Events

FINGER FOOD

Sometimes I am so surprised that in Singapore, the melting pot of food coming from all over the world, I don’t find this food: the Italian Rice Balls, which in my city –Rome- and region take their name as Suppli’ (their probable etymology is from the word “sorpresa”, which means “surprise”) and in Sicily are famous as Arancini or Arancine (depending on the area, it means “little oranges”). Even a famous Italian writer, the Sicilian Andrea Camilleri, named his tales about the Police Detective Commissario Montalbano – which character became famous in the Italian culture thanks to the novels and the series dedicated to him on RAI, RAdiotelevisione Italiana – after this marvelous finger food. Sicily, which gave a big tribute to the whole Italian Cuisine, is also at the origin of many of Italian starters. In the South Asian subcontinent, food is traditionally always eaten with hands. Foods considered street foods are frequently, though not exclusively, finger foods.

This time in fact I introduce some Italian finger food. In Italy (as well as in Spain with tapas, “montados” or “montaditos” and France with “vol au vents”) you can find them so easily in “rosticcerie” or in the “bar”, as well as in restaurants, trattorie and osterie. We use to define it “antipasti” (starters, appetizers or entrée/main course items), by the way, the word itself explains it in English, finger food is whatever you can take with your hand without the need of any cutlery (fork, knife, or spoon), therefore it is just a part of this big Italian family of “antipasti”. And its taste is salty and not sweet, otherwise it would end in the category of pastry.

Nevertheless, finger food is an important part of everyday-life in Italy. You can go to a pizzeria and order the fantastic “olive ascolane”, or “fiori di zucca” (fried pumpkin flower with a refill of hot mozzarella and anchovies), as well as “mozzarelline”, bruschetta, and much other. At the bakery you can choose among scores of pizzette, flavoured toasts, “rustici”, and other flour-based products. In the bar and rosticceria you get crazy with calzone, toasts, grilled vegetables and other food balls (not football, which drives Italian crazy as well)!

There can be different types of finger food; however you can categorize them mostly in five branches. The first one is the raw or treated food itself, like fresh mozzarelline, slices of ham, cheese, cherry tomatoes, fried chips, etc… You eat it as it is. The second type is by using wooden or plastic sticks (“spiedini”) to penetrate through different food such as barbequed meat, fish, vegetables, and fruits. A very simple one is the sequence of sausage, cheese, capsicum and pineapple on a simple stick, or little pieces of meat -like Italian arrosticini of Abruzzi- or squid. Others can be ready cooked food, such as chicken drumsticks or wings, spring rolls, fried vegetables, rice balls, panzerotti, schiacciate, crispelle, cartocciate, panelle, croquettes, food nuggets, calzoni, and are often filled with marvelous mozzarella, spinach, ricotta, ham and sauces: therefore the food might be contained also inside some dough, around or rolling on it, or even by leaves, like vine leaves in the Greek dolma. The last two groups share something in common: both have an edible base on which you put the main ingredients or some other combination of food and ready to be served. However, the difference is the base: one group can be done with fresh or raw vegetables/fruits/other (for example pieces of melon with ham on it, or green lettuce or Italian radicchio with mayonnaise and some other topping); while the last group is a cooked/ baked base with some topping on it (example: bruschetta) and can be covered by another “base” (like sandwich or Italian “panino”).

This last one in my opinion is the biggest family of the finger food, without lacking of consideration about all the others I mentioned above. In my Country creativeness spreads from pizzette bases, to bread, tarts, “cialde”, focacce, tortini with “pasta sfoglia” or “pasta brisee”, crackers, salty biscuits, crostini (croutons), piadine, etc…

And of course fantasy goes on with the toppings on these bases: vegetable purees/pastes/dips, like truffles, mushrooms, eggplants, zucchini, tomatoes, olives, etc.. ; or pickles or vegetables in oil; fresh vegetables with a bit of extra virgin olive oil, like in most of bruschetta; herbs (sage, rosemary, oregano, chili paddy, pepper, nutmeg, etc…), creamy cheese; sauces and dressings, like mayonnaise, tuna, fish, or meat sauces, combined with caviar, pâté, shrimps, artichokes, capers, olives, etc… The choice is almost a never ending one, as well as for the shape variety. The imprinting of my Country is given by some ingredients: tomato, olive oil, mozzarella, cheese: they will always be among the main ingredients also in the preparation of finger food. Therefore let’s delight with some recipes from Italy containing these ingredients: Italian Rice Balls, Mozzarelle in Carrozza and… Bruschetta!

Italian Rice Balls – Roman Supplì (Supplì al telefono – The sight of the strings dangling from somebody’s half-eaten supplì made someone think of phone lines, and hence the name). There are many versions; some of them propose to cook rice apart with water, butter and some tablespoons of tomato sauce; others to prepare the ingredients as a filling and not as a base for the fried tomato sauce. I present the one in which risotto is cooked into the tomato sauce, yet a simplified version. All of the ingredients are shown as “optional” for a more yummy result.

Serves 4 – Preparation 15 minutes – cooking 45 minutes –frying 20 minutes – A LITTLE EFFORT

300 grams of Italian rice (Avorio, or Arborio or Vialone)

1 litre of water

80 grams of butter and/or Olive oil

1/2 onion (finely chopped)

1 rib of celery (grated)

1 carrot (grated)

125 grams of minced meat (beef)

300 gr of tomato sauce

100 g provatura romana, a buffalo milk cheese similar to mozzarella (mozzarella cheese will do too, cut into small cubes)

Breadcrumbs

Oil for frying the rice balls

Salt, flour

180 g tomatoes (peeled and chopped), 50 g of peas, 50 gr white button mushrooms (chopped) – optional

30 grams of grated parmesan cheese, 2 eggs, beaten – optional

60 g of minced ham, chicken livers, red wine and pepper – optional

Direction

Wash the vegetables. Prepare the sauce: fry the onion, celery, carrot (you can use 40 gr butter in order to increase the flavour) in olive oil at low fire; add the meat and the other optional ingredients (tomatoes, peas, minced ham, and chicken livers). Add the tomato sauce and keep frying for 20 minutes. Add salt, red wine and pepper (optional).

