To begin with, my comments on the sauce/gravy controversy in the last issue brought quite a few replies. Some distinguish on the basis of cooking time, saying gravy cooks all day whereas sauce doesn't, and others on whether the tomatoey condiment contains meat -- if it does it's gravy, and if it doesn't it's sauce. This led me to go through my cookbooks and assemble a collection of meat-based pasta sauces from throughout the land; most but not all contain tomatoes. The feature also discuses ragù, which again means different things depending upon where in Italy you happen to be.

Lots on Farro

A couple of people pointed out that the farro flake link I suggested (www.tavolo.com) leads to a place that sells farro but not, at least at a first glance, flakes. My apologies; the next time I am sent a link I will check it before I pass it along. My Godfather Jack's note was very detailed and (as is usually the case with his notes) quite interesting; in the course of researching Farro he met up with another ancient grain called Kamut (Registered, see below) (sent from Portugal to Montana in 1948 by an American airman who thought it was originally from Egypt). He notes: "One can buy whole Kamut grains at Fresh Fields/Whole Foods. They are just like your description of the best grade of Farro: three to four times the size of normal wheat grains. One can also buy Kamut flour, as also spelt flour, etc.," and goes on to say, "A major theme [of articles on the Internet] seems to be that Kamut is non-allergenic. Similar claims are made about spelt and other grains. It appears to be true that spelt, Kamut, and other ancient grains can be used by people who are allergic or sensitive to modern or common wheat."

His research led him to another site that says,

The real history of the Kamut brand grain has been as elusive as its taxonomic classification. Not thought to have been in production anywhere in the world in the recent past, most scientists believe it probably survived the years as an obscure grain kept alive by the diversity of crops common to small peasant farmers, perhaps in Egypt or Asia Minor [subsequent research supports this]. It is thought to have evolved contemporary with the free-threshing tetraploid [durum] wheats.

The correct subspecies is in dispute. It was identified as polonicum. Some now believe it is turanicum, while others claim it is durum. One Russian scientist believes it is a durum cultivar called 'Egiptianka' or "the durum of Egypt.

So, Kamut is not farro. However, it will likely work well as a substitute, and Jack notes that it is richer in vitamins and proteins than modern wheats, which makes it more healthy. I'll be interested to hear others' thoughts on this.

Note: The above led to a note from Dr. Ron Greenberg, which went into Cosa Bolle issue 61 but really belings here:

"The item on kamut and spelt being safe for people with allergy is wrong. I am a physician allergist. There are few published studies on spelt allergy, but what there is indicates that it is the same as wheat from an allergy perspective. Kamut is even more closely related to wheat than spelt. I once made up a spelt extract for allergy testing and found that people with wheat allergy also reacted with spelt. A few minutes searching on Medline should turn up any new research on this. Rye and barley are also usually not tolerated by people allergic to wheat.

With my wife Angela Nori, I have written an allergy cookbook, Freedom From Allergy Cookbook, with 450 recipes avoiding wheat, yeast, and milk. We created wheat-free biscotti recipes using either rice or oat flour, as well as recipes for homemade noodles from oat and buckwheat flours.

If you're interested in his cookbook, it's available from Amazon, or he can send it to you directly; his email address is rgreenberg (at) pol.net. I haven't seen the book, but recall enjoying excellent noodles made from rice flour at a spectacular all-rice dinner prepared by Gabriele Ferron, one of the best producers of Vialone Nano rice, which is the most popular rice in the Veneto (the grains are almost spherical). And a good yeastless cake too, again made from rice flour.

Second Note:I was recently contacted by Tara Blyth, who works with Kamut International, and says:

Kamut grain is an ancient relative of modern durum wheat but is NOT polish wheat or farro. The actual scientific name is triticum.turgidum.turanicum (variety name "Khorasan"). "Kamut" is a trademarked name used to market and protect the grain in its original form. "Kamut" is the ancient Egyptian word for wheat. Kamut International is the only one that can guarantee this grain is always organically grown, has never been hybridized, is high and protein and meets many other standards we test every field for. Similarly, only grain from our farmers and partners can legally be called "Kamut".

There is much confusion about our grain and its origin. Another area of contention deals with allergies and sensitivities. We always tell people that the Kamut brand is wheat and does contain gluten. We are conducting further research because we have so many people tell us daily that they can eat it. So they are either misdiagnosed, or there is something slightly different about Kamut grain. I've also written to Dr. Greenberg to hopefully open up a dialogue about what kind of testing we can do to better understand what we have. It is very difficult to tell hundreds of people that they are wrong about their bodies and how they feel. So more research is slated to we can have clear, scientific answers! We have staff in Italy who is partnering with University of Bologna, Children's Hospital in Rome and the artificial stomach folks in the UK.

