selection of what my friends might serve for lunch or dinner on any given day. They are traditional Abruzzese with a simplicity that is deceptive. Take the best from the land and the sea and cook it with all one’s heart. That is the true expression of the Italian kitchen and the way my friends prepare a meal.

The food world has grown dramatically thanks to the internet. But fortunately, some things remain the same.  

Recipes for dishes that are typical of a Vasto lunch or dinner.

Anna’s Eggplant Parmigiana

Anna,  a medical doctor by profession, dispenses one of the best medicines from her kitchen. Her eggplant parmesan, with a touch of Naples, could make anyone feel better.

Ingredients

2 eggplants about 350 gr. each (preferably oblong shape)

700 gr tomato puree

3 medium mozzarella balls

1 onion and a glove of garlic, finely chopped

 200g grated parmesan cheese

 Basil leaves to place between every layer

 Oil for frying (sunflower or other seed oil)

 Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt

Black pepper

Flour for dredging

Preparation:

Wash the eggplants and slice them lengthwise, about 5mm thick.

Arrange the slices in layers in a colander. Sprinkle salt between each layer to help them lose their water and bitterness.  Cover with a plate or weight to press them down. Leave them for at least one hour, then dry the excess water with a paper towel.

Dredge the slices in flour and fry them a few at a time until they are golden, taking care not to overcook them.

Prepare the tomato sauce by sautéing the garlic and onion together, then add the purée and cook for about twenty minutes, adding a little water if it thickens.

When the sauce has cooled, in a baking dish 20x30 cm., start layering: eggplant underneath, then mozzarella, parmesan, tomato sauce etc.

Top it off with more of the tomato sauce, more mozzarella and plenty of parmesan.

Let it rest a while before serving.

Nunzia's Recipe for Cacio e Uovo 

The Cacio e Uovo that Nuncia makes is perhaps one of the most traditional of the Abruzzese dishes, a simple mixture of cheese, egg and bread, made into balls and served in a light tomato sauce.

For the sauce:

One chopped medium onion

½ chopped green pepper

3 dl. tomato puree

2 dl. water

Cover the bottom of a thick bottomed frying pan in olive oil.

Fry the onion and pepper, in olive oil until the onion is golden brown.

Add the tomato puree.

Slowly cook the mixture until it thickens, and then add the water to thin it. 

For the dough:

300 grams of day-old white bread (pane cassarecio)

5 medium eggs, beaten lightly

300 grams of grated parmesan cheese

200 grams of grated Rigatino or Peccorino cheese

The procedure:

Crumble the bread into a bowl.

Mix the eggs with the bread by hand.

Mix in the cheeses a little at a time.

The dough should be compact but remain soft!
Put the mixture aside. Let the dough rest for an hour in the fridge.

Remove the dough from the fridge, wet your hands and gently form it to balls 3cm. in diameter.

Place the balls, well-spaced, in the sauce and cook them slowly under medium heat, turning them gently.

Cover the pan and cook them on low heat for several more minutes until they are firm.

Note:
This recipe is from the Vastese tradition! There are other variations where some add ricotta to the cheese mixture and in the nearby province of Molise, they are fried before adding them to the sauce.

Zuppa di Cardone e Polpettini: Artichoke Stalk Soup with Small Meatballs.

Anna makes this dish when artichokes are in season, and it is something to look forward to.

Preparing the Stems:

Clean, peel and trim the artichoke stalks, slice them lengthwise one centimeter thick, and then chop into bite size (one centimeter) pieces.  You can also use tinned, if they are available.

In a large pot with several liters of water, boil a broth stock from stew meat or poultry, potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, and black peppercorns. (The broth can be made in advance.)

Ingredients for the meatballs:

500 gr, double ground beef

1/2 dl. bread crumbs 

1/2 dl. grated parmigiano cheese

A small clove of garlic, finely chopped

Chopped parsley

2 medium eggs

1/2 dl milk

Procedure:

Let the breadcrumbs swell in the milk

Mix salt, pepper, parmesan, parsley and egg thoroughly with the chopped meat.

Form into centimeter sized meat balls. Lightly fry them in oil until golden in color and set them aside.

For the Soup

Bring a large stock pot of salted water to boil. Drain the cardoon pieces well and add them to the boiling water and cook for 20-25 minutes or more until fork tender (less if you use tinned) They should be soft but firm. Drain and set aside.

In a large soup pot add the homemade stock and the cooked meatballs.

Let this simmer on medium heat for about 5 or 6 minutes and add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately in bowls topped with chopped fresh parsley and grated parmigiano cheese. 

 Spaghetti alle Vongole Lucia’s Recipe

A dinner with Pino and Lucia was always a manifestation of their friendship, hospitality, and Lucia’s ability in the kitchen.

We sat on the beach watching Pino, a hundred meters out, dive for the vongole that would be our dinner that evening. We admired his stamina as came to the surface for air, his flippers black silhouettes against the clear blue water, as he went down again, and again.  After an hour or so, he came back to shore with his net bag full. That evening we gathered around the table with our friends, and as usual, discussed things both serious and banal, while we ate those small delicacies in Lucia’s “spaghetti alle vongole.”

Her classical spaghetti vongole, a deceptively simple dish, is the most telling example of Italian cuisine, where a few fresh ingredients are combined to complement and highlight each other. If I had to choose only one food to eat for the rest of my life, that would be it. Here is Lucia’s recipe.

Ingredients for 8 people:

2-3 kg. of vongole (small clams)

2 dl of fresh, extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves of garlic finely chopped

1 dl. chopped parsley

2 chopped small green peppers

16 ripe Pachino (cherry tomatoes,) or 4 or five San Marzano tomatoes

Thin spaghetti about 100- 150 gr. per person

A little salt

Procedure:

Pour half of the oil and all the chopped vegetables into a large sauté pan. Season with a little salt. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes, then add the clams (previously rinsed thoroughly) and cover the pan.

The clams will slowly open, releasing their cooking liquid. Once they're all open, drizzle the remaining olive oil over the dish and, if desired, sprinkle it with a little chili pepper. (just a little!)

Pour the spaghetti, cooked al dente into the pan, sauté for a few minutes to finish cooking it and serve it directly.

Note: Use only long, thin pasta (pasta lungo). The vongole sauce is very delicate. Too thick or heavy pasta will smother it.

Add a spoonful or two of pasta water if the sauce is too thick

Before cooking, place the vongole in well salted water over night to rinse them of any sand. The local fish stores de-sand them prior to sale.      

Donato's Recipe for Cavatelli alle Pescatrice Vastese

Pasta with Monkfish

The monkfish might not be one of the most beautiful looking fish in the Adriatic, but as compensation, it is one of the tastiest.

Making homemade cavatelli is easy and delicious. The shape of these pasta shells is perfect for capturing the monkfish sauce.

Ingredients for the pasta:

500 g. finely milled semolina flour

250 g. warm water

A pinch of salt

About a tbs. of olive oil

Procedure:

Put the flour in a large bowl, stir in the salt.

Add the water. Knead the flour until it has absorbed all the water, and has become firm and elastic.

Place the dough on a floured baking board or hard surface- knead for five more minutes.

Let the dough rest for thirty minutes, covered in plastic wrap. Cover the bowl with a cloth or towel.

After the dough has rested, cut off a piece, and with your hands, roll it out to a rope about finger thickness.

Continue until all the dough is used.

Cut it into one cm. pieces.

With your thumb and forefinger press them into the cavatello shape.

Place them on a tray. Dust them with flour them with flour until they are ready to be cooked. Cook time 5-6 minutes, depending on their thickness.

These small hollowed out pasta shapes are perfect to capture the monkfish sauce.

Ingredients for the monkfish sauce:

1 kg monkfish, cleaned and whole (The fish store will clean it for you.)

 1/2 onion –

 1 clove of garlic

 500 g. canned peeled tomatoes or plum tomatoes

  80g extra virgin olive oil

 30 ml white wine

 1/2 green bell pepper

 parsley to taste –

 a pinch of salt

 chili pepper to taste (optional)

Preparation:

Pour the olive oil into a large, wide terracotta pot.

Add the finely chopped onion, garlic clove, chopped green peppers.

Add the monkfish and sauté for a few minutes, then add the white wine.

Add the chopped tomatoes, a pinch of salt and the parsley. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes,

Stir gently or occasionally so the mixture doesn’t stick

After 20minutes remove the monkfish from the pan, fillet it well and put the meat back in the sauce.

Continue cooking for another ten minutes.

Boil the cavatelli until it is al dente. Fresh pasta 2-3 minutes, dried pasta 4-5 minutes or follow directions on the package.
Drain the pasta and pour it into the pan with the sauce on the stove, stirring constantly. If the sauce is too thick, add some of the pasta cooking water (remember that the pasta water is salted). Serve with a pinch of parsley and, if you like, some fresh chili pepper.

Pair the cavetelli and monkfish with a good Trebbiano Abruzzese.         

 Seppie Ripiene: Stuffed Cuttlefish

Whenever Donato makes this dish, it is a special treat.

Donato’s recipe:

Ingredients for 4 people:

4 medium-sized, fresh cuttlefish
3 eggs
120 grams grated pecorino cheese (or half Parmesan and half Pecorino)
100 grams of breadcrumbs
2 cloves of garlic
Salt
Pepper
Ground red pepper
A small bunch of parsley
1 dl. olive oil (6 or 7 tablespoons)
Half a glass of dry white wine
Hot chili pepper

Preparation of the stuffing:

Rinse the cuttlefish (small squid) thoroughly. The fish store will clean and trim them for you.

Beat the eggs, add the salt, pepper, ground red pepper, finely chopped garlic and parsley.

Add the cheese and breadcrumbs with a tablespoon of olive oil and mix everything together. Work the mixture until the dough is firm.

Cooking:

Fill the cuttlefish with the stuffing (about two-thirds of the sac) and sew them up with a large needle and kitchen thread, or fasten with the sides with toothpicks.

Place a high-sided pan over a low heat with about 6 tablespoons of oil, a clove of garlic and chili pepper.

Heat the oil and add the cuttlefish.

Sauté for a minute, and add the wine, letting the alcohol evaporate.

Add half a glass of hot water. Cover and cook for about an hour over low heat.

Add a pinch of salt. Add a little water, if the cuttlefish stick to the bottom of the pan.
 
Serve them hot or cold, accompanied by baked potatoes or a tomato salad and together with a good Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo wine.

Variation: Instead of cooking the cuttlefish in wine and water, you can finish cooking them for about twenty minutes in tomato sauce, and serve them with pasta.

