copyright 2010, art of living,PrimaMedia,Inc/Maria Liberati

Simple ,delicious recipes that use mainly Mother Nature’s Ingredients are my favorite..frittata with mentuccia (mint)…it is a recipe from the days of cucina povere..but the flavor of the mint makes the frittata fragrant…they work so well together (eggs and mint)..it is hard to resist! 
And with a garden full of fresh mint..this was a great excuse to pick some mint…tonight’s frittata for a light dinner on a hot August night under the stars..watching the fireworks in the sky from  a nearby town celebrating a festa..

Simplicity is an art..and this recipe proves it..so simple yet so delicious

Enjoy,.serve with crusty bread and a glass of Trebbiano or Est!Est!Est! and you will

Frittata con Mentuccia (Egg frittata with mint)

(serves 4)

4 eggs

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

one handful of fresh mint leaves chopped or torn into small pieces

dash of salt

Break eggs into bowl and whip with a fork. Heat olive oil in saute pan. Pour in eggs, sprinkle on mint leaves, a dash of salt to taste.When one side is cooked turn frittata over. When frittata is firm on both sides place in serving dish and slice into 4 slices,serve warm or cold the next day..my favorite way to eat this is leftover.. the next day in a pannino…

For more great recipes get your copy of the award winning book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions

winner of the Best Italian Cuisine Book in the USA by Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.

See you Sept 10 & 11 at the Hudson Valley Wine Fest in Rhinebeck, NY. I will be on center stage at 1-2 PM both  days..

 copyright 2010, Maria Liberati

August 15th is the most loved Holiday in Italy..especially when the sun is bright and temps are hot..no better way to enjoy  the last of summer or a day at the beach or in the sun or eating outdoors…nothing beats eating watermelon outside on a hot summer day in August.. Italians are more passionate about this Holiday then Christmas….which is also a day to enjoy great food with family and friends..but in August you can feast outside  under the glow of the sun, the moon and the stars on the beach or on outside

But my favorite way of ending the 15th, is sitting around a large picnic table with family and friends for a plate of Spaghetti at Midnight..sometimes it is spaghetti with garlic and olive oil..this year it was Spaghetti al Tartufo (Spaghetti with truffles). After a day of eating from afternoon to evening…you always have to remember to somehow leave room for this delectable dish..a small serving just to celebrate summer’s ending with friends and family.

It’s easy to make and if you can’t find truffles, drizzle pasta with truffle oil before serving.

Spaghetti al Tartufo

(serves 8-10 people)

1 lb spaghetti

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small black truffle

pinch of salt to taste

1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiana-reggiano cheese

Cook spaghetti till al dente. Drain. Place in bowl,drizzle with olive oil and shave 1/4 of truffle on top (you only need a little to get a lot of flavor) Toss. Seerve hot with grated parmigiana-reggiano cheese. Pair with a chilled white wine (Falenghina, or Est!Est!Est! make great choices)

Get your copy of the award winning book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition

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copyright 2010 Maria Liberati

Tonight, August 10th is known as the night of San Lorenzo and the night of the ‘stelle cadente’ or falling stars. Saint Lorenzo was a martyr and legend has it that on this night his tears shoot out of the sky as falling stars.

Every August 10th, wherever I may be here in Italy..as long as weather permits we eat dinner outside  after the sun sets..and while eating we watch the shooting stars,the beauty of the night adds so much to the meal….hope you can do the same wherever you are..and here is a recipe from tonight’s dinner table..this is served cold and refreshing for a hot summer night to watch the stars:

Tartare Di Mango e Verdure (Tartare of Mango & Vegetables)

(Serves 4 people)

1 mango

1 fresh beet ,cooked till tender and peeled

1/2 cup dried lentils, soaked overnight and cooked till tender

2 carrots

3 leeks

juice of one fresh lemon

salt and pepper to taste

Clean carrots and cut into little sticks about 2 inches long, 1/4 inch wide.Set aside, Cut beet into sticks same dimension of carrots.Peel mango and cut into small cubes. Clean leeks and cut into small pieces. I nab owl place in 3 tblsps olive oil and lemon juice,salt and pepper. Add in chopped leeks, blend with fork.  On a plate, make a small tower in this way- arrange in the center of plate  a layer of lentils, then a layer of carrot sticks, then beet sticks, then mango cubes,top with olive oil dressing and repeat in 3 more plates,serve as an appetizer with a glass of chilled Friuli Grave Doc

