We've got lots of ground to cover this time. To begin with, this spring Cynthia kindly sent me a detailed travelogue of her trip to northern Italy. Since it's the sort of thing anyone who's planning a trip to the region will find useful, here are her recommendations:

"Also wanted to share with you the place we stayed in Maderno, on Lake Garda. Hotel San Marco, Piazza San Marco 5, 25080 Maderno d/G. (BS) Italy, Tel.0365/641103 or 540363, fax 0365/540592. The price was 90,000 Lire per night, breakfast not included. The beds were a bit soft, but we had a room with a view of the lake and there was a nice WC in the room... The food in the hotel was superb, probably the best food we ate the whole time we were in Italy.

"Also, the last weekend (first weekend of Carnival--BIG CROWDS) in Venice we stayed at the Pensione Wilder, had a room overlooking the water to San Giorgio Maggiore (second floor room #16, probably would be better to be higher up). The room was a sort of semi-suite, with a couch, coffee table, and three large floor-to-ceiling windows that effectively cut out the noise--also AC for summertime. The cost was 300,000 Lire, kinda steep, but we had just as good a view as the folks in the Danieli, so I am not complaining too much. It was great to be able to get out of the Carnival crowds and watch the action on the Riva. The breakfasts were quite good at the hotel, and lunches were ok, too. Dinners tended to be overinflated in price and I am sure there were better places elsewhere.... The great thing about the Pensione Wildner was that you took the 82 vaporetto to San Zaccharia and walked about 50 meters if that far to the hotel. So it is easy to find if one has never been in Venice before, a big plus. We also parked in the Tronchetto parking area. Be sure that people know to tell the hotelier that they have a car (if they do) in the car park, and the price is about 1/3 less to park, as the hotelier will give you a complimentary money-off ticket. Pensione Wildner is at 041-522-74-63, Riva deli Schiavoni, Castello area. The proprietors do not speak much English but we managed.

"The other hotel I wanted to mention was the Mach 2 in Fiumicino near the airport. It was 198,000 Lire per night, the restaurant was actually very good (the grilled wild mushrooms were heavenly), and a big elaborate breakfast was part of the deal. It was easy to just stay there and then return to the rental car in the a.m. and just go to our flight.

Many thanks to Cynthia; the Wilder would be an excellent bet if you choose to see the new show that has just opened in Venice: A comparison between 16th century Venetian and Flemish grand masters. Turns out they were well aware of each other and influenced each other tremendously, so it should be quite interesting. If you want more information, check with Scott Holt at Go Italy.

GREED

Moving somewhat off topic, on Wednesday nights RAI 3, one of the State-owned television networks, transmits a current events program called Reporter. Last week's was fascinating: the island of Sardinia has been settled for thousands of years, and one of the major activities has always been shepherding. Unlike some other animals, sheep graze down to the ground and the plants of the island have had to adapt to this insult. Sardinian clovers have done so by developing into an endemic strain with powerful roots that won't get pulled up, and rich seed pods. In the mid-1970s an Australian company visited the island, took cuttings of the Sardinian plant, and registered them. Now, if a Sardinian wants to plant commercially grown seeds of an endemic Sardinian plant he has to send money to an Australian for the privilege. We're not talking small change here; the Australian company is getting several billion dollars in revenue per year for something they simply collected and walked off with (lots of areas need plants resistant to sheep), and the only way to get around paying them would be to breed a man-made strain.

Of course Sardinia isn't the only place that this is happening, nor are seed growers the only ones involved. 40% of the genetic compounds used in modern medicine come from South-East Asia, we were told, and all the major pharmaceutical and chemical companies of Europe, North America, Australia, and Japan have people swarming through the region, talking to the locals, finding out what leaves they chew and why, and then absconding with samples, which they register when they get home. No compensation to the locals who provide the information, or to local governments and populations whose lands are picked through. To be frank, this reminds me of the coal companies that bought mineral rights from farmers in the US a few generations back, and then stripped away the topsoil (and the farms) to get at the coal because the contracts had written, in vary fine print, that they could mine using any technique they wanted.