“Pasta e Fagioli”: Bean Soup From the Poor People’s Kitchens.

Like  many of the dishes from the “cucina povera” tradition, this simple bean and pasta soup has become a national favorite. My father called it “pasta fazool” in his Naples dialect, and when I was a child, it was also one of my favorites.

This is the way Loredana Coppola makes it.

Ingredients for four:

1 celery stick

1  carrot

1 onion

1 clove of garlic, minced

150 grams of diced pancetta

Pinch of chili pepper

1 dl. extra virgin olive oil

3 medium sized tomatoes, chopped

400 grams cooked, canned borlotti beans

200 grams tubetti pasta or other short pasta

Salt as necessary

The procedure:

Chop and sauté, the celery, carrot, and onion

in a thick bottomed pot in 2 tb. spoons of olive oil.

Add the diced pancetta.

Add the minced garlic, a pinch of chili pepper, and stir in most of  the cooked beans, while setting 100 grams of beans aside.

Season with salt and pepper, and stir in the chopped tomatoes.

With a blender, cream the saved 100 grams of beans and add them to the sauce, along with the liquid from the can and 3 dl. hot water.

In another pot, boil the pasta al dente, drain it slightly, and add it to the sauce.

Add some  of the pasta cooking water if needed, to finish cooking the pasta in the sauce.

Attention: The pasta and beans tend to stick to the pot, so carefully stir them from the bottom upwards.

Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and serve with and thick slices of crusty bread. 

Sepee e Piselli alla Vastese

Both my friends Nunzia’s and Giancarlo’s mothers, made this dish often. Squid with Peas is a classic recipe of Vasto, a dish that combines the flavors of the sea and land, where the sweetness of the peas compliment the delicate taste of the squid. The simplest dishes are sometimes the most elegant.

Ingredients for six

1 kg. cleaned and rinsed cuttle fish

400 g. shelled peas- fresh or frozen

250 grams chopped canned tomatoes

One finely chopped onion

Half a glass of white wine

1/2 dl. extra virgin olive oil

4 dl. of fish or vegetable broth

A pinch of salt

Green pepper or a sprig of parsley

Preparation:

Clean and wash the cuttle fish. (Your fish store usually does this)

Cut them into strips one approximately 1x4 cm.

Fry the chopped onion in the olive oil in a thick bottomed pot for 2-3 minutes

Add the cuttlefish and brown them over low heat for a couple of minutes, stirring often.

Add a pinch of salt, increase the heat and add the white wine.

Let the alcohol evaporate, then lower the heat and add the peas and the chopped canned tomato.

Pour in half a cup of hot broth. Season with salt and pepper and cover with a lid.

Simmer the sliced cuttle fish together with the peas over low heat for thirty minutes. While they are cooking, stir them from time to time and, when necessary, add a little more broth if the sauce thickens. 

After 30 minutes, taste a piece of cuttlefish. If it is tender, remove the lid and let the sauce thicken slightly, then turn off the heat and add the chopped parsley. (If the cuttle fish is still tough simmer it for 5 or ten more minutes.

Serve the “Seppe a Piselli,” (cuttle fish and peas) with slices of toasted bread and a chilled bottle of Trebbiano D’Abruzzo.                   

Brodetto -The Fish Stew of Vasto 

Like the rest of Italian cuisine, the true delicacies of Abruzzo stem from the food of poor farmers, shepherds and fisherman.

Vasto’s strong link to the sea is exemplified by its celebrated fish stew, Brodetto Vastese. It is a dish inseparable from the history of the Abruzzo coast, the town of Vasto and of the trabocci, the elaborate fishing piers that rise like rickety sculptures from the coastal waters. The fishermen who used them, would sell or barter the most sought-after part of their catch, for other goods, food stuffs and supplies, and keep the less desirable, small fish for their family’s consumption.

These tasty fish, shrimps, mussels, langoustine, squid, octopuses and rays are boiled together in a rich tomato broth in a terracotta bowl, and eaten with thick slices of toasted bread. Like much of the fare from the hearths of the poor (cucina povera), Brodetto became a signature dish of the long Abruzzo coast.

Giancarlo Spadacini, a native son of Vasto, makes this hearty fish stew better than anyone I know.

Brodetto Vastese alle Giancarlo
  
Note: Use small fish about 20 centimeters. Here are some suggestions. Use whatever is fresh at the local shops or harbor. A genuine Brodetto alle Vastese has a half a dozen different types of fish, vongole mussels, rays, octopus and shrimp.

Ingredients:

600 g monkfish

150 g sole

700 g turbot

600 g sea bream

400 g red mullet

300 g squid

300 g cuttle fish

12 langoustines

15 or 20 large prawns

 150 g black mussels (cozze with shell)

 150 g small clams (vongole with shell)

 800 g canned peeled tomatoes  

1 glass of white wine vinegar

 2 cloves of garlic

 1 bunch of parsley

 4 basil leaves

1 fresh chili pepper (or a teaspoon dried)

 Extra virgin olive oil

 Salt as needed 

Procedure:

Soak the mussels in a bowl of cold salted water to clear them of sand. After, place them in a covered saucepan over high heat, until they have opened. Remove them and save the liquid.

Clean and rinse all the fish thoroughly, or have the fish shop do it.

Sauté the garlic in olive oil over low heat.

Pour the olive oil and garlic, into a large terracotta pot.

Mix with the vinegar, and when it has evaporated, add the tomato paste, chopped chili peppers, and salt and simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes. If the sauce thickens, add the liquid from the mussels and a little water.

Cut the cleaned squid into rings and add them to the tomato sauce along with the scorpionfish and monkfish cut into 3 pieces (depending on size) and cook in the tomato puree.

Gradually add the rest of the fish and mussels. Depending on their size and thickness the fish will have different cooking times.

Serve the Brodetto in the terracotta pan that it was boiled in, together with thick slices of roasted bread to soak up the sauce. 

Patrizia’s Artichoke Lasagna with Broth-Based Béchamel 

Researchers say that lasagna had become one of Italy’s traditional dishes by the late 1300s.

Lasagna is a favorite Italian layered pasta that is made in many ways. This is a version that is eaten in Vasto in the spring, when the locally grown artichokes are harvested, and the market stalls brim over with these delicacies.

One afternoon Patrizia served this dish. After several bites I had to ask her for the recipe. Here it is.

Ingredients for six servings:

Béchamel sauce:

1 liter vegetable or chicken broth
80 g flour
80 g butter
Salt and nutmeg to taste

To make the béchamel sauce: 

Melt the butter over low heat.
Add the flour and stir until the mixture thickens to a paste. (burro montato)
Gradually stir the hot broth into the paste, cooking the mixture on low heat for about 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Season with salt and nutmeg.

Note. Bechamel sauce made with broth instead of milk, gives it a lighter and tastier texture.

Ingredients for the filling:

Approximately12 fresh lasagna sheets

6 artichoke hearts, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp olive oil
100 g grated Parmesan cheese
100 g shredded mozzarella
Salt and ground black pepper to taste 

Procedure:
Sauté the garlic and the sliced artichoke hearts in the olive oil.
Season with salt and pepper, and continue to cook them over medium heat until the artichoke hearts are tender. Add a little water if needed.

Spread a thin layer of the béchamel in a baking dish.
Place a layer of lasagna sheets, followed by some of the artichokes, some béchamel, and Parmesan.

Repeat the layers until all the ingredients are used.
Top with a layer of béchamel, Parmesan, and mozzarella.
Bake the lasagna at 180 g c. covered with foil for 20 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake for another 15–20 minutes until golden.

Let the lasagna rest for 10 minutes before serving.                                                                             

Carciofi Ripiene- Cristina’s Stuffed Artichokes 

The fields of Vasto and the surrounding villages are renowned for the high quality of their artichokes. Stuffed artichokes hold a special place in the culinary tradition of the area, and in the spring, especially at Easter, you will find them on every table. Cristina makes so many exceptional dishes, that I have difficulty in choosing, but here is one of my favorites.

Preparation of the artichokes for stuffing:

Peel away the outermost, hard leaves.

Clean the artichokes and immerse them in a bowl of cold water with lemon juice to prevent them from darkening.

Cut off the top so it is flat, cut off the stems and trim the tips of the leaves.

Spread out the leaves to make room for the stuffing.

Ingredients for the filling:

½ dl. bread crumbs

some cleaned and chopped stalks,

extra virgin olive oil

one whole egg,

100 gr. grated pecorino cheese

200 gr. grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Parsley

A clove of garlic

Salt and pepper

Sweet red pepper, chopped 

Making the filling:

Put the breadcrumbs in a bowl and mix in the cheeses.

Lightly beat the egg and mix in olive oil, a little salt, the chopped pepper and the chopped parsley

Mix all the ingredients well, cover them and put them aside.

Preparing the Artichokes

Salt the artichokes, salt them inside and out, stuff them in the center and between the leaves.

Put the stuffed artichokes and the remaining stems in a pan with half a dec. of olive oil and the garlic cloves.

Fry the stuffed artichokes for 5 minutes, turn them and cover them with water and a little broth. Cook them with the lid on for about 40 – 45 minutes, or until the leaves are tender. Let the water the liquid reduce. Some of the stuffing will run out and create a tasty sauce.
Salt as necessary and serve warm.

Buon Appetito! 

Ragu di Agnello, Mutton Sauce, Like it is made in Vasto.

The traditional pasta of Vasto is chitarra, a square spaghetti, that is made by rolling pasta dough over a wooden frame strung with wire, and stumming it so that the cut strands fall through. Hence the name chittara, meaning guitar in Italian. In the humble homes of Abruzzo, meat was a luxury eaten at Sunday dinner, or on special occasions. Here is a classical recipe for a robust mutton sauce to accompany the fresh chitarra.

Ingredients:

300 grams lean mutton, diced

50 grams pork fat

1 finely chopped onion

1 finely chopped carrot

1 small chopped chili pepper

8 peeled tomatoes without seeds, chopped

A sprig of rosemary

One half dec. virgin olive oil

1 dec. red wine

Salt, pepper

The cooking procedure:

Lightly fry the onion and carrot in the pork fat, then add the chopped mutton.

Add the wine, cooking the mixture until it evaporates.

Add the pepper, salt, chili, rosemary and the chopped tomatoes.

Partially cover the pan and cook on a low flame until finished.

Boil the chitarra and blend it into the ragu.

Add a little of the pasta water if the ragu is too thick.

