Each region has its own street food...

Social media, dedicated apps, events, books all seem to confirm the unstoppable evolution of a very successful phenomenon: street food. In the wake of the phenomenon, Tag24 presents the map of Italian street food divided by region: from the Lazio supplì to the Emilian crescentine, from the Sicilian bread with spleen to the Umbrian fat pizza, each region presents its local traditions. A predominant sector of the tourist and food economy, street food, as Coldiretti declares, is little subject to the distortion of typical recipes that preserve its tradition and for this reason it proves to be little influenced by passing fashions, surviving thanks to a continuous evolution.

The trump card of street food is to combine the great Italian culinary tradition and the experimentation of new trends, to look at eco-sustainability and organic to meet the needs of the consumer aware that a healthy diet is the basis of psychophysical well-being and that reducing the environmental impact "makes food tastier". Sophisticated packaging, excellent raw materials: street food can be beautiful, good and healthy.

For this reason, at the top of web searches regarding street food products we find the Italian tradition par excellence: pizza. The infographic contains the recipe for this and other most sought-after regional specialties such as piadina, focaccia and strudel. Within the map of Italian flavors of local festivals and culinary events where you can taste them.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, street food is the food choice of 2.5 billion people every day. In Italy, in particular, 75% of the population chooses street food and of this 45% prefers typical local products, 24% international foods and 4% choose ethnic cuisine.

What is the reason for this trend? Certainly, the new and faster pace of life and work and the short time available enhance the functionality and convenience of street food. But also an openness and a curiosity that pushes food lovers to taste different things, preferring several small portions to a single large dish. Finally, the economic aspect should not be underestimated.

A recent survey proposed by Gambero Rosso shows that almost 40% of users say they choose street food for affordability, thanks to the economic downturn of recent years due to which, according to Coldiretti, since the summer of 2013 spending in restaurants has dropped by 11% and there has been an increase in the number of catering establishments that do not provide service but only administration.

 

Street food in Lazio

From Porchetta to Supplì, from Trapizzino to Maritozzo. In Lazio, street food is born from simple and "poor" recipes. Rome, of course. But that's not all. Even in the cuisine, and in particular in the one to be eaten on the street, Lazio offers a wide range of specialties ranging from the sea to the mountains, from the countryside to the cities. From the eternal one to the smaller towns. What distinguishes Lazio cuisine are its strong and intense flavors. A strength that distinguishes both table and street foods. Just think of milestones such as Amatriciana, Gricia, Cacio e Pepe, Coda alla Vaccinara, Abbacchio, just to name a few. Simple and "poor" recipes, often prepared with recycled ingredients, which are born from the people for the people, some would say. Yet it is the result of the mixture of influences, cultures and peoples who have always been at the center of history and humanity and have passed through and left traces. Lazio street food personifies all these characteristics, enhancing them if you want and maintaining its own autonomy. Street food here is not a habit, a fad. But a real distinctive element, a tradition, a way of being and living. And for those who visit this region, a different way to discover its beauties, including castles and unspoiled places, villages and cities.

Supplì

And here we are at another fixed point in the panorama of street food in Lazio and in this case in Rome. Legend has it that the term supplì derives from the French surprise: it would have been a French soldier walking through the streets of Rome to be amazed by the mozzarella filling of the delicacy that he was biting exclaiming "Surprise". A term that was later mangled into the Roman "Supplì". Certainly, the French also have something to do with its diffusion in Rome, having brought Sicilian traditions (and that of the Arancina or Arancino) during the rise of Italy in the Napoleonic era.

Regardless of the origin of the name, this ovoid-shaped masterpiece made by frying a rice ball stuffed with meat sauce and mozzarella was invented in Rome in the early nineteenth century. Sold on the street during neighborhood festivals, fairs, at the market or on street corners, it made its appearance on the menus of restaurants - or rather trattorias in the city - starting from the seventies of the same century. The first written recipe is attributed to Ada Boni, who wrote it in 1929 in her "La cucina romana". Over the decades, different variants have been created: from the one with fake sauce, i.e. without meat, to the one with chicken entrails, from the one with mushrooms to the one with stewed meat. Prepared only with meat sauce, this traditional recipe has a crunchy outer breading that hides a heart of mozzarella. Not to be confused with the Sicilian arancino: it has an ancient history and a name of French origin. 