You can put in one plate part of the solid ingredients in order to put them later in the heart of the rice ball together with the mozzarella cheese (optional).

Add the rice and boil it for about 15 minutes, adding some salt, and drain it well. You may need to add some water. Risotto must be al dente. You can add the other optional 40 gr of butter, grits and eggs during the preparation. Cool it down and add some olive oil if necessary.

Make the rice balls: Take some rice and spread it over your left palm. Put in the middle of the ball a bit of the meat sauce (if you took it apart), and one and two cubes of mozzarella (depends on the size of the cube). Shape and cover the filling into the balls with your hands. Beat a couple of eggs into a bowl and prepare another bowl with the crumbled bread.

Coat the rice balls in the flour, and then dip them into the egg mixture and after that cover them with the crumbled bread in the other bowl.

Fry in a pan with hot oil. The crust must look crispy and golden. Wipe excess oil in a paper towel. Serve hot.

Tip: another technique for crumbling the supplì is this: you might prepare a bowl with water, egg, oil, flour, and salt; soak fast the rice ball inside before covering with the crumble bread.

Mozzarella in Carrozza – (Mozzarella in a carriage – The name might be because the mozzarella is somewhere contained between eggy bread and covered by the bread slices, or because in Campania it was shaped with circle bread slices, like wheels). There are many versions; from the simplest to others where the filling might include ham, anchovies, and other.

Serves 4 – Preparation 15 minutes – frying 20 minutes – EASY

8 slices sandwich bread (wholemeal flour better), crusts removed

100 gr mozzarella cheese (dried from liquid, if any), cut into ¼-inch-thick slices

¼ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup plain dry breadcrumbs

1 large egg, beaten

3 tablespoons whole milk

Salt, preferably kosher

Vegetable oil, for frying

2 tablespoons freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese, freshly ground black pepper, ham slices, anchovies, butter – optional

Direction

Remove the crusts from the bread. Cover 1 slice of the bread with the mozzarella slices, ham slices and/or anchovies (optional) and top with another slice of bread. Carefully slice the sandwiches in half diagonally. Press down around the edge (optional).

On a large piece of wax paper, place the flour on one side, and the breadcrumbs on the other.

In a shallow bowl, mix together the egg, Pecorino (optional), milk, and salt and pepper to taste.

Dredge the sandwich triangles in the flour, cover and shake off any excess. Then dip them into the egg mixture, making sure that the sides are dampened as well. Then coat them in the breadcrumbs, coating the sides too. Let the triangles rest for 5 to 10 minutes, to let the breadcrumbs adhere well.

Heat a medium-size frying pan (large enough to hold all the triangles) over medium-high heat. Add oil to a depth of ¼ to ½ inch. When the oil is hot, add the triangles and fry until the bread has browned, 1 to 1½ minutes. Turn to the other side and fry for another 1 to 1½ minutes (flip them just once in order to avoid the mozzarella to go out). Transfer to paper towels to drain. Serve immediately.

Tip: The bread slices are cut into smaller squares, layered with mozzarella, skewered, then fried—a process that makes a pretty loaf but that also has the problem of absorbing too much oil if not carefully tended. Wipe excess oil in a paper towel. Some versions put together 2 slices of bread instead of 1, thus making a single peace done with 4 slices of bread, and indulge in more ingredients like ham, pecorino, and spices. You can fry them in butter. I noted them all as optional. Loved by children and… adults.

Bruschetta – There are many versions of bruschetta as well, with olives and other vegetables, with pâté or dips. I give you the one I like most.

Serves 4 – Preparation 20 minutes– EASY

2 tomatoes

1 rib of celery

5 cloves of garlic

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt, pepper (optional)

Bread (baguette, whole meal); you can prepare your own loaf or focaccia, also supermarket croutons work

Oregano, garlic spread, capers (optional)

Direction

Cut the bread in slices of 1/1,2 cm. Put on a layer and in the stove at a 100C temperature for 8 minutes. Control that the slices become crusty, light golden according to the taste but avoid burning. You can do the same process on a grill pan, especially if you have “pane casareccio” or homemade loaf.

Wash the vegetables. Chop 4 cloves of garlic in very small pieces and put in a bowl with olive oil. Then chop the tomatoes in small pieces and the celery in very small pieces, add them with salt, pepper, oregano, capers (optional). Keep it for 30 minutes in order to strengthen the flavour.

Serve the bread and the vegetable mix bowl with a small plate with the garlic clove. Help yourself by taking a slice of crunchy bread, rub the remaining clove of garlic according to the liking and top some bruschetta sauce on it.

Tip: The recipe is very easy, therefore its result depends on the best ingredients such as extra virgin olive oil and Italian bread, if you can find or prepare it. If you don’t want to rub garlic on the bread, a garlic spread will work. The smaller you chop the ingredients, the more you will have a mixed flavour. If you prefer some ingredient to result, just chop them not too small. The best is if you can prepare the vegetables and keep them in a jar for some time.

Salads

At home it was never missing. I am not speaking of pasta, which, it is true, was always present. But the dish of vegetables which in various forms -from the green to the one with tomatoes and mozzarella, or others with potatoes or other combinations- always accompanied our meals at the centre of the table like a king. The salad. “L’insalata”.