Serve the dish immediately accompanied by the red wine of the region, Montepulchiano d’Abruzzo.

Mario’s Recipe for Clams and Mussels Sauté.

A circle was closed. Mario Fariello, a native son of Vasto, was raised in the building overlooking the Gulf of Vasto that is now the  Ristorante Panzotto. 

When I am asked what my favorite Italian food is, I always  answer  “everything!”, because, there are so many choices, that it is impossible to choose. However, one dish that I never tire of is, “Sauté di Cozze e Vongole”. They are a traditional dish along the coast, and can be found on the menus of most local trattorias, but I always prefer them the way Mario makes them in his restaurant  Panzotto, on the scenic Loggia Amblingh. The mussels and clams are fresh from the sea below, steamed in their own juice, and served with newly baked focaccia, drizzled with fresh olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.

I asked Mario, Panzotto’s owner and chef, if he would share his recipe with me. “It’s easier if I show you,” he said, and invited me into his kitchen. “In order to preserve the delicate taste of the shellfish, simple is best.” E´ multo facile,” it is very easy,” he continued, as he lit the stove, poured a dash of olive oil in a battered frying pan, deftly threw in a little chopped garlic, the clams, mussels, and splashed white wine over them.  “Yes, it’s easy I thought, for a professional cook who was born with the scent of the sea in his nostrils, and who has made the dish every day for the last forty years.” As he spooned them into a bowl, and poured over the broth, I remembered one of the basic rules that govern good cooking. “Don’t complicate your dish thinking it will be better.”

Ingredients for Two servings:

Before. Soak the shellfish for a few hours in salted water to remove sand and grit.

Ingredients for two:

1kilo well cleaned mussels

1 kilo well cleaned vongole ( small clams)

1-2 cloves of finely chopped garlic

0.5 dl. extra virgin olive oil

1 small bunch chopped parsley

Sliced lemon

1 dl. white wine

Salt

Preparation:

Put a little oil in the pot on low heat.

Put in the garlic and sauté for approximately one minute.

Put in the mussels.

Put in the vongole.

Pour in the wine.

Cover it and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring until the shell fish open.

Strew over the parsley and a little more oil.

Serve in a clay bowl with lemons on the side and a glass of chilled Trebbiano d’Abruzzo.

Note: Be careful not to overcook, or the shellfish will toughen.  

Gianna's Tortellini in Brodo Recipe

The tastes you remember from your mother’s table stay with you the rest of your life. Gianna’s mamma, Sylvana, made tortellini not only for her family but gave it to her friends and neighbors.  It was her hobby, like some older women crochet or knit and supply the family with scarves and mittens, Sylvana kept her fingers busy with the filled pasta that was the pride of Emilia Romagna. Gianna makes them like her mother did.

Ingredients for the broth:

5 liters of salted water

One stalk of celery and one carrot, chopped

400 gr. Of beef cut into cubes

One marrow bone

One half stewing hen 

 Boil everything together for approximately 4 to 5 hours, adjusting the water level as needed.

 Filter with a strainer skim or strain the fat.

Recipe for the filling:

Ingredients

200g grated Parmesan cheese

100g pork loin.

100g Bologna mortadella.

100g Parma ham.

20g butter.

Salt and a pinch of nutmeg to taste.

Dice the pork loin and brown them quickly in the butter.

Drain and cool, then pass them through a blender together with the mortadella and the prosciutto crudo (Parma or similar)

Place the mixture in a large bowl (add a pinch of nutmeg and salt if necessary)

Add the grated Parmesan cheese

Mix everything with your hands to a smooth consistency.

Recipe for the pasta:

Ingredients for six:

300 g. white flour

3 eggs

Procedure:

Pour the flour onto a baking board or smooth surface.

Make a well and add the eggs,

Knead the eggs into the flour, working the dough vigorously; it should be firm but not too hard.

Let the dough rest for a half hour, well covered, so it doesn't dry out.

Using a rolling pin, or pasta machine -setting five- roll out a thin dough.

Cut the dough into squares of the desired size, preferably 2cm. x 2cm.

Place a small dollop of filling in the center of each square, fold the dough in half, then the outer edges over one another, matching them to form a triangle. Press the edges firmly so the filling doesn't leak out.

Finally, fold the tortellino around your index finger, and overlap the two ends.

Arrange them neatly on a cloth to dry. 

Boil them for approximately two or three minutes.

Serve al dente in a bowl of broth, accompanied by a good Lambrusco wine.            

Tiramisù

What is better to top of a good meal than a slice of rich, velvety tiramisu, dusted with cocoa. Tiramisu is popular around the world and like cannoli, has become synonymous with Italian cuisine and its many desserts. There are quite a few variations on its bottom of coffee drenched savoiardi biscuits and creamy mascarpone filling, but making it is fairly uncomplicated. Nunzia's traditional recipe, is my favorite.

Ingredients:

4 eggs

100 grams baker’s sugar

500 grams mascarpone room temperature

300 grams savoiardi biscuits (lady fingers)

1dl. strong coffee (moka or espresso)

Cacao for topping

Preparation:

Separate the egg yolks and the whites.

Whip the yolks with the sugar until they are fluffy.

Whip the whites until they are stiff, and carefully mix them with the yolks until they form a smooth cream.

Mix the mascarpone with the beaten eggs.

Dip the savoiardi biscuits briefly in the coffee.

Place a layer of biscuits in the bottom of a baking form approximately 20cm.x20cm. in size.

Cover the biscuits with the mascarpone-egg cream in alternating layers, crème, biscuits etc.

Sprinkle cacao over the last layer of mascarpone.

Let the finished tiramisu rest in the refrigerator for several hours before serving.

History : By Italian standards, tiramisu is a new edition to a long list of sweets and desserts. Tiramisu’ was first created at the restaurant Le Beccherie in Treviso near Venice, on the 24th of December 1969, by the wife of the restaurant’s owner and its pastry chef. It has become a classical “dolce Italiano” that is on almost every restaurant menu .

The International Tiramisù Day is on the 21st of March, every year to celebrate the end of winter. 

How to Eat an Italian Meal

Eat a Little of a Lot. 

Eating is a necessity; good cooking is an art.

Perhaps, the most genuine Italian experience, is when you are invited to someone’s home for dinner. If you have that good fortune, here is some useful advice.

At the right moment, discreetly ask what is being served, or if you don’t, assume that just when you think dinner is over, there will always be more coming.  If possible, follow the rule, “Eat a little of a lot.”

Dinner usually begins around eight or nine in the evening. Remember that for many Italians, it is the main meal of the day. Breakfast might be a cornetto and coffee, lunch perhaps a sandwich or slice of pizza.  When you come from a culture where people eat dinner at five or six, if you haven't eaten by eight, you are famished. 

Pace yourself. An Italian meal is served slowly, one course on the table at a time, and depending on the meal's composition, each course might be accompanied by a different wine. 

When the antipasti comes, you will always be tempted to take a little extra, because it is so delicious and you are starving. You are still hungry when the pasta comes, because your stomach hasn’t told your brain that it is getting full, and at the urging of the hostess or host you politely take a second portion, and yet another glass of wine, forgetting that there is still the meat course with a contorni usually of vegetables or salad, followed by the cheeses, fresh fruit, maybe two or three different sweets, coffee and a digestive. 

Buon appetito!                                                   

 Un Piccolo Aperitivo

The word simple or small regarding food is never meant to be taken literally.

A meal with Carla and Donato was always special and something to look forward to. As luck would have it, Carla telephoned one morning and said that Donato was preparing a “small “aperitivo that evening”.

Our clocks and habits are regulated by Swedish time and custom, so we arrived first as usual. The table was set for ten on the veranda outside of the main kitchen, that is bordered by an olive grove sloping down towards the sea. The trees were planted by Donato’s grandfather, and added to, through the years, by his father. While we were waiting for the other guests to arrive, we drank prosecco and ate fresh bread with a tangy, peppery oil from the latest harvest, a combination, that in itself, would have been a satisfying meal.

The guests arrived according to a more leisurely timetable than the precise Skandinavien that we followed, and as they did, the dishes that would comprise this “little” aperitivo began appearing on the table.

First the trays of meat: ventracina, prosciutto locale, mortadella from Bologna, the cheeses came out: Pecorino, Asiago and Cache Cavallo, and the wines flowed: Montepulciano rosa, Rosato and Trebbiano from a nearby winery.

The warm dishes were brought out. First a frittata with asparagus and potato, and then a pizza rustico, made with an egg mix, several cheeses and sausage, baked in a double pie crust, with side dishes (contorni) of vegetables and rice.

No “small” aperitivo is complete without fruit. Donato was out earlier in the day and picked several kilos of perfectly ripe cherries and apricots, but apologized that the peaches weren’t from his garden.

It’s common that guests bring a bottle of wine, liqueur or some kind of small treat. One thoughtful guest stopped at the bakery and bought a tray of cakes and pastries which was the meal’s dolce, the last course that we somehow found room for, together with a small cup of thick espresso. 

So, as the evening began with a drink, so did it end, with homemade limoncello made from lemons from our host’s garden.                                        

A Classical Meal

 If you look at the typical lunch or dinner menu for a holiday, family or wedding celebration, you might think that Italians have the metabolisms of teenagers. But no, people don’t eat five courses every day. A classical menu for a meal of four or five courses, takes hours to eat, and is for the most part, reserved for these special occasions.

Usually, during the week, people eat just one or two courses, primo and secondo, for either lunch, (pranzo) or dinner (cena). But Sundays are an exception, when meals are not only eaten for sustenance, but are a dedicated time spent together with family or friends.

The Structure of the Italian Meal

Before dinner, an aperitivo or welcome drink, often a sparkling wine or an Aperol Spritz is served, while people mingle and the final touches are being attended to in the kitchen.

The antipasti, directly translated, before the pasta, is the first course or appetizer. It is often placed on a platter, so that everyone can serve themselves. Here is a small sample of what it might contain: cheeses, hard soft and in between, an array of cured meats and salami, vegetable and fish preparations, olives, bruschetta and crostini.

The primo (first course) is usually a substantial dish consisting of pasta or risotto, with sauces made from meat, vegetables or seafood. Whole pieces of meat, often lamb or sausage, meatballs or pork, that are cooked in the sauce are not served with the pasta, but eaten as the second course. Fish or poultry when eaten as the second course (secondo) are served alone, perhaps with a side dish of vegetables or salad on a separate plate (contorni).

The cheese course, (fromaggio) is followed by fresh fruit, and then dessert.

