We went round the corner to have dinner last night, I hadn't got anything in - rain stopped play. And this is what we had:
A bottle of house white (icy cold) and a bottle of Novello (red).
La Carabazada, principesca crema rinascimentale di zucca gialla
(a crema is a soup smoothed with cream, the pumpkin was flavoured with renaissance spices, principesca you can guess)
Pasticcio di vitella di Cosimo 1 con le pesche e la salsa verde
(pasticcio is a mixture - in this case of finely ground young veal flavoured with ginger, cloves and I think it was allspice, the green sauce was hollandaise but with parsley and something I couldn't get, but exotic and aligned with the sweetness of the peaches)
Perine cotte ripiene di crema di marroni
(braised tiny pears stuffed with chestnut mousse in a darkly alcoholic sauce)
Taken aback by the grandeur of the menu (you should see the rest of what was on offer) in our local trattoria, we asked what was going on. All the centre of the city proper restaurants - not the pizza and fast food places - are cooking from the old recipe books at the moment. The tastes are astonishing: spiced rather than flavoured; constructs of balance, equivalence, opposition, congruity. So much more fun than emphasizing freshness and natural tastes of ingredients.
Devils, those old cooks were, playing cosmic games with the dinner.
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Ah, you went to Alessi's then
And they were getting bored with writing out the bill, so after a quick glance at the table we got a round sum offer. Which we accepted - I'd have paid double. After which, the glass of grappa di something very special, on the house, against the cold, led to weakness of the knees in via de Bardi.
Gournmet Safari last Saturday. Walking tour of the suburb Haberfield,Italian heartland of Sydney.The day dawned at 27 degrees celsius and by midday was 32 degrees. Darting in and out of air-conditioned shops filled with Italian fare was the best way to spend the day. We started at Passanella the best cheese shop in the land. After a quick lesson in cheese appreciation, (none needed)I purchased pearl drops of mozzarella which are wonderful to scatter over your salad of arugula, we spent up big and came out with a wonderful collection of goods including, buffalo mozarella,parmesan, pecorino, procuitto,warm ricotta, stuffed bell peppers, green sicilian olives and home made tiramisu. Next stop Peppe's Pasta. Duck, lamb and crab ravioli will be eaten post Xmas after turkey and ham have lost their attraction. Bakery and Italian supermarket next before sitting down to a lunch of the best pizza and pasta. We were given a lesson in how to choose the best panettone, the Aussie's use the panettone to make summer pudding with lots of fresh berries. After lunch we wobbled toward the wine shop where I purchased two bottles of classico and we all tasted the lemoncello. Next stop was the pasticceria and lots of Xmas goodies were puchased. Did I mention the Frank's ox heart tomatoes? Delicious! I am looking foward to the next one. I think I will do the Vietnamese tour followed by the Spanish.
You will write those up too, won't you?
Is 'arugola' rucola? rocket?
I've never heard of ravioli with duck or lamb - I suppose there's no reason not to stuff them with anything really. In the Casentino they do ravioli stuffed with mashed potatoes - not quite on the level of a chip sandwich but perhaps a touch starchy.
I only make summer pudding in England, because of needing the slices of Mother's Shame. I've already eaten the Pandoro illicitly, so I'll hope they bring Christmas pudding from London.
Yes arugula is rocket, maybe we have the wrong spelling. They stuff ravioli with all kinds of weird and wonderful fillings over here. I have even eaten it with Western Australian marron, sort of crayfish, gorgeous, when you come, I will serve. Hope the pudding arrives and do give the vistiors a big hug from me. Sounds like snow may fall. Merry Xmas.xx
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