Although supplì and arancini may seem to resemble each other, the differences that divide them are numerous. The Roman dish has the shape of an elongated meatball, is made exclusively with rice with meat sauce and has a mozzarella heart. The arancino, on the other hand, can be found in many forms, it is larger, and can have the most varied fillings. Another substantial difference lies in the breading: the supplì are dipped in the egg to retain the breadcrumbs before frying, while for the arancini the batter is used. The original recipe of the Roman specialty calls for the sauce to be made with chicken giblets (durelli and fagatini). Over the years, this custom has fallen into disuse and today it is preferred to prepare the ragù with simple minced meat to give the supplì a more delicate flavor. Supplì al telefono are a typical Lazio recipe, not to be confused with rice balls: their name refers to the mozzarella contained inside that melts during cooking creating an appetizing stringy effect, to be discovered only at the first bite!

INGREDIENTS

Superfine rice 500 g

Minced beef 150 g

Chicken livers 60 g

Mozzarella 200 g

Dried mushrooms 50 g

Medium eggs 2

Tomato puree 400 g

Meat broth 1 l

Grana Padano 120 g

Half onions

Butter + 50 g for creaming 30 g

White wine 100 Ml

Extra virgin olive oil 2 Tablespoons

Fine salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

FOR BREADING AND FRYING

Breadcrumbs to taste

Eggs 2

Peanut oil to taste

PREPARATION

Start the preparation of the homemade rice supplì on the phone by coarsely chopping the chicken livers. Then melt the butter with the oil in a pan, add the chopped onion and the minced meat, then let it brown; Add the chopped livers and mushrooms previously soaked, squeezed and chopped. Let it brown for another minutes and then deglaze with the wine 4 and add the tomato puree. Add salt and pepper and cook over medium heat until the sauce has shrunk and thickened. When the sauce is ready, add the rice and, stirring often, cook the rice, adding, when necessary, some meat broth until the risotto is dry and compact. Turn off the heat and add the butter and grated parmesan cheese; Mix well and then add the two beaten eggs. Stir until all the ingredients are well incorporated and combined, then pour the mixture onto a large flat plate and let it cool completely. In the meantime, cut the mozzarella into small pieces or strips and put it to drain in a colander, so that it loses excess water. When the rice is cold, form the supplì by taking a little of the mixture with wet hands to which you will give an oval shape: insert a couple of pieces of mozzarella inside and in the center of the supplì, then close tightly. Do this until all the ingredients are used up. Once you have all the supplì, dip them in the beaten egg and then in the breadcrumbs, making sure that the breadcrumbs stick to all sides. Then fry the supplì over the phone in plenty of hot oil (at least 180°) turning them several times over the entire surface, which should be more than golden. The supplì will have to float in the oil, which will then have to be abundant. If you want to avoid using large amounts of oil, use a rather small and tall saucepan, or, for greater convenience, use a deep fryer. Place the supplì on the phone to drain on a sheet of paper towel and serve hot.

PRESERVATION

If you have prepared a large amount of rice supplì, I recommend that you fry them all and then, once cooled, you can store them and use them when needed.

ADVICE

One of the secrets to the success of rice supplì is frying, which must take place in boiling oil at 180°C. In order to prevent the supplì from darkening too much on the surface and, on the contrary, keeping them too little in the oil does not succeed in obtaining the "telephone" effect, turn them often.

 

Pizza Palermitana

The pizza Palermitana is the typical streetfood of Palermo gastronomy: it is a very soft focaccia, similar to a sponge, which is then seasoned with tomato, onions, caciocavallo cheese and oregano. The aroma and taste are irresistible! And then really, as long and laborious as this recipe may seem, it is, really simple and the result is guaranteed! Those who live, or have been on holiday, in north/western Sicily will surely have tasted this type of local pizza, which stands out for its softness, height and flavor. I believe that this pizza, more commonly called sfincione, encompasses many of the characteristics of this land. 