I remember with a sad smile of regret, because he is not here anymore, my uncle Max, Massimo. Engineer, passionate about all the sciences, from astronomy to mineralogy, botany and many others, he was a walking encyclopaedia that I loved to listen to and spend time with. He took me around the grounds and gardens explaining me plants and flowers. And every now and then stopping he said to me, “…and this is a anethum graveolens (dill, quoting the classification in Latin from Linnaeus), from the family of Umbelliferae. It is growing wild but you can use for fish dishes, potato salads or soups. From the same family you have this other plant” and he pointed at a wild fennel; “this is a foeniculum vulgare, from the parsley branch. See its feathery leaves and yellow flowers. Its seeds have culinary use”. After theory he usually behaved more practical and we used to collect some plants and leaves that would be useful for preparing a meal. Therefore he took some bay leaves and wild chives, marsh mallows, valerian, chervils, which he took care that would not be confused with poisonous hemlock (!), and a lot of other greens.

With my imagination, when ancient Romans in Italy, and Celts all over Europe in the past used to walk the same fields, I thought my uncle could be a druid or some wise botanic scientist of that time. He was the one who, thanks to his wide culture and interests, made me feel always curious and try a wide range of greens for salads, from sprouts to leaves, grains, seeds, spices, vegetables, fruits and herbs in combination or without other ingredients and sauces.

.As I always like to combine my gastronomy topics with other hopefully useful cultural, sociological or anecdotical information, it is interesting to know that since man was born as a fruit-eating (frugivorous), and you can see also by the shape of its teeth, he used to eating mainly leaves, berries and seeds since prehistoric times. The arrival of the ice-age with the decrease of vegetables and the transition to the meat diet then changed many eating habits, which still cause problems to a digestive system still used mainly to vegetables.

Etymologically, the key ingredient of salad, and the reason for its getting its name, is the dressing, especially the salt. The Romans were enthusiastic eaters of salads, many of their differing hardly at all from present-day ones -a simple selection of raw vegetables- and they always used a dressing of some sort: oil, vinegar, and often brine. And hence the name salad, which comes from Vulgar Latin Herba salata, literally ‘salted herb’“, or standing for ‘salted things‘. The word turns up in Old French as salade and then in late 14th century English as salad or sallet.” As we can find in Oxford English Dictionary.

We have clear references to the use of raw herbs and leaves to make a dish together (generally defined as mixed greens with dressing) by various gastronomic Latin authors (Apicius, Columella, etc …) of Ancient Rome. The Mediterranean, with its warm, but also dry, climate allows the growth and a rich variety of plants, as well as keeping storage for a certain period of dishes with vegetables that in other parts of the globe, wetter and / or colder, was not possible, often making it necessary to cook the vegetables for health reasons, like in most of Asia, for instance. Olive oil, used as fuel for lamps at the beginning, then alimentary processed, salt, and vinegar, of which the Romans were crazy (much to drink it mixed with water, see the reference during the crucifixion of Jesus in the Bible), accompanied this dish, along with the spices that the rich could afford by Arab traders or from the Roman ships coming from Alexandria after trading with India.

Furthermore the medical practitioners suggested eating raw vegetables as an important support to daily diet and health. Hippocrates and Galen believed that raw vegetables easily slipped through the system and did not create obstructions for what followed; therefore they should be served first. Others reported that the vinegar in the dressing destroyed the taste of the wine; therefore they should be served last. This debate has continued ever since… But shows how much important the salad was for the daily diet of Ancient Romans.

As there didn’t exist a lot of vegetables yet, brought from Colombo after his travels in the Americas, especially tomatoes, greens and salads were generally accompanied by cheese and herbs.

With the fall of Rome, salads were less important in Western Europe, although raw vegetables and fruit were eaten on fast days and as medicinal correctives. They remained a feature of Byzantine cookery and re-entered the European menu via medieval Spain and Renaissance Italy.

So, even though at first the word “salade” later referred to fresh-cooked greens of raw vegetables prepared and pickled in the Roman manner in vinegar or salt, as time progressed, salads became more complicated. Recipes varied according to place and time. Dinner salads, as we know them today, were popular with Renaissance folks. Composed salads assembled with layers of ingredients were enjoyed in the 18th century.

Nowadays salad can be one of the simplest or most difficult dishes to be prepared. Especially as it needs creativity and fantasy in preparing or inventing it. Looking, dressing and even chopping is important, as a la julienne; smaller and bigger slices or pieces give a different texture to the dish. It can be an appetizer, a main dish, or a side dish accompanying the main one.

The most important salad dishes usually refer to green salad, which is mostly composed by different kind of lettuce (iceberg, the Roman cappuccina, ricciola, etc…) and tasteful leaves, like rocket and chicory. In Italy some species of vegetables have even obtained the protection of the European Union, the P.A.T. (traditional agro-alimentary Italian products) or the I.G.P. (geographical protected denomination) like the Cicoria di Catalogna Frastagliata of Gaeta, the one of Chioggia, the Radicchio Rosso of Treviso, or the Radicchio Variegato di Castelfranco.

Mixed salads are still mainly green, but with tomatoes, carrots, celery, onions, olives, cucumber, radishes, capsicum and other vegetables, sprouts and even flowers, seeds or grains. From this “branch of salad we have the Balkan salads, which contain the most important cheese from the Country they take their name from, like Feta and Goat Yogurt for Greece, Kajmak for Serbia, or Mozzarella (Caprese salad) or Parmigiano for Italy. In Eastern Europe you can have plenty of turnips and beets as well.

Then there are other varieties like the potato ones (the one called in Italy “Russian Salad” and in Germany “Italian Salad”, with boiled potatoes, peas, carrots, French beans, mayonnaise, cappers, or just mayonnaise and potatoes in its easiest version), the pasta ones, very fresh and nice dish for Summer, together with the rice ones, which are a mix of the above carbohydrates with vegetables and cheese. Tuna salads and egg salads (like Nizzarda) complete this branch, known as “bound” salads as well.

