Archivi per la categoria ‘Tuscany’

Grandma Menna’s Kitchen: reed tripe risotto

mercoledì, 10 febbraio 2010

As soon as I had the first bite, I was in love. This risotto is not included into the culinary traditions of my family: before last Sunday, nobody had ever heard of it, I must tell the truth!
The first time I tasted it was in the restaurant of a friend, Barbara – she propose it as extra menu dish to give me a try: I was fascinated from the richeness of flavors and from the way the taste of reed tripe was enhanced by the preparation and the rice. I had no idea of the recipe, so when I found myself with leftover reed tripe I tried to figure out a way to make this risotto, but in the end I discovered that my procedure does not differ much from the traditional recipe of Florence, where reed tripe is not only well known, but I would say celebrated, part of the culinary tradition of the city.

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Pubblicato in First Course, Italian Recipes, Rice, Tuscany | 3 Commenti »

Grandma Menna’s Kitchen: lampredotto sandwich

mercoledì, 3 febbraio 2010

Soon it will be spring again, and maybe we’ll be tempted to go to Florence to have a walk in the centre, looking at marvellous shop windows and strolliong up and down along tiny streets and markets, to breathe that amazing air that smells of spring, when fhe sun warms the air and gives it a golden glow.

This is the right time to mingle with the Florentines and eat one of the most famous street food in town: the panino al lampredotto (reed tripe or Abomasum sandwich). Lampredotto or reed is a kind of tripe, darker with a more intense taste. It is boiled in broth and put in a sandwich with salsa verde (green sauce) or – more recently – with a spicy sauce. The bread used is the typical semelle (also known as semellino) and on request it can be soaked into reed broth.
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Pubblicato in Italian Recipes, Meat, Second Course, Tuscany | 4 Commenti »

Grandma Menna’s Kitchen: rice cake

mercoledì, 27 gennaio 2010

Telling you about this cake is like opening the door of my house, showing you the fireplace where my grandpa used to stand, with his hands behind is back to warm himself, it’s like offering you a barley coffee in my grandma tin cup. It’s like walking together on the same path I used to follow coming back from school with the rucksack on my shoulders, waving hello to my neighbours as they appeared at the window. It is a simple and sweet cake we make very often, the main ingredient is rice! It’s a foolproof cake, you’ll love it for is hearty and unique flavour.

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Pubblicato in Cakes, Tarts & Pies, Dessert, Italian Recipes, Tuscany | 9 Commenti »

Grandma Menna’s Kitchen: cardoons

mercoledì, 20 gennaio 2010

As promised, here it is the perfect match for last week capon braised in tomato: cardoons, or, as we call them in my area, gobbi. Now you can find them quite easily in whatsoever supermarket – even in my town supermarket, not the best furnished shop in the world! -  but in the past farmers made them working directly on an artichoke plant, taking away new sprouts. New artichoke sprouts could be cooked, if tender, in an omelette or a flan.

At the end of summer, the sprouts left on the plant were wrapped in a thick yellow paper and tied up, let grow in the dark, so that they remained white. Winter time is the perfect season to eat cardoons!

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Pubblicato in Eggs, Italian Recipes, Second Course, Tuscany, Vegetables | 5 Commenti »

Grandma Menna’s Kitchen: Capon braised in tomato

venerdì, 15 gennaio 2010

Christmas has already gone, it seems like it has been ages ago (is it the same for you? I feel like I’ve been working for months, already). If I look back I can see a mosaic made of images and lights: Christmas boxes, giftrapped and dolled up, trees and butcher’s broom, mistletoe, Christmas sweets, snowflakes and Santa Claus. This is my Christmas imagery since I was a child, since I used to be mesmerized by Coca Cola advertisings.

Recently, I was in a memories mood, so I asked Grandma how was her Christmas time, and I discovered the simplicity and the value of people able to appreciate little happy moments. She told me that children used to receive gifts just for the Epiphany (la Befana, 6th of January), and it was all about sweets, toffees and oranges. I can barely figure out the suprise to find, in a cold and foggy winter morning, an explosion of colour and smell, an orange rich and flavourful, something to tickle your eyes and your heart. They didn’t use to trim the tree: they only made the Christmas crib, they went to the Mass on Christmas morning and they used to eat capon braised in tomato for lunch, with cardoons as side dishes. This used to be my grand grand father favourite dish!

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Pubblicato in Italian Recipes, Meat, Second Course, Tuscany | 6 Commenti »