Cosa Bolle in Pentola?
Labor unrest, Unexpected effects of the Legge Sulle Rogatorie, View of an Italian Life, Buccellato, and other things
Being the 98th issue of Cosa Bolle in Pentola, your Italian Cuisine newsletter.
To begin with, the latest feature is frankly a cop-out -- I've collected all the recipes I've sent out via Cosa Bolle Lite, and you'll find them here. Turning to the season, Happiest of Easters and Passovers to all! You'll find Italian Passover recipes here, recipes for a Neapolitan Easter here, recipes for a Roman Easter here, recipes for Easter breads here, and recipes for lamb, which is the standard meat Italians serve at both Easter and Passover, here. The pic of the week is San Gimignano seen from La Rognosa, the town's tallest tower (see below).
L'Articolo 18: Labor Unrest!
Returning to Cosa Bolle, we've got lots to cover this time. First of all, the workings of the Italian Government. Mr. Berlusconi, the Prime Minister, is universally recognized as being a very sharp businessman (though he's now one of the wealthiest men in Italy he got his start singing on cruise ships), but also has a frightening talent for rousing the opposition. When he was PM in 1994 it was over pension reforms, while this time it's over labor laws. To be honest, something needs to be done; the Statuto dei Lavoratori that governs Italian labor, which was drawn up in 1970, was shaped by a peculiar alliance of Catholic and leftist politicians who had bitter memories of the underemployment, exploitation, and oppression suffered by Italian workers under prior regimes, and went to extraordinary measures to protect job security. In particular, it is almost impossible for a company with more than 15 employees to fire a worker, so long as the worker doesn't do something seriously illegal, for example sabotage the machinery or steal from the till -- and even then being let go is not a foregone conclusion, because a judge can decide the firing was not for just cause and reinstate the worker. For more run-of the-mill problems, e.g. the person is unpleasant, unenthusiastic, or starts office feuds, there's little to be done -- the person keeps the job until he or she retires or leaves. Feudalism in reverse, with the company being responsible for the worker until death or retirement, whichever comes first, and it's no wonder that many companies with 14 employees avoid expanding to keep from finding themselves saddled with these imposed marriages, while many others simply operate in the economia sommersa, completely outside the law.
The submerged economy is huge, especially in the southern part of the Peninsula, and the fact that all those workers and companies don't pay taxes puts a significant dent in the treasury, as well as making life much more difficult for companies that are above board and as a result have higher costs. Therefore, the government is trying to bring the submerged economy into the open, and one of the things they've decided to do is exempt newly emergent companies from the provision that requires a company to rehire a worker if the judge decides that the firing was not for just cause; in order to stimulate the above-board economy the same would also hold true for the new employees of companies that cross the 15-employee limit with new hires. Mind you, the new provision doesn't simply allow the company to fire willy-nilly: It gives them the choice of paying a large fine or rehiring the worker if the judge decides that the firing was not for just cause.
A provision that, on the face of it, seems reasonable -- if a company can let people go a little more easily, it will also be less reluctant to hire, and this is important in a country with high unemployment, especially among young people. This doesn't make sense to the unions, however, which are beating the drums to the tune of "This is just the beginning!" and have organized demonstrations that have drawn hundreds of thousands of people. I'd go too, if I thought that the Government was preparing a provision that would allow willy-nilly firing for no reason, but that's not what the government is proposing. And in the meantime tensions have risen to levels not seen since, well, 1994, and Marco Biagi, the economist who masterminded the proposal has been assassinated by the same people who killed Massimo D'Antona, an economist who advised the pervious left-of-center Government (using the same gun). To be frank, I think the union reaction is out of line -- a law that guarantees a worker's job for life may have been a good thing 30 years ago, but it's not now and is one of the reasons that Italy's unemployment is as high as it is. I'm not in favor of the here-today-gone-tomorrow mentality one can encounter in the US, but some flexibility is necessary. So I'm with Berlusconi on this one.
Olive Oil Fraud: Unexpected Effects of Another Provision
I'm not with Mr. Berlusconi on another provision he has enacted, which requires that all foreign documents presented in Italian courts receive a seal of authenticity from a government office in the country of origin. The stated goal of the law is to provide Italian defendants with a guarantee that the prosecution won't trot out false documents, for example doctored bank records from a Swiss bank in a corruption trial, and indeed its practical effect is to make following the money in cases of corruption and bribery much more difficult. The provision is having a pernicious effect in food, too, however, because food fraud generally involves falsifying documents, and if the fraud takes place across international borders, the new law says that the fraudulent documents from abroad must have the seal of authenticity from the government of origin, which will obviously be difficult to get.
For example, a news analysis program called Report that's transmitted by RAI 3, one of the State-owned networks, discussed a case in which a boatload of olio di sansa, the oil that's extracted through heat and chemical processing of the olive pulp after the extravirgin oil has been pressed out, spent a few days in a Turkish port and returned with papers certifying that it was Extravirgin olive oil. A clear case of fraud, but the foreign documents in the paper trail didn't have the seal of authenticity required by the new Italian law and the judge who tried the case was forced to set the perpetrators free. This is not how things are supposed to work.
