Last week was freezing. Not just in the Alps, where it's supposed to be cold at this time of year, but also down in the flatlands as well, and south too, where they got a tremendous amount of snow in the mountains. Ecstatic skiers flocked to Mount Etna and many inland towns in Calabria and Basilicata were isolated for days. This sort of thing happens every few years, so it wasn't that out-of-the-ordinary. However, the falling ice that accompanied the cold was: Blocks weighing between 1 and 20 pounds rained down all over the Peninsula, at first a couple a day, but the number increased rapidly to a hundred or more. One landed in the courtyard of a convent just before the Sisters went to Mass, another hit a guy who was cleaning a mall parking lot at 6 AM, and for a while people kept an eye on the sky as they walked about.

While it's obvious that many of the blocks were tossed by jokers, some are harder to explain -- very pure ice, with none of the contaminants associated with rain or tap water, and odd geometric shapes. Some suggested the blocks were falling from planes (the one that hit the man would have killed him had the blow not been glancing, and had he not been wearing two hats because of the cold), but transportation safety people say accumulations of these magnitudes would cause a plane to crash. Others suggested space, but the experts nixed that too. Now they're guessing unusual interactions between southern and northern air masses, with winds strong enough to support ice chips that then grew as they fell to ground. In the meantime it has warmed, and the phenomenon has stopped. We may never know what it was.

Microwave Dangers

Returning more towards food, I recently got a chain letter warning of the dangers of heating water in the microwave oven that's worth passing along:

"...About five days ago my 26-year old son decided to have a cup of instant coffee. He took a cup of water and put it in the microwave to heat it up (something that he had done numerous times before). I am not sure how long he set the timer for but he told me he wanted to bring the water to a boil. When he timer shut the oven off, he removed the cup from the oven. As he looked into the cup he noted that the water was not boiling, but then the water in the cup "blew up"into his face.... His whole face is blistered and he has 1st and 2nd degree burns to his face, which may leave scarring. He also may have lost partial sight in his left eye. While at the hospital, the doctor who was attending to him stated that this a fairly common occurrence and water (alone) should never be heated in a microwave oven. If water is heated in this manner, something should be placed in the cup to diffuse the energy such as a wooden stir stick, tea bag, etc. It is however a much safer choice to boil the water in a tea kettle."

The danger is real; I once had a (small) pitcher of maple syrup boil up explosively and coat the inside of my microwave oven.

On Raising Fish

Still circling around food, a rather disturbing news special the other night said that the fishing fleets we associate with coastal towns in the Mediterranean and elsewhere are doomed -- the seas have been overfished, and with the exception of a few parts of the Indian Ocean we've reached the point of diminishing returns. This at a time when fish consumption is rising rapidly. What's taking up the slack? Aquiculture. Though most people probably associate it with raising mussels, or perhaps oysters for pearls, more than a third of the fish now sold in Italian markets is raised rather than caught, a percentage destined to exceed fifty within a few years. The most popular farmed fish in Italy are trout, sea bass, and gilt-head bream.

There are positive aspects to this development -- the more modern fisheries hatch small fry on land but raise their fish in netted enclosures in the open ocean, which means that they will be sensitive to environmental issues. However, there are also negative aspects. Wild fish eat what they can catch and tend to be lean. Commercially raised fish eat what they're given, so their quality depends upon the quality of the feed. Fish raised on poor feed can be up to 20% fat (3-4 times the fat of wild fish), and are low in omega-three fatty acids, which are the ones that are good for us. Thus, people may think they're eating well when they're actually not. The problem can be compounded by the use of pharmaceuticals of one kind or another, some of which are quite toxic to humans, to treat fish parasites.

How to tell the difference? An expert can look at a fish and tell if it is wild or raised (differing morphologies), but for most of us the best bet is to befriend the fishmonger and remember that one gets what one pays for. Raised fish cost considerably less than their wild cousins, and those that are especially cheap may well have been raised on poor feed.

Winding down, Fabia recently sent another idea for using bulb fennel:

"I make it braised with leeks. Slice fennel, slice leeks (in circles), sauté them in olive oil for a few minutes, and add some chicken broth, salt and pepper. Sauté on medium high heat until most of the liquid is gone. Try not to over cook. Most of the time I don't cook from recipes so I don't have the exact measurements."

