A Love Letter to Food
By Sidonie Maroon, Culinary Educator for The Food Co-op
I’m cooking Italian all summer, and planned a staycation to coincide. I’m calling it la mia cucina estiva, my summer kitchen.
Why Italian?
I fell in love with the history and culture of Italian regional cuisines when I taught a class exploring it. It brought me out of my pizza and spaghetti limitations and opened up a world of diverse ingredients, techniques and ways of approaching the table.
Italian Attitude
Cultivate qualities like appreciation, delightful conversation, lively passion and wholehearted graciousness..
In Season
Whatever is in season will turn up as appetizers, soup, risotto, pasta, polenta, side dishes, salads, or the main course. Abundance will dictate what vegetables appear in what dishes and how often.
Takeaway: Build meals around seasonal vegetables and fruits, and vary how you present them.
Essentials
Every Italian pantry stocks a few essential ingredients that, with fresh produce, create meals.
Cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil is the most important ingredient in an Italian kitchen. It sets the stage for flavor and is foundational for many cooking techniques. Good olive oil is a shortcut to success and transforms raw or cooked vegetables. Educate yourself about olive oil and buy the best you can afford.
Pasta, rice and polenta will always give you a stable base to build meals from. I use an assortment of gluten-free pastas, and for the adventurous wheat pastas comes in every imaginable shape. Use the right pasta for the sauce, and if you’re not in the know, add ½ cup of the starchy boiling water to your sauce to give it gloss.
Tip: Use a rice cooker for easy no stir polenta and risotto. I recommend, “The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook” by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann
Tomatoes are an important part of Italian cooking, used brilliantly fresh and ripe during summer. Sometimes, people peel them, but they always chop and seed tomatoes. For the rest of the year, Italians use canned tomatoes, preferring peeled whole plum tomatoes.
Parmigiano-Reggiano: Italian cuisine is full of flavorful cheeses to explore, but Parmigiano-Reggiano is unique and in a class of its own — complex, nutty and versatile. If you haven’t tried the real deal, please buy a small piece and experience. TIp: Don’t throw your rinds away! Throw them with garlic and white beans into a slow cooker and let the magic happen.
Vinegars: a white and red wine vinegar plus a balsamic will be all you need, besides some fresh lemons for the acid element.
Other Essentials: Olives, capers, mozzarella, ricotta, cooking wines both red and white, black peppercorns, dried chili peppers, sardines and tuna. White beans, chickpeas and lentils
Fresh Produce and Herbs: Vegetables— Artichokes, asparagus, beans (fresh and dried), brassicas, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, mustards, broccoli, celery, eggplant, fennel, garlic, all greens wild and domesticated, mushrooms, onions, leeks, peppers sweet and hot, potatoes, radicchio, tomatoes, all squashes. Herbs—parsley, basil, oregano, bay leaves, sage, rosemary, oregano, marjoram, fennel.
(Each quarter, the Food Coop invites us to Community Cook from recipes I’ve developed inspired by world cuisines. So far, we’ve cooked Greek, Vegetarian Indian and Vietnamese. You can access all the recipe pamphlets and instructional videos on the Coop’s website under “Community Cook”.)
Tuscan Kale Pesto
Makes 1 ½ cups
Condiment
This cavolo nero, black Italian kale pesto is handy to have in the refrigerator to dress pasta, white beans, or to spread on toast. It’s a delightful dark green and sumptuous. Remember to save your blanching water to boil pasta, or as a base for broth making. This technique will also work with cabbage, and other sturdy greens with variations in the blanching times. It’s a must have recipe for kale raab and its cousins.
4 cups black Italian kale, chopped with tender stems included
2 cups parsley including stems, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped
1 tablespoon sea salt, for blanching water
1 teaspoon anchovy fish sauce
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
¼ teaspoon red chili flakes
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt to taste
Before preparing the ingredients, fill a pasta pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the salt once it’s boiling.
Once the water is boiling, add the kale, parsley and sage and bring it back to a boil before timing 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, or when the kale is tender, use a skimmer/strainer to remove the greens from the water. Save the water for pasta or broth.
