GUSTI Blog

Pappa al Pomodoro, with Gustiamo's Tomatoes

From our good friend, Steve Maslow, just back from Italy where he had a food revelation: Pappa al Pomodoro. Steve thinks the best Pappa al Pomodoro is the one he will make with Gustiamo Tomatoes and EV Olive Oil in his home in Brooklyn. This is Steve's lovely ode to Pappa al Pomodoro:

"Between Florence and Siena lies the Chiantigiana, where grape and olive cultivation by the Etruscan peoples predates the Roman Empire. For fear of rekindling bygone rivalries, we will forgive the citizens of Siena their Ghibelline silliness in aligning themselves with the Holy Roman Emperor, and we will forget the Florentine fit of fecklessness that carved a Guelph between Dante and his beloved city. Yes, the rivalry between Siena and Florence has simmered down, and the result is the culinary glory of the region between them: Pappa al Pomodoro alla Chiantigiana. To my mind this soup is the quintessential Tuscan dish, as Waverly Root once said, “hearty and healthy, subtle in its deliberate eschewing of sophistication, which is perhaps the highest sophistication of all.” 

Many Tuscan dishes are virtues made of scarcity, for instance the lack of salt in Tuscan whole wheat bread began when the supply was cut due to the region’s mercurial relationship with Pisa, which controlled the European salt trade for centuries (to grasp its importance in Medieval times one only has to notice that our word ‘salary’ derives from the Latin word for salt.)

With the sudden appearance of the first hints of summer come the cravings for tomato flavors, indeed Pappa al Pomodoro is like a postcard from summer. But when the weather warms, well, who can wait for tomato season? Fortunately Gustiamo sells four kinds of imported tomatoes whose flavor and bouquet are the closest thing we have to astro-projecting yourself to Italy and picking them yourself. My favorite are the Piennolo vine tomatoes, but my Better Half prefers the Dani Coop tomatoes from Agro Nocerino. Try it with any of the imported tomatoes and tell us which is your favorite." Steve Maslow

Grazie Steve! Here is the recipe of Pappa al Pomodoro.

MESCIUA: A SECRET SPEZIA-LITY

From our good friend Steve Maslow, who loves Italy, in particular the region of Liguria, and Gustiamo! Mesciua is a typical recipe from La Spezia, Liguria. All the ingredients in this recipe are carried by Gustiamo. Perfect! This is Steve's lovely article:

Foodies, poets and musicians have loved La Spezia at least since Ancient times: the Romans named the city “Species” (Spezia in the local Ligurian dialect) meaning ‘splendor’: perhaps for its imposing location, between mountains and sea, at the top of a spectacularly beautiful harbor;

or perhaps they named it for the mussels that grow in the surrounding waters, so highly prized by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (1122-1110), that he decreed any Ligurian delegation visiting him must bring a shield filled with the plump delicacies, or maybe Spezia was named for the incomparable beauty of its Gulf which drew Dante, Shelly and Byron, DH Lawrence, Baroness Emma Orczy (The Scarlet Pimpernel) and Countess Elena Visconti (La Straniera) to live by its shores.

Most famously, Wagner claimed that the sight of the Sea off La Spezia inspired the opening measures of his best-loved work, the monumental tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen.  

We do not know if it is the water or the air or the natural beauty, but we do know a great cuisine when we eat it.

Not surprisingly we at Gustiamo are ourselves inspired by the way the foods of La Spezia reflect the way in which man and nature have been sustaining each other there for more than two millennia. We sampled mesciua, the best-known ‘spezia-lity’ of La Spezia at the Ristorante All’inferno, near the city’s fish market.  Click here for recipe. It's a wonderful soup and it uses all Gustiamo's ingredients.

Steve Maslow

Seared Lamb Chops with Anchovies, Capers and Sage

Anchovies enhance the flavor of every dish and bring out the character of every ingredient, without leaving a strong fishy taste! Here is a wonderful recipe of Lamb Chops cooked with anchovies and capers written by Melissa Clark in the New York Times.

She says that this dish can even be served to friends who do not like anchovies because they would not notice it.

I've been trying this recipe over and over.

Confirmed, you really do not taste the anchovies. It takes no time to pan cook the meat and the dish is wonderful and very tasty. Of course, I use the best anchovies from Cetara and the best capers from Pantelleria. The Best ingredients always help.

Try the recipe, standing ovation guaranteed!!!

This Panettone Is a Revelation!

Yesterday in the warehouse, unveiling the FIRST Panettone of the season. Special guest, Jeremy McMillan, a very talented chef at Bedford Post Inn, who stopped by for his weekly shopping for the restaurant. Good timing!  Quotes:  Jeremy - "This Panettone is superior". Anthony - " This cake is wonderful." Nicolette - " I realize I never had a good Panettone before." Stefano - Well... he knows how wonderful the Panettone is because the other day, he tried the Pandoro. Also, OTW (out of this world). These cakes are a spiritual experience. We had to call Luigi Biasetto (left), the master pastry chef who bakes them, and congratulate him personally. Also, we immediately placed a new order. He is baking like crazy, now for us! Expensive, no doubt, but ethereal and worth every cent! 

