copyright, 2009, Maria Liberati

Editor: Kate Hollinger

Umbrian olives have been known as the best olives in Italy since ancient Roman times. Even today, Umbrian olives are notorious for making olive oil with an amazing potent flavor and digestive qualities and nutritional values to boot. The recipes for olive oil have been passed down through generations of Umbrian farmers, starting with the Romans and Etruscans. The region of Umbria is perched on a pyramid of hills 380 to 600 meters above sea level, which is surrounded by miles of olive groves. These olives come from the slopes of Apennine where the shoots are located, facing west.

Extra virgin olive oil is obtained by chilling the olives that are found in the foothills of Umbria and these are picked annually and entirely by hand. This process, known as pruning, involves the farmer climbing a ladder and picking the olives from the trees, working from the top down. The picking, transportation, washing and milling processes are all done so that they maintain the characteristics of the century-old olive oil.

Olive oil types are distinguished by their acidity level, and they are broken down into four categories. The extra virgin is the highest grade you can find and therefore the most popular, and has an acidity level of less than 1%. Virgin olive oil has a flavor that is more inconspicuous and a higher acidity, usually around 1.5 to 2%. Semi-fine is a blend of the two and has an acidity of 3% per 100 mL of oil. Finally, pure olive oil has a very modest flavor, color, and style and doesn’t overpower your dish.

Extra virgin olive oil, which is most prominent in Umbria, has an intense green color, a soft olive scent, and very rich, full flavors. It is best used for dipping uncooked breads in and flavoring soups, vegetables, salads, meat, and fish. To keep the product at its best, you should store it in a closed container in a cool environment away from direct sunlight. In some parts of Italy farmers even press small amounts of olives for the oil with fresh citrus fruit.

Check out the new Recipes and Articles page with lots more recipes and articles for you. Check back often, we are always updating with more articles. Go to Recipes & Articles

 Experience Italy Cooking School & Tour- if you want to see first hand the olive oil making process in Umbria, join me September 23-Oct 6th for a 7 day ,6 night stay at the villa that houses The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm Cooking School in Italy. Join me for a hands on authentic Italian cooking classes, visits to local oilve oil mills and vineyards, local excursions and La Dolce Vita lifestyle at the villa nestled in the hills of  Umbria.  Participation is limited. Register with deposit by May 1st and receive a $200 discount. Go to Cooking School in Italy for photos, itinerary, prices and more or call Sue at 1-800-581-9020

Thanks to all who have come out to The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm Cooking School programs at Whole Foods Markets in your area for the month of Febraury.  If there is a Whole Foods  Market in your area, ask for the next The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm Cooking School Program and book signings. Go to http://www.marialiberati.com for upcoming dates

Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,

Maria

Italy has  always been considered the land of wine and rightly so. It was the Romans who further perfected wine for their use as a military strategy..great concept..no guns no ammunition….just use wine to conquer them.

Wine is so important and the perfecgt accompaniment to a great Italian meal. We have been including more and more wine pairings  in The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm Cooking Programs and visiting and tasting many wines here I wanted to post some interesting tips on wine and serving wines.

When you seeve more than one wine with a meal, since many of us today pair wines with each course of a meal, here is the correct progression form first to last wine:
The corrrect procedure is  so that the wine before the next wine does not over power its’ predecessor.

*Serve new wines before aged wines

*If you are serving both light and robust wines, start out with light ones and gradually progress to more robust wines

*If you are serving dry and sweet wines begin with the dry wines and progress to sweet ones

*If you are serving aromatic wines begin with least aromatic and end with most aromatic

*If you are serving white, rose and red wines begin with white then progress to rose then finish with reds

More on wines in my next posts..

For more great recipes get your copy of my best selling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at http://www.marialiberati.com

The August sun has been intense here in Italy, hot and intense is the only way to describe it. It is the sun that was meant for August in Italy. The month of August is the most popular month for taking summer vacations and going to the beach so an intense sun is a welcome site.

Today is the 8th of August, the day that the Olympics are beginning in Beijing but it is also a week away from  the most popular summer holiday here- it dates back to the time of the Romans-Ferragosto  or simply known as August 15th.

As I am readying for our big ‘Ferragosto’ picnic -here are some ideas to have your own August 15th celebration-anywhere in the world 

How to organize your perfect Ferragosto picnic (1^st part)

copyright, 2008, Maria Liberati

The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm

Editor: Michela Pompeo

For Italians, Ferragosto is one of the most important popular feasts; as important as Christmas, in fact. It is always celebrated 15^th August and it is really a day of rest for everybody: offices, shops, businesses… everything is closed; even newspapers do not come out that day because journalists (who usually work every day of the year, except Christmas, New Year’s day and 1^st May) rest, too.

The term Ferragosto comes from the Latin Feriae Augusti and it means Augustus’s rest (Augustus being the first Roman Emperor, 63 BC-14 AD). This feast goes back to ancient times when peasants celebrated the end of the main agricultural activities. In the 6^th century AD, the Catholic church thought it better to make it coincide with the religious festivity of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary; and it has continued to be so up to now.