Get your copy of the award winning book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition

 copyright 2010 Maria Liberati

“An honest laborious Country-man, with good Bread, Salt and a little Parsley, will make a contented Meal with a roasted Onion.”
John Evelyn (1620-1706)

Parsley is the herb in fashion as it seems everyone is using it on everything..it is at its’ freshest now and most flavorful but where once we were using fresh rosemary it is now fresh parsley…

My morning today was pretty uneventful in this resort on the Adriatic coast..filled with fresh sea air,the sun providing her warm summer rays..On my stop at the local farm market after weighing my zucchini and eggplant, the woman at the counter told me (in Italian but I have translated here)  “parsley is like a perfect friend it makes room for all the other flavors..and rosemary ..is like a bully..crowding out some flavors.so if I want to get the full flavor of all these local veggies and just enhance them I should use fresh parsley when roasting..Rosemary is best to use in the winter when the freshness of the flavors of the veggies are not so intense..

Parsley has now become my best friend..if you take a bunch home from the market place it in a glass vase filled with water and change the water everyday..

For more recipes get your copy of the award winning The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition

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Sept 9-12 see you at Hudson Valley Wine Fest in Rhinebeck, NY. For more info email info@marialiberati.com

Oct 29-30 see you at Philadelphia Gourmet Food & Wine Show, Valley Forge Convention Center, For more info email: info@marialiberati.com

copyright 2010 Maria Liberati

After a colazione of a buon cappuccino and a cornetto, a walk surrounded by the  sea air, the sun, and a fresh August breeze is the perfect wake up for me. But preparing lunch takes up most of my morning and keeps me entertained in the morning..from a trip to the ‘forno’ (baker) for fresh focaccia and just baked biscotti for dessert….a trip to the cheese store  for locally produced Pecorino and lastly a trip to the local fruit and vegetable vendor for locally grown fresh veggies, locally grown tomatoes from Francavilla al Mare, fresh zucchini and eggplant and ‘odori’ (aromas) –basil, parsley, celery.

My bags were overflowing with so many aromas I couldn’t concentrate on my walk home with all the scents practically dancing around my head..a 20 minute walk home turned into a 60 minute one..but that was fine I had my the fresh scents to keep me company.

Today’s lunch was a mix of the fresh flavors I brought home..a ratatouille of fresh eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes with shaved pecorino cheese on top of focaccia bread..

Ratatouille

1 fresh eggplant

1 fresh zucchini

3 cloves garlic

1 slice fresh onion

3 red, ripe ,plum tomatoes

3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

pinch of salt to taste

Clean eggplant and cut into cubes,clean zucchini and slice. Clean tomatoes, and filet. Place olive oil in saute pan, place in whole garlic, onion slice, saute for 30 seconds. Place in zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, freshly chopped parsley. Cover, stir with wooden spoon every 5minutes. Cook for 30 minutes. Cut focaccia bread into serving sizes top with ratatouille and shave pecorino cheese or parmigiana-reggiano cheese on top.Serve with a chilled white wine.

For more recipes and stories of travels in Italy get your copy of The Basic Art of Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition (winner of the Best Italian Cuisine Book in the USA

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copyright 2010 Maria Liberati/art of living,PrimaMedia,Inc

Continuing my ‘Gastraonaut’ travels in Italy..in Pescara to experience some of the artisan foods, but also to view the new pedestrian bridge that was opened  this year…

But on the way made a stop in Rapino, a medieval town in the province of Chieti..Besides the ancient ruins..the menus that 4 of the restaurants there offer for lunch or dinner were spectacular..but since I could only stay for lunch and experience one menu it was a difficult choice and I spent an hour on the important decision.. but in an hour you can reflect poetic on the splendid view from Rapino a city that is’ media montagna’ (in mid mountain)….What would you choose?:

