August 20, 2019

Wednesday, August 14th was a major shopping and food prep day.  August 15th is Ferragosto, a national holiday.  This being Italy, over-eating is de rigueur.

We started at the Wednesday market in Bagni di Lucca then went to the “big” Conad supermarket in Gallicano.  Zia Fidalma, Zia Ida, and I each took a shopping cart and shopped independently for things we needed for the various dishes we were preparing…OK, so Zia Ida mostly shopped for foodstuffs she is planning on taking back to the States.

Upon returning from marketing we made sandwiches of fresh focaccia and cured meats (Mortadella and Prosciutto) and cheese (Mozzarella Fresca), tomatoes, and (for me) Peperoncino sott’Olio (hot peppers preserved in oil).

I set about making Torta di Riso (Rice Tort) using a recipe from Zia Mery that I’ve adapted just a tiny bit over the years.  Torta di Riso is essentially rice pudding baked in a crust (Pasta Frolla).  Traditionally in Tuscany, the rice is flavored (and colored) with Alkermes.  I could not find the brand I traditionally use (Nardini).  The one I bought (R. Guiducci e Fgli.) is milder in flavor and softer in color.

Zia Fidalma made a non-traditional but very delicious Torta Philadelphia, made with cream cheese (called, simply, Philadelphia in Italy) and whipped cream on a pastry base and topped with cooked raspberries.

Dinner was Matuffi and Ragu.  I had only had Matuffi made by Nonni (the family jargon for Grandmother, which is Nonna in proper Italian).  Nonni is Zia Fidalma’s sister, Zia Ida’s mother, and my husband’s grandmother.  When she made it, she put the Ragu in the bottom of a baking dish and topped it with dollops of Polenta, showered it with Parmigiano Reggiano and baked it.  Zia Fidalma makes it that way as well but for dinner on this night she made a version that consisted of polenta cooked a little looser than usual and topped with Ragu and cheese.  While the polenta cooked, we munched on grissini (breadsticks) wrapped with prosciutto and some chunks of Gorgonzola Dolce cheese.

Thursday, August 15th was Ferragosto.  Originating during the Roman Empire, apparently in 18 BCE by Emperor Augustus, Ferragosto was originally held on August 1st.  Ultimately, the Catholic Church moved the date to August 15th to coincide with the Assumption, a “holy day of obligation,” thus imposing a secular holiday on a religious holy day.  Ferragosto is a day to feast.

Because there were just four of us, we did not go completely overboard.

Zia Ida and Massimo stuffed snail-shaped pasta (lumache) with Zia Fidalma’s meat stuffing.  These were cooked in broth and served as our first course (Primo Piatto).

The second course (Secondo Piatto) was a boneless, butterflied, stuffed, rolled, tied and roasted turkey breast with potatotes.  After butterflying the turkey, I seasoned it with salt, pepper, sage, rosemary and garlic.  On top was laid a layer of Mortadella, then a layer of Frittata, then more Mortadella.  After rolling and tying, it was roasted with potatoes and plenty of additional garlic, rosemary, sage and oil.  Sformato di Zucchini was our side dish (Contorno).

Dessert consisted of the Torta di Riso and Torta Philadelphia that were made the day before.

After a very quiet afternoon spent digesting and napping (the other thing to do on Ferragosto is hit the road which did not sound like a good idea to any of us), we sat down to Panini of Bresaola, cheese, tomatoes and hot peppers in oil sandwiched between Focaccia that had been sliced open.  The sandwiches were heated in the oven.

Somehow, we managed to finish off several slices of torte from Emiliana (Massimo’s cousin on his father’s side who lives next door).  We had Torta di Cioccolata (with a dark chocolate filling) Torta di Amaretti e Mandorle (filled with crushed Amaretti soaked in rum and almonds), and Torta di Semolino e Foglie di Pesco (filled with semolina flavored with finely minced peach leaves, rum, vanilla, and almond extract).  Every one of these is on my short list of recipes to perfect immediately upon returning to the States.