Ingredients

For the dough

DRIED OREGANO to taste

FLOUR 00 400 Gr

DURUM WHEAT FLOUR OR SEMOLINA 100 Gr

BREWER'S YEAST 10 Gr

WATER 340 Gr

ROOMS 10 Gr

EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL (EVOO) 10 Gr

For the sauce

ONIONS 2

EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL (EVOO) 10

ANCHOVY FILLETS 2

WATER 200 Gr

PEELED TOMATOES 500 Gr

For cooking

ANCHOVY FILLETS 6

EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL (EVOO) 10 Gr

CACIOCAVALLO 120 Gr

DRIED OREGANO to taste

BREADCRUMBS to taste

Preparation

To prepare the Palermo pizza, start by pouring the flour, semolina and brewer's yeast into a bowl, break the yeast with your fingers and mix the flours. Add half of the water and when it is absorbed, add the rest. With the dough still moist and not fully formed, pour in the salt and continue to knead. When the dough begins to take shape, add the oil and knead again until absorbed. To do this, you have to lift it from the center, rotate it 90 °C and fold it back on itself. this for 3 or 4 times. Let it rest covered by the bowl for 5/10 minutes. Wet your hands and repeat the same operation as before, this time giving only 3 folds. Let it rest again for another 5/10 minutes. One last time, as before, wet your hands, give it another 3 or 4 folds then pile the ball obtained and put it in a lightly greased bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Let it rise for about 3 hours in a place away from sudden changes in temperature and drafts. Cut 2 onions into julienne strips Meanwhile, in a frying pan, melt two anchovies with a drizzle of oil. Sauté the onions, add a glass of water and let them stew for about ten minutes. Add the peeled tomatoes and, stirring occasionally, cook for about ten minutes. In the end, the sauces should be dry and substantial. Let it cool. When the dough has risen, grease a 30x40 pan with oil, even on the edges, and roll out the dough in it. Spreading it with your fingers and pulling the corners. If the dough is too elastic and you can't roll it out in the pan, cover it and let it rest for 5/10 minutes. Cut the anchovy fillets in half and spread them on the surface. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for the last time for about 40 minutes. Once risen, sprinkle the caciocavallo cut into cubes all over the focaccia, cover the entire surface, even the edges with the tomato and onion sauce. A good handful of oregano, a handful of breadcrumbs. Bake at 250°C First for 15 minutes on the bottom of the oven, then on the medium-high shelf for another 15 minutes or so. Palermo's pizza is ready. All you have to do is cut it into squares and eat it. Hot is perfect, but I can also say that even cold makes you eat :).

 

Sicilian Cartocciate

Sicilian cartocciate are part of the classic Sicilian rotisserie, in particular the one from Catania. They are a kind of open calzone that is usually filled with spinach, ham and cheese or with frankfurters and chips or even with black olives. I prepared a basic version with tomato sauce, ham and cheese but using a semi-wholemeal dough instead of the classic brioche dough that I have used in many other recipes. If you want to try them, here is the recipe. Now I say goodbye and look forward to seeing you soon with another delicious recipe. Happy New Year!

Ingredients

300 g flour

200 g of whole wheat flour

50 g sugar

10 g salt

50 g lard

250 ml of lukewarm water

12 g fresh brewer's yeast

tomato sauce to taste (already seasoned)

2 mozzarella or provolone cheese

100 g of cooked prosciutto

salt to taste

oregano to taste

1 egg (for polishing)

Procedure

Put the two flours in the center of the mixer, place the crumbled yeast, add a drop of water to dissolve it. Start kneading, adding the water a little at a time. Add the sugar, salt and lard. Continue to knead, adding the water as you go. Knead the dough for at least 10/15 minutes, it should be smooth and soft. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Knead it and form a ball that you will leave to rise until doubled in size in a warm place. I use the oven with the light on. Once the rising time has elapsed, roll out the dough not too thin on a floured surface. Cut discs of about 10/15 cm. With a rolling pin, enlarge them according to the size you want to give to your "pieces". Place a tablespoon of sauce, ham and cheese on each disc of dough. Close the two flaps of dough. Brush with beaten egg. Bake in a preheated oven at 180° C for about 12 minutes (it always depends on your oven). My Sicilian Cartocciate are ready to be enjoyed. 

 

 

Street food in Sicily

Taste of octopus, taste of the sea. Spineless, low in calories and to be cooked in a thousand different ways: octopus is a mollusk much loved for its unmistakable flavor and texture, even more appreciated and in demand. The fresh octopus is very light, almost white, and can arrive on the stalls even alive (just touch a tentacle to see it retract), while as it ages it gradually acquires a darker color, which tends to gray. The octopus * another of its great characteristics * is a mollusk that, with freezing, not only does not lose its flavor, but its texture most of the time improves, because this system helps to make the meat more tender. Let's get to the question of cooking: according to a famous Neapolitan saying "the octopus is cooked in its own water", and it is really true. Just put the octopus in a saucepan (cooking about 45 min or even more) or in a pressure cooker (20 min) with a little water, and the rest will come by itself. A little trick: to make the tentacles curl, you have to immerse them in boiling water for about thirty seconds, then pull the octopus up (making sure that the tentacles have actually curled), and put it in the pot again, this time completely.

Spaghetti and octopus

Ingredients

350 g  spaghetti

800 g of small octopus (about 50 g each)

600 g tomato puree 

1 clove of garlic

60 g parsley

100 g white wine

40 g of Italian extra virgin olive oil

salt

black pepper

Procedure

Rub the octopuses with fine salt and a little water in order to remove the external viscosity, rinse them well under running water and remove the beak, eyes and all the entrails. Pat dry and set aside. In a saucepan, fry half a clove of garlic with the parsley stalks and add the octopus; Pour in some of the white wine, remove the garlic and parsley stalks and cover with a lid. Continue simmering for about 20 minutes, drizzling with the remaining white wine from time to time. Add the tomato puree, cover again and continue cooking for another 30 minutes, always over low heat. Season with salt and black pepper, turn off the heat and let it rest with the lid ajar for at least 30 minutes: in this way the sauce will absorb all the aromas of the octopus. Dip the spaghetti in plenty of salted water, cook, drain, and add to the sauce in the pan. Finally, season with chopped parsley and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, stir in extra virgin olive oil and serve.

