Due Spaghetti

There’s hot chocolate, and then there’s Italian hot chocolate.

The first time you taste and Italian hot chocolate, or cioccolata calda, you will be amazed by its dense, creamy texture and its deep, rich chocolate flavor.  Far from the watery, pale hot chocolate of many parts of the world, the Italian version is rich, velvety and creamy.  It’s the Maserati to our Chevrolet.  The Ferragamo to our Eddie Bauer.  The Caffe Illy to our Folgers.

It all starts with high quality ingredients – real dark chocolate, cocoa powder, sugar, whole milk.  A touch of cornstarch renders it thick and creamy.  The version below is intentionally light on sugar, to let the deep chocolate flavors resonate.  With a dollop of whipped cream, we think it is perfect.   But if you prefer it more sweet, add up to double the sugar.  You can also add a dash or two of cinnamon, or red hot chili powder for heat.  For an adult version of cioccolata calda, try it with a shot of dark rum.

It’s a perfect treat to make for your loved ones, on Valentine’s Day or any other day.

Ingredients
for two mugs

50 g (approx. 2 oz or 4 Tbsp) dark chocolate*
25 g (approx. 1 oz or 2 Tbsp) unsweetened cocoa powder
25 g (approx. 1 oz or 2 Tbsp) sugar**
10 g (approx. 1/3 oz or 2 1/4 tsp) cornstarch
500g (2 cups) whole milk

*We used Ghirardelli Intense Dark Midnight Reverie, with 86% Cacao.  Any dark chocolate of your choice will work, however.

**Add up to 50 g (2 oz. or 4 Tbsp) of sugar for a sweeter beverage.

Directions
Unwrap the dark chocolate and place it into a food processor.  Pulse the chocolate repeatedly until it is finely ground.  Set aside.

Add all of the dry ingredients to a small mixing bowl and stir together.  Warm half of the milk in the microwave.  Add the warm milk one tablespoon at a time to the cocoa-sugar-cornstarch mixture, stirring well so as to prevent lumps from forming.  Slowly incorporate all of the warmed milk into the dry ingredients.

Pour the remaining milk into a saucepan and place it on the stove over medium heat.  Add the milk and cocoa mixture, and then the ground dark chocolate.  Stir continuously with a wire whisk until it thickens and boils.  Let it boil for 1 minute, and then remove from heat.

Serve hot with a dollop of whipped cream.

Download a pdf copy of Cioccolata calda

A stop by our local panificio, where bread is made and sold, nearly always ended in a piece or two of pizza al taglio along with our loaf of bread.

Rome is famous for its pizza al taglio, and there are pizza shops that sell literally dozens of varieties.  Panifici, however, typically sell just a few types – perhaps pizza bianca with no toppings at all except olive oil and sea salt, pizza rossa with just crust and tomato sauce, pizza con le zucchine with grated zucchini and mozzarella, and one of our favorites – pizza con le patate, or rosemary potato pizza.

We’ve recreated that pizza at home, and love to make it on a lazy weekend, for family gatherings or for parties.  It is delicious right out of the oven, but it tastes great at room temperature too, so it can be made ahead of time.

In our version,  paper thin slices of potato and grated fresh mozzarella cheese are layered on top of a thin pizza crust, and the whole thing is adorned with fresh rosemary leaves, sea salt and ground black pepper.  A drizzle of olive oil is the final touch.

The potatoes cook along with the crust, the mozzarella melts and turns golden brown on top, and the rosemary releases its fragrant aroma.  Gotta run – ours looks and smells done!

Ingredients
for one 9×13 in pan

Pizza crust
320 grams (2 and 1/2 cups) flour*, plus extra.
8 grams (1 and 1/2 tsp.) salt
20 grams (5 tsp) active dry yeast
250 ml (1 cup) warm water
olive oil

Potato Pizza Topping
1 and a half medium potatoes
1 tub of fresh mozzarella (226 grams, 8 ounces)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1-2 cloves of finely minced garlic (optional)
salt
ground black pepper
olive oil

* If possible, use Italian type 00 flour, found in specialty stores and online vendors.  We use King Arthur Italian Style flour.

Directions
Mix the flour and salt in a medium mixing bowl.  In a separate container, add the yeast to the warm water.  Stir until the yeast is fully dissolved.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.  Slowly pour the water and yeast in, and stir with a wooden spoon until the flour is well mixed.  The dough will probably be sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a smooth, well-floured work surface.  Mix the dough by hand, incorporating more flour as needed to keep it from sticking.  Knead by hand for 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and stretchy.

Clean the bowl you mixed the dough in and drizzle olive oil inside it.  Gather the dough into a ball and place it in the bowl, rotating it so that it becomes coated with oil on all sides.  Cover with plastic wrap, and set in a warm location to rise for one hour.