Gustiamo's Pasta with Bottarga

Pasta con Bottarga is a very easy dish to make and it is very good for you since the ingredients, other than the pasta, are raw. We are often asked how we make Pasta with Bottarga. We, the experts! This is Gustiamo's official recipe. The condiment: in a bowl, in order of importance: bottarga finely sliced, ev olive oil, chopped parsley, lemon zest and lemon juice, capers, finely chopped garlic, finely chopped chili pepper. If you have time, make it the night before and refrigerate. Otherwise, not a problem. Cook the pasta, add the condiment and stir well. Serve! Anybody can do it and it is REALLY delicious!

The finished dish does not photograph well, as the bottarga looks like a flat small salame. Instead, above is a photo of the fish, the mullet, where the bottarga (which is its egg roe sac) comes from.

Latini Farro Tagliatelle - An Inspiration of Great Recipes

Erica De Mane is on a roll! Nothing can stop her when she uses Italy's Best Foods! A couple of weeks ago it was lamb shank and cicerchie, this week is Latini Farro tagliatelle! This is what happens when you use the best ingredients. You get inspired, you create wonderful dishes, like this Tagliatelle Farro, pancetta and seafood dish, on the left (click here for story and recipe). Well, I'm inspired too. I just bought some wonderful pancetta from Brooklyn Larder. Tomorrow is Friday, the day of my local green market and I will buy Capt Rick's clams, mussels and squid - whatever he has. I am good with the pasta, with a full warehouse behind me, where I sit. Will report. Can't wait!!!

Cicerchie - What Are They? If You Know, You Are Cool!

We love cicerchie and have been importing them for a long time. Frankly, it's always a struggle to explain: what kind of beans they are; what they look like; and what you do with them. But once you try them, you fall in love!

Erica De Mane, food author of books such as "Pasta Improvvisata" and "the Flavors of Southern Italy" comes to rescue and writes about them. Thank you Erica! In short: cicerchie are an ingredient of "la cucina povera"; they were in danger of extinction; rediscovered by chefs, cicerchie are now cool; you use them with salads (soak and boil them - then, add ev olive oil) or to make an excellent soup with shank and rosemary (wonderful recipe here. great, for this fall season - picture of Erica's soup above). Appearance? Cicerchie aren't pretty. Erica says they look like old, rotten, beaten, yellowed teeth. They look better once they are cooked, Erica says. Thank goodness.

Alessandro Cappelletti of La Valletta Farm from Colfiorito to NYC

Alessandro Cappelletti of La Valletta farm lives where he grows his grains and legumes: in Colfiorito, a village of 300 people on the hills of Umbria, near Foligno. He came to NYC, the other day and paid Gustiamo a visit. WOW, from Colfiorito to New York! He loved every minute of it, his enthusiasm was catching. He never stopped. Did he ever sleep? He is adorable in this video where he speaks English in our warehouse. Brilliant. In the video (click on the arrow, above), he tells us about his land and why it is so fertile and perfect to grow his farro, lentils, purgatory beans and cicerchie. Off the camera, Alessandro gave us the recipe his mother, mamma Adriana, uses to make the zuppa minestrone. Click here for the recipe and enjoy.

Grazie Alessandro, thank you for your visit and for your hard work!

 

Piero Selvaggio Reveals Our Secret and Discovers the Obscure Ingredient: Colatura di Alici

 Mike Riccetti is the author of "Houston Dining on the Cheap", the local Zagat editor and a regular contributor to "My Table". He writes frequently about food, drink and some less important topics.

He recently attended a dinner at the Valentino restaurant in Las Vegas. More than a dinner, because if you see who attended, it seems to be more of a culinary gods symposium. 

 So, he went to this dinner and heard Piero Selvaggio describing an "obscure ingredient", the colatura di alici. Selvaggio said replacing the anchovies or anchovy paste with some colatura makes for an even more enticing and nuanced Caesar Salad. It is even easier, too.

So, here you are. If you thought this was a secret between you and us, no more. Colatura is going to become the next balsamic, I'm sure. Hurry up to buy it here. We think we have the only colatura made with anchovies from Italy. If you need recipes and/or suggestions on how to use it, call us in the office at 718 860 2949. And grazie mille Mike Riccetti!

Cucina Italiana Magazine. We want you to love it, too! Receive a free subscription with your order >$200.

  We love this magazine and always read and use it, as our mothers did, and do, in Italy. In fact, La Cucina Italiana magazine is an offshoot of the Italian "La Cucina Italiana", which is the oldest cooking magazine in Italy (in the world?), being published since 1929. If you went in our mothers' kitchens you would see the full collection proudly displayed in their kitchen or nearby, somewhere convenient where it could be easily and constantly consulted.

We do the same in our kitchens in America. We really use it. For example, I saw a recipe for "sformato di cavolfiore" in its November issue. Now, I make it all the time, including last week for our Gustiamo Holiday party. It's not too quick, but it is easy, delicious and looks like a real chef cooked it. We want you to enjoy the magazine, too and struck a special deal with our friends who run it. If you place an order over $80, you will receive a FREE yearly (8 issues) subscription to the magazine, compliments of Gustiamo and our friends of the magazine of La Cucina Italiana. You must tell us you want the subscription, though. Pls, write in the special instruction of your shopping cart "Cucina".

As an added bonus, HERE is the my recipe of the "sformato di cavolfiore" and artistic photograph of end result. I wrote it here for my own benefit, too. My copy of the page with the recipe is so stained and greased, I can hardly read it anymore. Make it, ask questions... you'll be amazed how good it is!