Archive for the ‘life in calabria’ Category
Calabria Traveling Market: Buying Pecorino, Capocollo, ‘Nduja, and Pancetta from the Back of a Car
In Calabria, some days you go to the market. On other days you’re innocently typing away on your computer when you hear the cry of “Formaggio formaggio formaggio paesanoooo!” outside.
On those days, the market has come to you. So you grab your wallet and camera (no need for keys — you can just leave those in the lock in the front door), and head outside to see your choices.
Here was the selection yesterday morning:
This is all homemade and handmade locally by the seller and his wife.
Here he is weighing my capocollo and pancetta:
Yes, I decided to splurge and get pecorino, capocollo, and pancetta. Paolo and his friends have been working hard in our campagna (which means they need food up there every day) and most of his family is also around this month, so it’s good to have reserves in the house for drop-ins.
Homemade “paesano” salumi and cheese doesn’t come cheap, but it’s worth every centesimo. Still, the guy could sense my reluctance to part with my euros (may have been due to my price-haggling), so he threw in a big chunk of ‘nduja for free. You can see it a bit in the upper left of this photo:
What’s that? You’re not familiar with ‘nduja (ahn-DOO-ya)? Guess I’ll have to write a blog post about it, but for now, suffice it to say that it’s a Calabrian treasure — an uber-spicy, spreadable sausage that works well on everything from bruschetta to pasta.
And if you want a refresher course on the differences between pancetta, capocollo, our beloved suppressata, and more, check out Vince Scordo’s Guide to Cured Italian Meats: Salumi.
How would you enjoy the pecorino and salumi I picked up at the traveling market?
Celebrating the Fourth of July in Italy
Quite a few people have asked me over the years whether Italians celebrate the Fourth of July. The simple answer is no, as Italians don’t particularly care when the United States became an independent nation.
But chances are if you find an American on July 4th, you’ll at least find some kind of cookout around. Most of the Americans in Italy I know still find a way to celebrate — and many of us also wear our American flag t-shirts as well (myself included). P.S. Those stylin’ nails in the photo are *not* mine, but those of Dreamgirl Pumpkincat210 on Flickr.
Yesterday was actually a festa in the village (Madonna della Provvidenza) so we ended up even having fireworks, which we watched from our house; every year this celebration is held the first weekend of July, so I’m always guaranteed fireworks around the 4th. Funny how things work out.
Before the fireworks, though, yesterday morning, P and I went up into the campagna (the land we just bought in the country — yes it’s final now!), and had our own little feast with grilled chicken, salad, baked beans, suppressata, and pecorino. Quite appropriately a mix of American and Italian, I suppose. Ah, and fresh figs from one of trees for dessert:
Truth be told, though, while P prepared, I spent a lot of time either reading David Farley’s An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church’s Strangest Relic in Italy’s Oddest Town on my iPod Touch (Farley will be our guest on the Eye on Italy podcast this week!) or just staring off into space while sitting here:
Last week was quite stressful for me with all the Amanda Knox-related posts, and if you haven’t noticed, I’ve now turned comments off on them. I wanted to start this week stress-free and get back to focusing on my life and the people, animals, and few objects I’ve chosen to surround myself with.
I do appreciate that there are horrible events in the world every day, but many years ago I stopped watching the news because it’s too easy for me to get emotionally involved in all the bad — there is *so* much bad — and that just isn’t good for me. I still like to think I stay well-informed by picking and choosing what to read, and I lend my support to causes I truly believe in, but I just can’t let in all that negative and still live a happy life.
Perhaps that’s selfish, but it’s the best — and only — method of self-preservation I know.
Thanks to everyone who read and commented last week; hopefully some of the newcomers will stick around, but if it’s just the “regulars” here, that’s cool too. You’re the best regulars around.
And now, gratuitous kitty photo entitled “iz reddee 4 mah closeup” just because:
Have a great week!
Insalata di Fagiolini: Calabrian Green Bean Salad
We’re eating lots of fagiolini (green beans) now as they’re in season. The other day on the Bleeding Espresso Facebook page, I re-shared the link to my recipe for Green Beans, Pancetta, and Potatoes — one of my absolute favorites — and remember I also posted a similar recipe with tomato sauce and pork.
But you know what I haven’t told you about yet? A delicious, traditional Calabrian recipe for a green bean salad that I never had until I came here. P introduced me to it several years ago, and we eat it often throughout the summer — and I love it more every time I have it.
Note that the traditional Calabrian green bean salad doesn’t include an egg like in the photo below, but if I’m having this for lunch (as opposed to as a side dish), I’ll add an egg for some protein. Notice, incidentally, the yolk color of this egg (from a neighbor) as opposed to ours. Just sayin’.
Insalata di Fagiolini
- 1/2 kilo of green beans
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (or to taste)
- 4 cloves of garlic, cut in half
- Salt to taste
1. Prepare beans by washing and snapping off the stem ends.
2. Parboil beans in salted water for 5-10 minutes until they are no longer crunchy; Calabrians don’t like much crunch in their veggies, but you might, so feel free to adjust for your taste.