Note

It is important not to oversalt the pasta cooking water, so that you can adjust the salt in the second phase of cooking in the pan. It's always better to add salt than to get a result that's too flavorful.

 

Roman-style gnocchi

Gnocchi on Thursday, fish on Friday and tripe on Saturday! Gnocchi are an ancient first course, prepared with the most varied flours and widespread all over the world, even in different forms. As the Roman tradition dictates, these represent the classic Thursday dish, probably placed in the middle of the week to compensate for the lightness of the next day's meal... A custom that is still carried on today by the most nostalgic Roman citizens. Today I have chosen to offer you a typical Lazio recipe: gnocchi alla romana, made with semolina, perfect for both sweet recipes, such as sweet semolina, or Migliaccio, and savory, such as canaderli! Succulent discs of semolina characterized by a golden crust, made so fragrant thanks to the addition of butter and pecorino cheese! Of course, in Rome, the right day to prepare them is Thursday but, once you try them, you will fall in love with them to such an extent that every day will be the right one to bring these Roman-style gnocchi to the table! The secret? Serve them still steaming hot to find out!

INGREDIENTS

Semolina 250 g

Whole milk 1 l

2 egg yolks

Parmigiano Reggiano to be grated 100 g

Fine salt 7 g

Nutmeg to taste

Butter 30 g

FOR THE DRESSING

Butter 70 g

Pecorino romano 40 g

PREPARATION

To prepare the gnocchi alla romana, place the milk in a pan on the stove together with 30 g of butter, then add the salt and a pinch of nutmeg. As soon as it starts to boil, pour in the semolina, stirring vigorously with a whisk, to prevent lumps from forming. Cook the mixture over low heat for a few minutes, until it has thickened. When the mixture begins to detach at the bottom, remove the bowl from the heat and add the 2 egg yolks, stirring this time with a wooden spoon. Add the Parmesan cheese in several times and stir as you go, until you incorporate it all. At this point, pour half of the still boiling dough onto a sheet of parchment paper. Give it a cylindrical shape with your hands. In order not to burn yourself too much, you can run your hands under cold water. Once you have a uniform cylinder, wrap it in parchment paper. Repeat the same operation for the second half of the dough kept aside and place the 2 rolls. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Once cooled you will get a compact dough and with a knife you will be able to obtain perfect discs, about 1 cm thick. To make it easier for you to cut, we recommend moistening the blade with water. Once you have about 40 pieces, place them on a previously buttered baking sheet and sprinkle them with melted butter (about 70 g), but not boiling. Sprinkle the surface with Pecorino Romano and bake in a preheated static oven at 200° for 20-25 minutes (if you use the 180° convection oven for 15 minutes). Then turn on the grill function and let them cook au gratin for 4-5 minutes. Once you're ready. Serve your gnocchi alla romana piping hot!

PRESERVATION

Store the Roman-style gnocchi in the refrigerator tightly sealed in a container for up to 2 days. You can also freeze the gnocchi alla romana, already seasoned with cheese and butter in flakes instead of melted, and put them directly in the oven without thawing them.

ADVICE

To enhance the taste of the gnocchi even more, add a few sage leaves between one dumpling and the next! Semolina cannot be substituted for semolina, as you might think, because they are two different products. In fact, semolina is produced with a mix of cereals. To obtain a uniform cylinder, the dough must be kneaded while hot.

CURIOSITY

Although the unmistakable name "Gnocchi alla romana" clearly shows its regional belonging, it seems that there are conflicting opinions on the birth of this dish, which for many would seem to be of Piedmontese origin, especially for the abundant use of butter.

 

PACCHERI WITH COD

Paccheri with Codfish... A very special fish-based first course, with a unique and particular flavor, like the one that only cod can give! A perfect pasta shape for important sauces or baked, stuffed: paccheri is loved in all condiments! I challenge you to resist even this first course of paccheri with cherry tomatoes and cod! Cod, as many of you know, is nothing more than salted cod. Once desalted, the fillets are tender, but fleshy, perfect for enriching this sauce made with fresh tomatoes. Fresh leaves of basil and parsley together with oregano will give a unique and Mediterranean taste, together with olives. Discover with me this delicious dish, quick and easy to prepare, perfect for many occasions!

