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Italian recipes: Panzanella!

Monday, April 20th, 2009

Summertime is approaching, soups and warm dishes begin to be too hot for the nice weather; it’s time to have some fresh vegetables and salads! In Italy we have a real passion for them, also thanks to the our great olive oils that makes everything delicious. A typical Tuscan salad is the “Panzanella”, made with bread. It’s quick & easy to prepare, and the result will surprise you!

Ingredients:

  • 2 large ripe tomatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 small cucumber, peeled and diced
  • 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 clove garlic, very finely minced
  • 1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces with your hands
  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
  • 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar, plus more as needed
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 8 slices thick stale country style Italian bread, torn into bite-size pieces (sourdough is also good but not something you use here in Italy)

Directions:

  1. In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, garlic and basil. Drizzle with the 1/2 cup olive oil and the 3 tbsp vinegar, season with salt and pepper and toss well.
  2. Place half of the bread in a wide, shallow bowl. If the bread is quite stale and dry, you should first spoon a few tbsp of water over the bread and let it soak some of the water up, then with your hands squeeze all of the water out and place bread in a different bowl before proceeding. If it isn’t too stale or didn’t have any, then you can skip this step.
  3. Spoon half of the tomato mixture over the bread. Layer the remaining bread on top and then the remaining tomato mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour or until serving time. Just before serving, toss the salad and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. At this point the bread should have assorbed the water from the tomatoes and be all moist. If the bread seems dry for some reason, add a little bit of olive oil and toss well. Serve immediately.

(source: Tuscan Recipes)

Wanna learn more salads recipes? Your Summer will be delicious with the Institute Galilei’s cooking courses!

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Traditional recipes from Florence: Florentine tripe

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

As you have maybe already understood from the other recipes we have posted, the Italian cuisine is especially based on “poor” dishes, which are all savoury and genuine.

One of the most typical, that you have heard for sure, is the “trippa alla fiorentina“:  walking around Florence you will meet for sure the “trippai“, which prepare everyday fresh tripe and sell delicious sandwiches filled with trippa or lampredotto. Do not miss them!
But let’s try to cook it. The ingredients are easy to find and the only thing you need is a little patience.

Ingredients:

1 kg, or 2 1/4 lb tripe
2 red-skinned onions
2 carrots
head of celery
500 g, or 1 lb 2 oz tinned (canned) tomatoes
Parmesan cheese
olive oil

Directions:

Wash the tripe and cut into finger-length strips. Make a mirepoix with 6 tablespoons of oil in a short pot. Add the tripe and, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, blend the flavours well.
When, after 20 minutes cooking, some of the liquor has seeped out of the tripe, add the drained tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook for another hour over moderate heat, stirring frequently.

Serve the tripe hot, with the addition of  Parmesan cheese.

Why not trying to cook it with an experienced chef who will tell you all the secrets of this traditional dish? Take a look to the Institute Galilei’s cooking course “Da Lino”.

Source: Rameria

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