Sicily Trip: Food and History

Hello everyone!

I can't believe it is already February!  We finally finished our fall semester and right after we finished finals, our entire program went on a trip to Sicily.

Sicily is the island right next to the toe of Italy's "boot"

We flew into Palermo, in northwest Sicily.

Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean and was known as the "pearl of the Mediterranean." Throughout its history is was sought after by many nations.  Here is a quick outline:

• In about 750 BC, it was colonized by the Greeks.  It was part Magna Graecia, along with the rest of Southern Italy that was under Greek domination. There are many ruins of Greek temples and cities that we visited during our trip.  It also reminded me very much of Greece, so the Greek influence is still evident today. 
• The Romans took over in 242 BC and Sicily became the first Roman province outside of the Italian peninsula.
• After the fall of room, the Byzantines conquered Sicily, bringing the Greek Orthodox tradition and Greek language to Sicily again.  
• From 827-1091, Sicily was under Arab rule, adding a new language, religion, and new foods to the mix of cultures.
• Next, the Normans (from northern France) conquered Sicily and build many grand churches and buildings.
• In the 1280s, the Spanish took over Sicily, along with many other southern Italian cities on the mainlan
• Finally in 1861, Italian unifies and Sicily becomes part of Italy!
• Today, Sicily is its own region (province) and is known for its rich history, great food, and unfortunately, a strong mafia presence.

Food in Sicily

Every region in Italy has its own special cuisine and Sicily is no exception.   Sicilian food is very different than Tuscan food we have here in Florence and this is largely due to the great mix of cultures in Sicily.

The use of sugar, citrus, melons, saffron, and spices is due to the Arab influence; in fact, Sicily is famous for have decadently sweet desserts.  Fava beans, pistachios, fish, and olives are from the Greeks, and the Normans introduced more meat dishes in Sicily.  The Spanish brought products from the Americas, like chocolate, peppers, and tomatoes, which are a big part of Sicilian cuisine today.

N.B.: I didn't actually take pictures of the food, so these are all gleaned from the internet. 

1. Pasta alla Norma

  

A very simple dish, made with pasta, tomatoes, fried eggplant, and ricotta cheese.  It was very different for us because in Florence we usually eat our pasta with tomato sauce only.

2. Arancini/Arancine

These are balls of rice, usually stuffed with ragù, tomato sauce, mozzarella, and peas, although the stuffing can vary.  They are then coated in bread crumbs (so not gluten free) and fried.  Arancine means little oranges.

3. Caponata

This is a starter made from fried eggplant, celery, capers, and sweet vinegar.  They also add tomatoes, peppers, and/or olives, depending on where you buy it.  It is a very sweet dish - a sign of arab culinary traditions.

4. Marzipane

In Sicily you can buy marzipan fruits almost everywhere.  They are especially popular around Christmas and All Saints Day.  Marzipan is a paste of almonds and sugar, and here it has been dyed and shaped into all sorts of fruits, including lemons, watermelons, bananas, etc.  It is not fruit flavored though, it only tastes like almonds.  I did actually try this and I surprisingly enjoyed it!  Mine was a little orange :)

5. Cannoli!!

Most Americans are familiar with cannoli but did you know they are a Sicilian specialty?  You won't find these in Florence, that's for sure!  The crispy pastry shell is stuffed with a sweet ricotta cream and served with chocolate chips, pistachios, or candied fruit on the ends like the in picture above, or plain.  The name means little tube and comes from the Sicilian cannolu, plural cannola.

Fun Fact: Canolo is the singular, and cannoli is the plural, so "cannolis" isn't a thing.  You can have 1 canolo or 1000 cannoli :)

Let me know if you've ever tried any of these dishes before and what you thought of them, or if you haven't tried them, which ones you think you'd enjoy :)

Un abbraccio!