While it is true that the farmers should have read the fine print (assuming they could read), what the miners did was hardly ethical. And though they're all long gone we're still paying for it today: If you visit western Pennsylvania or other areas that were strip mined you'll see wastelands, because the rock above the coal contained lots of pyrite (FeS2, iron sulfide, because the depositional environment was reducing) -- under normal conditions it would have entered the environment slowly with erosion. However, the stripping produced huge piles of rubble that the rain seeps into easily, interacting with the pyrite. As a result the streams run rusty red, and much of the ground is so acidic that almost nothing can grow. It will be thousands of years before balance is restored. What's to keep the gene seekers from pulling the same sort of stunt?

And there's more: Driven by visions of profit and accommodating western institutions, the companies are doing more than just going after plants that have adapted to specific conditions or may prove useful in the future. It turns out an American company is trying to register basmati rice, and its London-based subsidiary is trying to register jasmine rice, Thailand's classic rice. Think about it: Westerners take plants from fields in third world countries, register them in Western courts, and the farmers of the third world then have to pay royalties to Western companies if they want to continue to grow the crops they've been growing for generations. Greedy isn't quite the word for this racket. It's obscene.

Sfincioni

Stepping down from the soap box, I got several replies regarding the Sicilian sfincione mentioned in the last issue. In particular, Barbara very kindly sent some recipes:

Grandma Dominica's Sfincione

Topping:

1 pound (500 g) chub sausage (can use Italian Sausage too)

1 tsp oregano

1 small can anchovies

Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Fresh or frozen bread dough

Spread bread dough in baking pan to approximately 1 inch thick. Let rest while preparing topping. Fry sausage in pan, crumbling as you fry. Add oregano when sausage is almost done. Spread olive oil on dough with hands. Break anchovies into small pieces and poke into dough, making a checkered pattern. When sausage/oregano mixture is cooked, spread over dough. Sprinkle fresh grated Parmesan cheese over top. Bake in 400 F (200 C) oven for approximately 20 minutes or until done. Sausage/oregano will finish cooking on top of Sfincione in oven.

NOTE: I use Pillsbury Bread Dough found in the Dairy Case at the grocery. Unfold bread dough all the way to thinnest size.

The following is a recipe that I found in a cookbook years ago, and whose title I do not remember.

Sicilian Sfincione

Topping:

2 lbs. (1kg) tomatoes

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 small onions, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

Scant 1/4 cup (50ml) olive oil

Anchovies

Dough:

Pinch of sugar

1-1/4 cups (300ml) warm milk (110 F, 43 C)

2 pkgs. active dry yeast

4 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

3 ounces (75g) pitted ripe olives, chopped

2 teaspoons dried oregano

4 ounces (100 g) crumbled caciocavallo or grated Parmesan cheese

Olive oil, if desired

To make topping: peel and chop tomatoes, Combine tomatoes, garlic, onions, salt and olive oil in a large bowl. Cover and set aside. Flavor will improve while mixture stands.

To make dough: stir sugar into warm milk and sprinkle with yeast. Let stand 5 minutes or until the surface is frothy. Stir gently to moisten any dry particles remaining on top. Sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Lightly beat egg into yeast mixture. Pour into flour mixture, combining to make a dough. On a floured surface, knead dough until smooth and springy, 5 to 10 minutes. Cover and let rise in a warm place 25 minutes.

Brush baking sheets with oil. Preheat oven to 425 F (220 C). On a floured surface, lightly knead risen dough; divide into 4 to 6 pieces. Roll out pieces into individual rounds; place on oiled baking sheets. Top each round with tomato mixture. Scatter olives and oregano over pizza. Sprinkle caciocavallo or Parmesan cheese over topping. Bake 20 minutes or until edges are brown. Sprinkle wit olive oil on removal from oven, if desired.

Baking Sheet Sfincione

The yeast dough should be rolled out to the size of a large baking sheet, about 13 inches (33 cm) square. Pierce dough several times with a fork to avoid bubbling during baking. Prepare tomato topping as in the previous recipe and spread over dough. Sprinkle the surface with fresh, coarsely chopped peppermint leaves and a teaspoon of chopped basil, if available. Use twice the quantity of ripe olives and sprinkle with 1-1/2 cups (175 g) shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake sfincione 20 to 25 minutes in a preheated 425 F (220 C) oven.

In closing Barbara notes, "Although Sfincioni are similar to the Neapolitan pizza, it would be unforgivable to call this Sicilian specialty a pizza. Sfincioni were originally made form local products and Sicilians maintain that they were baking them before anyone in Italy had thought of making a pizza. Sfincioni are typical of the baking of peasants and farm workers. They may be baked in small round cakes or as one cake on a baking sheet."