Ingredients

500 gr of Paccheri rigati

400 gr of cod in pieces (already soaked)

basil to taste

oregano to taste

1/2 clove of garlic, finely

chopped a little chili

pepper a handful of pitted

black olives 

capers to taste 

1 glass of dry white wine

1 can of peeled cherry tomatoes 

freshly chopped parsley to taste 

extra virgin olive oil

salt to taste

Method

Rinse the cod pieces under running water and pat them dry with a clean cloth. In a saucepan, fry the finely chopped garlic and chili pepper over low heat with a drizzle of oil. Then add the pieces of cod, pitted olives and capers. Let the cod fry gently on one side and then on the other. Deglaze with white wine and let the cod flavor with the wine for a couple of minutes. At this point, add the peeled tomatoes and a drop of water. Cook, with the lid tilted and over medium/low heat, for about 15/20 minutes. Season lightly with salt (check carefully, because the cod is already tasty enough) add the oregano, a pinch of salt and basil leaves.Turn off the heat and let the sauce cool a little. In a high saucepan, boil the water with salt to cook the paccheri. In the meantime, take the pieces of cod from the sauce and, with the help of a knife and a fork, remove all the skin and bones and put the pieces of cod without the bones back into the sauce. As soon as the water boils, drop the Paccheri, drain them al dente and finish cooking by pouring them into the pan with the sauce, adding a little of the pasta cooking water that you have kept aside. Serve the Paccheri with Cod in flat plates, adding a little more chopped parsley.

 

Boiled artichokes, endive and potatoes

After large meals, boiled vegetables are ideal, artichokes are purifying and digestive, to fight cholesterol and diabetes, endive helps reduce cholesterol and helps increase good cholesterol and potatoes are rich in vitamin C, B, folic acid and minerals such as magnesium and iron. A typical Sardinian recipe, a dish prepared with garden products suitable for all occasions. It can be used as a main course or a side dish and is delicious.

Section: Vegetables, 4 people, preparation 5 minutes, cooking vegetables 20 minutes, difficulty: easy.

Ingredients for the recipe

8 artichokes

4 medium endives

4 medium potatoes

1 lemon

olive oil

cooking water and salt.

Preparation and cooking

Remove the toughest leaves from the artichokes, cut the tips and divide them in half, eliminating the beards. Put them in water and squeezed lemon, drain them and cut them into quarters. Remove the first leaves of the endive and clean them with damp kitchen paper. Peel the potatoes and cut them in half. Place all the vegetables in the pot and cook for the indicated time or until they are ready. Drain them well and serve them seasoned with oil.

 

Trofie with pistachio pesto, speck and robiola cheese

If you are in the mood for an easy and tasty dish, this is the first suitable for you. My trofie with pistachio pesto, speck and robiola cheese will amaze you! Pasta robiola and speck, an easy, creamy and flavorful first course that can be prepared in just a few minutes! Today I'm going to show you one of the recipes I absolutely love trofie pasta with pesto  robiola and speck with pistachio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRT_C_HwmgU

INGREDIENTS

300 g trofie pasta

200 g pistachio pesto 

150 g of robiola cheese 

50 g chopped pistachios 

70 g Parmesan cheese 

100 g speck 

PROCEDURE

Brown the speck in a pan, without adding oil. Add the robiola cheese to the pistachio pesto, add a few tablespoons of cooking water and blend if necessary to make the cream more fluid. After boiling the pasta, put it in a pan with the pesto and speck. Handle with Parmesan cheese and add the chopped pistachios before serving. 

  

Pasta with black beans

The most classic of the first courses prepared with a type of beans that I love, this is pasta and black beans. Cooked with a few simple ingredients, pasta and beans is an "evergreen" dish that is always delicious and appreciated. Its origins are very ancient, it is said, for example, that Cicero was very fond of it. Today there are countless recipes that the Italian tradition offers us present in practically all regions, from the north to the south of the peninsula (including the islands), prepared according to the dictates of two main "schools of thought" beyond the techniques and the type of ingredients used to complete them: those who boil the pasta separately in salted water and then add it to legumes and those who, Like me, puts it to boil together with the beans. Another difference that is often noticed between the different preparations is the final consistency of the dish, those who prefer it brothy or those who, like myself, dry and with a touch of spiciness that gives it the right panache and makes it even more appetizing.

Ingredients 

240 g of pasta

200 g of dried black beans

5 cherry tomatoes 

A small red onion 

A carrot

A clove of garlic

Extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

Soak the beans overnight. Blanch the cherry tomatoes, peel them and cut them into quarters. Heat a drizzle of oil in a pan, add a chopped mixture made with onion, carrot, garlic, chilli pepper and fry for a few minutes. Pour in the cherry tomatoes and beans, cover with water, season with salt and cook over low heat and covered for an hour, stirring occasionally. Add the pasta and cook for the pasta time, topping up the water as it is absorbed. Serve by pouring a drizzle of raw oil directly onto the plates.

