Date I made these recipes: March 27, 2017 – Rome
declared Italy 's
capital on this day, 1861.
Roma – Authentic
Recipes From In And Around The Eternal
City
Published by Chronicle
ISBN: 0-8118-2352-0; © 2004
Purchased at Arc's Value Village
Thrift Stores, Richfield ,
MN
Recipe: Lentil Soup with Sausage – p. 61
Eating Rome – Living The Good Life In The Eternal City
Published by St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN:
978-1-250-04768-7; © 2015
Recipe: Green Beans
with Mortadella Salad – p. 105
Sometimes my ideas about what to cook come from the most
interesting places, take for instance, Food
Network Magazine(FNM). Well, that's
not exactly correct is it, because why wouldn't
I get inspiration from a cooking magazine?
One of the features I like the most through from Food
Network Magazine, is their monthly calendar of noteworthy food events and
recipe suggestions that is often my inspiration for what I cook during that
particular month.
On March's calendar, FNM suggested we have fish for Ash
Wednesday (March 1st), make a pie for Pi Day (3/14), celebrate St.
Patrick's Day with a corned beef-and-cabbage pizza (Oh HELL no!), and then make
a Roman dish (they suggested cacio e peper – pasta with cheese and pepper) on
March 27th to commemorate the same day back in 1861 that Rome was
declared Italy's capital. I decided on
Roman food, final answer, and so set off to do some research so I have
something to talk about here.
What I found was interesting to say the least: some sources listed 1861 as the day that Rome was declared Italy 's capital, while others said
it was 1871. Try as I might, I could not
confirm (or deny) either year but do believe FNM got the actual date – March 27th
– right. I hope.
Part of the problem, dear reader, is that Italy 's history
is complicated. Once upon a time (and
not that long ago), it was a kingdom, but a kingdom divided into separate
principalities, then it was unified and also reunified such that I can't keep
track. Besides, my people are from Sicily whose history is
a tad more straightforward with the exception, of course, of keeping track of
various conquerors.
And then there's The Vatican to consider and we would
consider it if we a) had the time and b) if this blog was a history lesson but
we don't have time for all that, oh darn!
We can though, talk about Roman food.
Italy, like all other countries (including the U.S.), has
regional food favorites but you may be surprised to learn that the focus of
Roman cuisine is vegetables - artichokes (carciofi), fava beans, zucchini – you
name it, you'll find it. Meat is also
very popular – steaks, pork, "bacon," (or products similar to bacon),
as are pastas and pizzas tailored to the regional palate.
The cookbook Eating
Rome, is intended to be more of a tour guide than a cookbook, containing a
wide variety of "eating" suggestions such as how to eat pasta (don't
cut it—this applies across Italy and Sicily), how to order coffee, and where to
find some of Rome's culinary favorites.
Her Table of Contents includes also chapters such as "Please do not
eat within ten feet of any monument," (love it!); "Mi piace la
cicoria!" – the Roman passion for vegetables;" "How to eat pasta
like a Roman," and "Learning to love Roman pastries." I am keeping this book on hand should I ever
get to Rome (I've been to Italy but not to Rome ) as it is filled with good advice and
great recipes.
Personally, I am glad to know I am not the only person of
Italian (Sicilian) descent who does not make homemade pasta; Elizabeth (the
author) doesn't, either. She grew up in
St. Louis in the 60's which makes her about the same age as me, and I
thoroughly enjoyed reading about how she enjoyed eating Spaghetti-O's growing up. She also noted how one day, she'd be at home
in the states eating that canned product, the next off to Rome eating the real deal.
I have a similar story:
one summer when my grandmother was visiting from New Jersey , my brother and I enjoyed a lunch
of Spaghetti-O's. Spaghetti-O's were all the rage back then
and since we were kids, we thought they were kind of fun to eat. My grandmother who hailed straight from Sicily , was a good sport
and so joined us in eating them. When we
finished, my mother asked her what she thought and grandma's response still
makes me laugh: "Not-a bad-a." I have a feeling grandma was likely horrified
but she would do anything to please her beloved grandchildren and that was
that!
At any rate, stories like this are what made this cookbook
enjoyable for me. Well, stories and recipes! Recipes like the one I made – Green Beans with Mortadella Salad which
combined many ingredients I love: green
beans, oranges and lemons and mortadella also known as Italian bologna.
Small side story here about mortadella: Yesterday, I was at an event that featured
some locally-made foods including mortadella.
It was really good mortadella, and yet I kept looking at it wondering
"what's different" about this?
I mentioned this to another event guest and we agreed: Where are the pistachios?" We surmised that since the mortadella was
locally-made and since pistachios aren't local to this climate, they were left
out; we concluded this was an acceptable option. Anyway, more on the salad with mortadella to
follow.
Other dishes from this book that had potential were
"Cavatelli with Tuna and Lemon," "Cacio e Pepe" which is
basically pasta, pecorino romano cheese, and pepper," and "Pasta Al
Forno," a dish of eggplant, pasta, smoked scamorza cheese (you can
probably substitute smoked mozzarella), basil and Parmesan. Yum! I
decided on the salad though because I wanted something fresh and not too heavy
and that dish did the trick.