3. Strain and let cool.
4. In the meantime, mix together olive oil, garlic, and salt in a small bowl.
5. When the beans are cool, toss them with the dressing (minus the garlic) and let sit for at least 10 minutes so the beans soak up all that goodness.
6. Adjust for seasoning and serve.
Buon appetito!
P.S. Note that you can also freeze parboiled green beans, so if you find yourself with lots of fresh beans and you’re not sure what to do, just clean them, parboil, and freeze and decide later!
Do Italians Eat Pasta Every Day?
One question I get from many people is whether Italians eat pasta every day. Of course answering such a question would require an enormous generalization, so I’m going to give you the experience in my house, which consists of a Calabrian and an American with Italian, Lithuanian, and German blood.
Do we eat pasta every day?
Pretty much, yes. Usually either lunch or dinner — but hardly ever both — contains some kind of pasta for us.
I’m sure for some of you the thought of eating pasta every day sounds boring, and you’re positive you’d get sick of it within a week or so. This actually did cross my mind as I considered moving here — would I just get sick of eating pasta? And if so, then what would I do?
Well, seven years in, and I’m still having some pasta on most days. Don’t get me wrong; there are days when I just don’t want pasta. So I don’t eat it, easy peasy.
“Pasta” Does Not Equal Spaghetti and Meatballs
One important thing to remember is that Italians don’t eat pasta with “red sauce” and meatballs every day; in fact, the rumors you’ve heard about Italians not eating “spaghetti and meatballs” are true; if there are meatballs, they are often huge and served after the pasta course, so you’ll have one, *maybe* two at the most.
That “red sauce” is often a ragù, made with meat (often pork and for us, rabbit or chicken); in our house, that’s probably a once every two weeks kind of dish, often on a weekend.
Also? Italians don’t just eat spaghetti. As I’m sure you know, pasta comes in all shapes and sizes, and part of the fun is matching what kind of sauce or accompaniment best suits a certain kind of pasta, so there’s a lot more than spaghetti going on around here.
So what else are we eating with pasta? Well I have a list of recipes to give you some ideas, and you’ll see everything from tuna (with or without tomatoes) to broccoli (no tomatoes) to ricotta fresca to fresh tomatoes and basil to prawns. We eat pasta cold in a salad in the summer and hot in minestrone in the winter — and with legumes like peas, ceci, and lentils year round.
Pasta is very versatile, and as always, I do encourage you to experiment.
But Pasta Makes You Fat!
Another misconception regarding pasta is that some people believe that if they ate pasta every day, they’d be the size of a house. The answer to that is, well, it depends on how much pasta you eat and what you’re eating with it.
Pasta and carbohydrates have gotten a bad rap in health circles, but you *do* need them in your diet — in moderation, just like everything else that helps your body function the way it should.
Italians seem to know instinctively that 100-200 grams of pasta a day falls well within the recommended daily allowances of carbs. You just have to not load up on carbs the rest of the day in order to keep a good balance.
Other health issues like diabetes may cause concern with carbs, but if you’re an otherwise healthy person, eating a bit of pasta a day is one of the common features of the Mediterranean Diet, which we know can offer great health benefits — but know that is not a “diet” as the word has come to be understood. It is a way of life.
Yeah, I’m Still Not Buying that I Could Eat Pasta Every Day and Not Get Sick of It
If you still can’t imagine eating pasta every day, think of it this way: do you eat bread every day? Many people do, in one form or another. Well you can think of pasta as our bread. It accompanies other ingredients and isn’t really the “point” of the meal — although it’s still an important part to be sure (see the discussion of matching pasta with sauce above).
Note also that Italians will generally *not* eat bread and pasta together, so don’t be surprised if you’re in an Italian restaurant and they swipe any bread off the table just as the pasta is served.
But hey, we’re not all created the same, so it very well may be that you would get bored with an Italian diet and with eating pasta every day. So why not come over here and find out?
How often do you eat pasta?
Three Hens, a Bantam Rooster, and Double Yolk Eggs
Some of you know we have some fowl (hah!) stuff going down around here — and now that includes double yolk eggs, which you can read more about below. First, here’s a quick peek into the coop.
In addition to several pulcini (chicks) and chickens (kept separately), we also have three hens (including one bantam) and a bantam rooster who roam around the garden and scare the bejeebers out of the dogs, especially poor Luna.
Three hens that lay one egg a day are plenty for us; once they get into their rhythm, we’ll probably even have extra to give away and/or sell over the summer. The tourists who come to the village love farm fresh eggs, and who can blame them?
The little golden one on the left is a bantam hen and the partner to the bantam rooster; I’m not sure what breed the black hens are.
So, with the warmer temperatures, egg-laying is now kicking into full gear and the girls are really starting to produce. Did you know that sometimes as hens’ cycles are getting regulated, they may do things like lay strange eggs? One of our hens has been doing this:
Laying double yolk eggs may also be a genetic trait. I suppose time will tell with ours, but all I can say is that it’s pretty awesome to whip up a frittata using just three eggs because they each have two “rossi” (as they’re called in Italian) in the middle.
And that’s no yolk!
Hahahahaha…ahem.
What’s your favorite way to enjoy eggs?
If you’re ever stuck for ideas, remember I have an egg section on the recipes page!
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
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