March 30, 2007 Vol. II Issue 3

Buona Pasqua!

Can’t you feel it in the air? Spring is here! I’m starting to see buds blooming on trees, and flowers poking their heads above ground. Even the air outside somehow smells fresher. I’m very excited to start trying out light summery dishes and pairing them with crisp white wines.
In two weeks on Friday, April 13th, I will be hosting a three-course dinner in the Private Dining Room at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The food will be prepared by executive chef JC Nunez. Just listen to what he had to say about our dinner:

“We are delighted to welcome Maria to The Museum Restaurant. As a professional chef, I always try to encourage others who have decided to enter the field. To be successful, the most important thing to have is a passion for good food…and Maria seems to have that in abundance!”

Chef Nunez and I have designed a menu you are sure to love: for the first course we will be enjoying Zuppa Di Lenticchie with Crostini Per Zuppa, or Lentil Soup with House-Made Crostini. For the entrée, Braciole Toscana, Spanaci Fiorentina, and Patate Toscana Braciole, or Creamed Spinach & Tuscan Roasted Potatoes. Finally for dessert, taste the delectable Torta Di Mandorle, or Chocolate-Almond Tart.

During dinner I’ll be talking about the inspiration for my book, The Basic Art of Italian Cooking, and be able to purchase a signed copy. Now is a wonderful time to buy because $1.00 of every cookbook purchase is donated to Gilda's Club – one of my favorite charities – which provides emotional and support services to cancer victims and their families free of charge. Visit their website at http://www.gildasclubnyc.org.


Paid reservations are required for dinner, and tickets are selling fast! Be sure to get your seat by calling 215-235-SHOW for reservations. Tickets are $62.50 per guest (includes tax and gratuity).

I am very much looking forward to this wonderful occasion, and I hope you are, too!

If you’re unable to attend but still would like to take part in a great deal, for a limited time I’m offering free shipping and handling! Portions of each sale still go to Gilda’s Club, so not only are you aiding a wonderful charity, you’ll also enjoy several of my passed-down traditional recipes.

I hope to see you there! Until then, have a wonderful holiday!

Italian Easter
As most of you know, Easter is upon us. Easter is another major holiday in Italy because of Italy’s strong Catholic roots. At Vatican City there are a series of solemn events that culminate in Easter Sunday Mass. During the spring holy days that center around the vernal equinox there are also many other rites practiced throughout the country that have their roots in historic pagan rituals. In addition, the Monday following Easter is an official Italian holiday called la Pasquetta, so if traveling be prepared for another day of repose.

In Italy, the expression "Natale con i suoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi" is frequently heard ("Christmas with your family, Easter with your own choice of friends"). Oftentimes, this implies sitting down to a dinner that starts with minestra di Pasqua, the traditional beginning of the Neapolitan Easter meal.

Other classic Easter recipes include carciofi fritti (fried artichokes), a main course of either capretto o agnellino al forno (roasted goat or baby lamb) or capretto cacio e uova (kid stewed with cheese, peas, and eggs), and carciofi e patate soffritti, a delicious vegetable side dish of sautéed artichokes with baby potatoes.

A holiday meal in Italy would not be complete without a traditional dessert, and during Easter there are several. Italian children finish their dinner with a rich bread shaped like a crown and studded with colored Easter egg candies. La pastiera Napoletana, the classic Neapolitan grain pie, is a centuries–old dish with innumerable versions, each made according to a closely guarded family recipe. Another treat is the Colomba cake, a sweet, eggy, yeasted bread (like panettone plus candied orange peel, minus the raisins, and topped with sugared and sliced almonds) shaped in one of the most recognizable symbols of Easter, the dove. The Colomba cake takes on this form precisely because la colomba in Italian means dove, the symbol of peace and an appropriate finish to Easter dinner.

Recipes
While these recipes are very difficult and time-consuming, they are quite worth it if you are planning a traditional Italian meal.

Capretto o Agnello al Forno – Roast Kid or Lamb


4.5 pounds (2 k) leg of kid or lamb
2 ounces (50 g) seasoned lard of the kind available in Italian delicatessens, or prosciutto fat 
1/4 cup olive oil 
1 clove garlic 
Lots of rosemary 
Salt & pepper to taste 
About a dozen button onions, peeled (optional) 
2 pounds (1 k) baby potatoes (optional, if they're small and thin-skinned they need not be peeled) 
PREPARATION:
Using an Oven:
Wash and pat the meat dry; put it in a roasting pan with the garlic clove, dot it with bits of lard and sprinkle it with oil, lay a sprig or two of rosemary on it, season with salt and pepper, and roast it in a hot oven (400-420 F or 200-210 C) until the meat is browned. 

This will take from 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. 

If you would like roasted vegetables, add the onions, halved, and the potatoes after the meat has roasted for 15 minutes. 

Over the coals:
Sliver the clove of garlic, and stick the meat with it. Cut the pancetta fat into thin slices and wrap the meat with them, tying them in place with butcher's twine and slipping a sprig or two of rosemary under the string as well. Put the meat on a spit.

You will, in the meantime, have built your fire. 

The Sardinian cook set the spit about 18 inches (50 cm) from the coals and about 18 inches above them, and gradually moved the spit forward without lowering it over a period of about 3 hours. 

The more common technique is to begin by searing the meat, setting it at a distance such that you can hold your hand in place for about 3 seconds, and after 15-20 minutes move the spit back to where you can hold your hand for about 6 seconds to finish cooking the meat. 