 

Veal stew with artichokes

Veal stew tends to be more difficult to pair with because of all of the different flavors that can be introduced. If we're focusing only on the veal, though, it helps to simplify things. I recommend a full-bodied Pinot Noir, or a medium-bodied Pinot Grigio with a good amount of acidity. These types of wines are typically highly acidic, and the acidity can help stand up to the truckloads of flavor that stew can offer.

Veal stew with artichokes. A delicious main course, simple to prepare. Perfect for any occasion. Stew with artichokes is a rich and hearty main course. To accompany the stew I used frozen artichokes, but if you prefer you can use fresh ones, when they are in season. However, veal stew also goes very well with peppers, potatoes or peas. But let's see how to prepare veal stew with artichokes, and I recommend if you try it let me know. Wine experts think this Burgundy Côte de Nuits Red wine would be a match made in heaven with this dish.

2010 J. Confuron-Cotetidot Vosne-Romanée

PINOT NOIR

Tasting note

A warhorse at 12.5%. well this term might be a bit strange for a Vosne-Romanée, but I double decant this wine, and after all the red fruit, spice, minerality the tanning is still massive (for a burgundy). No de-stem from the Domain. At this moment it warrants a 89, but I suspect it would age very beautifully thus getting a 90.

Veal stew with artichokes

Ingredients

1 Kg veal stew

3 Artichokes

1 shallot

an egg

a lemon

olive oil

30 g butter

dry white wine

salt

Pepper

Procedure

To prepare the veal stew with artichokes, peel the artichokes, cut them into wedges and cook them gently for 3 minutes in butter. Meanwhile, brown the veal stew in a pressure cooker in 3 tablespoons of oil. Add the chopped shallot, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with half a glass of wine. Let it evaporate, then add the artichokes. Close the pot and cook for 20 minutes from when it starts to whistle. In the meantime, beat the whole egg in a small bowl together with the filtered lemon juice. Let the pot evaporate, open it and pour in the egg and lemon. Stir, always keeping on the heat, until the egg has set and the sauce has thickened, then serve.

 

Pizza from Lazio

I decided to continue this gastronomic journey from the region where I was born... Lazio! For this pizza I chose simple traditional ingredients easily available everywhere such as romanesco broccoli, guanciale di Amatrice and pecorino romano.

Ingredients

mozzarella (200 g)

Romanesco cauliflower (1)

pecorino romano (Plenty)

Guanciale di Amatrice (100-150 g)

anchovy (A few fillets)

Steps

 "Crisp" the guanciale in a pan, remove it from the pan keeping the melted fat. Clean, cut and boil the broccoli. Once ready, put it in the pan where you have "crunched" the guanciale and sauté it with a clove of garlic, if you want chilli, and a couple of chopped anchovy fillets. Roll out the famous disc of dough, sprinkle the mozzarella, previously cut and drained, and finally the broccoli. Bake with the usual mode (you have to read the previous posts) and bake at maximum temperature for 8-10 minutes. About halfway through cooking, add the crispy bacon and finish cooking. Once the pizza is out of the oven, season with plenty of pecorino cheese. Eat pizza 😋

 

Pizza alla Norma

Pizza alla Norma is a typical Sicilian pizza, rich in taste and stuffed with simple ingredients: tomato and mozzarella that are the indisputable basis of a good pizza margherita, with the addition of fried eggplant and salted ricotta to transform it into a really delicious pizza alla Norma. Pizza alla Norma is a recipe that comes from the taste of wanting to reproduce the famous pasta alla Norma, in the form of pizza in a reinterpretation of a dish of excellence symbol of Catania cuisine. With this recipe you can enjoy a very soft pan pizza but with a thin and golden crust, the oil on the bottom makes it even tastier. For pizza lover's?