Nor was the remainder of the program more reassuring; it turns out that almost all of the Virgin and Extravirgin olive oil produced by large commercial Italian olive oil plants owes its certification to slight of hand of one sort or another. Much is olio lampante, which is made from olives that have fallen from the trees, are collected with huge vacuum cleaners, and pressed, at which point the resulting oil is reprocessed to make it palatable. It shouldn't be extravirgin, but that's what it's sold as. How to keep from being snookered? As I've said before, buy olive oil that's estate pressed and bottled, and remember that you get what you pay for. Good olive oil comes from olives that are handpicked before they're ripe, and the labor involved is expensive. So cheap extravirgin Italian oil probably isn't. For more information on olive oil and purchasing tips, see Andar per Olio.
Cooking Up an Italian Life, Simple Pleasures of Italy in Recipes and Stories.
Moving in a different direction, about 20 years ago Sharon Sanders visited Florence, where she met her (American) husband and gained a lasting love for Italian foods. She subsequently went on to become a cook and food writer, and has just published Cooking Up an Italian Life, Simple Pleasures of Italy in Recipes and Stories. The table of contents looks fairly typical of Italian cookbooks, with sections devoted to soups, pasta, pizza, fish, poultry, pork & beef, antipasti (why at the end?), desserts, and sundry, which includes information on techniques and tools, tips on setting up a pantry, and high altitude cooking tips. Well, perhaps high altitude cooking tips aren't standard, but Italy does have the Alps. However, the recipes are frankly unusual; though there are some tried-and-true standards, for example pasta alla carbonara, charcoal-makers spaghetti, with pancetta and egg (p. 83), to which she adds a little garlic but doesn't otherwise alter (unlike many other English language recipes I've seen), most of the recipes are the sorts of things one might encounter in a modern Italian home inhabited by someone who enjoys hitting the markets and then heading home to make something that isn't exactly what her grandmother would have made. In other words, current Italian cooking, which can be delightful, but can also all to easily be overlooked in collections designed to help people recreate nonna's cooking or the meals they had in restaurants while visiting Italy.
The second unusual thing about the book is that she doesn't present recipes so much as meals, in other words a main entrée or one sort or another, and a suggestion for something to accompany it, be it a side dish or dessert, and, perhaps a wine as well. For example,
This savory bread and cheese pudding is wonderful for a weekend brunch or a do-ahead weeknight dinner.
Ham and Sun-Dried Tomato Strata ~ Mango with Marsala and Pine Nuts
|
Bread that is a day or two old and too dry to eat works fine for this dish; add a bit more milk, if needed, to moisten adequately. |
To prepare the strata: Coat a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with no-stick spray. Take the bread and cut it into 1/2-inch cubes. Place in the prepared pan; set aside. Reserve 2 tablespoons of dark green scallion stems in a small dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. In a small skillet, melt the butter. Add the remaining scallions. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes. Stir and cook for 1 minute, or until the scallions are softened. Spoon over the bread. Sprinkle with the ham and 3/4 cup of the Fontina. Toss to combine. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with a fork. Add 3 cups of milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Beat just to combine. Pour over the bread mixture. Press down gently with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup Fontina. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or as long as 12 hours. Preheat the oven to 325 F [160 C] Remove the plastic. Squeeze one of the top bread cubes. If it's not squishy, add the remaining 1/2 cup milk. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and the center is hot. Sprinkle each serving with the reserved scallion stems. To prepare the mango: Peel the mangos and slice. Place in a bowl with the marsala. Sprinkle with sugar to taste. Cover and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Sprinkle each serving with pine nuts. Serves 4 to 6. |
For a meat-free strata, omit the ham. |
(p. 52-3)
My note: recipe-ready sundried tomatoes are pre-reconstituted; if yours are plain dried reconstitute them in warm water before using them.
In all, there are about 200 recipes, with dishes to suit almost any occasion, and well thought out combinations. A fun book that will make a nice gift, though you shouldn't leaf though it if you're planning on giving it away, lest you either rush out for a second copy, or present your recipient with something else.
Practical things:
Cooking Up an Italian Life, Simple Pleasures of Italy in Recipes and Stories.
By Sharon Sanders, 2001
Published by Pergola West, Center Valley PA
270 pages and about 200 recipes, with some asides as well.
ISBN 0-97029-813-7
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More Lamb
Winding down, Easter is traditionally the time for lamb. If you're planning to serve it, but haven't yet decided how and none of the recipes on the lamb page grab you, here are a couple more ideas, one from an article devoted to Sunday roasts in a recent issue of Sale e Pepe, one of the major Italian food magazines, and the other from Ada Boni's Talismano della Felicità, one of the most influential Italian cookbooks ever written. First, Sale e Pepe:
Cosciotto di Agnello alle Erbe -- Leg of Lamb with Herbs
Preparation 30 minutes
Cooking time 90 minutes
To serve 6
- A boned leg of lamb, weighing about 2 pounds (800 g)
- An onion
- A sprig of fresh thyme
- A small bunch of mint (about a dozen leaves)
- 4 tablespoons seedy mustard
- 4 slices pancetta
- 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs
- 1 pound (400 g) baby onions
- 1 pound (400 g) string beans
- 1 cup dry white wine
- Extravirgin olive oil
- Salt & freshly ground pepper
Peel the onion and mince it with the thyme and the mint. Mix the herbs with the breadcrumbs and the mustard. Season the cavity left by the bone with salt and pepper, and rub the leg of lamb with the herb paste. Wrap it with the slices of pancetta and tie them into place with string. While you are doing this, preheat your oven to 400 F (200 C).