Also cereals, pulses and beans salads are interesting mix of different vegetables with chickpeas, beans, broad beans, and lupins. You can also have the chicken (the Caesar salad for instance) salad or the seafood salad, while it is traditional to have the “Insalata di rinforzo”, or reinforcement salad with pickles, for Christmas in South of Italy.

Modern Vegan concept opens to a wide variety of natural raw ingredients, mostly including seeds, fruits (tomato itself is a fruit, did you know it?) and sprouts.

Whatever is your favourite, I would always suggest you to use the best fresh ingredients and extra virgin olive oil, wash it very well, not just on running water but also keeping for at least 10 minutes in a basin (as most of pesticides are water soluble and need to stay soaked under water), prepare it before serving –except for the ones which can stay in the fridge overnight, like rice, pasta, potatoes and pulses salads- and keep them in the fridge after eating. Salads waste easily and vinegar, salt and oil help keeping longer.

The salads go wonderfully well with all climates and seasons, but especially with warm weather and the summer, for the intake of all the vitamins and minerals (Phosphorus, Calcium) that give our diet. Therefore I think it will be nice if I can follow my article with some interesting recipes, one of them dedicated to Singapore with Mango taste!

And, just to remind you the sense of this, don’t forget this one among the many Italian proverbs referring to salad: “A ben condire l’insalata ci vuole un avaro per l’aceto, un giusto per il sale e uno strambo per l’olio”: in order to dress the salad at its best you need a miser for vinegar, a right for the salt and a weirdo for the oil. And I would make it even better with my personal adding: “E un pazzo per mescolare”! A crazy for mix it all!

SERBIAN SALAD

Serbian salad is a vegetable salad, usually served during summer with roast meat and other dishes. It is made from diced fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and grated feta, usually seasoned with olive oil, salt and commonly feferon – a local hot pepper similar to cayenne pepper. You can have different versions, like “Shopska”, with creamy kajmak and green leaves. It is so present in a Serbian cuisine, from early spring until late fall, that all the other salads in Serbian cuisine are unmatched with this one.

Serves 4 Prep 30 min – EASY

Ingredients:

500 g tomatoes,

150 g onions (young or mature)

200 g cucumbers,

1 hot pepper,

A bunch of parsley or onion springs

80 g extra virgin olive oil,

Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Clean and cut onions. If it is a mature onion, slice into strips, if the onion is young – cut into rings. Wash sliced mature onions. If necessary, to remove the bitterness.
2. Take cucumbers: wash, peel and cut into rings or half rings. Wash tomatoes (choose only healthy, hard ones) and cut into pieces that are suitable for a fork prick. Cut peppers into thin strips.
3. Combine all with onions, add salt to taste and pour oil. Stir carefully to keep the whole tomato pieces.
4. Pour into a salad bowl and sprinkle finely chopped parsley or onion springs.
   

   Tips:

   For some variants you might prepare one day in advance a dressing with 2/3 cup olive oil, 1/3 cup red wine vinegar, 5 garlic cloves, quartered, ½ teaspoon dried basil, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, ½ teaspoon dried oregano, ½ teaspoon dried marjoram, fresh ground black pepper. When preparing the salad, remove the garlic from dressing and discard. Let the flavours meld with the tomatoes, pepper, onions and cucumber for at least one hour with the sauce.

   With Shopska you can add lettuce (chopped in small parts) and creamy kajmak instead of feta, then mix all together.

   If you do not like hot peppers, you can substitute it with a regular sweet pepper. also cut into thin strips.

   Per Serving XXX kcals, protein XXXg, carbs XXXg, fat XXXg, sat fat XXXg, fiber XXXg, sugar XXXg, salt XXXg

   2. TZATZIKI SALAD

      Even though this recipe is mostly under the sauce version and cannot be defined as a salad, you can increase cucumbers and make it a fresh dish to accompany your meat or first meal. Tzatziki is made of strained yogurt (usually from sheep or goat milk) mixed with cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil, and sometimes lemon juice, and dill or mint or parsley. It is always served cold. While in Greece and Turkey the dish is usually served as an accompaniment, in other places tzatziki is often served with bread (loaf or pita) as part of the first course of a meal. The etymology is Turkish, but is renowned as a plate of Greek gastronomy.

      Serves 4 Prep 20 min – EASY

      Ingredients:

      1 cucumber (2 if more like salad version)

      5-8 garlic cloves (according to the grade of spiciness)

      500 gr yogurt (better if goat yogurt)

      10 leaves of mint

      Extra Virgin Olive Oil

      Salt to taste

      Directions:

      1. Clean and cut the cucumbers. You can discard the skin and seeds, or keep them, as I do, according to your liking. Do the same with the garlic. Wash the mint leaves.

      2. Put it all in a blender with the yogurt (if you want a more liquid one, otherwise blend them apart then mix to the yogurt and stir)

      3. Serve fresh with some olive oil on the top.

         Tips:

         You can have a more liquid or more solid recipe. Just blend yogurt and the other ingredients all together, or stir apart and add one more sliced cucumber, without seeds, if more consistent.

         You can add lemon juice, dill, parsley as optional together with the mint, or as a topping.

         Per Serving XXX kcals, protein XXXg, carbs XXXg, fat XXXg, sat fat XXXg, fiber XXXg, sugar XXXg, salt XXXg

         2. VEGAN SINGAPORE SALAD

            This is a recipe which I could improve once I settled down in Singapore. The taste of mango and avocado, accompanied by the texture of red cabbage and broccoli, mixed together with olive oil and kiwi, in my opinion make it a flavour of the fusion between South East Asia and Europe. You must try it.

            Serves 4 Prep 30 min – EASY

            Ingredients:

            ¼ red cabbage/lettuce

            1 broccoli brunch

            2 kiwis

            1 avocado

            1 mango

            Extra Virgin Olive Oil

            Salt to taste, black pepper

            Directions:

            1. Wash the vegetables. Cut the broccoli and separate the flowers from the brunch-parts. Clean and peel kiwis and avocado and chop in small pieces. Chop red cabbage and broccoli flowers in small pieces. Peel the mango.

