February 13, 2013

Zeppole: Italy’s doughnuts

Although doughnuts aren’t typical of Italy, a delicious equivalent is zeppole – a species of ring-shaped doughnut often found on street stalls in the south.  Whilst there are many variations (including sweet custard fillings, ricotta with chocolate bits, butter & honey mix, jelly) our favourite is the simplest version: topped with cinnamon sugar.

 

Ingredients

1 cup plain flour

2 tsp baking flour

Pinch of sea salt

1 ½ tbs sugar, plus ½ cup for coating

2 free range eggs

1 cup whole-milk ricotta

½ tsp vanilla extract

Grated zest of 1 lemon

Ex v olive oil

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

 

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt & 1 ½ tbsp. of the sugar in a bowl & gently combine with a fork

 

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, then beat in the ricotta, lemon zest and vanilla. Fold the flour mix into the egg-ricotta mixture.

 

Put 1 ½ – 2 inches of oil in a deep frying pan. Set over medium heat & get the oil to 360 F (a small bit of bread with brown in about 1 min).

 

When the oil is hot enough, drop 4 tablespoons of the batter into the hot oil. NB don’t fry anymore than 4 at a time to prevent the temperature from dropping.

 

The zeppole will quickly brown & rise to the surface of the oil, though you may need to give them a nudge. As they fry, try to gently pierce each one with a skewer to make them crisper.

 

Cook the zeppole until they are a deep nut-brown, then remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a rack to drain & cool slightly (make sure you have some kitchen roll underneath!)

 

When all the zeppole are done, combine the cinnamon with ½ cup of sugar in a bowl. Roll each one in cinnamon sugar (normal sugar if you prefer) and place in a bowl for serving. Buon appetito!

 


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January 24, 2013

Carluccio’s guide to drinking coffee

The idea of not drinking coffee in Italy is as mad as having to explain the dos & don’ts of coffee drinking. These rituals are age-old and there’s no room for maneuver!

 

*The Carluccio’s How to Guide:

 

*Thou shalt only drink milky coffee(cappuccino, caffe latte, latte macchiato) in the morning. We’re not babies!

 

*Thou shalt not drink any milky form of coffee after a meal. Milk on a full stomach!? Mamma mia, what of the digestion!?

 

*Thou shalt not complicate coffee. It is what it is. Requesting a skinny, extra hot, 1.5 shot, vanilla latte is likerequesting a glass of wine mixed with grape juice and served with a straw.

 

Admittedly there are two exceptions to the rule but that’s it! Thou may order un caffee nocciola (a frothy espresso with hazelnut cream) in Naples and un marocchino (imagine an upside down cappuccino served in a small glass which is first sprinkled with cocoa powder, then hit with a dash of frothy milk, before finally being spiked with a shot of espresso) in Milan.  Ordering these will get you brownie points.

 

*Thou shalt not use the word espresso when coffee drinking in Italy. A simple ‘caffe’ will suffice. It’s the norm after all.

 

*Thou shalt not pull up a chair when drinking a coffee. Stand and down it in one, as if swallowing fire!

 

*Thou shalt not request a mega size bucket of coffee. One size fits all. Something we replicate at Carluccio’s.

 

*Abide by these commandments and thou may hold your head up high in Italian coffee circles.

 

 


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January 9, 2013

Lucca Antiques market takes place over the weekend on the 3rd Sunday of every month & takes place in the middle of the town. It is really good, selling some lovely items from jewellery to furniture. I would recommend a very slow casual walk around (2-3 hours) .

If you aren’t around on the 3rd weekend then it takes place nearby on the other weekends in Tuscany, but Lucca is a great backdrop.

If you don’t have your dog, then bring a child – lots of wonderful gelateria’s nearby for emergencies

Even a bottle of wine for Dad after following Millie around from one jewellery stall to another.


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December 19, 2012

Going to the bank can be a very mundane affair but in Tuscany it is such a pleasure, even during an early day in December. No wonder we all what to come & live in (or paint) this wonderful landscape. The 20 minute journey over the hills and around a few hairpins is such an enjoyable experience especially when you have these beautiful views.


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July 20, 2012

The olive harvest in Tuscany can take place at anytime from November through to the end of February. The advantages of picking earlier is because the weather in  November is often fantastic with sunny days and temperatures touching 80 & winter winds can blow the olives on to the ground below. We generally pick ours in November, providing Gian Franco, our local farmer has given us the nod that the olives are ripe. The grass surrounding the trees is carefully strimmed so the nets can be carefully laid flat.

It is the Italian’s Harvest festival & always very atmospheric – small tractors are chugging up the little roads laden with crates of olives. Everyone is outside manically shaking their trees by traditional methods or with an electronic tickler, which we feel is quicker & more productive. The daylight hours are shorter at this time of year so everyone works hard so they end the day with lots of full crates. It is a very time consuming process; olives trees are often in precarious positions or on mountain terracing.

During the spring months it is important to prune the olive trees, reducing the suckers & too many shoots. The ideal shape should replicate a wide champagne glass & this will help when removing the olives in the autumn & winter

During November the restaurants are often full in the evening with tired and hungry people waiting to tuck into seasonal favourites like cinghiale (wild boar) and artichokes which are delicious finely sliced over veal chops.

It is crucial to have the correct green to black proportions when making olive oil. Too many green olives results in acidic olive oil. Most olive groves are planted accordingly. We have 60% Frantoio green olives, 25 % Rosciola di Rotello, which is a green olive with a red tinge with the remain trees being the black olive, Tirana. Tuscan olive oil is famous for the peppery kick in the back of the throat.

The day of the process is a fun day. The machinery at the Frantoiana is working 24 hours a day, every day of the week & booking is required weeks in advance, unless of course you have contacts in high places, like old established restaurant owners.

Everyone is extremely friendly & helpful. The cars & vans are off loaded and olives emptied into huge plastic crates. The first machine removes all the leaves, then the olives are washed and crushed for approximately one hour into an off white paste.

 

The process is extremely accurate & precise and usually takes 3 hours.

Eventually after all the churning the oil is ready to be poured & sieved into our large metal vats. The colour of fresh oil is amazing with tones varying from  bright yellow to green.

 

Once every drop has been collected we take the vats home and immediately bottle it into dark bottles to prevent the effect from light and store it in a cool barn. Of course, we have to do a taste test; simply the better, ciabatta, a hint of salt and the pure liquid gold. Quite delicious.

There is always a lot of rivalry between one producer and another. Ours has to be the best…

The certificate from the Frantoio said the analysis was ‘Excellent’, very low acidity, which is typical for Lucchese olive oil. Anything lower than 2% is Virgin olive oil, lower than .08%

is Extra Virgin. Ours was 0.2% which makes  it Extra Extra Virgin Olive Oil – pure liquid gold. Such a rewarding few days on the slopes in the November sunshine, simply wonderful.

 


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