While the dough rises, prepare your toppings.  Drain the mozzarella and grate it through the largest holes of a grater.  Wash the rosemary and pull the leaves off of the stems.  Peel the potatoes and slice them very thinly.  We use a vegetable slicer at 1/16th inch to help achieve thin, regular slices. Rub a thin layer of olive oil on the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking pan.  Preheat the oven to 350° F, 180° C.

When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface.  Punch it down and stretch it into a rectangular shape.  Place it on the baking tray, and using your fingers and the heel of your hand, press it evenly into the baking pan, working it towards the edges and corners while maintaining a consistent thickness.

Layer the potato slices over the entire surface of the pizza, overlapping the slices only slightly at the edges.  Sprinkle the mozzarella over the top of the pizza. If you choose to use garlic, add it now.  Salt and pepper liberally, and then toss the rosemary leaves on top. Complete your pizza with a thin drizzle of olive oil on top.

Bake at 350° F, 180° C for approximately 20-25 minutes, until the mozzarella browns and the crust turns golden brown.

Download a pdf of the recipe Pizza con le patate

The holidays were over a month ago, and since then we’ve dutifully refrained from sweets in favor of healthy meals and modest portions.  But 5 weeks is enough, right?

When we saw the recipe for Torta della Nonna in this week’s newsletter from La Vecchia Scuola Bolognese, we were drawn in.  It’s the perfect weekend to turn on the oven and warm up kitchen, to fill the house with the fragrant, lemony-sweet aroma of pasta frolla baking, and to bring our Sunday evening to a close over a delicious and delicate homemade torta.

Torta is a tricky word to translate.  Sometimes it means cake, and when it does, it is pretty straight-forward.  Other times, however, a torta is closer to a tart or a pie.  Torta della Nonna falls into this latter category.  Prepared in a tart pan, it has a base of pasta frolla,  followed by a creamy filling, and topped with pine nuts.

But let’s take things one step at a time.  Pasta frolla is common crust or base for many Italian baked goods.  La Cucina Italiana calls it “short crust pastry” in English, but it is also commonly called shortbread.  It’s not quite the same as shortbread, but the comparison is understandable.  A good pasta frolla will be golden, soft and just slightly crisp, and it will have a delicate, not-too-sweet flavor.

There are different versions of the filling for Torta della Nonna.  Traditionally, the recipe calls for crema pasticcera, or Italian pastry cream, with a second layer of pasta frolla on top.  However, an alternative version calls for a ricotta-based filling.  This is how the recipe from La Vecchia Scuola Bolognese was written, and being amanti of ricotta-based baked goods, this the option that we chose.

In all cases, Torta della Nonna is adorned with a layer of pine nuts before baking, and then a sprinkling of powdered sugar upon exiting the oven.

As we’ve said before, Italian pastries and baked goods are lighter, more delicate and less sweet than desserts in many other countries of the world.  In Italy, homemade baked goods are also characterized by simple, high quality ingredients.  Torta della Nonna, which mean’s Grandmother’s Tart or Grandmother’s Pie, is a perfect example of this.  For our Torta della Nonna we used organic, cage-free eggs, King Arthur Italian type-00 flour, extra-fine sugar, and fresh, whole milk ricotta.

Ingredients
For the pasta frolla
200 g (1 and 1/2 cup) flour
80 g (1/3 cup) sugar
80 g (5 and 1/2 Tbsp) unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 pouch of Pane Angeli lievito per i dolci, or 2 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
Zest of 1 lemon

For the filling
250 g (1 cup, firmly packed) fresh whole milk ricotta
2 eggs
80 g (1/3 cup) sugar
25 g (2 Tbsp) corn starch
Zest of 1 lemon

For the topping
40 g (1/4 cup) pine nuts
Powdered sugar

Directions
Prepare the pasta frolla by placing the flour onto a firm, smooth work surface.  Add the sugar and pane angeli or baking powder, and mix.  Gather the dry ingredients into a mound and form a well in the middle.  Add the egg, cubes of butter and lemon zest, and working quickly with your fingers, work the wet ingredients into the flour mixture.  Mix by hand until the dough forms a homogenous, smooth ball.  Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C) and prepare the filling by mixing the ricotta, eggs, sugar, corn starch and lemon zest together with a wire whisk until smooth.

Butter and flour a 9-11 inch or 26-28 cm. fluted-edge tart pan.  If you cannot find a tart pan, a round spring-form pan or a pie plate, will also work, although it is helpful to have a pan with a removable bottom.

Roll out the pasta frolla and lay it into the tart pan, pressing the bottom and sides tightly against the edges.  Pour the filling into the shell, and sprinkle the pine nuts over the top.

Bake at 350° F (180° C) for 30-35 minutes, just until the center is firm and does not wiggle when you gently shake the pan.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes, and use a tea strainer to sprinkle a layer of powdered sugar on top.