In fattoria: Our trips to Italian farms

Ciao a tutti,

Sorry for being absent for the past few weeks.  I started to write a post and then got hit by a sudden onset of work.  We have all our midterms this week so I've been busy writing a research paper for social history (which I thankfully finished last night) and now I need to study for my exams.
Let's see...so many things have been happening lately!  One of the classes I'm taking this semester is sustainable food where we learn about the methods of food production that are responsible and respectful of workers and our natural resources.  Part of the class includes field trips to visit local farms and compare the different types of agriculture.  So two weekends ago, we visited Camporbiano, a bio-dynamic farm outside of Florence.

What is bio-dynamic, you ask?  Good question!  In Italy, organic is called "bio" which is short for biologically (or naturally) grown.  A bio-dynamic farm is different from an organic farm for a couple reasons.  Organic means that the crops or animals have been raised without (or with limited) antibiotics or other natural substances.  Bio-dynamic is a little harder to define.  It is actually more of an agricultural philosophy but essentially it means that crops and animals are raised without antibiotics and with particular attention to their well-being.

Camporbiano produces milk, cheese, and other dairy products from cows and goats, as well as flour, fruit, and honey.  We got a tour of the farm and got to meet all the animals, including two very cute dogs :)

I vitelli!  The calves:)

Bonding time with the Camporbiano cows

 There are two words for "cow" in Italian.  You can either say la mucca (moo-ca) or la vacca, which is almost identical to la vaca in Spanish.  Our guide, who works at Camporbiano, told us that each cow has a name, in addition to the number on their tag and that the farmers know each one.  There are about 40 cows on the farm and during the winter months they live inside the stalls (which are much bigger than they appear in this photo) and during the rest of the year they graze outside.  The stalls, which are cleaned daily, are covered in hay to protect their joints from the hard impact of walking on the concrete all day - basically the same reason we wear good running shoes when we do certain sports or activities that involve lots of walking.  The cows also eat a very healthy diet - only the special hay that is made there on the farm. 

Le capre!  The goats - this one wouldn't stay still long enough to snap a photo that wasn't blurry :)

 Camporbiano has goats to make goats milk products that are very popular here in Italy.  Like the cows, they live not only in the stalls but also in the pastures depending on the seasons.  Our guide explained that because they do not give antibiotics to their animals, they heal them using natural remedies.  He told us that one time they had a bull who injured his leg and they cured him with calendula, a special type of flower with anti-inflammatory properties which grows naturally on the farm.  Incidentally, I have also used calendula gel for muscle pains and can say that it works quite well!

Camporbiano and the beautiful Tuscan countryside

 After our visit, we got to sample the various products, including cheese, bread, veggies, honey, yogurt, and a delicious fresh pear juice.  Yum!

Today was our second field trip and this time we went to Reggio Emilia, in the Emilia-Romagna region to visit la Fattoria Rossi (fattoria = farm in Italian) which is famous for Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.  La Fattoria Rossi is an organic farm, so it was rather different than Camporbiano.

For instance, the stalls the cows lived in were not covered in hay and were rather dirty.  They were also not allowed to roam outside and they ate corn and other grains in addition to hay.

Fattoria Rossi dairy cows

We did get to see how the parmigiano is made, which was neat but a bit smelly because there was so much milk and aging cheese.

Making cheese wheels

The cheese needs to dry a bit before it can be soaked in salt water to preserve it

The cheese has to be inspected by an expert to make sure it meets the standard of parmigiano reggiano cheese.  The wheels are tapped with a little hammer to make sure they are not hollow inside.  If they have any defects, they cannot be sold as parmigiano reggiano but can be sold as other cheese or as grated/powdered parmigiano like we have in the States (although today we learn that our grated "parmigiano" is usually not parmigiano but another different type of cheese called Grana Padano).

Aging gracefully: the cheese storage room :)  Parmigiano needs to age before it is ready to be eaten

These stamps certify that it is Parmigiano Reggiano and also tell us the details about where, when, and how it was made

Afterwards anyone who could eat dairy got to taste some samples of parmigiano that was in different stages of the aging process.  I can't vouch for it myself but I was told that one really can taste the difference between a few months of aging!