Anyhow, it is a holiday, and it is a typical tradition to spend it out of town: people usually go to the seaside, to the mountains, to some nice spots where they can enjoy peace and nature.

Restaurants are usually full, but it is also very popular to have a picnic out of doors with friends or relatives. There are hundreds of ways to have a picnic outside, but they can roughly be divided into ‘simple’ and more ‘sophisticated’. By simple I mean taking a blanket, a number of sandwiches, some beverages, and spend the day out cheerfully. The other system requires a longer preparation of food, which has to be done the day before. I suggest the following menu for Ferragosto picnic:

1. aperitif: Bellini drink
2. first course: Pasta fredda
3. main course: Vitello tonnato + Frittelle di patate al formaggio
4. fruit: anguria
5. sorbetto al limone
6. wine: Prosecco
7. beverages: water, fruit juices or squash

As far as number one above is concerned, it is difficult to give precise quantities, because it depends on how much you want to prepare. Remember that the ratio, though, is 3 parts of peach pulp (use the variety with ‘white’ pulp, not ‘yellow’) every 7 parts of Prosecco wine (frizzante=sparkling)

So, wash and take the bone off the peaches, cut them into pieces (do not peel them), mix the peach pulp with Prosecco, add a sprinkle of lemon juice and, optional, a teaspoon of sugar. Pour it into a bottle and keep it cool overnight. Before leaving for the picnic, place the bottle in the cool bag.

Going on with number two: cook pasta (any type will do; remember to throw pasta into salted boiling water – not before! 1 lb grams for 7 people), drain and place it into a large bowl in which you have previously put black and green pitted olives, fresh tomatoes (3 medium-sized ones) cut into small pieces, salt, pepper, oregano, and extra virgin olive oil. Stir carefully. Let it cool and put it into the fridge. You can take the bowl as it is to the picnic. Before serving, stir again and add a little more oil to separate the ingredients, because pasta tend to ‘glue’ and form a kind of block.

To be continued

For more recipe, ideas, tips get your copy of the best selling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at http://www.marialiberati.com

I wine, I saw I conquered.. I think that any trip to Italy could best be described in these words.   Each day has its own special wine and I attempt to pair every day’s lunch with a new wine. I am partial to light white wines like Trebbiano D’Abruzzo and Fallenghina and the favorite of the ancient Romans- Est!Est!Est! However, I have a new favorite white wine- Pecorino. It is an heirloom wine produced from an heirloom grape. Pecorino is also the name of a cheese that comes from the same region in Abruzzo.The name Pecorino refers to sheep. The milk of the sheep is used to produce the Pecorino cheese here and flocks of sheep dot the landscape here. However, wine from the Pecorino grape was produced in the past and then phased out.  But the art of producing Pecorino has been revived. The Pecorino grape is found in Abruzzo and Le Marche regions of Italy.

Pecorino is produced in small quantities. I have not been able to find it in the US yet.  White wine is my favorite ingredient to add to risotto and Pecorino makes and excellent risotto.  And is a great wine to pair with risotto.  Pecorino has a slight  citrus flavor and goes especially well with seafood-risotto, seafood and pecorino together   in a recipe make an indescribably delicious delight!

Today for ‘pranzo’, lunch was a sublime  ‘risotto a la pescatore’ -(risotto with seafood). Pecorino made a great ingredient. See recipe below, but here are some websites to check out for info on Abruzzo and Pecorino

http://wikitravel.org/en/Abruzzo

saveur.com/wine/wine-reviews/farnese-terre-di-chieti-abruzzo-italy-pecorino

http://www.agriturismo.abruzzo.it/Z_Sito_ING/Home2.htm

 And if you are interested in wines and wine tastings, see the interview I recently did in

  A Wine Storyhttp://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/01/09/003128.phphttp://www.AWinestory.comThursday’s ‘Risotto a la Pescatore’Risotto A La Pescatore

copyright, The Basic Art of Italian Cooking 2007,2008, Maria Liberati4 tblsps. 

(2-3 servings) 

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 lb of cleaned squid rings
1/2 lb of cleaned shelled shrimp
5 mussels, scrubbed and cleaned
1/2  onion, finely chopped
1 cup of Pecorino wine (if not available use a dry white wine)

2-3 cups vegetable broth  

Place oil and  onion in a saute pan, heat just until  onion begins to  become golden.
Add white wine and reduce by half.
Add  1/2 cup vegetable broth and squid, cook for 5 minutes or until liquid almost dissipates. Stir in rice, place shrimp and mussels . Add broth to cover and stir unti liquid evaporates. Add in liquid, constantly stirring and repeat until cooked -about 18 minutes  Serve with Pecorino wine or another dry white wine. If you can find a bottle of Pecorino, it will be  worth the effort.Ciao for now!! 

 More recipes like this can be found in the best selling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati. Order at http://www.marialiberati.com  and receive free shipping and $5 off retail price..