Download a pdf of the recipe Torta della Nonna

Pollo alla cacciatora, a.k.a. chicken cacciatore, is perhaps one of the most commonly mistreated Italian dishes outside of Italy.

Once, while visiting the States when we still lived in Italy, Stefano saw “Chicken Cacciatore” on the menu of a restaurant.  Always wary of Italian food in other countries, he thought this would be a safe choice.  How surprised he was when the waiter brought him a heaping plate of fettuccine with pieces of chicken in a cream sauce!

There were a couple of problems with this.  First, generally speaking, Italians don’t put chicken in their pasta.  Second, food prepared – alla cacciatora refers to meats, typically chicken or rabbit but sometimes other fowl, wild boar or even lamb, seasoned with aromi (onion, carrots, celery and parsley) and stewed in tomatoes, possibly with some white wine.  There is no cream sauce involved, and it is definitely a protein-based second course, not a first course pasta dish.

Cacciatore means “hunter” and food prepared -alla cacciatora typically is translated to “hunter’s style.”  This likely refers more to the fact that the meats were hunted, and then prepared at home with foods and seasonings found in the garden.  Pollo alla cacciatore is a recipe of Tuscan origin that is prepared across Italy today.  As is so often the case, there are variations of the recipe, some which call for mushrooms or red bell peppers.

Our recipe below is quite traditional, except for the fact that we remove the skin.  Many recipes call for the skin to be left on.  We prefer the healthier skinless version below, and have found that the meat turns out tender and flavorful.

For another version of pollo alla cacciatora, see fellow Italian food blogger and Cannolo Award recipient Manu of Manu’s Menu, and for other examples of comical Italian food aberrations, see Paolo’s Quatro Fromaggio and Other Disgraces on the Menu.

Ingredients
1 whole chicken, 4-5 lbs (approx. 2 kilos), whole or in pieces, preferably all natural
Two 28 oz. (500 g.) cans whole tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 stalk celery
1  medium carrot
2 cloves garlic
1 bunch flat leaf Italian parsley
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
2 Tbsp. butter
Salt
Pepper

Directions
Remove the skin from the chicken, using paper towel to help pull the slippery skin off, if necessary.  If your chicken is whole, chop it into 6-8 pieces.  Pat it dry and set aside.

Slice your onion into thin rings, and slice your carrot and celery lengthwise into 4 pieces.   In a large skillet, sauté the onion in olive oil and butter.  When the onion is translucent, add the celery, carrot, parsley and chicken.  Salt and pepper liberally.  Allow the chicken to brown, turning it occasionally so that it cooks evenly on all sides.  Add the wine, and let it cook for 5 minutes.  Then, add the canned tomatoes, passing them through a food mill first to produce a smooth sauce.

Once the sauce boils, turn the heat down and allow the chicken to simmer for an hour or more, until the meat separates easily from the bone.  Taste for salt and adjust.  Serve with crusty bread to soak up the juices.

Download a pdf of the recipe Pollo alla cacciatora

Wine Pairing
We paired our pollo alla cacciatora with a classic Langhe Chardonnay by Giacomo Vico. It is a fresh, medium-full bodied wine that nicely balances the chicken and sauce of this dish.

Thank goodness for seafood!

With the holidays behind us, it’s time to lighten up, eat healthier and drop the pounds we probably added over the last month or two.  But, it’s still cold outside, the days are short and Sunday afternoons at home call for family-style meals.  Seafood-based dishes are the perfect solution – tasty, comforting and healthy.

Calamari con piselli, or squid with peas stewed in tomato sauce, was of a favorite dish of Stefano and his brother and sister when growing up in Rome.  Their mom, Maria, made it often in the winter, using either calamari (squid) or its related cephalopod, seppie (cuttlefish).

Before we begin with the recipe, let’s look more closely at these interesting and delicious sea creatures.  Octopus (polpo in Italian), squid (calamari in Italian) and cuttlefish (seppie in Italian) are three common cephalopods prevalent in southern Mediterranean and Asian cooking.   All cephalopods have bilateral body symmetry and a large head with tentacles attached to it.   They also all have ink sacs and can squirt ink, which is why they are sometimes referred commonly as inkfish.  It is the black colored ink from squid that is used to make squid ink pasta.

In the landlocked Midwest of the United States, cephalopods are not easy to come by.  We were thrilled to fine frozen calamari while out shopping one day, and immediately new that we would stew them in tomato sauce with peas, for a perfect January weekend meal.

Ingredients
2 and 1/2 lbs. squid
Two 28-oz. cans of canned whole tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
3 Tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
1 bunch parsley
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
16 oz. frozen peas
Salt to taste
Black pepper, or if you prefer cru