Ingredients for the base

DURUM WHEAT FLOUR 600 Gr

FLOUR 200 Gr

WATER 600 Gr

ROOMS 20 Gr

BREWER'S YEAST 8 Gr

Ingredients for filling

TOMATO PULP 600 Gr

MOZZARELLA 300 Gr

SALTED RICOTTA 80 Gr

AUBERGINE 1

BASIL LEAVES 10

EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL (EVOO) to taste

DRIED OREGANO to taste

SALT to taste

Ingredients for frying

PEANUT OIL 500 Gr

Preparation

Pour the durum wheat flour and flour into a large bowl, add the yeast and start pouring in the lukewarm water, slowly, as it is absorbed by the dough. Once you have a good mass, when the dough has formed, add the salt and, again slowly, the remaining water. Turn your dough over on the pastry board and knead it vigorously until you get a smooth and elastic dough, if you have kneaded it in the right way, you will feel air bubbles forming. Divide the dough into two parts and place it in a proofing box or, more simply, in two bowls, better if you put a drizzle of oil on the bottom, then cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature for about 5/6 hours or until doubled in volume. Once doubled in volume, spread out on two baking trays (diameter 32) previously greased with a drizzle of oil. Cover the pans with plastic wrap and let rise for another 2 hours or so, or always assess that the dough has more or less doubled in size. Wash the eggplant, remove the ends and cut them into thin slices, pour the oil into a large pan and while heating also cut the mozzarella. Cook the eggplant quickly by keeping the oil at maximum temperature and turning them occasionally, it will only take a few minutes. Once the eggplants are golden, drain them and place them on a plate on paper towels so that they lose any excess oil. Turn on the oven by selecting the fan mode, place the rack on the low rail and bring it to the highest temperature. Season the pizza with the tomato pulp, add a pinch of salt, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and oregano, then cook it for about ten minutes, or until the bottom is golden brown. Take the pizza out of the oven, fill with mozzarella and fried eggplant and then bake for another two minutes or so, remember that cooking times may vary depending on the oven, if necessary lengthen them but taking care to keep the pizza under control. Take the pizza out of the oven, add plenty of freshly grated salted ricotta and a few fresh basil leaves, the pizza alla Norma is ready, I recommend you serve it immediately.

 

Rustic Sicilian pizza 

The true trademark of Made in Italy cuisine is pizza. A dish associated with Italian cuisine, pizza has an ancient history and its origins lead to Southern Italy, to Campania, where meals were prepared with ingredients and techniques that are still in use today. Water, flour, salt, yeast and patience; Here are the ingredients to make the pizza dough. All you have to do is knead, wait for it to rise and proceed to create your pizza, from the most classic to the most elaborate toppings. And if in the world the homeland of pizza is the city of Naples where tasty and delicious variants are widespread, Sicilian pizza is also particularly renowned. Red like lava, with the scents of Sicily: capers from Pantelleria, black olives dried in the sun, anchovies from the Mediterranean, oregano from Etna. A pizza a little different from the usual for those who love strong flavors.

Ingredients

water 300 gr

oil 50 gr

yeast 20 gr

flour 500 gr

salt 15 gr

sugar 5 gr

caciocavallo cheese to taste

capers to taste

 black olives to taste

anchovies to taste

oregano to taste

Preparation

Roll out the dough in a classic round pizza pan, cover it with a generous amount of thick tomato puree and season with a little oil and a pinch of salt. In this recipe there is no mozzarella, but nothing prevents you from putting it, it will soften the flavors. Now arrange seven or eight anchovies in a radial pattern. If you have those beautiful black olives dried in the sun and then finished in the oven, we suggest you do not pit them so as not to destroy the fruit. Place them on the tomato bed together with a handful of washed and dried capers. A sprinkling of oregano leaves detached from the twigs and in the oven for baking. Here they are, some of the most intense scents of Sicily, all in a single and tasty pizza!

The history of the gourmet sandwich born by chance

Club sandwich, or a multi-layered toast that has become the fetish sandwich of hotels. Because no matter where you are, if you have to spend the night in a hotel, arrive late and decide to eat there, the choice almost always falls on this inevitable item in the menus of all "high level" hotels. And it's no coincidence, since its price is not comparable to that of the most popular sandwiches. Yet the origins of the club sandwich are not so noble after all.

The appearance of the club sandwich is that of a toast, but the preparation is a bit more complex and structured. To be recognized as such, the club sandwich must have at least two layers, almost always three, of white bread in a box, without crust, toasted, buttered and, in its standard version, stuffed with: grilled chicken breast, crispy bacon, lettuce, ripe tomatoes, eggs hard-boiled, cheese, mayonnaise. There must be balance in the proportions because it is important that all the ingredients adhere to the bread and do not spill out. Almost all chefs have tried their hand at this gourmet-looking sandwich and there are many variations. There are those who replace chicken with turkey, those who prefer to do it with salmon, those who choose roast beef, those who add cheddar and grilled vegetables and those who enrich it with omelette, tuna , avocado or mozzarella. But it is almost always served with fries to accompany it.