Put the leg in a roasting pan and drizzle it with a little oil, sprinkle the wine over it, and roast it for about 90 minutes, basting it every now and again with the pan juices. Peel the onions, and add them to the pan after about 45 minutes, salting them lightly.
Snap the tips off the string beans if need be, bring a lightly salted pot of water to boil, and boil them for five minutes, timing things so the five minutes are up when the meat has about 10 minutes left to cook. Add the string beans to the roasting pan for the remainder.
Let the roast sit on a heated serving platter for a few minutes, and then slice it and serve it with the greens; you can, if you want, mince a little more mint and thyme and sprinkle them over everything when it's done. The wine? Something substantial, for example an Amarone or a Barbaresco.
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From Ada Boni:
Abbacchio in Spezzatino con Patate -- Lamb Stew with Potatoes
This is actually more of a comfort food than something one might want to serve up for Easter dinner, but it does look very good. For six you'll need:
- A leg of lamb weighing about 2 1/4 pounds (1 k)
- 2 1/4 pounds (1 k) potatoes
- 1/4 cup (50 g) unsalted butter
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon flour
- A carrot
- Half an onion
- A 6-inch rib of celery
- A few tablespoons of olive oil
- Salt
Bone the leg of lamb and cube the meat. Chop the onion, celery, and carrot, and put them in a pot with the lamb. Sprinkle with a little oil, and set everything over a gentle flame, sautéing and stirring things about with a wooden spoon until the meat is nicely browned, then dust the meat with the flour, sprinkle a ladle of warm water over all, season with salt, cover, and simmer over a gentle flame.
Boil the potatoes in lightly salted water, peel them when they're done (a skewer will penetrate easily), peel them, and put them through a potato ricer while they're still hot.
Return the puree to the pot, season it with a walnut-sized chunk of butter, and cook, stirring, until the excess moisture from the potatoes has evaporated and it has reached the consistency you like in mashed potatoes. Let it cool somewhat and stir the egg yolks into it. Amalgamate them well, take an oven-proof serving dish, rub the outer section of the dish with butter, put down a ring of mashed potatoes, and slip the dish into a medium oven until the ring has browned slightly. Upon removing it from the oven, fill the well with the lamb stew and serve it forth.
What wine? A Chianti Classico Riserva.
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Buccellato di Lucca
Winding down, Wende Giovannoni, whose husband is from Lucca, has very kindly shared one of his favorites, a dish that magically transports him back home with the first bite:
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup grappa, or sweet or dry marsala
- 1 pkg. active dry yeast
- 3/4 cup warm milk (100 degrees)
- 1 1/2 Tablespoon anise seed
- 1/2 butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
- 1/2 teaspoon each anise extract and salt
- About 4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- Combine the raisins and grappa and let stand for 30 minutes.
In a small bowl, stir yeast and anise seed into milk. Let stand until yeast softens, about 5 minutes. In a large bowl, using a large wooden spoon or an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add 4 eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, stir in vanilla, orange peel, anise extract, and salt. Add yeast mixture, grappa drained from the raisings and 4 1/2 cups flower, mix until evenly moistened.
To knead with a dough hook, beat at high speed until dough pulls cleanly from sides of bowl, 10-12 minutes ad a little flour if required, stir in raisins.
To knead by hand, scrape dough onto a lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic about 15 minutes, add as little flour as possible to stop sticking. Knead in raisins and place dough in a greased bowl, turn over the grease top.
Cover dough, kneaded by either method, with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size about 1 hour. Knead briefly to expel air.
Divide dough in half. Shape each half into 20-inch long rope. Place each rope on a greased 12 by 15 inch baking sheet. Join ends of each and pinch to seal. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until puffy 25-30 minutes. Beat remaining egg to blend. Remove plastic wrap and brush lightly over dough. Bake in a 350 degree oven until richly browned 25-35 minutes. (If using one oven, switch pan position after 15 minutes.)
Serve warm or cool. For longer storage, wrap airtight and freeze for up to 1 month. Makes 2 rings each about 1 1/3 pounds.
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How Many Are We?
Finally, the census results are coming in. The population of the Peninsula is about 56,300,000, 29 million of whom are women, while the number of legally recognized immigrants has tripled since the last census (1991), from 356,159 to 987,359. The number of families has also increased, though the number of people per family has decreased, and the number of single-person households is on the rise.
This week's proverb is Calabrian, and is often used to refer to children who turn out better than their parents: E rhe spine, nescia la rosa. Amidst thorns, the rose blooms.
A presto, e Auguri!
Kyle Phillips
Webweaver, About Italian Cuisine
The Cosa Bolle Index
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