How long? Depends on your meat and how well done you like it. Italians as a rule cook lamb and kid medium well to well done, and many will send rare back to the kitchen. So, for a 4-5 pound leg, they would figure a couple of hours at least. 

Last, slip a pan under the spit to catch the drippings, which you will want to use to base the roast. When the roast is done, let it sit for 10-15 minutes before carving it, and serve it with the pan drippings.


And for dessert:

La Pastiera Napoletana – Neapolitan Grain Pie

The pie crust: 
1 pound flour 
1/2 pound lard (at room temperature) 
1 cup sugar 
4 yolks 
The grain: 
1/2 pound well-drained soaked grain 
1 1/2 cups milk 
The zest of a half an orange 
A walnut-sized piece of lard 
1 teaspoon sugar 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
The filling: 
10 ounces ricotta (purchase this fresh from a delicatessen) 
3/4 cup sugar 
3 eggs, separated 
1 vial (1/4 cup) acqua di fiori d'arancio (not orange extract -- purchase this from an Italian deli)
A pinch powdered cinnamon 
1/4 cup minced candied citron 
1/4 cup minced candied orange peel 
1/4 cup candied squash (cocozzata, in Neapolitan) 

PREPARATION:
The major variations are in the amount of acqua di arance, a non-alcoholic somewhat oily orange essence (if you cannot find it use orange extract) and the use of crema pasticcera (pastry cream), which some families include and others do not. 

This is a particular recipe; it requires presoaked grain, which takes time to prepare (Neapolitan delicatessens now sell canned presoaked grain, and you may be able to find it near your house). To start from scratch, purchase 1/2 pound whole grain and soak it in cold water for two weeks, changing the water every two days (this is Caròla Francesconi's soaking time; another cookbook suggests three days, changing water daily). Come cooking time, drain it and cook the amount indicated. The pastiera is traditionally served in a 10-inch diameter round metal pan with a two-inch rim; Neapolitan pastry shops sell the pastiera in the pan and it is presented so at even the most elegant table. 

RECIPE
Begin the day ahead by cooking the soaked grain with the milk, zest, lard, sugar and vanilla over an extremely low flame for at least four hours, or until the grains come apart and the milk has been absorbed, so that the mixture is dense and creamy. 

The next morning make the pie crust: Make a mound of flour, scoop a well in the middle, and fill it with the lard, sugar and yolks. Use a fork or pastry cutter to combine the ingredients, handling the dough as little as possible (don't knead it). Once you have obtained a uniform dough press it into a ball and cover it with a damp cloth. 

Pass the ricotta through a strainer into a large bowl, stir in the 3/4 cup sugar, and continue stirring for 5-6 minutes. Next, stir in the yolks, one at a time, and the grain. Next add the orange water; begin with half the amount and taste. Add more if you would like it orangier, keeping in mind that the aroma will fade some in baking. Stir in the cinnamon and the candied fruit as well, then whip the whites to soft peaks and fold them in. 

Roll out 2/3 of the pastry dough and line the pan. Fill it with the filling. Next, roll out the remaining dough and cut it into strips, which you will want to lay across the filling in a diagonal pattern (lift them from the pastry cloth with a long spatula to keep them from breaking). Bake in a moderately hot oven (180 C or 370 F) for an hour or slightly more. The filling should dry almost completely and firm up, while the pie crust should brown lightly. Serve the pie in its pan, and continue to enjoy it over the next few days for breakfast. 

Upcoming Appearances

April 13, 2007
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia, PA

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Keep in touch with me through my blog, which is updated weekly. Click here to view my most recent post.

Thanks for reading this month's newsletter. If you would like to pass this along, feel free to do so!

Amore,

Maria Liberati

 
About my book, The Basic Art of Italian Cooking :

This book is more than just a cookbook. It is my passion for food and cooking interweaved with stories from my past that make me who I am today. With my easy to follow recipes from a personal tour of Italy, you can experience every fresh fruit macedonia from my family's vineyard. Taste the minted pears and parmigiano antipasto. Italian cooking is never just a recipe, it is the basic art of creating something special from something simple and fresh.

Also, proceeds from the sale of each and every book go to Gilda’s Club. Gilda's Club is a special place where the focus is on living with cancer. And where men, women and children with any kind of cancer and their family members and friends can plan and build life-changing emotional and social support. Gilda's Club is named in honor of Gilda Radner, who, when describing the emotional and social support she received when she had cancer, called for such places to be made available for people with cancer and their families and friends everywhere. Although the Saturday Night Live comedian died in 1989, Gilda's spirit lives on at every Gilda's Club, where members join with other "experts" at living with cancer to both give and receive the benefits of love and laughter through the unique Gilda's Club program. Click here if you’d like to donate directly to the website.

“A fine primer for budding Italian chefs. The entertaining, informative stories that are woven into the cookbook provide a wonderful backdrop to the well-explained basic recipes of Italian cuisine.” 
—MICHAEL DEGEORGIO, executive chef at Il Cortile Restaurant, New York City,
and specialty food consultant 

“A memoir about living in Italy and the pleasures of Italian food that makes a perfect
gift. But the recipes are so delicious, you’ll want to try it first yourself.” 
—CHEF ERHARDT TELL, four-time Cordon Bleu Award winner, television chef and cookbook author

“If you want to get a sense of true authentic Italian food and the flavor of living in the mountains of the untouched regions of Italy, like Abruzzo, not only do I recommend you take the trip, but also that you make Maria Liberati’s The Basic Art of Italian Cooking part of your library.” 
—JIM COLEMAN, host of the PBS television series, Flavors of America, and executive chef at Coleman Restaurant at Normandy Farms