As is usually the case, there is controversy over the original recipe for the club sandwich. The most accredited version dates the first club sandwich in history to 1899: it is an invention of Danny Mears, chef of the Saratoga Club House in Saratoga Springs, a famous gambling club in New York. Other sources claim that it was done for the first time in the Saratoga Club House, but it was invented by the owner of the restaurant, Richard Canfield: to prepare a sandwich for ladies who ask to eat after the kitchen closes, he sharpens his wits and recycles the leftovers from the pantry. The customers come out very satisfied and he has it put on the card. Another, more domestic version says that the club sandwich was invented by a New York entrepreneur. Coming home late from work, he prepares a sandwich with leftovers found in the fridge: chicken, bacon, tomato, lettuce, enriched with mayonnaise. The final taste satisfies his palate so much that he decides to have it prepared in the country club of which he is a member. The first reference to the club sandwich in published fiction is in a 1903 book. Following its publication, its fame conquered the entire Anglo-Saxon world and began to cross its borders, becoming a must in noble kitchens.

 

 

The return of the sandwich

If we try to go back in time from the present, to reconstruct the history of this practical and tasty meal, we discover that bread and accompaniment turns out to be a combination that has its roots in the mists of time, perhaps even when bread itself was born.

A gastronomic habit that is alive and widespread in every corner of Italy. A potentially infinite itinerary of taste, which tells the most ancient soul of the craftsmanship handed down over the decades by the tireless work of kiosks, stalls, carts, and which reveals the beating hearts of the many Italian traditions.

A story that seems to begin in literary terms with Diogenes of Sinope, the famous Greek "Cynic", who, rejecting the sumptuousness of tables laden with refined foods, is often described to us in the act of eating lentils in the hollow part of a piece of bread.  

It was in Rome, however, that the city's custom of eating bread with something else in between would spread. What is now called Via Panisperna, in fact, owes its name to the Panis ac perna, sandwiches with must and ham cooked in dried fig water, very popular with the crowd of people who had to provide food and refresh themselves without wasting too much time.

Hence the birth of fast food ante litteram, where fast implies the quick and practical use of express specialties, baked on demand from "street kitchens". And bread, characterized by different doughs depending on the region, serves as the epicenter around which the multifaceted panorama of Italian street food still revolves.

It is now worth recalling the Renaissance era. The text is "The singular Doctrine" by Domenico Romoli which contains interesting recipes, including that of a very tasty sixteenth-century sandwich, prepared with strips of lard placed on individual slices of bread. According to the instructions given by Romoli, the slices were placed under the game that was cooked on a spit. The juices from the cooking of the meat, slowly dripping, gave the bread a robust flavor.

However, it will be an eighteenth-century earl who will leave an indelible mark in the history of sandwich culture: Lord Sandwich who wanted to be prepared for him a simple, practical and tasty food. It was in the mid-800s that the practice of "tea sandwiches", small sandwiches created for the Duchess of Bedford, also spread in England.

Talking about this topic makes your mouth water, especially when referring to the Club Sandwich, the most famous of the heirs of the London ancestor. The latter was born in the private circles of the United States in the nineteenth century, and spread in particular in the railway compartments of trains that run along the East Coast. Here, travellers make long journeys together, play and eat. And you have to thank their sweet tooth that the original version of the British snack is starting to get richer, grow taller and contemplate more fillings. The "Club" thus became the fashionable "break" par excellence, and a few years later it again crossed the Atlantic to become part of the refined menus of the grand Parisian hotels. And in fact, if it is true that today it is possible to taste it all over the world, it is equally true that the most delicious are those of the bar of the Ritz Hotel in Paris, where some of the most famous names of the beautiful world between the two wars, one of them all Ernest Hemingway, were the most affectionate admirers.

During the 900th century in Italy, on a cultural level, the role of the sandwich has always taken on different guises, even if until recently it was relegated to the margins of the Mediterranean diet, because it was always and only considered a "makeshift" meal.

If in the Manifesto of Futurist Cuisine, where the abolition of fork and knife and the creation of "simultaneous and iridescent morsels" was also called the Italianization of the term sandwich, here called "traidue", it means that already in the thirties it was included in the list of gastronomic preferences of the Belpaese.

In the Italy of the boom, of the sixteenth century and of the first Sunday out-of-town trips that marked one of the rituals of the Sixties, the sandwich became the emblem of the packed lunch, perhaps stuffed with schnitzel or omelette, a gastronomic snapshot of a nation that was also changing in the choices made at the table.

It was not until the 1970s and the birth of sandwich shops that the two slices of bread with "something inside" became the epicentre of social experiences, moments of meeting and aggregation, especially for the new generations.

While in the Eighties the sandwich became - and we are already off track compared to the more traditionally Italian experience of the sandwich - above all "fast food", with a lot of space given to practicality and fashions imported from America and little attention to taste and originality of the proposals. A slope that takes the sandwich further and further away from the territories of taste and good Italian food.

It is only the most recent history, we are talking about the last decade, in fact, that sanctions the promotion of the vice-meal sandwich to all intents and purposes, thanks also to the differentiation of the offers in the windows of the bar counters and the raising of quality standards.