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By John, 24 April, 2021

Italy All-Star Feast: The South

Southern Italy Antipasto

For about a year, from late March 2020 through April 2021, when our New England travels were limited by Covid-19, I focused on the traditional cooking of Italy. After Lorna and I were vaccinated, we celebrated with a series of 10-course Italian all-star feasts highlighting recipes from Northern, Central, and Southern Italy. I wanted to have something from each of Italy's 20 provinces.

For the Southern Italy feast, I included Campania (Naples), Basilicata, Apulia, Calabria, Sicily, and Sardinia. Our companions were our old foodie friends John Morse and Christina Cochrane. Here's how we did it:

Cruschi

Aperitivo: Limoncello brought back from Campania by John M's son. 

Antipasto: On the platter there's some of the usual fare, plus Luchanico sausage from Basilicata, oil-cured black olives from Sicily, and 'nduja spicy sausage paste from Calabria in the glass sherbet dish. In the bowl are Cruschi, dried red pepper chips from Apulia (I had to order these online). The other sherbet dish next to the crackers has a veggie caponata from Sicily.

Then we moved into the dining room and opened a bottle of chilled Greco di Tufo white wine from Campania. 

By John, 4 April, 2021

Chestnuts Braised with Thyme

Chestnuts braised with thymeThis is a delicious cool-weather dish to accompany a rich meat dish, or just on its own. It's a classic accompaniment to roast goose, and it's fine with roast turkey, too, especially for a holiday table!

You can get perfectly good chestnuts in a jar, so there is no need to go through the tedious and finger-tearing process of peeling whole chestnuts. 

By John, 21 March, 2021

Osso Buco alla Milanese

Beef shanks with gremolata sauceThis Lombard classic is beef or veal shank slow-cooked until meltingly tender, and then served with a savory sauce and a contrasting zippy lemon gremolata. It is traditionally served with the beautiful golden Risotto Milanese.

By John, 21 March, 2021

Zucchini Trifolati

Sauteed ZucchiniTrifolata is Italian for "sauteed", so this is simple zucchini disks sauteed in olive oil with chopped fresh parsley and a crushed garlic clove. It is easy to prepare and it goes with pretty much everything, especially beef, pork, and poultry dishes.
By John, 21 March, 2021

Pork Roast in the Florentine Style

Arista FiorentinaThis is a classic Florentine pork roast of Tuscany, Arista alla Fiorentina. Like much Tuscan food, it has few ingredients so they must be of top quality. 

In this case, it's just a pork loin roasted with rosemary, garlic, and black pepper, and a couple of whole cloves just to get wacky, in a Tuscan sense. 

This is a totally succulent and aromatic piece of meat that is wonderful fresh from the oven, but it is also good (and frequently) served cold in a picnic or other al fresco setting. I know that because I read it, but also because that's how I ate the leftovers with a little mostarda...there was no need to reheat them.

By John, 21 March, 2021

Pasta al Caciocavallo

Bucatini al CaciocavalloThis is a simple vegetarian dish. According to the Accademia Italiana della Cucina, it's "typical of Caserta", a humdrum little town northeast of Naples with an immense and fabulous palace and gardens. I don't know why this simple dish has such specific roots, but there you have it. It's delicious in any event.

We visited Caserta in 2015 to see the royal palace of the Bourbon kings, and I recommend it! 

By John, 19 March, 2021

Oxtail Stew in the Style of Alto Adige

Spezzatino di Coda di Manzo all'Alto Adige

This Spezzatino di Coda di Manzo is a recipe from the northeastern Italian Alps. It includes typical mountain seasoning like juniper berries and bay leaves and it is typically served with polenta. This is not the iconic Oxtail Stew in the Roman Style - Coda alla Vaccinara, which has tomatoes and batons of celery in it. 

Oxtail has a lot of collagen, so slow cooking develops it into a rich, delicious stew full of umami goodness. Leftovers make a great sauce for pasta.

By John, 18 March, 2021

Funghi Trippati

Fungi TrippatiHere is an interesting recipe, the name of which means "mushrooms cooked like tripe". There's no tripe in here, it's a vegetarian dish; the name comes from the inclusion of some tomato and oregano.
By John, 18 March, 2021

Frittata with Onion and Guanciale

Frittata of Onion and GuancialeThis frittata is typical of Lombard tastes, although it could certainly be made anywhere in Italy. 

This one is rich and heavy enough to be served at any meal. It would be fine with a little pepper jelly, or maybe a glass of Barbera d'Alba!

By John, 18 March, 2021

Green Beans Twice-Cooked with Tomatoes

Fagiolini RifattiThis Fagiolini Rifatti, or "twice-cooked beans" is nothing at all like Tex-Mex refried beans! Italian uses the same word, fagioli, to mean both green beans and dried beans.

This is an easy dish that bursts with the contrasting flavors and colors of the green beans and the red tomatoes. 

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