Now I'm back in Florence and ready to resume studying for those midterm exams!  If you have any questions about the farms, please ask!  I have lots more information to share that wouldn't fit in this post. :)

A dopo,
Isabella

Lezioni di cucina (cooking lessons)

Buongiorno!

Today I thought I'd recap the dishes we learned to make during our first orientation cooking class.  I didn't take pictures of the actual food since I was busy cooking, so these are pictures I found online so you could see what the dishes look like.  I've given some explanation of the dishes but not specific recipes.  Also, you should know that food in Italy varies from region to region, and each region has their own special dishes.  Since Florence is in Tuscany, the majority of these things are typical to Tuscany, although there are some which are universally enjoyed throughout Italy.  Ok, let's get started!

Week One: Traditional Rustic Tuscan

Panzanella

Pappa al pomodoro

Pollo in fricassea

Tiramisù

Panzanella from www.fiorentininelmondo.it

Panzanella is a bread salad made with chunks of stale bread, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and basil.  It sounds a little strange but it is actually quite good and very easy to make.  Think of it as the Italian version of tabbouleh.  To make this gluten free, we simply used toasted gluten free bread.  Basically, you soak the crusty bread in a small amount of water and red wine vinegar until it is soft, then squeeze out the excess water and tear it into small cubes, add the chopped vegetables and a few basil leaves.  Then drizzle extra virgin olive oil over it, toss and serve.

Pappa al pomodoro from toscaneat.it

Like Panzanella, Pappa al pomodoro is made from crusty bread.  The slices are cut into small bits and cooked in a homemade tomato sauce made with garlic and basil.  It is similar to gnocchi (if you aren't familiar with that, don't worry, I will show you how to make it soon) but with a consistency more like soup.  Again, it sounds really strange but it is actually quite tasty.  And you can definitely see how both of these dishes would have been easy for farmers to make because the ingredients are simple and inexpensive.

Pollo in fricassea from www.incucinaconlilly.com

 We also made pollo in fricassea (chicken fricassee).  I'm vegetarian, so I can't share my opinion on how it tasted but my classmates certainly seemed to like it.  This is a medieval dish, and like the others, it is pretty simple to make.  First, we coated the small pieces of chicken in flour while we heated butter in a pan.  Then we add in the chicken and let it cook for a bit.  Next we added some broth to the chicken to create the creamy sauce.  Finally, we took it off the direct heat, added a beaten egg and some lemon juice.  We let it finish cooking in the heat that the pan retained and served it.

Tiramisù from wikipedia.it

For dessert we made Tiramisù (because of our time constraints we weren't able to make this one gluten free and diary free but I am sure there is a way).  Tiramisù is a dessert that is seen as very complicated and sophisticated in the United States, but really it is quite simple.  Our version included raw eggs but in the US it is better to avoid raw eggs and make an eggless Tiramisù.  

First, we made a mixture of hot water and instant coffee.  Into this, we dipped ladyfinger cookies and then laid them flat to line our pan.  Next we beat the egg yokes and sugar together, then added this to mascarpone cream.  Then we beat the egg whites with sugar until stiff peaks formed, as if we were making merengue.  We did all this by hand because due to miscommunication we didn't have an electric beater in the kitchen!  It's a great arm workout!  Then we added the egg whites to the mascarpone.  Next, cover the layer of cookies with the cream and dust with cocoa powder.  Place a new layer of cookies and then cover them with the cream and dust with cocoa powder.  Repeat until you have reached the top of the pan and make sure you end with a layer of cream, dusted with a liberal amount of cocoa.  Chill it in the fridge for a couple hours and enjoy!  We actually made this first so it would be ready when we finished dinner.

So those are the dishes we made our first week.  It's quite a rich meal! Of course, this is Italy so there was also bread, salad, and walnuts to eat as well.  I hope you enjoyed learning about these Tuscan dishes!  Remember, these are just explanations of the dishes, not actual recipes.  If you want to make some of them you should always have a recipe (just ask me) with measurements and cooking times to avoid a kitchen disaster. :)

Buon appetito!