Bread is usually served along with a meal, in either a basket or sometimes directly on the table alongside your plate, and is eaten together with both the first and second courses. After, you use a piece to mop up the remaining sauce or broth (fare la scarpetta).

Three or four different wines with such a meal are not uncommon: Sparkling , rose, white and red depending on the composition of the different courses.

After the secondo, the cheese platter is brought out, followed by fresh fruit and then the dolce, (dessert) and a small glass of liqueur or grappa, with coffee after.

If you are dining in a restaurant, it is not uncommon to order just antipasti and either a primo or secondo, but of course, both if you like, depending on how hungry you are. Also, it is not unusual or frowned upon to share a secondo with another guest.  You order your dessert coffee and liqueur after the table is cleared.  

From the Sea to the Table                                   

A good meal is a synthesizing of the present and the past, where tastes bring back uncomplicated memories of childhood and family. 

The true soul of Italy resides around the table. If you said to one of my Vasto friends that your favorite dish was “spaghetti alle vongole” they will smile in approval, as if the thought brought back memories of special moments on the beach, of salt air and harmonious dinners with family and friends. It is a seafood dish elegant in its simplicity and echoes of the sea. However, another favorite, brodetto, a hearty fish stew, is the real culinary pride of Vasto and coastal Abruzzo. It’s a delicacy with several different kinds of fish, octopus, squid, shrimp, langoustine, clams and mussels in a tomato broth, oven cooked and served bubbling hot in a clay bowl. If there is a heaven, it might be found at a table, eating this fare with my friends. And heaven wasn’t so far away.

Pino had been diving for vongole all morning and had brought up three or four kilos, enough for the ten people who were coming for dinner that evening. I came early and was in the kitchen drinking Prosecco and watching Lucia as she steamed them, asking questions, and taking a few from the pot as we talked.  As I ate, their mild taste and smooth, delicate, texture reminded me of the sea that they had come from and my mind drifted back to my childhood, gathering shell fish at low tide with my father. I remembered wading through the shallow water and digging my toes into the sand and mud feeling for clams, or looking for the little spurt that shot up where the receding tide left the bottom exposed, signaling that there was a longneck buried a few inches below. We took the choicest cherry stones, as they are called, opened them and ate them directly with only the sea water as a condiment. We sorted the others after size, clams for stuffing, grilling, steaming and eating on the half shell.

Dinner with Pino and Lucia

There were smells that seeped out of the oven and from the pots on the stove. Anatomically speaking the heart was next to the stomach, and when we all sat down to a meal at Pino and Lucia’s house, the stomach was the heart.

I saw that the genius of Italian cooking was like a form of alchemy in its combination of simple ingredients that make up an unforgettable meal. It wasn't art on the plate with a sprig of this and a squirt of that for decoration intended to seduce the diner. The secret is its honesty, a cuisine speaking of places and origins, not only the bounty of the fertile fields and hillsides, but food enriched by the generous spirit of the Italian people. 

Whenever the opportunity arises, I try to glean new recipes from whoever is cooking, or at least pick up a few tips. I stood in the narrow, utilitarian kitchen of our hostess for the evening, Lucia, and watched her as she prepared one of her specialties, “risotto di zucca,” pumpkin risotto, a deceptively simple and elegant dish, but one that requires patience and attention. As usual, I learned more by observation and osmosis, than I did by listening to her instructions, rendered in melodious, rapid Italian, most of which sailed on past me. She lowered the flame on the thick bottomed pot and stirred Arborio rice into the bubbling oil, then added the vegetable stock that she had made earlier, a little at a time, until the rice was bathing in a milky bath of starch. She stirred adding more stock, repeating the procedure a half dozen times as the grains absorbed the liquid, and in between tended to the thick slices of pumpkin sprinkled with oil and a touch of garlic and rosemary that she had simmering on another burner. 

When they were soft, she mashed them with a fork, and mixed them into the rice and then added more of the vegetable stock. As the ingredients blended, the rice changed hue, from a light yellow to pale orange. She stirred for a few more minutes, scraping from the bottom up, unhurried and watchful, so that it didn’t stick. If the flame was too high and the rice swelled too quickly, it would lose its creamy consistency and become pasty and heavy. As she stirred, I remembered some useful advice “a perfect risotto should flow smoothly from the pot like lava down a mountain side." 

Balsamico di Modena

Good food and good stories follow each other.

We ate and chatted, warmed by the fire in the stone hearth and by the wine. Franco reminded us that the risotto we were eating, was a dish from his home region Reggio Emilia in Northern Italy, where the best risotto rice was grown. If you are from Emil Romagna, you take its gastronomic delicacies seriously.

To spark the conversation, he implied among this group of Southern Italians, that nowhere in Italy, meaning the civilized culinary world, could the food equal that of his native Modena and the towns and villages of the Po River valley. He gave as an example balsamic vinegar, one of Modena's many delicacies that  has deep roots in the gastronomic tradition of the region.

He described the first distillation when the juice from choice grapes is concentrated. Then he elaborated on the annual transfer of the must, painstakingly filled into smaller sized casks of oak or acacia as it was reduced over the years, and the decades, due to the slow dissipation of vapors through the pores of the wood. The "acetaia" as it is called is aged, not as you might imagine, in a sheltered and regulated wine cellar, but in the attic under the eaves exposed to the changing temperatures of the seasons. As the volume of the liquid decreases, its density and fragrance increase until it reaches puberty after twelve years and can legally be titled tradizionale, but sixteen years of aging is preferable, and after twenty-five years it is darkly thick and syrupy, superbly mature, and can be titled “extra vecchio”.  "You don't rush “balsamico" he said.

Once, as a parting gift on our way home, Franco handed me a small bottle of balsamic vinegar from his family’s production that had been aged for several decades. With the wink of someone who might have had balsamico coursing through his veins instead of blood, he admonished,“ be careful this is worth more than your airline ticket.”                 

Tortellini, Modena or Bologna?

Pasta is the heart of the Italian culinary culture, and tortellini is the heart of the pasta culture in Emilia-Romagna, where it is a summation of the Italian love and understanding of food, its origins, and its tradition. 

We were going to be ten or twelve for dinner that evening. We sat around the table, preparing tortellini with ingredients for about a thousand squares. Gianna who has filled and twisted tortellini since she was a young girl sitting at the table alongside her mother, said to me as she was rolling out the pasta, "Francis your job will be to cut the squares. Before it was my father’s job, and you like he, understand that a millimeter is a millimeter."  As we sat and worked, Franco related the legend of tortellini’s origin.

Both Bologna and Modena, claimed to be the home of tortellini, one of the best-known pasta dishes from the region of Emilia Romagna. They couldn’t decide which village it originated in, so as a compromise, unusual as it may be concerning Italian food, they decided that it came from a village between the two towns.  The story is that a beautiful woman, legend has it that it was the renowned Lucrezia Borgia, took a room in the local inn, and as she was dusty and tired after her travels, asked the inn keeper to warm water and draw a bath. After he filled the tub, he closed the door and smitten by her beauty, peeped through the key hole to watch her undress, but all he could see was her navel. Disappointed at not getting a better view, he went down to the kitchen to continue cooking her dinner. Enchanted by his beautiful guest, he rolled out his pasta dough, filled it and began forming it.  When he looked down at his work, he saw that his fingers had lived a life of their own, and had made replicas of the woman’s navel, the only part of her that was visible through the keyhole.

Note: The "Dotta Confraternita del Tortellini" is a society with for the preservation of tortellini. Its seat is in Bologna.

Anecdotes

Parmesan in the Soup? 

Unaware of the nuances of correct restaurant etiquette, I asked a waiter once for some grated cheese to sprinkle in the steaming soup he had just brought to the table.  When he said "Assolutamente no" without apology, I asked why. He could have said something snide about tourists or foreigners, or explained some basic culinary rules, but instead, he arched his impressive eyebrows, and said, "The cook will kill me!"  Of course, there was the possibility that he was exaggerating, even if crimes of passion were seen in a different light in the Mediterranean countries, but I got the message.

If my soup was supposed to be showered with parmesan, my knowledgeable waiter would have put it out on the table, or in this upscale restaurant, he would have grated it directly into my bowl. If he didn’t, I realized after that, it was best not to ask for it, the reason being that Parmesan or Pecorino would not enhance the other ingredients, but rather, detract from them. My soup was considered to be already seasoned properly and not in need of improvement. In the eyes of the chef, I was either destroying his preparation, or insulting him by suggesting that the dish that was in front of me needed cheese to improve its flavor.

Ask for an expert opinion, but don’t expect a quick answer.

Discussing a recipe or the food that was served was often a vortex that pulled in everyone.

Not long ago, I was sitting at the table with friends eating a first course of cachio e uovo, egg, bread and Peccorino cheese rolled into balls and cooked and served in a light tomato salsa. Always curious, and wanting to learn kitchen secrets, I asked about the consistency of the bread used that was used in the mixture. After a lively discussion with contradicting opinions, my friends couldn't reach a consensus as to which bread to use, let alone how coarse or fine it should be grated, which proved my point that recipes were like family heirlooms and differed not only from region to region, or village to village, but from family to family. 

Cappuccino at One O'clock? Or, The Customer Isn't Always Right. 

What does good coffee need? It has to be made with the correct amount of water, brewed at the right temperature and made from beans of good quality that are properly roasted. In the Sicilian town of Corleone, it is just as important, to serve the right kind of coffee at the right time of day.

An Italian would never order milky, sweet cappuccino after eleven o’clock, but that deadline wasn’t carved in stone, and in some places, there could be exceptions for tourists who didn’t know any better. But I was in Corleone, in the heart of Sicily, where the inhabitants obviously took their coffee drinking very seriously, and where the threshold for breaking that rule was low. Unspoken rules are a thorny maze for a traveler, and some cultural lessons are learned empirically, that is to say, the hard way. When I ordered a cappuccino at two o’clock in the heat of the Sicilian afternoon, the barista’s facial expression wasn’t one of tolerant understanding for the idiosyncrasies of tourists, or did he take the time to patiently explain to me that civilized people drink spritzers or light beverages after 11 o’clock. Instead, he rolled his eyes and put his forefinger, middle finger and thumb to his head in imitation of a pistol. His eyes narrowed to slits and his jaw tightened when he snarled, “Cappuccino, NOW,” I quickly apologized remembering that this was Corleone where tempers had a reputation for being short. With self-preservation in mind, I didn't need a further explanation, and quickly decided that I’d like a lemon soda.

 Cheese and Fish?

