La Cucina Italiana

Since 1929, La Cucina Italiana has called itself Italy's premier food and cooking magazine, and it is still a title that it deserves.

What most cooking magazines look like is simple, recipe after recipe after recipe, which can in fact get old and boring after a while. What Cucina does different however, is what makes them the only cooking magazine I will purchase month after month without ever opening the cover at the news stand.

By having stories, tours, profiles on chefs and Italian cities that are off the beaten path but with great culinary history, the magazines helps the reader dig deeper into the history and stories behind the food many people just eat to live. I like to think that I live to eat, but thats a different post.

My favorite story I have read so far was one about polenta, the peasant food eaten mostly in northern Italy. Arturo Zampaglione tells the story about how he grew up in Italy and he would make a big batch of polenta, pour it directly onto a large wooden board and then everyone eats off of the board, which is placed at the centre of the table. In the article, Zampaglione tells how he introduced his New York friends to this tradition by having a polenta dinner at his new apartment in New York City.

These traditions and stories are what to me makes a cooking magazine stand out, and give the reader more then just some recipes they probably already have in a cook book hidden on their shelves. I would think that the people who purchase cooking magazines probably have a deeper love for food then most people, so by having stories and experiences like this, it gives La Cucina Italiana the kick to make it such a better magazine.

Hearty Soup

The satisfaction on her family’s face after a bowl of her minestrone soup is what keeps Maria making it every time she has company over.

Since Maria Rindinella was a young woman, growing up all over the world in Italy, France and South Africa, she has loved a bowl of soup. So when it came, her mother taught her how to make an Italian classic, a minestrone soup.

To begin, she brings a pot of salted water to a boil, usually about 4-6 cups of water.

Once the salted water has boiled, she starts to add in vegetables. Usually Maria will add in a cut up potato, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, carrots, onions, a can of beans in tomato sauce, and most importantly a few stalks of fresh celery.

Maria explains that she doesn’t know why, but when her mother taught her the recipe, she stated that fresh celery stalks are key to the recipe. She also states that with the other vegetables, it does not matter if they are fresh or frozen, but she prefers to use frozen vegetables because it costs less for larger quantities.

“The vegetables in this soup are all versatile; you can add and subtract any for your own preference.” Maria says in her native Italian tongue.

The vegetables will cook in the water for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes have cooked. Once they are soft enough to pierce with a fork, turn down the heat and let it simmer for a little while longer.

While the vegetables simmer in the water, put another pot of salted water on to boil. Once this water has boiled, she puts in some pasta.

Maria keeps a close watch on the pasta as she stirs the vegetables, because she likes to take the past out of the water before it is fully cooked, because later on it will finish cooking in the soup broth.

After the water seems to of absorbed the tastes of the vegetables, using either a hand blender or food processor, mix all the vegetables together, creating a thick broth, or as she calls it in Italian, brodo.

If using a food processor, it is best to puree the vegetables and water in small batches to avoid it seeping from the creases of the machine while it is pureeing.

Once all the water and vegetables has been turned into brodo, let it heat back up to a boil on the stove, then reduce heat to medium and add the pasta.

Let it sit for about ten minutes with the pasta in it, then serve in a bowl, accompanied with a piece of bread.

Eliseo Rindinella, Maria’s oldest son, puts his own twist on the soup by adding some extra virgin olive oil to his bowl of soup once it has been served.

Minestrone soup means big soup, according to Deborah Mele, a cook, who shares her love for Italian cooking online at italianfoodforever.com.

“There are as many different versions of minestrone as there are regions in Italy,” says Mele on her site.

“Puoi usare qualsiasi verdure che vuoi, e tutto a la vostra preferenza.” Maria says, “You can use any vegetable you like, it is all up to your preference.”

Locatelli's Italy

One of my favorite genres to read is cultural and cookbooks. I have always loved reading about different cultures and ways of life of people all over the world and, if I can mix that with the food that said culture eats it makes the reading even better.

