Italian Seasonings

A reader recently wrote to ask why I didn't have a recipe for fresh Italian seasonings, mixed herbs and spices of the sort one can find dried in American supermarkets.

It simply hadn't occurred to me, because I live in Italy, where things are so regional that almost everyone would find fault with something labeled "Italian Seasonings" -- It would either lack an ingredient they consider absolutely essential, for example finocchietto, wild fennel fronds, or contain something they don't use at all, for example aneto, dill.

I posted a recipe request to the blog and a number of people have answered. Thank you, and here we go.

Laura writes from Florence to say:
Capperi, acciuga sott'olio, mollica di pane toscano. Tritato tutto insieme, non troppo sottile. Mescolato con l' olio, per fare una salsa. Buono per il lesso.
Ciao

I.e., Capers, anchovies packed in oil, tuscan bread less crusts. Everything minced together, not too finely, and olive oil added to make a sauce. Good with boiled meats.

Gian Banchero says: Hello,
I have several "Italian seasonings" that I've collected in Italy over the years. Here is one that I recently received from my young Venetian friend and great cook Emilia Drew. Her seasoning is called sale verde in that the green herbs are mixed in with a good amount of salt:

1.) 1/2 cup non-iodized salt (kosher or sea salt)
2.) About five tablespoons of chopped chives
3.) 1 bunch of Italian parsley, stems included, coarsely chopped
4.) 20 sage leaves, coarsely chopped
5.) 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
6.) 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, coarsely chopped
7.) 2 cups of lightly packed basil leaves
8.) 4-5 large cloves of garlic (optional)

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and mince fine. Spread out the processed mixture on a baking sheet for half a day to dry out a little, bottle and refrigerate. Along with olive oil use as rub on to be baked chicken, beef, lamb... Can be added by the teaspoon into stews.

And Scott says, from the Forum:
I'm a dry rub kind of guy. I believe that the oil belongs on the grate as it heats up (use tongs and a paper towel!), not on the meat, because the oil will seal the pores on whatever effort you made with spices is pretty much negated. It will also seal the pores on the grate and stops the meat from sticking to an inadequately-heated grate.

I also use a lemon pepper which I blend beause it is next to impossible to find a seasoned pepper in our stores where the primary ingredient (Here in the US, first item on the label is the major ingredient and the rest appear in declining order) is not salt.

To "Italianize" my basic dry run (equal parts of turbinado sugar, lemon pepper, and smoked Spanish paprika), I'll normally add equal parts or oregano and sage at about 1 tsp to 2 Tbsp. Taste it! If it's right, quit while you're ahead. If we're preparing chicken, I like to add lemon peel and oregano; if fish or pasta, it's fennel. Again, it's pretty much whatever tastes right.

I am very non-authentic. Many of my foodie friends are traditionalists and blithely follow somebody else's recipe to the bitter end, however, and they think I'm crazy too.

P.S. Turbinado sugar is marketed here as Sugar in the Raw. It is sugar that is crystalized from the first pressing of the cane and cannot be made from sugar beets. Brown sugar contains molasses - turbinado does not.

Again,
Thank you all!