Time to fire up the oven!

A printer-friendly version of these recipes, and the one that occasioned Barbara's reply..

And, a long time ago Joe Mastrella sent his meatball recipe. I haven't tried it because cilantro isn't that easy to find in Florence, and the only jalapeno peppers I've seen recently are canned. However, it does look good:

Joey Pots & Pans Famous Meatball Recipe

• 1 1/2 lb. (700g) Fresh Ground Beef - 15% fat
• 3/4 lb. (325g) Fresh Ground Lean Ground Pork
• 1 Large Red Onion, 1/4-inch Dice
• 8oz. Plain Bread Crumbs ? Unseasoned
• 8 - 12oz. Kraft Parmesan Cheese
• 6 Jalapeno Peppers Seeded, 1/4-inch Dice
• 12 Large Garlic Cloves, 1/4-inch Dice
• 8oz. Very Lean Bacon, Fat Removed, 1/4-inch Dice
• 1 Bunch Cilantro Course Chop
• 2 Eggs & 2 Tablespoons Water
• Fresh Ground Pepper To Taste

Remove Beef and Pork from fridge, bring to room temp in a large bowl or pot.

In separate batches sauté Onion, Jalapeno and Garlic until soft, add to meat. Sauté Bacon until cooked, add to meat. Add Bread Crumbs, Parmesan Cheese and Cilantro to meat.

Using your hand, combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Scramble eggs with water, add to meat mixture, and combine thoroughly.

Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

In a 10-inch non stick frying pan add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Portion meatballs to desired size and brown on all sides. Place meatballs in tomato sauce to finish cooking.

Meatball mixture can also be cooked in a meat loaf pan.

Enjoy, Joe Mastrella

Obviously, if you put your meatballs in tomato sauce chances are good that they will end up over pasta. Another option is to finish browning them, then pour about 3/4 cup of milk into the pan, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the milk has cooked down and thickened into a sauce. At this point, serve them as a second course, with a tossed salad, spinach, or whatever else suits your fancy. Family food, but nice. As a final option, you can use day-old Italian bread rather than bread crumbs, dip it in milk, squeeze out the excess moisture, and crumble it into the meatball mixture. The softness of the crumb gives the meatballs a softer texture.

Note: In reply to this, Mary Jo wrote to say that in addition to using bread to soften her meatballs, she uses grated zucchini, which contribute moisture but no overpowering flavors. She also occasionally uses grated onions but has to be careful lest they overshadow everything else. Perhaps Vidalias?

A printer-friendly version of this recipe.

More on Beans

Winding down, a couple of issues ago I mentioned borlotti, the speckled beans (light brown when cooked) that are one of Tuscany's signature vegetables, and which I saw for sale in Vermont under a sign that said 'French Horticultural Beans.' Osiris writes,

I have never heard of French Horticultural Beans--and, of course, not borlotti--but I plan to 'impress' everyone with the name from Vermont. In the South, I believe these are called pinto beans (uncooked) and brown beans or red beans after cooking. We go through the dry ones by hand to get any rocks out. Some people soak them overnight, some don't. Cooking is pretty simple: salt and pepper, some bacon grease and/or bacon chunks (raw) and/or ham hock, onion and garlic (fresh chopped, dried, powdered...). Sometimes they are prepared with only salt if one is shy of other ingredients. Combinations of added ingredients are to folks' liking and around here people put jalapeno peppers in about everything. Some like hickory; some like chili powder. It's endless.
"You put PLENTY of water with them, cook them down, and check the beans for softness. If you want the beans to remain whole, use a crock pot and cook them all day. BUT, use PLENTY of water. As with all Southern cooking, add a pinch of sugar to bring out the flavor. If this is what it sounds like to me, it is a staple meal in the South. Folks love beans and cornbread."

Beans are, alas, a stormy vegetable, and people have resorted to many strategies to keep the thunder at bay. Artusi suggests one select thin-skinned beans, but this is not always possible. Another technique is to soak the beans overnight in soda water; this will help diminish their potency. Be sure to rinse them very well the next morning before you cook them, however -- drain them in a colander, and stir them about while wetting them down with a sprayer.

A printer-friendly version of this information, and more from Kaye Noble (from issue 46).

A presto!

A presto!
Kyle Phillips

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