My favorite book like this is Giorgio Locatelli’s “Made in Italy: Food & Stories.” Through the books 625 pages, Locatelli gives the best view of Italy from a cultural and food stand.

Locatelli is an Italian born chef who has worked all over Paris, London and Italy for the past 25 years. He currently owns Locatelli in London. What he does through out his second cookbook is give the best description and view of Italians love for food.

What makes this book so excellent in my view is the stories that accompany the recipes. Locatelli offers informative essays on Italian foods such as tomatoes, cheeses, mushrooms, risotto, buffalo mozzarella, and many more. These essays give the reader an even better view into why Italians love their food and fresh ingredients so much.

The essays however don’t only cover ingredients, he also writes personal stories of growing up and eating at his Nona’s (Grandmother’s) kitchen table and his Uncle’s restaurant in the next town over. These essays give an insight into why Locatelli is so passionate about food and cooking, which was obviously kindled at a young age.

Although the book is a little pricey at $75 Canadian, it is definitely a cookbook that anyone who loves Italian food should own, use and read from cover to cover because it is an honest and great look into Italian food and culture.

Spring time pasta

I love to eat. My body might not look like it. I’m lucky, but food is one thing I don’t stop thinking about. Eating is a necessity, so I think people should make the most of it, and eat great food. I certainly try to as much as I can. Nothing puts me in a better mood then spending an evening, or any time, with my family and/or friends around a table, or kitchen, with some food and drinks talking.

One thing I love about food is that different seasons mean totally different dishes. Spring and fall are my favorite times. Great produce becomes available and can easily be cooked to produce simple dishes with amazing flavors.

Once spring comes, and the sun begins to shine, and evenings warm up enough to eat dinner outside on a patio, my favorite dish to prepare is Spaghetti Pomodorini (spaghetti with baby tomatoes).

My father taught me how to make this simple, yet flavorful, dish. It doesn’t require many ingredients. You probably already have most around your kitchen.

Ingredients:

2 cloves of garlic
Small tub of tomatoes (I like cherry or grape tomatoes)
Enough spaghetti for two
Fresh basil leaves
Olive oil
Bread
Parmiggiano-Reggiano cheese
Salt
Pepper

Optional:
Pepper flakes or spicy olive oil (how to make oil at home below)

How to make:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add spaghetti and cook for a few minutes less then the packages directions.
• Meanwhile, cut tomatoes in half and place them cut side down in a sauce pan with olive oil in it. Crush the cloves of garlic and toss in. Also, add some pepper flakes or a few drops of the spicy olive oil if desired. Heat the tomatoes and garlic on med heat, covered, for about 3-5 minutes.
• Take the lid off the tomatoes, and crush the tomatoes, while in the pan, so it becomes tomato skins with the juice and seeds as a sauce. Leave uncovered and let the tomato juices cook down.
• Take one ladle full of the water the pasta is cooking in, and add it to the pan with the tomatoes and garlic. Turn the heat on the tomato and water to high. (Mixing in the water brings some of the starch from the pasta into the sauce, and helps the sauce stick to the pasta better.)
• Remove crushed garlic cloves and discard.
  
• Remove the spaghetti from the water, and toss it in the pan with the sauce.
• Mix the spaghetti and sauce together on high in the pan for a minute or two, to finish cooking it.
• Serve in a bowl, and grate some Parmiggiano-Reggiano cheese on top, and tear some basil leaves on top of the pasta.
• Serve, with a slice of bread, and enjoy with the beautiful weather that comes with spring time.

To make the spicy olive oil:
Put some diced Jamaican peppers, pepper flakes, and any other hot pepper in a small jar or container, cover with extra-virgin olive oil, and let it sit for a week. After a week, it is ready to use. Pour a few drops on some pasta, meats, pizza’s, but be careful, a few drops is usually enough.

This oil has been sitting on my counter for about six months now, and is the spiciest I have made. I generally add a new red Jamaican pepper once a month.

Bon Apetito!