Massimo drove me to the apartment so that I could “eat and drink” according to Zia Fidalma.  He had to work just a few hours the next morning so he picked me up around 10:30 on his way home from the office on Friday morning.

At the house, Zia Ida was sitting on the terrace cleaning squash blossoms.  Zia Fidalma had already prepped the ingredients for pasta with a sauce of zucchini and (a whole other batch of) squash blossoms flavored with saffron.  I was tasked with executing the dish for lunch while Zia set about stuffing the neck of a young rooster (Galletto Livornese) and cleaning the feet and giblets to make broth.  Fruit salad (Macedonia di Frutta) and Torta Philadelphia ended the meal.

After lunch we cooked.  Zia Fidalma started the broth and gently poached the stuffed neck for at least three hours.  She made Fagiolini Lunghi in Umido (long beans stewed with tomatoes and sausage).  I cut the rest of the rooster into serving pieces and we made Galletto in Umido (stewed with tomato and olives).  “In Umido” basically means “stewed” though when using the term for meat, “braised” is probably a better approximation of the process.  In Tuscany foods cooked in umido usually contain a small amount of tomato in addition to herbs and aromatics.

For dinner I made Salsa Besciamella (white sauce) flavored with sautéed Pancetta and garlic.  I sliced the leftover rolled stuffed turkey breast from the day before and warmed it in the sauce.  We ate that with slices of polenta (from the Matuffi) fried until crispy and the long beans and sausage.

August 17th was a major shopping day: the market in Bagni di Lucca, the “big” Conad supermarket in Gallicano, an Agraria (garden supply) and a nursery.  We were hungry, though I don’t know how, when we got home around 1 PM.  We had the Galletto in Umido (which always tastes better the day after it’s made) and a cold salad of cooked green beans dressed with oil, salt, and pepper.  Unfortunately, the garlic was forgotten.  Torta Philadelphia appeared for dessert.

After we all took a nap, Zia Fidalma and I cooked.  (This is beginning to sound repetitive, isn’t it?).  I made fresh pasta for the next day’s dinner and Zia started a fruit tort for dessert.  She also made a sauce of eggplant, bell pepper, onion, capers, olives, and anchovies to serve with pasta in the coming days.

Dinner was simple.  We started with broth (from the rooster parts) and small pasta.  The next course consisted of the stuffed rooster neck which had been poached in the broth.  It was basically a sausage.  By the time it was served, the head had been removed so there really wasn’t any “Yuk!” factor despite what my husband said.  We also had sliced tomatoes from the garden.  Some boiled beef, from beef broth, also appeared on the table.  A salsa verde (green sauce of fresh herbs, garlic, and anchovy pureed with olive oil) would have been a nice accompaniment to the boiled meats but I didn’t think of it in time.

Cousin Ivo and his wife Gemma came for Il Pranzo (Lunch) on Sunday the 18th.  We sat down to lunch at 12:30.  In addition to the tagliatelle I made the day before, which were served with Zia Fidalma’s Ragu, we had Gemma’s Coniglio (rabbit) in Umido with olives, spinach with garlic and butter, and bread.  Pecorino cheese from Garfagnana appeared followed by Zia’s pineapple, raspberry and blueberry fruit tort.  Gemma, who likes dessert returned from the kitchen with a piece of Torta Philadelphia for a sort of dessert double-header.

Gemma explained to me how to clean and prep the rabbit then how to cook it in Umido.  Ivo wanted to know how we could be sure she hadn’t served us cat.  This launched us into a conversation about how Gemma will only buy the rabbit from the farmer and not from a butcher or grocery store.  She believes it tastes better.

Zia Fidalma asked my permission to give the remainder of the tagliatelle that I had made to Gemma and Ivo as we had not cooked all of what I had made.  At 5:30 I excused myself from the table (note starting time above) to return to my apartment.  I actually had some work to do that was unrelated to cooking!

Gemma thanked me for the tagliatelle.  I thanked her for cooking the cat, and I was off.