Olive harvest

Finally, olives are just beginning to turn half black here in Sabina, which is the right time for picking. At this stage, the olives are full of flavour and antioxidants and all this will be transfered into the olive oil. I do not own an olive grove myself (unfortuntely), but I would not miss the opportunity to go olive picking with my family at a friend's small olive grove near by. We went a few days ago and most of the work was done in the morning simply using plastic rakes, making sure all olives drop on geen nets layed on the ground. The children joined in as well, although sliding downhill on the nets at incredible speed proved to be a more tempting activity for them.
Anyway, lunchtime came so we cooked some simple pasta with tomatoes and herbs for everyone, accompanied by a glass of red wine (which is why most work needs to be done before lunch). In the early evening, crates were filled with olives, ready to be pressed the next day. Tired but happy to have spent a wanderful day out in the fresh air we were looking forward to taste a sample of the new olive oil of Sabina, with its fresh, complex yet light and peppery flavour.

www.conviviorome.com

www.winetoursrome.com

A winter treat - Gato' di Patate (potato souffle')

To warm up your winter evenings, there is nothing better than this potato soufflé (although not technically a soufflé, this is the way we call it), also called "Gato' di Patate". As a child, I remember this one being my absolute favourite dish out of my family's cooking repertoire and for good reasons: it's incredibly smooth in texture and flavour, it has lots of good cheese and those irresistible golden crunchy breadcrumbs on the outside. Gato' di Patate is also perfect for utilising cheese leftovers but you will need at least these three: parmesan, fresh mozzarella and Swiss gruyère. Just take out the ham for a vegetarian version of this classic Central Italian winter dish.

Gato' di patate. (Potato soufflé'). -serves 10.
500g of potatoes, 300g mozzarella cheese, 1 cup of parmigiano cheese, 200g of Swiss gruyère cheese, 2 eggs, 100g of butter, bred crumbs, prosciutto cotto (ham), salt, nutmeg.


Mix mashed potatoes with butter, one or two eggs and parmigiano cheese, a good pinch of salt and nutmeg while still hot. Add diced mozzarella, bits of prosciutto or ham, grated parmigiano and any other cheese you like (except for blue cheese). Pour the mixture in to an oven bowl and top with bread crumbs and a few bits of butter. Bake for about 40 minutes and/or until golden brown. Serve hot.

Zuccotto - perfect summer dessert

This delicious dessert is perfect for hot summer days, as it needs to be refrigerated for several hours. It originated in Florence and it's popular in all central Italian regions. One key ingredient is ricotta cheese and this needs to be ultra fresh. I serve it with mixed berries. Buonissimo!

fresh home made sponge cake is an essential ingredient for Zuccotto

Zuccotto - Serves 6
400 g of fresh ricotta, 150 g of sugar, vanilla flavour, 300 g. single cream, 30g of cocoa powder, 100 g of dark chocolate chips, 80 g of candied citrus peel, 200 g of sponge cake*, 50 g of sugar, 10g of icing sugar, liqueur, 1 lemon.

Boil 2 full glasses of water with 50g of sugar and lemon zest. Line a small tray or bowl with slices of sponge cake, then wet the sponge cake with the lemon, sugar and water mixture and a little liqueur.Whip cream, add icing sugar and ricotta. Divide this mixture into two. Add candied peels to one part, cocoa and chocolate chips to the other. Put both mixtures in the middle of the sponge cake and top with a layer of sponge cake to seal. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

*For your own sponge cake: Serves 6. 4 eggs, 120 g of sugar, 100 g of flour vanilla flavour, lemon or orange grated peel, butter to grease the cake tin.
Mix egg yolks with sugar until smooth. Whip egg whites separately until very firm and add them to the mix. Slowly fold in the flour, then add grated citrus peel or vanilla flavour. Bake sponge cake for 40 minutes at moderate heat.

Wine: terroir, passion and variety.

There are two main ways of making wine: one is through standardisation and the other is the traditional way.

Unfortunately, it seems the most popular way nowadays is through standardisation. This starts with producers hiring enologists (always the same ones). Then it's down to marketing, working with the international press and the so-called wine critics. The goal is to turn everyone into 'one consumer': to have the same opinion and tastes on (mass-produced) wines. According to the powerful 'experts', we should prefer wine with lots of colour, tannins and sweetness. Jonathan Nossiter, director and author of the film 'Mondovino', calls this process the "Parkerization" of wine, from the famous wine critic Robert Parker. In other words, the 'wine critics' want wine to taste the same, no matter where it is produced. This way of making wine suits the globalised wine producers because it's standardisation, not diversity, that makes things easier for them.

Then, there is another way of making wine: It's the traditional way. This is what we always discuss during our wine-tasting evenings, part of our Italian cooking holidays and vacations. What's important, in this case, is the 'terroir', the territory of the wine. The soil, the wind, the climate, the surrounding nature and the local traditional techniques are what matter. This is usually wine made by small producers, with passion. These are wines that are very different from village to village, let alone from region to region in each country (Italy, in my case), because the 'terroir' is different and determines the wine's flavour and character.
In other words, as Nossiter said, "wine is an intimate thing". Why should we listen to the so-called experts? Why shouldn't we develop our own taste and preferences? This would make the 'experts' less and less powerful and would give us the freedom to trust our own taste-buds again. Keeping the wine's terroir as our only guide, it would bring back one of the most important things in life: variety.

Riso Italiano

risotto is one Italy's most popular traditional dishes

Not many people know that Arborio is not the only Italian rice available. In fact, there is a variety or rice for every cooking need, here in Italy. Rice has been produced in the north-western part of the country, particularly the the Vercelli region, for over 150 years.
Arborio Rice is well known all over the world. Its grains are large and elongated. Because it doesn't overcook easily, it's perfect for risotto. Riso Baldo has a lot of starch and is used for baking. Then there is Carnaroli (my favourite), a 'cross-breed' between Vialone and Leoncino: it absorbs flavours perfectly. Roma rice, with round grains, is versatile, suitable for many recipes. Riso Sant'Andrea is perfect just boiled and consumed as part of a main dish, like in Asian cuisine. Vialone Nano is similar to Carnaroli but smaller, so it takes less time to cook (13 instead of 18-20 minutes). Riso Venere has recently become very popular in Italy. It's black in colour and similar to wild rice.
Last but not least, Originario is the original rice for us Italians, the one that was already cultivated 150 years ago, from which all the other varieties developed from. Originario is the perfect rice for soups. It expands while cooking, without releasing too much starch.