Having fun making fresh pasta at our Convivio Rome Italian Cooking School, in Toffia, Italy!

La Befana (The good Witch) has arrived!

La Befana, thanks to 'Eventi e Sagre' for this image

Here in Italy, Babbo Natale (Santa Claus) is a recently imported tradition. It is La Befana, instead, who comes down through the chimney, bringing a stocking with sweets and small presents. She is a sort of good witch and a bit of an eccentric elderly lady, flying on her old broomstick through the sky at night. She comes on the 6th of January bearing gifts of sweets for those that are good and bits of charcoal for those naughty children. Adults have great fun with this tradition by setting the scene and building up the anticipation for their children and grandchildren the night before.
In Rome, there is a traditional Christmas market in Piazza Navona, that I remember going to as a child. Still today has plenty of Befane strolling around the piazza, while children eat zucchero filato (fairy floss) or mostaccioli, traditional Roman biscuits simply made out of flour, honey and walnuts.

Risotto alla zucca e rosmarino (pumpkin risotto)

Here is a typical winter risotto recipe. Fresh, chopped rosemary has a strong, refreshing flavour which goes perfectly with pumpkin.

Risotto alla zucca e rosmarino - Serves 6

500 g of 'Arborio' or 'Carnaroli' rice, a slice of pumpkin, 50g of butter, 1 cup of grated grana cheese, a small onion, white wine, fresh rosemary, grana padano cheese.

Finely chop the onion and gently fry it in butter. Add diced pumpkin and chopped rosemary. Add rice and let it fry with all other ingredients for a minute or two, always stirring. Pour in a little white wine and let it evaporate. Pour enough boiling water (or boiling chicken stock) to cover rice. Add a little salt. Stir rice frequently. Add more boiling liquid if necessary. Check salt and add more if necessary. When rice is 'aldente' (cooked but firm) add grana padano cheese and stir vigourously. Mangiare subito!

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Pecorino di fossa, matured in a cave.

Pecorino di Fossa
thanks to agriturismovaldappio for this image

Once you have tasted Pecorino di Fossa you won't forget it. It has a sweet start, then a vibrant peppery flavour develops. This type of cheese, certainly the most precious (and most expensive) here in Italy, is made of sheep milk and it is matured in sealed caves. This ancient process, which originated in Roman times, is also a ritual with its rules and procedures. It is in August that Pecorino di Fossa is put in caves excavated in the tufa rock (volcanic in origin), after they are sterilised with fire and lined with hay. Once the cheese is in, the caves are sealed with lime and reopened during the last week of November.
This cheese matures in an oxygen-deprived environment. Therefore, taste and structure are modified by the good bacteria present in the cave and the hey surrounding the cheese. Pecorino di fossa is typical of central Italy. It is very nutritious and perfect to eat with chestnut honey to enhance its flavour.

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Risotto al vino, with only 5 ingredients

Risotto al vino, thanks to Blasting News for this image

So, you've come back home at night only to find out that you have no food in the house, except for a bottle of good red wine, some rice and a small onion in the cupboard and a chunk of butter and a piece of parmesan or mature cheese in the fridge. No need to worry, as this is all you need for:

Risotto al Vino Rosso - Serves 6
500 g of 'Arborio' or 'Carnaroli' rice, 50g of butter, 1 cup of grated grana or parmigiano or mature cheese, a small onion, glass of red wine.

Finely chop the onion and gently fry it in butter. Add rice and let it fry with all other ingredients for a minute or two, always stirring. Pour in a good glass of red wine and let it reduce. Pour enough boiling water (or boiling chicken stock) to cover rice. Add a little salt. Stir rice from time to time. Add more boiling liquid if necessary. Check salt and add more if necessary. When rice is 'aldente' (cooked but firm) add grana cheese and stir vigourously. Serve immediately - Mangiare subito!

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GM food-free Italy

Good news for those passionate about good food, and bad news for those big corporations that are trying to convince us that genetically modified food is good for us. Italy is GM food-free and will be in the future. At a conference yesterday, a vast majority of Italian parliamentarians and senators with different political views all agreed on this crucial issue. Giuseppe Politi, president the Confederation of Italian Farmers, said: "Agriculture does not need GM crops. We need to defend our bio-diversity and high quality food and produce instead" (Source: 'La Repubblica' newspaper).

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Early vintage

As I take a walk around our village Toffia, there is a distinctive smell coming from the palazzo's basements: it's the smell of must.
Generally, vintage time is frantic. Little 3 wheel 'Ape' open vans zip around the country at frightening speed with their precious load of grapes. Everyone is working over the same weekend, and watching all this happening at the nearby Monastery of Farfa is spectacular. The monastery has a small and very ancient vineyard. If you have seen Jamie Oliver's 'Great Escape', you would have see the Farfa monastery featured in episode #3. Vintage has been a little early this year, due the warm winter and long, sunny summer. It will be interesting to taste the result of it in a glass. Some of the new wine is due out in November and sold as 'vino novello'. I know this is not for the purists, but a glass of it won't hurt anyone!

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