Nothing should overwhelm the fish!  And nothing can mitigate the cultural blunder of destroying the delicate taste of freshly caught fish with cheese.

Most Italian recipes are deceptively simple and a decent cook may bend the culinary rules a little, but should be careful about blatantly breaking any of them, or being too creative. As we navigated through the lavish array of courses one evening and came to the primi piatti, the first course, consisting of a delicate “pasta al triglie e zucchini,” pasta with mullet and squash, I was curious about what gave the sauce it’s creamy texture and asked “was there parmesan in the recipe". The person alongside me said, "NO, NO, NO" as though it might have been forbidden to mix cheese and fish by some well-known national edict. "A cook never mixes fish and cheese." "Why not," I asked? “Cheese will destroy the delicate flavor of the fish.”  I accepted her opinion, without argument because I knew the rule, but in this case was not convinced. 

Later that evening, still curious, and trusting my palate, I asked my host if there was parmesan in the sauce. He winked, and said out of earshot from the other guests, "poco, a little." 

 Everyone is an Expert

Italy is a country where even the weather is described in culinary terms.  A friend said, “There is a little snow today, like a sprinkling of parmesan over the pasta.”

Don't be surprised, if you find dog food that is pressed into the shape of penne rigate, or when a taxi driver, while making normal small-talk, gives you a lecture on the evils of over cooking pasta, or which prosciutto was best, or which regions had the best oils and cheeses. Everyone seemed to be an expert on food and how it should be eaten, and they revealed their knowledge willingly. When you met a friend or acquaintance, they could talk as readily about one of their recent culinary experiences as the weather.  However, I’ve found that discussing food is a subject where no one agrees, and where no one answer is the right one.  Not only do recipes differ from region to region, and village to village, but from family to family. 

The Rules of the Road

Even if I had driven in the crowded cities of the world, and had ridden motorcycles through the U.S., Europe, India, and Africa, my first foray into Italian traffic made me feel like a novice that had just gotten their learner’s permit. I quickly found that the expression, “when in Rome do as the Romans do,” applies also to its roads.

When you read descriptions of the traffic congestion in European cities, they are usually accompanied by photos of cars circling Rome’s Colosseum, or a crawling line of traffic past the nearby Monumento Vittorio Emanule. With that in mind, I thought it was a good idea to say a few words to Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travelers, the first time I drove through its maze of one way streets, boulevards, avenues, lanes and alleys. After a few wrong turns, and  accompanied by some beeping horns, and with my focus and reflexes as sharp as those of a rally driver, I joined the fast-moving flow of vehicles on the Grande Raccordo Anulare, and left the city. 

It was a baptism of fire in Rome’s complex traffic environment, with motorcycles and scooters weaving precariously around cars in the bumper-to-bumper traffic, and everyone changing lanes in an undisciplined way, that seemed to me, both erratic and unplanned. Eventually, I found my place in the order of the disordered, and followed its pulsing rhythm. I realized, after a while, that Italian drivers were adept at navigating the tight traffic of their cities and towns, and the high speeds of the autostradas. It was a daredevil skill and confidence born not only from habit, but from necessity.

In Italy, you might find yourself driving on narrow mountain roads without guard rails or reflectors, or lost in the tangle of lanes and alleys in a medieval town, or struggling in the maelstrom of expressway traffic. These complicated driving environments are not for the faint of heart, the timid or the indecisive. The rapid pace requires quick decision making, and good reflexes. It also helps to have an understanding of the traffic rules and laws, even if at times, it seems as though other drivers have a relaxed relation to them.

This aggressive driving style with high speeds, erratic movements, and haphazard lane discipline can be intimidating, but driving defensively, and heeding some basic advice, can help.  

 An Alternative Driver’s Manual

In Italian traffic, you must navigate a complex environment of scooters, cars, and pedestrians, at a pace that sometimes makes you feel as though you are in a road race. Here are a few tips that might help.

In heavy traffic, expect the unexpected. If you think that you are a good driver, for the safety of yourself and your passengers, have the focus and caution of a beginner.

Don’t be a stranger to patience and tolerance. Use your horn less, your brakes more.

Stay out of the lefthand lane on the autostrada, unless you are prepared to drive well over the speed limit, which is 130 km/h, and even then,  someone will probably come close up to your back bumper wanting to pass.

On the highway, the emergency lane or road shoulder, is a de-facto motorcycle and scooter lane.

Many drivers regard every lane, even if there is an unbroken middle line, as a passing lane.

The horn is not only used to admonish, but as a courtesy. Beep! Here I come.

Don’t expect drivers to use turn-signals.

Traffic signs can be seen as suggestions open to interpretation.

Drinking and driving is common.

Don’t be alarmed if you see cars taking up two lanes on the motorway, or scooters and motorcycles weaving in and out of traffic and passing you, in your lane on both sides, occasionally two at the same time.

If you feel uncomfortable or stressed by the vehicles behind you on mountain roads, rather than increasing your speed, pull over and let them pass.

If you are coming from a side street, stick the nose of your car out into the traffic and make an opening where there isn’t one. The zipper method works surprisingly well, but occasionally you must be assertive to find a little opening in order to join the flow of traffic.

Parking: Sometimes finding a space is like finding that “needle in a haystack”, so creative parking is a survival skill, as is parallel parking in a small space on heavily trafficked streets. 

Bigger is not always better. There is a reason why many of the cars that you see are scraped along the sides. City streets are crowded and narrow.

Use your mirrors.

Many towns now have photo monitors on the main roads that record and fine speeders. 

Pay attention to signs that read. ZTL. They designate restricted entry to certain areas in cities and towns. There are cameras. The fines are very high and will be forwarded from your car rental company together with an expensive handling fee.

Pay attention at intersections with traffic lights. Many have cameras. Driving through a caution signal that turns red will cost you dearly.

Don’t fumble with bills and change at toll booths. Most accept major credit cards. Follow the sign “Carta”.

Rules of the Road That Are Regarded By Some As Flexible:

The speed limit

Lane markings

Stop signs

No parking zones

Stopping for pedestrians at cross walks

Safety belts

Double parking (seems to be okay, as long as you use your warning blinkers.)

Do’s and Don’ts from my Italian Restaurant Survival Manual

For once I was innocent!

If someone catches you breaking spaghetti before putting it in the cooking pot, or God forbid, cutting it while it is on the plate, you might be banned from the country for life. Not long ago, I was eating a superb “spaghetti alle vongole” in a traditional working man’s trattoria in the Spanish Quarter in Napoli. Towards the end of the meal, there wasn’t any bread left on the table to sop up the remaining sauce, “fare la scarpetta “as you say in Italian.

Not wanting to waste any of it, I used my knife to push up some sauce, with a few remaining strands of spaghetti, onto my fork.  While I was doing that, the cook came out of the kitchen.  When he saw me, he mistakenly thought that I was cutting my spaghetti with a knife and burst out laughing. Pointing to me, he said in a clear voice that rang through the restaurant, “Guarda! Look! He eats spaghetti like an American!” 

Is it Fresh?

The hidden gems are just that, they are hidden.

My friends The Amici, ate often at inconspicuous restaurants in the hill villages or in town, places that didn’t need to call attention to themselves with kitschy décor or advertising. These gems were often hidden behind a plain or even shabby façade like a 1920’s speakeasy with no indication that it was a restaurant other than perhaps, a discreet recommendation from Guide D’Italia over the door. As often as not, there wasn’t a fixed menu. While the waiter poured Prosecco, the cook might come out and exchange pleasantries with the patrons. He described each course that he was serving that day and what he recommended, or gave an account of the fish that were in the nets that morning.

On one of those occasions, I unintentionally wandered into a thorny, cultural briar patch. I innocently asked the chef who was explaining what he was serving that day, how fresh the fish was. I quickly regretted my mistake, realizing that my question might have been considered an impertinence. He slid his glasses down the bridge of his nose and with a fleck of a smile in his eyes, replied, “If the fish is not flopping around when it comes into the kitchen, it is not fresh.”

photo of fishermen on beach

Volare

The most well-known Italian song is undoubtably, “ Nel blu di pinto di blu” or Volare as it is called. Once while visiting Venice, I heard a gondolier sing it. With a touch of humor, using Italian words that any tourist could recognize, he sang: “spaghetti-oh-oh, lasagna-oh-oh-oh, mozzarella, mortadella, fromaggio,” and so on.  His rich tenor reverberated over the canals, against the walls, and through the stone lined passages, and everyone who heard his verses had a good laugh. Most Italian glossaries had a whole section that was dedicated to the explanation of the most common foods, so he could have sung an opera using their names and never have to repeat himself.

Photo Gondolier                                

Fare la Scarpetta

How many hungry kids remember making the "little shoe” by going into the kitchen before Sunday lunch was ready, breaking off a crust of bread and dipping a piece directly into the pot of tomato sauce. 

When there is salsa left on the plate it is common practice to break a piece of bread and wipe it clean. It is called “fare la scarpetta,” make the little shoe.  A friend told me that the expression originated in a time when people were so hungry that they could eat the souls of their shoes. I heard another version that says "That a crust of bread mops up the sauce from the plate, like the soul of a shoe that scrapes along the ground."  Whatever its origins, “Fare la scarpetta” said to be frowned upon by the more refined, was a ritual that is an essential part of cucina povera. Clean the plate and don’t waste anything.  

Photo of Van Gogh’s “Shoes “  

Prosecco in the Maternity Ward             

There always seems to be something new to discover about Italian cultural traditions and etiquette.

I’ve always been in awe of the festive way that Italians observed birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and the plethora of holydays and holidays that dot their calendar. I found out, that even a maternity ward could be a place for a celebration, and that the focus on family, friends, and food was written into the Italian DNA.

I was in for a surprise one evening when we came to the hospital to visit a friend who had just given birth. It was the first time we had done so in Italy, and we were expecting there to be a subdued calm, with only a few other visitors. But this was Southern Italy and not Sweden, and instead of being greeted by a nurse at the reception desk, urging us to put on shoe guards and sanitary robes over our street clothes, we were ushered into a brightly lit room with a folding table set along one wall laden with snacks and cold cuts. A lively gathering of well-wishers and relatives were enjoying the food while saluting the newborn and his tired mother, who I’m sure just wanted everyone to go so that she could sleep. 

Cannoli Siciliano

This is the iconic Sicilian desert known all over the world. But everything has a season.