If you live in the Monterey (CA) area, stop by at her wine shop, Terranova Fine Wines.

Passatelli

Michele and Steve, on the other hand, asked for a recipe for passatelli. They're a classic Romagnan specialty, made with a passatelli iron, a cup-and-plunger-like device that forces dough through a plate with 1/4-inch diameter holes in it, thus forming strings that are called passatelli. In presenting them a century ago, Artusi said that almost every household in Romagna has a passatelli iron, and that those living in other parts of the country could make do with a pastry bag. More recently, Alessandro Molinari Pradelli suggests using a potato ricer with the large-holed disk.

Their recipes are quite similar; I've drawn from Mr. Pradelli's La Cucina dell'Emilia Romagna here. The beef morrow serves to give the passatelli a softer consistency.

Passatelli in Brodo

To serve 6, you'll need:

• 3 cups (150 g) freshly grated Parmigiano
• 7 ounces (weight; 175 g -- this should be about 2 cups) bread crumbs
• 4 eggs
• A pinch of nutmeg
• An ounce (25 g) of beef morrow
• 2 quarts (2 L) beef broth

Melt the beef morrow over a low flame. In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, eggs, melted morrow, and nutmeg. The resulting dough should be fairly firm; if it's not work in some more breadcrumbs. If it's ridged, soften it with a little white wine. Let the dough rest for a half hour, and in the meantime bring the broth to a boil. Fill your passatelli iron or potato ricer with the dough and squeeze it over the simmering broth, allowing the passatelli to drop into it. As soon as the passatelli have risen to the surface turn off the flame and let the soup sit for a few minutes. Transfer it to a tureen and serve it, with more grated cheese for those who want it.

Mr. Pradelli notes that around Imola and Castel San Pietro Terme cooks work a little grated lemon zest into the passatelli dough, and also that some people substitute unsalted butter for the beef morrow.

If you want richer passatelli, you can make them with meat. The procedure is the same, but you'll want:

• 1/4 pound (100 g) finely ground beef
• 5 ounces (weight; 125 g, which should be about a cup) bread crumbs
• 2 cups (100 g) freshly ground Parmigiano
• 2 ounces (50 g) finely ground chicken breast
• 1 ounce (25 g) beef morrow
• 3 eggs
• A pinch of nutmeg
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 2 quarts (2 L.) beef broth

These quantities will again serve 6.

A printer-friendly version of this recipe.

Risotto alla Fonduta

Finally, Valentine's Day is rapidly approaching. You'll find a number of recipes on the Valentine's Day page and I'm planning to add more. Spaghetti al cartoccio, fish-sauced pasta baked in a foil packet that one opens at table (most impressive) would also be quite nice.

And here's another libidinous Valentine's Day idea, drawn from an old issue of Sale e Pepe, one of the major Italian food magazines:

Risotto alla Fonduta - Fondue Risotto

To serve 4 you'll need:

• 1 1/2 cups (300 g) rice
• 8 ounces (200 g) fontina, a mild cheese that melts well
• 2/3 cup (150 ml) milk
• 1 quart broth
• Half an onion
• A small black truffle
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Unsalted butter
• Salt and pepper

Thinly slice the cheese and set it to soak in the milk for several hours.

Bring the broth to a boil. Slice the onion into wedges and sauté it in a walnut-sized chunk of butter over a medium flame until it becomes translucent. Warm the wine, and in the meantime stir the rice into the onion and sauté it too for a couple of minutes, stirring briskly lest it stick and burn. Splash the wine into the pot and continue to cook, stirring, until it has evaporated. Begin adding broth a ladle at a time, gently stirring lest it all stick down.

When the rice reaches the al dente stage fish out and discard the pieces of onion. Stir in the cheese and the milk, check seasoning, and cook for about 3 more minutes. Divvy the risotto into dishes and serve, dusting the bowls with thinly sliced truffle.

If you don't have truffles, you can use truffle paste, adding it when you add the cheese. In terms of a wine, I'd go with something sparkling, say a Franciacorta.

A printer-friendly version of this recipe.

A presto!
Kyle Phillips

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