GUSTI Blog

Insalata di Riso - THE Summer Italian Dish

It has been ages since we made insalata di riso. In fact, the last time any of us can actually remember making this dish was in Italy which is frankly absurd since we all consider insalata di riso to be a quintessential summertime dish. In fact, while we were preparing our rice salad today at Gustiamo, Beatrice told us that she remembers her childhood summers in Italy always including a big bowl of insalata di riso on standby in the fridge for quick lunches in between trips to the seaside. Like most Italians, for us,  the thought of eating something hot for lunch in the middle of August is totally unbearable.

Insalata di riso includes two essential ingredients: steamed rice and vegetables sott'olio (under oil)... the rest is left up to your imagination and your leftovers.

Today, we combined Vialone Nano Rice by Gazzani which we had simply steamed last night with a jar of Antipasto in Extra Virgin Olive Oil by Maida Farm. We love our Madia producer for many reasons, but this vegetable antipasto has especially captured our hearts for two:

1. The Madia vegetable Antipasto is always different! Each glass jar contains a different vegetable medley based on what is ready to be picked during the week that farmer Francesco Vastola is harvesting. 2. These vegetables “sott'olio” are conserved under extra virgin olive oil that farmer Francesco makes himself! In the words of Beatrice, as she mixed the vegetables into the rice, “Produced more locally than that... you die.” The Maida antipasto that we used today featured: eggplants, bell peppers, baby artichokes, celery, and olives to which we added some leftover zucchini as well has hard-boiled eggs and some of those fresh New York tomatoes that everyone seems to be celebrating recently. Here is the link to the Gustiamo official recipe.

Three Good Reasons to Go to Cafe' Minerva in NYC

Matthew and David of the new cool Minerva cafe downtown not only want to learn everything about our products, they came to the warehouse to taste them, too! Here, from left: Martina, David, Matthew, Anne, Stefano and Kunle.

The other day they stopped by at lunch time. We shared our leftovers of what we cooked in our homes the night before: Stefano made his incredible pasta (it was calamari Faella) with anchovies (w/ lemmon zest and capers); Anne made healthy purgatorio beans with tubetti Latini and kale; Martina made pasta with bottarga and Beatrice made black venere nero rice with calamari (not the pasta, the fish).

So, when you next go to Minerva, you know where the inspiration came from. If you like what you eat, ask David for the recipes. Then, because he sells those of our products he uses, you can buy Gustiamo's ingredients on the spot. All the good reasons to go to Cafe' Minerva. Let us know what you think!

GUSTiamO's Second Day With the Kids from the South Bronx. Give Us More!!!

GUSTiamO's second day with the kids from the South Bronx was even more successful than the first. In fact, now we know each other and we are welcomed with their big smiles. They are happy to see us. Isn't that wonderful!!! We LOVE them!!!

First destination: the garden in front of the Bronx River Art Center to pick mysterious things like herbs, swisschard, peppers, tomatoes and onions. Then we all go to the Mary Mitchell Community Center and they learn about rice (last week was pasta) and get to work. They chopped, sauteed (with ev olive oil, of course), steamed the rice, mixed everything together and topped it with EV Olive Oil.

This is Kimberly, the sous chef. She would not leave her station, she loved it so much! The dish was so good, the six kids in the program were so proud of their own work, they invited all the others at the school to join them. 50 more kids arrived and sat at the table. OUR six kids served their guests. It was a glorious moment! Not one grain of rice was left. Great stuff, at Gustiamo. Give us more!!!

Acquerello - Not Just Rice - Wine Spectator

In the April issue of Wine Spectator, Owen Dugan writes about Acquerello Rice and starts his article with: REPEAT AFTER ME: RISOTTO IS EASIER THAN YOU THINK. REALLY.
Really!!!  I am the proof of it. Last night, I didn't know what to cook and had very little in the house. There were some chopped onions and carrots in the refrigerator and Acquerello and porcini mushrooms in the pantry. I made a REALLY great risotto, even using water instead of broth. This is how you do it: You make soffritto, add the rice, a glass of cognac, then the boiling water...half cooked, you add the porcini (previously soaked) to the rice. No need to stir, either, just add water. It was my improvisation and everybody loved it, at home and in the office at lunch, today.

Until recently, we only carried the 1 kilo and 1/2 kilo tin of Acquerello. Too big for you? Perhaps too expensive and you don't want to make the investment? If you are cooking for 4 or less people, the newborn 1/4  kilo tin is perfect for you! At $5 per tin, you must try it and let your creativity run free. What do you have to lose? If you need tips/suggestions on how to cook vero italian risotto, give us a call at 718 860 2949.

Not your ordinary accountant! Giacomo is your business partner. He also likes Gustiamo's foods!

Giacomo Di Mattia is not your ordinary accountant. Since I was an accountant, also, in my prior life here and in Italy, I know what I am talking about. First of all, he is good looking. More important, he is fun. Much more important, he is quick and very knowledgable. Giacomo came to visit us the other day (left, already hard at work at my computer) and in two hours, we discussed most of our accounting and tax issues. It was great to receive suggestions from somebody who looks at things with a fresh eye, has a positive approach and business acumen. When he left, I sent my friend Giuseppe Brusa, senior partner at GC Consultants and Giacomo's boss, a thank you note for having sent Giacomo our way.

Ah... and did I mention Giacomo's exquisite taste in food? He loves our food and on the telephone, after finishing discussing our accounting of foreign currency transactions, he gave me some wonderful feed back about the two products he had tried so far: the carnaroli rice and the sottolio squash by Maida Farm: he said he made his best risotto and he opened the jar of squash and devoured it. A good beginning for a long and successful business relationship.

Ossobuco alla Milanese, the Authentic Recipe

Did anybody see the Summer, this year? I was freezing this past Friday morning, when I went to shop at my local green market. I bought $100 worth of various frozen meats, including beef shanks, from a new vendor, Sun Fed Beef. I guess it's time to pull out our Fall recipes - I was craving for Ossobuco. Ossobuco should be made with veal shank, but veal is not politically correct. Use the beef, instead; it is equally delicious.

There are many Ossobuco recipes on the Food Network including this one by Tyler Florence, Osso Buco Milanese, awarded with 5 stars. I wasn't sure whether I should use it: the recipe looks a little complicated, asks for a lot of ingredients, it sounds suspicious because Ossobuco is one word in Italian and it mentions something called Gremolata, which I never heard of before. So I reverted, as I very often do, to my trusted Talismano della Felicita', the cook book used by our mothers. My Talismano was printed in 1975 (a modern edition, I guess) and was passed to me by my mother, a great cook. Ossobuco alla Milanese from the Talismano della Felicita', is a very simple recipe. (Gremolada is not mentioned in the recipe nor in the whole book). Click here for the authentic Ossobuco alla Milanese recipe, adapted from Il Talismano della Felicita'.

The Ossobuchi (somebody writes Ossibuchi... I don't think so) came out delicious, accompanied by some just steamed vialone nano rice. Simplicity always wins.