After a day of climbing with friends through the dusty and sometimes dangerous lava fields to reach Mt. Etna’s summit, we stopped on the way down for refreshments at the refuge located at its base. The cannoli lined up in the chilled display looked tempting and my companion Franco asked the barista if they were good here, as we were leaving Sicily the next day and hadn’t eaten any of the island’s specialty. This would be an impertinent question in any other place, but quite a normal one in Italy, and especially Sicily, and the man answered cordially. “You have asked me, and I must honestly say that I cannot recommend them,” and explained that, "eating cannoli in the middle of the summer would be a disappointment." “Cannoli should be eaten in the spring, he told us, after the sheep have grazed on the newly sprouted grass and their milk is sweet and rich and makes the best ricotta." To console us he began scooping up the lemon ice that is loved by all Sicilians and said “it would be my pleasure to treat you to our “granita” without charge, instead. It is excellent and is more suited to this warm weather.”

Campanilismo – Local Pride

There is a pronounced local loyalty and pride among Vasto’s residents. They consider themselves, firstly, Vastese, secondly, Abruzzese, and thirdly Italians, in that order. 

On my travels through Italy, I’ve learned that the way in which food is prepared is regional and that there is an immense pride in the local cuisine. It doesn’t matter where you come from, you regard your village as having the best meats, or cheeses, hams, oil, wine or bread.  Italian cooks have a tendency to believe that the way they prepare food is the right way and are often critical of recipes from another region or town” There is a term for that loyalty, campanilismo, (campanile= bell,) that symbolizes pride in the place of your birth. Roughly translated the expression means, comradery that comes from going to the same church, or living within hearing distance of its bell.

Ventracina della Vastese

I once heard one person say to another, with a final thrust of the verbal sword as their discussion over ingredients and preparation of a local specialty became more heated, "What do you know about food! You come from….... "

Ventracina, the pear-shaped salami that the Vasto region is famous for, had recently won a prestigious national award for its excellence. One Saturday morning, as we were leaving the Santa Chiara Market, we said to an acquaintance that we met on the way out, that we had bought some Ventracina, mentioning its recent national award. He brushed his forehead with the gnarled fingers of someone who was used to hard work, and exclaimed, "MANNAGGIA!"  and said in the no-nonsense way that Italians sometimes have when talking about food, “That award was a very unfortunate mistake. It was given to Vasto by people who know "niente" about good salami. NOW in my village, we make real Ventracina!" And of course he was right.

Renowned as the nobility of Italian salami, the best Ventracina is made in the hill villages outside of Vasto at the foot of the high mountains of the Maiella massive, where it has been prepared by hand for hundreds of years.  Regarding Ventracina salami, where that tradition speaks for itself, a native of the medieval Apennine villages of Guilmi and Caruncio will scoff at the notion that anyone else knows the proper way of making Ventracina.

Today in these Abruzzo villages, the slaughter of the pigs is still done by small local butchers, who cut the best meat from the thigh, shoulder and loin and mix it with chunks of fat from the pigs under belly, hence the name ventri, meaning belly. The meat and fat are mixed with salt, sweet or hot pepper and fennel seeds. It’s then pressed into pig’s bladders that are washed in water mixed with vinegar and salt. When they are stuffed with the meat mix, the bladders give the sausage its characteristic shape. They are then double tied, coated with lard and hung to ferment and mature for at least three months, ideally in a room heated by an open hearth.  

Perched atop a hill with a view of the Trigno Valley on one side and the Majella Mountains on the other is Carrunchio, a village that dates back to the tenth century. Like all the hill villages of the region it is well known for the quality of its Ventracina.  

 Photo Carrunchio + Nora – Describes her grandparent’s cottage where ventracina was hung to cure in front of the hearth.

                 Photo 

Self Confidence or Self Deceit – Cooking For Italians                       

Even if my meal wasn’t going to get mentioned in Gambero Rosso, the platters were cleaned and the participants talked about the meal the next day.. It might have been confidence or self-deception, but I knew our friends would ask me to cook for them again, in itself, an adequate compliment.

I was visiting Venice with Italian friends and one morning over coffee and a robust Italian breakfast, consisting of coffee and several biscuits instead of one, my host said, “Oh by the way, I’ve invited some people for dinner tonight. I told everyone that you were a wonderful cook and that you wouldn´t mind throwing something together for us”. Before I could back out, everyone around the table agreed in chorus, giving me no time to make excuses as to why I couldn’t. All I could think of were the problems: strange kitchen, were the knives sharp, what would I cook and where would I find all the ingredients that I needed? None the less, a little flattered, I graciously accepted the challenge. Just then, the idea of me cooking for people that had high standards, and that I had never met, seemed plausible.

What followed was a pleasant day of sightseeing, on my host's sloop, sailing through the lagoon, stopping at the islands of Torcello, Burano and Murano. As the day progressed, I was wondering when we were going to turn back, so I could shop, wash, slice, dice, pare, mix, blend, grill, fry, boil and roast, and for every hour that slipped past and every historical sight we saw, I removed a dish from my planned menu. We anchored in the lagoon and after a long lunch and obligatory siesta, and then later in the afternoon an aperitivo on Murano, I realized that I was only going to have a few hours to prepare for the evening. I was beginning to feel the first quiet signs of panic.  This was going to be a “catch what catch can meal.” I changed the menu again, scaling it down even more, and decided on a few dishes from the traditional Swedish smörgåsbord.

When we finally docked, I quickly found what I needed, in the well-stocked local market. Of course, I’d break the rigid Italian rules for preparing fish, and there was the chance that my rich Scandinavian menu wouldn’t suit the Italian pallet. but I was following the culinary rule, “when you are in a hurry, stay with what you know.” 

Starter = Toast Skagen - shrimp mixed with caviar in a bed of mayonnaise blended with thick sour cream, finely chopped red onion and topped with sprigs of dill served on slices of buttered dark bread toast with the crusts removed.

First course = The two types of pickled herring from the supermarket at home in Sweden, firm one-inch chunks in a marinade of onion, peppercorns distilled vinegar and sugar served with knäckebröd (flat, hard baked rye bread cakes). The herring would be washed down with shots of Swedish Absolut Vodka that  was available, surprisingly enough, in the supermarket.

Second = Thinly sliced poached Norwegian salmon with a sauce made from light Dijon mustard, vinegar, honey and thick Greek style yogurt whipped lightly to aerate it.

Third = Jansson’s Frestelse, potatoes sliced in thin strips and layered with anchovies along with diced onion and butter covered in thick cream and baked in the oven until the potatoes are soft and have absorbed all the liquid.

Fourth = Swedish meatballs köttbullar, small meatballs about fifteen millimeters in diameter made from equal mixtures of double ground pork and beef, with a little diced red onion, egg, bread crumbs and cream, fried in butter.

Dessert would be simple= strawberries were in season and were part of the Swedish mid-summer tradition, so it was a quickly frozen strawberry semi-freddo on a mirror of strawberry glaze, decorated with strawberry slices and mint leaves.

We’d drink cold Birra Moretti. Wine wasn’t a traditional Scandinavian beverage. Beer would suit the menu nicely and Moretti's crisp, malty taste, would mellow some of the heaviness of my menu.  Vodka shots, according to tradition, would go with the pickled herring, which along with the knäckebröd, would give the meal an authentic touch.

Because I cooked that evening, I had the honor of being “capo di tavalo,” and sat at the head of the table. I sat close to the stove so that I could oversee the dinner. After each course I heard, “very good, buono, complimenti” and the poached lax and dressing were a success, as were the potatoes with anchovies and cream.

How did my dinner go? I survived. The platters were cleaned and the participants talked about the meal the next day. Even if I wasn’t going to get mentioned in Gambero Rosso, the Italian restaurant guide, I knew our friends would ask me to cook for them again, in itself, an adequate compliment.

Don’t Argue With an Expert

Cooking for Italians peels away all pretensions. You either get it right or you don’t. So, here's some advice. Don't argue wine with someone whose house is surrounded by vineyards, and had his first taste as an infant when his grandfather, according to family tradition, put a few drops on his tongue.

You were usually in somewhat safe territory when you paired wine with a meal, if you kept to the usual red with meat, white with fish, but I felt that attitudes were changing from the traditional, and mistakenly thought that the wine I chose one evening was not that unconventional.

 We were hosting Italian house guests, and I was cooking Swedish with a touch of Italy.  Our dinner began with an appetizer made from crayfish tails in a mix of creme fraiche, mayonnaise, red onion, caviar and dill on rye bread squares that I had baked and pan fried in butter. As a second course, I served an acceptably creamy sea food risotto with North Sea shrimp, and as the main course, served filet of pork garnished with sautéed chanterelle mushrooms, fresh from the forest. To accompany the meal, I had chilled several bottles of Pinot Grigio, a fruity and refreshing white wine, that in my opinion, suited the summer temperature and served it with the first two seafood courses, and even felt that it would be suitable with the pork.

One of the guests, who was the group’s designated wine aficionado, came into the kitchen holding the Pinot Grigio and apologetically said,” Francis scousa, but this wine shouldn’t be served with the pork filet." I didn´t protest or say that I liked its tart, fruitiness and that there was a changing attitude toward whites. Nor did I have the inclination to discuss or to defend my choice of wine with someone, who not only had strong preferences and a firsthand knowledge of the intricacies of the beverage, but probably got his first taste when his father or grandfather put a drop of it on his tongue when he was an infant.

 Not so much to rectify my mistake, as to make a quiet statement, albeit with a touch of provocation, I brought up several bottles of the red Tuscan, Brunello di Montalcino, one of the premier Italian wines. As I was putting the final touches on the evening’s dinner, my discerning guest came back with the unopened bottles and again in the vein of instructing me, said, “Scousa Francis,” this wine isn’t suitable either.  Already knowing the answer, I asked, “Why not?”  “Of course, Brunello is molto buono, excellent, but it is too robust, and its intensity will overwhelm the pork.” And he was right on that score also, but I already knew that as I climbed the cellar stairs.

Looking back on that evening, a lighter Primitivo or Montepulciano d’Abruzzo  would probably have been better, but mistakes are always an opportunity for learning.   

 Maltagliati - Odds and Ends

Maltagliati are the small, irregular scraps that are left after the pasta dough is rolled out and the shapes are cut and formed.

Every mistake should  be an opportunity to learn something.

Often what you regret most in life are the things that you could have done but didn’t do.

I have several meters of shelves devoted to cook books. They are often the source of my reading before turning out the light. Cook books have been the standard gifts to give me along with aprons, baking tins, knives and diverse kitchen utensils. I suppose as well as they fuel one of my hobbies, the givers might expect a culinary return on their investments.