Menu 1-Potato & Truffle  mini gnocchi,Pappardelle pasta, palotte cace e ove (‘meatballs’  without meat made of cheese and eggs) fresh fruit in season

Menu 2-Cavatelli pasta with beschamel sauce, with zucchini and saffron from Navelli ( a town nearby),Pappardelle pasta with tomatoes, Raosted rabbit with roasted potatoes with rosemary and fresh mixed greens,fruit in season

Menu 3-Ravioli with nut sauce, Pasta alla Chitarra with meat sauce (ragu),Roasted lamb and roasted potatoes,mixed fruit in season

Menu 4-Pasta alla Chitarra with bacon (pancetta) and arugula, roasted wild boar, roasted peppers, fresh fruits in season.

A lot of eating for one lunch..but after a long reflection and a visit of the Grotto del Colle and the church of San Giovanni… I chose Menu 1 because of the appetizer of mini gnocchi (Gnoccchetti)  and the local specialty of ‘pallotte cace e ove’ (Meatless meatballs made with cheese and eggs). I slowly savored every bite of this meal, that was certainly a 100 mile meal (all ingredients came from nearby-100 miles or less) so everything was fresh and flavorful… after the meal a long walk around the  mercato for artisan crafts  (held in August) to relax

Here’s a recipe for a local specialty from Menu 1-

Palotte Cace e Ove.

(this is in dialect of region of Abruzzo, palotte means small balls and ‘cace’-short for ‘cacciocavallo’ –a type of cheese;ove is dialect for uove-which means eggs

2 whole eggs

1/2 cup grated pecorino cheese or a mix of pecorino and romano or parmiggiana cheese.

2 garlic cloves

handful of fresh parsley leaves chopped

bread crumbs  (freshly made)

pinch of salt

pinch of baking soda

4 tablespoons olive oil (for frying)

In a bowl place in chopped garlic, eggs, grated cheese, chopped parsley, pinch of salt and baking soda. Mix with a fork. Little by little place in bread crumbs and mix by hand. Place in enough breadcrumbs to be able to roll the mixture into the consistency of firm meatballs. Heat oil in frying pan and fry till brown. Serve plain or with some tomato sauce (sugo).

For more great recipes and stories on out of the way place in Italy get your copy of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions- 2nd edition

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Sept 9-12-Hudson valley Wine Fest,Rhinebeck, NY. For more info or to sponsor The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm onstage demo email: Info@marialiberati.com

Oct 29-30th- Gourmet Food & Wine Show, Philadelphia at the Valley Forge Convention  Center, Valley Forge ,Pa The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm will be onstage. To attend or sponsor one of the onstage cooking demos email: Info@marialiberati.com

copyright 2010 Maria Liberati

My flavors have all been packed..well at least the dried ones..my fresh ones will have to wait till early tomorrow morning. I am packing for a week at the beach house..

Dried pepperoncini, dried rosemary, black pepper and its’ grinder, sea salt from Sicily..tomorrow morning awake early and grab a handful of fresh, organic rosemary from the garden,fresh parsley and fresh basil..some fresh lemons from Sorrento..a bottle of organic olive oil from Le Marche..a bottle of balsamic vinegar.

My suitcase of flavors always follow me to wherever I go..so that I can experience the local cuisine. One of the dishes will surely be a linguine with clams-those tiny little clams they have at the sea, a handful of freshly chopped parsley and a spritz of lemon to brighten the dish..

For more recipes get your copy of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking : Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition winner of the best Italian Cuisine Book in the USA

Visit me at OpenSky

Guest Writers Share your Joy with us..deadline July 31http://www.marialiberati.com/share-the-joy

It pays to listen to gossip and conversation in the town piazza at night..some more than others..from overheard conversations last night was a variety of talk about family riffs going on..to the latest couple breaking up in town because of a cheating husband and those disagreeing on whether the wife should forgive and take him back..and then the most useful piece of gossip was overheard at midnight a woman speaking in detail about the fresh parsley in her garden this year and how she used it to flavor roasted potatoes instead of Rosemary (which is the usual here) and how delicious they were..of course she mentioned how her husband did not like Rosemary much so she decided to substitute, This was my favorite piece of gossip and the only one I care to remember in detail…I knew I would eventually hear something of true interest!