            2. Blend the mango with a bit of water and the chopped brunches of the broccoli into a sauce.

            3. Put together in a bowl the chopped broccoli leaves, red cabbage, kiwis and avocado and mix with the mango-broccoli sauce.

            4. Add salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil according to your taste.

               Tips:

               You must wash all the vegetables, especially broccoli, with care. Broccoli -due to the persistence of pesticides- have better be washed three times. Keep all the raw vegetables for 10 minutes in a basin with water, and then clean under running water.

               It is not necessary to put together broccoli and red cabbage, although these vegetables give a better consistency and contrast to the sauce and the fruits. You can use one of them, increasing its quantity.

               Don’t exceed with black pepper. It is difficult for our liver to metabolize it.

               Per Serving XXX kcals, protein XXXg, carbs XXXg, fat XXXg, sat fat XXXg, fiber XXXg, sugar XXXg, salt XXXg

               2. ITALIAN PASTA SALAD

                  The pasta salad is a fresh summer dish, easy to prepare in advance and is particularly suitable for picnic, or buffet dinners on the beach. The ingredients vary according to taste, although almost always include tomatoes or mozzarella. The pasta salad is therefore suitable to all tastes.

                  Serves 4 Prep 30 min – EASY

                  Ingredients:

                  400 gr. pasta (farfalle or butterflies, and fusilli or penne match perfectly)

                  250 gr. di cherry tomatoes

                  200 gr. tuna

                  200 gr. mozzarella

                  40 gr. olives

                  Basil, pepper

                  Extra Virgin Olive Oil

                  Directions:

                  1. Boil and cook pasta in salty water, and take it out just right.

                  2. Wash cherry tomatoes and cut in small pieces. Cut the olives in small circles. Chop basil.

                  3. Take away water from mozzarella and slice in little cubes. Dry tuna and put in a bowl, pressing it lightly with a fork and make it smoother.

                  4. Put chopped cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and olives to the tuna, then add a bit of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, if you like.

                  5. Combine all with pasta and stir, making cool to taste before serving.

                     Tips:

                     The best pasta for pasta salad is pasta corta (short types), like farfalle or butterflies, fusilli, penne.

                     Leave a few whole leaves of basil for garnishing the dish.

                     Per Serving XXX kcals, protein XXXg, carbs XXXg, fat XXXg, sat fat XXXg, fiber XXXg, sugar XXXg, salt XXXg

                     Fabrizio Righi is an Italian manager who settled down in Singapore and worked for International Organization Caritas Network in Humanitarian Emergency Field in Eastern Europe for many years in the Emergency, Social, Health (including Nutrition), Education, and Development fields. He worked 16 years all over Europe and knows 9 languages and the cuisines of his Continent. His favourite forte is Italian Cuisine, which he learned from his grandmother Maria Stella and which loves to share with his Community, enriched by the sound and deep background of European culinary traditions where he worked abroad and by the Asian spices and herbs from the region where he settled down last. He is also a passionate of ancient recipes from the Ancient Romans and Greeks, and of cultural gastronomy with a lot of information that you will hardly find everywhere else. He participated in the “Singapore Culinary Journey” 2013. You can find Fabrizio with his languages, culture and cuisine posts on https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/groups/124257721050152/

The Balsamic Vinegar

September 2007. I was in Belgrade. The temperature had suddenly fallen from over 35C to a bit above zero. I had never experienced something like that in summer and surely this weather brought something else bad. In fact in a couple of days later Italians had to suffer for the loss of the most famous of them around the world, Luciano Pavarotti. Luciano was not only a great singer of Opera and “tenore”, but a true expression of the best values of Italian lifestyle: playful, friendly, filial and strongly related to his family, smiling, always nice, generous, creative, a great artist, and a lover of food.

He was a great gourmet indeed, and the reason is because he was born in Modena, in one of the best Italian traditional regions for food: Emilia Romagna. My father was from the same area as well, therefore I personally experienced how this region is famous not only for its tortellini, ravioli, lasagne, ragu’, prosciutto and salami, but for grapes and wine as well, a sparking sweet red wine called “Lambrusco”, which youths love to drink.

This area is famous for its long life elisir too: the Balsamic Vinegar. Emilian vineyard cultivators had the great idea of cooking the grape must matured by a long and slow vinegarization process through natural fermentation followed by progressive concentration by aging in a series of casks made from different types of wood and without the addition of any other spices or flavourishing.

Therefore balsamic vinegar is produced, unlike ordinary vinegar which has its origins in an alcoholic liquid, directly form grape juice. Grapes (Trebbiano, white and sugary one, and Trebbiano of Spain, in the area of Nonantola), harvested -as late as possible so as to take the utmost advantage of every last touch of the warmth that the generous nature provides there- in the Modena region in which balsamic vinegar is produced, are crushed and their liquid, the “must”, taking care it never starts its fermentation process and the sugar is transformed into alcoholo, is then filtered and boiled in an open vat over a fire, where it will be brought to a slow noil and then allow to simmer gently until the desired level of concentration is reached (30 to 70% depending on the quality of vintage, sugar level, the practice of the vinegar maker). After filtered and cooling, this liquid is then placed in high quality wooden barrels in which through an oxidation process, it is transformed into vinegar. The barrels are kept in a vinegar loft (“acataia”) where over a number of years the precious liquid inside is lovingly cared for through a special technique involving transfers and topping up. Over many years microbiotic and enzymatic modifications unite to achieve an exceptional balance in fragrance and flavour.