Cooking in Friuli

Moving in a different direction, Friuli, in the mountainous northeast, is one of the more beautiful and lesser-known sections of Italy. In many ways; though its wines are well known (especially the whites) and there are some renowned cold cuts, for example Prosciutto San Daniele, one rarely encounters la cucina friulana outside Friuli. If you're interested in exploring this region and discovering its wines, foods and handcrafts, Claudia Harris has several week-long holidays scheduled for late summer-early fall that look quite nice. No website yet, but if you'd like more info on la Forchetta (her tour company), email her at forketta@tin.it

Italian Vegetarianism

Still on the subject of mail, I recently was asked if there are regions in Italy where the cuisine would qualify as vegetarian (even if it it's not called vegetarian per se), "because meat etc. is scarce for one reason or another." The answer to this question is no -- there aren't any regions of Italy one might term vegetarian. This doesn't mean that large segments of the urban and rural populations weren't effectively vegetarian until well until after World War II. The reason: Poverty, so harsh it was simply called Miseria (misery). To give an idea of what it was like, here's a passage describing conditions in Puglia, from "Lettere Meridionali," a book published in 1885 by Pasquale Villari, Senator of the Realm: "The farmers charged with the cultivation of the more distant estates live there almost year round, returning home to their wives and children every two or three weeks. At the estates they live in halls dug into the earth, sleeping in niches scratched into the walls. They do have sacks of straw upon which they sleep dressed; indeed, they never undress. They are commanded by a massaro, who gives each a flat dark loaf of bread that weighs about a kilo every morning; it is called a panrozzo [a coarse loaf of bread], and is supplied by the landlord. The farmers work from dawn to dusk, taking a half-hour break at ten to rest and eat some of their bread. In the evening, once the work is done, the massaro lights a fire in the hall and brings a pot of water with just a touch of salt to a boil. In the meantime the farmers line up, slicing their bread and putting it in their wooden bowls. The massaro pours a ladle of water over the bread, and sprinkles it with a few drops of oil. This is what they eat year round, calling it water-salt. They never receive anything else, except during the threshing season, when they're given one to two liters of weak wine, which allows them to work even harder. These farmers set aside some of their panrozzo each day, to sell or to take home to the family; in all their wages consist of the bread, about 132 lire per year, and a half a tomolo [a unit of volume no longer used] each of beans and grain, which they receive after the harvest." In the north, Mr. Villari says, the diet was again monotonous, but based on polenta. Unfortunately, polenta is filling but not a complete food, and as a result pellagra (a fatal combination of nutritional deficiencies) was widespread.

Fast forwarding a couple of generations, Mr. Cherubini, a retired baker whose eyes would light up at the thought of boiled potatoes served plain we would enjoy as a boy, told me that when he was growing up out in the Tuscan countryside in the teens, his family subsisted on greens and legumes -- they had meat and eggs, but sold both to raise cash. Meat? 2 pounds of boiled beef on Sunday. This for 7 people, and he said he was well off. People living under these conditions are essentially vegetarian. But not from choice. For more on the peasant diet (in the Veneto), see http://italianfood.about.com/library/rec/blr0143.htm

Gay Pride in Rome

This has also been an interesting week politically. If you're Catholic you likely know that it's a jubilee year. Rome is packed with the faithful and those who want to take advantage of the special shows and events organized, and it's turning out to be a huge financial success for the city. As one might expect, this great mass of people is also attracting those who want to make statements of one kind or another. Groups of all kinds, including International Gay Pride, which scheduled a parade for July 8 and arranged all the necessary permissions quite some time ago. There were complaints from the Church, but the City government announced it would provide security and logistical services -- as it does for almost all parades. With the passage of time the Church's protests increased in volume, and a couple of weeks ago Prime Minister Amato weighed in saying the parade was "inopportune" and that it was unfortunate that the Constitution made it impossible to stop it. Howls of glee from some quarters, while others (libertarians left and right) were swift to remind Amato that the Constitution allows any organization to demonstrate peacefully and that nobody has suggested other groups shouldn't demonstrate, even when their rallies turn violent -- something a Gay Pride parade isn't likely to do. The Government actually wobbled on this, and a couple of ministers have announced their personal support for the parade (Amato won't allow official support), while another has announced he's bisexual. Rivers of ink in the Press. In the mean time, the right of peaceful taxpaying citizens to gather seems to be safe, for now. And by protesting so loudly, those who objected to the parade have helped insure that it will be a major event with a large turnout, rather than the minor folksy thing it would likely have been otherwise. My take? I can understand the Church's objections, and think the Church is within its rights to do as it pleases within the Vatican territory. But on Italian soil -- once you deny the right of one group to demonstrate you've opened a door that's very hard to close. Who'd be denied next?

