Sedano al pomodoro – celery braised with tomatoes

~ stefano arturi ~ 9 Comments

braised celery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until few yrs ago, I never though much of celery. Of course, it is one of the key ingredients of the classic battuto (generally equal quantities of chopped onions, chopped carrots, chopped celery), the basic of so much Italian cooking (fried in some fat, it becomes soffritto) and it is often served raw in pinzimonio, that is to say with other raw vegetables, to be dipped in the  best olive oil. Apart from this,  edano (celery) was a stranger to me. Moreover, I had always associated celery with the cold months only. Continue reading →

Focaccia

~ stefano arturi ~ 18 Comments
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focaccia

Focaccia is one of the most famous Italian food. Here in the UK it can be found in many more or less artisanal bakeries and even in supermarkets. It is seldom good generally far too high and dense. Focaccia is  one of the most satisfying baked goodies to make at home: it is relatively easy and highly rewarding in terms of taste and texture.

This is one of the best focaccia recipes I have tasted in a long time. Its secret lies in the generous amount of oil and white wine in the dough. It is these ingredients that give this focaccia a full flavour, even if there is also a biga at work here. The inspiration came from Carol Field’s Focaccia book (via another splendid book: Recipes from Paradise, by Fred Plotkin), but I have consequently developed my own version, which I prefer. I have dramatically reduced the yeast and increased the time for the biga, from 1 hour to 12-14 hrs. I have also introduced 10% wholemeal flour, which I think gives the focaccia a more interesting crumb. Carol Field’s recipe uses white flour only and it is done and dusted over few hours (and it is very good, see notes), my version is over two days and I think it is even better. Continue reading →

Pomodorini scattarisciati – crackling cherry tomatoes (Puglia)

~ stefano arturi ~ 12 Comments
pomodori scattarisciati
pomodori scattarisciati

It is now summer, or at least this is what the calendar says; it has been raining for days here in London and the sky is grey, an elegant pearly shade of grey, but grey nonetheless. Not fun. To raise my endorphins, I decided to make this Apulian tomato sauce, pomodorini scattarisciati, literally crackling tomatoes (in the local dialect) — vibrant, intensely tomatoey and uplifting.

The cherry tomatoes are fried in a rather indecent amount of oil, on high heat,  uncovered until they start bursting. Continue reading →

Pizza rustica alla napoletana – a Neapolitan Easter “pizza”

~ stefano arturi ~ 15 Comments

All over the world the word “pizza” usually refers to a slab of hot bread dough topped with savoury bits and pieces. However, in Italian cookery, and particularly in Southern Italian cookery, “Pizza” also means “pie”: one can talk of a “pizza di ricotta”, for instance, a sweet ricotta pie or of a “pizza di scarola”, a savoury pie with an escarole filling. One of the best of these pizza-pies is “pizza rustica”, Continue reading →

Pici, pinzi, umbricelli, strangozzi, lunghetti, ciriole, serpentelli: an eggless pasta from central Italy

~ stefano arturi ~ 14 Comments

Pici, pinzi, umbricelli, strangozzi, lunghetti, ciriole, serpentelli, different names for the same pasta: very long and chubby spaghetti-like tubes of fresh pasta generally made only with flour and water, typical of Toscana, Umbria and Lazio. When cooked, they acquire that pleasant, slightly chewy and slippery texture of all “pasta povera”, that is pasta made without eggs. Continue reading →