Italy and the Consortium of Producers of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena have a very strict quality control for this DOC (Controlled Origin Denomination) product in order to ensure the consistency and the continuation of certain traditions, with the help of expert tasters, seals, rules, regulations, and procedures. There are many imitations throughout the world, adding caramel to the must, and this is quite a fake or, let’s say a very young and commercial product which cannot add the “traditional” to the label. Two types of vinegars, based on the aging period, are marketed: Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena (aged minimum 12 years), and Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena Extra Vecchio (extra old, which is aged minimum 25 years). Usually producers set a different gamma of colours, from green, to blue, to Bordeaux (usually aged less than 3 years), to green seal, blue seal, Bordeaux seal (matured more than 3 years), till gold and platinum, which reach and can go over 25 years.

|traditional Balsamic Vinegar has a dark brown colour, full of warm light; is dense, with a fluid and syruplike consistency (this is why cheap vinegar add caramel inside); his fragrance is distinct, complex, sharp and unmistakeably but pleasantly acid; the flavour is traditional and inimitable sweet and sour, in perfect proportion. To the tastebuds it will offer a full and rich flavour with a variety of shadings and eveolving bursts of new expressions as the mood of carrier changes.

You can try Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena, just in drops, on cheese (mozzarella, parmigiano) or on fresh, grilled, steamed or boiled vegetables, as a last refining touch to meat and fish whether they be baked, boiled, broiled, or grilled, and in Saucest Cooks throughout the world achieve remarkable culinary successes through the many creative uses of this extraordinary condiment.

I might add so much more detailed information, but it is now time to eat. I accept the suggestion of my “Big Luciano” (as Pavarotti was called worldwide) and I propose his receipt of Piccantina, together with a salad of the other great Opera composer Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868). Luciano used to say that “It is always the same instrument that produces pleasure and art in song and in food: the mouth”. And Rossini stated that “eating, loving, singing and digesting are the four acts of the comedy which is life”. As so many Italian artists in music loved food, may it mean that for meticulous Italians eating is like playing or singing a celestial symphony with outstanding instruments like Balsamic Vinegar, in this case?

Insalata alla Rossini

Simple – 15 minutes preparation

Ingredients: mustard, lemon, pepper, salt, e.v. olive oil, vinegar or Balsamic Vinegar, truffle (white or black), lettuce. Quantity according to the taste.

Wash the lettuce and slice the truffle. Pour them in a bowl, then add salt, pepper, lemon and mix; add Balsamic Vinegar, e.v. olive oil and mustard, mix it and serve.

Piccatina alla Pavarotti

Simple – 1 hour

Ingredients: 800 g best end of veal sliced, 100 g butter, 60 g Modenese ham julienned, 25 g chopped parlsey, 1 tablespoon Modena’s Traditional Balsamic Vinegar, flour, salt, pepper as needed.

Flatten the slices of veal slightly, salt (you will use salty cured ham later, so do not exaggerate with the salt at this stage), pepper and flour them.

Heat 80 g of butter in a pan and brown the veal on both sides with a high flame. Drain off the excess butter and place the veal on a hot serving dish. Add the remaining butter to the frying pan and scrape off the cooking residue from the bottom and sides.

Add the julienne ham and cook it over a low flame for a few seconds and then add the balsamic vinegar, Allow the sauce to meld for a few moments and then pour it over the “piccantina”. Sprinkle it with the chopped parlsey and serve it hot.

Stuffed Mussels

Simple – 1 hour

Ingredients: 2 pax: 500g mussels; 1 cup olive oil; 1 cup bread crumbs; 3 teaspoon chopped garlic; 1 tablespoon chopped parsley; 2 tablespoons Modena’s Traditional Balsamic Vinegar.

Heat the mussels in a pan until they are open. Allow them to cool and then remove from shells. Place in a container under olive oil.

Mix the bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Add the mussels and mix thoroughly.

Add the balsamic vinegar. Place on a baking sheet and bake in the lowest rack of the oven for 5 minutes at 180C.

Bread

One of the things which make me feel “home sweet home” is when I prepare home-made bread in the weekend. Keeping and refreshing my natural yeast, the mother dough done and fed with simple water and flour, makes me feel like keeping a tradition which started thousands and thousands years ago and passed hand by hand till today.

Starting from the first bakers of antiquity, the Egyptians, to the Romans who were masters in it, with corporations and emperors who used to keep their subjects calm with wide donations of wheat and bread to the population, the famous “panem et circenses”, bread has been the main dish in all of the European tables, especially for the poor. In Italian the term “companatico” means everything which is accompanying the bread during the meal, and bread terms accompany most of Italian vocabulary and idiomatic sentences. There can be literally thousands of different breads, for shape, flour, ingredients. And many variants as well, like focacce, crackers, pizze, and similar varieties.

Repeating the gestures, the care and the particular activities done in order to have artisanal bread, all this makes me feel more in contact with nature and its secrets. Despite its simple ingredients, the process is not easy at all and we must deeply know what is happening while we prepare our bread, from the combination of the proteins of glutenin and gliadin from the wheat which make the gluten, edible to the bacteria of the yeast which change the sugars inside the dough, to the enzyme amylase which creates the gas which will expand the dough and make it so flavourful.

There are so many variables (kind of flour, its strength, water, kind of yeast, etc…) but we must think in terms of fermentation process where the most important variables we should consider are time and temperature. The perfect balance of rising time, proofing time, dough temperature, ambient temperature, the correct amount of leavening, will allow the dough to grow and produce alcohol, acidity, esters and gas for the proper aroma, taste and texture. An excess of fermentation on the other side will make the bread last longer, but makes a cloying aftertaste which many people don’t like.

It is pointless to say that breading is an art, with bakers among which Italians and French are masters. Pre ferments, like Italian “Biga”, or Polish, the autolyse, the more the dough is hydrated, the complete bulk fermentation, the gentle handle of the dough, the proofing, the baking till the crust is dark brown are all single steps which require an expertise and know how gained after scores of repetitions of the process. The goal in baking any bread is to achieve maximum over spring, ideal flavours and texture of the crust with the complete baking of the interior.