And now, let's chat for a minute about the other cookbook – Roma - about Rome , or Roma, as the Italians pronounce it. (Ann's
Note: in the Italian language, an
"e" is often pronounced as an "a" – really, more of an
"ah" - and so while we
pronounce "Rome Italy
This cookbook is pretty much a straight-up cookbook which is
to say it gives you recipes with a little dialog and some photos showing you
what your food should look like. The Table of Contents is also pretty
straightforward: "Appetizers,
Snacks, and Fried Specialties;" "First Courses of Soups, Pastas,
Polenta, and Risotto;" "Second Courses of Meat and Poultry;" "Second
Courses of Fish and Shellfish;" Side Dishes," and "Sweets." There are a few pages in the back detailing
"Eating and Sleeping Places," "Festivals," and "Cooking Schools
High up on my list of possible dishes to serve up was
"Stewed Baby Back Ribs and Sausages with Polenta" but making it was
just too involved and was also very meat-heavy, consisting of a lot of poundage
of baby back ribs and sausages, all of which are slow cooked to make a
ragu. And then polenta is served on the
side making it one, hearty dish. I
wasn't exactly in the mood for "hearty," plus, after my meatball
experience from last week, I was not going to go willingly into the night to
make something that would take hours of my life I would never get back. Also out because I just made it, was a pork
loin braised in milk. "Beef Stew
with Cloves" sounded really good but I finally passed on that and decided
on the Lentil Soup with Sausage
recipe. I love Lentil Soup and have a
really good recipe for one but I like experimenting with other recipes just to
see what's out there.
Of course this blog would not be complete without
suggestions from me about tweaks I'd make to the recipes but overall, these
were winners. In fact, Andy kept saying
"This is really good soup" over and over again which tickled me
pink. And I loved the green bean salad
although as you'll read, I have a few suggestions to improve it.
And so reader, we now bid "arrivederci" (goodbye)
to Roma – for now. I wish I could say
instead "arrivederla" (see you soon) but I don't think we'll be going
there any time soon, darn it! No matter
– we'll just console ourselves in the meantime with the food.
Lentil Soup with
Sausage (Minestra di lenticchie con salsiccia) – for 6 people
1 ½ cups brown lentils
10 cups water
1 tablespoon sea salt, or to taste
One 8-inch sprig fresh sage, or 2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 links sweet Italian sausage, removed from casings and
crumbled
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 teaspoons fresh marjoram, or 1 teaspoon crumbed dried
marjoram
1 cup tomato puree or tomato sauce
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Pick over and rinse the lentils. Transfer them to a large pot and add the
water, 1 tablespoon salt, and sage.
Bring to a boil. Immediately
reduce the heat and cook gently for 15 minutes.
(Ann's Notes: the lentils needed more time and so I kept
them cooking for another 10 minutes or so. Also, I used bay leaves instead of
sage.)
In the meantime, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over
medium-low heat. Add the sausage and
sauté until it is browned on the outside and still pink inside, about 8
minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir
in the garlic, onion, parsley, and marjoram.
Sauté until the onion is translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir in the tomato puree. Add the sausage
mixture to the lentils and mix well.
Simmer for an additional 5 minutes to marry the flavors. Remove the sage (or bay leaves), taste for
salt, and season with pepper. Serve hot.
Ann's Notes:
- I was out of marjoram so I substituted
oregano.
- If I were you, once you've cooked the
sausage for 8 minutes (or so), remove the sausage from the pan, then cook
the onions, etc. and then add it back to the pan. I followed the directions and the
sausage was fine but I felt it was almost a tad overcooked.
- I've made variations of this dish
before and felt that the dish could have used some carrots for color and
flavor. Without it, this dish is
very brown. Very tasty, but very
brown.
- My favorite lentil soup recipe calls
for orzo pasta to be added at the very end. You could probably get away
with that in this recipe.
- I like a little Parmesan or Pecorino
cheese on top of my lentil soup.
Green Beans with
Mortadella Salad – Serves 4-5
1 pound green beans, cleaned (Ann's Note: I hope by "cleaned"
she meant "trimmed" because that's what I did to the beans!)
1 slice mortadella (about ½ cup chopped in small pieces) (Ann's Note:
Pre-packaged mortadella is often sliced thin which is fine but probably
not what the author intended. If you
can, ask for a deli for one slice of mortadella, about ¼-inch thick.)
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
Zest of 1 lemon, peeled with a potato peeler and finely
chopped*
Zest of 1 small orange, peeled with a potato peeler and
finely chopped*
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup chopped, roasted onions (for garnish)
*Ann's Notes: Next time around, I'm not going to peel then
finely chop the lemon and orange peel as the pieces were too big and they also
tended to overpower the dish. You might
try grating it instead and also grating a little at a time until you are
satisfied with the taste.
Steam the green beans until tender.
Meanwhile place the mortadella shallot, garlic, olive oil,
tarragon, chopped citrus zests, and citrus juices in a large bowl and stir to
mix well.
When the beans are tender, drain them and then add them,
still steaming hot, to the mixture in the bowl.
Toss well and season with salt and pepper to taste. (Ann's Note: The author suggests you
"add the beans to the dressing while they are piping hot, so that they
sort of cook the shallots and garlic, and coax the fat nodules out of the
mortadella.")
Let cool, toss again, and top with the almonds. Serve at room temperature.
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