“What goes in your mouth is more important than what comes out,” my mother said, correcting one of my unruly brothers at the table. Eat!

 A friend from Emilia Romagna, the home of the filled pasta that is one of their signature dishes said, "Only barbarians eat tortellini in tomato sauce."

I guessed that anyone caught overcooking pasta in Italy, would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

If you are not adept at small talk, but still want to break a silence, ask an Italian a question about food, any food. 

Looking at the two sorts of pasta that were being served, I longed for the metabolism of my teens.

I was looking over her shoulder while she was making risotto, slowly, pouring and mixing a little broth at a time with the rice. Coming from the coast she said, "It is ready when the rice slides down the sides of the pot like waves lapping the shore.”

There are such beautiful encounters between language and food. A friend commenting on the light snow that had fallen in the night, said, "It was like a sprinkling of parmesan on pasta."

There is a Calabrian proverb “you don’t know a person until you eat a kilo of salt with them.” The saying can be explained by the fact that when you salt a plate of food,  you use only a few grams at a time. One kilo is a thousand grams.

Regarding the Italian preferences regarding food, as in Zen Philosophy, simplicity is at the core. I asked a friend, who is an adept and experienced, cook what her favorite meal was.  “A sun warmed tomato from my garden, with a drizzle of good olive oil on a slice of fresh bread. “It doesn’t have to be more complicated,” she said.

The Italians knew about shoes and food. When there was salsa left on the plate you broke a piece of bread and wiped it clean. They called that “fare la scarpetta,” make the little shoe.  A friend told me that the expression originated in a time when people were so hungry that they could eat the souls of their shoes. “Fare la scarpetta” was a ritual and an essential part of cucina povera: enjoy the meal, don’t waste anything, but it was frowned upon by the more refined. 

Our lives are like a soup made from what we have in our cabinets and refrigerators - a little bit of this and a little bit of that - some happiness, some sadness, some good some bad, opposites that in the best of cases give life balance, like spices that complement each other.

Fine dining is a privilege you pay for. You know it when you see it: small portions on large dishware decorated with a sprig of this and a squiggle of that, with elaborate descriptions that border on the ludicrous. Italians are people with large appetites. I’ve seen restaurants with fashionably square plates and small portions, and they are not so popular.

I’m old enough to remember how meat, poultry, fruit and vegetables used to taste, before industrial agriculture found monoculture more profitable.

What affects the sense of taste? Essential ingredients are mood, hunger, company and presentation.

I grow tomatoes every summer, just to remember what tomatoes used to taste like.

If an Italian cut themselves while cooking, a squirt of tomato juice will come out before the blood.

I often cook for my friends who are political liberals and humanists, but gastronomically conservative. I’ve often said that if you cook for them, you have to have either a lot of confidence, or a lot of self-deceit. 

What I lacked in culinary education, I made up for with ample portions of curiosity and inquisitiveness, mixed in with some aptitude.

I’m not quite sure if you can serve Italians a meal without a pasta dish. After all these years, when I’ve prepared a dinner with rice or another starch, I sometimes wonder, if my guests eat some pasta when they get home.

 I asked a Vasto vintner who had recently returned from California’s Napa Valley, what he thought about the wines that were produced there.  Knowing that I was born in the U.S., he said diplomatically, in case I might feel some loyalty,   “ I suppose you could get used to them.”

I felt at times that I needed the stimulation, challenge, and even the stress and adrenalin rush of cooking for twenty discerning Italians.

Food is a catalyst that not only nurtures, but binds people together and stimulates friendship. A friend said to me that the dinner table is the best place to educate and foster your children.

We all have a dish that reminds us of a person, a place, or someone we loved.

We were the working poor, before there was a name for it, but we never went hungry. Somehow there was food for the day’s meals, and somehow, always something for the next.

My Mom said “everyone can eat but only a few can cook.” Okay Mom, I won’t mention the gelatinous oatmeal that I scraped into the trash when you turned your back, but your meatloaf made up for it.

Knowing that we were leaving for home the next day, a friend said with a smile "you know that the Italian border police ask every departing traveler if they have taken proper leave of their friends and families.  If they hadn't, they had to return home and do it before they were allowed to leave the country.”

 “ Is there anything you don’t like about Italy,” he asked? “Yes,” I answered, “leaving it!”

After the Table is Cleared

In this book, you might have stumbled upon a few tips on how to navigate some of the common,  every day encounters in Italian life that an uninitiated traveler might find baffling. My writings are not scholarly or the words of an expert, but if my experience can in a small way help someone to better understand this unique country, then I have had a little success. 

Someone who writes about a subject, should know everything about it. I can forgive myself for my lack of depth, by realizing, that the culture of Italy is so incredibly complicated, and the diversity of its cuisine so enormous, that any book no matter how erudite or comprehensive is inadequate, and just a scratch on its surface.

An Italian lives and breathes their history and culture. We others, observe it as though we were looking at it through a thick pane of glass. Mille Grazie, to my fine-souled Italian friends who have patiently shown me a bit of it.  

Every ending is a beginning. There is more to see, more to learn, and hopefully many more tables to sit at.

 Glossary of Italian words and terms.

Abruzzo = A region in Central Italy, bordered to the west by the Apennine Mountains and to the east by the Adriatic Sea.

Acedo balsamico = A sweet, traditional Italian vinegar with a syrupy consistency due to a long aging process.

Adriatic Sea = An arm of the Mediterranean Sea bordering the Italian east coast.

Agnello = Lamb

Al dente = Pasta that is firm to the bite.

Amaro = Bittersweet liqueur made from herbs.

Ambrosia = From Greek mythology, “the food of the gods”.

Amici = Friends

Amphora = Ancient two handled, cylindrical shaped clay vessels, used for the transport of oil, wine, and grains.

Antipasti = Appetizers served before a meal.

Antipasti de mare, = Sea food appetizers.

Antipasti de terra, = Appetizers from the land such as cheeses, meats, vegetables.

Apennines = The Mountain range that passes through the center of Italy, 1200 km. from north to south, Mt. Corno Grande is the highest point, 2,900 meters

Aperitivo = A pre-dinner drink accompanied by small snacks.

Apericena = A more substantial form of aperitivo, combining finger food and a small meal.

Aperto = Open

Arrosticini =Skewered, roasted lamb, a traditional dis from the mountainous regions of Abruzzo

Batuto = A minced mixture of onions, carrots celery and herbs used for the base in sauces

Bene = Good - an adverb

Biera alla Spina = Tap beer

Biscotti = A hard, crunchy, cookie with almonds or candied fruit, baked twice

Bliss Point = The unhealthy combination of sugar, salt, fat, that makes a food maximally appealing and irresistible, leading to compulsive eating.

Brodetto = A rich fish stew- The signature dish of coastal Abruzzo

Brodo = Broth

Bruschetta = An appetizer of grilled bread with toppings of tomatoes, vegetables, beans, cured meat or cheese.

Buon appetito = Enjoy your meal!

Buona = Good – an adjective

Caffe normale = Espresso coffee

Caldo = Warm, hot

Campanilismo = Local or neighborhood  pride

Cannoli-Sicilian dessert

Cantucci =  Twice-baked Italian almond cookies ( the same as biscotti )

Capo di tavalo = The person who sits at the head of the table

Carbonari = Secret society that worked to unite Italy in the 1800’s

Carciofi = Artichokes

Carne = Meat

Casa = House

Casereccio = Homemade or homemade

Castel Caldaresco = An early 15th century Renaissance castle in Vasto on Piazza dei Barbacani. 

Cena = Supper

Centro Storico = The historical center of a town, “ the old town”.

Cerasuolo = A rosé wine

Chiesa = Church

Chitarra = A traditional spaghetti made by pressing the pasta dough through a wooden frame strung with wire.

Chiuso = Closed

Cibo = Food

Cibo Locale = Locally produced food.

Cibo Mediterraneo = Mediterranean diet

Cin Cin =  Cheers! A toast

Colazione = Breakfast  

Contorni = A side dish, typically vegetables

Coperto = Cover Charge

Corno Grande = The highest peak in the Apennines at 2900 meters.

Cotto = Cooked, as in prosciutto cotto (boiled ham).

Crostini = Small, thin, slices of toasted baguette

Crudo = Raw, even a generic term for dried ham (prosciutto crudo).

Cucina Povera = Food of the poor.

Culatello = A prime, cured ham.

Diomedes = A hero in Greek mythology, said to have founded Vasto in the 11th century B.C.

DOC =  Denominazione di Origine Controllata, which translates to "Controlled Designation of Origin". It is a quality and authenticity certification for Italian wines and some cheeses. 

Dolce = Sweets, dessert

DOP = Denominazione di Origine Protetta," which translates to "Protected Designation of Origin". This strict certification guarantees that a food product is produced, processed, and packaged entirely within a specific geographical area, by traditional methods with local ingredients. 

Enoteca = A wine shop, a place to buy and taste wine

Extra virgin olive oil = Cold  pressed oil of the highest quality, not over one year old.

Facile = Easy

Fare la Scarpetta =  Literally means "to make the little shoe" and refers to the act of using a piece of bread to scrape up the remaining sauce on your plate.

Ferramente = Hardware

Finferli = Chantarelle mushrooms

Freddo = Cold

Fresca = Fresh 

Forte e Gentile = Strong and Gentle, the motto of the Abruzzo Region.

Fromaggio = Cheese

Frutta = Fruit

Gabriele Rosetti = Poet and statesman born in Vasto in 1783, exiled to England for his involvement in the revolutionary movement for Italian unification. 

Gambero Rosso = A guide for Italian wines, restaurants, and food products.

Gelateria = Ice cream shop.

Gelato = Ice cream

Giardini = Garden

Glera = The variety of grapes used in the distillation of Prosecco.

Guide Rouge de Michelin = An annual guide to the world’s "best" restaurants. and hotels.

Impasto = Dough

Insalata = Salad

In Vino Veritas = From Latin, “in wine there is truth”.

Limoncello = A sweet liqueur made from lemons.

Maiella Massive = The high mountains in the Abruzzo Apennines. 

Maltagliata = Badly cut, or commonly, the scraps of pasta dough that are leftover

Mange = Eat!

Marinara = A sauce made with tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and onions.

Mediterranean diet = fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and olive oil 

Monte Amaro = The highest peak in the "Maiella Massif".

Montepulchiano = The most common strain of grape in the Abruzzo Region, from which the Montepulchiano d’Abruzzo wine is made.

Mozzarella = A soft non-aged cheese made from buffalo or cow’s milk.