We will need to use “grandmother” methods, like poke the loaves, just to see if the indentation springs back very slowly. And add some metal container with water, as the steam and humidity help the baking. Most home ovens aren’t well calibrated and a too hot oven will completely bake the crust before the middle is done, while a cool oven will make the crust thicker and less delicate. Therefore the process is very personal and skilful and the conditions might change from one place to another.

I normally need half a day to refresh my natural yeast, then another 12 hours to prepare the biga, and another half a day to prepare the dough which will go into crunchy aromatic bread. Time is working for me and I just need to take care of the proper steps. The result will be a fragrant loaf which I can cut and enjoy with a slice of Italian cheese, or to use for my “scarpetta”, cleaning the leftover of the tomato sauce, after a nice plate of spaghetti!

Crusty Loaf with Biga method

This is one of the possible thousands of recipes for preparing bread. If you simply change a bit the rate of the ingredients, the quantity of water, the timing, you will have a different bread. You can try it as well.

Serves 4 Prep 2 days (for fermentation; real preparation 1.5 hours) – EASY

Ingredients:

For Biga

50 g natural yeast, or 1 bag of industrial yeast

200 g flour 0 (or bread flour)

150 g water (temperature 32C),

For Dough for bread

180/190 g water

100 g flour 0 (or bread flour)

200 g flour 00 (or plain flour)

100 g wholemeal flour

½ table spoon honey

20 g salt

Directions:

Mix together the natural yeast (or the industrial, normally the industrial yeast needed is 1/3 of the weigh of the natural one) with 200 g flour 0 at ambient temperature, add the water and keep it under a wet cloth for 12 hours. It will form a sticky dough. This is a Biga. I can do it in the evening.
Next morning I add 180/190 g of water to the Biga, ½ table spoon of honey and whisk. Then I add 100 g bread flour, 200 g plain flour and 100 g of wholemeal flour with 20 g of salt.
I manipulate it for 15 minutes, put it on the layer which I will use for baking on a baking paper, and keep it proofing for at least 5 hours.
The dough is more than doubled. I put some water inside the oven and preheat at 180C. I can bake it at oven temperature of 180C for 15 min, then 170C for 45min. Once baked I take it out and let it rest before cutting.

Tips:

You can add extra virgin olive oil to the dough, as Tuscan bakers use to do. The best surface for manipulating the dough is a wooden surface.

Per Serving XXX kcals, protein XXXg, carbs XXXg, fat XXXg, sat fat XXXg, fiber XXXg, sugar XXXg, salt XXXg

Mediterranean Focaccia

Very similar to bread, Focaccia is quite simpler and can have different content of water inside which will make the interior softer or thicker according to the personal taste.

Serves 4 Prep 1 day (for fermentation; real preparation 1.5 hours) – EASY

Ingredients:

1 kg bread flour

0.5 litres of water (till 0.7)

1 bag industrial yeast or 50 g natural yeast

20 ml extra virgin olive oil

50 g black/ green olives, finely chopped

Rosemary (chopped), oregano

20 g salt

Directions:

Mix flour with olives and chopped herbs. Add industrial yeast, water and mix well. Add olive oil and salt and pour on a rectangular thick layer (pour some olive oil on the surface of the layer; the dough will ferment, therefore the layer must contain the dough once doubled or tripled in size). Keep it for 12 hours under a wet cloth at room temperature.

Preheat the oven at 180C then put the layer for 1 hour at 100C. Control it time by time.

Serve it warm.

Tips:

You can have different height for focaccia, as well as different softness depending on the amount of water. Once you pour the dough in the layer don’t touch it anymore in order to keep the gas inside. Check the focaccia in the oven, as temperatures might vary from oven to oven. You can add more olive oil according to the personal liking.

Per Serving XXX kcals, protein XXXg, carbs XXXg, fat XXXg, sat fat XXXg, fiber XXXg, sugar XXXg, salt XXXg

Grissini with Ham

In this recipe we use the dough for bread, then give it the shape of the “grissini” the original Piedmont bread, done with different shapes. It is a dialectal term and means a long and thin bread, born in the XVI century probably at the Royal Court of Savoia. There are many varieties, from the finger shape, to the arm shape. Industrial “grissini” are an usual starter available in the Italian restaurants together with bread.

Serves 4 Prep 40 min – EASY

Ingredients:

500 g bread dough

30 slices of ham

2 table spoons of olive oil

1 egg

20 g flour

Directions:

Put the flour on the surface, then lay the dough in at the height of 1.5cm. Brush it with the egg.

Cut the dough in many stripes of 1.5 cm width, then take them and twist twice.

Put the “grissini” on a layer with olive oil, preheat the oven at 210C and bake them for 10/15 min till they are golden.

Take the “grissini” out, roll the slices of ham around them and serve.

Tips:

If you want your “grissini” to look better, before baking you can brush the part which will not be covered by the ham with a solution of water and oil. Therefore this will appear as a trans lucid hang.

Per Serving XXX kcals, protein XXXg, carbs XXXg, fat XXXg, sat fat XXXg, fiber XXXg, sugar XXXg, salt XXXg

 

Estate Italiana! Italian Summer!