Shake the excess water off of the greens and add to a blender or food processor with the other ingredients. Blend until smooth. Taste and add salt if needed. I use a Vitamix to make it ultra smooth, but it’s not needed.
Serve or refrigerate and use within a few days.
Tomato Chicken Fricassee with White Wine and Porcini
Instant Pot
Serves 4
Porcini and tomatoes are one of my favorite combinations; paired with white wine and chicken makes it a scrumptious, yet simple fricassee. It comes together easily in the Instant Pot, especially when you double line the steamer basket with parchment paper to make an easy clean-up bowl that sets above the water in the inner pot. You will never get a burn signal using this method.
2 lbs chicken thighs
½ cup white wine
2 tablespoons minced garlic
12 dried porcini mushrooms (about 1.5 ounces) or medley of dried mushrooms
14-ounce can of crushed tomatoes, or equivalent of fresh
2 teaspoons anchovy fish sauce (Red Boat)
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
½ cup Italian parsley, chopped
Double line an Instant Pot tall mesh steamer basket with parchment paper. I crinkle up two lengths of parchment into balls and unwrap them. This makes them easier to fit into the round steamer. The parchments should come up the sides to contain the sauce and chicken juices. Add 1 cup of water to the bottom of the Instant Pot.
2.Add the chicken thighs to the steamer basket and coat with the wine, tomatoes, garlic, dried mushrooms, fish sauce, salt and red pepper flakes. Set the instant Pot to 30 minutes at high pressure with a natural release.
When done, use the parchment paper to lift out of the steamer into a serving dish. Take the mushrooms out, and slice them. Break apart the thighs with a fork, stir in the sliced mushrooms and balsamic vinegar, taste for salt and top Italian parsley. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Note: Other dried mushrooms work well with this recipe. I’ve used dried shiitakes to great effect.
Caponata Relish I
Makes 1 quart
This caponata variation on the classic Caponata alla Siciliana goes well on bruschetta as a part of an antipasto course. It also makes a great side salad, topping for eggs or sandwich filler.
To Blanch
1 bunch Italian black kale, chopped
2 stalks celery, cut into a small dice
3 medium carrots, cut into a small dice
1 medium onion, chopped
Additions
½ cup Italian parsley, chopped
½ cup kalamata olives
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup pine nuts or pepita seeds
Dressing
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons coconut sugar, or brown sugar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fish sauce, anchovy based (Red Boat)
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1) Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Once it’s boiling, throw in 1 teaspoon of salt. Add the prepared veggies and bring back to a boil. Time 2 to 3 minutes, scoop the vegetables out with a strainer and run under cold water. Lay the veggies on a clean tea towel, bring it together and gently press out any excess water.
2) Using a food processor, pulse the veggies, parsley, olives, raisins and nuts together until tapenade or relish consistency (about 10 to 12 pulses). Put the relish into a serving bowl.
3) Rinse out the processor bowl, and process the dressing ingredients together until creamy and smooth. Stir the dressing into the relish and allow time to meld the flavors. Try molding it into a fun shape to serve. It’s even better the next day. Keep refrigerated and serve at room temperature.
Caponata Relish Version II
This is closer to the classic, but I roast the veggies instead of boiling.
For roasting
2 lbs eggplant, peeled and cut into small cubes
2 large red peppers, cut into a small dice
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Additions
½ cup Italian parsley, chopped
½ cup celery, cut into a small dice
½ cup green olives
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup pine nuts or pepita seeds
Dressing
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons coconut sugar, or brown sugar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fish sauce, anchovy based (Red Boat)
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1) Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roast the veggies on a middle shelf for about 25 minutes or until the eggplant is soft and peppers and onions sweet.
2) Using a food processor, pulse the veggies, parsley, celery, olives, capers, raisins and nuts together until tapenade or relish consistency (about 10 to 12 pulses). Put the relish into a serving bowl.
3) Rinse out the processor bowl, and process the dressing ingredients together until creamy and smooth. Stir the dressing into the relish and allow time to meld the flavors. It’s even better the next day. Keep refrigerated and serve at room temperature.
4) Serve with chopped fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh basil. Try molding the relish into a fun shape to serve.