Today’s lunch will be a variety of roasted vegetables including roasted potatoes with parsley and locally produced fresh mozzarella..the bread from our local baker or ‘forno’..it is bread made from potatoes..a specialty of this region where potatoes are cultivated..I guess we could think of this area as the Idaho of Italy. Potatoes from the Fucino valley are known throughout and even the headquarters of Micron for Italy (also in Idaho) is located here

Roasted Parsley Potatoes

1 lb of peeled potatoes

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 handful chopped parsley leaves

Boil potatoes for 5 minutes. Peel. Drizzle 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil on bottom of pan. Cut potatoes into quarters, place in pan. Drizzle remaining olive oil on top. Sprinkle on chopped fresh parsley. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees ,then place under broil for 2 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with a chilled white wine-Trebbiano D’Abruzzo

For more recipes get your copy of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition

Visit OpenSky

Sept 9-12 Rhinebeck, NY, see you at Hudson Valley Wine Festival at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds. I will be bringing the Basic Art of Italian Cooking on stage with recipes and stories from the book series and book signing event will be held all weekend. For more info or to sponsor the on stage cooking demos email: Info@marialiberati.com

Oct 29-30-Philadelphia Gourmet Food & Wine Show , Valley Forge, Pa. The Basic Art of Italian Cooking will take center stage throughout the event and book signing swill be held throughout the show. For more info or to sponsor on stage demos contact: info@marialiberati.com

copyright 2010, Maria Liberati

And so goes the summer..almost..one month left to summer..don’t let it pass you by without taking advantage of something ‘summery’..eat an ice cream or a gelato outside…al fresco…at the beach..taking a stroll..on the boardwalk…sightseeing..just relaxing..anyway to really enjoy that gelato/ice cream

I am getting ready to do our evening ‘passeggiata’ in the piazza with some friends and enjoy my first gelato for summer 2010..can’t believe I have almost let summer pass me by without taking time to do that.

Does anyone have a favorite gelato or ice cream place anywhere in the world they can share.. In Rome, one of my favorite coffee bars for artisan gelato is Giolitti. In the seaside resort of Pescara my favorite gelato place is out of the center and not very ‘touristy’ but it is delicious and will have you dreaming about it for many days after. It is simply called Bar Bologna-if you want to go there, just send me an email and I will tell you exact address.

Does anyone know of any homemade ice cream places anywhere? We all would love to know …

Saturday has always been one of my favorite days..it is market day..and I  always am too excited to sleep the night before anticipating  an early cappuccino and cornetto (Italian version of the croissant) at our local coffee bar..the best way to wake up for the long ..and continually growing market… and also pondering  what particular treasure (s) I may come upon.

Fresh speckled beans, zucchini, basil ,parsley,  tomatoes,celery, cucumbers and zucchini..the fragrance was hypnotizing as  I returned home on foot, carrying bags filled with these ultra fresh, local veggies…

.

On a lazy summer Saturday..decisions are not easy to make..the brain isn’t in full focus..the sun,the fresh air, the fragrances..when will we be going to the beach house…all of  what seems to be (at least for the moment) summer’s most important decisions..but no, now the difficult choice of selecting today’s lunch.

A summer light pasta dish with an uncooked tomato sauce made with fresh red, ripe tomatoes, chopped (farm fresh) celery and celery leaves, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil and pinch of salt. Let that all marinade..like a summer day marinates in the bright sunshine,fresh air and quiet…

For great recipes, get your copy of the award winning The Basic Art of Italian Cooking : Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition selected as the Best Italian Cuisine Book in the USA

Visit OpenSky

Sept 9-12 Hudson Valley Wine Festival

Oct 29-Philadelphia Gourmet Food & Wine Show