Finally I am in Italy, spending my Summer time between my home on the top of the Belvedere hill of Santa Marinella, 60 km far from Rome, and the Capital of Italy. August is for the Italians the holy month for vacation, because of temperature that, especially in the Centre and the South, can even reach 45C. Worthless to say that whoever can do it, they will take a break and go to the seaside or to the mountains for some cool weather. I took the opportunity to return home to share the pleasures and burdens of being with my family of origin: all together, including dogs, parrots, fish, turtles, and one guinea pig. As a typical Italian family, we are all together with my mother, my brothers and several grandchildren who happily jump on the belly of their uncle who see once a year and miss so much… From the terrace you can admire a unique panorama 50 km of coastline and blue sea, surrounded by pine trees and Mediterranean scrub. I have before me the tranquil Tyrrhenian Sea, the sea of the Western Italian coast, which is part of the larger Mediterranean Sea, the Mare Nostrum of the Romans. The sea, in its ambivalent nature of storm and calm, has always represented much for the peoples of the peninsula. Invasions, the fear of the unknown, trade, exchange of experiences with other cultures and peoples. The Mediterranean Sea is a large “salt lake”, which has arisen in recent times and huge amount of water still enters through the pillars of Hercules. That will increase the level of 1.5mm every hundred years. As such, its salinity -due to reduced evaporation relative to the surface of the water- and its depth -shallower than the one of the oceans- mean that its fish fauna is nourished especially near the coasts or in relatively shallow water or rock. This makes the taste of fish stronger, special high-quality, and pleasing to the palate. The Japanese are buying in Sardinia the famous yellow-fin tuna and the lobsters of Alghero are tasty, as well as the blue fish. This wealth of fish, combined with the geography of Italy, a peninsula with two large islands, Sardinia and Sicily (and up to the pre-Napoleonic time even Corsica), and a myriad of smaller islands, becomes a basic part of the healthy “Mediterranean diet” and enriches the already very numerous gastronomic repertoire of our country with a myriad of recipes based on fish, molluscs and crustaceans. Here are just a few recipes, while I taste a very simple and tasty dish of fried fish surrounded by the colours of the summer sun! I have some simple choices, with blue fish or typical products, rather than the commercial fish such as swordfish can be. Blue fish has a lot of Omega 3 and is a healthier choice than big fish, which has among other things high levels of toxic mercury all over the oceans, but fresh sardines of course are not easy available in South East Asia. You might try the following recipes with the fish available here. For this reason I include a simple appetizer with the “bottarga” and tuna from Sardinia, just to remind you of the uniqueness of the ingredients but the simplicity in the flavours of the cuisine of Italy.

Bruschetta with tuna and bottarga – The roe is produced mainly in Sardinia and Sicily, thanks to the contacts that both islands have had with the Arabs. The roe is a technique of maturing eggs (mostly …) and has ancient origins, dating back to the Phoenicians, the “Sea Peoples” who would live in Sardinia in ancient times. This recipe comes from the fact Sardinia. Since it will not be easy to find homemade bread is recommended Sardinian bread.

Ingredients for 4 people: 250 gr of stale homemade bread; 250 grams of tuna in oil; 2 cloves of garlic; 1 sprig of parsley; grated bottarga; ½ glass of white wine; extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.

Directions: Cut the bread (which should be 2 or 3 days before) thick slices and let it brown in the oven; heat a few tablespoons of oil in a frying pan, sauté the garlic cloves peeled and crushed well and then add the drained tuna and continue to cook until the tuna you will not be softened. At this point add the roe, wet with wine, let it evaporate, stirring constantly and flavored with a few leaves of parsley, salt and freshly ground black pepper fresh. At this point, remove the slices of bread from the oven (they should still be warm), place them on a large platter, spread them still warm with the sauce and serve immediately.

Sarde in Tortiera: Sardines tortino; a typical recipe from the South, combining fish with vegetables, grated and baked for a crusty pleasure.

Ingredients for 4 people: 700 gr fresh sardines (you can use other small fish, or sardines in oil as well); 2 cloves of garlic; 1 bunch parsley; 20 gr bread crumbs; 2 medium potatoes; 2-3 plum tomatoes (or equivalent, just dry them with salt); 1 medium white onion; extra virgin olive oil; salt; pepper.

Description: Clean the sardines, take away their heads and open them like a book, wash, dry, season with salt and pepper and close them. Peel the potatoes and cut into thin slices, cook in boiling salted water for 5 minutes, drain. Thinly slice ​​the plum-tomatoes in the sense of length, finely chop garlic and parsley. Coat a pan of 18 cm in diameter with a moistened disc of baking paper. Brush it with oil, put a layer of potatoes on the bottom, half of the sliced ​​onion, a layer of tomatoes, season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Put have half of the sardines in a radial pattern over the tomatoes, sprinkle with half of the chopped parsley and garlic, with the breadcrumbs and a drizzle of olive oil. Repeat the layers with potatoes, onions, tomato; salt and season with a little oil and most of the remaining garlic and parsley, and bake at 180C for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, place the last layer of sardines, drizzle with the olive oil and the leftover of garlic and parsley, mixed with a tablespoon of breadcrumbs. Add a few slices of the remaining onion and cook 5 minutes under the hot grill. Let it stand 10 minutes before serving.

Squids with aubergines: something different, and hot, from usual fried squids.

Ingredients for 4 people: 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 2 tablespoons olive oil; juice of 1 lemon; 2 teaspoon sweet chilli sauce; 2 small red chillies, seeded and chopped; 700 gr baby squid, cleaned, tubes and tentacles separated; vegetable oil for brushing; 2 medium aubergines (eggplants), very thinly sliced; 115 gr rocket leaves; lemon wedges, to serve.

Description: In a bowl, mix together garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, chilli sauce, and chillies. Stir squids into marinade, cover and leave to marinate for 2 hours. Heat a griddle until smoking and brush with oil. Grill aubergine slices in batches for 2 minutes on each side. Transfer to a warm oven to keep warm. Remove squids from marinade and reserve the marinade. Heat griddle until searing hot and fry squids for about 20 seconds (depending on your grill) on each side, then transfer to a plate. Put marinade into a pan and heat gently. Arrange aubergine (eggplant) slices on 4 warm plates. Pile the squids on top and spoon over a little marinade. Surround each portion with a ring of rocket leaves. Serve at once, with lemon wedges.