Risi e Bisi

Got a note from Dana, who writes, "I am looking for a recipe that is made with rice, peas, salt pork and chicken broth. I got it from a friend who got it from his Italian father. Unfortunately, I don't know the real name for this dish because my friend always uses his childhood pronunciation of "Rizibizi peas." It is probably something like Riso e Biso? But I don't speak Italian well, so I'm not sure. The recipe I have is a little hard to work with as it was written while listening to his father describe the dish."

This is a classic Venetian dish, risi e bisi (rice and peas). In the past it was prepared only on the feast days decreed by the Doge (Venice's ruler), and though one can now make it any time, Dino Coltri says it really shines only when freshly harvested baby peas are available. To make it, begin by finely slicing an onion and sautéing it in oil and butter with finely minced lean pancetta or diced prosciutto. As soon as the onion turns golden add the rice (four handfuls for four people) and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the rice turns translucent (3-5 minutes). Then add green broth a ladle at a time; make the broth by cooking the shells of the peas in lightly salted water and then straining the liquid. When the rice is half done, add the peas (you'll want to shell 3 1/2 pounds (1.5 k) peas to have sufficient quantity), together with a handful of minced parsley. When the rice reaches the al dente stage, turn off the flame, stir in a chunk of unsalted butter the size of a walnut, and a couple of tablespoons of grated Parmigiano. If you like it, freshly ground white pepper too.

Mr. Coltri notes that risi e fasoi, rise made with freshly shelled beans by the farmers and mountain dwellers of the Treviso region, is equally tasty. What he doesn't say is how much pancetta to use, nor how much onion, not how much oil & butter to begin with. This is quite typical of Italian recipes even now -- the author expects one to have a sense of Italian proportions. I'd figure a medium onion, and about 2 ounces (50 g) pancetta. Oil & butter? About 1/3 cup each. If you want a richer risi, boil the pea pods in chicken broth rather than water. The risi should be all'onda, in other words moist and creamy, rather than firm.

A printer-friendly version of this recipe.

Bobby instead asked for sea bass or snapper Livornese -- in Livorno the dish is made with reef mullet, which are a pretty red and have a tremendous number of bones, but the sauce will be the same regardless of the fish you use. The fish should in any case be quite fresh. Begin by preparing the sauce: mince several cloves of garlic and a good handful of parsley, and sauté them in good extravirgin olive oil. When the garlic turns blond (don't let it brown), add a number of very ripe tomatoes that you have previously blanched, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped. Then a pinch of salt and a hint of pepper.

If the mullet are small lay them out directly in the sauce and cook them slowly over a moderate flame, without turning them, lest they break. Do however gently shake the pan every now and then so the sauce washes over them and they don't stick.

If the mullet are larger, begin by preparing the above sauce. Then take the mullet, flour them lightly, and brown them in good olive oil, together with several cloves of minced garlic and parsley. When the fish begin to brown turn them carefully lest they break, and when both sides are browned pour the sauce over them and simmer them until done. When they're done, dust them lightly with a little more minced garlic and parsley, and serve them hot, with good crusty bread to soak up the sauce.

A printer-friendly version of this recipe.

Mousse al Melone

Winding down, it has gotten HOT in Florence with a rush this year -- temperatures in the high 30s (C -- that's 90s F), which take a bit of getting used to after the winter. Here's a refreshing cantaloupe mousse:

Select a ripe cantaloupe, seed it, slice it, and remove and discard the rinds. Cube half the pulp and dice the other half finely. Chill the finely diced half.

Heat the cubed half with a tablespoon or two of water and sugar to taste (you want the mixture to be fairly sweet) for about three minutes, or until the cubes become soft. Cool the pot by immersing it in cold water, and blend the contents, then chill the resulting juice.

Next, whip a cup (250 ml) of cold cream until it becomes soft and fluffy; it should quadruple in volume. Incorporate the blended cantaloupe, the diced cantaloupe, check for sweetness, and serve, with chocolate-covered wafers as garnish.

A printer-friendly version of the recipe.

Need something to serve before it? Check the picnic foods page, http://italianfood.about.com/library/weekly/aa060998.htm, which has rice salad, insalata caprese (mozarella, tomatoes and basil), panzanella and a number of other cool refreshing dishes.

Kyle Phillips

PS -- Send a card from the Italian Cuisine Post Office!

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