Odori = Ingredients such as celery, carrots onions, parsley that give flavor and fragrance to a sauce.

Orto = A vegetable garden.

Osteria = An inexpensive restaurant

Ottimo = Optimal, or regarding food exceptional or excellent.

Pagare alla Romana = Divide a bill equally. (pay like the Romans)

Palazzo D’Avalos = A palace in the historical center of Vasto and the town’s main landmark. It now houses archeological and art museums.

Pane = Bread

Panetteria = Bakery

Panini -Sandwiches

Passegiata = An evening stroll.

Pasta = Dough

Pastificio = A shop that makes and sells fresh, homemade pasta.

Pasta mista = A blend of different pasta types, scraps that were once purchased by the poor.

Pasticceria = Pastry shop

Pescatrice = Monkfish, Anglerfish

Pecora - Sheep

Pesce = Fish

Piatti = The courses of a meal, literally dishes.

Piccolo = Small

Pizzaiolo = Pizza baker

Polpetta = Meatball

Pomodoro = Tomato

Pranzo = Lunch

Primo = The first course of a meal

Prosciutto = Any type of ham, either dry-cured (prosciutto crudo) or cooked (prosciutto cotto).

Prosecco = A sparkling wine from the Veneto and Friuli regions of Northern Italy

Punta Penna = A long sandy beach in the Punta Aderci Nature Reserve outside of Vasto.

Ragù = A rich slow cooked meat sauce.

Ricetta = Recipe

Ripiene = Stuffed or filled.

Salsa = A generic term for sauce.

Sapori = Tastes, flavors

Secondo = The  second course of a meal usually consisting of meat, fish, or dairy products. 

Sepino = An ancient Roman municipality, now a well preserved archeological site.

Seppie = Cuttle fish

Small Scale Business = Often managed by the owner and his family with few employees, selling local produce, products or services.

Sofrito = A flavor base made by slowly sautéing finely diced onions, carrots, and celery. 

Spiagia = Beach

Sugo = A traditional tomato sauce.

Tårta = Cake in Swedish.

Tartufo = Truffle

Trabocco = A traditional wooden fishing pier used to lower nets into coastal waters.

Transhumance = The seasonal movement of sheep from the Abruzzo mountain pastures to the coastal plains.

Trattoria = An informal and less expensive restaurant

Traturro = Shepard’s tracks used to move herds from mountain pastures  to coastal plains.

Trebbiano = A prolific green grape from which the white wine, Trebbiano d’Abruzzo is made.

Vasto = A town on the southern coast of Abruzzo, once a Roman municipality that first dates back to the time of Homer’s Odessey.

Vecchio = Aged, old

Ventracina = A renowned pork salami from the Vasto region, especially the hill villages of Guilmi and Carrunchio.

Vino = Wine

Vongole = Small Mediterranean clams

World Heritage Site = A place or building designated by UNESCO, to be of outstanding “Universal Value" to all of humanity.

Other Tables – More Thoughts on Food   

My relationship to food and a good meal has been shaped and formed by the sum of my experiences and encounters, both monumental and seemingly insignificant.

Kabul 1972, Long Before the Taliban.

 I was accustomed to sitting among day laborers and craftsmen, seeking out the utilitarian places where they ate, because the portions were big and the prices small. In a back alley in the bazar of Kabul, Afghanistan, I found a stall that served lentil soup and the ubiquitous Afghani flat bread, naan. Believing that my meal would cost three Afghanis, (at the time about twenty-five cents) I ordered and sat down among sinewy, unshaven men in collarless tunics, worn under vests of coarsely woven wool. When it was time to pay, the cook said my lunch would cost me five afghanis. I pointed to the sign, that I thought read three. When I insisted, the cook leaned over the counter, and as if it was decided in advance, two men came up behind me, so close so that I could smell lentils and onions on their breaths. The cook said something and held up six fingers, and I understood the price had increased. When the buzz in the stall quieted, and the other men's attention focused on the pending entertainment, my survival instinct kicked in, and I quickly agreed to the new price.  Discussion ended. Principles were one thing, a pummeling over the price of lentil soup in one of Kabul's back alleys was another.

 A Gourmet Meal in an Unexpected Place

I was hiking east of Kathmandu with hopes of getting a good look at Mt. Everest. I felt that my back-packer’s budget didn’t allow the luxury of a guide, so when I found a map at the government tourist office, frugality and an over confidence in my abilities, won out over common sense, and I struck out alone. Before long, I joined a group of Sherpas who were on their way back to their village. I walked and climbed with them in the thin air on narrow paths carved out of the mountain sides, sharing their food and resting with them in the evenings.

After a few days, my companions took a route to the north and pointed out a trail in the direction of Everest, the same one that Edmond Hillary took twenty years earlier on his way to conquer the mountain.  After a few hours, the trail ended on the edge of a deep canyon, the damaged rope bridge that spanned it hung vertically, swinging in the wind and banging against the opposite wall. I had difficulty finding my way in the rocky terrain, when I tried to find an alternate path. It was getting dark, a fall or twisted ankle could be fatal, and as the landscape became increasingly desolate, I admitted to myself that I was lost and would have to spend the night in the open.

It took two days to circumvent the gorge. I spent the nights curled up in my sleeping bag under a canopy of stars that seemed so close that I could reach out and touch them, and in the mornings, watched the rising sun as its glow illuminated the snow-covered peaks in the distance. I couldn’t fully appreciate the beauty though, because the growling of my empty stomach reminded me of the fact that I was lost and hungry, and no one knew where I was.

With a little luck and a lot of determination, I came to the village that was my goal.  As a reward, I got a view of the world’s highest mountain with its jagged, snow covered peak silhouetted against a cloudless sky. In the days that followed I would be transfixed by the sight, but just then, what I appreciated much more, was my first food in three days. Hunger is the best spice and that meal is etched into my culinary memory.

Sitting by an open hearth with a family that took in trekkers I ate: fresh potatoes roasted in the coals of a juniper wood fire with cottage cheese fermented from jak milk, slices of grilled porcini mushrooms, sprinkled with chili and salt, and a spicy curry made from lentils and barley, eaten with a traditional fluffy wheat bread.  After the meal, I drank Nepalese tea, seasoned with salt and jak butter. 

It was a dinner worthy of a Michelin star.

Taj Mahal Hotel, Bombay 1970

Bad conscience, mixed with empathy and guilt, are the wrong spices for any meal.

I was visiting Bombay, and after months of living on a simple village fare of rice and lentils, I was looking forward to a luxurious evening in the famous restaurant at the Taj Mahal Hotel. However, it turned out that my bad conscience and guilt, were the wrong spices for my planned meal.

On my way to dinner, I walked through Bombay’s back alleys and side streets past families in rags living on the streets. With outstretched hands, they asked for only just enough to give their children a bowl of rice. That walk turned out to be a bad appetizer.  

The stark contrast between India’s poor and rich was painfully obvious to me when I had to step over and around men sleeping on the marble stairs in front of the hotel’s opulent dining hall. Two attendants dressed in spotless white livery, white turbans, matching white gloves and barefoot, opened the carved teak doors leading to the dining hall.  When I entered, the sea of light from the crystal chandeliers, and the care-free diners oblivious to the poverty only a few meters from their table, startled me as though I had inadvertently stepped into a scene from Colonial India. 

I turned in the doorway and made my way back down the stairs, over and around the sleeping men, found a street stall, and sitting on a backless bench polished smooth by countless diners, ate my favorite meal of chapatti and curried vegetables.  

Ragi Mudde, Not Fully Acclimatized

India, My first home away from home, and a country that taught me about food.

I had not exactly gone native, but after having lived in India for almost three years, I felt that I still needed to prove to myself that I was truly acclimatized. So, looking for some kind of personal validation, I asked Mrs. Mani my cook, to serve “ragi mudde”, firm round balls the size of a tennis ball, made from the millet that gave good yields from the stony, dry plains of Kolar District, and was a staple in the local villages. 

"What will people think of me if I feed you this,” she lamented in her Tamil blended Kannada. As if I hadn’t already done enough strange things, she shook her head and asked, “why would you eat this simple food when I can make you rice with mutton or chicken every day?

She placed them in front of me, on a tin plate and pretended not to watch, as I chewed and chewed. No matter how much curry I soaked them in, they still tasted like brown lumps of coagulated dough, and no matter how much water I drank to wash them down, they still stuck to the roof of my mouth. For my unappreciative and untrained palate, ragi mudde’s firm, gluey consistency reminded me of the oatmeal from my childhood that was left standing too long in the bottom of the pot, and that I sneaked into the trash bin when my mother wasn’t looking.

To Mrs. Mani’s satisfaction, I gave up after a few days, and went back to eating her excellent meals.  She never said, “I told you so,” and only gloated a little, if you don’t count her hearty laugh when she shared the story of my fiasco with her daughters.

Forest Gold

 Among all of the wild plants and fruits of the jungle, honey was the most sought after, and men of the indigenous tribes were masters at climbing to the roof of the forest and risking their lives for their favorite food. Immune to the stings of the agitated bees they climb fifty meters or more in order to pull the hives from hollow tree trunks. 

 After months of travelling through the deserts of North Africa and then down into the continent’s steaming jungles, Kersti and I continued our trip on the Congo River with a Greek trader whose boat was carrying a cargo of beer up river to Kisangani in the Eastern Congo. We slogged upstream 1500 kilometers deep into the remote interior of the continent, on a river that was so wide that at times you could barely see the opposite shore, and at others, so narrow that our boat seemed like it would be swallowed by an unbroken wall of green.

We brought a little breath of the outside world to the thatched hut villages that we passed on our way upriver. We were a diversion in the unchanging life of the jungle. Villagers came out to the narrow strip of shore to watch us pass, waving and chanting. Children swam out a bit to get our attention, and fishermen paddled their dug-out canoes to intercept our boat and hitch a ride upstream, or sell whatever fish or fruit that they might have. One peddler while holding on to our gunwale haggled with one of the crew over a beehive dripping with honey, complete with dead bees and their larvae.

We found a tin bowl in the galley and pressed out the honey with our hands. We picked out dead bees and bits of wax, and crushed the cells between our fingers and palms so that the sugary liquid ran out.

I filled a frying pan with palm seed oil, sliced and quartered thick, green, fibery plantains and fried them golden brown over a kerosene burner and poured the honey over them while they were still sizzling.  If there was ever a review of jungle delicacies, fried bananas and fragrant rain forest honey would be at the top of any list.

 [francis m1]

 [francis m2]

 [francis m3]